It all started when Jaebum asked Mark to foster a cat. He thought, what could go wrong? Jaebum owns a pet store so he’s around cats and dogs all the time. If he asked his best friend to foster one cat, it wouldn’t be the end of the world, would it?

 

His friend’s pet shop had become overpopulated as too many strays had recently come in and if Jaebum asked him to foster one, just one, then Mark was going to be a good friend and say yes.

 

But Mark had never had a cat. His friend’s had cats before and he had gotten along with them, so it seemed like it would be okay. He knew the basics: feed them, make sure they feel loved, try not to get too upset when they get grumpy and annoying for no reason. That sort of thing.

 

And lucky for Mark, he wouldn’t even have to clean up after this cat. He could go on about his life and not have to worry about what time he came home or if he left the stove on. His foster cat would be fine without him and could certainly turn the stove off himself.

 

So when Jinyoung came home with him one day, Mark thought it would be alright for a while. Jinyoung kept to himself and read most of the time. He always cleaned up after himself and sometimes he cleaned up after Mark too. Jinyoung even had a knack for cooking. It seemed like a perfect situation to Mark.

 

He had his own life and Jinyoung seemed to have his.

 

Months went by and Mark started to find comfort in Jinyoung’s presence. As it turned out, it was nice to have someone there when he got home. Mark liked ranting to Jinyoung about his boss and dumb coworkers. When he got especially lonely, Jinyoung let him lean on him and suddenly the woes of life felt a little less burdening.

 

When the nights got colder and he started waking up with Jinyoung in his bed, Mark welcomed it. A warm body felt nice in comparison with the cool morning air. He’d rather not up his heating bill and it was normal for cats to sleep in their owner’s bed sometimes so Mark didn’t think much of it.

 

As time went by, Mark realized that he liked having a cat. Not that Jinyoung was his, but maybe after Jaebum had room for him back at the pet shop, Mark would get a cat of his own. Once Jinyoung warmed up to him and let Mark pet him and cuddle up next to him, having a cat wasn’t that bad after all. Sure, he’d get moody still but these days Jinyoung was rather affectionate towards him:

 

But then Mark came home to a disaster of a house and his opinions started changing.

 

The first thing that tipped him off was finding one of his slippers shredded in the foyer next to all of his other shoes. It had clearly been put on display and meant to be seen as it was put perfectly in the center of the room.

 

When Mark walked past the kitchen, he saw that the dishes from the morning before were still in the sink and as he continued through the house he saw cups and plates were littered everywhere he went.

 

Passing his bedroom, he saw that his bed was unmade and the sheets that he put in the wash that morning were never put in the dryer. When he opened them, he saw that something had been put in with the wash and stained his white sheets pink. And then on top of all of that, Jinyoung was ignoring him and acting like he didn’t do anything.

 

Jinyoung sat on the couch, eating takeout for one, when Mark found him. His tail was flicking, signalling to Mark that he was upset. His eyes were on the TV but judging by the way his ears reacted to the sound of Mark entering the room, Jinyoung was very aware he was being stared at.

 

“Are you going to explain yourself?” Mark tried asking in the calmest voice he could muster.

 

He saw Jinyoung lift up an eyebrow but his eyes were still glued to the screen in front of him. His words were dripping in irony, “Are you?”

 

Mark blinked in confusion, not expecting this answer. He looked down at the coffee table and found his favorite shirt stained with what he could only assume was the spilt drink next to it. Mark swooped it up, his anger boiling under his skin, “Did you do this?”

 

Jinyoung glanced down at the shirt and shrugged, “I guess my tail knocked it over. Sorry.”

 

At his apathetic, completely not sorry response, Mark was fuming. “You could have run it under water or something! Put it in the wash! Or would that have even mattered? Would you have stained it in the wash too?”

