Kyuhyun’s smile widened perceptibly as he continued to stare at Ryeowook, mutely amused by his utterance.  He held his peace and waited, focusing solely on the man in front of him while the new vampire struggled, and failed, to deny what he was feeling.

                His stomach churned while his head spun and Ryeowook couldn’t help but feel just a bit weak in the knees from the intensity of Kyuhyun’s gaze matched with the gentle yet insistent hold on his chin, denying him the freedom to look away.  “Yes,” he murmured, his voice trembling on the single word.

                “Yes?” Kyuhyun echoed with a raised brow, inching closer so he could peer into Ryeowook’s face further, adding just a hint of pressure with his proximity.  And he knew it.

                Ryeowook clenched his right hand into a fist and swallowed, the lump in his throat difficult to banish.  “I…” he trailed off, fighting himself on speaking the words aloud.  Unable to look away, he clenched his eyes shut tight and tried again.  “I care about you,” he admitted while his shoulders slumped in dejection.  There.  He’d said it.  He liked the vampire; cared enough for his well being to worry about him and to be upset when he didn’t seem to care for himself.  Which was not what he needed right now since his main concern was JR and keeping him safe.  He couldn’t say he loved Kyuhyun, but the damn vampire-

                Troubled eyes snapped open as his equally turbulent thoughts ground to a dead stop when he felt lips press against his own, soft and warm and utterly unlike any side that Kyuhyun normally showed him.  Ryeowook hummed in the back of his throat but didn’t pull away; he simply inspected the taller male’s face, unable to see his eyes for the closed lids covering his mesmerizing orbs.  Frozen in place, he was freed from the momentary spell when Kyuhyun finally pulled away, both much too soon and yet not soon enough.

                “There,” Kyuhyun smiled from under hooded lids, keeping his fingers on Ryeowook’s chin.  “Was that so hard?”

                Words utterly failed Ryeowook.  It didn’t, however, seem to be a concern for Joon who almost magically appeared beside them with his arms crossed over his chest, regarding the pair with a confused look on his face.  “Okay!  Now that you’ve kissed, can you two finally make up so we can finish this?” he grumbled with exasperation, gesturing towards a vague point in the distance with his right hand.

                Kyuhyun cocked his head in a mute question while Ryeowook took a half step back to give himself some space, pulling free of the taller man’s grasp as he fidgeted in place nervously.  “Yeah,” he blinked, moving a warding hand towards Kyuhyun while he looked at Joon.  “We should probably hurry.”  His voice was distant and a soft, belying the storm raging in his head.

                “You guys are weird,” Joon snorted as he reached down to pick up the water jugs and continue on his way, nose in the air while he sniffed for the path to their destination.

                Ryeowook frowned at the comment, not sure it was entirely justified, but then he noticed the customary smirk back on Kyuhyun’s face and he couldn’t really argue.  “You tricked me,” he muttered when they started walking again, making sure to keep a measured distance between them.

                Unconcerned, Kyuhyun respected the need for space and simply watched Ryeowook out of the corner of his eye.  “You’ve been avoiding the subject for a while.”

                Internally, Ryeowook denied it vehemently, though he knew the vampire was right.  He simply wasn’t inclined to admit that as well though.  “You know I’ve been focusing on my brother,” he defended himself weakly.

                “I’m well aware family comes first,” Kyuhyun reminded him in a superior tone, tapping his head with an index finger.  “But that doesn’t mean you can hide or deny other such interests.”

                Again, that stupid smirk graced his lips and Ryeowook had to stifle the very brief, and shameful, urge to smack it off.  It felt like the vampire was toying with him, which did not sit well with the younger man at all.  “Are you happy now that you’ve finally won the game?” he muttered, remembering what Jinki had told him earlier.

                Kyuhyun’s steps faltered for the fraction of a second, making Ryeowook wonder if he’d tripped up at all.  He peered over at the vampire and noticed the way Kyuhyun’s face was turned down, pensive in the slight moonlight.  “You’re not just a game.”  The statement caused a conflicting series of emotions to clash inside Ryeowook.  It confirmed he was a game on one level, but… it promised he might be more than that as well.  “Nor is it so easily won,” Kyuhyun added, looking at Ryeowook with that same intensity as before, tinged with fear and just as unsettling when it stole his breath.

