Chapter Text
Ilay’s engagement was the only topic the manor has talked about for the last six months– especially now he was due to meet his fiancé for the first time.
Arranged marriages were common in their society, as shifters were slowly dying out due to the constant threats of humans and the intermingling between different species. So it was more than obvious that he would have to continue their lineage when it was clear Kyle wasn't interested in doing so.
What he didn't expect was who he was getting engaged to.
His family was on top of the food chain. Ilay originally thought he would get married to Christoph, but that didn't pan out when the other boy presented as an alpha. There was also no way he would get married to that moron even if he was an omega. He definitely looked like he would bite, and he’s sure Richard would throw a tantrum as well which was definitely not worth the headache.
So imagine his surprise when Kyle arranged his engagement to his friend's nephew. They were from a smaller, unknown family based in South Korea. The only thing mildly remarkable about them was one of the kids was apparently a genius– but that wasn't even who he was getting engaged to.
“That's him?” Ilay asks, visibly annoyed as he watches the smaller boy hold onto his brother's hand tightly. He looks so tiny in comparison to him, and he was practically shivering in fear next to Kyle. They couldn’t be serious with this match, right?
Ilay looks over at Kyle, his tail twitching in displeasure. How could his brother even consider an engagement with someone so plain and ordinary? He knew his brother was a pushover, but he didn’t think he was an idiot.
“I mean both of them are kind of dull. But you couldn't even secure an engagement with the smart one?” Ilay mutters, waving his brother off with indifference.
Ilay watches as Kyle stiffens, while Kyle's friend who stands next to him covers his mouth. They both look shocked at his outburst, but he’s not exactly sure what they were expecting. For him to take things lying down? Please, he was a snow leopard; an apex predator.
He glances back over, crossing his arms. The older twin is staring at him coldly, his own tail swishing around in anger. Ilay snorts before glancing over at the younger twin whose ears are pressed flat against his head, watching Ilay with wary eyes.
“Jaeui is already engaged to someone else,” Kyle begins, trying to placate Ilay by placing his hands on his shoulders. “And I don't think you would get along with him as much as you would with Taeui.”
Ilay scoff, rolling his eyes.
“Shouldn't they be the ones grateful for marrying into our family–”
He yelps when someone yanks on his tail hard. Staring straight into Ilay's eyes is Taeui who was glaring at him.
“I don't want to marry you either! Snow leopards are fat and lazy.” The smaller boy says, tugging on Ilay's tail again.
Taeui's uncle immediately steps in, picking Taeui up and scolds him in Korean. Ilay just stares at the two arguing with each other while Taeui points at him angrily. He keeps shouting, throwing his arms in the air wildly. His uncle shakes his head at Taeui in disapproval, rubbing his back as an attempt to placate him.
Ilay feels his face burning; not from anger or embarrassment but another emotion he's never felt before. His heart flutters in his chest with a feeling of something unfamiliar but also very exciting.
The twins were living with their uncle after their parents passed away in an accident not too long ago. No one tells him the details, and he also doesn't press them for more information.
They flew back and forth between South Korea and Germany while Chang-in was getting all the paperwork settled before the permanent move. Which meant they were staying at his house temporarily while their uncle was busy working on their documents.
“You keep pronouncing the words wrong.” Ilay mutters, snatching the book from Taeui.
“You won't teach me! So I have to learn by myself!”” Taeui whines, looking over at Ilay pitifully. His face heats up, causing him to turn away immediately.
“Why would I teach you? It's not my fault you don't know how to speak German–” Ilay jolts when Taeui bites down on his tail, angrily chewing on it like some rabid dog with a chew toy.
He tries to shove the smaller boy off, but Taeui refuses to let go and keeps chewing on him.
“Get off!” Ilay yells, shoving at Taeui’s face. Taeui just peers up at him, his cheeks flushed a light pink. Eventually he lets go of Ilay’s tail, his own tail flicking back and forth in excitement.
“Teach me German.” Taeui pleads, pouting at him.
Ilay huffs, smacking Taeui with his tail. He feels his own face burning up when Taeui swats at his tail, pressing his face into the thick fur.
“Your tail is so fluffy.” Taeui muses, nuzzling Ilay affectionately. He honestly looks so cute doing that, rubbing his cheek all over Ilay’s tail as if he were scenting him.
He swears he's turning fifty different shades of red, watching this stupid panther being fixated on something so trivial. Yet for some reason, his heart swells in pride and Ilay can only nod.
“That's because I'm built for the cold weather, so you can hold onto me if you feel cold–” He barely finishes his sentence when Taeui throws himself on top of him, pressing his face against Ilay's shoulder, nosing at his shirt.
“Oh, no wonder you're always warm.” The other boy says, somewhat giddy. “I like it. You feel like a giant heater, Ilay.”
Ilay turns his face away, trying to keep his cool. His tail curls around Taeui protectively, finally glancing back at Taeui who watches him with wide eyes.
“That's why you can rely on me.” He mutters, ignoring when Taeui nuzzles him. Ilay wasn’t going to admit he liked the attention; strong little boys didn’t need to survive on affection and validation even though it did feel nice.
“Then teach me German. If we're going to get married, I have to learn German, right?” Taeui asks, tilting his head to the side.
“You're learning German because you're going to live in Germany, stupid.” Ilay retorts, waving Taeui off. He does his best to ignore Taeui's whine, only looking over when the other speaks again.
“I'll teach you Korean if you teach me German.” Taeui says shyly, poking the tip of Ilay's nose. He smiles at Ilay, his ears twitching in excitement at the idea.
Ilay looks away once more, hoping that Taeui doesn't notice how hot his cheeks were burning.
