Angel hadn't planned on babysitting two overgrown children but that's exactly what she was doing right now.

'Isn't it ready?' Sehun whined, banging his fists on the table. 'I'm hungry.'

'It smells really good.' Tao told her, leaning over her shoulder to sniff at the stew she was cooking. 'Can I taste it?' He gave her a cute smile. 'Please?'

She smiled, raising the spoon. 'Just a taste, okay?' Tao happily tasted it, then mmmhed in ecstasy. 'It's awesome!'

'Hey, I want a taste too!' Sehun jumped to her side, leaning on her other shoulder and opened his mouth. 'Aaaa!'

Giggling, she gave him a spoonful as well. He his lips, then shrugged indifferently. 'It's good.'

Then he poked at Tao, who poked back and then, they started poking each other, squeezing her in between them, using her as a shield. Finally, she pushed them away. 'Enough! I won't feed you two if you keep fighting!'

Pouting and sticking out their tongues, they went back to their seats and Angel resumed cooking.

After saving her from the attacker – she shuddered just thinking about it – they had taken her, not to a hospital, but to the ice cream shop. Where Lay had patched her up, cleaning up her wounds (just surface scratches, you'll be fine by tomorrow), apologizing profusely for not walking her to the bus stop. She'd told him it wasn't his fault but given his blues these days, it wasn't a surprise he kept crying.

Then, Tao's stomach had given a loud grumble and they'd realized how hungry they were. She'd offered to cook for them, because it was her fault they'd missed lunch (as Sehun so kindly kept pointing out, complaining loudly).

So now, here she was, wearing someone else's glasses so she could see and cooking stew for these overgrown kids.

She didn't mind, though. For one thing, she was too grateful to them for saving her; for another, this was Lay's and Suho's house and that was extremely comforting; besides, she wasn't awkward around children. Tao and Sehun, with their silly antics, definitely came under that category.

But most of all it was because doing something so normal was helping her stay calm instead of completely breaking down.

When the food was ready, she poured some for Tao and Sehun. 'Where's Lay?' She asked, placing it in front of them.

'He's with Kai.' Tao told her, putting a spoonful in his mouth, then started dancing in his chair. 'Hot, hot!'

She poured him a glass of water, then stopped Sehun from stuffing his mouth. 'Eat slowly and chew before you swallow.' She told him, feeling like she was dealing with kindergarteners. Sehun rolled his eyes at her but chewed more slowly nonetheless. She left them to look for Lay – and Kai, whoever he was, so they could eat as well.

She knocked on the door and waited but there was no reply. She pushed against the door and it swung open. 'Lay?' She called softly, peeking inside. Then stilled. And blushed, covering her eyes from the intimate scene. 'Sorry, I didn't mean…'

'Angel?' Lay sounded dazed. 'Did you need anything?'

'No, no!' she backed out, eyes still closed. She hadn't known Lay swung that way. 'It's just… uh, food's ready if you wanna…'

'Oh great!' Lay called after her. 'I'll be out in a moment.'

'Take your time!' She muttered, still blushing as she returned to the kitchen and slumped beside the two babies. Today was a day for ragged nerves, it seemed.  

Sehun pushed his plate in front of her. 'More.'

……………………

Kai laughed as the girl all but dashed away.

'I think she misunderstood the situation.' He told Lay – who was helping him work the kinks out of his back.

He couldn't blame her either. Both of them were shirtless, sweating profusely – not surprising, giving the exertion required – and Lay was sitting on his back as he massaged his shoulders. And he'd been leaning over to speak in Kai's ear when she had peeked inside.

'Hmm?' Lay blinked. Naturally, he hadn't noticed.

'Nothing.' Kai smiled, looking ahead.

He'd been practicing his dance – as he had been over the past few days, ever since Lay had told him he'd been selected. One dream was lost, he wouldn’t give up on the other.

He was more than grateful to Lay for bearing with him every day while he tried to get himself together. And for healing him.

It had taken him around two healings to realize what Lay was doing and why he, Kai, wasn't being more blue – wondering if his feelings for Mei had been so fleeting that he wasn’t being more despondent – while Lay went around with a miserable face.

So he'd stopped him – quite forcefully because Lay could be very stubborn about his patients – and asked for his help with dance instead.

Even though Lay was studying music, he was an excellent dancer and someone who inspired Kai a lot. He was also a tough taskmaster, pushing Kai until he felt like his bones would crack.

Then, he'd use his healing touch to help him recover – all the while absorbing more of Kai's misery into himself. Like now.

Like Kai said, stubborn.    

Kai didn’t want to move because he could literally feel his sadness drain away as Lay's fingers worked their magic on his shoulders and neck. He was feeling so relaxed – even the weight on his back felt comfortable and he really, really wanted to close his eyes and sleep.

But… some things had to be faced alone and his sad ending with Mei was one such thing.

He couldn't hide in this room forever. Lay couldn't protect him from pain forever. He wouldn't be a cub forever – in fact, he wasn't one, not anymore. He'd accepted that, finally reconciling with the beast inside him, and his life as an elder began with recognizing he'd lost. 

Sighing, he pushed himself up on his elbows, dislodging Lay.

'Waa!' Lay fell down with a smack.

Kai stretched, then helped him sit up. Lay's eyes were red, but not the wild, flashing red of his or Luhan's eyes. It was the red of blood that fell when the eyes couldn't cry tears anymore.

