Feline Instinct
pairing: barista!ten x werecat female!reader (feat taeyong, yangyang and briefly the 7th sense line)
summary: He always loved cats and he seemed to have an hypnotising attraction to you, could the two be related?
for the Neo CreaTures collab by the incredible @raibebe ❤
word count: 8,655
warnings: suggestive but no actual description of anything, marking, mentions of heat and mating, lil bit of angst and too much fluff
a/n: why did this take forever to finish? anyways, rai I love you, I’m sorry this is so late T_T was going to have smut but already too long and fluffy to include, hope ya’ll enjoy it! ❤
☽ ・・・・・ ☾
As Ten opens his eyes the pounding in his head makes him hide inside the covers. What the hell did he drink yesterday that got him this wasted?
Slowly flashes of last night go through his mind. It was halloween. He got in his Edward Scissorhands outfit and drank a few beers with his friends before they head out to a party. More drinks, more friends. People in weird costumes, people in sexy costumes and… Her. Oh, he remembers her. The cutest kitten outfit he’s ever seen. And he went up and talked to her. ‘How embarrassing’ he thought. But he remembers her smiling as they talked. And then he left to go home, but wait… She came home with him! He can now recall the messy kisses and the hands all over each other. And she insisted on keeping the ears and the skirt with the tail as they fooled around in his bed, ‘kinky’ he thought. But hold up. She fell asleep in his arms. Is she here?
Carefully he peeks through the sheets only to find no one around. Half of him is relieved that she won’t see the mess he’s in right now but the other half can’t help but be disappointed not to wake up by her side.
Getting up, he heads to the shower. As the water falls down his back he can feel his skin burning. Turning his back to the bathroom mirror he widens his eyes seeing the scratch marks all over, damn this girl was on fire!
He can’t stop thinking about her and the way their bodies moved in sync the previous night. He’s sure he needs to be with her again, but he doesn’t even know her name, how’s he going to find her?
Ten gets dressed and walks to the kitchen to get some food, but first he goes outside to put out something for the stray cats in his street. Meow’s fill the air as he gets outside.
“Good morning lovelies.” He smiles as he pours out some milk for the hungry little animals.
He watches them for a few minutes before turning to head back inside to have his own breakfast but one of the cats grabs his attention.
“You’re new around here aren’t you?” He picks the kitten up and observes its shiny fur and a soft pink collar. “We got a little run away don’t we?”
His heart melts as the little cat rubs its head on his hand, purring. He tries searching its collar and the heart shaped pendant but there’s no name, no number, nothing. He decides to leave it for now but if in a few days the kitten is still around he’ll definitely try to find its owner, they must be worrying sick, he knows he would.
Later that day he goes out to meet his friends.
“The man of the moment arrives!” Johnny shouts and everybody cheers and laughs as Ten enters the room.
“Dude, did you actually score?” Mark asks.
“Is that even a question?” Jaehyun grins. “Of course he did, look at the smile on his face!”
Ten scratches the back of his head in embarrassment, unable to stop the corners of his lips from curling up.
“I don’t know man, he was pretty drunk.” Mark shrugs his shoulders.
“Just let him talk.” Doyoung shushes the others and then turns to Ten. “Did you get lucky or not?”
“Well…” They all lean forward as he starts. “I did.”
The boys celebrate as if these were the news of the century.
“Oh c’mon guys, it’s not that big of a deal.” Ten tries to tone things down.
“Not a big deal?” Mark widens his eyes.
“Don’t you know who that was?” Doyoung is incredulous.
“Hm, should I?” Ten’s confused.
“Not to scare you but that’s Taeyong’s cousin.” Jaehyun almost whispers.
“Wait, do you mean the one he’s very protective about?” Ten’s expression now turns into a scared one.
“Don’t worry,” Johnny places his hand on Ten’s shoulder, “he didn’t see you two leave.”
“Who didn’t see whom leave?” Taeyong unexpectedly walks into the room and the boys freeze. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing, we were just talking about how Mark was hammered and Johnny had to take him home!” Doyoung tries to come up with an excuse.
“Oh yeah, you guys just disappeared!” Taeyong nods, but then his phone rings. “Sorry, let me just take this.”
The room falls silent as glances are exchanged when he picks up the phone.
“Hi Y/N.”
Y/N. A lightbulb lights up in Ten’s head. That’s her name.
“You need me to pick you up?” Taeyong continues his phone call. “Ok, drop by the coffee shop later then. Bye.”
The coffee shop? Oh yeah, Ten and Taeyong had the night shift today. So that means she’s going to be there? Would she remember what happen? She didn’t look that drunk. Will she want to talk to him again or was this just a one time thing?
“Yo, Ten!” Taeyong waves his arm making Ten re-focus on the conversation. “Let’s go?”
“Yeah.” They get up. “See you later.”
The drive to the coffee shop is awkward. Well, at least for Ten, he feels nervous about how Taeyong would react if he knew what happened.
“Ten, are you ok?” Taeyong asks as they arrive. “You seem a little lost in your thoughts today.”
“I’m fine, just tired.” Ten simply replies.
“Oh yeah, you got pretty wasted last night too!” Taeyong grins. “Did you go home alone?”
