In the boy's locker room Yixing goes, trying not to ogle anyone by accident. His change of uality is still very new to him and he's not sure if he's allowed to even let his eyes skim over the males while they change. This is really awkward, but how else is he supposed to find the ones who won't let Luhan on the team?

Yixing is fairly certain he knows which group of boys it is: a couple popular kids whose words meant law if you want to keep a healthy social life. Kim Joonmyun stands at the head of this group along with Byun Baekhyun and Do Kyungsoo. What the senior is doing hanging out with kids two years younger, no one really knew or questioned it (to his face anyways). But where are these guys? They're on the team too, so they should be in here somewhere-

Oh, wow. Park Chanyeol has been working out.

They let this clumsy beanpole of a guy on the soccer team and not Luhan? Yixing bites his lip and tries not to stare, but it's really difficult because wow, he's just really fascinating somehow. Is the air conditioner in here broken? It's pretty hot in here, whew.

“Yixing?”

Turning around, he's met face to face with Kris of all people to catch him totally not ogling Chanyeol's muscled arms and cute ears. “Hey, what are you doing in here?” he asks, proud his voice came out clear and not awkward or guilty at all.

“What are you doing here?”

“I asked you first.” Yixing offers, a little flirty before suddenly finding his targets standing by the lockers behind Kris. “Oh, excuse me.” Pushing his way over, he greets the trio of students with a small nod.

The response he gets from Baekhyun at Joonmyun's left is a snappy, “What?” Kyungsoo seems not to care in the least, texting on the bench and not so much as looking up.

“I just wanted to ask why you three are preventing Luhan from making the soccer team.” Yixing explains smoothly. No need to sugar coat things with these guys; they would only get annoyed.

Joonmyun smiles, but it's not the nice kind of smile, no. This smile is a smile that definitely wants to see Yixing suffer horribly for daring to approach them, or maybe it's an amused smile as if Yixing accusing him of these things was kind of cute. Which is worse? He can't tell. “It's not us.” Joonmyun says with a flash of menace in his eyes. Creepy.

“You can try the guy you've been checking out for the past few minutes.” Baekhyun points to Chanyeol behind him and Yixing detects a surprising amount of hatred in that expression of his, as if he were jealous.

Well, isn't that an interesting development, he thinks as he glances at the changing boy (a little longer than he should have maybe) before rounding back to Baekhyun with a knowing look. The teen's other friend has already lost interest, so no one notices the exchange.

As Yixing turns around again to explain things to Kris and go after his new target, he feels a hand at his backside and knows it to be Baekhyun. The funny thing is, anyone who might have seen this wouldn't question it. This guy is known for always patting his friends on the (though that was less of a pat and more of a pinch, Yixing notes).

Did he just make a new friend?

Okay, Baekhyun is looking him up and down and it definitely feels a little intrusive to his personal space. That air conditioner really is broken, isn't it?

“Were you here for Luhan too?” Kris asks him and it's just so sweet how perturbed he is and how much he's trying not to be jealous.

Too? Kris wants to help their friend as well? This guy might just be perfect. He's already more caring, sweet, and endearing than Yixing knew how to respond to. Kris is kind of flawless with all his awkward charm.

To hell with perfect timing and romance. Yixing smiles at this cutie and pulls him into a kiss in the middle of a locker room full of half- sweaty soccer players, who panic at the sight.

What a way to come out of the closet. The whole school is going to know in about five minutes flat, maybe sooner if Joonmyun gets involved. Yixing doesn't really care, too busy enjoying the scoff from Baekhyun's direction and definitely too busy enjoying this kiss with Kris.

Lucky for him, Kris is also enjoying this turn of events. What better way to get that handsy Baekhyun guy off his (maybe) boyfriend than to stake a claim right in front of his face? Also, his chest feels like he inhaled a whole balloon, swollen and far too close to causing unmanly giggling.

“Am I in trouble?” Yixing softly asks to his tingling lips that easily break out in a grin.

“Are you kidding?” he responds with a chuckle he couldn't force down. “This is a very cool move, Yixing.” Kris teases and his hands feel a little too hot on the teen's sides. Weirdly enough, this only makes him want to get closer and soak up more heat.

