pairing: Jihyo x Jeongyeon

summary: The woman could have been anyone - except she was and uncouncsious on a mountain side.

Jihyo stopped the car as the road came to an end at the mountain side. She had not used the headlights for over an hour and her eyes were dry from squinting and trying to figure out which shadows were dangerous rocks or holes on the road. It was still dark, but a hint of daylight was gathering behind the mountain, ready to take over for the new day.

The moon and the stars had disappeared from the sky, but she knew it might not mean much.

A terrified whine came from the backseat and Jihyo straightened, mumbling a half-hearted shh to the dog who had kept quiet during the car ride. Her muscles strained, her jaw clenched, her body barely holding together after a sleepless night behind the wheel. She made sure not to close her eyes and scanned the surroundings, slowly blinking from time to time.

After five minutes, the shrubbery in front of them began to shake, making dry leaves drop to the ground. Jihyo snapped out of her haze and reached out to the backseat and took out a thick blanket and a large flashlight, never letting her gaze leave the scene ahead.

Seamus let out another, louder whine.

"It's alright," Jihyo whispered, holding on to the blanket tighter when a huge figure jumped out of the bushes, letting out a painful scream that sounded like no other animal in the national park.

Instantly, Jihyo tried to lock the car doors only to realize she had already done it. Heart in , she pushed the button again and the comforting ‘click’ signaled that they were inside and what was outside would stay there. The man who had sold her the car couldn’t have known why she needed bullet-proof windows and countless of other extreme safety measures like she was preparing for one-woman-war. Neither could she explain to Seamus how secure the car was – she was hardly convinced herself.

Outside, the figure twisted and writhed so much that a less experienced witness wouldn't have been able to discern what was in front of them. A large tree in a storm? A tornado? A gathering of bats?

Even as Jihyo had seen it all many times before, and knew what she was seeing, part of her mind disagreed with what she was seeing and questioned her mental health. There was no way that such a thing could exist, not in the real world nor in the one beyond.

"C'mon," she whispered, lower lip tightly between her teeth.

The creature began to lose height gradually as if something was pressing it down. Its body slumped into itself and what had first been something like a prehistoric bear was now more like an old woman with a bad spine. The howls were breaking, changing in tone and texture, and sounding so hurt that Jihyo’s face scrunched from empathy.

This was the part she hated the most.

"Stay," she said to Seamus, but the dog gave no answer. Jihyo took a deep breath, pressed the lock button and swung the door open in swift motion. She waited, listening to her own breathing and letting the cool morning air sneak inside the vehicle. When nothing happened, and the slumped creature didn’t move or seem conscious, she got out of the car.

The flashlight bounced up and down before she turned it to the ground in front of the car. In the spotlight, lay a body of a woman. She was tall and slim, with bright hair and-

Jihyo winced.

The woman looked normal and if she hadn’t been undressed, unconscious and on a mountain in the middle of the night, she might have been just anyone. But Jihyo had seen the figure so many times that she could instantly tell that something wasn’t right: in the place of the woman’s right hand was a large paw. Claws dug into the ground, hiding their size and might.

"Jeongyeon?"

The woman didn't move or show any sign that she had heard. Jihyo glanced at the sky, but when she didn’t find anything she took a step closer to the woman and said:

"Jeongyeonie, it's me."

Still no answer.

Jihyo walked the last steps quickly, holding out the blanket and wrapping it around the other woman's shoulders. She tried to ignore the claw hanging loosely at the other woman’s side, but what she couldn't help but notice was a large cut on Jeongyeon's shoulder. That might need stiches, she thought and partly lifted Jeongyeon from the ground, getting no help from the patient.

Slowly, so slowly that the sky changed color on the way, she managed to get Jeongyeon to the car and place her on the front seat. She took another blanket and placed it in Jeongyeon's lap so that she was fully covered, and then she wrapped her soft human-package with a seat belt across Jeongyeon's chest.

"Let's get you home."

Neither Jeongyeon or Seamus showed any signs of life as Jihyo started the car. She swallowed down a knot that fell to her stomach, weighing her down. She backed the car carefully and managed to turn it on the muddy road before heading back down. This time the morning light revealed every puddle and bump ahead, which made Jihyo relax her hands on the wheel.

Jihyo glanced at Jeongyeon whose head was swinging side to side on her chest. Despite the wheel still being difficult to manage on the mountain road, she lifted her right hand to push Jeongyeon's head back before she would get it so sore that she wouldn’t be able to move her head the next day. But when Jihyo almost touched her skin, a loud growl rattled the car.

Multiple things happened at the same time: Jihyo lost the control of the wheel and the car bumped to a rock by the side of the road and the motor stopped running, Jeongyeon lifted her head and opened her unnaturally big mouth and closed her teeth around Jihyo's hand, Seamus jumped from the car floor to the backseat and began to growl through the lines of his teeth.

The growl of the two animals, one half-human, filled the car and Jihyo's ears which were still ringing from shock. She swallowed, her thoughts concentrating on the hand smacked between the strongest teeth on the planet. Her fingers were already numb, but she could feel saliva and hot air on her skin - she might as well have put her hand in a trap made for sharks.

"Shhh, Seamus," she said, voice wavering. It was uncertain which "dog" would listen to her first. Seamus kept growling despite looking like he would be ready to run any moment. If he hadn’t been so loyal to Jihyo, he wouldn’t have come with her in the first place.

