Seongwoo ended up late to the restaurant for his date with the dog shifter Daniel and he felt terrible about it. Of course, the literal puppy boy wasn't angry at him. Rather, he greeted him with a big hug, popped out bushy, snowy, wagging tail, and wet kisses on his cheek.

 Seongwoo allowed a or two since there was no one likely to be looking from outside since there wasn't a nice view. He hadn't liked the at first because it just seemed unsanitary. Now however he hardly minded. Because he liked everything about this boy, he could even forgive a germ infestation here and there. He was incredibly sweet and affectionate and always excited and attentive.

In a few days, Daniel had proved to be the best boyfriend he had ever had. They had met again for lunch the previous day and they also talked every night and morning through the phone. Daehwi had patiently taught Daniel how to use it, though apparently it had been a bit rough. Daniel had gotten curious and pushed every button and icon randomly and he was addicted to phone games especially racing.

Seongwoo wasn't a fan but he had pictures from Jinyoung of Daniel lying around in bed not having slept because he was in the middle of enhancing his cars by winning big races. Jinyoung had sent him other pictures as well, candids that gave Seongwoo a glimpse into the dog shifter trying to be more human-like, Daniel’s daily life.

He treated the house like a playground. He did acrobatic moves and jumped off the walls in both forms. He really had superhuman amounts of energy. Seongwoo guessed why they had been trying to get him out of the house. In his human form, he usually wandered around in just shorts, leaving his clothes and towels scattered on the floor to party with the garbage and snacks. He also always seemed to be snacking. Which accounted for his size and puffy cheeks. He was apparently always hungry. Which was why Seongwoo had taken him here, at an all you can eat steak restaurant.

"Hmm, you smell good hyung."

Seongwoo flushed as his puppy boyfriend sniffed his neck all over quite noisily. It felt ticklish and his body heated from the area around his waist and back where Daniel was holding him. He liked how Daniel was possessive and constantly touching him in this gentle yet confident way. Wherever they went, Daniel sent out the message that Seongwoo was his and sometimes he gave looks to people who glanced at Seongwoo for a few seconds too long a rather evil glare, as if he were saying that Seongwoo was his territory so they better look away and back off.

In his mind, Seongwoo could read those kinds of thoughts. He could also read even now through the intense attraction and sparks flying between them that Daniel wanted to mate and mark him, terribly so. Marking involved putting Daniel's scent all over him so that other alphas would know that he was off limits. Seongwoo could only imagine what sort of things were being rubbed over his body.

Seongwoo shivered as Daniel kissed near his jaw, then nibbled on his ear, feeling it was like though Daniel probably hadn’t meant it that way since he didn’t know what that was. "Glad you like my new cologne, but we are in public remember..." He whispered, kicking himself for saying anything.

He wanted Daniel to continue terribly. He was aching for him. He had been for days. It was killing him to wait but he felt like it was appropriate. Daniel said he had mated but never with humans. Basically, Seongwoo was dealing with a for one of those rare times in his life. He felt that he should take things slow and teach Daniel step by step, through all parts of and the proper dating process.

Today was their third date and they had known each other a week. It was almost time. But not today. Today he just wanted a kiss. Their first mouth to mouth kiss. But not here when people could see.

"I love it, hyung. You smell like ice cream."

Seongwoo giggled and reluctantly stepped away from his fantastic mouth. Daniel turned pouty but respected his wish for space. Seongwoo found it funny that Daniel was much more obedient than he was to any of his house mates. He figured it was just the power of the bond and the fact they really liked each other in a romantic, intimate sense.

 Since Seongwoo’s mind wasn’t currently cloudy with lust and Daniel's presence and the thoughts of his boyfriend invading his mind(Seongwoo hyung is so pretty, smells good too, I missed him so much, I like him more than anything in the world, it's hard to be without him for a day, can we mate today, I really want to mark him…), Seongwoo was able to get a good look at him. Daehwi had dressed him up today. His hair was slicked back and he had slacks and a dress shirt. He looked very neat and handsome.