“Of course, who would I’ve gone with?” Ten nervously laughs as he puts on his apron to start working.
Every other minute he glances at the door in hopes to see her. Is she really coming? Will it be awkward? Does he look ok-
“Y/N!” His thoughts are interrupted by Taeyong’s voice.
Ten glances to the door and there she is. In casual clothes this time, a pleated mid-calf skirt, knitted sweater, black beret and a beautiful pink necklace with a heart pendant.
“Ten this is Y/N, my cousin.” Taeyong does the introductions, little does he know there’s no need for them.
“Hi.” She says with the cutest smile.
“Hi.” His voice comes out almost silent.
“I’m gonna take 5, ok?” Taeyong asks.
“Sure.” Ten simply manages to say.
His eyes follow the two cousins to a table in the corner. There’s no other costumers at this time so he decides to clean up a bit instead of just staring at them which would be suspicious. As he’s wiping the counter he accidentally hears a bit of their conversation even if they’re taking really low.
“You know I don’t like you just disappearing like that.” Taeyong says.
“I’m sorry Tae.” She lowers her head.
“Did anyone see you?”
“No, don’t worry.”
“I’m just trying to protect you. You know that right?”
“Maybe I’m a big girl and I can make my own decisions now. I don’t need you protecting me all the time.”
“Right, because if I wasn’t there last time you’d be fine right?”
“That was an accident and you know it. Plus I still got 8 more.”
“That will quickly be wasted if you’re not careful-”
Taeyong is interrupted by a loud bang. Ten widens his eyes looking down at the tray he accidentally knocked to the floor as he was eavesdropping. He apologises and steps away, hopefully they don’t think too much about it.
Ten didn’t talk to her that night. But she started regularly coming every time Taeyong was working, luckily they share a lot of shifts so he got to see her more. She usually seats by the window reading a book and drinking a latte.
He sneaks as many glances as he can without his friend noticing. There’s definitely something about this girl that just keeps him hooked. They haven’t even talked that much but he just knows he wants to be with her.
Kinda like how he feels about his feline friends. Specially this new one with the collar and the heart shape pendant. It has been coming around everyday and quickly became part of the family.
Unlike the other stray cats, this one always has clean fur and a healthy look, he bets the owner is worrying sick so he decides to take a few pictures and post it around the block, surely someone will give him a call. But after a week there was nothing. And to make it worst, somebody kept taking the posters down. Every other day he had to print out new signs to put up, but it was getting ridiculous, who would do such a thing?
On a beautiful sunny afternoon, Ten was almost arriving to work when he noticed he forgot his apron and he wasn’t about to get scolded again. Looking at the clock there was still time to run back home and get it so there he went.
He quickly found what he came looking for right by the door so it didn’t take him long to make his way back but as he crossed the street he saw someone in a black hoodie standing close to one of the “Missing cat” signs Ten had put up. Could it be that this person knows who the kitty belongs to? But before he could even consider approaching this person the paper is quickly ripped off the wall and crumbled into a pocket.
“Hey!” He shouts moving towards the mysterious figure.
The person looks back and he squints his eyes trying to see their face but the hood over their head covers most of it, and also it doesn’t help how fast they started running away.
“Stop!” Ten chases them down the streets completely forgetting his obligations.
But as fast as he likes to think he is, whoever this might be must run for a living because he simply can’t keep up. Specially not when the person started climbing walls in between buildings, real parkour style. Watching the lean figure smoothly getting away, he groans and kicks the air in frustration.
Glancing at his watch, he curses under his breath making his way back to the coffee shop, hoping he won’t be late. As he arrives, Taeyong rushes him to the back just before their manager walks through the door.
The whole shift, Ten’s mind was trying to unveil what happened. Who was that and why are they trying to sabotage the poor cat’s journey back home? He just couldn’t understand and he was obsessing over it. Also it didn’t help that his co-worker’s cousin didn’t drop by to distract his thoughts.
Almost a week passed by before he saw her again. Days spent juggling between trying to figure out who the mysterious traceur was and understand why does he miss this girl so much when they barely even talked. And then she reappeared. As beautiful as ever, walking through the glass doors in front of the café.
His heart pounds against his chest, his lips go dry and his sweaty hands start shaking. Enough is enough. He doesn’t know what kind of dark magic this girl has on him but today is the day he’s gonna ask her out.
“Y/N!” As Ten opens his mouth to greet her, Taeyong comes from the back and goes around the counter. “Did you bring it?”
She nods and hands him an envelope.
“Ten,” he grabs his attention away from her, “I need to take 10. Get Y/N the usual, I’ll be right back.”
And just like that Taeyong is out the door before Ten can even reply. The girl goes to her regular table by the window but doesn’t pull out a book like she usually does. Actually she looks a bit nervous today. He hurries in finishing her order. The shop is almost empty so this is his chance.
“Here’s your latte.” He gently places the cup on the table.
“Thanks.” Her voice is quiet and eye contact is being carefully avoided.
“Are you ok?” Ten asks sitting down in the chair in front of her, but only gets a nod as she lowers her head. “I’m sorry if I’m being intrusive, I can go if you’d like.”
“That’s ok.” She softly says as she takes a sip of her drink.
