Myungsoo was busy, really busy. The producers let him run around Tokyo all day long and when he got back late at night he was completely drained of energy.

On one hand it was a good thing, he was so busy he almost didn't have time to miss Sungyeol (consciously). But on the other hand he didn't have enough time to talk with his mate (which made the subconscious yearning for him even worse). Of course he had the bag filled with Sungyeol's stuff and it smelt like heaven, it wasn't the same though. Actually the only thing keeping him halfway sane was the bracelet Sungyeol had given him before his departure, their couple bracelets (every time he thought about it a stupid grin found its way onto his face).

He hadn't even been in Japan for a week, but he felt weird, as if something was constantly pressing down on his stomach. It wasn't that bad, just barely noticeable, but it was there and it got worse over the days. Myungsoo had thought that talking to Sungyeol would make it better but it didn't. It just made him feel like something was wrong. It was frustrating that he didn't know what, because Sungyeol didn't tell him.

It was evening and Myungsoo had been able to return to his hotel room a little earlier than usual and of course the first thing he did was sending Sungyeol a text to tell him about it. He'd call, but he knew that Sungyeol was participating in the group's schedules again. Then he anxiously waited.

His gut feeling was very prominent all of a sudden. He didn't know why, maybe he had eaten something bad or maybe it was caused by Sungyeol not messaging him even once this day. Probably the latter.

So far Sungyeol had kept his promise and replied to more or less every message Myungsoo had sent him and he had always picked up his phone when Myungsoo had called. That was why Myungsoo was really worried if everything was alright. Sungyeol surely should have had some time to reply to at least one of his text messages, right?

He threw himself face first on his bed and reached under his pillow to pull out the sweater of his mate he had placed there in the morning so his bed would smell like Sungyeol (even if only faint). He hugged the sweater close to his chest and tried to calm down. He still had a week left in Japan, before he could return to his Sungyeol, he had to stay strong.

Myungsoo tried to distract himself while waiting for a reply, but it didn't really work and for the first time since he had arrived in Japan he took out his camera and decided to look through his pictures just for fun. He got the surprise of his life when he discovered pictures of Sungyeol and not just pictures but also stupid videos. He was so touched by this surprise that he immediately grabbed his phone and not caring about any possible schedules dialed Sungyeol's number. He just needed to hear his mate's voice right now.

His heart almost stopped beating for a moment when the call was actually picked up. Finally! Finally he got a hold of Sungyeol.

“Myungsoo,” someone who was not Sungyeol greeted.

“Why are you on my mate's phone?” he growled at Sungkyu.

“Hyung is sorry, Myungsoo, but Sungyeol can't talk right now. Do you want me to relay something to him?”

Myungsoo was everything else than pleased. It would have been better if no one had picked up then, but to know that Sungkyu was answering his Sungyeol's phone made him mad.

“Yes. I want you to tell him that I'll be waiting for his call and I want you to never touch his phone again!”

Sungkyu sighed on the other end of the line. “Myungsoo, go to bed. He won't call you today.”

Immediately the worry resurfaced and grabbed a tight hold on his heart.

“Why? Is something wrong? Is Sungyeol okay? Should I come back? I can come back, you know.”

“No, everything is fine, don't worry. Just go to bed.”

Myungsoo grumbled, but he should trust his leader. “Okay, I will. Just promise me that Sungyeol is fine.”

“YAH! Kim Myungsoo! Stop wasting my time and worry about yourself. Now go to bed!” Sungkyu snapped at him and Myungsoo knew that he had gone too far.

“Okay, okay. Sorry, hyung! Tell Sungyeol I lo- I miss him and I'll be back soon. Good night, hyung.”

He felt his cheeks flush at his almost slip of tongue, but Sungkyu only agreed and they ended their call.

Myungsoo sighed for the thousandth time that day and threw his phone aside when he realized something. Sungkyu hadn't promised that Sungyeol was fine!

His worry was now eating him alive and he wanted to call again, needed to know if everything really was okay or if Sungkyu avoided the topic on purpose, because something was wrong with Sungyeol. But he knew, if he called again and Sungkyu picked up the call again, he was going to be dead meat.

