Hyde was awoken by the sun shining in his face through the window in his bedroom. He groaned in annoyance and turned around. He looked at the small clock beside his bed, it was past 8am already. He sighed. He pushed himself up on his arms. He stepped out of bed, then grabbed some sweatpants off the floor and pulled them on. He decided to keep his sleep shirt on for now. He walked out of his bedroom.

He passed the guest room, the door was left open. He peaked inside and saw Rune in a deep sleep on the bed. Rune laid on his stomach, his head laid on his arm with his cheek pushed up, causing him to drool a little. Hyde snickered and kept walking.

He opened the door to the living room and kitchen area. He wasn’t hungry yet. He went to the couch. He sat down and grabbed his notebook from the coffee table as well as his pen. He rested the notebook opened on the armrest and began to write.

I saw Rune sleeping like a baby in the guest room. He left the door open for some reason. Artistic interpretation to the side. Must be nice to sleep in an actual bed after three nights on a bench.

I don’t actually know how long it’s been since he slept comfortably. Where did he sleep before? It’s not like there are any hotels nearby. And now he doesn’t have to be on edge all the time. Must be such a relief.

I’m pretty excited to have a housemate now. It can get lonely sometimes. Selene and Raven won’t be happy about it, Raven was already upset with me for talking to him. And she shot him yesterday, of course. I don’t know if Selene even knows Rune is still here and free now.

Eh, Raven probably told her.

But maybe I should introduce them all to each other today. I wouldn’t want them to run into Rune and freak out. I do have to make sure Raven won’t shoot him again, though. I know I was more freaked out by it than he was, but it’s gotta hurt, right? Even if it heals quickly.

An hour later, Hyde was eating cereal, leaning against the counter. Rune walked in with a stretch and a groan, wearing the same jeans and shirt as yesterday.

And the day before.

And before that.

Hyde frowned.

Rune walked up to him with a smile. “Morning, roomie.”

Hyde smiled back. “Hey. Sleep well?”

“Like a log.”

Rune went to the fridge and got a can of blood out; he’d put them there last night. He opened it, then spotted what was in Hyde’s bowl. “Are you eating cereal with water?”

Hyde shrugged. “I’m out of milk.”

“Then buy more milk.” Rune threw his hand up in frustrated confusion. “Who the fuck eats cereal with water?”

“Me, I guess.” Hyde took another spoonful in his mouth.

“You might as well eat it dry at that point.”

“Not a bad idea.”

“That wasn’t a suggestion.” Rune sipped his drink with a glare.

“Too late.”

Hyde finished his bowl and put it down on the counter behind him. “I was wondering; where did you sleep before?”

Rune raised his eyebrow. “You mean before you arrested me?”

“Yeah.”

“Here in the south, I always slept outside. It’s warm enough and there aren’t any hotels nearby. But in other places, if there was a hotel, the gang would get me a room.”

“Oh. So you’d sleep in the forest on the ground or something?”

“Yeah.”

Hyde squinted at him. “You’re not playing me to get a roof over your head, are you?”

“What? No,” Rune chuckled. “I didn’t ask to stay, you offered.”

“Yeah, okay, fine.” Hyde hummed and looked down at Rune’s clothes again. “Do you need some clean clothes?”

Rune glanced down at himself, then sighed. “Yeah, probably.”

“I could lend you some of mine.”

“Really? Great!”

Hyde shrugged. “If they fit, at least.”

Rune examined both their figures. “If anything, it’d be too big.”

Hyde pushed himself off the counter and stepped towards him. “You think so? You’re taller.”

Rune huffed. “Like an inch. You’re more muscular.”

Hyde rolled his eyes. He grabbed Rune’s wrist and began to drag him away as he said, “Let’s see.”

Hyde dragged Rune into his bedroom, then let him go. He walked to his closet and pulled the door open. He searched it. “What are all the things you need? Pants, shirt, socks, underwear I guess.” He turned around to Rune. “A hoodie?”

Rune shrugged. “Mine does have a hole in it now.”

