Kibum sighed in pure bliss as his old friend took care of the blood and dirt embedded in his coat, even taking a soft washrag to his face and head as to not damage his whiskers or accidentally drip water into his ears. It had been a while since he’d seen any of the Feed Your Demons crew, but it was nice how well Hyukjae, by extension Eunhyuk who had apparently uncovered more talents since they’d last seen each other, and Donghae were doing. He missed his real, or even his human form, but at least he and Jinki would be cared for while being relatively helpless and trying to guide this Minho who they had to pin their hopes on. He felt himself tense up at his thought that perhaps they’d made a mistake trying to break their curse this way, until a warm presence invaded his mind to soothe him again.

  Hey, don’t think like that Eunhyuk “said”, giving his radiant smile even in Kibum’s brain. Elders know Grandfather Yunho is a worlds class and He is mischievous beyond all the realms, but He loves you and even He trusts the cranky old goat. You performed with each other and Kyungsoo and Kai/Jongin for years. That’s not a bond easily broken. I could tell it was special even before the majority of my powers kicked in or I properly knew any of you.

  It’ll be okay Kibum, even if it doesn’t feel like it right now. If you can’t believe that, then watch how Jinki is acting right now. If you can’t trust your own mate, then who can you trust? It’s not like you don’t know anyone else in a less than conventional relationship. Look at me and Hyuk and Hae, or Chullie, Jungsoo, and Great-Grandpa, or Grandpa, Kyu, Yesung, and Jongwoon.

  Knowing Eunhyuk was right even if it wasn’t quite the same type of situation, Kibum a drop of water off his nose and glanced at Jinki, who seemed to be having the time of his life as he splashed around now that his wings were no longer stuck to his body, flicking his tail and ducking his head and flapping his wings to rid himself of the last of the mess, all the while rubbing himself against Minho’s fingers and hopping around on his slightly cupped hands, clearly flirting to the best of his ability. The “fox” felt a pang of jealousy, even though his mate couldn’t help it. It was in his nature to be poly, and truthfully it would help more if the human at least liked one of them if it couldn’t be both. He didn’t have to like it, but he did have to accept it. It had worked before, until it got bad. It could work again for at least a while.

  “Okay Kibum, let’s drain the sink and give you a final rinse to make sure I got it all out, then we’ll towel you off, blow-dry you, and comb you out to your usual gorgeous self, if that is acceptable for his highness” Hyukjae said out loud, pulling the plug so the cooling, gross water could swirl down the drain. He shot his friend his best “death glare,” much to the amusement of Jinki, who had quit shaking himself dry and was trilling with laughter.

  Face it Beloved, that face works much better when you’re your real self. Did you have a nice conversation with Hyuk? And, are you done being jealous yet? You know you’re my biggest love, and that isn’t something that will change. But, since we need Minho anyway we might as well get along, see if there is any sort of attraction to make it easier. You know how it was when we tried to keep it a “business arrangement.”

  Jinki was right, of course he was right, but the more “fox” Kibum became, the stronger the instincts became.

  I know Babe, but I can’t help how I feel. I just wish were normal again and doing this because we want to, not because we have to. The fact that Minho has no idea what we really are, or from what He told us understands there are more intelligent, self-aware beings than just humans in their realm. He has no idea how with all the news coverage and support groups becoming more vocal lately. Even Baekhyun’s impression was that he had some sort of block or blind spot about our and other kinds, and Elders know that half demon’s knowledge is disturbing at times.

  Two new to the conversation yet extremely familiar “voices” broke in then, one being one of Kibum’s oldest friends, and the other being the half demon in question.

  Be careful who you talk about little Bummie, or you might find them in your mind when you least expect it Byun Baekhyun, half demon therapeutic dom, who had inherited a rather special cottage from his demon grandfather. Not knowing what else to do with it, he repurposed it as another therapy tool and was quite successful, though this time it would hopefully help serve to finally break Kibum and Jinki from their current situation, as well as help provide Minho with a new purpose in his life.

  I’m older than you you brat! Show some respect! Kibum snapped back, only to have his mind filled with laughter.

  And since when does the Great and Terrible Baekhyun show respect to anybody, even Taemin? Leeteuk joined in in amusement, only to mentally roll his eyes as Kibum and Jinki noticeably winced, which had Minho asking Hyukjae if they were all right.

  “It’s probably nothing, but let’s put them in a cage dryer in case they managed to get a chill. It’ll take a while, so let’s go see what Donghae came up with and have some tea, okay?”

