You caveman

Once at his own flat, Hayes got to work on taking everything precious or breakable and shoving it in his closet, then he tidied up the spare bedroom that his mate Zayn used to occupy until he'd gotten married and moved. threading fingers through his long hair, Hayes cringed when he realized he'd yet to shower today, even though he'd promised himself to after his morning run. It was a sick cycle he had, and this morning he'd admittedly been far too excited to go over to Lincoln's then he was to shower, even if his hair was a greasy mop and he stunk of bo and the occasional cigarette he /didn't/ have.

"I'm not going and you can't make me!" Noah shouted with the tenacity of a kitten to be reckoned with. Lincoln was saying a lot of things trying to get him to ease up to the idea. He was even trying to- bless his heart for the efforts, get Noah to consider giving Hayes a chance sans the whole they hate each other prejudice that they had going.

With a lot of negotiating and bargaining, Lincoln-like lecturing and the right amount of petting, Noah was packed to leave. Quite a bit of whining and fuming the whole way there, but it was progress.

Noah sighed. It was exhausting to be this high-maintenance all the time. But he quite frankly had no qualms about it. The kitten hybrid had all the stamina and the right amount of give-no-fucks attitude to be perfectly content with that.

But after having entered Hayes' lair, and with Lincoln fixing to leave, Noah was suddenly not half as ballsy as he was accustomed to being. He glanced at Hayes, feeling unusually timid for the first time in awhile. Probably looking the part too. In the last 4 years, Noah had made his apartment with Lincoln his home. And his outings were limited to routine and familiar places close by.

So it was understandable that he felt so out of his element with the unfamiliar environment and his favorite asshole for company.

With the promise to keep the kitten somewhat safe and out of danger, Hayes ushered Lincoln from his loft and closed the door with a final click, the soft sound almost sounding like a mocking laugh to Hayes; the inanimate object laughing at him for even agreeing to partake in such a mess.

Noah flinched at the click of the door, sounding scarily like a sign of finality to him. He bit his lip, deciding to man the fuck up. If anyone should feel threatened, it was Hayes. Noah had managed three noise complaints just this month when he hadn't gotten his way. He could barely remember the details of what they were about, but the point in fact is that he was a force to be reckoned with. If Hayes had any plans of playing this situation to his tunes, he had another coming. Noah would give him hell before he let Hayes have the last laugh. Any smugness the man has had about this arrangement, Noah was going to make sure he nipped in the bud.

Heaving in a lung full of air to force himself to calm down and not immediately snap even though he could /hear/ Noah fidgeting behind him as he rolled on the balls of his feet. If he was any other person, or even hybrid, Hayes would feel bad and take pity on them. Luckily for him, though, this /was/ Noah and he didn't have to do shit he didn't want to.

"I have no idea what you like to eat," Hayes began when he finally sprouted enough hair on his balls to feel like a man once again, and pushed up off the door, "but I have take out menus in the kitchen, already lined on the table. And if none of those please the princess, please let me know and I'd be more than happy to prepare you a meal of frozen rats sprinkled with just enough arsenic to finally get rid of you." He offered a grin twinged with a hint of maliciousness, and though he would never /actually/ kill Noah, it was a fun thought to entertain.

"I'll pass on the arsenic. The rats could come in handy for some of my schemes. But I can't promise you won't wake up to any stuffed up your ass if I get my hands on them," Noah spoke, charming as ever smile in place.

He walked into the kitchen, snooping around curiously before settling at the island. He went through the takeout menus and looked up at Hayes with a pout. "Lincoln cooks for me. Do you not know how to cook?"

"With or without poison?" Hayes asked with a quirked brow, fully intending on fucking with Noah even though he'd eventually give in and cook because he was starving. The food Lincoln had laid out for them earlier was complete shit and full of healthy options and yes, Hayes ate vegetables, but when he was watching football he wanted his fingers to be greasy and his shirt to be stained with dusty fingerprints from fucking cheetos, or chicken wings.

Plopping down at the island, two chairs down from Noah which gave him enough leg room to stretch out and hook his heels over the seat of the chair closest to Noah. "What would you like? I prefer to have food that's thoroughly cooked and /not/ shoved up my arse, but to get the full experience of temporarily rooming with you, I'll cook whatever you'd like," which, he knew would be a mistake. Kittens and their eating habits were strange, and although most didn't actually cave in and follow their natural instincts to hunt their rodent prey, Hayes got a strong inkling that Noah /may/ just suggest something like that to disgust, and fuck with, Hayes.

"Without," Noah answered, not missing a beat. "But by all means, feel free to add as much as you want to your portion of the meal," he suggested, giving the man a tight smile. Prick. Smirky annoying prick. "I eat normal food, you caveman. Did you want to try a rodent? Can't be your first time because I'm very sure I've smelt one on you a couple of times."