“Right.” Hyde turned back to his closet. He grabbed a plain, dark blue t-shirt, black jeans, a grey hoodie and everything else. He handed the stack of clothes to Rune. “Here you go, now I gotta get dressed too.”

“You’re still in your pyjamas?”

Hyde blushed a little and pushed him to leave. “Yes, go!”

“I didn’t even notice.” Rune smirked at him. Hyde gave him a glare back. Rune snickered and walked away.

A few minutes later, they both walked out of their rooms again. They took a good look at each other’s outfits. Hyde had put some jeans on himself, as well as a plain grey shirt and an opened, olive green blouse with the sleeves rolled up to his forearms. Rune seemed to fit in his clothes perfectly fine.

Rune looked back up at Hyde’s face and gave him a double thumbs up with a cheeky smile. Hyde breathed out a chuckle and shook his head.

“So, now what?” Rune wondered. “Are we going to do anything today?”

“I was thinking of formally introducing you to Selene and Raven.”

Rune’s eyes widened. “What? Why?”

Hyde shrugged. “Since you’re staying here for a while. Wouldn’t want them to run into you and freak out and shoot you again.”

Rune sighed deeply and tilted his head back. “Yeah, I guess,” he whined.

Hyde tugged at his sleeve. “Come on, let’s get it over with.”

They walked outside towards Selene’s house. Rune dragged behind Hyde.

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“Come on, slowpoke.”

Rune glared and picked up his pace. Hyde caught a glimpse of his earring. When Rune was beside him, he asked, “Can I ask about your earring?”

“Can I ask about your scar?”

“Eh—I didn’t realise an earring could be so personal.”

“Then why ask if you can ask about it?”

Hyde clicked his tongue. “Touché.”

They arrived at the house. Hyde knocked. No answer. He opened the door and walked in. “Selene? Can we talk?”

Selene stepped out of her study. “What is it—why is he here?”

Hyde turned around slightly, Rune stood behind him, tense and uncomfortable. “He’ll be staying with me for a while.”

Selene looked at him like he had lost his mind. “Why? Why don’t you take him to prison?”

“Come on, you know I don’t actually have the power to do that.”

“You could get the police from the nearest town or something.”

Hyde tensed up. “Nah, I’m good. But”—he reached behind him and grabbed Rune’s arm—“I wanted to formally introduce you”—he pulled him forward—“to Rune.”

Rune stared at her. “Eh, hi.”

Selene scoffed. “You expect me to be friendly with the guy that stole my research?”

“Not really, I only wanted you to know he wasn’t leaving yet.”

Selene shook her head. She stepped towards Rune. “Well, the least you could do is tell me why.”

Rune frowned and rubbed the back of his neck. “I worked for people, they always told me what to nick. What are you researching, anyway?”

“As if I’d tell you.”

Rune looked down and nodded.

She stepped closer again, making Rune lean back with tense shoulders. “Just because Hyde is dumb enough to trust you, doesn’t mean anyone else in the village is.”

“Okay…”

“Right.” Hyde pulled Rune away. “Lovely introduction, thanks for the insult. We’ll be moving on now.” He pulled Rune out the door with him.

Outside, Rune wondered, “You two don’t seem very friendly with each other.”

Hyde sighed. “She helped me when I first got here, but now she’s always busy with her research and gets angry whenever I bother her. Though, she likes to pretend that isn’t the case.”

“Oh.”

They stood in front of Raven’s house. Rune seemed tense. Hyde smiled a little. “Relax, I won’t let her shoot you again.”

Rune glanced at him with a frown.

Hyde stepped to the door. He knocked. He heard some footsteps inside, then the doorknob turned. Raven opened the door and smiled at Hyde. “Hyde, hey! What—” Her smile faded as her gaze went behind him and landed on Rune. “Why is he free?”

“We made a deal. He’s staying with me for a bit.”

Raven’s gaze snapped back to Hyde with furrowed brows. “What? Why?”

“He can’t go home yet.”

“So? Why does he have to stay with you?!”

“Well—”

“And”—Raven looked down and grabbed her hair—“why would you let him? You never let anyone in your house! Why him?!”

