AKA 'Undergrad!Hyuk and Neko!Hae AU.'

Not proofread. Can't be bothered.

"Donghae, your guardian is here!"

Eyes the colour of chestnut brown filled with unadulterated affection that only grew with each unsteady step taken by the toddling neko. A genuinely sweet smile appeared on Hyukjae's normally expressionless face as he proudly watched Donghae waddle toward him, his short arms outstretched in eager anticipation of a hug from his Hyukkie.

Of course, the raven-haired man happily complied. Once Donghae was within reach, he effortlessly lifted the neko and secured him in his arms while Donghae wrapped his legs around Hyukjae's slim waist, the man pressing a doting kiss to the plump cheeks. Donghae let out a cry of delight and reciprocated the gesture with much enthusiasm, effectively flooding Hyukjae's chest with blissful warmth.

Before Donghae entered Hyukjae's life, never in a million years would the university student have thought that something as simple as a peck on the cheek was capable of bringing him great joy.

"How was your day, Hae?" Hyukjae asked, nuzzling the silky tuft of hair and inhaling the gentle baby scent.

Melting Hyukjae's heart with a toothy grin, Donghae answered plainly, "nice!"

The faint chuckle that escaped Hyukjae's plump lips elicited innocent titters from Donghae and the man swore the female staff who had gathered nearby swooned over the neko's extreme cuteness.

Who could blame them? Hyukjae himself was weak against the entity he had lovingly named Donghae.

"See you tomorrow, Donghae!" Joohyun, one of the volunteers at the day care facility, waved from behind the front desk.

"Bye-bye!" The neko exclaimed cheerily, triangular ears perked up. Hyukjae had to stifle an amused snort when Joohyun flailed her arms and squealed nonsensically.

Sometimes, he wondered if his baby had the hidden ability to render people temporarily incapable of proper speech and behaviour. He'd never forget the time Donghae turned his exasperating coursemate into an incoherent mess with his mere eyes.

Redirecting his attention to Donghae, he said, "let's go home."

He barely made it out of the heavily-decorated classroom when Donghae pouted at him and mewled, "ice cream?"

Hyukjae wanted to refuse, he really did, but it was pointless to argue when he knew the battle had been lost. Donghae had him wrapped around his finger and the child was aware of it, that brat.

With a defeated sigh, Hyukjae caved in.

"Alright, but you must finish your lunch before you can have your ice cream. Deal?"

Glee swirled in gleaming chocolate orbs. "Yes!"

//

Donghae nearly wolfed down his lunch and Hyukjae had to remind him to slow down but he still emptied his plate in record time.

Beyond pleased, Hyukjae gladly rewarded him with two scoops of vanilla ice cream instead of one seeing that his plate really was spotless.

"Thank you, Hyukkie!"

A fond smile.

"You're welcome, Hae."

//

After doing the dishes, Hyukjae switched on the TV for Donghae—("Finding Nemo, please," his well mannered baby had requested, shyly twisting his body)—and disappeared into his study, but not before telling Donghae to behave. He left the door ajar so that he could keep an eye on the neko and so that Donghae could enter the study if he needed Hyukjae's assistance with something.

Donghae thoroughly enjoyed the movie but he soon became restless. When Dory accidentally gave Bruce a nosebleed, the neko decided that he'd had enough TV for the time being (he'd seen the movie at least eleven times anyway, he wasn't going to miss any important details) and wandered into the study where Hyukjae was diligently hunched over his desk.

"Hyukkie."

Hyukjae rustled his papers, his eyebrows knitted as he gave the lengthy report a quick skim to detect obvious inaccuracies that would affect his final grade. "Yes, Hae?"

He didn't look up, but he heard Donghae's sock-clad feet advance in his direction. Usually, Hyukjae was at Donghae's beck and call but he decided to let the neko toddler be since his assignment was keeping him occupied.

"Hyukkie."

"The formation of apoptosome is triggered when the mitochondria releases cytochrome C in response to either an internal or external cell death stimulus."

Muttering under his breath, Hyukjae devoted his full concentration to proofreading his work and he missed the petulant huff that came from the annoyed neko standing next to his desk.

"Hyukkie," Donghae tried again, his tail that was swishing to and fro earlier now limp on the carpetted floor of the childproof study. He didn't like it when Hyukjae took no notice of him, either deliberately or unintentionally.

("Hyukkie, what's an uptenton seeker?"

"Attention seeker, Hae," Hyukjae corrected him.

"Yeah, that."

The man was silent as he mulled over the meaning of the term, figuring out how to phrase it in a way that Donghae would understand. He then explained, "someone who does things to make people pay attention to them."

"Oh. Am I one?"

"An attention seeker?"

"Yeah."

"You're you, Hae."

"And that's good?"

"Mhm."

"Oh.")

Starting to feel a little neglected (he was used to being pampered by Hyukjae whenever the older was around), Donghae sat down on his diapered bottom with a soft thud and crossed his arms across his chest, his lower lip jutted out. Eyes downcast, he whispered, mostly to his miserable self, "Hae wants Hyukkie."

Several minutes passed in utter silence and the undergraduate student remained unmindful of his neko. Donghae's mood dampened significantly and Hyukjae didn't even realize the chocolate orbs beginning to moisten, fat tears dangerously spilling over as they dampened the milky cheeks and dripped onto the floor.

"Hyu-- Hyukkie--" Donghae's breath hitched and he began to cry earnestly, his chin quivering.

Loud sobs reverberated around the study and the heart-wrenchin