Chapter Text
Heeseung, Jake, Sunoo, Jungwon, and Ni-ki laugh as they process Sunghoon’s joke, slouched back on the couch and chairs in Heeseung’s apartment with drinks in their hands. Sunghoon was usually one of the funniest out of their friend group. Whether it was out of clumsiness or he just said something funny, he always managed to make the group laugh.
“Crap, guys I gotta go, my boss just texted me that I have to go to work early again tomorrow, sorry.” Says Jake. The laughter dies down as sad expressions make their way onto some of their faces.
“Again? This boss of yours is making you go in so early at this point you as well just sleep there! We know this is hard on you, we notice the eyebags forming under your eyes. Why can’t you just tell her to stop making you go in so early?” Sunoo expresses worry.
Sunoo always was more sensitive than the rest of the group being the feeler type.
Jake chuckles as he ruffles Sunoo’s hair and tells him that's not how it works but he’s grateful for the concern and scolds everyone there on how it’s about time they all got a job too because he's tired of having to pay for their weekly Friday night outings.
The six met each other when they were in middle school. It started out with Heeseung, Jake, and Sunghoon because they had been childhood friends and then they met the other 3 throughout middle school and immediately clicked.
Ever since then, they have done everything together. Been there for Sunghoon when his grandma died to when Jungwon was getting made fun of and so many more. Some would even call them family with how close they are.
But between the six, they had always felt like their friendship was more special than words could describe. They don’t know what they would do without each other. Even though they always enjoyed each other's company, they always felt like something was missing.
However, none of them have ever voiced this, knowing they all felt the same. And no matter how much time they spent together or how much more their bond increased, there was always that underlying feeling of emptiness.
Jugwon sighed,” Just text us when you get back home safe okay? Wouldn’t want your boss to try and give you more overtime if you're in the hospital would we?” Jungown joked softly, a small smile growing on his face as he heard the rest chuckle.
“Okay, I will. But if you don't get a text, don’t let my boss near my hospital room, you hear me?” Jake said as he hugged the rest goodbye and walked out the door and waved.
The rest laugh after hearing that even though they know he was being dead serious, even if his expression was the exact opposite. They know how hardworking Jake is and can't help but feel guilty sometimes after making him pay for everything.
Believe me, they’ve thought about getting a job many times before and Heeseung had even gotten one once and somehow got fired after catching the kitchen on fire.
Simply put, none of them could keep a job. Many times before, they had said they were going to get a job to help them mature, but after this get together, they decided they are actually going to do it this time, not just for themselves but Jake as well.
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Jake steps out of Heeseung’s apartment shivering as the cold buries itself in Jake’s skin, as if you are trying to kill a fly after accidentally letting it get in your house, it refused to go away even after Jake had put on his most expensive and warm coat he had.
He sighed already imagining having to wake up at 5:30 in the morning, practically dragging himself out of bed. Just like every other day he lived, he would have to work a nine hour shift with barely any sleep just to get yelled at by customers and his boss.
His boss always hated him after he had the nerve to correct her in front of the owner and get praised for it too. Ever since then, she had been making his work experience hell everyday.
He slowly walks to his car but stops when he hears a shuffle coming from around the corner. He decides to leave it and begins making his way back to his car but turns around in a flash when he hears another shuffle and catches a glimpse of what seemed to be cat eyes. This surprises him because what possibly could a cat be doing next to his best friend's apartment
Concerned, he cautiously walks around the corner and gasps when he sees a freaking black panther staring right at him. He stands still as they enter a staring contest with each other, not realizing several minutes have passed by.
Jake's eyes water and they close as he blinks away the burning sensation, still watching the panther in front of him, scared the oversized cat might try and eat him.
Jake’s eyes wander around the panther, taking in his appearance.
The panther has bright green eyes and jet black fur. Its fur seems extremely soft, making Jake silently sequel desperately wanting to pet it.
“Hi?” Jake says in a soft tone using the tiny bit of confidence he has.
The panther sits down seeming to have understood Jake. Jake takes this as a sign and slowly walks closer to the panther.
Before he knows it, Jake is right in front of the panther and staring down at him. while the panther looked up at him with curious eyes. Jake lowers himself to the ground and sits down while reaching his hand up and letting the panther sniff him.
The panther slowly leans forward and sniffs Jake's hand. A smile appears on Jake's hand as it nudges and rubs its snout on Jake's hand.
Jake gaps in surprise as he is suddenly pushed onto the ground and looks up and sees the panther eyes staring down into his own. Jake smiles as the panther appears happy as it leans down and licks Jake's cheek.