 

The cat hybrid shrugged again, looking like he could care less. It made Mark more mad than he expected, “What the is wrong with you? In the whole time I’ve fostered you, you’ve never done anything like this and then all of a sudden you’re a demon?! ”

 

Mark was seeing red but that didn’t stop him from seeing the hurt that he inflicted. He’d never seen Jinyoung flinch like that. But in his anger riddled state, Mark didn’t care. “, no wonder you were at a pet shop. ‘He’s a great cat’ Jaebum said, ‘he’ll treat you well’. Yeah, well apparently ing not.”

 

There was barely a two second pause before Jinyoung was off the couch and went running for his room. With a great sigh, Mark slumped on the couch. He picked up the takeout box that Jinyoung was eating from and saw it was from the place across the street. Begrudgingly, Mark picked up the fork Jinyoung had been using and took a few bites. He wasn’t used to coming home without food on the table. Mark didn’t realize how used to the routine that had been created from living with Jinyoung.

 

He had been yelled at by his boss that day and wanted to come home to a nice, sweet Jinyoung not Jinyoung from hell. Maybe he had been too harsh on the hybrid but Mark had never expected this sort of behavior from him. He always treated Jinyoung as just another human, perhaps the hybrid was a little more touchy than the average human but Mark always chalked that up to Jinyoung’s cat side. This was the first time that Mark was seeing Jinyoung more as at cat than human and it surprised him.

 

Mark felt like he was out of his depth and decided to do the only thing he could think of: call Jaebum. The ringing as the call connected felt like hours and Mark didn’t know the last time it took his best friend this long to answer.

 

“Hello?” He heard through the speaker. Thank god, Mark thought. Finally, a voice of reason.

 

“Jae, you’re not going to believe what I came home to,” Mark sighed loudly. He felt tired from just thinking about explaining it all.

 

There was a pause between them before Jaebum slowly said, “Try me.”

 

“So last night I went out with Jackson - I’m sure he told you that - but when I left, Jinyoung was totally fine, his usual self. And then this morning he was kind of weird but he still hugged me goodbye and so I didn’t think anything of it but…,” Mark let out a long exhale before continuing.

 

“Then I came home today to find the place a mess. Jinyoung purposefully destroyed my and left everything out and didn’t clean up after himself at all. I just don’t understand what happened, he was so sweet and polite this whole time but now? All of a sudden he’s like a cat from hell. Like an actual cat. Is this normal for hybrids? For some sort of switch to get flipped and they revert back to their animal side? Should I expect this to keep happening?”

 

Mark heard nothing but phone static for so long that he considered that the call dropped but after a long and awkward interval, Jaebum replied with, “Have you… Have you talked to Jinyoung today?”

 

This question confused Mark, “Well, I tried to confront him about the state of the house and he gave me this weird annoyed response like he totally didn’t care that I was upset and then okay, maybe I yelled at him and now he locked himself in my room. Which honestly doesn’t make any sense considering that he has his own room, but whatever. I feel bad about yelling at him but what the , you know? He does this to my house and then doesn’t care at all?”

 

He heard Jaebum take a deep breath and then say, “Doesn’t he sleep in your room?”

 

Mark felt taken aback. He just ranted about ten different things and that was what his best friend decided to comment on? “Um, yeah I mean sometimes…”

 

“Sometimes?” The response was quick and Mark didn’t understand where this was going at all. “I thought that he’d been sharing your room for months now.”

 

“W-What? Where did you get that from?” Mark didn’t know how to respond. Had it really been months? Did time fly by that fast?

 

Jaebum clicked his tongue, “Jackson.”

 

Mark groaned, “Of course it was Jackson. He can never keep his mouth shut.”

 

“Careful now, that’s my boyfriend you’re speaking about,” Jaebum’s voice was calm but Mark understood that it was still a threat. Jaebum had always been protective to almost the point of territorial about Jackson but Mark didn’t mean anything serious by his words.

 

“Sorry, I just- why is where Jinyoung sleeps even relevant right now?” Mark rubbed at his eye, tired and slightly annoyed. He asked for guidance and now he was getting ridiculed.

