Backward Predation ✓

FOURTEEN

"Are you feeling okay again, little one?" Taehyung whispers, unwrapping his arms after a long minute or two.

It stays silent.

His striped ears perk forward, picking up on the steady sound of small breaths.

There is no way he fell asleep like this. Tell me he didn't─

"Fuck, bunny.." Taehyung groans under his breath, only now realising the boy's entire weight is leaned against him, his ears limply hanging.

"You can not possibly trust me like this.."

He sighs, yet can't help himself but to gently brush his hand through his light brown, fluffy locks.

After a few seconds he carefully shuffles out of bed, managing to do so without waking him up. He exits the room, heading over towards Mrs. Hartley.

"I found out why he is here.." He sighs out, rubbing his forehead.

"Oh, you did?" She looks at him, surprised and curious.

"Apparently, he got severely bullied back in his own territory. It got to the point where he couldn't take it anymore, so he ran away. He never even noticed he passed the border until he saw predators walking around, causing him to panic and flee. Eventually he ended up in front of this house."

"Oh no, that poor thing.." She clutches her hand over her chest. "But why did he ring the doorbell if he is that scared of predators?"

Taehyung pressed his lips to thin lines.
"I don't know.. I guess he was just too tired from running and didn't know what to do."

They continued to talk about a few other topics, before a very excited Sung-ho came in view again.

"Taehyung-hyung! Can we play now? It's 'later!'" He asks happily, his tail wagging behind him.

The tiger laughs, "Of course. You've waited long enough."

And just like that, he ended up 'losing' all the games the toddler wanted to play.

An hour struck by and at some point, his eyes rose up towards the staircase at the sound of soft footsteps nearing him.

"Oh, bunny! You're awake. Did you have a nice nap?" Taehyung asks, desperately trying to swallow the shock from what happened earlier back.

"I did, hyungie. But when I didn't see you, I thought you left me.." Jeongguk mumbles.

Why does he make it sound like that's such a sad thing? I can't always be around him.. I doubt he'd even want that. Right?

"I won't leave without telling you, alright? I promise," The tiger retorts, trying to discard his confusion about the entire situation. "But I was actually just preparing to head out. I still have quite a few things to do back at my dorm."

He can see Jeongguk's mood instantly drop along with his ears.

"Oh.." The boy whispers, staring at his feet.

"I'll be back tomorrow, alright? Can you try to join the Hartley's for dinner and breakfast? I want you to eat well. You'll realise they aren't scary!"

The bunny pouts, "M─maybe, but they're not you.."

Taehyung's heart jolts, but he clears his throat realising both of Sung-ho's parents were watching them with furrowed brows.

"They're even better than me, bun. You're safer with them." The elder says, causing the younger to frown with a sad glint in his eyes.

"Don't go, please.." Jeongguk whispers as he follows the tiger towards the front door. He holds onto his sleeve, not wanting to let go.

"Bunny, I have to. I don't live here and I have responsibilities.. I promised I'll be back tomorrow. Trust me, okay?" The tiger says, feeling his heart pulse.

Why are you acting like this, bun? You shouldn't be. Especially not with me.

"O─okay, Taehyungie," The boy eventually says, letting go. "I'll see you tomorrow!" He tries to smile, yet his ears spill how he really feels.

"Bunny.." Taehyung whispers gently, not knowing what to do at the sight of the younger taking haste steps back, a small sniffle escaping his throat.

The younger then turns around, speeding off towards the spare room. The next thing the tiger hears is the door closing.

Feeling guilty, he sighs as he exits the house and drags himself to his car.

When he knocked on the door of the Hartley's the next day, it was opened by the husband who gave him a small smile.

"How is he?" Taehyung asks, but deeply frowns seeing the man shake his head.

"We only picked up on distressed noises. He did come out of the room, but only for a very, very short amount of time. He was way too scared of us."

It doesn't take long after that before the tiger is jogging up the stairs, knocking on the bunny's door.

"Little one? Are you alright?" He voices, opening it and stepping in.

What he didn't expect, was the boy crashing into him at the speed of light.

"Tiger!" The bunny happily giggles, wrapping his arms around his waist to engulf him in a sudden hug.

The elder freezes, attempting to chuckle even though he's shocked.

"Hey, little bun. How are you doing today?"

"'M alright again because you're here." Jeongguk shyly admits, feeling safety, security and warmth wash over him.

He glances at his own waist, eyes widening slightly at the sight of the tiger's tail tightly wrapped around it.

His hand trails down as if he wanted to touch it, instead of escape from it. As if he was drawn to it, mesmerised. Almost as if it belonged there.

Taehyung's eyes follow the boy's gaze when he turned silent. His face pales once he notices what happened, immediately detaching himself from the prey.

He clears his throat, coughing.

"Did you eat well like I told you to yesterday?" He voices, causing the bunny's eyes to snap up.

"I─I tried, tiger! I came out of the room and ate a few bites!" He answers, his white ears fully perked up and his nose twitching.

"I did what you told me! A─are you proud of me?" He asks, his orbs shining with hope.

Taehyung swallows dryly, the worry he felt before intensifying up until the point it made him slightly nauseous. Yet his heart can't help but flutter and his hand trembles behind his back from wanting to reach out.

Forget it, Taehyung. Don't even think about it. Do your instincts control you or do you control your nature? Get a grip.

"I am, Koo. I'm really proud of you. You did well!" He says, watching as the bunny's expression turns elated and his ears twitch.

"As a reward, I got you a few things. How does that sound?" He adds, revealing the bag he was holding behind his back.