Hello lovelies. For future reference (and reference for now, I guess), I don't really base family members on what they actually look and act like, because I don't want to make a mistake and then screw something up. Also, it's hard to find information on them. So forgive me for that.

Furthermore, my brain is dry today because I have a cold. I promised to write, though, so I will. This is le product.

Jongin's house wasn't anything remarkable. In fact, it wasn't even as big as Kyungsoo's adopted parents' house. 

It was, however, very well-decorated, and filled with loving people (or, more accurately, wolf hybrids).

"Welcome!" Jongin's mom exclaimed the moment Kyungsoo walked through the door. "Make yourself at home, okay, honey?" She took his coat and swooped it away to some unknown place.

The younger of Jongin's older sisters descended upon Kyungsoo so enthusiastically he thought she had mistaken him as Jongin (somehow). "Oh, you are the cutest!" she squealed, squishing his cheeks and turning his head from side to side to examine him from all angles. "What brand of dye do you use? It's so nice."

Jongin's older sister rescued him, laying a hand on the other girl's shoulder and pulling her away gently. "Sorry about that," she said. "She was so excited to meet Nini's boyfriend that she forgot her manners." The smile that graced her lips was almost identical to Jongin's.

"He told you I was his--" Kyungsoo started. Jongin draped his arm around his shoulders, cutting him off and prompting a (very loud) screech from the younger.

Both girls introduced themselves with names that Kyungsoo promptly forgot. Then he was ushered into the kitchen, Jongin trailing silently behind him and his sisters. 

Three dogs scratched at the sliding glass door in the back, yapping and scrabbling over one another to get inside and meet the newcomer. Jongin's older sister gave a one-second warning before releasing them.

Little paws clicked against black and white linoleum tiles before pouncing on Kyungsoo. He yelped and stumbled backwards when the largest jumped. Jongin caught him, arms locked around his chest.

"They won't hurt you," he murmured into Kyungsoo's ear, which was flattened against his head.

"But I'm a cat!"

Suddenly, Kyungsoo was swept off of his feet--literally. Jongin held him in the bridal carry, out of reach of the excited dogs. One of them hopped, trying to catch Kyungsoo's tail.

"Jjangah! Bad girl!" The wolf hybrid nudged the small, fluffy white dog with his foot. 

Jongin's romantic sister swooned, and his serious one sighed, supressing a smile.

"How about you show him his room," she suggested, patting her younger sibling on the back.

Jongin turned around and carried Kyungsoo back out into the foyer.

"Kai?" Kyungsoo said as they neared the stairs. "You can put me down."

"Don't wanna."

A massive Christmas tree strung with rainbow lights and gold ornaments stood in the corner at the staircase and wall, and Kyungsoo couldn't take his eyes off of it as Jongin lugged him off the stairs. He had never seen a tree that pretty. The one back at his house was about as tall, but it was sparse, with just a few random ornaments hanging on it--a tiny Tabasco sauce bottle, some lobster-shaped bell from a trip to Maine, a few candy canes. 

Not to mention the presents. Underneath the Kim family tree, there were mountains of presents, all wrapped in colorful paper and some even tied up with ribbons. There were barely six the last time Kyungsoo celebrated.

At the top of the stairs, Jongin stopped. 

"You'll stay in my room with me," Jongin said. "We would've given you the guest bedroom, but some of my extended family are coming on Christmas Eve to celebrate with us, and we didn't want to move you..." His face was red, and he didn't look down to meet Kyungsoo's eyes.

"That's--that's perfectly okay." Something inside Kyungsoo screamed wedding night. Another thing inside him slapped duct tape over its mouth.

Jongin stopped at the very end of the hall before an open bedroom door. "Well, it's a little messy, but I'll figure something out for you."

Just like his dorm room, it was impeccable. A queen-sized bed with light blue sheets was pushed up against the far left wall, with bedside tables on both sides. Framed pictures of Jongin's family and dogs were lined up neatly on the stand on the right; a minimalist white lamp stood on the left. The closet, built into the wall on the right, was closed, but the corner of something blue peeked out. A bathroom door stood open right beside it, closer to the far wall. 

