Backward Predation ✓

TWENTY-ONE

"My roommate's name is Jimin. He's a red fox hybrid and he's been my best friend for as long as I can remember. He's really likeable." Taehyung answers, chuckling to himself.

Jeongguk averts his eyes to the floor, feeling his heart drop again.

"Is he.. is he mated?" He stammers, a nagging feeling nipping at him from within.

"No, he isn't. Not that I know of, at least. I mean, I'm his best friend, if there's a cute fox in his life I'm sure he would tell me." The tiger grins.

The bunny could only give a short, quiet hum in response.

They spent the rest of the afternoon playing games together, both of them seemingly having forgotten all about the earlier misunderstanding.

Taehyung made the both of them dinner, and afterwards went to head towards his car to grab a bag of personal items he brought with him so he could comfortably spend the night.

"Hey, bun? I'm just going to change into something more comfortable, alright? I'll be back within a few." He says, heading towards the bathroom once he heard an "Okay, hyungie!"

When he came back, he wasn't surprised to see Jeongguk also in his new pyjamas. He laughs, "You're quick, bun."

"'Just wanted to be comfortable too, Tae. I'm happy you're staying the night." He shyly admits.

You shouldn't be, bunny. You should want me far away from you.

"Want to know a secret?" The ravenette voices, causing the other to nod in curiosity.

"I'm really happy to be staying the night here as well." He grins, swallowing the lump in his throat back and concentrating on his happily skipping heart.

"It's getting late, Koo. Are you tired?" He asks.

"Not really.. what about you?"

"Honestly? A little. It's been a rather long day for me. I was up really early." The tiger shrugs.

The bunny walks closer towards him and grabs his hand, "In that case, follow me." He smiles, tugging the male upstairs.

Taehyung's eyes start furrowing more and more the closer they get to Jeongguk's room.

The boy leads him in, closing the door behind them and gently pushing the tiger on the bed.

"What're you doing, Koo?" Taehyung chuckles, finding his eyes.

"Tucking you in!" The bunny happily giggles, his ear twitching.

"That's really adorable, bun, but I'm supposed to sleep on the couch." He retorts.

"No, I want you here. I want you with me." The bunny exclaims, something dripping from his words Taehyung doesn't know what to call.

Or, rather, doesn't dare to name.

The tiger makes a mental note of the fact that Jeongguk doesn't seem wholeheartedly discouraged by what happened earlier. The longer he looks at him, the more it actually starts to look like he's trying even harder to be close to him now.

He tries to make himself comfortable in bed, pushing himself to the farthest edge to leave enough room for the younger.

They lay next to each other in silence for a moment, until Jeongguk speaks up, his voice ever so tiny and unsure.

"Taehyungie?"

"Yes, Koo?"

"H─how does your kind show affection to the person they want to mate with?" He mumbles, teeth nibbling on his bottom lip.

Taehyung's heart starts beating faster. He tries to see it as an innocent, curious question, but can't help overthinking it.

"Predators are usually territorial and claiming, aggressive. I'm not sure what kind of predator you're wondering about, but it depends," He pauses for a second, unable to stop himself from saying the next thing.

"When it comes down to tigers, when there is something we like a lot, we tend to entirely want it for ourselves. If it's a person, we constantly think about them, only want to be around them. Jealousy is heavily present and all we can think about is mark them as ours, be close to them, touch them. We want everyone to know the other belongs to us. Depending on the species, the mating ritual is different. It also differs per person, of course. It doesn't entirely depend on the animal side." He tries to explain vaguely, hoping it sounded general since most of the things weren't particularly linked to tigers, but h─

"What about your kind?" He adds.

"Bunnies are territorial too. Just like you said it differs per person, but scenting, also known as chinning, is really important. T─the other needs to smell like us. We are really affectionate with the one we like, we want to be touched. We want to belong to the other. We keep each other safe." He says, growing nervous at the realisation of something.

At this point, both of them felt like they kept on saying 'we' to mask 'I,' even though they weren't sure why.

"Tigers also tend to keep grooming their mate. Our tongue is quite rough, because of our diet. It's a bit like scenting, but more intimate." Taehyung voices, wanting to respond to that part of the younger for some reason.

The bunny hums, turning his head to the side to stare at the tiger's side profile and ears.

"What kind of tiger does a tiger like? O─or perhaps another species.." Jeongguk whispers, feeling insecurity wash over him.

Is he asking me what my type is? And if I'd consider mating with someone who isn't a tiger?

Taehyung almost chuckles because of the choice of words, but his fiercely beating heart and almost spinning head in worries didn't allow him to.

His mouth runs dry.

"I don't know.." He mutters, suddenly realising the tension in the room seems to be building up, growing warmer.

"Hyung?" The bunny calls out, feeling his breathing pick up.

"Yes, bunny?" The ravenette reacts.

"C─can you show me what 'grooming' is? I'm a visual learner.." The boy whispers, feeling his skin grow hot.

Taehyung presses his eyes shut for a moment, loudly exhaling through his nose. He clenches and unclenches his jaw, wanting to laugh in adoration and the sneakiness of the other─ but not being able to do so because of the seriousness and intimacy of the action he wanted him to perform.

Both of them at this point knew Jeongguk wasn't actually curious about it, he just wanted the tiger to scent him back, show affection in the same way he has. To get him to do such things. To get him to─

"Bunny.." Taehyung lowly rasps out in almost a warning tone, reopening his eyes.

But when he tilts his head to the side to see the said boy staring at him looking ever so desperate, he knew he was a goner.