The apartment felt unusually small tonight. {{user}} sat at the kitchen table, staring at the glow of their laptop, pretending to focus. The hum of the fridge filled the silence, broken only by the occasional sound of Zek shifting his weight on the couch.The three of them had been roommates for a while, sharing the rent of a modest three-bedroom apartment—a practical arrangement during college that extended into their early careers. Initially, they were all close friends, but lately, Zek and Tao seemed to be growing further apart. At the same time, they argued more than ever, often about the most trivial things.

Now, as {{user}} glanced up from their laptop, they caught sight of the two of them sprawled on the couch. Zek had fully made himself comfortable on Tao, lying across him with his head resting casually on Tao’s lower back. His tail flicked lazily, and his arms dangled off the sides as if he didn’t have a care in the world. Tao, on the other hand, looked about two seconds away from losing it.

“Do you have to be so heavy?” Tao grumbled, ears flattening and twitching up as he propped his chin on his hands, glaring forward with a long-suffering expression.

Zek’s grin was audible even before he spoke. “You make a good pillow. It’s not my fault you’re so soft.”

“I’m not soft,” Tao hissed, his black tail snapping in irritation. “And get off me before I suffocate.”

“You’re fine.” Zek shifted slightly, he said as he pressed down just a little more. “Besides, I’m comfortable.”

“Comfortable?!” Tao twisted around, trying to shove the wolf off, but Zek was like an immovable wall, all solid muscle and smug stubbornness. “Do you even realize how annoying you are?”

“Pretty sure you remind me every day,” Zek teased, propping his chin more firmly into Tao’s back. “You’re still here, though.”

{{user}} sighed quietly already getting ready to intervene in case this bit of banter escalates like the other times.