The Definition of a Pet

K-pop info and glossary

Who’s who chart of idols

This story is part of a series.

I write about men having sex with other men.  You must be eighteen or older to read my fiction.  This site is for consenting, responsible adults only.

---

---

“Ahhh, hmmff, oh.”

Seated on the edge of his bed, Sehun tried not to look down.

“Mmmphh, huooohh, oh.”

He was doing his best not to care. To seem unaffected, disinterested, in what was happening in his lap.

“Thank you, oohhh, thank you, I’m so grateful, mmm.”

But it was really hard not to be affected when his pet was slurping all over his cock. It was easier if he didn’t look down, but he could still hear it all, could still feel it. The tenderly pulling suction, keeping him achingly erect. The devoted licking, his pet’s tongue slicking and sliding all over his cockhead. His pet was obsessed with him, worshiping him, tending to his throbbing cock like only the most faithful servant could.

It was such a wet, juicy blowjob that his balls were dripping. He’d told Hwanhee before that he wanted it messier, and his pet was a very obedient slut. Hwanhee was dribbling and drooling all over him, shamelessly enthusiastic. His pre-cum was smeared all down his shaft, all over Hwanhee’s chin, shiny on those puffy, red lips.

“Ooh-hh-hh, ahh, you’re so good to me,” Hwanhee panted.

Clenching his teeth together, he forced back a groan as Hwanhee slurped him back down. Fuck, this was good. He was clinging to the edge of orgasm, barely holding on, and every time he slid between those tender, hungry lips, pleasure sizzled and built.

“So grateful,” Hwanhee moaned. “Prince Sehun? Do you want to plug my other fuckhole, now?”

Yes. Fuck, yes, that was exactly what he wanted. “Is it sore?” Controlling himself, he looked down.

Hwanhee gazed up at him trustingly, eyes wide with heartfelt adoration, lips swollen from hard work. “I can take it, I want it, please.”

Sehun slapped him across the face. “It was a yes or no question.”

He gasped, whimpering. His cheek was pink, but his expression was still just as worshipful when he looked up at Sehun again. Drool trickled down over his lower lip and he did nothing to stop it. “Yes, I’m a little sore. Yes, I want it. Yes, please.”

“Lube yourself, and make it fast. You don’t want me losing interest and trying to go in soft.”

“Yes, hyungnim, thank you, I’ll be quick, I’m so grateful.”

As if Sehun’s erection was at any risk of flagging. He watched avidly as Hwanhee got the lube.

With one hand tied to his own thigh, Hwanhee had to manipulate the bottle one-handed. On his knees, as he lubed himself, he stared at Sehun’s crotch, whimpering. His hips hitched eagerly, and he was so hungry for it, Sehun couldn’t wait to give it to him. Sehun had already fucked him tonight, fucked him hard, but there was never enough between them. “On your back, when you’re done.” Sehun couldn’t stand seeing him like this, so needy, so fuckable, so ripe for it. “Knees up.”

“Yes, please.” Hwanhee rolled onto his back, pulling his knees to his shoulders. “Your fuckhole’s ready for you, hyungnim. I’m such a grateful fuckhole, thank you for being so good to me.” He cupped his balls out of the way, showing off his pouting, slick hole.

He was offering himself completely. Growling, Sehun slid off of the bed. Hwanhee moaned ecstatically, squirming, and all of Sehun’s instincts to take, to possess, to claim, took over. Mounting him, Sehun was inside him in an instant, thrusting hard, fucking in as deeply as possible, filling him. Crying out, he shook under Sehun, jostled by Sehun’s aggression. Stuffed full of Sehun’s cock and shuddering helplessly, he was so vulnerable, his shocked cries were fuel for Sehun’s lust, and Sehun cursed, ramming into him again, again, determined to own him, to take over, to dominate, to make him remember this forever. “Take it, take it,” Sehun chanted, rocking into him quick and fierce.

“Yes, yes, thank you. Oohh, oohh-hh-ohh, ooo, okay, hyungnim, okay, yes, oh, I want it, I want all of it.”

Sehun was so worked up, he only had another minute of rutting before he was coming. Unloading his balls in his pet’s sweet, hot ass, he groaned, triumphant. “Fuck, yes, take it,” he panted, staring down at his flushed, shivering pet. It had been a quick, dirty screw, with no pretense of being for his pet’s pleasure, and he loved that. He loved that he could do this, that he could use his pet so frankly, that he could be so unforgivably selfish.

“Thank you, yes, I’m so grateful,” Hwanhee moaned, gazing up at him, dazed and adoring. “I’m such a grateful fuckhole. Thank you for letting me be your jizz vessel, hyungnim, I hope I served you well.”

He loved that, too. “Cum-hungry slut.” He popped his cock out, and Hwanhee moaned with pathetic disappointment. Leaning over his pet, he grabbed hold of his pet’s collar, pulling until Hwanhee’s shoulders were off of the floor. Then he settled in, licking his pet’s face all over. Biting. He nibbled on his pet’s nose and gnawed on his pet’s jaw and nipped up and down his pet’s cheekbones. He spat on his pet’s eyebrows and licked them clean. “Pretty slut,” he whispered, “pretty pet,” and Hwanhee whispered, “Yours, Prince Sehun, I’m your slut,” shuddering helplessly in his grip, submitting to him completely.

He felt like he was high.

---

---

After badminton, Hwanhee squirmed in close against Sehun on the bed. He wrapped Hwanhee up in his mile-long legs and rolled over, tucking Hwanhee against the wall. Sighing, pleased, Hwanhee got cozy, stroking his back.

They were still there a minute later when Hwanhee heard something. Under the music. He wondered if it was a part of the track, and then Sehun cringed and said, “Shit,” and he realized what it was. Knocking.

Someone was at the door.

Their leaders! The time! “Shit!” he gasped, scrambling upward.

Sehun grabbed him and kissed his cheek, nipped at him and kissed him again, and something about it made his pulse race, pulled on his heart, made him feel emotional, like Sehun wanted to grab one more second with him, like Sehun wanted to hold onto him just a little bit longer. Like Sehun cared, like this wasn’t just a way for Sehun to get off, like Sehun couldn’t just toss him aside easily. “Good pet,” Sehun whispered against the side of his face, his favorite words in the world, and then Sehun was getting up.

Sehun threw his clothes at him first, then grabbed a pair of underwear. That seemed significant, too, like Sehun was making sure that he was covered and dressed, like Sehun really cared. Like Sehun was looking out for him, wanted to protect him.

It was funny, this relationship. It was so lopsided, he couldn’t see it any other way. His heart was in it completely, but he was a loyal servant. Sehun was a prince, and the prince wasn’t supposed to care about him. That was kind of the point.

But the servant-prince thing had always been his thing, first. Sehun had started out on the pet-owner side. And a pet was a responsibility the owner deliberately took on, something the owner volunteered to take care of. Having a pet meant feeding it and sheltering it and making sure that it stayed out of trouble, keeping it from getting hurt. A pet was a dependent.

Sehun expected to protect him.

But that was so sweet! Stopping with his clothes only half on, Hwanhee stared at Sehun, wanting to figure all of this out. Was that why Sehun was so good to him all of the time? And gave him such fantastic skinship, after? He was a good pet. He was a spoiled pet.

Tugging his jeans up, Sehun glanced over at Hwanhee.

“I’ll be a good pet,” he blurted out.

Looking exasperated, Sehun came over to him. “You can’t dress yourself?” Sehun asked, sounding just like a patient hyung. Sehun tugged his shirt the rest of the way on, then smoothed it down, then fixed his hair for him. Really liking this, he smiled up at Sehun, happy with the attention. He didn’t lift a hand, just let Sehun do it all.

Sehun gave Hwanhee’s cheek a quick pat, then turned away. He kicked the dog bowl into the closet and closed the door on it, shoved the collar into a drawer, kicked the black cloth and the lube under the bed, and said, “Grab your backpack.”

Oh! Hurrying to obey, Hwanhee got his bag. He snatched up his bottles and oranges, shoving them inside.

Sehun pulled a shirt on, turned off the music, and opened the door. “Yeah, hi, sorry,” he said, ruffling his hair.

“You know that I don’t want to interrupt,” Suho’s voice said. Hwanhee blushed, his whole face going up in flames, and pretended to have very important things to have to do in his bag so that he wouldn’t have to look up and see Suho there at the door. EXO’s leader! He had Sehun’s dried cum all over his ass and he was sure that Suho could see it right through his pants. “But it’s late, and it’s time for Hwanhee to go.”

“Yeah, yeah, sorry,” Sehun said. “He’ll be out in a second, we’re finished. It’s my fault.”

“Okay,” Suho said, like he wanted to lecture more but he was holding back. Hwanhee winced and tried to crawl into his backpack.

“One second,” Sehun said.

Hearing the door close, Hwanhee moaned. Sehun patted his back, and he straightened, turning. “You okay?” Sehun asked, cupping his face, rubbing his cheek.

Sehun touched him like this all of the time. Petting him like a real pet. The dog collar, the dog bowl, the dog harness, did Sehun think that he was a real dog? But after Wooshin and Xiao had said stuff about “puppy play,” he’d looked that up on-line. And he didn’t think that was what Sehun wanted. Sehun was pretty much completely in control of what they did together; if Sehun was into Hwanhee being a dog, that was what they’d do. But it wasn’t. So Sehun didn’t want a dog. Sehun just wanted a pet.

Hwanhee just wasn’t entirely sure what that meant, to Sehun. Prince and servant made sense to him, but that was his fantasy. Owner and pet, that was Sehun’s fantasy, but he wondered if he understood completely what that meant, really.

Sehun had kept pushing him away, before, and talking about commitment and responsibility. The responsibility of being a pet owner? But he didn’t need Sehun to be responsible for him. He didn’t need Sehun to give him food and shelter and all of the rest of it. And what was the commitment part about? How was this a commitment? If Sehun decided to brush him off or stop seeing him, so what? He’d be devastated, but why would Sehun care about that? He wasn’t anybody to Sehun, he was just some hoobae, one of a thousand rookies.

But he was thinking about it through the prince-servant perspective, again. He assumed that Sehun wouldn’t care because the prince wouldn’t care about the servant.

But if an owner lost his dog, he felt bad, right? He went looking for it. Or if he had to give it up or put it to sleep, or something, he felt bad.

Sehun was such a big sunbae, and he’d looked at VIXX’s Hongbin with so much scandal in his eyes, that Hwanhee had made assumptions about him.

But he wasn’t only a dark prince. He was a hyung, too. A hyung who teased and smiled. A hyung who got impatient but never mean. A hyung who apologized a lot and made Hwanhee feel like being really fucking kinky was okay.

A prince wouldn’t do those things. A nice prince would, maybe, but Hwanhee had never really wanted a nice prince.

An owner, though. He wouldn’t want a cruel owner. But a nice owner, a generous owner who spoiled him, wasn’t that too much to ask for? He’d never expect that!