Silence takes over the table as Ten builds up the courage to say what’s been on his mind.
“Look, I-” He clears his throat. “I don’t remember much from the other night but-”
She finally looks up at him. He almost chokes at the way her eyes shine and for the first time he notices the yellow greenish colour through the almond shape and how her pupils seem more narrow, almost like a cat-
He shakes his head and re-focuses.
“I had a few too many drinks at that party and I wish I had meet you in a different way, someway I’d actually remember, somewhere nice and quiet where I’d be sober and we could talk and get to know each other properly, and-” He stops as he watches the corner of her mouth curl up while he rambles. “What I’m trying to say is, can we start over?”
She tilts her head as if not understanding where he’s getting at.
“I mean, can we grab dinner sometime?” Ten widens his eyes at how abrupt this came out. “Or do something else you’d like. Doesn’t have to be dinner. Or we can do nothing at all. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have done this, I’m gonna go-”
“I’d love to have dinner with you, Ten.” He stops when she lays her hand on top of his over the table. Her touch feels familiar but he guesses the memory of that night still lingers on his skin.
“For real?” He just can’t believe it.
“Yes.” She chuckles. “Tomorrow night? I know you’re not working.”
“Hm, yeah, sounds great!” He tries to play cool but the happiness inside him is showing like a fish in clear water. “Should I pick you up?”
“How about we meet downtown at 7pm?” She quickly suggests.
“Sounds great!” Ten’s face is lit up with the biggest smile, matching the one on hers.
“Let’s just… Hm… Keep this from Taeyong, ok?” She gently asks. “He can be a bit too protective, you know?”
“Sure, I understand.” He agrees.
The sound of the bell on the front door interrupts the dreamy moment.
“Well I gotta go back to work.” He sighs never wanting to leave this table. “See you tomorrow then?”
“See you tomorrow.”
Heading for the register he glances back at her and the nervousness has been replaced with joy, warming his heart to know he has something to do with it.
In less than a minute, Taeyong comes back from his break and Ten breathes in relief that he won’t see them talking. He doesn’t like going behind his friend’s back but if that’s what he has to do to get a real opportunity with her, so be it.
7pm just couldn’t come fast enough. Ten kept pacing around the house wondering if she’d like his outfit, the way he styled his hair, even his perfume. Maybe he should’ve went for something different, but what if she likes him just the way he is? Wait, does she even like him at all or was she just being polite?
With a frustrated sigh he goes outside to feed the cats and take a breather from the worries in his head. Just hearing the food hitting the containers he placed outside his house, cats start coming from all places and that instantly puts a smile on his face.
But it feels like something is missing. Where’s the new pink collared kitten? Could it be that it found its way home? Well that would certainly make him happy.
Speaking of happy, Ten glances at his watch. It’s still not time but it will take him a while to get downtown so he decides to get going.
His steps match up with the beating of his heart and before he notices he reaches the town’s square. He takes out his phone and it’s still not the time they agreed to meet so he decides to go sit down by the fountain and wait.
But as he’s approaching he sees a familiar figure. Sitting right at the edge, lightly tapping the water with her hand. What is she doing? Ten quietly walks up to her not to startle her. What should he say?
Lost in his thoughts his eyes widen when she suddenly turns to him. A smile blossoms through her lips as she gets up, wiping her hand on her skirt.
“Hi Ten.” His name coming from her lips sounds like a sweet melody.
“Hi.” He clears his throat to shake away the nervousness. “I’m sorry, did I keep you waiting?”
“No that’s alright, I was too excited so I came a little earlier.” She shyly admits.
Ten chuckles realising he’s not the only one.
“You hungry?” She nods at his question. “Where should we go then?”
“Have you ever been there?” He follows the line of her delicate hand that points to what looks like a nice restaurant at the rooftop of one of the buildings around the square.
Noticing his amazed expression she surprisingly takes his hand leading him towards the entrance.
“You’re gonna love it, they’ve got amazing fish!” She licks her lips with a grin and he can’t even say a word, hypnotised by her energy.
The elevator that takes them all the way to the top seems to move slower than time as Ten looks down at her hand that still casually holds his. With his heart pounding off his chest they enter the restaurant following the waiter to a table facing the whole city. Their hands finally separate as they sit down. Grabbing the menu he analyses the dishes widening his eyes at the prices.
“Wow, I didn’t realise this place was so…” He trails off thinking maybe he shouldn’t say it.
“Expensive?” She chuckles. “Don’t worry, I got it.”
A thousand butterflies flutter on his stomach as she winks at him. But upon registering her words, Ten shakes his head.
“No, no, I can’t let you do that-”
“Y/N!” He’s interrupted by a male voice. “Didn’t know you were coming today!”
“Don’t be so excited to see me Yangyang!” She giggles with the waiter. “Oh, this is Ten.”
“You look familiar… Don’t you work with Taeyong at the coffee shop?”
“Hm yeah.” Ten tilts his head remembering seeing the other guy a few times at his work place with his coworker.
“I knew it.” Yangyang smiles. “I’m guessing Taeyong doesn’t know about this?”