                “Oh!”  Ryeowook jumped upon hearing Joon’s voice slice between them, the excited shout more than enough to grab his attention as he sought for any way to avoid Kyuhyun’s gaze.  “There it is!” the wolf added as he ran towards a small sink in the ground, the craggy surface mostly covered by a shelf of flaky rock that prevented them from gaining easy access.  On the plus side, it also allowed the water to pool in the natural ‘dish’ where other animals couldn’t get to it so easily.

                “Well that’s nifty,” Ryeowook murmured in a thick voice, leaning on the other side of the waterhole like Joon was to look into the enclosure.

                “That’s nature,” Kyuhyun commented with a snort, though his gaze remained on the other vampire as opposed to their find.

                Ryeowook tried to ignore it for the moment, watching Joon instead as the wolf pried at the cover so he could get to the hidden contents.  As rock cracked loudly, he flinched but was better able to see the liquid shimmering beneath them.  It was likely the shallow pool wouldn’t fill both containers, or even one of them all the way, but it was better than nothing.

                “Here we go,” Joon grinned while he tried to maneuver the container into a position that would allow water to seep into the opening.  Stubbornly, he refused to ask for any assistance when the angle proved troublesome and Kyuhyun declined to offer.  That left Ryeowook who didn’t think Joon would appreciate his assistance, but neither did he wish to be the focus of Kyuhyun anymore either, and he could feel the vampire watching him.

                Purposefully, Ryeowook shifted his attention outward to do as Junsu had requested: watch the werewolf’s back.  Stars above flickered here and there while the occasional creature shifted in the distance, but there were no lights of people nearby.  It even smelled dry out here, without the hint of blood beyond that which was a day old already and mostly dried up.  He shuddered when he realized the thought was pretty much normal to him, and then stilled as something else moved in the darkness.  Alarm pooled in his belly as he squinted, trying to figure out what it was, and he nearly jumped out of his skin when Kyuhyun whispered in his ear.

                “You didn’t really think they’d leave us completely alone did you?”  It took every bit of willpower in Ryeowook’s body to not cry aloud at the unexpected surprise, though he wanted to yell at the vampire just because.  He didn’t say anything though when he noticed Kyuhyun nodding upward and he was obligated to follow the gesture.

                Someone was flying above them.  They were too high to really make out but it was definitely a Cha keeping tabs on their party.  Did the rest of the group not trust them?  Ryeowook looked back down and realized the other moving creature on the ground was a werewolf in lupine form.  He’d smelled a werewolf and had assumed it was Joon automatically.  “But why?” Ryeowook asked in confusion, face twisted at the thought they were so unreliable they needed backup as backup.

                Kyuhyun chuckled in the back of his throat and shook his head.  “Even with no enemies in sight, it’s not wise to leave those such as us unguarded.”  He stated fact, nothing more, but there was something sad about the words.

                “Not that,” Ryeowook shook his head, glancing at Joon who had resorted to digging the stone into a suitable shape with his claws, though he had to shift forms to do so.  “Why the pretense of being alone if we weren’t really?”

                Again, a dry bark of laughter emerged, though his expression told he wasn’t amused.  “Are we the type of people that talk so easily in the company of others?”

                Ryeowook’s jaw dropped open slightly and he pointed an accusatory finger at the vampire.  “You planned this didn’t you?”

                “No,” Kyuhyun shook his head with his hands hanging lax at his side.  “But I saw an opportunity that I didn’t wish to pass up so I took it.  Likely, N suggested this.”  The statement appeared to bother Kyuhyun as well as he scratched at his cheek with one fingernail, thoughtful and quiet.