Oh, this was too complicated. He wanted to ask Sehun about it, but they didn’t have any time. “Can I call you, later?”

“Of course, you can always call me,” Sehun said, like he should’ve known that. Sehun stroked his hair. “You okay?”

He had a thousand questions. “Yeah.” He hugged Sehun, just to show himself that he could.

Sehun was a good hyung who hugged him right back. “You sure? I don’t want you to go if you feel weird. We can ask Jinhoo hyung to stay for a minute. I can abuse my sunbae authority.”

He smiled at that. “I’m okay.” He kissed Sehun’s shoulder and pulled back. “I should go, you need rest, you have to fly out tomorrow, and I - - wait, how late is it?” he demanded, suddenly alarmed. “Shit, holy shit, is it really late? Jinhoo hyung’s going to kill me. God, I hope that Kuhn hyung didn’t stay up waiting again! I can’t have both of them mad at me.”

“It can’t be that late,” Sehun said, but he wasn’t even a little bit convincing.

“I gotta go.” But it was really hard to rush away from Sehun. Giving Sehun a hopeful smile, he tilted his face to one side, showing Sehun his cheek.

Sehun cupped his chin and kissed him right there, on his left cheekbone, sucking on him just a little and then nibbling on him delicately.

Wow. This pet-owner thing might be more amazing than he’d realized. He’d totally underestimated it. He was going to have to figure this out. Cute pets got all sorts of treats and rewards!

---

---

The next night, Hwanhee curled up in bed with his phone. He ran his fingers over the puppies decorating the case and wondered what Sehun thought of him. What Sehun really wanted from him, and if he was doing it right or not.

He knew how to be a dongsaeng and a servant. He hadn’t thought about how to be a pet. He’d made a lot of assumptions about what being somebody’s pet meant, but he’d just skimmed the surface of it. He’d focused more on what it meant for Sehun to be his owner than what it meant for him to be a pet.

The idea that Sehun owned him gave him a thrill every time his thoughts bumped into it. But Sehun didn’t own him like he owned his phone or his shoes or his bellhop uniform. A pet wasn’t a thing, an object, unthinking and just to be used. A pet was alive. It had ideas and wants and needs of its own. A pet had to be taken care of, looked after, treated in certain ways.

No one had a real relationship with an object, but people had relationships with their pets, didn’t they? An owner might come home and find that the pet was hungry, or needed a walk, or was happy to see him. An owner might have a hard day and get comfort from the pet. Pets wagged their tails and wanted attention and learned tricks.

Pets were comforting and entertaining. They were cute. People fed them and looked after them, and in return had something to cuddle and something to play with.

Was that what Sehun wanted? Comfort and entertainment? Cuteness, cuddling, playfulness?

He could do that! He was a maknae! He did that for his hyungs all of the time!

He’d have to work on his aegyo. He definitely had to improve that. Did Sehun want more skinship? He loved skinship with Sehun.

Hugging his pillow, he unlocked his phone. He needed to look up cat videos. He had things to learn.

---

---

Sehun checked his messages.

“Hi, hyung! It’s your happy Hwanhee! I hope that you’re having a good day! Let me know if you want anything, okay? You’re working hard, but make sure that you get some rest, you’re too good-looking to be stressed out. Hyung, fighting! Hwanhee out!”

He smiled. It was like all of Hwanhee’s messages, checking in with him, offering to do things for him. But there was something energizing and encouraging about it. Hwanhee was adorable. Undoing his fly, he played it again.

---

---

Sehun’s call went to voicemail.

He didn’t leave a message. He just hung up.

A couple of hours later, his phone rang. Seeing his pet’s name on the caller ID, he smiled. Leaning back on the couch, he slid his hand down the front of his pants and answered. Deliberately sounding bored, he said, “Yeah.”

Beside him on the couch, Chanyeol gave him a disbelieving look.

“Hyung? It’s your Hwanhee calling. I’m sorry that I missed your call, earlier, I would’ve answered right away if I could have. Is it okay to call back now, is this a good time, should I call back later?”

“This is fine,” he said indifferently. He wasn’t fondling himself, just cupping. Just holding himself and listening to his pet’s happy voice.

“Thank you for calling, earlier. It’s so great when you call. And thank you for answering! I’m so glad to get to talk to you and hear your voice. How are you, is everything okay? I hope that you had a good day, today.”

His pet sounded so bright, so cheery. He smiled. “Yeah, it was good.” His thumb stroked lightly, just at the base. His spine relaxed, his eyes slipping shut. “How was your day?”

“It was nice, hyung, I had a good day, we were busy. Do you want me to tell you about it?”

“Yeah.” He licked his lips, rubbing himself. “Tell me all about it.”

“Oh, god,” Hwanhee said softly, and then he cleared his throat. “Okay, well, um…”

A few minutes later, Sehun came in a hot rush. He grunted as he climaxed, wanting his pet to hear it. The sudden waver in his pet’s voice made him smile with satisfaction.

“Who are you on the phone with?” Chanyeol asked.

“Is that one of your members?” Hwanhee asked. “Are you with EXO? Are they helping you?”

“Nobody helps me like you do,” Sehun murmured. Getting up, he left, heading for the privacy of his room. “I want to see you.”

“I’ll be there as soon as I can. What do you need from me now, what can I do?”

Getting comfortable on his bed, he relaxed, rubbing his stomach. “You said that you wanted to call me. What did you want to talk about?”

“Um, is it okay if we talk in person? It’s awkward, over the phone.”

“Yeah, okay. Let’s meet at your practice room soon.”

“Okay, hyung, I’ll look forward to it.”

He didn’t need his pet only to agree with him. “Is that where you want to meet?”

“I want to meet wherever you want to meet.”

“Where would you feel the most comfortable talking about whatever you want to talk about?”

“I like being in your room the best. It’s my favorite place. But I can’t always be in your dorm, and you have a lot of members, I don’t want to be in the way. The practice room is good, we can talk there.”

He wanted his pet to feel comfortable. He wanted his pet to feel safe. “We’ll meet here at my dorm, then. But we’ll just talk, we won’t do anything else. So a few of my members might be around, and you can tell Jinhoo that he doesn’t have to bring you himself, there’s no reason to baby-sit.”

“No checkers?” Hwanhee asked. “But maybe a little checkers, right? I can be quick. I’m getting better at the things you like, right, it won’t take me too long to, um, win the game. Or, I guess you’re winning the game.” He laughed. “You know what I mean, right?”

“I don’t want you to rush the talk to get to the game. I want you to say whatever you want to say.”

“Checkers first? And then we can talk after.”

“Hwanhee-ah,” he said firmly. “No checkers.”

“Maybe a little checkers, after.”

He growled.

Hwanhee made a soft, breathy sound. A shaky gasp followed by a purring exhalation. So much reverence, so much desire. His pet was so responsive. So needy.

“Have you been taking your vitamins?”

“Yes. Yeah. It’s been, um, really nice.”

“We can’t play checkers every time we see each other. But that doesn’t change the facts. What’s true is always true, whether we play checkers that day or not. Whether I see you that day or not.”

“Your shoes are your shoes, whether they’re on your feet or not,” Hwanhee said softly.

He growled in satisfaction. “That’s right.”

“Property of Oh Sehun,” Hwanhee said. “Is always property of Oh Sehun.”

It sounded so good. So right. “What I own, I own. What’s mine is mine, Hwanhee-ah.”

Hwanhee was taking shallow, shuddering breaths.

“Put your hand on top of your head, Hwanhee-ah.”

“I can’t let go of the phone.”

He wanted to laugh. “Your other hand.”

Hwanhee made a low, distressed noise. His pet’s whimpering was such a sexy, constant little sound. “I did it, hyung. My hand’s on top of my head.”

“Good. We’ll meet here at my dorm, as soon as we can.”

“If it’s faster, we can meet at my practice room. Whatever’s the soonest. It can be anywhere, I just want to see you.”

“I want you to feel safe, I want you to feel like you can say whatever you want to say.”

“If we’re alone in the room, if I’m with you, I can talk anywhere.”

His pet’s faith in him was complete. Hwanhee was aware of his flaws and called him on his shit and made accusations directly to his face, and still believed in him completely. That level of trust was an enormous responsibility. “Okay. I’ll let Suho hyung know. I’ll try to make it soon.”

“I need my bowl, can I have my bowl? Can I get my own?”

“No,” he said calmly. God, Hwanhee’s need turned him on. And that honesty, asking for the bowl, damn. “Hwan-ah?”

Hwanhee’s breath caught. “Yes, hyungnim? I’m here.”

“Go and clean the kitchen, and then you can make your mess.”

He heard a low, hoarse moan, right in his ear. “Yes, hyungnim. Thank you, thank you, I’ll do that.” Hwanhee groaned, a throaty sound of raw eroticism. “You’re so good to me.”

---

---

Hwanhee packed his bag. Juice, cola, water, milk, cookies, grapes, oranges, his carefully folded uniform. Sehun had said that they wouldn’t play badminton, but he wanted to be ready. Just in case.

He shoved his silver bracelets into his pocket. He didn’t have to wear them on the way over.

He’d been having dreams about being tied up. Really intense dreams, really vivid, really physical. Of being tied down, being strapped to things, being helpless and immobilized, being trapped and bound up. In his dreams, Sehun showed up - - or L, or Woohyun, but mostly Sehun - - and got on top of him and started fucking him. But he was tied too tightly, and he couldn’t respond. He couldn’t show Sehun how much he liked it, how much he wanted it. And when it got rough, when it got intense, he couldn’t get away.

So he started off his mornings rock-hard and shaking with ecstasy, getting off in a thrilling whirlwind of helpless, pounding lust. It was an intoxicating jolt to kick start his day, and things stayed great from there. His memories of serving Sehun were vivid, and there was so much to keep the high going. His daily phone call. The time he spent double-checking and improving his lists. The sight of his harness hanging right there in his closet. Simple things - - the scent of orange juice, the taste of grapes, a pile of dirty dishes, a pile of clean dishes - - anything could spark that sense of pleasure and desire and fulfillment.

Sometimes he felt needy. Or helpless with desperation. Or sick with shame. But there was a hot, sweet edge to that, too. He was a filthy slut to his very core, and there were going to be times that he felt the deep, awful impact of it. He just had to admit it, and face it, and try not to let it overwhelm him until he was in front of his owner again, until he was in front of his prince and he could let it out.

He’d been spending more time on the floor, around the dorm. Sitting on the floor, or lying on it. Not crawling, or anything, he didn’t want it to seem weird. It was just that he liked being on the floor. He felt comfortable down there. Even when his prince wasn’t around to put him in his place, he still knew where he belonged.

In front of Sehun’s door, he fluffed his hair with both hands. He looked okay, right? He wondered if he should add scarves or bandannas or something to his backpack. Maybe if he brought his own, um…restraints? Maybe Sehun would like that. Or maybe it would just encourage Sehun to tie him up more. But he should want that, right? If it made Sehun happy, then it was a good thing.

