Chapter 8

Kris can’t believe it’s finally happening, they’re finally taking Sehun home. Weeks of planning and waiting have finally come to a conclusion, and he doesn’t think he could ever be happier than he is right now. The three of them leave at 8 in the morning, it’s amazing that they’re all up so early on a weekend.

“Do you think he’s even awake?” Tao asks.

Joonmyun laughs, “He probably didn’t sleep at all last night, I’m sure he was too excited. Like you,” he teases, nudging Tao with his shoulder. “I heard you tossing and turning.”

Tao makes a face at him but he can’t hold it for long. He’s too happy to stop smiling for more than a few seconds. “Do you think he’ll stay in our room tonight? Do you think he’ll want to?”

“We’ll ask him later,” Kris says. “I don’t want to overwhelm him with choices right off the bat. As it is we’re already taking him shopping. I’m warning you, we’re going home after lunch, this won’t be an all-day event.”

Tao grins at him. “But he needs so many things! Clothes, shoes, books, CDs, a few bags—”

“We can go shopping again next weekend,” Kris says, “Don’t forget we have to pay for all of that stuff.”

“Department stores should give discounts on the happiest day of a person’s life,” Tao says crossly.

It’s only a fifteen minute drive and as soon as Kris stops the car, Tao is leaping out and running into the house. Joonmyun and Kris follow quickly, and Kris hopes to god the traffic cops don’t come along and give him a ticket for parking atrociously.

Sehun is waiting for them right by the door, and by the time Joonmyun and Kris get inside Tao has already gotten a hold of him. They’re hugging, and laughing—or maybe crying, Kris can’t really tell. Sehun catches sight of him and Joonmyun and struggles over, still holding Tao. He manages to get one arm around Kris and grabs at Joonmyun until he joins in on the hug, too.

Kris pets Sehun’s hair gently. “Hi baby,” he says. “Are you ready to go home?”

If Sehun wasn’t crying before, he’s definitely crying now. He nods and tries to say something, but Kris can’t hear him. He pushes Tao away, and Joonmyun lets go on his own.

“Give me a minute,” Kris says to Tao, “Then you can have him back.”

Sehun is taller than he remembers, he doesn’t have to bend like he does with Joonmyun to wipe the tears from his face. Sehun blinks rapidly, trying to clear his vision.

“Ready to go?” Kris asks again.

“Yes,” Sehun says, “I’m ready.”

Kris nods. “Okay. We were going to take you shopping, would you rather go right home?”

“Shopping is fine,” Sehun says quickly. “Really, it is.”

“Okay, then let’s go.”

Sehun says goodbye to the staff, all of whom tell Kris to take good care of Sehun. They then load Sehun’s things into the car and set off, Tao and Sehun snuggled together in the backseat. When Kris peeks at them in the rearview mirror he catches sight of their clasped hands and his heart swells. It’s wonderful to see Tao and Sehun getting along already.

They go to a department store and get Sehun some new shirts and pants, and have enough money left to get some more personal things. They go to a home goods store so Sehun can pick some things for his room, whether he chooses to stay in it or not is up to him.

When they get home they go right to Sehun’s room and help him get settled in.

“You don’t have to sleep in here if you don’t want to,” Kris says.  “Joonmyun recently moved into my room, and Tao has his own, so you could share with him if you want. But this room is your space, you can use it for whatever you want. If you want, you can sleep in mine and Joonmyun’s room. The four of us will definitely fit in the bed.”

Sehun’s face is pink as he nods. “Thanks. I’ll think about it.”

“Take all the time you need,” Joonmyun says, putting an arm around Sehun’s shoulders. “There’s no rush, and if you start out somewhere and change your mind in the middle of the night, that’s totally fine.”

Sehun flashes a nervous smile. “Is it really okay that I’m here?” He asks.

Tao opens his mouth, but Kris holds up a hand. “I think Sehun already knows that you’re happy he’s here. Joonmyun, what do you have to say?”

Joonmyun hugs Sehun to his side. “I’m really happy that you’re here. I can’t wait to get to know you better.”

Sehun looks at Kris.

“Joonmyun, Tao, can I have a minute with Sehun?”

The two of them give Sehun a hug and then leave. Sehun stands in the middle of the room, looking at Kris expectantly.

“Will you sit with me?” Kris asks.

