That same Sunday evening is when things began to change. Some began happening subtly, like Baekhyun coming home from the doctor's office and locking himself in his bedroom indoors. Like Kai being so upset and curious at that even though he didn't try to follow him in. Like Luhan and Minseok being asked to stay downstairs for a little while by Tao, and them complying. Joonmyun and Kyungsoo showed up around five o'clock and ate dinner with the rest of the hybrids. Chanyeol stayed too because he was worried about Baekhyun, Sehun arrived halfway through the meal, and Jongdae had no clue what was going on so he didn't even try to pry or be nosy. 

“So... what's the occasion?” he asked Joonmyun instead, because the older human was not doing a good enough job keeping down something mysterious.

“What?” Joonmyun looked up sharply, only to find every hybrid at the table staring at him curiously. Instead of answering, however, he looked at Tao for a moment too long and that drew everyone's attention to him instead.

“Tao?” Minseok took the initiative. “Do you know something that we don't?”

“I....” Tao stuttered, shifting awkwardly on Sehun's lap because there weren't enough chairs around the table. Sehun was eating with only one hand. The other was wrapped protectively around Tao's waist like a seat belt.

“Geez, are we getting a new hybrid?” Jongdae finally asked. “Usually whenever you show up looking serious and uncomfortable, that's what it means.”

Kyungsoo kept his head fixed on his plate, looking at no one. 

“Is it to do with Baekhyun?” Kai asked.

“What? No, not that I know of,” said Joonmyun, and several of the hybrids ah-hahed at his statement that at least something else was up, if he was denying one explanation so emphatically.

The man glanced at his watch, grimaced, checked the wall clock too as if it would tell a different time. Then he cleared his throat, and hesitated once more. It took Kyungsoo putting one hand on the the crook of his elbow to prod the man along, and finally Joonmyun decided to explain.

“You... you're right though. About getting a new roommate. Yixing should get here in about half an hour.”

Everyone's eyes widened, with the exception of Tao, Sehun, and Kyungsoo - who had obviously been apprised of this fact before now. ”Another kitten?!” Jongdae was the most excited by the news, although Kai was right behind him in wonder. Minseok merely looked interested, and Luhan... coughed. 

“Two actually, if you want to put it that way,” Joonmyun elaborated, and this time Jongdae actually bounced in his seat. 

“Two!? Two kittens to play with. Oh, wow! But, where are you going to put them?”

Joonmyun cleared his throat apologetically. “Well, that's the thing. Kai, I was kind of hoping you might be persuaded to move in with Jongdae, Baekhyun too if we can persuade him and let them... have your room. They're... female actually.”

Shock went around the table, not because of the gender specifically but because there had never been a female hybrid in the house before. Tao watched as Kai and Jongdae both kind of flushed at the news, although neither Luhan nor Minseok looked phased. For several seconds there was silence around the table while only Kyungsoo scraped at his plate. Then, they began talking all at once: surprise that they were girls, excitement for their time of arrival, and how exactly was the room reassignment supposed to work, especially because...

“So, how are you planning to fit Jongdae, Tao, Kai and Baekhyun into one room?” Leave it to Chanyeol to ask the practical question.

Minseok offered the first suggestion, although he did it so hesitantly. “At least somebody could move in with us?” Luhan coughed some more and looked ready to fume, however, the eldest cat caught his attention and willed him to silence. 

“Uhm....” Kai looked just as confused. “I mean, Baekhyun doesn't typically sleep inside but...” 

“He still needs a bed,” said Chanyeol firmly.

Jongdae looked ready to argue with one or more possibilities, but it was Sehun who cleared his throat to speak. Tao suddenly got very interested in his plate, holding his balance while Sehun shifted uneasily. 

“Actually...” the human started to say, and then he gulped instead.

“Actually, what?” asked Jongdae. Everyone grew silent as they looked at them. “Sehun? Tao? What...?”

“Actually, Tao is going to move in with me.”

“What!?!” 

Greater than the fact they were getting new housemates, greater than the fact their hybrid housemates would be female, Sehun's pronouncement sent the hybrids into an uproar: Minseok and Luhan were shocked, Joonmyun actually bewildered, Kai's mouth dropped open, Chanyeol was befuddled, and even Kyungsoo picked his head up to join the staring match. But Jongdae was the loudest.

“No!”