Sehun opened the door.

He smiled, feeling joy ring in him. “Hi, hyung!” As soon as they were in and the door was closed, he hugged Sehun. Pets were always excited to greet their owners, and he was a good pet. He rubbed his nose against Sehun’s shoulder, inhaling, and then he kissed Sehun’s shoulder. “You always smell so good.”

“Oh, is that Hwanhee? Is he here?”

Hearing his name, he looked over Sehun’s shoulder to see EXO members heading his way. Chanyeol and Baekhyun and Kai. Surprised, he laughed. “Hello.”

“Don’t bother him,” Sehun said, turning around.

“No one’s bothering anybody, we’re saying hi,” Baekhyun said. “Hey, Nibbles.”

Was Baekhyun talking to him? Realizing what Baekhyun had just called him, he burst into laughter. “Hi, hyung.”

“Holy shit, don’t call him that,” Sehun said.

“I’m trying it out, does it work?” Baekhyun asked. “Might be a good nickname.”

“Nibbles, why Nibbles?” Chanyeol asked.

“Please don’t explain, no,” Sehun said. “We’ll be in my room.”

“Sounds like a nickname for a mouse,” Chanyeol said. “Like somebody’s pet mouse.”

He wasn’t a pet mouse. He definitely wasn’t a pet dog, either. He was just a pet. A good pet. Sehun’s pet. Feeling a warm glow of pride, he took Sehun’s hand. Because this was a hyung that he could do that to, if he wanted. He kind of hoped that Sehun would hold on firmly and drag him off in an impatient rush, like that first time they’d played badminton here, when Sehun had yanked him into the bedroom and thrown him down on the bed and changed his life.

Sehun laced their fingers together and gave his hand a light tug, stepping back. As Sehun turned and walked away, he followed. This hyung was so nice to him. He was such a spoiled pet.

“Okay, bye, Nibbles, see you later!” Baekhyun called after him.

“Shit,” Sehun said, and raised his voice. “Don’t call him that!”

“He’s not listening,” Hwanhee said. “You’re his maknae.”

Sehun pushed him into the room and closed the door.

“Badminton,” he said, and started going down on his knees.

“No,” Sehun said firmly, dragging him back up.

“Badminton,” he said again. Curling his arms around Sehun’s neck, he whispered it, gazing hopefully up into Sehun’s face. “Badminton, badminton.”

Sehun closed his eyes, pressing his lips together.

Was it really working? Feeling a swell of hope, Hwanhee pushed the best button he had. “I think you should go down on me later.”

Sehun’s eyes opened slowly, and the dark prince glared at him. A happy shiver ran down his spine, and he held still, his breath caught in his throat. He’d cozied up really close, and now he and Sehun were chest to chest, nose to nose. “I’m not going to be that easy to manipulate.”

He loved how in control Sehun was. “Badminton.”

“No.” Sehun pushed a backpack strap off of his shoulder. “Sit down.”

He set down his backpack and started to-

“On the bed.”

He got back up, sighing. “Pets belong on the floor,” he reminded Sehun, but he sat on the side of the bed.

Sehun turned music on. Not too loud, but pretty loud. “My hyungs are around, but they won’t bother us.”

Hwanhee scooted back across the bed, leaning against the wall behind him. He liked being allowed to relax in this room, liked getting comfortable with Sehun. He wasn’t only a fuckhole to Sehun, he was a dongsaeng, too, someone Sehun didn’t mind talking to in between games of badminton. He hadn’t expected that a prince, if he ever found one, would tease him and hug him back.

Sehun sat beside him, handsome and sexy. “What do you want to ask me about?”

He licked his lips and decided to start with the main point. Feeling self-conscious about not already knowing, but trusting Sehun to tell him, he met Sehun’s eyes. “What’s a pet?”

“You are.” Sehun drew his knees up, running his hands over his thighs. Relaxing against the wall, he smiled at Hwanhee in a really pleased, satisfied way. “You’re a perfect pet.”

He loved the way Sehun said that, but, “What does that mean, though? What is a pet? Like, I know that it’s a, um, a dom-sub thing, but besides that, like. There are other things you could call me, like your slave, but you call me your pet. You call yourself my owner. What does that mean?”

Sehun hesitated.

“Was it always your idea?” Hwanhee asked. “Did you get it from somewhere? Was it the First Pet’s idea?”

“It was mine,” Sehun said. He looked a little stuck. “I don’t know how to put it into words.”

Then he hadn’t had to explain it to the First Pet? The First Pet had just known, had understood.

Hwanhee tried not to let that get to him. He couldn’t compete with the First Pet, he knew that. But it wasn’t like he was totally screwing up, not if Sehun kept calling him perfect. Perfect. Like he couldn’t do any better. It was such an amazing thing to say. It was such a complete compliment. Perfect.

“A pet listens,” Sehun said. “And obeys. A pet works hard to please me. A pet wants to keep me happy.”

Hwanhee nodded. “Then it’s my job to think of things that you’ll like.”

“You’re a very.” Sehun hesitated, pressing his lips together. “You’re a very active pet. You take a lot of initiative. It’s good,” he added. “I like it. But you don’t have to. Or, I don’t want you to feel like you need to do more of it than you already do. It’s okay for a pet to be passive. To react, not act.”

“Like a, like a pet turtle?” Hwanhee asked. He wanted to be sure that he had this right. “It sits around and does nothing and waits for you.”

“Like a pet dog. Wait for me to come home, fetch things when I say, do tricks when I say, follow commands.”

Good, okay. Feeling more sure of himself, Hwanhee nodded again. “How do owners feel about their pets?”

“Proud,” Sehun said. “And protective. You’re very brave - - god, you’re so fucking brave - - but you’re really vulnerable, too, so I want to shield you from everything.” He tucked his hands in the bends of his knees. “Possessive. I feel really, really, really fucking possessive. All of the time.”

He wanted to ask about the “brave” thing. That didn’t make any sense to him. But he didn’t want to interrupt; he wanted to hear more of this train of thought.

“You’re really cute sometimes,” Sehun said. “It makes me want to tease you. You’re clever, you’re bold, I’m really proud of you. The pet thing, it’s like - - I want to take care of you. Feed you and give you a bath and watch you sleep, give you toys to play with. Like I would if you were the animal kind of pet, like a pet dog. Owning you means that I have complete control, but there’s a lot of responsibility in that. It’s not only punishing you for being bad. It’s training you, too, so you can be good, and taking care of you, so you feel safe.”

Give you a bath. Hwanhee’s mind was blown. He’d never expected his prince to bring up something like that. Give him a bath? But that was caretaking. Oh, god. Staring at Sehun, he blinked a few times, trying to clear his vision, but he wasn’t having trouble seeing, he was having trouble comprehending. He’d been wondering about the caretaking aspect of real pets with real owners, but it had just been abstract, in his mind. This was Sehun bringing it up, talking about it like it was a possible part of things.

“What?” Sehun smiled at him. “What’d I say?”

“You, could you, like. Would you ever, I mean.” Blushing, he felt too shy to ask. “Would you ever try something like that? Giving me a bath and, like, taking care of me? Like I was a real pet?”

“You are a real pet.”

“But, I mean.” He bit his lip, holding back nervous laughter.

“Yes,” Sehun said. “Yes, I want to.” Sehun brushed at the bangs falling into Hwanhee’s eyes, smiling again. “I’m very proud of the way my pet looks. I’d like to wash you. Groom you. You already know I like dressing you up.”

God. A whole new world of sexual fantasy opened up, filling Hwanhee’s mind.

He’d never thought to want this, before. An owner who took care of him. Someone to train him. Punish him. Reward him. It was so much like his own fantasies, but so different. There was a generosity to it that he’d never expected. He hadn’t known that this was even possible. He’d imagined that his prince would only want to take and take, not give. Who would want to give him anything, if they knew what a dirty slut he was? But his owner wanted to protect him. Wanted him to feel safe.

“My prince, the one in my head, that I used to think about before I met you,” Hwanhee said. “He treated me like dirt, a lot of the time, but I liked that. He was generous, too, but that was mostly letting me suck his cock. That was a great reward! But mostly that was the only reward. Letting me touch him, letting me serve him, letting me near him, that was the best. But you. You’re really good to me. I didn’t think that you would be, I didn’t think it could be like this.”

“Were you looking for a cruel prince?”

“A cold prince. I thought that he wouldn’t think anything of me, that I’d be too far beneath him for him to notice me. I’d just be some worthless nobody who lived to serve him. In my fantasies, one of the best things ever is if I get to bathe you. Like the most special servant who gets to help the prince to wash and dress. That’s a big deal, only the most trusted, valuable servants get jobs like that. It never occurred to me that you’d wash me!”

“You’re different from what I expected,” Sehun said. “But I guess that I’m different from what you expected, too.”

“Better,” Hwanhee said immediately. “You’re so, so much better. You’re so, damn, you’re a million times better. I didn’t know that I could have this, I didn’t know that anyone like you even existed. I didn’t even know that it was okay to ask for this, in my own head, in my fantasies.”

“It’s okay if you want to ask for changes.”

“Change what?” he demanded. “Don’t change anything! No, no changes. All of the stuff I expected, before, was worse than this. I never thought that you’d want to see me so often, or that you’d think of me like a dongsaeng. I thought that you’d use me to get off once in a while and not have much time for me in between. Not super mean, just, not super nice, either. Like you’d just call me up and tell me to come over, or meet me somewhere, and get off in me real quick, and go back to your life. I was looking forward to that! That was a huge goal for me. I thought that you’d only want to use me, and I wanted to be used, but I had no idea that you’d, like, hug me afterward or have our members hang out together.”

“You do a lot for me,” Sehun said. “You give me everything you have. I can’t take that for granted.”

“You could, though. You totally could. I’d still show up.”

Sehun shook his head. “If I can’t take care of you, I shouldn’t have a pet at all.”

“That’s why you always talk about what a big responsibility it is. Because you think that you have to take care of me. That’s why you only have me, not me and Hongbin sunbae and-”

“Stop bringing up Hongbin hyung!”

“But you could have a dozen pets. You only have one because I’m not just a filthy fuckhole to you. I’m more than that, I’m somebody you feel responsible for, I’m somebody you think you have to take care of.”

“Yes. Yeah, you are.”

“But I don’t.” He closed his mouth, uncertain. Really, weirdly uncertain. He swallowed, feeling agitated, unsure.

“What?” Sehun scooted closer, looking concerned.

“I don’t know if I, I mean.” He fluffed his hair with both hands, not meeting Sehun’s eyes. “You’re really - - you’re you,” he explained, gesturing. “If you’re going to treat somebody like that, pamper somebody, giving baths and toys, watching them sleep and everything, shouldn’t it be somebody really special? Somebody super handsome and super sexy and, like, special,” he said again. “You can’t do that to just any random pet you find on the street. Princes don’t adopt strays, they have thoroughbreds with certificates who win awards and stuff.”

