It was a perfect day for Myungsoo. Waking up with his mate in his arms, cuddling and kissing, spending the whole day together, it was like a dream came true. He struggled a little not to complete the bond but he was determined. Myungsoo was going to respect Sungyeol's decision. He could wait. Especially now that he was allowed to touch Sungyeol as much as he wanted, to be so close to him without the other shying away. It was enough and he was happy (so very, very happy).

Sadly it was too good to be true. Of course his idiot band mates had to think it was a good idea to celebrate the end of the Myungyeol drama. Meaning, they dragged Sungyeol and Myungsoo out into the living room, although they both wanted nothing more than to spend some more time alone. But the others could be stubborn, leaving them with no other choice but to comply. At least they were allowed to sit next to each other. If Myungsoo had to stop touching Sungyeol, he was sure, he was going crazy. He couldn't stand being separated from his mate so soon, now that they were actually together.

“You are only using us as an excuse to drink,” Myungsoo accused the others while pulling Sungyeol closer.

“True,” Hoya shamelessly admitted. “But I think we deserve it after putting up with that crybaby of yours while you were gone.”

“HEY!” Sungyeol complained. “I wasn't that bad.”

The others snorted, but chose not to say anything against that. They didn't want to risk another fight between Myungsoo and one of the members. Myungsoo saw it on their faces. They had every reason to, Myungsoo felt ready to pounce on anyone who upset his Sungyeol. He really needed to learn how to control himself better.

“I wasn't that bad,” repeated Sungyeol to Myungsoo, pouting adorably. Myungsoo just had to plant a kiss on these lips. He heard the other members mock-gag and decided to ignore them.

“I believe you.”

At Myungsoo's words Sungyeol started to smile happily, making Myungsoo smile as well. As long as Sungyeol was happy, Myungsoo was happy as well, it was as easy as that.

“You two look like idiots,” Sungjong said, sounding bored. “Can we drink now?”

Sungyeol started to bicker with Sungjong immediately, offended that the younger had called him an idiot. Myungsoo simply enjoyed hearing his mate's voice, watching his every move carefully (only interrupting his observation to check that no one was threatening his mate). He wasn't even offended that Sungyeol didn't pay him much attention. It was enough that Sungyeol was leaning against his shoulder, their hands intertwined.

“Wow, I'm amazed,” he heard Dongwoo speak from his other side. Myungsoo turned to the omega and looked at him in question. “When Sungkyu-hyung and Woohyun mated, they didn't leave their room for days!”

Myungsoo saw from the corners of his eyes, how said people flushed bright red. He knew exactly how they must have spent these days, indulging in their back then newly formed bond. He'd like to do that too. He would, as soon as Sungyeol was ready.

“Hyung, we wanted to stay in our room as well, but you all didn't leave us any other choice. I am finally able to cuddle with my mate as much as I want and because of you guys I can't.”

Myungsoo looked at Dongwoo with his best puppy eyes, but Dongwoo only laughed and patted his shoulder.

“Don't worry. You can go back to cuddling soon enough. But we don't have much time these days to celebrate all together, so we just had to take this opportunity.”

It was true. They were quite busy these days. Before Myungsoo had bitten Sungyeol and everyone had felt the need to support them, they rarely ate together. If they ate together, it mostly was in small groups. It was nice having them all together and it was obvious that they all thought like that. Maybe they should try to eat all together again from now on even if they were busy. At least once every few days.

A few hours later they were all still sitting in the living room, empty bottles and snacks scattered around. It had been a fun evening with Dongwoo being himself, everyone bickering, Woohyun at some point accusing Sungkyu of not loving him, because the leader had refused to kiss him in front of everyone, Woohyun shortly after passing out in Sungkyu's arms, everyone teasing Sungkyu about it and a lot more. But Myungsoo's personal highlight was Sungyeol offering Myungsoo to rest his head on Sungyeol's lap and when he did, Sungyeol playing with his hair. It was heaven. He didn't even mind the members' teasing. It was only Hoya and Sungjong anyways. Dongwoo was passed out by then as well and Sungkyu seemed way too absorbed in watching Woohyun sleeping in his arms to join the teasing (if Myungsoo had not been so focused on Sungyeol, it could have been one of the most adorable sights he had ever seen, Sungkyu just watching his mate's face with a small smile on his lips).

Sungyeol of course started bickering with Sungjong again. Myungsoo laughed at a few of the comments, but quickly drifted off. It was not because of the alcohol, he was a heavy drinker, but because of the soft touches of Sungyeol's fingertips, his strong scent and his beautiful voice, lulling him to sleep like a lullaby. He could stay like this forever. It was like paradise (and he could totally understand that in Sungkyu's case watching Woohyun was way more interesting than participating in the conversation).

A whack on his head had him wide awake again and he stared around in panic. It took him a moment to understand that he wasn't attacked, but that Sungyeol had fallen asleep and one of his hands, that probably must have been in the air a moment before, had accidentally landed right in Myungsoo's face. Hoya doubling over in laughter only confirmed his suspicion. It also pulled Sungkyu out of his trance.

