Wolf Moon

ห้า

Pha kept to the side as he watched Yo open the small gift box that was the next gift. He mentally crossed his fingers that Ming hadn't been yanking his tail.

Yo gasped - not audible to human ears - and took out the simple, black ribbon choker. A delicate, silver cat charm dangled from the front. "Oooh... It's so pretty...." Yo cooed under his breath, looking at the choker from every angle before securing it around his neck.

That was when Pha strode over with the bag of salmon sushi in his hand. Instead of letting his sweet kitten suffer through those nasty lunch boxes that barely took the edge off a shifter's hunger, he was going to keep ordering as much food as the younger boy could eat. And all the salmon Yo could possibly want.

Yo's eyes flicked up to meet Pha's intent gaze. "P'Pha..." his voice was a low murmur, matching the softness and contentment in his eyes. "I love the necklace. Thank you."

"You don't need to thank me for a courting gift," Pha wasn't a smiley person, but he couldn't help himself around Yo.

"Still..." Yo trailed off, his cheeks flushing as Pha settled on the floor next to him and handed him the overfull bag. "Really??" Yo visibly lit up, making adorable grabby hands for the sushi. "Yum!"

"You're so cute."

Yo froze, blinking at Pha.

Pha mentally kicked himself. Dammit, Pha, now you've committed the same faux pas Beam has! Idiot!

Then he heard a quiet giggle. Yo's face had flushed even darker, his lower lip being lightly worried between his teeth as he shyly looked down at the floor. "Th-thank you, P'Pha."

"It's...okay?" Pha checked, uneasy at possibly insulting his future mate.

"Yes," Yo nodded firmly, peeking up at him before looking away again. "You're courting me with serious intentions of claiming me as your lifemate. That means you'll be family before long. Others might squawk about it, but I don't care. I..." he sucked in a deep breath. "I like being cute for you." He immediately covered his face with his hands. "Gah...I've never been so sappy before in my life!"

"Be sappy as much as you want," Pha gently tugged Yo's hands down so he could see that sweet face. He had to go back to the Engineering Faculty before long, and needed his daily dose of his kitten so he could keep going. "I don't mind. I actually like it."

Yo blinked rapidly, eyes wide like an owl's. "O-okay..."

Pha smiled gently. "Eat your lunch, sweetheart. You have a class after this."

"Y-yeah," Yo lightly shook himself, and dug into the sushi, making little noises of appreciation that had Pha struggling to control himself.

If they weren't in a room full of humans and had a bed nearby...

"Yo, you really like salmon that much?"

"Mmhmm..." Yo nodded as he hummed, chewing happily on a piece of sushi. "Very much. Dad says I got my taste for salmon from my mom. Now I have two people that spoil me with salmon!"

Pha's lips quirked in a semblance of a smile. If it had been anyone other than Yo's dad...Pha would've gone and made sure they knew about his claim. But it wasn't. So he couldn't. And wouldn't.

"I wonder if you'll eat even more while carrying our pups."

Yo froze again, staring at Pha with an unreadable expression.

Pha gazed back. Yo had to know Pha wanted children as soon as possible. Not while they were in school, of course, but right after. Pha had always wanted a big family, since his parents had only had himself and his little sister.