“Fuck that,” Sehun said sharply, shaking his head. “No, fuck that. You’re special, you’re special as hell, you’re one of the most special people I’ve ever met. I want to show you off, I want to go around to the other doms I know, to everybody I know, and show off how sexy and cute and perfect you are.” Surprised, trying to take it all in, Hwanhee leaned in, and he wrapped his hand around Hwanhee’s wrist, tight, anchoring. “You are special. You should be more pampered and more spoiled, not less. I should treat you better than I do, you just let me get away with it because you’re too loyal to me.”

“There is no better,” he said, amazed. “There can’t be anything better than this.”

Sehun smiled at him. “I think you’re just proving my point.”

Oh. Catching on, he smiled. Yeah, okay, maybe. “I want to meet the other doms you know. I want to talk to them. I want them to give me tips on how I can serve you better. Is the servant thing okay? Do you like it, or - - I know it’s my idea, not yours, it’s okay if you’re not into it.”

“When I fucked you on my couch, did I seem not into it?”

He blushed, remembering. “Yeah, that was, um. You seemed to like it,” he admitted. The way Sehun had rocked into him. The deep, thick, fullness of Sehun’s erection inside of him. The scrape and bite of Sehun’s teeth. God, he was so spoiled. Right on the couch! “Do you ever, um, do you have sex with your members there, maybe? On the couch?”

“Yeah.” Sehun grinned at him. “That couch has endured a lot.”

When Sehun let go of his wrist, he missed the sensation of it there, holding onto him. He dug into his pockets and pulled out his bracelets. He put them on, wincing as they dug in around the widest part of his hand before slipping down around each wrist. “A good pet should be obedient. You want me to listen to you and let you do anything. You want to get away with it, you want me to take it, whatever happens.”

Sehun nodded.

“But I should react, not act? You said that I’m bold. I take too much initiative?” He wasn’t very worried that he was doing everything wrong, but he wanted to know what he could do to get it all exactly right.

“No, it’s not too much. It’s great. You come up with really good ideas, I like it.” Sehun stroked Hwanhee’s hair, smoothing it down in the back. Trusting him, wanting to hear everything, Hwanhee watched him closely. “But you don’t have to come up with anything. If you prepare a lot and get ready to see me, and you have something cute to wear for me, and you have a sexy new trick to show me, I’ll be really happy. But if I show up and you haven’t prepared anything, that’s great, too. I want to see you, just you, that’s what counts. I’m the owner, I’m in charge. There’s nothing that you ever need to worry about. It’s my job to handle everything. As my pet, you’re my responsibility, I’m not yours.”

Wow. “I’m your responsibility,” Hwanhee said softly, absorbing that. “You’re not mine.” That was a new way of looking at it.

He could be a good servant and prepare a lot. Or he could be a good pet who was just happy to see his owner. And both were totally okay.

“Whatever happens when I’m out of the room, if you don’t have time to prepare, if you don’t feel like preparing, none of that matters. What matters is that as soon as I walk in, everything else stops. You’re my pet, you’re there for me, you’re obedient. If you don’t bring me orange juice, I can spit on you just fine. I’m going to get from you what I need.” Sehun stroked the hair above his ear and smiled. “And I’ll give you what you need, too.”

“Oh, god, I always get what I want,” Hwanhee said. “You give me everything I could ever ask for.” He liked preparing to see his prince; it was a big part of the fantasy for him. Or a big part of the reality. And it helped him, like, it reassured him, or soothed him, or something, when time stretched out between visits and he really wanted to see Sehun again. He was definitely going to keep planning and preparing. But it was really nice to know that he didn’t have to. According to Sehun, all he had to do was show up. Sehun liked him for him. “Am I a good slut? Like, am I actually the kind of pet you want? Or am I just the only one you have, right now?”

“Shit, pet.” Sehun cupped the side of his neck, stroked the side of his face. “How do you remember every word out of my mouth, and then never hear anything I say? You’re incredible. I give you everything you could ask for? You literally give me everything I ask you for. You’re the only pet I want. I went through hell before I found you, and I can’t believe I ever got this lucky. You’re a fucking miracle.”

He couldn’t believe that his prince could feel this way about him. “I can be sluttier,” he promised. “Anything you want, I’ll do anything for you. I say that a lot, but I really mean it. You can tell me to do anything. I can learn to do it however you like it. I disobey a lot, I know I’m undisciplined, but I’ll work on it.”

“You don’t have to work on a goddamned thing.” Sehun leaned in so close that his heart pounded, and then Sehun was brushing soft, tender kisses over his cheek and he had to close his eyes. “You don’t have to do anything for me. You’ve already given me everything I could want.”

It was too much. Pleasure and devotion were throbbing in him, taking over his heart. His prince was treating him so well, it made him want to dedicate himself to his prince even more completely, made him want to sacrifice everything, turn himself inside-out and give up everything he had. For a precious, daring second, he turned his head, pressing his face to his prince’s smooth neck. “I’m grateful.” Then he slid down, off of the side of the bed. On the floor, on his knees, he arched his back, lowering his head to the mattress. It felt so good to be in his place.

“Hwanhee-”

“I’m comfortable here.” Settling in, he crossed his arms over the edge of the mattress and looked up at Sehun. Mmm, Sehun looked so tall and intimidating, from down here. It felt just right. “A pet is a responsibility, right, but you used to talk about commitment a lot. I never really got that. Like, I thought I’d be more like a convenience. For a commitment, a responsibility, you make an investment, right? But a convenience, I thought you’d see me when you felt like it, and you’d get off however you wanted to, and then when you got bored, or when you found somebody else, you’d just stop calling. But you always act like we’re in a relationship.”

“I’ve told you, I can’t do this casually.”

It hadn’t made as much sense, before. “The servant is dedicated to the prince because you’re royalty. You’re special, you’re everything. But for the prince, the servants are interchangeable. I wash your dishes, I have a convenient fuckhole, there’s nothing else to it, for you. But if I’m a pet, then. I’m not like a stray cat, I’m a real pet. But I have another owner, I have Jinhoo hyung, I get food and shelter from him. You don’t have to feel responsible for me. Is it.” He hesitated. This seemed like a really big thing to ask. “Is it because you want to? Is that just a side effect of it, or is that part of the fantasy, for you?”

Sehun didn’t say anything for a minute, just looked at Hwanhee. Then he ran his hand through his hair and looked conflicted. “Shit, you ask hard questions.”

Hwanhee winced. “Sorry. You don’t have to tell me-”

“No. No, you deserve an answer, I just.” Sehun sighed, dropping his hand. “It’s both. Part of it is just a natural consequence of how this works. You’re so vulnerable, and you give me so much of yourself, I owe it to you to take care of you. I can’t use you up and then neglect you and abandon you. I can’t be that kind of person. There’s a lot that I do to you that looks wrong to people on the outside, but that would seem wrong, to me. And then.” He paused again. “Yeah,” he finally said. “It’s part of the fantasy. I take a lot of pride in being a good owner, and that’s a part of what being a good owner means, to me. Taking good care of you. Not just getting what I want, but making sure that you feel good about it, too. Making sure that you’re happy and healthy. When you’re satisfied and smiling at me, purring like a happy pet, it feels great. And when you’re nervous or worried about something, I want to make it easier for you. And, yeah, I want to wash you, I want to spoil you, it’s fun.”

Hwanhee took all of that in. He held Sehun’s gaze. He wanted to be clear on this. “Then we’re in a relationship.”

“Yes,” Sehun said, not looking away. “Is that okay?”

Sehun had said it to him before, but he hadn’t taken it seriously. It hadn’t been a word that he understood, in this context.

A prince-servant relationship. A pet-owner relationship. He’d thought of “relationship” as a synonym for “dynamic.” But this was different. This was a real relationship.

A Sehun and Hwanhee relationship. A commitment between two people. A bond. With emotions and intentions. He was in a relationship with EXO’s Sehun.

“Do you like me?”

“It’s not that kind of relationship.”

“No, I know, but.” He asked again, still leaning over the side of the bed. “Do you like me?”

“It’s not that. It’s different from that.” Sehun rubbed his knee. “It’s a lot more intense than that.”

Hwanhee nodded. Okay. This was a lot to take in. He’d heard Sehun say a lot of this before, but he hadn’t really grasped what Sehun meant, then. He knew Sehun better, now. He was finally catching up. “What about aegyo, do you want me to be cute?”

“Yes, I like it from you.”

“Do you want skinship?”

“Outside of a scene, you can always touch me however you want. Anything’s okay. When we’re in front of other people, even just our members, I have to be really careful about how I touch you. I don’t want anyone to misunderstand and think that I don’t respect you. So I might not touch you much. But I do like skinship, I want you to feel comfortable with me.”

“You can do anything in front of my members, they understand. Not private stuff!” he hurried to add. “But regular stuff. You can touch me however you want, they know about us.”

Sehun studied him carefully. “Do you want skinship?”

“Yes.” Hearing how fast he’d said it, he laughed self-consciously. “Uh, yeah. It’s nice! It really feels good. You’re really handsome and you’re really nice to me.”

“The last thing I want is for anyone to make assumptions or to think that I take you lightly. Anyone who knows about us, and sees us together, might think that I feel like I can put my hands wherever I want because I think you’re my property.”

“I am your property.”

“They don’t know that.”

“But if they know about us, they do know that.”

“Not exactly.”

“You own me,” Hwanhee said. God, it gave him a rush every time.

“I don’t tell people that. Nobody knows that I use those words. They don’t hear me say ‘pet’ or ‘owner’ or any of it.”

“Nobody? Not even King Suho?”

“He’s not a king.”

“All of my members know that you’re my prince. They know about my harness and my uniform, they know what’s in my backpack - - they don’t know why, they don’t know what the orange juice is for. They know I cleaned your kitchen, they know a lot.”

“So does Chunji hyung.”

He nodded. “And Changjo hyung. Not everything! Not everything my members know. But Chunji hyung’s been really nice. I think he wants to check up on me, to make sure that I’m okay. Not that he thinks anything’s wrong!”

A strange look crossed over Sehun’s face, and he nodded. “Yeah. I’m not going to discourage that. It’s good that you have people in your life who know what’s going on and care about you. If I hurt you, I don’t want to get away with it. They’ll make sure that I don’t.”

That sounded serious. “You wouldn’t hurt me.”

“I don’t want to. God, pet.” Sehun slid forward, leaning closer and cupping Hwanhee’s face. “I don’t ever, ever want to. But if I do, I need to know about it, and I need to be held responsible for it. And if you try to let me get away with it, they won’t. Jinhoo and Chunji hyung and Changjo won’t.”

Okay. Okay, he understood that, he believed that. “But you wouldn’t hurt me,” he said again. “You’re a really good owner. You care a lot about how I feel and if I’m okay. You worry about that more than I do.” Remembering their first time, he laughed. “You were the one bringing up safe words. I just wanted to get started.” Liking the way Sehun was leaning so close, he tilted his face up.

