Home (My Heart Is With You) (III/IV)
( ♣ ♣)
They both spend the whole afternoon in a weird kind of haze, all the confessions and feelings, new perspectives and possibilities suddenly hanging in the air between them, and it’s the same way it’s always been and completely new at the same time between them. Yifan carries Yixing’s suitcase into the room he’s been sleeping in ever since moving back in with Yixing’s parents, and Yixing protests only because he’s more than strong enough to carry his luggage himself. The hybrid however doesn’t listen to him, and when he’s got his hands free again, he silences Yixing by kissing him. In reaction, the younger huffs in irritation once, but then easily lets himself be coaxed into placeability by Yifan’s tongue gently licking along his lips. They continue trading random kisses at random times throughout the afternoon, the sensation of it still so foreign and exciting that they can’t seem to resist it.
Beneath the new kisses, they also use their already familiar ways of expressing affection and seeking closeness with each other. They curl on the living room couch together, Yifan cuddling into Yixing’s side and tangling their legs together as he goes through scenting Yixing more thoroughly than ever before. The whole process, for all its comforting familiarity, carries a lot of unprecedented implications. This time, Yifan is scenting him consciously as his mate, and suddenly Yixing realizes just how possessive the action is, the only goal of it to coat Yixing in Yifan’s scent in order to let other hybrid’s know that Yixing is his. When the catboy finally seems satisfied with grooming Yixing he takes a deep whiff of where his own scent is clinging to Yixing's throat as if to confirm that he did his job well.
Yixing, in turn, studies Yifan for a short moment after he has pulled away, a sudden urge making him lean forward to teasingly dart his own tongue against the elder's throat just like he's had Yifan do to him countless times. The hybrid stills for a moment in bafflement, caught off-guard by the other's actions, but Yixing doesn't let himself be swayed. He turns his body further towards Yifan, and shuffles onto his knees so that he has a better leverage for pressing himself closer to the hybrid, letting his licks travel across Yifan's sharp jawbone and cheek, until he reaches the tips of his silver strands. Yifan's hair feels different from Yixing's, much softer and fluffier, silky to the touch, and Yixing wonders why he has only ever let his fingers glide through the strands when they feel so heavenly against his skin, now that he rubs his face and chin against it. He repeats all the motions he recalls Yifan doing, but the hybrid's startled motionlessness doesn't last long before he starts squirming underneath Yixing's ministrations.
"What exactly are you doing there?" he asks with a slightly accusatory edge to his voice, and it makes a wide grin spread on his face as he moves to nuzzle into Yifan's ears. With delight he takes note of the way Yifan's breath hitches slightly and a shudder runs through the catboy's body, then the squirming continues, but Yixing easily follows him as Yifan tries to move away, leaning more of his bodyweight on his hands that are resting on Yifan's shoulders to balance him.
"Isn't it obvious? I'm scenting you," Yixing explains, his grin clear in his voice.
"You're what?" the catboy asks as if he didn't hear the other's words, trying to catch a view of Yixing's face but the younger is too busy moving over Yifan's scalp down to his neck, where he can dart his tongue over warm skin again.
"I'm scenting you," Yixing repeats as if it's the most normal thing in the world, "Since you decided we are mates now, I figured I should be allowed to scent you back, you know."
This time he allows Yifan to pull away enough for him to be able to face Yixing. The catboy's hair is ruffled from the way Yixing rubbed his face against it, loose strands sticking in every direction and he looks slightly scandalized, although the gentle blush dusting his cheeks tells Yixing that the hybrid isn't completely averse to the younger's doings.
"But you don't have the necessary glands for scenting," Yifan says in a deadpan voice, making it sound as if Yixing has lost his mind for forgetting about that fact, but the smaller male is well prepared for that.
"I don't care," he singsongs, and before Yifan can react, Yixing is already crowding his personal space again, leaving a short peck on his lips before tracing Yifan's features with his tongue and returning to rubbing his cheek along Yifan's scalp with added vigor, as if he did have the same scent glands Yifan has at the sides of his head.
Yifan's hands grab the younger's shirt, as if to push him away, but he doesn't really apply any force to his playful shoves, so the younger takes it as a sign to continue. They end up with Yixing lying half on top of Yifan, the hybrid having fallen down to in his futile attempt of escaping the human's affections. Yixing's face feels like it's being split in two by the grin he's sporting as small giggles still spill from his mouth, and Yifan's voice is breathless from laughter when Yixing eventually stops with scenting Yifan.
The silence of the room is broken only by the sound of them trying to catch their breath, and Yixing hoists himself up so he can look down at Yifan's face, supporting his weight with his arms against Yifan's chest, and his bright laugh dims down to a reverent smile as he studies the way the hybrid's eyes crinkle around the edges. Unable to fight the urge, Yixing leans down to plant his lips against Yifan's, an unhurried kiss to balance out their elevated pulses. Yifan reciprocates, but let's Yixing dictate the pace, not fighting for control over the kiss whatsoever. The younger keeps it gentle, no tongue involved, just a gentle glide of lips.
