Work Text:
Last night was a movie.
Well, more specifically it was a party, but it was the kind of party that Mingi always saw in movies. At least, Mingi assumed it was. The funny thing about last night was just how little he remembered it. He knew he got there and knew he got home but anything else in the middle was lost to the recesses of his memory. It wasn't unexpected, he did drink way too much for someone with an 8 am. But it was certainly inconvenient when he woke up smelling like cat.
Cat hybrid, more specifically. Black cat hybrid even more specifically. His sports jersey was covered in tiny black cat hairs. It gave him the impression that whoever they belonged to must've really liked him. Their scent was laid on thick, and this kind of shedding only happened when someone got in close. He just hoped they weren't too close. He can't afford being a baby momma yet, that's what the engineering degree was for after all.
And better yet, he could hardly drag himself out of bed. His brain felt like static with the extra touch of being wrapped in Sun Wukong’s headache-inducing crown. His mouth also tasted of static, but it was a more sandy variety than the uncomfortable squeeze his head was subjected to. Thankfully, whoever scented his shirt left a glass of water on his nightstand. Unfortunately, he seemed to have drunk most of it already. But there was just enough left to down with an ibuprofen. Past Mingi, for all his faults, at least remembered how much he disliked dry swallowing pills.
Mingi managed to make it out of his room eventually. Everything was still so uncomfortably bright, but he tastefully forewent the sunglasses indoors. Yunho would just call him a tool otherwise. That guy had very little compassion for his endless suffering, but he’d at the very least be a wonderful aid in his investigation.
“I can’t smell your shirt?” Yunho looked downright confused when Mingi held it out for him.
“Just get over the human thing and sniff harder.” Mingi huffed, waving it under Yunho’s nose.
“The best I can do is say that I smell your sweat and also an ungodly amount of alcohol. But those are only the ‘surface level scents’ as you’d call them.” Yunho said, with air quotes to emphasize the “surface level”.
“Okay but what about the cat hairs?” Mingi plucked a particularly long one off his shirt for emphasis. On second thought, that was probably a regular hair. But it belonged to the mystery cat hybrid so it counted for something.
“Don’t you know a black cat? Why don’t you ask him?” Mingi’s ears perked up at the suggestion.
“Who? Wooyoung? He could be a useful source of information…” If Wooyoung wanted to cooperate in the first place. He was such a silly kitty sometimes. Too silly, even. It was why they were sworn enemies, never mind the fact that Mingi’s tail seemed to wag whenever he was so much as mentioned.
“No I mean-” Yunho cut himself off, squeezing his eyes shut as he seemingly remembered something. Then he sighed. “I’m sure he’d be willing to help. He said he was going to the library with Yeosang today.”
“Communing with the enemy is a traitorous affair, but I’ll thank thee for the tip anyway.”
*********
Mingi considered himself lucky that he didn't have to walk too far to get to the library. And that he could trace the faint scent of his mystery hybrid as he entered the building. Surely they were just around the corner! Or tucked into a corner. But as he stumbled upon where he was absolutely sure the scent was coming from, he was greeted by Wooyoung and Yeosang instead.
“You feeling okay, Mingles?” Wooyoung smiled at him, ears twitching. Weird. Wooyoung never smiled at him.
“Fine, no thanks to you.” Mingi crossed his arms.
“What. Does that mean?” Wooyoung narrowed his eyes, tail thumping against the beanbag chair he was curled up in. Yeosang grimaced at him.
“There’s a mystery hybrid that scented my shirt and Yunho said you might know something.”
“… Might?” Wooyoung’s ears flattened.
“Just sniff it!” Mingi stooped down and handed Wooyoung the shirt. To his credit, he did sniff it. Quite thoroughly at that.
“Mingi, I have absolutely no clue whose scent this is.” Wooyoung said, handing the shirt back.
“Not even with the hairs?” Mingi whined, ears drooping.
“Especially not with the hairs.” Yeosang bit back a laugh, sharing a look with Wooyoung.
Mingi’s face fell. He was sure Wooyoung would know, he knew basically everyone in their circle of peers. Besides, there weren’t many other black cat hybrids that went to their school anyway. And Wooyoung would never get that close to him. The last time he did, he was looking after him in Yunho’s stead when he got sick. He basically spent the whole time glaring at him whenever he was conscious. At least, Mingi thought he was glaring.
“Well. You know people! So maybe you could help me find them?” Mingi’s tail wagged, though he wasn’t entirely sure why. Wooyoung just blinked at him.
“I want one iced coffee per hour.” A horrible bargain from a horrible cat. But Mingi was in no position to refuse.