Sehun kissed his cheek.

Smiling, he hummed. He was super spoiled. “You never hurt the First Pet, did you?”

“No. No, I never did. There were some really rough times when I couldn’t be with him, when I couldn’t take care of him, and that’s why I didn’t want to try again with you. I couldn’t let someone down like that again. But I never hurt him that way.”

“I can’t believe he left you. I can’t believe anybody would leave you. Was it an emergency?” It couldn’t have been voluntary. A pet would never, ever run away from such a powerful, generous, protective owner.

“Things changed in his life. He didn’t leave me, he left the situation he was in, and because he did that, we couldn’t see each other anymore.” Sehun stroked Hwanhee’s cheek. “It was hard on him.”

“It was hard on you, too, though.” Hwanhee couldn’t imagine it. Couldn’t imagine hurting Sehun. “I’m not going anywhere. You’re going to have to work really hard to get rid of me. I think you shouldn’t even try. I think that if you want a new pet, you’ll just have to get a second one, and just have two for a while. You can have a Hwanhee pet and a Hong-”

“Stop talking about Hongbin hyung!” Sehun exclaimed, bursting into laughter.

“Who else do you want?” He was really curious. “Who’s your type? Do you like older pets? Tall pets?”

Sehun smiled, stretching out on his stomach. It was so cozy, Sehun so close, so relaxed, the two of them face-to-face. He idly, fondly rubbed his thumb over Hwanhee’s cheek. “Short pets are fun. I like little pets.”

“I’m not little! I’m not as tall as you, maybe, but-”

“Maybe,” Sehun repeated, laughing.

“-but that doesn’t mean anything, you’re just really tall. I’m normal sized, this is a regular height.”

“There’s nothing wrong with being short,” Sehun said. “A lot of my favorite hyungs are short.”

“You think King Suho’s short,” Hwanhee accused, delighted.

“He’s not a king,” Sehun said, rolling his eyes. Then he grinned. “He is short, though. It’s cute!” he insisted when Hwanhee laughed. “Little hyungs are sexy.”

Oh! Hwanhee squirmed closer, pressing against the side of the bed. “Is King Suho little? Or are you calling him little?”

Sehun flicked his cheek. While he said, “Ow!” Sehun said, “That’s none of your business.”

“I won’t joke about the royal penis,” he decided. “Is that your type, though? Short hyungs?” Or, ooohhh. “Is that your type? Little hyungs?” He grinned, wondering. “Then I’m not your type at all!”

“Ya!” Laughing at him, Sehun flicked him again. “Don’t get smug.”

“I don’t know anything about your members, and I guess I’m not allowed to know. But I wish I knew more about them. And what you do with them and how they treat you and everything.”

“I’d tell you, but it’s still kind of early for you to hear all about it.”

“What’s private is private,” he said, nodding.

Sehun chuckled, thumb rubbing over the tip of Hwanhee’s nose. “Yeah. But once our members are closer, you’ll probably end up knowing a lot more than you wanted to.” His thumb brushed over Hwanhee’s mouth. “I’m really, really fucking possessive, and I want to start a fight with anybody who tries to touch you. I might turn into a huge jerk if my members try to get closer to you. Don’t pay attention to it, don’t let me get away with it. Your sex life is totally up to you, you can have sex with anyone you want. Your members, my members, anybody you’re into, it’s none of my business.”

“But you own me.”

“I don’t actually-”

“You own me,” he repeated, and he wasn’t going to let Sehun tell him otherwise. “But I thought that you wanted me to do it with my members. You’re the one who keeps telling me to take my vitamins.”

“I want you to get what you need, and if I can’t be there to do it myself, at least they can pitch in. That doesn’t mean I love the idea of other guys doing stuff to you.”

Really? “Are you jealous?” That was fascinating. “But they’re my members! I don’t even think that counts.” He laughed. “That’s what we keep telling Wei hyung, anyway. Whatever goes on between members doesn’t count. A lot of stuff happens at the dorm, we’re bored, we’re stuck together, none of it means anything.”

“I’m not jealous,” Sehun said. “I’m possessive. It’s not the same thing.”

No, he was jealous. That was so funny! “You can’t be jealous of my members. They’re just my hyungs. And Xiao, he’s my best friend, it doesn’t mean anything. Wait,” wait, hold on, “what are you talking about? When you said that your members might try to get closer to me, what - - what - - what do you mean?”

“What do you think I mean?” Sehun asked. “I mean Baekhyun hyung’s not crawling all over Wei every chance he gets because he thinks Wei’s funny.”

Sex. Sex with EXO. Sehun was talking about sex with EXO. “Can I have sex with King Suho?” Excited, he crawled up onto the bed, needing to hear more. Sehun rolled over, starting to sit up, and he pushed Sehun back down, climbing on top. “Can I do it with Baekhyun hyung? Can he bite me some more? Can I kiss Chen sunbae? I really want to kiss Chen sunbae, I have to learn how he does it.”

Laughing, Sehun stroked his neck. “Don’t look forward to it too much, they’re not that great.”

It was EXO, though. They were the most important group in this generation of idols. He didn’t need them to have great technique, he just needed them to hold still long enough to let him get a mouthful. “Your members are so sexy, though, and they’re so good-looking.”

“Not as good-looking as I am.”

“No, no, not like you,” he said. “You’re always the greatest. But King Suho’s so good-looking, though, and Baekhyun hyung’s so sexy.”

“You think Baekhyun hyung’s sexy?” Sehun asked. “Hwanhee-ah, I’m worried about your taste.” The backs of his fingers caressed up and down Hwanhee’s neck. “I don’t know if Jinhoo will let you do any of them. If he won’t let you near Teen Top, I don’t think he’ll let you near my members, either.” He looked conflicted for a second, thoughtful. “I like that. I’m glad that he restricts you so much, because you’re mine, and I don’t want a bunch of selfish jerks all over you. But you should be able to do whatever you want, and have sex on your own terms, not everyone else’s, so I’m going to push him to let you do it.”

“But you don’t want me to.” Oh Sehun was jealous and didn’t want other guys touching him. He held onto that thought happily. “That’s okay. If I have you, I don’t need anybody else. You’re my prince, that’s what matters.”

“You should be with anybody you want.”

“But you don’t want me to,” he said again.

“It doesn’t matter what I want.”

“It doesn’t matter what I want,” he corrected. “What you want is the only thing that’s important.”

“That’s only true inside a scene,” Sehun argued.

“But you own me all of the time. Whether we’re in a scene or not. You own me right now, so what you want matters right now.”

Sehun looked exasperated. “That’s not how this works. That can’t be how this works, you can’t think of it that way.”

“I think you don’t know how this works,” he realized.

Hand closing over the base of his neck, Sehun pushed him up. Sitting back, he swallowed reflexively. Frowning at him, Sehun let go. “I’m not your prince outside of a scene.”

“Yes, you are.” Was he confused? “Do you not think of me as your pet?”

Sehun growled a little, looking annoyed. “Yes,” he admitted. “But that’s just inside my head, it’s not real. That’s why I can’t let myself be so possessive, because you’re your own person, you’re independent, I don’t actually own you.”

“You do own me.”

“You know what I mean.”

“I know how wrong you are, too.”

Groaning, Sehun dragged his hands through his hair. “This is going to get real fucked up if I have to start ordering you to have sex with my members.”

Feeling a little thrill race through him, Hwanhee squirmed. Order him to have sex with EXO. Because he was a slut. A dirty slut Sehun passed around to his members. Would that be a punishment? Or a reward? Getting to have sex with King Suho would definitely be a reward. Or maybe it wasn’t about punishments and rewards at all, no, it wasn’t about Hwanhee, he wasn’t important enough for that. It was about EXO, it was about Sehun doing a favor - - a small, insignificant favor - - for his members, letting them play with one of his toys. They’d gang up on him, pass him around, use his fuckholes, make him perform tricks, leave him messy and sore and used on the floor, and he’d crawl back to his owner like the loyal pet that he was.

He didn’t even know Sehun’s members that well. Not well enough to trust them with all of that! He didn’t know what they were like when it came to sex. But if Sehun ordered him to do it, he had to go. He’d learn in the moment, he’d learn what they wanted when they took it from him.

He dwelled on the fantasy, wanting to delve into it but shying away, ashamed of his own desires, flitting around the edges of it. Then he realized how quiet Sehun had been, for how long, and he looked up to see Sehun watching him with a focused, attentive expression.

His shame spreading, deepening, heating up, he licked his lips, hoping that princes couldn’t read minds. “Hyung?”

“Do you want to show me what a slut you are?”

Moaning, he realized that princes could read minds. And it was one of their best traits. He loved it when Sehun understood him this well, the way Sehun got him, the way Sehun knew what he wanted and how his need worked. He’d gone from constantly feeling misunderstood to having a prince who said all of the things he’d always wanted to hear and did things he hadn’t even known to want. When he was too ashamed to admit what he wanted, or when he was so ashamed he was confused and didn’t even know what it was that he needed, Sehun always said just the right thing and pushed him past his confusion into relief and satisfaction and pleasure. “Yes,” he admitted. “Yes, I want you to see it.”

Sehun nodded and stroked the back of his neck. Just that calm nod made him feel better. Sehun understood him. Sehun was in charge. He didn’t have to worry about his shame or his need, worry that his fantasy would never come true, worry that it might - - god, wait, what if Sehun actually - - but, no. Sehun was in control. I’m the owner, I’m in charge. There’s nothing that you ever need to worry about. It’s my job to handle everything. Relaxing, he leaned closer, and Sehun squeezed the back of his neck, kissed the top of his head. Maybe it would never happen. Maybe it would happen this week. He didn’t need to worry about it; none of that was up to him, anyway.

“Hwanhee-ah.” He curled up with his head in Sehun’s lap. “How do you feel about regular sex?”

“I love it.”

“Do you have it? Do you like it? Where does your head go when you’re with your members?”

“Yeah, it’s normal. It’s great. It’s not intense, like it is with you. But it turns me on, it gets me off. It’s fun.”

“Is it romantic?”

“Romantic,” he repeated, and he laughed. Raising his head, he looked up at Sehun. “They’re my members! That’s not romantic. We’re not dating.” Ew, that would be weird. He snuggled in again.

“Who would you want to date? Who’s your type?”

“I don’t know.” He wanted to say L, but he suspected that wouldn’t go over well. “Chunji hyung’s so pretty. Or Nam Woohyun sunbae. Or King Suho!”

“The three of them don’t have anything in common, that’s not a type.” As soon as he’d said that, Sehun said, “You think they’re doms, don’t you?”

“King Suho owns you, that-”

“He doesn’t! Nobody owns me. How the hell do you get these ideas stuck in your head?”