Once he pulls away, he moves back down to settle himself against Yifan, covering the catboy's body like a blanket. He throws his arms over Yifan's chest, and tangles his legs with the longer ones, before nuzzling into the crook of Yifan's neck, inhaling the soothing scent deeply. The warmth spreading throughout his body prompts him to hold Yifan even tighter, clinging to the hybrid as if there was any danger of him disappearing.
"God, I missed you so much," he sighs, a confession he didn't even mean to voice, but one he can’t hold back now that the feeling of exhilaration has settled down enough to make way for the sense of belonging Yixing has gone without for way too long.
"I missed you too," Yifan reciprocates, and winds his arms around the smaller body resting on top of him, pressing his cheek against the crown of Yixing's head before sighing in content. "More than you can imagine."
Yixing wants to protest, after all their separation was rough on him too, but recalling his father's words he reasons that he really doesn't have an idea of what effects being imprinted had on Yifan while the two of them were apart, so he just snuggles closer, and hums silently in what is part agreement, part apology and part comfort.
They don't mean to fall asleep, not when the sun is still standing bright in the sky and it's not even three o'clock yet, but they've both been futilely trying to chase a proper night's rest for weeks, and the comfort of having the other's presence so close drags them under without them being able to fight it--not that they would have wanted too, both all too happy to succumb to sleep.
The noise of the front door opening, and voice of Yixing's father announcing his return rouses them hours later, when the world has already gone dark beyond the window panes, painting the living room in the orange glow of the street lanterns as all lights are still switched off.
They are still tangled as closely together as they were when they fell asleep, and Yixing chuckles in drowsy lightheadedness at how Yifan rapidly blinks his eyes in slight disorientation as he takes in his surroundings. Yixing's father finds them like this, cozily fit together on the couch that is almost too small for Yifan by himself already. It only takes one look for him to break into a fond, fatherly smile as he tells them that he's glad they worked things out between them.
It's not as if they really have worked things out, they've not talked about the future yet, but they also don't want to do that on their first day of being reunited. Instead they let Yixing's mother coo at how she always knew they would make an adorable couple, and they have their big family reunion dinner at night, falling into Yifan's bed with sated stomachs and content hearts.
In the morning, Yifan wants to stay in bed with Yixing even after his alarm clock has roused him from sleep, but no matter how much Yixing wants Yifan to remain in his embrace, he knows that the hybrid would regret missing even more work now that his state has significantly improved. So against his wish, he pushes Yifan to get out of the bed, watching with half-lidded eyes as the elder pad sleepily to the bathroom to wash his face and brush his teeth, before returning to the room to get dressed. Yixing makes sure that the catboy can't give in to the temptation of crawling back under the warm covers, countering the taller's whining complaint that it's unfair for Yixing to be allowed to remain while he has to leave with a sleepy laugh and the promise that he will come fetch Yifan from school later so they won't have to be apart for long. The younger offers to see Yifan to the door, but the hybrid declines with a gentle shake of his head, coming to the bedside to demand a goodbye kiss and telling Yixing to rest well. It makes the human wonder how their roles of carer and the one who's being cared for have somehow been softened, but before he can dwell on the matter, Yifan's scent clinging to the sheets drags him back to sleep.
He spends a lazy morning with sleeping in and eating the leftovers of yesterday's dinner as breakfast, before settling into the living room with his laptop in order to get some work done while everyone is out of the house. Yixing is not good at doing nothing, has never been, and now that he feels like he's brimming with energy, he feels the need to direct it into productivity. He makes it through two whole songs within the span of three hours, amazed at how easily the ideas are flowing.
Since Yifan only has classes until close after noon that day, Yixing heads out around lunch time, and catches the bus leading him to Yifan's school because he sold his car when he had moved to Shanghai. Their reunion is filled with short pecks and wide smiles, and Yifan's fingers twined with Yixing's as they stop by a restaurant to pick up take out lunch.
Yixing's parents are both still out to work, so the house is empty when they get back, and with Yifan setting up the table it almost feels like they're back in their cozy flat halfway between Yixing's university and Yifan's workplace again, just the two of them and their everyday life. They sit beside instead of facing each other, so that Yixing can easier steal pieces of Yifan's food and Yifan can curl his tail around Yixing's arm to try and stop him.
It's almost like it used to be, except that this is the house of Yixing's parents and not their own, and that the address in Yixing's ID contains Shanghai and not Changsha. Yixing knows, that as much as he enjoys what they have right now, there are still important matters they need to sort out, now that their feelings are out in the open.
So as soon as their bellies are filled and the dishes have been cleaned Yixing takes Yifan by the hand and settles down on the couch with him, and from the way the hybrids expression turns serious, Yixing can tell that the other knows what they're going to discuss.