 Seongwoo smiled at him with affection and fixed the collar, then brushed his broad shoulders. He could read in Daniel's thoughts that he loved the way Seongwoo touched him with care, grace, and love. Seongwoo reached up to brush and pinch his squishy cheek.

 "You sure look sharp today?"

He turned sheepish and shy, looking down, giving a dorky laugh with his bunny teeth sticking out, scratching the back of his neck. "You like it? This is the first time I have ever worn something like this. It's a bit weird. I told Daehwi it's too much and you like me even without fancy clothes, since we've got our bond, and what better way to attractive you than that? But He insisted you would appreciate the effort since it's an official date at a nice dating spot."

"I very much appreciate it. I'm sorry that I'm dressed down."

He had worn all black casual clothes and a graphic shirt and ripped up jeans. Ironically, he had been trying to match his young, hip boyfriend who always wore trendy casual clothes. Daniel took his hand and made him do a spin. Seongwoo did a few twirls, blushing and growing hot under his gaze, especially the way that he looked at certain parts of his body. Seongwoo didn't actually need him to say aloud how much Daniel liked the way he looked. Or how much his heat wave symptoms were about to drive him out of control if he didn’t tear his eyes away from his backside in the fit jeans very soon.

"You are even more gorgeous than usual. Lobster!"

"Rockstar, I think you meant."

Seongwoo cracked up laughing and stopped himself. Sometimes Daniel got words wrong or didn't know human concepts and objects. Seongwoo found it amusing and endearing. He would laugh for a few minutes, then when he sensed Daniel getting annoyed or ashamed, he explained or fixed it.

Daniel was luckily a quick learner. He had been practicing being in his human form several times a day as well. He could stay in it for a couple hours now. Daehwi had said that his behaviors and attitude towards humans and his own body had made a vast improvement now he had motivation and was pushing himself.

"Ah, yeah, rockstar." Daniel pretended to play guitar. Seongwoo joined him on the drums.

"I used to be in a band," he commented.

Daniel cocked his head and Seongwoo imagined his ears twitching in that way they did when Daniel was trying to sort through new information and confused. Then he pointed to his hair.

"Band? A band for girls to tie their hair?"

"No, no!" Seongwoo burst out laughing, slapping his knees and leaning on the cute boy for support as he nearly died from how funny that comment was.

Daniel held him up with his sturdy strength. "Why? That's wrong? What's so funny now? Hyung~" Daniel slipped out a clear puppy whine and an annoyed little bark.

Seongwoo explained once the dog shifter started to growl and looked close to storming into the restaurant without him. "I mean a music band. People who play instruments, sing, and make rock music together."

"Oh really? What's dum dums though?" Daniel was back to all smiles and hear stealing dimples.

“Drums. They’re a percussion instrument. That means when you hit them, they make cool noises.”

Seongwoo showed him a picture of his old band on stage and showed him a video of himself playing drums back in college.

"This is really you, hyung? You're a hot rockstar! You look so cool! You must have had a lot of fans and guppies?"

He scratched his temple. Seongwoo corrected him gently. "Groupies. Sure I did, way back then. I was fun and good looking and fashionable and talented. Then I threw my life away and became a boring corporate ghost. They don’t care about looks or special talents there, just who can put in numbers the fastest. That was stupid of me."

Daniel hugged Seongwoo, sensing he needed comfort again, and kissed his cheek. "You may be pale as a ghost, hyung, but you are still fun and fashionable. Of course, your good looks didn't go anywhere. You know how worried I get with you wandering the streets and work without me? I have no way to chase people away. What if they try to court you too? In the dog shifter world, we would have to face off but I can't start a fight with a human right outside your company that I don't know. I heard I could go to jail."

"That's true. You could and you wouldn't like it. The food and you will be in a small cell which is like a cage."

Daniel shivered, looking horrified. It was adorable, as he always was every day, in the moments that he wasn’t being incredibly y without even knowing it. "Oh, I wouldn't like that."

