"He's behind that door, hyung," Ken murmured, his arm thrown easily over Hakyeon's shoulder, his expression serious for the first time in a long time. "Waiting for you..."

 

"You're sure?" Hakyeon looked uneasy. He'd been looking for so long without any luck, and it had worn him down. If only they hadn't fought, if only he hadn't gotten jealous seeing him with Ken, if only... But life was full of 'if onlys' and he couldn't live on that. Neither of them could. It was time he grew up and admitted his feelings so that he could move on, hopefully together with Hongbin. "You're not just saying that to make me feel better?"

 

"Would I lie to you, hyung?" Ken looked hurt, his teeth worrying at his lower lip. "He's obviously not here with me. We were only talking, Hakyeon. It was nothing, just like we both tried to tell you, but you wouldn't listen..." He sighed. "Hongbin just isn't interested in me like that and you know it. He only has eyes for you."

 

Ken carefully kept his face - especially his eyes - blank. He wasn't about to tell Hakyeon that Hongbin's affections had been diverted by others, never mind quite who those others were. It wasn't his place, nor was it in his interests for Hakyeon know until it was too late for him to do anything about it.

 

Hakyeon looked at Ken, his eyes searching the younger man's face, though for what, he wasn't sure. He wasn't really good at reading people, and they knew that. It was why he often got into trouble. His shoulders drooping, he looked toward the white doorway that Ken had indicated to him moments before.

 

"If I find you've been lying to me..." he murmured, a quiet threat in his voice. "There will be trouble." Hakyeon's eyes grew hard. "I'm not without connections and I can make things very hard for you."

 

"I'm sure you can," Ken drawled easily, shrugging. "But as I said, he is behind that door, waiting. The longer you make him wait, the harder it will be for you to find him..." he added pointedly.

 

"Fine," Hakyeon sighed, shrugging Ken's arm from around his shoulders and making his way to the door. "I will be back, one way or another. And if you've been lying to me..."

"Just go, before it's too late and you miss your chance," Ken said, his expression impassive. Hakyeon's threats made no difference to him whatsoever; he had assurances that no matter what happened, he would remain unharmed, and that was all that mattered. He allowed himself a tiny smile as Hakyeon closed the door behind him, disappearing into the inky blackness beyond, and then turned away, the whole thing forgotten. His job here was done.

 

Ravi looked at Hongbin, who sat sullenly on the bottom step of the dais, a wry smile curling his lip.

 

"Did you honestly think Hakyeon would change his mind?" he asked softly. "I know you planned this as a sort of test to see which of them loved you more, but expecting him to drop out at this stage is like expecting him to give up dancing. It's not going to happen." He looked at Hongbin's stony expression and sighed. "Any more than Leo could give up singing."

 

"But at least Leo treats me better," Hongbin murmured stubbornly, turning away from Ravi. "He doesn't get ridiculously jealous at the drop of a hat."

 

"Then why are you making him go through this too?" Ravi asked in a calm voice. "And why did I not have to go through it myself?"

 

"Because you haven't got a jealous bone in your body and everyone knows it," Hongbin snorted. "I could walk all over you and you'd come crawling back. The fact that I wouldn't is beside the point." He sighed, his face still turned away. "I'm just not as sure about Leo's feelings as I am about yours, and I want to know just how much he loves me. What he's willing to do, what he's willing to go through for me..."

 

It was Ravi's turn to snort. "So in other words, you're willing to walk all over him, where you wouldn't do that to me," he said wryly. "I still don't understand why. He's just as much a pushover as I am..."

 

"But he's stronger than you are and can take it," Hongbin murmured apologetically. "He might not look it, but he can. I know he can."

 

"As long as you're sure about that," Ravi sighed, turning away. "I don't want him to end up hating us both for this..."

 

"Me too," Hongbin said softly into the silent room after Ravi had gone, a pensive look on his face. Events had been set in motion and now all he had to do was wait.

 

Hyuk waited as patiently as he could, listening to the birds twittering in the trees, unable to keep the anxious look from his face when they stopped as the wolf pack approached. Even immortal as he was, it didn't mean he wasn't afraid.

 

"Gatekeeper," Donghyun, the alpha wolf, murmured, an amused smile on his face as he stepped into the moonlit clearing to face Hyuk. "You summoned us?"