With a huff, the panther rolls Jake onto his side and lays down beside him. Jake sits up only to be pushed back down onto the warmth of the panther’s chest. Jake chuckles at its antics but sighs knowing this greeting of theirs will have to end too soon for his liking.
Not wanting to get more attached, Jake tries to sit up but the panther growls when Jake tries to move.
"I have to go, I have to work early tomorrow.." Jake says wondering if it would be a bad idea to bring the panther home with him. His mind wonders of all the possibilities of what could happen if he left the panther here and decides to take him home even if he got in trouble.
"You could go with me, you know? I don't have that big of an apartment but it's big enough for the two of us." Jake says questioning the panther even though he doubts the panther can understand, but to his surprise, the panther sits up and Jake falls backward, letting his head fall onto the panther's paw.
"Naur way you can understand me right now." Jake says, letting his Aussie accent take over.
The panther only pushes him up into a standing position as he nudges Jake forward almost as if it's trying to tell Jake to show him the way to his house.
Jake quietly walks fast to his car, looking back every so often, making sure the panther was still following him.
Once he reaches his car, he opens the back seat door of his Bronco and lets the panther settle himself into the comfortable looking seats. Jake walks around and hops into the driver's seat and starts driving to his house.
He goes ahead and texts his boss that he will be out for the rest of the week, turning his phone off immediately after and ignores the obnoxious ding sound coming from his phone, probably his boss sending angry texts in response to his.
After about a 15 minute drive, he parks into the garage and opens the car door for the panther and leads him inside the apartment. Jake sets his bag and keys down on the living room table and makes his way to his bedroom, not knowing the panther was following. Only did he realize when he was halfway through taking his shirt off but he felt like someone was staring at him, he turned around to see the panther staring holes through his back. He awkwardly turned back around and finished changing.
Jake decided to label the panther as the clingy type because not once did the panther leave him alone and it never stopped staring at him either.
Sighing, he laid down in bed and snuggled under the covers but groaned when he felt heavy weight being pressed down onto his right side. He opens his eyes and giggles when he sees panther wrapping itself around Jake's right side, with its face resting on his neck. Jake cuddles into the warmth and giggles when he hears purring coming from the panther.
Jake's room goes quiet as they both fall asleep in peace, soft snores filling the silence.
Jay's Pov:
Fear fills my senses as I get up and try to figure out where I am. All I can remember are my parents screams as they tell me to run and never turn back.
I get dragged out of my thoughts when I hear a noise coming from around the corner causing me to flinch.
Letting my curiosity get the best of me, I peek around the corner and see an adorable looking boy. He has soft blonde hair and chocolate brown eyes. He is wearing an oversized sweatshirt with gray sweatpants, the oversized clothes make him look smaller, and more cute than he already is.
A gasp comes out of me when I see the blonde headed boy walk over towards me. I panic and walk backwards thinking he'll try to hurt me just like what those people did to my parents.
We both freeze when our eyes meet. A few minutes go by and the longer I stare into his puppy-like eyes the more I feel drawn to him and the more I want to coddle and protect him.
The boy finally speaks up and says hi. His voice is like music to my ears, his voice sounds soft and honey coated, with an accent I can't seem to place.
Time goes by and before I know it, I'm in the back of his car watching him drive with a serious face.
His eyebrows are furrowed and lips are pushed into a cute pout. After around 15 minutes of staring at him, I hear a click next to me and look over to see him holding the door open, looking like he's waiting for me to get out.
I hop out of his car and follow him into the house. He walks up a set of stairs and walks into a room that I assume is his.
My eyes widen when I see him lift his shirt up, revealing his slim waist and his dainty looking shoulders. All of a sudden he turns around and stares at me for a few seconds before turning back around and finishes changing.
The night goes on as I follow him around constantly, making sure this human is protected by me from any danger.
About an hour of this goes on before he walks back into his bedroom and lays on his bed.
I climb into the bed and lay on top of his right side in a protective stance and my head finds itself in the crook of the human's neck, inhaling his scent which seems to be a mix of coconut and vanilla.
Mate
I fell asleep as I realized I had finally found the one.
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The 6 sigh as they let out their hybrid parts. They take a few calm breaths as they let the dirty thoughts of their best friend Jake leave Heeseung’s apartment.
See, the 6 always kept a secret from their best friend Jake and that is that they were hybrids. Heeseung was a Wolf Hybrid, Sunghoon was a Snow Leopard Hybrid, Sunoo was a fox Hybrid, Jungwon was Cheetah Hybrid, and Ni-ki was a Puma Hybrid.
When they were little, they all kept it a secret and planned on it. Never would have known each other were hybrids if Heeseung’s rut didn’t start early.
