Chapter Text
Jake reached out and tucked long curls of hair away from Heeseung’s face as he slept. His face was as soft as ever. Smooth, honey skin, with a constant blush high on his cheekbones, whether from natural pigmentation or a slight sunburn from working outside, Jake wasn’t sure. It was pretty though.
He was distracted by something moving around against his stomach. He smiled and moved his hand under the covers to grab a little foot that was pushing into his ribs. He got a kick in response, jostling Heeseung.
“Hey.” Jake tugged down the blankets to reveal burnt orange ears and a button nose complete with a smattering of freckles on chubby cheeks.
The fox hybrid grew still as he yawned and rubbed at his eyes.
“Good morning cutie.” Jake leaned down and kissed his soft forehead. “Still sleepy?”
Jay blinked up at him contentedly, his hands kneading against Jake’s chest like a cat.
While his given name was Jay, Sunghoon had started calling him Jongseong. Jake had found it adorable and eventually, it stuck. Jongseong was their little fox hybrid pushing five years old. Though he was growing bigger every day, he was the runt of a litter, meaning he was the smallest and developed slower than others. Lucky for him, it was a free pass to be babied almost constantly.
“Okay Jongie. Now you’re up, you can help me get your brothers ready for school.” Jake said brightly.
He wrapped Jongseong up in a hug and rolled out of bed with him so Heeseung could sleep in. He had a long day of work ahead of him and Jake wanted him to rest as much as possible. He was a total workaholic when he wanted to be.
“I’m cold.” Jongseong stated, while simultaneously trying to wriggle out of Jake’s arms.
“The floor is cold cutie.” Jake said, but let him down.
He stood for a moment when his feet hit the cold floor. Then he shivered once and took off running. All of his things were in Jake and Heeseung’s room. It was easier to keep them there since he slept with Jake and Heeseung more often than not even as he grew older.
He went straight for his shoes, eager to put them on. For some reason, he loved to put his shoes on and would run around the house in his tiny sneakers any time of the day. Sometimes he would leave his pajamas on and just wear his sneakers. Jake wasn’t sure why, but it was cute.
Today was no different. Jake stopped him before he could get too far and got him into pants before his shoes. He only had two pairs of shoes at the moment, but he loved to choose between them.
Jake grinned down at him when he looked up at him for confirmation that his shoes were as exciting as he made them out to be.
“Go wake up your brothers.” Jake said, patting his bum lightly.
Jongseong raced out of the room, the tap of his shoes against the floor a welcome familiar noise.
Jake folded his pajamas and put them away before getting dressed himself. By that time, Heeseung was stirring. Jake paused to watch him wake up. When he pushed himself up off the pillow, the blankets slide down to reveal his bare back. The faint line of a scar across his shoulder blade shifted with his muscle. Jake glanced away, the scar an unpleasant one to remember. They had barely escaped with their lives before they made it to their safe haven.
“We have to get him his own bed.” Heeseung grumbled, his voice deep and rumbly from sleep. “He punched me in the middle of the night.”
“I think you’re being dramatic.” Jake laughed.
He didn’t imagine Jongseong’s little fists could do much damage. Heeseung just liked to be grouchy to hide the fact that he was hopelessly soft for all the boys.
“He moves around at night all the time. I woke up a few days ago to him laying on top of me.”
“I think you’ll survive.”
Heeseung dragged himself out of bed, shivering a little in the chilly air. While the building they were in had warm water, there was no central heating. They relied on heavy blankets and warm coats.
“I’m taking the boys to school.” Jake said, tossing him a shirt. “When you get home tonight, I’ll cut your hair.”
Heeseung grunted, running his hand through his curls once. Jake smiled to himself.
Jongseong suddenly stormed back into the room, obviously angry. He grabbed the door and tried to slam it with all his might. It only resulted in a dull thud but Jake still shook his head at the behavior.
“Jongseong. We’re not going to slam doors.” he said seriously. “If you are frustrated, come talk to me.”
