a/n: I'm sorry it took so long! I just wasn't satisfied with an epilogue and this turned into a full-blown chapter. Enjoy!

Part Ten

Junmyeon had wondered why Yifan would get so angry at even the faintest whisper of Daesung’s name. True, all of them were on bad terms with Bigbang for attempting a coup, but at the vaguest mention of Daesung, they would all watch in astonishment as Yifan struggled not to revert to his wolf form.

“Yifan…?”

“Yes, Junmyeon?” Yifan was seated at his desk while Junmyeon lay down on the bed in Yifan’s room, simply basking in the scent of his mate in the sheets.

“I went to see Daesung a few days ago.”

Yifan stiffened, and then set down the papers he was holding. He turned around in his chair, his eyes flashing with rage and betrayal. “Then you know.”

“Yes.” Junmyeon sighed softly.

“That’s why you were crying when you came back with Sehun and Luhan. No wonder Luhan wouldn’t tell me why…I would have rushed out and ripped Daesung to shreds,” Yifan chuckled mirthlessly.

“I…I don’t know how to feel. I suppose that it is understandable from Daesung’s standpoint, because it would go against his very nature to disobey any orders from Ji Yong. But—but he was my friend,” Junmyeon whispered softly, his eyes b with tears. “And if he had any inkling of what Siwon would do, I just…”

Yifan got up from the desk and came over to lay down on the bed beside his mate. He gently wrapped Junmyeon in his embrace, approaching him slowly and carefully, as Junmyeon was still afraid of people touching him. He rubbed Junmyeon’s back softly as Junmyeon sobbed quietly into his shirt.

“Why did they all betray me?” Junmyeon gasped between sobs. “Why? What did I do wrong?”

“They didn’t all betray you, though,” Yifan murmured quietly. “You still have me. You still have Exo.”

“But for Siwon—he was there, for nearly all of my life. For god’s sake, he practically raised me,” Junmyeon whispered. “And Daesung—Daesung cared about me and tried to protect me. Why did they did turn on me in the end?”

“Daesung was a fool who tried to take the easy way out, and Siwon was mad with obsession and ambition.” Yifan kept his hand movements gentle and his aura calm, but his heart roared with rage as he thought about the two wolves. “They were not meant to protect you or to care for you. You realized that first with Siwon, when he threw you out of his pack, and then you came to us. Perhaps you had a different motive for coming to Exo at first, but in the end, I believe that it was your destiny to come to Exo to be loved by us.” Yifan pulled Junmyeon into his chest and tangled their legs together, rocking their bodies back and forth in a soothing motion as Junmyeon hiccoughed. “We’re here for you. All of Exo is here to take care of you, and to love you Junmyeon. We won’t betray you. When you are in danger, we’ll come for you, no matter how far, or how dangerous it is to save you. We won’t throw you to your fate and leave you to rot, as others have. We will always be there for you, Junmyeon.”

Junmyeon stayed quiet after that, and simply let Yifan pet his hair and rub his back to try and calm him down. There wasn’t much he could do; perhaps it had been fate that had led him to fall into Exo’s pack. But then, why had fate been so cruel, and left him in shards again, by the same person’s hand? Wasn’t once enough?

Eventually, he fell asleep, his mind tired out by all of the dark thoughts in his head. Yifan stayed with him for a while after he drifted off, his fingers slowly tracing soothing circles along Junmyeon’s shoulder blades.

A soft knock sounded on the door, and Yifan carefully disentangled himself from Junmyeon, gently smoothing out the crease between Junmyeon’s eyebrows with his thumb when Junmyeon whined softly at the loss of warmth. He carefully laid a blanket over his mate’s thin frame and brushed a strand of hair out of Junmyeon’s face before heading to the door.

“You took your time—oh.” Luhan glanced past Yifan and saw Junmyeon sleeping peacefully. “How is he?”

“He’s upset, as expected.” Yifan sighed quietly. “He feels betrayed. I think he’s afraid that we’ll consider throwing him out.”

Luhan gazed pityingly at Junmyeon’s sleeping form. “Of all the people it had to happen to, it had to be him.”

“That kind of thing shouldn’t happen to anyone,” Yifan said sharply. “We can’t take on the past by pretending that it would be better if it had happened to someone else, least of all yourself, Luhan. Maybe Yixing was right, and we all do need to go to therapy.”

