There are things in life you’ll never do unless you’re in love. For Micah, this was one of them — even if he didn’t quite realize it yet.

  “Hm… I wonder which color…?” Noah mused, holding up a can of dye like it had personally offended him. Micah sat shirtless on a high chair in the bathroom, staring at his twitching ears in the mirror. He didn’t want to do this. Not really. But Noah had tempted him with extra cuddles — an offer Micah found impossible to refuse.

  “Does it really matter?” Micah muttered, lips pressed into a thin line.

  “Yes! It has to be perfect! Even if you fall asleep in this chair…” Noah declared with dramatic determination.

  Micah sighed, silently scolding himself for agreeing.

  “Oh! I know — we’ll just try every color!”

  “Noah… I’m not su—”

  Before he could finish, Noah moved at lightning speed, dropping a bit of green dye into water and dipping Micah’s ears.

  Micah flinched at the coldness. Within minutes, the color dried. Green. Noah wrinkled his nose.

  “Nope! Let’s try something else.”

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  —Three hours later—

  Micah had endured every shade of the rainbow until Noah finally settled on a red?hazel tone.

  “It matches your eyes!” Noah said excitedly, practically glowing with energy.

  By then, Micah was ready to escape — but Noah caught him by the tail and melted his resistance with affectionate praise.

  Micah glanced at the mirror, watching the dye dry as Noah beamed at him, shirt and face splattered with color. His ears twitched affectionately at the sight. He had to admit… he liked it. It matched his eyes, just like Noah said.

  “You look nice,” Noah said softly after a pause.

  Micah didn’t answer right away. Then he flashed a crooked grin.

  Noah flushed and turned away quickly.

  “Hm… tomorrow is Halloween, yes. But why do I feel like I’m forgetting something?”

  Micah tilted his head, confused.

  Noah gasped dramatically. “The decorations! How could I forget?! You have to help — I think they’re in the closet, come wi—”

  Before he could finish, Micah tugged him close by the arm.

  “You promised me something… remember?”

  “Yeah, of course I do. It’s still early.”

  “It’s not too early for cuddles…” Micah whispered against his ear.

  “No! I refuse to listen to temptation…” Noah’s ears burned red, his face matching, and then he remembered Micah was shirtless. His blush deepened until he thought he might combust.

  Micah grinned, tilting Noah’s chin up. “I have a request.”

  Noah pouted, looking away. “W?what…?”

  “Will you bed with me?”

  “BED WITH YOU?! WHAT THE HELLLLLL?!” Noah’s face went crimson, his vision blurred, and his legs gave out. He fainted.

  Micah caught him easily, staring at his human’s flushed face.

  “What did I say wrong?” he murmured, baffled. He brushed Noah’s hair back gently.

  “I guess he was tired…” Micah whispered, scooping him up and laying him on the bed.