AN: Happy CATU release, take this older fluff. "I Don't Care Where You've Been, How Many Miles, I Still Love You", title from Sloppy Seconds by Watsky.

Five months ago, you were comfortable in your life, hiding everything from those you love. Five months ago, you would have laughed at the thought of letting your nemesis close, in any way.

Five months ago, you had no idea what it would be like to feel this much trust for one person.

Now, you sit at your desk in his apartment, watching him stagger zombie-like to his bed and fall face-first onto the mattress, still clothed. Half past nine and he's already exhausted.

"Come to bed, Perry the Platypus," he groans, rolling over onto his side to squint at where you're finishing off the week's paperwork. "Can't it wait until morning? You're always over there, and it's like you don't have time for me any more, and I- I miss you, Perry the Platypus."

Setting aside your pen, you nod. You hadn't noticed, but he's right, you have been putting in more work than usual recently.

He's warm when you climb up beside him, pulling you to his chest with a whimper. "Will you stay?" he whispers, barely above a breath, as quiet as the heartbeat in his chest. "I get so lonely without you, everything's too big and empty, and it hurts." Digging his fingers into your fur, he holds you tight. "It hurts, Perry the Platypus. I don't know where you go or what you do when you're gone or if you'll come back. I mean you have so far but for how long? How do I know?"

It's an effort to free yourself from his tight grasp but you do, dragging yourself along the sheet to look him in the eyes. This is how he'll know. Tracing your fingers along his jaw, you pull his mouth to yours in that human way he likes. Even if your bill's not made for it, it makes him happy, and that's what matters.

After a few seconds, you rise to your feet, keeping a paw on him as you walk around to his back. First things first, get him out of these dirty clothes.

He shivers when you're done, from the cold or your touch you're not sure, and yet he barely flinches when you lean in to press a kiss to his bare shoulder. Permission enough to continue. So you do, fingers and bill tracing over the web of scars stretching over his skin. How can any one man live through so much and make it out the other side with his mind intact? You long to understand him, this man who wears his heart on his sleeve, who's turned your life upside down.

A light shove and he's on his back, head resting against your chest as you drag him the rest of the way onto the bed by the armpits. It's a wonder he gets any sleep at all if this is how he goes about it.

"Thank you," he exhales, hands curling around your head and pulling you down into another kiss. "Love you."

The words slide along your bill and you can't help the chirr that escapes your throat. Eyes falling shut, you let him pull you close, hoping he'll finally understand just how much you love him in all his complexity. Because you do love him, with all your heart.

You hadn't realised what it was at first. A fizzing in your belly, a racing heart when he smiles at you, a need to be closer in every way. Vulnerability, and it had scared you. Your job doesn't leave much room for you to be vulnerable. And yet you hadn't been able to stop yourself from falling deeper, into what you've come to realise is love.

Just the thought of it boggles the mind. Love. The kind you see in your stories, kissing and marriage and more. Being here, with him, in such an intimate and close and vulnerable way, is everything you'd never realised you'd needed until he gave it to you.

Trust, too. The certainty you can let your guard down around him, that he won't hurt you in any way that's not mutually enjoyable. Putting your life in his hands. Knowing he trusts you just as much.

Settling back on your haunches, you brush the hair off his forehead with a smile. He's so peaceful, half-asleep and mumbling bits of monologue under his breath, and the sight lifts your heart. This is the man you'll spend the rest of your life with.

This man, right here, is everything to you. A nemesis, a friend, a mate. How can you not love him?

You step back, dragging his blankets over his pale body as he burrows into the weight of them. The light still shining from your lamp reveals them to be the orange ones, a comfort he always denies himself, and you sigh. Someday he'll understand why you do it. You know, more than most, how easy it would be to lose everything, how important it is to enjoy what you have while you can. The sooner he learns that, the happier he'll be.

That's why you're here, because he makes you happy. His easy affection, his mechanical skill, his fiery passion, all of it combining into the brilliant man you adore, strong enough to survive everything his life has thrown at him.

With a last glance back at your paperwork, you sigh. One last thing to deal with. Another kiss, this time to the tiny patch of forehead not covered by the blanket, and you're jumping down, crossing the room to return to your desk. The lamp fills the room with light, illuminating the stacks of paper you'd been working through, paw clutched tight around the pen.

He's right, it can wait until morning. In the meantime, you have a nemesis waiting for you, in need of all the love he can get.

Switching the lamp off, you yawn, rubbing at your eyes. It is getting late. You find your way back to the bed by feel, crawling back up and over to where he's softly breathing. Burrowing under the blanket with him, you slip your arms around his skinny chest in a hug, tail curling over his waist, comfortable after the long day of work. He's so warm against your cheek, heartbeat loud in the darkness, scent filling the air around you, and you're almost asleep yourself when his voice rumbles under your paws.

"Goodnight, Perry the Platypus."

AN: I love hearing from peeps :D Here, ao3, the link on my ao3 to my Perryshmirtz discord server...