 

"I did," Hyuk replied, trying to appear unaffected. "I have a task for you and your pack." He looked at the others in unfeigned curiosity and they stared back with varying looks of amusement and boredom on their young-looking faces. Young as they were, they were still older than he was. "If you feel you are up to it."

 

"Of course we're up to it," Donghyun replied, his lips quirking up in a smile. He recognised bravado when he saw it. Not that he would do anything untoward, nor would he encourage his pack to; he relied on the Gatekeeper's goodwill and if he abused that, it would go badly for him and his boys. "What do you need us to do?"

 

As Hyuk explained what he wanted them to do, Donghyun's eyes narrowed thoughtfully. "You do realise this is going to be difficult," he commented carefully as the others murmured amongst themselves in hushed tones. "Attacking powerful immortals..." He trailed off.

 

"You are not to kill them," Hyuk said firmly. "Only impede their progress. Perhaps injure them, but not kill. I don't think I need to tell you what would happen if you did..."

 

"No," Donghyun agreed soberly. He glanced at the others, who looked back at him eagerly. It seemed they were all in agreement, even if he had misgivings of his own. "We will do it. And then we expect our payment, as agreed."

 

"Of course," Hyuk replied with a nod.

 

"Does it matter what we do, as long as we don't kill them?" one of the others asked, and Hyuk had to wrack his memory to remember the wolf's name: Kwangmin. He had a particularly bloodthirsty smile, as did his twin, and Hyuk made a mental note to keep an eye on them.

 

"No, it doesn't matter," Hyuk confirmed, though he had misgivings as soon as he said it. "But no, you can't kill them, as long as you remember that." He gave Donghyun a look, and the alpha nodded almost imperceptibly. “They have to be able to finish their own tasks, as well,” he added firmly. “That is also part of the agreement, if you recall, Kwangmin.”

 

The young wolf looked almost disappointed for a moment, before sighing and nodding. “I remember,” he murmured. “Thank you.” He muttered something to his twin, then looked at Donghyun expectantly. “Can we go?”

 

“Patience, brat,” Donghyun replied with a bland smile, shaking his head. "Negotiations aren't quite finished yet." He looked at Hyuk thoughtfully. "Is there anything particularly off-limits?" he asked carefully. "Or is that under the 'do not kill' restriction?"

 

"They have to be able to attempt to accomplish their task within the allotted time," Hyuk replied quietly. "But apart from that, anything goes." He gave a wry smile. "Again, apart from the 'no killing' thing."

 

"Just making sure," Donghyun chuckled softly. "So these slow-witted youngsters understand..." He grinned as the twins and Minwoo protested. "Now I think it's time we left, otherwise they'll have too much of a head start on us, wouldn't you agree?"

At Hyuk's nod, he gestured to the others and they quickly quietened, and at another gesture, transformed and disappeared, leaving the young Gatekeeper alone again, much to his relief. Now that this task he'd been asked to do was finished, Hyuk could get on with his regular Gatekeeper's duties, and hopefully the others would leave him alone. They'd bothered him enough as it was and he didn't want anything more to do with them for a good long while.

 

Hakyeon looked around warily, his eyes narrowing. This wasn't anything like he'd expected when he'd first walked through the door Ken had directed him to, and he was growing more and more annoyed by the minute. Behind the door, he'd said. Waiting for him, he'd said.

 

"Hongbin's waiting for me just behind the white door, my ," Hakyeon grumbled, stumbling through the eerie darkness and stiffening as the sounds of breaking branches and wolves howling reached his ears. "Ken is a ing liar and is going to be in for a world of pain when I get hold of him."

 

As the clouds cleared, Hakyeon could see he was in a small clearing, and he looked around, his lips pursing. There was no sign of Hongbin anywhere, nor was there any sign of the door he'd come through, or any way that would lead him to a place of safety, should he need it. Especially considering the wolves he could still hear, their howls sounding closer and closer.

 

"Just what the hell are you playing at, Lee Jaehwan?" Hakyeon muttered under his breath as he circled the clearing, trying to find a way forward, or even back the way he'd come to try and find Ken so he could give him a piece of his mind. He was so intent on his search that he missed the sounds of footsteps until another man appeared, his eyes narrowed at the sight of Hakyeon.

