What is this? another update in 24 hours? if you haven't read the previous update please read chapter 6 first <3

Updates will be more frequent from here on ^^

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It was the following day, Jonghyun left early, his mother had been a big help. He was thankful that she was this supportive of him, he felt reassured and scared at the same time. He knew what he had to do, but doing it was a different story. He packed some necessities back at his own house, put on a different outfit and was sure to include a bit more fur, the winter seemed to be coming a bit early that year.

The hunter packed up, his mother came over and handed him some sweet bread. She instructed him to give it to Key and to Key only, as a gift. The male nodded at his mother’s request, knowing she meant well. Once he was finished organizing, he was able to leave. He threw his bag over his shoulder and grabbed his trusted bow. After saying his goodbyes to his mother he walked off to the edge of the village.

Jonghyun smiled when he thought back to the first time he crossed the plains, he wasn’t too comfortable back then, but now it seemed like going home. He adjusted the bag on his back and took firm steps towards the forest.  He knew the path and was sure to take a shorter one then he had taken when he left Key.

The forest was a bit too quiet for Jonghyun’s liking so he made haste and started to jog short periods of time. He reached the lake within an hour and a half. The male took a breather for about 5 minutes before continuing. He knew Key’s tree was near the lake bed so he kept walking along it. The man figured that the somewhat bad weather might have a relation to why it was so quiet. Not much later luck seemed to turn its back on Jonghyun as it started to pour. The male quickly ran in the direction of the tree house.

He found Key’s house not much later. The shutters that were opened last time, were now closed shut. Jonghyun decided to just try his luck and climbed up and opened the small hatch.

                “Key….you here?” he tried but he could only hear a soft sobbing.

Jonghyun didn’t waste too much time and let himself in, so he could investigate where the whimpering. He put his bag and bow down against the wall and tip-toed towards the sound. He had to move a curtain before he could see. Key was sleeping, but very uneasy, he seemed to be having a very bad dream and was whimpering. There was enough light for Jonghyun to see the other quite clear. The hunter kneeled down and watched for a moment as Key tossed over to the other side. It wasn’t until the maiden started to cry that Jonghyun decided to intervene. He took the younger male in his arms and urged him to wake up.

                “Key….Key, it’s just a bad dream wake up” he whispered and through the said male’s hair. “Come on Key open your eyes, open them so I can see you better” he plead.

Slowly Key’s eyes opened and Jonghyun was quite overjoyed. “You’re awake…” he said in relief, but the other just had more tears streaming down his cheeks. “It’s ok Key, I’m here, it was just a dream…”

                The maiden shook his head. “No….” he just said and continued to shake his head, but Jonghyun didn’t give up quite that fast. “No Key, it was a dream, you’re awake now…do you want some water?” the hunter offered. To that Key nodded and just wiped his tears with one of the sleeves of his nightshirt.

Jonghyun stood up and got his own water bottle out of his back and handed that to Key. The maiden thanked him and gulped down the contents of the bottle, all in one go. The hunter was quite amazed that the other could drink that fast, but he guessed that anything was possible with Key.

                “You must be hungry now” Jonghyun sighed and got up to get the sweet bread his mother had given him to pass on. The male sat down next to Key and handed it over.
                “This is from my mom…please eat it.”

The maiden took a good look at the bread and smelled it before taking a bite. His eyes grew larger as he finally tasted it. Before Jonghyun could even understand what was happening, Key had wolfed down the bread.

The feline male his lips before speaking up. “That’s delicious….” He said in awe. Jonghyun took note that Key seemed to be quite the sweet tooth. “Do you have any more Jjong?” the maiden’s pupils were enlarged, it seemed off to the male.
                “Erm no, that was all she gave me…”

Key pouted and huffed a bit. Jonghyun was content though, the other seemed to be awake and to have forgotten about the bad dream. The male chuckled when Key gave him a curious look.

                “You’re lying right? You have more, I know it, I can smell it”
               

                “No I don’t have any more Key…”
The maiden still didn’t quite believe him and glanced at him suspiciously.
                “I’m not going to believe that!”

That was the last bit for Jonghyun, he stood up and grabbed his bag. He handed it to Key.
                “Here, if you don’t believe me, have a look”
Key curiously went through the bag and was sure to take everything that was in it, out of it. He reached the bottom and grinned weakly. There were two more breads in the bag Jonghyun didn’t even know about. His mother must have packed that into the bag before he was actually packing.
                “See….You’re a liar” He said with a slight smile on his face as he presented the two breads.

Jonghyun just laughed, he didn’t know Key could be this cheeky and cheerful, his mother’s bread sure made miracles happen.
                “You’re not planning on eating that now…are you?” he judged from the look in Key’s eyes that that was the other wanted to do. A pout formed on the younger male’s face.
                “I was….but fine, I won’t, but only because you’re asking me so nicely” he said while his voice was laced with sarcasm.

The hunter took the two breads and put them in the makeshift kitchen of the tree House.
                “We can eat them later Key” he pointed out, earning a huff from Key.

                “I believe they were a present to ME right? So you can’t have any” the maiden was all smiley about it. The hunter just shook his head. “No Key we can share right?” The maiden shook his head.

                “No way” he said softly. Jonghyun just laughed and wondered what had gotten into the other. It was somewhat cute, but very out of character at the same time.  

                “Why can’t we share, there’s more than enough to do so” he pointed out, but Key still shook his head. “No Jonghyun, that bread is too tasty to share. “He said with a faint grin on his face. The hunter could only shake it head and laugh, that was until Key started to couch.

