It's been a tough night

 

"When will you leave?

 

"Probably by tomorrow love"

 

They were in their bedroom, it was dark outside and Jeonghan called them to join for dinner twice already but they couldn't leave. Wonwoo was worried and nervous, he had many questions and Mingyu just wanted to make sure everything is okay with him before he left ... he had to leave or else who knows what could happen

 

"Mingyu I'm ..." Wonwoo sighed "I'm worried ... what will you be doing all alone? Let me come with you, I'm sure we will figure it out"

 

Mingyu had this soft sad look taking Wonwoo by the hand and sitting both of them on the bed "Baby, I love you ... I can't risk hurting you, I won't be myself and I'll be looking for you, I'll be rough and I don't want you to see me like that"

 

"How do I make sure you're okay? You'll be all alone during this ... rut" ... "Can someone go with you at least?"

 

Mingyu shook his head, "I'll be just fine I promise" ... "Why are you crying again Won? I hate it when you cry" he reached his hand to wipe away the tears that fell off Wonwoo's cheeks "Wolfie hates it when you cry too"

Mingyu pulled Wonwoo closer in his arms, breathed in his scent deeply, it wasn't going to be easy and Wonwoo was right to be this worried. Mingyu will be fighting himself as his sole enemy, he loved Wonwoo deeply to hurt him in any way, and they weren't ready for any intimate physical contact but Mingyu was ready to take the fall for both of them. It was okay, as long as Wonwoo was safe.

 

"You'll be just fine here with everyone, I'll ask Minghao to keep you company all the time"

 

Wonwoo sniffed his tears and let himself being engulfed into Mingyu's strong arms "I'm not worried about myself, Min"

 

Mingyu chuckled "And I'm not worried about myself either baby, remember I'm your strong wolf right?"

Mingyu could feel him nodding by his shoulder "Yeah, we will be okay baby" he leaned to place soft kissed over Wonwoo's collarbone hoping that it would calm him down for now.

Wonwoo sighed and wouldn't let go, wrapping his arms around Mingyu like there no tomorrow.

 

—————

Needless to say that the night passed rather too quickly, much to Wonwoo's discomfort. He helped him pack a little with nothing but Mingyu's safety in mind. Watching Mingyu leave felt like ripping his own heart  out and stepping on it and even with Jeonghan and Minghao by his side, Wonwoo felt like throwing up.

 

Jihoon smiled trying to reassure him seeing just how nervous he was

"He'll be just fine ... Alphas are like that sometimes, can't live with them and can't live without them" he reached to pat Wonwoo's shoulder "He'll be fine don't worry"

 

Wonwoo nodded, all the kisses and hugs he got from Mingyu last night didn't make this moment any easier. They talked all night and Mingyu tried to reassure him as much as he could. For a while, he was convinced that everything is going be okay but standing here, now, seeing him drive away, was as if nothing of that mattered.

 

Wonwoo soon went back to their bedroom, Minghao kept him company for a bit but he soon said he was tired and wanted to sleep. He ended up skipping breakfast and lunch, and it was only later that afternoon that Joshua pulled him outside to the living room to talk

 

"Mingyu is strong, he'll be just fine" Joshua tried to knock some sense into Wonwoo "Now please go join DK and the others in the terrace, we will be serving dinner soon okay?"

 

Wonwoo looked away, his mind a bit foggy right now but nodded and did what he was told. He lifelessly walked toward the terrace and took the first seat he found.

 

Joshua sighed seeing just how devastated the boy was and went back to the kitchen where Jeonghan, Dino and Seungkwan were preparing dinner together

 

"He will be okay right?" Joshua asked, he was trying to be supportive earlier but he himself wasn't so sure about it "I mean it's his first heat after getting his spirit and a Mate, his body will instinctively be EXPECTING his Mate to be near by"

 

"I know" Jeonghan seemed really worried as well "He'll be okay, Mingyu is tough of course but, he'll be fighting himself, I'm glad Seungcheol talked to him before he left, it won't be easy"

 

"What's the worst that could happen really? What can we expect?"