                For the briefest of moments, Ryeowook felt betrayed by the Cha, but then the question of ‘why’ came into his head.  There were plenty of things people weren’t telling him about Kyuhyun, least of all the vampire himself, but here and there, various sources gave tidbits and warnings.  Little by little, he was starting to piece the puzzle together and he wasn’t sure if it made him feel more assured or less.  One thing he did know was that he was beginning to feel like a game piece to a lot of different people.  Another glance upward made him frown at the reminder they were still being tailed.

                “Hah!” Joon finally cheered, jumping up from his crouching position with both containers partially filled so that water sloshed in their plastic prisons noisily.  “The water hole’s mostly used up but we’re good to go!” he grinned, strangely pleased with himself while droplets of liquid dripped from his jaw.

                “Lead on,” Kyuhyun gestured smoothly, a smug expression on his face when he let his eyes slide back to Ryeowook.

                The newer vampire narrowed his gaze, pursed his lips, and turned to follow Joon resolutely.  He was getting rather tired of this crap.  It didn’t take them long to return back to their encampment and he immediately looked around to see who wasn’t present.  The humans were accounted for but inconsequential in terms of following them and the wolves and vampires were spread out here and there.  Some were still returning from their trips beyond the very small fire though the worst of the injured wolves had turned into their lupine forms and were sharing sleeping spaces with humans, granting body heat where blankets weren’t enough to compensate for the drop in temperatures during the colder part of the night.

                “You could always ask you know,” Kyuhyun commented nearby, close enough to touch if he wanted to but far enough away so that Ryeowook wouldn’t feel the need to put more distance between them.

                Annoyed by the reminder, Ryeowook swallowed the laugh he wanted to give and simply said, “You’d probably make me guess anyway.”

                “Not if you asked directly,” the elder vampire countered in a smug tone, arms lightly crossed over his chest as he waited for the words he expected.  He was left astonished when Ryeowook said nothing at all and simply returned to check on his brother instead.

                Stupid, smug, know-it-all, manipulative vampire.  Ryeowook felt he’d had more than enough of him for one evening and as he settled into place beside his sleeping sibling, he couldn’t help but smile.  The younger male was curled up against Luna’s free side as she kept watch on the unconscious Minsoo in her monstrous form.  She was only slightly larger than the wolf transformed werewolves, but much warmer than in her human guise.  Her eyes partially closed in contentment when Ryeowook reached out to pat her head, earning a quiet whine in response.  “Thank you for keeping an eye on him,” he whispered, nodding at the young woman.

                “He’s lucky to have a brother that cares about him so much,” Henry murmured sleepily, drifting closer from where he’d been talking with Ken who was doing his best to help an exhausted Daesung in caring for the last of the wounded.  Baekho was working on his own at his brother’s request, though Henry had volunteered to assist where he could.  At least most of the routine checkup work had been taken care of with food and water going around as quickly as possible.  There was a little bit left for the morning so they wouldn’t have to go on empty bellies but it was mostly quiet now.

                “I do,” Ryeowook agreed, shifting his attention to pet JR’s hair carefully, smoothing the frazzled strands on the top of his head.  Most of his confusion faded into the background when he was reminded of his greatest priority right now and he smiled at last.

                “How did the water run go?” Henry asked in a subdued tone, treading lightly.

                So much for being able to push those thoughts aside.  “Kyuhyun kissed me,” he exhaled, finally tired of beating around the bush.  Cringing preemptively, he waited for the laughter or something of the sort but it never came so he pried open one eye to see Henry watching him with a sad smile instead.  “What?” he asked, a little off put by the unexpected lack of amusement.

                Henry tilted his head to the side while he obviously searched for the words he wanted to say.  One of Luna’s brothers drifted close, the golden one that Ryeowook recalled as Karam, nosing at his nearest hand before he butted his head into the open palm.  Henry smiled and obliged the wolf with a quick pat before he drifted on, checking on his sister once in the process.  “I’m no expert on these creatures, Wookie,” he began, carefully taking a seat next to Ryeowook where he could also comb his fingers through Luna’s fur on the top of her head.  “And I certainly don’t know how to define Kyuhyun,” he admitted with a twinkle in his eye as he glanced at his friend.

