Work Text:
Given that his kind were created specifically for their gratification, it would be easy for Jeonghan to hate humans. But Jeonghan is a cat hybrid, so to him, it's very simple: either one is a predator, or one is prey.
Oh, sure, plenty would see Jeonghan's sleek, creamy ears and tail, his long hair worn loose, his pretty face, gracile figure, and graceful movements, and think to make a meal of him. But he has claws at the end of his elegant fingers, and very much knows how to use them. He also has a brain in his pretty little head, and very much knows how to use that, too. Which means humans serve him, whether they know it or not.
They pay for his meals, expecting 'compensation' he always slips away before they can collect. They provide him with nice clothing, never questioning the elegant, well-spoken, expensive-looking 'pet' when he sends the salesperson off expecting payment from whatever well-dressed shopper Jeonghan has declared to be his doting owner. Of course a gorgeous creature like him would be used to getting his way, having exceptions made, simply handing the tags imperiously to the staff instead of changing back out of clothes they've tried on. And of course, a wily creature like him is long gone by the time his supposed owner marches over to demand an explanation.
Yes, humans provide him with everything he needs at their expense, including warm, safe places to doze whenever he feels drowsy. Which is often, since he is, after all, a cat. Some of his favorite napping spots are student dorms, carelessly left accessible via the fire escape (for someone that can easily leap the distance from the ground to the lower rungs, that is). He simply scampers up the side of the building until he sees an empty, clean-looking room—he has standards, of course, his very name means 'clean,' he's not sleeping in some sloppy freshman's crusty sheets—and lets himself inside for a snooze and possibly a snack. Being a light sleeper, his sensitive ears warn him in plenty of time to slip out again when the students return.
He's even memorized the class schedules for the occupants of his favorite spots, shifting from room to room as they become available for his use. But one day, when he reaches the window of his favorite afternoon napping spot, a room that always smells fresh with one of the beds perfectly positioned to catch sunbeams, he sees that bed is already occupied.
The student is sprawled shirtless on top of the blankets, displaying a nicely toned body for Jeonghan's sky-blue eyes. Broad shoulders, gently defined abs, an enticing line of fur trailing from the navel into the guy's pants. And his face—strong features, sharp jaw, softened with youth and sleep. Jeonghan's used to swiping the occasional bite to eat from student rooms, but never before has he come across a whole meal, beautifully laid out for him like this.
Well. Probably not for him. Probably the student would react… badly if he woke up to an unknown hybrid enthusiastically grooming his happy trail. Which is a shame, really. Everyone knows cats are really good with their tongues.
But Jeonghan's prey drive is piqued. So are certain other drives. And the keyword here is unknown hybrid. If he wants his meal to enjoy being devoured, he needs to make him feel comfortable. To become familiar to him. Someone who has a reason to be in his room. Preferably on that gloriously sun-soaked bed.
Jeonghan frowns through the window. Why is this boy here at this hour? The pile of wadded kleenex beside the bed would seem to hold the answer. Sure, young men tend to go through a certain amount of tissues while on their backs in bed, but this room was clean two days ago when Jeonghan was last here. To have generated such a pile through recreational means in so short a time would be downright impressive for three students together, so unless the guy is sleeping off an orgy, he's probably got a cold.
No tasting the prey until that's done with. But the illness means he's missing class, doesn't it?
Jeonghan squints at the textbook lying open beside the sleeping student. Thankfully, it's one he recognizes—differential equations. He sat in on that one this past winter, lecture halls being a warm place where nobody questions yet another bundled-up figure. He's 'audited' hundreds of classes that way, and has always found the math ones especially interesting. His tail swishes with satisfaction at having found an in.
He knows from exploring the room on previous visits that one of the students who live there is called 'Lee Seokmin' and the other is 'Xu Minghao'. And he's lucky enough to guess the correct name two days later, calling out to his chosen prey as he approaches the mathematics building.
The student—Seokmin—looks up at the sound of his name, wide eyes holding questions.
"You've missed several days of diff-E-Q. I've been assigned to tutor you, help you catch up."
"Oh." Seokmin's gaze darts to Jeonghan's scalp, then remains resolutely on his face. "Uhm. I didn't know there were any hybrid TAs."
Jeonghan lashes his tail as he draws his brows together. "You don't think a hybrid is smart enough?"
Seokmin holds up his cute claw-less hands defensively. "No, no! I didn't mean—of course you're smart enough." His expression goes wry. "Certainly smarter than me. I've been struggling in that class even before I got sick, so. I would really appreciate the tutoring."
Jeonghan gives his prey a forgiving smile. "In that case, where should we meet? I'm free in the afternoons, but my roommate is quite noisy."
"Oh, well, mine has his own study group in the afternoons, a silent group that meets at the library. So our room's usually free."