 

"He can hurt himself, he needs to find a comfortable place to rest for the next few days and somewhere where he can lock it up and fight the urge to come back here and  hurt Wonwoo"

 

"Oh, I'm sure that's not going to happen though"

 

Jeonghan chuckled "Yeah, Mingyu knows better than to do that, but his first time after getting his spirit and all alone far away from his mate, can do things to him"

 

Joshua sighed for the uptenth time "Wonwoo is really not feeling good about this"

 

"I wouldn't be either to be honest" Jeonghan said feeling worried about both of Wonwoo and Mingyu. Things were a bit uneasy but it will clear out soon right?

 

—————

Wonwoo barely ate anything and barely said anything throughout the day.

Minghao was sitting by his side and rubbing his back from time to time, telling him words of encouragements but it didn't seem to be working that much, he simply missed Mingyu so much and was so worried about him that nothing else mattered.

 

He couldn't sleep either, he took a cold shower in the middle of the night, tried to play some video games to distract himself but ended up laying in bed and watching as the sun rose early and bright.

 

Wonwoo sighed, he hated being such a weak human. His Mate is probably in so much pain right now and he's the only one who's supposed to make him feel better and he can't even do that. He felt useless and cold, just so cold. The whole place was just too cold, he missed Mingyu around and everything simply didn't feel quite the same.

He woke up feeling drained and changed into nothing but Mingyu's oversized hoodie and boxers, he just couldn't leave the bed holding into anything that felt like or  smelled like Mingyu.

 

Dino came looking for him later that morning and didn't want to bother him too much. Wonwoo looked tired and obviously didn't get much sleep so Dino left soon after to let him get some rest.

It was only when Wonwoo didnt show up for lunch that Jeonghan cursed himself and stomped up the stairs so determined to get him out of that state.

 

"Wonu?" Jeonghan peeked through the door slowly not to scare him and heard nothing but a low hum sound in response.

He walked inside the dimmed room, he smiled sadly at the boy merely laying on the king size bed on his own.

"Hey buddy" the older walked over to him and Wonwoo sat up a little to meet him "You look awesome" making Wonwoo scoff and laugh involuntarily at how sarcastic that sounded.

 

The healer, fully opened the window letting fresh air enter the room and the rays of sunshine bring more colors into it. Wonwoo sighed but thanked him nonetheless.

 

"Just think of when Mingyu comes back and finds you all depressed, he'll be devastated"

 

Wonwoo 's eyes were locked to the ground still "You need to get up, freshen up ... he'll be fine I'm sure" Jeonghan reached over to Wonwoo's arm calming him down with his Healing spirit

 

"I just ... miss him and ... worried about him a lot"

 

"I know Wonu, I would be worried sick if I was in your position too"

 

"Do you really think he's okay?"

 

"He's a strong Wolf, of course he will be just fine"

 

"I just hate not being able to do anything, I should be by his side, I should be able to calm him down when he needs me"

 

Jeonghan understands of course, it must be a horrible feeling not being able to help the one person you care about the most, the one person you should be helping no matter what

 

"You know? You and Mingyu have the most special relationship any of us has ever seen ... we understand it's not easy and it's not your fault"

 

"He shouldn't be suffering alone anyways"

 

Jeonghan sighed "That's true, but I'm sure that we will figure something out soon, who knows? Maybe by next time this happens, you'll be with him and we won't have anything to worry about"

 

Wonwoo nodded but still felt so helpless "I just miss him right now that's all"

 

Jeonghan smiled lovingly "Of course, and he'll be home soon so, you shouldn't be like this when he gets here"

 

Wonwoo nodded "I guess I should take a shower and clean up the place"

 

"Yeah, there you go, I'll see you downstairs? You haven't eaten anything since Mingyu left and you're getting weaker" Jeonghan held Wonwoo's hand and yes of course, he would know if something was wrong with him "You need to eat, if you faint on us Mingyu will literally hunt us down and  cause injuries"

 

Wonwoo smiled and nodded, Mingyu will be upset if anything happens to him while he was gone, he at least knew that much for sure. He'll be fine and Mingyu will be fine as well, he just has to wait until he comes back and they'll talk about it then.

 

"You know?" Jeonghan trailed before leaving the room "Maybe you and Minghao should talk? He's been in your shoes a few times before, he might have a better insight on how to deal with being away from Mingyu?"

 

Wonwoo didn't think much about it and nodded. Sure, he can talk to Minghao, they are friends and even though Wonwoo didn't know where to even start, but it's Minghao, the drama queen will find something to say anyways.