Frustrated he played with his bracelet (like he did a lot these days) and it calmed him down almost instantly. Couple bracelets. Myungsoo had been thinking about that a lot. He hoped that it meant that Sungyeol was giving him a chance, maybe even already liked Myungsoo the way Myungsoo liked Sungyeol (that would be too good to be true). He really wanted the bracelets to mean that from now on they actually were a couple, not just best friends but true mates. He'd really like that, after all he was in love with Sungyeol.

Myungsoo walked over to the survival bag (how Sungkyu and Woohyun had called it) and pulled out a fresh pullover with Sungyeol's scent on it, before he followed Sungkyu's advice and went to bed.

The next morning, he didn't feel any better, he felt a lot worse. He had a nightmare. In his dream, Sungyeol had screamed his name but Myungsoo hadn't been able to see him, he had searched for him everywhere but he couldn't find him. He knew that Sungyeol was in danger and his cries were so desperate, pleading Myungsoo to come and save him. When he woke up he discovered that he had been crying in his sleep.

He tried calling Sungyeol again, no one picked up. This time even the bracelet couldn't ease his worried mind. But he had to pack his stuff (today was the last day of filming in Tokyo and right after filming the crew was going to take a flight to Nagasaki and continue filming there) and get to today's filming side. It didn't do much to distract him. However it did prevent him from trying to reach Sungyeol constantly (what he'd totally do, but Sungyeol probably would chop his head off, because Myungsoo annoyed him) and he only sent Sungyeol another text message, wishing him a great day and telling him to reply to (or call) him as soon as possible.

He wasn't really focused on work and checked his phone every chance possible. Everyone noticed and at some point the producer pulled him aside and asked him if he was okay. Myungsoo considered lying but when he looked at the kind man (a werewolf in his late fifties), he couldn't. So he told him the truth, that he had just recently mated and that his mate wasn't responding to any of his messages.

“He probably is fine,” the producer told him. “Just busy, or maybe he doesn't want to talk to you, because he thinks you'll miss him even more.”

It actually managed to calm Myungsoo down a little and he was able to focus on work. He didn't even check his phone anymore (he figured that Sungyeol was busy as well and if he was going to reply he'd probably do so in the late evening). He even had so much fun with some of the crew members, he forgot to take his phone out of his bag on the way to the airport. He only remembered when they arrived.

When Myungsoo had fished his phone out of his bag and the screen, he stared at it in shock. His heart missed a few beats and the weird feeling was back full force. He had a dozen missed calls from Sungyeol and even more messages.

He didn't bother looking at any of them and instead immediately called Sungyeol back who picked up after the first ring.

“Myungsoo,” Sungyeol breathed out and Myungsoo's heart skipped another beat at the sound of it.

“Sungyeol, I'm so sorry, I should have checked my phone sooner. Are you alright?” Silence. “Sungyeol?”

Sungyeol took a moment to respond. “Say it again.”

“What?” Myungsoo was confused and still worried, Sungyeol sounded weird.

“My name. Say it again.” Sungyeol's reply made Myungsoo smile despite being worried sick.

“Sungyeol.”

“Myungsoo.”

“Yes? What is it?”

“Nothing. Just wanted to say your name. Myungsoo... Soo...” It sounded so beautiful, the way Sungyeol said his name, at least until his mate started to sob.

“Sungyeol? Sungyeol, what's wrong?”

“M-myungsoo,” Sungyeol whimpered. “I don't f-feel so good. I-I need you. Sunggyu-hyung s-said I s-shouldn't bother y-you. He took m-my phone a-away. B-but I n-neded to hear y-your voice. S-soo, I m-miss you s-so much.”

Myungsoo's heart was breaking. Sungyeol was suffering and it was his fault.

“I-”

“Yah, Sungyeol, what are you doing?” he suddenly heard Sungkyu speak. “Why are you on the phone? Give it to me.”

“N-no,” Sungyeol weakly replied. “Myungsoo... I need Myungsoo...”

“Are you calling him?! You know you aren't allowed to... Damn it, Lee Sungyeol! Give me the phone.”

For a few seconds Myungsoo only heard random noises and a few grunts and then someone's heavy pants.

“Myungsoo, are you still on the line?”

