Not an hour after Orin and Etsu were sated and cleansed, a loud, resounding banging came from the Kaynen's door. Adrian and Caspin had been up all night following the trail of lotion that Etsu had scattered onto the ground. The trail finally stopped at an old house with a rather extravagant looking door.

"Are you sure that we shouldn't have warned the authorities before confronting whoever this person is?" Adrian asked.

"There's no time." Caspin whined. "And they wouldn't listen anyway."

"I just hope that Etsu really isn't in any immediate danger." Adrian admitted.

"You think he's in trouble right now?" Caspin's green eyes were wide with worry. "Oh, stars, we have to hurry!" The little fox banged on the door again.

Somewhere inside, Etsu stirred and groaned at the sound. "What's all that racket?" He complained to Orin. At the incessant pounding, the fox gave Orin's shoulder a bite that was in between gentle and rough. "Go tell whoever it is to fuck off and let us sleep." He urged.

"If I shut them up will you do that thing with your tongue again?" Orin queried with one eye open.

A half smirk tugged on Etsu's lips. "I just might." He conceded as he leaned over to gently nip the tip of Orin's nose.

The Kaynen's chest rumbled as he stole a heated kiss before rolling out of the bed and heading for the doors without bothering to put on clothes. In moments, he was at the door, flinging it open.

"What?" the burly dog demanded.

Caspin shrunk back, pressing into Adrian behind him.

Adrian frowned at his fox's frightened reaction. He merely stood up straighter and looked the other man in the eye, a sharp warning in his own periwinkle eyes. He didn’t care in the slightest that the person was nude. "My name is Adrian, and this is my partner, Caspin. Forgive the intrusion, but we have reason to believe that Caspin's cousin has been brought here."

Etsu had been already drifting deeply into sleep when his Vulpan ears managed to catch the sound of his cousin's name being mentioned. "What? Caspin?" He murmured to himself as he forced himself to a sitting position and stretched. His head turned toward the door as he paid closer attention.

Orin frowned at the two men in front of him. The tall one was strange-looking and the little one looked shifty-eyed.

"Go away," the naked Kaynen snapped and slammed the door in their faces. He quickly returned to his bed and his mate, content that he was rid of the interlopers.

"Did the person at the door say the name Caspin?" Etsu questioned, confused.

Almost immediately, the door was once again being pounded on. Adrian didn't appreciate a door being slammed in his face one bit. "He's about as rude as some of the men on the soccer field." He hissed under his breath as he continued to pound on the door. "We are not leaving until he hears us out!" He insisted.

That time, it was Caspin that tried to get Adrian to wait.

"Adrian, that was a Kaynen...and he was naked." Cas squeaked. "Did you not see he was naked?"

"I don't care if he was purple with pink spots," Adrian countered. "He didn't even let us finish, let alone let us inside to assure us that Etsu’s not in there. That, in and of itself, is suspicious."

"And I could smell Etsu on him..." Caspin looked at Adrian with big eyes. "Oh, no, what if he..."

Cas let out a little squeak before flinging himself at the door to bang furiously. The little fox almost fell over when it finally creaked open after all the strain.

"He didn't lock it." Caspin sputtered in surprise, his eyes peering inside the entryway. "I-I'm going in." The sandy-haired fox stammered before darting inside.

"Caspin, wait!" Adrian called after him as he rushed inside, as well. When he finally caught up to the fox and they both caught sight of the naked pair before them, the human quickly reached up to cover Cas' eyes. "Explain yourselves!"

Etsu was half beaming and half embarrassed at the situation. "Caspin, I knew you'd find me! That's why you're my favorite cousin!" He preened. "And...err, how do I explain this? You see...Orin is the mate I never knew I had?"

"He's brainwashed you...I'm too late!" Caspin wailed, yanking Adrian's hand from his eyes. "Was it drugs?" Cas asked desperately. "Did he drug you, Et?"

Orin snarled. "I do not need to drug my mate to get him to disrobe."

Caspin pointed at the remnants of silk that had held Etsu to the bedposts. "Those look kidnappy and nonconsensual to me!"

Orin looked to the bed and then back to his mate's little cousin. "Okay, fine...but, there were no drugs, and he loved it!"

Etsu glared at Orin, pinching his side. "You are not helping calm my cousin down." He growled through clenched teeth. "The point is that I'm fine, Cas. Never better, even!"

Adrian held Caspin close to offer what little support he could in the face of such strange circumstances. "So, you’re saying that you were a willing participant, then?" The human asked the dark-haired fox.

"Yes!" Etsu insisted. He reached out to take his cousin's hands in his own. "Caspin, listen. As Vulpans, we don't pay any heed to old wives' tales and the like. And it really is a shame too, ‘cause most of the tales were right. Orin is my soulmate, of all things." He took one of Cas' hands and held it to his cheek. "Feel me, check my temperature. Look into my eyes. I’m not drugged or under any influence. I'm good." The dark-haired fox then gave his cousin one of his brightest smiles. "I'm happy."

Etsu then quickly turned to the side and glowered at the Kaynen. "That doesn't mean that I'm happy with your behavior though, Orin. How dare you scare my favorite cousin half to death!?"

"Tch!" Orin scoffed as he glanced off to the side, actually looking a tiny bit contrite. "Like I was supposed to know that he was of any relation to you, he doesn't look a thing like you."

Caspin dodged past the still naked Kaynen to throw himself at his cousin.

"Really, Etsu?" Cas asked excitedly. "Stars! I can't believe it!" The little fox wriggled as he hugged the slightly taller Vulpan. "I guess compared to me falling for an alien, you mating a Kaynen won't be as shocking." Caspin pulled back, tugging on Etsu's hand. "We have to go back and tell Mom and Dad. They won't believe it!"