Jongseong huffed and gave the door a little kick.
“No kicking either.” Jake said.
“Or I’ll tickle you.” Heeseung said, deadly serious.
Jake hid a smile behind his hand as Jongseong’s eyes grew wide. Surely whatever he had been frustrated about flew out of his head at the thought of being tickled. For some reason, he was terribly ticklish. Heeseung was always gentle with him, but his tickles were powerful. Jake didn’t think Jongseong had decided if he liked being tickled or not.
He didn’t lash out anymore, but he went to Heeseung and poked him shyly, perhaps trying to provoke him into a little tickle fight.
“Not this early in the morning.” Jake warned.
Jongseong had once wet himself during a tickle session and he didn’t want a repeat of that chaos.
Heeseung picked Jongseong up instead and held him with one arm as he disappeared into the bathroom. Jake felt confident with Heeseung dealing with Jongseong for the time being. Now he had to check on his other little crazies.
“What did you do to Jongseong, hm?” he asked as Ni-ki darted past him into the kitchen.
He didn’t get a response so he headed into the bedroom.
Jungwon was up and dressed already. He was very efficient and disciplined for a seven-year-old. He sat on the floor with his light blue backpack, going through its contents meticulously.
Sunoo on the other hand, was still as crazy and energetic as always even at age nine. He had gotten to bed late the night before with how he was bouncing off the walls. Now he sat in bed still, his hair a mess and eyes bleary.
“Are you regretting your decision to try to get out of bedtime?” Jake asked, sitting beside him.
Sunoo fell sideways to lay on his lap. His floppy puppy dog ears were soft against Jake’s fingers as he tamed his bed head. He took a moment to rub his ears but stopped before he could drift back to sleep.
“Time to get ready for school!” he told the sleepy puppy hybrid. “Can you get dressed and come get breakfast?"
Sunoo yawned but pushed himself up. Even though he was tired, he loved school. Jake had faith he would be able to get ready on his own.
He captured Jungwon’s hand in his as he left the room. Jungwon was a kitten hybrid which meant he tended to care for his personal hygiene himself. His hair was already brushed and Jake suspected his teeth were probably clean as well. He looked down at him fondly, the pointy black ears on top of his head swiveling around by the second.
He was a very perceptive kitten. He was constantly noticing things and being aware of his surroundings.
He tugged his hand out of Jake’s grasp to join Ni-ki in the small living room area. Ni-ki was also eight, same as Sunoo, but he tended to act much older. He was the self-pronounced leader of their ragtag little pack. Other than Jake of course. Jake was in charge and he knew it, as he had to learn that he must listen to Heeseung and Jake.
“What are you up to?” Jake asked, pleased that he was ready for the day as well.
“I’m tying my shoelaces fancy.” he replied seriously.
Jake couldn’t see, but he assumed it was harmless, so he started to make breakfast for all of them.
After a little while, Jungwon became tired of watching Ni-ki and joined in helping make breakfast. He was a good helper as always. He was an especially good taste tester.
Jake handed him a strawberry and watched him eat it. His reactions were always the cutest for no reason at all. He smacked his lips a little and looked so intensely focused, his petal pink lips traced over by his tongue to catch any stray juice.
His sharp canines were growing pointier by the day. Especially because he was a black cat. Black cats had longer fangs than other cats.
Jake was going to hand him another strawberry when he had finished the first, but Heeseung entered the room instead. Jungwon’s concentration was broken as Heeseung set down Jongseong.
Jungwon had imprinted on Heeseung when he was younger. Their bond was truly unbreakable and it seemed to grow stronger every day. Jungwon absolutely adored Heeseung and worshipped the ground he walked on.
He forgot about the strawberries and rushed to Heeseung; arms lifted to be held. Heeseung easily picked him up even though he was getting kinda big to be held like a baby. He was still small for his age so it was alright.