 Seongwoo took his hand and suggested they go in. After they were seated at the table and ordered, Seongwoo responded to their earlier topic.

"You don't need to worry, Daniel. There is no one as sweet, handsome, funny, and special as you. I won't leave you even for another shifter. There's no competition. Humans, when we like someone, we usually like them for life. Not like animals that are just around for one season."

"Me too, hyung. I feel different than I usually do. I don't want a temporary thing. Even when my heat cycle is done, I want to meet you. It's not unheard of, especially with bonded pairs or shifters living as humans. I want to mate with you for life. Like my friends have found. It looks fun and sweet how they are always around and there for each other. I want that too."

They held hands across the table and smiled sweetly at each other. They could both read each other's thoughts--that they wanted to hug or kiss each other but the room was full of people and being two guys, that would weird others out.

 "If you want to live with me, that's okay but we need to get you a job first. After we get you more accustomed to being human. You still have a lot of puppy ticks to hide. I know your tail is wagging."

Daniel grinned sheepishly. "I will try to suppress it. It pops out when I'm happy. My ears too. I can only control one at a time when I'm with you, I just feel too ridiculously happy."

 Seongwoo blushed and hid his grin behind his hand. Daniel always had the right thing to say to send his heart into overdrive. He was a natural player. He put out classy lines unknowingly.

"I'm glad to hear that. You make me really happy too. I'm not used to smiling and laughing this much. It's been more in the last week than I've done in the last few years. I forgot what it was like and didn’t realized how much I had missed something so simple and basic to others. Thank you."

Daniel pulled his hand and then kissed each finger, sniffing curiously at his ring.

"Anytime, hyung. It's an alpha’s job to keep his mate happy. If I can't keep you happy, I don't deserve you. Someone might steal you away. They would have every right to."

 Seongwoo shifted, the center of his body boiling and his pants tightening as he read Daniel's next thought 'that’s why I need to mate and mark him as mine so he will be satisfied further and no one will think of touching what's mine.'

Seongwoo heard it many times now but he still really liked the sound of it. ‘He’s mine.’ ‘You’re mine.’ He liked being his. He liked the feeling of being owned and treasured. Daniel did a great job caring for him, considering how young and inexperienced he was. He just had this nurturing ability and knew how to treat someone well. But he didn't know about human manners.

Seongwoo released his hand and cleared his throat. He took deep breaths and tried to ignore the thick floating in the air between them as he set the table and poured water. Daniel looked concerned for a moment but after he read his thoughts, he smiled smugly and just watched him with clear amusement.

"Hyung if you want to so bad, I'm willing. Three dates have passed. That’s longer than you promised."

Seongwoo shook his head and bit his lip, fiddling and looking at a fork. "That's before I learned you're basically ..."

"What's that?"

"Oh, never mind."

Seongwoo face flushed and he drank some water. He really needed to get both of their minds out of the gutter and on to safer topics.

The food came out not much later luckily. It was steak, potatoes, and steamed vegetables. Daniel picked up the whole plate, planning to bite the meat. Seongwoo stopped him with a laugh. Then, he patiently taught Daniel how to use a knife and fork. After five minutes, Daniel was able to very slowly and clumsily cut a few pieces of meat. He had been pouting and growling, complaining why humans used these stupid things to eat in such a complicated, slow way when they had perfectly good bones that were meant for tearing.

Seongwoo took pity on him and cut up the rest of his steak. Daniel really loved the meat. He wolfed it down and then he ended up having three more. Seongwoo had to push him to eat other things to be healthy. He learned Daniel really disliked vegetables.

"It's not that bad," Seongwoo teased as he made a face and spat some broccoli out on a napkin.

 "Dogs only eat meat. This is rabbit food."

"I know a rabbit shifter by the way. If you want another friend."

Seongwoo had finally asked his friends that were dating a question he had been suspicious of for a long time. It turns out they were shifters, one a rabbit and another a chick. He thought their forms were really adorable compared to how cool the two pro basketball players usually looked. They were much smaller than Daniel.

