It was already past Soonyoung’s peak yet the bonding still had not happened, and both males are both anxious and relieved at the same time. They were now on the sofa watching the television with the omega holding on to Seokmin, hiding his face on the crook of the man’s neck as usual. Well, the alpha was watching his favourite anime and the older, relaxing and playing in the former’s arms just because.

None of them wanted to break the tension first, hoping it would past without a word but Soonyoung had something else in his mind, and he wanted to say it. But it was impossible to do it without involving the bond so he had been holding it inside. Unfortunately, the longer he had to keep it, the more it ate him inside and he didn’t want that. He wanted his time with Seokmin to be of happy thoughts only, at least, for now. Right after their new start.

He should tell the man.  He should be the one to break the peace.

Moving his head slightly so he too was facing the screen, Soonyoung started, ‘Seokmin… I don’t think I’m ready.’ He could hear the alpha’s heart beating violently and let a long sigh to calm himself, ‘I… I’m gonna do something bad and I don’t want to use you as an excuse.’

‘Excuse?’

‘I don’t wanna run away.’ He sat up straight as the one beneath him did the same in order to face his partner. Seokmin stared at him, his face confused which was a given. Soonyoung held his breath as the alpha started to speak, ‘Something bad? What are you gonna do?’

This was it. He needed to tell Seokmin everything. No more secret. Seokmin would know how messed up he was, and this time, he might not want to proceed with their relationship any longer. Because what he was about to tell the man was the real him. Not his family, not his past, him. ‘I- I promised the omega I would be there with him during his heat.’ Soonyoung held his gaze on the floor, afraid to see the disappointed look on his lover, ‘It was- he was scared and I- I just wanted to make him feel better an- I didn’t think…’

‘You slept with him?’

‘No! No!!’ Soonyoung quickly stopped Seokmin from accusing him any further. He knew the man was anxious because of his inability to speak his mind clearly, and that the situation did not look good but he needed the alpha to know that he didn’t do it. Screw finding the right words, ‘His heat is coming and I want to stop seeing him.’

Soonyoung bit his lips, waiting for Seokmin to show his annoyance or even get mad at him, or show disgust. What he was planning to do was unacceptable – leaving Wonwoo when the man needed him the most. He knew he made a promise, one which he didn’t mean but a promise nonetheless, and he knew breaking the promise, now of all the time was wrong, but he didn’t want to continue with the relationship. He knew it was his fault in the first place, but he couldn’t do it anymore. He was a terrible person. Seokmin wouldn’t want to be with him anymore after this. He knew it. ‘It’s irresponsible, I know. But I can’t. I don’t want to. He needs me but I don’t want to do it. Seokmin, I’m sorry. I’m not the innocent guy you tho-‘

‘Hey. Shhhh… It’s okay.’ Soonyoung felt thumbs wiping of his tears followed by pinches on his cheeks. The look on his alpha, concerned but with a slight smirk to calm him made him feel better, even just a little. ‘It’s okay to be selfish once in a while. I mean, you helped him get this far, and you’re not even responsible for him. You deserve a break.’

‘But he’s-‘

‘He’ll get through it. There are counselors, other friends… You need to take care of yourself first.’ Seokmin interrupted him, an act Soonyoung actually appreciated. He knew he always overthinks something and it always made him feel guilty and scared to make decisions. Having Seokmin telling him everything would be okay, and that he mattered just as much as other people, felt very new to him. He didn’t know how to describe it, but it made him more confident with his decision. ‘I’ll take care of you.’

Soonyoung bumped their head together, feeling mushy all of a sudden. His wave must be near if he felt like this, the adoration towards his alpha, but the warmth on his lower half was still yet to come. Maybe, just maybe, he really love Seokmin. Too much. ‘There’s something else…’

He remembered something else he needed to make clear. ‘That omega, he’s my ex…’ Soonyoung glanced at the younger male who was giving him his full attention. ‘Seokmin, I wanna let him go… But I don’t wanna feel safe right away. I need this. I need to feel the guilt. I just, I don’t wanna run to you, not like this...’