Everyone was hanging out one day and Jake had to leave as early as usual because of his stupid boss leaving the 6 alone. Heeseung had gone to go get a drink but fell over holding his stomach, causing them all to rush over to him in panic but stop immediately when they smell Heeseungs pheromones and the pair of wolf ears and a tail. Sunoo drops to the floor while the rest grab onto hold of something, not wanting to topple over like Sunoo did.
They all look around at each other, surprised to see that the others are hybrids.
Let’s just say they all crashed at Heeseungs for a few days. After that, they had a talk and decided to keep it a secret from Jake until he found out himself, in fear of losing their most precious friend. Not to mention the fact that they all shared the same protective feelings towards Jake, and knowing what this meant, they all vowed to make him happy no matter what.
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Nobody's POV:
Sunlight shines through the curtains hitting Jake in the face, illuminating his honey toned skin. Jake was in the same position as he fell asleep in and soft snores erupted from his open mouth, he also seemed to be cuddling a pillow, basking in its comfort. However, the panther was nowhere near his bedroom. In fact a panther was not there anymore. Now stood a tall, toned body that belonged to a 20 year old boy who was actually a panther hybrid named Jay, who was currently staring down at Jake, his mate, asleep.
Getting bored, Jay decided to wander around the house while waiting for his mate to wake up.
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Whining, Jake rolled over and hid his face in the covers in an attempt to block out the sun. He attempts to fall back asleep, trying to ignore the growing headache, but miserably failing as he sits up with a grunt and flings the cover off of him, hopping out of bed and walking to the kitchen to make some coffee.
He yawns softly as he slowly walks down the stairs, careful not to trip as he has many times before. If he had to rate how bad it hurts, 10/10. Would definitely not recommend it.
He finally reaches the last stair and gently steps off of it, beginning to navigate through his apartment into the kitchen. He walks across the open space into the kitchen catching something in the corner of his eye. He slowly walks backward and his eyes widen in panic when he sees someone sitting on his couch but they have… ears and a tail? Whatever, that’s not the point right now.
He quickly but silently walks back to the kitchen and slowly sits down behind his cabinet as rips out his phone from his pocket and frantically calls the first number he sees.
He put the phone up to his ear listening to the ringing, silently praying whoever he called would answer. The ringing stops and a seemingly tired voice answers the phone.
“Jake…why are you calling so early?”
Ah. Jungwon was just the person he needed. Jungwon had always taken the lead in frantic situations and how lucky it was for him to be the person he clicked on.
“There’s someone in my apartment.” Jake whispers. Silence fills the call and Jake checks the phone to make sure the call is still connected, which it is so he lifts the phone back up to his ear.
“Please tell me you're joking.” Jungwon says louder and firmer.
“I wish I was and please be quieter, I’m scared they’ll hurt me if they know I'm here.”
Jake flinched when he heard Jungwon yell for everyone to get up and that they needed to get to Jake immediately. He can hear the confused mumbles, practically envisioning his friends' faces right now.
However, they all seem to wake up when Jungwon says he’s on the phone with Jake right now and that there's someone in Jake’s apartment that he doesn’t know.
“Jake honey, we're coming, just stay on the phone and be quiet.” Jungwon says seriously, with an underlying tone of seriousness.
Jake nods, knowing they won’t see it but are probably imagining his response. He holds the phone to his ear and pushes himself further into the cabinet, while closing his eyes.
His mind starts racing as he imagines all the different things that could happen to him. What if he got killed? Or kidnapped?
A tear runs down his face and he quickly pushes those thoughts out of his head, not wanting to make any noise. Soon enough, a voice brings him out of his thoughts.
“Jakey were almost there, how are you doing?” A different voice asks. It has a little bit of rasp to it but is still gentle, with a hit of hardness. He recognizes the voice as Ni-ki.
“I’m fine, but please hurry-” Jake says but cuts himself off with a high pitched scream. He gets picked up and gets thrown over this person's shoulder, causing him to drop the phone, breaking it while not knowing it hung up the call.
Jake cries and thrashes around in the person's hold, trying to break free but stops when he feels the grip on his hips tighten painfully. His body goes limp and silent tears stream down his face and neck, falling to the floor.
He closes his eyes but opens them in surprise when he feels someone gently running their hand through his hair as if they are trying to calm him down. His eyes dart around the room and he notices that he is sitting in this person’s lap.
He slowly looks up and sees a guy who looks to be in his mid 20’s, with a sharp jawline and piercing green eyes with cat-like irises. His skin is a tanned golden color and he has jet black hair that frames his face just right. But he also has cat ears? And a tail? Okay, odd.