“And perhaps we can keep it that way?” She makes the most adorable expression Ten has ever seen, her eyes big, round and sparkly like a kitten-
“How can I ever resist you?” Yangyang bops her nose making her date slightly jealous of the interaction. “The usual?”
She nods and they both look at Ten waiting for his order.
“I-I’ll have the same.” He answers not even knowing what it is.
“Sure thing.” Yangyang takes the menus and turns around before he looks back. “Just be careful ok?”
“I promise.” She bows as they watch him walk away. “Sorry about that, Yangyang is another cousin of ours.”
“Oh ok.” Ten sighs in relief. “Guess being protective over you runs in the family right?”
“You could say that.” They both chuckle.
Dinner is spent talking and laughing, getting to know each other and he slowly realises that the initial attraction with this girl wasn’t just physical, there really is something about her and the more he gets to know her the more he wants to be with her.
“You were right, the fish was amazing.” Ten smiles as they walk around the city after dinner.
“I’m glad you liked it.” He happily sighs, never getting enough of her smile. “That’s one of my favourite spots in town.”
“It’s an amazing place.” He agrees. “Maybe next time I can show you one of my favourite places.”
“I’d love that.” She lightly touches his arm sending shivers down his body. “It’s getting late, I should go before Taeyong starts calling wondering where I am.”
“Of course.” He nods. “Can I walk you home?”
“As much as I want that, I don’t think it’s a great idea. For now.” She grins.
“Right, sorry.” He scratches the back of his neck.
“Goodnight Ten.” She leans forward planting a kiss on his cheek before skipping her way home.
With his face heating up he lifts a hand to touch the spot she kissed.
“Goodnight Y/N.” Was this night even real?
The next day Ten is full on daydream mode, mind stuck in the previous night and a silly smile stuck to his face. He barely got any sleep but that didn’t leave him tired with the amount of happiness inside him.
“Someone is in a good mood.” Taeyong teases, pulling him out of dreamland.
“What can I say? Life is good man.” The younger keeps happily wiping the counter.
“Damn boy. And what is the reason for this happiness?” Taeyong scooches closer nudging his side.
“W-well, hm…” Clearing his throat, Ten tries to play it cool. ”Nothing in particular.”
“Oh c’mon, I thought we were friends!” Taeyong shakes his shoulders back and forward.
“We a-are.” Ten stutters looking at the other boy.
“So why are you keeping things from me? C’mon Ten, tell me!” Taeyong pouts but suddenly a thought comes to his head and he gasps. “Is this because of someone? Are you perhaps in love?”
“I-”
Ding.
Saved by the bell. Right that moment someone opens the door at the coffee shop and Ten sighs in relief of not needing to have this conversation, he doesn’t want to lie to his friend but it’s best not to tell the truth either, at least not now.
But as he looks to the door his heart flips inside his chest. It’s her, the person he’s been thinking about all day. Her smile is something he wishes to see everyday but he needs to remember where he is and who he’s with, Taeyong just can’t know.
“I didn’t know you were coming today.” Taeyong says as he walks from behind the counter.
“Yeah, I was around and decided to drop by.” She says, shy smile hanging on her lips matching Ten’s as he tries to keep doing his job.
“Oh alright. Do you-” Taeyong stops mid-sentence, face getting serious before he grabs her arm and pulls her closer. “You need to go home. Now.”
“W-what? Wait why?” She asks, her frame sinking under his intimidating glare, his eyes changing into something scary but in a protective way.
“I said now!” He demands, raising his voice.
Ten glances around the place and thank god it was a chill hour and nobody was in the café. He looks back at the girl who was panting and he could swear he saw her signature beret move but he didn’t pay attention to that, he was more concerned about what the hell was happening.
“O-ok.” Her voice was small as she breaks free from Taeyong’s grasp to run out the door.
“What was that?” Ten carefully questions, trying not to upset his friend even more.
“Nothing. I’m gonna do inventory.” Without even a glance Taeyong disappears into the back of the shop leaving a very confused Ten at the register.
For a week he didn’t see her. At first he was wondering if he had done something wrong on their date but that couldn’t be it, not from the way she behaved. It had to be because of whatever happened between the two cousins. But what was it?
He couldn’t even explain the hole in his heart. How can he miss someone this bad when they’ve only known each other for such a short amount of time? He didn’t even have his new friend to bring a smile to his face, the cute kitten hasn’t been coming around for a while too and, although he thought it might be because it finally found its way home, he was worried something bad could’ve happened.
Out of desperation from how much he missed her, he decides to go to the rooftop restaurant they had gone to together and try to get some answers from their other cousin, because asking Taeyong was definitely out of question.
“Ten!” A smily Yangyang greets him as he walks through the door. “How are you? Should I get you a table?”
“No, no. I’m ok. Hm… I actually came here to ask you a question.” He tries to go straight to the point.
“Sure, how can I help you?” Yangyang keeps his approachable expression.
“I haven’t seen Y/N in a while.” Ten can see the other’s face slowly closing. “I was just wondering if you’ve seen her recently? I don’t know if she’s mad at me for some reason, maybe I did something wrong and didn’t realise or maybe-” He cuts himself off noticing he’s rambling. “I’m just worried and I wanted to know if she’s ok.”