Jeonghan's smile goes wider. "Perfect. I'll meet you there after class."
Seokmin frowns. "Don't I need to tell you where I live first?"
Shit. Jeonghan waves a hand dismissively. "Oh, they told me when they assigned me to you. Carat hall, right? Room 417?"
"Right." Seokmin's smile is quite cute. "I'll see you then, I guess."
Predators must be patient, and Jeonghan knows this well. It's difficult, because his snacky student likes to dress in form-fitting shirts, and/or change his top right in front of Jeonghan, never in a hurry to pull another shirt on so they can get down to studying. But Jeonghan prevails, unwilling to pounce until he's lulled his pretty prey into easy association.
He waits two full weeks before teasingly offering a kiss in exchange for each correct answer in a homework problem set. Seokmin blushes adorably, but he doesn’t protest the suggestion at all. Jeonghan keeps it light, teasing, warm and feathery as the sunbeams caressing them both through the dorm room's window. Seokmin's responses are sweet but uncoordinated, curving Jeonghan's lips from a pucker into a smile.
"Looks like you could use some tutoring in this subject, too," he says, pressing another kiss to Seokmin's lips before they can pull into a pout.
"Are you sure?" Seokmin's gaze briefly flicks up above Jeonghan's eyeline. "I mean. I can't even pretend to believe that's the sort of thing the university would send you here to do. And I'm not one of those humans—"
"If you were, I wouldn't be offering," Jeonghan says. "There's nothing in the rules that says I can't provide extra lessons."
Seokmin's face is sweetly flushed. "Well. I suppose I could use the practice. If you really don't mind."
"It would be my pleasure," Jeonghan purrs.
And it is. It's a great deal of pleasure, especially once Seokmin's grade in differential equations improves to the point that he doesn't need much tutoring anymore. That just means more time for the pair of them to lounge in the sun, draped across Seokmin's bed, attached at the lips.
It's Seokmin who first takes them from sitting to sprawling, who falls neatly into Jeonghan's trap of wanting to be devoured. Slowly, like he thinks he's subtle, he leans more and more of his weight against Jeonghan, and Jeonghan lets him. He allows himself to be pushed back to lay against the pillows, tail swishing with satisfaction as Seokmin settles on top of him, sweet prey cradled between his thighs.
Seokmin's braced on one elbow, the fingers of his other hand toying with the skin of Jeonghan's abdomen beneath his shirt. In response, Jeonghan drags his own fingertips over Seokmin's scalp, careful to keep his claws sheathed despite the urge to grab, capture, take.
"Are you petting me?" Seokmin chuckles against Jeonghan's lips when he caresses one of his round, smooth ears.
"You're so good," Jeonghan mumbles. "You deserve it."
"You're good, too," Seokmin says. "Does that mean I get to pet you, too?"
"You can, if you like," Jeonghan says, chasing after the mouth that insists on talking instead of kissing. "But only because I like you, and you asked first."
Seokmin's answer to this is a low hum that might've been a purr if his throat were capable of producing one. Jeonghan's is, and he lets it rumble forth, soft and smug as he's pressed against the bed. Seokmin's hands in Jeonghan's hair are gentle, almost cautious at first, finger-combing creamy locks to fan out around his head in a way Jeonghan's sure is very pretty.
Seokmin pulls back enough to look at his handiwork, eyes dark, half-lidded. He licks his lips and quirks a tiny smile, curving firm fingers against the velvety base of Jeonghan's half-splayed ear. A sound escapes through the rolling purr, half sigh, half whine, but Jeonghan doesn't clamp his lips down over it. Instead he presses those lips against Seokmin's throat, feeling the soft skin and vulnerable pulse that races for him, and smiles. His prey is right where he wants him, sweet pleasure ready for the taking.
And then Seokmin grinds down against him, sending delicious friction over sensitive, yearning skin. Jeonghan caterwauls, done with any hint of coy now that he knows he's about to get what he wants.
"More," he demands.
His prey seems only too happy to comply. But he disentangles Jeonghan's hands from his hair, sending a brief flash of guilt through the building hunger. He'd let his claws out a little, but Seokmin doesn't pull away, doesn't try to pin his wrists. He laces his fingers with Jeonghan's, even as he fumbles at their pants. Forearms aligned against the bed, Seokmin holds Jeonghan's hand while he gathers them both into his fist.
It's cute, it's so endearingly cute even as Jeonghan's body sings with pleasure at finally being stroked where he wants it most. Seokmin's awkward, clearly inexperienced, but precious in the way he gives up trying to fully grasp his own dick, too. He wraps his fingers mostly around Jeonghan's cock and slides his own against it, hot skin against hot skin. It's clearly very distracting for him, and Jeonghan can't help but smile at the way Seokmin strokes him intermittently, with guilt-hasty starts whenever he again realizes he's stopped.
