---

Gravel crunches beneath his shoes as he slowly makes his way down the street. The trees are swaying in the cool October air, and it's so chilly he can see his own breath fog, but Jongin feels surprisingly content as he zips his jacket and shoves his hands in his pockets. A small feather is lodged under his nails but he doesn't have the willpower to toss it on the ground. A small child and her Mother walk past him a few seconds later, both of them sending him strange looks when their eyes meet.

In a sense, Jongin feels lucky, because the usual staring and pointing has gone down ever since October rolled around, with majority of people assuming he's simply getting into the Halloween spirit a little too early, and his ears both fold back against his head when a cold gust of wind passes. As he passes a small café filled with people enjoying hot chocolate and cakes, Jongin hears a woman shriek something incoherent, which makes him flinch. Jongin exhales in irritation when his tail, appearing from where he'd kept it hidden; against his back under his jacket, automatically puffs up at the shrill noise. Not wanting to cause a scene, Jongin keeps it close to his thigh as usual. The sound immediately takes him back to the events that took place just a few hours ago.

It wasn't exactly Jongin's fault, as the latter likes to think, because in his defense, it wasn't his fault that the godforsaken sparrow chose to fly in right through the open window whilst he was watching TV. Jongin doesn't really remember what happened afterwards, but he does remember nearly successfully swiping the animal and ripping off a few feathers, only for it to fly out subsequently, much to his dismay. Well, Jongin didn't just end up getting a few feathers, he ended up getting the scolding of his life when his foster mother walked in a minute later and screamed in horror at the sight of vases lying shattered on the floor, all the feathers on the carpet, the ripped curtains and the couch, which Jongin had somehow managed to knock over at some point in the commotion. She walked over and promptly tugged on Jongin's ear, only to toss him out the front door after he responded by automatically hissing in pain and swiping at her with his hand. Jongin is well aware of the fact that he broke his 'No hissing and or scratching' pledge but, the way he sees it, getting your ear pulled isn't exactly a walk in the park.

Jongin honestly has no idea where he's going, but he does remember spotting a nice looking bush next to a park whilst on a walk with his family, that would be ideal for napping in. His legs ache from walking so long and Jongin wants nothing more than to curl up inside a berry bush and sleep the rest of the day away. When he thinks about it, he doesn't recall the exact location of said bush, and Jongin is about to pull out his phone and look it up when his left ear twitches. The sound of water splashing in the distance grabs his attention, a lock of black hair falling in Jongin's eyes as he lifts his head. Normally, he would be a cowering mess on the ground at the sound, but it suddenly hits him that the sound is coming from the pond where children usually feed ducks and fishermen usually hang out. Jongin has no idea if fish usually breed in the fall, but the growling in his stomach makes him forget about it and skip in the opposite direction.

Arriving just as the last old fisherman packs up his things and leaves (Jongin promptly contemplates swiping a fish or two in his bucket, but decides against it in fear of being swatted with the fishing rod), Jongin slowly but gracefully makes his way towards the edge of the small bridge and peers into the water. It's crystal clear and surprisingly bright for the evening, and Jongin sees his ears twitching in anticipation as he watches his reflection down below. Jongin moves into a squatting position and blinks when his reflection is distorted by a ripple, tail instinctively swaying back and forth as his eyes scurry across the water. Only plants and snails as far as the eye can see, but a small fish soon catches Jongin's eye and he follows it with his gaze as it makes its way towards him. Before Jongin knows it, he's quickly plunging his hand below the surface, only to curse under his breath when he misses, and he watches as the fish hurriedly scurries away before moving so he's laying on his stomach. He remembers his foster father telling him that catching fish on your stomach is easier due to being able to reach deeper underwater, which Jongin can get behind, considering he caught a giant bass last month as a result of it.

Nevertheless, Jongin figures the fish he just attempted to catch must have swam away and informed all its friends about the giant cat human by the brink, since Jongin finds himself waiting for over five minutes with no success. His eyes are still twinkling with anticipation as he scans the water, and Jongin quickly spots another fish approaching him, and he raises a hand in the air, ready to strike a second time. 

"Halloween isn't until another 30 days, idiot!"