“Yes, hyung,” Myungsoo replied angrily. “And now I want the truth. Tell me, what's going on.”

“Nothing all too bad. Sungyeol just got a little sick and behaves like a whiny little baby. We didn't want to worry you, so we took his phone. Probably not the best idea, I admit, but we thought you'd most likely take the next flight back home for a mere cold.”

“A cold? That's all?” Myungsoo asked in suspicion.

“You don't believe your hyung?” replied Sungkyu accusingly, when suddenly there was a crash.

“MYUNGSOO! I WANT TO TALK TO MYUNGSOO!” Sungyeol screamed at the top of his lungs and Myungsoo's heart clenched. This didn't sound like a cold at all.

“Hoya, bring him back to bed! Woohyun, go and get Dongwoo, maybe he'll be able to calm him down,” Sungkyu screamed his commands over the continuous cries of Sungyeol. “Sorry, Myungsoo. I'm busy, I'll call you back later. Don't do anything rash, everything is under control!”

And the line was dead.

“.” Myungsoo felt helpless. His mate was in pain (it didn't matter whether it was a cold or something else) and he wasn't there to comfort him. “.”

He didn't know what to do. Sungyeol needed him, he had openly admitted that he needed him. But he couldn't just leave, he had a week of filming left, he couldn't just ditch it. That could seriously hurt his and INFINITE's reputation (it could hurt Sungyeol's reputation).

Myungsoo felt like crying as he kept staring on his phone and went through the messages Sungyeol had sent him during the past two to three hours. What Sungyeol wrote didn't sound like a cold at all. Myungsoo may not be an expert on this whole mating thing but it pretty much sounded like Sungyeol was feeling so bad because Myungsoo wasn't there.

“Are you okay, Myungsoo?”

Myungsoo jolted, looked up in panic and came face to face with the producer who looked worried. Again, Myungsoo considered lying, only to go with the truth once more.

“My mate.. he needs me.”

The producer sighed, but smiled at Myungsoo in sympathy. “Is he very sick?”

“I... I don't know. My members won't tell me anything. But when I talked to my mate... I've never heard him like this before.”

“You want to go home, don't you.”

Myungsoo let his head hang low in shame. He got surprised by a gentle hand being placed on his head and getting his hair ruffled.

“As being a werewolf myself I can't keep you here then. Go and make sure that your mate is going to be okay.”

“B-but... the filming!” Myungsoo exclaimed in shock and stared at the producer with big eyes.

“I've got backup. We were thinking about using different idols for different cities anyways. Just go and don't worry. I'll have a serious talk with the CEO of your company, sending you away for so long right after you mated. I really don't know how he could accept our offer.” The producer shook his head in disapproval. “I guess I owe you an apology as well. I'm really sorry, that you got separated from your mate because of our project. I really hope that we get to work together again in the future though. But then I make sure that you can bring your mate with you.”

“Thank you.” Myungsoo felt like throwing himself at the older man in his gratefulness and acted on it, hugging the man tightly. “Thank you so much!”

He bid the producer farewell, got all of his bags and bought himself a ticket back home.

Wait for me, Sungyeol. I'm coming home.

 

It was still dark in the dorm when Myungsoo finally arrived. As soon as he took in the first breath, he felt so much better than he had in a whole week, the heavenly scent of Sungyeol lingering all around. He was finally home.

As quietly as possible he made his way through the silent dorm towards Sungyeol's room. His heart was beating frantically at the prospect of seeing his mate again (maybe even hold him) and he giddily opened the door. However, his worry took his breath away when he found Sungyeol's bed empty.

Myungsoo just wanted to storm into Woohyun's room and wake up his hyungs (he just assumed that Woohyun and Sungkyu were both sleeping there, because they had to keep an eye on Sungyeol) and demand to know where his mate was when his ears caught a slight whimpering coming from his room. Strange. Also Sungyeol's scent appeared to be stronger there than in the rest of the apartment. Even stranger.

There was the sound again and this time Myungsoo thought to recognize Sungyeol. But that wasn't possible. Why would Sungyeol be in his room? It didn't make any sense (it did, but Myungsoo didn't dare to hope).

