Work Text:
If you asked Klein whether he was a cat or dog person, he would say:
“I’m more of a cat person.”
As many have already known, Klein’s a liar.
Take a good look at him, at what he was doing. Sitting on the floor with a book in one hand and a giant black wolf in another. The creature could stand to his waist and was as long as Klein was tall. Its belly raised and fell following his gentle strokes, head resting on a pillow.
That was Klein’s roommate, Leonard.
Leonard wasn’t always a wolf; but today he was, as was the case on every full moon night.
Klein took his eyes off his book and glanced at his roommate. He scratched the wolf’s ears and ruffled the fur on his head. Leonard’s tail waved lightly. His giant body turned, exposing the silver coat under his belly. Klein looked at his carefree roommate, his mind flashed a certain anthropology assignment looming to be due in two days. Then he buried his face into those soft silver fur and took a deep deep breath.
Someone’s stomach was rumbling.
Klein chuckled.
He went to make dinner: instant noodles for himself and three medium rare steaks with compliment sauces for his roommate. He saw Leonard sitting and looking at him. In those green eyes were anticipation and appreciation.
“Did I wake you up?” he asked.
A whimper.
“C’mon, let’s eat together,” said Klein.
“Grrr!” said Leonard, and followed Klein to the living room.
The big black head swung back and forth between his steamy steak dish–it smelled delicious–and Klein’s pathetic Mr. Noodles.
Leonard whimpered.
“What,” said Klein, “eat your food.”
“Grrr,” said his roommate, clearly unhappy.
"What, you want me to feed you?" Said Klein. He put his bowl down and familiarly took on a knife and fork that he had brought out. (this wasn’t their first rodeo, you see.)
He diced up the first steak, forked one piece, ran it through the sauce, and put it up to the wolf’s drooling mouth.
"Say aaaah," he cooed.
Leonard growled and flopped down on the floor. He turned his big head away from Klein and the steak.
"Why are you being so difficult today?" Klein huffed, "Whatever, suit yourself." He let the guy do his thing and tried to finish his noodles.
Something slammed at him, knocked his dinner away, and crushed him with its fluffiness that weighed almost 70kg.
“Leonard!” Klein shouted.
For a moment, his mind went through many addresses of the city’s veterinary clinics and conducted a comprehensive guide to male dog neutering, from which clinic had the best practice to which one is the cheapest.
Leonard growled again. He couldn’t speak, not in this form, nor could he cutely bark like the smaller kinds.
He looked at Klein, blinking and acting all cutesy. He went to his dish of three steaks, looked at it, and looked at Klein.
“You want me to eat that?” asked Klein.
A growl.
Klein eyed the steaks strangely. Sharing food with a wolf was a bit… even with his dire situation.
But it’s steak! What fool refuses a steak?
Definitely not Klein!
So a human and a wolf shared three steaks: the wolf ate two.
After dinner, they rested. Klein thought about his upcoming Loenese History midterm and how he had spent that whole evening reading two out of twenty pages and was now lying on the floor with a big dog snoozing off beside him.
He looked over to Leonard. The big guy perked up his ears, his tail fluttered. Klein noticed some places on his coat got tangled and tiny specks of dust littered all over.
Leonard had been in his dog form since sunset, Klein remembered, and been lying on the floor the whole time.
They needed to clean the place, he decided.
But first, a bath would do wonders.
He stood up and went to prepare a hot bath. He twisted open the tap and poured in his newly bought Earthbath Oatmeal and Aloe Dog & Cat Shampoo ($16 at PetSmart; “excellent for sensitive skin and results in a fresh-looking coat” said the description on its label). Testing the temperature, Klein nodded and smiled proudly to himself.
Leonard was lying still with his belly exposed. Klein gave him a few pats, it was legally required to give puppies belly rubs on sight, he believed, and played with his paws. Leonard’s tail waved and he nuzzled in Klein’s hand.
Klein lifted Leonard, he didn’t use too much strength but just enough to cue him to stand on his own. They went to the bathroom together.
Klein put on a cheap disposable light blue raincoat. It was more of a big plastic bag cut into something wearable. He put on rubber gloves and covered his head with a shower cap. He herded the big dog into the bathtub and started pouring warm soapy water onto his coat.
Reaching for a silicone brushing comb on a shelf nearby, he worked his way through Leonard’s thick coat.
Leonard licked him.
Klein froze.
“Don’t do that,” said Klein.
A sad whimper.
“What if I have soap on my face,” Klein grunted, “you’ll have a tummy ache.”
Leonard growled and licked him again.
Dogs… Klein resigned as the big wolf wetted his face, cheeks and lips.
He drained the soapy water, replaced it with another batch of clean water, and worked until Leonard was clean.
Leonard made himself into a whirlwind of fur and rained water onto Klein.
For a second time, Klein thought about how neutered pets were said to live a better and happier life. He wiped away the water on his face, took off his cheap raincoat and shower cap. Then he dabbed Leonard with a towel as big as the wolf himself.
Sometimes, throughout the whole process, Leonard gave him kisses. Klein avoided them out of reflex, but still patted his head in return.
In this form, Leonard’s senses became more sensitive than they already were. He didn’t quite appreciate the miracle of human inventions, also known as electricity and hair dryers. But it was getting late and Klein didn’t want him to go to bed with a wet coat. He put on him an ear covering headband and started drying his fur. The big black wolf whined and growled and complained as if he was a victim of animal abuse. Maybe, according to that canine brain of his, he really was.
Klein brushed his long black fur again one last time and herded him to his bedroom. Then he went to his, changed into his pajamas, and got comfortable in his bed. The door to his room slightly opened and a black furry shadow made a beeline to his bed.
Klein sighed, and scooted over. Leonard hopped onto the bed.
The human welcomed the wolf into his arms.
Leonard kissed Klein on the cheeks.
Klein nuzzled into Leonard’s freshly bathed fur.
They drifted into their dreamscapes together.