Heeseung let him rub his head all over his neck, scenting him like he did every morning.
“Jongseong and I agreed not to slam anymore doors.” Heeseung told Jake as he reached for a strawberry for himself.
“Oh yeah? We’ll see how long that lasts.” Jake teased.
He could hear Jungwon purring as the two stood next to him. Jungwon had melted against Heeseung, his arms around his neck and his cheek pressed to his shoulder.
“You’re adorable.” Jake told him, tapping his nose as he went to set the table.
As if on cue, the other little boy who had imprinted onto him came over and pointed down at his shoe. He only had one on one bare foot. Why? Jake couldn’t tell you.
“What did you do to your shoelace?” he asked, mildly concerned.
“I made it fancy.” Ni-ki said proudly, waving his foot around.
“It looks very fancy. But you’re missing your sock. And your other shoe and sock pair.” Jake said, reaching down to rumple his hair. “We’ll fix it later. Sit down and have breakfast.”
Ni-ki had imprinted on Jake surprisingly, after quite a rough battle to tame him down. He was far more animalistic than the other boys and sometimes it was hard to deal with. A flood of tears had been cried, but the smiles and laughter definitely outweighed the sadness.
Their bond wasn’t quite as deep as Jungwon and Heeseung’s. Purely because Ni-ki had bonded with him when he was older and had to share the attention of three other hybrids. Not only that, he had assumed an alpha role even as a little pup and he didn’t feed into his vulnerable puppy side as much. That was another thing they were working on.
Jake still loved him just the same.
The one who had imprinted on Jake quite earnestly was Jongseong. He had become fiercely attached, to the point where they had to work to wean him off of a seriously codependent relationship. Jake had hoped he would bond with Sunghoon, but Sunghoon was a different species of hybrid. Hybrids tended to reject imprinting on different species, as could be assumed. It was an ingrained survival tactic. Somehow, he imprinted on a human instead. That human being Jake.
Sunghoon was originally going to take Jongseong, but after a little while of hesitant bonding, they all agreed that Jongseong was set on Jake. Sunghoon was still around, living a floor below them. He had his own little pack to take care of now.
Jake looked over his unconventional family as they ate breakfast. He loved each of them so dearly sometimes he felt his heart could explode.
“I’ve gotta head to work.” Heeseung said, standing from the table. “I’ll be back before dinner.”
Jungwon abandoned his breakfast to do his goodbye routine with Heeseung. Pretty much just cling to him until he went out the door.
Heeseung did construction work, the projects varying. Most of it involved rebuilding their little community to support everyone efficiently.
“Okay, gently toss your plates in the sink and then get your shoes on.” Jake directed once Heeseung was gone. “Time to get going!”
Jake and Heeseung had gone through a lot. They hadn’t seen themselves being in their little colony, but circumstances had forced them there. Turns out it was the best thing that could have happened to them.
He helped Jongseong tug on his shoes while the other boys got their backpacks and jackets. After a chaotic few minutes, everyone was ready to go.
Jake dropped his hands down for Jongseong and Jungwon to hold and they were off. Off to school. Something Jake hadn’t though they would have the luxury of having.
Jake adored the little school. It wasn’t anything fancy by any means, but it was bright and happy and it was the splash of hope they all needed. The older children above grade school learned somewhere else, so it was only little ones at the school. There were only a handful of kids, maybe fifteen at the most. A mix of hybrids and human children. They didn’t believe in segregation there, though they did hold hybrids to a different standard.
Jake was still coming to terms with what was expected of hybrids versus the human children. Similar to Sunghoon’s approach, hybrids were considered children to be treasured, but their societal role was to be submissive to humans. It was hard to find a balance. Especially as the way that Jake and Heeseung treated them in the home differed from how they were treated in the rest of the colony.
“Ni-ki!”
Jake was snapped out of his thoughts by Ni-ki stepped his whole foot into a puddle of muddy water.