Luhan scoffed. “I don’t need a therapist. Don’t pretend like you weren’t thinking about it too.”

“I did, in the first week when Junmyeon returned. But not after that,” Yifan said shortly.

Both wolves flinched when Junmyeon made a small noise and nestled into the blankets around him. Yifan turned back to Luhan, his voice quiet and terse, afraid that his mate would wake up. “What is it?”

“I just wanted to check up on Junmyeon. You know you can just call us if he has nightmares tonight.”

“Yeah. Thanks.” Yifan gently shut the door after Luhan turned away, and he went back to his desk, one eye on his papers, and the other eye on his mate.

And when Junmyeon woke up screaming and crying from the nightmares that haunted his sleep, Yifan was there to comfort him.

Junmyeon and Yifan were sitting on the bed together, but Junmyeon was curled up on himself while Yifan glared at his mate, annoyance and exasperation burning in his eyes.

“It’s been ten years since Siwon, Junmyeon. It’s time for you to move on!”

“I know. And I’m sorry,” Junmyeon whispered, twisting the hem of his t-shirt in his hands. “But—but I just can’t, Yifan. Not tonight.”

Yifan growled with frustration and got up from the bed. “Forget it, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t push you. Good night, Junmyeon.” Junmyeon watched Yifan leave, and then burst into tears.

“Why can’t I do it?” he sobbed in frustration, his fists beating uselessly against the mattress. “Why?!” And he’d been doing so well, too…

Yifan had been keen on getting mated and having children for a while now, really ever since their initial claim ten years ago. Who would’ve thought that it would end up like this? Junmyeon shivered, and then got up to pick his pants off the ground and slip his legs into the warm cloth.

They had been trying, for weeks now, to initiate their mating. Junmyeon had thought that maybe, just maybe, he could give it a try, and Yifan had been eager to jump at the chance. But as time went by, Junmyeon just grew more and more afraid, and Yifan got more and more frustrated when Junmyeon would turn him away.

At last, things came to a boiling point when one night, Junmyeon flinched and cried out, slapping Yifan’s hands away.

Yifan withdrew as if he’d been burned, and Junmyeon whimpered in fear and loss as he reached out to his mate. “No, wait, Yifan, I’m sorry! I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it!”

Yifan shook his head and got to his feet. “This isn’t going to work,” he said through gritted teeth. “I’m sorry. I had hoped…no, we both had hoped. But we have to face the facts—you can’t bear it when I try and touch you. We’ll just have to wait some more.”

“No, Yifan, don’t leave, please don’t do this, I can do it, I’ll do whatever you want!” Junmyeon cried openly, his eyes pleading for Yifan to stay.

“No,” Yifan said firmly. “You can’t. You can’t do it, and I won’t force you to.” He left the room, and Junmyeon collapsed into tears, hysteria setting in and causing Kyungsoo to come rushing into the room to try and calm him down. Eventually, he lost consciousness when Yixing knocked him out after he lost control over his powers and went berserk, lost in his emotional pain.

When Junmyeon woke up, he felt an intense sense of déjà vu. There was a dull ache in the back of his head, light was poking through the gap in the curtains, and Yixing was sitting by his bedside reading a book.

He let out a pained whine, and Yixing got to his feet, placing a cool palm over Junmyeon’s forehead. “How’re you feeling?”

“My head hurts,” Junmyeon muttered, closing his eyes.

There was a brief tingling sensation, and then the pain was gone. Junmyeon kept his eyes closed and simply leaned into Yixing’s gentle touch. “I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t be, we’ll have the place fixed up in no time. You didn’t really destroy anything, some parts of the house just got a bit wet. Sehun and Chanyeol are working on drying them out.”

“I didn’t hurt Sehun and Luhan’s pups, did I?”

“No, they’re just fine. The water didn’t even come close to them.”

Junmyeon sighed softly, a little relieved that he hadn’t hurt anyone. “Where’s Yifan? Is he alright?”

Yixing hesitated, and Junmyeon opened his eyes. “Where’s Yifan?” he repeated again, urgency rising in his voice. “Where is he?”

Yixing gently pushed Junmyeon down on to the bed when he tried to sit up. “Stay down, your body is too weak to attempt anything extravagant after all the stress that’s been building up and the amount of power you used,” Yixing said sternly.

“Where is he?” Junmyeon repeated, carefully relaxing his body so that Yixing would answer the question. “Is he alright? Did I hurt him?”