Jake stares at the boy, not missing how the boy’s hands are placed on his waist and hip. They both stare at each other for what felt like hours. The boy happened to be the one to break eye contact first and look up while lifting his hand to guide Jake's head to his chest, continuing to run his hands through Jake’s hair while he nuzzles his head into Jake’s hair, inhaling his sweet vanilla scent, and somehow, the boy starts to purr which just freaks Jake out.
Jake’s cries slow down, but haven’t stopped completely, as he feels more and more safe the longer he is held in this mysterious boy’s arms. In a way, the boy's soft embrace feels like home, and is the only place he ever wants to be in from now on. He unconsciously snuggles into the boy's chest, not realizing how small it makes him look compared to the boy that’s holding him.
Their moment gets interrupted when they hear a loud bang and people running to the living with panicked expressions on their face. Jake realizes that they are his friends and attempts to go to them but whines when he feels the grip on him tighten painfully.
The group of people only get more mad when they see Jake’s confused, panicked, and… pleasant expression? Not to mention how panicked they are when they notice the ears and tail this dude has.
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“I’m fine, but please hurry-” Jake says, making them calm down a bit but the calmness immediately exits them as they hear a fear filled scream and watch the call disconnect.
Heeseung slams his foot down on the gas as his mind grows with panic, not even beginning to think what could happen to Jake before they get there. They all are sitting up impatiently, no one daring to talk and end up taking the chance of saying something wrong.
About five minutes later, Heeseung slams on the brakes as he pulls into a parking spot and they all jump out of the car and run up the stairs, feeling like the elevator would take longer even though it didn’t. They are all panting, cursing the fact that Jake had to live on the 6th floor of all times.
However, none of them stop running and keep going until they reach Jake’s door. Sunoo whips up the spare pair of keys Jake had given him a while back. After Jake had gotten a bad case of the flu once, with no parents to call to come take care of him since they were back in Brisbane, had called all of his friends.
They had taken care of Jake, ended up getting sick themselves, not caring one bit if it meant they got to see their best friend happy and well again. In the end, Jake ended up giving them a key to his apartment if they ever needed help or just someone to hang out with if they felt lonely.
But little did Jake know, giving them a key to his safeplace only made their hybrid parts feel more possessive over him. Sometimes, they would argue over who gets to sit with Jake or who gets cuddled with him and things like that.
One time, Sunghoon ended up getting so upset that he accidentally let out his hybrid parts and tried to walk over to Jake but Ni-ki had noticed and had to drag Sunghoon out of the room and sat in Heeseungs bathroom with Sunghoon while calmed himself down.
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Finally, after what seems like forever, the lock clicks and they run into the living room stopping in their tracks when they see Jake, with a tear stained face and a scared but contempt look on his face, which ultimately confuses them. They get even more concerned and their hybrid parts flare up in anger when they see Jake sitting on some dude's lap with cat ears and a tail, meaning he was also a hybrid. The guy had one hand on Jake's hip, seemingly holding him in place, as if he was trying to prevent Jake from getting up and the other hand in Jake's hair, running his hand through it.
What. The. Heck.
They watch as Jake finally notices them and makes an attempt to go towards his friends but whines when he gets harshly pulled back into this guy’s chest.
Feeling the growing anger in them, they all run towards the two and yank Jake away from the dude.
Sunoo and Jungwon hold and comfort Jake, whispering sweet nothings into his ears as an attempt to calm down his cries while Heeseung, Sunghoon, and Ni-ki tackle the guy and end up getting into a fight with him, eventually overpowering him and knocking him out, they carry him to the closet and lock him in there.
The three walk back and pull Jake into a hug as they all sit on the floor, prioritizing calming Jake down first, leaving the other guy to deal with later.
After about 10 minutes, Jake finally calms down and is sitting there embarrassed for his meltdown. Jake thinks about how babyish he probably seems to his friends right now.
“Who is that guy?” Jungwon asked Jake softly, breaking him out of his thoughts.
“How would I know?” Jake says as he sniffles. Jake thinks back to the boy's features and notices how his features kind of remind him of the panther he brought home last night. Speaking of the panther, where did it go?
“Did you guys see a panther when you guys walked into my apartment?” Jake asks, wanting to make sure the panther is ok. This causes the others worry to grow and a new found emotion.
“Jakey, did he hurt your head? Why would there be a panther in your apartment?” Sunoo asks for him and everyone else, trying to go with the fact that they don’t know the boy is a hybrid even though they do.
Jake stares at the floor before shaking his head no. He finally feels himself becoming clearer in the head so he looks around and observes everyone else's faces.
Heeseung’s eyebrows are furrowed in worry. His usual soft features have now turned hard and confused looking, lips pulled tight in a frown. Sunghoon and Sunoo’s faces are both concerned and filled, every part of their face holding worry and fear as their gazes are locked onto Jake.