 

"What are you doing here?" Leo hissed, glaring at Hakyeon, the older man whirling around to face him, nearly overbalancing as he did so. "You have no business being here!" Leo's fists were clenched as he faced Hakyeon, his eyes still narrowed. He knew full well who Hakyeon was and if he didn't want to end up with a bloody nose, or worse... "Leave, now!"

 

"I might ask you the same question, Jung Taekwoon," Hakyeon replied coldly, glaring back at Leo. "Hongbin is mine. You have no right to even think about him, let alone try and take him away from me!"

 

Leo snorted. "I think he'd beg to differ," he murmured haughtily, smirking at the look on Hakyeon's face as he spoke. "Ravi and I didn't even have to try. He came to us willingly."

 

Hakyeon took a step forward, his eyes narrowed angrily. How dare they steal Hongbin from him and then taunt him like this. "Hongbin belongs to me, and you will find this out the hard way," he said viciously, his voice deadly soft.

 

He was about to say more when a wolf appeared, followed by several more, and began to howl. He glanced at Leo, a erse sort of satisfaction running through him when he realised the other man had gone just as pale as he had at the wolves' appearance.

 

"This isn't over," he hissed, then took off, doing his best to shake off the wolves snapping at his heels. He had no idea how many were after him, or if any had gone after Leo (and he dearly hoped the majority of them had), but he wasn't going to look back in order to check. It was more than his life was worth.

 

Crashing through the underbrush, Hakyeon was growing tired, panting heavily and slowing down, his heart racing. This wasn't going at all according to plan and he was starting to panic. Just what was going on? Where had these wolves come from?

 

At least from the sounds of it, not all of them were chasing him, something that relieved him. He could deal with a few wolves, but not the whole pack. His eyes widening in surprise, Hakyeon suddenly stumbled back as he realised he was trapped, having been herded right where they wanted him. He was hemmed in on all sides by a hedge of thorns, their sharp surfaces glistening wetly. Turning to face the wolves, Hakyeon bared his teeth.

 

"What do you want from me?" he growled, glaring at them. "You know the penalty for killing an immortal. I won't go down easily."

 

"We're not here to kill you." The alpha, a young blond, transformed, followed by another whose hair was a vibrant red, and still another whose hair was a striking chestnut colour. In contrast to Hakyeon's wild panic, the wolves looked amused, making Hakyeon even angrier. "We're just here to have a little fun with you. We're surely allowed that, are we not?"

 

"You call this fun?" Hakyeon hissed at the chestnut-haired one who'd spoken, his eyes blazing with fury. "This is not funny by any stretch of the imagination, and I want you to leave me alone!"

 

"Of course it's fun." The young wolf grinned at him, showing his canines. "You're not hurt, apart from a few scratches that will heal, in time." He shared a grin with the young red-haired wolf. "We've barely even started to have fun, really. This is tame, compared to what we could have done to you. What we've gotten permission to do to you, in fact..."

 

"Jungmin..." The alpha's voice held a warning and the young wolf subsided, though he still grinned at Hakyeon. "What we have permission to do is neither here nor there. What we are going to do..." The blond's smile worried Hakyeon more than Jungmin's did, though he couldn't have said why. "Is offer you a chance. Just a small chance, to escape the fate we have planned for you."

 

"But that does not guarantee that the fate you encounter after will be any better..." he added, his smile growing colder. The alpha's head cocked as a series of howls could be heard, and the wolves all smiled broadly. "It seems your friend has found this out the hard way..."

 

Hakyeon snorted. "He's no friend of mine, I can assure you," he said, shaking his head. "And I'm sure whatever's happened to him was well deserved." His eyes narrowed. "But I haven't done anything to you, and don't deserve this, whatever it is you think you're doing..."

 

"No?" The alpha's smile faded and a calculated look came over his face as he gestured to the other two wolves, who stepped closer to Hakyeon, forcing him to step back, nearer to the evil-looking thorns than he'd have preferred. "Well, in that case, all you have to do is get past us, and then you're on your way to wherever it was you were going before you encountered us."

