Kidnapping is Always an Option - 4. Chapter 4

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. "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. "We are not leaving until he hears us out!" He insisted.

Now Caspin was the one trying 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. "What the...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 leaped 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. He 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. He gazed at the Vulpan beside him 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. "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, but 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 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 green eyes like yours." He confessed. "Besides, I well and truly allowed myself to be stolen. I stole your heart, you stole me. Sounds like a fair trade to me." The soccer player smiled. "I love you too, you know."

Cas buried his face in Adrian's shoulder and hugged the human's arm to his chest. He made a little happy noise before rubbing his cheeks on Adrian, one then the other cheek and then back again. A soft fluttery purr thrummed in the fox's throat.

"My Adrian." Caspin whispered, his purrs making his words tremble. "Mine. Mine. Mine." He sighed softly. "And I'm yours."

Adrian smiled, kissing the mop of tan locks, letting Cas scent-mark him like a cat. He then wrapped an arm around his adorable lover, making Caspin look up. His emerald eyes were dilated and a little dazed.

"I like how you smell." Cas admitted dreamily.

For a moment, all that Adrian felt was heat gathering in embarrassing places. "We-we're back at your parent's house." Adrian told him, trying to ignore how his little fox was making his pants tight.

"Oh." Caspin said softly, blinking and sitting up. "Yeah. We have to tell Mom and Dad and call my aunt and uncle, let them know what's going on."

They trudged into the house, Caspin unsure how everyone would take the news.

"Caspin!" Evangeline came rushing to the entrance of the house as soon as she heard them approach. "Oh, my baby, you're safe!" She cried as she squished Caspin's face between her breasts and all but crushed him.

"Eva, you're suffocating him again." Verlan scolded as he took hold of her shoulder.

She finally released her son and looked from the human to the small fox and back again. "Any news?"

Caspin once again took hold of Adrian's arm. "Etsu, he..." He trailed off, unsure of how to begin to explain.

"He said he found his soulmate." Adrian cut in. "It looked more complicated than it seemed, but at least by a part, it seems as if the eloping theory was correct."

Verlan got Evangeline to sit down with her feet up, her tall ears swiveled nervously as she wrung her hands. Verlan called Etsu's parents to explain that their son seemed to be alright and what had happened. They were understandably shocked and promised to be there as soon as they could, which would be a few hours. Then, Verlan called the police to let them know that their theory appeared to have been correct. Etsu had eloped… with a Kaynen. Adrian sat on a couch with Caspin. At first the little fox was next to Adrian, but his mother's anxiety seemed to make him restless, and he scooted closer and closer to his human until Adrian was holding Cas in his lap. Eva took a moment from her histrionics to glare disapprovingly at her son. Caspin blushed and looked away, but didn't move from his comforting position in Adrian's arms.

Verlan brought everyone a special tea meant to calm the nerves and he had Adrian and Caspin recount everything that had happened. When the subject of the Kaynen getting a mouthful of Caspin came up as well as the resultant chase, Adrian thought Evangeline might swoon.

"Settle down, Eva." Verlan told his wife before she could start hyperventilating. "You can see he's fine." The older Vulpan turned to Adrian. "Thank you for looking out for my boy."

“And thank you for allowing me the privilege to,” Adrian responded with a slight nod.

In a few hours' time, the entire Vulpan family and friends had gathered together and Etsu and Orin arrived, as well. As they stood outside the door, Etsu fidgeted nervously.

"You're the first Kaynen to join the family..." He murmured. "Your family isn't going to...eat me when I go see them, are they?" He questioned.

"Of course not." Orin patted his pretty mate on the head. "I would tear them to pieces if they tried." He stated it matter-of-factly. "I can protect you. I'm the strongest, fastest, and smartest in my family. That's why I run the company."

Before Etsu stepped through the door, he tossed Orin a warning glare. "I won't take kindly to you eating any of my family members, either."

"I'll apologize to your cousin like you told me to." Orin's ears drooped. "Tell them not to try to take you away from me, though." The Kaynen wrapped a possessive arm around Etsu's shoulders. "I won't eat them, but if they try to take you I might bite."

Etsu rolled his eyes. "I'm not going to leave the house, alright? If they 'take' me anywhere, it will only be to the living room or the kitchen to help out." He explained. Orin looked dubious but didn’t argue.

When they both finally walked through the door, the family's chatter fell to silence. They all seemed to gape at the Kaynen for a moment before shouting out a loud, "CONGRATULATIONS!"

The room was full to bursting with Vulpans of all colors and patterns. All were multihued except for Caspin's muted tan, making the little fox stand out. Etsu recognized cousins, aunts, uncles, siblings, family friends, and his own parents. Everyone had turned out when they'd heard Etsu wasn't just mated, he was soul-mated.

Orin didn't like all the eyes on his mate. The arm around Etsu's shoulder became tense as the big Kaynen tugged his fox close to his side. He was proud of himself for not growling, though. Etsu was talking to a Vulpan next to them, but Orin paid no mind as he steered himself and his mate through the throng to stand directly in front of Etsu's little bland cousin. The smaller fox looked up at Orin with frightened jade eyes, but he didn't run. Orin gave him credit for having some backbone.

"I apologize for trying to kill and eat you." The Kaynen bowed at the waist, pulling Etsu with him, before straightening again. "My mate explained it was a misunderstanding. It won't happen again."

Caspin blinked dumbly at the musclebound Kaynen for a moment, flabbergasted.

"Thank... you?" Cas said haltingly.