  There, we’ll keep Minho busy so he doesn’t ask too many questions, okay? Eunhyuk added, even as Hyukjae tucked the two “animals” on dry towels in their largest cage and set the dryer on low so they wouldn’t accidentally get burned.

  From the mental picture Eunhyuk “sent” me he’s quite cute you two. You could definitely do worse. Now, when will you two quit cringing every time Taemin’s name is mentioned? You know he’s harmless if not a pain in the with his pranks, right? He wouldn’t have been allowed in the club otherwise. That mess with Eunhyuk and Hyukjae’s abuser was a fluke because no one expected him to be stupid enough to waltz into a club full of demons. Poor Wookie nearly puked up his hoofs rummaging through his brain. You Kibum should know that at least.

  Kibum wasn’t convinced, but knew better than to argue with the former youngling carer turned incubus Elder turned demon babysitter. It had started with him just tracking down his grandson-in-law who had gone insane after the death of his mate, but since Ryeowook couldn’t return to the demon realm without risking it happening again, and wouldn’t anyway since two of his lovers were human, Leeteuk stayed as well to make sure he was safe, and others were safe from him. He’d hated being an Elder anyway and was quite fond of humans, so he bonded with a human named Jungsoo and together they bought the building that became Feed Your Demons. At first it was simply a club where incubi who didn’t have a steady lover could pick up someone for their non-dietary needs, but it rapidly became so much more. Humans and demons of all types could get to know each other, couples or more of whatever mix of species could explore kinks in a safe environment, demons new to the human world could find guidance from more experienced members of their species, sick, drunk, or injured demons could be safely contained and treated since human hospitals couldn’t and wouldn’t do much. It was also ultimately when he and Jinki had run to when they couldn’t stand their situation any longer, and Kibum finally admitted what he was, a half-gumiho half-incubus mistake of nature. He wasn’t supposed to be a he at all, but the best theory anyone could give him was because his demon parent was a male demon, it screwed up his biology and made him a male who liked males despite his shifter half supposedly only being capable of being female. He’d spent decades running from what he’d seen as his kind since it was all he knew even though they refused to accept him, until he met a small group of mixed demons, who didn’t give a damn what he was. They just accepted him and taught him about the other half of his heritage. He eventually set off again, this time with two of the demons, the incubus of which also had a bondling, a human with whom he quite literally shared a body. Since they all had singing and dancing talent they turned themselves into an itinerant performing group, traveling in an old van around the country. When the weather was nice they slept in a tent at night, and wintered in fleabag motels or crashed on friends’ and acquaintances’ couches or in their spare rooms.

  Kibum couldn’t quite remember when they added Him to their group. He just seemed to show up one day, looking like an ethereal version of Kai and his human bondling Jongin. He sang and danced though and didn’t mind the group’s natures, merely shrugging when asked if He minded and changing the subject whenever anyone asked what He was. As rude as it was they even tried to read His mind, only to find nothing. It was completely blank, as though He wasn’t a real being at all. Most people they ran across assumed He was a human with exceptional ability to clear His mind, and eventually the group quit trying to figure it out.

  As what was inevitable, the members eventually wanted to pursue different things and the group broke up. Kyungsoo and Jongin married, while Kai formed a mating bond with Kyungsoo and the three of them bought a house and started adopting half demon orphans. He just wandered off one day without a word, only to periodically turn up just to bedevil Kibum, who had been feeling the urge of his fox nature to find a mate and a territory of his own. And that unfortunately was how he and eventually Jinki had landed in their current situation.

  It wasn’t too bad at first when it was just himself. Kibum was used to male real foxes and various animal demons mistaking him for female, only to attack him when they realized he only had the pheromones of a female, not the anatomy. He could take anything that would remotely be interested in something his size, give or take a scar or two. However, once his scent got too strong the bigger beings would come out, and not all of them were as kind as the demons and humans he knew. He had no interest in being forced into anything, and was often damaged as a result.

  Things got even worse once he met Jinki, a sweet, bumbling fae with no sense of direction Kibum ran across one day in the middle of his favorite woods. In their animal forms they were completely incompatible for obvious reasons, but both had human forms that complemented each other nicely. Jinki had wanted to get to know other intelligent beings so had snuck away from his home realm, and Kibum had been more than happy to tell all he knew and introduce his new friend, and eventual lover and mate to the humans and demons he knew. For the first time he knew what romantic love felt like, and had someone to help him through his heat-like episodes, where before he would have to lock himself away from anything that might be interested and suffer til they passed. Life was the best it had ever been for him, and Jinki often told him he felt the same way.