Hyde put his hands up, “Okay, how about you calm down—”

“Is it because he’s a guy? Huh?!”

Hyde was taken aback. “What?!”

Behind him, Rune turned away with his fist against his mouth, fist hidden in his sleeve, trying to hold a startled laugh in.

“Where the hell did that come from?” Hyde demanded.

“You’ve never let yourself connect with anyone here. And now one guy comes along and you spend days talking to him and now letting him stay in your house, where the hell does that come from?!”

Hyde shook his head and shrugged. “Good chemistry?” He stepped away from the door. “I don’t need to be psychoanalysed here.” He grabbed Rune’s wrist. “Goodbye.” He dragged him away.

Raven watched as she groaned. “Fine,” she hissed and closed her door.

“Well, that was something,” Rune spoke up on their way home. “That was them all, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Do you really want to be around these people, if they’re the only ones you can talk to?”

Hyde sighed. “I don’t have much of a choice, they’re the only ones here around my age. All the elderly people would either barely even hear me or not understand what I’m talking about. Or not care.”

Rune frowned. “Hm.”

They walked into Hyde’s house. Hyde went to the kitchen. Rune stayed at the doorway to the living and kitchen area. He looked down with a frown.

Hyde grabbed a glass from a cabinet, then filled it with water. He took a sip. He glanced at the calendar that hung on the wall. His eyes widened.

Rune approached the kitchen as he tied his hoodie around his waist. “Hyde.”

Hyde turned to him and hummed.

“I want to tell you something.”

Hyde raised his eyebrow, the corner of his lips crooked up. “Sure.”

“To answer a question that I didn’t trust you enough to answer yet before; my name, full name, is Rune Brightbold.”

“Oh, that has a nice ring to it. But you know, you didn’t have to—”

“I said before it wasn’t fair for you to know more about me than I knew about you. I should keep myself to that too, right? I know your full name, so it’s only fair that you know mine, too.”

Hyde smiled and nodded. “Okay.” He glanced at the calendar. “Then, I have something to tell you, too.”

“What?”

“Uh, have you been around a werewolf during a full moon before?”

Rune squinted his eyes. “No? Why—” His eyes widened. “Wait, is it—”

Hyde nodded. “It’ll be a full moon tonight.”

“Oh… fuck.”

----------------------------------------

Hours later, in the evening, Hyde sat on the couch with his notebook again. Rune paced around the room.

Rune didn’t take it very well. The full moon thing. He’s been anxious for hours. I’ve tried calming him down, telling him it’ll be fine, but it didn’t help. Maybe for a few minutes, but then he was pacing around mumbling to himself again. I don’t think there’s much I can do at this point. There’s only about ten minutes left.

Hyde sighed and closed his notebook. He laid it on the coffee table. “Rune.”

“Huh?”

Hyde pat the space on the couch next to him. “Come sit for a moment, there’s only ten minutes left.”

Rune only tensed more. Hyde stood up and walked to him. He grabbed his wrist. “Come on.” He dragged him to the couch and pushed him to sit. He sat next to him, facing him. “Let me try to explain what’ll happen, okay?”

Rune took a deep breath and nodded.

“So, the moon will be up and I’ll shift. I’ll go into my room before then, so you don’t have to see it. And when I’m shifted—you’ve seen it before—I’ll be animal-like and hairy and everything. But because it’s a full moon, I won’t be fully conscious. More going off instinct. So I’ll act animalistic too, which might be aggressive—or the opposite, depending on my mood. And I won’t remember anything the next morning.”

Rune stared at him with big eyes. “So it’s a coin flip whether you’ll be scary or not? Is that supposed to calm me down?”

Hyde scratched his cheek. “Eh, I thought you should know what to expect.”

Rune sighed. He rested his forehead on the palm of his hand.

Hyde frowned, he tapped his fingers on his leg. “I’ll—I’ll go into my room now.”

Rune nodded.

Hyde stood up and walked away.