 

Blinking at the wolf, Hakyeon scoffed. "It's really that simple?" he asked, looking sceptical. "I find that hard to believe, somehow. Especially given how hard you were chasing me."

 

"It really is that simple," the alpha replied calmly, the wolves taking another step forward before stopping. "Get past us from here, and you're free. Or rather, free from us..."

 

"That doesn't sound very convincing..." Hakyeon murmured, looking at the thorns uneasily. They were close enough to touch, and it would be very difficult to get past the wolves without getting himself torn to shreds on them. Had that been their plan all along? Still, it was the best he could hope for, and he was very flexible. He would have to try.

 

"It's the best you're going to get," Jungmin grinned, watching as Hakyeon tried to manoeuvre his way between the thorns and Hyunsung, apparently thinking the older wolf was the least threatening of the three.

 

Hyunsung, for his part, just watched Hakyeon with an amused smile on his face until he drew level with him, and then snapped at him. Hakyeon all but fell into the thorns in shock, pricking his finger on one of them, drawing blood. Pulling his hand back, Hakyeon stared at it in bemused surprise, then looked at Hyunsung with a betrayed expression and promptly collapsed at his feet.

 

Donghyun sighed reproachfully. "That wasn't very nice," he said quietly as he picked up the immortal as gently as he could. "He wouldn't have made it, you know that as well as I do."

 

"I know, but I was getting bored," Hyunsung replied, shrugging his shoulders as he followed Donghyun to a well-hidden hut, pushing the branches out of the way for the older wolf so he could enter without being smacked in the face. "He's also a lot more flexible than you give him credit for. He was very close to making it..."

 

Giving Hyunsung a long look after laying Hakyeon on the lone cot in the small hut, Donghyun sighed. "You're making a lot of assumptions, Hyunsung," he said finally, turning to talk to the younger wolf with a serious expression. "You didn't think I was planning for him to face the younger ones? Especially after his reaction when he heard about the other immortal?"

 

"They were not gentle with him, as you are well aware, and it should have drawn sympathy from any normal person. Because he did not show any sympathy at all, he should have had to face them as well..."

 

Donghyun sighed and glanced at the cot, shrugging. "As it is, he will have to face the fact that he will lose a lot more than he bargained for because of his thoughtless actions. That will have to be enough." He gestured to Jungmin. "Let's go. He will be asleep for a while and will be in no more danger here."

 

Chastened, Hyunsung apologised. "I'm sorry, I didn't realise," he murmured, bowing his head. "I only thought about what we'd planned..." He gave a rueful smile. "And this is why I am not alpha..."

"No," Donghyun agreed, chuckling softly. "But you do make a very good second, and no real harm done. Just keep it in mind for the future..." He patted Hyunsung's shoulder, and the three left the hut, and Hakyeon, behind as they headed off to find the rest of the pack.

 

Taking off in the opposite direction to Hakyeon, Leo had the satisfaction of knowing he was quicker, and more likely to avoid the wolves than Hakyeon was, with his speed and longer legs. That didn't mean he could be complacent, and he made sure to dodge the various trees and bushes in his way before he stopped in a small clearing, looking around warily as he tried to catch his breath. The clouds that had covered the moon were beginning to clear again and his breath caught.

 

He hadn't been as successful as he'd thought, he realised, as three wolves stood watching him from the relative safety of the treeline. Turning to run, Leo found himself trapped as two of the wolves, identical in colouring and size, blocked his way. Looking back, he saw a lone human boy with streaks of red in his brown hair.

 

"Who are you and what do you want?" he growled, readying himself for a fight.

 

"We just want to play," the boy grinned, showing his canines. He was one of the wolves, Leo realised, his heart sinking. "Come play with us... It'll be fun."

 

"For you, maybe," Leo ground out from behind clenched teeth, looking around to see if he could find a way out of this situation without ending up in more trouble than he already was. "I'm not interested in being a plaything for puppies."

 

The boy's eyes narrowed dangerously, but the smile only broadened. "Too late," he said, as Leo was pushed to the ground by Youngmin in wolf form, groaning and spitting out dead leaves and twigs that had gotten into his mouth. "We're not really giving you an option."

