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Sesoo (Sehun/Kyungsoo) : Wild Thing Part 2

Sehun’s day starts at 5 AM. He wakes up, feeds the cat, feeds himself, gets dressed, and is out the door by 5:45. He’s at the zoo by 6:30, and by 7 AM he’s making the rounds. His first stop is the owl enclosures, and one owl in particular.

“Good morning, Kyungsoo!”

His favorite little girl hoots down at him from her nesting box, and pokes her head out to look at him expectantly. Sehun hand feeds her a dead mouse, and leaves several more scattered around the pen for Kyungsoo’s mate, Soren. Sehun is not Soren’s favorite person, Sehun rarely sees him. But Kyungsoo is another story, she just loves to say good morning to her favorite keeper. Sehun puts on a thick, leather glove and holds out his arm, and Kyungsoo hops out of her nesting box and perches on Sehun’s wrist.

“Hi there, pretty girl,” he coos. “How are the babies doing?” He picks up his flashlight and peers into the box. There’s still a few days until the eggs are set to hatch, but he needs to check the development of the chicks. Sehun transfers Kyungsoo to his shoulder and picks up one egg, shining the light behind it. He can just see the outlines of the chick, a large blob inside the egg. The second egg looks much the same.

“They’re getting big,” Sehun tells Kyungsoo. “They’ll be hatching in no time at all.”

Sehun is the only keeper that Kyungsoo allows near her eggs, and Sehun can’t imagine the reason. Sure, he cared for her when she first arrived at the animal Sanctuary three years ago, but he wasn’t the only one. But when Sehun got hired by the zoo to care for their raptors and first stepped foot into Kyungsoo’s enclosure, she hooted and cooed and flapped her wings until Sehun came close enough for her to hop on his arm and start grooming his hair. Since she hadn’t been hand raised, the other keepers had just assumed her aversion to people was because she was wild. From that moment Sehun became Kyungsoo’s primary caretaker, and it came in handy when she and her mate had their third go at nesting. Since previously no one could get near Kyungsoo’s box, there had been issues with caring for her chicks. Each time she laid her eggs, only one chick ended up maturing. It had been quite the tragedy, considering she normally laid 3-4 eggs.

That’s probably the reason that now, she only has two eggs. But hopefully now that Sehun is part of the staff, he’ll be able to help Kyungsoo raise her chicks.

“I’m so excited to meet your babies,” Sehun says. “It won’t be long now!”

He runs his fingers through the feathers on the very top of Kyungsoo’s head, and she hoots softly and closes her eyes.

“Sleepy? Alright, let’s get you back in your box and I’ll clear out so your mate will come keep you company.”

Once Kyungsoo is settled, Sehun continues to the other pens. There are five keepers on duty, and they take turns bringing in fresh food for the owls, while others clean the perches and rake the dirt for pellets, and others go around the pens to make sure that everything is in top shape. Then they meet and discuss who is going to be outside for education programs and who is going to be inside, monitoring the owls. Sehun usually stays inside, because it’s the senior keepers primary job to do the education programs.

Sehun’s day ends “early” at 2 PM, but by then he’s put in 7 hours of work and he’s exhausted. Still, he always makes time to drop by the animal sanctuary that got him started on this path. Minseok is still running the place, but now he’s got a second full-time partner, a young woman named Irene, and in addition he gets help from Joonmyun. Minseok’s gone back to college and is working on a degree in veterinary studies. Half the time he’s not around when Sehun drops by, but he is today, along with someone Sehun’s only heard about through stories. Still, he would recognize Do Kyungsoo anywhere.

Joonmyun’s friend and owl Kyungsoo’s namesake is unmistakable. On the short side, he has upswept black hair, large eyes, and heart-shaped lips. He’s even more handsome than Sehun could have imagined.

“Have you two met before?” Minseok asks.

Sehun jumps and clears his throat. “N-no, I don’t think so.”

Minseok grins. “Oh. From the way you were staring…”

Sehun knows he’s red as a tomato and he almost bolts out of the building, but freezes when Kyungsoo steps closer.

“You’re younger than me, aren’t you?” He asks and dear god his voice is like melted chocolate.