Noah was frankly enjoying this just a little. Hayes wasn't his usual asshole self. He was still an asshole but, not the usual type Noah was accustomed to. So the banter was kind of nice, without the high-level contempt to go with it.

The hybrid sat, poised and self-assured, unhesitant to serve Hayes a fresh dish of sass every time he opened his mouth. But his tail wrapped around his leg, and his ears twitched frantically, indicating that he wasn't as confident as he was making himself out to be. And he had all the reason not to be. Hayes still smelt, and felt like danger and unfamiliar territory.

Laughing, Hayes picked at an invisible ball of lint he swears he saw on his jeans, and was not at all trying to busy his eyes and mind so he didn't continue ogling the boy's ears or tail. He admits this is the first time he's ever really cared to look at them, and what a fool he'd been before. They were a much different pattern than most kittens, with slashes of red accenting the natural light brown, and black adding a swirl or smudge here or there to completely change it up. It was enticing, to watch as his ear twitched or the way they stood straight when Noah was giving into his sass and matching Hayes' assholeness with bitchiness, but folded in flat when the conversation dropped for a second and he was unsure of what to do.

When they weren't hurling insults at each other, Noah's gaze stayed locked on his folded hands. The silence around them was taunting him to speak, but he didn't know if he'd have much in common with no-bullshit Hayes, except their mutual penchant for verbal abuse and sarcasm. Although, if he were to be entirely honest, he didn't mind the banter.

Because the usual kind was something he'd grown used to, and it had become a /thing/ between them. As avidly mean-spirited as their shots at each other were. Hayes' comments from earlier today, however, Noah did not appreciate. And the boy was determined to show him as much. That could wait.

"What happens in the bedroom, stays in the bedroom," Hayes quipped, winking. It was always fun teasing Noah, or pressing every button he possibly could on the boy, because never once did he take anything Hayes' ever said to heart. Sure, Hayes has seen the way his ears pin back when when the curly haired man has struck a nerve, or the way his tail swishes before slotting between his legs when Hayes takes a joke way too far, but Noah always recovers and snarks back with something even ruder, something that would offend the weak of heart.

Noah let out a loud laugh at Hayes' bedroom comment, sobering up when he realized it made Hayes turn his attention to him. He cleared his throat awkwardly. This was going to be a /long/ week. He couldn't imagine being this out of his element and uncomfortable, for the entire duration of his stay, but Noah assumed that was exactly how it was going to be. He fucking hated Lincoln for this. He was going to trash Lincoln's bedroom the moment he got back. He was going to bring the man a dead rat and play it off as an innocent kitten gesture for good will. He had no doubts the annoyingly good-spirited human would but that.

"Now, what would you like to eat? I can't exactly read your mind, not that I'd want to get lost in that death trap of self loathing and prissy comments." He shuddered at the thought, and could only imagine how either dark and depressing, or Noah filled and colorful the boy's mind was because there definitely was no inbetween. "Check the cupboards and fridge. I'll be back in fifteen minutes; gotta shower."

Noah looked up at Hayes when he spoke again, ignoring his snark. Hayes couldn't possibly handle the web of ongoings in his head. Noah rolled his eyes, sneering at both the thought of it and Hayes' lack of sensitivity. Prick. Hayes gave the man a tight smile. "Take your time," he called after him, eyes roaming around the kitchen. He hummed in thought. This doesn't have to be that bad. Maybe the house just needed a little breaking in. Like a tight fitting shoe, Noah reckoned. His eyes sparkled with wonder at all the possibilities.

Noah's lips tilted up in a satisfied little smile. He went over to the fridge, rummaging through it and humming a tune with a sway of his hips as he did.

This was going to be fun. He'd help Hayes with dinner.

He dropped a hard slab of butter into the blender, following it with a glass of OJ, canned sardines and milk. He started up the blender without bothering to put the lid back on.

Oops.

In a nonstick pan, Noah heated milk up until the smell of burnt cream shrouded the kitchen.

Hayes had only really talked himself into showering so as to not upset the poor princesses nose. This week was going to be longer than both of them wanted, or were really prepared for, and getting nagged over his smell was not something he was jumping at the opportunity to experience. He was out just as fast as he was in, soapy suds clinging to the hair on his legs as he quickly half assed dried his hair, that was now softer and smelt of some weird flower he'd found he liked, and was just tying the towel around his waist when he opened the bathroom door and was swamped with so many unnatural smells. Something was burning, and there was the strong undertone of fish wafting around the steamy bathroom that made Hayes involuntary gag.

