if it's not me (no one can win you)
Title: if it’s not me (no one can win you
Pairing(s): Sehun/Kai
Rating: pg
Genre: hybrid!au, puppy!Jongin, cat!Sehun, fluff
Length: 2.9k words
Summary: Jongin had always been an intimidating puppy. And when he meets the pissy cat Sehun, he feels just how intimidating he seems. But under Sehun's bitter façade may be something other than just pure bitterness.
Warnings: past abuse
Author's Note:
Jongin had always been a particular puppy. He had the wide dark brown eyes - he had fluffy ears and a wagging tail, like every other puppy. But he also had dark swirls of ink up his arms, chest and neck. He hated the thought of being a pet, being less than humans, just because he had the genes of an animal. He wanted to stand out - and so he did.
It was difficult being different like that though. As a hybrid, Jongin wasn’t allowed to be on his own without an owner. And despite how many times he had run away from the countless masters he has had, he was always caught. And he always ended up where unwanted pets were left. At an animal shelter.
He had been at different shelters - too many to count. And still, he wasn’t satisfied. No matter which person who wanted a different puppy like him, ended up regretting it.
Jongin didn’t listen to commands, he was aggressive and just all around unapproachable. He wasn’t the ideal pet people wanted, and somehow he was glad. He didn’t really like being at the shelter - but it was indeed better than being someone’s pet.
He had given up finding somewhere he would belong. After all, the world had never been to kind to him. And even if the shelter was crowded, they were split up by animal race, and the other puppies often just kept their distance to Jongin - he had a reputation that followed that rough look of his.
But as weeks passed, the shelter grew less crowded. Hybrids were gaining popularity, and so, a lot of hybrids found themselves with new homes. Jongin was staying though. A young woman had a few days earlier shown interest in giving the inked puppy a home. But Jongin had been as skeptical as ever about this - and he ended up biting the young woman’s hand as soon as she came close enough for him to do so. The fact that he didn’t even seem apologetic about it afterwards made the woman even angrier, but all Jongin did was snarl at her.
Obviously the owner of the shelter wasn’t very happy with him, and so, he was moved to a smaller cage by himself for the time being. But apparently it seemed that he wasn’t the only troublemaker in that shelter.
A morning when Jongin was still napping comfortably in the smaller cage, the door was opened. With sleep filling his eyes, Jongin didn’t really register anything else. But when he woke up a bit later, it was hard to not notice that something was indeed different. As soon as he opened his eyes, the first thing that entered his vision, was a scowling feline. Its caramel colored tail was wagging out of irritation, and the fluffy ears on top of its head that were resting on top of matching colored hair, were drawn back.
The feline clearly wasn’t happy to be in the same cage as a dog. And normally, Jongin wasn’t someone who would reject the chance for a fight. He liked the rush, and the feline seemed eager enough to sink his claws into the flesh of Jongin’s upper arms, but it wasn’t because the puppy was initiating any kind of fight - no. It was because as soon as Jongin’s senses woke up properly, a pleasing scent had enveloped him - a scent so pleasing, so sweet, like he had never experienced before.
It was pure instinct to move closer to the feline - closer to the scent. But seeing back, it had been a stupid thing to do. Never approach a pissed-off kitty, unless you want to become a scratching post.
Naturally, Jongin yelped in pain. The claws of a feline weren’t there just for the looks, they were sharp, and the feline seemed to have every intention of showing Jongin who was at the top of the food-chain.
It was the first time anyone had dared to attack Jongin first - no matter what race of animal. But this cat, who had a face that seemed like he was just naturally pissed off, had no doubts about sinking his claws into Jongin. No matter how scary Jongin seemed to other animals, the cat looked at him like he probably did at any other animal that came close enough. It made Jongin feel weird, so weird that he in fact didn’t attack back as he usually would.
But before he could react in any way, except yelping in pain and looking incredible dumb, the door to the cage was opened and in came two workers who pulled them apart. Jongin barely registered anything around him, that sweet heavy smell clouding his mind, as he was escorted out of the cage, and back into the quarters for the dogs. Apparently they decided that Jongin had been in the lone cage long enough to reflect on his wrong-doings, and obviously they couldn’t let him be in cage alone with the fiery feline.
Now seated in the dog-quarters, in his half-private area of the room, he looked just as dumb as with the feline. His mind could still not comprehend what had happened, however when he examined his upper arms where the cat had not-so-kindly dug its claws through his tan skin, and luckily for Jongin, the damage wasn’t too bad since the feline had apparently not cut him too deep.