Seemingly oblivious to the fact that Etsu still had no pants on, Cas began dragging his cousin toward the door.

Orin's roaring snarl filled the room. "My mate is staying with me!"

Caspin squeaked as there was a pop and instead of Orin-the-man, snapping at him, he was faced with a gigantic growling dog. There was another pop and a small sandy fox was struggling out of the clothes that had pooled around him. The dog swept down, catching the terrified fox in his massive jaws.

"Caspin!" Adrian gasped and reacted immediately.

The human rushed towards them, but at the same moment, Caspin tucked himself under and kicked at Orin's nose. The tiny fox was dropped and immediately began to run off. Orin took chase and, soon, everyone was running after the fox and the dog.

Adrian stooped down low when he saw Caspin running towards him. When the Vulpan leapt into his arms, he caught him and stood up to stand his ground against the barking Kaynen. Anger filled him as he felt the incessant trembling of the fox in his arms.

"Enough!" Adrian bellowed.

Etsu had finally caught up to them. He slid onto his knees gracefully and wrapped his arms around Orin's neck. "Orin, stop!" When the menacing growling didn't stop, he gave the Kaynen a sharp slap on the flank. "Stop it!"

A whimper echoed in the room as the Kaynen's attention finally shifted to his mate. Orin let out another whimper and began to lick the side of Etsu's face in remorse, but the Vulpan shoved the snout away from him. "No, that won't fix a damn thing!" He hissed. "Caspin wasn't trying to take me away from you, you stubborn beast! Did it ever occur to you that I wouldn't have left to see my parents without you!?"

Though he tried to keep the anger off his face as he addressed Cas' cousin, Adrian didn't quite succeed. "If you want to personally explain things to your aunt and uncle, you know where to find them. Caspin and I are taking our leave." He stated in a cold tone of voice as he made his way towards the door. He quickly scooped up Caspin's clothes on the way out and carried his partner all the way to the car.

"Your cousin should learn to keep that mate of his on a leash," Adrian ranted. "How dare they treat you this way when you were so worried about him that you didn't even sleep? We'll just have to tell your parents what happened and that will be that."

Caspin was still shivering and panting, unable to calm himself enough to change back to normal. He was able to show Adrian how to set the coordinates for home on the car’s controls with his nose and a few yips. His lovely human was quick to figure out the controls, which was something he couldn’t fully appreciate just then.

The Vulpan was still shaking for several minutes, though having Adrian holding him close helped immeasurably. When he was finally settled enough, he hopped to the other seat and let himself shift back to his larger form. Caspin quickly tugged on his pants and shirt, hands trembling, before he turned back to the man he considered his own mate.

“Etsu’s mate tried to eat me!” Cas wailed, eyes wide.

The human was, once again, impressed with the sleek vehicle driving its own way back. But, as much as he enjoyed learning about new technology, his attention immediately shifted to the shorter man beside him. He gazed at the Vulpan with an angry expression on his face. He reached out to gently tug the back of Caspin's collar enough to see red scrape marks on his neck. "I should have bitten him in retaliation. It would have served him right." He huffed, but gently rested his hand above the scratches, at the base of the fox's head. His voice was much softer by then. "Are you hurt anywhere else?"

Caspin shook his head. "I don't think so." He gripped Adrian's hand. "Etsu said they were soulmates. Those are old stories, I didn't think anyone believed in that stuff anymore. Do you think it could be true?" Caspin looked hopeful. "Soulmates are supposed to be completely averse to harming each other. That's what the stories always said. There were other things too, but what if they aren't soulmates? What if that Kaynen hurts...or eats Etsu?" Caspin squeezed Adrian's fingers, the little fox's hands were icy cold.

Adrian held the cold fingers between his hands to warm them. "If the Kaynen hasn't hurt or killed him already, then he's not going to. I didn't see any kind of injuries on Etsu at all." He then leaned over to press a kiss to one of Caspin's ears. "As strange as it sounds, Etsu looked like he meant it."

Cas blew out a breath and leaned his head on Adrian's shoulder. "I hope so...because I may not be able to fight that Kaynen. I can shoot him. But if I shoot him, I'll either have to run away or they'll arrest me." Caspin bit his lip. "I'd have to run,” he said with finality. “I don't think I could stand being without you. Plus, I've heard Vulpans like me don't do well in prison." The fox snapped his mouth closed as he realized he was rambling.

The human let out a hearty laugh. "You may not be able to fight him, but I can. You needn't shoot anyone, Cas." He pointed out. "I'd even go to prison in your stead. Though, I'd rather not be away from you, either." The taller man threaded the fingers of one of their hands together and gave them a gentle squeeze. "Let's deal with your parents first and see what happens from there. Remember that I go where you go."

"I love you, Adrian." Caspin's smile peeked up at the tall human. "If soulmates are real...I'd wish you were mine." Cas nuzzled Adrian's shoulder and blushed. "I dreamed about you, you know. After I first saw you on the soccer vid. I thought I couldn't ever be with you and it made me sad, but I cheered myself knowing you were doing what you were meant to...what you loved." The fox's smile faded. "Then you got hurt and they were terrible to you...I couldn't stand it." Caspin turned his head to give Adrian's shoulder a tiny kiss. "So, I stole you away."

"That's funny," Adrian mused as he reached out with his free hand to rake through shaggy sandy locks, his nails gently scratching through the scalp. "I used to have dreams of a person with green eyes like yours." He confessed. "Besides, I well and truly allowed myself to be stolen. I stole your heart, you stole mine. Sounds like a fair trade to me." The soccer player smiled. "I love you too, you know."