He smiled to himself as he finally left the bed, he took a long nice hot shower and changed into something more relaxed basically covered himself in Mingyu's clothes just to have his scent around, he then started to clean their room and he cleaned it well.

 

It was a deep cleaning kind of a mess, Wonwoo removed everything, cleaned them and put them back into their right places again. When he was done, it was almost three hours later, and Wonwoo was glad he found a distraction for a few hours, but he was too tired and famished.

He wobbled a little down the stairs to meet Jeonghan in the living room. The older looked up at him a bit annoyed "I asked you to come over three hours ago but whatever, ignore me"

 

Wonwoo felt bad for irritating Jeonghan but he had to explain himself "I took a long shower and I was cleaning the room like you suggested and I of lost track of time ... sorry Hannie"

 

Jeonghan sighed but sure, he understood Wonwoo's feelings, the boy's mood was all over the place "It's okay, I guess"

 

"Hannie is your lunch invitation ... Humm" he stopped to look outside, it was getting dark "Dinner I mean, is still on? Because I'm starving and feeling a bit ... dizzy actually with a stomachache so,"

Hearing that, Jeonghan jolted up from where he was silently watching TV on his own "What?" He sprinted his way up to meet Wonwoo by the staircase and dragged him to sit on the couch

 

"Yeah, I'm sorry" Wonwoo sighed holding onto the older to steady himself a little as he felt unbalanced "I haven't eaten since Mingyu left and I've been overthinking and stressed out a lot, I guess it's weighing me down"

 

Jeonghan ignited his spirit and yes, Wonwoo was dizzy and obviously tired, hasn't slept or eaten in three days. He tried to calm him down a bit before running to the kitchen and got him whatever he could find around which came in the form of a bottle of juice and fruits.

Joshua and Dino were passing by coming from the library when the slightly anxious scent of Jeonghan caught their attention

 

"What's going on?" Joshua asked speeding his way into the living room

"Wonwoo is having low blood sugar" Jeonghan announced "He hasn't eaten in a while, Joshua would make him a sandwich or something please I just got juice and fruits for now"

Joshua nodded and left quickly to fetch what Jeonghan asked

"I'm fine really" Wonwoo tried to explain taking a few sips from the juice box Jeonghan passed him.

 

He tried to get some rest and soon, Minghao, Jun and DK caught on Jeonghan's anxious scent and followed them into the living room

"I'm fine guys please" Wonwoo can't say he wasn't enjoying the attention but he was worrying them for nothing too serious

 

"JEONGHAN?"

 

Seungcheol walked in a hurry, was working outside and Jeonghan's anxious scent was faint and he didn't catchup on it until he got closer to the house and he run inside panicking

 

"Oh no Cheol" Jeonghan finally realized that he hasn't seen Seungcheol for a couple of hours and didn't get the chance to explain his anxious scent and stood up "I'm here, it's fine, everything's fine" he tried to calm his Mate down as soon as walked in. He walked right into Seungcheol's open arms "It's okay, I'm sorry I just got a bit worried about Wonwoo that's all"

Seungcheol sighed taking Jeonghan in his arms "Why? What's wrong with Wonwoo?"

 

"He's just a little dizzy, wasn't eating and all worried about Mingyu"

 

"I'm fine ... I'm so sorry for worrying all of you, i didn't mean to" Wonwoo hurried to explain seeing the way the Alpha leader was on full guard.

 

Seungcheol sighed "Mingyu will be just fine Won, you don't have to stress yourself this bad about him, he's an Alpha after all"

 

Wonwoo nodded "I know, I know I just can't help it that's all"

Seungcheol placed a soft hand over his shoulder "You should rest well, Mingyu will be really upset if he gets home and saw you like this"

 

"I keep telling him that we will be murdered by Mingyu if something happens to him but he doesn't seem to care about any of us" Jeonghan said sounding sarcastic and making Wonwoo chuckle

"I'm really sorry" the boy repeated taking a bite from that sandwich Joshua brought him.

 

Seungcheol smiled still holding Jeonghan tightly watching as Wonwoo finished his meal and Minghao walked him up to his room again to get some rest. Jeonghan thought the two should talk, they had more in common than they thought and he was right.

"I'll be right here if you need me" Jun said with a smile before sending Minghao off with Wonwoo. The other smiled softly and nodded. Jun giving him affirmation every time they had to be apart even for the slightest bit was tiring but Minghao appreciated it and couldn't be any more thankful.