Kyungsoo's favorite, however, was the set of Pokémon curtains pulled across the window.

"Let me down!" he demanded, squirming. "Is that--"

Jongin held on even tighter. "Oh, G-d. I told Mom to change those." He kicked the bedroom door shut and in a deep breath. "Dammit, Mother!"

Clearly, the walls were soundproof, because no one responded.

Kyungsoo wriggled and stretched out an arm towards the Pokémon curtains. "I wanna see it!"

"It's just the first-gen, it's nothing--"

"I WANNA SEE!"

Jongin gave Kyungsoo a half-hearted dirty look, then set him down gently. Instantly, Kyungsoo had himself wrapped up in the Pokémon curtains. 

"It's so fluffy," he cooed, the only thing visible of him being his ears and toes. 

"It's flannel." Jongin peeled away a layer of curtain. "It used to be my, uh, blankie, but my mom decided that it was stupid to have a blankie. This was our compromise."

Kyungsoo's round gold eyes peered up from a backdrop of Charmander and Ekans. "It's wonderful. I love it. Can I sleep in these?"

Jongin threw his head back and laughed. "I don't know when's the last time we washed those, Soo. It definitely wasn't after Sehun came here."

Kyungsoo was out in a second. He knew firsthand about Sehun's dirt-magnet abilities.

There was a moment of awkward silence before Kyungsoo cleared his throat. "So...where will I sleep?"

"Probably on my bed. I'll get an extra mattress."

"I can't kick you out of your own bed!" Kyungsoo said, furrowing his brow. 

The image of his cat hybrid staring up with such a worried look made Jongin want to squeeze him until he popped. Which probably isn't a good idea, he thought, settling for kissing him on the forehead, right where the crease was. "Don't worry about it. We have a few old ones in the garage."

Kyungsoo rested his arms on Jongin's shoulders and looked up, face centimeters from the wolf's. "Well, maybe we could share the bed?"

Jongin flinched, and it did not go unnoticed.

"I mean, I doubt you'll do anything, and you know I won't," Kyungsoo said. 

"Th-that's true, but I don't want you to be uncomfortable--"

"If I weren't okay with it, I would let you know, right?" Kyungsoo smiled. "In your words, 'I wouldn't want my baby to be uncomfortable.'" He pushed even closer into Jongin, face still tantalizingly close. "Right?"

Jongin bit his bottom lip, resisting the urge to throw his boyfriend on the ground and have his way. "Right."

Just as Jongin thought Kyungsoo would move to kiss him, the smaller boy blew a breathful of air into his face and pulled away, a wicked smile on his face. He knew exactly what he was doing.

"Oh, no," Jongin said, smirking. "You don't get to tease me like that and just leave. Come here!"

Kyungsoo ducked under Jongin's arms, laughing, then tried to skirt around him, too slowly. Jongin reached out and snagged the cat, then tilted the shorter one's face up. Their laughs were cut off by the meeting of lips.

Gradually, Jongin backed Kyungsoo up against the wall, hyperaware of wherever the cat hybrid's hands rested: on his waist, his chest, his face. Kyungsoo, meanwhile, wanted to be closer, closer, closer, even though there was less than a centimeter of space between their bodies. He held onto anything he could reach, because his knees were starting to go weak, and any moment now he would fall.

"Kai," Kyungsoo breathed out, breaking away to catch his breath. "I can't--I don't want--"

"That's okay," Jongin said, smiling and kissing away Kyungsoo's nerves. He pulled away, then grabbed Kyungsoo's hand when he saw the cat hybrid's bottom lip start to tremble. "What's wrong?"

"I don't want to make you upset."

"Why would you make me upset?" Jongin rested his forehead against Kyungsoo's.

"Because...if you want to do it...but I don't--"

"I'm not that shallow," Jongin said, guessing at the words that had yet to leave Kyungsoo's mouth. "Come on. Did you really think I like you for your prowess?" 

Kyungsoo laughed nervously, then hugged Jongin close to him. "...I want to give you what you want. I couldn't do that...for so many people."

