The full moon was approaching. As a young adult, Jongdae had kept a calendar, dutifully drawing little moons onto the corner of the pages. These days, you could buy calendars with the moon phases already printed on, making them a welcome, discrete asset to many werewolves. Not like Jongdae needed them. Age and experience have taught him to predict the approaching of the full moon. It was noticeable in the itch growing under his skin starting a few days prior. Currently, he was feeling sore all over, like someone had chafed down his skin with sandpaper. The sensation would grow stronger until the moon was in the sky and shifting became the only way to relieve it.
There were rumors of people forcing themselves not to shift and going insane as a result. It didn't matter how civilized and human they were, the full moon did not care.

The sun was still high in the sky, however, and Jongdae felt nothing but extremely sensitive and irritable. Tonight, he thought, cringing as he tried to refrain from scratching down his arms and legs. It would be tonight.

He opened the door to the Little Frying Pan, the mixture of scents comforting and familiar. It was relatively unobtrusive, too, which was calming. Junmyeon had adapted to housing a werewolf, trying to keep his use of vinegar to a minimum and refraining from using scented candles. Jongdae had never asked this of him, and Junmyeon had never brought it up either. It was just one of these things they quietly did for each other. Like how Jongdae would always take the sealed letters off the neat little stack on the front desk on his way to work, or how he'd take on letters delivered to their house and sort them into their respective drawers.

Junmyeon shot to his feet from where he was sitting behind the counter, only to relax at the sight of Jongdae.

"You're back early," he began, and Jongdae forced himself to smile.

"Yeah. Less letters and packages today," he muttered, fully planning to slip by and have some time to himself.

"Ah, Jongdae?"

Suppressing a sigh, he stopped in the doorway, gathering the strength necessary to keep a straight face.

"Yes?"

"I was thinking of inviting Luhan over for dinner. Just a little dinner outside. Would you like to join us?"

Jongdae felt the hairs on his neck stand up, a sensation that would be mildly annoying on most days, but now, it only added to him feeling uncomfortable and sore.

Luhan.

"Why would I join your romantic dinner?" he asked, keeping his voice steady but refusing to turn around and face Junmyeon, who was fidgeting. He heard it. Heck, he could smell it.

His senses were already sharpening, making him hyper-aware and vulnerable to his surroundings. It would be empowering if not for the fact that he had trouble staying in his own skin.

"It's not gonna be a romantic dinner," Junmyeon hurried to add, nervous and insecure, but also eager. "The other guests could join, too, of course. I just thought we could all sit down and chat a little."

Jongdae wanted nothing but to get out of his clothes, grab his emergency bag and shift already. He did not want to try and remain human in a public place, and he most certainly didn't want to see Luhan right now.

He hated that guy. And Junmyeon was well aware of that.

On other days, he might have worded it differently, refusing to acknowledge the possessive wolf habits, reiterating how Junmyeon was free to meet up with whomever he liked, and how Luhan was probably a righteous, good-natured person.

Today was no such day though, and Jongdae felt too worn out to deal with this.

So he turned around with a scowl on his face, inhaling deeply, speaking very slowly as he enunciated every word clearly.

"I could not picture any worse way to spend this evening even if I tried," he said. "That guy smells and my head is already hurting. When are you going to give up? It's been what, three months? Can't you have a relationship without my approval? You're a grown man, Junmyeon. Act like one."

Junmyeon just stood there, a little shocked over the harsh reaction, and his expression was so hurt that Jongdae couldn't stand being around him any longer.

He swiftly turned to go to his room, making sure to close the door quietly.

That night, he ran all the way to the border, the world flying by in a blur of colorful smells and sounds, his senses alight and muscles yearning to be challenged. He crossed the nearby forest, ignoring any other wolf in his proximity, and kept running. He ran and ran until he was all alone, until he had his surroundings all to himself and he was panting in exhaustion, but the guilt remained. It refused to dissolve and was still clinging to his sweaty skin when he returned around dawn.

Junmyeon wasn't in the lobby though, so Jongdae had to drag it to work with him.

When he returned that evening, Junmyeon was nowhere in sight still. A day after the full moon usually left Jongdae’s senses alight for a day or two, so he could easily tell that he wasn't in the building at all.

Jongdae gently shooed the young boy behind the counter away, giving him the evening off. The following hours were spent in peaceful silence as Jongdae read a book and sorted the paperwork threatening to burst out of the drawers.
Mentally, he couldn’t stop repeating what he wanted to tell Junmyeon later.

There was no doubt that Jongdae's behaviour had been uncalled for, and the full moon was an explanation, but not an excuse. Not an apology.

It was already way past midnight when the door opened and Junmyeon slipped inside, eyes downcast and shoulders sagged.

