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Today was a bad day. Actually, scratch that. Today was arguably the worst day of Michael’s life. His entire week had been nothing short of horrible, but Michael couldn’t believe how bad his Friday was going. His week started with him realizing that he may or may not be falling in love with his best friend. His Tuesday consisted of him realizing that he was definitely falling in love with his best friend. His Wednesday involved his realization that his best friend was straight. Thursday was no nicer, bringing with it the realization that if Gavin ever found out about Michael's crush on him, their friendship would undoubtedly fall apart. Michael had only been awake for 15 minutes, but it seemed to him like this Friday was trying to kill him. He had woken up late and torn his beanie with his claws, which he hadn’t even realized were extended, as he hurriedly shoved it onto his head and over his ears. Because tearing his favorite beanie just wasn’t bad enough, he had also managed to scratch one of his ears in the process. He couldn’t wait to have to explain that one to the crew and deal with the immense teasing that it would bring, and there was no hiding the nasty cut that he had accidentally given himself. ********** As Michael walked into the Achievement Hunter office he huffed out a curt apology, for his tardiness or disheveled appearance or both. It must have been obvious that Michael was having a bad day because not one of his co-workers even started to make a joke about his appearance, the noticeable scratch on his ear, or late arrival. When Michael sat down, Gavin turned to him and said, “Hey boi! Treyco says we have to film a Play Pals today. I kinda wanna do another level of Human Fall Flat, if that’s alright with you?” Michael agreed, whether it was because he was okay with playing more Human Fall Flat or didn’t care enough to object was up for debate, though.********** Michael had been checking his phone for the time obsessively the whole day. He wanted nothing more than to go home, have a drink, curl up into a ball, and sleep. When he checked his phone again he realized it was 4:58. There were 2 minutes until he could go home, and he spent those two minutes impatiently twitching his tail and staring at his phone’s clock. It seemed more like 2 years, but eventually those 2 minutes passed and he could finally go home. The second the numbers on his phone switched from 4:59 to 5:00 he was out of his chair and headed for the door, but he was stopped by someone grabbing his wrist and holding him back. He turned around to see Gavin looking up at him, his hand still wrapped tightly around the other man’s wrist. Slightly annoyed, Michael said, “What do you want, birdbrain?” With genuine concern in his voice, Gavin responded. “You’ve been off all week, boi. I just wanted to check if you’re okay, is all. You’d tell me if something was wrong, yeah?” “I’m fine boi, I promise. I’m just having a bad week and, frankly, all I want is some bevs,” Michael said. He had hoped his tone didn’t let on just how bad he meant when he said he was having a bad day, but judging from Gavin’s expression, it did. Michael hope that Gavin had forgotten about the Boi's Night In that they had planned the week prior, but he wasn't that lucky. "Are we still on for bevs at your place today?" ********** “Make yourself at home, Gavvy. I’m gonna run to the kitchen and get some bevs. Go ahead and pick a game for me to kick your ass in when I get back.” Michael said as they walked into his apartment. Gav popped Halo into the XBox, grabbed the controllers and sat on the couch. He decided to take Michael's words to heart and stretched his wings out. Gavin, as did most hybrids who had wings, found it unbearably uncomfortable to have them tucked against his spine all day but it was nothing short of a pain in the ass to have to move through doors built for people without wings with his extended. Michael came back with a case of beers and plopped himself into the couch next to his friend. They played for hours, talking about nothing in particular, until they both ended up with headaches from staring at the screen for far too long. Gavin shifted so he was laying down instead of sitting and positioned his wings so he could do so comfortably. Michael, ever the cat hybrid, was unable to resist the prime napping real estate and curled up in a ball on top of Gavin’s chest. Gavin accepted this without much protest and wrapped his wings around Michael. His hand found its way to Michael’s curls, and he lazily twisted them around his fingers. They lay like that for a while, but eventually Gave spoke. “Hey, Micool?” “Yeah, Gavvy?” “Do you purr? I know cat hybrids purr but I’ve never heard you do it and I asked a couple people and none of them have either. i was curious, so I figured I'd ask.” Gavin noticed his friend’s face turn bright red. Gavin watched as Michael buried his head further into Gavin’s chest, most likely trying to hide how red his face had gotten. He piped up again. “I’m sorry, boi. You don't have to answer." Michael waited a second to respond, presumably formulating his response. “I can purr. I just don't. I guess it's just personal to me and I don't exactly like letting other people hear it.” After a moment of internal debate, Gavin started to lazily whistle his song in order to fill the silence. Gavin wasn’t one for singing in front of other people, as were most songbird hybrids, but he trusted his boi and this particular silence felt too uncomfortable to not be filled by something. Michael’s ears stood up as he heard the soft whistles leaving his friend’s mouth. Michael knew Gavin didn’t like singing in front of other people, but he absolutely adored Gavin’s song. It was happy and bubbly just like him. A songbird’s song was personal, in the same way that a cat hybrids's purr was, and Michael’s chest filled with warmth when he realized that Gavin was comfortable enough to sing in front of him. Gavin’s hand was still twisting in Michael’s hair, but he was avoiding touching the other man’s ears. Michael thought for a while. He ultimately decided that if there was anyone he was comfortable enough with to purr around, it was Gavin. He gently pushed his head into Gavin’s hand to let him know that it was okay for him to touch his ears. Gavin’s hand shifted from Michael’s curls to his ears and the second he touched them a soft, low rumble erupted from Michael’s chest. Gavin looked down at the cat hybrid curled on his chest, and he felt butterflies in his stomach. Michael looked up, and the two made eye contact. Both of their pupils were completely blown, but neither knew if was affection or the low light that caused it. To anyone else though, it would be obvious that it was affection. Gavin gently pulled Michael's face up to his and pressed a soft kiss onto Michael's lips. Gavin’s lips were soft and tasted of beer, but Michael was fine with it because they were Gavin’s lips. Michael’s lips also tasted of beer, but Gavin was fine with it because they were Michael’s lips. Both men sank into the gentle kiss and softly threaded their fingers through each other’s hair. After a long while, they pulled back and looked at one another. “Hey Micool? I love you.” “I love you, too, Gavvy.” Gavin’s hand once again found Michael’s ears, and as a soft purr erupted from him, Gavin started to sing his song. They lay like that until they fell asleep in each other’s arms.