"I think we both agree on the fact that things can't go on the way they did the last few months," Yixing says by means of broaching the topic, and Yifan acknowledges everything with a nod, urging the younger to continue. Inside Yixing's head, there are a million words and feeling all jumbled together, and he tries to get them into a sensible order before voicing them. His endeavour is only half-successful, too many things he wants to say and too little time to organize his thoughts, so he just goes for blurting out the things that first come to his mind.
"I was selfish, going to Shanghai." He sees Yifan open his mouth in protest, and he knows that the catboy wants to argue that he gave Yifan the chance to follow, that they discussed and that Yixing is allowed to reach for his dreams, but the smaller male silences him with a raised hand. "I was, you don't need to argue against that. I took this job without discussing it with you, and the only choice I gave you was to follow me and uproot your life, or stay here. I don't want to be so selfish anymore. I swore that I would look after you, but instead I went and left you behind. So this time, I'll try to make it up by putting the decision into your hands."
He takes the back of Yifan's hand into his palm, like a symbolic gesture of handing the control over to the catboy, and he sees his silver ears fold against his head in a gesture that could either mean nervousness or reluctance, but he lets Yixing continue this time without trying to interrupt him.
"What do you need me to do, Yifan?" he Yixing asks, looking at the elder with an inquiring gaze, "If you need me to quit my job, I will. I've caused you enough pain with my decisions, and if you need me to move back here, I will. It's not as if I won't be able to find a job here as well."
He holds eye contact with Yifan, hoping to get across that he is being genuine with his offer. The thought has been floating in his head already before he received the phone call from his father, and a few times he had been tempted to just go ahead and submit his resignation in order to be able to get back to Changsha, but all those times it had felt like running away once things got a little rocky, so he had never gone through with it. Now it isn't about him having to persevere anymore; it's about Yifan suffering and Yixing is willing to do anything to change that. So if the hybrid were to tell him to quit his job, to come back to Changsha, he would do so in a heartbeat.
Yifan, however, casts his gaze down at where Yixing has joined their fingers together. He doesn't move to retreat his hand, instead turning it around so that his palm is brushing against Yixing's. The motion makes a small smile bloom on his features, as if the way their hands fit together fascinates the hybrid and Yixing wonders how he ever managed to go without the other for months in the first place. Yifan doesn't say anything at first, and Yixing is just about to fill the silence between them with more words, more explanations or suggestions, when Yifan looks at him again.
"I spoke with my boss today, at work," Yifan starts, and Yixing tenses because he is afraid of what the hybrid will say next. He doesn't want to hear that Yifan resigned his teaching position, doesn't want the other to have to sacrifice anything for Yixing's selfish wish to go for this job. But Yifan's gaze doesn't look sad, he looks at Yixing with such gentleness that the words die in his throat. "I told her everything, about you, about us, about what's been going on with me the last few months. She was very understanding. Apparently her daughter also has a hybrid, and while he's not imprinted, she knows how dependent he can be. So when I explained everything to her, she offered me an alternative teaching arrangement. The semester is going to be over soon either way, and she said that they wanted to try out a special program for their foreign language classes."
"Which means..." Yixing prompts when Yifan stills, making a pause for dramatic effects, before breaking into a wide smile. And suddenly Yixing feels as if they'll be alright, even without knowing what the hybrid is going to say next.
"It means that I'll keep on teaching, but I'll be doing it over Skype. They hope to get more native speakers to teach for them, and via Skype they are not limited to personal living in Changsha. The kids already know me, so it will be easier for them to get used to me teaching them via Skype than if it were some stranger." Yifan ends his explanation with a grin, and Yixing feels his heartbeat pick up when he realizes what the hybrids words mean.
"I'll move with you to Shanghai, but at the same time I'll continue my work. No one has to make any sacrifices this way," the hybrid elaborates when Yixing stays silent, and his expression shifts to worry when he sees the tears well up in Yixing's eyes.
"Did I do something wrong?" he asks, and his tail comes up to curl around his upper arm again, but Yixing quickly shakes his head.
"No, you did nothing wrong," he says, and he wants to add how Yifan did everything right, how he provided them with the perfect solution and how Yixing can't believe that the other is doing all these things for him, but instead of trying to verbalize these emotions, he leans forward and expresses his gratefulness through the insistent press of his lips to Yifan's, his free hand carding into the short hair at the back of the hybrids neck in order to pull him closer. He holds him there as he pours all his emotions into the kiss, and from the way Yifan kisses back, Yixing's certain that the other understands him.
-o-
The rest of the week is spent with preparations, Yixing calling his boss to inform him that he'll be back to work on Monday, just like he had originally planned, and Yifan going through all the things he has to settle for this short notice move. Neither of them saw it coming, but since Yifan doesn't have many belongings, and Yixing's parents immediately offered to help with sending everything Yifan couldn't fit into his suitcase, organizing the move turns out to be easier than they both anticipated.
