A/N: HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO @AEGYOCUTENESS I HOPE YOU ENJOY THIS <3

And to clarify right off the bat, markjinbum are cat hybrids while jackson's a dog hybrid, but it's really not essential to the story at all. I'm not sure why I made them hybrids in the first place, but eh, why not, right? xD

Also, I literally wrote all of this in one sitting, so I apologize for the extreme lack of quality of writing OTL Also, all the typos I know are there...sighs. I'll try to clean this up later >.<

~~

It was stupid. It was always over something stupid, like Jackson accidently stepping on Jaebum’s tail or Jaebum not returning a call or text. And perhaps the stupidest thing of all was more often than not, half an hour later Jackson would’ve already forgotten the cause of their current argument, but still be unwittingly locked into a passive aggressive battle of snide comments and cold shoulders.

But if the fact that Jackson always forgot what they were arguing about in the first place wasn’t telling enough, then their usual dynamics would still make things more than abundantly clear; Jackson was always, always the one to apologize first. Always.

Okay yes, so what if he was the epitome of an attention seeking puppy? Just because he was a living stereotype didn’t mean Jaebum had to be one as well. At least the trait of wanting to please everyone was a relatively positive one. Stupid, stupid cats like Jaebum on the other hand, only had their superior attitudes and pride and overall prickliness. If anyone should be considered superior it should be Jackson, what with his always magnanimous heart and willingness to let go of the petty things.

Okay, well, there were those rare occasions when Jaebum would raise the white flag of surrender first, so to speak, but he still never really admitted fault. Jaebum’s version of reconciliation was to finally make eye contact sheepishly after a day of avoidance, or the rare home cooked meal as a wordless consolation. But just as much as Jackson couldn’t live without words, Jaebum shied away from any sort of verbal apology.

And this time, Jackson had decided he’d had enough.

No, he wasn’t going to apologize first. Or grovel first, or make contact first. Because he knew for once, absolutely none of the fault lay with him, not even a fraction of a percent. Nope. Not even if he already couldn’t remember why he was so mad. That was just… a minor detail. Insignificant and irrelevant, of course. The fact that he knew all the blame could be placed on Jaebum this time was enough to give Jackson the conviction to see things through.

It was already thirty-six hours into this specific cold war, and Jackson was currently sprawled across the couch, cellphone in one hand scrolling through his social media feed while the other lazily flipped through the television channels.

A loud bang suddenly resounded through the apartment walls, making Jackson nearly drop his phone; it was the familiar sound of a bedroom door being slammed. Jackson immediately straightened, turning to face the television more squarely while focusing on the entryway of the hallway out of his periphery, bracing himself for Jaebum’s inevitable stormy entrance.

To his surprise, however, it wasn’t a furious Jaebum that stalked out of the hall, his sleek black tail lashing back and forth behind him like it always did when he was agitated. Instead, it was Mark that stepped through the entryway, shoulders stiff and ears twitching tensely on top of his head. And rather than black, it was a reddish-brown tail that swung back and forth behind him in irritation.

“Hey...what’s up?” Jackson asked tentatively. He’d relaxed initially when he realized he didn’t have to confront Jaebum just yet, but dang, an upset Mark could probably give Jaebum a run for his money in the department of dangerously scary feline.

“I’m heading out for a bit,” Mark responded tersely, voice low as he snagged his hoodie off the back of the kitchen chair.

Jackson opened his mouth to ask another question, but before he could Mark had already taken off, slamming the front door shut with no less force than the bedroom one.

Jackson winced.

“Fine then, I was just being concerned. Pissy cats,” Jackson finally muttered under his breath, grumpily turning his attention back to the television. He should’ve known it’d be a be a bad decision, sharing an apartment with three cat hybrids while being the only canine. However, he couldn’t help but be slightly concerned about Mark’s out of character behavior; usually, Jaebum was the only one he had to worry about. Jinyoung and Mark were pretty chill, he had to admit, though Jinyoung did have the tendency to make snide comments just because he could. Mark and Jaebum would often joke about their friendship as being the perfect example of why cats and dogs didn’t get along, but at the end of the day Jackson couldn’t ask for better best friends.

Except, of course, when apparently it was National Pissy Cat Day and no one had decided to tell him.

Just as Jackson was about to settle back down and turn his attention back to twitter, or snapchat, or instagram or something, his ears perked up, picking up the quiet padding of another someone coming down the hallway.

Expecting Jinyoung, Jackson readied himself for some suggestive comment on why exactly Mark had been pissed off, but when the figure finally stepped out, the words died on his lips.

Nope, he’d been wrong again.

It was Jaebum.

For a moment, they both just froze, locked in awkward eye contact. Then finally, Jaebum cleared his throat, fully stepping into the living room.