Seokmin caressed his omega’s head lightly, smiling. He didn’t know why but he felt really relieved hearing those words. It was as if Soonyoung was telling him he was ready to be serious, actually ready. That he was ready to leave his past behind and start a new life with him even without it being spoken word by word. ‘We don’t have to bond right away. It’s okay. I’ll be here. Right beside you.’

‘Promise you won’t leave me?’ Seokmin nodded his head, mouth still curved upwards, admiring the sulky face of his fox. That face always makes him want to protect the man with everything he got, but hearing those words, that he wanted to get stronger made him adore the male even more. ‘I’m afraid… what if I fall really low? You know? Like get depressed or something… I never did anything like this…’

‘Then I’ll be here to catch you. Really hard.’ Soonyoung stared at him, already making weird face, most probably wanting to comment on how cheesy that statement was. To that, he flexed his right arm, ‘I’m very muscular. You, Hoshi, are not a big dea-‘

A chubby palm found its way right on his face, and naughty fingers started to find their way into his nostrils. ‘Yah.’

‘By the way… Can I stay with you after I break it off? I don’t wanna be at the dorm…’

‘You mean, my house?’ Soonyoung nodded his head in agreement. ‘Or we can, you know, find a place for us… A nice, small apartment…’

‘… I bet you want a large mirror.’

‘And you’ll want a large kitchen.’ Soonyoung added, to which Seokmin raised the corner of his lips. ‘We can start looking now if you want to’

‘I want to!’

*****

More than a year later

*****

‘What?’ Soonyoung asked, looking at his mate who was grinning weirdly at him. With no answer, he could literally feel the blood flowing slowly to his cheeks and held the bandage on his neck. He knew he was flushing. Seemingly satisfied with the reaction, Seokmin walked over to his omega and placed a kiss, right on the two cheeks. ‘Still can’t believe you’re mine now…’

‘We-‘

‘OmmoooO!!’ Both the young men dropped their mugs, the alpha quickly stood up from the table as his mother suddenly made an appearance. She was holding a box of cake to celebrate Soonyoung’s first debut as a choreographer, his routine being used in an official MV released just yesterday. Realizing what a mess the dining table was, Soonyoung went straight to the kitchen to get a paper towel while Seokmin circled around, secretly cursing his mother’s timing and wishing she would just disappear. Why did he agreed to give her the keys??

‘OMMOO!! HONEY! OMMOO!!’ She couldn’t stop squealing her excitement, not even caring how violently she was shaking the cake in her hand. ‘Finally!! You bonded!!!’

‘Eomma!!!’

‘This… I need to tell your father.’ Mrs. Lee shushed her son, grabbing her phone while pointing at Soonyoung with a huge grin. Not knowing how to react, the omega gave her a shy smile before looking at his mate for help. Seokmin only shook his head as the woman disappeared and just like how quickly she entered, she was gone…

…until an hour later, announcing that they would have a huge party to celebrate the bond, and introduce Soonyoung to all the Lee family members.

*****

‘Erm… Do I really need to go?’ Soonyoung whined at his mate, not wanting to be in front of all those strangers, and his friends, standing on the stage to announce their bond. Nobody he knew did it, bonding was not the same as marriage so there would not be any huge celebration like this one. This was embarrassing. Mrs. Lee also invited his grandparents and father, with whom he made peace with a while ago, and a few of his club members.

‘We’ll go up there, nod a few times and we can run back down,’ Seokmin suggested with his usual pretty smile. He was done for. He could never reject that smile. That was dirty. ‘You talk.’

‘You talk!’ Seokmin retorted back, teasing the shy man, ‘It’s a stage! See? Go and get ‘em!’ he playfully urged the man, mimicking Soonyoung’s usual habit the moment he got on stage during his performance – his Prince Hoshi persona, earning his the normal poke on the cheek. ‘What about your Mc dreams? Ladies an-‘

‘Yah! That’s a dream!’

‘Sleeptalking.’ Now it was the omega’s time to tease the other, trying his best to recall some of the random shows Seokmin hosted in his sleep. Laughing in embarrassment, the latter pulled him in a hug to stop him, an action Soonyoung always enjoyed albeit his struggle to free himself from the suffocating embrace. Unfortunately for the couple, their fun time was cut short when they were called on stage.