“Time for bed, everyone,” he said with a sigh. “Hoya-”

“Yeah, I'll take care of Dongwoo-hyung, don't worry,” Hoya interrupted and Sungkyu nodded thankfully at him.

“Sungjong-”

“Don't worry, hyung, I can go to bed myself,” the youngest of the group spoke up. He got to his feet and started wobbling towards his room. Sungkyu followed him with his eyes, until he couldn't see him anymore and then continued to listen. Only when they heard the click of Sungjong's bedroom door, he turned his attention to Myungsoo.

“Get your mate to bed.”

He didn't need to tell Myungsoo and Myungsoo's first instinct was to growl, because no one had the right to tell him what to do with his mate. Luckily he was able to suppress it and instead, he just nodded.

“Yeol, wake up. Let's go to bed,” he softly spoke and Sungyeol stirred a little.

“Bed?” Sungyeol croaked and at least didn't resist when Myungsoo pulled him to his feet, but he didn't exactly help either. Myungsoo was just thankful that he was stronger than usual humans. As a werewolf he had no trouble holding his mate upright.

He slowly guided Sungyeol into the direction of the bedrooms before he turned back to see if Sungkyu and Woohyun were following. But the two older boys were still in the same position as before and Sungkyu had gone back to staring.

“Hyung, aren't you coming as well?” he required.

“Yeah, sure,” Sungkyu replied without looking up. Neither did he move.

Myungsoo watched the two for a while, with Sungyeol still slumped against him. Myungsoo thought, that he understood Sungkyu. He was caught in the same trance in which Myungsoo had been caught in earlier, when he had rested on Sungyeol's lap. That and that he didn't want to interrupt Woohyun's sleep, Myungsoo guessed. If it meant that Woohyun had a good rest, Sungkyu wouldn't move an inch and sleep in any position imaginable. At least that's what Myungsoo would do for Sungyeol, so it had to apply to the other as well.

“Do you want me to fetch you a blanket?” he asked and this time Sungkyu actually looked up.

“No, it's fine. Sorry, I just... got caught up.”

Sungkyu sighed again, before carefully moving until he was able to scoop Woohyun up in his arms. Immediately the still sleeping Woohyun snuggled his face into the crook of Sungkyu's neck and tangled his fingers in the material of Sungkyu's shirt. Sungkyu smiled down at his mate and Myunsoo somehow got the feeling, that he was the witness of something magical. It just seemed as if everything in the universe was right when he looked at the two.

Myungsoo looked back at Sungyeol, who was drooling on Myungsoo's shoulder. Instead of disgust another wave of fondness washed over Myungsoo. If others looked at them, were they able to see what Myungsoo had seen while looking at Sungkyu and Woohyun? He hoped it. But if not yet, then when they had completed their bond, he was sure of it. Just as he was sure of Sungyeol being the one for him. They were made for each other, just how Sungkyu and Woohyun were made for each other, just how Myungsoo's parents were made for each other.

“!”

 

“You forgot what?” Sungyeol shrieked. “How could you forget to tell your parents that you are mated?! Isn't that like the most important thing in the life of a werewolf?”

“I know! I just... I don't know. I just forgot.”

Sungyeol stared at Myungsoo in disbelief. They just had eaten breakfast and Sungyeol still hadn't noticed that he had a grain of rice stuck in the corner of his mouth. It was adorable. And Myungsoo got sidetracked again. Why was his mate so adorable and perfect? It didn't make it any easier for Myungsoo to focus.

“How could you forget? I mean, I wouldn't tell my parents about some random girl- or boyfriend either. But your mate? You have to tell them!”

Myungsoo let his head hang low. He knew that Sungyeol was right and he felt bad about it. He really did. However, how was he supposed to tell his parents when all he did ever since he had marked Sungyeol as his mate, was thinking about said mate? That was just impossible.

“And I will! I just wanted to tell you, that I'm going to tell them.”

“You don't need my permission, Soo. And I honestly thought that it was like the first thing you did after you bit me. So, when are you going to tell them?”

“I thought about calling them today.”

“Calling them?! Really? Don't you think you should visit them? You only tell them now and you plan on doing it on the phone? Wow, how did your parents put up with such a negligent son?”

Myungsoo pouted. “But it's easier on the phone! I can just hang up on them when they get annoying.”

“Kim Myungsoo, you are going to visit your parents and tell them personally. If not, no cuddles for a week!”

“As if you could go without cuddles for that long,” Myungsoo mumbled, not wanting to believe that Sungyeol would actually be so cruel.

“What was that? Do you want it to be a month?” Sungyeol threatened. Myungsoo quickly shook his head.

“No! No, no, no. I'll visit them. Soon.”

“Today.”

“Fine, we'll visit them today.”

“Good boy!” Sungyeol grinned happily until he noticed what Myungsoo had said. “Wait, what? We?”

Myungsoo nodded enthusiastically. “Of course! My parents definitely want to meet my mate!”

“But they met me already, dozens of times! Why would I need to come with you?” Sungyeol whined.

Myungsoo couldn't resist and started peppering kisses all over Sungyeol's face. Myungsoo still couldn't believe how adorable his mate was.