On the night before their flight, Yixing's father comes to him while Yifan is in the bathroom, getting ready to sleep. Yixing knows, that for the second time his parents will lose their second child, and even though they are both already way past 20, he knows that their age doesn't matter for his parents. But instead of giving him an emotional farewell speech, his father just hands him an envelope. Inside, there is an official looking document. When Yixing pulls it out the first thing he sees is Yifan's name, and then he sees his own. For a split second he's confused, but then he looks back up to his father so quickly that he feels his neck crack a little.
"Yifan has always belonged to you," his father says by means of explanation, "I don't know why I haven't given you these papers already when you two first moved in together, but it's definitely time you get them now. This whole moving thing is a lot easier when you're his legal owner, Xing."
Yixing, slightly choked up, moves from where he was seated on the bed to encase his father in a tight hug, whispering words of gratitude into his ear, which his father answers by telling him that there's nothing to thank him for, all he did was hand Yixing some papers which state something that's already been reality for years either way. And yet, when Yixing stores the papers securely in his suitcase, he feels like they are the final missing piece in the puzzle he's been trying to fit together his whole life.
Saying goodbye at the airport is hard, as it always is, especially when his mother loses the fight against her tears, but he has Yifan to hold his hand once they’re through security, and after they have boarded the flight, he can rest his head on the hybrids shoulder, comforted by the silky feel of Yifan’s tail brushing against his arm and the way Yifan leans against Yixing in turn. After spending most of their last night under Yixing’s parents roof with panicking last minute, and therefore un- and repacking Yifan’s suitcase, they have sleep to catch up on during their late night flight. Yixing barely feels the drag in his stomach when they escape gravity’s grip, already on his way to sleep, and he snuggles slightly closer to the taller body besides him the best he can with his seatbelt shut. The flight is spend drifting between a state of half-awareness and slumber, dozing with the even breathing of Yifan resounding in his ear even over the noises of the plane’s machines.
He’s still drowsy when they’ve already picked up their suitcases and are on their way to his flat, but the closer the subway gets to his stop, the more nervousness replaces his sleepiness, a giddy hint of excitement mixing with the heavy drag of insecurity. It’s the first time for Yifan to see his flat, the catboy not having come visit him once so far-flying is neither something hybrids like to do, nor do airlines like having an unaccompanied hybrid on their flight. So since Yixing couldn’t possibly house Yifan and one of his parents, potentially both, in his flat, it always made more sense for him to come visit them instead of having Yifan fly all the way to Shanghai.
It’s not something Yixing ever held against the hybrid, although he sometimes caught himself wishing he could show off his realm to the elder, asking for his opinions on it. Yifan knows how cold the flat felt to Yixing, they’ve had ample opportunity to talk about it during the nights they spend cuddled together in the last week. But at the same time, Yixing also told him about all the little decoration items he bought, and how his friend did such a good job in color coordinating the whole interior, making sure all the shapes fit each other and the layout of the flat.
Thus, when unlocking the flat, Yixing keeps casting nervous glances back over his shoulder, which Yifan answers with reassuring smiles. The younger tries to grin back, but he can feel how the edges of his smiles waver, making them emphasize his nervousness rather than overplaying it.
“I’m sorry if it’s a bit messy, I left without being able to clean up properly,” Yixing apologizes, before finally pulling the door open and letting Yifan step in first.
The catboy is silent when he ventures into the flat, but Yixing can see his ears twitch, as his tail swishes from left to right and back, giving away how closely Yifan is studying his surroundings. The smaller male follows after the hybrid into his flat, sees Yifan peek his head into the moderately sized kitchen into which he’s managed to fit a table big enough for four people to dine on, and with a thoughtful hum the elder continues his way until he’s standing in the middle of the only real room of the apartment that’s doubling as Yixing’s bed and living room. There he stills, and Yixing is just about to tentatively ask him for what he thinks, when the catboy inhales deeply, holding his breath for a second as if to savour the air before exhaling slowly. Then he turns around to face the younger, a happy grin on his face that reveals his gums, and Yixing’s heart skips a beat at the sight. “It smells like you.”
The flat, technically, is too small for two people, but Yixing finds the size that seemed unbearably big before to be just right now that he has the hybrid to share it with. There is not enough room for them to properly retreat, but neither of the two requires such space either. Yixing knows that it’s not an arrangement to go on forever. Sooner or later they will need to move into a flat that has more than one room, a flat that can accommodate Yifan’s collection of books and give Yixing a little space at least to go through the moves he wants to use for the next song he’s given, but for now he’s marveling at how warm and homely his flat suddenly feels, and he couldn’t ask for more.
It’s something he’s unused to at first, acting like lovers with Yifan, and even though they are completely comfortable with each other, it causes Yixing to tiptoe around the hybrid occasionally, not sure whether it’s expected of him to give Yifan a goodbye kiss before heading out to work, or whether laying his head in Yifan’s lap while the other is reading on their bed would be weird. The hybrid is facing similar troubles, going by the way Yixing sometimes catches him reaching out as if to place a hand on Yixing’s hip but retreating before he can reach, or the slight hesitation he feels when Yifan is pressing against him in a back hug while Yixing is preparing dinner.