Jongin emits a loud squawk as he nearly falls face first into the water in surprise, tail puffing up twice its size as he scrambles to turn around. He watches, ears fully erect, as a tall man with elf like ears stares at him with an unreadable look on his face. Behind him is another tall, young, man, with blond hair and broad shoulders. The latter's expression is much softer than that of his friend's (and has a hint of curiosity to it), but Jongin still eyes them in wary as he hurriedly brings his tail closer to his leg. His foster family taught him, ever since he came to them as a 15 year old, to never, ever hit or growl at strangers who are curious, and Jongin feels himself cowering when the man walks towards him.

"Nice cosplay, although you're a little too old to be running around dressed up, aren't you?" The man snickers and eyes Jongin's ears, which are practically folded in half. "You make these yourself?" He reaches out and is about to tug on one of Jongin's ears when he suddenly steps back. He blinks. "...Did you just in'...hiss?" he asks, amusement and dislike coating his features as he stares at Jongin. "Sehun, did you hear that--"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever, it's cold as hell," the man's friend, whom Jongin assumes is named Sehun, murmurs as he scrolls on his phone. Although Jongin can tell he's sneaking glances at him every now and then, which makes Jongin's ears fold back even more.

"Don't touch me," Jongin says quietly, wrapping his tail around his leg as he avoids the taller man's eyes. Without his foster parents to defend him from creepy strangers, he honestly has no idea what to do, and it makes his heart race with anxiety. He's sort of lucky his foster father isn't here right now, though, because he would most likely yell at Jongin for hissing at a stranger. Either way, Jongin's thoughts are quickly interrupted when he feels a yank on his tail, and he is seriously glad his parents aren't here when he yelps and swats the man right in the face. Jongin watches as the taller man stumbles slightly in surprise, and Jongin notices his blond friend putting his phone away behind him as he holds his face. He sort of wonders if it's worth escaping and running away, but Jongin doesn't get a chance to contemplate it when he feels the man grab his arm.

A loud shriek leaves Jongin's lips when he scrambles to grab onto the edge of the bridge, thrashing in panic when he feels his lower body and tail get submerged in the cold water subsequently. A child stops and points as she walks by and Jongin scrambles back onto the bridge a minute later. He recalls the similar feeling of panic that coarsed through his entire body when he accidentally toppled into a pool whilst chasing a butterfly last year, and Jongin practically collapses onto the ground whilst shaking like a leaf; he feels his tail shrivelling up as he breathes heavily. Jongin is about to get up and scurry off towards the bush and dry himself off when he feels a hand on his shoulder. 

"Are you alright?" the blond man, Sehun, asks gently as he pats Jongin's shoulder. Jongin can practically feel him staring at his ears as he kneels down beside him and Jongin instinctively folds them back against his head. 

Jongin nods, wincing when he feels his ice cold jeans sticking to his thighs. He rubs his eyes and ignores the crowd of people gathering around and giving him side eyes. Without his foster mother there to comfort him, Jongin suddenly feels extremely small and insecure as he attempts to hide his eyes behind his bangs. He tries remembering what his mother would do in situations like these, only to come up with nothing, and Jongin is on the verge of suffering a mental breakdown when Sehun speaks up again.

"Don't mind him, he can be an sometimes," Sehun says, gesturing at his friend, who is grumbling to himself a few feet away. He pats Jongin's back. "If you want to, you can stop by my place and change into something dry," he says after a minute and blinks in surprise when Jongin suddenly rubs his head against his wrist. 

"Talk about taking the whole cat thing seriously," the taller male snickers from a few feet away, although he's sporting a semi freaked out expression on his face.

Jongin bites his lip, because he clearly remembers his foster parents telling him not to follow anybody who might be curious about him or want to talk to him, but he finds himself nodding for reasons he can't explain; he assumes it might be either because Sehun's perfume reminds him an awful lot of his recent foster father's scent, or the fact that he feels so incredibly protected under Sehun's warm eyes. Jongin lets Sehun help him to his feet, and his jeans seriously feel like they've been filled with cement as they wordlessly make their way away from the pond. Jongin makes sure to shy away from the blond's friend as they walk and keeps his hands shoved deep in his pockets. His legs are still shaking from the ice cold water and Jongin finds himself sticking to Sehun like glue when they pass by a crowd of people who all send him strange looks. 