Sehun sits beside him on the bed, and Kris holds out his hand for Sehun to take.

“I think the four of us will be very happy,” Kris says. “It’s true that Tao, Joonmyun and I have been together for a while, but for a while it was just me and Tao. When Joonmyun moved in we had no problem finding room for him in our hearts, and I have already seen the same thing happening for you.”

“But is that okay?” Sehun asks insistently. “I don’t want to edge anyone out just by being here.”

“You won’t,” Kris says. “Sehun, I know the way we live is unconventional. But we think of it as more love to go around. Yes, sometimes it can be a little hard to navigate physically, but we’ve never had an instance where someone felt left out of the love, and that’s what’s important to us.”

Sehun inhales shakily. “It sounds…wonderful.”

Kris grins. “It is. It’s really wonderful, and we would all love for you to be a part of it.” He raises his voice slightly. “Isn’t that right, you little eavesdroppers?”

The door creaks open and Joonmyun and Tao sheepishly shuffle in. “That’s right,” Tao says. “But we won’t push you, Sehun. Just know that we’re here for you and we always will be.”

Sehun nods. “I’ll remember that. Thanks again, all of you.” He laughs. “This is really a dream come true.”

Most of Baekhyun’s friends don’t see the nasty side of a were-person’s life. Most of them know that halfway houses aren’t ideal, but they’re not terrible. Most people don’t know that halfway houses are only occupied by about 70% of sponsor-less were-people. The other 30% don’t have it so easy. In Chanyeol’s case, he ran away from a halfway house when he was 13 and got picked up by a pimp. He worked in the industry for four years, then one day the house he was living in was raided, and his pimp was arrested. By a of luck, Chanyeol wasn’t in the house when it happened, he was out for a walk and saw the police cars on his way back, and knew he couldn’t show his face or he’d be arrested too. He lived on the streets for another year, “turning tricks” whenever he could. Most nights he went hungry and without shelter. When he was eighteen he came to the medical company Baekhyun was working for, to answer an advertisement for test subjects. The company was reluctant to take him, since he was so young and the work did come with risks, but they all knew that if they didn’t Chanyeol was probably going to die on the streets. As it was he was clean of drugs and STDs, so he was about as good as they were going to get.

The company was testing a drug that would allow were-people to resist their mandatory shifts into their animal form. So far they’d had mild success, but the drug only lasted a few hours. After he’d completed the physical exam and just barely passed the mental exam, Chanyeol had been started on the drug. Baekhyun made up some bull excuse about Chanyeol needing someone to observe the results more frequently, and then told Chanyeol to come live with him. Okay, it wasn’t all bull, it really was better for the results, but Baekhyun didn’t care about the damn drug, he just wanted Chanyeol off the street. It had taken two years of tests for the company to accept Chanyeol as a subject, and in that time Chanyeol had opened up to Baekhyun in ways he hadn’t to older doctors. Getting Chanyeol to open up hadn’t even been the biggest fight, though.

Baekhyun had managed to convince the company that putting Chanyeol on antidepressants could actually help their case, to make sure that all were-people had a chance to take the drug even if they were on other medications, but Chanyeol was harder to convince. Even before Baekhyun invited Chanyeol to come live with him, Chanyeol accused him of acting too much like a Sponsor and ordered him to stop caring so much. Even that was only the second biggest fight—now that Chanyeol was living with Baekhyun, he was convinced that was the only way he was going to keep his place in the house.

Baekhyun didn’t blame him. From age 13 all Chanyeol knew was =survival. The halfway house hadn’t been the best, he didn’t remember his family, and he had no concept of people doing nice things simply for the sake of doing nice things. It’s only been two weeks since Chanyeol moved in, and he’s made countless ual offers. But he’s not forceful. The only kisses he gives Baekhyun are on the neck or hand, and even when they share a bed he keeps his hands above Baekhyun’s waist and the only contact he seems to want is cuddles.