“He’s alright as far as I know,” Yixing sighed softly. “But Junmyeon…Yifan is gone.”

Junmyeon felt as if someone had punched him in the gut. “Gone? But—but where?”

“I don’t know. He left his leadership to Luhan and told us that he would be gone for a while, and that he would send word when he was on his way back. But that was all.”

Junmyeon’s eyes filled with tears. “I pushed him to this,” he choked out. “It’s my fault! I…”

“You mustn’t blame yourself, Junmyeon. Both you and Yifan were hoping that you could finally mate. But sometimes, even our brightest hopes don’t come to fruition. You still need time to heal from what Siwon did to you, and what happened back then. It’s alright.” Yixing soothingly brushed his fingers across Junmyeon’s forehead, trying to convey through touch what he couldn’t put in words.

“It’s not alright! Yifan isn’t here, and I should be stronger than this!” Junmyeon cried out, shifting restlessly on the bed. “It’s been years, I should be better by now. Why aren’t I better?” Tears streamed Junmyeon’s cheeks as he cried with frustration. “Why aren’t I better?”

But even though Yifan had left, and had left Junmyeon shattered more deeply than before, time went on. Every member of Exo slowly picked their lives up and began functioning as a pack again, attending to their territory, their jobs, and their fellow pack members.

At times, everyone would believe that Yifan wasn’t returning until they received a short letter with no return address from their dear leader. Ever letter was short and terse, a mere update on how he was doing, and a reassurance that he would return home one day at the end of each page. And even as Junmyeon though slowly starting to heal in Yifan’s absence, he was still withdrawn and pale, and the rest of Exo made sure to keep a careful eye on him.

One morning, nearly three years after Yifan had left, Luhan opened the door to reveal their missing leader. His first instinct was to punch him in the face and yell at him about how worried they had been, and how upset Junmyeon had been. But then, when he was done he helped Yifan get to his feet, and led him inside. The rest of Exo streamed downstairs when they heard Luhan shouting, and they were all shocked and relieved that Yifan had returned.

“Yifan…” Junmyeon hovered quietly at the edge of Yifan’s room. Yifan looked the same as he had left, except for the fact that he had some stubble showing on his upper lip and that he was in sore need of a haircut. He also looked tanned and fitter, as if he’d been running a lot.

“Junmyeon? Come in, you know you don’t have to ask,” Yifan stretched his lips in the semblance of a smile before he turned away so that he wasn’t looking at Junmyeon.

“Yifan, please forgive me.” Junmyeon’s voice quavered as he tried hold his tears back. “Yifan…please…”

“There’s nothing to forgive.”

“But there is!” Junmyeon said desperately, coming to stand by his mate’s side. “There is, Yifan! Please forgive me for overestimating myself and allowing both of us to hope for something impossible.”

Yifan paused, and then turned to look at Junmyeon. His eyes softened to a warm brown, and a real smile curved the corner of his lips. “…You’ve grown, little wolf.”

Junmyeon burst into tears and launched himself at Yifan. “Why did you go away?” he sobbed, clinging to his shirt. “Why did you leave?”

“Because we needed some time apart. You needed to realize some things without my presence, and I…I needed to realize some things as well.”

“You are so stupid,” Junmyeon whispered softly into Yifan’s chest.

“I know, and I’m sorry. We both made mistakes, but I think that our time apart will ultimately do well for us, in the long run.” Yifan brought his hands up to rub Junmyeon’s back in a familiar gesture.

Junmyeon sighed and leaned into Yifan’s touch, glad that Yifan was willing to touch him, even though they’d been apart for so long. He reached up and tugged the collar of Yifan’s shirt down to reveal the second claiming mark he’d made on the smooth dip of Yifan’s collarbone. “It’s still there.”

“Of course it is.” Yifan put his hand over Junmyeon’s, stopping his mate from moving away. “Did you think it would be gone, or replaced?”

“I doubted.” Junmyeon raised his eyes to meet Yifan’s. “You were gone for so long, and we didn’t know when, or if, you would return.”

“Is your mark still there?”

Junmyeon let go of Yifan’s shirt and tugged his own collar down. “Still there. There were a few times when I almost asked Yixing to heal it, but I didn’t, and I’m glad I didn’t.”

“I’m sorry.” Yifan sighed heavily. “Three years is a short part of the life I’ve lived so far. It must have seemed an eternity to you.”

