Hongbin watched Hyuk practicing with the other werewolves in their group sadly. Hyuk looked happy, but Hongbin felt………very, very sad.

Don’t get him wrong, he was happy that Hyuk finally looked happy after that mission he’d been sent on, but…………

Hyuk wasn’t happy because of him. Hongbin was trying so hard to make Hyuk smile, to get his mind off of that blasted mission, and yet it seemed to be all for nothing. Chen, Kai, and Heesun could do a much better job making Hyuk happy by just inviting him to train with them.

“Don’t get so upset,” Hyuna assured him every time she felt his sadness, “Hyuk knows that you’re there for him and that’s enough to help him get over a lot of what’s he’s getting through.”

But that wasn’t enough for Hongbin.

Hyuk was like a brother to him. Even more then N, Leo, Ken, and Ravi. They’d been like that pretty much since the day that they met. Hongbin always liked to think that they were super close, that they could tell each other anything and always rely on the other for support. Well, that was until the werewolf thing came into play. And the ISBIP agent thing.

Now it seemed like Hyuk didn’t view him as anything other than a friend. That………that hurt. A lot. It felt like Hongbin had lost his family all over again. This was crazy because it wasn’t like Hyuk was dead. He just wasn’t talking to Hongbin about important things anymore.

But it still brought up memories of his family leaving in on the doorstep of the orphanage. He could still recall the sight of their car’s taillights fading into the darkness with perfect clarity. He remembered crying, begging them not to leave. He recalled feeling empty once he knew that they were gone, never coming back for him. He’d kept that empty feeling until meeting Hyuk.

Right away, he’d decided that the cute, little two year old with bright eyes and a huge smile was going to be his new family. Hyuk had seemed thrilled with the idea, calling him big brother right away. When they met N and the others, Hongbin had been scared that they would take Hyuk away from him and he’d be alone again. They had become his family instead, but they still didn’t take the place Hyuk held in his heart.

Hongbin couldn’t remember the last time Hyuk called him ‘big brother.’ Maybe it had been before his first change. Maybe a little after that he stopped using the title. That hurt Hongbin more then he could ever describe.

“Talk to him,” Ravi had suggested the night before when he finally managed to get Hongbin to spill about his problems.

But the problem was that Hongbin didn’t know what to say. Anything he came up with………it didn’t fit how he was feeling.

“Hey, hyung,” Hyuk grinned moving to join Hongbin sitting on the side lines while Heesun and Chen had some one-on-one training.

“Hi,” Hongbin managed a small smile, “what’s up? Where is Kai go?”

“He’s gone to get a drink,” Hyuk shrugged, “it’s hot out today. I was going to join him when I noticed you sitting over here all alone.”

“You should get something to drink,” Hongbin frowned in concern, “You can’t get dehydrated. You need to take care of yourself.”

“Yeah,” Hyuk sighed, “I mean, have you seen Baekhyun recently? He looks so……..dead.”

“He hasn’t been looking after himself at all,” Hongbin nodded.

“I get why though,” Hyuk frowned, “after that mission…….those things……..”

“You don’t talk to me about things anymore,” Hongbin’s words slipped out before he could stop them. But the look on Hyuk’s face, the mix of feelings in his eyes………..it was all too much.

“Huh?”

“It started after your first change,” Hongbin sighed, “you just……stopped talking to me. After coming here, it was getting better. You actually came to me about your problems. But then………then you went on that mission and now you don’t talk to me anymore.”

“Hyung….”

“You used to call me big brother all the time,” Hongbin said, “but you stopped after you figured out what you were. I…….I really miss it.”

“I want to tell you,” Hyuk said after a pause, “I want to share my thoughts about things, but……it’s hard.”

“To put it into words?”

“Yeah,” Hyuk nodded, “I mean, how can I put it into words that every time I sleep, I remember those things chasing us? That Sometimes, they look like the monsters I saw, other times they……they look like you and the others.”

“You just did,” Hongbin pointed out.

“That’s half of it,” Hyuk rolled his eyes, “everything……..everything else…….if I talk about it, I’m scared it will become real.”

“Just talking about it won’t make it real,” Hongbin assured him.

“Really?” Hyuk questioned, “Can you promise me that?”

Hongbin remained silent.

“Exactly,” Hyuk scoffed, “you can’t promise that you aren’t going to die. That come the end of this war, I’m not…..not going to find you in a puddle of your own blood, arms missing and eyes gutted out.”

“Hyuk,” Hongbin tried to find the right words to say that would take the haunted look out of the younger’s eyes.

“You can’t promise that Leo hyung isn’t going to be ripped apart by a dragon,” Hyuk kept going, “nothing left but chunks of flesh and bone.”

“Hyuk, stop,” Hongbin pulled Hyuk in for a hug before he could say anything else that he’d seen in his dreams, “please stop.”

“You wanted to know,” Hyuk’s muffled voice reached Hongbin’s ears, “I just told you.”

“It’s not going to happen,” Hongbin assured Hyuk, “I’m not going to leave you. None of us are going to leave you.”

“Can’t promise that,” Hyuk huffed, “no one can.”

“I can!” Hongbin insisted, “you’re my little brother, Hyuk. I’m never going to leave your side. The other feel the same way, I know that they won’t leave you.”

The pair fell silent, just hugging each other tightly.

“I’ll keep you safe,” Hyuk finally said, “I swear it.”

“Same,” Hongbin nodded, “We’re both going to be fine.”

“Hyuk!” they heard Chen call, “you’re having a practice match against me this time.”

“Alright,” Hyuk called back before turning to Hongbin, “go back to the dorms. You still have homework, right?”

“I’ll get to it,” Hongbin smiled, “I want to watch you train for a little bit longer.”

“Fine,” Hyuk nodded, “we’ll walk back to the dorms together then. Maybe we can get something to eat, too.”

“Sounds good,” Hongbin nodded.

“See you in a few, big brother,” Hyuk grinned before rushing off across the field to rejoin the other werewolves.

Hongbin smiled brightly after his brain process what Hyuk had called him.

Big brother.

Granted, this didn’t mean that their problems were all sorted out, but it was a start. One that Hongbin was defiantly going to build on until his bond with Hyuk was just as strong as it had been when they were younger.

But one problem still remained. Hyuk’s dreams of losing him, Leo, N, Ravi, and Ken.

“Not going to happen,” Hongbin promised himself, “we’re always going to be together. Just like we promised when we were kids.

A/N: so Hyukkie and Hongbin are mending their relationship. It’s cute, right?