‘Where are you going? You should greet the guests!’ Mrs. Lee urged the pair and Soonyoung did a pout to his mate in discontent. She eagerly pulled the omega behind her, introducing him to Seokmin’s lovely aunties. Soonyoung avoided looking at them at first but a glimpse of their faces and he couldn’t stop staring. He knew each and every one of them. New anchors, actresses, TV hosts. Every single one of them was a celebrity. ‘Aren’t you cute! No wonder Dokyeom’s so crazy about you!’ One of them pinched his chin gently and at that exact moment, he realized his mouth was wide opened. Feeling his face flush, Soonyoung instinctively pulled Seokmin in front of him and hide behind that wide back, peeking once in a while.

‘Did you just hide behind me?’ Seokmin picked on him the moment they were let go. Soonyoung denied the accusation sternly but it was no use. He did, do it. ‘Such a cute omega! Aren’t you?’ The alpha imitated his aunt which annoyed the other further.

‘Get a room!’ Soonyoung ran towards Wonwoo the moment he saw the couple walking towards them. Mingyu gave Seokmin a hug, congratulating him while Wonwoo just looked at him bemusedly to which Soonyoung rolled his eyes.

They made up a few months after their ‘break-up’, as friends, and just like Seokmin told him, Wonwoo did fine without him after all. He met his boyfriend after their fight, and Soonyoung gained his confidence back when he recovered from the whole situation. The experience made him more bold and stern in his decision-making, and again, just like Seokmin told him, his friends stuck with him even then. Turned out, most people are not that shallow enough to hate him just for expressing his feelings. In the end, everything turned out for the best.

‘Really? Bonding party?’ The tall omega asked jokingly and Soonyoung could only lift up his shoulders in confusion.

‘Really Dokyeom? A party?’ He then heard Mingyu complained and laughed at how similar the couple were in their actions yet very different from each other. Putting a hand over the other alpha’s shoulders, Seokmin replied, ‘Bet your grandma’s gonna hold a bigger one when you guys bond.’

Soonyoung couldn’t help but snort the moment he saw the horror on Wonwoo’s face, his eyes wide opened, staring at his friend. That simple comment produced the same reaction from Mingyu, whose mouth stayed open, and Seokmin took the chance to pull Soonyoung away, both giggling in satisfaction as they leave their friends.

After greeting their mutual friends and Soonyoung’s family, along with a few of Seokmin’s, the new mates decided to walk around separately. Mostly, Soonyoung wanted time alone because he was already tired of getting to know strangers, and walking with Seokmin meant having to be greeted by almost everyone in the party. Soonyoung really had no more social energy left even though most of the time, he would only introduce himself and pretend to show interest in the conversation without needing to say anything. He really wanted to go back and sleep, but the room key was with his mate who was now nowhere to be found, so instead, Soonyoung rounded back to his close friends, joining them on the table to eat.

God, he was famished. The tuxedo was tight.

Soonyoung took his time, scanning around the hall. Minus the children, he could count how many faces he never met before. The rest were all celebrities of some sort, be it an artist, director, even socialite and models. When Chan said their family was involved in the entertainment industry, he definitely did not expect them to be the ‘it’ family of the industry. And he most certainly did not expect the Lees to be this influential. That being said, Seokmin must be the odd one in the family since he took medicine instead of pursuing the same road as the others. He wondered if that was the reason everyone in the family knew Seokmin. Or maybe the Lees are just close-knitted in the first place.

Speaking of the Lees, Soonyoung suddenly missed his own Lee. The room was filled with the Lee family scent which creeped him out a bit. It made him want to find his mate and just sniff that soft, unique scent of the younger alpha. Unfortunately, he couldn’t see Seokmin from his seat so he assumed the alpha must be sitting on one of the couches or was outside. Not wanting to get out of the place, as he knew the moment he stepped out, he would want to stay out, Soonyoung shyly made his way to the few couches placed there. To think that he just joined a wealthy, influential family, it made him feel a bit awkward and out-of-place. He really wanted to be with Seokmin right now-

Owh god.

Soonyoung backed away a few steps. He thought he saw…

…Owh god!! That was Key, sitting on the couch, chatting with someone! He was not mistaken, Shinee’s Key was here!!

! Was he friends with someone from the family?? Good god! Shinee! He needed to find Seokmin! Seokmin needed to know that the god himself was here to bless their bond!!

