He’s beginning to drift away a bit, not quite ready to go to sleep, but in that dreamy state you become when you’re sleepy. The gravel crunching below the tyres in Kyungsoo’s driveway rouses him, and he prepares to get out.

He’s not normally here during the night, and when he has been, he’d had a curfew anyway. He gravitates towards Kyungsoo, still not saying anything, and latches onto his side.

“Haejin has sorted out two separate rooms for you both to sleep in, unless you want to sleep with Kyungsoo, Jongin,” Kyungsoo’s dad announces, but before Jongin can jump at that idea-spending the night in his boyfriend’s arms? Yes please, especially after tonight-his mother has to in and ruin everything,

“No, I forbid it. You two are not sleeping together, and that’s final,” she doesn’t care that they could’ve died tonight, only that her son isn’t ually active apparently. It’s another blow to his pride that she thinks he’d even be capable of that, doing that after everything, and with everyone in the same building.

Also Kyungsoo is still injured, and needs his wounds attending to.

“Don’t worry, you can just sneak in later,” Kyungsoo tells him lowly, too low for his mother to hear, and he pretends not to see the way Kyungsoo’s dad’s mouth quirks in amusement.

When they reach the front door after a roundabout trek from the garage, warm yellow light spills from the doorway, and Kyungsoo’s mother is all business, taking care of belongings, and directing people to rooms. Kyungsoo goes with his dad to get his cuts and wounds sorted out, and Jongin makes a show of unpacking his things in the room he’s been given, which is on the floor below Kyungsoo’s. not too far away, in other words.

Haejin asks if they need anything else, anything else at all, and Jongin’s mum responds for the both of them, politely declining. Jongin is so ready to fall asleep, this event has been draining on all of his energy. He’d expected to be unconscious virtually the moment his head hit the pillow but when he closes his eyes, all he can see is the wolf from his dreams, and hear the tearing, snarling from earlier.

He inflicts this torture on himself for a long time before giving up.

No matter what he does, tossing, turning, counting sheep, forcing himself to think of happier things like his boyfriend, nothing really helps. The real thing would help a lot more than just thoughts of him, he realises, as he has vivid imaginings of a surprise attack, enemy wolves bursting through the walls dramatically. He knows he’s being theatrical, but when faced with a shadow, isn’t it natural to wonder what lurks within?

His mum must be asleep by now, it’s been over an hour, he realises checking his phone. It’s safe to risk it now, he can go to Kyungsoo’s without being heard. He hopes he’s really ok, and not too badly hurt. Or at least as ‘not too badly hurt’ you can be when bleeding that heavily.

Using the phone screen as a torch to light the way, he sneaks out of the room and looks around just to make extra sure that there is nobody around. There isn’t. Feet sinking into the plush carpet, he makes his way stealthily towards the stairs, jumping when he sees a reflection of himself, in the glass of a picture frame. Pathetic, he reminds himself.

At the top of the stairs, he needs a moment to remember which way he’s going, since everything looks different in the dark. He finds the door he’s looking for not a moment later, and it’s with a serenely pleased expression that he pushes open the door, to find Kyungsoo asleep in his bed, flaming red hair obvious even in this murky light, splayed all over his pillow. He feels relaxed already, just being in the same room as him.

He lifts the duvet, and trying his best not to let all the heat escape, climbs in and snuggles closer to Kyungsoo.  Jongin hooks an arm over his hip, where he’s not hurt, and reels himself towards him, and that’s when Kyungsoo stirs. Only a little though, and he goes right back to sleep with a smile as soon as he ascertains who it is.

This time Jongin falls asleep virtually instantly, the heat radiating from Kyungsoo’s back making him sleepier than he was before, and his smell- he smells of home, of belonging- banishing the nightmares.

-

He wakes up hot, hot burning. He finds himself crushed to the mattress by Kyungsoo, who seems to have somehow crawled on top of him in his sleep.

He shakes him, but Kyungsoo only responds with a grunt.

“Kyungsoo, wake up you’re squishing me,” he shoves his hands between both of their stomachs to lever him up and away, so he decides he needs to change tactics, “Kyungsoo, what the have you been eating lately, you weigh a ton,” he complains, and finally Kyungsoo rolls over with a throaty groan, and he can breathe again.

Kyungsoo has bed-hair, and despite his brain being a befuddled mess, he reaches for his phone and takes a photo. He’s not sure whether it’s for blackmail purposes, or simply because it’s the cutest thing he’s seen in a while. Kyungsoo doesn’t do cute, not deliberately at any rate. Well, neither does he, but he gets accused of being cute regularly.

Kyungsoo makes a difficult to describe sound, like a cross between a groan, a scream, and a growl, and pulls the covers up over his head. Jongin smirks; Kyungsoo is not a morning person, apparently. In the twenty minutes it takes for Kyungsoo to become coherent, Jongin composes his speech about mating, as its still fairly early and his mother isn’t usually up for another hour or so. He can only hope the same for Kyungsoo’s parents.

Kyungsoo props himself up on one elbow, reluctantly, patting his hair down so it looks like less of a mess, and rubbing his eyes.

“Kyungsoo?”

“Mm?” his carefully thought out argument flies out of the window, and instead of slowly leading up to it, he just blurts out;

“You need to bite me,” and Kyungsoo blinks at him,

“It’s too early for this,” he complains, and lets his head fall onto his pillow. Jongin doesn’t know what he’s referring to, but he’s absolutely positive he saw something flash in his eyes then. And he has a feeling he knows what it was.

