He swore he'd cleaned his room last week, but when he opened the door... Shit. Quickly turning toward Erin, Grayson gave him a light shove and whispered in a rush. "W-Wait a minute before coming in!"

Even though it was obviously rude, he slammed the door in his face and bolted around his room, shoving clothes under his bed, in his closet, and just about anywhere else he could manage. When he'd finally whirled around to open the door for Erin the guy was already standing in the open doorway, holding Grayson's only pair of bright red and blue spider-man underwear.

Oh man.

"P-Put those down!" He squeaked while running over to snatch the small pair of underwear away. They quickly found themselves in Grayson's dresser, shoved way in the back.

"It's not a big deal, Gray. I don't care what kind of underwear you wear." Erin said with a smile.

Grayson knew that his nose was bright pink when he turned around to pout at him.

"But it's definitely not manly..."

Erin's right brow rose before he burst out laughing behind his hand.

"Seriously? Come on kid, you're like, five foot nothing! Worry about being manly when you're a bit bigger."

Grayson's chin tucked a little as he mumbled out a quiet reply. "I-I'm seventeen."

"Really? I thought you were like, thirteen but skipped a few grades." Erin replied, surprised.

He was about to grumble at him for that comment but Erin was suddenly in front of him, mussing up his hair before dropping down onto Grayson's small bed.

"I was just joking. So, what do you wanna do, kid?" Erin asked.

"Um, well."

He hadn't really thought about that yet. His father had never let him have friends over... or really try to make any to begin with. His mom got overprotective after what had happened at his previous school but not that badly. Thankfully.

"Um... are you hungry?" Grayson asked.

Erin looked at him a bit funny, but then grinned.

"Hun, I'm an elephant. Food is my first, middle, and last name."

Grayson laughed and smiled. "Come on then, I'll cook!" He said as he tugged Erin back downstairs and into the small kitchen before telling him to sit at the little table near the entrance while he ran to get down the pan. He had to climb up on the counter because his mother seemed to have forgotten to put them lower, but he managed to get it after a minute.

"Here, let me help you."

Hearing Erin behind him all of a sudden made Grayson nearly fall backward. In fact, he did, but Erin's arms were right there to catch him. That would have been bad. Once he was back on his feet he grabbed a ton of vegetables from the fridge, along with some spices. He was actually a pretty great cook and loved to show people.

"Just don't tell anyone at school that I love cooking. I don't need to find more bullies just yet." Grayson said jokingly.

"More?" Erin asked.

His voice was right next to him but Grayson didn't pay much mind as he got busy cutting up all the vegetables.

"There were these three guys. Two of them were from gym class, but they had another guy with them." Grayson said.

"Tiege. Then that means you're gonna have it hard. Try to stay near me or Wolf as much as possible. He can't handle Tiege if he shifts but at least he could get you to safety." Erin said.

"Is he that bad? Tarren seemed to be able to handle him." Grayson said.

"He's an adult lion, of course he can handle him. But I want you to stay away from Tiege, Henry, and Kessig." Erin replied.

"I will I will, don't worry. Not interested in making enemies."

"Alright."

Grayson began to push around the food to be sure that it was all heating correctly, noticing moments later that a certain guy's chin was resting atop his head.

"You're an odd elephant." Grayson mumbled.

"I'm an awesome elephant." Erin commented.

"Touche. You are pretty awesome."

Erin swore the kid was way too cute when he was cooking. He didn't even seem to notice that he was swaying his hips slowly or flicking the wooden spoon every few moments as if there was a song playing in his head. It was too bad that he'd probably freak out if he hugged him out of nowhere with an explanation like I want to dance to your music.

God, I sound insane.

"Ah?"

Ah?

Erin blinked, then glanced down at Gray, or well, the wooden spoon he was holding up to his lips.

"Try it? I already ate so it's gonna be yours." He said.

Erin's lips quirked into a smile as he opened his mouth and took the spoonful happily.

"Oh wow, that's so good!"