 

Seungcheol watched over Jun and Minghao's interaction closely. He was still holding Jeonghan close to him and pulled him even closer, the scanned his Mate's face and just felt soft for him suddenly

"I keep asking you not to scare like that and you keep doing it, do you take pleasure in it or does it excite you?"

 

Jeonghan grinned "I said I was sorry, I was just worried about Wonwoo and I'm sure my scent wasn't that intense"

 

"It was intense to" Seungcheol leaned over trying to capture Jeonghan's lips "Always intense to me"

 

—————

"Thank you for staying with me Hao but really I'm fine and it's getting late you should be with Jun"

 

Minghao sighed and yes, he wanted to be with Jun right now but Wonwoo needed him so he shook his head "I'm fine, I just want to be here for you Wonu"

 

"Thank you Hao" Wonwoo smiled and laid down on his bed trying to get some rest simply staring at the ceiling

 

"I know how you feel" Minghao said out of nowhere and even though Wonwoo never asked, he knew that it had something to do with Jun " You're worried about him and keep wondering if he's okay or not"

 

Wonwoo found himself nodding "Yeah"

 

"If he's in pain or not?"

 

"Yeah"

 

"If he ate or if he's comfortable?"

 

Wonwoo sat up, finally someone who actually understands "Yes" he said, Minghao looked at him with a sad smile "I've been through that with Jun more than you think so trust me ... I get it, why do you think I have attachment issues?" Minghao's mind seemed to drift away for a bit and Wonwoo saw so much sadness in his friend's eyes for some reason "I can't stand it if he's away from me for a long time" Minghao placed his hand over his chest "My heart start beating so fast and my mind starts racing, I get all shaken up like I'm having a panic attack"

 

Wonwoo looked worried about his friend "But you guys are Mates, he can't leave you and even if goes away for a bit your bond will always pull him back"

 

Minghao laughed a little "Like I didn't know that?" ... "I just can't control it, I freeze and all I keep looking for is Jun, sometimes I forget to just stand still and pick up his scent, he could be really close but my mind simply stops working"

 

"I'm sorry to hear that Hao"

 

Minghao nodded "So I get how you feel, even though you're not Mated yet I really get it buddy"

 

Wonwoo smiled "Thank you, I don't know what to do though"

 

"Honestly? It never gets any easier but you're lucky because Mingyu will be back any day now, in my case, I couldn't even know when I'll see Jun again" ... "Just distract yourself for a while, you can come to my studio tomorrow? I'm working on a new project and I could need a second opinion on my paintings"

 

Wonwoo nodded that sounded like a good idea to pass some time "sure, I'd love to" he was curious and he wanted to ask about it more and even though he usually doesn't but Minghao was his closest friend so far "What happened exactly with you and Jun?"

 

Minghao sighed and smiled a little at his friend, he told him what happened and Wonwoo was shocked. He was so lucky that Mingyu was only gone for a few days, Minghao had to wait for months that turned into years and not just because Jun was simply away but because they were forced to stay away from each other. He ended up hugging his friend tightly, apologizing for even asking and reminding him about it"

 

For the next couple of days, Wonwoo tried his best to distract himself. He was in the studio with Minghao and in the library with Joshua and Dino most of the time and Jeonghan encouraged him keep doing more activities with him until Mingyu came back.

 

Wonwoo was on the terrace staring into the afternoon sky, Jihoon by his side and Jeonghan a few feet away, the two were softly chatting while Wonwoo's mind got distracted again. He was brought back to reality when Jeonghan got closer to him, placed a gentle hand over his shoulder

 

"Wonu?"

 

The younger looked up curious, his face looking tired from not being able to sleep all that well in the past few days

 

"I don't want to jump scare you but ..." Jeonghan had the softest smile on his face, "He's here, he's on his way"

 

Wonwoo's eyes radiated nothing but excitement and longing for nothing but Mingyu's presence. He was wondering what he's been through and how he managed to go through it on his own. He couldn't wait to be in his arms again, he couldn't wait to hold him and kiss him.

His little heart was beating so fast yet so slow, time seemed to have stopped and those few minutes felt like an eternity.

 

His eyes kept lingering at the entrance until he saw him walk inside.