2 years later

'Good morning, Seulmi.'

'Good morning.' I flashed a smile at the doorman as I walked through the doors of the tall building complex I now called my workplace. I had just recently graduated with a successful college diploma and was now hired as one of the main medical designers of the OneWorld organization, a medical association that supported physical and psychological disabilities and worked towards development infrastructure to support those handicapped individuals. It really surprised me to see how far I had come in comparison the scared individual I had been a few years ago, always fearing that people would judge me jo matter what decision I made, always aware of other people's gazes as they would judge me silently without consideration.

Luhan had kept working as a child sports and fitness coach until he moved up the ranks. He had decided to open up his own gym after enough experience on the field and it had been going quite well ever since. He also took the weekends to train kids how to play football, and I would always drop by during their practices with a bag full of fizzy coloured drinks and some popsicles for the kids.

'That’s what I need in life.' Luhan hummed after he cracked a diet coke open and had taken a huge gulp out of the can, a small sigh escaping his lips, 'I need a woman to support me.'

I grimaced, 'don't make me sound so boring.'

The sun was setting over the football field, casting a golden glow onto the grass and turning it magically warm and beautiful. I took a breath, released it slowly, and turned to realize that Luhan was gazing at me with a small grin curving up the corner of his lips.

'What?' I couldn't help but ask.

'Just admiring the view,' he said teasingly before I threw him a jab at his shoulder, 'hey, no violence on the playground, kid.'

'Not a kid.' I stuck out my tongue in defense. Taking a sip out of my diet coke, I asked, 'so how was practice?'

Luhan's mouth instantly curved into that genuinely happy go lucky grin I've come to love, 'it was great. Learnt them how to do tricks with the balls. Dribbling and stuff.'

'You really do get along with kids, don't you?' I reached out to pull out a leaf from his hair, 'it's like you were born to do that job.'

'I guess,' he drank from his own can, gulping it down and letting out a satisfying sound, 'People say teaching is getting rarer and rarer these days, because people don't like to deal with children as much.'

'Well take me, for example.' I can't help but laugh, 'I at communicating with children. Always hated dealing with them. Such little pests.'

'Is this how you're going to treat our children?'

'That...is not something I’ve thought about yet,' I said lamely when I couldn't figure out any kind of sassy comeback.

'Cat got your tongue, sweetheart?' He smirked.

I rolled my eyes at him, clucking my tongue, 'why are we dating again?'

'Because you love me? You adore me?' He leaned in closer so that his breath washed over my face, 'because you worship me?'

'Oh shut your mouth!' I pushed him away by the shoulder with as much force as I could and he stumbled back just in time to catch himself, laughing as he did so.

'Your face,' he kept on laughing and laughing like it was the funniest thing he'd ever heard. I could just glare at him in hopes that it would be enough to burn a hole through his head.

The years had been kind to us.Taehee gave birth to a healthy baby boy who went by the name of Taehyung, as bright eyed as the sun and a rectangular boxed smile that made his eyes crinkle into crescents. On the other hand, we were surprised to find out about Mihye's sudden pregnancy that had everyone falling off their chairs in shock. Nobody could've stopped the wide grin that broke across Kris's face the moment she announced it to the entire clan and he had swept her up in his arms and blessed her a thousand times underneath his breath while nuzzling her face in pure affection and admiration. We were blessed with twins this time; a boy and a girl, named Ryan and Rooda respectively. They were only a year old and yet, the noise they made was loud enough to fill an entire zoo.

New additions to the house had been made over the years so that we could have more space to ourselves as well as for the future offsprings. It wasn't long before Luhan sat me down on our bed one night with a seriousness I had never seen before grace his features.

'Hey,’ his voice caught my attention and I turned to him, only to notice his serious expression. ‘Remember what I told you before? About exploring the world?’

My heartbeat jumped when I caught a whiff of his own emotions. Trying not to show the rising panic in the back of my throat, I answered hesitantly, 'yes. What about it?'

‘Well, what with the crowd in the house now and with all of us being well settled in, I thought that--uhm, well, that--’ he scratched the back of his neck, ‘we could maybe do something about that.’

My eyebrows shot up in surprise, 'you mean--'

'Travel the world. Explore places. Get to learn new things.' His hand found mine as my thoughts raced, heart suddenly pounding wildly inside my chest. It took a moment for the words to sink in but when they did, I could only look up into his eyes and saw the certainty in those swirling silver orbs, one that were glowing with affection and determination, and most of all, hope.

