A/N: I'm kind of surprised that so many of you like this story. I suppose I shouldn't be, but I am. Anyway, here's the next chapter. R&R. Enjoy!

As I Breathe You In

Cody stepped into his apartment with Evan right behind him. Taking off his coat, he hung it up on the rack. He entered the kitchen and grabbed the coffee pot. A hot cup of coffee was what he needed right now, especially considering everything that had happened. Speaking of which… Looking up, he saw that Evan was standing in the doorway with the door still open. His brown eyes were wide and frightened and scanning the room uncertainly. Seeing that his frame was shaking, probably from the cold as well as fear, and Cody felt a pang of guilt stab his heart. Feeling like a jackass, Cody let the coffee maker do its work while he made his way over to the neko.

"Hey…Evan. Let me, uh, let me show you around." Evan looked up at him for a brief moment before they gazed back down. Cody sighed softly. It was common knowledge that, despite the laws in place, nekos weren't treated right. Often, their owners abused them and, in the end, they would get seriously injured or worse. So it was natural that Evan would be more than hesitant towards him. Odds are that his previous owners had treated him like crap, so the neko had every right to be suspicious of him.

"This is the living room…obviously. And that's the kitchen…" Cody started down the hallway and, reluctantly, Evan followed him.

"Here's my office, which is just a library. I only use it when I'm working on projects and stuff. The bathroom and guest room are on the right and my bedroom is the last door on the left. That's pretty much it, I guess… Not much, but it's home."

Evan didn't move from his place behind Cody. Nor did he look around or anything like that. Turning around, Cody observed the neko and watched as his tail swished back and forth as though aggravated. His ears were flat, making him look even more irate and Cody couldn't help but feel bad. Scratching his head, Cody laughed nervously before he maneuvered around Evan, heading towards the kitchen and his coffee pot.

"Hope you don't mind, but you'll be sleeping in the guest room. If the bed's uncomfortable or anything, we can switch rooms or something. Tomorrow, I'll take you shopping for clothes after I get home from work. Since it's only five-thirty or something like that, I'll make us something to eat. And I still have a presentation to work on so…" Cody made his way to the kitchen and poured himself a cup of coffee. After taking a sip of it, he opened his freezer, search for something quick and easy.

"Do you like mac 'n' cheese?" Cody looked around the freezer door to stare at the neko. Evan was still standing in place and his tail was still going back and forth. Smiling sadly to himself, the brunette spoke once more.

"You can sit down on the couch and watch TV or something. I'll pop the mac 'n' cheese into the oven and start working on my presentation." Taking the mac 'n' cheese out of the freezer, Cody turned on the oven and set the temperature gauge to the appropriate setting, all the while watching Evan out of the corner of his eye. The neko stood still for a moment before he started heading towards the living room. Sitting down on the couch, Evan, with shaking hands and constantly moving brown eyes, hesitantly grabbed the TV remote. Seeing the sight made Cody feel a little bit better and he put the food into the oven before heading towards the living room and his laptop.

Sitting down, he opened his laptop and logged in. As he started working on his presentation yet again, Cody watched as Evan flipped through channels. Even though he had been given leeway, Evan still looked frightened and suspicious. His eyes kept flickering between the TV and Cody the whole time they sat there. At first, Cody tried to ignore it, but after the first twenty minutes passed by, he sided and addressed the neko.

"Look, Evan, I'm not going to hit you or hurt you or anything like that. It's totally cool for you to watch TV and shit. I told you that you could if you wanted to. Okay?" Evan didn't answer, but his brown eyes landed on Cody for a second before looking down. Nodding tightly, Evan turned back to the TV and settled for the History Channel, which was airing a Clash of the Gods marathon. Cody nodded in approval before returning to his presentation.

An hour later, the mac 'n' cheese was ready and Cody got up and dished out some for Evan and himself. Grabbing some rolls, he returned to the living room and sat the plates and rolls down on the coffee table. Evan jumped at the sudden noise and Cody smiled at him reassuringly.

"Here. The food's ready. Dig in." Evan stared at him as he sat down and grabbed his own plate off of the table. Caving a roll in, Cody stuffed some mac 'n' cheese into the roll before taking a bite. Humming in satisfaction, Cody started on the final touches of his presentation as he watched and listened to the Medusa episode of Clash of the Gods. As Cody caved another roll in, his eyes looked up and he saw that Evan was watching him with a curious expression on his face. Shrugging, Cody offered a roll to the neko, whose ears perked up a bit.

"Try it once. You'll like it. It's kind of like a sandwich." Giving Cody an apprehensive look, Evan took the offered roll and did the same thing Cody had done. Taking a bite, he chewed softly for a few seconds before his tail started moving in pleasure and a soft purring sound started. Smiling brightly, Cody leaned back in his chair and made another sandwich.

"I'm glad you like it, Evan."

They finished up their dinner and continued watching TV until ten o'clock. At that time, Cody logged off his laptop, having finished his presentation, and made his way to the bathroom for a quick shower before bed. After he finished washing his hair and body, he got out of the shower and wrapped a towel around his waist. Opening the door, he made his way to his bedroom and up on a pair of boxers and a wife beater. He made his way out to the living room and saw that Evan was still awake and watching TV. Grabbing the remote off of the coffee table, Cody turned the TV off and smiled tiredly down at the neko.

"Time for bed, Ev. It's been a long day and I think we could both use a decent night's sleep." Cody placed the remote back down on the table and turned around, heading towards his bedroom.

"The guest room's your room, Evan. Good night." Footsteps followed his own and Cody tried hard not to smile. Hopefully, Evan was starting to warm up to him. It'd be nice, all things considered, but he didn't blame the neko for his hesitance and fear.

Yawning, Cody crawled into his bed and snuggled under the covers, wanting nothing more than to fall asleep. He listened quietly and smiled when he heard Evan tread into the guest room. Hopefully, the neko would be comfortable and would get some sleep. Cody would be at a loss if the neko, his neko technically, was unable to get any rest because of their current situation. They weren't brought together by the most pleasant of circumstances, but Cody wanted to make the most of it. His only hope was that Evan wanted the same thing.