The Adventures of Cat and Kitten

Chapter 1

"...and this is the new studio that we recently built for our honours programme students," his guide said, leading him into a massive, brilliantly lit studio. "You can book it on the department website if the smaller one we assigned you isn't big enough."

Kwon Soonyoung looked around the room, eyebrows arching at the floor-to-ceiling mirrors, the state-of-the-art sound section, even the tiny little bar. It was as big as some stages he had seen, plus the whir of...

He cocked his head to the ceiling, sensitive ears catching the barely there sound of industrial quality HVAC systems. It was the sound that clued him in, but his nose that settled it. "Bio pumps?" he asked, using the slang term. "That's impressive, I didn't even notice as I walked in, but I guess such a prestigious institute would have them right?"

The wolf hybrid at his side wrinkled her nose. "We have a blend of all the secondary genders as dancers here," she said primly. "We believe in the freedom to pursue your dreams no matter what your biology is, as long as you can clearly communicate it. So yes... we have 'bio pumps'. As a master level student, you'll be expected to be run a class that has a mix as well. I hope that won't be a problem. You're an alpha yourself, right?"

Soonyoung grinned lazily at her. "It won't be a problem at all. And yes, I'm an alpha, but my momma raised me right. I would have been okay, even without them."

"It's been a long time since we last saw a tiger hybrid at the university," she murmured curiously. "We have the standard breakdowns here, of course, but very few large cats. In fact, the only other cat-type we have at the moment... ah, here one of them is. Kwon Soonyoung-ssi, meet Lee Jihoon-ssi. He's a double-major, Vocal Composition and Dance."

Soonyoung stared past her, narrow eyes widening. He half-thought it was a girl at first, despite what she said, but as the guy came close to them there was no disguising his masculinity, even if he was short enough to tuck his head in underneath Soonyoung's chin. He had soft, silvery-white hair that reminded him of a well-groomed Persian's, that and the native flexibility of a feline spine evident in the easy, relaxed pace he had. Pretty, so pretty, without being feminine. Add to that the direct glance he had and the strong line of his chin, and suddenly he was glad that the others couldn't smell him in here.

How many times in one's life did you literally meet your wettest fantasy?

Soonyoung wanted to jump on him and roll on him, not just to rub his scent all over him, but to adore him, because he was tiny and cute and perfect and seemingly didn't give any flying fucks if the fire in his eyes said anything.

"Lee Jihoon," the stranger said, sticking small hands into his pockets. "Mi-sun-ssi, is this the new guy?"

"Yep," Mi-sun-ssi said. "Tiger, can you believe it?"

Lee Jihoon smiled brilliantly. "I don't give a fuck if he's a sparrow as long as he can dance," he said cheerily.

Soonyoung's eyebrow twitched. "Better than you, shorty," he said rashly.

"What was that?" Lee Jihoon snarled back at him.

Mi-sun held up her hands. "I'm out," she announced on the spot. "You two sort this dominance display out, I'm late for Calculus anyway."

They kept staring at each other right until the door closed behind her. Soonyoung couldn't hold it any longer. He burst out laughing, throwing his head back. "Oh my god, why does that work on them every single time? Wolves, man. So touchy!"

Jihoon cackled, relaxing back on his heels. "They're naturally excitable," he explained. "One of my best friends is a wolf, and you'd swear that he's an actual puppy the way he yaps and runs around to try and defend his fucking harem."

Soonyoung choked on his spit. "His what?" he asked incredulously.

"Harem," Jihoon said easily. "He's got the hoarding instincts of a, ha, large cat. None of his fifteen thousand girlfriends seem to mind in the least. It's one of the great mysteries of life. So, tiger, right?"

Soonyoung nodded. "Tiger alpha. I hope that's not going to be a problem. I'm not a dick. You?"

Jihoon shrugged, small but powerful shoulders moving easily under his band t-shirt. "I'm enough of a dick for both of us," he said jokingly. "You really think you can out-dance me? Don't make the mistake of thinking I'm soft just because I look like this. You're not that special."

"Hardly," Soonyoung said, falling more in love with every second. "I think I can out-dance you because it's what I do. You wanna go, man? There's a sound machine right over there."

"If I win, I get the right to throw you at my friends so they stop cooing and asking me to act cute. It's demeaning."

But you are cute, Soonyoung wanted to say. So, so cute.

"If I win," he said thoughtfully, "I get to buy you coffee and call you cute."

Lee Jihoon's eyes flamed. "Bring it," he growled. "Or is your mouth the only thing that can move that fast?"

I'm in love, I'm in love, I'm in love, Soonyoung's heart chanted as he laughed out loud and went to pick a song.

He won. Of course he won. It was the closest thing ever though, taking them through five songs before Jihoon held up his hands and admitted defeat. Soonyoung was still grinning about it as they left the room. Between one step and the second, as they stepped outside into the sunlit corridor, Jihoon's scent smacked him through the face like a two-by-four. Yes, there was sweat, yes, there was soap and cologne and lotion and whatnot, but beneath it there was the smell of grass and trees, oddly tart, but laced with the druggingly sweet smell of sunlight on flowers, rich and fertile and made thick by exertion.

Holy fuck, his mind stumbled. He's an omega, dude. A feline omega. An unclaimed feline omega. What kind of ridiculous coincidence is this?Inhaling a shuddering breath, he pinched his eyes shut for a moment, trying to cope with that smell in his nose. He had wanted to roll all over him earlier, pinch his cheeks and baby him and call him cute. Now he wanted to do it in bed, or in the bath, or a million other places where he could bend him over and sink into him afterwards, make him cry out his name.

"Problem?" Jihoon's crisp voice came.

Soonyoung fought his eyes open and spotted the look on Lee Jihoon's face, measuring and just a little cruel and apprehensive. It was a complex look, one that caught him around the heart and squeezed. It was the look of a man giving him rope to hang himself, not because he wouldn't find back, not because he had some kind of non-consensual kink, but one that had to know how far he could press people, because he had been disappointed in the past and guarded himself fiercely from further hurt.

"I'm fine," he managed, and walked on. "Sorry about that."

He didn't spot the measuring look that Jihoon gave him, nor the tiny smile on his plush lips as he finally smiled and followed after.