Adrian was relieved that Orin hadn't shown up only to pick a fight. The human smiled down at the confused fox in an encouraging manner. Etsu was also rather pleased with Orin's behavior. He stood on the tips of his toes and gave the Kaynen a smooch on the lips. "Well done." He purred. He then turned towards his favorite cousin. "I'm also sorry for all the chaos."

"It's all alright." Caspin smiled as he looked at his happy cousin. "He's really your soulmate?"

Etsu nodded. "Yeah. It's crazy, huh?" He mused. "But, I think it'll be worth it in the end. Especially if I can get the stubborn Kaynen to behave." He stated the last phrase in a condescending tone of voice.

"I always behave." Orin snorted. "I just don't always behave how you want me to."

Caspin covered his mouth, trying not to giggle at the disgruntled look on the imposing Kaynen's face.

"Come on, let's introduce you to the rest of my family." Etsu replied with a sigh as he gently tugged the canine along by his wrist.

"Still worried about Etsu?" Adrian prodded as he tugged Caspin closer to him. Even after seeing the rest of Caspin's colorful family members, he still only had eyes for the sandy-hued fox. It had been nice to meet his lover’s siblings and extended family, but he’d wished they’d been nicer to Caspin. However, Caspin had ignored every backhanded compliment or outright slight against him. Few had the guts to say anything rude to Adrian, who towered over them all, though he suspected there was plenty of acidic chatter going on behind their backs. Adrian had been biting his tongue all day. It sat wrong to see the people who were supposed to love Cas unconditionally treat him so cruelly.

Caspin smiled, shaking his head. "Etsu seems to have him wrapped around his finger." He looked around at all the smiling happy faces. "And everyone seems to have accepted Orin, even if he's a Kaynen." Cas scooted closer to Adrian. "We don't have wedding ceremonies like you do on Earth. Being mated is a choice made by both partners. Then there's a party like this and they're accepted by the family. If enough people come to the party then the mating is considered accepted."

The little fox's smile drooped and then slid from his face entirely.

"Hey," Adrian tilted Caspin's chin up to look into his eyes. "What's wrong?"

"I just realized that we can never be fully mated." Cas admitted sadly. "Even if you were Vulpan, not enough people would come to my party. Only Mom, Dad, Etsu a few of my siblings and cousins, and Etsu's parents would probably come. My other aunts and uncles... disapprove of me, and I don't really have any close Vulpan friends."

A scowl formed on Adrian's face. "We don't need any one of them for us to be mated." He told him in a firm voice. "We have every right to be together, just like Etsu and Orin. If they don't accept it, it's their loss."

"You want to be mated?" Caspin squeaked. "With me?"

Adrian leaned down to whisper into his beloved fox's ear. "Caspin, to me, we already are mated."

The little Vulpan squeaked again and nearly bowled Adrian over with his enthusiastic hug.

Caspin straightened, beaming. He turned and searched the crowd for his cousin, then gave that up to search for the only Kaynen in the room, who stood much taller than the sea of multicolored Vulpans.

Cas spotted them not far off. He stood, waving his hand and calling Etsu's name excitedly. It was Orin who noticed Caspin trying to get his mate's attention. Etsu was talking to an older female, but he looked bored. His mate always seemed happy when he talked about his favorite cousin, Caspin. Orin figured Etsu would be much happier chatting with the disturbingly zippy little fox than the crone, so Orin simply picked Etsu up and walked over to Caspin and his alien from Earth. Etsu looked irritated until he saw who he was standing in front of and a wide grin spread across his face. Orin nodded in satisfaction. He had been right. Now his mate was happier.

Caspin grasped Etsu’s hands and bounced on his bare feet.

"Etsu," Cas whispered excitedly. "Adrian accepted me as his mate!"

Etsu beamed at his cousin. "That's wonderful!" He responded. The dark-haired fox immediately tugged Orin down to whisper into his ear. "Can you lift me onto your shoulders for a second?"

Orin didn't even hesitate. He lifted the fox up until Etsu straddled each of his shoulders.

"EVERYONE, LISTEN UP!" Etsu called out enthusiastically. "This is actually a double party! I also want to celebrate Caspin being mated to his human, Adrian!"

All conversation halted. A few gasps were heard, along with some murmurings. "A human, he said? With Caspin?"

"Always knew that throwback would bring only more oddities into the family!" An elderly fox spoke up.

Soon, half the room chattered loudly about the scandal.

Adrian grabbed Caspin's hand and made his way to the door. "YOU KNOW WHAT?" He addressed them all. "Caspin deserves better than all of you! And if none of you accept us, there are plenty of other planets that will!" He then tugged Caspin along. When he passed by the Vulpan's parents, he paused and gave a short bow. "Thank you for your hospitality while it lasted." He all but growled. "We'll be taking our leave."

Caspin was wide-eyed as he was tugged out the door. He frantically waved good-bye at Etsu and the rest of his family as he and his new mate rushed out.

"Bye!" He called.

The little Vulpan then stood confused by the car, trying to decide if he should try to get their toothbrushes before they left. Caspin yipped as he was picked up and gently placed in the car. It looked like they'd be getting new toothbrushes.

Cas thought he should feel bad at the cruelty of everyone who had gathered to celebrate Etsu's mating, but he just didn't. No one had ever stood up for him like Adrian had, not even his parents. His father had sheltered him and his mother had smothered him. He couldn't help his smile as he punched in the coordinates for the port and watched Adrian seethe from the corner of his eye.

"Thank you." Caspin whispered. "You're amazing." The fox laughed happily as the car took off. "Let's get off this dumb rock."