“You wouldn’t be far off,” Junmyeon smiled shakily. “You were gone for too long, Yifan. Far too long.”

They shared a long gaze, full of affection, pain, anger, and understanding before stepping away from each other.

“I’m definitely strong enough now, Yifan.” Junmyeon said quietly, folding his arms in a silent show of determination. “I am. For certain.”

“How do you know?” Yifan went back to folding his clothes and putting them away.

“Yixing and Luhan were more than willing to help me,” Junmyeon answered steadily, a small blush belying the guilt he felt.

“…Yixing and Luhan?”

“Don’t feel jealous, Luhan has a mate and pups already, and Yixing isn’t interested in me any further than a packmate.”

“I’m going to kill them,” Yifan said flatly, his hands going still.

“Save yourself the trouble,” Junmyeon snorted. “I told you, you don’t have to worry about them.”

“Couldn’t you have waited a little bit for me to settle in before dropping a bomb like that?” Yifan got to his feet and looked wearily at Junmyeon. “I have been journeying from place-to-place for three years after all.”

“Couldn’t you have waited for me to say good-bye before you left?” Junmyeon got to his feet and swept out of the room.

Yifan rubbed a hand over his face and sighed. He hadn’t expected it to be easy when he returned—but still, he hadn’t prepared himself for the amount of hurt that remained in Junmyeon’s eyes.

It had taken time to regain Junmyeon’s trust, after Yifan returned. At first, Junmyeon would mostly ignore him, only to crawl into his bed and fall asleep beside him every night. But then he would be gone every morning by the time Yifan woke up, and the cycle would begin anew.

It had taken time, and careful attention, to prove to Junmyeon that he wasn’t going to leave again any time soon. It had also taken many conversation, fights, and tears, for both Junmyeon and Yifan to understand the true wisdom in Yifan’s decision.

Over the years, Junmyeon had grown afraid of Yifan, but the time they had spent apart helped Junmyeon to overcome his fear, and to start healing. And at last, about ten months after Yifan had returned, everything in Exo seemed to have reverted back to the way things had been before.

Junmyeon and Yifan were happily together, without fear or frustration, and full of trust. Luhan and Sehun were busy taking care of their children and each other, and the rest of the pack were busy fulfilling their duties and living their lives well. And finally, after years and years of waiting, of anxiety and tears, of fear and misery, Junmyeon and Yifan mated and had their first child, a little boy, the next spring.

Seven years later…

“Daddy! Daddy!”

Junmyeon smiled and scooped the little girl up off of the ground. “Well, hello you,” he cooed at her as she smiled happily and cuddled into his arms. “How’s my baby girl feeling? Huh?”

“Welcome home Daddy!”

Junmyeon smiled and began walking up into the driveway. “Thank you, dear. Is Papa home yet?”

“Yeah. But he couldn’t play with me because he and Uncle Luhan were talking again,” the little pup pouted, and Junmyeon pressed an affectionate kiss to her forehead.

“Don’t worry, Papa will make it up to you for sure, ok?” Junmyeon carefully set his precious daughter down on the ground inside of the hallway and shut the door behind him, toeing off his shoes before picking up his pup again. “Where is your brother?”

“Uncle Jongdae took him to go grocery shopping.”

“And you didn’t want to go?” Junmyeon carried his daughter up the stairs towards his bedroom.

“I wanted to wait for Daddy,” the little girl said cheerfully, wrapping her little arms around Junmyeon’s neck.

Junmyeon carefully pushed his bedroom door open with one hand and then walked over to the bed, carefully setting his daughter down. “Well, thank you for waiting,” he smiled down at her.

She beamed happily at him, and then waited patiently on the mattress while Junmyeon took off his blazer and carefully hung it up on the closet. He paused at the sound of her giggling and the arrival of a second presence in the room, and then he was trapped in between two strong arms.

“Yifan!”

“Junmyeon,” Yifan squeezed his waist tightly and then let go, allowing Junmyeon to turn around. “How was work today?”

“It was good. Just the usual,” Junmyeon shrugged, a small smile twitching at the corner of his mouth when Yifan leaned down to give him a kiss, much to the disgust of their daughter who shrieked in horror and covered her eyes. “Probably one of the more boring days, to be honest.”

“Well, being a music store manager can’t be interesting all the time. Now that you’ve said it, some employee drama is sure to pop up tomorrow,” Yifan grinned mischievously, and Junmyeon pouted plaintively.