Not wasting any more time he entered his room and his gaze fell on the sleeping figure in his bed, tossing and turning. Sungyeol. His mate never moved much in his sleep, most of the time he was lying frighteningly motionless, looking like a corpse. To see him like this sent a searing pain through Myungsoo's heart.

Myungsoo quickly moved over to the bed and knelt down in front of it, his head right in front of Sungyeol's. He could see the sweat on his mate's face and neck, the furrowed eyebrows, the mouth slightly opened while panting.

He had to blink his tears away and ran a hand along Sungyeol's overly hot cheek. Like magic the frown disappeared from Sungyeol's face and his eyes slowly fluttered open. Myungsoo smiled at him.

“Soo?” Sungyeol mumbled sleepily. “Is that really you or am I dreaming again?”

“Surprise!” Myungsoo whispered back and a beautiful smile appeared on Sungyeol's lips.

“Myungsoo.” The relief was so obvious in his voice, it was almost painful. “I missed you.”

“I missed you, too. But I'm home now,” Myungsoo told his mate in a soothing voice and kept his hand on his mate's cheek, his thumb caressing the flushed skin.

“I really, really missed you,” Sungyeol repeated with a pout and reached out one of his hands and gripping Myungsoo's shirt tightly, making Myungsoo chuckle. “You have no clue how much I missed you.”

“And you have no clue how badly I want to kiss you right now,” Myungsoo said before he could stop himself and he panicked. He expected Sungyeol to push him away in disgust or fright any second but Sungyeol's eyes started to sparkle with mischief.

“Then why don't you?”

Myungsoo gaped at him. “W-what?”

“We are mates. Doesn't that mean that we are a couple? And couples usually kiss each other.”

Myungsoo couldn't argue with that (he didn't want to) and every fiber of his being agreed, after all this was what he had waited for. It was a special moment and Myungsoo could watch Sungyeol for hours but Sungyeol obviously got impatient and pulled Myungsoo closer by his shirt.

“What are you waiting for? I'm hurting. You have to kiss me better,” he whined and Myungsoo, who was so very weak when it came to his mate, complied immediately and leaned in to place a kiss (their second one, if the peck at the airport counted) on the lips of his Sungyeol.

As soon as their lips touched it was as if everything fell into place and Myungsoo felt like he was going to explode from happiness. It was indescribable, it was perfect, more than perfect. And it was definitely more than Myungsoo had hoped for when he had bought his plane ticket (so much more).

Sungyeol's free hand suddenly was playing with the hair at Myungsoo's neck and it felt so good, like fairies dancing on his skin (what the hell? Sungyeol's lips on his really messed with his brain).

After a while Myungsoo slowly pulled away with Sungyeol following him as far as he could before falling bed into bad with a pout. He obviously had enjoyed the kiss as much as Myungsoo and wanted more (Myungsoo did, too, but Sungyeol was still sick and needed sleep), if the angry glare was any indication. Wanting to appease his mate, Myungsoo placed a quick peck onto Sungyeol's nose before slipping into bed with him.

To his surprise (he had thought he had only imagined everything so far and Sungyeol was going to disappear or push him off of the bed again) Sungyeol almost immediately rolled halfway onto Myungsoo, threw his arm over his middle, placed his head in the crook of Myungsoo's neck and entangled their legs before sighing contentedly. Myungsoo as well wrapped his arms around the other. He was still worried, though.

“Is this okay?” he asked.

“More than okay,” Sungyeol mumbled, obviously close to sleep. “Don't leave me again.”

“I won't.”

A second later Sungyeol was asleep and Myungsoo, drunken with happiness, really just wanted to admire his beautiful mate all night long (what was left of it), but he couldn't resist the tiredness any longer and drifted off soon after, his last thought a silent prayer that this wasn't all just a dream.

 

*

 

He was floating. Sungyeol was in heaven and he was floating through space. He felt unbelievably light and better than he had in a while. His stomach was calm and not threatening to throw up like the past mornings, his head was clear and most importantly his heart wasn't aching anymore. He was perfectly fine and decided that he just wanted to stay there with his eyes closed. Oh, and he was warm. The past days he had been freezing all the time but now he was warm. Maybe because of the body lying next to him, because of the arms tightly wrapped around him.

Stop.

Why were there arms around his waist? Why was someone lying next to him?