It’s ridiculous to the highest degree, Yixing realizes a few days into their living together, because even though they’ve pinpointed now what exactly they are, they’ve always been touchy with each other. And while they were in Yixing’s parents’ house, they fell together as lovers so naturally that he wonders why he’s grown so awkward in his own flat. So he decides to just go back to treating Yifan exactly the way he always used to, and he demands of the hybrid to do the same. Like that, they fall back into their old mannerisms, and Yifan burrows his nose into Yixing’s neck to take in his smell at random times again while Yixing fluffs Yifans’ hair and gently massages his ears when the elder is sitting in the kitchen to set up the laptop for his Skype lessons. All in all, it’s the same as it’s been all throughout Yixing’s university time, except for the fact that there are kisses interspersing their affectionate gestures.
Kissing Yifan is Yixing’s new addiction, he discovers; the elder’s lips just too tempting when they are cuddled together and it always seems like just the right amount of a challenge, having to tiptoe in order to earn his kisses when Yifan is walking around the flat.
Within the span of a few weeks, their kisses progress from majorly consisting of innocent pecks in passing to tangling their tongues while Yixing folds his hands together behind Yifan’s neck and Yifan lets his rest at the small of Yixing’s back, and before they know it, Yifan is pressing Yixing into the mattress with his body weight, their hands roaming below their shirts while the press of their mouths turn sloppy in between the low-pitched moans they let out. Their make-out sessions never go further than them rubbing their clothed bodies against each other, curious hands under shirts the only bare-skin-to-skin contact they have. The speed at which their physical relationship progresses might not be a normal one for people their age, but as much as Yixing wants Yifan, he wants to do this right, wants to get to know Yifan’s body the slow way and not by throwing himself head first into physical intimacy that they might not be ready for yet.
He does a lot of reading as well, trying to figure out with the help of books and the internet whether he needs to watch out for anything, if there are any special rules he has to follow or things he has to pay attention to. His search turns up with the result that everything he would do with a human partner is just as suitable for a hybrid one. After finding that there’s nothing to worry about doing wrong, he switches to looking for things to do right instead, since he knows that erogenous zones of hybrids, while mostly similar to humans, are still slightly different. Most of the guides he finds focus on when hybrids are in heat, since that’s the time owners are required to help their pets with sexual gratification. Yifan is not a pet however, has never been in Yixing’s or his family’s eyes, so all they did for Yifan’s heats were to provide him with necessary toys and privacy, wanting it to be his own call if he wanted someone else to be with him during his heats.
Yixing reads these guides nonetheless, but he knows that the first time he will sleep with Yifan will not be during his heat. He hasn’t spoken with the hybrid yet, but he wants it to be Yifan’s decision, 100%, and not the biological need that’s clouding his mind. It doesn’t matter whether Yifan is imprinted on him, or whether that means that he will only want Yixing during his heat either way, has wanted him for longer than they’ve been officially together. Perhaps it’s also just a sense of selfishness that Yixing wants to prove to himself that Yifan wants him, even when there are no hormones setting his blood on fire with the need to mate.
Doing all the research that he does has the striking disadvantage however that it makes him indulge himself in all the things that will hopefully make Yifan feel good, and he’s unable to fight the mental images that come with it. The idea of the catboy spread out below him, mewling and moaning softly while Yixing drags his mouth over all the right spots on his bare skin chops away at his self-restraint bit by bit, and the fact that the real life version of Yifan gets more adventurous and needy whenever they make out just adds to Yixing’s demise.
So when Yifan’s hand starts sneaking underneath Yixing’s sweatpants, tentatively as if he’s still trying to test the waters and wants to see whether the younger will recoil or encourage him, Yixing decides that it’s time to tell the hybrid about all the things he’s been thinking through ever since Yifan came back to Shanghai with him. The catboy looks dejected when Yixing gently pulls away, and the smaller male can see the poorly concealed hurt triggered by rejection in Yifan’s eyes, so he’s quick to surge forward and catch Yifan’s lips in a kiss that he hopes is calming, winding his fingers into the other’s shirt in order to keep him close.
He starts by reassuring Yifan that he definitely isn’t averse to them taking things a step further, he’s anything but. The catboy looks a bit sceptical at first, but the further Yixing gets with his explanation, the further his features relax into understanding. When Yixing tells him that they will take things at Yifan’s pace, and that they’ll do it as soon as Yifan feels ready, he just needs to say so, Yifan’s gaze softens and the kiss he plants against Yixing’s lips doesn’t fit the heatedness of their touches mere minutes prior at all. That night, Yixing brings Yifan to completion with his hand, and Yifan reciprocates despite Yixing’s protests.
The hybrids next heat is supposed to hit in about two weeks, so since they both agree that their first time should be outside of this three-day-period, Yixing prepares himself for waiting another three weeks at least, seeing as Yifan doesn’t seem to want to hurry things up between them just because his heat is approaching. That resolution, however, lasts no more than a week, on both sides.