“I only know how to be cool.”

Those words. They belong to Kris, but they work so beautifully coming from Yixing instead. This exchange feels so much better than all the ones he had imagined and practiced for countless hours at home. Somehow, these awkward phrases they repeated were perfect and romantic and thoughtful, but maybe it isn't the meaning of the words that makes them that way; maybe it's the feelings behind them.

Maybe the right words are allowed to be awkward as long as they are sincere.

“Like I said,” Kris continues, but Yixing is pretty sure this banter has gone on for long enough. “Two cool people together is much-”

“Just kiss me.” he laughs and Kris obeys quickly. It's a peck, sweet and nice and perfect, and Yixing really wishes they could just kiss all day or something, but he definitely has a mission he's working on. “Excuse me again.” he says with a pat to his (probably official now?) boyfriend's arm before heading off in a very stunned Chanyeol's direction.

Kris feels out of place being stared and screeched at to leave while everyone is dressing. Being openly gay in this school is going to change things for him, but at least he's now allowed to glare at that Baekhyun guy without holding back. That's a plus.

***

After a little one-on-one-and-a-half game with his boyfriend/boyfriend's cat on the empty field, Xiumin checks his phone and is surprised to see a clumsy text from Kris about something amazing that happened in the boy's locker room with Yixing and a second text that awkwardly explains that the last text hadn't meant and a third telling him to just forget he said anything at all.

He puts the mess of texts behind him, watching Luhan and his boundless energy kick the ball downfield before stopping to pounce on it. The teen's beanie comes off after rolling around in the grass and fluffy black ears flatten down on his head as he concentrates on tackling the ball again.

Xiumin wants his boyfriend back. Sure, cats are adorable and everything, but he wants to kiss Luhan again and he wants to hold hands without expecting claws sticking his palm. Their every conversation is listened to, judged, remarked on, and interrupted repeatedly by a whiny cat and it's starting to drive him nuts.

***

“You're the reason why Luhan couldn't get on the soccer team?” Yixing asks Chanyeol carefully after being thrown out of the boy's locker room and finding a quiet place to talk in the chilly stands. He thinks that maybe he should have sugar coated his words just this one time, because Chanyeol is looking at him funny.

Gritting his teeth, Chanyeol replies in a huffy sort of way, “The hall passes he gave me were useless. The office uses yellow ones with a stamped signature now. And do you know how heartbroken that cleaning lady was when I broke it off with her? No one ever even talks to her!”

“So you took revenge instead of asking for help or talking it out?”

Chanyeol looks away from the judging stare to the grass underfoot. “Maybe...”

“Listen,” Yixing tells him, tugging on the boy's sleeve to get him to look up again. “We can help with all of that, but it would really, really be a big favor to us if you could persuade everyone on the team to accept Luhan.”

“I don't do favors.”

Yixing's face falls at those harsh words. Any more stupid remarks from him in their group of friends and Xiumin is certain tell him to leave. He liked Xiumin and he liked Luhan too, he just didn't know how to speak to them properly. This was his only chance to be helpful.

Nervously, Chanyeol picks at his fingernails. “I'm willing to make a deal.”

“Yes.” agrees Yixing instantly, though he guesses he should have waited to hear what the deal was first.

Blinking at him, the boy continues, “You seem to know Baekhyun well?”

Oh.

Oh.

This really is an interesting development.

***

They're getting close to the flower shop again and Zitao's mouth waters at the smell of fish all around. He's kind of really hungry and he keeps trying to ask Luhan to stop somewhere for food first. This would work so much better if he could meow pitifully and look up at him with big eyes. His pleading is ignored and Luhan takes over their body, trying unsuccessfully to hold Xiumin's hand.

“Are you nervous, Baozi?”

“He's shaking like a leaf.” says Jongdae helpfully, sticking his pink kitty nose over the top of Xiumin's jacket and sniffing the air. “I wouldn't be opposed to eating first.”

Zitao smiles. At least someone heard his request. It's weird: he feels warm all over, but when Luhan takes over again, he can feel the heat fading rapidly. Their shared fingertips start to feel like icicles. “What's wrong?” he whispers, hoping Xiumin can't hear over the chatter of the market.