 

As Leo tried to get to his feet, Kwangmin pounced, knocking him back onto the ground, the immortal swatting ineffectively at the wolves at his back. He gave a yelp as Kwangmin nipped at his shoulder, and then his hands as Leo swatted a little too close to the younger wolf's jaws, pulling his hands back to his chest protectively.

 

"I said I am not interested in being your plaything," he growled angrily, glaring at them. That had hurt. "Stop it and let me go. I have to find Hongbin..."

 

"We know," Minwoo smirked. "But that's not our concern. As I said, you don't have any choice, so it might be worth it to play along, or we might just get angry..."

 

Leo's eyebrows rose. "You might get angry?" he asked in a dangerously soft voice. "I'm not afraid of you. If anything, you should be more afraid of me..." He'd had enough of this messing around. His hands were bleeding thanks to the wolf's bites and Leo didn't have time for this. Getting to his feet, he glared at the wolves.

 

"If you're going to insist, things are going to get very nasty, very fast..."

 

Minwoo's smile was positively blinding. "Now that's more like it," he grinned, then transformed himself into his wolf form, leaping at Leo without warning. Leo dodged his first attack, but not the second, Minwoo almost a blur as he hit the ground and used his rebound to launch himself at Leo again.

 

Youngmin and Kwangmin attacked at the same time and it wasn't long before the wolves had Leo on his back, snapping and biting at the immortal writhing on the ground until he was a bloody, shouting mess. It was just unfortunate that as he twisted on the ground, Leo's eye caught on a branch that was sticking out of the ground and the immortal screamed in pain, his bloody hands going to his face.

 

"Get off!" he shouted, twisting violently and shaking them all off, the three wolves backing off warily. This hadn't been part of their plans, and it made them wary. If Leo used his power on them, they would die, and they knew it. "Leave!"

 

When they didn't move, but continued to stare at him, Leo sat up and growled at them again, baring his teeth. "Go! Tell your alpha that the next time he sees me, he'd better have a good explanation for this, or you will be banished!"

Nodding, they disappeared, though not without first howling into the silence that met his words, leaving Leo alone to deal with his wounds, blood from his damaged eye trickling down his face.

 

Ravi was tired, and looked at the clock. It was getting perilously close to the deadline Hongbin had set for Leo and Hakyeon to show up, and so far, no sign of either of them. Suddenly the curtain fluttered and was pulled back by a bloody hand, and Ravi's head came up, a look of stunned disbelief on his face.

 

"About time you showed up," he drawled, looking at the older man and trying not to let the shock and dismay show on his face at the sight of him. What exactly had the wolves done to him? "You're almost too late..."

 

"But I'm not," Leo murmured, his eyes hard. "Where is he? I thought he'd be here." He sat down on the step to unwind the bandage around his right hand, and Ravi's eyes were drawn to the mark on the back of his hand. "What?"

 

"You..." Ravi tried again. "You got jealous again, didn't you?"

 

"So?" Leo waved a dismissive hand. "Hakyeon was there. I couldn't help myself..." He looked up and sighed at the look on Ravi's face. "Come on Ravi. It's not like it mattered. Hakyeon isn't here, is he? And Hongbin doesn't need to know. I've proven myself worthy, haven't I?"

 

"Have you?" Ravi asked quietly as he pushed himself out of the chair he'd been sitting in and began to pace the small room. "You still haven't learned that jealousy gets you nowhere, especially with Hongbin. It's what tore him and Hakyeon apart. Did you know that?"

 

Leo blinked at him. "Does it really matter?"

 

"Yes, it does," Ravi snapped at him. "Hakyeon broke his heart, and I don't want you to do that to him either, Leo. You know I love you dearly, but I can't let you do that to him." He sighed. "And I love him too much to let him manipulate you and Hakyeon for his own selfish purposes."

 

"It was Hongbin who had the wolves set on you and Hakyeon." He watched Leo's face carefully for his reaction. "Knowing that, are you still willing to go through with this?"

 

Going still, Leo stared at Ravi, his expression closing off. "Why would he do that?" he asked, his voice soft and flat. "Why would he want to hurt me?" Hakyeon, he could understand, but him? Wasn't he there to prove he loved Hongbin?

 

"He wanted to know how far you were willing to go for him, what you would endure for him, to prove you loved him," Ravi replied quietly, rubbing at his face. "I don't think he planned for them to go this far, but..." He shrugged. "I don't pretend to know everything that goes through his head."

