I’m dead. I am so dead. He’s going to kill me. I will be no more. All for another animal.

Taekwoon closes the door as he steps into his and Jaehwan’s apartment, yet another stray puppy in his arms. He holds the small animal close to his chest, kissing its head when it yawns. Moving to the kitchen, Taekwoon sets the puppy down on the counter. Jaehwan would probably kill him if he saw that.

At the sound of the food container opening, two other dogs and two cats come running into the kitchen from various places in the apartment. Taekwoon bends down to pet each one and give out kisses. The two dogs, one male mutt and one purebred female Border Collie Jaehwan found roaming the streets, wag their tales and at Taekwoon’s face. The two cats, both male mixes, are mostly indifferent and really just want food.

“Hold on, hold on! I have a new member of the family for you guys to meet,” Taekwoon says as he gets back to retrieve the puppy from the counter. The puppy squeaks in his arms, calling the attention of the other dogs and cats as Taekwoon ends up cross-legged on the floor.

The two dogs move around Taekwoon slowly, sniffing out the competition. Lucy, the female Border Collie, growls slightly and quietly in the back of , earning herself a gentle whack on the nose from Taekwoon. “No, ma’am. Don’t growl at the new puppy just because she’s a girl too,” Taekwoon says, looking sternly at Lucy, who’s now at eye level with her owner.

Lucy, Winston (the dogs), Lewis, and Clark (the cats), all end up back in front of Taekwoon, right where they started. Seeing that they have no objections with the newcomer, Taekwoon places the puppy on the floor and turns back to getting bowls of food ready for the four of them. Looking over his shoulder, he finds Lucy still sniffing at the small animal.

“Come on, girl. She’s not going to hurt you,” Taekwoon says as he places one bowl of food in front of the two cats. Ignoring the puppy, the cats move quickly towards the food bowl. A few minutes later, their food is gone and so are they. Taekwoon laughs to himself as he places another two bowls down in front of the dogs. Sitting down in front of the bowls, Taekwoon picks up the puppy and grabs a handful of kibble from one of the dog bowls.

“Come on, little guy, you need to eat a little before Jaehwan gets home and kills all of us,” he says, half joking. His boyfriend had told him after he brought home the first cat that three pets are enough. He made Taekwoon promise not to bring anymore strays home, but that obviously didn’t last long. The next week he came home with the second cat and ended up changing the first one’s name so they two could be Lewis and Clark.

Taekwoon will never forget the way Jaehwan tried to be mad at his boyfriend. But the younger really isn’t good at holding grudges, and that night Taekwoon was kicked out of their bed and onto the sofa so Jaehwan could cuddle with the cats. The next morning, though, Taekwoon did promise not to bring home any more unless he talked to Jaehwan first.

“I’ve done it now, haven’t I?” Taekwoon says to the puppy, holding the furry ball up and in front of his face. As Taekwoon kisses the puppy’s nose, he hears keys jiggling the lock of the front door. Taekwoon mentally screams and calmly sets the puppy down in the dog bed him and Jaehwan put in the corner of the kitchen. Taekwoon hears the front door opening and rushes into the living room with the other animals around him.

Jaehwan turns around and suddenly has a face full of his boyfriend, their pets gathered around them. Strong arms wrap around his body and he’s being twirled. Twirled. Taekwoon never twirls him. Not even on the day Jaehwan agreed to live with Taekwoon. There was, however, really amazing in their new home.

So as he’s gently put down, hair a little mussed and clothes slightly wrinkled, he can only think of one thing. There’s another one.

“Tae-”

“Have I ever told you how beautiful and handsome you are? I love you so much, baby, I really do,” Taekwoon says as he interrupts Jaehwan. Jaehwan just rolls his eyes and waits for the older to continue.

“Like, your lips, I could kiss them all day. And the cute noises you make when you wake up in the morning, I love those too. I just really love you and I don’t think I tell you that enough,” Taekwoon continues, trying hard to ignore the exasperated look on his boyfriend’s face.

Taekwoon has never been really good at lying, and Jaehwan has always been able to see right through him. So, with his head hung and shoulders hunched, Taekwoon points in the direction of the kitchen and watches as Jaehwan follows his pointing finger.

Taekwoon waits almost a minute before going in after Jaehwan, his frame still hunched over with defeat.

“I’m sorry, Jae. I just didn’t know what to do! I found it in the park when I went running after my classes ended. She looked so helpless and hungry and tired and I just couldn’t leave her!” Taekwoon manages to get out, a tear or two messing up his line of vision.

“Taekwoon-ah, you’ve out done yourself this time,” Jaehwan says as he picks up the little fur ball. When he turns to face Taekwoon, Jaehwan has an adoring smile on his face. “I could never get rid of this precious baby! Look how skinny she is, it’s unnatural. We’ll be good owners and take care of her.”

Overwhelmed with joy, Taekwoon lets a huge smile slip and embraces Jaehwan, kissing him on the face several times. “Stop it! You’re squishing my baby!” Jaehwan cries as Taekwoon squeezes him again. Taekwoon loosens his grip but doesn’t let go.

“I thought you were going to make me give her away!” Taekwoon lets out, a nervous laugh coupling with the end of the sentence. Jaehwan, looking slightly offended, turns to Taekwoon and tries his ebst to glare at the older.

“I would never do that!” Jaehwan defends. “Well you almost made get rid of the first cat,” Taekwoon says in reply, watching Jaehwan scoff. “Only because I thought we weren’t going to be able to get him to stop hitting at Lucy and Winston!” Jaehwan says again, his voice rising slightly in volume.

“I’m just happy we can keep her. Tell you what, I’ll let you name her,” Taekwoon tells Jaehwan, the younger’s eyes immediately lighting up. “Princess! I want to name her Princess,” Jaehwan exclaims, kissing the puppy on the top of its head. Taekwoon makes a face, one that Jaehwan doesn’t see, but kisses his boyfriend’s head anyways.

“Then her name shall be Princess, and you shall be the Queen.” Jaehwan smiles at the cute compliment and moves forward to kiss Taekwoon on the lips. “And you my King.”

Taekwoon ended up sleeping on the couch that night. Jaehwan locked himself and all the animals in the room, except for Louis the cat, who can’t stand closed doors. No matter how many times Taekwoon begged to come back, he was always answered with threats of other stuff being taken away. Stuff that he could definitely spend one night on the couch for.

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Hope you like this one! I enjoyed writing it. Inspiration came from the photo at the beginning b/c Taekwoon is beyond adorable when he's around any animal. So how could I not write him like this?

Hope you liked it!

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