Wait, should he take this chance to greet his idol? But what if he embarrassed himself? No, he need his mate there to make sure he wouldn’t make a fool of himself.

In a rushed, excited step, Soonyoung tried his best not to hit anyone. The Lees scent were really starting to annoy him because now, he couldn’t just sniff up his mate to know the man’s whereabouts. Should he go on stage and look around? That would be-

Owh god. He just saw Minho and Onew. Shinee was here. At his party. Were they supposed to make a special appearance on stage? Should he greet them? As the host?

Before the omega got too excited, he ears perked up. He just heard Seokmin’s laughter, and it came from there. Where the kings were standing. Looking straight towards the group, his almost choked on his own breath, startled.

What the hell.

His alpha was talking to freaking Taemin. Casually talking and laughing like the man was not the king of kpop! How dare he? Wait… Lee Taemin? Lee Jinki? Could they be…

..nah! Impossible!

, Seokmin just gestured for him to join them? What should he do? Relax.  Woah, his heart was beating rather furiously. This was bad for health. He needed to go back. Owh no, now all four of them were looking straight at him, expecting him to join their conversation.

Not wanting to make a scene, and secretly wanting to talk to his idols, Soonyoung shyly made his way to the group, standing very close to Seokmin, face too hot to even look at the handsome trio straight into their pretty eyes. ‘Guys, you remember Hoshi?’

‘Owh . You’re that kid?’ Minho exclaimed and somehow Soonyoung shrunk back a step, wanting to hide his face for no reason. ‘I remember you at the concert! The one you brought that summer right, Min?’

‘Yup. He was blonde.’

‘Now I remember! You look different with black hair!’ Taemin added, patting Soonyoung’s shoulder and again, for some reason, he made his way further behind Seokmin, embarrassed that he was the center of attention of the Shinee. ‘T-the concert w-was cool.’ He managed to answer, earning him laughter from the males in the circle.

‘Anyway, congratulations man! Never thought you’d be the first one to mate!’ The leader of the group congratulated Seokmin who hugged him back, casually, making Soonyoung who was behind him, frozen in awe. ‘You guys are too busy I doubt you even have someone.’

Rude! Soonyoung stared at his alpha, wanting to hit the guy for making such comment to such perfect human being. Shinee members probably have suitors surrounding them left and right unlike Seokmin who was stuck with him for the rest of his life. Clearing his throat, he took the chance to ask something that had been bothering him, before Seokmin made anymore stupid comments, ‘You, ermm, know each other?’

‘We’re cousins.’ Onew replied and Soonyoung’s jaw dropped. ‘All of you?’

‘Just me and your Seokmin, Hoshi. We grow up together.’ His jaw still couldn’t close. Not caring about his omega’s flabbergasted situation, laughing at it instead, Seokmin mentioned, ‘Owh yeah. I should thank you. We actually became close at the concert.’ He turned towards Soonyoung, ‘He gave me the tickets by the way.’

‘He never went to see our lives so I was kinda surprised when his mom called me for two. No wonder.’

‘Yeah. You’re cute.’ Taemin winked at him and Soonyoung swore he just died right there. His face was now too hot he could feel sweats flowing down his cheeks. God he wanted to hide! Seokmin!

‘He really looks like a fox.’ Onew commented as he saw the omega hiding himself behind his cousin who now had a huge grin decorating his face. He recalled how Seokmin first described his crush to him through the phone a few years back, and how long it took for him to finally get to where there were now.

‘Right? Sly one. He wasn’t easy to catch.’ Soonyoung punched Seokmin’s back for that. ‘But I caught him.’ He simpered.

-The End-

Finally!! After more than a year, Catching the Little Fox finally ended!! Quick question, what do you imagine Seokmin’s and Soonyoung's scents are?

I just had to put Shinee at the end there. I mean, come one. Hoshi needs his Shinee-hyungs XD

Anyway, I’d like to thank all my readers who stuck with the fic from the beginning until the end, and keep leaving me lovely comments to motivate me! I really love you guys! I know I haven’t been replying to the comments as quickly and frequently as I used to, but know that you mean everything to me!

Love you guys so much!!! <3<3<3