“Get out of there!” Jake groaned, reaching to pull him away.
Jongseong squeaked in surprise as he accidentally got dragged closer because Jake used the same hand that was holding his to tug Ni-ki out of the puddle.
“You’ll track mud in the school. Don’t do that.” Jake said sternly.
Ni-ki had already tuned him out, running ahead to grab a stick on the side of the road.
Jake huffed and kept walking with Jongseong and Jungwon on each hand. Jungwon was happy to trot along with his backpack bouncing on his back. Jongseong liked to complain and beg to be held even though Jake knew he wasn’t really tired. If he had enough energy to chase the other boys during playtime, he had enough stamina to make it to school.
Still, he tried to appeal to Jake by dragging his feet and panting like he was being forced to go beyond his limit. Jake snorted at his antics and kept him moving along.
Sunoo was a total chatterbox, blabbing away to Ni-ki and Jungwon in turn. Jongseong was too moody in the morning to get a reaction from.
“Jake!”
He turned his head to see a familiar friendly face heading towards them from the side street.
Jake waved as best he could with his hand holding Jungwon’s. Jongseong copied him though Jake doubted he knew who he was waving to.
The black-haired boy who approached was much taller than Jake and had a sweet, dimpled smile. He was one of the teachers at the school. Jake had met him when Ni-ki had gotten in trouble for biting. Luckily, that incident was in the past.
Besides Soobin, was a little boy Jungwon’s age. He was a human boy, no ears sitting on his head. His name was Taehyun and he was the sweetest little child Jake had ever seen, other than his own of course. But Taehyun didn’t appear to be able to so much as raise his voice or throw a tantrum if he wanted to. He was polite and shy but also very well-mannered no matter the situation.
Taehyun and Jungwon were friends of sorts. Both of them were kind of shy, but they sat together at lunch and played with crayons during craft time. Jake had once found them sitting on the school steps together, Jungwon’s hand held in Taehyun’s. It was because Jungwon was worried about Jake being late to pick him up. Taehyun sweetly comforted him without sharing a lot of words.
“Hi Soobin. How is your morning so far?” Jake asked when they got close.
Taehyun ran lightly over to Jungwon’s side to walk next to him. Jongseong started walking sideways, trying to see what was happening on the other side of Jake.
“We had a good morning.” Soobin said cheerfully. “Taehyun was super excited to see Jungwon.”
They both glanced at the two boys, now taking turns whispering to each other. Jongseong was stumbling over himself trying to walk and get in their business at the same time. Jake squeezed his hand warningly.
Sunoo and Ni-ki were far ahead at that point, but the school was at the end of the block so Jake let them be.
“How is Heeseung?” Soobin asked kindly.
He had met Heeseung once. There was a showcase night that Jake had absolutely despised, that Heeseung had come to as well. The night was meant for the kids to show off their artwork they had been working on to their parents or guardians. Hybrids weren’t included though. Jake had no idea until he was sitting there that they wouldn’t get to see Sunoo, Ni-ki, or Jungwon’s art.
The three boys had sat patiently, with their hands on their laps and their feet tucked under them like the other hybrids as their classmates presented. At one point, Sunoo had shifted onto sitting on his bum and a teacher had swiftly tapped him on the shoulder to correct his posture.
Heeseung had to physically put his hand on Jake’s thigh to keep him from making a scene right there. It was unfair the certain expectations they had for hybrids. After the showcase, Jake was fuming. Heeseung had sent him outside to cool off while he interacted with the other parents and teachers.
That’s how Soobin had met him. Jake didn’t blame Soobin really for some of the unfair rules in the school. The rules were the same all over the colony, so he couldn’t really bend them for Jake. Still, Jake wished he could advocate for his kids better.
“Heeseung’s doing well. He’s been working such long hours every day though. Sometimes he doesn’t make it home for dinner.” Jake admitted.
“I’m sorry to hear that.” Soobin sympathized. “He works doing building, correct?”