Jongin watches in silence as Sehun says goodbye to his friend, and Jongin kneads the fabric of the inside of his jacket pockets as they continue to walk down a street Jongin has never seen before, all whilst the latter's head spins in confusion. Sehun soon turns around and sends him a smile, saying something about his house being on this block before gesturing down the street. As intimidating as the darkening alleys and houses are, Jongin makes sure to stick right behind Sehun, the latter's scent calming Jongin's nerves as he walks with his soaked tail tucked between his equally soaked legs. 

A dog barks in the distance and Jongin feels the hair on his neck stand up they approach the driveway and walk up to the front door of Sehun's house. Jongin spots a ton of fancy bushes surrounding the house, which he figures would be perfect for sleeping in. With Sehun's scent still there to comfort him, Jongin reluctantly takes a step forward when Sehun unlocks the door and swings it open.

After a minute, Jongin can only make out Sehun's scent as a warm blast of air hits him in the face, which he's utterly relieved by, since he's pretty sure he'd suffer a nervous breakdown if greeted by three or more people. Jongin nearly trips over the threshold as he cautiously steps inside, head spinning as its overwhelmed by a hundred different scents at once. As much as his heart is racing with nervousness, Jongin figures he'd rather die than walk another step with his jeans weighing his entire body down, so he falls to the floor and, after a brief struggle, manages to kick off his soaking wet jeans. He leaves them discarded on the floor (which his foster mother would scold him to hell and back for) before getting up and nervously running a hand through his hair. His ears twitch in all directions as Jongin attempts to make sense of what's going on, and his tail sways back and forth in curiosity as he eyes what he assumes is the living room.

Sehun closes the door behind him and removes his jacket before hanging it up. He eyes the crumpled pair of black jeans on the hallway carpet and seriously wonders how on Earth the young male managed to remove them so soundlessly and quickly, without him even noticing. Either way, Sehun picks them up and nearly drops them right back down again when he looks up and sees the dark haired male standing a few feet away. He's got a curious yet cautious glint in his eyes and his fluffy black tail is lying flaccid between his shoes, which he's apparently forgotten to take off. Sehun eyes the younger male's tousled black hair and his eyes immediately trail upwards until they land on the large, fluffy black feline ears on top of the latter's head. They twitch at the slightest sound and Sehun nearly chuckles at the sight of the younger male's bare thighs, and is about comment on the latter's shamelessness when he looks up again, only to blink in surprise. 

The younger male is nowhere to be seen and Sehun scratches the back of his head. How does somebody manage to disappear into thin air in the span of two seconds??? He seriously wonders if he's going crazy, only to laugh when he spots a pair of black cat ears poking out from behind the couch in the living room. Jongin immediately recoils when he notices Sehun spotting him, and Sehun simply chuckles.

"You don't need to be shy, I don't bite," Sehun says softly, sending Jongin a warm smile for reassurance when the latter pokes his head out a second time. In order to give Jongin some space, he takes a few steps back and watches as Jongin slowly emerges from behind the couch and proceeds to climb onto the couch. Sehun finds himself staring in awe when the darker haired male grabs a couch cushion, placing it on his lap before proceeding to press into it with his hands, all whilst looking around the room nervously. "My name's Sehun, by the way...are you hungry? Would you like anything to eat?"

Jongin whips his head up at the sound of Sehun's voice, his eyes widening slightly before he goes back to kneading the pillow in his lap. Considering he ended up with wet pants instead of a fish, his stomach is practically cramping up with hunger, and he nods ever so slightly. In front of him, he immediately feels better when he sees a TV a few feet away, but he doesn't think his foster mother would approve if he grabbed the remote and turned it on. So he opts to sit cross legged on the couch and knead the velvet pillow as he watches Sehun walk over to the kitchen in the corner of his eye. Jongin watches as Sehun retrieves a carton of milk and a plate, and Jongin feels himself exhale in relief when he sees Sehun retreiving a glass, considering at least 99% of people he meets choose to by making him eat and drink out of a bowl on the floor.

The gesture itself is enough for Jongin to get off the couch when Sehun calls him over, and Jongin mumbles a low thanks as he takes the glass and proceeds to down the entire glass of milk in one swig. He wipes his mouth with the back of his hand and watches in curiosity as Sehun places a plate in the microwave. Sehun can't help but smile in awe when he watches Jongin lean against the counter with his face inches from the microwave, watching with a curious twinkle in his eyes as the food rotates inside. 