“Deal.” They shook on it and everything, but Mingi was still on the receiving end of Yeosang’s quiet judgemental stare. He just didn’t know what the guy wanted from him this time, especially considering that they normally got along. Mingi would simply have to figure it out later. Cat hunting was much more important. Not that Wooyoung understood. He just stood with an incredibly lazy stretch and brushed his tail against Yeosang’s cheeks in a way that made him cringe. The scent got stronger again, but Wooyoung steered him away before Mingi could really dwell on it. It was important to get the coffee first, after all. It would almost guarantee Wooyoung’s cooperation.
********
Mingi barreled through the doors of the cafe. “I need an iced coffee stat!”
The cafe was sparsely populated, given that most students would be in class right about now. Save for Seonghwa, who lounged in one of the couches to the left of the door. He was smack in the middle of a craft project, which meant that he was hosting some kind of event at the cafe soon. Mingi couldn’t be bothered to check the fliers for it, but guessing by the music note shaped cardboard cutouts he was putting together, it was probably another karaoke night or something.
“Good morning to you too, Mingi!” Seonghwa chirped, bunny ears swiveling towards the sound of his voice. He set his crafting materials down to wrap Mingi into a tight hug. Mingi actually knew why his tail was wagging this time. Seonghwa was just so comforting that it hurt, and he always knew just where to scratch behind the ears. Not that it mattered. He could wrangle Yunho into doing it too even if it meant getting teased about it.
“You’re alive?” Hongjoong was frankly one to talk. He had truly horrific eye bags, and was pale in a way that was almost concerning. Mingi really couldn’t remember the last time the guy saw the sun, he usually stayed tucked away in his apartment or in a practice room or something. Being a music major would do that to a person, but Hongjoong was always a special kind of insane. At least he dressed well. It made up for the intense introversion.
“I asked myself the same thing when I saw him this morning.” Wooyoung squeezed past Mingi, who was still blocking the door. He brushed his tail against Seonghwa’s arm as he passed, purring with a quiet acknowledgement.
“Hey! I walked to the library by myself, didn’t I?” Mingi scowled. Wooyoung was far too busy circling Hongjoong to pay him any mind. He was probably trying to cover up whatever unfamiliar scent lingered on him, chirping to him about nothing at all. Hongjoong still nodded at him, interjecting with an occasional "mhm" or an exaggerated "no" like he understood what Wooyoung was conveying. Somehow it earned Mingi a side eye, raised eyebrows and all despite him literally doing nothing to deserve it.
“Don’t turn hyung against me.” Mingi said. “You know he’s weak to your wiles.”
“I’m not weak to anything.” Hongjoong shook his head. “And furthermore, you could probably understand what he said better than I can.”
“Not true! That cat is imperceptible to me. Besides, you never let me brush against you like that.” Was Mingi pouting? A little. But he had a point to prove. And if he looked sad and wet enough, Seonghwa would probably take his side.
“Wooyoung bites me if I don’t. You, on the other hand, don't let people go.”
Seonghwa cleared his throat to prove his point. Mingi didn’t realize that he was still in his grip.
“Oops.” Mingi let the bunny go so he could head behind the counter and get to work.
“What kind of coffee did you want?” Seonghwa ran his hands over his apron, smoothing it down.
“Oh. Wooyoung…”
“An iced americano.” Wooyoung approached the counter before Mingi noticed he wasn’t by Hongjoong’s side. “Mingi is paying. Skip the discount this time.”
“Why? Did something happen?” Seonghwa looked between the two of them. Wooyoung just whispered something in his ear that caused him to gasp, hands flying to his mouth. Make that two traitors in the building.
“Goodness! Don’t worry, he’ll figure it out eventually.” Seonghwa said. His nose twitched in the way it did when he was being sincere. Wooyoung snorted.
“Oh I know he will. I think the alcohol is just clogging his nose.”
"My nose is fine!" Mingi interjected. He strode over to the counter, tugging his wallet out of his pocket so he could relinquish his hard earned cash. He passed his card to Wooyoung, holding it out to him as if it were little more than a playing card. Wooyoung raised his eyebrows at him.
"You not scared I'm gonna rob you?" Mingi could hear the purr he was trying to suppress.
"No. I'm literally standing over you. Besides it's your coffee, you should get to do the honors."
"If I were foolish, I'd almost think you secretly liked me."
Mingi took great care in suppressing the way his ears perked up and the itch in his tail that wanted to wag. Wooyoung was foolish. So foolish that it made Mingi's cheeks flush just a little.
"Since when am I good at keeping secrets?"
"When you don't know what they are."
Mingi blinked at him. Wooyoung made such little sense sometimes. "Stop being mysterious and buy the coffee, man."
Wooyoung smacked his lips and held the card up to the Tap To Pay prompter. "Put your pin number in for me."