Sehun nods, and Kyungsoo scowls.

“You have no business being that much taller than me.”

Before he even knows what he’s doing, Sehun bends his knees and shrinks himself to a good five centimeters shorter than Kyungsoo. The scowl disappears from Kyungsoo’s face and he laughs hysterically, patting Sehun’s head.

“I like you! It’s nice to finally meet you, Sehun. Joonmyun and Minseok have only good things to say about you.”

Sehun’s heart is fluttering. This is madness.

“You too,” Sehun blurts. “I’ve heard a lot about you.” He glances at Minseok, and blushes even more when he sees the overly sweet smile that Minseok is giving him.

“You two are soooo cute together,” Minseok squeals, and Sehun might cry he’s so embarrassed. “Sehun-ah, I’ve never seen you like this!”

“I guess I should stop by more often,” Kyungsoo teases. He takes Sehun’s hand and gives it a gentle squeeze. “I would like to get to know you better.”

Sehun can only nod as words get stuck in his throat. Inside, he’s a complete mess. He’s never thought love at first sight was a real thing, after today he might have to reconsider his stance on the phenomenon.

Every day, Sehun counts down the hours until he can go to the animal sanctuary and run into Kyungsoo again. Kyungsoo the person, not Kyungsoo the owl. Until recently Sehun has been the only zookeeper to refer to the owl by her full name and not Kyung-ie, though now that he knows the real Kyungsoo he finds it harder to use the name on a bird. Though Sehun can totally see why Joonmyun picked the name for the little owl. Sometimes Sehun wonders if Kyungsoo wasn’t an owl in a past life, between his large eyes, soulful voice, and his attitude. Sometimes Sehun swears he can see an outline of feathers swelling out from Kyungsoo’s body whenever he’s frustrated or angry.

Sehun has only ever seen Kyungsoo angry on behalf of other people—his coworkers, his friends—Kyungsoo hasn’t gotten a chance to be angry at him and Sehun’s not seen him yell at Minseok, Irene, or Joonmyun. Maybe that’s why Sehun thinks it’s so cute when he’s angry, swelling like a fluffed-up owl and hissing under his breath. Maybe he’s more like a kitten than an owl.

One day when Sehun arrives at the sanctuary, he finds Minseok cowering behind the welcome counter and Kyungsoo stalking around in anger. Kyungsoo whirls around and points at Sehun.

“And you!”

Sehun jumps. “Me?”

“They named a bird after me! An owl! You didn’t tell me!”

Shocked, Sehun looks at Kyungsoo wide eyed. “I didn’t know that…that you didn’t know,” he whimpers, and he might just cry. He’s never been good with yelling, never.

But his watery eyes are enough to make Kyungsoo stop yelling. “Aw, Sehun, don’t cry,” he pleads, wrapping Sehun up in a sudden hug. “I wasn’t mad…well not really, I kind of wish I had known earlier. I’m mostly pissed at Joonmyun, not really at you.”

Sehun should probably tell Kyungsoo that he tends to cry easily, that he’s okay now, but Kyungsoo is his back and it feels really nice to be held, so Sehun lets him carry on for a few more seconds. “I can introduce her to you, if you want.”

Kyungsoo jumps back. “Really? You can? Would you?!”

Sehun nods. “Sure, I’m allowed to bring guests to the zoo…”

“The owl is at your zoo now?” Kyungsoo cries, “Oh, I had no idea!”

“He just found out,” Minseok says, standing up now that the danger of bodily harm seems over with. “And I would have explained more if you hadn’t started yelling.”

“Well I thought I was never going to get to see my owl!” Kyungsoo says crossly. “You probably should have lead with something like, ‘Guess what, Sehun works with an owl I once rescued!’”

Minseok grins. “Okay, I guess I could have done that, but considering that you and Sehun are still holding hands, maybe it’s not such a bad thing?”

Sehun looks down and realizes that yes, he is holding Kyungsoo’s hand. He blushes and squeezes just a little bit, just enough so Kyungsoo smiles and doesn’t let go.