Before he was able to panic he heard the door open and someone entering.

“Myungsoo?! You are here?” he heard Sungkyu speak in disbelief. “Thank god, you are here!”

Myungsoo? Myungsoo was here? Where?

A chuckle from next to him told him all he needed to know and he immediately relaxed again. Myungsoo was with him. Everything was fine.

“I mean, why the are you here? Aren't you supposed to be in Japan filming this tourism thing?” Sungkyu scolded halfheartedly and Sungyeol silently agreed (not that he was complaining but the leader did have a point).

“Don't worry, hyung. The producer was a werewolf as well, he supported my decision to come home,” Myungsoo spoke softly and Sungyeol felt his hand rubbing soothing circles onto his back. “I can explain later. Now I just want to make sure that Sungyeol is alright, so could you maybe...”

Sungyeol's heart skipped a beat at the mention of his name. It sounded so much more beautiful when Myungsoo spoke it.

“Sure. If you need anything, just call Woohyun or me. We'll be here the whole day.” Sungkyu didn't sound very happy about his offer.

“You don't have to,” Myungsoo replied, followed by a sigh from Sungkyu.

“Believe me, we have to. I highly doubt that Sungyeol will let go of you the next few hours.” Sungkyu sighed again, tiredness obvious and Sungyeol felt a little guilty. He had given the others hell over the past few days. But he was right, he definitely wasn't going to let go of his Myungsoo for a while.

“I won't let go of him either,” Myungsoo whispered and he was obviously embarrassed.

“See! So just text or call us and we'll get you whatever you need,” Sungkyu said with another sigh. “Really, Myungsoo, you have no clue how happy I am that you are back.”

Something weird started bubbling in Sungyeol's stomach (it wasn't a pleasant feeling) and before he could control himself he grabbed a pillow and threw it blindly in the direction of the door.

“Get lost!” he screamed and buried his head back in Myungsoo's chest.

“Oh no, he's awake. Good luck, Myungsoo.” With that Sungkyu was gone.

Myungsoo sighed in contentment and tightened his hold around Sungyeol, who in return snuggled a little closer.

“Good morning,” Myungsoo whispered, but Sungyeol only grumbled in return, making the younger chuckle lightly. “Fine, let's sleep some more.”

This time Sungyeol hummed in agreement and let the sleepiness take over again.

 

The next time he woke up, Myungsoo was still asleep. Sungyeol took this opportunity to imprint Myungsoo's every feature into his mind for days they couldn't be together. And to assure him that Myungsoo really was there with him, he still couldn't quite believe it. He also couldn't believe these intense emotions he was feeling, it was insane that Myungsoo had this huge influence on him and it was scary that it wasn't all from the werewolf bond. No, Sungyeol could now admit that he had been in love with his best friend for some time, he had just been too stupid to recognize the feeling.

A soft knock was heard and a moment later Woohyun stepped in with a tray with food on it.

“I thought, you guys might be hungry,” he said with a grin and carefully stepped closer, placing the tray on the nightstand and then shamelessly sat down at the edge of the bed. Sungyeol glared at him, but Woohyun's grin only widened.

“What?” Sungyeol finally snapped and Woohyun chuckled.

“Is it official yet?” the older asked cheekily. “That you two are a couple.”

Sungyeol's eyes widened at that and he didn't know whether to hit Woohyun or to hide his flushing face. He ended up doing both, first whacking Woohyun's head and then hiding his face in Myungsoo's chest, which turned Woohyun's groan into a laugh.

“Have you two talked about it yet?” Woohyun suddenly asked seriously after a moment of silence.

“No,” Sungyeol admitted, mumbled against his mate's chest that was rising and falling with every breath. “How do people even talk about that kind of stuff? That's so embarrassing.”

“Not everyone needs to talk about it. But sometimes, when people are too dense, it could help.” Woohyun shrugged and grinned again.

“Hey! Are you calling us dumb?” complained Sungyeol and lifted his head to glare at the other.

“I never said that. That's what you said.” Woohyun looked really smug at that moment and Sungyeol wanted to hit him, badly. But in that moment Myungsoo stirred beside him, pulling Sungyeol closer by his waist. A small squeak of surprise escaped Sungyeol and Woohyun laughed at him.

