And so the time has come again...
The Howling - Part V: Restless
That same trademark smile of Jongin's, warm yet holding something behind it, lifted the younger boy's lips, and he reached out his hands, snagging the backpack before Joonmyun could manage to slide it onto his back. "Let me..."
He hummed as he slung the bag over one shoulder and just as he turned to cross to the door, he caught the uncomfortable tingle of Joonmyun's anxiety, and turned back to face the boy. His eyes met the elder's, and he watched him carefully for a moment or two before he leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to the corner of the elder's mouth.
"It'll be all right," he murmured, fingers brushing across the elder's cheek and jaw. "I promise..."
When Jongin took his bag and shouldered it, Joonmyun wanted to protest -- the boy wouldn't be able to carry it for all that long, and it wasn't like it weighed a ton -- but he kept his mouth shut and let Jongin have his way. He was quiet as he followed him to the door, fingers playing at the hems of his jacket sleeves. At the door, he was stopped and caught slightly off guard by the tender kiss that Jongin placed on his lips.
"I know..." he mumbled in reply as he leaned into the boy's warm touch. Joonmyun didn't want to have to let this go; he wanted to spend forever curled up in Jongin's arms, but he knew he had to do this, that /they/ had to do this together. "I trust you..." With the words, he leaned up and met the boy's lips in another, deeper, lingering kiss, pulling away just before the bond could take hold of everything.
To keep control, he took a step back before nudging Jongin towards the door. "Go. Before I change my mind and decide to hole up here for three days." Joonmyun nudged him out into the hall that time, stepping out after him and pulling the door closed. He turned and looked up at Jongin, face as emotionless as possibly as he motioned his hand out in front of them. "Lead the way..."
Jongin hummed into the kiss, fingers tangled through Joonmyun's hair to hold him close as if he expected it to be the last kiss for a long time. He smiled against the elder's lips, holding him close as the kiss deepened before the warmth and comfort faded, leaving him with tingling lips and a heat that had nothing to do with the fever. He gasped out softly, untangling his fingers from Joonmyun's hair as he grinned wolfishly, bangs falling into his eyes to give him a more mischevious look before he turned away.
He stepped out into the hall, tugging lightly on the strap of the bag before he reached out with his free hand to take Joonmyun's hand. "Come on, we should get out there before any of the others decide they want to roam the grounds..."
Jongin glanced away after that, leading Joonmyun back down the hall and past the kitchen to the stairs that led out into the garden. The route was simple, through the maze to the hidden garden in the centre, which also had a smaller area off to one side that Jongin hadn't shown Joonmyun before. It was hidden and out of the way, and was big enough that Kai could get all the space he needed to run around, while keeping them both safe.
Sidestepping a bush of wolfsbane, he glanced up at the full moon, wincing as the burn beneath his skin began to prickle and ache, and squeezed Joonmyun's hand a little tighter as he continued down the path towards the centre and the hidden clearing.
Joonmyun took Jongin's hand and followed him willingly, nerves growing as they got closer and closer to the outside. By the time they reached the door, he was sure that his grip around the boy's fingers was going to break a bone or two, and so he slackened his grip as they stepped outside. The moon was full and bright, and the elder couldn't help but feel its power working beneath Jongin's skin; Kai wanted out, needed out, and soon.
Despite the swollenness of the moon, it was still dark in the garden, and Joonmyun followed Jongin blindly, trusting him to lead him to where they needed to be. He had hoped they wouldn't travel too far from the manor, that they would stay within the grounds because Joonmyun would lose it if they ventured into the forest like he'd said the others did.
The longer the walk, the more nervous he became, and even with as much as he tried to push the emotion away, there was no use in hiding it because Jongin would know; the moment it appeared, he would feel it, and he would know. "How much longer? I don't want you to hurt too much."
"It's okay..." Jongin murmured, glancing back at the worried Joonmyun as the younger picked up on the concern and worry that was seeping from the elder. "I won't let anything happen to you. You're perfectly safe, between me and Kai..."
The thought made him smile, as he remembered his dream, and he turned to carefully lead Joonmyun down the final stretch of the maze and then he carefully nudged at one of the bushes - not wolfsbane, because god forbid he burn himself rightbefore he was due to Change - and waited for Joonmyun to step into the secret maze centre before he pushed the bushes back into place.
"This place was the orignal center of the maze, but it was too big... so they had the maze remade around it, and this was always hidden because one travelling through a maze isn't going to notice if there is anything missing," Jongin explained, as he lowered Joonmyun's bag to the ground and shuffled into the middle of the clearing.
In one corner there was a full bench, as well as a miniature pagoda - just big enough for two people- against one wall. Sometimes Jongin liked to joke and call it his own personal secret garden, because not even the Alpha knew of the location, and all the wolfsbane hid his scents too well for anyone to find.
"There are extra pillows and blankets over there, if you need them... I wasn't sure if Sunny had been here recently; when she finds this place, she takes all my stuff and cleans it..." he added sheepishly, turning back to Joonmyun with a small smile before a wave of dizziness hit him and he staggered, almost doubling over. "...It's probably time..."
Wherever Jongin was taking him, it was somewhere deep within the maze that he'd never been to, because he didn't remember ever having to walk this much to get to their usual spots. Even with Jongin telling him that everything was okay, Joonmyun was still nervous; everything at this point was beyond his control -- then again, not much had been in control since he'd first arrived here a month ago.
Eventually they came to a stop, and Joonmyun eyed the younger boy warily before stepping through the hedge and into a clearing. Even in the dark, the only light being the glow of the moon, Joonmyun could see and feel how spacious it was; off to the side stood a small pagoda and a place to sit, but the rest of the landscape remained bare and open.
Joonmyun watched Jongin quietly, eyes following him as he shuffled to what the elder presumed was the center of the clearing, but he didn't move from his spot near the edge. Just as the boy turned back to him, he was crouching down to take and shoulder his bag once again.
When the boy faltered, Joonmyun automatically took a step forward before freezing in place. He didn't want to touch him, was afraid to touch him, afraid that he'd hurt him in some way or another. Instead, he swallowed back the lump in his throat and took a deep breath before nodding. "Do what you have to," Joonmyun whispered, longing to reach out once more to offer any bit of comfort that he could.
Comments