“I hope not. Honestly, musicians are such vindictive people sometimes.”

Yifan patted his waist comfortingly and then walked over to the bed to scoop his daughter up into his arms. “Well, as long as you don’t turn sour, I think you’ll be just fine.”

Junmyeon rolled his eyes and followed his mate out the door. “Whatever. What’s for dinner today?”

“I made rice and fish.”

Their daughter drooped visibly at that. “Fish? But Papa…”

Both Junmyeon and Yifan rolled their eyes. “No buts, Yura. You want to be strong and pretty like Daddy one day, right?” Yifan ignored Junmyeon’s splutter behind him, and grinned down at his daughter. “That means you have to eat fish, even if it’s stinky.”

Yura sniffled and widened her eyes, but it seemed like her tricks weren’t going to work on her Papa today. Besides, she wanted to be pretty like both of her daddies. And her uncles, too. “Ok.”

“That’s a good girl.” Yifan his daughter’s hair and shared a small smile with Junmyeon. “By the way, Jongdae called and told me that he and Minwoo won’t be back for a while yet, and that he would treat Minwoo to dinner.”

“Ah, I was beginning to wonder.” Junmyeon sighed softly and then went to go grab plates from the kitchen cabinet while Yifan brought his daughter to the table and carefully helped her up on to her chair.

It had been twenty years since Siwon’s death. It had taken time—a long time, and a lot of pain, for Junmyeon to finally move on. He was immensely grateful for the patience all of Exo had shown him, and all the love they had given him to try and help him recover.

Now, he and Yifan were happily mated. Their boy, Minwoo, was seven years old, and Yura was six. Junmyeon grimaced slightly as he thought about how long it had taken for him to be comfortable with the idea of having again. It had been rough time for everyone, since Yifan would get frustrated and Junmyeon would just be scared all the time.

But they had gotten through it, once Junmyeon realized that he could trust Yifan not to hurt him. It had taken a lot, to go through with the first time. But now, Junmyeon was glad that he had, and now, after time and healing, he saw what had happened to him as something that had helped him grow stronger, and had also brought the pack closer together than ever before. He could understand what Yifan had meant when he said that he wasn’t at fault, and that what Siwon had done to him, wouldn’t change his feelings a single bit, especially when Yifan had left for those three miserable years, only to return straight back to Junmyeon.

Junmyeon still felt guilty about what he had done while Yifan was away. And yet, he couldn’t bring himself to fully regret it, because it had made him even stronger than any help Yifan could have tried to give him.

“Junmyeon?”

“Hm?” Junmyeon turned back to see Yura seated at the table, waiting patiently while Yifan stood directly in front of him.

“You ok?” A gentle hand brushed a strand of hair off of his forehead, and Junmyeon smiled affectionately, slowly starting to move again as he reached up to grab three plates.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Just…remembering.”

Yifan gave him an understanding look as he carried containers of food over to the table. “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine.” Junmyeon put on his best smile, and felt a small spark of happiness when Yifan’s eyes softened and he returned the look.

Later that evening, after Yura had finally fallen asleep, Yifan and Junmyeon curled up on the couch in the living room to wait for their son.

“Junmyeon?’

“Yeah?”

“Earlier, you said you were ‘remembering’.” Yifan shifted so that he was seated more comfortably with Junmyeon’s head resting on his shoulder. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“There’s not much to say. I was thinking about how lucky I am to have you…and all of Exo.”

Yifan snorted, one hand coming up to rub Junmyeon’s shoulder. “Sap.”

“It’s true though.” Junmyeon sighed and propped his chin up on Yifan’s shoulders so that he could look him in the eye. “Every day, I think about how grateful, and how lucky I am to be a part of you. To be blessed with such a wonderful mate. To have the power to do things that other wolves can’t. To have such a wonderful, loving pack. And sometimes, I can’t help but think that it isn’t real, that something so wonderful could never be true.”

“But it is true.” Yifan covered Junmyeon’s small hands with his own. “It is true. You’re a part of Exo. You’re real. You’re living the life that you’ve been dreaming of for so many years.”

“I know.” Junmyeon smiled, and blinked back his tears. “I know. And that’s why I was thinking about how lucky I am to have all of you.”

Don’t cry,” Yifan murmured as he reached up to gently brush Junmyeon’s tears away.

