Jackson was sitting on the other swing, moving slightly on it and held Jooheon's hand. They had been sitting quiet like this for at least an hour, Jooheon being absorbed by his thoughts whereas Jackson was too afraid to scare Jooheon again.

“When did you turn into a werewolf for the first time?”, Jooheon asked finally. Jackson turned his head to look at him, trying to figure out if the boy actually wanted to know the answer or if he was just uncomfortable with the silence between them. Maybe it was the latter since Jooheon was still just looking at the sand around his shoes.

“When I was seventeen”, he answered after a moment.

“How was that? How did you feel about it?”, Jooheon asked and looked at Jackson for a brief second before studying his shoes again.

Jackson ruffled his hair. “Uhm, well I grew up knowing that I was a werewolf and that this would happen some day, sooner or later. But it was still weird and kind of scary when I turned for the first time. I can't even imagine what your friends must be going through right now.”

Jooheon nodded.

“Are you still scared of me?”, Jackson asked carefully when the other didn't say anything else. Jooheon just shook his head in response.

“Are you sure about that?”, Jackson said with his sad eyes on his boyfriend, “because right now you won't even look at me. You aren't even holding my hand properly.” He stood up and walked around so that he could crouch down in front of Jooheon and looked up at him, trying to catch his gaze.

“Look, Jooheony. I know that this must be a lot for you right now but I love you. Yes, I am a werewolf but I am also still the same guy that you fell in love with and who loves you so much. Jooheon, I love you. You are my world. Please, you don't have to be scared of me.”

“I know. I'm not”, Jooheon assured him.

“WOOF”, Jackson imitated a dog's bark and a startled Jooheon fell from the swing again, looking up at Jackson who had stood up again and cringed with laughter.

“Come on, Jooheon. Let's go and get something to eat. I'm hungry”, he said and grabbed Jooheon's arm, helping him to get back to his feet and shake off all the sand.

Jooheon looked at him and chuckled slightly. “Yeah, let's go before you decide that eating me is the better option than spending your money on food.”

“I would love to eat y…”, Jackson started to say but Jooheon interrupted him.

“Do not make a joke out of this.”

“But…”

“No butts for you”, Jooheon stated firmly and pulled Jackson with him towards the exit of the playground while the older one stole not-so-secret glances at his boyfriend's bottom.

**

Hyunwoo dropped his phone on the bed and sighted deeply.

“Who were you texting with?”, Hoseok asked who was laying on the bed and eyed the phone suspiciously.

“Jooheon. He said he's fine but he'll stay at his place for the night”, Hyunwoo answered truthfully, “Why do you ask? Are you jealous?”

“No”, Hoseok lied and pouted, making Hyunwoo chuckle. He plunged down on the bed next to Hoseok who snuggled up to him with his head resting on Hyunwoo's lap, enjoying how the older boy played with his hair while both of them stared out of the window.

“So Jooheon is with his boyfriend tonight?”, Hoseok asked curiously but Hyunwoo just shrugged.

“I would guess so. They must have a lot to talk about.”

“We have, too”, Hoseok murmured quietly.

Hyunwoo shifted his position slightly and entangled his fingers further with Hoseok's hair. It felt so soft like what he imagined clouds would feel like.

“What do we need to talk about?”, Hyunwoo asked after a moment and looked down at the other boy whose eyes were still fixed on the glass and the view beyond. He was strong and determined, Hyunwoo knew that, but in this moment the other also looked so soft and vulnerable and he wanted to do everything in his power to protect him.

“I will keep you safe”, he promised in a quiet whisper, probably much too quiet for the younger one to hear.

Hoseok sighted. “I am turning into a werewolf.”

Hyunwoo felt himself tense up at the words. This was something he couldn't protect him from and it made him feel guilty.

“Do you want to turn?”

There was a long silence after that, only broken by the continuous ticking of a clock and the muffled traffic noises from outside. Hoseok pulled himself closer to Hyunwoo and shrugged.