“They met you, but you weren't my mate back then. It's completely different now. Please come with me?” Myungsoo pouted and looked at Sungyeol with his best puppy eyes. He wasn't sure whether or not it was working, Sungyeol sometimes was hard to read. But when his mate groaned in annoyance, he knew he had won.

“Fine. But you owe me.”

Myungsoo just leaned in to press their lips together. In his opinion, kissing was a lot better to express his gratitude than with mere words. Sungyeol obviously agreed (or just enjoyed kissing), because he immediately responded to the kiss.

“You're the best.”

“I know,” joked Sungyeol. “Now go and tell your parents that we are coming over, before I change my mind.”

“They'll be so excited,” Myungsoo exclaimed, beaming. He was so happy. He had found a mate (who finally accepted him) and he was going to introduce him to his parents. Myungsoo thought, that he might should be afraid that his parents didn't approve. But he didn't worry about it at all. Myungsoo had never been as sure of something as he was of being with Sungyeol. How could his parents oppose to that? If they truly loved him, they were going to love Sungyeol just as much.

Myungsoo quickly typed a message and sent it to his parents, telling them that he was coming over. Then he looked up at Sungyeol again, who tried to look indifferent, but Myungsoo knew that he was nervous. To calm him down, Myungsoo took Sungyeol's hands in his and smiled at him.

“They'll love you. I mean, they already do. But they'll love you even more.”

“You think?” Sungyeol asked uncertainly.

“I'm sure of it. You are part of the family now.”

“Oh my god, you need to stop hanging out with Woohyun.”

Myungsoo chuckled at the exasperated expression on Sungyeol's face. “You like it.”

“Yeah,” Sungyeol admitted, a beautiful smile tugging at the corners of his mouth, making Myungsoo's heart flutter. “Yeah, I do. You still need to stop, though.”

 

Sungyeol was fidgeting next to Myungsoo, as they arrived at the home of Myungsoo's family. Myungsoo himself was calm and patiently waiting for Sungyeol to be ready to go in. Myungsoo slowly lost track of time though. They could have been standing there for five minutes or an hour, he didn't know. He was too busy staring at Sungyeol.

“Okay, I'm ready,” said Sungyeol, determined. A second later he looked doubtful again. “Or not. Just a little longer.”

This had been going on ever since they had arrived. To Myungsoo it was quite amusing after he had overcome his worry. He had tried to calm Sungyeol down, but it had only made it worse. Waiting was all Myungsoo could do now. Although his parents surely were waiting already, Myungsoo was content with standing there and simply staring at Sungyeol.

“Isn't it too soon to introduce me as your boyfriend? I mean, we only got together yesterday.” Sungyeol was back to doubting. He had asked that at least a dozen times already.

“But I'm introducing you as my mate and not as my boyfriend and we've been mated for two weeks already.”

“Two weeks is still a very short time, don't you think?”

“We will spend the rest of our lives together and that's for sure. So why wait?”

“Do you have to say it so casually? Isn't that thought frightening you at least a bit?” Sungyeol asked, his voice an octave higher than usual. “What if one of us gets tired of the other?”

“So this is what it's all about.” Myungsoo finally understood and he felt stupid. He should have known sooner that Sungyeol still couldn't fully understand a werewolf bond.

“I don't know what you are thinking this is about,” Sungyeol huffed. “But this is totally about you introducing me as your mate to your parents after only two weeks! Normal people wait a little longer than that to introduce their significant other to their family.”

“Good then that I am not normal. I'm a werewolf, just in case that you forgot. Normal werewolves introduce their mate to their parents as soon as possible. Sungkyu-hyung introduced Woohyun-hyung to his parents as his mate as soon as they finally left their bedroom. Additionally to announcing it beforehand.”

Sungyeol stomped his foot on the floor. Myungsoo decided to take this as a sign of defeat (Sungyeol would kill him for that later) and opened the door to his parent's home. It was weird calling it his parent's home. But that's what it was. It wasn't his home, his home was, where Sungyeol was.

“Mom? Dad? We're here!” he called, as soon as he stepped inside. Sungyeol reluctantly followed him.

“We?” he heard his mother call out to him. “You didn't tell us, that you were bringing someone over.”

“You didn't tell her that I was coming as well?” Sungyeol hissed at him and Myungsoo just grinned sheepishly at him.

A moment later Myungsoo's mother appeared in front of them and smiled as she saw her son and Sungyeol. “Sungyeol, what a nice surprise. Come in, guys. Dinner is ready.”

She ushered them to the dining table where Mr. Kim and Moonsoo were already sitting. Quickly they prepared another set of dishes and started their meal. Myungsoo's mother chattered happily and asked them about all their activities lately and whatnot. Myungsoo replied just as happy, but he noticed that Sungyeol was nervous again and decided to finally tell his family.

“Actually, I came to tell you something,” he started, clearing his throat and taking Sungyeol's hand in his. “I found my mate. It's Sungyeol.”

His family laughed out loud and Sungyeol's head snapped up. Panicked, he looked at Myungsoo. Myungsoo knew that Sungyeol thought his family wouldn't accept it. Myungsoo as well was confused by their reaction.

“We know.” Mr. Kim continued his meal, but obviously amused.