“What's going on?” mumbled Myungsoo sleepily and didn't even try to stifle his yawn.

Sungyeol felt his face starting to burn up. He was all too aware of the hand that found its way under his shirt and started to caress the skin just above his hipbone.

“Woohyun is being an ,” he rattled out the older boy to his mate.

“I'd gladly do anything to him you wanted,” Myungsoo replied, between yawns. “But I don't want to get into trouble with Sungkyu-hyung.”

Sungyeol pouted and turned back to Woohyun. “You are happy that you made breakfast for us or I'd still make him hurt you.”

“Breakfast?!” Myungsoo started sniffing the air and the next thing Sungyeol knew, he was pushed aside and Myungsoo was gobbling down the food Woohyun had brought them. He couldn't believe it. That was supposed to be his mate? Great. He was stuck with someone who cared more about food than him.

“Glad to see you enjoying the food so much,” Woohyun spoke up after a while. “But I probably should go and let you work everything out. In fact, Myungsoo, you probably should stop stuffing your face and take a look at your mate. Well then, I'll be going. Remember, if you need anything, just call.”

Myungsoo slowed down, but didn't stop eating and watched Woohyun leave with a wave of his hand and a grin. Then he turned around to look at Sungyeol and he paled. Immediately he dropped his chopsticks and grabbed Sungyeol's pouty face in his hands. Wow, he finally paid him attention.

“What's wrong? Why are you pouting? Did Woohyun upset you so much? Do you want me to beat him up after all? But then you have to take care of me when I can't leave the bed because Sungkyu-hyung broke all my bones. Or is it the food? Do you want something else? I get you whatever you want!”

Sungyeol pouted even more at that. How could Myungsoo be this dense? Okay, now he understood what Woohyun had meant.

Angrily, he pushed Myungsoo's hands off and turned his back on him. He was so mad at the moment, but at the same time he wanted nothing more than for Myungsoo to hold him close again. He still pretended to struggle as Myungsoo actually lay back down and wrapped his arms around him.

“Sungyeol,” he whispered against his neck and placed a lingering kiss there afterwards. “Tell me what's wrong. What did I do?”

“Oh, so now you care,” grumbled Sungyeol in response but subconsciously snuggled closer to the warm chest that was pressed against his back.

“What do you mean?” Myungsoo was still oblivious.

“Don't pretend as if you don't know! I see now how it is. Are you going to abandon me every time you see food? If that's the case, get lost. I'll find myself someone who actually cares about me.”

Myungsoo gasped in horror and it somehow appeased Sungyeol. His mate sounded truly disturbed.

“How could you even think that?! You are my mate and I will never abandon you. God, I like you so much, I am scared that my heart will actually explode, just because you are next to me. I like you, I really do and I want to be with you.” Myungsoo's voice had been firm and loud in the beginning, but the last words were merely a soft mumble against Sungyeol's neck that sent shivers down his spine and made his heart go in a frenzy.

“You mean that?” he asked equally as quiet and Myungsoo nodded behind him. Sungyeol wriggled a little to turn around and look Myungsoo in the eyes. The younger refused making eye-contact, though, and buried his face in Sungyeol's shirt. “I want to be with you as well. I want to give this – us – I want to give us a try.”

Myungsoo's head shot up and he stared at Sungyeol with hopeful eyes.

“Really? You really agree to be a couple? I mean you said something like that last night and we have couple bracelets. But I thought that you maybe only did that to please me, to be a good friend. And last night, well, you weren't really yourself. So I really was afraid that you-”

Sungyeol had only rolled his eyes at the rambling of the werewolf, before he silenced him with a kiss.

“Shut up,” he scolded between kisses. Surprisingly (not really) Myungsoo followed his command and stayed quiet. But who wouldn't when their mate was kissing them? Sungyeol knew that Myungsoo certainly wasn't one for unnecessary talk if he instead could have one of the greatest forms of skinship.

Innocent kisses quickly turned into a heavy makeout session. Wherever Myungsoo touched him Sungyeol felt as if he was on fire. His lips were tingling, his heart jumping. He never had felt like this before. He had never felt this warmth deep inside him, the feeling of belonging. It was a little frightening but Sungyeol didn't want to fight himself and his feelings anymore.