“Look…” The waiter places his hand on the other’s shoulder. “There’s not much I can say besides the fact that she’s alright, you don’t need to worry about that.”
Letting his head fall forward, Ten lets out a sigh.
“I can tell her you asked if you want.” Their eyes meet again. “It’s the only thing I can do.”
“Thank you.” Ten’s voice comes almost as a whisper.
“No problem.” Yangyang gives him a last smile before watching Ten walk to the elevators.
And then he waited. He waited night and day, for almost another week. He even took extra shifts at the coffee shop in hopes to see her around but nothing. His heart was slowly breaking as time went by. Why is everybody being so secretive about whatever is going on with her?
The poor barista sighs as he closes the shop late at night. The streets are empty and only the sounds of the city can be heard. He zips up his jacket, hands on his pockets and makes his way home.
Ten.
He turns his face from side to side in confusion. Did somebody just call him? But there’s no one around. Damn, is he that insane that he’s hearing voices now?
Ten.
Again. No, this can’t be just in his head. Looking around again he notices a pair of yellowish eyes coming from an alley. What the hell could that be? Maybe he should run away, but like the main character from every horror movie he walks closer instead.
Upon entering the dark alley he can trace a figure emerging from behind some trash cans. Maybe he should run right about now. But he doesn’t, something is pulling him towards whoever or whatever this is.
The mysterious figure reaches a place with a little bit more light and he squints his eyes trying to recognise it, only to be pleasantly surprised.
“Y/N?” Ten calls out to make sure his mind wasn’t playing any tricks.
“Hi.” Her soft voice echos in his ears like a song he hasn’t listened to in forever.
Out of instinct he steps closer trapping her in his embrace, feeling her warmth against his body and finally sighing in relief.
“Are you alright?” He breaks the hug grabbing her shoulders at arms length and looking deep into her eyes. “What happened? I was so worried.”
“Can we go for a walk?” She simply asks making him nod.
Only steps are heard as they walk into the streets of the suburban area. He’s not sure what to say and she’s not saying anything as well. But nevertheless, at least she’s here with him and that’s good enough for his heart.
Unknowingly they walk by a park and decide to sit down for a bit. The distance between them is painful but he wants to respect her space. Ten watches her as she looks at the starts in the sky, almost as if getting the thoughts organised in her head.
“Yangyang said you dropped by looking for me.” She finally speaks.
“I did…” He admits. “I’m sorry if I overstepped. I was just worried about you.”
“That’s ok. It’s good to know you care about me.” At last a smile brightens her face.
“I do care about you.” He reinforces. “A lot.”
“Why?” He widens his eyes at her question.
“Well… Honestly? I don’t know how to explain.” She turns to him, looking into his eyes but now it was his time to look away. “What I feel when I’m with you… It’s something I never felt before. It’s like you have this energy that pulls me in and I want to let myself be dragged into it. I know we haven’t met each other that long ago but sometimes it feels like I’ve known you all my life. Sorry, that was a bit too deep.”
“So you feel it too?” She interrupts his nervous laugh.
“What do you mean ‘too’?” He wonders out loud.
“There’s something I want to tell you.” He looks at her curiously. “But I’m scared.”
“What are you scared of?”
“I’m…” She sighs before continuing. “I’m scared of getting hurt or hurting you. I’m scared I’ll screw things up. I’m scared of losing you.”
“Hey,” he slowly reaches for her hand that rests on the bench between them, “I’m not going anywhere, you can trust me with anything.”
“Really?” Her eyes sparkle under the moonlight making his heart beat faster than it was already before.
“Yes.” Ten brings out his most sincere smile.
“Can we go somewhere more private?” She glances to the side as if feeling like she’s being watched.
He blushes at the request, mentally slapping himself for the inappropriate thoughts. Following her steps they’re led right to his house. Taking her inside he gestures for her to sit on the couch. He now sits closer than before, eagerly waiting for the big reveal.
”I don’t even know where to start…” She mumbles.
“Take your time, I’m right here.” Ten reassures her, taking her hand again.
“Ok.” She takes a deep breath. “This might sound really cliché but… I’m not like other girls.”
“I know, you’re so much special.” He smiles.
“That’s a little more literal than you think…” She sighs.
“What do you mean?” Cocking his head to the side he gets confused.
“I’m… I’m a…” She starts to say.
“You’re a what?” He tries to help her.
“It’s better if I show you.” Removing her hand from his hold she slowly removes the beret from her head.
“Didn’t you wear those when we met?” He points to the fluffy cat ears emerging from between her locks.
“I did.” This does not clarify him as he hoped. “But I also wore them every time we met after that.”
“What do you mean? I never saw you with them after that night.”
“Well I keep them hidden under the beret.” She looks down.
“Then why do you wear it if you’re hiding them?”
“Because I…” She bites her lip. “I can’t take them off.”
“You can’t take them off? How come?” He cocks an eyebrow.
“They’re part of me.” This time he’s 100% sure he saw one of the ears move.
“H-how?” Widening his eyes he points at it.
“There’s no easy way to say this so…” With eyes closed she takes a deep breath before looking at him. “Ten, I’m a werecat.”
“A were-what?” He slightly moves away from her.
“A werecat.” She lowers her head.
“What’s that?” He had never heard the term before.