“Excuse me?” said Sehun, eyes open wide.

“No! You're not taking our kitten away. How could you- How am I...? No! Tao, tell him! You can't- You aren't!”

It was with sad resignation that Tao had to look up and meet his friend's eyes. “Jongdae, I'm sorry... But-but Sehun and I talked about this a few days ago and... And we also talked to Yixing about it too, and he's okay with it!”

“I don't care if Yixing's okay with it! Tao...” Jongdae's eyes were starting to water and his lips quivered. Despite being a little sick and sniffling himself, Luhan scooched closer towards him and laid his chin on Jongdae's shoulder. 

“But... we need the space-”

“And that's not a good enough reason to move away. Just because we need the space. That's not good enough!” Jongdae kept repeating. Luhan burrowed a little closer to him, and Minseok looked ready to intervene as well. Joonmyun was flabbergasted and Sehun was starting to look more than a little uncomfortable, almost like he was ready to fight. He opened his mouth to say something, but Tao quickly shushed him with a single sideways glance and then he stood up. Sehun helped him get his balance, and then Tao wrapped one of his hands around Sehun's to give himself the courage.

“It's... not the main reason, Jongdae. I... We want to do this anyways and-” 

Jongdae successfully suppressed the second set of tears threatening to fall. He wiped his eyes, and looked away. Tao faltered and couldn't say anything more, but he glanced around the table and saw that most of them were looking between him and Sehun, their minds far away from the future roommates who were coming soon. 

Kai was the first one to speak, even while Tao stood there speechless, his hand still gripping Sehun's.

“Well, I think that's cool.” Kai looked at his plate but smiled shyly. “Actually, I think that's really great. I'm happy for you... All of you who have... someone. First Kyungsoo, and now you.”

Kyungsoo looked suddenly alarmed, and he almost squeaked when his name was mentioned in conjunction with Tao's, however, he didn't agree or deny it. At Kai's words though, Jongdae softened. Tao watched as he slumped in his chair and leaned closer to Luhan who was now side-hugging him and whispering something in his ear that nobody else could hear. It made Jongdae smile though, just a tiny bit, and Luhan preened at the reaction he got. 

“What did you promise him?” Tao heard Minseok asking Luhan just a little while later. After the big announcement, Joonmyun suggested they get the kitchen cleaned up and ready themselves for their guests. Chanyeol had tried one more time to see if Baekhyun would come out, was successful, and he and the hybrid were now eating a cold dinner outside by themselves. Joonmyun and Kyungsoo were upstairs with Jongdae prepping the room. Kai was being a bum, slumped on the couch as he waited. Sehun hugged Tao tightly in the doorway between the kitchen and living room, together rocking slightly right and left because no matter what they said, or how casually they said it, moving in with Sehun was a big step forward in their relationship. 

“I told him he could come cuddle with us anytime he wanted and I wouldn't kick him out,” Luhan confided with a muffled giggle in between doing the dishes.

Minseok snorted. “You little liar.”

“What? I'm not. I said it and I mean it,” Luhan insisted petulantly.

Minseok continued to , but Tao decided to drown him out instead. A car door sounded from outside; Kai instantly jumped up and rushed out the door to accost them. Tao felt the world beginning to move, and he pressed closer to Sehun until it finally hit.

“They don't know yet, who she is,” said Sehun softly.

“No.” Tao buried his nose into the soft spot of Sehun's neck, anything to keep alive this one little moment.

“Are you going to come back with me tonight?”

Tao sighed and shifted his head slightly, just enough to speak. “No. I want to stay one more night. Just to make sure Jongdae is alright.”

“Okay.” Sehun did not try to make him change his mind, and Tao loved him for that. 

“Thank you.”

An excited yell came from outside, then laughter - Yixing's laughter. Tao broke apart from Sehun and yelled for the others to come down, informing them that their new housemates were here. Before any of them could lumber down the stairs, however, or out of the kitchen, Kai burst back through the front door exclaiming wildly, “It's a kitten! A real kitten! Jongdae! Luhan! Minseok! It's a kitten!!”

Tao laughed one more time as he joined the crowd that was forming in the entryway. Even Baekhyun and Chanyeol had come inside, craning over the crowd curiously as Yixing came through the entryway, a blushing female right behind him.

“Well! Hello everyone. Quite the welcoming party.”