“Yeah. He reinforces the perimeter, does infrastructure remodeling, and fixes things here and there where needed.” Jake replied.
Heeseung needed a physical job to keep him busy, but the job could be draining at times. With the lack of heavy machinery and computer automated help for jobs, everything took a little more manpower.
“I hope he can find a good work balance.” Soobin said as they came up to the school entrance. “Jungwon talks about him sometime. They have a close bond.”
“They do.” Jake smiled fondly. “I don’t know what they would do without each other.”
They both watched the boys run up to the open door of the school. Jongseong tried to run after them but got shy immediately and kept holding Jake’s hand.
“You go on ahead. I can check the kids in.” Soobin said kindly.
“Thank you! Have a good day!”
Jake and Jongseong both waved goodbye to him and then headed off to where Jake worked.
Within the colony, there was a large hospital building that they used for their medical needs. Only a fourth of the entire hospital was used, but it was more than enough for the small population.
It was split somewhat roughly into two sections. The larger section was for the humans and the much smaller was for the hybrids. Jake technically worked with both. He had nursing experience with humans primarily, but also knew a thing or two about hybrids. Even more now that he had his own.
Since there weren’t many well-versed in hybrid anatomy, he shared his time helping the hybrid specialist on the hybrid side. His name was Yeonjun and, though he was human, he knew hybrids incredibly well. He handled most of the hybrid issues and handed them off to Jake if there was something physical that he would prefer Jake to manage quickly. Sunghoon, Jake’s other close friend worked alongside him. Yeonjun was kind and friendly. Jake liked working with them both.
Yeonjun had a four-year-old hybrid that stayed at the clinic like Jongseong did. He was an adorable ferret hybrid with rounded ears and the sweetest face. He was albino, which meant his hair and ears were white as snow, contrasting with his dark brown eyes.
He was very unique, right down to his name. Hueningkai.
Hueningkai and Jongseong spent the days together in a play pen of sorts that Yeonjun had made. It had a nesting area, a play house that was large enough for the kids to have ample space in, and most importantly, a ton of toys.
When Jake had first tried to initiate Jongseong into the play space, he was overwhelmed by Hueningkai. The ferret hybrid was extremely curious, endlessly hyper, and intent on climbing any surface available. It was his nature with a mix of personality and Jongseong was totally not down for it.
He used to cry when Jake dropped him off, even though they spent half of the day within eyesight of each other. He would press his face up to the bars of the gate and pitifully reach for strangers passing by. Jake was a bit embarrassed by his behavior at first, but he eventually adjusted.
Now, they got along wonderfully. Jongseong had his own nest beside Hueningkai’s burrow. They shared toys pretty well. Hueningkai was playful but wasn’t naughty. They quickly became best buddies.
Jongseong separated from him easily when he dropped him off in his play pen. He immediately jumped on Hueningkai who was hiding in their nest and let out excited yips.
“Good morning.” Yeonjun said, rounding the corner with his morning cup of coffee.
Where he got coffee, Jake didn’t know, but he knew he practically lived on it in the morning.
Yeonjun’s other hybrid went to the same school as Jake’s older kids, but their paths didn’t cross. Yeonjun’s hybrid was ten so he went to school earlier and got out later than the younger kids.
He had heard rumors whispered around that Yeonjun had a lynx, a rare breed of cat. He wondered if he had always had the hybrid or if he got it after the downfall of society for lack of better words.
“I somehow don’t have any appointments for the next two hours.” Yeonjun told him as they walked to the front desk. “I guess we both get a little break.”
“Fingers crossed for no emergencies!” Jake laughed. “I’m glad we have a moment of time though. I would love to ask you a question.”
“Shoot.” Yeonjun nodded, sitting down in his chair.
Jake sat down across from him.
“So you know a lot about hybrids. I mean- being a specialist as well as having your own, right?” Jake continued.
“I would say I do.”