' 'I mean, it-- that's a lot to--I mean,' I tried to take a deep breath to calm the inner stirring of cold fear in my stomach. The thought of going on a trip with Luhan to discover the world seemed wonderful, so wonderful and magical and filled with so many possibilities of the unknown. But then more thoughts piled in, emotions rolling like tidal waves, ‘How are we going to get the money? We’re finally stable. I don’t know if I’m ready to drop all that yet.’

‘We don’t have to leave for good,’ Luhan said, ‘we don’t have to drop everything and run off. We can just take a long break. Wouldn’t you want that? To be able to learn new things, see new things we’ve never seen before?’

‘It sounds wonderful, Luhan. But--’ I swallowed thickly, ‘I don’t know.’

‘I don’t blame you,’ he squeezed my hands in his, softly brushing his thumbs over my knuckles.’just think about it, okay? I feel like the more we wait, the more we're just going to stall.'

I thought of all the pros and cons that night as I laid there, Luhan already fast asleep and snoring softly as he usually did whenever he was swept off his feet with tiredness. I sighed, my gaze lingering onto the ceiling before I decided that I wasn't going to keep calm if I just stayed there and did nothing. So softly maneuvering myself out of my wolf's arms and tiptoeing out of the room, I tiptoed down to the kitchen and decided that making myself a cup of hot chocolate would be worth my time.

Little did I know that the moment I stepped in, a figure was already sitting at the table. I almost yelped in surprise, only to catch my breath st the last minute when I was faced with Kyungsoo's flustered expression, finger pressed to his lips in an attempt to shush me.

'Why the heck are you sitting all alone in the dark?!' I hissed, before joining him at the said table.

'I was hungry.' He mumbled out, to which I immediately raised a suspicious eyebrow.

He flushed at my knowing look, 'fine. I didn't want to be in the same room as her.' He mumbled and it was clearly about his said mate sleeping just a level above. I noticed his hand scrunch into a fist, eyebrows drawing together in a frown, 'I'm scared I'll lose control.'

'Is it full moon season already?'

He nodded, before he asked, 'and what are you doing down here at this hour?'

'Couldn't sleep.'

He threw me a look as if he could read my thoughts. When he spoke again, it was soft and comforting, ''what's wrong, Seulmi?'

I didn't want to burden Kyungsoo with my problems when he had his own to deal with. But knowing him and the determined gaze he was pinning me down with, there was no way in hell I'd be able to get out of here without telling him what was eating away at my insides.

Instead, I let out a soft sigh, before delving right into the problem, 'Luhan asked me to leave.'

Kyungsoo just gazed at me as if I had just spoken in ancient Greek. I bit my lip, 'he asked me if I wanted to go and travel. He had this dream, see. He really wanted to explore new countries, told me that once we had our figured out, we could spend some time wandering through places. But it had been so long since we talked about that so I kind of put it on the backburner for a while.' I hesitated for a few beats of silence, but an encouraging prod at my side kept me going.

'He mentioned it again today during football practice. I know he's been dreaming about it for a long time. But I don't know if I'm ready to drop all that and just go away, you know?'

'Well, it's not like you're settling somewhere else, right?' Kyungsoo said.

I shook my head, 'But I'm not sure how much time I can take off work without getting fired.' I joked, although it was clearly not a humorous situation, 'I've barely managed to make some sort of name for myself. I don't want to drop that.'

'But you just said you were coming back.'

'I am.'

'Then what's the problem? Discuss your off days with your manager. I'm sure he'll understand. You have up to two weeks vacation given and a number of sick days too. Why not use them?'

His words made sense and quietened the loud noises of protest that had been bubbling up inside my chest awhile ago. Kyungsoo's words felt like water thrown to dissolve fire, and seeing him talk so rationally about it cast aside my initial fear. He was right. Why was I being such a coward at a once in a lifetime opportunity?

'I don't know,' I mumbled and kicked at the floor, 'I'm just scared of change. What if something happens during the trip?'

'Seulmi,' Kyungsoo's hand came to rest upon mine in a warm, firm grip, 'you can't just live life expecting the worst to happen. That's not living. Do you think you'd be here if Luhan hadn't taken that risk to talk to you? Do you think you would've been this happy if you hadn't trusted Luhan even though you two were practically strangers?' He shook his head, 'You need to have a little more faith in him, and yourself.’

