The house was oddly quiet that afternoon. Tao had run out for a walk and hadn't come back; Kyungsoo was sulking, partly embarrassed and mortified about his tirade last night, and the other sulking because he couldn't take it back and he didn't know what to do. He kept wandering the house and walking in circles trying to find something productive to do, and Jongdae just shadowed him, sometimes being helpful and sometimes not. He dodged most of Kyungsoo's attacks in an oddly familiar manner. Minseok and Luhan slept the day away.

Baekhyun would stay indoors and complicate things, but he already had a knot on his head for suggesting Kyungsoo go over and apologize to Joonmyun, and he wasn't interested in earning a matching bump on the other side of his head. In any case, his plants needed attention.

He hadn't done much with the new raised garden bed since Chanyeol helped him build the frame and fill it with new soil. Truthfully, at this point in the year there wasn't much he could do with it except put in some sun-resistant flowers. He'd placed his orders and the handyman was supposed to show up this time today with the plants. Anything so that Baekhyun wouldn't have to leave the house. He wasn't an "errand" type of cat.

Chanyeol was late though. Baekhyun had nothing to do except wait, so he sat himself down by the side of the house and rested his head on the newly cut wood frame. His hair would probably be coated in dirt when he got up, but that didn't matter. At least it would be shady for a while, and there was a nice breeze and no birds singing. 

Force of habit, but his hand flitted to his back pocket of the tattered outdoor cargo shorts he wore and pulled out a worn photograph. The wallet-size picture was one of two of his most treasured possessions, the only things he'd acquired during his stay with his once-upon-a-time family, and the only thing he carried away. He'd had two photos once: the first a simple candid shot of himself with the two little girls he'd come to love and care for, their faces shining and bright as they climbed all over the cat and his tail wrapped protectively around them. He lost it though, somewhere along all the moves from house to agency, from agency to shelter home. At least he still remembered what they looked like. And at least he hadn't lost the second photo: the one of him being hugged by the human boy who'd loved him.

Baekhyun didn't realize he'd fallen asleep, neck still pitched forward awkwardly from the edge of the flower bed, and the photo still clutched in his hand. It was now worn-down and dog-eared and a little bit brown around the edges from Baekhyun's perpetually dirty fingers, but still the image was recognizable. 

The loom of Chanyeol's shadow tugged him awake, and Baekhyun crinkled his eyes at the image. 

"Sleeping?" the man asked stupidly with a grin on his face. "Guess that means you don't want to take care of these flowers, huh?"

Baekhyun snorted and pushed off the framework. "Yes, please. Just put them in the dirt and water them while I go and finish my nap."

"Absolutely. Right away. So, the leafy ends go in first and the roots stick out, correct?" Chanyeol joked.

Baekhyun swatted him with the hand still holding the photo. It fluttered out from his fingers and hit the ground. Before he could reach for it, Chanyeol bent over and retrieved it. With a straight face that belied a little smirk, his eyes passed over the photograph as he lazily handed it back. Baekhyun didn't say anything and shoved it back in his pocket. It wasn't the first time Chanyeol had caught him daydreaming with the picture in hand. Baekhyun didn't need to answer for it again. He wasn't usually so careless about literally flaunting the proof of his past love. Some stories after all were better left to the verbal imagination, and besides, he was pretty sure half the cats thought the story was fake ayways. He kind of liked it that way. Then he could almost pretend it was fake too. 

"You gonna snooze some more or...?" Chanyeol grinned.

"Shut up, and let's see if you brought the right plants this time."

