All he knew was that... things felt different, and not in a good way. Danggeun had been waiting for them to come home for hours now, hoping to either curl up next to Jihoon while the latter took a nap or spend the rest of the night playing with Seungcheol and this strange fuzzy thing that seemed to amuse the human when he pretended to be interested in it. Maybe if he's lucky, he'd get a swipe at Jeonghan's ankles.

When the boys got home though, it didn't feel like the night would lead up to what Danggeun hoped for at all... And he would know, he was a smart cat. 

Danggeun perked at the sound of the door opening, all but trotting to the living room, only to stop at the sight of Seungcheol's dark expression. He cocked his head to the side and immediately felt as if something were a miss. He watched as his owner walked past him without so much as a second glance, something very unusual indeed. He snapped his head back to the door, only to have his back arch at the sight of Jeonghan, though he immediately felt it go down at how obviously upset he looked. He watched as the 11 other members shuffled in, keeping their voices low and words short. 

"I'll... I'll feed the cat." Jihoon volunteered as the rest nodded their heads in acknowledgment. 

But Danggeun didn't want to be fed (not yet atleast), he wanted to know what the hell was going on. 

He pawed at Jihoon's arm as the boy lowered to get his bowl, only to have Jihoon ignore him as well. Now he definitely did not like this. Not only was everyone in an off mood, but it was affecting his two favorite people. Danggeun tried again to get Jihoon's attention, but the young producer just wasn't having it. "Not now, Danggeun..." He started before sighing and resting the now refilled bowl on the floor. He watched as Jihoon followed the rest to their rooms, talking in hushed tones that Danggeun only managed to catch "What should we do"'s and "Let them talk it out on their own"'s. 

He let out a soft meow before moving his head to find Jeonghan seated in the kitchen, eyes blank and lips turned downward slightly. He watched the hyung for a few moments before walking towards him and gracefully hopping up onto the table to sit in front of him. Jeonghan didn't even flinch, only tilting his head up to look at him with baleful eyes before moving his gaze back to his hands. 

So he's going to ignore me too... I see, really no point in me- 

"We had a fight." 

Danggeun stopped, only to feign a lazy turn as he focused back on Jeonghan, though he was truthfully very interested in what the human had to say. Maybe this'll explain his owner's foul mood. 

"Which is new... we never really have fights. If anything, Cheol and Jihoon are the ones who fight the most in the group." Jeonghan continued, curling and uncurling his fingers. Danggeun waited patiently as Jeonghan let out a sigh. 

"You're probably on his side." 

You're probably right. 

"You should be. I said the stupidest thing." 

I knew it. 

Jeonghan gnawed at his bottom lip as he thought back to their fight. Really, he couldn't for the life of him even remember how it started. They were all tired, it had been a rough day in the practice room and their managers weren't happy with their performance. Seungcheol had gotten a bit harsh with his words and Jeonghan had fired back, temper running high, so high that he felt as if he could not control the words that came tumbling out like acid. 

"You know sometimes, I wonder why you're leader." 

He didn't mean it, obviously. He didn't even know why he had said it. Seungcheol was more than deserving to be leader, more than capable, and they were so incredibly lucky to have him. They all knew that. What's worse is that they all knew that but Seungcheol himself. Jeonghan felt his heart break when Seungcheol looked at him, hurt obvious in his eyes as his hands fell limp to his sides. 

"Cheol, I-" 

"Let's go home. Long day." Seungcheol had said curtly before packing his things, fiddling with the stereo and unplugging everything. The rest of the members did as they were told, quietly moving around to gather their things. Jeonghan stood rooted in his position, still stunned by the fact that he had said such things. Jihoon passed by him and patted him on the shoulder. 

"It's okay, hyung. We know you didn't mean it. I'm sure Coups-hyung knows too." Jihoon said before ushering a confused Soonyoung out the door, the choreographer whispering a timid "Do you think we should have conversation time?", only to have Jihoon retort in a sharp "I don't think that would be a good idea right now." 

It wasn't long till they were left alone, Jeonghan still in the same spot and Seungcheol moving around, obviously avoiding the younger. 

"Cheol please... You know I didn't..." 

"Can we not talk about this now." Seungcheol said curtly, unplugging his iPod and placing it in his bag. Jeonghan pressed his lips together as Seungcheol stopped, only to turn to him. 

"No, you have to let me apologize." 

"You of all people should know, Jeonghan." Jeonghan couldn't handle the obvious hurt in Seungcheol's eyes as the older stalked over towards him. "You of all people should know how I feel about my... my..." 

Jeonghan knew. Seungcheol had once confided to him that he was terribly insecure about his leader position. With Jihoon being their composer and producer, and Soonyoung being their choreographer, Seungcheol felt very inadequate at times, not really knowing what his true purpose in the group was. Now, to have it thrown back at him by the one person who should know just how much this would affect him... It was as if all his fears were beeing confirmed. 