“Why do you keep denying what’s true?” he asked, sitting up, laughing. “King Suho owns you. An owner’s owner is, what, is there a term for that? Like a head owner. And Nam Woohyun sunbae is a secondary prince, he’s not my prince, but he could be somebody’s prince. And Chunji hyung.” Blushing, he licked his lips. “He says really embarrassing things to me, and he doesn’t get shy about it at all. And when I say really embarrassing things to him, he just laughs and asks me to tell him more. I don’t think he’s ever been ashamed of anything.” He had to know. “Do you still not like L sunbae?”

“Stay away from L hyung.” Sehun said it quietly, but he said it firmly, too. “I’m not being a possessive jerk, I’m looking out for you. You can’t trust him.”

But Changjo trusted him. Either Sehun was wrong, or Changjo was wrong. And if Changjo was wrong, then somebody had to warn him. Hwanhee couldn’t just let Changjo stay with somebody bad for him. “I’ll just like the way he looks and not think more about him,” Hwanhee said. “If you don’t like him, I’m glad he’s not dating King Suho, then. We kind of thought he was, for a while. It seemed like King Suho was dating Changjo hyung, and then we thought that King Suho was dating L sunbae, and we couldn’t tell what was going on. I wanted to support Changjo hyung, I should be loyal, he’s a company sunbae, I can’t root against him! But L sunbae’s so good-looking, and so chic, I really thought King Suho would end up with him. But then Changjo hyung and L sunbae ended up together, and King Suho doesn’t have anybody? That doesn’t make sense, who wouldn’t want to be with King Suho? He’s EXO’s leader!”

“Is he?” Sehun asked, smiling, stroking Hwanhee’s sideburns. “I didn’t know.”

“Well, he is,” Hwanhee insisted, laughing. “And he’s really good-looking! I really like Changjo hyung, don’t ever say that I said anything bad about him! But if I were L sunbae, I might’ve gone with King Suho.”

“Suho hyung’s very busy taking care of his other responsibilities,” Sehun said. “He’s not going to date foolish kids like Changjo, anyway.”

“Foolish kids! You can’t talk about Changjo hyung that way.” He loved it. “Do you like roleplaying?”

“Roleplaying like what?” Sehun asked. “Like in sex? Like somebody dressing up like a servant and doing my laundry?”

“No, that’s real,” Hwanhee said. “You’re a real prince and I’m a real servant, that’s not roleplaying. I mean, like, pretending to be somebody else in bed. Or calling out somebody else’s name, or, like. Do you like that?”

“Do I like doing it, no, it’s annoying. Do I want you to do it, yeah, probably. Why, what are you thinking about?”

“Somebody said, uh, one of my hyungs, um. Never mind, that’s not, uh.” Running out of ways to wiggle out of it, he tried, “What’s private is private? But if you like roleplaying, I can do it for you. I wanted to find more outfits to wear for you, anyway. What would you want, should I be something fun? Xiao said that Baekhyun hyung told him to get a cheerleader costume, should I be a cheerleader for you?”

“Baekhyun hyung said that?”

He nodded. “I asked him about my uniform, which one I should get for you, but he wouldn’t help me at all. But if-”

“You asked Baekhyun hyung about your servant’s uniform? The bellhop one?” Sehun’s eyes were getting wider. “Has he seen it?”

“Not that one, but a bunch of other ones like it. I sent him links.” The way Sehun was staring at him didn’t seem good. Feeling misery twist in his gut, he bit his lip. He’d screwed up, hadn’t he? “He’s your hyung, I thought-”

“No, it’s okay,” Sehun said.

“You’ve been members for years, you’re all so close-”

“It’s okay, pet, it-”

“You hate it, don’t you? You didn’t want me to tell him.”

“It’s your privacy, you can tell anything you want.”

“It’s yours, too. But I thought it was okay. He’s your hyung! Who doesn’t know everything there is to know about his own maknae?”

“It’s okay-”

“Stop saying that! It’s not!” He felt stupid, he felt embarrassed. Showing Baekhyun his uniforms, what had he been thinking? He felt shame trying to overtake him, and he tried to push it back down. “I thought you were closer,” he mumbled. “Baekhyun hyung was being so friendly, he bit me and everything. I wanted to find the right uniform, I wanted to know which one you’d like. I thought that he’d know.”

“We are close,” Sehun said. “I just work really hard to protect my pet’s privacy. It’s okay if you want to confide in my members, they’re safe. I’ll just have to make them understand that I’ll have to hurt them if they ever do anything to embarrass you.”

“A maknae’s threats don’t mean anything.”

“Look, my hyungs are kind of stupid. Maybe if you want to ask about uniforms, you could ask Chunji hyung. You already trust him, and he might, I don’t know. I don’t know if that’s a great idea or a really bad one.” Sehun hesitated. “You already asked him about the uniforms, didn’t you?”

“No.” He was relieved to be able to say that. “We’ve talked about some other things, but I haven’t given him a lot of details. I didn’t know how close you were. Is it okay to talk to him?”

“If you want to talk to somebody, if he’s okay with it, I’m okay with it. At least I don’t think he’ll say anything thoughtless and hurt your feelings.”

Was Chunji a prince? That explained a lot. Then why couldn’t Chunji have been Hwanhee’s prince? Maybe Chunji already had a servant. But who - - wait, was Infinite’s Dongwoo Chunji’s servant? Was it Xiumin? No, Dongwoo. But Dongwoo was so nice! “Is Dongwoo sunbae a pet?”

“No. No, and stop coming up with ideas about other idols,” Sehun scolded. “You think about Infinite too much.”

“They’re around our company building a lot. And they’re really nice.” He guessed that not everybody could be a prince. He couldn’t make assumptions about Chunji. Or Suho. Or Woohyun. Or L. There were definitely princes out there, though. “What kind of stuff is it okay to tell Chunji hyung? Or what kind of stuff do you not want me to say?”

“It should be up to you.”

“But you didn’t want me to tell Baekhyun hyung about the uniforms. And you don’t want me to say ‘prince’ in front of anybody. And nobody can know that ‘badminton’ is our word. Should I not say anything? I can keep it to myself. What’s private is private.”

“Why do you keep saying that? Where did you get that from?”

“From you, it’s what you say.”

“That’s disturbing.” Sehun shifted, leaning back against the wall, and then reached out and scooped Hwanhee up, pulling him in. Startled, happy, he laughed, getting comfortable on Sehun’s lap. “It’s your sex life, say whatever you want.”

“But it’s also your sex life, and if you don’t tell people those things, I shouldn’t, either.”

“If you’re comfortable talking about it, if that makes you feel better, then I want you to.”

It did. Sehun knew him really well. Charmed, he rested his head on Sehun’s shoulder and reached up-

Sehun pushed his hand down. “If Chunji hyung’s okay with it, talk to him.”

“You really don’t tell your hyungs anything?”

“I don’t. I can’t, pet. It’s not mine to tell.”

“Does it embarrass you?”

“No, I’m proud as hell,” Sehun said. “I want everybody to know. But I do think that there are parts of it that they wouldn’t understand. I would hate it if they made the wrong assumption, or embarrassed you, or took something the wrong way.”

“They don’t know about the dog bowls.”

“No. No, pet, I know that’s private, that’s just between us.”

“The collar?”

“No.”

He tried to think of something really basic. “The grapes?”

“No.”

Wow, what did they know about? “The laundry? That I fold your socks and hang up your shirts?”

“No.”

“They know I cleaned the dorm, don’t they?”

“No. Most of them didn’t even notice or care.”

Aw! Disappointed, he grumbled, snuggling in closer to console himself. “But they know that you bite me.”

“They know now, because you told Baekhyun hyung, and he keeps talking about it.”

Oh! Really? “Sorry,” he mumbled, embarrassed. Sehun had to be so pissed off at him. Why wasn’t his prince angrier about it? “They don’t know you tie me up, then.”

“They know I like doing it. They don’t know if I do it to you, or how, or with what.”

“Do they know that you slap me?”

“No.”

“But they know you’re rough with me.”

“No.”

But they had to. He sat up straighter, peering into Sehun’s face. “They don’t know that you…”

Sehun shook his head.

He was baffled. “What do they think we do together?”

“They don’t know. I’ve never told them. They know that I like certain things, but they don’t know what that looks like when I do it with you. Once in a while, I’ve tried tying their ankles or their wrists with a necklace chain or string or something, but that’s all they know about it, and they all hate it, anyway. Once in a while they tell me to stop using my teeth on them, but they don’t know what that means when I’m with you. And I’ve never had rough sex with my members, I’ve never done anything that would seem like I’m forcing myself on them. I used to...” His voice trailed off and he laughed. “I used to try to do simple stuff with them, I tried ordering Chanyeol hyung around, but it was always stupid, it never meant anything. It’s nothing like it is with you.”

Then they really didn’t know.

Sehun had kept everything a secret.

But that also meant that Sehun never got any of this out. He never got to play with his members, even a little bit. They complained about it when he tried. He couldn’t chew on them or tie their hands or anything. No wonder having a pet meant so much to him. He didn’t have anything else but Hwanhee. “What’s wrong with your members?”

“What?” Sehun asked. “Nothing. Pet-”

“They can’t even play along?” he demanded. “Not even for fun?”

“They’re not into it. Not everybody likes that kind of sex, it’s okay.”

“Baekhyun hyung likes you, he can’t let you tie him up a little sometimes? Kai hyung’s your age, he can’t wear a collar once in a while? It wouldn’t hurt to try it. Are your members selfish?” he asked in disbelief.

“Stop casting aspersions on my members, they’re fine,” Sehun said. “Not everybody wants to be tied up. You don’t even like being tied up.”

“It’s very comfortable,” he insisted. “I like everything you do to me. Everything you let me do,” he corrected himself.

“Your members don’t put collars on you, my members don’t want to wear collars for me,” Sehun said. “They’re just not into it. It’s fine.” Sehun caressed his cheek, smiling and affectionate. “That’s why I have you. I don’t want to play, anyway. I don’t want somebody to wear a collar for fun, just to mess around. I want a real pet.”

Hwanhee wasn’t convinced. “If your members were real pets, which one would you want to own the most?”

“I’m not telling you that.”

He was troubled. “I feel like if they don’t know these things about you, they don’t really know you. That’s okay for, you know, your friends, but you’re close to your members, aren’t you? And you all have sex together. I feel like if they don’t know that you have a pet, then they don’t know important-” He cut himself off. Wait, “If you don’t use words like ‘prince’ and ‘servant,’ and you don’t use ‘pet’ and ‘owner,’ either, do they even know that you have a pet?”

“They know that I’m your dom.”

“But they don’t know that you own me.”

“Not really.”

“They don’t even know that you own me,” he repeated. He was astounded. “What do they call it?”

“I’m your dom. You’re my sub. Suho hyung calls it a ‘special relationship.’”

“They don’t know that you have a pet! They don’t know anything about you.”

“It’s private, it’s fine. I don’t need them to know. They’re my hyungs, they don’t think of me that way. I’m just a silly kid to them.”

“But you’re not ashamed of it, so why can’t you just tell them?”