The tingling of Tao's lips had almost worn off, five minutes later sitting awkwardly in the car next to Sehun, neither of them speaking. Ten minutes passed and still neither of them speaking. Tao should have asked, wanted to ask, what was that whole thing even about? Why did Sehun suddenly lean forward and kiss him, and why had he suddenly pulled back, embarrassed and flushed and refusing to make eye contact, and all of Sehun's former rants suddenly forgotten. Tao wanted to ask, but then he'd have to ask himself the same thing. Why had he suddenly leaned into closer to Sehun? Why did he wait so expectantly to be kissed? Why didn't he pull away but actually reciprocate for half a moment or more? Was it longer? He couldn't tell anymore. Time was starting to run together and then away, like the blur of the city through Sehun's car window and the silence was heavy. 

The office before which Sehun finally stopped the vehicle was a tiny suite squished in between two larger and far more prestigious looking lawyers' firms. The small lettering above the black tinted glass door read:

Zhang & Liu Hybrid Activists

Sehun pushed in the door, and a bell jangled above their heads, but nobody was there to welcome them. The room was sparsely furnished with just a small round table and some chairs where a receptionist's desk might sit, but no receptionist. There was a free-standing filtered water fountain off to the side, and a magazine rack loaded with periodicals and newspapers, all of which showed at least one or a couple hybrids on the cover. The walls stood bare except for a few framed article clippings. One looked particularly old, judging by the much younger Yixing on the cover surrounded by a group of smiling young women, all with cat ears and tails. "Feline hybrids enjoying freedom for the first time in their lives" read a portion of the article title. Another cut-out looked more recent and revealed a thirty-something human woman with short blond hair. The camera had captured her standing before a courthouse leading a protest with signs supporting Hybrid Rights. 

Someone cleared their throat and Tao looked quickly away, and right into the face of a the woman he'd just been staring at. 

"Impressive, isn't it?" she said, inclining her head towards the article.

Tao nodded, even if he wasn't sure why.

"We had nearly a hundred people come out to support that day. Gosh, has it been a year now? Impressive feat for this day and age, and I made the front cover of the Chronicle. Too bad I forgot to bring a kitten along. Reporters just love it when you're holding up a baby, doesn't matter the species."

Tao's jaw must have dropped, because the woman quickly laughed huskily. 

"Just joking! I wouldn't take kittens out to events like that." She moved forward and held out her hand. "I'm Amber, by the way. Yixing's partner. Well, partner before he retired. Not that he acts like a retiree these days." 

"Tao," the hybrid responded lamely. 

"Ah, so you're Tao. Heard about you. I see Sehun brought you by, so I expect you two want to see your dad?" she inquired of the other man. 

"Yes," Sehun replied curtly, almost rudely. 

Amber must be used to this though, that or completely immune. She snorted and proceeded to arm wrestle him around the neck and Tao was shocked to see him the usually proud man so suddenly in submission, even with the angered scowl on his face. He howled in discomfort though.

"Oh stop your whining and lighten up," said Amber and she let go. "Your dad's in his old office." Sehun stood up and his face flushed completely red. He wouldn't make eye contact with Tao. 

"Thanks," Sehun choked.

Amber winked at Tao when he passed. "And if you ever need to handle that one, that's how you do it."

Surely Sehun heard her, but he was choosing to ignore it. Tao followed him down the hall, face now flushed himself, and because they still hadn't talked about the kiss, the tension was even more awkward than before. 

Thankfully Yixing called out to them from the end of the hall where he could see them coming from his desk. "Sehun? Tao? What brings you two here? And together?"

"He wanted to see you," Sehun explained without preamble. "Uhm, I'll just wait in the lobby." And then he was gone, back the way they'd come. 

Yixing watched him go with a bemused smile, then quickly remembered his guest and offered Tao a seat. He came around from behind his desk, shut the door, and took a seat next to him so they could talk without it feeling so formal. "So? I assume there is a story here, since Sehun drove you all the way, yes? But anyways, what brings you here?"

That question took Tao back to his original dilemma nearly an hour ago. He wanted to find Yixing, but he ran into Sehun instead, and it he wasn't sure what he wanted from either of them exactly. There was something to do with Kyungsoo and Joonmyun, and then Sehun kissed him, and some other things happened in between. His head was a mess, and he wanted Yixing to clear it for him.