“Well, you’re familiar with werewolves right? It’s basically the same thing but instead of wolfs we turn into cats-”
“Wait, wait, wait, wait…” Interrupting her, he gets up a takes a few steps back from the couch shaking his head. “Werewolves? What do you mean werewolves? They’re not real, they’re made up creatures from ancient tales, there’s no way-”
Noticing her broken expression he stops talking. If this was that hard for her to admit maybe there’s some truth to it.
“Unless… They’re real?” A questions he’s not sure he wants the answer to.
“There’s a lot of creatures out there that humans think aren’t real.” She adds.
“Like w-werecats?” He suggests.
“Like werecats.” She confirms.
“Ok, so… If you’re like a werewolf but turn into a cat instead, shouldn’t that only happen on full moons?” He walks to the window searching the starry sky only to find a crescent moon.
“That’s not everyone’s reality.” She explains. “If someone curses you to turn into a werecat yes, that’s the case. But not if you’re born like this.”
“Does that mean your parents are also…” It’s still unreal for him to say the word.
“My dad. Not my mom.”
“Is she human?” He curiously questions.
“Was.” From the sad expression on her face he gets the message.
“I’m so sorry.” He sits back down on the couch. “Was it recent?”
“No, she passed away when she gave birth to me.” Her face hangs low as she explains. “Bearing an un-human child was too much for her fragile body so she didn’t resist. Her family always blamed my dad for what happened, for taking her away from them, marking her and stealing her life. But that’s not true!”
She looks at him with tears in her eyes and he feels a pain in his chest, like all her feelings were running through his veins as if he lived everything himself.
“My dad used to tell me wonderful stories of how they met and how he always knew she was the one.” A weak smile breaks between her wet cheeks. “From the moment he saw her, he felt like he wanted to spend the rest of his life by her side. When born a werecat you are able to decide when you turn but with her he just couldn’t control it.”
Ten notices her ear twitch and then he remembers what she said earlier. ‘But I also wore them every time we met after that.’
“My dad shot his shot and confessed to my mom.” She continues. “He explained everything about being a werecat and then he told her how he felt.”
‘There’s something I want to tell you.’
‘Ten, I’m a werecat.’
“And just like fate she always felt something special for him too, so they decided to give it a chance.”
‘I know we haven’t met each other that long ago but sometimes it feels like I’ve known you all my life.’
”They were so happy the time they were together, even if they had to run away from my mom’s family. When they found out they were expecting me it was just another validation of their love but… Things got complicated. Her family not only blames my father for her death but they blame me too. Since that day they’ve hunted us down wherever we went. He managed to run away with me for a long time but it was getting harder and harder so he found a pack willing to hide and protect me as he… He… He took the fall for us. For me.”
Sinking her face into her hands she breaks down.
“I’m so sorry you had to go through all of that.” Ten slowly moves closer caressing her back with his hand, as tears form in his eyes.
“Taeyong and Yangyang are not my real cousins. They’re part of the pack.” She wipes her cheeks with her sleeve. “Loyalty is very important to us and that’s why they’re so protective.”
“So Taeyong is a werecat too?” He quickly realises.
“Ah…” She bites her lip having spoiled his secret too. “Yes…”
“I won’t say anything, don’t worry.” He promises. “But now that I think of it, does this have something to do with what happened the other day at the coffee shop?”
“Oh that…” She sighs. “Twice a year female werecats go into heat, that lasts about a week, and I apparently entered mine without realising.”
“Heat?” He asks confused, making her chuckle.
“It’s our fertile period.” Looking away from him she starts explaining. “During that time we have a different smell humans can’t detect, but male werecats feel an uncontrollable desire to mate, so we usually go into hiding to avoid it.”
“That explains a lot.” He leans his back against the couch.
“And during that time I did a lot of thinking.” She turns to him.
“About what?”
“About you. About us.” He gulps. “Ten, the way my dad felt about my mom… That’s how I feel about you.”
Not a second later his lips crash against hers. It’s a sweet innocent kiss that she slowly reciprocates as she relaxes under his touch.
“I want to be with you.” He whispers as their lips part. “I know it’s not going to be easy, there’s a lot a need to understand about you and your world but I’m willing to do it because days are unbearable if I don’t see you.”
“Are you sure?” Tears wheel up on her eyes.
“I was never so sure about anything in my life.”
From that day on, the two started to secretly date. Ten searched everything there was on the internet about werecats, even stumbling on some fictional stories that brought heat to his cheeks and made him abruptly close his laptop. Unfortunately he doesn’t remember enough from the first night they spent together to know if any of this is true and it would be too embarrassing to ask her, but the memory of the scratch marks on his back give him a faint clue.
The biggest mission was hiding everything from Taeyong. It’s hard to stop the smile whenever she walks into the coffee shop or slow the beating of his heart when their fingers touch as he hands her the latte he always prepares for her. And he could also see how her beret keeps moving when they meet, recalling the beautiful set of ears she has underneath and the tail that threatens to peek under her skirt.
But luckily Taeyong doesn’t seem to notice anything. Not even when she sneaks up for their late night dates or when Ten offers to close the shop alone so they can meet once Taeyong has gone home. So luckily no friendship was being compromised by their relationship. At least not yet.