Such giving prey, though, in the end. Seokmin manages to concentrate enough to get Jeonghan off first, his chest swelling with newly-discovered fondness even as his desire peaks and breaks, purr shattered into a yowl. He worries the syllables of Seokmin's name with bared teeth, eyes squeezed shut hard enough that fireworks burst behind his lids.
Such good behavior should be rewarded, so Jeonghan works a hand between their bodies, tugs at Seokmin's heated flesh. Above him, his prey shudders, gasping Jeonghan's name. Jeonghan opens his eyes just in time to see Seokmin's handsome face scrunch with pleasure, then he's adding to the mess between them.
A mess Jeonghan only tolerates until Seokmin's panting eases. Then he twists out from under him, leaving his felled prey flat on his back while he grabs a cloth to clean them up.
"What is this?" Seokmin asks once their clothes are restored. "I mean. What are we?"
Jeonghan chuckles. "Getting existential post pleasure, are we?"
Seokmin rolls his eyes. "I'm not asking for the meaning of life, I just want to know where I stand before we take things further."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, are we dating? Friends with benefits? What do you want me to say when people ask if I'm single? In any case, are we exclusive? Or do you have a harem of college boys you make out with at whim?"
"A harem!" Jeonghan snorts. "Please. Why do we have to put labels on things? You humans always want to define other people in relation to yourselves."
"That's not what I'm asking," Seokmin says, pleasure-slackened face going tight with frustration. "I know who you are to me. I wanna know who I am to you. Am I just a toy, to amuse yourself with for a while and then throw away? Or does whatever this is between us mean more than that to you?"
Jeonghan gets that Seokmin is irritated, but he stops listening halfway through, swiveling ears caught on one emphatic line.
"What am I, then?" he asks.
Seokmin drops his chin, brows going high.
"You said you know who I am to you."
Seokmin flushes. "Oh. Well. You're the hot guy that creeped on me through the window when I was sick, and liked what you saw enough to make up a flimsy excuse to get to know me."
Jeonghan goes still. One ear doesn't get the message right away, flicking out to the side and back. "Wait, you know about that?" He's sure no one saw him scaling the fire escape. He always checks, because witnesses mean cops and then naptime is interrupted. "How? Since when?"
"Uh, from the start? Dude, I saw you."
Jeonghan shakes his head. "You were asleep."
"I was asleep, until a shadow blocked the sun and woke me up. Which you'd have realized if you'd bothered to take your eyes off my crotch."
Jeonghan must've caught that fever after all. He can't possibly be hot in the face from embarrassment. "You weren't complaining five minutes ago," he huffs.
"Sure wasn't," Seokmin says. "But that's the weird part. I mean, if you just wanted a lay, you could've followed me to a party, or hell, just hit me up on the way back from class some day. But you decided to tutor me, and not even in the porn-setup sorta way. You actually taught me shit, which, again, I really appreciate. But you didn't make any moves for so long I started to doubt my memory of the way you looked at me."
Jeonghan gasps. "You little tease! All that stripping right in front of my face. You wanted to be seduced!" Jeonghan's not sure why he feels so outraged. Wasn't this his intention? Why does it feel backwards—oh. Jeonghan gasps louder. "You were trying to seduce me!"
"For like a month now, yes, thanks for finally noticing my obvious desire to have your hands on me. I thought I was going to have to deface a pair of jeans with a sharpie, a big arrow and for the love of sin, touch me HERE already!"
Jeonghan gapes. "You! But— you!"
"Yes?"
"You—you're supposed to be my prey."
"That's still a possibility. But I need to know a few things first." He gives Jeonghan an absolutely wicked smile. "I'll give you a kiss for each relationship-defining question you answer."
Jeonghan scowls. A month ago, being cornered like this would have him out the window and down the fire escape. And he still feels such an urge. But a well-fed predator knows exactly when to strike, and Jeonghan intends to be extremely well fed.
"I'm keeping you," he declares, wrapping all his limbs around his too-canny chosen prey. "All for myself. I won't share you with anyone, and you better be attached enough to me by now that you'd object to sharing me, too."
"Great." Seokmin delivers the promised kisses, then pulls away with a grin. "So, we're dating? I can tell people I have the prettiest boyfriend?"
"You can," Jeonghan says, nuzzling closer to bury his face in his prey's lovely neck. "But I've never actually dated a human before. You'll have to explain all your little mating customs if you want me to follow any of them."
Seokmin's laugh rumbles through his chest. It's such a warm, cozy sound that Jeonghan starts purring again.
"So, it's my turn to play the tutor?" Seokmin's fingers stroke through Jeonghan's hair, lingering at the base of his ear. "I can do that. I'll make sure you get plenty of practice."