Grayson's nose lit up to an adorable pink, making Erin's heart thump an extra beat. He quickly turned back to the food, giving it another good stir before getting a wrap out of the fridge and warming it up, then the magic happened. He loaded all the veggies, with an extra dose of spice, onto the wrap and made Erin the biggest, most epic smelling burrito he'd ever seen.

Remembering his manners, he thought about waiting till they got to the table to eat but his elephant had no issues making him lean over and snatch a huge bite right off the top. Granted, that made it impossible to hold now, but he didn't care.

I'm a happy elephant.

"Let's go. You can eat upstairs." Grayson said.

Erin took the plate and, like the little puppy that he tended to be when it came to food, he followed him immediately. As soon as they got back to Grayson's small room he took another huge bite, then plopped down on the bed.

"Is it okay if I run and take a shower real quick?" Grayson asked nervously.

Erin nodded right away but didn't want to speak with his mouth full.

It was about ten minutes later when Grayson returned in a pair of little elephant print pajamas. The outfit was a bit big on him but that just made it seem like he was wearing Erin's clothing... No. No no no. No thinking that way! He's just a kid. Seventeen, but still. No! Tarren would neuter me. His elephant quickly backed down after that thought. Thankfully, it valued its boys over making calves.

"Those are, uh, really cute." He said with an awkward stutter.

Grayson's nose turned pink again and Erin was actually beginning to like the color on him. However, the guy quickly ran over to his dresser and began tugging out a more bland pair of pajamas.

"H-Hey, no no." Erin said. Reaching over, he snagged Grayson's wrist and pulled him into his lap, pushing the plate in front of him to keep him from jumping back up. He knew that he wouldn't want to spill the food.

"Here, eat some. I'm sure your mouse wouldn't mind a nibble..." He said calmly.

Grayson glanced over his shoulder at him, his nose nearly touching his own. Erin could smell his shampoo and body wash. It was a gentle scent of aloe mixed with mint. A quiet sniff left his nose, then another and another as he let it nuzzle into the guy's damp, soft hair.

Oh god. He's sniffing my hair. D-Does that mean I smell? Good? Bad? I have to smell good, cause I just took a shower.

Grayson's whole face was burning but he held completely still.

"Sorry. Calm down, Gray. I'm not gonna do anything. My elephant just took over for a moment. He really likes the smell of y—your soap." Erin said.

Oh, of course.

Erin reached around him and set the mostly-eaten burrito on the night stand before falling back, taking him with him since he was leaning against his chest. When they landed Grayson quickly rolled off of him, and right off the bed by accident.

"Squeak!"

Aw, no.

Right as he managed to fight his way out of his giant pajamas he noticed Erin's face looking over the side of the bed at him.

Please don't be mad. Please don't be mad.

"I'm not mad, kid. Comere''" Erin said as he reached down, putting his hand flat on the carpet so that Grayson could hop on. After a quick lift back up Erin slid onto his belly and smirked at him.

What?

Grayson tilted his tiny mouse head to the side and squeaked quietly, confused as to what Erin wanted.

"Want to have a pillow fight?" Erin questioned with a raised eyebrow.

A what? But he was a mouse!

"Squeak!" Grayson replied loudly.

"Sweet!" Erin said as he grabbed one of the pillows and with a quiet-but-evil laugh, then dropped it right onto him.

Erin knew it was a bit mean to do that but it was a pretty light pillow and shouldn't have hurt him at all. In fact, he could hear muffled squeaks and see the thing moving as Grayson tried to find his way out. When a tiny pink nose finally poked out from beneath the corner, Erin let his elephant come out a little, eyes crinkling with grey as his tusks nudged out slightly. It gave a playful huff as he flared his nostrils, blowing a little air onto the tiny mouse.

Grayson gave a surprised squeak and tried to straighten his mussed fur but soon learned that it was useless and pounced on Erin's nose instead.

"Oh no." Erin cooed, playing along as Grayson's little paw smacked him a few times as if it were smiting him. When he sat up to paw at his own nose Erin couldn't help but poke his belly, a bit too hard, evidently, because he lost his balance and flopped onto his back.

"A little pudgy, hm?" Erin mused.

A disgruntled squeak was Grayson's response as he rolled over and got up onto his back legs, then lifted his arms.