“Sorry for this, I really don’t know what’s happening with that computer.” Taeyong sighs.
“No problem at all.” Ten smiles as he tries to get rid of whatever virus got into his friend’s laptop.
Taeyong gets up and walks around Ten’s living room waiting for him to do his magic.
“Hey, what’s this?” He grabs a piece of paper from a desk and his face drops into a frown.
“Oh, that kitten showed up a few weeks ago and it had a collar so I was trying to see if the owner would step up but it hasn’t been coming around for a while so I guess it found it’s way home-” Ten starts explaining but stops as the other fleds through the door, flyer crumbled in his hand, leaving his things behind. “Wait up, where are you going?”
Taeyong keeps pacing down the street without replying to his co-worker that chases after him. But as they turn the corner, a familiar face appears.
“What the hell is this?” Taeyong’s scary voice makes a come back as he almost shoves the ‘Missing Cat’ sign on her face.
“How-” She tries to ask but he cuts her off again.
“What are you doing, Y/N? Why is Ten hanging these flyers?” Taeyong got closer and closer and she felt so small under his figure.
“I always t-took them down so nobody would see. Taeyong, I can e-explain…” She stutters.
“How can you explain this?” He lets out a frustrated laugh. “Does he know about you?”
“K-kinda off…” She murmurs.
“Oh my god, Y/N, you’re insane!” He grabs her shoulder making her whimper as the pendant on her necklace hits her chest. “Might as well just yell to the world who you are!”
Then the pieces connect in Ten’s head. The pink necklace with the heart pendant. He knew he had seen it before, he just never thought it wouldn’t be in a person but in a cat. She is the kitten that showed up in his house that he’s been trying to help find its way home. And she’s also the saboteur who kept taking the posters down.
“It’s not like that, Ten’s different.” She explains while trying to break free of Taeyong’s grip.
“What?” He yells. “What the hell is going on between you two?”
“We’re in love.” Ten finally steps forward having been quiet through the whole discussion.
Her eyes widen at his words. They had never clarified the feeling before but it just feels so right coming from his lips. She knows he’s right. But then again Taeyong is right there and he shouldn’t know.
“You’re what?” Taeyong glares at his friend as he furrows his brows. “Look man, you don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Yes I do.” Ten steps closer with firm words. “I’m in love with Y/N and there’s nothing you can do about it.”
“Listen friend,” Taeyong emphasises the word as he points his finger to him, “you don’t know what you’re getting into. Just forget about her.”
“I can’t.” Ten insists. “I’m too hooked.”
“This is unbelievable…” Taeyong mutters before turning back to his cousin. “Why do you want to ruin his life like this? You’re just gonna get you both hurt. And the pack.”
“I’m sorry…” She apologises between tears before turning around and running back to where she came from.
“Y/N, wait!” Ten tries to chase her but is stopped by Taeyong.
“Forget about all this. You two can never be together.”
“No, I can’t accept that.” Brushing the boy out of his way, Ten runs after her, not sure where to go but he needs to find her.
He searches the whole town but no luck, she’s nowhere to be found. Defeated he goes back home to find Taeyong’s things gone, he must have come back to get them while he was desperately looking for his girlfriend. Laying flat in bed, Ten recalls the crazy afternoon as the darkness of the night shadows his mind.
The next day he goes to his shift but there’s no sign of Taeyong. ‘He quit this morning’, their manager tells him as he had to cover the shift himself due to the short notice.
When the clock marks his off hour he rushes through the door focused on going to Taeyong’s place but then he remembers he never knew where the boy lived. How did he never suspect his friend’s secretive behaviour?
Texting everybody they know, Ten tries hard to find out the address but no one seems to have that information. Groaning in despair, he thinks to give up but then an idea pops up in his head.
He runs as fast as he can, taking a deep breath as the elevator ascends. His eyes search the room but unfortunately they don’t find the one he’s looking for.
“Excuse me,” he approaches a waiter, “I’m looking for someone who works here. Yangyang, that’s his name.”
“Oh, unfortunately YangYang stopped working here this morning.” The man explains with a sad look on his face. “A terrible loss for the restaurant, he was a great colleague.”
“I see…” Ten almost whispers, but he needs to know why. “Did he perhaps gave a reason for leaving? I mean, he looked like he loved working here.”
“Well,” luckily his excuse for asking is enough for the man to talk, “apparently he and his family moved to a different city. Oh, maybe I shouldn’t have said this, I don’t even know who you are.”
“I’m sorry to bother.” Trying hard to hold his tears, Ten exits the building.
Luckily that waiter had a big mouth and he finally knows what happened but the answer was not what he wanted. A mix of feelings build up inside him and he feels like he’s going to explode at any minute. What can he do now? How can he find them? All their phones are turned off and he has no idea where they went.
Minutes feel like hours, days feel like weeks. Ten finds himself locked in his house, not knowing how to deal with this excruciating pain he’s been feeling. He only leaves for work but even there he can’t bring the bright personality the clients love to see so he gets put on the back of the coffee shop with a threat to get fired if he doesn’t snap out of it.
It’s been weeks since he last saw her and the worst thing is that he didn’t even have an opportunity to say goodbye. Or to take her hand and run away from everything together.
