For Kohai_Karma 

Dogs are the worst thing God has ever thought of creating. Well, that was what Geno thought and every time he left his house, that fact was proven correct every. single. time. Just yesterday, a chihuahua decided to prance up to him while he was picking up something from the store and piss on his shoes. It took longer than Geno would have liked to spend to get the smell and the stain out.

He absolutely hated dogs.

Well, to be fair, he was part cat, which would make a lot more sense as to why he does. Though the question as to why cats and dogs disliked each other so much was left unanswered in Geno's mind, so he spent his days hissing at them even when they did absolutely nothing to him.

So, since Geno's hatred for dogs was very apparent to those around him, you would imagine that they would try avoiding the subject of canines or simply avoid bringing their pooches anywhere near him, right?

Well, not exactly.

"Geno!"

His ears flicked towards the direction of the voice and he looked over to the counter. His mocha was ready. Geno quietly got up from the table he was waiting at and strolled over to the barista. He was met with another skeleton (minus the obvious twitchy cat ears and sometimes troublesome tail) which was a little taller than him, his kind smile and roomy eyes catching Geno's attention for a few seconds. When the man caught Geno staring and vice versa, the smaller of the two quickly snatched his drink and let out a quick thanks before heading out.

For some reason, when Geno grazed the man's hand as he took his drink, the fur on his tail stood on end and his heart raced.

Odd.

He was quickly snapped out of his thoughts when a dog barreled past him, knocking the mocha all over his jacket and shirt in the process.  

Great.
Just wonderful.

He let out a groan and stormed back into the shop. Why don't people put those stupid animals on leashes anyways? They would become a hazard if they weren't constantly chained down. Grabbing a few handfuls of napkins and heading to the cafe's bathroom, he started to scrub as much of the drink off.

After several minutes of furious scrubbing, he settled on walking around for the rest of his day with a large coffee splatter on his shirt. Geno growled quietly at that fact and tossed the used napkins in a nearby trashcan before heading out, immediately crashing into a person.

It was the barista.

"Oh- sorry." The man quickly gave Geno an apologetic look before heading into the bathroom and shutting the door.

Again, that man managed to make his fur prickle. Was he allergic to hot guys now or...? 

Geno stumbled, blinking. Did he just call a guy he met meer minutes ago attractive?

He walked out, too surprised to think properly. He subconsciously decided to head home as he thought about this with a hint of embarrassment. Had his standards for a relationship really got so low as to like guys which you just met at a cafe? Surely not.

~~~

Surely not.

Geno stuffed his face in his pillow.

Surely not.

Surely-

And there he went again, the thought of that man making his fur stand on end and his heart bubble in a very, VERY uncomfortable way. 

Oh god.

He couldn't have actually liked that guy so fast. He couldn't have.

Right?

He tossed and turned.

The effort of getting the sensation out of his head was difficult, so difficult that he gave up on sleeping all together and slid out of his bed, walking to the only window in his bedroom and sitting down in front of it, looking out into the night sky.

Night time was really pretty. At least, that's what Geno thought. He started to quietly count the stars in the sky and slowly drifted to the lights in the windows of the colorful city, reaching the number 37 before looking to the moon. 

A full moon, huh. This night was really beautiful.

He nearly fell over.

"What the hell-" He scrambled back to the window and peered outside, his skull nearly pressing against the glass. The ears atop his head pointed sharply out the window.

Was he hearing things?

He could have sworn he had just heard a-

There it was again. Quickly scanning out of his window to find nothing, he got up and ran over to his door, quickly opening it and closing it behind him as he started gathering his things.

Once he was ready to head outside, he slipped on a black jacket he got as a present from his family as well as the scarlet scarf his dear brother had made for him and went out, making sure to turn off his lights and lock the door.

~~~

For the rest of the night, he followed his ears, tracking the sound. It lead him out of the city, to his discomfort, and to a dense forest right outside of it. He stood by the edge, staring into the winding, thick vegetation before him. 

Was he really going to go into a dangerous forest all by himself in the middle of the night?
Yes.
Was that decision stupid and could possibly end his life?
Probably.
Was he going inside anyways despite that?
Absolutely.

Besides, he knew what he heard.

Something out there was in danger or hurt.