 

“You said that Jinyoung went into your room, not your’s and Jinyoung’s. I was just confirming that you think that even though Jinyoung has moved into your room, sleeps there every night, with you in his arms I might add, and has been for months, that it is your’s and only your room,” Jaebum’s voice started shifting from calm to condescending too quick for Mark’s liking.

 

“What are you trying to say, Jae? I’m tired, just spit it out. Stop trying to clarify useless facts.”

 

He heard his best friend laugh, “‘Useless facts’? Oh wow, okay. Mark, I love you but I think you need to reconsider what’s useless here. I’ve been questioning this for a long time but I think I just got my answer.”

 

“Your answer for what?” Mark groaned, annoyed. He hated when people acted like they knew more than him. Why was Jaebum being so weird about this? Why couldn’t he just answer Mark’s simple questions and hang up? Mark didn’t need riddles, he wanted answers.

 

“Please, for your sake, go to your room and apologize to Jinyoung.” It wasn’t a suggestion, it was a command.

 

Apologize to Jinyoung? Why? Mark might have been a little harsh on him but he was in the right, wasn’t he? Jinyoung acts out like this and suddenly he’s the one who deserves an apology? In what world did that make sense? “Why should I?”

 

Another sigh was heard, “Mark, please. Just swallow your pride and apologize. Tell Jinyoung that you don’t know why he’s acting the way he is and ask him to explain, okay? Be nice to him, he’s going through a lot right now.”

 

“What is that even supposed to mean? ‘Going through a lot right now’? How would you know? I’m the one who lives with him,” Mark spat out. Jaebum was getting on his nerves, so much for a voice of reason.

 

“My dear friend, there seems to be a lot that you don’t know. Please, I beg you, talk to Jinyoung.” And that was the last thing that Jaebum said before hanging up.

 

Mark titled his head back and closed his eyes in frustration. But he guessed that he wasn’t going to get better guidance so he might as well follow what Jaebum said. So he got up and walked to his room. His room, Mark thought. What was so weird about calling this room his? He didn’t get why Jaebum made such a big deal about that.

 

The door was closed so Mark knocked, “Jinyoung?”

 

No response.

 

Mark rested his forehead on the door and sighed, “I know you’re in there, can I come in?”

 

No response.

 

“I want to apologize, okay? Please, just let me in.”

 

Mark was about to knock again when he heard a quiet, “You can come in.”

 

It occured to Mark as he opened the door that he just asked permission to enter his own room. Maybe he did think of it as a shared room after all. Or maybe he just respects Jinyoung too much to invade on his privacy, Mark was unsure.

 

He opened the door to see darkness, the only light was coming from the hallway light which showcased a new bedspread with a curled up Jinyoung tangled in it. Did Jinyoung really take the time to change the sheets before getting into bed? But he couldn’t be bothered all day?

 

After Mark closed the door behind him, he got into bed next to Jinyoung but the hybrid wasn’t looking at him. Half of his face was covered in blankets so only his sad eyes were able to be seen. Mark had never seen him look like this, he didn’t know what to do so he thought it was best to just blindly follow Jaebum’s advice and apologize.

 

“I’m sorry. I… Well, to be honest I don’t know what I did but whatever it was, I’m really sorry. I hope I didn’t upset you but it seems like I might have? Maybe?” It was probably the worst apology known to man but Mark really didn’t know what he was supposedly apologizing for.

 

He saw Jinyoung’s eyebrows scrunch together as he said, “You don’t know what you did?”

 

Mark shook his head. “So it was me? I’m the reason you did all that?”

 

The cat hybrid nodded, hugging the blankets to him tighter. In all honesty, the scene before him was rather cute. In any other context, Mark would have ran his hands through Jinyoung’s hair and grinned as Jinyoung smiled with his eyes closed the way he always did when Mark touched his ears. But Mark couldn’t see those cute, soft ears. They were hidden under the blanket but Mark could only imagine that they were folded flat against Jinyoung’s black hair at the moment.