"I didn't mean it...." Jeonghan had whispered, bringing a hand up to cup Seungcheol's face. Seungcheol however remained impassive before shaking his head and side-stepping Jeonghan. "Let's not talk about this now, Jeonghan. We're all tired." And with that, he left. 

Jeonghan had opted to take the second car, not knowing how to handle Seungcheol when he was like this. He had hoped to talk to him when they reached home but Seungcheol had gone straight to their room and Jeonghan didn't know how to approach him now. Danggeun listened to Jeonghan's (probably 4th) pitiful sigh before deciding that it was time to take things into his own hands. 

God, humans can be so stupid sometimes... 

Danggeun moved closer to Jeonghan, flicking his tail lightly at the man's face before lifting a paw and swiping down at Jeonghan's arm, causing Jeonghan to let out a loud yelp, jumpig out of his seat in surprise. 

"Ow! God, I knew you'd hate me for it, but I didn't think you'd-" 

"Jeonghan? Are you alright? I heard you yell." 

Jeonghan turned his head to find Seungcheol by the kitchen door, body tense and eyes searching his for any trace of injury, only to have it land at the bleeding scratch on his arm. Seungcheol threw an accusatory frown at Danggeun before moving towards the younger, taking the marred arm gently into his, inspecting the scratch as Jeonghan watched in shock, blinking slowly and mouth slightly open. 

"Don't look too surprised, or I might think you actually meant what you said." Seungcheol scoffed before pulling Jeonghan to the sink so he could wash it. 

"You know I didn't." Jeonghan immediately said. Seungcheol let out a hum as the cold water ran over Jeonghan's wound, Danggeun watching the scene unfold with curious eyes. 

"I know. But it still hurt." 

"I know. And I'm sorry." 

"It's okay." Seungcheol stopped the faucet before grabbing a nearby dishcloth and patting the wound dry. "We were all just tired and I was careless with my words. It happens to the best of us." He rested a hand on Jeonghan's cheek and Jeonghan felt like crying because honestly, Seungcheol was too good for him. He leant into Seungcheol's touch before letting out a shaky breath and surging forward, wrapping his arms around the older's neck and breathing in deeply. 

"You have to know though..." He choked against Seungcheol's neck. "You have to know how-...how much I..." Jeonghan couldn't even manage to get the words out of his throat. Seungcheol shushed him in comfort, running his hands through his hair to help soothe him. 

They stood there for a while, in each other's arms, under the glare of their kitchen lights, and for a moment, Danggeun understood why they were so good together. He never really did, before. He didn't like Jeonghan for his Seungcheol. He didn't like how his owner always had to work for the former's affections, he didn't like how Jeonghan didn't seem to be giving the same amount of love Seungcheol was, he didn't like it at all... but now he understood. It wasn't that Seungcheol loved the other more, or that Jeonghan loved the other less. It was just... it was just them. He didn't know how to explain it (no matter how smart of a cat he claimed to be) but he understood. 

"Besides, I think Danggeun gave you a good enough punishment." Jeonghan let out a watery laugh as he pulled away slightly to lean his head against Seungcheol's. "That little er. He swiped just as I ended my story. I hope he's not rabid." 

"What's up with you talking to my cat?" Jeonghan was quiet for a while before turning to Danggeun and smiling slightly. 

"Hey, he's my cat too... I mean, I might as well admit it now that I see he's not going anywhere." 

Danggeun let out a smug meow as he jumped off the table to make his way to the nest he had made for himself by their heater. 

"Our cat... I knew you'd warm up to him." 

Jeonghan let out a snort before resting his hands on Seungcheol's chest and closing his eyes to bask in the moment of being in his arms. Danggeun couldn't help but feel a warmth spread throughout his chest as he turned away, not wanting to intrude in the private moment. Alright, if he thought about it, Jeonghan was... Jeonghan was okay. 

He peeked from under his paw to see Seungcheol smiling down at the younger with such happiness that Danggeun couldn't help but be thankful for. 

He calculated their tally before shaking his head and resting it atop his paws, allowing Jeonghan's quiet laugh and Seungcheol's whispered words of love to lull him to sleep. 

He supposed they both win tonight. 

---

AN: Hellooooooooo everyone I am not dead I'm so sorry I've been away for so long. School has been a pain in the but now I'm on summer so hopefully I'll be able to update the rest of my stories and get over this terrible writers block that I have going on. 

ALSO I have joined the twitter-verse. I'm doing what all the youngins are doing and I honestly don't think I'm even doing it properly BUT if you want to come chat, please feel free. I'm @ehyocoups (I know super creative) and pls really pls. talk to me. 

I've decided to close this story with this chap so hoorah for a completed work. I hope you all are having a lovely day and let's all supprt seventeen with their comeback! <3 

xxx Ange