When Baekhyun wakes up it's already dark outside. For a second he can't remember where he is or why, but the memories of the early afternoon come back just as he feels his muscles tensing. He's still seated on the floor next to Chanyeol's bed, their fingers entangled under the blanket. The room smells like Chanyeol and Baekhyun relaxes instantly, tracing his thumb over Chanyeol's palm. He recalls the fight with Luhan and Jongdae earlier and they way he lied to Jongin and the rest in the cafeteria. He wants the gound to swallow him, feeling betrayed and embarrassed at the same time. But what could he have done? He needed to see Chanyeol so bad it was eating him from the inside. He would walk to China and back if that meant he'd see his lover.

"You'll wake him up, can't it wait?"

A whisper reaches his clouded mind, but he doesn't recognize the voice straight away. His neck is stiff and his legs have fallen asleep; a goan makes it past his lips when he tries to change his position. He can feel on which exact parts of his body he has fallen while running here; his shoulder is sore and his left hip pulses painfully. It's not the best sensation ever, he concludes.

"Perfect, are you happy now?" It's Jongdae's hushed voice that makes him open his eyes.

Baekhyun lifts his head from the bed tiredly and looks around the room. It's dimmed, the only light being the one getting through the open door. Two silhouettes are hunched over him, but his vision is still too hazy to make out who they are. His lips are dry ans his throat is sore, making every swallow painful.

"Baekhyun, are you okay?" a hand is placed on his shoulder and despite his half-awake state Baekhyun knows it's Kyungsoo. He bends his head down in regret.

"I am, I'm sorry I didn't listen to you, Soo." he rasps out as Kyungsoo crouches down beside him, the palm that was resting on his shoulder now moving onto his forehead. he can barely make out Kyungsoo's face features, but his expression is not an angry one. The other eyes him cautiously before smiling gently.

"It's okay, Baek." he muses ahead of standing up and turning to look at Jongdae. "Come on."

"We have change Chanyeol's bandage, Baek. You might want to wait outside." Jongdae says as he's stepping closer to the bed.

Baekhyun is more awake in seconds and shakes his head immediately. "I want to stay with him, what if he wakes up and I'm not here?"

Jongdae grimaces and  let's out a huff. "He should be asleep for at least one more hour, you don't have to worry. I think it'll be better if-"

"It's okay." Kyungsoo cuts in, throwing the blanket off Chanyeol's upper body and glancing at Baekhyun. "Just don't panic."

Even through the lack of proper light, Baekhyun sees the outline of his boyfriend's stomach wrapped carefully in the white fabric. It goes up to around half of his torso and circes his left shouder. Chayeol's chest rises and falls steadily, distracting Baekhyun's attention from the dark stains decorating the bandage that shape a clear curve. Baekhyun's breath hitches, he' s seen something like that before. He observes his lover's unmoving face as Kyungsoo undones the dressing and forces himself not to look at the wound. Heart beating fast, he squezzes Chanyeol's fingers to gain some strenght. The scratches from the taller's cheek are gone, the skin left healthy and smooth. He wonders if maybe he just deamt of them, but he remembers the adrenaline pumping through his body at the same exat moment he's noticed the marks. It had to be real. He makes the mistake of midleslly trailing his eyes to what Kyungsoo is doing. His ears ring from the pace his heart has picked up because holy , he has defiftely seen those before. 

"Bite marks." he whispers, barely regiestering his own voice.

The injuries are not big, but numerous; a curvy trail of small dots and short lines form somehing akin to an uneven crescend, a shape all too simiar to a wolf's jaw. The bruises scattered all over Chanyeol's stomach suggest that the animal didn't want to bite him only once, but it was all it managed to do. Baekhyun is thankful.

Kyungsoo hums, but doesn't say a word, focused on the task of cleaning the small wouds of dried blood. Baekhyun fees sick, but, undeterred, his mind comes back to the day he's met his wolf in the woods. His wolves's wounds were similar, but definitely bigger in number. It's front paws and nape was covered in more died blood than fur. Baekhuyn shudders at the memory and brings his eyes back to Chanyeol's face.

"It's much better now," Kyungsoo states, putting the dirty dressing aside. Jongdae takes it as a cue and approaches the bed from the other side. He bends down and lifts Chanyeol's upper body to help the younger wrap Chanyeol's stomach anew. "Most of the bites are gone and the bruises are fading. He should wake up soon enough."

Kyungsoo's words don't seem to be meant for Baekhyun so he just listens carefully, wondering what the hell has exactly happened. Was Chanyeol attacked? Did he get into trouble? Was he in danger now? Does it have anything to do with the fact that Chanyeol is... different?