“Do you know, uh, what was wrong with Mark?”

Jackson had to bite back an angry growl; the first time Jaebum decided to talk to him in over thirty-six hours and it was about Mark?!

“No, I don’t,” Jackson said shortly, turning away.

There was an awkward pause, not quite silent because of the tv still running in the background, but awkward nonetheless. Jackson stubbornly kept his eyes fixed on the screen though, but couldn’t help noticing Jaebum fidgeting hesitantly in his periphery.

Finally, Jaebum let out a sigh, moving towards the door.

“I’m gonna go look for Mark, it’s getting late. Jinyoung’s locked himself inside his room. I’ve never seen them fight before, so I’m a bit worried...and...yeah…” Jaebum slowly trailed off when he realized Jackson was giving him no response at all. He let out one last heavy sigh, before grabbing his jacket as well and slipping out the door.

Jackson didn’t realize he’d been holding his breath until he finally let it out a good thirty seconds after the door had clicked shut. Groaning, he turned the tv off, rolling onto his stomach to bury his face in the leather of the couch.

Goddammit, why the hell was he feeling guilty now?

It was true, though. If they were to be truthful, Jackson and Jaebum were the ones always fighting like the cats and dogs they were supposed to be like. Maybe it was because Mark and Jinyoung were actually the same compatible species or, to be more realistic, maybe it was because of their personalities, but Mark and Jinyoung never fought. Ever. They were that couple that everyone else envied and wished they could emulate; forever stuck in the honeymoon phase, always affectionate, always loving and fond.

Jackson knew that he’d just missed an opportunity, that what Jaebum had just offered with his words hadn’t been an apology, but an olive branch, a truce and a chance to move on. But Jackson had really, really decided to put his foot down this time; he was not going to relent until he got that damn apology!

Deciding that Mark was a mature adult that could take care of himself and it’d been Jaebum’s own choice to follow him out, Jackson flipped the tv back on.

~~

Jackson woke to a crick in his neck and a cramp in his calf. Cursing, he almost crashed to the floor, squinting in the darkness as he tried to massage his leg with one hand and get his bearings with the other flailing limb.

He was in the living room, on the couch. He must’ve fallen asleep, though if the darkness was anything to go by, it was still sometime in the middle of the night…

Groaning, he fumbled for his phone, revealing it was indeed 3:03AM and Jackson should most definitely not be awake.

Stumbling to his feet, Jackson blearily made his way to his shared bedroom with Jaebum. When he slipped under the covers, however, his groggy mind finally registered an important detail.

Jaebum wasn’t there.

.

Instantly awake, Jackson sprung up and switched on the lights, wincing at the sudden brightness.

Yep, still no stupid cat.

Making his way back out to the living room, Jackson frowned, noticing that Jaebum’s jacket was still missing from it’s usual spot where it was always draped on the back of the loveseat.

So, he hadn’t come home yet.

This time, the internal struggle only lasted a few seconds before Jackson was out the door, one hand attempting to zip up his jacket while the other attempted to dial Jaebum’s number.

When Jaebum finally picked up on Jackson’s second try, Jackson’s legs almost gave out with relief.

“IM JAEBUM WHERE THE ARE YOU?!” His voice, however, reflected none of his legs' weakness.

“Jaaackson?” A familiar slurred voice sounded out over the speaker. “Jaaaaaaaaackson?”

“Awwww .” Jackson swore. Not bothering to keep conversation going while Jaebum was clearly drunk out of his mind, Jackson ended the call, stuffing his phone into his pocket while picking up his fast walk into a brisk jog.

It wasn’t until Jackson had Jaebum’s arm securely draped over his shoulders that he finally allowed himself to breathe a sigh of relief, worry dispersing. Thank god they always came to the same place to drink, a small but still relatively classy bar three blocks down from their apartment.

“Come on, let’s get you out of here,” Jackson said gruffly, leading Jaebum outside. Fortunately, Jaebum wasn’t completely out yet and managed to shuffle along at a decent pace, though most of his weight was still being supported by Jackson.

They walked in silence for a bit, the fall wind chilly but not quite biting yet. A particularly strong gust made Jaebum turn to shield his face in Jackson’s shoulder, groaning at the cold. Reluctantly, they came to a halt, Jaebum now gripping Jackson’s shoulder so tightly it was probably cutting off his circulation. For all his strength, though, Jaebum became almost childlike when drunk, whining into the collar of Jackson’s jacket about the wind.

Jackson, as much as he wanted to hold onto his anger, couldn’t help but soften as he stared down at Jaebum’s mess of black hair and two furry ears. After all, it wasn’t often that he could do this, he was always looking up at Jaebum. After resisting for a few moments longer, Jackson sighed, finally giving in to his urges. He nuzzled back against Jaebum, turning to pull him into a full frontal hug and slotting his body against Jaebum’s. Jaebum let out another groan, but this one was out of contentment as he straightened slightly, pulling Jackson closer into his chest.