I raked a hand through my hair, brown strands falling around my face as I contemplated his words. He was right. Of course he was. Kyungsoo was wise beyond his years and if there was one person that would be honest about all this, it would be him. A calm slowly settled over me and I felt like I had finally opened my eyes. Sure, it wouldn’t be easy to get days off, nor will my boss be happy about the fact that I’m taking up all my sick days consecutively, but this was a once in a lifetime opportunity that I just couldn’t miss and what? I was going to let it go because of my fear of something that hadn’t yet happened?

‘Thanks, Kyungsoo.’ I blurted out, only to see him chuckle softly, ‘You worry too much, sometimes.’

‘Well, you know how much overthinking I do in my spare time,’ I grinned sheepishly, ‘It’s my greatest hobby.’

‘Not the healthiest.’ he sent me a pointed look and I laughed.

‘True that.’ I decided to change subject, ‘How’s Melody doing?’

‘She’s fine.’

He attempted to ignore my narrow-eyed stare, but soon enough started squirming in his seat and gave himself away. Leaning closer across the table, I couldn't help but smirk at the young and flustered wolf.

'Come on.' My smirk grew when I watched his face flame in embarrassment, 'although I'm guessing from the look on your face, there isn't really much to tell. Am I right?'

'Just because everything's all nice and rosy with your wolf, doesn't mean you have to use it to your advantage.' Kyungsoo muttered in a failed attempt to glare at me, although it was much more adorable than threatening. It made me stifle a laugh.

'Remember how you used to say that it was going to be okay, with Luhan and I?' I told him, 'you were always so supportive, always telling me I should go for it and that Luhan was a guy i could trust.'

Kyungsoo stayed quiet as I talked but I could practically see the gears turning in his head. I continued, 'so why are you hesitating so much when it comes to her?'

'I don't know,' he bit his lip, 'I guess I don't want to screw it up.'

'You shouldn't be so hard on yourself.' I said, 'stop beating around the bush. I know how that feels. If you want her, just go for it.'

'What if she doesn't want that?'

In his eyes I saw the unwritten fear, the apprehension of the future haunting him subconsciously even though he would never voice it out.

'Trust me, Kyungsoo.' My smirk grew playful, 'she wouldn't be here if she didn't want that.'

Talking to Kyungsoo had given me the piece of mind that I had craved. Facing Luhan wasn’t the problem anymore and it was actually relieving to get it off my chest to someone, at least talk it out until it didn’t nag at me in the back of my brain.

At Taehee’s numerous begging and plea’s a few days before, I had resigned myself to the task of looking after her beloved son while she and her husband could have some time to enjoy their youths while it lasted. Considering Taehyung’s temperament and his really exuberant and hyped up behaviour, it was no wonder that Taehee needed a break from the whole mother routine. She and Baekhyun both, who had looked like he’d wanted to pass out the last few weeks of having to deal with Taehyung’s small childish fits.

We stood on the porch, Taehyung nestled in my arms, as we waved at the couple getting inside the car. I took a hold of his tiny arm before waving it around playfully at his parents, ‘Say bye to mama and daddy, Tae,’ I cooed at the child, who giggled and took over the wave on his own.

For some reason, the kid wasn’t being as annoying as he usually would be, and I hoped that his good behaviour would last the entire weekend.

My hope crashed the minute his parents were out of sight. He turned to me instantly with his thumb in his mouth, looking at me with those wide-eyed angelic eyes.

‘Let’s go back inside, okay? We’ll play games and I’ll tell you stories. We’ll have a wonderful time.’ I tried to mimic Taehee’s jolly children voice as I swivelled on my feet and walked back through the doorway. But no sooner had I crossed into the kitchen that the baby burst into a fresh set of hot tears.

I looked at the wailing infant in my arms, the panic slowly rising at the back of my throat. I tried to bump him onto my hip, ‘Shh, it’s okay. Don’t cry, Taetae.’

But he kept bawling his eyes out. If anything, he was crying harder.

, now what? I racked my brain and tried to remember what Taehee would do in such a situation, but nothing was coming to mind. And there was Taehyung, getting purple in the face from too much crying, his little fat fists bunched up as he wriggled in my arms and tried to get me to let go, which I obviously could not.

Looking around with growing desperation, I realized with growing anxiety that I was all alone and no one was around at this time of the day. The wolves had their own schedules and the mates had their own things to do, attending class and buying groceries. Great. Just ing great. Just when I needed help.