Mingi leaned over him, arm brushing just past his shoulder to type in his pin number. Wooyoung was already much smaller than him, but feeling the way the cat was dwarfed by him was… something. He felt the way Wooyoung's tail brushed against the back of his leg, tentative like a question that had yet to be answered. Mingi didn't know the answer yet either. But he didn't hate this.
"Dude, you smell like vanilla." He said with a step back. Wooyoung passed the card back to him and he tucked it back into his wallet.
"And do I smell like anything else to you?" The way he looked up at Mingi was like he was expecting something more. Something deeper.
"Yeah, Hongjoong." Mingi answered simply. Wooyoung just closed his eyes and nodded.
"You're lucky I'm nice enough not to bump my price up to two iced coffees."
"How kind of you." Mingi rolled his eyes. "I bet you wouldn't even share."
"With what you're putting me through, you don't deserve it."
Seonghwa returned with Wooyoung's drink before Mingi could really linger on what he said. Wooyoung rubbed cheeks with Seonghwa as thanks and promised to call later. The two left before long with Mingi wishing Hongjoong luck with whatever was going on between him and Seonghwa. Hongjoong swore up and down that he had no idea what Mingi was talking about. But his cheeks were colored in a deep red, and he refused to meet Seonghwa's eyes even as he was questioned about what Mingi meant.
********
Leaving the coffee shop did very little to help advance the search. Every whiff of the mystery cat Mingi thought he had turned out to be another red herring. They turned down one street only to be met with one of Mingi's coworkers. Ducking into a bakery only netted them the scent of vanilla cupcakes (Mingi bought some while he was there). The trail went cold after that. Or so Mingi thought until he gripped Wooyoung's arm and dragged him down another street, chasing what he thought was another lead only to run straight into San and Jongho.
Huh. Maybe Mingi was smelling the honey badger hybrid instead. But when Mingi sniffed again, the cat's scent was distinct compared to Jongho's. Nevertheless, he had to have been close by. Mingi could almost taste it.
"Jongho, do me a favor and sniff this shirt." Mingi tossed it over to the honey badger.
"I didn't know I wasn't worthy of a greeting." Jongho said as he caught the shirt.
"Don't worry, Hojong, I wasn't worthy of one today either." Wooyoung threw himself on San, purring louder than necessary.
"What's this even about?" San asked.
"Some mystery cat hybrid scented the fuck out of my shirt last night and I'm trying to find them." Mingi explained. "You can sniff it too if you want, bro."
"Uh." San blinked. "Wooyoung, does he know?"
"Shhhh!" Wooyoung held a finger to San's lips, ears flattening. "Don't ruin this for me. I'm getting a free iced coffee every hour out of it."
"Dude." San deadpanned.
"What am I supposed to know? Or not know?" Mingi tilted his head at San. He almost said something, but was stopped by the sheer force of Wooyoung's pout. His eyes were twinkling as if the fate of the world depended on San not saying whatever was on his mind. For a brief moment, San returned the pout and then sighed.
"Your mystery cat is closer than you think." How cryptic. If that were a fortune cookie impression, it'd be a pretty good one.
"So… you've seen them?"
"Ye- OW?!" Wooyoung bit San. "No. Absolutely not."
"The smell is unfamiliar too." Jongho tossed the shirt on top of Mingi's head. "Maybe your mystery cat blew in from out of town."
"You too?" San looked horrifically exasperated.
"Badgers never lie, it's a common adage for a reason." Jongho was very clearly pulling this shit straight from his ass.
"Yeah, c'mon Sannie everyone knows it." And Mingi was tugging right there with him.
"Well I've never heard of it." San huffed. Or maybe that was a sneeze. Wooyoung was rubbing against him so insistently, that if Mingi didn't know any better he'd probably think they were dating. Then again, Wooyoung was always a special type of possessive when it came to San.
"Wow. Way to be insensitive of hybrid cultural practices." Wooyoung said.
"I'm not! I've just never heard of it!"
Wooyoung and Jongho both tsk-ed at him despite his pleas. Mingi had hardly the time to laugh about this particular round of bullying when the scent of the mystery cat drifted past his nose. It was coming right off of San, which was weird because San was a human. Unless, San too was scented by the cat. But if the cat scented San that would mean…
"Wait, San are you dating my mystery cat?"
"Am I what now?" San said.
Wooyoung's expression morphed into that of disbelief.
"Aw man, I'm stepping on your mates tail, aren't I?" Mingi whined. He didn't know why, but he felt like he lost something he never even had. "I'm gonna go and like. Think."
"Mingi wait-" Wooyoung reached out to him, but Mingi brushed him off. The gesture was sweet, but there probably wasn't anything he could say to make this better. With his tail between his legs, he headed to the one spot he knew he could be alone.