Kyungsoo insists on taking Sehun out for a meal before they go to the zoo, going on about how since he’s the hyung he should do something for Sehun before Sehun does something for him. Sehun interprets it as a date, since Kyungsoo is coming to his apartment to pick him up. Kyungsoo wanted to keep the location a surprise, but Sehun begged him to tell because he wants to be dressed appropriately.

“Just wear a nice shirt and some clean jeans, no holes,” Kyungsoo says. “You’ll be fine.”

When Sehun whines to Seulgi about how he has no idea what to wear anyway, she laughs and tells him, “You could show up in your pajamas, as long as you put on some eyeliner first. Do that and nobody will even care what you’re wearing.”

And then on the day of dinner, Seulgi actually corners Sehun before he leaves and puts the eyeliner on him. Sehun’s frantic and near tears, but she whacks his arm and tells him it’s fine. “You barely see it, I promise. Now have fun!”

And indeed when Sehun gets his hands on a mirror, it really doesn’t look so bad. He feels a little silly, but keeps the eyeliner on when he gets dressed. Kyungsoo texts Sehun when he arrives, and Sehun meets him downstairs.

“Wow,” Kyungsoo says, “You look hot!”

“You look better,” Sehun says, and it’s true. Kyungsoo’s wearing a grey turtle neck and it looks so soft that Sehun just wants to touch it—and find out how warm the skin under it is. He blushes bright red and Kyungsoo laughs.

“What in the world do you think about that makes you so red?”

Sehun can’t bring himself to open his mouth, so he just shakes his head.

Kyungsoo’s smile is fond, but his eyes have a teasing look in them. “Okay, you don’t have to tell me yet. But someday you will.”

Kyungsoo takes Sehun to a cute little Japanese restaurant, where the tables are low to the floor and sectioned off from each other by waist-high paper screens. When Sehun sits on the floor, the top of his head just peeks over the edge of the screens. There will be no making out in this restaurant.

And of course that thought just scrambles Sehun’s entire brain and he can barely focus on anything for the rest of the night. Kyungsoo keeps talking, and Sehun hangs on his every word and can barely think of anything to say in response.

After dinner they decide to walk around for a little bit and look for a café, but they’ve barely gone one block before Kyungsoo suddenly stops and turns to Sehun with a serious look on his face.

“Sehun, you’ve barely said a word all evening and you keep turning red. Are you not feeling well, or is there something on your mind?”

Sehun gulps. It’s getting dark, he can’t see Kyungsoo’s face all that well, but that probably means that Kyungsoo can’t see his face too well either. Which is good, because he’s blushing again. What is he supposed to say? That he’s been imagining planting a kiss on Kyungsoo’s gorgeous lips this whole time? That this is their first date, but he wants to ask Kyungsoo to come home with him (back to his filthy bachelor’s apartment but like he’s worried about that right now)? Even if all they do is snuggle, and god, Sehun wants to hold Kyungsoo in his arms and tuck Kyungsoo’s head under his chin? It sounded too cheesy and intimate for a first date, after only having met a few months earlier.

“Sehun, are you feeling shy?”

In a way, he is. He nods and looks at his feet.

Kyungsoo coos and steps closer. “Aren’t you sweet! It’s okay, I’m not going to eat you.”

Sehun thinks he might actually be okay with that, and it makes him blush even more. “I know, I just…I don’t know how to say what I’m thinking of.”

Kyungsoo holds out his hand, and Sehun takes it. “I think I have an idea of what’s on your mind,” Kyungsoo tells him. “And Sehun, you’ve been staring at my mouth all night.”

Sehun whimpers.

“If you want to kiss me, just ask.”

Sehun’s heart is doing flips in his chest. “Can I kiss you?”

Kyungsoo grins at him. “Yes, you can.”

Sehun’s knees almost buckle when he kisses Kyungsoo and feels just how soft his lips are. He steps closer, one hand on Kyungsoo’s waist and the other under his jaw. He never wants to stop kissing Kyungsoo, not when each breath and each movement makes him feel like he’s flying.

Kyungsoo leans back, and Sehun lurches to follow, stopped by Kyungsoo’s hands on his shoulders. Sehun realizes that Kyungsoo could mistake him for being clingy, and he straightens up, trying to pull himself together.

