Archive of Our Own ^beta

After spending three months roaming free on the streets, Kunyi resented the echoing house he'd been trapped inside. He resented the way his claws clacked on the hard floors and the way the kitchen was seldom used. He resented the people who held out hands and gently nudged him back inside when he just wanted to wander around the garden. He resented that after being one of eight, he was now mostly alone.

Well, for the first day anyway. There was a big man with big ears who held him gently — "Oof, what a big boy you are!" — and let him sniff around the big carpeted room upstairs. There was even a weird fenced in outside part, but big ears didn't let him out there alone. That night, Kunyi got to sleep on the very soft, very big bed with big ears.

The next day, Kunyi got poked in his belly — "Ooh, he's so cute!" — and had his ears pulled by a lady that smelled so strong that it made him sneeze. Nibbling on her fingers didn't make her go away, it just made him feel nauseated.

"You should give him a rest, Hong Ye," big ears said.

"He's so cute though. And the more you touch him, the less shy he'll be when others play with him," the smelly lady replied.

Kunyi happily went to play outside with big ears instead, who gave him a reward for returning the ball, and then just the idea of returning the ball made Kunyi so happy that he did it for no reward at all.

Again, Kunyi got to sleep in the big soft bed. Even though he still resented being trapped with big ears and the smelly lady (and some other people who mostly avoided him), there were definitely perks to living in this place.

The next day, big ears brought a small friend and a very strange man to play with Kunyi. The small friend sat on the ground and made happy noises over everything Kunyi did. "You are the best little dog ever, aren't you!"

"I'm not little!" Kunyi barked. "Someday I'll be bigger than you!"

But the small friend just laughed.

Big ears and the strange friend talked for so long that Kunyi got curious enough to slink over to big ears. When he peeked up at the other man, he could tell that he was trying to be friendly, but his face was scary and Kunyi slunk back behind big ears.

"I wonder why he doesn't like me," the strange friend said.

"You have to get down on his level, Jack," the small friend said.

"And give it time," big ears said. "He didn't like me at first at all."

Kunyi looked up suspiciously at big ears.

"But you trust me to protect you now, don't you, Kunyi?" big ears said in a voice that was very sweet.

Kunyi hesitantly wagged his tail and then erupted into happy wiggling once big ears stooped down and stroked his fur properly.

"If even Shao Fei has won that mutt's heart, then you can too, Jack!"

Small friend sounded excited, so Kunyi yipped to show he agreed.

"I think Shao Fei would try to make friends with a tiger if he dared," strange friend muttered, but everyone ignored him.

Kunyi didn't really warm up to strange friend, but he liked playing ball with him. Big ears stood off to the side and watched and Kunyi tried bringing the ball to him instead, but big ears just kept tossing it back to strange friend. After a while, strange friend seemed less uncomfortable and Kunyi even licked his face to show him they were okay. Strange friend laughed at that and said, "Don't lick Jack's face, don't lick Jack's face!" and Kunyi only laughed in reply.

Jack. He could remember that name.

He did learn the others names too after a few days. There was Li An who didn't come by often, but was probably Kunyi's second favorite. Hong Ye didn't smell as bad after a few days and she was often with Dao Yi who also liked to carry Kunyi around. It was a lot of fun when Dao Yi gently tossed Kunyi up in the air, like he was jumping really far, or swimming at the same time. Kunyi probably wouldn't admit it, but big ears — Shao Fei — was probably his favorite person. After spending so much time with him, he couldn't help but like the man.

After a few more days though, Shao Fei was busier, so Kunyi had to spend more time with Jack. The man was still strange somehow, but he took Kunyi on really long walks and even let him swim in the pool.

Though Shao Fei put a stop to that once he found out. There were a few days when Kunyi was strictly forbidden from going in the water, but then it smelled different and didn't burn his eyes anymore when he jumped in, so he supposed that was good.

After a few more days, Kunyi forgets his resentment entirely.

The house still echoes, but now there were familiar voices that broke the silence. The kitchen was still very clean, but Jack liked the cook and would toss Kunyi little morsels if he waited patiently. And now he was allowed into the garden whenever he wanted, provided he was supervised.

Kunyi still felt a little lonely sometimes, but even when Shao Fei, Jack, and Hong Ye were all away, he knew he could plop down by the feet of any of the guards and he would be given a kind word if not a pat on the head. No one kicked him or was mean to him in this house, and that was beginning to be very valuable to him indeed.

