“…uh,” was all he could say.

Seungcheol seemed to lean in for another kiss, so Jihoon had to come into action: his hands pressed against his hybrid’s shoulders, stopping him.

Seungcheol’s tail swung lightly in the darkness as he cocked his head in question.

“Uh, Cheollie… what are you doing?”

“I’m giving master a kiss!”

“…Cheollie…”

“Did I not do it right? Teach me how! I want to do it right!”

“Whoa, whoa, Cheollie!” Jihoon practically sprang out of bed, pacing in his room. “This is, uh… this is. Uh.”

The tail swept down, ears drooping a bit. “…you… don’t want me?”

“Cheollie, a kiss is… it’s!” The poor man was a little lost. “You can’t just kiss me.”

The whine he let out was one of sad embarrassment: he worked back and hopped off the bed unhappily. “I-I’m sorry,” he mumbled in between whimpers. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”

“…it’s okay,” Jihoon mumbled, too tied up in his own shock to notice his hybrid’s distress. “You just… don’t understand.”

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry!”

“It’s alright, Cheollie. Cheollie?” Jihoon scowled at the open door. “Seungcheol, please come back in here.”

The hybrid nudged part of his face around the door. He looked positively guilty, face low to the ground. “I’m sorry,” he whispered.

“It’s okay, boy. Come inside. I’m not angry, you know.”

“Y… you’re not?”

“No. Not with my good boy.”

He couldn’t see a tail yet, but there was a light whirring sound to let him know it was up and running again. “I’m still a good boy?”

“Yes.”

“Your good boy?”

“Yes.”

He slowly returned, jumping up on the bed. He still kept his head low. “Does… master not like me anymore? Is that why I can’t kiss you? I want to be a good boy…”

“Heyyyy.” Jihoon’s hands moved to caress his hybrid’s ears. “You are a good boy. You just… well, the way Jeonghan and Minghao are with Jun… it’s different from us. And didn’t I tell you to call me Jihoon?”

“…I like master more.”

“Hey, who’s a good boy.” Jihoon scratched behind his hybrid’s ears in an attempt to make him comfortable again.

“How are they different?”

“Well… they love each other.”

“But I love master too!” Seungcheol looked up with large, round eyes. “I love master lots and lots!”

“I don’t mean it like that. They love… differently.”

“How differently?”

“It’s difficult to explain.”

Seungcheol simply sat up and waited.

“…just trust me. It’s different, the way they are.”

“…so I can’t kiss you?” The disappointment in his tone was so strong it seemed to echo all around the room.

“…you can, I guess. Just not on the lips. See, you’re probably best kissing me on the cheek.”

The tail sprouted up suddenly in a very enthusiastic wag. “I can?! Do it on the cheek?!”

“Yeah, sure.”

The hybrid launched forward, smacking his lips on Jihoon’s cheek: the owner was almost literally bouldered over, gripping his hyper hybrid who was busy pecking his cheek over and over.

“Okay, alright,” Jihoon chuckled. “That’s enough, Cheollie.”

“But I love you master!” The puppy looked up, beaming. “I love you, I love you!”

“Hush now, it’s late.” Jihoon smiled gently. “Here, I’ll give you one back, see?” He gently pecked his hybrid on the forehead – it made him go absolutely silent, his little face a bright red. “Now it’s time to sleep. Okay?”

“…okay.” The hybrid settled under the sheets, still the colour of a tomato.

“Goodnight, Cheollie.”

“…good night, master.”

The hybrid was sitting up on the floor, ears pricked up, his shaggy tail wagging to and fro lightly before he turned around to his master, jumped up and hurtled at him, hugging him tightly. “Master! You’re home! I missed you so much!”

“…Cheollie, I was downstairs. Getting the post.”

“I still missed you!” His tail swept from one side to the other, clinging to Jihoon happily. “I love you, you know, master!”

Jihoon rolled his eyes a little and patted the hybrid’s shoulder awkwardly. “Well, the last toy has come in.”

“Another toy?” The tail swept a little harder. “What is it?”

“It’s a book.” Jihoon handed over the large, heavy parcel to his hybrid, setting his keys down on the countertop. “Here, open it.”

Seungcheol ripped off the brown paper eagerly: he’d been spending a lot of time with Minghao and Jeonghan lately, really getting used to being a proper hybrid.

“Grimm’s… F-feh… Fairy… Tales,” he sounded out slowly, reading the large letters on the front. “Grimm’s Fairy Tales? What’s that?”

“It’s stories.”

“Stories?”

“I’ll read you one later. What do you want for lunch?”

“I want master’s love!” Seungcheol made a heart with his hands that caused his master to laugh a bit. “What?!”

“You. You’re coming up with these unexpected things every day.”

“Is it