"Jeongyeon, it's okay. You're safe now."

Jeongyeon's eyes gleamed golden in a state between transformations. There was nothing more hideous than this mix of species - in her full forms she was always glorious, but this was not right. She was even more dangerous now because Jihyo wouldn’t be able to predict her next move.

"You can let go, babe," Jihyo said in her softest, most reassuring voice and looked into the eyes with confidence she did not feel. For a long moment, Jihyo held her breath and held the gaze until the gleam in Jeongyeon's eyes disappeared and her teeth began to shrink.

Gingerly, Jeongyeon opened her jaws and as soon as they were barely open, Jihyo pulled her hand back, holding her wrist with another hand. An angry red line adorned the back of her hand but otherwise she was unharmed – she had fared better than many times before.

Jeongyeon slumped back against the seat and looked more tired than ever before, eyes slipping shut and head falling to rest on the car door. It showed how strong she was when she could still snap from the gates of exhaustion and Jihyo couldn’t help but admire her, even when it scared her.

Seamus growled but lied down, eyes still alert.

Jihyo took a shuddering breath and stared at her hand, trying to make it stay still but no matter how hard she concentrated, her hands kept shaking. Outside, a bird flew across the lightening sky and Jihyo took it as a sign to get going. She opened the door and stepped outside to inspect the rock.

With wobbly legs, she walked to the front and flashed her light on the grey boulder. The front of the car had hit the rock squarely without causing any damage except scratching the bull bar. The car had saved them again and probably not for the last time, she thought and glanced at Jeongyeon's peaceful form through the dirty glass.

Jihyo got back into the car, started it with little effort and the journey continued without any other mishaps. By the time, they turned to a road that was used by other drivers, the sky was light, and the sun was shining. Seamus was fast asleep and Jihyo kept blinking at her own tiredness. When she turned to wipe some hair out of Jeongyeon's face, she met no resistance.

She sighed, letting the feeling of normalcy wash over her body.

Half an hour before they reached home, Jihyo stopped at a gas station to get herself a coffee. She smiled at the cashier and wrapped her hands around the steaming paper cup, breathing in the rich aroma. Humming, she took a sip and swore that it was the best coffee she had ever had (which couldn't have been true.) The car looked like it had been given a mud bath but even that couldn’t ruin her mood and she wasn’t even a morning person.

When they reached a familiar gate, Seamus began to bark and jump, which caused Jeongyeon to stir and mutter the grumpiest "shut up" ever known to man. Jihyo smiled as she stopped the car, quickly letting the dog outside so that he could run around the yard and mark his territory.

"Hey, sleepy head," Jihyo said as she opened the door on Jeongyeon's side and helped the other woman stand up. Jeongyeon squinted at the sun as if it was the source of her current state and not the moon. Jihyo noticed that Jeongyeon's hand had turned to normal but didn't comment on it, hoping that Jeongyeon had forgotten everything that had happened earlier.

"Breakfast or bed?"

"Bed," Jeongyeon muttered and stood by as Jihyo opened the front door. Seamus slipped inside first, giving a small to Jeongyeon’s calf as he passed them, not showing any sign of agitation around the woman. Soon, he could be heard noisily drinking from his bowl of water.

Jihyo took Jeongyeon to bed, dressing her in an old shirt and helping her to slip under the covers after she had inspected the wound (which had almost healed, thanks to the full transformation.) The relief that came every time that she brought Jeongyeon home was almost as intense as the love she felt for her. It was the reason why she hadn’t said no when a upper-classmate had turned up under her window sixteen years ago, carrying Miss Won’s dead cat and asking for help, tears streaming down her face.

Part of her still couldn’t understand why she had agreed to help and even take the mutilated cat to its devasted owner, feeling sorrier for the killer than the old woman.

Jeongyeon seemed to fall asleep instantly and Jihyo watched her sleeping form, bursting from the seams. After a moment, she turned around to go to the kitchen, feeling silly for staring at her for so long.

"Where do you think you're going?"

"I-"

"Come here," Jeongyeon said and did a poor attempt at lifting the duvet.

Jihyo shook her head, amused, but did as she was told. She threw away her hoodie and jeans and climbed into bed, facing Jeongyeon.

"I'm sorry," Jeongyeon whispered, half-asleep and unable to open her eyes. She took a hold of Jihyo's right hand and - to Jihyo's surprise - the back of her hand like a dog cleaning a cut. Shiver ran down Jihyo's spine and it was hard to tell whether she was afraid or thrilled. It was clear that even as the physical transformation had been completed, something still lingered in Jeongyeon's exhausted mind.

"I never want to hurt you," Jeongyeon said as she stopped and pressed a kiss on Jihyo's knuckles.

"I know."

Jeongyeon pulled Jihyo closer and hid her face in the crook of Jihyo's neck, breathing in deep. Jihyo squeezed her own eyes shut, tenderness threatening to overtake her. She rubbed the other woman's back and felt completely safe, which shouldn't have made any sense, but somehow it did.

It was the reason why she had married this werewolf who hold on to her like a puppy while she slept, gathering strength for another full moon - still blissfully far away.

A/N: *old woman voice* "Does this count as one of them furry stories that kids like to read these days?"

Happy Halloween to those who celebrate and Happy Jeongyeon Day (and we all celebrate that, right?)