“Fine.” He mumbles, waving Taeui off indifferently. “But only because I want to know what you and your brother are saying.”
He nearly passes out when Taeui leans up to kiss his cheek, his tail curling around Ilay’s.
Jaeui was the complete opposite of Taeui in every single sense. His personality was cold and indifferent, and he spoke to everyone curtly– except for Taeui. It seemed like the only space in his heart was for his little brother, and for some reason that absolutely infuriates Ilay.
Not because Ilay wanted Jaeui to like him or anything. He truly didn't care about what the other boy thought of him. He was more upset about the attention Taeui would give to his brother.
His attention clearly belonged to Ilay only.
He watches as Taeui pours tea into Jaeui's cup, frowning as they both speak to one another in Korean. He wasn't even close to mastering the language yet, which was embarrassing after how much time he spent making fun of Taeui about his German.
Ilay can feel his tail twitching; the familiar way it does when he's annoyed. He's about to reach for the teapot himself, but Taeui curls his own tail around Ilay's as he pours tea into his cup.
“I didn't forget about you.” Taeui chides.
His cheeks flush in embarrassment, but Taeui just smiles at him and offers a petit four.
Ilay opens his mouth expectantly, and of course Taeui indulges his behavior by feeding him gently. He practically preens at the attention, glancing over at Jaeui who was staring at him in contempt.
“Aren't you a little too old to be fed like a baby?” Jaeui asks, tone flat.
Ilay is about to say something, but Taeui opens his mouth waiting for Ilay patiently.
So Ilay just smiles smugly, feeding Taeui a petit four back. He watches as Jaeui's eyes narrow, glancing over at Taeui. He crosses his arms, something in Korean.
This time Taeui responds in English, tilting his head at his older brother in confession.
“But I want to feed him, hyung. He's my fiancé.” Taeui says as if stating the most obvious fact in the world.
Ilay grins when Jaeui's face darkens, annoyance clearly visible in his body language. However, Taeui doesn’t seem to notice and goes back to drinking his tea.
“You don't even know what that means. You're too young to even say stuff like that.” Jaeui mutters, waving Taeui off. “Stop repeating things that you hear from Uncle Chang-in—“
“Ilay, aren't we getting married when we get older?” Taeui asks, abruptly cutting Jaeui off. He scratches his head in confusion, eyebrows furrowed.
Ilay's grin widens, exposing his tiny canines. He leans over the table, locking eyes with Jaeui. The fox watches him in contempt, his tail flicking back and forth showcasing his growing irritation.
“That's right. You're going to be my wife, and then do you know what happens after? We're going to have a lot of babies.” Ilay says smugly.
Jaeui flips the table over, right after the words leave Ilay's mouth.
When the three of them are seated together with Kyle and Chang-in for dinner, Taeui breaks the silence after Kyle reaches over to place food onto the panther’s plate.
“Uncle Chang-in, how do you make babies?” Taeui asks innocently, taking a sip of his water. He glances over at his uncle, watching as Chang-in spits his wine out, turning to the side while Kyle freezes.
Ilay shifts his gaze from Taeui and towards Jaeui who was shaking with quiet fury. He just smiles at Jaeui who stares at him in disbelief.
“Why do you ask, Tay?” Kyle asks softly, as Chang-in was too busy wheezing and choking.
Taeui hums, poking at his plate. He plays with the mashed potatoes, looking up at Kyle with a serious expression on his face.
“Ilay said we're going to have a lot of babies after we get married. So I want to know ahead of time to be prepared.” He says, nodding earnestly.
Ilay sips his water, ignoring his brother sitting next to him as Kyle was sinking into his seat in despair. Honestly he didn’t see what the problem was. It wasn’t like it was a lie or anything. That was the whole reason for their marriage, right?
“You don't have to worry about that right now. That won't happen for a long time.” Kyle manages to get out, despite how red and sweaty he looks.
“It's going to happen though. At least eventually.” Ilay says with a shrug.
He ignores when Chang-in wheezes again, and also the dirty look Jaeui gives him. Instead he focuses on adding more meat onto Taeui's plate, his tail twitching in pride when Taeui smiles at him.
“I hope me and Ilay have a lot of babies then to make you proud, Uncle Chang-in.” Taeui says softly, not even noticing his uncle getting up to excuse himself as he dry heaves into the kitchen.
Ilay hums, glancing at Kyle who gives him a concerned look before shrugging.
“You told me to always be honest.” He answers, taking a bite out of his potatoes. Ilay smirks at the face Kyle makes, shrugging once more with indifference.
“You know that's not what I meant–” Kyle begins, only to get cut off by Ilay.
“Tay, what's your favorite number?” Ilay asks innocently, despite knowing his next answer to Taeui’s response was going to be anything but.
Taeui pauses, thinking about it for a moment. He rubs at his chin, taking a few seconds to decide on an answer.
“Seven?”
“Okay, so seven babies then.” Ilay says confidently, taking a bite out of his steak. Jaeui slams his fork down, staring hard at Ilay who just grins in response.
Taeui scratches his ear, shaking his head.
“Oh, if it's about babies then, I think it should be an even number. How about eight? Just so no one gets lonely.” He says after a moment, glancing over at Ilay.
Ilay raises his glass, taking another sip of water. He was definitely pleased with that answer. Taeui always managed to surprise him somehow.
“You're so smart, Taeui. Are you sure you're not the genius of your family?” He says, his gaze locked onto Jaeui. His grin widens at the sight of the other boy shaking in his seat.
Jaeui throws a bread roll at Ilay's face, causing Kyle to get up to prevent a fight from breaking out between the two. They argue amongst themselves, Taeui eating his vegetables absentmindedly.
“Eight is a good number…” The panther murmurs, completely unaware of what was happening.