Jakes looks behind him to look at Jungwon who is still holding Jake in his embrace and takes in the gentleness flooding from Jungwon’s features and revels in the firm but soft hold Jungwon has on Jake, as if he's afraid that if he lets Jake go again he will find himself in trouble and maybe end up hurt more than he already is.
He then looks at Ni-ki and confusion grows on his face. Ni-ki is looking at him with an unreadable expression on his face. Jake tries harder to find something on his face but all he can feel is Ni-kis expressionless stare on him, Jake even finds a hint a jealousy in his eyes which confuses him, but the frown doesn't let up causing him to shiver which in turn causes Jungwon to tighten his grip on Jake to warm him up thinking he was cold.
Suddenly Jake giggles causing everyone to exchange alarmed looks with each other, definitely thinking that Jake had lied and did in fact get his head hurt, whether it was by himself, or the stranger who is currently locked in a closet.
“You know, on the way out of your apartment last night Heeseung, I saw a panther. It was so big, I thought it was gonna eat me when it jumped on me, but it started licking my face and rolled me over and then it laid down next to me. And guess what, I took it home with me cause I didn’t want it to be lonely.” Jake explained.
Jake’s friends sigh as Sunoo slaps his hand on his head, surprised by Jake’s stupidity if that actually happened. However, he looks up when Jake continues to talk.
“It was so weird, it walked right into my apartment like I was the guest. And it wouldn’t stop following me around either, I had to push it out of the bathroom when I needed to get into the shower. It wouldn't even stop staring at me when I changed clothes. In fact, I fell asleep with it half on top of me.” Jake says with an amount of certainty that makes his friends know he’s telling the truth, having heard this tone many times before.
Jake deemed his speech as finished so he slipped out of Jungwon’s grip and stood up, stumbling a few times but with the help of his couch, he was able to do it surprisingly quickly.
This alarmed his friends and they quickly stood up and tried to coax Jake back into sitting, not knowing if he's mentally stable enough yet to go look for this supposed panther, especially with a random stranger in the house.
They all look at eachother and silently communicate on what to do. They turn around ready to take Jake to Heeseungs apartment since they live relatively close to each other but immediately start panicking when they see that Jake had disappeared while they were distracted. Frantically, they run around the apartment checking every nook and cranny making sure that Jake hadn’t hurt himself again. Finding nothing in the living room and kitchen, they decide to check his bedroom, gaslighting themselves into thinking Jake was just tired and went to his room to sleep.
However, when they reach the start of the hallway, they gasp and freeze in their place, frustration and jealousy flooding their features as they see what is happening in front of them.
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Noticing that his friends won’t let him leave their sight, he waits for them to get distracted and when they do, he takes the chance to silently slip away from the living room, descending into different parts of his apartment to try and find the oversized cat he had brought home with him the night before.
Finding nothing in the kitchen, he silently walks into the hallway checking his bathroom and bedroom. To his dismay, he finds nothing and gets sad, but then suddenly remembers that his friends had put the person he saw earlier in the closet.
Jake recalls the way the guy's soft but possessive grip felt on him and how it sent butterflies through his stomach. He can envision the hunter green cat-like eyes staring into his own with a look as if he was staring at the most beautiful thing in the world.
He quietly runs over to the closet and fiddles with the lock again and again until it finally opens with a click. He opens the door and gasps when he immediately gets yanked in and twisted around to where he is pushed up against the wall.
He groans when his back hits the wall but is immediately silenced when he meets the gaze of the person who pushed him onto the wall. Those same green eyes were now staring down at him once more.
Jake notices that the boy has a cute pout on his face which causes Jake to giggle, with a pretty smile making its way onto his face.
“You never told me your name you know… I’m Jake” Jake says in a cute tone. The guy looks down at Jake, making Jake feel small. The boy just tilts his head cutely while furrowing his eyebrows. Jake notices how the boy's ears twitch and how his tail is swaying back and forth calmly.
“Jay.” The boy says. Jake widens his eyes, fully not expecting the boy to speak and his deep but tender voice makes Jake blush. Jake looks down in an attempt to hide his blush but fails when a finger lifts his chin up and he is greeted with curious eyes.
The boy now known as Jay wraps his arms around Jake's waist and arms, caging Jake in while his tail is wrapped around Jake’s right thigh. Jay then shoves his nose in Jake’s neck inhaling his sickeningly sweet vanilla-coconut smell.
Jake, caught off by Jay’s actions freezes but ends up melting into Jay’s arms when he feels the warmth seep into him. This makes a smile creep onto Jay’s face when he feels his mate melt into his hug, taking pride in himself.
Jay takes his face out of Jake’s neck and stares into Jake’s eyes, watching a soft pink spread on Jake’s cheeks.