********
Sunset at the Han river always helped to clear Mingi's mind. It was his spot away from the parties, his studies, and even his friends. He didn't share this place with just anybody, and even Yunho knew not to look for him if he ended up here. Not that the river was a particularly private location, plenty of people came here daily. But it was quiet enough to let Mingi really and truly think.
Mingi gazed at the shirt in his hands. It was probably really corny, but he didn't think he could bring himself to wash it. Especially not when he didn't remember what happened the night before. The scent would fade in time, and so would Mingi's twisted up feelings over it. It was better that it did sooner rather than later, he couldn't mope over a sports jersey forever.
"I hope you appreciate how long it took me to find you." Wooyoung flopped over the back of the bench. Mingi screamed, fur standing on end.
"How? Nobody finds me here."
"Well for one, I pass by here quite frequently. For two you're very easy to spot." He purred, rounding the bench to sit next to Mingi.
"You pass by here?"
"I cycle." Wooyoung shrugged. "And you look pretty zoned out whenever I see you."
"Oh. Yeah I come here to think."
"I've always wanted to ask what was on your mind."
"Really? It's not that interesting." Mingi scowled.
"Try me." Wooyoung was looking at him. Really looking at him. His gaze held a warmth that he almost never saw directed at him. Mingi weighed his options for a moment.
"I dunno. Okay, I do know. I thought… If I found out whoever scented my shirt that maybe we could have something. It's obvious they took care of me last night. I know I always go to these massive shindigs and get drunk and all, but it was nice waking up in my own bed knowing that someone else helped me get there and liked me enough to want to stay."
"Plenty of people like you, Mingles."
"Yeah, the party guy. I know what I'm like when I'm really drunk though. Behind closed doors and all. Not everyone enjoys a sap."
Wooyoung gazed out across the river for a moment. It was clear that he was turning something over in his mind. Mingi didn't have to wait long to find out what it was.
"I like saps." He said. The fur close to the base of his tail started standing on end.
"Well duh, you hang out with the biggest sap in the world."
"Me and Sannie have a blood oath. He doesn't count."
"So you're saying…"
Wooyoung leaned in close, sticking an ear directly under Mingi's nose. "Sniff."
And Mingi did.
A thick molasses of embarrassment immediately washed through him. Of course the answer was right under his nose. This was worse than all the times Mingi couldn't find his glasses only to find they were within reaching distance, or Yunho forbid on his head.
"You!" Mingi lightly gripped Wooyoung by the shoulders. "You let everyone laugh at me all day!"
"Sannie didn't laugh. And neither did Seonghwa." Wooyoung unhelpfully pointed out.
"Sannie's my bestest bro. He doesn't count! And Seonghwa is too polite to laugh publicly!"
"Well can you blame me? I took you home last night and you basically spilled your guts out to me and I thought we finally had a breakthrough in our relationship. And then you waltzed into that library and acted like nothing happened." Wooyoung hissed.
"I forgot! Anyone can forget things!" Mingi flinched when Wooyoung did. "Not that last night would've just been 'things' to me."
"Way to break a girl's heart." Wooyoung huffed.
"I'm sorry. If I had known what happened, I wouldn't have acted like a doorknob all day."
"Apology accepted. Besides, it was fun getting to investigate with you."
"Really?"
"Mhm. You're really sweet when you drop the nemesis bit."
"Ah." Mingi should've dropped it sooner. He'd already gotten over the original reason he started it anyway. But a bit is a commitment too grand to be simply let go of.
"So uh…" Mingi cleared his throat. "What exactly happened? Last night, I mean. What kind of sappy stuff did I say?"
Wooyoung stroked his chin, hmm-ing softly as he pondered the question. "You started sobbing in some guy's bedroom and begged me to take you home. Then you called me pretty and begged me to stay the night."
"Did you? Stay?"
"The whole night." Wooyoung nodded. "Honestly, I only left so I could debrief with Yeosang this morning."
"And I'm guessing you're also the reason Yunho didn't tell me what happened."
"I wanted to talk to you about it myself. How I felt and all." He turned away, shyness written all across his face. "It made me a little nervous too, being so vulnerable last night. A part of me hoped you didn't remember everything I said, so I didn't have to deal with someone knowing the… less public sides of me like that."
Mingi squeezed his shoulder, nodding sagely. "We're kindred spirits. Like Sonic and Shadow the Hedgehog."
Wooyoung looked confused for a moment and then hopelessly endeared. "I want to kiss you."
Mingi wasted no time in cupping Wooyoung's face and pulling him in. They were tentative, the kiss little more than a promise of more. But it meant the world to Mingi and he could feel Wooyoung smiling against his lips.
"Y'know, I'm surprised we've gotten our shit together before our hyungs have." Wooyoung murmured.
"Should we go and gloat? The coffee shop should still be open."
"Well, you're behind on your coffee payments anyway. So it's a date!"