“Because it’s not mine to tell. You remember everything I say and you never hear me. This is your secret, it’s your privacy. I’m not protecting myself, I don’t care about myself, I care about you.”

“I think they should know. I think that King Suho should definitely know. He has to understand these things about you, he’s your-”

“He’s not my-”

“-owner,” they said together.

Sehun glared at him.

“You should tell him,” Hwanhee said.

“Suho hyung really doesn’t want to know that I tied you to the vacuum cleaner and ran the cord up the crack of your ass.”

“He’s your-”

“You say that one more time and I’m saying ‘badminton,’” Sehun warned him.

Oh, was that a button he could push? “Owner, owner, he’s your owner, he owns you, King Suho owns you like you own me.”

“Badminton.”

He braced himself.

Sehun slapped him.

The light smack of Sehun’s palm against his cheek took his breath away. Not from the violence of it, but from his own joy at the sweet sting of pleasure. He loved being slapped. Even when it didn’t hurt, it put him in his place, it was a reminder that Sehun could do anything to him, could treat him in any way, could be rude and disrespectful and he was never going to defend himself against it. Letting Sehun treat him so badly, letting Sehun get away with it, turned him on.

“You should tell King Suho about me,” Hwanhee said. “That I’m your pet, that you own me, everything.” And then he realized.

Sehun hadn’t said “badminton” again.

They were still in the scene.

Had Sehun forgotten? Were they only technically in a scene, but Sehun didn’t realize it? Licking his lips, he studied Sehun’s face, trying to tell, but Sehun’s expression was too calm to read.

His heart pounded. They were in a scene. They were playing badminton. And as long as he didn’t do anything to remind Sehun, they’d stay in the scene. At least in his head. He tended to slip into really formal language while they were in a scene, but he could just keep speaking normally, this one time.

Sehun ran his knuckles along Hwanhee’s jaw. “He doesn’t want to hear about that.” His thumb rubbed under Hwanhee’s chin. “How much have you told Jinhoo? Everything?”

“Not all of it. He doesn’t know how rough the, uh, how rough you are with me. He doesn’t know about the collar. But he knows about the harness, he knows that I clean for you, he knows that I’m your servant.” He blushed. “He probably knows that you own me. I didn’t mean to tell him, but it comes out a lot, when I jack off. I just, I say it, it feels really good. But we haven’t talked about it.” He didn’t want to give everything away, but, “He got me an extra outfit to wear for you. Just for that. So he knows a lot, he supports us.”

“Really.”

He nodded. “Yes.” It was hard not to say “hyungnim” or “Prince Sehun.” He really wanted to be on his knees. He really wanted to be naked.

“What kind of outfit?”

He had to answer his prince! But he didn’t want to spoil the surprise. Struggling to find the right answer, he said, “It’s pretty. A pretty outfit. I hope you’ll like it.”

“You’re already pretty.” Sehun tipped Hwanhee’s chin up, staring at his mouth like it needed to be punished. Heat spread through him and he moaned, arching his back. “Such a pretty little pet.” Sehun’s tongue flicked out, licking his jaw, soft and wet against his cheek. “I didn’t know you liked dressing up for your leader.”

“No, not for him. I don’t wear things for him, that’d be weird unless he did it too and it was, like, for a party or the fans or something. It’s for you. All of my special outfits are just for you.” Sehun was still licking his face. Lightly, delicately, tongue slithering over his cheek. He was so turned on he was whimpering. “I want to look nice for you.”

“You’re a hot little pet,” Sehun whispered, nose brushing his cheek, teeth grazing his jaw. “Nobody needs to know that I own you, except you. Nobody needs to know that I can have you however I want you, except you. Nobody needs to know what you’ll do for me, expect you.”

“Anything,” he promised. “I’ll do anything for you.”

Sehun stroked the back of his head, fingers gentle in his hair. “What else did you want to ask me about, pet?”

He moaned, shifting on Sehun’s lap. “Will you fuck me, please?”

Sehun chuckled, kissing his cheek. “What else did you want to ask?”

He rubbed his face against Sehun’s shoulder. If they were only in a scene on a technicality, only inside his head, then he might be able to get away with things. Sehun might not notice, might not mind. He mouthed at Sehun’s shoulder, caught Sehun’s shirt between his teeth. He nuzzled Sehun’s neck. “Can I come over sometimes?” He winced, embarrassed, worried how Sehun would react. “I wouldn’t bother you. I just want to be around. It wouldn’t be all of the time, just once in a while, if I have free time. Which isn’t often, seriously, I usually only have one hour to sleep. But I could come over and clean up. I could fetch you drinks, anything you want. Or I’d stay out of your way. I asked Jinhoo hyung, and he said that he’d talk to King Suho, and King Suho said that it was okay with him if it was okay with you, and I don’t know if they’ve asked you yet, but - - I wouldn’t bother you, I swear it. I can sit on the floor like a quiet pet.”

“We can’t play badminton in front of other people.”

“But you own me all of the time. And I can fold laundry in front of your members, that’s not weird, I fold laundry for my own members all of the time, that won’t bother anybody.”

Sehun was still stroking his hair. Petting him. He was a pet. Bliss suffused him and he shyly, delicately mouthed Sehun’s neck, wanting to kiss it. “There are days that I have time to see you, I just don’t have enough privacy for it. If you can come over, I’ll be glad to see you. Even if I can’t put your collar on, you’re still my pet, and I still want you here.” Sehun ruffled the hairs at his nape until he shivered. “Do you want me to show up at your dorm and visit you?”

“What?” Surprised, he raised his head. “You’d do that?” Oh, god, “No! I can’t have royalty in my dorm! I can’t have EXO around my members! We’re foolish, we’re messy, I don’t want you to see us like that!”

Sehun chuckled, pinching his earlobe. “My members and I are foolish and messy, too, I’m used to it.”

“EXO’s Oh Sehun, just hanging out at my dorm,” Hwanhee said to himself. How would that go? He had trouble imagining it. His prince in front of his members? But his prince was special, important, powerful and majestic, and his members were just a bunch of annoying hyungs and Xiao. He couldn’t make them fit together. His thoughts were already going back to what it would be like if he could drop by EXO’s dorm. “I could bring you snacks.”

“You’re my snack,” Sehun whispered, teasing, nibbling on him. He laughed, squirming, loving it. “My tasty little snack.” It was so flirtatious and fun and sexy, he wrapped his arm around Sehun, feeling bold, happy. “Such a cute pet,” Sehun murmured, nipping at his cheekbone.

“A happy pet,” he said, basking in Sehun’s attention.

“Mmm.” A deep, peaceful hum, and Sehun left a trail of kisses up the side of his face. “Are you happy, pet?”

“Yes, you make me so happy, thank you.” With one arm around him, Sehun was reaching over to the nightstand. “I’m always happy when I’m with you.” When Sehun slid the drawer open, he tried to get a peek inside, curious, and then he saw Sehun pluck out red cloth.

Strips of cloth.

Uncertain, he shivered.

“Yeah?” There were three red strips. Hwanhee swallowed as Sehun threaded one through his silver bracelet. “What makes you so happy?”

They were definitely playing badminton.

“Hyungnim?” His voice shook. He didn’t want to rest comfortably.

“I asked you a question, Hwan-ah.”

“You! You make me happy, it’s you, every time.” Sehun was knotting the cloth around his bracelet. “I’m lucky to have a prince who’s so good at this. You’re so good at, at,” his voice was trembling again. “Both hands?”

“Yep.” Sehun was threading the same strip through his other bracelet, tying his wrists together. His wrists were tied together. The knots looked really tight. He moved his hand - - not to get away! Not to try to get free! Just to test the knots. They held really well. But if his wrists were tied, he couldn’t touch his prince. Couldn’t do anything. He whimpered, leaning against Sehun’s shoulder, needing comfort. If his prince thought that he didn’t need his hands, then he didn’t. That was that. There was nothing to worry about.

“It’s okay,” he told himself. “It’s okay. This is comfortable. I’m okay.” It was more comfortable than the vacuum cleaner, and that had been really comfortable, right? Sehun had said so. He swallowed, trying to focus. “You make me so happy. I’m a happy pet.”

“Yeah?” Sehun was looping and knotting the second strip, tying his bracelets together. Wasn’t the first strip enough? Did he need two of them? “What are you happy about right now?”

“You.” He couldn’t look away from Sehun’s calm, efficient hands in his lap. “Being with you.” He was trying really hard to sound normal, because Sehun was acting really normal, but this didn’t seem normal at all. His heart was racing and he kept shuddering and he felt hot all over. His hands were tied and he felt really powerless. But that was okay. Everything was okay. He didn’t need to be in power, he didn’t need to have control over anything. Sehun was in charge. His powerful prince was in control. “It’s okay,” he said again. “This makes me happy.”

“Yeah?” Sehun started tying the first two strips together with the third one. He threaded it through, wove them all together, knotting it in four places. Forcing his hands closer together, making sure that he was trapped in this position. “You’re happy like this?”

“Yes, thank you.” He stared down at his wrists, fascinated. He was trapped like this. The three red strips were knotted together in such a complicated configuration that he wouldn’t know where to start to pull it all apart, wouldn’t know which knots to pick at first. The flashes of his silver bracelets looked pretty against the vivid red cloth. It looked like art but it was on his body. He was helpless, and that made him want to panic, but he was okay, “This is okay,” he was okay, “I’m okay. I like this. This makes me happy.”

“Pet, you keep saying that, but I don’t believe you.” Sehun nuzzled the side of his neck. The intimacy of it, the sweet sensation, made him shudder with dreamy pleasure. He arched his back, tipping his head to one side, as Sehun kissed the crook of his neck. “What do you like about being tied up?”

“I like that you like it. You want it, so I want it.”

“Do you want to be tied up?” Sehun whispered, licking his jaw.

“Yes. Yes, I want to be whatever you want me to be.” His breath caught as Sehun kissed behind his ear. “Oh, you’re so good to me.”

“You’re delicious,” Sehun whispered, nibbling on the side of his neck.

He felt delicious. He felt incredible. “I want to be whatever you want,” he said again. “I’ll do anything for you.” Bold, enchanted, he rubbed his cheek against Sehun’s, soaking up skinship.

Sehun’s tongue slid along his jaw, sleek and wet. “I own you, Hwan-ah.”

“Yes,” he breathed, ecstatic. “Yes, you own me.”

A soft, hissing sound. Sehun’s teeth grazed his chin, and the intimate threat made his heart skip a beat. “My pretty little pet,” Sehun whispered, nibbling across his cheekbone. “You belong to me.”

He was getting so much skinship, he couldn’t believe it. Sehun was being so generous with him, he wanted to remember everything about this moment, the secretive sound of Sehun’s whisper, the wet glide of Sehun’s tongue over his skin, the sweet bite of Sehun’s teeth. The peppery scent of Sehun’s cologne.