There were a few hellos, but most of the attention went immediately to the newcomer, and the bundle she was carrying. 

“Everyone,” Yixing continued, “This is Victoria. And her daughter.” He bowed out of the way to allow the young woman to be seen. Half of them gasped loudly; Kai was still sputtering. 

“Wow, you weren't kidding. It really is a kitten!” said Jongdae, his eyes practically beaming from child to mother, and back again.

Yixing smiled almost like a proud papa as he ushered Victoria further into the entryway, necessitating that the hybrids and other humans all move back and give them some space. Once they reassembled in the living room, he started the introductions, waving at each person in succession without pause. “This is Jongdae, Kai, Tao, my son Sehun, Minseok, Luhan, Baekhyun, Chanyeol, Kyungsoo, and Joonmyun.” 

“Hello...” Victoria finally spoke in a soft, uncertain voice. “Pleased to meet you all.” 

Tao could tell she looked overwhelmed, for he was the only person whose eyes she stopped on, and he tried to smile a little encouragingly since they had met already once before. Joonmyun also stepped forward, hoping to put her at ease.

“Welcome, welcome. May we ask, what is your daughter's name?”

Before she could answer, however, Jongdae - who was practically salivating at the sight of the baby - spoke out. “Can I hold her!?” 

Victoria glanced once at Yixing, who nodded, and then gently passed her daughter into Jongdae's arms. The hybrid's eyes sparkled and he cooed almost instantly at the baby with the tiny kitten ears. She had black hair like her mother, and as Jongdae rocked her in his hold she opened her eyes in surprise, gurgled once and then broke out into an unmistakable smile.

“Her name is Young Ji,” Victoria fussed with the blanket wrap, poking a loose corner through Jongdae's elbow as he smiled and smiled down at the baby. 

Yixing cleared his throat, and with a pointed look at Joonmyun he asked, “Have you told them yet, who she is?”

All eyes were instantly on Joonmyun's, excepting Jongdae who was staring at the baby, and Tao and Sehun who already knew. 

“I... haven't actually.”

“Ah then, I guess it's up to me to tell,” said Yixing with a little clap of his hands. “Victoria is here with us because I've been looking for her for quite a while now. She is in fact, a sibling to someone in this house. Jongdae, this is actually your sister, and Young Ji there... is your niece. Congratulations, you're an uncle.”

Yixing swirled around the last dregs of his cold cup of coffee, still grinning to himself even a morning later. The hybrids' faces of shock and joy and confusion and glee all rolled into one - it had been a better homecoming for Victoria than even Yixing had planned. How they'd swamped her and her baby with love and care, and how Jongdae refused to let go of Young Ji when he realized she was a part of his blood. 

“So it really worked out well?” A voice interrupted Yixing's musings.

“Hmm? Oh yes. Yes, very well.”

Chaelin hummed in approval from behind her desk. “I'm glad. Yixing, you've done well. As you always do.”

He tipped his head in her direction, slight thanks for the compliment, even if he didn't think he deserved the individual praise or merit. “So tell me about this place?” He'd stopped into the agency building on his way to 'work', partly to socialize for a short while, partly because Chaelin was still in the last stages of closing down the place for good. Almost all the kittens she had were properly adopted out. Only two remained: one who was going to be picked up later in the day, and the one who had never been chosen.

“I'm going to take him myself.”

“Who, Minsoo?”

“Yes. I decided to adopt. Yixing, aren't you proud of me?”

Yixing smirked. “You would make a good mother. Minsoo was always very good around you too.”

She smiled. “It'll be a change but... I'm excited about it. And anyways, that's partly why I wanted you to come by. I need a reference from somebody that's not myself, if I'm going to be allowed to do this.”

“Certainly.” Yixing drained his cup and sat up closer to the desk. They spent a little time talking about the process, as well as plans on how to move forward with Chaelin's next career move; what was to be done with the building when it finally closed its doors; her plans for buying a new apartment, one big enough for her and a child, a hybrid child. 

All of it made Yixing a little nostalgic, remembering when he first saw Sehun as a toddler, how his wife absolutely fell in love with him, a human baby. He'd always thought that they would adopt a hybrid, a kitten for Jaekyung to love because together they could not procreate interspecies. Funny how back then the laws, so flexible when it came to selling illegally underage hybrids, would not allow them to legally adopt a hybrid kitten. The tears that had gone into each and every failed process, the anguish that they might never have a child of their own. Yixing watched as Jaekyung's best friend married and had a baby with her hybrid mate. They called the baby Zitao and Jaekyung was very nearly distraught from envy. 