Rune was left alone with his anxiety. Was he going to be aggressive? He wouldn’t hurt him, would he? They were friends now. What if he was aggressive? What was he supposed to do? Run? Or would that make it worse? Maybe he should act like he wasn’t even there? Ignore him? Or would that make him mad? Maybe he should leave the house altogether. But where would he go for the night? He guessed another night in the forest would be manageable.

He flinched when he heard noise from Hyde’s room. He looked towards the hallway from the couch. He heard a door open. He jumped as Hyde came through the doorway. Rune stared at him. His ears pointed and furry, his irises big and golden, his pupils thin like needles, all his facial and body hair longer and thicker, nails like claws. Rune let out a breath he had been holding.

Hyde growled, Rune yelped and scrambled to the other side of the couch. Hyde climbed on it as he kept his eyes fixated on Rune, Rune froze. Hyde crawled towards him. Rune leaned back as much as he could as Hyde got into his face, crawling over him. He leaned his head down and sniffed. Rune pinched his eyes and lips closed with a high-pitched whine. Hyde pushed his nose against the skin below Rune’s ear and sniffed more. He loosened his shoulders and purred.

Rune opened his eyes. He turned his head to him. “Did you purr?” he whispered. Hyde nuzzled his cheek. He moved down and rubbed his face into Rune’s neck. Rune laid there, not knowing what to do. What was he doing? This wasn’t aggressive. So, was this that opposite Hyde mentioned? Was the opposite of aggressive, cuddly? He guessed it made sense.

“Eh.” Rune pushed himself up onto his elbows. Hyde whined as he caught himself on his claws. He gave Rune puppy eyes. Rune was taken aback by his pupils. They weren’t thin anymore, they had grown into big circles now. Rune compared it to a cat’s pupils. Hyde nuzzled his cheek again with a smile.

Rune put his hand on Hyde’s shoulder. “Hyde, could you-eh.” He nudged his shoulder away. Hyde pushed back and laid against him with a whine. Rune sighed, he leaned back. “Do you want to cuddle?” Hyde nodded. Rune relaxed and laid down. “Okay, then,” he breathed out. He put a hand on Hyde’s back and massaged it with his thumb. Hyde purred again.

Rune wasn’t sure what to think of this. It probably didn’t mean anything. As Hyde said, he won’t remember any of it.

Hyde opened his eyes. He glanced down at himself, he was on the couch, a blanket laid over him. He pushed himself up on his arms and sat. He rubbed his dry eyes with his thumb and index finger, then looked further into the room. He saw Rune in the kitchen with a can of blood in hand.

Hm. Did Rune give him the blanket? He must have, who else? How cute. So would that mean he didn’t make him piss himself?

Rune gave him a little wave and Hyde realised he was staring at him. He awkwardly smiled.

“So, what did I do?”

“Hm.” Rune approached the couch. “I think you were in more of an opposite mood.”

“Oh, really? Huh.” Hyde looked down in thought. “Odd.”

Rune sat next to him. “Is it odd?”

“Yeah, I know I can get pretty aggressive when I’m not in full control. Similar to my dad, I guess,” he mumbled.

Rune raised his eyebrow. “Your dad?”

Hyde tensed up. “Eheh… forget I said that.”

Rune leaned closer with narrowed eyes. He exaggerated a sniff. “You know what I smell?” He got into Hyde’s face. “Daddy issues,” he whispered, then snickered.

Hyde glared and pushed his face away. “Just forget about it.”

Rune moved back. “Fine. For now.”

“What did I do to make you think that? That I was in an opposite mood?”

“Well,” Rune chuckled. “For one, you purred.”

Hyde tensed. A deep, embarrassed blush came to his face.

“Several times.”

“Why?”

Rune shrugged with folded arms. “I don’t know, you’re the werewolf! You were very insistent that you wanted to cuddle.”

Hyde laid his forehead in his hands, now even more embarrassed. What on Earth? He’d never done that.

“Do you know why?” Rune asked.

Hyde shook his head. “Maybe because I’ve been alone for so long?”

“Aw.” Rune put a hand on his chest. “You wanted to cuddle because you were lonely? That’s adorable, and sad.”

Hyde shot him a glare from the corner of his eye. Rune snickered.