It’s Friday night, thankfully, when Yixing comes home from work all sweaty and sticky and immediately heads for the shower, shouting a greeting to the hybrid who’s relaxing in their room, getting the usual response back that’s muffled by the distance between them. He doesn’t expect the night to be anything special, or different, plans to have takeout for dinner and perhaps a few hours of watching the newest drama Yifan has taken a liking too.
He doesn’t expect Yifan to keep on eyeing him with intent when he returns to the room with damp hair, shorts and one of his loose tank tops. As soon as the younger passes by the bed, Yifan pulls him into a kiss, which progresses into making out, the way they’re both well used to by then. But when Yixing palms the catboy’s erection, Yifan pulls away from their kisses to tell the younger that he’s ready, that he wants Yixing, truly wants him. The younger hesitates only for the blink of the eye, because as soon as he looks Yifan’s eyes he knows that the other is sure. And who is Yixing to object.
That night, Yifan opens himself up for Yixing, sprawling his body across the sheets beneath the younger male to give his everything into the gentle care of Yixing’s hands. Yixing knows that Yifan has never before laid with anyone else this intimately. Sure, the hybrid has had heats, and toys to help him through them, but he never asked for Yixing to assist him during the bimonthly fits of burning desire which make his skin crawl and his rationality disappear for the span of three days, and he also never requested for someone else’s care during these times. Taking into account that Yifan might have imprinted himself on Yixing before his first heat even struck, it makes sense that if he couldn’t have Yixing’s hands on him he also wouldn’t want anyone else’s. It leads Yixing to wonder for how long the catboy has already imagined it being Yixing’s touches who bring him to completion when he’s pleasuring himself with the toy’s he’s regularly using for dealing with his heat.
Yixing has bedded other people before, male and female alike, although he can’t exactly say that he has had frequent sexual encounters, usually too indulged in his study or work-or Yifan-to go look for a significant other, and not a big fan of the anonymous, momentary relief one night stands provide. He has experience, but he still fumbles slightly as his hands and mouth search for the spots that make Yifan feel good, make him spill the moans he’s trying to hold in by biting his lower lip, wanting to do everything right. It might only be Yifan’s first time, but it also is their first time together, and Yixing can’t fight the feeling that this is the first time that really matters to him as well, where he’s into it not only with his body but with his whole heart as well.
So he takes his time, maps out Yifan’s body completely from head to toe, enjoying every tiny shudder, mewl and moan, and kissing along the goosebumps that form in the wake of his fingertips. When he prepares Yifan, the catboy is already a whining mess beneath him and Yixing loves it, loves how he can make the catboy arch his back in a tempting curve, make him follow after each of his touches and let out a deep guttural purr when Yixing presses his hands stronger against the other’s heated skin in reaction. The glide in is calculated, slow, and the elder whimpers out his name when Yixing is buried till the hilt, stilling because he wants to give Yifan time to relax around the girth and feeling that is different from his toys. The hybrid complains that Yixing doesn’t need to take it so painfully slow, his body well accustomed to the sensation of bottoming from the various heats he already went through, but Yixing insists, leaning forward to kiss along Yifan’s slightly furrowed brows, tracing the sweat running down to his cheek with his tongue until he can cover the other’s lips with his own. He only starts moving once he deems Yifan sufficiently relaxed, picking up speed quickly however when Yifan immediately moves to meet his thrusts. Their bodies align as they chase after their high, their rhythms matching each other perfectly.
Yixing is overwhelmed by the rush of pleasure, but even against the temptation it remains on the forefront of his mind that he needs to focus on taking care of Yifan. He drinks up every sound and motion the elder gifts him with, and appreciates them by hitting the catboy’s sweet spot until Yifan’s thighs are quivering and his toes are curling, his thrown back head giving Yixing the perfect opportunity to nip at Yifan’s neck. The catboy comes first after Yixing wraps his fingers around his length, and Yixing doesn’t think he’s ever heard something more beautiful than Yifan’s voice brokenly calling out his name in ecstasy. It has Yixing follow the other right over the edge.
They are both sweaty and sticky, but they’re also feeling sated and exhausted and neither wants to bother with cleaning up, so instead they fold against each other uncaring of the mess between their bodies as they trade gentle kisses and whispered declarations of love until they drift off to sleep.
-o-
"Yifan, you're doing that thing with your tail again," Yixing tells the catboy, the hint of a laugh colouring his voice and Yifan reacts by looking down his body, seeing the furry appendage curled around his leg.
It's a subconscious action, and Yifan huffs slightly as he forces himself to release the hold of his thigh. A smile pulls the corners of Yixing's mouth apart, and he puts down the last plate onto its designated spot on the table before walking over to where the hybrid is standing.
"I thought you weren't nervous," Yixing teases, repeating Yifan's claims from that morning when they had lying in bed together, discussing who would go to which store to get the ingredients for their dinner that night.