“That was amazing,” Kyungsoo says. “And honestly, I could have done that for the rest pf the night.”

Sehun laughs. “You know, I could too.”

“Oh I know,” Kyungsoo says, “And that’s exactly why I’m saying this now—I don’t put out on the first date.”

“Me either!” Sehun yelps, “I mean, I…I might. Maybe.”

Kyungsoo grins. “I need to wait until the second date, at least. And for us, I really hope that the second date is sometime soon.”

After that, Sehun becomes considerably less shy. They stay out for a few more hours, and end the night with a long goodbye-kiss in the car, right in front of Sehun’s apartment. When Sehun gets back inside, the first thing he does is start cleaning up. Their second date is going to be soon, and he doesn’t know where it’s going to end up, but he can’t bring Kyungsoo back to this. He won’t!

Seulgi has an absolutely terrifying smile on her face. “Sehun-ah, you have a visitor!”

Sehun looks up from the feeding charts he’s writing up, and wonders who could have come to see him here. Kyungsoo sheepishly peeks around the doorframe.

“Hi, Sehun.”

Sehun leaps up. “I didn’t know you were coming!” He runs over and hugs Kyungsoo tightly. “I would have met you at the front gate!”

Kyungsoo chuckles and kisses Sehun’s cheek. “I wasn’t really planning on coming, I wanted to sneak in and see my owl and leave. I didn’t want to bother you.”

Sehun takes Kyungsoo’s hand. “I can’t take you into her pen, but I can give you a closer peek. Come on, her eggs just hatched, maybe you’ll get a peek at the babies.”

Sehun doesn’t take no for an answer, and they’re lucky enough to see Kyung-ie switching nest-duty with Soren. Kyung-ie takes a short flight around her enclosure, and lands on a bare tree branch in the corner nearest Sehun and Kyungsoo.

“She thinks I have food,” Sehun says.

“She’s beautiful!” Kyungsoo says, his voice and his face full of awe. “Why couldn’t she be released?”

“Her brain damage keeps her from really flying,” Sehun explains. “She can manage short flights but long distance, which she would need in the wild, is harder for her.”

“Poor thing,” Kyungsoo sighs. “But she’s absolutely gorgeous, I can’t believe you get to see her every day. And she knows you?”

“Oh yeah,” Sehun tells him, “Owls are really smart, and if they bond with a human they can be really affectionate. Her mate doesn’t like me much though, he prefers Seulgi.”

Kyungsoo shakes his head. “Unbelievable, I never knew owls could be so accepting of people, even hand raised ones.”

They stare at the owls for a while longer, and when they return to the staff center Sehun finds Seulgi finishing his charts.

“You don’t have to do that, you know.”

Seulgi waves her hand. “I’m paying you back for all those times you bought me lunch. You go out with your boyfriend.”

Which reminds him, “How did you even know Kyungsoo was my boyfriend?”

Seulgi gives him a look. “His picture is your lock screen, how could I not know? By the way, he thanked me for putting eyeliner on you.”

And then Sehun and Kyungsoo make a quick exit, both of them blushing.

Kyungsoo wore the same turtle neck that he wore on their last date. Sehun brings Kyungsoo back to his apartment and they talk about what Sehun does at the zoo, they talk about Kyung-ie, and they talk about animals in general. They order pizza and chicken, and Sehun digs some beer out of the back of his fridge, and even though it’s not technically a date, Kyungsoo seems to think that it counts. After the dishes have been taken care of, Kyungsoo takes Sehun’s hand and leads him back to the couch.

“You seem to really like when I wear this sweater,” he says, giving Sehun a smile. “Can I ask why?”

“It just…it makes me want to hug you. It looks so warm and soft, and you look so warm…” Sehun trails off, a blush hot on his cheeks.

Kyungsoo touches Sehun’s cheek. “That’s actually the sweetest thing I’ve ever been told.”

Sehun takes Kyungsoo’s hand and plays with his fingers. “And it’s really making me want to kiss you.”

“So kiss me.”

Sehun is only too happy to comply.

(Kyungsoo ends up staying the night. Just to sleep, but Sehun does get to slip his hands under that sweater and find out just how warm Kyungsoo is.)