Jongin was feeling like he was stuck in a haze. Just the scent of the cat had made him like this, and to Jongin it made no sense. He had never found any feline particularly interesting before - he had never found anyone particularly interesting before. So the fact that someone - especially a cat - had left him stunned, puzzled him.
Sure, the feline had had a special look of handsome, even if it had looked notably pissed. Its cat-like eyes had been twinkling enchantingly behind a caramel-coloured fringe and its plush pinkish lips had been pulled into a sneer. Jongin couldn’t think of anyone that had ever looked that gorgeous while being so pissed. And that made Jongin bitter.
Days after Jongin had returned to the dog-quarters, he shamefully still had the thoughts of a certain caramel feline wandering around his mind. To be quite honest, the cat hadn’t left his mind even once. It left him sleepless during long nights, and it was driving Jongin insane.
He needed to see this cat again.
He knew the cat was still in the cage. Not that he had been secretly snooping around in the furthest corners of the dog-quarters, to glance at the smaller cage where a small form was slightly visible from Jongin’s limited view. He knew that it was his feline, because every time a worker neared the cage, a loud hissing could be heard.
Jongin couldn’t imagine what could have made the feline so pissed off - so angry at the world. It made something itch under his skin, a feeling of wanting to be the one to chase away the troubles of the other hybrid. He wanted to be the one who made a smile bloom over those lips, to see those eyes sparkle of happiness directed towards him.
And even though Jongin had never felt any kind of feeling alike to what he felt around and towards the cat, he just accepted that it was how it was. He didn’t like the feelings, not at all. He was confused and it was like he kept searching for something that wasn’t there.
Something he needed desperately to feel like he was whole again. Still, Jongin didn’t resent those feelings. It even made him feel more human - like he wasn’t just some dumb animal.
He knew exactly what he needed to do in order to see his feline again, it was simple really. He just had to make some trouble again, and it wasn’t really like that was going to be a problem. After all Jongin had a talent for making trouble, so it was almost like a win-win situation.
Jongin was really an impatient dog, and so, it didn’t take long for him to make some trouble again. The staff there were however reluctant about putting him into the cage together with the feline who had left those impressive cuts on him, but they had to follow the rules in the end, that if a pet is making trouble, it has to be put in the cage. So they eventually moved him to the cage, carefully doing so when the feline in the cage was seemingly taking a nap. As they closed the door to the cage and walked off, Jongin was still standing in the same spot as they had left him.
The feline looked unnaturally peaceful. Not that the peacefulness was unnatural, not at all. But it was weird seeing such a relaxed face on the normally bitter face.
Jongin felt a tightening in his chest. He felt strangely fond of the cat - more than ever.
The cat was lying in a heap of pillows, face squished against a soft cushion. It looked almost innocent like this, long eyelashes brushing against its high cheekbones and soft mouth parted. It surely didn’t look like the creature that had burrowed its claws in Jongin’s arms.
He walked closer to the feline, and as he came closer, the sweet scent of the caramel-coloured cat once again filled his nostrils. It made his knees weak, all the joints in his body seemingly turning to jelly. And apparently, it made Jongin lose his sense and instead he acted once again on pure instinct. Instincts that was clearly pulling him towards the cat - instincts that told him to get as close as possible.
And even though the feline would probably tear him into shreds, Jongin laid down beside the other in the heap of pillows. He closed his eyes and let the sugary scent carry him to off to dreamland.
It was no surprise that Jongin woke up to his body landing on the hard floor. It was even less of a surprise, that when he opened his eyes the first thing that met his gaze was a hissing feline, who had clearly kicked him off the cushions.
Jongin groaned as he sat up. He had not slept that well for a while, and the rough awakening had left him dizzy.
“Jesus, chill kitty.”
Jongin rubbed the back of his head, where it had hit the ground, while yawning slightly. Eyeing the cat, he noticed it had crept back towards the wall, tail wrapped securely around its waist, and not swinging in annoyance as Jongin had suspected. The cat seemed more scared than angry, even with the way it was glowering at Jongin.
But when Jongin tried to go closer to the feline, it seemed to tense up noticeably, angry eyes growing wider in fear before going back to its original squinting form. It almost looked as if the cat tried to disappear into the wall the way it was pressing against it, so Jongin discarded the idea of going closer. Not only for the fear of becoming a scratching post once against, but also because the cat seemed so scared that it made it feel like Jongin’s heart was breaking.
