♔ ♙ -lee minho
♔ : Finding your muse wearing their clothes
♙: Sharing a bed
[[ making this into an au *coughs neko!verse coughs*. the same au as this by sandeul-stretto! ]]
Waiting.
When the street remains empty, Jaejoong sighs, and locks up the bar, heading around to the back of the building to his own set of private stairs, the ones that led up to his apartment. Living above a bar hadn’t been his great aspiration as a child, but owning his own business and finding a way to put Nekos into his life had been. The building had been a family inheritance, the property quickly passing down to Jaejoong after none of his older sisters even wanted to glance at it, not when they found out it was in such a shady neighborhood.
Of course by ‘shady’, they meant ‘Neko infested’. But where his sisters, and the common public his middle class upbringing associated with, were repulsed by the idea of running a joint in such a place, Jaejoong had been drawn towards the location. It could help him find a way to satisfy his curiosity for the other race their city inhabited, but the people he knew always told him to stay away from. Nekos were alright, if one meant the more domesticated variety, but they weren’t company to really associate yourself with. And Ferals? Well, as a child, he’d been told that even attempting to make a run for it was futile.
As he grew older though, the things he’d been taught didn’t seem to always make sense to Jaejoong, not with the tiny moments of interaction he’d gotten with Nekos, not with the glimpses of Ferals he’d had in his teenage years. An insatiable curiosity was sparked, and the sheer lethal power they held in their lithe bodies absorbed his senses in a way other humans couldn’t. There were words for people who were attracted to Nekos, sought out their traits for sexual reasons, but they weren’t nice words, so Jaejoong’s ideas and questions were kept to himself.
His dongsaeng Sandeul, that kid had been much the same as Jaejoong, just as curious and for some reason or other caught up in a sort of spell over that species. Of course, Sandeul had realized that the segregation and treatment of Nekos wasn’t right, long before Jaejoong really thought about it himself. And he agreed, as an onlooker, that things weren’t right, that Nekos only allowed in bars in this end of the city, not in any end they wanted, that alone was reason enough to be upset over. All the other things they dealt with in their lives for simply being born with tails and ears only solidified the fact that things needed to change. But even opening his bar, a place welcome to anyone no matter what their DNA labeled them to be, even then, he’d only been an onlooker, couldn’t ever understand the way their treatment took its toll on their daily lives.
It took a year of owning his place for that to happen.
—————
"Fuck, Jaejoong how can you be so naive? You own a bar, in the east end, what did you think?"
Jaejoong doesn’t know how to answer, because he doesn’t want to start yelling at Yunho. His friend is only showing him concern, only the sort that a real friend can give, if his gentle but reprimanding tone is anything to show for it. Yunho is a lot smarter at these things than he is too, the man was still in school after all, and he had a head for business, for details. Jaejoong… he wouldn’t exactly admit it but he’d really only been in it for the fun, for the socializing…for the Nekos…
He hears Yunho give an exasperated sigh, but there’s a firm hand rubbing softly at his shoulders a moment later.
"I’ll ask Geng, if he knows anyone, anyone that can get you out of this, okay?"
Jaejoong nods, and whispers out a ‘thank you’. They both know the police aren’t going to help, not in this neighborhood, not when he’s so clearly a Neko Rights supporter, not when they’d rather establishments like Jaejoong’s - ones that make Nekos feel like equals, rather than exploiting them - get swept under the rug for good.
The prospects here aren’t good, not at all, but Jaejoong does feel better, just knowing that he’s not alone in this, that he’s got friends, even if what they can do is limited.
————
Over the phone the next evening, Yunho tells Jaejoong that Geng did know someone, someone influential around the east side, a friend. Jaejoong starts to get ahead of himself with relief, which Yunho points out to him not to do, because Geng also said he couldn’t promise anything. This Minho, apparently, was rather elusive, so getting in touch might take a while, not to mention was very selective about when and where to show himself. Yunho also repeated to him how Geng had said Jaejoong didn’t have much going for him in this, his bar only a year old at this point, Jaejoong himself not having any reputation around the area. Jaejoong being human and all didn’t help so much either.
After hanging up, Jaejoong wonders if his chances of keeping the place would change if he could just slap on a pair of ears, sew on a tail.
No, he could hear Yunho’s voice in his head, that’d probably just get you killed before you could even lose the bar.
A bummer, honestly, because Jaejoong liked to think he’d have made a good Neko.