So, he gathered his courage and trudged forward.

~~~

After what felt like hours of jumping at the occasional snapping twig, the feeling of something unsettling was about to happen, and the regret of not staying at home when he had the chance, he finally made it to his destination. 

A lone fawn laid in a small clearing, its side bleeding and the breathes coming from it short and scared. Quickly, Geno picked up his pace as soon as he spotted the deer and crouched down, inspecting it. Before he could do anything, though, the fawn's breathing slowed and ceased, the body finally relaxing into a peaceful death. 

Well then. Geno stared at the fawn, a small weight on his heart forming. He just watched something die painfully in front of him and he wasn't taking that too well.

Quiet in respect for the loss of a life, he sat there for a few minutes before finally willing himself to search for the cause of death. By simply turning the corpse over, he stared at the huge gashes in its side. Those claw marks were too big to belong to any animal he knew of. Too precise-

Before he could fully register what had happened, he was suddenly face-first against a tree, strong arms restraining his movement. He felt his fur prickle and every bone in his body freezing as a low, quiet voice talked near his ears.

"what are you doing here."

'Well, ominous voice, I would love to tell you why I am here and also my entire flipping life story if my face wasn't choking down bark and tree skin'. Geno would have loved to say that if the second part of that statement didn't apply. So, he settled on struggling. Struggling worked, right?

"stop moving." the voice growled and, well, there goes Geno's will to be free. Might as well get rid of his will to live too since he was 90% sure this thing was going to snap his neck or crush his body by how strongly it held him.

Upon observing his compliance, the weight on his back eased a bit, allowing Geno to turn his head to finally breathe. He took in a few gulps of air before looking to his attacker. He felt his body freeze when the face which rudely kept him awake was real, but instead of his kind smile and roomy eyes, they were dark and empty and accompanied with a frown. 

He was about to say something when he caught a glimpse of motion. His gaze followed it and he blinked.

Two furry wolf ears perched atop his head.

It finally clicked. 

"God damn dogs." Geno muttered and felt a strong pressure nearly snap his ribs like sticks.

The man leaned closer, glaring. "Mind repeating that, sweetheart?"

Oh how he hated that pet name. "I SAID GOD DAMN  D-"

Another strong squeeze cut his words off, Geno coughing loudly from the pressure. The man glared at him. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you right now for clearly insulting me."

Oh crap, this guy was serious. His mind raced, searching for an answer which wouldn't offend this stupid mutt. "Uuuuuuh- I can make... coffee???"

Silence.

That was the wrong answer, wasn't it?

Geno stiffened and turned away, squeezing his eye-sockets shut to embrace his inevitable doom when he heard a chuckle. 

A chuckle which soon rolled into quiet laughter.

He felt the weight finally disappear as the arms holding him down were lifted. Geno stood up straight, using the tree as support as he watched the man howl with laughter.

"You- You were going to die and- and that's what you decide to say as your final words??" The man couldn't help but laugh at that fact. Geno didn't even smile.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!"

"A lot of things, honey." The man grinned, wiping away the tears he managed to laugh up and calmed down. "A lot of things." 

"WELL, I KIND OF LEARNED THAT ALREADY."

The man scratched the back of his skull. "Look, I wasn't actually going to kill you."

Geno waved his arms around in the 'wtf are you talking about, that is obviously not true' way. "BULL. SH-"

"Really! I swear I wasn't."

Geno was about to well another BS before meeting his gaze. It was sincere and truthful, not a trace of deception. He glared at the other for a moment before quietly calming down. "Stupid mutts."

The man blinked. "Dumb cats."

"Excuse me?"

"That's exactly how I feel." The man shrugged. "Hurts, doesn't it?"

Geno glared at him. He didn't say anything.

The man grinned, knowing he was right. "You shouldn't discriminate us canines by the way a few of us act. If you actually took the time to understand us, maybe you'll be pleasantly surprised." Geno rolled his eye-socket, but the man knew that he was listening. "I mean it."

~~~

They both stood in front of Geno's house as the sun started to slowly peek over the horizon. The scarfed skeleton quietly thanked the man, which he learned was named Reaper, for helping him home. Then, he opened his front door. 

As soon as he was inside and he shut the door, he turned on the lights and walked over to his couch, flopping down onto it and screaming into the nearest pillow he could find. 

He was relieved that his standards weren't as low as he originally thought. His fur and heart must have reacted as such because he was dog was all. Geno shifted, hugging the pillow quietly. 

That must be it.

His face went red.

He was hopelessly attracted to a stupid hot werewolf guy, wasn't he?

((Apologies to those which saw this chapter come out a bit too early! I accidentally hit publish when I meant to click Save owo'))