"Stop worrying, Baek. He'll be up soon." Kyungsoo nudges his side and only now Baekhyun notice that they are done and Chanyeol is safely tucked back in. 

"I turst you, I really do. I'm just so... confused and scared." he confesses in a soft whisper, bringing his free hand to caress Chanyeol's cheek. The taller's skin feels warm under his touch. 

"I'm sorry for earlier, Baek." Jongdae steps from behind Kyungsoo and Baekhyun can't not smile at his hopeful eyes. "There are things you don't know about and I just had to protect them."

Baekhyun just nods and says what he thinks is the best now: "I won't ask you anything, so don't worry. All I want is to stay with Chanyeol."

Jongdae nods and comes closer to Baekhyun to envelop him in a heart-warming hug. His palms caress Baekhyun's back and Baekhyun carefully circles his arms around Jongdae's middle, inhaling his scent and absorbing the soothing vibes. Jongdae pushes them as close together as it is humanly possible and Baekhyun feels safe, Jongdae is warm and the steady rythm of his heart beating lulls Baekhyun's mind into peace. He backs off from the touch after a while and takes a step backwords, nearing the bed Chanyeol is in. 

"Are you tired? Maybe we should get you something to eat?" Kyungsoo suggests, voice laced with worry. Baekhyun's eyes sting again, how could he ever doubt them?

"No, thank you, I'll eat when he wakes up." he answers, lowering himself to rest on the soft mattresse of his lover's bed. He searches for Chanyeol's hand once again and entangles their fingers intuitively. 

Kyungsoo lets it be, albeit unhappily, and turns to the door. Jongdae takes the cue and follows him silently, tugging the door behing him, but leaving it open, a stream of light being all that illuminates the room.

Baekhyun signs and shifts his head to glance at Chanyeol's unmoving form. He adjusts his own position on the bed and lies his head comfortably on Chanyeol's thighs, his legs still glues to the floor. It's not the comfiest position, but it's better than the previous one. He closes his eyes and inhales deeply, allowing his heartbeat to calm down and his muscles to relax.

Just for a few minutes, he promises himself as he's pulled into the darkness.

The next time he wakes up, something is different. His neck doesn't ache from the position he's fallen asleep in and his body is toasty warm. He realizes he's lying down completely on his right side, legs stretched and creating a perfectly straight line with his spine. There's something drapped over him and one breath tels him it's Chanyeol's blanket. Something outlines his left cheekbone delicately and Baekhyun easies at the touch immediately. He cracks his eyes open and the first thing he sees is Chanyeol looking at him, a tired smile gracing his lips.

"Hi there, sleeping beauty." the taller rasps out, tucking his hand back under the covers to lie it over Baekhyun's ribs.

Baekhyun doesn't know what to say. He looks for a reply in Chanyeol's eyes helplessly, but soon his vision blurs with tears. Baekhyun figures it's the stress pouring out of him. He presses closer to his boyfriend to hide his face into the other's neck and wraps his left hand around Chanyeol's back desperately. Chanyeol is fine, he tells himself as the fact sinks into his hazy mind. He can feel the latter's lips in his hair and his palm on shoulder blades and each one of Chanyeol's steady breaths against his own chest. He finally feels like he's alive again and he mentally thanks each god he can remember, because Chanyeol is okay.

"Happy Valentine's Day." he whisper's into Chanyeol's hot skin.

The taller exhales heavily and nuzzles his hair. "It's past midnight, baby."

Baekhyun shakes his head. "It doesn't matter." And it really doesn't.

Chanyeol puts some space between them to look down at him and Baekhyun hides his face into the pillow for a second to dry his tears. Chanyeol's hand cups the side of his face.

"What are you doing here?" The tone of his voice is free from reproach and Baekhyun doesn't even flinch at the words.

"I had to see you." he repeats the same answer he's given to the others, because he honesty doesn't know what else to say.

Chanyeol watches him with half-awake gaze and for a few minutes they are silent. Baekhyun can't see his lover's face clearly due to the lack of light, but affection is shining in his brown irises and that's what Baekhyun focuses on. He's also pretty sure he mirrors the expression. 

The taller pushes Baekhyun's head back under his chin and Baekhyun takes in every brush of their skins.

"Thank you" he hears a moment later. "For being here. It means more than you can imagine, Baekhyun." Chanyeol rarely calls him 'Baekhyun', usually opting for more casual 'Baek's or affectionate 'baby's. The sound of his name falling from Chanyeol's lips makes him shiver. He kisses the skin next to his lips in reponse. "Let's sleep some more, hm?" He can clearly detect fatigue in Chanyeol's deep voice and feels his own eyelids dropping. He pushes himself more into the body next to him and