“Sorry. I can’t help it,” Junmyeon sniffed and rubbed at his face with his sleeve. “It’s just—it’s all so wonderful.”

Yifan leaned down and nuzzled at Junmyeon’s face affectionately. “You are just as wonderful to me.”

Junmyeon sighed and wrapped his arms around Yifan’s waist to give him a hug. “I love you.”

“I love you too.”

They both missed the sound of the front door opening and closing quietly, and two people entering the living room.

“Daddy? Papa?”

“Minwoo!” Yifan grinned and lifted his arm so that Minwoo could clamber into his parents’ laps. “Hey Jongdae.”

“Hey Yifan.” Jongdae smiled at them from the doorway. “I hope we weren’t interrupting anything.”

“No, we were waiting for you two to come back.” Junmyeon gently shifted Minwoo so that his limbs weren’t digging into any sensitive areas. “Did you guys have fun?”

“Yep, and we came back with lots of groceries. I’ll go put them away.”

“Thanks for taking care of Minwoo today,” Junmyeon smiled gratefully.

“It’s no problem. I love taking care of the kids, so don’t worry about it. Sehun and Luhan’s kids are fun too.” Jongdae’s face flashed with an unreadable expression for a moment, but then it slipped away and he gave him a cheery smile. “Good night, guys.”

“Good night, Jongdae.” Junmyeon watched him go, concern shading his eyes slightly as Minwoo told Yifan about his evening.

Not every male wolf could carry children, and Minseok and Jongdae both happened to be those kinds of wolves. Adoption was rare, because few packs abandoned their young ones, no matter how poor or desperate they were. Most wolves in adoption centers were of older ages, and it would be difficult to adopt an older child and have him keep the secret of Exo’s powers.

Yifan squeezed his shoulders slightly, and Junmyeon turned his attention back to his son.

“Daddy?”

“What is it baby?”

“You weren’t listening to me,” Minwoo pouted.

“I’m sorry.” Junmyeon ruffled his son’s hair affectionately. “I’ll listen closely next time, ok? Now, what were you trying to tell me?”

“I asked if Yura and I can go to the park tomorrow.”

Junmyeon hesitated and glanced over at Yifan. “…alone?”

“Please?”

Junmyeon sighed. There was a nice park nearby, and the neighborhood was safe, but he couldn’t help but worry. “You can go after either Papa or I come home tomorrow.”

“Yay!” Minwoo quickly leaned in to hug his parents good night, and then headed upstairs for bed while Junmyeon and Yifan winced at the sudden pressure Minwoo had applied to their legs.

“Ah, my thighs were still sore from the other day,” Yifan flinched and grumbled as he carefully stood up.

“What are you complaining about?” Junmyeon raised an eyebrow as he got to his feet as well. “I don’t recall you doing the hard work.”

Yifan chuckled. “Fair enough.”

“Keep your conversations clean,” Sehun snapped at them as he passed by the living room.

“We’ve heard worse, we’re all adults already,” Junmyeon rolled his eyes.

Sehun huffed childishly and headed off to the backyard. “What about your own kids huh?”

Junmyeon laughed softly and shook his head, walking out of the living room to go turn on the backyard lights. “Is Luhan out there already?”

“Yes, and keep the porch lights off please, he brought candles.”

“Just don’t set anything on fire,” Junmyeon reminded them and turned off the lights. He tugged the blinds down to give the couple some privacy and then shook his head. “Honestly, those two.”

Yifan just laughed. “You should know how sappy they are best of all, don’t you and Luhan spend a lot of time together?”

“But we don’t talk about relationship stuff,” Junmyeon scoffed as he headed upstairs for his and Yifan’s shared room.

“Really? Sehun and I talk about it all the time.”

“That’s different,” Junmyeon said softly, the playful glint dimming in his eyes. “Everyone talks about you and me all the time.”

“We can’t help but worry,” Yifan said gently.

“Even after so long?” Junmyeon entered their room and sat down on the bed, his eyes downcast towards the floor.

Yifan came to stand before him and gently cupped Junmyeon’s face in his hands. “Even after so long,” he murmured softly, leaning in to press a gentle kiss to Junmyeon’s forehead. “Because we love you, and we care about you, and we just want you to be alright.”

“I’m alright now. I know that I have you.” Junmyeon gazed steadily up at his mate.

“And I’m glad of that.” Yifan ran his thumbs over Junmyeon’s cheeks and then stepped away to change his clothes.