————-
Minho, it seems, really is as elusive, flakey, and unsympathetic (Jaejoong’s choice of words), as Hangeng had made him out to be, because he doesn’t show. Not before the guys come back to wheedle Jaejoong out of his money, his property, his livelihood. They’re so confident around this area, that they come to him in broad daylight, almost sounding like they’re going to knock in his front door.
Jaejoong’s got nowhere to go, not with the gangsters standing on his stairs, his only way out. There is a fire escape out back but he’s never gotten a chance to have it repaired, not with the dwindling money and of course he couldn’t count on the city to mend anything out this side. No, he’s three stories up and got no escape, so answering the door, no matter how frightening that is, seems to be his only option. He’s so riddled with fear, that he doesn’t even notice how its gone quiet at his door, the banging on the solid wood silent.
Attempting to find some thread of steel inside himself, Jaejoong sucks in a breath to try and quell the dizziness, before opening his door wide in a semblance of self assurance.
He’s met with an empty landing.
A long minute of standing there passes. He’s so shakey, so underwhelmed, that he feels the impulse building inside him to scream. Were they screwing with him still? Why? He was already scared shitless. Feeling like he was going to crumble into a disaster, Jaejoong rears his arm back to slam his door shut, but stops dead in shock when something, someone, drops down from the roof, onto the landing in front of him. Its all done without a sound that isn’t just the rustling of fabric.
Its a Feral. A leopard one with absolutely stunning skin all dusty tanned and mottled with rich brown hair and spotted golden brown ears tipped in black and oh god doesn’t he remember seeing a leopard at the bar the other night?
He’s been in such a daze lately, so worried about this ordeal, that he’s been tripping in and out of awareness, not a good trait for a business owner, but he swears he remembers seeing this one before. Its hard though, because sometimes, people, particularly Ferals, look different up close.
Up close they’re much more dangerously beautiful.
The Feral takes a step closer, coming inside the apartment, but Jaejoong doesn’t make a move, just stands there, frozen, until he can smell the Neko’s cologne, he wears cologne? He registers his door closing (not his doing), but he can’t take his eyes off the Feral’s face, the eyes that seem to catch everything in their gaze, radiating their own light almost, because he’s not looking at Jaejoong now. He’s looking around the place, for what Jaejoong hasn’t a clue because Jaejoong is standing right in front of him.
Oh god he’s supposed to be afraid, isn’t he?
Without even sparing him a glance, the Feral moves to sidestep around him, but before he does, his hand comes around to gently take Jaejoong’s arm in its grip. There’s a sharp inhale that sounds out in the air, and it must be from Jaejoong, because he watches as the Neko’s lips twitch in a smile for just a moment, before he’s being gently towed along behind the taller.
Jaejoong is brought along to his own kitchen, to sit at his table, and its so weirdly mundane when he’s left to sit there, to watch the Neko go through his cabinets, that he’s too confused to say anything at all.
He must have blanked out for a second, because the next thing he registers is a strong, claw tipped hand taking hold of his own, and putting a heavy glass of whiskey in it. He’s so caught up with just being touched by a Neko with such ease, that he doesn’t do anything to fight against swallowing down the double shot.
"Better?"
And Jaejoong finds he is, just a bit, so he nods, and even the next passing second sees him a bit calmer too. He looks from the hand around his wrist, watches a thumb caress at his pulse point, to turn his gaze up to the face of the Feral. Who looks… concerned.
"Are you, Minho?" Jaejoong asks, bewildered but still sure.
The smile he gets is answer enough, but its so much sweeter than Jaejoong had ever anticipated.
This Feral was Minho. The one that had somehow just scared off some money hungry thugs? It was so hard to believe, because he’d expected someone a bit, sinister, not… not those gentle eyes. Not a thumb brushing over his wrist. Or a tail stroking up his leg.
Oh.
His pulse quickens again, not in fear, and Jaejoong thinks he sees something different glint in that gentle gaze.
Right. Feral. Supposedly a predatory being. Right.
But the hand not on his wrist, feeling his pulse jump, comes around to sweep at his hair and if he wasn’t transfixed before he is now.
"You have good friends, Kim Jaejoong. Your bar is a good thing too. The first around here that isn’t hiring Nekos just for looking at, for gloating superiority with having them dance around naked, did you know that?"
Jaejoong must nod, because Minho just goes on, but now there’s an edge of humor in his pretty voice, in his eyes.
"But it seems like the bar’s owner has an interest he keeps well hidden, doesn’t he?"