"Uhhh..."

"Did you want to talk about the agency we'll go to on Sunday?" Yixing asked, throwing him a literal bone.

"Yes!" Tao responded a little too quickly.

Yixing smiled. "Well, good. Good. The kittens, yes..."

Tao listened politely, trying to take it all in, but there wasn't much to know right away. This particular agency housed two litters of kittens, the youngest all over the age of six, and spanning to the age of twelve. 

It was hard trying to decipher what facts were actually useful when Yixing talked himself in circles, once again explained their purpose of trying to adopt the kittens out as children and not as pets. Tao had heard most of it from their talk over dinner a week ago, and the only new information Yixing really had was that Tao and Jongdae would only go in to socialize with the youngsters in transition. His wandered back to Baekhyun's comment about mature cats being purchased as babysitters, and Tao thought he was singularly unqualified for the task. He could barely interact with humans, much less help to ready kittens for living with humans.

"Something else on your mind?" Yixing was too intuitive, because indeed Tao's mind had wandered.

"No? I think that was about it. I uhm... well, we... stopped by the university on the way here."

Yixing raised his eyebrows curiously. "Did you now?"

"Y-yes. Sehun had to drop off a paper."

"Ohh, so you met Professor Kim then?"

Tao nodded, and Yixing smiled knowingly.

"Another good man. One of those intellectual activists we need to have around from time to to time and in some of the more delicate matters, in case Amber's brawn just isn't as effective." He winked.

Tao really had to give credit to Yixing for keeping the subject light, because Tao was pretty sure the older man knew what he was getting at. He just didn't know the right words for asking. 

Tao cleared his throat, then as nonchalantly as possible said, "That P-professor Kim... he's friends with another hybrid? There was a picture..." His voice drained off, to embarrassed to ask what it was he really thought. Once again though, Yixing already knew.

"Aww, you mean Minhyuk?" Yixing smiled nicely. "Yes, they've been together for a long time now. Minhyuk came as a boy to the Kim Family. They practically grew up together."

Tao nodded quickly. That made a whole lot more sense now. Humans and cats growing up together would make them close, like brothers. That had to be the only option, after all-

"And now they're inseparable," Yixing continued. "Some people are just made for each other, no matter the species."

Made for each other... Tao's head swam a bit, and he suddenly pictured Minseok and Luhan day in and day out. So perfectly in tune to one another's thoughts and feelings that it was almost incredible. His thoughts shifted abruptly though to Kyungsoo, and he finally remembered the reason he left the house in the first place.

"Can I ask a question?" His ears dropped, anxious even to ask this much.

"Yes, anything."

"Can hybrids and humans really be together?" 

"Of course. I just mentioned one such couple, for instance. Or were you asking hypothetically?"

"I mean, someone like Kyungsoo and... J-Joonmyun..."

Yixing chuckled in a way that told Tao the dilemmas of those two were nothing new to the man. Before he could say something, however, Tao continued.

"I mean too... with the age thing," he said in a small voice.

Yixing sat up in his chair and leaned in closer. "You mean a hybrid's life span? You're so young, Tao, to be thinking this way. But I suppose that's a question for the people in question."

"Ten years. Just give me ten years. I won't even age and grow ugly like you, Joonmyun," Kyungsoo had cried.

Tao didn't have a response, nor did Yixing press him into any. They sat quietly until Yixing remembered he had a cup of cold coffee still on his desk and he slurped a few steps before glancing again at the quiet, meditating cat in his office.

"You know, Tao. No life is guaranteed. I think you are referring to Kyungsoo and Joonmyun, and I'm well aware of how Kyungsoo feels his age and how he makes that his biggest hindrance to becoming attached. No one likes the thought of their partner going out before them, and no one likes the idea of going before their partner and leaving them all alone. Hypothetically though, Joonmyun could die tomorrow and then the roles will have been switched, and there's no preparing for such a thing. You shouldn't live like you're already expecting the end. That's not living."