"Uh, are you trying to flex muscle or something?" Erin questioned, confused.

Grayon glared and nodded, making Erin lift a brow as he just leaned forward and poked him so that he'd flop over again.

"Big strong man right here." He said with a smirk as his pointer finger tapped Grayson's mouse's little pudgy belly a few more times before beginning to scratch. His tiny body instantly stretched out, then curled around his finger. The little mouse soon had the most happy smirk on its little face.

"So this is your Achilles heel, eh?"

Erin was about to begin scratching more when Grayson suddenly shifted back. Eh? That was fast. Guess he doesn't quite have his timers down, just like Arron. Maybe it's a cross-shifter thing.

Grayson immediately curled up to try and hide himself but that didn't stop Erin's eyes from roaming. He wasn't exactly gay, but he might not mind calling himself bi for such a cute body. He was just about to lean over and try to see if Grayson reacted to his affection when his elephant nudged him to wait a second and actually look.

Oh... shit. He's shaking.

With a mute sigh Erin got up and quickly went around to the other side of the small bed, picked up Grayson's clothing, then tapped his shoulder.

"Hey Gray, sit up for me, okay? I've got your clothes and I certainly can't get them on you if you're all curled up like a scared mouse."

He knew that his words would get a rise out of him, and sure enough, he was pushing himself up after a moment.

"Here, lift your arms for me." Erin said.

Grayson did as told even though he mumbled while obeying. "I can dress myself..."

"Of course." Erin agreed as he tugged his shirt over his head and pulled it down, then handed him his pants and turned to face away so that he could pull those on, too. When he heard him say it was okay, Erin gave a small yawn and turned around. Grayson's face was tinted pink but Erin just grinned and flopped over, his head landing on one of the fluffy pillows.

"So, where do I sleep?" He asked.

"U-Um, you can sleep there and I'll sleep at the foot?" Grayson stuttered.

"Sure, that's fine with me."

Erin knew that he was trying to be kind and let him have the head of the bed so he wasn't going to try and argue. With a small smile Erin stretched out, his feet easily hanging over the edge.

Small bed.

"Um, are you okay that way? Maybe I should sleep on the floor. We probably won't both fit." Grayson said.

It was obvious that he didn't really want to. Instead, Erin reached out and gently tugged him down next to him. He looked a little fearful at first, but as Erin stuck his tongue out and licked Grayson's nose, the guy scoffed and nipped his back.

"I promise I won't bite. We're friends, right?" Erin said with a grin.

It took him a minute to answer but when he did, he seemed to calm down a bit.

"Yeah, friends." Grayson whispered.

That was the last thing Erin remembered until he awoke about five hours later from a deep sleep. It wasn't really anything specific that had him stirring but he swore that he could feel someone watching him. When he began to blink open his eyes he caught a brief, blurry image of Grayson staring down at him and quickly made sure that his eyes were tightly shut again.

Why is he looking at me?

He got his answer a minute later when he felt something extremely gentle brush against his lips.

Oh?

Grayson backed off quickly after the kiss and Erin forced his body not to make any kind of movement, but then he was back. While his first kiss was careful and unsure, his second one was much more focused. He even nibbled his lower lip a little before backing off. Erin honestly had no idea how he thought someone would sleep through such a thing, but he let him continue for a few more moments before his arms slowly came up and wrapped around the guy's small body.

At first, he began to shake and struggle, but Erin let his body turn onto its side since he had evidently been on his back, then tugged him against his chest with a sleepy mumble.

"Mm, tired..."

Grayson froze when he heard his voice, but again, Erin wasn't going to let him go that easily. Sure, if he wanted to pretend that it didn't happen in the morning, he would suck up his growing crush and play along, but right then he was going to enjoy cuddling. Thankfully, Grayson figured out that he was just intent on sleeping and finally snuggled in after a few minutes. His body tucked perfectly against his own, his soft white hair warming just beneath Erin's neck while his breath did the same for his collar bone area. The last thing he remembered hearing before passing out again was Grayson's quiet, sleepy whisper.

"I like you."