Minho’s voice seems to sift into a growl - or is it a purr, a hum? - at the very end, and Jaejoong can only duck his head quickly to hide his guilt because he’s been caught. The hand that hadn’t stopped in his hair slips away now, but only to touch at his jaw to get him to look up again. A finger slips over his lips, obligingly parting the lower from the upper, while Minho’s gaze holds his own. There’s still silent laughter there, but something else too, something much warmer, something almost hot.
"So," Minho starts again, finger gliding away from Jaejoong’s lips. "I’m going to be watching over you for a while. Yes? Kim Jaejoong?"
A breathless, “okay,” is what he says in reply.
————-
When Minho had said he’d be ‘watching over’ Jaejoong, the man had assumed his business, his bar, once the Feral had left and rationality had returned to him (somewhat). He hadn’t thought it would entail much more than just seeing that his business went smoothly, that the thugs wouldn’t come back to try and get money for ‘safe territory’ out of him (which they didn’t), and that he kept up his standards at the establishment. What he hadn’t expected it to mean, was that Minho would look after his personal life as well.
Yet two days later, with the leopard wearing his hello kitty sweatpants and sleeping in his bed, and Jaejoong’s thinking that maybe that’s what Minho had meant.
"I have to make sure you’re safe," Minho had said, when Jaejoong had been confused (and scared-aroused-excited) by the Feral slipping into his bed. "You’re a valuable asset to me you know."
He’s said the other part with a wink. A wink. Jaejoong didn’t know much about Ferals, only associated with them in the form of passing a drink over the counter before, but he was fairly certain that this wasn’t the typical disposition of their kind. Minho acted so much more like the domestic sided Nekos, the ones who had been pets generations ago, before Jaejoong was born, and didn’t keep to himself, stay to the shadows, like all the Ferals Jaejoong had ever seen.
But, there was still something so lethal in the way Minho moved, walked, breathed. It was an intensity hidden under his dappled skin, in his muscles, a grace to his movements, that reminded Jaejoong with unsteady inhaliations every time he caught himself staring that Minho was in no way domesticated. He simply chose to act that way, which Jaejoong didn’t know quite what to make of, especially when Minho held him, chest pressed to Jaejoong’s back and clawed fingers curled over his belly, while they slept.
————-
"Jaejoong!"
The familiar voice calling his name had the man distracted from his counting in an instant. He’d been doing some bookkeeping before opening for the night, and wasn’t paranoid about leaving the door unlocked when alone any longer (well he wasn’t really alone because Minho was always around it seemed, unless the Feral specifically stated otherwise). Seeing Yunho and Hangeng in the entry had Jaejoong instantly getting up out of his seat, happy to see his friend after all the strangeness that had gone on in the last week.
Before Jaejoong can get anything out, Yunho is there sweeping him up into a hug, which the bar owner returns fully. When Yunho lets go, Jaejoong isn’t even riled up by the sight of the slightly edgy Hangeng like he usually is when he and Yunho hug.
"Wow. You’re really alright, then huh? Geng said you would be but- So, everything worked out I take it?"
Smiling, Jaejoong nods to his friend, who sighs in relief. Even though his friend didn’t say it, that he was worried, Jaejoong knows what he meant anyways, and with the confusion of Minho, its nice to just have something like this.
They spend a good while talking, well, Yunho and Jaejoong do, Hangeng is like most Ferals and doesn’t have a whole lot to say to humans (not until he’s drunk man does he chatter off then) who he’s not, intricately involved with (read fucking). When they’ve started to run into opening for the bar, Yunho and Hangeng decide to stay for a bit, have a drink or two and mingle, the man saying they don’t go out often. Jaejoong can imagine why, considering the way Hangeng looks at anyone like a potential meal if they so much as put a paw on Yunho.
Until recently though, Jaejoong’s always found that stare to be appealing in its own right, though he’s never mentioned this to Yunho, who always seems clueless about the Feral’s possessive nature.
That night he finds out that its probably not so much of a trait specific to Hangeng either.
————-
When he’s locking up the front door at quarter till three, Jaejoong jumps at the feeling of hands circling his waist. A soft growl and a small tickling of claws through the fabric of his shirt quickly stills him. Minho has a thing for sneaking up behind him like this, and the way he can feel the smile as the feline nuzzles into the side of his neck tells Jaejoong that the Feral probably finds it funny.
Its probably because of his skipping pulse that he doesn’t immediately notice the leopard is shirtless, although that certainly doesn’t do anything to slow his beating heart. Minho must sense this, because he’s now chuckling, satisfied, against Jaejoong’s shoulder, brushing his face from the side of Jaejoong’s head, into his hair, and all the way down his neck to get there. A soft sound has Jaejoong realizing the Feral is smelling him.
