14.

Chapter Fourteen

p.s. I updated yesterday too, so make sure you read that chapter too

A few days pass and Luhan’s condition does not get better.

Sehun takes a few days off work to help the younger move around and complete simple tasks, like showering and cooking, just because he is unable to manage them on his own. Everything seems to hurt: Luhan’s back, arms, legs, head and everything else in between. Eating becomes a battle, as the younger feels no desire to eat and can only get down water, his vitamins and some smoothies that Sehun manages to throw together.

Each day, Luhan gets sicker and Sehun feels worse and worse as he can’t do anything but watch. Luhan notices the elder’s dismal mood and tries to brighten up, forcing himself to eat a little more, smile a little more, laugh more often, but it only makes him feel worse. Along with this, Luhan aches for his family, for his pack, for Kai. The head alpha is often on his thoughts, even when Sehun is around and it does no good his for health or mental state.

~

Three days later, Sehun hits a breaking point. Luhan hasn’t left the bed in two days, too tired to do anything but sleep and drink the smoothies Sehun makes for him. Each time Sehun tries to bring up the topic of going back to the reservation, Luhan tears up, giving himself a headache.

So, this morning, Sehun rose early and called Luhan’s aunt.

After a few rings, she picks up, groggily answering, “Hello? Sehun?”

“Hey, Mrs. Xiao,” he takes a deep breath, “Luhan is...he’s sick. He needs his aunt right now.”

“I’ll be right there...but what’s wrong with him? Is it serious?” she sounds much more awake and worried.

“It’s a disorder that causes him to be sick and weak and he just needs you and his family right now...if you don’t mind, please don’t bring Taeyeon.”

“Ok. I’ll be there in a few hours. Thank you for calling me, Sehun. I suppose Luhan was too stubborn to do so himself?” Despite the situation, there was amusement and fondness in her voice.

Sehun chuckled and hummed, “Yeah, that’s Lu for you. Call me when your flight lands, I’ll send a cab.”

Sooyeon agreed and they hung up.

“Who were you talking to?” Luhan asks, expectantly leaning against the door frame of the kitchen.

The elder sighs, crossing the distance between them and wrapping Luhan in loose hug, “Your aunt,” he answers honestly.

Luhan inhales sharply, the hands that previously rested on his chest, ball into fists, “Why?”

“You’re getting sicker and I can’t just sit and watch. You need the support of your family, the baby needs that feeling of protection. I just want you to be okay. I’m sorry that I went behind your back, but you wouldn’t have done it yourself,” Sehun explains quietly.

The younger sags, already exhausted, “Okay, Sehunnie, okay.”

“I also think you should tell her the truth, about who the baby belongs to,” Sehun says, carefully monitoring the look on Luhan’s face.

Immediately, the younger blanches, retreating out of Sehun’s embrace, “I-I can’t, Sehunnie. She’ll be so disappointed. I can’t face her, I feel like throwing up just thinking about it. I can’t, I can’t, please don’t make me,” Luhan’s hands wring over his stomach and he sways a little, unsteady on his feet.

Sehun rushes forward, steadying Luhan with an arm around his waist, “Okay, okay, Luhan. What if I tell her? I can explain everything to her first and then you won’t have to do it yourself. We need tell her so she can understand why you’re like this…” He says, and there’s a silent, ‘So you can go back to the reservation’ following the statement that both Sehun and Luhan can hear.

“Sehun…” Luhan begins, heart aching.

His eyes lift up, peering at Sehun’s eyes. They’re despondent and heartbroken, raking over Luhan’s face, which he knows his thin, bruised and pale. Luhan knows exactly how he looks: frighteningly ashen, tragically small, and just sick. He can see how much this pains Sehun to no end, how he frowns when Luhan can’t finish a plate, when he sleeps in until 1 or 2 in the afternoon and can still take a nap an hour later, how he worries when the younger barely has the energy to walk around.

“Fine,” Luhan relents, “You tell her, if it will make you feel better.”

Sehun chuckles lowly, “The last thing you should be worried about is me, Lu.”

The younger scoffs and weakly hits Sehun’s chest, “Of course I worry about you, what kind of boyfriend would I be if I did?” he yawns, snuggling into the older’s chest as much as his stomach will allow, “When does auntie’s flight come in?”

“I don’t know, she said she’ll call me when she arrives. I’ll pick her up and explain everything on the way there.” Sehun murmurs, before hiking an arm under Luhan’s legs and picking him up, “Come on, back to bed, Sleeping Beauty. You’re shaking, I can feel it. I’ll make a smoothie and get your vitamins.”

~

Several hours later, Luhan sat on the couch, a nervous mess. Sehun had left to pick up his aunt over 40 minutes ago and they should be back any minutes now. All he could think about was his aunt’s inevitable disappoint. She probably won’t even want to speak to me, Luhan thinks dismally, heart plummeting to his stomach.

Luhan, lost in his racing thoughts, almost missed the jiggling of the door knob and, immediately, tears welled in his eyes. First comes Sehun, then his cousin, Baekhyun, and then his aunt, Sooyeon, through the door.

As soon as she sees Luhan, she sobs, almost collapsing to her knees if it wasn’t for Baekhyun’s and Sehun’s quick reactions. The two help  Sooyeon to her feet and she stumbles over to the couch where Luhan sits, frozen.

“Why didn’t you tell me? I-I would’ve understood, it wouldn’t have become this bad….You look so sick, my baby!” the end of her sentence dissolves into tears and she hugs Luhan, careful of his stomach.

“I’m sorry, auntie, I’m really sorry,” Luhan manages to mumble into her hair.

“You need to return to the reservation, Lu. You need to be around other wolves and need the shifter medicine that Yixing can provide for you and your baby. A-and I want to be around you, I’ve missed you so much, Baekhyun, Tao, and Jaewoo too. We’ve all missed you, Lulu.”

“I can’t, auntie. Kai doesn’t want me there, I’ll just distract him and be in the way. Everyone there hates me besides you guys. I don’t want my baby to grow up around hate. I can’t let that happen, auntie,” Luhan responds in a small voice.

Sooyeon is quiet for a moment before speaking again, “Just until he’s born? Then we can decide whether or not you stay. Please,” her voice becomes clogged with tears, “I just don’t know what I’d do if something happened to you, Luhan. You’re my baby just as much as Baekhyun and Taeyeon.”

Luhan’s resolve breaks as his aunt cries, wetting the front of his t-shirt with tears, “Okay,” he relents quietly, rubbing his aunt’s trembling back, “I’ll go and stay until he’s born. we can talk about the rest later.”

Luhan meets Sehun’s eyes from across the room, “I’ll go,” he whispers again, and the most sad smile twitches over Sehun’s lips.

A/N: really choppy chapter w/ lots of dialogue...it honestly sounds like a piece out of a soap opera xD anyhoo, I hope you enjoyed! there will be better coming soon :)