For the first time in long, long years, Donghae was undeniably happy. Even he could barely believe it, yet the way his heart was fluttering in his chest could only be cause by joy and love. Because yes, even if he barely knew his mate, he loved him. It wasn't just a fling that would wither as the summer's sun slowly turned into the autumn's cool breeze, like the feeling that humans like to call love, it was much more.

It was a mixture of various emotions many never had the chance to experience. Pure adoration, respect, worry, love. Something that was hard to describe yet easy to feel.

Sometimes, as the day passed the small deer-shifter wondered if Hyukjae knew that something was up. He was aware of the fact that the wolf was far from being stupid, actually he was so smart that the younger boy couldn't help but look up at him, but he also knew that he hid the signs of the disease that was affecting him more and more pretty well.

The first problems arose around a month after they had met when the small, brown-haired boy last a lot of weight in the span of seven short days. Both of them had had things to do for a week, so they were already looking forward to finally seeing each other, the agonizing pain of separation growing as the moments passed. Sadly, things hadn't gone for Donghae as he had wanted and he could feel more and more of his remaining strength leaving him with every rapid breath he took. Still, he was in complete bliss, ignoring the suffering, the loss of his appetite because he was going to reunite with his mate after such agonizing days.

As always, he had agreed to meet his mate in the clearing they had met as they wanted to take things slow so they hadn't even been to each others's houses yet, but sadly, he had forgotten about how he hadn't bought smaller clothes. In the end, the deer went to their little date in an extremely baggy T-shirt that threatened to fall off his bony shoulders and a pair of skinny jeans that didn't hug his flesh as they used to, making him look like a child that had tried on their parent's clothes. He knew that his mate would notice something but he had no idea that he would be that angry.

As usually, it was Hyukjae that had got to the small clearing first. He smiled as he sat down, waiting for his beautiful mate to arrive. It was a bright, warm they. There were barely any clouds on the clear blue sky as small birds trilled happily, as they, just like all creatures, were blindly but blissfully searching for their loved ones.

The wolf could already imagine his cute little deer stepping out of the woods in his deer form timidly, his small nose in the air before he would slowly shift back into his human one, his doe eyes never chancing. Merely moments later, just as he had suspected, he could hear the rustling of leaves before he could actually see his mate, for a few moments as an animal, then quite soon as a human. But the sight he had been expecting differed too much from what he actually saw.

His mate who had been skinny already when they first met was standing in front of him on weak legs, his arms seemingly much thinner than before. His face, too, was sunken while his eyes reflected only exhaustion with a small spark of bliss to finally see the one he loved. Before he knew it, Hyukjae had let out a loud growl as he stood up and stepped to Donghae who slowly fell into his arms.

"Hi Hyukkie."He whispered softly, his mate's obvious anger having been overlooked by him. "Sorry for being late."He added.

"What on Earth had happened to you?"The elder asked as he hugged the younger close, wincing inwardly as he could feel each of his bones stick out a little. It was beyond horrible to hold Donghae like that. He seemed even more fragile than before, his thin frame shaking a little. Though it was obvious that he was trying to act tough, Hyukjae could see that he was on the brink of collapsing. 

"Hm?"The younger asked, slowly lifting his gaze to meet the elder's."What do you mean?"

"What do I mean?"The wolf snarled, pushing the younger away from himself as gently as he could as he was scared that event the gentlest of touches would break him."Just look at yourself, Donghae!"He continued, his voice a lot softer than before.

"I... It's a long story."The younger whispered as tears welled up in his eyes. He rarely see his mate that furious and the fact that it was because of him made it even worse. He wasn't scared of the elder, just sad for him. Truth was, that his health was getting worse and worse as the moments passed. Nothing could help anymore, not even the medicine he detested so much. He was going to die very soon, leaving Hyukjae behind and it hurt him. It made the small deer want to scream and cry, to trash around because life was so unfair for the both of them. He wanted to somehow go back in time and prevent himself from meeting his wolf so they wouldn't have to suffer so much... Yet he knew that he had to keep up a strong facade until he could. He had to lie, to pretend that something else was going on for his mate's sake. 

"We have time."The elder said gently as he could sense the younger's sorrow. He didn't want his mate to be sad or scared, he just wanted answers. He wasn't an idiot, he knew that Donghae was hiding something from him and frankly, he was scared of what it could be.

"I... I'll tell you at another time."The deer whispered, his voice breaking. He just wasn't ready to tell the truth yet, because then, two hearts would be broken for ever. His, and the one that beat only for him: his mate's.