"All I had was kimchi and rice, I hope you like that," Sehun says sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. He isn't sure if Jongin heard, though, since the latter is still perplexed by the microwave. The ding emitting subsequently makes the younger male flinch and Sehun only chuckles. "It gets me every time, too," he hums before gently moving Jongin aside and retreiving the plate.

Ears standing right up in anticipation, Jongin grabs the fork Sehun hands him and practically flies back down on the couch. Sehun sets the plate down in front of him on the table and Jongin hisses loudly when he bites down on a rice ball, only to nearly burn his tongue off. He hums contently as he chews; Jongin doesn't think his foster mother ever made him something this good, and he leans back against the cushions, empty plate in front of him, a few minutes later. The entire couch smells just like Sehun and Jongin instinctively nuzzles his face in the cushions, a low purring sound (that definitely doesn't go unnoticed by Sehun) escaping his throat as he flops onto his back and stares up at the ceiling. At this point, he'd usually be kicked out or at least given a warning by all his previous foster families, which is why Jongin blinks in surprise when Sehun pats his leg.

"Pants," Sehun chuckles, patting Jongin's leg again when the latter only stares back. "Come on now, they won't fly downstairs by themselves." With a smirk, he gets off the couch and walks towards the stairs. When Jongin hesitantly follows, Sehun blinks when he notices Jongin is clutching the pillow in his hands. "My room's upstairs," he says, gesturing towards the first step. "Come on, don't be shy--"

Jongin slowly makes his way up the stairs, ears twitching in all directions as he approaches the last step. He eyes the bathroom door, which is slightly ajar, and then what he assumes must be Sehun's room. It smells just like the latter and Jongin relaxes slightly when Sehun pushes the door open. Jongin remembers the room he stayed in when he was sixteen, and it looked almost exactly like Sehun's room, except Jongin thinks Sehun's room is slightly more clean and organized. A guitar rests in one of the corners of the room and at least a hundred papers are strewn across the desk a few feet away. Sehun turns on the ceiling light, not that it makes a difference for Jongin, and the latter skips over before plopping himself down on Sehun's office chair. Jongin moves into a comfortable position until he's quite literally perched on it like an owl, still kneading the pillow in his hands, nearly ripping it apart in surprise when Sehun squawks loudly.

"Take your shoes off, for Pete's sake," Sehun says, staring at Jongin wide eyed and gesturing at the latter's feet. "You're getting dirt on it," he adds when Jongin only blinks.

Jongin blinks again before he mentally slaps himself. He doesn't know how many times he was told by his fourth foster family to always take his shoes off whenever he entered some place, but he figures he simply got too carried away (or perhaps the habit hasn't really stuck since he's been an inside cat all his life) as he wordlessly fumbles with the laces. After a brief struggle, he finally yanks his shoes off before tossing them on the floor with a dull thud. As he continues to press into the cushion, Jongin watches in curiosity as Sehun walks towards him.

"Shoes go in the hallway," Sehun hums, picking up Jongin's sneakers and placing them by the threshold. "But I'm way too tired to do it right now, so it'll have to wait until tomorrow," he adds and squawks when Jongin knocks over a stapler whilst attempting to reach a snow globe on one of the shelves above the desk. He manages to catch it in the nick of time before putting it back on the table. 

Jongin stares, perplexed, at the specks of white floating around inside the glass ball in his hands. A snowman holding a heart sits in the center, Jongin's eyes immediately lighting up when he gives the globe a shake and watches the snow whirl around in the small space. His head soon whips up, though, when a bird flies past the window right next to him, and Sehun audible exhales in relief when he manages to catch the snow globe after Jongin immediately turns his entire body to face the window. Jongin soon pouts slightly when he realizes the bird is gone, and he looks up when he hears Sehun rummaging through his closet.

"Here, you can wear these," Sehun says, holding up a pair of baby blue sweatpants and tossing them to Jongin, who easily catches them. 

Jongin quickly slides them on, his ears perking up when a blast of Sehun's scent hits him, so he quickly hops off the chair and skips over to the closet. He rummages through its contents with stars in his eyes before holding up a black tie, and it's not until he proceeds to knead it ever so slightly that Sehun yanks it out of his hand. 