“What? How?” Myungsoo asked in surprise.

“For one, we smelled it as soon as you two stepped inside,” explained his mother. “Also it has been so obvious ever since we first met him. To be honest, I'm quite surprised how long it took you two to finally mate. Luckily we still have Moonsoo to give us grandchildren. Not that we'd love your children any less, should you decide to adopt.”

Sungyeol and Myungsoo were both staring at Myungsoo's family. Myungsoo saw Sungyeol flushing a bright red and he knew that he himself didn't look any better.

“You knew?” Myungsoo asked.

“Children?” croaked Sungyeol out at the same time. He was obviously close to a panic attack. Of course, Sungyeol was still frightened of the whole being together forever thing. Thinking about adopting children had to be even more frightening.

“Did I say something wrong?” Myungsoo's mother looked worried.

“Don't worry, mom. It's just all a little overwhelming for Sungyeol. He's human after all.”

His mother nodded in understanding before turning to Sungyeol. “Don't worry too much. If this boy doesn't behave, just tell me. I'll set him straight again.”

“Mom!”

Myungsoo knew immediately that he was done for. By the grin on Sungyeol's face there was no doubt that he was planning something. At least he was feeling better, Myungsoo tried to tell himself. Not that it helped much to calm himself down. He was worrying too much about what was to come.

“I think I'll be able to handle him. I'll just put him on his leash if he misbehaves and deny him his cuddles. That will bring him back to his senses quickly, right, Soo?”

Sungyeol patted Myungsoo's head while the rest of the family laughed at Myungsoo, who was torn between enjoying Sungyeol's touch or being mad at him for embarrassing him in front of his family. As it could have been a lot worse and seeing his most beloved people so happy, he decided to take what he gets and leaned into the touch of his mate. It only made the others laugh harder. Myungsoo didn't care much, though. Sungyeol was happy, his family was happy, he was happy. Everything was perfect.

 

*

 

It had all been so perfect with Myungsoo over the past month. Ever since they had become a couple Sungyeol was on cloud nine. He didn't think it possible to be any happier than he was these days. Myungsoo was an incredible boyfriend. He was patient and kind, he treated Sungyeol as if he was the most precious being on the whole planet (to Myungsoo Sungyeol probably was). He even kept his promise of waiting until Sungyeol was ready for the next step. Myungsoo was always so sweet and Sungyeol found himself falling for him more and more. His feelings had intensified so much, by now Sungyeol couldn't even imagine being with anybody else.

And than this.

Sungyeol still couldn't believe it. Even hours later he was still speechless. He just sat in their living room and watched Sungkyu scold Myungsoo. Usually he would feel sorry for his mate and best friend, but not this time. Myungsoo deserved the punishment. Sungyeol was actually thankful, that Sungkyu was scolding Myungsoo, otherwise Sungyeol had to do it himself. Also he usually sat next to Myungsoo, but not now. He had put as much distance between them as possible. He knew Myungsoo suffered from it, wanted to be close to Sungyeol, but Sungyeol didn't relent. This was what Myungsoo got for letting his instincts take over in public.

“Seriously, Myungsoo, what did you think jumping the photographer's assistant?! During a photo shoot! Have you gone completely mad?” Sungkyu barked at Myungsoo, who looked miserable, ducking his head. “Why am I even asking? It's obvious that you didn't think at all! How many times do I have to tell you to learn to control yourself?”

“But he-” Myungsoo tried to defend himself.

“No, Myungsoo! There is no but. You just can't risk exposing our kind and your relationship in front of others! Not in front of people who can't understand. Are you even aware of how dangerous that can be? Do you want to end up in a lab to be experimented on?” Sungkyu didn't even give Myungsoo a chance to defend himself. Infinite's leader was furious.

“No, but-”

“You didn't just endanger yourself, you endangered all of us! Why do you never think of the consequences of your behavior? Is it that hard to have a little control over yourself? Why is it always you getting in trouble, I really don't get it. I-”

“He touched my Sungyeol!” Myungsoo exploded. He jumped to his feet and growled at Sungkyu. “He dared to touch and flirt with what is mine and mine alone!”

“So?” Sungkyu snarled back. “Do you know how many times people flirt with Woohyun or touch him? Do you see me beating up these people? You need to trust that Sungyeol can handle these situations on his own.”

“But he is only human! What if something happens to him?”

Sungyeol snorted. That was ridiculous. But the arguing werewolves didn't even hear him.

“So is Woohyun and I still decided to trust him to be able to handle himself.”

“Maybe you just don't care enough about him,” Myungsoo spat out. “I doubt you would care even if he were dying.”

“What?” Sungkyu breathed out in disbelief and Sungyeol was frozen in shock. Myungsoo had not just said that.

“I'd really like to see what you are going to do, when something happens to Woohyun-hyung, because you didn't protect him. He deserves so much better than you.”

Sungyeol gasped out loud. A second later it grew eerily silent and for the first time ever did Sungyeol see Sungkyu's eyes flash. He often had wondered what it would take for Sungkyu to lose control and wolf out. Now he knew and he wished he hadn't witnessed it. Sungkyu looked ready to kill. It was frightening. It was frightening enough for Myungsoo to cower down in fear, realizing what he had just said.