Jake flushed a little, realizing it was a dumb question but Yeonjun didn’t comment.
“I actually had a question about one of my little ones. Sunoo.” Jake said. “He’s a puppy hybrid, nothing fancy. I don’t know his breeding history but I don’t think it’s important in this situation.”
Yeonjun nodded for him to go on.
“He was injured and his scent glands were damaged. With other hybrids in the house, he started to become overwhelmed hormonally and got really sick. I… removed his scent glands.”
Jake looked nervously at Yeonjun, guilt playing at the edges of his mind.
“I know he can’t scent normally anymore, or at all. I worry I did him a disadvantage and he was too young to consent.”
Yeonjun nodded seriously, taking time to process before speaking.
“I think you did what the situation required. Losing their scent glands isn’t always devastating for hybrids. In fact, it’s becoming more and more common to remove them at birth. It dampens their animalistic tendencies and removes the need for hormone control later on. You may have unintentionally saved yourself a lot of extra trouble.”
“But what about him like- fitting in with others? Will he feel left out?”
“While that is a possibility, hybrid bonds are something deep that we can’t fully understand. He won’t be shunned if you are worried about that.” Yeonjun answered.
“To be honest, one of my other hybrids, Ni-ki, pushed him away for a while. They’re fine now, but for a while he wanted nothing to do with him. That’s what I’m afraid of…”
“Maybe was Ni-ki raised to be more animalistic? Maybe he saw it as a sort of betrayal.” Yeonjun suggested.
“Maybe… I guess I just worry too much.”
“It’s good to worry sometimes. Means you care about them.” Yeonjun assured him.
“I do.” Jake smiled shyly.
“If you’re worried about it, you can always bring him in. I can do a quick psychological checkup as well as physical. At this age it’s easy to identify if anything is off behaviorally.”
“That would honestly be great.” Jake nodded.
Yeonjun smiled and started rifling through paperwork.
Jake pushed his way back to his station and reviewed some charts he had left from the day before.
“Jake. How familiar are you with rabies?” Yeonjun spoke up not long after.
“Rabies? Um, I’ve never dealt with a case but I know it’s fatal.” he replied. “Why?”
“Read this.”
Yeonjun rolled his chair towards him and handed him a piece of paper.
“What is it?”
“Status report from a colony pretty far away. It’s their medical report but it was included in their overall communication with us.” Yeonjun replied. “Take a look at it and let me know what you think.”
Jake scanned the paper for details. The more he read, the further his frown set in.
“It says there are fourteen cases of rabies. How is that possible?” Jake asked. “I’ve never heard of so many being infected at once.”
“Exactly. And transmission isn’t like the common cold. It occurs through direct contact, usually from being bitten by a rabid animal but rarely from non-bite exposures.”
“Humans don’t really bite each other even when they do have rabies.” Jake observed. “How is it spreading?”
Yeonjun took the paper back, his face grim.
“Hybrids. The colony said in their additional report that they banished all of the hybrids from the colony, just in case they’re infected. All of the human cases occurred from being bitten by a hybrid.”
“That’s… terrible. It sounds absurd though. I didn’t know hybrids could get rabies.”
“Humans and animals can. It only makes sense hybrids can.”
“That’s true…” Jake nodded.
“It’s tragic. All those hybrids vulnerable now. And the humans having to isolate.” Yeonjun shook his head. “But that aside, I had a follow-up question about the rabbit hybrid you checked last week.”
Jake fielded his question and then continued to work until lunchtime. Yeonjun and him ate with Hueningkai and Jongseong outside. It was a bit of a struggle to get Jongseong to actually sit and eat before he played around, but somehow Jake managed it.
When it was time to pick the other kids up from school, Jake secretly took one more peek at the rabies report before leaving. He tried to push it out of his mind but it lingered even as he walked with Jongseong to the school.
He picked up Sunoo and Ni-ki first since they were in the same class due to their age. Jungwon was younger so he was in a separate class. He waved to Soobin as they left, the day feeling productive and structured in ways it hadn’t been for a long time.