                “Ugh.  Don’t tell me you have a theory on this too?” Ryeowook laughed once, both amused and annoyed.

                “Not really a theory so much,” Henry shrugged, though the smile remained in place.  “But I’ve been around the wolves enough to pick up on a few things here and there.”  Only then did his smile falter just a bit and he looked at his friend a little harder.

                “Like?” Ryeowook prompted, not entirely sure he was going to enjoy what the other male had to tell him.

                “If you ask me, I think Kyuhyun is like a lone wolf.”  His comment was met with amusement from Ryeowook who seemed unsure whether his friend was serious or not.  “Hear me out,” Henry grinned with his hand held up to forestall any argument.  “He’s not that far from what we’d consider a rogue but he has more sense and loyalty than that, even if he’s somewhat guarded.”

                While he still wasn’t making much sense to the vampire, Ryeowook didn’t try to tell him to be quiet.  “I get that he doesn’t like to reveal himself.  I actually understand that part.  But why the games?  And I still don’t know what I am to him,” he admitted, threading his fingers through his hair in frustration.

                “You didn’t let me finish,” Henry chided gently as he placed his hand on Ryeowook’s shoulder.  “What I meant was that lone wolves do just fine by themselves most of the time.  They don’t want or need company in general because they’re incredibly self-sufficient.  If they weren’t pack leaders, Yunho and Seunghyun would probably fall into that category.”  At a look from Ryeowook to let him know that he was going off topic again, he grinned sheepishly and nodded.  “The point is, when a lone wolf chooses someone they want to be with, whether the pack wolf realizes it or not, they become a very large focal point for the other’s attention.”

                “Henry,” the vampire snorted, amused by the train of thought.  “Look at me,” he gestured when the wolf-kin paused to let him speak.  “There is nothing special about me.”

                “That’s what you say,” Henry nodded with a chuckle.

                “There’s not!” the vampire retorted, reaching out to shove his friend’s shoulder carefully.

                “Shh,” Daesung cautioned from nearby, holding his finger over his lips to call for quiet.  The shadows from the fire played with the circles under his eyes and gave him a rather frightening countenance that was more than enough to get instant silence.

                “Sorry,” Henry and Ryeowook murmured at the same time as the spirit possessed young man returned to his task of tending the grumpy wolves, now that their human charges had been seen to already.

                “I’m worried about them,” Ryeowook hummed, glancing at Ken and Baekho as well.  The former wasn’t possessed but it was hard to say if Baekho was or not at present.  It wasn’t as if Hyukjae or Taemin’s skills were necessary currently.

                “Me too,” Henry agreed with a nod, lips pursed in quiet thought.  “Then again… I’m worried about all of us,” he added in a mere whisper.

                Ryeowook wasn’t sure if he was meant to hear the comment or not, but with his sensitive ears, it was more than loud enough.  Quietly, he rested his hand on JR’s shoulder, eyes crinkling when the young man turned in his sleep, shifting closer to the warmth of Luna’s body, and then glanced towards the rest of the party.  The wolves were mostly bunking down for the evening.  Taekwoon, Sulli, and Sanghyuk had been among the first to pass out and they were currently paired with Hana, Jihoon, Ren, Jieun, Dongho, and Yukwon.  Minho and Minhyuk were fighting sleep for the moment but it looked like they’d be settling in soon as well.  Were there really so few humans left?

                He saw the pale Hyoyeon nestled between Jiyong and Jongup, the two wolf-kin practically laying on top of her in a familiar manner.  And it looked like the possessed would be watched over by Luna’s siblings in particular.  Sungmin seemed to have taken it upon himself to shadow Daesung while Karam and Thunder looked over Ken and Baekho respectively.  It was almost amusing seeing them pad around after the tired young men, tails wagging while their tongues lolled from open mouths, obviously waiting for them to call it a night.