“How dare you.” Sungkyu's voice sent shivers down Sungyeol's spine, he never had heard his hyung sound so cold. “You can curse me, you can attack me, I don't care. But if you wish for something to happen to Wooyhun, Woohyun who has always been good to you and your mate, then I won't tolerate it.”

Myungsoo opened his mouth to say something, but Sungkyu growled at him and the younger immediately shut up again.

“Don't you dare to go anywhere near Woohyun, until you come back to your senses! He might deserve better than me, but he definitely deserves better than a dongsaeng wishing him death.” Sungkyu closed his eyes and took a deep breath, calming down a little, but the tenseness didn't leave his body. “There are other ways to express that you care than attempting to rip someone's throat out for touching your mate.”

“I-I'm sorry, h-hyung. I d-didn't mean i-it like that.” Myungsoo whimpered, not getting a reaction of the oldest member of the group.

Sungkyu turned his gaze to Sungyeol (luckily his eyes were normal again). “I'll leave his punishment to you. You were the most affected by this whole ordeal today anyways. However, he is not to leave the dorms for the next few days unless it's for a schedule.”

“Okay, hyung,” Sungyeol replied and nodded his head, avoiding to look at Myungsoo. He knew that the younger was looking at him with sad eyes. Sungyeol couldn't stand that look right now.

Sungkyu nodded shortly and left the apartment to go back to his own.

Sungyeol stood up and started to make his way to his bedroom, when Myungsoo called out his name. With a sigh Sungyeol turned around and looked at the younger. Myungsoo looked miserable (he deserved it, he deserved it for not trusting Sungyeol, for cursing Woohyun).

“Not now, Myungsoo. I'm too mad to talk to you. Let's talk later.”

He turned around again, ignoring the whimper from Myungsoo. Sungyeol was just too exhausted. He just wanted to sleep and not having to think about everything that had happened during the past few hours.

During the past weeks Sungyeol had rarely spent any time alone, especially not in his own room. He had practically lived in Myungsoo's room. However at the moment he didn't want to go there. He didn't want to take his dark thoughts into the room where they were supposed to only make happy memories together.

With a sigh he closed the door to his own room behind himself and slid down to the floor, wrapping his arms around his legs and hiding his face between his knees. He was close to crying and this position was comforting. He didn't want to cry. He didn't want to be weak, Sungyeol didn't want to be the weak human that wasn't able to protect himself. He adored Myungsoo, was completely in love with him. However, that did not mean that he needed the werewolf's protection. Sungyeol was able to protect himself from unwanted attention. Myungsoo needed to understand that.

Sungyeol remembered that Sungkyu wanted him to think of a punishment for Myungsoo and a groan escaped him. He had no clue how he should punish him. How he could punish him, he was in love with him and didn't want him to suffer. But he deserved it.

A thought crossed his mind. Maybe ignoring him for the rest of the day was punishment enough. Myungsoo always seemed the most upset when Sungyeol avoided him. Even the threat of paying no attention to Myungsoo was always effective, actually going through with it would be a fair punishment. Maybe Myungsoo would finally learn to trust Sungyeol and his ability to handle himself.

Sungyeol's thoughts started to drift back to what had happened and doubts filled his mind. Did Myungsoo really trust him so little? Did he really see Sungyeol this weak? What did that say about their relationship?

Luckily his phone rang, signaling an incoming message, and pulled him out of his dark thoughts. Sungyeol was thankful for the distraction and quickly fished it out of his pocket. But of course it was from Myungsoo, Sungyeol could have figured. He still read it.

I'm sorry.

That was all. What else could Myungsoo possibly say. Sungyeol didn't bother replying and instead dialed the number of Dongwoo. He could need a little cheer up.

Dongwoo picked up almost immediately as if he had waited for Sungyeol to call. He probably had.

“Yo, whassup?!”

“Hyung.. what are you doing right now?”

“Not much,” Dongwoo said and chuckled afterwards, for whatever reason. “But Hoya and I were thinking about ordering chicken. Want to join us?”

Sungyeol's mood instantly brightened. Chicken was life.

“Sure. I'll come over in a few.”

“Great! Are you bringing Myungsoo as well? I need to know how much we should order.”

And gone was his good mood again.

“No. He is grounded,” Sungyeol grumbled. “And he doesn't deserve it at the moment anyways.”

Dongwoo laughed loudly again. “Don't be too strict on him, he is doing all this for you.”

Sungyeol snorted in response, not believing what the other told him.

“Whatever. Sungkyu-hyung told me to punish him and that's what I'm doing. End of the discussion.”

“I know. I just feel sorry for him,” admitted Dongwoo. “He's still a puppy. At least in my eyes he is.”

“Let's talk later about it when I'm at your place. I'm hanging up now.”

Sungyeol ended the call before he got ready to go to the other dorm, changing into fresh and comfortable clothes. He was extra slow doing everything, he didn't want to go out into the living room again and being confronted by a whiny Myungsoo. Sungyeol probably would forgive him and that was out of question. Myungsoo needed to learn to control himself, that there were boundaries he just couldn't cross, but he would never learn should Sungyeol forgive him now. If it were only about Sungyeol, he might let it slide, but Myungsoo's behavior was endangering them all. It could cause serious damage to Infinite and Sungyeol couldn't let that happen.