“Are you the panther I brought home last night?” Jake asks, letting his curiosity win him over.
Jay blinks down at Jake in surprise.
“I thought you knew, ofcourse I am. Why else would I have cat ears and a tail?” Jay asks with a teasing tone.
Jake shrugs as he leans into Jay's arms, letting himself be swallowed by Jay’s embrace. Jay only tightens his hold on Jake and brings him to rest atop of Jake's head again.
“As much as I love hugging you, you need to put pants on.”Jake says, popping his head out of Jay’s chest, drawing a chuckle from Jay’s throat.
They stare into each other's eyes but get brought out of their trance when they hear someone shout Jake's name. They see Jake’s friends and Jay’s alarm goes off in his head. To Jay, they are just the people who threw him in a closet unconscious, he has no clue that they are the people who have stuck to Jake’s side for more than seven years now.
Because of this, he pulls Jake further into his hold to where only Jake’s back side is visible and hisses at the 6 people, showing his sharp canines.
Jake notices what is happening and pries Jay's iron grip off of him and turns around, facing his friends, trying to ignore Jay who just wraps his arms around him again and tries to pull him back into his chest, but Jake resists, standing there but still letting Jay snake his arms around his waist.
Jake slaps Jay’s arm to get him to stop glaring at his friends. Jake looks at them and frowns at their glares and nasty stares directed to Jay. He sighs trying to catch their attention, and succeeds easily which surprises him.
“We need to talk.” Jake says in a firm tone.
Heeseung scoffs and walks to the living room trying his hardest to not let his hybrid side take over, leaving the rest of them alone. However, Jake’s mood saddens when the rest follow without sparing a glance at him and his frown grows deeper.
Sensing his cue, Jay lets go of Jake and lets himself be dragged to the living room where the rest of the guys had already sat themselves down. The walk down the hallway seems unusually long, making Jake even more anxious than he already is.
They finally reach the living room and see 6 pairs of eyes glued onto both of them, mostly Jay, but still both of them. Jake pulls Jay to the empty side of the couch and sits him down on the edge, and he himself sits in between Sunoo and Jay.
“So um… this is Jay, the panther I brought home last night.” Jake introduces, trying to break the tension but it only seems to grow bigger at his statement.
The tension only grows as silence fills the room and Jake awkwardly looks around, meeting everyone's eyes, only finding pleasure in one of them, which is Jay who is looking down at Jake with a soft, loving gaze.
Jay sneaks an arm around Jake and quietly pulls Jake closer to him, making it not too noticeable, but with the rest being hybrids as well, notice this immediately. Everyone of Jake’s friends has to hold in a growl but one of Jake’s friends seem to not be able to control their instincts.
Ni-ki stands up abruptly, catching everyone’s attention. All eyes turn to him but his gaze is fixed on Jake who is staring up at him in shock. Everyone glances at Jake and follows his gaze to Ni-ki and realizes that his instincts took over and his hybrid parts are now on display for everyone to see.
Jake, feeling a little bit scared pushes himself into Jay and Jay just tightens his grip on Jake, not liking how another hybrid is staring at his mate. This just causes Ni-ki to run across the living room and throw Jake over his shoulder and run to somewhere in Jake’s apartment.
Everyone immediately springs up, letting their hybrid side take over and run to follow Ni-ki but get shut out when the door to Jake’s bedroom gets slammed shut in their faces. They begin banging on the door but stop when it is clear that it will not open. Not taking their eyes off the door they sit down and stare at the door.
About 10 minutes later of just sitting and staring at the door, Heeseung stands up and walks to the end of the hallway. All of a sudden, he bolts at the door and jumps into it knocking it down. Everyone jumps up and runs into the room and stands still, glaring at what they see before them.
Meanwhile…
Jake gasps in surprise when Ni-ki throws him over his shoulder and puts his hand on Ni-ki’s back trying to get out of his grip, while trying to ignore the fact that Ni-ki’s hand placement around his waist and hips send butterflies fluttering in his stomach.
He looks and his eyes widen when he sees the rest of his friends chasing after him and Ni-ki but confusion grows on his face when he sees animal parts on them too…? He looks back at Ni-ki and sees a pair of ears and a tail on his body too.
However, he gets brought out of his thoughts when he gets thrown onto the bed, not missing how he hears the door slam and many bangs on it after it shuts. He shifts his gaze from the door to infront of him when he feels a weight surround him.
He gasps when he sees Ni-ki on top of him and his eyes widen when Ni-ki suddenly flips them around and wraps his hand around Jake's chest, making it to where he couldn’t get up even if he tried.