 

"I see." Leo looked down at his hands, a shiver going through his body. Did he want a lover who was that insecure in his love? He wasn't so sure anymore and felt lost. He'd been sure Hongbin loved him, and knew Ravi did, which was why he trusted what Ravi was telling him, but this was so hard to deal with and he didn't know what to do. At the same time... "You're telling me you think I should give up on Hongbin, and that he should give up on me?"

 

"What about you?" Leo looked up at Ravi, pain in his eyes. "What are you going to do?"

 

"I'm telling you both that I think you need to be honest with each other and stop playing stupid games," Ravi said quietly, looking at the opposite end of the room to where Leo had come in, the curtain twitching as Hongbin stepped into the room, his head bowed. "If you think you can live with what you've learned about each other from this, then fine, but if not, then you need to make a clean break and move on."

"As for me, what I do depends on what you do," he added, going to sit back in the abandoned chair and closing his eyes. "Now talk..."
 

 

Hongbin looked at Leo and flinched slightly, the older man looking back at him with sadness in his eyes, but before they could do much else, there was commotion and Hakyeon burst into the room, startling them all. He stared at Hongbin, then Leo, and then Ravi, before turning his attention back to Hongbin.

 

"I'm not too late, am I?" he asked breathlessly, ignoring the blood that dripped from his hand onto the marble floor. "I made it, Hongbin..."

 

"You did, but... you're still too late, Hakyeon," Hongbin replied softly, avoiding his eyes. "Leo got here before you did." Whether or not Leo still wanted to be with him now was beside the point. Leo had arrived first. "I'm sorry..."

 

"You..." Hakyeon glared at Leo, his hands shaking. "How? The wolves said you..." He didn't understand it. "They tricked me. I don't know how they did, but they tricked me..." His eyes narrowed as he turned his attention to Hongbin. "Was this your plan all along? To string me along for whatever reason?"

 

"I wanted you to know what it felt like to be helpless against something you had no control over," Hongbin said quietly, finally able to look directly at Hakyeon. "It's how I felt whenever you got jealous. I had no control over the situation and it made me feel helpless, like I couldn't do anything to change things because I hadn't even done anything wrong." He sighed. "I am not responsible for your insecurities, Hakyeon. I never cheated on you, no matter what you thought, and I couldn't cope with you treating me like that. That's why I left."

 

"I just wanted you to understand how I felt, even just a little," he finished, not certain it had even worked, from the look on Hakyeon's face. "I'm sorry you got hurt in the process, but you needed to know what it felt like to me."

Hakyeon stared at Hongbin, as if seeing him properly for the first time. "You are a spiteful little ," he said finally, shaking his head. "You can shove your pathetic little excuses. I don't ever want to see you again." Glaring at Leo and Ravi, he his heel and left, almost tearing the curtains down in his anger.
 

 

"Well that went well," Ravi murmured sarcastically under his breath, shaking his head. No wonder Hongbin was screwed up and dead set on making a mess of things. But if he was willing to set things right with Leo, and if Leo was willing to listen and do the same, then maybe there was hope yet. "Thoughts?

 

"I never meant for that to happen," Hongbin said quietly, facing Leo and gesturing to his face and hands. "I wanted them to delay you, not to..." He choked a little, close to tears after having to deal with Hakyeon's vindictive outburst. "Not to damage you like that."

 

"I'm so sorry. I was wrong to have done this." He glanced at Ravi and sighed. "Ravi was right all along. He told me not to, but I wouldn't listen." Wiping at the tears in his eyes, he looked away. "Even knowing what I'm like isn't much of an excuse, but I am truly sorry... If there is anything I can do..."

 

Leo sat on the step, his gaze straight ahead as Hongbin talked, realisation and sadness growing inside of him. Had he made Hongbin feel like Hakyeon had done? And worse, had he made Ravi feel like that too? It hurt, and he needed time to think. To work out how to fix himself so he didn't do it again.

 

"I need to think about things," he said abruptly, getting to his feet. "I understand why you did what you did, even if I can't condone it. But I need to sort myself out first before anything else happens. I hope you can understand that." He glanced at Hongbin apologetically, seeing the stricken look on the younger man's face. "I do accept your apology, don't worry. It's nothing to do with you. I just don't want to make the same mistake Hakyeon did."