When he had nothing left to do to push back the moment of facing Myungsoo again, he stepped to his door and took a deep breath. He hoped that it would calm him down, it didn't work. Quite the contrary, his heart betrayed him and pounded way too quickly. Frustrated with himself, he hit his head a few times and this actually helped clearing his mind. It was now or never.

Just as Sungyeol thought, Myungsoo was sitting in the exact same spot as Sungyeol had left him. The werewolf's eyes were following Sungyeol's every move and he looked hopeful. Sungyeol knew that Myungsoo thought that Sungyeol had come to talk to him. He felt bad for having to crush that hope.

Myungsoo obviously saw Sungyeol's thoughts on his face, because Myungsoo's hopeful expression quickly turned glum as well. Especially when Sungyeol headed straight towards the front door without saying anything. Myungsoo let out his usual whimper when Sungyeol ignored him and it tore Sungyeol apart. It hurt hearing his boyfriend's desperate whimpering.

“Sungyeol?” Myungsoo called out in a small voice. “Where are you going? Are you leaving me?”

Sungyeol sighed. He had hoped that he could just leave, but he just couldn't be so cruel after Myungsoo had voiced his fears.

“I'm leaving,” he said. “But I'm not leaving you. I'm not just abandoning you, just because we have some trouble.”

Myungsoo looked obviously relieved. Apparently he had been really afraid that Sungyeol had enough of him. What a stupid thought. Sungyeol could never have enough of Myungsoo. He was in love with him!

“Come here.” Sungyeol beckoned him over, opening his arms wide when Myungsoo rushed to him, throwing himself at his mate.

“You aren't mad at me anymore?” asked Myungsoo hopefully.

“I definitely am still mad at you,” retorted Sungyeol, while tightening his hold on Myungsoo. “However, I won't leave you because of this. Don't even think that. I'm in love with you. I just need you to understand that you can't behave like this, especially not in public. That's why I'm punishing you by ignoring you.”

“Then why are you hugging and talking to me?” Myungsoo whispered and Sungyeol noticed that the younger held on a little tighter than before, as if afraid that Sungyeol would push him away.

“Because I'm not heartless and I don't want you to think that I'd break up with you for something like this. We just need to work this out together, okay?”

“Okay.”

They stayed in silence for a while, just hugging (and sniffing, why was Myungsoo sniffing him?).

“Now that you know that I'm punishing you, stop whining and let me go. I'm hungry and the others ordered chicken, so I'll be at the other dorm for the rest of the day.”

“Can I-”

“No, you heard what hyung said. You have to stay here and it's easier for me to ignore you, when you are not around me.”

Myungsoo hid his face in the crook of Sungyeol's neck and Sungyeol was sure the other was pouting. He always did when he didn't want to part from Sungyeol.

“But then I'll be all alone! And then I have to think about everything and then I'll be sad!”

Sungyeol snorted. “Oh please. You and thinking.. But if you do, good. That's what this is all about. You need to think over what you did. Not just at the shoot, but what you said to Sungkyu-hyung. What you said about Woohyun. That was plain cruel.”

Myungsoo whimpered again and Sungyeol wondered if it was because he regretted what he had said or if it was because Sungyeol was scolding him. He didn't know. He didn't want to know, so he tried to pry Myungsoo off of him to finally go to the other dorm. It was easier said than done, Myungsoo tried hard to hold on. As he was a werewolf and Sungyeol not, it was easy for Myungsoo to stay right where he was until Sungyeol had finally enough.

“Myungsoo, let go! Now! The longer you hold on, the longer I will ignore you.”

Myungsoo let go immediately and stared at Sungyeol like a kicked puppy.

“Sorry, I just can't help myself. You are my mate.”

Sungyeol groaned. It was always the same with Myungsoo. He couldn't help himself.

“And that's the problem,” he told the werewolf. “I'll be going now and you should get some sleep. See you tomorrow.”

Before Myungsoo could reply, Sungyeol slipped into his shoes and out of the apartment.

He had enough of werewolf troubles for the day and he was glad to escape it by having dinner with the others. Wrong. He walked straight into the next werewolf trouble (what did he expect, when half of the group consisted of werewolves). Okay, it wasn't exactly trouble, but it wasn't exactly what he wanted to witness either.

While they waited for the delivery to arrive, Dongwoo, Hoya and Sungyeol were watching in fascination (or more like disgust, only Dongwoo was fascinated) how Sungkyu refused to let go of Woohyun for even a second. The highlight was when Woohyun declared he needed to use the restroom and Sungkyu actually followed him like a little duckling their mom, holding onto his mate's sweater. The expression Sungkyu made when Woohyun tricked him into letting go and slammed the door into his face, it was priceless.

“What the hell is wrong with him?” Hoya asked them in a whisper, not wanting Sungkyu to hear. He probably wouldn't have, even if Hoya had yelled, he was too busy staring at the closed door, anxiousness obvious in every move he made.