Another sleepless night haunts him as he no longer has tears left to cry. But suddenly he hears a tap on the window. Turning his head his jaw drops as he rushes to open it and let the kitten he hasn't seen for weeks inside. As it jumps into the house it slowly morphs into her, the one he misses the most. Blinking rapidly he almost can't believe his eyes, he had never seen her transform like this.
"Hi." She timidly greets after dusting off her clothes with her hands.
"It's you." He whispers before pulling her into his embrace. "I missed you so much it hurt.”
"I know, I felt it too." She murmurs into the crook of his neck.
"I thought I'd never see you again." He pulls away to admire the face he kept dreaming of.
"That was the plan. But I couldn't do it.” She sighs. “I'm so weak when it comes to you. I... I didn't get a chance to say it at the time but... I love you too, Ten. So, so much.”
"Please tell me there's a way we can be together." He pleas looking deep into her eyes as he searches for a trace of hope.
"There is…” She steps back from his embrace, gaze on the floor. ”But it's irreversible, I need to know this is really what you want."
"I'll say it as many times as I have to.” He walks to her taking her hand. “I can no longer picture my life without you, these weeks destroyed my soul. Y/N, tell me what I have to do and I'll do it."
"Are you sure?” Her eyes sparkle as she looks back at him.
“Please." He begs.
“There’s this thing that can immortalise the bond we have.” She moves to stand by the window she came in, now closed. “Marking and-”
“Mating.” He finishes her sentence. “I read about it. We mark each other and then we mate. Does it work with humans too?”
“It does if there’s a full moon.”
Looking outside they both stare and the round bright moon shinning through the darkness of the sky. He wraps his arms around her waist, resting his chin on her shoulder.
“What are we waiting for?” He whispers. “It’s not like we never mated before.”
“Ten!” She giggles feeling her cheeks burn up.
“I know consent is important for this,” he turns her around in his arms to face him, “so I’m telling you now. I want this. I want to be yours and I want you to be mine. Forever.”
“I want that too.”
Lips join in a passionate kiss as bodies guide themselves into the bedroom. Ten’s shirt comes off on the way as well as her cardigan that reveals her bare shoulders. He sits down in the mattress pulling her to his lap and giving her a last peck before separating their mouths to look into her eyes.
“Ready?” She examines his face.
“As ready as I’ll ever be.” He smiles.
“This is going to sting a bit but you have to stay still ok?” He nods taking a deep breath. “I love you.”
“I love you too.”
She opens her mouth leaving Ten mesmerised by her long sharp canines that quickly move to pierce the skin on his shoulder. A loud groan his heard as he grips her waist trying to ignore the pain that doesn’t compare to anything he ever felt before.
Quickly his head feels lightweight, like he’s about to pass out, until a sudden rush of energy runs through his veins making the flesh of her exposed shoulder that’s so near his face look so desirable. As if by animal instinct he too opens his mouth to take a bite, making her moan into his skin.
After what felt like ages, their mouths finally detach from each others bodies leaving a reddish mark behind. They look into each others eyes before succumbing into their most deep desires as they move on to the next part of the plan.
Memories of their first night together finally come back to Ten’s head as they move in sync, but this time with a special flavour making it seem like this moment was always destined. Later that night their tired sweaty figures cuddle agains each other as they drift to a well deserved sleep.
The first rays of sunshine in the morning awaken him into a new reality. A smile breaks through his face as the first thing he sees is her. He gently pets her hair and almost melts at the purrs she lets out.
His eyes then drift to her shoulder where a beautiful mark shines though her skin resembling a flower blossoming from her. Carefully he looks at his own shoulder tracing with his fingers the same design that is now embedded on him forever.
Loud bangs on the front door abruptly disturb the peaceful morning and wake up the feline that was still sleeping.
“Open up, Ten! I know she’s in there!” The lovers exchange a look as a familiar voice is heard.
“Please don’t open.” The girl begs tugging on Ten’s arm as he starts to get up.
“He’s gonna break the door and the neighbours will call the police, I have to.” He explains grabbing some clothes off the floor to cover his naked body. “Look, it’s gonna be ok, will get through this. Together.”
Ten kisses the mark on her shoulder before heading to the door. She grabs his top sheet wrapping it around her body before following him through the house as the banging continues.
“Where is she?” Taeyong pushes past Ten almost throwing him to the floor but stops a few steps inside.
He sniffles the air and something smells different. That’s when he sees his cousin and notices the shiny mark on her shoulder.
“You went through with it?” He calmly says contrasting with the angry state he was in just moments ago.
“I’m sorry Taeyong, but if this doesn’t show you how much we mean to each other I don’t know what will.” She tries to make him understand what she has been attempting to tell him since they left the city.
“Maybe I still don’t fully know what I’m getting into,” Ten stands next to his soulmate, “but I’ll spend the rest of my days figuring it out. By her side.”
Taeyong stays quiet leaving the couple wondering what’s going to happen next. But unexpectedly he steps forward and hugs the one who had always been his friend and now became something more.
“I’m sorry for being such an ass.” Taeyong smiles. “Welcome to the family.”
☽ ・・・・・ ☾
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