It was still pouring outside, the raindrops used the roof as a drum and made a soft thumping sound. Key continued to cough. Jonghyun didn’t quite know what to do, so he just the other’s back, hoping the coughing would pass quickly.

The maiden stopped after coughing for a good few minutes. The hunter was glad it stopped.
                “You ok Key?” he asked carefully. Key was honest and shook his head.

                “No, I don’t know what’s wrong…” He admitted. Jonghyun didn’t know anything about maidens and their health in general, so he couldn’t form a solid reply to that.

                “Maybe it’s just a cold, go lay back down ok? I’ll get you some fruit and more water.” He knew that that was what his mother used to do when he had a cold, so he figured that might work with Key as well.  The other did as he was told and went to bed.

A little while later, Jonghyun had set up everything for Key. The hunter put it down by his side, only to find the other sleeping already. The male chuckled. Key was quite cute when he slept. Jonghyun knew it would be for the best not to disturb him. He watched over the maiden as he slept.

Key slept for a few hours. Jonghyun just stayed put in the corner of the room, he fell asleep occasionally, but always woke up a few minutes later. The maiden seemed to be dreaming again. Jonghyun went closer and let his hand run through the other’s hair. He noticed that Key was quite cold, so he grabbed a blanket that was previously in his bag, but Key had decided to take out all contents so it was on the floor. He put the blanket over Key as an extra help to get Key to warm up.

The younger male opened his eyes not much later, his lips were starting to get a bit blue, like Jonghyun’s had been before. Key looked at the other with a mixed expression on his face, he seemed to be in pain, but not wanting to admit that.
 
                “Are you still cold?” Jonghyun was quite worried and made no secret of it. Key nodded and sat up, he wrapped all the blankets he had around himself and shivered.
                “Should I make a fire?” the hunter suggested, by the looks of Key he didn’t even need a reply. He just stood up and went over to the fireplace, grabbed some wood and made a fire.
Key was quite amazed that Jonghyun was that skilled in making fire, he didn’t mean to be offensive, but he still viewed the other as inferior.
Jonghyun walked back to where Key was still sitting and lifted him up in his arms without a word. The maiden didn’t have any form of energy to protest so he just gave in and leaned against the other.
The hunter smiled and sat down, putting Key in his lap by the fire. He found it necessary that he stayed as close as possible. Body warmth worked very well in combination with fire as far as he knew, so he used that.

Key didn’t squirm at all, much to the other’s surprise and even leaned back, letting his head rest on Jonghyun’s chest. They didn’t need to talk, it was all good. The maiden seemed to be quite accepting of the help, something Jonghyun hadn’t expected to happen any time soon.

The silence was comfortable and with the warmth of the fire, Key seemed to be doing much better in no time. He fell asleep again, which was viewed as a good thing by Jonghyun, that way Key could store more energy and get better faster.

Jonghyun had to throw in some fire wood every now and then, but that didn’t seem to disturb Key’s slumber at all. The hunter was happy at that moment, he felt useful to the other and for some reason the maiden didn’t seem to have any bad dreams. He smiled and ran his hand through Key’s hair again, it was quite soft, he liked it.

It wasn’t until much later that Key actually started to show signs of waking up. He slowly opened his eyes and blinked a few times before looking up to Jonghyun. A blush was evident on his face, so he turned away quickly, but it was too late already, Jonghyun had seen it already.
The male just smiled, but let Key be, knowing that would be for the best. There was a brief moment in which he had just wanted to kiss the maiden, but he knew that was unheard of.

Key pouted slightly and tried to stand up, but Jonghyun pulled him back down to sit in his lap again. “You’re not well enough to go walking around Key.” He whispered to the other.
The maiden kept the pout on his face, he didn’t want to look Jonghyun in the eyes so he kept silent. The hunter put the other down on the floor, on one of the animal skins that was laying about there, so Key wouldn’t get too cold.

Once Jonghyun got the fruit and sat back down, he was pleasantly surprised that Key climbed back on his lap on his own accord. He took the fruit from the hunter’s hands and took a quick bite before turning around, pressing the fruit against the other’s lips. Jonghyun took a bite, he was grateful that Key was in such a good mood. The maiden finished the fruit rather fast. He felt quite full and decided to just mess around with Jonghyun’s hands.

Key touched the other’s fingers and was quite curious. Jonghyun’s hands were somewhat rough, as to be expected. The maiden looked at the hand a bit better and suddenly noticed the moon like mark on the hunter’s wrist.

                “How did you get this?” the younger male questioned.

Jonghyun shrugged in response. “The day before yesterday, I wasn’t fast enough and I couldn’t reach home before the dark.” He chuckled as he noticed that Key was continuously touching the mark.
Jonghyun decided to just continue his story. “So I heard that noise again…That creature you told me about…well it’s a huge wolf!” he was being all giddy like a small kid. “And then, I passed out and woke up the following morning with the mark on my wrist” The man just smiled as the maiden decided to look him in the eyes.

              “It’s odd” Key commented. “You should be dead, yet you’re here….that spirit must have liked you.” He pointed out.
Jonghyun just grinned a bit, this was the opening he was waiting for. “Well I like someone else you know” Key stared at him in confusion, he didn’t quite catch on.

The hunter just smiled, the other was a bit too innocent. Jonghyun leaned in and just before their lips touched he spoke up.

“The one I like and love, is you, Key”
 

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I didn't quite expect to be able to update this soon, but this story is really writing itself right now...Confessing is hard though TT-TT hopefully you don't mind a bit of fluff, there will be more fluff comming though. Tell me what you tink^^

<3<3<3

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