                Junsu, with Sunhwa and Joon nearby, was keeping an eye on the resting Zhou, Minzy, and Kiseop as the vampires slept to recover to the best of their ability.  As for the others…  Ryeowook reached out to pat Henry on the shoulder in a friendly gesture.  “You should get some sleep,” he urged with a soft smile as he got to his feet.  “I’m sure we’ve got quite a bit of ground to cover in the morning.”

                “I wouldn’t doubt it,” Henry agreed with a reluctant nod.  “Wookie,” he called before the other could stand up and get very far.

                “Yeah?” Ryeowook murmured, pausing where he was.

                “Just because you don’t think you’re significant doesn’t mean nobody else does,” he shrugged and then looked down with an embarrassed smile as he rubbed the back of his neck.

                The words sent a warm feeling burrowing into his chest and Ryeowook laughed once, not quite sure how to respond.  “Yeah well,” he started to say, just as embarrassed himself.  “Sleep well you,” he waved his friend off and hurried to excuse himself.  A very small perimeter of vampires was all that was left to him when he realized he’d accounted for everyone else.  Above, two Chas circled in the sky, gliding over the currents as skillfully as they could to conserve energy and yet remain airborne.  On the ground, Sungmin and Jinki walked in slow, wide circles, using their superior eyes to make sure no one snuck up on them in the meantime.  And then there was N and Kyuhyun standing together, looking in the direction he assumed they were going to be heading in the morning.

                It took him a moment to gather his courage and calm his nerves but Ryeowook finally made his way over to join them, looking outward as well.  They weren’t talking before so the silence wasn’t abrupt or unusual, but it did feel odd when it continued even after he arrived.  “All quiet?” he finally asked awkwardly, his lips with a sidelong glance at the other two.  Why he’d chosen to stand beside Kyuhyun instead of N was a bit of a mystery to him but that was what it was…

                “You could say that,” Kyuhyun commented with his eyes straight ahead, face a mask once more.

                “All quiet on the western front?” N laughed lightly, teasing with the dated movie and book title.

                Kyuhyun snorted at the reference and managed a wry smile.  “Tomorrow.”

                “Hmm?” Ryeowook chirped in response, not understanding the answer.

                “We reach our destination tomorrow,” the elder vampire sighed, betraying just a hint of his worries with the sound.

                “Eh.  We’ll be fine,” N urged with a wave of his hand, trying to lighten the mood, though they all knew it fell a bit short.

                Ryeowook was struck with the oddest urge to comfort Kyuhyun, since he didn’t like seeing the confident vampire shaken, but he wasn’t sure how.  Taking a little breath, he reached across the paltry distance between them and grabbed Kyuhyun’s hand in his, wrapping his fingers around the chilled limb.  “It’ll work out,” he nodded, not at all sure what he was talking about, but he needed to say it to make himself believe it as well.

                “See?  Even Wookie thinks so,” N grinned, crossing his arms over his chest to look at the horizon once more.

                Kyuhyun relaxed marginally, but Ryeowook was pretty sure it wasn’t because of what N said.  He was given just a touch more insight when he felt Kyuhyun’s grip shift so that he could hold Ryeowook’s hand in turn, squeezing gently.  The vampire didn’t look over or give any indication of reassurance, but he did murmur, “If you say so.”

                Internally, Ryeowook knew it was absolutely stupid for those words to make him feel even remotely happy, but… they did.  And so he smiled, still just as confused and conflicted as before, if not more so, but content for the moment.  That could very well change in the morning when the sun rose, but right now, he rather liked their moment of peace.

(a/n: So not as long as my usual updates - still a decent chunk of text  hehe - and we didn't get back with the other group yet, though I do intend to check up on them in the next update!  I know not a lot happened but there has been some progress with the KyuWook feels!  *cheers*  And there wasn't nearly as much of a cliffhanger this time.  lol  If I can keep my thoughts straight, and find time in the coming weeks, I know where I want to go but please continue to be patient with me.  You guys have been awesome in that regard too so thank you anyway!  I'm trying to work around school and I'm just happy I was able to get to it at all so huzzah!  Hopefully it's at least relatively satisfactory and I shall do my best to get another out when I can!  Thank you again!)