The younger rises onto the balls of his feet so that he can stroke a hand over Yifan's head, smoothing down the catboy's ears that had been folded against his head in a sure sign of nervousness. Yifan still looks tense, for sure, but his exhale sounds like a small sigh as he allows his muscles to relax a little at the calming touch of Yixing, the younger's hand resting at Yifan's neck.
"I promise you, tonight will be fun. We're cooking your favourite dish, after all," Yixing tries to reassure the hybrid, tilting his head in a playful manner and crouching slightly so that he's looking up at Yifan with a twinkle in his eyes.
The catboy answers with a grin of his own, unable to resist Yixing when he's looking like that. Knowing that makes Yixing's smile widen as he tiptoes to peck the corner of Yifan's lips before drawing away and moving back to where he's in the middle of setting the table, pullingthe hybrid along with him by the wrist.
Truly, Yixing himself is a bundle of nerves, but somehow seeing that Yifan is nervous as well helps with putting him at ease. If he wants Yifan to believe his soothing words, he has to be calm himself, the catboy's feline instincts easily being able to tell the slightest signs of discomfort in Yixing's behaviour. So it's a welcome side effect, that when he reassures Yifan and tells him that everything will be okay, he also settles into that belief.
In a way, Yixing thinks he has no reason to be as nervous as he is about the fact that his friends will come over for dinner that night, meeting Yifan for the first time. A few weeks have already passed since they both came back to Shanghai together, and Yixing has already told his friends about having moved in together with his boyfriend. It had triggered a lot of disbelieving whining from Luhan about how Yixing kept having a boyfriend a secret, and how he thought their friendship was the kind where they could tell each other anything. Yixing, trying to calm the other's slightly overdramatical outbreak, explained to him that he technically hadn't kept anything from Luhan, as he and Yifan had only started "dating" a week before moving in together. Luhan still insisted on being hurt, and he also was quite disbelieving at first until Yixing explained to him that he and Yifan have known each other since childhood, have always been close and that they both were just always too ignorant to realize their feelings towards each other.
It's not entirely the truth; Yixing thinks that Yifan might have puzzled out his attraction much earlier than the younger, he just kept silent because Yifan is neither the type to openly talk about his feelings, nor is he the type to expect Yixing to reciprocate. But for the sake of keeping things simple, Yixing doesn't delve deeper into the matter, instead heaving a silent sigh of relief when Luhan looks reluctantly convinced by the argument. Of course he immediately demands to be introduced to the mystery boyfriend that he already heard a lot about when Yixing had to opt out of evening gatherings in order to get home for his Skype dates. Yixing refused, with the argument that Yifan is rather shy, and he wants to give him time to get used to the new surroundings first before exposing him to new people. Luhan accepts his excuse, albeit with another huff and a complaint about Yixing wanting to keep his shiny new boyfriend all to himself.
That, admittedly, is the truth, but after a few weeks, and a lot more incessant whining from both Luhan and Zitao, he decided that it was about time for them to finally meet his better half.
He has always been nervous introducing his boy- or girlfriends to other friends or family, but this time there is the added pressure of being unsure of what his friends' reaction will be to the mere fact that the boyfriend he's always been talking about is a catboy. He doesn't know why he didn't tell Luhan, or any of his other friends, that Yifan is a hybrid. It's not as if Yixing is ashamed of it, or that he thinks that he shouldn't be dating a catboy or that, worse, a human can only own and not properly date a catboy. In all honesty, Yixing didn't particularly try to keep the fact that Yifan is a hybrid from his friends. It never crossed his mind that it is something even worth mentioning, but now that he's awaiting his friends' arrival, he feels the coil of uncertainty settle heavily in his stomach. His friends are all very open minded people, but this is a bit beyond accepting couples uncaring of both parties' gender; it's about Yifan being a completely different race, and Yixing is acutely aware of how rare their type of relationship is when the doorbell rings, signalling the arrival of the first guest of the night.
Luhan is always rather on time, but when Yixing casts a glance at the clock hanging on their kitchen wall, it tells him that there are still twenty more minutes until seven, the time their guests were originally supposed to come. Yifan stays back in the kitchen when Yixing goes to open the door, with the excuse of tending to the dishes that are boiling on the stove. In reality, he hybrid is nervous, and wants to give the younger the chance to welcome his friend first, but Yixing doesn't call him out on that. Instead he give Yifan a quick peck in passing as he makes his way for the door.
His friend is standing there, soft brown hair styled as perfectly as if he is about to go to a performance rather than having dinner at Yixing's home. In his hands he's holding a bottle of Champagne, the brand one Yixing vaguely remembers reading a while ago. Luhan looks at him with that disarming smile of his when Yixing invites him into the flat, and he presses the bottle into Yixing's arms together with an apology for being so early.
"You said that Yifan doesn't like meeting new people," he explains while taking off his shoes, "So I thought it might be better if he doesn't have to meet everyone at once?"