"Make sure they don't touch you for longer than five seconds and nowhere inappropriate," he grumbled around more steak to wash out the bitter taste.

"How unhealthy you dogs must be."

Daniel winked and smiled mischievously, a piece of meat sticking out of his sharp teeth he had transformed to chew the tough meat better. "Our bodies you will find are designed specially. There are lots of cool things we can do. One of those is eating only meat and water and somehow being healthy."

Seongwoo snorted. "Still, when you're living in the human world, you ought to do as humans do. And we don’t eat just one food group. Eat your vegetables, all of them, Daniel. Don't spit out or push any more out onto the floor. I saw all of that but just let it go because I like you and you're adorable. But this is a lesson and I’m going to be teaching you properly, which means I will be strict if need be. If you don't do things the human way, then no skinship with me. No hugs or wet kisses for you. No scratching from me. Your insubordinance will come with consequences."

Daniel pouted and whined, glaring at the offensive, colorful foods. He looked up at Seongwoo pitifully, then he looked down at the vegetables and growled. This happened a few more times. Seongwoo giggled and couldn't keep a serious, stern face anymore. What a funny kid Daniel was. Seongwoo turned sweeter and grasped Daniel's hand.

"They are full of vitamins. They make us look nicer and feel more energetic. You like my hair and skin, right? That's all because I eat these regularly."

Daniel's eyes went bigger and his plush pink lips made an O. Seongwoo flushed as he looked directly there. He wanted to kiss those lips, quite terribly. He dreamed and day dreamed throughout the day and night randomly about what it would be like. Here wasn't the place though. They needed to go somewhere more private. Soon as possible.

Daniel looked at him, likely reading his mind. His eyes appreciatively went all over Seongwoo's face and lingered on his lips with a different sort of hunger Seongwoo was familiar with. Then, he sighed and forked a piece of broccoli. Seongwoo beamed, proud to see he was able to use the utensil naturally almost and that he was listening well.

"Okay, I will eat these disgusting things that even Daehwi and Jisung couldn't make me eat. But it's all for you. I want to have nice skin and hair, better than any human."

Seongwoo chuckled as he watched and silently encouraged Daniel to sculf down the vegetables despite his grimacing and wincing and frowning, thinking that Daniel was already several times more handsome than human males he had met. Daniel was so attractive it almost hurt to look at him but like a masochist he enjoyed the pain so he kept looking for some reason. This gorgeous man was his, as well. How lucky had he got this year.

After they were finished, Seongwoo bought Daniel an ice cream from a convenience store in order to rinse out the bitter taste. Daniel took advantage of his privileges on the way to his house. Since he ate the rest without complaining, his reward was all the skinship he wanted. Seongwoo was heated and red from head to toe by the time they got to Daniel's door of the large, two -story, green house. People had stared and pointed at the couple as Daniel brought him close, held his hand, and kissed his neck and cheeks and nibbled his ears.

"Stop it, handsome. They're staring because they're not used to seeing guys do that, not because they want to steal me for themselves." Seongwoo smacked the growling, glaring man's chest.

"Really? Good. You're mine." He barked and bit Seongwoo’s ear, back to his bright, breezy self.

"Stop it!" Seongwoo shrieked and tried to get away from the attack.

Daniel held him fast in his strong grip, his arms around his waist still, and chewed on the edge in a playful, sensual way that made Seongwoo shiver and moan violently.

He opened the door and whispered thickly, "Even without the bond, I can see that you like it, hyung. I think you were bluffing earlier. You wouldn't have really taken skinship away, would you? You're as addicted to it as me already. Well, like I said, if you want to mate, just say the word. I’m not inexperienced. I'm sure it works basically the same way with human bodies. I’ll just bend you over, bite your neck to keep you still, put my hands on your hips, then mount you and…"

 Seongwoo laughed fakely and changed the subject quickly, pulling Daniel into the home. "Where are your roommates? Wow this plac