Taehyung was never this moody during out interactions and he’d actually given me a small bit of hope that I somehow could manage my on children in the future. But then again, Taehee had always been hanging around, which is arguably the best reason as to why he had never cried in any of these instances.

‘Momma,’ the boy wailed and kicked at my stomach in protest, ‘I want momma.’

‘Momma’s going on a small trip,’ I tried to tell him in the softest voice possible, attempting to wipe at his face only to have him dodge, ‘She’ll be back before you know it. In the meantime, why don’t we go and have some fun with auntie Seulmi, okay?’

‘No!’ Taehyung cried, using his two little fists to push me away while I struggled to keep him in place, ‘I want momma! I want my momma!’

‘What’s going on here?’

I turned upon hearing my wolf’s familiar voice and he must’ve noticed the look of alarm I was wearing, for he quickly strode forward and picked up Taehyung from my arms before I could say anything.

‘Why is little Taehyungie crying?’ Luhan asked, bumping the child against his hip, ‘You shouldn’t be crying. You’re a good boy, aren’t you Taetae?’

‘I want my mommy.’ Taehyung’s lower lip trembled while his eyes brimmed over with another film of tears.

Luhan quickly switched subject as he threw me a look, ‘Do you want to watch Power Rangers, Taetae? Hmm? You like power rangers. Which one do you like the best?’

That seemed to distract Taehyung enough for the tears to stop. He blinked at Luhan for a few beats of silence, and just when I thought that he was about to break down and cry once more, he answered a soft:

‘Red.’ Taehyung mumbled, “I like red power ranger.’

‘I like red too! Wanna go watch it with me?’ Luhan wiped at the young boy’s cheeks, ‘Let’s go watch power rangers with uncle Luhan. Do you know how they get their powers, Taetae?’

‘They-- they have costumes.’ Taehyung’s hesitant response was enough to make Luhan continue his small, childish chatter as he slowly made his way to the living room. He threw a look at me over his shoulder before winking, and I sighed in relief before leaning against the kitchen counter.

What was I even thinking, taking on a child’s responsibility when I couldn’t even handle him for five minutes? I shook my head, the shame and remorse growing like darkening demons swimming in the pit of my stomach. Was I just fated to be bad with children? I really wanted to try and be good at it, but I couldn’t force children to like me no matter what I did. And that frustrated me.

I had nothing against them. I just wasn’t that fond of them.

And I guess they could feel it too.

If it hadn’t been for Luhan having a day off from his job that day, I didn’t know what I would’ve done when I was trying to deal with Taehyung all alone, for it was clear that my silver-eyed wolf was way better and much more experienced in that department than I was. He’d grab Taehyung from my arms whenever he’d start tearing up or looking for his mother, distracting him with whatever toy was at hand or whichever channel was playing on the TV. The way Luhan handled the situation almost looked effortless, and I couldn’t help but feel slightly jealous at the fact that Taehyung clearly had his preferences.

When it was finally time to put the kid to bed, I managed to snag him for myself and was happy to find that he obliged without much effort. He picked out the Three Little Pigs book and had nestled against my side as I read to him, my hand instinctively reaching out to play with his soft tuft of hair while I spoke.

It took a while, but I was so engrossed in story-telling that it wasn’t until a shadow dropped by the doorway that I looked up and realized Taehyung was sound asleep, cuddled against my arm and looking the most peaceful I’d seen him since this morning.

Silently placing the book on his nightstand, I efficiently maneuvered myself out before tucking the child in and turning off the light. Luhan waited for me by the door, hand reaching for my own when I turned off the light and left the door semi-open as we made our way to our room. He was looking at me. I could feel the warmth of his stare drilling into my skull.

‘Stop looking at me like that.’ I mumbled out when I couldn’t stand it anymore. Luhan let out a snigger that had me narrow my eyes.

'What?' I tugged on his arm when he couldn't seem to stop chuckling. We had reached our room at this point and as he turned to me, I saw the crinkle of amusement in his eyes, the spark of affection in his swirling silver pupils.

''It's just that seeing you like this,' he motioned towards Tae's room which thankfully was in close hearing range so that if he cried, we would hear him, 'It’s different.’

My eyebrow shot up in question and he hurriedly continued, ‘a good kind of different, don’t get me wrong.’

'What do you mean?' I said as I plopped down on our bed. I watched him sit beside me, the bed dipping under his weight before his hand found mine. Our fingers automatically entwined as if it was the most natural thing and the girlish part of me couldn't help but blush at the intimacy.