“I don't know. I… I… I really do not know.”

The older one hummed and let one hand wander over Hoseok's shoulders, them gently while the other hand continued to play with the blonde dyed hair.

“So you are not completely opposed to the idea?”

Instead of giving an answer Hoseok returned the question. “Are you? Would you be okay with it if I turned into a werewolf?”

Hyunwoo answered within a heartbeat. “Of course. I would love you all the same.”

Hoseok turned his head in Hyunwoo's lap to look at him. “Really? You would still love me? After what I've done so far? Starting fights with Minhyuk, attacking you, I hurt you, hyung. And you would still love me?”

Hyunwoo nodded. “Yeah, because it's still you.”

But Hoseok didn't seem relieved by the words, instead his expression saddened and he turned away again to look out of the window.

“You heard Mr Wang. He said it changes everything about me. Even my soul. I won't be 'me' any more.”

The older one looked at him. How could he even begin to imagine what Hoseok was feeling right now? He leaned down and kissed Hoseok on the cheek. Softly but lovingly and he saw the light blush on Hoseok's face.

“I'm pretty sure that you will still be 'you'. Nothing could change you that much. Not even a werewolf's bite.”

Hoseok just sighed.

“Yah! Will you believe me?”, Hyunwoo said and raised his voice but both of them knew that he wasn't serious about the angry tone. Hoseok nodded.

“Even if I take the cure that Mr. Wang is making for us, the chances that I will turn into a werewolf are still pretty high. Are you sure that you would be okay if I actually turned?”, Hoseok asked and turned to look at Hyunwoo again, his eyes looking for a hint that the older boy was lying. He couldn't find one.

“I am very sure. Whatever decision you make I will support you and whether you turn or not, I will still love you”, he said and placed another peck on Hoseok's cheek. For a few minutes they just stayed there, enjoying each other's company before Hyunwoo spoke again.

“If you turn into a werewolf does that mean that I have to put you on a leash, walk you through the park three times a day and play 'fetch' with you?”

Hoseok just growled in response and jumped on Hyunwoo, pushing him down into the pillows and hovered over him with a smirk on his face.

“Sure you can put me on a leash sometime. But not in the park”, he said quietly and leaned down to kiss Hyunwoo, instantly deepening it. They broke away from it, both of them in need for more air and Hyunwoo took the opportunity to push Hoseok off of him.

“Let's go into the kitchen. I want to drink hot chocolate”, he suggested and Hoseok's face lightened up even more at that.

It was already quite late so they tiptoed through the hallway in case Hyungwon and Minhyuk were already asleep in the living room and then carefully shut the door to the kitchen.

“Do you want whipped cream or just usual milk foam on yours?”, Hyunwoo asked as he took a pot out of the cupboard, set it on the stove and poured some milk into it.

“Whipped cream and marshmallows.”

Hyunwoo laughed. “I don't have marshmallows”, he said and began to pour the chocolate powder into the milk, swirling it around until the whole kitchen smelled of cocoa. He turned around to place two mugs on the table and couldn't help but laugh at the giant pout on Hoseok's face.

“How can you be this cute?”, he giggled and Hoseok could make out the small pulsating vein on the boy's temple, giving away how genuine his feelings were. He joined Hyunwoo at the kitchen counter and stood next to him while the older one was making the whipped cream.

“Can I help you?”, he offered but Hyunwoo just shook his head.

“Oh come on”, Hoseok giggled and bumped the side of his hip into Hyunwoo's, “let me help.”

Hyunwoo looked a him with the broadest smile.

“You can pass me a towel because your cuteness made me spill some of this”, he laughed and waited for Hoseok to hand him the cloth.

“You know if our lives were part of a tv show then right now there would be playing a couple montage of us being cute together while doing every day things”, Hoseok thought out loud while looking curiously at the whipped cream in the bowl.

Please Subscribe to read the full chapter