Lonely Kitten

13

He had heard the front door open, sighing in relief, knowing the other had finally come back home, as he was still uncomfortable not having the rapper within his sight, worried what might happen to him while they were apart. After his shower, Minho dressed in an oversized baby pink hoodie he found in Jisung's closet, as well as dark grey shorts, smiling as his hair was slowly drying, revealing its silver shine. When he still lived in his human form, he used to die his hair brown to fit in better with the general population but why should he now that no one ever saw him anyway? Minho got startled when the other suddenly entered the room and managed to hide behind the bed just in time, holding his breath until he was alone again. Wanting everything to be planned out, so that things would go as smooth as possible, the hybrid decided not to hide his ears and tail. Jisung would easier be able to make the connection between his cat and this new person if he could see his cat features still, so hopefully he wouldn't be too scared of the stranger inside his apartment.

With his sharp cat hearing, Minho listened for the shower to stop and heard Jisung calling out for him from the living room, probably wanting him to have dinner. Ugh, one more reason to go through with this. He didn't want to eat cat food anymore. Realizing it was time to reveal himself, Minho's heart started to race and he quietly exited the bedroom, sneaking down the hallway as he hid his trebling hands behind his back. With his cat ears twitching, he peaked around the corner, startling when he made eye contact with Jisung. Backing away, the rapper stammered: "W-Who are you and what- what are you doing in my apartment?" Minho stepped out from behind the corner fully, chewing on his lip and clasping his hands in front to keep them from shaking. "Min-Minho?", the rapper stuttered, taking a closer look and recognizing the picture he had been shown earlier. The hybrid nodded shyly, eyes trained to the floor in shame.

"Are you okay?", Minho mumbled, realizing the rapper had been quiet for a very long time. Still watching the stranger closely, he tried to make sense of the situation. "N-No?", he stammered, voice coming out uncharacteristically high as his hands shook. What was happening? Why were there cat ears on the other's head? Taking a deep breath, Minho sighed: "I'm the person Hyunjin and Felix told you about. I'm a hybrid but they don't know that. It's why I disappeared." Jisung nodded mechanically, trying to take everything in. There was no way Minho could be dangerous, right? He would have had more than enough opportunities to kill him if that had been his intention. "Min s-sowwy", the hybrid choked out, tears spilling down his cheeks as he slid to the ground with his back against the wall, curling in on himself.

Despite being more than confused by this change in demeanor, Jisung couldn't help his protective instincts coming out. Still keeping his distance, the rapper sat down on the floor too, not wanting to look down on the other as he hummed: "It's okay, just a lot to take in but it's okay." A harsh sob tore from Minho's throat as he slipped his fingers between his lips, biting them hard in an attempt to pull himself together, his fluffy ears hanging low. "Ssh, don't hurt yourself", Jisung frowned, getting up, "I got you a teether for when you get the bities." He retrieved the teether from the box and brought it over to the worked-up hybrid, holding it out for him from a distance. Minho accepted the comfort item with trembling hands, clutching it tightly as he dug his teeth into the sturdy material. "Alright, so just for me to understand", Jisung started, still feeling lost, "You're a hybrid, obviously. Hyunjin and Felix know you because you're a dancer." - "Was." - "Were? Okay, and now you're with me since I found you out in the storm", the rapper listed, "I'm not scared of you because Hyunjin and Felix said you're a good person and I trust them because I trust Chan." Minho looked up at him with teary eyes, teeth still buried in his teether.

"Oh, you're injured!", Jisung remembered, eyebrows furrowing with worry, "What happened to your hand?" Lowering his teether, Minho looked down at his wrist and sniffled: "I feww off a fence. Dogs chased me an' I cwimbed a fence bu' feww off." - "Are you okay? You sound funny", the rapper worried, "Why did you fall off a fence? I thought cats are good at climbing." Fiddling with his teether, Minho pouted: "Min ish scawed of heights. Kept ma eyes cwosed and then feww." - "You are what?", Jisung gasped, unable to stop himself from laughing, "Sorry but a cat that falls off a fence while climbing with his eyes closed because he's scared of heights? Are you sure you're a cat?" Pouting harder, the hybrid threw his teether at the other and muttered: "Meanie." - "I'm sorry", the other chuckled, picking up the teether, "Can I take a look at your wrist? Is it better now?" Anxiously watching the rapper approach, Minho held out his left hand and admitted: "It onwy huwts a wittle."

After carefully moving Minho's wrist and watching his reaction, Jisung's eyes wandered to the top of the hybrid's head. Studying his fluffy ears, the rapper asked hesitantly: "Can I- Can I touch them?" When Minho nodded, he slowly reached out his hand, gently brushing the side of his ear. Feeling the soft fur under his fingers, Jisung stroked the hybrid's ears, making the other purr. Had he been in his right mind, Minho wouldn't have allowed himself to purr at the affectionate touch but being in his headspace, he loved head pats even more. "They're soo soft", the rapper cooed, retracting his hand only to have Minho follow him with his head, purring louder as he rubbed his head into the other's hand. Continuing to pat the hybrid's head, Jisung smiled: "You like that a lot, don't you?" Minho didn't answer but continued to purr, moving closer to the rapper till he was almost sitting on his lap and Jisung could tell the boy loved cuddles. Not that he was surprised, recalling how affectionate and cuddly he had been while in his cat form.