Sungyeol just wanted to retort something witty about how he didn't know, when realization hit him.

That was Myungsoo's doing.

“,” he whispered, but Hoya and Dongwoo heard. Of course they did.

“What happened? What do you know?” Dongwoo immediately asked and Hoya fixed his gaze on Sungyeol.

“Well,” Sungyeol started and cleared his voice nervously. “It could be that Myungsoo might have said something?”

Hoya groaned in annoyance. “I don't even want to know, seriously. But someone needs to fix this.”

They all followed Hoya's hand movement with their eyes and were just in time to witness how Sungkyu pulled Woohyun into a tight embrace as he embarked out of the bathroom and showered him with kisses.

“Urgh, gross.” Hoya retched.

“You are gross,” Sungyeol shot back, needing to defend the other mated couple. After all his own mate was the reason that they were so disgustingly cute at the moment.

“The chicken is here,” called out Dongwoo excitedly, who was the only one to hear the bell ring. He jumped to his feet in an instant and rushed to the door. Only moments later he came back with a huge box of chicken in his hands.

“Hyung!” Hoya screamed to gain the attention of the couple still standing in front of the bathroom. “The food arrived, come and eat before your precious Woohyunnie starves to death.”

A protective growl was heard as Hoya dared to say something that was related with Woohyun getting hurt. But at least they were finally joining them again. Sungkyu once more not letting go of his mate, having a possessive arm wrapped around him. He even went as far as to pull Woohyun onto his lap, as he sat down.

Woohyun just sighed and rolled his eyes. Sungyeol didn't think Sungkyu told him what was wrong, so Woohyun probably had experienced such behavior before and knew that the best way to deal with it was to give in.

“Seriously, guys?” Hoya asked. “How do you want to eat like this?!”

“Yeah, hyung, how do we want to eat like this?” Woohyun repeated after the rapper, looking at his mate questioningly.

“I'll feed you, obviously,” replied Sungkyu matter-of-factly.

“Because that's so going to work when you have your arms wrapped around me.”

“Don't worry. It will work. I just don't want you to choke on any bones and suffocate.”

Now Woohyun snorted. “Who is the one worrying, huh?”

“Bones?” Dongwoo asked obviously confused. “Hyung, on your request we only ordered boneless chicken.”

Sungkyu didn't reply and instead grabbed the first piece of chicken and still made sure that there wasn't anything harmful inside before feeding it to Woohyun, who once more rolled his eyes but opened his mouth and accepted the food.

“I think I lost my appetite,” grumbled Hoya before he grabbed the biggest piece of chicken and stuffed it in his mouth.

Dongwoo and Sungyeol only snickered and started to eat as well.

Even though it could be really exhausting to have to deal with all the werewolf stuff, at least it never got boring, Sungyeol mused and he was thankful to be a part of this awesome group. He still missed his mate and the youngest of the group, though. Sungjong had other plans, he had heard from Dongwoo. It was probably for the best that Sungjong wasn't there or someone probably had died already. Either Sungkyu, because Sungjong had enough of his behavior, or Sungjong because Sungkyu wouldn't deal with his attitude. Still, it would be nice to have a dinner with all seven.

“Hyung, you can stop now,” he heard Woohyun scold Sungkyu. “I'm full, really.”

“You need to eat more. You are too thin, I don't want you to starve to death.” Sungkyu tried to convince Woohyun who tried to avoid the piece of meat that Sungkyu tried to gently push into his mouth.

Another groan escaped Hoya's mouth.

“What have I done?” he said exasperatedly. “I shouldn't have said that. I fed the fears of the wolf. Damn.”

“What do you mean?” Sungyeol asked.

“The biggest fear of mated alphas is to lose their mate,” explained Dongwoo. “One would think the omegas are more afraid of it, but usually it's the alphas. Omegas protect the family and alphas protect their omegas – or their mates overall, no matter what they are.”

“And what does that have to do with hyung?”

“Everything,” Hoya spoke up. “I mentioned the possibility of Woohyun starving earlier and that triggered hyung's alpha instincts of needing to protect his mate, even though it's completely unnecessary. I should have known better than to say anything after I saw how he behaved the whole time already. Now he probably overfeeds Woohyun until he explodes.”

“That's possible?” Dongwoo wanted to know. “Can Woohyun explode if he eats too much?”

A flying piece of chicken interrupted their conversation and they turned their heads to the couple on the other side of the table. Sungkyu stared at them in horror and pulled Woohyun closer to himself, as if he could prevent him exploding if he held onto him strong enough.

“Maybe we should change the topic and try to avoid anything related to them before something bad happens,” Hoya suggested and Dongwoo and Sungyeol agreed. “How is Myungsoo?”

Not the topic Sungyeol wanted to talk about. Sungkyu's angry growl just supported his reluctance to talk about it, but Hoya and Dongwoo looked at him expectantly.

“Miserable,” he finally replied. “I try to ignore him as much as possible as a punishment.”

Sungyeol saw the satisfied grin on the leader's face. Hoya and Dongwoo however were not as happy about it.

“Poor puppy,” Dongwoo spoke sadly. “He just followed his instincts of protecting his mate and is being punished.”