 

“You bring home another man and yet you say that you didn’t know what you did?” Jinyoung’s voice was low, like he couldn’t even comprehend his own words.

 

“‘Another man?’” Mark questioned. He would admit that he didn’t ask Jinyoung if it was okay if he brought a guy home the night before. Perhaps that was rude of him, Jinyoung did have cat hearing and being forced to listen to Mark having probably wasn’t exactly the most courteous things Mark has ever done to Jinyoung. But when Jinyoung said ‘another man’ it made it seem like…  “Did you want warning next time? I’m sorry, I was a little drunk I forgot.”

 

Jinyoung’s eyes flew open to meet his, “Next time? You’re going to do that again?!”

 

“Um,” Mark paused. Was having casual not a normal thing to hybrids? “I mean… yeah… probably. Jackson keeps ing me when we go out together and men haven’t been coming up to me lately so I doubt it’ll happen again soon but I would… like it to?”

 

He felt awkward having to explain the woes of his lonely life to the hybrid that he had been fostering for a year now. Jinyoung was about his age, didn’t he have needs too?

 

When Mark looked up, he expected Jinyoung to look maybe confused or surprised but certainly not hurt with tears b his eyes. What did he say to cause this reaction? Was Jinyoung one of those people who saved themselves for marriage? Did finding out that Mark had with strangers completely shatter Jinyoung’s view of him? There were too many questions popping up in Mark’s head.

 

Jinyoung covered his face with blankets and mumbled something that Mark couldn’t understand. “I think I…” Was all Mark caught.

 

“I’m sorry, what did you say?”

 

Jinyoung wiped his eyes and pulled the blanket down to say, “I think I should move out.”

 

This caught Mark completely off guard. He had gotten so used to the sweet comfort that was Jinyoung’s presence in his life. He didn’t want him to move out. Although, if he was going to destroy the house every time Mark had a man over then maybe Mark would reconsider…

 

“What? Why?” He found himself saying before he could even figure out what to say. “Where would you go? I-I mean does Jaebum even have room?”

 

“Jaebum?” Jinyoung asked. “What does Jaebum have to do with this? My heart is in pain and you’re talking about Jaebum?”

 

Mark blinked, “What’s wrong with your heart? Is that what Jaebum was talking about? He said there was something I didn’t know, is there something wrong? Should I take you to the vet? Or is that like a human doctor thing? Oh my god, are you okay?”

 

Across from him, Jinyoung just stared at him with the most bewildered expression. And then he smiled, which was immediately replaced with a frown. “I can’t tell if you’re acting like a frantic owner or a worried boyfriend.”

 

Tilting his head, Mark replied, “But I’m not either of those things.”

 

Jinyoung looked like his breath got stuck in his throat. He squeezed his eyes together and then said, “I just don’t understand, you play with my ears.”

 

“I… what?” How did this conversation go from Jinyoung’s heart to his ears? Are they somehow connected in the hybrid world?

 

“You play with my ears. I let you play with my ears,” Jinyoung clarified, although it didn’t help explain anything to Mark.

 

“Is that… meaningful?”

 

This was apparently not the right thing to say as Jinyoung looked like he just got slapped across the face.

 

“What?” Mark smiled awkwardly, his eyes shifting as he attempted to read the situation.

 

“My ears are very, um, sensitive,” Jinyoung said quietly. “I thought you knew this.”

 

Mark thought back and smiled, “Well, you seem to like it when I touch them. You get the cutest smile on your face and they’re so soft. It’s so hard not to want to pet them.”

 

“Yes, you’re right. A lot of people have wanted to touch my ears, but very very few are actually allowed to,” Jinyoung stated slowly.

 

“Why?”

 

“Because it’s… it’s special. You don’t let just anyone touch your ears. Has any other hybrid ever let you touch their ears?” Jinyoung seemed very focused on this question, as if a lot rid on the answer that Mark gave.