He had never really minded when people or hybrids were frightened of him - quite the opposite actually. It made him feel powerful, like he had the upper hand.
But here it was apparently different. It felt as if the cat was a maze, and when Jongin tried reaching out for it, the cat slipped through his fingers like sand. He was powerless in this situation. No matter what he did, he would only worsen it, and so, he knew it was just time to give the feline some room, no matter how Jongin’s heart tugged him towards the other.
So Jongin kept his distance, stayed at the other end of the cage.
Even though he was forced keep at distance, he would always long to go back to the cat in the cage. The feline never seemed to leave the cage, and as time passed it stopped hissing the staff and at Jongin - as long as Jongin didn’t come too close that was.
But he always kept coming back, even though he couldn’t come near the cat.
That all changed after a few weeks though, on a particularly stormy night.
It was clear that the storm caused the cat clear discomfort, but as the first thunder hit, the cat ended up curled into a ball in the heap of pillows. The lights were off, since they were clearly supposed to be sleeping. But since the storm had started, the cat had seemed unnaturally distressed, and it had worried Jongin maybe a tad too much.
Jongin was unsure of what to do. The cat very much disliked when he came close, but his heart was hurting from the sight of the feline curled into itself from fright.
So Jongin dared to move closer slowly to the distressed hybrid, and when he came closer to the feline than he had been in weeks, dark wide eyes opened and landed on Jongin.
It left Jongin stunned. The usual ponds of anger caught deeply in the cat’s eyes were gone, and it was instead replaced with pure desperation. It was almost as if the cat was begging for Jongin to do something - anything.
When Jongin didn’t seem to move any closer, the feline let out a low whine, and that made Jongin snap out of his thoughts. He acted on pure instincts once again, as he seemed to do a lot around the feline, and he found himself lying down on the cushions beside the other hybrid, pulling the shaking cat I to his arms. Even though it was indeed a dangerous move, it seemed like the right thing to do. And to Jongin’s surprise, the cat didn’t react negatively in any way, except tensing up a bit. But that reaction may as well have been caused by the raging storm going on outside of the shelter.
They fell asleep like that - the cat first however. Jongin couldn’t seem to relax before he knew the cat had calmed down. But when he heard soft snores, he too, fell into a deep sleep.
After that, it all changed a bit.
The cat still seemed reluctant to let Jongin come too close. However it never hissed or sneered at Jongin in anyway. They were instead replaced by shy glances when the cat didn’t think Jongin was looking. But really - Jongin was always looking. The cat had even had had softly told Jongin his name. So softly it had sounded like it had been a secret.
But no matter how close they had grown over time, something always seemed to bother the cat - like it had something troubling on its mind that made it shy away from Jongin.
Jongin as a person, had never paid any heed to rumors before. But when the whisper of the cat’s name left several lips as he was back at the dog-quarters, he couldn’t help but let his brown ears perk up in attention.
What he heard worried him though.
“Apparently” they said, “The cat Sehun, the one who is always in the cage?” That usually was followed by a nod from the other part of the conversation. “They say he was abused by his owners. All of them. That’s why he is here, because he’s too broken for a human to want him anymore.”
The way they spoke of Sehun, like he was an object, pissed him off. He ended up shoving the other dogs around, of course. And occasionally throwing out some punches. But that was only really because it was his Sehun they were talking about. And to Jongin, disrespecting Sehun was the same as disrespecting Jongin.
And it really only got better, as Jongin was placed back in the cage with the cat. However, the rumor still stuck to his mind like glue.
But as he looked at Sehun, his dear Sehun, he didn’t dare ask. But Sehun eventually got out of him why he had been in a fight again, because he had stupidly promised the cat that he would try to get in less fights. The look on Sehun’s face told him more than he needed, and so he easily told the feline that the past of his didn’t bother Jongin. He liked him just as much as before.
At that, Sehun looked up at Jongin through his long lashes, a small smile forming over his lips.
That was enough so send Jongin to heaven and beyond. He had seen the cat smile before, but never had it been directed at him like this. He was so lost in the heavy thudding of his own heart and the fluttering feeling under his skin that he didn’t register that Sehun leant in closer, much closer.
Sehun left a gentle peck at the corner of Jongin’s lips. So gentle it was as it had barely been there, but it had. And the happiness it left Jongin with, was enough to make him contently think that if it was with Sehun, he wouldn’t mind living at the shelter forever.