Sehun smooths out the wrinkles in his tie before folding it up and placing it on the highest shelf. "I don't want creases in this, seriously, it's a to iron," he chuckles, patting Jongin's head when the latter stares at him with wide eyes. "Anyway, I was thinking you'd sl--" A loud clap of thunder, quickly followed by lightning, fills the air and he flinches, whilst Jongin jumps five feet in the air. "Hold on--" He walks over to the window and makes sure it's shut before patting Jongin's head. He soon realizes that Jongin is staring at him with an unreadable look and he blinks. "Uh, what--"

Jongin eyes Sehun for a minute, tail looking like it's been rubbed with a balloon as it rests between his legs. A loud shriek leaves his lips when the entire room is illuminated by lightning once again. He swallows, kneading the pillow in his hands as he looks up at Sehun through his bangs. "S...Stay?" he stammers quietly and practically rips the cushion to shreds in surprise when thunder booms again. 

Sehun watches as Jongin's ears fold back against his head before nodding. "Of course," he chuckles, nearly tumbling to the floor when Jongin practically tackles him to the floor in a hug. "But only if you beha-" He curses when Jongin accidentally whacks him upside the head whilst trying to swat a fly. The latter soon scurries all around the room and nearly trips over a dictionary lying on the floor in the process. "Wait, wait--" He blinks. "You can talk??"

Jongin promptly halts in his tracks and sends Sehun a look. "Of course I can," he says before resuming his fly hunt. He scrambles onto the bed and stands upright, tail swishing from side to side as he attempts to swat at the fly sitting on the wall. It's not until he's seconds away from tearing down the giant poster on the wall that Sehun has to shove him aside, and Jongin lands with a thud in the middle of the mattress. Apparently unfazed, his ears twitch in contemplation and Sehun blinks in awe when Jongin quickly gets on all fours and proceeds to press his hands against the sheets. He continues for a few minutes until a clap of thunder fills the air, which makes his ears and tail stand upright and puff up. 

Jongin is actually surprised, because his sixth foster family was the first to kick him right out after accusing him of 'Destroying the bedsheets' during his usual kneading, so for Sehun to react with nothing but a friendly smile nearly makes Jongin suspicious. He paws at the blanket for another minute until he hears Sehun clear his throat, and Jongin almost does destroy the bedsheets as he nearly rips it apart in surprise. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I shouldn't--"

"Most people need at least a couple of days or weeks to come out of their shell," Sehun laughs, removing his jeans before changing into a pair of grey sweatpants. "Sorry about my friend Chanyeol, by the way, he can be a real asswipe sometimes," he says after Jongin grabs one of his pillows and proceeds to knead it. "Wait, hold on, that's mine--" He grabs the pillow and attempts to yank it out of Jongin's hands, only for the latter to hiss low in his throat and tug it back. "Come on, don't break it-- Hey!--" The next thing he knows, he's stumbling backwards after hearing a loud ripping noise, and Sehun only sighs when he sees a ton of feathers flying in front of his face. "Thanks for that."

Jongin, however, seems rather unfazed. In fact, the latter's eyes immediately light up and he quickly proceeds to swat at the feathers flying around with his hands and tail. Loud giggles leave his lips as he sits cross legged on the bed and feels feathers piling up on top of his head and tickling his ears. It's not as fun as catching live sparrows and doves, but it's something, at least. "This is fun," he titters and looks at Sehun, who is still sitting on the floor with a rather unamused look on his face.

"Okay, bed," Sehun says before getting to his feet and sighing when he inspects the feathery mess all over the floor. It's going to take a while to clean up and he runs a hand through his hair in exasperation. "I'm...gonna get the vacuum, hold on," he mumbles, only to flinch when Jongin suddenly grabs his sleeve. "What the-"

"No, don't," Jongin says, so fast that it forms into one incoherent word, whilst shaking his head vigorously. He honestly never believed that cats hated vacuums until his 8 year old foster sister in his second family quite literally tortured him on the daily by chasing him and trapping him in corners of the house with the vacuum cleaner. And he won't ever forget the time she 'accidentally' emptied the entire vacuum bag on top of him, which resulted in him sleeping outside for a week straight. "I can...we can do it tomorrow," he says meakly, tugging on Sehun's sleeve. "Pleasepleasepleaseplease-"