Yixing is speechless for a short second, then he quickly gathers his bearings again and thanks the other for his thoughtfulness. They make a bit of small talk while they're still standing in the hallway, Luhan commenting on the slightly different interior design from when he last was around, and Yixing finding his eyes catching all the small details Yifan or he and the hybrid together changed in the last few weeks. He hadn't even noticed how much their new life settled into every crook and nanny of their apartment, but even by just looking at the hallways it's so obvious that Yixing wonders how he could have missed it in the first place.
"So, will I get to meet your better half now?" Luhan asks when their conversation comes to a natural lull, and Yixing, so immersed in the naturalness of their chatter, startles a little when he remembers the main purpose of his friend's visit.
He nods, wordlessly, and turns to lead Luhan into the flat and towards the kitchen. The artist stays a little way back, as if to give Yixing the chance to see Yifan first, and to prepare the other for the new face awaiting him.
"Yifan," the younger calls out softly when he passes through the doorway. It's unnecessary, the catboy's ears already having picked up their footsteps even over the sound of the steaming pots and the low radio playing in the background. Yixing sees Yifan's shoulders stiffen a little, his ears giving one twitch before they seem to relax, but Yixing can tell how forced the pretended naturalness of his posture is. Yifan turns around, and takes a step into their direction, but before he can properly make his way over to them, Yixing is already at his side. He strokes a comforting hand down the hybrid's arm, hoping to dissipate some of the nervousness, and threads their fingers together when he reaches the end of the elder's limb.
"Luhan," Yixing turns back to where the brunet has emerged from the hallway by now, "This is my boyfriend, Yifan. Yifan, meet Luhan."
There is a short moment where Luhan's eyes wander up and down Yifan's body, widening slightly as he passes over the silver hair, and most importantly the furry cat ears hidden in the deliberately disheveled mess, before his gaze darts down to where Yifan's tail leaves no room for doubt about what Yifan is. Yixing, despite himself, holds his breath as he waits for Luhan's judgement. He doesn't want to be like this, wants to be Yifan's safe haven, like he always wants to be, but this time he squeezes the elder's hand because he himself needs the calming connection.
"Well damn," Luhan eventually huffs out after what feels like a small eternity. "I get why you would hide that boyfriend of yours away from us." His face is furrowed in a thoughtful frown, and Yixing feels his heart slow down to an icy halt, steeling himself for disapproving words while at the same time readying all the defenses he's had to say way too often when people tried to belittle Yifan for being a hybrid. But before he can even fully formulate any sort of sentence, Luhan's expression changes into a toothy grin. "I mean, wow, what a catch. If I had a boyfriend this hot I'd also want to keep him to myself 24/7."
Yixing's breath escapes him in a stuttering, disbelieving laugh, his lips pulling into a tentative smile, still not entirely sure he can trust his ears. Luhan, fully aware of what reaction the younger was waiting for and taking great delight in teasing him about it, doesn't even wait for Yixing's to say something before stepping further into the room. "Hello Yifan, I'm Luhan," he introduces himself when Yixing continues being at a loss for words, and Yifan raises his own, free hand to shake the other's proffered one.
"Yifan," he says, the deep tone of his voice pushing Luhan even further into his fanboying mode as he asks Yixing how the heck he even managed to score himself such a fine boyfriend.
With a joking twinkle in his eyes, Luhan leans towards the hybrid and conspiratorially asks him why he's even with Yixing, and that he can surely find someone better than such a boring choreographer. Yifan is blushing under the onslaught of compliments, his voice caught in his throat while Yixing hits Luhan indignantly, the way best friends do. But even though Yifan is visibly unused to such praise, and despite his outer appearance suggesting discomfort, Yixing feels the hybrid relax beside him. Luhan's charm is something to count on, after all, and by the time that Zitao also arrives, Yifan's nervousness has already made way to tentative smiles and shallow conversations.
The designer doesn't even stop to consider the fact that Yifan is a hybrid, too busy fawning over the colour combination of Yifan's silver hair and his Celadon eyes. Between Zitao and Luhan, Yifan is left to stuttering and fumbling under all the benevolent attention for the biggest part of the evening, while at the same time quickly starting to join them in their teasing of Yixing.
When the two coworkers eventually leave, just in time to catch the last train, Yifan and Yixing are both equally exhausted, but Yixing feels the excited happiness thrum under his skin that spending an evening with his friends always brings him. Looking at Yifan's smile, he can read in the lines of his eyes and the corners of his mouth that the hybrid shares that feeling.
"So, what do you think?" he asks once they've deemed the kitchen clean enough and have curled up on the couch together for their late night cuddling.
Yifan hums, his fingertips tracing the faint lines of Yixing's veins on the back of the younger's hand. "I like them. They're very nice," he eventually says, and Yixing finds himself smiling even brighter at the hybrid.
"I'm glad." is all he says, shifting so that he's snuggling even deeper into Yifan's side, the catboy reacting by draping his arms around Yixing all protectively. This, Yixing thinks, was his last worry. Now he and Yifan are truly, 100%, settled in their new life in Shanghai.
Together.
Finally.
( ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣)