Lonely Kitten

43

Way too soon, the two arrived at Chan's apartment, Felix tiredly leaning into Minho's side as the older rang the bell. It wasn't Chan who answered the door though, Changbin having beat him to it, his heart racing. The rapper needed to see with his own eyes that his mate was alright. His mate. It sounded nice to call Felix that. Before the Aussie could even cross the threshold, Changbin had pulled him into a tight hug, startling the younger. Soon the tension melted away though as Felix relaxed into the rapper's arms. He had waited an eternity for this. "I'm so sorry, Lixxie", the older hummed, Minho discreetly slipping past them and into the apartment as he wanted to give the two some space. Jisung was already waiting for the hybrid in the living room, opening his arms for his mate. Once Minho had curled up in them, the younger nuzzled his face into his hair and asked what had happened.

"The blood I had found was from Felix scraping his knee and I couldn't find him because someone we happen to know had found him and took him in. Seungmin and Jeongin were playing tag and went to patch Lix up in Seungmin's university dorm. He's okay, they took great care of him and I explained that it had been a prank.", Minho explained quietly, "Gosh, you should've seen my face when Seungmin opened the door I was pounding on. It must have looked hilarious." - "I bet it did", Jisung chuckled, "And thank goodness it was them finding him. They're good kids." Chan only knew what little Jisung had told him about the couple but was glad his cousin had been in good hands. He got to his feet and went to check on Changbin and Felix, still standing in the hallway. "Hyung, I'm fine, really!", Felix laughed awkwardly as the older still studied him worriedly. His eyes shot up when he heard Chan approach. Nodding his head towards his room, Chan smiled: "You probably need some time to talk. When you're done, why don't you join us for some more of Felix baked goods."

The two thanked him and once they closed the door behind them, Felix breathed: "What does this mean for us now?" - "It means that I'll be taking you out the next weekend that you're free", Changbin stated, watching the hybrid's reaction. Felix' eyes went wide and he wasn't really sure whether the older was serious or not. When the rapper laughed, Felix muttered: "You will? Like, really?" - "Really", Changbin chuckled, "I've wanted to do that for a while but between 'you won't like me anyway' and 'your mate will one day come and take you from me', I never got around to asking you out." Too tired to really comprehend what was happening, Felix throat tightened and he failed a suppressing a sob. "No, hey. What's wrong? We don't need to do that if you don't want to", Changbin cooed, wrapping his arm around the boy's shoulders. Wiping his face with his sleeve, the Aussie sniffled: "I-I do want to." - "Then why are you crying? Are you hurt? Did I say anything wrong", the rapper worried, scanning the other's curled-up form. He didn't find anything other than the bandages on his hands and knee but he needed to make sure.

After a moment of silence, Felix choked out: "I-I don't even- even know w-why?" - "Oh dear", Changbin hummed, hugging the younger properly, "Tonight has been a lot, hm?" The hybrid nodded, eagerly leaning into his mate's touch. He sniffled softly, breathing in the other's scent. It quickly soothed the whirlwind that were his emotions but he still wasn't fully in control of himself. Too tired and worked-up to really grasp everything that was happening, Felix lost control over his cat-form, ears and tail popping out without any warning. Though Changbin was startled by the sudden shift, he smiled. He was mainly familiar with the younger's fully human form but had to admit, those fluffy ears did look adorable.

An unfamiliar sound filled the room and the rapper glanced down at Felix nuzzling into his chest, barely crying anymore. It was only now that it struck him, what that noise was. The boy was purring. Changbin's heart felt close to exploding and instinctively reached up to Felix' head before stopping himself. "Can I touch your ears? It's just, they look super fluffy and-", the rapper rambled but was cut off by Felix nudging his head into his hand. The hybrid purred even louder when Changbin petted his ears, the vibration not as low as his talking voice but soft and soothing. 'No wonder Minho's purring always calmed Jisung down', the rapper smiled, relaxing as he continued to indulge the younger in head pats and ear scratches. Felix was beginning to feel drowsy, the affection making it easy for him to give into his exhaustion. He closed his eyes and laid contently in Changbin's arms, the older holding him close, an unspoken promise to keep him safe.

Before the Aussie could nod off entirely, Changbin whispered: "We should join the others. They're worried about you too and I want some more of your baking. It's so good." A small smile spread on Felix' lips but he showed no signs of letting go of the other any time soon. "You're not letting me go, are you?", Changbin hummed, looking down at the comfortably curled up hybrid. The younger smiled, shaking his head. His eyes remained closed, so he startled when he was suddenly lifted into the air. Felix's hands tightened on his mate's shirt, the older shushing him softly as he carried him to the living room. All heads shot up when they entered the living room, smiling to see the two so comfortable around each other. Changbin sat down with the younger in his lap and picked up his task of petting the boy's ears again. Jisung struggled to suppress a laugh as Minho was the same when it came to having someone pet his ears and he quickly went to put a few brownies and cookies onto a plate, placing it down next to Changbin. The older gave him a grateful smile and picked up a brownie. Merely holding it under Felix' nose, he could already see the hybrid's face twitch. His sense of smell must be really strong.

While Changbin switched between feeding Felix and having a few bites himself, Minho looked longingly between the new couple and Jisung. The rapper noticed but decided to ignore it, curious what would happen. It continued, Jisung having a quiet conversation with the rest of the group but Minho couldn't figure out what it was about. His sole focus was on Jisung's hands, laying uselessly by his sides. The hybrid allowed his ears to pop out and prayed the other would get the hint The rapper of course noticed the exasperated look and picked up a brownie, holding it out for Minho, smiling: "You want a brownie too?" The older accepted the brownie but sulked. Did his Sungie really not get the hint? After a few minutes of sulking, Minho had to realize that sulking wouldn't get him Jisung's affection either, so he started to consider bolder strategies.

Deciding humiliation didn't matter, at least not as much as getting his ears petted, Minho climbed into Jisung's lap and looked at the other expectantly. "Hey", the rapper smiled, biting back a laugh at his mate's frustrated face as his hands remained where they were. Unable to take it anymore, Minho took Jisung's hand and placed it on top of his head, whining loudly. The sound startled the rapper, who wasn't sure whether he had pushed it too far and had made the other slip. Guiltily biting his lip, he stroked Minho's soft ears and earned a few soft purrs of content. Seemed like they were still on good terms despite the teasing.

Felix had long since fallen asleep in Changbin's lap and Minho was having a hard time staying awake too, so the friends decided to call it a night, Hyunjin heading out first. Changbin helped Chan set up the couch, thanking the older for letting him and Felix stay the night, while Jisung quietly said his goodbye before guiding a sleepy Minho back home. The hybrid tiredly clutched Jisung's arm, afraid of getting lost in his tired haze. He wasn't little or at least not entirely but he was pretty out of it and couldn't exactly deny the possibility off falling asleep on his feet. It didn't scare him much though, knowing Jisung was with him. He trusted Jisung, the rapper would always keep him safe, so he just had to focus on placing one foot in front of the other, trudging along as the other led the way. Minho couldn't remember how they had arrived home and how they had gotten ready for bed but he found himself under the sheets, the mattress dipping as Jisung slid into bed next to him. The hybrid instinctively closed the distance between them, curling up against his mate's side as he finally allowed sleep to take him under completely.