  Then one day they ran across someone whom Kibum had never even heard existed. He never knew the man’s name, only that he had painful, terrible abilities and a penchant for destroying creatures he found beautiful. Oh, at first he had tried to charm Kibum, who had been in his fox form, apparently not realizing the little round bird riding on his back was another supernatural being, or at least that they were mates, their marks all but invisible in their animal forms. Even transforming into their human or real forms and explaining what they were to each other did nothing to discourage him. In fact, it seemed to make him more excited as he then tried appealing to Jinki’s instincts as a polyamorous being as well. They and their love were stronger than that though, preferring to destroy themselves rather than give in when they realized they couldn’t escape him. He didn’t just take what he wanted however, apparently unable to force them to his will. So instead he cursed them to stay in their animal forms forever, unable to truly be together the way they wanted. He also had a secondary curse for Kibum, the first one who had ever spurned him completely. Before, he had only been moderately interesting as a possible mate for foxes and other creatures, or a pest to be exterminated by those bigger than he was. Now he was completely irresistible to almost any natural or supernatural being, unable to hide for long, even among the humans who tried to poison him if he got near their chickens or other poultry if they were near a farm, or to “trap and release him back to the wild” if they were in the city.

  The pair had nearly collapsed with exhaustion when Kibum finally thought of the one place he knew of that might know someone or something that could help. Taking they long way on mostly country roads to avoid well-meaning city dwellers but near enough to small villages to discourage the majority of his “suitors” without being close enough that the inhabitants would attack him, they slowly made their way to Feed Your Demons, who proved to be the safe haven so many others had found it and they were finally able to really rest. But, nobody had any idea how to break their curses or even to help ease them. Not even Eunhyuk’s grandfathers, high demon Elder Yunho and Ryeowook who everyone who knew him was pretty sure he knew almost everything had any advice on what to do, let alone a possible solution. Well, until He wandered into the club one afternoon to say hi. He had some suggestions that He promised would work, but also promised at least Kibum might now like them.

  He was right. Oh, the fact He was able to give them a few hours of their human forms a month was wonderful, but the only way He knew to get the other beings to back off from trying to violate Kibum was for them to find a third to join them willingly, but they must want him in return. If Kibum could give as well as receive during , it should be enough to stir his dormant male pheromones and hopefully they’d cancel out his female ones so he’d be left alone by both es. Neither Kibum nor Jinki were sure how that would work against beings who couldn’t being neatly considered one or the other, but decided not to argue. It was definitely less than ideal but at least it was more than they had before. He was even able to offer a slender hope, that if they could find somebody they could fall in love with as much as they were with each other and the feeling was mutual, then the curse may be broken. So, they started looking for their third.

  For a long time after that they kept searching, though Kibum’s heart wasn’t in it. It wasn’t that he didn’t want the curse broken, but his fox instincts were taking over the longer he was forced to keep the shape, worse than they ever had before. His nature wanted it to just be him and Jinki, not some intruder. His mate understood, but wanted the curse broken, and tried to explain that having more than one person to love wasn’t a bad thing. Kibum couldn’t understand though.

  Eventually they found a young satyr, in the same woods they first met. Jinki took it as a sign and made the first move to make friends, once he and Kibum could transform, explaining that they were cursed and would have to spend most of their time in their animal forms. He agreed to travel with them as he understood them well enough even as fox and bird, asking all kinds of questions about the human realm, and what he would need to do to blend in better. Kibum was able to answer this as Ryeowook had a similar problem with horns, goat legs, and hoofs due to the satyr in his very mixed ancestry and had once asked his friend how he managed among the less accepting humans. They took him to a tailor who specialized in camouflaging and protective clothing for supernatural beings, afterward being able to be a bit bolder about walking into cities. Their new satyr friend in his specially designed clothing was simply taking his unusually well-behaved pets for a walk, and few people questioned it. He got to observe and mingle with the humans he was curious about with the others explaining as much as they knew, and Kibum had further protection from unwanted advances.

  Eventually though, Kibum’s nature caught up with him and he started looking for a place to den up until it passed, grateful that at least Jinki would be able to help him through at least part of it, just like he had before. When the satyr asked what was wrong, Jinki went ahead and explained the curse and what was happening, and that they had been hoping they had more time and just didn’t know how to tell him. He even talked about what He had said, only to have their friend smile.

  “You have a beautiful, loving relationship that if it wasn’t necessary I wouldn’t even make this offer. But, maybe I won’t be your Mister Right you two, but maybe I can be your Mister Right Now?”

Sorry for the exposition dump everyone, but Kibum tends to sink into his own mind when he's being blow-dried.