“Isn't that a little too harsh?” added Hoya.

“Well, what am I supposed to do then? I have no clue how to handle all this werewolf stuff, okay?! I only know that he endangered all of you and the group because he has no control over himself. He could have seriously hurt that guy! I really have no idea how else he is going to learn to control himself. If you guys have any idea, please, enlighten me!” Sungyeol huffed and glared at them.

“Maybe you are right,” Hoya admitted after a moment of silence and Dongwoo nodded. “It's still cruel, though.”

“Sometimes you need to be cruel to protect what you treasure most,” Sungkyu suddenly spoke up quietly. They all looked at him just in time to see how he pressed a tender kiss just beneath Woohyun's ear, love filling his eyes as he looked at his mate.

A chill ran down Sungyeol's spine, the meaning behind Sungkyu's words weighing heavy on him. Sungyeol had no doubt, would anyone dare to try and hurt Woohyun, Sungkyu would do anything to protect him. Anything.

“But only if it's absolutely necessary,” added Sungkyu as if an afterthought. “And someone else flirting with one's mate is no reason to start a fight. There are other ways to resolve the issue.”

“Give Myungsoo some slack, they only got recently mated and the bond isn't complete yet,” Woohyun tried to appease his mate. Woohyun was always so kind and understanding, Sungyeol admired him and he was thankful.

“I wasn't like that when we were newly mated,” complained Sungkyu.

“But we completed the bond right away. I'm not a werewolf, but if I were and my bond wasn't completed, I can imagining to react the same way. He doesn't want to lose his mate or someone else to snatch him away. So please, guys, don't be too hard on him.”

Sungyeol saw the inner fight of Sungkyu in his eyes. His mate was asking him to be understanding, to be forgiving, but Sungkyu obviously couldn't, not after what Myungsoo had said. However, Woohyun didn't know about that.

“I'll try,” Sungkyu compromised in the end and was rewarded with a short peck to his lips. Immediately he tried to hide his stupid grin by burying his face in Woohyun's back.

“I think I'm going to throw up,” Hoya complained. “When did you two turn into this mushy couple who can't keep their hands to themselves?”

“They were always like that,” Dongwoo piped up. “They just hid it to not make anyone uncomfortable.”

“Why did they stop? I'm very, very uncomfortable.”

They all shared a good laugh at Hoya's expense. When they calmed down, Sungyeol got up.

“Where are you going?” Dongwoo questioned him instantly.

“I have some making up to do,” he simply replied and bid them goodbye.

Not even five minutes later he opened the door to Myungsoo's (and his) bedroom and slipped in as quietly as possible (not that it was necessary, Myungsoo never woke up no matter how loud Sungyeol was). He quickly changed and then slipped into bed next to his boyfriend, snuggling up to his warmth.

“Yeol?” he heard Myungsoo whisper in a hoarse voice. “You are back.”

“Did I wake you?” asked Sungyeol, feeling guilty.

“No, don't worry. I couldn't sleep.”Myungsoo wrapped his arms around Sungyeol and pulled him close, burying his nose in his mate's hair.

“Why?” Sungyeol asked and moved his head to be able to kiss Myungsoo on the lips.

Myungsoo hummed in appreciation and quickly responded to the affectionate gesture. “Because I missed you and I couldn't stand the thought to go to bed with you still being mad at me. Are you still mad at me?”

“No,” Sungyeol spoke against the other's lips. “I can never stay mad at you for long, idiot. And I'm sorry for not being as understanding as I probably should be, but that's the thing. I'm not a werewolf, I don't understand. I'm sorry.”

“It's fine.” Myungsoo sounded really sleepy by now and it took him some time until he spoke again. “Don't leave me.”

Sungyeol had to smile. It was just like Woohyun had said. Secretly Myungsoo was afraid to lose him and somehow that warmed Sungyeol's heart, although it was completely stupid. Even if the guy at the shoot had been remotely good-looking (which he indeed had not been), these days Sungyeol only had eyes for Myungsoo and Myungsoo should know that.

“I won't, stupid. You are the only one for me.”

Although it was dark he could see Myungsoo smile. It made him smile as well and he placed another soft kiss on his boyfriend's lips.

“Sleep, it was a long day.”

It was as if Sungyeol had cast a spell on the younger. As soon as he had said it, Myungsoo was asleep. Before they had become a couple, he probably would have been mad at Myungsoo for just falling asleep without wishing him a good night or something. Now he only could stare at his best friend and lover with fondness in his eyes and a fluttering heart in his chest.

“Stupid, idiotic werewolf. How could I ever leave you when I love you so much?” he whispered into Myungsoo's ear and hoped that somehow it would reach him in his dreams, calming the worried wolf.

Sungyeol comfortably placed his head on Myungsoo's chest and listened to his heartbeat. With his own personal lullaby he quickly fell asleep as well.

 

 

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Finally! I'm sorry for taking so long, sadly I can't promise that the next update will be sooner. I'll try my best though.

How did you like this chapter? Leave a comment if you want to share your thoughts with me, I'd appreciate it a lot. As always, thanks to everyone for reading, subscribing and upvoting <3