Riley woke up to his alarm going off. Another day of filling out job applications. His English and Business majors didn’t seem to mean anything in this job market, and his degrees were some of the few things hanging on the wall in his apartment—right next to a picture of him and his parents at graduation.

  He was too old to be in this situation, no matter what his parents said.

  There was another thing he had to worry about. His old roommate had finally moved out to live with her boyfriend. No love lost, but no help with the rent either. At least she had a friend stopping by. A potential new roommate would be greatly appreciated because he had been on his own paying for everything for months now and it was slowly killing him.

  What time was it?

  He glanced at the clock. **8:20.**

  Alright, maybe he had time to check his email

  “I can be there at 8:30."

  Oh no.

  She was probably almost here.

  The door buzzed.

  Oh great, she liked to be early.

  Riley yanked a shirt on as fast as he could and went to the door. He was thankful he had at least slept in his pants as he pulled it open.

  She was short, maybe five feet tall, with her hair pulled back.

  “Hi, I’m—oh my god! Hi!” She recoiled slightly, then forced a polite smile. “Hi, I’m Sophia, Taylor’s friend. Sorry, it’s just… when she said you were a cat person, I thought she meant…"

  Riley sighed. "You thought she meant that I liked cats, not that I was a Felivar." He barely remembered to force a smile of his own.

  Sophia nodded slowly, her smile wavering.

  “It’s okay. I’m Riley."

  “Nice to meet you, Riley. Taylor only had nice things to say about you. ‘They keep to themselves. They’re really nice and quiet.’"

  “He," Riley corrected.

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  “I’m sorry?"

  “He. I switched," he said flatly.

  Riley was a Felivar—an upright, feline, non-human person. Most Felivar used they/thempronouns, but occasionally one identified differently.

  His species’ concept of gender and sex was quite different from humans. When they revealed themselves to humanity, there were plenty of awkward moments. Especially with the no-nonsense Protector Oorow Bobtail.

  “So are you a mister or a miss?”

  “I am a Felivar. What’s the difference?”

  “One can have children.”

  “I have one child.”

  “No, I mean one can… carry children and the other can… give them…”

  A translator made a series of cat-like noises to the Felivar representative.

  “Oh, I see. Yes, that’s private."

  *That’s private?"

  “Yes. Next question."

  It had been nearly three generations, a human lifetime, a third of a Felivar’s since the Felivar arrived but there were still some awkward moments.

  Moving In

  Riley expected Sophia to be hesitant, to say she’d think about it, maybe even decide on another place. Instead, she dropped her bag on the floor inside the door and clapped her hands together.

  “Alright, show me the place."

  Riley blinked. “You’re not going to ask any more questions?"

  “What’s there to ask? It’s a good deal. You don’t seem like a serial killer, and worst case scenario, if you are, I have a solid five-foot frame to fight back with."

  He wasn’t sure if that was sarcasm or confidence, but either way, it was impressive. He turned and gestured stiffly for her to follow.

  The apartment wasn’t much. It was small, with a basic layout—a living room with a couch and a coffee table covered in neatly stacked papers, a kitchen that had clearly been wiped down recently, and two bedrooms down the hall. Sophia peeked into the extra room, finding it empty except for a cheap dresser and a window that overlooked the street.

  “Clean. Quiet. You actually wipe down counters. I’m impressed."

  “I shed."

  “Fair enough."

  She tossed her bag onto the mattress. “Alright, I’ll move the rest of my stuff in this weekend."

  Riley narrowed his eyes. “So that’s it? Just like that?"

  Sophia grinned. “Just like that."

  Sophia adjusted faster than she expected. She noticed some things about Riley. Like all cats, he purred when he was comfortable. The first time she heard it, she thought something was broken in the apartment. He kneaded things when he was stressed but often it was more like punching. One time, she walked in on him aggressively and rhythmically bringing a fist down onto the arm of the couch as he looked through job applications then pretending like it never happened.

  Riley seemed to prefer loose clothing and this was something Sophia could appreciate. Loose shirts, hoodies, and relaxed pants he never wore anything constricting. It wasn’t like the Felivar in history class or the Orthodox with their robes and kilts.

  He was obsessively clean and this made him the best kind of roommate. Sophia had stayed with people before that would leave dishes, ignore the liquid seeping from the garbage, and pay no mind to any odd smell. Riley made the apartment look spotless and this made Sophia extra vigilant.

  Every night, he groomed his fur like it was a religious ritual, maybe it was. He didn’t use his tongue like a common cat but brushes. He used to use the bathroom but switched to his bedroom after the time Sophia nearly wet herself waiting on him to be done.

  Their personalities began to reveal themselves more. Riley was terrible at small talk but always brutally honest and Sophia loved having an honest opinion except when he said her outfit for her date was ugly. Sophia had no concept of personal space but it kept Riley out of his own head. She would lean on him, offer casual touches. She acted like it was normal, she acted like a Felivar, just not one like Riley.

  Now that there were two people in the apartment, meals were being cooked again. Sophia talked to herself when she cooked, full-on conversations. He found it both fascinating and mildly concerning. Sophia always shared her food though. It started off as knocking on his bedroom door and saying she cooked too much and hoping he wasn’t lactose intolerant. He was, he didn’t care, he was grateful and slowly blinked as a reflex of gratitude as well as to keep from crying.

  Sophia and Riley both had habits that made them much more alike than anyone would think. They would both be eating food straight from the container. No plates. Just chopsticks or a fork and zero shame. They always had music playing. If they were awake, there was some kind of background noise.

  Sophia laughed at everything and Riley loved to annoy her. When Riley was annoyed with her it was especially hilarious. If Riley’s ears were flicking in irritation it was comedy gold.

  They weren’t best friends overnight. But living together was weirdly easy even if things were sometimes difficult, just like when the Felivar first ‘moved in.’