Jongdae picked up on the mood before a smile could even begin to form on his face.

"Hey."

Junmyeon was evidently surprised to see him. His smile was taut though, and he looked tired. Something was off, and it had nothing to do with their previous quarrel, Jongdae felt that much. There was no anger directed at him, just sadness permeating the air, the scent distinctly salty.

"Hi. Thanks for watching the counter," Junmyeon mumbled, still smiling, still keeping his eyes on the ground as he squeezed past him. "You can go to bed first, I'll take over-"

"Since when do you watch the counter all night?" Jongdae asked, getting to his feet if only to make room for Junmyeon. "Just go to sleep. You look tired."

"Don't tell me what to do," Junmyeon muttered, and despite there being no real malice to it, he explained himself, anyway. "I still have to clean this place, and now's the perfect time."

Jongdae unsurely hovered between the counter and the door leading down to his room. He'd meant to apologize but the timing seemed inappropriate. He still wanted to show his support but if Junmyeon was still hurt by his past outburst, there wasn't much he could do, was there?

For a while, he just stood there with his arms crossed, watching Junmyeon get a bucket of warm water, adding only a small cap of soap.

Then he sighed.

Junmyeon could have very well told him to leave, but he stayed silent when Jongdae grabbed one of the cloths and began to wipe down the counter. It wasn't particularly dirty, none of the lobby was, really, and they both knew Junmyeon wasn't actually fond of cleaning. It was something he liked to draw out as long as he could get away with it, more often than not receiving the final push by Jongdae, whose sensitive nose didn't take too well to dust.

For the longest time, it was quiet as they worked. Jongdae was just wiping down the underside of the counter when a quiet, tired voice behind him broke the silence.

"You know, I'm not mad at you or anything. You can go to sleep, really, it's fine."

"Do you want me to?" Jongdae only asked back, mirroring the others calm tone, throwing a fleeting gaze over his shoulder, but Junmyeon was standing with his back to him, cleaning a shelf.

There was no verbal confirmation so he kept scrubbing, chasing away an ambitious little spider. His senses were still somewhat sensitive, so even the small amount of soap was enough to block out Junmyeon and whatever he might be feeling.

"I got dumped today."

Jongdae paused, but didn't turn around this time. The way Junmyeon had said it sounded self-deprecating and strangely light. Brittle, too.

When he didn't immediately reply, Junmyeon impulsively filled the silence, voice trembling just enough for Jongdae to pick up on it.

"Apparently, it's not meant to be something serious. That's okay though."

Jongdae wasn't sure the amount of anger he was currently feeling was appropriate, but every feebly spoken word only added to it.

"I mean, it's alright. You said he smells terrible, anyway."

Junmyeon sighed, and Jongdae bit his lip, forcing himself to stay calm. Lashing out and getting angry was not going to help anyone, least of all Junmyeon.
It was simply so... frustrating . Junmyeon had been rather enthusiastic about this guy, with his crush being obnoxiously noticeable. It was frustrating that someone like Junmyeon was punished by life when all he did was try his absolute best. Sure, Jongdae was a werewolf who would always be full of petty possessiveness and jealousy when it came to Junmyeon devoting himself to anyone at all, but he’d never have wished this upon him either. This wasn't right.

His anger ebbed down as fast as it had come, making way for pity. Seeing Junmyeon sad made him sad as well. There was nothing he could do about it though. 

"I'm sorry about the other day," Junmyeon sighed. "I didn't realize the full moon was approaching. That was really stupid of me."

Jongdae made a denying sound in the back of his throat, shifting a few stray papers aside to reach the corners of the wood.

"I should have mentioned it. It was my fault."

Junmyeon made a small, not very convincing noise, and silence settled once more.

There was really nothing he could say right now. Unable to think of any words to properly convey his thoughts, Jongdae simply kept cleaning, keeping him company in the middle of the night.

At some point, he started humming to himself. It started out small and absent, only to slip into a low melody. It was a song Jongdae had known since he was a child, a rather well-known ballad. It had lyrics, too, but Jongdae kept them in his mind as he quietly sang the melody because right then, he wasn't sure whether he wouldn't mean them a little too much.

It started with a small, shaky intake of breath, one that Jongdae almost missed.

He kept going though, kept humming as Junmyeon eventually stopped scrubbing, as he started to quietly cry.

Jongdae was sure he'd never forget the strong scent of soap and wood, the salty, sweet taste of heartache mellowing out in the dead of the night as he watched over Junmyeon crying and crying until he finally dozed off with his head resting on his arms.
Even when he was fast asleep, Jongdae couldn't stop humming the song over and over again as he absently the other’s back. Like he was reciting a mantra that didn't require to be spoken out loud.

Hey, let me sing you gentle song, so you can believe in eternity for all eternity.