“No, you need to bite me, mate me, whatever,” Jongin repeats, needing to know for sure that Kyungsoo heard and understood him. His face is slowly turning pink, and he’s glaring at him beseechingly. He screws his eyes up and rolls over, and if Jongin didn’t see him reaching up to pull at his hair, he’d have assumed that it was a flat out rejection.

“Blaidd?” Jongin says uncertainly, as he rarely addresses him directly, “Kyungsoo should definitely bite me, right?”

“Shut! Up!” Kyungsoo hisses, curling into a ball of embarrassment, then soft and low, “why are you doing this to me?” he wails. Jongin’s too embarrassed to say the real reasons out loud; because I want to help you. Because I want you to be stronger. Because I want us to be mated. Because I love you, because I just want you.

“Why not?” he answers the question with another question, and wiggles closer to drape his hand over his waist. Kyungsoo is breathing quickly, almost panting, eyes wide and eyebrows furrowed. Jongin recognises this as his way of trying to tame a wayward wolf. Jongin laughs indulgently, and moves his hand further up Kyungsoo’s torso, to avoid aggravating his injuries.

Suddenly, Kyungsoo flips him over, hands pressing uncomfortably harshly into his shoulders as he straddles his stomach. Kyungsoo’s face is barely a centimetre away, but for once Jongin doesn’t feel that intrinsic desire to kiss him, or at least not as strongly as he normally would.

“You think this is funny?” he snarls, eyes flashing in the half light, “You don’t even realise what you’re asking, do you?”

“I think I know enough to know that it’s the right thing to do at this time,” he stands up for himself, trying not to think about proximity, and the fact they’re in a bed together, and –

“Well you don’t, you have no idea,” he exclaims, sitting up and pressing all his weight down on his lower stomach,

“Tell me, then,” Jongin argues, “If I’m so clueless, maybe you should rectify that,”

“It’s permanent, Jongin,” Kyungsoo says, as if that’s news. It’s not; Jongin knew the whole time that he wouldn’t be able to undo it.

What’s the problem? “That matters because, if sometime in the distant future we had a fight, and you walked out on me –which I wouldn’t be able to prevent- then my. My everything would just disintegrate. Yes, at first it makes me stronger, but in the end, it might kill me. Biting is a huge risk for us, and it leaves us really vulnerable. That’s why, in skirmishes, the wolves always go for the mate,” He concludes, all of the fire hiding under his skin simmering out until all that’s left is Kyungsoo looking uncertain and afraid.

Jongin didn’t know about that second thing. He wonders if maybe he’s been deliberately hiding it.

“I don’t know what to say,” If he promises never to leave him, then he might not believe him, but if he says he can’t promise then he’s going to constantly doubt him, “I thought Blaidd imprinted on me? Doesn’t that make me a- a good candidate?” I thought that meant we were meant for each other. Jongin blushes, and turns his head so his cheek is pressed into the pillow, and he’s not meeting Kyungsoo’s eyes anymore. He’s such an idiot.

“Jongin…” Kyungsoo deflates, “It’s not that I don’t want to bite you, ‘cos I do, believe me I really do,” he glances at the exposed skin of his stomach, his pyjama top having ridden up in the action, “It’s just…I don’t know, I don’t want to make you an even bigger target?” he confesses.

“Kyungsoo, we’re practically already mated, right? Is the ceremonial bite even going to change much?”

“Not for you, really, but for me it’ll change things a bit,” he says, clambering off Jongin and lying next to him, “my dad says it’s like having a string connecting you, so you know where they are, kinda, and how they’re doing. If they’re hurt,” he looks up, “If they’re alive,”

“If you don’t want to bite me, then. Then I guess I’ll just have to deal.”

“But I do want to,” Kyungsoo sighs, “and we can’t have until slash if we decide, because I don’t…know what I might do. I could do it accidentally,”

“Ok,” Jongin concedes. At least they can do- have done- some stuff, “it’s not like I’m going to force you, don’t worry. I only said it because I thought it would help,”

“It would, but I also don’t want it just to be because of that,” he objects, referring to the fighting.

“It wouldn’t be. I’ve been…thinking about it a-and. I want to do it, ok?” He says. He does, he wants to experience the act of biting, and everything else that come with it, during and after.

Kyungsoo is silent for a long time. He curls around him, and Jongin thinks he’s gone back to sleep and is ready to follow, feeling not exactly drowsy but peaceful.

“Ok,” Kyungsoo mumbles. Jongin hums, not having heard precisely what he said, “I said ‘ok’. I’ll bite you, we’ll mate.” Jongin is fully awake in less than an instant, sitting up slightly and disturbing Kyungsoo’s blanket,

“Really?” he asks exultant, but also apprehensive; he could be joking,

“Yes really-” He’s interrupted by Jongin’s mouth on his, excited and a little hurried, he pulls away, “Yes but not now! We’ll have to find somewhere to do it; I refuse to do anything with parents in the same building,” Jongin chuckles, agrees, then dips his head to kiss him again. Kyungsoo, forever wanting to take the lead, straddles him again.

Their kisses begin to delve deeper, and Jongin sighs into Kyungsoo’s mouth, eyes fluttering shut once again, fingers curling into Kyungsoo’s clothes.

There’s a knock on the door, and Kyungsoo practically falls out of bed,

“Breakfast time, kids,” Kyungsoo’s dad’s voice is heard from beyond the door, and Kyungsoo is bright red. If this were a cartoon, Jongin thinks steam might be pouring from his ears.

--

laurie i hope this satiates you ( ˘ ³˘)♥ have some kaisoo love ma petite poulette hehe

comment please if you have time: chatting is funnn ^_^ or even upvote if you like this story so far :D