Sehun rolls his eyes, brushing a few feathers out of his hair before shrugging. "Fine," he huffs, only to blink in surprise when Jongin circles the spot in the middle of the bed before lying down. He soon realizes that Jongin literally takes up more than half of the bed, and he sighs again. They fall into silence for a few minutes, during which nothing is heard save for the heavy rain pelting against the window pane. "I-"

Nuzzling his face into the blankets, which smell just like Sehun, Jongin kneads the sheets with one hand whilst wrapping his tail around his legs. He honestly can't recall the last time he slept in an actual bed, considering majority of his foster families prohibited him from even going near the bed, and one foster father in particular threatening to whip him if he was caught sleeping on it. The feeling of actually stretching out his long limbs on an actual bed for once feels so good Jongin can't help but smile. In fact, he doesn't realize he's been purring for a minute straight until Sehun lays next to him. "Sorry, I-"

"You've got feathers everywhere, ," Sehun chuckles, picking white feathers out of Jongin's jet black hair. When Jongin proceeds to knead the blanket even more, he chuckles. "Jeez, it's like you've never slept in a bed before," he laughs, shaking his head in amusement whilst patting Jongin's head. He scratches the area behind Jongin's ear, making the latter rub his head against Sehun's arm. "Seriously, though, no lying on the bed--"

Rolling onto his side, Jongin simply hums to himself, ears folded against his head in contentment as he purrs, and Sehun honestly doesn't know what to think when Jongin proceeds to gently knead his chest area. Jongin continues for a few minutes, relishing in the comfort and safety of Sehun's scent before rolling onto his back. "It's comfy," he murmurs whilst pawing at the sheets. 

When Sehun finally realizes that dragging Jongin off the bed is totally out the window, he sighs in defeat before sliding his shirt over his head. "If you kick me in your sleep, you're on the floor, just saying," he says whilst entering the bathroom and getting ready for bed. 

Jongin lays in the same place, ears twitching for any forms of noise as he closes his eyes. He hears the door to the bathroom opening a few feet away, closely followed by the sound of Sehun brushing his teeth, and Jongin feels himself flinch at the sound of running water from the sink. However, after a few minutes, restlessness starts creeping up on him, so Jongin gracefully slides off the bed before skipping towards the bathroom. He soundlessly walks in the door and makes sure to keep a good distance from the water in the sink, before inspecting the room. 

The bathroom looks like any ordinary bathroom, with a shower (or, in Jongin's words, wrestling ground), bathtub and toilet. Jongin eyes Sehun as the latter stands hunched over the sink as he brushes his teeth (and seemingly brushes his hair at the same time), and Jongin opts against rubbing his head against Sehun's back in fear of possibly getting splashed, so Jongin figures he'll have just as much fun swatting the polka dots on the shower curtain. He dabs at the fabric and proceeds to trace invisible patterns into the semi translucent material whilst listening to Sehun hum to himself behind him. 

Jongin continues to poke the material until he soon grows bored, and he sighs with a small pout whilst his eyes roam around the room. He's about to turn around and sit on the edge of the sink when he spots the silhouette of a moth at the top of the shower curtain. Jongin immediately feels his tail swaying with anticipation as he eyes the insect; he figures he could catch it and give it to Sehun as a present, so Jongin quickly bats the curtain, only for nothing to happen. Pouting slightly, he carefully steps onto the edge of the bathtub in order to get a better reach.

"Like I said, if you kick me, you're on the floor," Sehun hums after he spits into the sink and fixes his hair in the mirror. Averting his gaze, his eyes widen when he sees Jongin balancing on the edge of the bathtub whilst attempting to reach something he can't quite see. "What the he--" He flinches when a loud bang echoes in the room less than five seconds later, and he's sort of reluctant to turn around in fear of seeing Jongin lying in the bathtub with every bone in his body broken. However, it's not until he feels a tap on his shoulder that he spins around. "What--"

"Here!" Jongin squeals, stars in his eyes as he holds up what Sehun soon realizes is a dead moth in his hands. When Sehun only sends him a freaked out look, he grins wider. "It's for you!" His tail twirls around behind him, ears perking up in anticipation. However, it's not until Sehun grimaces that he pouts. "I-"

"Yeah, I'm good," Sehun says, lightly shoving Jongin aside as he makes his way out of the bathroom, making a mental note to fix the rod to the shower curtain first thing tomorrow. He hears Jongin following after him and points to the bed. "Make sure to stay at the foot, I don't want you crushing me in my sleep," he mumbles before walking over and turning off the light. He stumbles slightly as he walks towards his bed, making sure Jongin climbs onto the mattress subsequently, which the latter does. Feeling Jongin circling the space by his feet, Sehun is about to tell him good night when Jongin speaks.