Still, when Myungsoo got a little too close he gently pushed the younger away. He wasn't ready for the next step. They just had confessed and as much as he liked being so close to Myungsoo, he still needed to get used to it.

Myungsoo stared at him, a mix of desire and confusion in his eyes. And there was something else. Something that scared Sungyeol a little even though he didn't know what it was.

“Don't you want to eat?” he asked in an attempt to avoid talking about why he had pushed Myungsoo away. “I thought you were hungry.”

“I am and I want to eat you.”

Myungsoo tried to pull Sungyeol into another kiss. Sungyeol quickly sat up, resulting in Myungsoo falling flat on his face. A low grumble escaped the wolf before he sat up, his eyebrows furrowed.

“Okay, what is the problem now?” he asked seriously and Sungyeol sighed in defeat.

“I'm just...” He ran his hand through his hair and sighed again. He hung his head low. “I'm just not ready to go further. Everything's so new. I didn't know how I felt about you until just recently. It just feels like if we do that there is no way back.”

He heard Myungsoo choke and that actually made him a little suspicious. He turned around to look at his mate and Myungsoo looked guilty and once more avoided eye-contact. But at least Sungyeol was able to tell that the frightening glint in Myungsoo's eyes had disappeared.

“Is there something you want to tell me?” he asked and Myungsoo jolted and looked at Sungyeol like a deer caught in headlight.

“Maybe?” he replied a little sheepishly. “There might be something we haven't told you so far, because you were so freaked out. I didn't know about it either until Sungkyu-hyung told me about it to be honest. And I think you won't like it.”

Myungsoo looked so cute. Shy and flustered, still a little guilty (seriously, who had allowed him to be so adorable), Sungyeol couldn't be mad at him. Not that he had been, just a little suspicious. However, he had promised to himself that he was going to face whatever came with the mating. So instead of being all mean to Myungsoo, he just smiled at the younger and took his hands in his.

“Just tell me. We are together now, you can tell me anything.”

“You won't get mad?” asked Myungsoo in a mumble.

“I won't.”

Reluctantly the werewolf looked up at his mate, biting his lip nervously. Sungyeol gently rubbed the skin of Myungsoo's hands with his thumbs and smiled a little wider.

“We are mates,” Myungsoo whispered. “But our bond isn't completed yet. Sungkyu-hyung told me that our mating will only be complete when... well... when we actually mate.”

“What?” Sungyeol didn't understand a word. Partly because Myungsoo was too quiet, partly because it didn't make sense. He saw Myungsoo squeeze his eyes shut and take a deep breath.

“To complete the bond we need to have ,” his mate blurted out.

Sungyeol stared at Myungsoo as if he were a ghost for a long time. Myungsoo started to squirm again and just as he opened his mouth to speak up Sungyeol beat him to it.

“So?”

Now it was Myungsoo who stared at Sungyeol as if he were crazy.

“So?! I kept it from you! It's important and I kept it from you. I broke your trust. I didn't tell you that we are not completely mated yet and if you hadn't stopped me just now... The wolf part of me wants nothing more than to complete our bond. If no one stops me... It's the same as when I bit you without your consent! I almost did it again but this time it would have been even worse. It's final, it's for life!”

Sungyeol could only roll his eyes at the overly dramatic antics of his (not fully) mate. Not wanting to hear any of that anymore he did the only thing that came to his mind to shut Myungsoo up. He kissed him.

“Sometimes you talk too much,” he whispered between kisses.

“But I-”

Sungyeol didn't even give him enough time to finish that sentence and just pressed their lips together again and gently pushed Myungsoo to lie down.

“You know how I see all this?”

Myungsoo, a little breathless, could only shake is head. He looked adorable and Sungyeol had to peck his lips once more before he spoke again.

“I like you and you like me. We are together now. I may not be ready now but sooner or later I'll want to have with you. And then it doesn't matter whether it does something with that weird werewolf magic. It already happened and I already thought it was for life, so what? I wouldn't have told me in your place either. It was all a little much in the beginning. But now, this is all about us and how we feel about each other. Isn't it? So let's just forget about all this mating stuff and focus on what's truly important. Us.”