On the way home, Jake picked up their rations for the week. Money was useless in the world now so he was paid in food, personal items, and services. Heeseung and him had painstakingly budgeted out what they needed and how much they needed to work to survive comfortably. They had a good system and had built up a lot of credit they could use in emergencies.
Jake loved their little colony. It was everything he could hope for in the current state of the world. It felt like being in society again.
Dinner he was able to cook meat. In the farming section, they raised cows and chicken and even farmed fish in manmade ponds. They had such a vegetarian based diet for so long, it was good to have a wider variety of foods. Jake loved to cook for his family. Nothing beat cooking at home while the kids played in the living room at the end of a long day.
There was something that could dampen his mood though. Heeseung being late.
He was late more and more often recently due to work. He missed dinners and sometimes missed putting the kids to bed. Jake tried to be understanding, but he didn’t prefer it. He was disappointed as he put the kids to sleep and he still hadn’t come home.
It was late in the evening after he had cleaned the entire kitchen area that Heeseung finally came home.
“You missed dinner.” Jake said firmly. “Again.”
“I’m sorry.” Heeseung replied. “It was a long job today.”
He sounded tired so Jake had compassion, but he didn’t fully let go of his frustration. He felt like it was righteous. The kids wanted and needed him around. Jake sure needed the help as well.
“Are any of them still awake?” Heeseung asked, his mind always on the kids first.
“Jungwon probably. He was lagging getting ready waiting for you.” Jake said to drive the point home.
He sighed down at the plate of dinner he had made for Heeseung. Today wasn’t so bad, but he missed Heeseung. He wished he was there when Ni-ki threw his apple slice at Sunoo. Or when Jungwon started to get insecure about his teeth compared to the other cat hybrids. They started to poke out slightly over his bottom lip and kids pointed it out.
He zoned out a little bit as he thought through the day. He didn’t realize Heeseung was back in the kitchen until the plate was being pulled from his hand.
“Sit with me.” Heeseung asked. “Tell me how your day was.”
“Busy.” Jake said, sliding into the chair next to him. “There were a lot of patients in today. Mostly for doing dumb stuff.”
“Sounds rough.” Heeseung grinned.
“At least Jongseong was on his best behavior. He built this super tall tower of blocks. I was impressed.”
“How tall?” Heeseung asked.
“Like… six blocks tall.” Jake shrugged. “But the concentration he had. Impressive.”
Heeseung grinned happily and Jake rested his cheek on his hand to watch him eat.
“I’ll try to be home on time from now on.” he said sincerely, his chocolate brown eyes sealing his promise to Jake. “I don’t want to miss any of their moments.”
Jake put his hand on his arm. His heart was warm knowing how much Heeseung had come to love the boys. It hadn’t always been that way. They had an up and down journey with lots of intense moments along the way. It had all worked out though, and for the better.
“Are you too tired for me to cut your hair tonight?” Jake asked.
“I’ll be fine if I can take a shower first. I need a good wash.”
Jake waited for him to finish eating to take his plate and wash it while he hopped in the shower. When he emerged, smelling of vanilla and a hint of daisies, Jake was ready. He moved a chair into the bathroom and set a small towel over Heeseung’s bare shoulders to make clean up easier. His eyes drifted the faint scar on Heeseung’s side, the evidence of a past wound he had received when they had been driven away from their original home.
A small part of him would miss Heeseung’s long hair. He loved how it fell into perfect waves that framed his face when he dragged his hand through them. He would miss the soft curls that brushed his face when Heeseung held him close at night. He would especially miss the small ponytail he would sometimes make when he couldn’t be bothered with it.
“Having second thoughts?” Heeseung asked, drawing him out of his daze.
Jake realized he had been running his hands through his hair hypnotically for a good minute.
“Shouldn’t I be asking you that?” he replied, reaching for his scissors.