“Those three years were the worst years of my life, in some ways,” Junmyeon murmured quietly. “But in the end, they really were for the best weren’t they?”

“How so?” Yifan tugged a sleeping shirt over his head, listening avidly.

“You proved to me that no matter what I had done, and no matter how much time we spent apart, you would still come back to me,” Junmyeon said simply. “And that was really all I needed. I was especially insecure that you wouldn’t want me after…after Siwon.”

“I probably could have done something less drastic to prove it to you.”

“You needed that time off too, though, so that we could both think about where we had gone wrong, and how we could fix it.”

“You were so hurt when I came back.” Yifan finished changing and walked over to sit beside his mate. “I don’t know if anything was worth the stricken expression on your face when you came crying to me the first day.”

“Not even this? Not even what we have now?”

“You know what I mean. I treasure this, and I value it so much because of what we went through. But if there could have been a less painful way…” Yifan shook his head.

“You’re always the one telling others not to think about ‘what if’s’. Maybe it’s time you took your own advice,” Junmyeon said gently.

“Perhaps you’re right,” Yifan said after a moment of reflection.

Junmyeon simply hummed in response as he clambered under the covers. “Hurry up and get over here, I’m cold.”

“You’re under a blanket in the high days of summer, Junmyeon.”

“But I want you here,” Junmyeon smiled. “Come on, Yifan.”

“I don’t want to sweat and wake up with cracked lips,” Yifan complained, even as he slid under the sheets to snuggle with his hard-won mate.

“Just go to sleep.” Junmyeon reached out and gently threaded his fingers through Yifan’s hair, massaging his scalp. “You’ve had a long day.”

Yifan closed his eyes in content and drifted off to sleep, leaving Junmyeon to his thoughts.

Junmyeon sighed and gently retracted his hand when he was sure Yifan wouldn’t wake up, instead choosing to twine his smaller fingers between Yifan’s long ones.

He was so lucky, to have been given the chance to rebuild himself twice in his lifetime. And he was blessed to have been handed the right tools to go about it; the first time, he had failed. But the second time, he had been able to reap the rewards of all of the sadness and fear he had gone through.

Living, Junmyeon discovered, was not bowing his head to everyone’s orders. Living was not hiding in constant fear of pain. Living was, in the very least, being able to hold his head high and going to pursue his own happiness without holding himself back. Part of living was being happy—something he hadn’t realized for a very, very long time.

And love—what is love anyways? No one seemed to know, judging by all the poetry, novels, and songs people were coming up with all the time. But Junmyeon thought that he might know a little bit of what love is: and love is Yifan. Yifan, who continued to care for him no matter what, Yifan who always knew what to say to comfort him and make feel safe, Yifan who knew how to make him know that he was cared for.

Junmyeon sighed softly and settled further into the mattress, curling close to tuck his head under Yifan’s chin. He was so lucky, and so proud, to have Yifan as his mate, Exo as his pack, and his wonderful children. He had learned things too, he never could have hoped to imagine when he first set foot in front of Exo, and he was grateful; grateful for the knowledge that they had granted him in his mind and in his heart.

The stars twinkled peacefully over the city, and Junmyeon felt his mind slowly drifting to sleep to the melody of Yifan’s breathing. He closed his eyes and let his mind rest. Tomorrow would be a different day, full of new challenges, new surprises, and new experiences. But Junmyeon would be ready for it all—because he had learned to live, and to love, and he could weather any storm that the world dared to throw at him now.

Fin

a/n: So...uh, yeah. Yifan left for three years and came back ahaha...(don't kill me). So that's the end of the story! Ultimately, Junmyeon did become to strong enough to face the world; it just took him a couple tries, and many set backs before he got there. And now he's safe, and strong, and loved--and all the things we could wish on that poor, strong little wolf.

Also, none of this is written to reflect on anything in real life. Kris left Exo for three years because it was fitting to the story. None of this story reflects my stance on Kris, jus to be clear.

THANK YOU SO MUCH to everyone who subscribed, commented, and upvoted this story! I was surprised at the popularity of the story; it comes in second only to the krisho drabbles series that I completed. So really, thank you all so much! Feel free to look at my other works if you enjoyed, and I hope to be posting more stories soon! (not all of them will be krisho lolz, but I hope you all will still enjoy them.) Thanks again for everything, and feel free to comment with your thoughts, emotions, and reflections about the story below!