Sheep in Wolf's Clothing [MARKHYUCK]

chapter eleven [raining cats and dogs]

taeyong stared down at his feet as jaehyun continued to ask him questions. the cat stayed silent and still. jaehyun ran a hand through his hair, looking at the seated feline. he sighed and crowded down to get into his line of view.

the cat's eyes trailed up to the meet the dog's. he quickly looked away, feeling embarrassed.

"why was that fox kicking you?"

"bad batch," taeyong said without other clarification. the cat took in a shaky breath. he tilted his head up to meet eyes with the concerned dog.

they looked at each other, studying one another, taking in each other's aura. the cat suddenly looked away causing for the dog to perk his ears.

taeyong stood up and began to let himself out. he wasn't one to cause a burden on someone else, especially a stranger. the dog barked in his direction, before a large hand wrapped around his small wrist, pulling him back. taeyong looked over his shoulder with dark eyes, making the dog released him. jaehyun avoided eye contact, but every few seconds he'd look up to catch a glance at the feline. he stepped back and started to explain himself,

"i'm not one to mix with drug dealers, but you were beaten up pretty bad-"

"i'm fine," taeyong interjected, effectively cutting off the dog.

jaehyun looked taken aback. he stepped closer with raised brows. he gave a light shove against the cat's chest and watched as taeyong cowered under the pressure. without a second to process, jaehyun ripped taeyong's shirt up, holding his shoulder in place. taeyong's ears drew back as he hissed and swatted at the dog.

"kitty, you are not fine,"

"don't fucking call me that!" taeyong screamed, becoming frustrated and anxious. he worked himself up to the point where he had tears brimming in his eyes. he stared up at the dog with furrowed brows and watery eyes. to himself, he was pathetic looking. he watched as the dog's ears stiffened, his eyes dilating.

he let out a low groan and covered his face with his hands, beginning to sob into his palms. everything was hitting him at once and he couldn't keep it down any longer. the dog was at a loss. he was completely in the deep end on what to do.

jaehyun lightly rubbed the top of taeyong's head. the cat's ears twitches slightly, but he didn't tell him off, so the dog moved closer and wrapped an arm around him. taeyong, continuing to cover his face, let warm arms engulf him in a compassionate hug.

"you're not fine and that's okay," jaehyun said quietly.

"you—you don't get it," taeyong choked out through gasped breathes. his sobs were coming to an end as he forced himself to stop, "he's going to kill me."

"whoa, whoa, who's he?" jaehyun asked, pulling away to look at the cat's expression. he furrowed his brows when he saw the fear in his eyes. his eyes were thin slits and slightly red. taeyong inhaled deeply before looking away.

"this asshole, he controls my whole life at this point," he rubbed his eyes with the bottom of his palms, sniffing loudly. the dewiness of the situation was causing for the dog to become uncomfortable. itching for some disassociation to the cat in front of him, he released taeyong from his grasp and backed away, creating a foot of space between them.

"wanna talk it out?" he asked, somewhat hoping for a no, but surprisingly, the cat gave a few nods.

jaehyun, holding back a cringe, seated himself on the couch. he pat the area beside himself, motioning for taeyong to join him. there was a wave of reluctance that came over the hesitant feline, but he swallowed it down and seated himself beside the wild dog.

"why were you beaten up?" jaehyun started the conversation after the cat seemed too uncomfortable to start himself.

"told you, batch was bad," taeyong said as a matter of factly. jaehyun face morphed in to one of confusion. he tilted his head, urging the other to explain further, "the weed johnny—the asshole—gave me was laced,"

"johnny?"

"the drug lord,"

"why do you work for him? just leave,"

taeyong's short stub of tail began to whip back and forth. jaehyun noticed immediately, taking in the upset expression the cat displayed.

"what happened to your tail?" he asked, deciding it best to switch topics.

"an accident," taeyong said, pulling his tail back into his pants.

"what kind of accident?"

"it got cut," taeyong looked in the opposite direction of the dog's gaze. jaehyun could see how uncomfortable he was making the poor cat, but he wanted to understand more. just by the body language alone, he could tell it was a tense topic to discuss.

"did someone cut it or-"

"yes,"

there was a pause. taeyong's ears were cloudy and full of intense emotional baggage. he swallowed hard and turned to face jaehyun again. his eyes were so thin and wide that jaehyun inched back, afraid of being swatted at.

"two girls trapped me in the bathroom after gym one day and cut my tail off,"

jaehyun's ears stiffened in surprise. the cat was unblinking, reliving the events he so terribly wanted to repress. the dog was beginning to become more uncomfortable than the cat was. taeyong seemed so far away from reality that he came off as a blank, emotionless vessel while retelling what happened.

"why would they do that?"

taeyong seemed to snap out of his dead trance as his eyes dilated and softened on the dog's face. he looked at his hand, clenching it hard before responding.

"because i'm ugly. ugly kittens don't deserve to be treated well,"

"huh?"

"ugly-"

"no, i heard you, but you're wrong." jaehyun stated firmly with a slightly undertone of annoyance to his voice, "you aren't ugly at all,"

"ha!" taeyong said, furrowing his brows. jaehyun raised a brow, beckoning for the other to continue, "have you seen my ears? no cats are supposed to look like this!"

"have you seen mine? my big ass fucking plates on the top of my head?" jaehyun was almost shouting, so overtaken with his emotions, he was unaware of the volume he was speaking at, "you do not have ugly ears,"

"you're a fucking liar."

"i've been bullied too about my ears,"

"i don't see you running around for some wolf with a stick up his ass!"

"i'm a stranger, why would i lie to you?"

"if everyone around you tells you that you're ugly, who are you going to believe? some stranger you don't even know or the literal hundreds of people who have told you you're worthless?" taeyong's eyes were brimming with tears as he shouted back at the dog.

"hey," jaehyun said with a much softer voice, "to me, you're not ugly,"

"it doesn't matter what you think! to everyone else i'm some toy to be thrown around!" taeyong said with tears trickling off his cheeks.

jaehyun pouted at the sight. he moved closer, bringing the bottom of his shirt up, using it to wipe off the tears on the distraught feline's face. taeyong let out small gasps as he tried to keep in his sobs.

"nothing matters anymore, johnny's going to kill him when he finds out the deal went bad,"

jaehyun froze in his seat. the cat had said that he'd be dead several times, but he didn't truly believe it. he pulled his shirt away and stared into taeyong's watery eyes.

he was telling the truth.

[a/n] jaehyun thinks taeyong is purrty.