 

“Um, well Jackson let’s me touch his ears sometimes…”

 

Jinyoung closed his eyes and nodded as if it was obvious, “Of course he does, his mate is your best friend and you don’t pose a threat to him or his mate because you’re m-”

 

He stopped mid-word and shut his mouth, covering himself up in blankets again. Mark could only see his eyes, which were being squeezed shut as if Jinyoung had regretted what he said.

 

“I’m what?” Mark asked.

 

He watched Jinyoung slowly peak open his eyes and then sigh, “We sleep in the same bed. We… We cuddle every night. You share everything with me, you lean on me, I hold you. You play with my hair and pet my ears, sometimes you even kiss them. You tell me how cute I am to you all the time. You… you let me scent mark you…”

 

Mark scrunched up his face, “I let you, what?”

 

Jinyoung looked so small as he confessed, “I… I scent mark you.”

 

“What does that mean?” Mark asked. This had to be a hybrid thing because Jinyoung sounded like he was speaking a completely different language.

 

He watched as the cat hybrid baulked at Mark’s question. “You don’t know what I’m talking about?”

 

Shaking his head, Mark hesitantly said, “...No?”

 

Based off Jinyoung’s response, he felt like this was information that he was supposed to know already.

 

It seemed like a lot to take in for the hybrid so Mark waited patiently for Jinyoung to explain. “Um, so you know how when you wake up I always rub my cheeks on your shoulders?”

 

“Yeah? It’s cute,” Mark never thought anything of it.

 

Jinyoung let himself smile for a second before saying, “And how I rub my face against yours everytime after you shower?”

 

“...Yeah…,” Mark always wondered why but he just thought it was a hybrid’s way of saying hello or something like that.

 

“And how I do that everytime you come home or leave the house…?” It felt like Jinyoung was making something very obvious, giving Mark all the pieces to a puzzle that Mark had never seen.

 

Mark nodded. Jinyoung looked confused. “What did you think I was doing?”

 

He shrugged, “I don’t know, I thought it was just a weird hybrid thing. I’ve seen Jackson do it to Jaebum a hundred times so I thought it was normal.”

 

“It is normal… for couples,” Jinyoung said. His eyes were steadily boring into Mark’s as if he was waiting for his reaction.

 

“I don’t think I’m following,” Mark said, cluelessly. “So it has a meaning?”

 

With a deep sigh, Jinyoung sat up and pulled Mark with him. He moved so they were sitting across from each other, close but not touching. Mark didn’t know what he was expecting but a second later he felt Jinyoung’s cheek against his neck. He was very used to this as Jinyoung did this to him many, many times before.

 

“Was that meaningful to you?” Jinyoung asked as he pulled back, watching Mark’s face closely. Mark could sense the cat in him with his analyzing eyes focused on him.

 

He didn’t know what the right answer was, but Mark shook his head.

 

Jinyoung frowned and rubbed his cheek against Mark’s. It was soft and Mark recognized the gentleness of the action. He always thought it was sweet when Jinyoung did it to him. But when Jinyoung asked again, “Did that hold any meaning for you?” Mark said no.

 

With another sigh and a cautious pause, Jinyoung leaned in and connected their lips. It was quick but Mark felt his heart skip a beat.

 

“How about that?” Jinyoung’s eyes were shining and very hopeful. Mark took a second, but he nodded. He understood what a kiss meant.

 

Jinyoung leaned in again, this time taking his time. His lips moved carefully, parting Mark’s in the process and then Mark felt a soft tongue against his. His heart stuttered again but then he felt it beating harder than before. His whole chest felt warm and Mark had an urge to touch Jinyoung’s ears as he kissed back, moving his lips with Jinyoung’s. He even felt a pang of sadness as Jinyoung moved away, his eyes searching Mark’s.

 

“Did that have meaning to you?”