"You’ve never asked your friend if he wanted to share, have you?"
The way Minho asks the question, his voice is confident, like he already knows the answer. What gets Jaejoong more though is how Minho knew. Was he really so obvious? Fuck maybe he was, he’d just never noticed because he was best friends with a totally oblivious guy.
"I didn’t think- Yunho isn’t the one I’d have to ask. Hangeng…"
Another chuckle from Minho while he settles his mouth in an almost kiss against Jaejoong’s neck. The human’s heart is racing now.
"You’re probably right. Hangeng is tolerant. Sweet. If I held onto his mate like that…" he trails off with a light hum of laughter.
Jaejoong is still comprehending the fact that Hangeng is apparently ‘sweet’ in disposition for not gutting Jaejoong, and that Minho had just used the word ‘mate’. He didn’t know a human could be a mate. Was Minho even talking about Yunho anymore?
Jaejoong is shocked out of his thoughts by a sharp prick against his neck, and when it slides down his skin and there’s Minho’s lips against his neck too, he realizes its Minho’s teeth. The sharp canine-like ones.
A surprised cry leaves Jaejoong’s lips, because Minho has only been gentle with him, so very gentle, always careful with his claws, never sinking them into skin, not even on accident. But this now, this sharp cutting into his skin, that doesn’t seem to lessen, and the hands around his waist, they only hold tighter, holding him so firm to Minho’s front when Jaejoong flinches at the feeling of fangs against his shoulder.
Just as quickly as it came, it stops, and Minho bathes a tongue over the long, shallow cuts, making Jaejoong inhale so sharp it hurts his throat, before he lets go entirely, body and hands leaving him. Jaejoong instantly turns around to find out why he let go now.
The Feral’s eyes are lit gold and wild, his ears quivering, his movements almost calculatively slow, his tail still but for a small twitch at the end. He’s wound tight, Jaejoong can see it, so easily, now that he’s facing the Neko, but before, with only his voice for clues, he’d never known. Not with that soft chuckle. The speck of blood that gets licked off Minho’s full lips has Jaejoong almost sinking to the floor.
Minho’s tail twitches. His lips curl in a grin, face still so deceptively kind, as he looks Jaejoong in the eye.
"How good are you at running?"
—————
He’s not, he’s really not so good at running - couldn’t be anywhere near as good as a Feral, or as Yunho probably because FUCK this was what they were always doing instead of going out this was why Yunho was in such good shape FUCK—
He’s running anyways because his heart is pumping its screaming at him the adrenaline is the best high he’s ever experienced and he can’t believe it but Minho is coming after him.
Jaejoong can’t hear anything over the sound of his own breathing, so he holds his breath, makes himself stop breathing when he hides, when he hides and hears Minho come inside the building after him. He was so tired he couldn’t keep running he was cramping his sides burned his lungs on fire oh god he needs to take a breath he can’t keep holding it—
Minho leaves.
Jaejoong exhales. Relieved. Inhales. Disappointed.
He knows this is a different way of wanting a Feral, he knows that this is differrent, that people who clamber after Nekos seek them out on the east end in strip clubs want to subdue them. Want a writhing animal high off their own lust to be heated and pliant beneath them. Instead, Jaejoong thinks of Minho’s teeth against his neck, in his neck, and he groans.
Jaejoong slips back outside, he tries to, only to catch the flick of a spotted tail in the corner of his eye (he feels his instincts kicking in too now). Minho is on him, Minho is on him and growling and laughing and Jaejoong wants him but he’s scared he’s actually scared so he fights anyways. Teeth pierce his shoulder hard and Jaejoong screams. A hand falls over his mouth to muffle it, and his heart flips out of control.
He wants Minho but here? He can’t take him can’t he’s not—
The teeth leave his shoulder and gold eyes find his, they’re burning like Minho’s hand is burning like the skin of Jaejoong’s face under the pricks of those nails is burning, but the Feral meets his gaze with question.
Jaejoong calms some, sucks a huge breath in through his nose and closes his eyes. His heart is racing but the shiver down his spine is only a tiny bit fear. A tiny bit fear, and the rest, well, the rest Minho takes care of.
————-
The leopard is in his bed, wearing his hello kitty sweatpants, head and ears tucked against Jaejoong’s stomach, tail idly twitching in sleep, and Jaejoong thinks being looked after in his personal life is a pretty good arrangement after all.