"Well, I want your company. That's all I'm asking for." Jongin backed the two of them away from the wall, never letting go. "Soo. I don't think...I want you to understand that I will never dislike you for what you've been through, because without it, I wouldn't have the Soo that I'm holding right now and that I love dearly." He tilted Kyungsoo's face up, fingers under his chin. "Do you hear me? I love you, Soo. Don't forget, okay?"

"...I love you too, Kai. And I won't."

Dinner was a festive affair.

Jongin's mother had clearly been anticipating the meeting of her son's boyfriend for a while, because the table was literally covered--every square inch of it--with food: fried rice, homemade kimchi, galbi, jajangmyeon...the family and Kyungsoo ended up having to relocate to folding tables in the living room, where the carpet was rolled up.

Kyungsoo, despite knowing full well that his eyes were larger than his stomach, took some of everything, and he ate ravenously, as if he hadn't eaten in months. 

"Honey, don't eat too fast," Jongin's mother warned. "You'll get a stomachache." To which Kyungsoo nodded and slowed imperceptibly. 

Jongin didn't have much of an appetite. He nibbled at some noodles, usual large stomach lost amidst his worrying about Kyungsoo.

"I couldn't do that...for so many people."

He wanted to know what that meant, but he was afraid to ask.

"This is amazing," Kyungsoo mumbled through a mouthful of chop chae. 

"Jongin's oldest sister made that one," Mrs. Kim said, nodding at her composed older daughter. "She's quite the talented chef." With her trained maternal eye, she focused on Jongin. "Nini? Are you feeling alright?"

Jongin looked up from his plate. "What? Yeah, Mom."

Kyungsoo glanced over, too. "Kai?"

Jongin cast about for a smile, which--even to himself--was too forced. "Don't worry about it."

When he got up to go to the bathroom, Kyungsoo followed.

"Are you really okay?" he asked, voice hushed.

Jongin looked down at the round eyes staring back up at him and felt like he was about to cry. 

Look how much this boy has gone through. And look at how much he worries.

"I'm worried about you," Jongin said, taking Kyungsoo's hands in his and holding them together, as if in prayer. "And what you said earlier."

"What did I say?"

"That you couldn't...what was it? Meet the expectations of so many other people?"

Kyungsoo's gaze dropped. "Oh. That. Well, it's just stuff that happened in the past."

"It's not just anything." Jongin sighed and brought Kyungsoo's hands up to his lips. "You don't need to tell me anything unless you want to, okay?"

Kyungsoo nodded, a genuine smile crossing his face. "Thanks."

The younger of Jongin's two sisters was ready to go on an expedition for them when they returned.

"There isn't any space for them to disappear off to in this house," she said, fuming. She almost ran into Kyungsoo before she realized that the people in question were, in fact, right there. "Oh."

"We're okay," Jongin said before any questions could be asked.

They finished dinner quickly, leaving Kyungsoo with an aching (but content) stomach.

"Your mom is an excellent cook," he said, giving a thumbs-up as he lay on his back on Jongin's bed. "But I ate too much."

Jongin laughed and sat down next to him. "Sit up, then. It's better for digesting."

Kyungsoo sat up.

Two of Jongin's dogs scampered down the hall and through the open door into Jongin's room, yapping. Both had curly, coffee-brown fur and far too much energy. 

"Monggu! Jjanggu!" Jongin leaned down to scoop both dogs up. They squirmed, their owner's face and fighting to get a whiff of the cat hybrid.

"Don't let them me," Kyungsoo said, holding up an arm uselessly. 

"I won't."

Someone called for the dogs from downstairs, and they darted off like fuzzy bullets.

"Hey, Soo--" Jongin started, then stopped at the sight of his boyfriend curled up on his side, eyes closed. "Soo? Are you okay?"

"Mmh." Kyungsoo felt around for Jongin's hand and held it tightly when he found it. "Just sleepy."

Jongin sighed and smiled. Gently, he picked Kyungsoo up the same way he had earlier and maneuvered him to the pillows, then pulled off his socks and shirt and pulled the blankets up to his chin. Kyungsoo purred gratefully, thanking the wolf hybrid with a kiss on the cheek before falling deep asleep. 

It was a while before Jongin drifted off as well right by his cat's side.