The days went on and Shao Fei would sometimes be very busy, sometimes so busy that Kunyi slept alone in the big bed. And he was now so big that if he stretched, he can reach toes from one end of the bed to the other. Shao Fei sometimes complained about this. After a very long day when Jack took him for the longest walk Kunyi had ever been on. He was so tired afterward that when he walked in the door of the house, it took him a moment to realize there was someone new in the house. Or, not new exactly, but there was someone here who had not been here for a very long time. So long that his scent only lingered in the old shoes at the bottom of the closet and the leather journal tucked inside the desk.

Standing beside Shao Fei, his Shao Fei, was a tall man Kunyi has never seen before. And he was holding Shao Fei. And licking his face!

"Tang Yi," Jack said, stopping suddenly.

Kunyi took a step backwards, bumping into Jack's legs, and slipped between them.

"Kunyi! What're you—!"

"Is that the dog?"

"Jack, I wasn't expecting—"

For a moment there was too much talking for Kunyi to follow. Anyway, he was peeking up at the tall man whose shoes were in Shao Fei's room, who smelled like a hundred different people too. He smelled like the stinky stuff Hong Ye wore when she went out in the mornings. He frowned down at Kunyi and Shao Fei stayed by his side instead of coming over to Kunyi to tell him everything was okay.

Instead, Jack knelt down next to Kunyi and patted his side, telling him, "It's okay," over and over in a soft voice. Kunyi would have liked nothing more than to go over to Shao Fei and to be introduced to the tall man properly, but Jack took Kunyi into the kitchen instead. They both had some water and Kunyi splayed out on the cool tiles, suddenly remembering he was hot and tired. When he woke up, Jack was putting some extra special meat into Kunyi's food bowl and for a moment the thought of the tall man was completely gone from Kunyi's mind.

Jack had let him off the leash though, so Kunyi meandered out into the house, following the smells and finding Shao Fei had gone to their room with the tall man. The door was closed and Kunyi couldn't even nose it open. He sniffed hard and long at the bottom of the door, smelling that the two of them were both in there and it smelled very strongly of both of them, almost like they'd marked the place.

After a few moments where Kunyi could hear them talking, the door opened slowly and Shao Fei knelt, blocking his way. It rankled a little, reminding Kunyi of when he wasn't allowed outside.

"Hey, little dog," Shao Fei said in that soft voice. "I'll take you to meet Tang Yi now if you promise to behave."

Kunyi just stuck his head against the door to peer over Shao Fei's shoulder at the bed where the tall man was lying.

"You be nice to him," Shao Fei said once he stood, but when Kunyi glanced up, he saw Shao Fei was glaring at the tall man.

Kunyi stood silently, half wrapped around Shao Fei's bare legs, while the other man swung his legs over the side of the bed and took a few steps toward Kunyi.

"Make yourself smaller, Tang Yi!"

The tall man obliged, kneeling down on the ground and holding out a hand for Kunyi.

"Give him a moment, Tang Yi," Shao Fei said, patting Kunyi's side. "Go on, Kunyi, he won't bite you."

"Bossy, isn't he?" Tang Yi asked, crawling forward a few inches, but then settling down and waiting for Kunyi to come sniff his hand.

Tang Yi smelled like Shao Fei even though he'd clearly tried to wash it off. His hand was warm and gentle as it scratched the top of Kunyi's head and behind his ears. Kunyi snuck a look at Shao Fei and got a smile from his favorite person. So when Tang Yi rubbed his neck, he leaned into the touch, let his head grow heavier and heavier until Tang Yi was holding his face with both hands and cooing over him the same with Hong Ye did.

"Oh he's just the sweetest," Tang Yi whispered.

"I told you!" Shao Fei was quiet but his happiness was loud. His hands were rubbing along Kunyi's back and Kunyi began to melt into the carpet.

"I'm glad you had a friend while I was away," Tang Yi says.

"He needed a home," Shao Fei says quietly. "How could I turn him away?"

"So like you," Tang Yi said, and he sounded so fond that Kunyi had to look at him. He looked really happy too, his eyes were soft and loving. He looked at Shao Fei the same way Kunyi did.

Kunyi closed his eyes.

"Just one thing," Shao Fei said. "He's used to sleeping in the bed too."

"This bed? How on earth are we all going to fit?"

Kunyi sighed and flopped down on the ground, taking Tang Yi with him. The men laughed and Kunyi dozed, cuddled up with them like they would every night from now on, safe and warm.