The younger male's head jerked up a little at the sting of the antiseptic cream as Taemin applied it, and he hissed softly under his breath as the younger wrapped his arm in the thin gauze, flexing his fingers a little when he was done before his eyes lifted to Joonmyun. He saw the way the elder tipped his head back, and his chest ached at the sight. In that moment, he had the strong urge to stand up and just hug him... or something.

 

"Joonmyun, don't apologise," he whispered, shaking his head as he smiled weakly at Taemin who was busy putting everything back away. "It's not your fault. And we had a nice afternoon... I just... I can't see you get hurt again." It hurts too much, and I can't explain why... "I'm sorry I yelled at you, I really didn't mean to... And I'm sorry if it seemed like I was mad at you because of this."

 

Taemin decided to leave then, most likely to hea dback to Jongin's room, but not before taking a tub of icecream out of the freezer as well as three spoons, and Jongin let out a soft sigh before he stood up and stepped closer to where Joonmyun was sitting, until he was standing just in front of him. 

 

"And... as for them getting your scent, I wouldn't worry. The wolfsbane is so strong, I doubt they can smell anything else; the only reason I could smell it is..." he trailed off, biting his lip. /Because you're my mate.../ But he couldn't say that, not without freaking the poor boy out, because as long as he denied the truth, as long as he denied the connection, he could still let Joonmyun go back to a normal life with his friends... with safety. "--because I was standing righ tbeside you.."

---

 

As Jongin spoke, Joonmyun kept his eyes closed and bit his tongue, holding back tears. He felt like such a baby here, like some helpless child that couldn't take care of himself, and it wasn't that he didn't appreciate Jongin's help -- because he did, very much so -- but he wanted to feel independent again. Though, it seemed that as long as he was here, that wouldn't happen. 

 

He took a deep breath to calm himself, and it was then that he caught the familiar scent that was Jongin, which meant he was closer than he had been. Opening his eyes, Joonmyun looked off to the side and found that he was right, and the boy was standing just a foot or so away from him. The elder exhaled as he turned and faced Jongin, feet dangling over the counter as he looked at him. 

 

Joonmyun glanced down at Jongin's arm and let out a soft sigh as he reached out to brush his fingers over the bandages. "You're always getting hurt, because of me," he said quietly, lifting his gaze to look at the boy; as he caught Jongin's eyes, something tugged at his chest and he forced himself to look away, heart now hammering away against his ribs. "I-I guess I should learn to be more careful, hm?" 

 

With a smile and a nervous -- oh, god, could Jongin hearseefeel how nervous he was -- chuckle, Joonmyun pushed himself off the counter and hopped over to where he'd seen Taemin store the first aid kit. He didn't look back up at Jongin as he took a seat and began bandaging his foot, but he was obviously anxious, and it didn't take long before his fingers were tangled in the medical tape. A soft whine past his lips as he gave up, and he finally glanced at Jongin, expression nothing short of helpless. 

---

 

Jongin held his breath, his fingers an inch or so away from Joonmyun's leg. What had he been planning to do? His hand hovered, but he lowered it when Joonmyun looked up at him, his chest tightening at the way the elder looked at him before he too dropped his gaze. He stumbled back when Joonmyun pushed himself off the counter, and watched with a confused expression as the elder moved to take a seat.

 

"I...--you shouldn't blame yourself, for this..." he whispered, motioning at his arm before he shook his head. "As I recall, I'm the one who got you stuck here, who got you hurt. So don't blame yourself for something I've done."

 

He sunk down into the chair beside Joonmyun's, mentally beating himself in the head as he dragged the fingers of his good hand through his hair. Joonmyun's strangled voice caught his attention, breaking him from his moment of self loathing as he glanced up through his bangs. The way the elder looked so hopelessly up at him had the boy chuckling softly, immediately feeling just a little better about himself as he carefully took the medical tape from him and unwound the sticky material from his fingers.

 

"here..." his voice was a soothing murmur as he carefully lifted Joonmyun's foot and rested it on his leg while he reapplied the small bandage and then carefully taped it up with the medical tape. "...Better?"

 

His fingers gently - oh so carefully because Jongin couldn't scare or hurt Joonmyun - brushed along the elder's ankle, and he in breath at the way his own body reacted to the faint touch, before he dropped his hand back down and looked away.

---

 

No matter how many times Jongin said it, Joonmyun wouldn't believe it; he'd been stupid enough to over react and then think he'd be okay to travel as far into the forest as he did. He knew the stories, and as much as the people in town thought it was bull , Joonmyun knew better than to take it light heartedly. But he'd still been stupid, wreckless.... 

 

Those thoughts were interrupted, pushed aside as Jongin sat down to help him. Joonmyun glanced away as the boy untangled his fingers from the tape and set to work bandaging his foot. Even when he wasn't looking, he could feel how careful Jongin was being, and while he was thankful for it, it made him feel even more fragile. 

 

After Jongin had finished, Joonmyun felt something brush against his ankle, and he jerked his head up to look at the boy. There was no doubt that it had been him, but the elder wasn't sure why. What frightened him more at the moment, though, was that Jongin's fingers had left a burning sensation tingling at his skin. Eventually, he pulled away, tugging down on his pant leg to give him an excuse to rub at his ankle. 

 

"We should go back now," he said quietly as he packed the supplies back into the kit before tucking it away. "The moon should be up soon, and Taemin will probably be wondering what's taking so long." Joonmyun gave Jongin a hesitant, awkward smile before sliding off his chair and making his way towards the kitchen door, stopping to wait only out of habit.