Well, those weren’t tears Lay needed to cry for him – he was done with them.

Now, it was time to face reality. Which began with recognizing his physiological needs a.k.a. his growling stomach.  

'Let's go eat. I'm getting hungry.'

Lay smiled that healer's smile – one that told Kai that he was finally cured; whatever pain remained would mend overtime and he would, one day, be completely okay – and stood up.

'Let's go.'

……………………….

Suho burst through the door, not even bothering to see if he'd broken it in his hurry. All he knew was that he had to get to Angel and hug her tight and never let go and tell her how much he loved her and how sorry he was for not being there for her and…

His racing thoughts came to a grinding halt at the amazing sight in front of him.

Angel – his sweet, shy Angel, who stuttered when she talked and blushed at everything, so nervous even wind could scare her – was bustling around the kitchen as she fed the four guys sitting around the table.

As if that scene wasn't enough to blow his mind – she looked so adorable in the apron – she leaned over to wipe Sehun's mouth with a motherly cluck, smiling fondly at Tao as he leaned in front of her to get his mouth wiped as well.  

So cute. Too cute…

Lay and Kai, who were observing the younger ones' attention seeking antics with interest, glanced up at Suho, still rooted to the spot at the cuteness overload, and smiled in greeting. 'Hey Suho…?'

Suho rushed past them to grab Angel. Who cared about the audience when his mate was so utterly delectable? She didn't have time to react before Suho had pulled her into a bear hug, relief and joy mingling into an explosive combination.

When Xiumin had told him – after the fact – that he'd reported the guy who'd attacked Angel and that he was taken into custody, so he could relax; Suho's heart felt like it would burst, so worried it was a surprise he even knew where he was going. He'd forced… well, okay, whined until Xiumin had told him everything in detail – starting from her abduction and her rescue to her patch up and where she was now.

So he'd driven home at breakneck speed – D.O and Chanyeol were probably still feeling the backlash after being rolled around in the backseat – and had burst in, not sure what to expect, only that it would be bad.

Instead, he'd come upon the most perfect scene and was so relieved, he was actually weak in the knees.

'Suho?' Her voice mirrored his feelings – relief and joy.

'Yes, baby.' He whispered into her hair, still shaken. 'Thank heavens you're okay…'

'Yes… I'm fi…ne…' her voice broke and she started sobbing into his chest. He hugged her tighter as she let herself go, crying her heart out. She must've been terrified, his poor Angel and yet she'd been so brave, acting like everything was okay. She'd been holding it all in until he came. Well he was here now…

'It's okay,' he kept saying over and over, not noticing as the kitchen emptied so they could have their privacy. When she finally let up, his shirt was soaked with her tears and she was hiccupping, legs wobbly as she tried to back off. 'I'm sorry, I just…'

He lifted her into his arms and carried her out to the couch so he could sit her in his lap and cuddle her properly. Ignored her halfhearted attempts to get down because others were around – they could've been the walls for all he cared.

And once he was sure Angel was fine, they'd wish they were the walls. She was his, the pack leader's, mate – that made her safety top priority for all of them and he was going to make sure they never forgot about it. Ever again.

He didn't realize he was angrily snarling until Angel's fingers smoothed over his jaw. He kissed her fingers, holding them to his face and looked down at her – she gave him a sweet smile. 'I'm okay. Really.'

He smiled back, unable to resist. 'Really?'

'Really really.' She snuggled into his chest, reservations long gone as her arms wrapped around him. 'So don’t be angry.'

'Fine.' He replied grumpily and she giggled. Smiling, he placed a soft kiss on her nose. Then an equally soft one on her lips. 'But only because you said so.'

She blushed prettily and he had to kiss her again. But they weren't alone – even though the boys had cleared out the living room – and Suho let her go after a short, chaste kiss. He pushed her head back against his chest and leaned back so she was basically using him as a pillow.

Maybe he was quality pillow material… or the hectic events were finally taking their toll on her frayed nerves, or simply because Lay's healing had that effect – but she was asleep within minutes. He smiled at the sight, then adjusted himself so that they could be more comfortable, relaxing for the first time since he'd gotten into the car.

He might've dozed off as well but the shrill sound of the phone woke him up. He answered with a low 'hello', taking care that Angel wouldn't be disturbed.

It was her father. 'Hey Matt.' They had developed an amiable relationship from the get go.

'Hiya Suho. How's it going?' Matt's genial greeting didn't entirely cover his disquiet.

'I'm good. Everything okay?'

'Yeah… well, no. Is Angel… um… is she with you?' He spoke in a rush. 'She still hasn't come back yet and she's not answering her phone and I'm really worried. Merissa's says I'm overreacting but…'

'Matt…' Suho waited for him to stop. 'She's with me.'

'Oh thank God. I was so worried! Geez, Merri was right, after all.'

'I'm sorry for not calling you earlier.' Suho didn't think relating the news of her narrow escape over the phone was the wisest move. 'I'll bring her…'

'Oh no, no, take your time. It's okay if she's with you. I was worried something bad had happened. Silly me.' He sighed, then hung up.

Not silly at all. Matt knew the score – the world wasn't a safe place and he'd been right to be worried. Well, Suho could understand that. Just as Matt understood his need to keep Angel by his side. And for that, he was grateful.

……………………….

A/N

KAIXING!!! haha, yay for fanservice!!! enjoy some kaixing spam :3 

 (aw yis!)

 (hawwt)