Sehun lifted him slightly, and then Sehun’s knees parted. He was dropped lightly, between Sehun’s spread thighs, and Sehun’s legs closed around him, trapping him. Loving that, he snuggled up closer against Sehun’s chest. With his right side tight against Sehun, he held his bound arms tucked close against his chest. He couldn’t put his mouth on his owner just anywhere he wanted, but he tucked his face against the soft cotton of Sehun’s shirt, kissing tenderly through it.

Cupping his chin, Sehun tilted his face up. His heart pounding, his lips parted. While Sehun stared at him, he ate his owner up with greedy eyes. Sehun was so handsome, it hurt. That was what truly hurt him. Feeling this way about Sehun, needing Sehun so badly all of the time, the intensity of his emotions, the way he responded to Sehun, that hurt more than any bite. It was a constant ache, a craving he couldn’t get away from.

Sehun’s grip tightened on his chin, holding him in place, and then Sehun leaned in. He held absolutely still, whimpering with excitement, as Sehun’s mouth neared his. And then Sehun bit his lower lip. A slow, hard bite, Sehun’s teeth closing on his lower lip. When Sehun released his lip, he could still feel it, the pain reminding him, proving that it had really happened. A soft, threatening growl thrilled him, and then Sehun did it again, a sudden nip. Hands framing his face, Sehun stared at him. Sehun’s hot, dark gazed raked slowly over his face, and he shuddered in Sehun’s hold. Bound, helpless, he was trapped there, caught between Sehun’s legs, Sehun’s hands holding him still, the burning intensity of Sehun’s stare not missing a detail, not letting him go. Sehun’s scrutiny scraped him raw, and the severe, black lines of Sehun’s eyebrows were like a warning.

Then, shocking in its happiness, sudden and bright, a smile broke over Sehun’s face. With a fleeting, soft chuckle, Sehun buried his face in Hwanhee’s neck, biting. It was a light, teasing bite, and then Sehun sighed. It was such a satisfied, contented sound, it bathed Hwanhee’s heart in its healing warmth. Relaxing, Sehun leaned back against the wall, cuddling Hwanhee against his chest. Wrapped up in Sehun’s possessive arms, Hwanhee felt secure. This was exactly, exactly where he wanted to be.

Curling up, boneless in Sehun’s embrace, he licked lazily at the red cloth binding his wrists.

Sehun toyed with his hair, ruffling it. He felt like he was dreaming. “If you’re so worried about what my leader knows, is there anything that you want your leader to know? Anything that you want me to tell Jinhoo for you?”

“Mmm. No, thank you, hyungnim.”

“Is there anything else that you want to ask me?”

“Yes, please.” He stopped licking his bonds for a moment, trying to choose the right words. “Did you respect the First Pet?”

“Of course. He’s one of the bravest people I’ve ever met.” Sehun tugged on his hair and kissed his cheek. “Pet, I don’t want you to worry about how I feel about anybody else or what happens between me and other guys. You don’t have to worry about other pets or if I notice Hongbin hyung or how Chen hyung kisses or anything else. You don’t have to learn anything or figure out what I’m looking for. You already know everything there is to know about how to be with me. You’re already everything that I want.”

Soaking up every single word, he held his breath, rapt.

Sehun nuzzled his ear, nibbling on him, legs squeezing him tightly. “You’re all I want, Hwan-ah. If I want anything else from you, you won’t have to guess or ask around or find out from somebody else. I’ll tell you myself, I’ll tell you what I want. But you’re already perfect for me, just the way you are.” Sehun’s voice was soft, his thumb rubbing circles along Hwanhee’s jaw. Hwanhee was surrounded in him, his embrace, his control. “I want you to be you, just you. Natural and honest and here for me.”

“I’m here for you,” Hwanhee whispered, aching with devotion.

“Right now, when it comes to what I need, you know me better than anyone else. You know what I like, you give it to me every time we’re together. Other guys, my hyungs, they should be coming to you for advice, not the other way around.” Sehun’s lips brushed over his cheek, then again, feathering soft kisses over the side of his face. “My Hwan-ah gives me just what I want.”

His heart was so full, he felt overcome. Sehun was telling him things that he’d never expected to hear. His owner was talking to him like this inside of a scene. He wanted to capture every single word and hold onto it. “Thank you, Prince Sehun. Thank you for letting me belong to you, thank you for choosing me.”

“I like it when you thank me for things,” Sehun murmured, nuzzling his cheek.

“Thank you,” he said immediately, and Sehun chuckled appreciatively. “Thank you, hyungnim, thank you for everything.” Having his owner surrounding him like this, so directly close up on his face, was making it hard for him to gather his thoughts together enough to say what he wanted to say. But this was important. “I’m really happy to be your pet. I’ll try really, really hard to be a good pet, a pet that you can be proud of.”

“You’re a delicious pet,” Sehun whispered, kissing his ear.

Sehun’s praise hit him in places that no one else had ever touched. “Thank you,” he breathed, burrowing more tightly into Sehun’s embrace. “At first - - at first you said that you didn’t want a pet, and you weren’t sure about me, but - - but you gave me a chance, and I hope that you’ll never regret it. I hope that I never make you sorry that you gave me a chance. Even if there were a million other doms out there, all kinds of other princes, you’re the only one I want. I can’t believe that I have you in my life, I can’t believe that you’re real. I’ll never let you go, I won’t, I can’t. I can’t,” he repeated, and he couldn’t talk that way to his owner but he said it again, insistent in his desperation, “I can’t.”

“I know, pet.” Sehun’s hand cupped the back of his head, shielding him, and he buried his face against Sehun’s chest, his bound hands grasping at the front of Sehun’s shirt, just needing to hold on. “Don’t worry, Hwan-ah.” Sehun stroked his hair, voice deep and soft. He felt inescapably caught, and he felt completely protected. “You don’t have to worry about that, because I’d never let you go.” Sehun’s head was bent over his, Sehun’s hand covering his nape. “You belong to me, now, you’re mine,” Sehun whispered, “and I’m never going to let anything or anybody ever take you away from me.”

---

---

When they said good-bye, Hwanhee hugged Sehun for a long time. Sehun let him, cupped the back of his head and whispered, “Thank you,” and let him stay for as long as he wanted.

His head was full. His heart was full. They’d said so much, and he’d felt so much, and Sehun had filled him up with that intense, thrilled, devoted feeling he lived for. When he got back to the dorm, Sehun texted him. Thank you for asking to talk to me, Hwanhee-ah. I’m glad that we said what we said. Which meant that, even after it was over, Sehun wasn’t trying to take any of it back.

In bed the next morning, he masturbated slowly, tenderly working himself over, remembering last night, when he’d sat on Sehun’s lap and nuzzled Sehun’s neck, when Sehun had nibbled on him and called him a tasty little snack, when Sehun had treated him like such a spoiled pet.

Spent, woozy, he rolled onto his stomach. He and Sehun had said a lot to each other, last night. He’d said a lot of embarrassing things, and Sehun had said a lot of amazing things, and it was all swirling around so much in his head, he wanted to go through it all to make sure that he didn’t lose any of it.

Sehun liked him. Or, didn’t like him. “It’s not that. It’s different from that. It’s a lot more intense than that.” That seemed, um. That seemed important. And it hadn’t sounded like something Sehun had really wanted to tell him.

Sehun respected the First Pet. He’d asked about that because he’d been sure that the answer would be yes. And it had been. But Sehun had also talked about how brave the First Pet was. But Sehun had called him brave, earlier, weirdly. So what did that mean? Sehun couldn’t respect him. Yeah, Sehun was a nice hyung, and everything, but nobody could watch somebody have sex with a toilet and still hold onto respect for him. So, no way did Sehun actually respect him. But if bravery was something Sehun respected, something Sehun thought was important, and - - then did Sehun respect him, after all? Why? For being brave? What the hell was brave about begging to be humiliated? Nobody would look at him, mooing in his harness, and say, “Now, there’s a brave fellow!” What did Sehun mean?

Sehun wanted to take care of him. Wanted to protect him and give him a bath and watch him sleep. That was incredible.

They were in a relationship. It was a weird relationship, it was definitely not like anybody else’s relationship he’d ever seen, but Sehun had said it. Said it and meant it, definitely meant it. They were in a relationship. Not a boyfriend relationship, but. Some kind of relationship. He wasn’t nothing to Sehun. He wasn’t disposable.

It had taken a long time for that to sink in. He couldn’t imagine why a prince would ever care about him. He’d never thought that a prince would look at him and see anything but a hole to get off in. But Sehun saw something else in him. A dongsaeng, sometimes. A pet, sometimes. Maybe even a person.

His owner cared about him.

His owner was never, ever going to let him go.

He hugged himself, thinking about it.

He remembered the first time they’d played badminton in Sehun’s room together. The first time Sehun had called him a good pet. He’d asked, “What does a pet do?” And Sehun had said, “A pet is very important.” Those had been the first words out of Sehun’s mouth, the first thing Sehun had told him about what a pet was. “A pet is very important.”

A pet was important. He was important. Important to Sehun.

His owner thought that he was brave. Last night, his owner had called him special, “special as hell,” one of the most special people Sehun had ever met. Sexy, and cute, and perfect.

His owner had called him a miracle. A fucking miracle.

Sehun had said a lot of things. And meant them.

“I’m a pet,” he whispered to himself, relishing it, rolling over and curling up. “I’m a good, delicious, sexy pet.” He was in a relationship with EXO’s Oh Sehun. He laughed, hugging himself, disbelieving. A relationship! With EXO’s Oh Sehun!

Humming happily, he dialed Sehun’s number.

“Hi, hyung! It’s your Hwanhee calling. I hope that you have a good day, today. You’re so handsome, your fans are so lucky. Text me if you need anything, okay? Okay. Hyung, fighting!” Smiling, he hung up. He touched at his lower lip, remembering the way Sehun had bitten him there. Remembering that incredible moment. Sehun’s mouth so close to his. God.

Being Sehun’s property had already been exciting enough. Fulfilling enough. Unbelievable enough. But he was important to his owner. He wasn’t like a pair of old socks. He was like a, like a, like a prized possession. Something his owner was proud of and wanted to show off.

Him. He, Lee Hwanhee, was somebody that EXO’s Sehun was proud of owning and wanted to show off. Sitting up, feeling happy and bashful and full of pride, he looked down at himself, rubbed his abs, shook his bangs out of his eyes. “I’m a fucking miracle,” he said, just wanting to announce it to somebody.

In the other bed, Xiao groaned and rolled over.

Passing by in the hallway, Kuhn said, “Yeah, that’s great. Get your ass up, get in the shower. Both of you.”

Feeling upbeat, energized, he hopped out of bed. More intense than liking somebody. A lot more intense than liking somebody. He really couldn’t describe how he felt about Sehun, he couldn’t ever get it all pinned down and laid out, there was just too much to it. But that. A lot more intense than liking somebody. That seemed like a good way to start.

---

---

Series page: "Let's Love"

---

---

Home | K-pop | tumblr | Twitter

Copyright June 20, 2017
by Matthew Haldeman-Time