 

Without a second to think, Mark said, “Yes.”

 

It felt like he just disclosed a secret, like Mark had just confessed something. His cheeks burned a little but while Mark felt timid, Jinyoung looked intense as he said, “Everything I just did had the same meaning.”

 

Mark blinked, waiting for a better explanation.

 

“It means, ‘I’m your’s and you’re mine,’” Mark felt the cogs in his brain spur to life as he took in what Jinyoung was trying to tell him.

 

“I scent marked you to tell everyone that you belong to me. That you have someone who cares for you. To ward off any unwelcome onlookers. It’s probably why no one has made a move on you in a while, and I apologize for that as it seems that my marking was misplaced.”

 

Mark just stared at Jinyoung. His ears were flicking and one was moving back to face the other direction. Out of instinct, Mark reached up to them but Jinyoung moved his head, thwarting his plan. In a more serious tone than Mark had heard him speak in a long, long time, Jinyoung said, “Please do not touch my ears.”

 

Mark’s hand stopped mid-air and his mouth parted to speak but he didn’t know what to say. He felt… embarrassed?

 

“I only allow my mates to touch my ears and seeing as you are not my mate, I would enjoy it very much if you could please keep your hands to yourself from now on.” There was an unspoken distance placed between them that Mark hadn’t felt since the first couple months that Jinyoung had stayed with him. He didn’t like this feeling.

 

“But you let me…,” Mark stuttered through his own comprehension. “But you let me touch your ears all the time.”

 

Jinyoung closed his eyes and nodded, looking over Mark’s shoulder. “I made a mistake, I apologize. It will not happen again, I can promise you that.”

 

“B-But I like touching your ears,” Mark heard himself whine.

 

The cat hybrid’s shoulders slumped and he said, “I know, you made that very clear. But as I said, many people wish to touch them but not many get to. Please understand the boundary that I have. I really am truly sorry for any inconvenience that I have caused you, I will be out of your hair within the next few days I just have to make some arrangements before I move out completely.”

 

He saw Jinyoung’s legs move under the blankets as if he was getting up and Mark instinctually reached out and grabbed his arm. Jinyoung looked down at the hand on him and for the first time since he entered their bedroom, Mark saw his tail. The tip was hitting the pillow behind him and Mark knew that movement all too well from the early days of sharing the apartment together. Jinyoung was annoyed. His touch was unwanted.

 

Mark retracted his grip but couldn’t help himself from saying, “Please don’t go. I don’t want you to leave.”

 

Shaking his head, Jinyoung huffed, “I really don’t understand you humans. You make no sense.”

 

“How? Just explain it to me, please I just don’t understand either,” Mark begged. He could barely believe his own ears.

 

He saw Jinyoung’s jaw square but his ears fell like he decided something. “You don’t understand? Mark, for the last half a year… This is so embarrassing I can’t believe I’m saying this outloud…”

 

He paused and Mark whined, “Please.”

 

Jinyoung took a deep breath before confessing, “I thought… I thought I meant something to you. I thought we were, or at least getting to be… well, mates. I thought we were together. I scent marked you and let you touch my ears and kiss my hair and cuddle me because I thought you-” Jinyoung’s eyes glossed over and he looked down at the bed. His ears were almost flat against his skull as he admitted, “I thought you liked me.”

 

Mark watched a tear fall from Jinyoung’s eye and it felt like his heart was crumbling. His instinct was to correct Jinyoung and tell him that he was right but this surprised Mark, he didn’t understand where that urge was coming from because they hadn’t been together. They were never an item.

 

“But then you brought him home. You slept with another man in our bed. And then acted like nothing happened. You kissed my ears as I scent marked you before you left for work and I felt like dying. You didn’t care that you cheated on me and I didn’t understand how you could do that. How could you show me that kindness, that sort of soft intimacy right after hurting me so deeply?”