Luhan puts a hand to his mouth, muffling his quiet words so only he can hear them. “Xiumin is acting strange and I don't know why. I'm being ignored, kitty. It hurts.”

“Being ignored does hurt.”

Stopping, Luhan apologizes. “Let's go eat.” he sighs.

Picking up the pace again before the others could notice, Zitao dismisses this. “All I really wanted was an answer. You want an answer from Xiumin too, right? Go ask him, Xiaolu. That bird-lady isn't going anywhere any time soon.”

Again, Luhan receives a great pep talk from a cat. What would he do without his Tao kitty?

“Baozi,” he stops him, swallowing back nerves. “Tell me what's going on. Am I doing something wrong?”

“No, I-I'm sorry. I just-”

Jongdae pops his head out of Xiumin's jacket to watch his companion act flustered, interested.

“-I miss you, you alone." he admits. "I keep feeling like something will go wrong, that this is all happening too easily.” Xiumin really didn't want to voice these thoughts, but they keep spilling out. Luhan is going to be so hurt. “Shouldn't there be more obstacles to go through? I mean, we brought Tao back from the dead. Where are all the consequences?”

He's right.

Why didn't Luhan think of this before? There has to be a reason why his mom's friend has turned bird-like for so many years while using magic, never changing this pattern once. If separating were so easy, wouldn't things be different? Wouldn't she have a bird at her side instead of taking over her body?

Without consciously making the decision to do so, Luhan starts running the rest of the way to the florist, leaving Xiumin and the brown kitty behind. He's breathless by the time he arrives at the shop.

“Luhan! How was the sunset this year? Did your mother like the flowers?”

Not having the heart to tell her that he hadn't gone yet, he took a moment to regain his breath before ducking into the back of her shop.

“Did you need more, sweetie?” she asks after him.

“No, Auntie,” She never did like it when Luhan called her by her real name and he needed her sympathy, so Auntie it is. Will Luhan be like this too one day, asking for people not to call him by his real name because it's not just him in this body of his?

“Where's your little cat friend? I have some freshly grown catnip left over from another special customer.”

“Really?” Zitao asks, pulse quickening at the thought of another chaotic catnip mess that would get him in trouble. “Xiaolu, say no!” he hisses to his right, truly frightened.

“Oh...” the old woman says in disbelief, looking Luhan all over for all the signs she knew so well. Wordlessly, Luhan takes off his beanie and reveals the pointed cat ears. “Oh, Honey, I'm so sorry. How did he die?”

He was right. She really did understand. Sitting down on a plastic stool, Luhan explains his strange story, Xiumin showing up and sitting down somewhere in the middle. He's really trying not to cry, but Zitao keeps ruining his efforts every time he takes over. In comfort, Jongdae climbs out of the jacket to Luhan's lap.

The old woman waits a moment before responding. “My little Lola was a hummingbird. When she died after staying away from her flowers for too long, I couldn't let her go. You see, it was my fault she had left in the first place.” she nodded absentmindedly, looking off in the distance as she talked. “I wanted to take her to China with me after I moved from France with my family. I smuggled her onto the plane and she just couldn't handle it. There was no way to bring her as a human. Lola-bird had no passport or identification. I brought her back, but there is a price to such magic. A dead body cannot be revived after death; everything starts shutting down far too quickly for that to work.”

“No.” Luhan breathed, defeated. He could tell where this was going.

“Magic can't do everything. In order to bring back my Lola's body, I require a living sacrifice, one whose body is of equal or greater value. All the lives left will transfer over in both forms, killing the sacrifice and giving the lost spirit a vessel to return to.” She shakes her head sadly before turning to speak to her right side, voice slightly peppier than normal. “And I could never do that. My life doesn't mean more than anyone else's. Besides, I'm alive now, aren't I?”

So to bring back Tao's body, there needs to be a sacrifice? Something living would die just to give him a body?

"I'll do it." says Jongdae, sitting up straight and proud even though he feels like hiding under something and just staying there for a few hours. "You can sacrifice me."

***

Author Note:

*whispers* YaY for Kray~~!

Happy, happy, happy Valentines day!!

Kitty kisses for all!

>^-.-^<  <3