Ni-ki sits up and scoots to the corner of the bed while leaning against the wall, dragging Jake with him and flips him around once more to where Jake is sitting in between his legs and his back is resting on Ni-ki’s chest.
Ni-ki once more wraps his arms around Jake's waist and buries his nose in Jake’s neck. Jake shudders and tries to scoot away from his friend, confused about what is happening. To his dismay, he just gets yanked back into Ni-ki’s hold and the grip around his waist tightens and Ni-kis' tail seems to wrap itself around Jake’s thigh.
Jake freezes and stares at the wall, trying to figure why the panther he brought home last night is now a human with ears and tail and his friends have all turned into these weird animal human things.
However, he gets brought out of his thoughts when he feels Ni-ki’s warm breath on his ear. His face flushes and he turns his head to look at Ni-ki but his eyes widen when Ni-ki presses his nose into his cheek, as if he's trying to bury himself into Jake’s being.
Suddenly, a loud bang breaks the silence in the room and they both look over to see Heeseung, Jay, Sunghoon, Sunoo, and Jungwon standing by the bed all glaring at Ni-ki. Jake looks around at all of them and shouts at them trying to get their attention but fails, seeing as though none of them have broken their glare directed towards the one that is holding him.
Ni-ki equals their glare in return and pulls Jake closer and smirks smugly when he sees Jake’s cheeks grow rosy pink. However, the others didn't seem to like that because they launched themselves at the pair, ripping Jake out of Ni-ki’s warm embrace and started to fight over Jake.
Jake gasped loudly when he felt a harsh grip on his ankle while being dragged out of his friend's arms. Jake watches as they all put a hand somewhere on his body and begin to pull and push each other, trying to have Jake for their own.
However, no one notices how distress is practically leaking from Jake’s features and his eyes start to water.
Jake's vision clouds and tears begin to fall down his face as his whole body starts to ache from being thrown around as if he is some object. He sniffles and tries to yell at them to calm down but his pleads are drowned out by the movements of his friends.
Suddenly, a sharp pain jolts through Jake’s elbow and a pained yelp erupts from his throat. He is now crying and he just lays there as he brings his unhurt arm to cover his eyes.
Brought out of their rage, Heeseung, Jay, Sunghoon, Sunoo, Jungwon, and Ni-ki all stop and shift their gazes down to Jake who is crying while covering his face and just laying there.
His eyes have seemed to grow even more swollen and red now having cried twice today and this seems to snap the six out of their trance.
Their eyes widen once they realize what they have done and they all immediately back off, except for one who hugs Jake and whispers sweet nothings in his ear in an attempt to calm him down. That someone turns out to be Sunoo.
Jake eventually calms down and looks at all of them with some kind of unfamiliarity, having a hard time believing that his friends and the panther named Jay are all animal human creatures and they were all fighting over him just now.
“Jake we’re-” Sunghoon started but got cut off with a serious looking Jake.
“In the living room now.” Jake expects them to move but he just gets more upset when they don’t. Jake yells now once more but louder and they all scramble out of his room and into the living room.
Jake stays in his room and takes a few minutes to calm himself down. Once he is back to a peaceful state of mind, he gets up and slowly walks to the living room in his apartment.
He goes in there and sits down beside Jay, finding comfort in him the most right now. He crosses his legs and arms as he surveys everyone sitting in the living room right now.
Heeseung’s hair has turned an ashy gray color from his usual brown. His eyes are now a light gray and he seems to have gotten taller than he already is which makes Jake confused on how that is even possible. Sprouting out of his hair, he has large ears, and coming from his lower back and lifting the back of his shirt up he has a long, fluffy and soft looking tail. Heeseung also seems to have grown sharp nails which kinda scare Jake but that is for him to worry about later. To Jake, everything about Heeseung screamed wolf right now.
He looks at Jay next and sees small, but pronounced, jet black ears that matched his sleek and glossy jet black hair that seemed to frame his face just right. Jake looks at Jay’s hunter green eyes and he sees cat-like pupils in the middle of them. Jake looks Jay's body up and down and grimaces when he still sees him naked, but loves the way his honey toned skin is shining in the sun. Jake decides already knows that Jay is a black panther but probably would have guessed the same if he didn't already know.
His eyes turn to Sungoon and he sees that Sunghoons hair color has also changed from his usual dark chocolate color to a now pristine white with black streaks in it. Sunghoon’s eyes are now an ice blue rather than dark brown and those ice blue eyes are paired with pale skin, paler than Sunghoon’s usual skin which would make him concerned if he wasn’t in the situation he is now. Sunghoon had cat ears and a tail and they are the same pristine white as his hair and black dots seem to cover them kinda like a dalmatian. Jake makes the connection of his appearance to a snow leopard, and if he was right, it honestly fits Sunghoon with him being a figure skater and all.