 

He didn’t know when the tears welled up in his own eyes but suddenly it was Mark’s cheeks that felt wet. He cheated on Jinyoung? And he didn’t even know? Mark had no idea of his wrongdoings and yet he couldn’t believe himself. He felt horrible. He didn’t know he had a mate until a few minutes ago and yet Mark already found out that he did this. Mark never thought he could ever cheat on someone and yet apparently he already did.

 

“I-I’m so sorry, Jinyoung. I had no idea. I promise, I swear, I really really really didn’t know. I would have never done that if I knew how you felt,” His apology came pouring out of his mouth, not knowing how to rectify his actions but wanting to do anything to fix the hurt that he had caused.

 

“Yes,” Jinyoung said solemnly. “How I felt. I see.”

 

Mark thought back and suddenly the puzzle was coming together, it was all making sense now. “So that’s why Jackson always s me? Why hybrids never give me a second look when we go out? He and everyone else thought I was taken? He looked so surprised when I started talking to that guy. I thought he was just surprised that someone actually talked to me. He kept trying to get me to go to the bathroom with him but I kept saying no… He was just looking out for me and yet I was annoyed by it.”

 

Jinyoung nodded as if he already knew all of this. “Yes, the man didn’t understand that you were taken because he was human and humans can’t smell hybrids. When you brought him home I kept asking myself, is this why you never made a move on me? Because I’m a hybrid? Are you only ually into humans? Is he fulfilling a need that I can’t give you? But no, silly me. I was never even on your radar. You never even considered me as a possibility.”

 

“Don’t say that,” Mark bit. He was surprised by the anger he felt after hearing those words.

 

“Don’t say what? The truth?” Jinyoung mocked, his tail flicking.

 

“Jinyoung, do you know why I convinced Jackson to go out with me? Why I so desperately wanted to get a man to come home with me last night?” Mark asked, this time he was the one searching Jinyoung’s face for a reaction.

 

With an annoyed tone, Jinyoung said sarcastically, “Because you were ually unfulfilled in a relationship that you didn’t know you were in?”

 

Mark found himself grinning. “No.”

 

He saw Jinyoung’s eyes shift over to his, curiosity clouding them.

 

“I was desperate to get ed because of how hot you are when you’re angry,” Mark confessed, his grin getting wider.

 

Jinyoung’s ears perked and tail stilled. His face looked unconvinced, but he was listening, which was a plus.

 

Mark then explained, “You know how we went to ikea together two days ago and picked out that new bookshelf for all your books because I was tired of them just lying around? And then it took you two hours to figure out how to put it together and refused to let me help because you, and I quote, ‘knew what you were doing’? Well,” He paused, laughing at himself, “seeing you all sweaty and mad with your arms exposed was just the tip of the very, very large iceberg that was living with a very, very cute hybrid that seemed very, very unattainable.”

 

With narrowed eyes, Jinyoung asked, “You think I’m cute?”

 

Teasingly, Mark said, “Didn’t we already establish this?”

 

He watched as Jinyoung put 2 and 2 together. “You think I’m unattainable? I’ve been using my pheromones on you since the first day we met and you think I’m unattainable? The one who’s been holding you in my arms every night as you fall asleep? The one who carries you to our bed when you pass out on the couch after a long day of work? The one who makes you breakfast and wraps my tail around your legs so you can’t go anywhere? Me? Unattainable?”

 

With a huge smile, Mark shrugged. “I thought those were all just weird hybrid things. I didn’t know you were acting as more than that.”

 

“You’re lucky you’re pretty because you, Mark Tuan, are very dumb and impossibly unobservant,” Jinyoung said with a smile.

 

“Well then I guess that makes two of us,” Mark said as he reached out for Jinyoung’s ear again. He paused as Jinyoung started to lean in for the touch. “Can I?”

 

Jinyoung nodded eagerly, “Please.”