“You’re warm,” Jaebum mumbled.

Jackson only hummed back, eyes slipping shut as he, too, revelled in the warmth.

“I’m...I’m  sorry.”

Those words had Jackson’s eyes shooting right back open, but when he tried to take a step back, Jaebum only clutched onto him tighter, not allowing him to budge a single inch.

“I’m sorry,” Jaebum repeated again, and even with his voice muffled Jackson could still make out the drunken slur to his words. “I’m sorry. I...don’t...I don’t even remember what for, but I’m sorry. I’m sorry I at saying sorry. I dunno why I at it. It’s….I don’t...I know...it . I . But I’m sorry. I’m sorry, and...and I love you, and I love you, you so so soooo much, and I dunno…”

From there Jaebum’s words dissolved into incomprehensible mumbling, but it didn’t really matter anymore for Jackson. Even if Jaebum didn’t remember the next day, it was okay.

He’d heard what he wanted to hear, and that was enough.

Jaebum had always been an honest drunk.

~~

“!”

“Wha-”

And Jackson was, once again, so unfortunately jolted out of sweet dreamland prematurely. After Jaebum’s mess of an apology the previous night, they’d managed to made it back to their apartment without further incident, the two of them rolling into bed and falling asleep practically instantly out of exhaustion.

But apparently, peace couldn’t last.

This time, rather than bodily discomfort, Jackson had been roused by a wide-eyed Jaebum, hair sticking up every which way and looking like absolute .

“What the hell?” Jackson complained, the second half of his question practically incomprehensible due to a large yawn.

“ I never found Mark last night!”

Jackson immediately swallowed back any other complaint or protest he’d been attempting to formulate, eyes widening at Jaebum’s words.

“What do you mean you never found Mark?! What the hell were you doing off at a bar getting drunk on your own then?!”

At this, Jaebum at least had the decency to look sheepish.

“I thought he might’ve gone there, because, you know, we always go there, but he wasn’t and then I just kinda…” he trailed off, ears flattening against his head with embarrassment.

“Damn it…” Jackson swore, running a hand through his hair, his tail drooping. “Let’s tell Jinyoung first, he probably has a better idea of where he could’ve gone…”

Jaebum nodded in agreement. Reluctantly, Jackson pushed himself out of bed, almost tripping over his own tail if not for Jaebum’s steadying hand on the small of his back.

“Well, you sobered up pretty fast,” Jackson raised an eyebrow, earning an eyeroll from Jaebum as they made their way across the hall together.

“I have a high tolerance,” Jaebum responded, a trace of his usual smugness detectable in his voice.

“Well, it definitely didn’t seem that way last night when you-”

Jackson broke off midsentence, freezing midstep as he pushed open the door to Mark and Jinyoung’s bedroom.

“What?” Jaebum questioned, confused as he moved forward to look at what Jackson gaping at, only to drop his jaw in a similar manner.

Jinyoung was still asleep, expression peaceful as he lay curled up under the comforter. But what also greeted them was Mark, curled up right next to Jinyoung, their tails crossed over the other’s waist and their fingers of one hand interlocked tightly on top of the covers.  

Mark was actually awake, slightly propped up on one elbow as he played with Jinyoung’s bangs with his free hand, combing through the locks gently and reaching to scratch behind his ears on occasion.

“Are you ing kidding me.”

Mark barely showed a reaction at Jackson and Jaebum’s rare display of speaking in unison, only turning to them slightly. He frowned, bringing up a finger to his lips.

“Shh, he’s still sleeping.”

Jackson almost burst a vein at Mark’s infuriatingly calm words and Jaebum almost lunged forward himself, but curiosity managed to get the best of him and he held himself back, gritting his teeth.

“What the ? When did you get back?”

“I thought you and Jinyoung were fighting?” Jackson was quick to add his question as well.

Mark looked confused for a second, before he finally understood and broke into quiet laughter.

“Pft, who said we were fighting? Well, we got into a bit of an argument earlier, yeah, so we each took some time to cool off. I headed out because it’s dumb for us to try to keep talking when we’re both so heated. I came back...what, an hour later? We talked things through then, and we’re all good now. That’s what we do every time.”

Silence.

Jackson turned to glare at Jaebum, who in turn glared murderously at Mark.

“What? Isn’t that good, to talk things through rationally and apologize right away?”

Another beat of silence, and then--

BAM!

This time, it was Jackson and Jaebum who slammed the door, together.

“ perfect ideal relationships, they make me sick.”