"Can I have some more milk?" Jongin asks, seemingly wide awake as he gets on all fours and crawls over to Sehun until their faces are inches apart. Sehun can smell the kimchi on his breath, and Jongin only swats Sehun's face slightly when the latter only groans. "Pleasepleasepleaseplease-"

"I just gave you some," Sehun mumbles, feeling the bed dip when Jongin starts kneading one of his pillows. "Stop that, I don't want you tearing up all my pillows," he hisses, whacking Jongin's hands. "Go to sleep, you'll get it tomorrow." He rolls over and is about to doze off when he feels Jongin draping himself over his torso. Sehun curses under Jongin's weight, shaking him off before running a hand down his face, which only leads to Jongin poking his cheek over and over again. "Cut it out, you moron--"

However, it's not until Jongin nuzzles his face in Sehun's neck, his fuzzy ears tickling Sehun's face, that the latter finally gives in, and Sehun only mumbles something incoherent to himself as he carefully gets out of bed. He hears Jongin loudly skipping around the room, the latter's eyes twinkling in the dark as he waits for Sehun to put his shirt back on. Afterwards, Jongin skitters down the stairs with near impossible grace, and he's downstairs in the kitchen before Sehun even has a chance to slide his shirt over his head. "Hurry, hurry, hurry, hurry--!"

"Hold on, I'm coming," Sehun says, fatigue lacing his brain as he makes his way down the steps. He hears Jongin knocking over mugs and God knows what else downstairs but he doesn't even have the energy to scold as he turns on the light. Immediately, he spots Jongin sitting on the kitchen counter, tail swishing happily as he swings his legs back and forth. "Hey, get down," he says, gesturing at Jongin, who inevitably doesn't get the hint. "We don't sit on the counter, get off--" He promptly walks over and is about to scold Jongin when he hears the latter purring in anticipation. 

Jongin rubs his head against the side of the fridge as Sehun opens the door and retreives the carton of milk. "Yum," he hums, practically drooling at the corners of his mouth as he watches Sehun pick up an empty glass and fill it. Whilst he waits, Jongin plays with a salt shaker sitting beside him, putting some salt in his mouth, only to hiss and promptly knock it off the edge, and onto the carpet below, when he grimaces in disgust. Much to Sehun's relief, it doesn't break, and Jongin practically inhales the milk after Sehun hands him the glass.

Sehun watches in adoration as Jongin cups both his hands around the glass and lets his ears fall back whilst he drinks, only to shake his head when Jongin holds up the empty glass with a grin on his face. "No, it's gonna keep you up all night," he chuckles, and he's about to put the carton back in the fridge when Jongin whimpers low in his throat. "Not to mention it won't be good for your stomach," he adds for good measure, only to flinch and nearly step on the salt shaker on the floor when Jongin paws at the carton with his hands. "Cut it out--!"

"Please," Jongin whines, ears folding back in sadness when Sehun hides the carton behind his back. Even in the semi darkness, Sehun can make out the pout on his face and, strangely enough, puppy dog eyes and he has to bite his lip to stop himself from screaming in adoration. "Please, please, please--" He slumps his shoulders and wipes his mouth with the back of his hand. On the other hand, he's never had milk twice in the same day wherever he's lived, so he hops off the counter before scurrying up the stairs. Unlike what Sehun said, milk has always had the power to make Jongin feel extremely sleepy, so Jongin quickly climbs onto the bed again, circling it for a while before curling up. 

Sehun arrives a minute later, and he feels his chest swell with adoration at the sight of Jongin curled up at the foot of the bed, black ears folded and tail wrapped around his thighs as he sleeps. He finds himself staring a little longer than necessary before also climbing into bed and pulling the covers up to his chin, careful not to accidentally bump into Jongin as he gets comfortable. The latter mewls softly in his sleep and Sehun is careful not to wake him as he moves into a comfortable position (which really isn't easy when you've got 1/40th of the usual legroom). Listening to the rain pouring outside, Sehun feels Jongin shift by his feet before he, too, slips into a deep slumber.

---