Sungyeol was not sure how Myungsoo was going to react. For a moment it looked as if Myungsoo was going to cry. Then it morphed into some sort of weird smile before he finally pulled Sungyeol into a kiss and quickly turned their positions so that Myungsoo now was hovering above Sungyeol.

“I'm so lucky to have you,” mumbled Myungsoo against Sungyeol's lips. “So incredibly lucky.”

“I know. I'm awesome,” joked Sungyeol in an attempt to hide his embarrassment. He only became more embarrassed, though, as Myungsoo brightly smiled down at him, dimples showing, eyes adorably scrunched up and all.

“You are.”

It made Sungyeol's heart beat incredibly fast. He knew that to Myungsoo he was. For him, who was full of insecurities, only saw his flaws and imperfections, it was overwhelming. Myungsoo being so confident in Sungyeol, it made Sungyeol fall even more for the other and it made him feel a little better about himself as well.

Sungyeol just had to smile back at Myungsoo and then they were kissing again. Sungyeol really liked kissing Myungsoo, he noticed. He had never liked kissing a person as much as he liked kissing Myungsoo, it was fascinating. Maybe because he liked Myungsoo the best from all the people he had kissed so far? Maybe Myungsoo was simply the best kisser? It didn't matter, really. It felt fantastic and that was what was important.

They continued kissing and snuggling, until a very embarrassing sound interrupted them. Sungyeol's stomach had decided that it couldn't go without food any longer (how embarrassing). Sungyeol expected Myungsoo to laugh at the rumbling sound of his very empty stomach, but he didn't. Instead Myungsoo once more flashed him his brightest smile and pulled Sungyeol up into a sitting position.

“Time to eat,” he stated happily and handed Sungyeol a pair of chopsticks and a spoon before grabbing his used utensils. “It's probably cold by now, but I bet it still tastes good.”

“Or we could call our slaves and tell them to heat it up again,” Sungyeol suggested jokingly but started to eat right away. He didn't care whether it was cold or not. Heating up the food took too long and he was way too hungry. Also he wanted to be alone with Myungsoo for as long as possible. Furthermore he didn't want anyone to ask any more stupid questions.

During their meal they joked around like in old times (if one could call two weeks prior old times), but it wasn't quite like it had been. It was better. For example did Sungyeol really enjoy the way their legs were pressing against each other the whole time and how Myungsoo's left hand was resting on his thigh. Also the way how Myungsoo looked at him was so much more precious than it had been before they had become a couple.

A couple. Sungyeol felt giddy at the thought. They were really a couple, they were in love. Never had he expected something like this to happen (maybe he had hoped for it deep, deep down). But here they were, still best friends, but so much more at the same time. It made Sungyeol feel content, happy.

“When our fans knew,” Sungyeol suddenly blurted out. He himself didn't even know where that thought came from.

“What do you mean?” asked Myungsoo, slightly confused.

“I don't really know. That thought just popped up in my head. But how do you think they would react when they knew? About Sungkyu-hyung and Woohyun, about us.. about all of us being in love with another guy.”

“Oh.” Myungsoo's expression turned gloomy and Sungyeol didn't like it. He didn't like that he had spoiled the good mood. He had to do something against it.

“Myungjong shippers would be devastated to know that we are together,” joked Sungyeol and successfully made Myungsoo laugh.

“True, but all our loyal shippers would be very happy. So would be Woogyu shippers. Don't you think?”

“Definitelty,” Sungyeol agreed, grinning. I hope so, he thought. Truth was, even if they were shipped, if fans said they wanted them to be together, if rumors came out, most fans probably were to turn their backs on them. It made Sungyeol sad to know, but he thought as long as he had Myungsoo by his side it didn't matter.

As if Myungsoo noticed that Sungyeol was caught up in his thoughts, he intertwined their fingers. Yes, Sungyeol thought, as long as we are together.

 

---

And another chapter. They are officially together, let's party! What did you think about this chapter? I'd love to read your opinion in a comment^^

I don't know when the next one will be up, I have fnals this week and then I'll be attending iea, so I won't have much time to write. Please be patient.

Thanks for all the support! Namu hearts (/^-^)/~~~<3