It had been Yifan who finally suggested the other alternative. While Jaekyung played with Tao and his parents, Yifan pulled him away to another part of his estate and talked about adoption, real adoption. The only kind of adoption still plausible for a couple like Yixing and his wife-who-was-not-really-a-wife. Not in the eyes of the law. 

“Why don't you try it?” Yifan pleaded quietly, while Yixing hung his head. ”It doesn't mean giving up on hybrids. You can still do that. Every day you can still work towards that. You and me, and every soul with a real heart in his chest. We'll work at changing the world.” He'd winked after that cheesy line, and it made Yixing laugh. Together they'd been through a whole lot already. Freeing the female litter from an uncertain end had just been the first of their accomplishments. It got their pictures in the paper and settled them for good as hybrid rights activists. And also, for his trouble Yixing fell in love. He got the most perfect partner out of Jaekyung, and that was a whole lot better than Yifan got. His friend had to deal mainly with his unrequited love - watching the hybrid he liked fall in love with someone else, and then offering up his home for a sanctuary. Then again, the man was about as proud of Tao as if he'd been the actual father, and Yixing envied him.

“You think I should... that we should?”

“Of course! Talk to Jaekyung. Go walk through an orphanage. There's a child out there somewhere who needs a set of parents, and you two will do just great together.”

In the end, it worked out. Sehun was two years old and happily on his thumb when they first laid eyes on him, and that was it. Jaekyung was in love, and Sehun took to them so well. The toddler had no preconceptions; he had no idea that mothers were not supposed to come with fuzzy pointed ears and an extra appendage with which to swaddle him. And even if he grew up a grumpy child and lost his mother early, Yixing never abandoned him or gave up hope, praying that deep down Sehun would find his place in life, as befitting a child whose parents had been unique. And in the end, that worked out too.

“So tell me all about Tao?” said Chaelin now, eyes mischievous over the gossip Yixing had only briefly mentioned earlier.

He laughed. “Tao is... well, he's a good kid. Sehun is going to teach him how to drive next week. That will be interesting, I'm sure!”

“Ohhh, a driving cat. However did you manage that? Special license?” 

“Some sleight of hand. Guys who owe me favors, you know the deal.” Yixing shrugged like it had been no big deal, like hybrids everywhere were already allowed the luxury and independence that Tao was soon to have, if not officially than at least in reality. It was no small milestone. Full hybrid rights were still a long way coming, but it was a step. Yixing was only glad he was around to see it come this far. For once, it was himself who might have been envied by others. Jaekyung hadn't lived to see it, and neither had Yifan. 

“Did you know, we once tried to adopt Victoria? Her and one of her sisters. But the state wouldn't allow it... Then we lost her in the shuffle. Funny how things come full circle, in their own special ways.”

Yixing laughed indulgently at his own thoughts, and Chaelin put a hand comfortingly on his forearm. Silent support for everything Yixing had failed to do, and then some. 

“You're sounding quite old today, Yixing. Come on, where's your happy self? Want to come visit Minsoo with me? He's a bit glum now that the other kittens are gone. You're always so good with kids too. Oh and by the way, I'm still looking for a boyfriend? Future husband maybe? Hey, do you think Joonmyun would take me? Aren't we the same age?” she teased, and that got Yixing chuckling again.

“Absolutely not, never. He's quite taken I assure you.”

“What really?” She feigned indignance. 

“Well... not just yet, but practically so.” 

3,260 words

Shorter than average, but there was only so much I could add to this second-to-last chapter. Yep, that's right. Only one more to go so if there's any questions you want answered, or scenes you want to see written, speak now or forever hold your peace! I've got a lot of scenes to write, and stories to conclude (or else hint at). Also, I'm going to feature not just two perspectives in the final part, but three: Tao's, Kyungsoo's, and one more whose back story hasn't yet been fully described. 

Lol it'll probably end up beng over 5k words - but think of it as making up for the this chapter's poor, meager length. :)

Please comment if you've enjoyed this story. It has been such a fun thing to write - while occasionally breaking my heart. 

<3 Rosie