The Journey

            The winter was long and although Kyuhyun tried to visit weekly, as promised, a massive drop of snow towards the end of winter prevented easy travel back and forth from the northern border and he was not able to visit the den until most of the snow melted.  By then, spring was in the air.  The trees were growing new leaves, the grass was turning green again, and flowers were blooming.  Travel became easier throughout the clan’s territory, but that also meant that lone wolves and neighboring clans tended to test the borderlines a little more.  Kangin and Siwon were both dispatched to territory lines to help secure borders in the north and east.  By the time things began to simmer down, it was already nearing the end of spring and Ryeowook had not seen Kyuhyun in over three months.  For someone who belatedly realized that he did not want his new friend far from him after all, this was a long absence. 

            One warm day, Ryeowook headed into the woods for the morning to pick wild herbs and mushrooms for his medicines.  Upon his return, he walked over to the dining hall to bring Sungmin some herbs that he stumbled across that he knew Sungmin liked to use for cooking. 

            In the past, spring had once been Ryeowook’s favorite time of year after being cooped up inside for far too long during the winter months.  He was always antsy to get back out into the woods for long hikes.  He loved the smells of the blooming trees and flowers, he loved the vibrant colors, but now he was no longer excited by the smells and colors of the season.  Walks into the woods did not thrill him as they once had.  Even Siwon could not cheer him up by bringing bundles of wildflowers to the clinic.  Ryeowook felt life had grown very dull and could often be found glancing over at the paths that headed north, without realizing it, and wondering about his new friend. 

            “Ah, thank you, Wook!” Sungmin said, nearly jumping up and down when Ryeowook handed him the herbs.  “I ran out a couple months ago and my soups haven’t tasted the same since.”

            It was true, but Ryeowook kept his mouth shut, not wanting to hurt his friend’s feelings.  “You’re welcome, Min.”

            Sungmin set the bundle of leaves down and peeked at this pies in the oven.  Then he turned back to his fellow omega friend.  “As a reward, I have some news for you.”

            “What’s that?” Ryeowook asked, pretending to sound interested.

            “Kyuhyun arrived at the den after you set out this morning.  He has promised to spend the day with the clan and is having dinner here tonight.  I think he intends to stay until tomorrow.”

            Ryeowook suddenly felt shaky and his heart began to race, but he wrapped his arms around his body and looked down at his feet, muddy from his recent walk through the forest, trying to fain disinterest.  “Is that supposed to excite me?”

            Sungmin looked at him smugly.  “I know that it does.  I see the way you stared at him whenever he visited the den to speak to Leeteuk over the winter.  You can fool almost everyone else with all your talk of indifference, but not me.”

            “Minnie…can you keep a secret?”

            “Of course!” Sungmin said, nearly jumping in place in his excitement.

            “You promise?” Ryeowook questioned, furrowing his brows at his best friend. 

            “Yes,” swore Sungmin.  “I promise, I promise!”

            Ryeowook grabbed onto Sungmin’s arm and leaned in close to him, glancing around to make sure no one was within earshot of them.  “I think I might have fallen for Kyuhyun without realizing it.”

            Sungmin rolled his eyes.  “I’m your best friend, Wook.  I already know that!”

            Ryeowook sighed loudly.  “I think I might have been the one to drive him away though.  I told him that I was bothered about everyone wanting the two of us to get together, so I think he asked to be positioned up north to keep away from me…thinking it would make me happy.  He’s purposely avoiding me and it’s my own fault!”

            Sungmin smiled, trying not to laugh.  “You might be right about why he’s working on the border, but I don’t think he’s avoiding you.  He came in earlier and asked if I knew where you were.”

            Ryeowook clutched Sungmin’s arm tight.  “He did?”

            Sungmin nodded. 

            “Do you know where he is now?”

            “I think he might have gone over to your brother’s house to visit Eunhyuk.”

            Ryeowook ditched his best friend immediately—not even bothering to say good-bye—and headed for his brother’s house.  The whole way there, which wasn’t very far, he thought about what excuse he would give his brother, about why he would want to go visit him so suddenly, and then finally gave up on the idea as he reached the house and knocked on the door.  Donghae answered the door.  “Wook!  What brings you here?” Donghae asked, breaking into a smile at seeing his younger brother.

            “I was looking for Kyuhyun.  Sungmin thought he headed this way.”

            “Well, he was here, but he left a little while ago, when Hyuk left for his patrol.”

            Ryeowook threw is head back in frustration.  “Did he say where he was going?”

            Donghae thought hard about this.  “Um…I can’t remember.”

            You cannot strangle your only brother, Ryeowook repeated silently to himself, walking away.  After casually stopping by the den to look around and then the clinic, where he at least had herbs to drop off, he gave up the search for the alpha and headed home.  He walked through the door, tired and dejected, and called out to his cousin that he was back. 

            Kangin popped his head out of the kitchen.  “Oh, good,” the alpha grinned.  “We have a guest.”

            Ryeowook froze, suddenly feeling his heartbeat increasing.  “We do?”

            Kyuhyun suddenly appeared in the doorway beside Kangin and Ryeowook could not suppress the smile that spread across his face instantly.  The alpha had come to their house.  Perhaps it had more to do with how close the alphas had become after doing patrols together, but Ryeowook did not care about the reason.  If Kyuhyun had been avoiding him, he would not show up at his house.

            “Hello,” the omega quietly greeted, feeling his cheeks warm.

            Kyuhyun walked over to him and pulled him into a hug, which he had never done before.  “Hi,” the alpha only said, holding the little omega tight against him.

            “You’ve been gone a long time!” Ryeowook said accusingly, not hiding the hurt in his voice.

            “I know.”

            Kangin cleared his throat a moment.  “You don’t mind if he stays the night, do you, Wook?  It’s either that or we make him sleep in the den with Leeteuk and Heechul and all their brats.  Seems a little overwhelming for someone who lives alone most of the time.”

            “I don’t mind,” Ryeowook confirmed. 

            Kyuhyun pulled away from Ryeowook enough to look him over.  “You are a mess!”

            Ryeowook slapped his chest, no longer pulling his punches since the man in front of him was clearly healthy, despite the fact that he’d been snowed in for the last couple months of winter.  His food supply had clearly not run out and he did not appear injured or sick.

            “I was picking herbs today for medicine,” Ryeowook explained, looking down at his dirty attire.

            “You smell like them to,” Kyuhyun teased, sniffing the air around Ryeowook. 

            Ryeowook gave his friend a warning look.  “I should bathe before dinner though or no one will want to sit next to me.”

            Kangin shrugged.  “You still smell better than Eunhyuk on a good day,” his cousin laughed. 

            Kyuhyun smiled at Kangin’s words, but he was still looking at Ryeowook.  “I’m obligated to eat at the dining hall with everyone tonight, since I h