Hayes walked in just in time to see Noah fill the coffee machine with equal parts flour and coffee grounds. In the wrong compartment.

Noah smiled up at him charmingly. "There isn't much I can do in the kitchen, but I figured I'd help," he offered in peace, as innocently as he could muster.

"Noah!" He shouted, stomping down the hallway with the towel hanging dangerously loose on his hips. One wrong move or sudden jerk, and he'd wind up scarring the kitten... Which wasn't /that/ bad of an idea.

The kitchen had a smoky tint to it, a light film that slightly obstructed the felines grinning face. "What the fuck? I leave you alone for five fucking minutes and you take it upon yourself to destroy my kitchen?" Fighting off the sudden impulse to stalk forward and bend the kitten over his knee to /show/ him his actions didn't go without consequences, Hayes growled and clenched his teeth together, the obnoxious squeak in his ears only furthering to worsen his bad mood. "Fuck Lincoln, and fuck what he wants. You're gone. Get your things, and leave." He knew the kitten had no idea where they were, and had no money to take a cab, but he didn't care if Noah wound up in a gutter at this point.

Noah's face dropped at Hayes' statement, fish-mouthing for a few moments before he could actually get words out. "But, I don't know-" Screw this. Fuck if he was going to make himself look vulnerable to Hayes.

He bit his lip, eyes flickering about to try and come up with a plan. But honestly he didn't know what the fuck to do. He wasn't prepared, nor expected to be kicked out by Hayes. Sure, he was a fucking asshole, but as far as Noah was concerned, he was practically in the middle of nowhere. It was an unfamiliar part of town.

He stood up, walking past the man boldly, unwilling to let his worries be on display for Hayes to pick apart and add fuel to. When he was in the guest bedroom, away from Hayes' hearing range, he let himself hyperventilate a little, breaths coming out in sharp and short gasps. He could call Lincoln, but he was halfway across the state. Noah didn't have many friends. The ones he kept were mostly in the acquaintance circle aside from Lincoln and Nolan. Who were both out of the question. He took a steadying breath, grabbing ahold of his duffel and walking out. With one sharp glare at the older man, Hayes made his way out wordlessly.

He sat on the stairs, chewing on his nails as he dug through his bag for his phone. Maybe he could take an uber. He never has had to before, but there's a first time for everything. He felt hot. He's been warm all morning, but right now, it felt like the air around him was humid. A sudden wave of emotions came over him. He let the tears flow, once he'd made sure he was alone, the words in front of him blurring. This made no sense. Why was he crying over this? He could hold his own when he needed to, surely. He tapped around on the screen and was notified the uber would arrive shortly. He sucked it up and waited, taking in steady breaths. He was mischievous, sure, and he prided himself on it, but was he so hard to deal with enough to be booted out on his ass?

The heat he was feeling around him was escalating, and he figured it was just the crying he was suppressing, but by the time the cab was approaching, it felt like his body was on fire. It tingled and burned; and he was in the middle of nowhere, body convulsing on the entrance stairs of a building with no idea of what to do or where to go or more importantly how to get anywhere in a state like this.

Pissed beyond belief, Hayes threw both the coffee pot and nonstick Pan away, clusters of flour and whatever had been in the blender splattering the pan and he wasn't in the mood to scrub it. Grabbing a wet dish towel, he mopped up the mess that stunk of fish, oily smudges left behind from the butter he was assuming was in there if the still open container was anything to go by. Although kicking him out was probably a little harsh and a /very/ big dick move when the kitten knew nothing of this side of town, and was in potential danger just being alone, Hayes didn't care. He'd tried being nice by letting Noah stay here, figuring he would at least clean up his act a tad bit and not be the annoyingly destructive idiot Hayes knows.

The curly haired man was just putting on a pot of water to boil for his mums family favorite lasagna, when the doorbell rang. Figuring it was Noah, wanting to beg his way back inside and admit he was a fool, Hayes decided to let him wait a little longer. But just as soon as he made that decision, the doorbell was ringing again; and again, back to back. Throwing down his box of noodles he was preparing to put in the water, Hayes stomped towards the door with the towel still around his waist and jerked it open. "What, Noah? Realize a small kitten like yourself isn't cut out for the big bad world?" Hayes growled, only to have his eyes fall on the most ridiculous thing he'd ever seen.

A pimply faced teenager was leaning off to the side awkwardly as he supported Noah's entire body weight. His legs were visibly shaking and the poor lad had broken a sweat just from walking up here. Shifting eyes to Noah, Hayes felt himself go tense without warning. "What the fuck did you do to him?" The kitten was pale, skin clammy with his fringe pasted against his forehead. He couldn't hold himself up and he was barely coherent, the whites of his eyes just barely visible through the small crack of his eyelids.