 

As he touched and felt Jinyoung’s ears for the first time that night, Mark let out an exhale at the thought of next being able to do this again. Jinyoung moved to do what he usually did after or as Mark played with his ears, but stopped himself too. In the quietest of sounds, Mark heard, “Can I?”

 

And Mark nodded. A second later he felt a warm, tender cheek being pushed into his and smiled. He liked this. He always liked this. Mark just didn’t know how to ask for it. He didn’t know that he never had to.

 

But then a thought crossed his mind, “Wait. How are we mates if we’ve never, you know… mated?”

 

He saw the blush appear on Jinyoung’s face as he lowered his head and said, “Well, honestly I just thought you were old fashioned. I thought you wanted to wait or something but since you responded to all of my, as you call it ‘weird hybrid things’ I just assumed that I could call you my mate and that we would eventually get there.”

 

“So me sleeping with that stranger really threw you off in a million different ways?”

 

“Yes, essentially yes,” Jinyoung nodded vigorously.

 

Mark grinned at him and he grinned back. After a second, Jinyoung said, “Which, by the way, was cheating on me even worth it? Because it did not sound like it. Were you out of like, pity or something because that was not how you usually sound.”

 

Feeling his eyes widen, Mark moved his head back, “You listen to me?”

 

Jinyoung blushed again, “You’re not as quiet as you think you are and even through a locked door, my cat ears can still hear you.”

 

Narrowing his eyes at him, Mark asked, “If you heard me touching myself and also thought that you were my mate, why didn’t you do something?”

 

“You locked the door every time, I thought I wasn’t welcome,” Jinyoung lowered his eyes.

 

“Wait, wait since we’re on the topic of : I thought hybrids have heats? But you haven’t gone through yours yet. Or have you?” Mark asked. He really was clueless about hybrids but he thought he had this right at least.

 

“You think I have heats?” Jinyoung smirked, his laugh breaking though.

 

Okay, maybe Mark didn’t have this right. “You’re a hybrid. Hybrids have heats. Jackson has heats.”

 

“Yes, okay you have all three of those correct, but I do not have heats.” Mark was too confused to function. With a big smirk, Jinyoung explained, “I have ruts.”

 

“And what’s a rut?” Mark asked. He was tired of asking questions, he just wanted Jinyoung to explain it all at once.

 

“Okay, let me make this easy. So yes, Jackson has heats. Hybrids are a mix of humans and animals. I am part cat and Jackson is part dog. This means that we have mating seasons which are usually more commonly called heats or ruts. These are the times that we are fertile and can create life. I’m sure biology taught you that much,” Jinyoung paused and waited for Mark to indicate that yes, he wasn’t that stupid.

 

When he did, Jinyoung said, “Alright so, I am not able to get pregnant. It’s not because I’m a cat or anything, it’s just random. Jackson is able to and you can tell because he has heats. If Jaebum was a hybrid then potentially they could have children when they mate during Jackson’s heat. Usually mated couple’s heats and ruts match up. But because hybrids often fall for humans this isn’t really a thing hence pet stores existing because people want to buy bred hybrids and all that, whatever. So, in conclusion, I have ruts. That means that instead of wanting to be ed during my mating season, I want to . Does that make sense?”

 

Mark nodded, he was pretty sure that this would make sense once he let it sink in.

 

“It doesn’t have to mean that I want that all the time. In fact a lot of hybrids switch just based on their own and their partner’s preference but... yeah. That’s how it works biologically.”

 

“So what’s your preference then?” Mark tilted his head to the side, eyeing Jinyoung curiously.

 

Jinyoung looked at him and smiled, “What do you think it is?”

 

“Honestly I don’t know and that was a lot of information so please just tell me,” Mark spewed out, hoping for mercy on his poor overloaded brain.

 

Laughing, Jinyoung answered, “I like both but you make me want to pin you down and kiss you to death so I feel like that might mean something.”

 

Nodding, Mark said, “You know, I think it just might. And thank god, because that’s just what I like.”

 

“I had a feeling you’d say that.”