“Jongseong will be disappointed he has nothing to tug on when he’s mad at me.” Heeseung teased.
“I’m sure he’ll find a way.” Jake rolled his eyes.
He was honestly not bad at cutting hair. He cut all of their hair including his own and they had even received some compliments about it. He wasn’t cutting Heeseung’s hair terribly short, just a slight undercut with bangs that came down to just above his eyebrows.
Heeseung started to fall asleep while he worked. He didn’t try to wake him, just moved his head gently as needed. It wasn’t too difficult.
He did wake him up at the end, after he had cleaned up a little. Heeseung told him he did a good job as always. Then Jake was hustling him into bed.
“I’ll try to be more helpful.” Heeseung murmured tiredly
“You’re very helpful.” Jake assured him fondly. “Now sleep. You’re so tired you’re practically dead on your feet.”
Heeseung drifted off within a minute and Jake realized he had already forgiven him. It wasn’t worth staying angry with your partner against things they couldn’t really control.
He slept feeling content.
In the morning, he wasn’t feeling so hot. He was tired and felt off. He couldn’t pin it down but he hoped it wasn’t a headache. He had suffered a major head injury and the effects still lingered.
He made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for breakfast, not willing to make a fancy breakfast.
“You feeling okay?” Heeseung asked, touching his elbow softly.
“I think I’m tired?” Jake response was a question itself. “I honestly just feel a little muddled.”
“Do you think I need to stay home? I don’t want you pushing yourself if you’re not feeling well.”
“I need to take the kids to school.” Jake replied, taking the crust Sunoo handed to him without thinking. He didn’t like to eat the bread crust.
Heeseung removed it from his hand and gently squeezed his arm.
“Look at me Jake.”
He looked up at Heeseung for a moment, having a tiny bit of a hard time focusing.
“You’re not okay, Jake. Let me take over.”
“Don’t say that.” Jake sighed. “I’m fine. I want to be fine.”
“Sorry, you don’t have a choice.” Heeseung replied, reaching around him to keep Jungwon from hitting his head on the edge of the counter as he dropped his plate in the sink.
Jake groaned but let him take control.
His headaches were debilitating and always a pain to manage, but he was grateful he had access to medication now. It was limited, and the best he got was painkillers, but it was something. His headaches that had once been filled with sharp pains and deep stabbing hurt had faded into a dull ache.
“Why don’t you go lay down.” Heeseung prompted. “I’ll take the kids to school.”
Jake nodded, reaching for Jongseong, who was already tugging on the bottom of his shirt. Heeseung intercepted him halfway, picking up the fox hybrid himself.
“Go rest. I’ll take him with me.”
“I don’t think so.” Jake managed to laugh once. “He’ll scream the whole way.”
“He can manage for one day.” Heeseung replied optimistically, even as Jongseong threw his body to the side, his fingers reaching for Jake.
“He really can’t.” Jake replied honestly. “It’s really not a bad one. He can rest with me.”
Heeseung finally relented and let Jongseong cling to Jake. He was so attached it was crazy. Jake knew he would grow out of it one day. He was still young. Even as a human child, he would act younger as his animal side developed.
He gave the other boys a hug goodbye before they left. Ni-ki lingered for a moment, holding onto him sweetly for longer than usual. Jake grinned and rubbed his ears gently.
“I’m sorry.” Heeseung said compassionately, gently brushing his hair out of his face for a moment. “Wish I could make you feel better.”
“Go.” Jake grinned. “I’ll be fine.”
Heeseung nodded and reached for Jungwon’s hand.
“Heeseung!” Jake called out before he closed the door. “You’re very helpful. I love you.”
Heeseung smiled and gave him and Jongseong a small wave before closing the door behind him. Jake sighed contentedly and gave Jongseong a little snuggle.
“Are you going to be a good boy for me today?” he asked.
Jongseong gave him a confident thumbs up in response.
“I love you too, little one.”