Jake shifts his gaze to Sunoo and blushes when he sees amber eyes piercing into his own hazel ones. Sunoo’s hair is now blond with orange and black tips. His skin also got paler like Sunghoon’s and he now has light freckles dotting his cheeks and nose, which makes him all the more hot but Jake quickly rids his mind of the thought. Sunoo also seems to have grown taller and more broader just like Sunghoon. He has orange, white, and black, pointy ears coming from his now blonde hair and the same colored big, bushy tail coming from his lower back. Jake automatically thinks of fox and deems that it fits Sunoo’s fox-like eyes.
Jake looks at Jungwon and lets him get lost in his features. Jungwon’s eyes are yellow, and more cat-like than they already are. His hair is a dark auburn color which reminds him of fall and the autumn coded scenery he had always loved. Jungwon’s muscles seemed to have grown more defined and he had similar shaped ears and tail like Sunghoon attached to his body but his are a light tan color with black dots randomly placed on them. Jungwon being himself, smiles wide, showing off his too sharp for comfort canines at Jake in an attempt to lift his mood and it grows wider when he sees a tiny smile on Jake's face. Jake is torn whether he resembles a Cheetah or Jaguar but sticks with Cheetah for now.
Finally, Jake looks at Ni-ki and sees his hair is now a black color with blonde highlights. His eyes are pitch black instead of their usual honey brown, but still have the same glint of trouble in them like usual. Ni-ki has tan ears with Black tips in his hair and a tail just like Jay's but tan with a black tip that fades almost perfectly into the tanish color. Ni-ki also has grown sharp nails and hides them once he catches Jake staring at them. Although, something is different about Ni-ki’s expression and Jake can't pinpoint what it is. His face is furrowed and his eyes are glaring at something. Jake follows the gaze and realizes it's locked onto Jay and Jake quickly realizes that jealousy is the one taking over Ni-ki’s features.
“You all have 5 minutes to explain to me what's going on or I will kick you all out of my apartment.” Jake says with a serious expression. He looks around, wondering who will decide to speak up first and isn’t surprised when it’s Jungwon who does.
“Um so I guess it all started when you left our friday hangouts like usual and Heeseung had some… problems which caused us to figure out that we are all what you would call hybrid’s.” Jungwon starts.
“Hybrids are practically humans but with ears, a tail, sometimes canines and/or sharp nails. We didn’t want to tell you in fear of losing you as a friend. Especially because you're human, all of us except for… Jay, have always felt some sort of protectiveness towards you and we knew why when we all found out that we all have the same quality.
We honestly thought it would be better for you to find out on your own, we never meant for it to get this out of hand.” Heeseung continues for Jungwon.
“And when we walked into your apartment, we all saw someone other hybrid holding you and I guess our instinct flared up. We tried hard to keep ourselves in check, but when Ni-ki snatched you and took him for yourself, something inside us just snapped and we lost ourselves in Jealousy.
We’re sorry Jakey, we really are. Please forgive us.” Sunoo finishes, with the rest nodding in agreement.
Jake sits in silence for a few minutes before sighing.
“I could never stay mad at you guys, but seriously, you scared me. I thought you were going to rip me into pieces with how much you were throwing me around back there. I mean, where did you get all that strength from?
So what just because your hybrids you get all the strength? Unfair if you ask me.” Jake rambles while pouting.
The other’s chuckle and Jay decides to formally introduce himself to Jake’s friends.
“I’m Jay, a panther hybrid. I’m sorry I offended you all, but my instincts have already deemed Jake as my mate. I’m sure you all know how important that is and I might be willing to share seeing how much you all care for him." Jay says.
The rest scoff at Jay’s smugness but brush it off for the sake of not wanting to scare Jake again.
“Oh yeah, great idea! Everyone say their name for Jay and what kind of hybrid they are so I know for the future.” Jake says expecting answers right away.
“I’m Heeseung, and I'm a wolf hybrid.” Heeseung says first.
“I’m Jay, and I’m a panther hybrid as I said before.” Jay says second.
“I’m Sunghoon, and I'm a snow leopard hybrid.” Sunghoon says third.
“I’m Sunoo, and I’m a fox hybrid.” Sunoo says fourth.
“I’m Jungwon, and I’m a Cheetah hybrid.” Jungwon says fifth.
“I’m Ni-ki, and I’m a Puma Hybrid.” Ni-ki says last.
Jake has to think for a few moments, taking in all this information while having a hard time believing his friends and the panther he brought home last night were all hybrids, not to mention the fact they had just fought over his attention.
Little did Jake know that was just the start as there will be many more obstacles and events to come.