He sighed and leaned back, placing the now empty coffee cup on desk, and Tao looked at him directly. He seemed older than he had been just a minute ago, but when he looked at Tao, he replaced his sighs with another hopeful smile and said, "This is something for both hybrids and humans to learn. I make this a focal point of my ministry... with mediocre results." He laughed. "But it's important, I think. Now think on it, and don't grow too depressed or else we'll have another Kyungsoo on our hands, and I don't know if Jongdae can deal with two of those!"

He jabbed a finger into Tao's side and pulled out the intended laugh. 

When he finally exited the room, Yixing at his heels, they found Sehun sulking in the lobby and currently in the middle of a serious interrogation by Amber. She stopped abruptly when they entered, and Sehun stood up quickly, his face a deep shade of embarrassed pink. Amber laughed, and Sehun pretended to ignore her completely.

"Ready to go?" he asked Tao in a rush. 

"Guess so."

Before Amber or his dad could say anything else he said, "Cool. I'll be waiting in the car." As if Tao would make him wait. 

Tao politely thanked Yixing again, and said his goodbyes to Amber. "It was nice to meet you."

She shook his hand profusely, and then made a fist and curled her arm up at neck level. "Remember how I said you can handle him!" Tao rushed out too, and refused to meet Yixing's face again. 

Tao tried to be chattier on the way back. 

"What other classes are you taking?"

"When do you graduate?"

"How old is this car?"

"What do you do for fun?"

Sehun replied to each in short word answers, and by the time they were back to their neighborhood Tao's questions had run dry. Apparently he wasn't going to get much out of the man now. Sehun had already run through his quota of sentences and emotions this day. 

They parked on the street in front of the shelter home, and Tao hadn't even asked for Sehun to drop him off at his doorstep. Sehun kept the engine running and his head forward. Even still Tao delayed, unbuckling his seatbelt and unlocking the car door. He didn't open it though. He was waiting, either for himself to get the courage to say something else, or Sehun to say something...

Fortunately, partially, Sehun saved him from having to speak first.

"Hey about earlier..." Sehun started, and then his voice trailed off. He mashed his bottom lip between his teeth and still didn't look sideways at Tao. 

"What about...?"

"Nah, never mind," Sehun concluded.

Tao snorted. 

"What?" Sehun asked suddenly, finally looking in his direction. 

Tao shook his head. "Nothing. Just... you. You're not really much like your dad, you know."

"What makes you say that?"

"The way you talk. Or rather, the way you rarely talk."

Sehun seemed to consider this for a moment. The engine was still running and he made no move to turn it off, nor to boot Tao from the car. Tao waited.

Finally Sehun said, "I guess that isn't much of a surprise. I am adopted after all. I guess you can say I was one of his first charity cases."

Tao's jaw dropped. "Do you really mean that?"

Sehun chuckled and dropped his head over the steering wheel. "No, not really... I'm just saying that. My parents couldn't have kids, that's why they adopted me." Without much of a pause, he continued, maybe to avoid the awkwardness. "So, I guess you'll be busy this weekend but..." And here he paused. "Want to hang out Sunday evening?"

3,044 words

Aha, and yes I am leaving you with another cliff-hanger. What, you didn't expect it would be all roses and kisses after the way the last chapter ended, did you? Anyways, more about Sehun. And Yixing. Also, what do you think about Baekhyun? 

In case you haven't realized what I'm doing, every chapter I rotate and pick up a different character's side perspective. I think I have just two characters left before I rotate back around from the beginning: Yixing and Chanyeol. So... who should be next? I want it to be Yixing's inner thoughts next, but I have a feeling it'll be Chanyeol. It's time for some of his backstory to come out. ;)

Regardless, next chapter we head to the agency and learn more about hybrids. I think we'll even drag Kai along hehehe

<3 Rosie