Ariko knocked on the door, cookies in hand--far too many for one person.
They were her apology. Not that she really knew what she was apologizing for. She never did. Nari just seemed to decide she was mad at her. But after two months of living together, Ariko had learned one thing: arguing was just their way of communicating.
The door swung open.
Nari stood there, tail swishing violently, scowling like Ariko had just committed a war crime--until her eyes dropped to the plate.
Sugar cookies. Her favorite.
"W-What, you come to gloat?" Nari said, already drooling. "Bringing these to show off how you get to eat them and I don't, stupid wolf?"
Ariko watched her tongue swipe her lip, felt something twitch in her chest. She licked her own lips without thinking.
The cookies looked good--but being a good dog meant giving, not taking.
"Ha! Stupid cat," Ariko said, grinning, her voice proud and rough. "I made these for you, as an apology. For the dishes. So shut up and stop drooling like an idiot already."
Nari's tail froze mid-swish. Her ears perked. Ariko's own ears twitched in response--sensing it. The tension. The sudden heat. Nari's cheeks were flushed, her crop top clinging to her, shorts riding high enough to flash the curve of her pale ass as she shifted.
Not that Ariko noticed.
Nari grabbed the plate, shoved her back, and slammed the door in her face.
"If you're going to be like that, then I'm not sharing!" she yelled through the wood. "Stupid dog!"
Click. Locked.
Ariko blinked. The last thing she saw before the door shut was that jiggle.
Her brain finally rebooted.
"H-Hey! Wait! Let me in!"
"No! I'm busy. And you suck."
But Nari's shadow didn't move. She was still standing there. Ariko's ears picked up the faint sound of fabric shifting. A breath, strained and high. She stilled.
"...What is that cat doing?" she muttered.
They argued back and forth, Ariko's clawed finger slowly working the lock.
And then--
A small, breathy moan. Clear as day.
Something snapped. Heat surged low in her belly, her thighs pressing tight.
"Nari, you're impossible," she whispered, ears burning. "No thank you. No nothing. We were supposed to watch a movie."