and they called it puppy love (932 w) | kitty!suho/puppy!kris | hybrid au | for lia

 

"I had higher expectations for you two."

 

Yifan loosens his grip on Joonmyun's tail, and Joonmyun lets go of Yifan's ears. Their owner's lips thin as she watches her pets disentangle themselves into separate puddles of fur and contrition.

 

"Sorry Junhee," Joonmyun mumbles, his eyes on the ground.

 

"Sorry Junhee," Yifan echoes.

 

"Don't copy me!"

 

"I wasn't!"

 

"You said the exact same thing that I did!"

 

"Boys!" Junhee interrupts. "I hate to say it, but I'm very disappointed in both of you. I thought I could trust the two of you to stay out of trouble for an entire day, but to come home to—this!"

 

She gestures towards the upturned sofa, the window shutters hanging askew, the ruptured pillows with their feathers still hanging in the air, the shattered eggshells forming a dangerous mosaic across the hardwood floor.

 

The corners of Joonmyun's mouth tug downwards, and Yifan drops his head in guilt. The catboy tries to appease his owner by nuzzling his cheek against her hand, but she pulls her hand away and flicks one of his ears. Joonmyun gasps softly in surprise, and he slinks away, hurt by Junhee's rejection. Yifan catches his eye and smirks, and Joonmyun hisses at him.

 

"Since you two apparently used up everything in the fridge to throw at each other, I'm going back out to go grocery shopping," Junhee announces. "When I come home, the house better be good as new."

 

“But!”

 

“What, Joonmyun.”

 

“You can’t go!”

 

“And why is that?”

 

Joonmyun clambers over to the doorway to catch his owner before she can leave. He clings onto her leg and protests, “Because Yifan pulled on my tail!”

 

“Tough,” Junhee says unsympathetically. “I’m sure you did a lot worse to him.”

 

Joonmyun stares at her intently until she resigns by giving him a quick peck on the forehead and running her fingers through his hair. Joonmyun finally lets go and watches her leave with the most heartbroken expression he can manage. When he turns back to face Yifan, that expression is gone, replaced by a self-satisfied smirk.

 

“Well?” Joonmyun asks. “What are you waiting for? This house isn’t going to clean itself!”

 

“What are you talking about,” Yifan snaps.

 

“Less talking, more cleaning,” Joonmyun yawns. He stretches and rests his chin on his hands, grinning at Yifan and waiting for him to make a move.

 

“Aren’t you going to help?” Yifan asks.

 

“Why should I? You were the one who knocked the furniture over.”

 

“You threw eggs at me.”

 

“Because you hit me with a pillow.”

 

“You hit me first!”

 

“Well, you never apologized for calling me that name you know I don’t like to be called!”

 

“I– you’re right. I’m sorry, I didn’t know you hated that name.” Yifan’s ears flatten against his head in remorse, and he pulls himself to his feet. “I’ll go clean the house.”

 

“Wait, Yifan, you don’t have to–”

 

“It’s fine, I’ll do it.”

 

Joonmyun hadn’t expected for Yifan to give in so easily. As much as Yifan gets on his nerves—especially when Junhee is petting Yifan and not Joonmyun—he can’t say that he dislikes when they get into scuffles. Because when they aren’t chasing after each others’ tails, Yifan hardly ever pays Joonmyun any attention. Yifan probably thinks that Joonmyun is a brat, and Yifan is probably right.

 

Even when Joonmyun hovers by Yifan’s shoulder as he scrubs the floor and vacuums the carpet, Yifan seems bent on ignoring Joonmyun’s existence. He refuses curtly when Joonmyun offers to help him, and Joonmyun decides to keep his distance because Yifan’s expression is a little too scary for his comfort.

 

Finally, Yifan hangs up his apron and tosses his rubber gloves into the trash can, announcing that he’s going to bed. Joonmyun hesitates, deliberating whether or not he should follow him and apologize. When Joonmyun finally manages to swallow his pride, he creeps into Yifan’s bedroom and finds that he’s already fast asleep.

 

He crouches by Yifan’s bedside and whispers, “I’m sorry, Yifan. I shouldn’t have made you clean up the mess all by yourself.”

 

Yifan’s mouth twitches, but his eyelids are still closed, and his breathing is slow and heavy.

 

“I know you must hate me by now,” Joonmyun continues, “but I really like you, and I hope we can play together more often and not fight all the time. And maybe I’ll be brave enough to tell you when you’re awake, but...I don’t think I could do that just yet.”

 

He watches Yifan’s face, so soft and gentle in sleep. Yifan must have been exhausted from cleaning, because he hadn’t even bothered to pull a blanket over himself.

 

“Are you cold, Yifan?” Joonmyun whispers. “Is it okay if I keep you warm?”

 

Without waiting for a response, Joonmyun drapes himself on top of Yifan and rests his cheek against Yifan’s chest. Their bodies fit perfectly together, and it’s so much more comfortable like this than their usual body contact: wrestling each other into the ground or pulling on each others’ tails.

 

Joonmyun’s body reacts before his mind registers what’s happening—his heart starts pounding, and he realizes that Yifan’s hand is on the small of his back.

 

“Yifan? Are you awake?”

 

“No,” Yifan mumbles.

 

“Sorry, I should just…” Joonmyun starts to lift himself away, but Yifan’s hand keeps their bodies pressed together.

 

“Can you keep me warm, Joonmyun?”

 

“Yeah,” Joonmyun breathes. “I can do that.”

 

Junhee returns to find Joonmyun and Yifan snuggled in bed together, Yifan’s arms around Joonmyun’s waist and Joonmyun’s hands clinging to Yifan’s shoulders. She smiles and throws a blanket over both of them.