But Chanyeol is terrified of being abandoned again. And once more, Baekhyun doesn’t blame him. That’s why Baekhyun has been unfailingly patient with Chanyeol, rejecting his advances firmly but kindly and never, ever raising his voice. The thing about Chanyeol is that in a lot of ways, he’s more fox than human. He’s learning how to be human again now that he’s been in the care of the company for two years, living in a small but safe apartment, albeit by himself. Now and then Baekhyun will catch Chanyeol himself instead of washing with soap and water, and sometimes he doesn’t like to use utensils. He sits on the floor and naps in a little nest made of blankets, and sometimes he makes fox-like noises even when he’s human. Baekhyun blames this on the brothel. Sometimes pimps train their workers to act more like their animal form because it turns a certain type of clientele on. It’s another thing Baekhyun is trying to help Chanyeol change, and Chanyeol responds positively to his firm but gentle nature.

Baekhyun knows that what Chanyeol has divulged of his past isn’t even 10% of the abuse he’s suffered. And what’s sad is the worst of it probably wasn’t even while he was in the brothel, the worst of it was probably in the year that he lived on the streets. Baekhyun knows that a lot of people don’t take kindly to were-people hanging around their businesses, digging in their trash, sleeping in their ally-ways. He’s seen them get chased off with rocks, wooden planks, he’s heard about these people being hit with bricks and plates and god knows what else. Not to mention what drunkards can do if they spot a were-person sleeping. He doesn’t dare ask Chanyeol to talk about it, not before he’s ready.

The next quarter moon is on a Saturday, and it’s the first time Baekhyun will be able to observe how the shift-suppressing drug is affecting Chanyeol. He’s been on it for five weeks, which is about how long it takes for the drug to start working. On Friday Chanyeol takes two suppressants in the morning and another two at night, instead of his usual one. On Saturday morning he wakes up a human.

“This is good, right?” Chanyeol asks.

“It is,” Baekhyun tells him. “This is very good.” Actually, he’d expected to get this far. It’s really not exciting news, but he acts like it is because he wants Chanyeol to be excited about this. What really counts is how Chanyeol acts for the rest of the day.

Every two hours Baekhyun examines Chanyeol, checking his heart rate, pupil dilation, and reflex responses, and he writes it all down so he can show it to his fellow researchers on Monday. Chanyeol’s doing well, but his heart is beating a little fast and he’s pale. Baekhyun writes that he’s pretty sure it’s just nerves, and does his best to reassure Chanyeol that everything is going to be okay. But by noon Chanyeol is sweating and he jumps whenever Baekhyun gets near him.

“Are you feeling alright?” Baekhyun asks.

Chanyeol nods, but he looks terrified.

“Chanyeol, you have to tell me if you’re not feeling okay,” Baekhyun says, panic creeping into his voice. “If you’re having a bad reaction, we need to take you to the hospital.”

“I’m okay!” Chanyeol shouts frantically. “I’m fine, I’m fine, I promise I’m okay!” And then he falls to the floor and starts crying.

“We’re going to the hospital,” Baekhyun says, but before he can take a step towards the door Chanyeol throws his arms around Baekhyun’s knees and almost sends him crashing to the floor.

“I’m not having a bad reaction,” Chanyeol sobs, “I’m just…I’m scared, okay?! I said it, are you happy now?”

Baekhyun pries Chanyeol’s arms off of him and kneels down. “Why are you scared?” He asks.

Chanyeol’s teeth are chattering and he’s shaking. “What if it doesn’t work? What if I shift forms? Am I out of the program?”

“No,” Baekhyun says, “You’ll still be part of the program, we’ll just try something new.”

Chanyeol goes totally limp. “You promise?” He asks softly.

Baekhyun links their pinky fingers together. “I promise.”

Chanyeol inches closer and tucks his head under Baekhyun’s chin. “And can I stay with you?”

Baekhyun gently pats his back. “Of course you can. I won’t make you leave, you’ll always have a home with me.”

“Even though I try to kiss you, and act like a fox?”

Baekhyun can’t help but smile. “Yes, even then. But we’re working on that, right?”

Chanyeol nods.

“Are you starting to believe me? Do you trust me even a little bit?”

He nods again.

“Good. I hope that someday you’ll understand that I just want to help you for the sake of helping you. I’m not expecting anything from you, except maybe friendship.”

Chanyeol curls closer, practically in Baekhyun’s lap. “Would that really work?”

“I think so.”

The more Chanyeol calms down, the better he looks. Color returns to his cheeks, his teeth stop chattering and the shaking slowly subsides. Baekhyun convinces Chanyeol to take a nap and he ends up sleeping the entire day away. But Baekhyun watches him the entire time, and he never once becomes a fox.

Sorry for the long wait!