 

He looked at Ravi, who was staring at him in surprise. "I can't do that to either of you. So until I've sorted myself out, I need to step back. I'm sorry." Leo left the room, leaving Ravi and Hongbin alone to stare at each other, the younger man bursting into tears.

 

"I never thought it would end like this," he sobbed as Ravi went to put his arms around him in an attempt to comfort, though he felt just as confused and in pain at how things had turned out. "I didn't mean to hurt anyone. I just... I'm so sorry, Ravi."

 

"I know," Ravi said softly, patting him on the back gently. "But this isn't how you do it. You know they're always saying communication is the key, right? Because it is. It really is." He looked at the door where Leo had disappeared. "I do hope Leo comes back to us..."

"Me too," Hongbin murmured, his head buried in Ravi's shoulder.
 

 

It took Leo longer than he'd expected to work through his issues, but it helped that he knew he loved Ravi, and he knew Ravi loved Hongbin. He loved Hongbin too, and tried hard to forgive him for what had happened. Hongbin, for his part, had done his best to help with his injuries, bandaging his hands and not shying away from his damaged eye, when he could have rejected Leo outright. They both could have. To Leo, it proved that they loved him too, and he needed that validation on their parts to help heal his heart.

 

If anything, Hongbin was almost annoying in his constant need to look after Leo, offering his help whenever he needed anything, hovering just within range 'just in case Leo needed him', and in the end, Leo had to pretend to get angry with him just to get some peace. Leo knew Hongbin still felt guilty over what had happened, but it had been an accident. After his initial anger had worn off, he hadn't even blamed the wolves. They had just been doing what they'd been told, and had stopped after he'd hurt himself.

 

"Have you decided anything yet?" Ravi watched as Leo unwound the bandages from his hands, sighing. The mark was still there. "What's up with that?"

 

"I have decided," Leo replied softly, shrugging as he heaped the bandages into a small pile and smiled faintly at Ravi. "I've decided I'm not going to let my jealousy ruin what I have with you or with Hongbin. If I do get jealous, I'm going to try and talk it out, and not let it get to me like Hakyeon did. I don't want it to run my life."

 

"It will still be there, but I accept that. Can you?"

 

Looking thoughtful, Ravi glanced at Hongbin. "I can. Can you?" he asked, turning to the youngest member of their trio.

 

"I love you both," Hongbin said simply, looking at them. "I don't want to let it run or ruin my life either and if it means I have to talk about things instead of running away from my emotions..." He gave a rueful sigh. "Then that's what I have to do."

 

"It won't be easy, but I promise to try..." he added quietly, as Leo nodded.

 

Ravi smiled. "That's all anyone can ask," he said, a proud smile on his face as he gave them each a hug. "By the way, I have a message from Hyuk..."

 

Hongbin blinked and glanced at Leo, who just looked bemusedly at them. "What does he want?" he asked, sitting forward in his chair.

 

"He said, and I quote, 'the next time Hongbin gets any more really stupid ideas, count me out'," Ravi grinned as Hongbin sat back with a pout. "What do I say to him?"

 

"Tell him next time, he'll be the first one I come to instead of you," Hongbin said, as Leo grinned and Ravi laughed. "I can just imagine the look on his face when he gets that message..."

 

"I can too," Ravi chuckled, shaking his head. "Just don't blame me when he decides enough's enough and he comes after you. You know what he's like when he gets it into his head to prank someone."

 

"I know, but it'll be fun," Hongbin grinned back. "And we could use a laugh after all this drama I've caused.

 

"So should I tell him to do something as soon as possible then?" Leo asked, his eyes sparkling with mischief as Hongbin shot him a look of horror.

 

"You're not supposed to agree with me!" Hongbin pouted even more as the others laughed. "I'm just glad we're all ok again. I don't want a repeat of that any time soon. Or ever at all, if I'm honest..."

 

It had ended well this time, but there were no guarantees it would if anything like this happened again. Not that Hongbin felt he needed to do anything like that anymore. He knew how his lovers felt about him, and they knew how he felt about him, and that was what was important.