Mikleo was an animal fan in the general sense. Really, he was. He set out birdseed in the winter, and hit the little "donate" button on the card swiper when checking out at the pet store. In the more personal sense, well, his fish tank was something to behold – squeaky-clean, expertly pH-balanced, and interior decorated to the nines. And he always petted Lailah's cat when he visited her place.

Dogs, though…

The abstract concept of Dog was fine. Mikleo could fully admit to tearing up at heartwarming stories of canine loyalty on his Twitter feed. The more immediate concept of Dog, with long, sharp teeth and guttural snarls, that was less fine.

But even someone like Mikleo with reservations on the Dog concept couldn't just pass by a situation like this.

"H-hey, it's alright." Mikleo tried to keep the tremors out of his voice and out of his limbs as he approached the wounded, wet creature cowering in the bush. Its terrified little whimpers made Mikleo's heart ache, but could not quite cut through Mikleo's hesitation in approaching a strange, wounded animal.

Mikleo remembered an emergency blanket he had in his trunk. It was pretty big – though this dog was pretty big too – and maybe, Mikleo could get it wrapped around the animal, and get it to the emergency vet hospital –

As Mikleo carefully approached with the emergency blanket, making soothing noises, the dog appeared to relax. Its eyes fell shut, and it collapsed to the ground with a sigh. Before Mikleo could properly panic, there was a flash of light, and in the dog's place was a naked man.

Mikleo gaped, then looked from the man, to the blanket, and back.

Well.

Sorey groaned as he awoke, placing a hand on his throbbing head. The werewolf thing had to kick in at such inconvenient times. He remembered getting caught off-guard and turning, then running off in a panic to get home…then, nearly getting swiped by a car and tumbling down a ditch into the thorny brush…then, lying there in a heap until he saw headlights, and a guy approaching him…

…a really, really cute guy…

Sorey considered his current situation, afraid to open his eyes. He seemed to be lying on a comfy bed, in a warm room – definitely hadn't been turned in as a test subject, then. So, instead, that means that he passed out on his cute savior and made a huge naked idiot of himself.

He almost would've preferred getting turned in to the government.

Sorey cracked open an eye hesitantly. The room was cozy, with a large bookcase covering one entire wall and a fish tank covering another. Framed awards and medical degrees covered the remaining space. Sorey himself was dressed in a too-small bathrobe, and was tucked under the covers of a small but comfy bed. He slowly, carefully rose into a sitting position, trying to take stock of his injuries. His head ached, and his limbs were covered in scratches both large and small. A few of the deepest cuts had been stitched shut and covered in gauze.

So he'd made this cute stranger get soaked in the rain, drag a naked, bleeding guy home in his car, and sacrifice his bed and bathrobe for the night. Maybe he'd at least let Sorey take him out to dinner in thanks.

…maybe that wouldn't be the best thing to bring up when he slinked out of the room. But it wasn't like he had anything more to lose at this point. Rock bottom, nowhere to go but up.

The bedroom door creaked open, and Sorey's heart damn near stopped. He was even cuter when he wasn't framed in a halo by the glow of his headlights. His savior carried a plate heaped with bacon and eggs and a cup of coffee. If Sorey didn't believe in love at first sight before this, well…

"…I have to admit, I was almost glad of that little switcharoo you pulled back there. I've got more experience patching up humans," the guy said. "I figured you'd want some protein."

"Yes," Sorey said, probably too quickly. Abashed, he rubbed at his neck. "Uh, thank you. For…all that."

The guy must have been creeped out by how Sorey was staring at him, so he set breakfast on the nightstand to the side of the bed. That wasn't what Sorey was staring at, but he'd take it.

"Go ahead. I'm Mikleo, by the way."

Mikleo. Mikleo-who-made-him-breakfast-and-saved-his-life. The name made Sorey's heart sing.

"Fssworeh," Sorey said around a mouthful of egg and bacon.

Mikleo rose an eyebrow. Sorey took a moment to chew and swallow.

"…sorry. Sorey. That—that thing you saw me as; it takes a lot out of me."

He couldn't help but notice the small smile tugging at Mikleo's lips.

"Well, eat up. And rest a bit more, you were pretty scratched up. You're welcome to stay a bit longer until I can get you some clothes to go out in-"

"—will you go out too?" Sorey interrupted, almost unable to stop himself. "With me? Maybe Saturday?"

Mikleo blinked. Sorey wanted to punch himself.

"Um. To thank you. And to—talk about your book collection. I like your fish," Sorey babbled helplessly.

"Saturday is fine. If you're healed up before then, that is."