So much time has passed and I was still acting like a friggin sixteen year old when Luhan was around.

"It's a nice change to see you being so motherly."

Ah. I see where this was going.

I blushed before huffing, "uhm, did you not see him cry whenever I picked him up? It was a miracle he didn't do anything when I proposed to read to him."

"Nonsense, Taehyung loves you."

I rolled my eyes, 'Luhan, he loves you. Heck, he worships you. Me, on the other hand…' I trailed off with bitterness.

But my wolf only laughed before pulling me closer, 'Seulmi, I think you give yourself less credit than you deserve. You've done great this whole time.'

'I can't even look after him for five minutes,' I grumbled, burying my face in Luhan's chest like a sulky little kid, 'how am I supposed to look after my own kids?' I looked up at him, 'what if they don't like me? Oh my god, what if they don't want milk from me? What do I do then?'

The silver-eyed wolf just burst out laughing. He brushed a hand over my forehead to sweep up away at my bangs, an amused grin dancing across his lips, 'You're adorable.' He breathed, 'did I tell you that?'

'Luhan, I'm serious.'

He shook his head, 'you'll be a wonderful mother. The fact that you care about how your kids will see you is already proof of it.'

'Otherwise, I'll just dump them on you and you can go find another wife.'

His hand reached up to flick my forehead and I yelped as pain stung my skin. I glared at him, 'what was that for?!'

'For talking about stupid stuff that's not gonna happen,' his eyes flashed while his grip on my middle tightened overprotectively, 'you're mine.' He growled.

I opened my mouth to follow up with a witty reply, but he didn't give me the chance to, for his arm tugged my waist closer and his other hand wound around my neck, mouth pressing down on mine as if to prove a point. A whimper died at the back of my throat and he grunted back as if in response, causing my soul to sing in happiness at the reciprocity.

I hadn't realized that he had laid me down onto the bed until my back met the cool sheets of the mattress, his body finding its rightful place between my legs as he parted my mouth with a dominance that had me gasping in delight. One of his hands skimmed my shirt, trailing across my stomach and up to cup my through my bra. I moaned softly, body arching against his while a guttural growl erupted through his chest at the warmth of our bodies entwining like puzzle pieces.

My hands traced the skin along his back as his mouth kept bruising mine, nails digging right into his flesh when he moved on to attack the patch of skin just below my jaw. I gasped when the sensation sent blood rushing right down south, and I felt my wolf smile against my skin before he nuzzled at it in adoration. As I looked down and our eyes met, I couldn't help but admire the mess I hadn't realized I had made of his hair, the plump, red mouth that had been a victim of mine just a few seconds ago. He was beautiful, I realized with growing affection, he was everything I could ask for and so much more, even.

Luhan's orbs shone with amusement, before he ducked back down to pepper kisses all over the exposed patch of skin at my collarbone. I let out a gasp as the heat engulfed my loins in its embrace, my hands seeking purchase as they dug into his back and caused a soft grunt to rumble through his chest, kisses becoming deeper, more sensual and lingering over my skin in a warm trail of electric sparks.

That night as we made love and came as one, I was reminded of the beauty of our bond, the intricate silver thread that shimmered every time our souls called out to each other. And when I cuddled into the cradle of his arm in the early hours of the morning, there was a feeling of forever hanging in the air. I basked in it, allowing myself to give in to the bliss as I gently pressed a soft kiss to the corner of my wolf's jawline.

Luhan looked down, silver orbs glinting in amusement with the light of the moon bouncing off his features, "what's up, sweetheart?"

Even after all this time, the nickname had stuck. It caused my skin to tingle all over.

"I love you." I admitted for the third time this month. I wasn't one to be affectionate, but the words were out of my mouth before I could stop them and I was rewarded with Luhan's grin practically breaking his face in two.

He pushed a strand of hair off my forehead, curling it behind my ear with a tenderness that shot goosebumps down my spine, "I love you too."

I tried not to show my happiness but it was quite impossible to mask my genuine emotions when my whole body was singing as if it had been lit with a warm fire. His comfort and affection made me cuddle closer, and as I slipped into a peaceful sleep that night, the last thing I remember was Luhan's words, a lullaby that sung me to the depths of darkness's comforting arms.

WOOHOOOO Another update :) Idk why AFF is being a and 'bolding' all my text when I don't want it to TT.TT I'm sorry if that gives you guys a real hard time to read it, but I'll try to fix it later. Hope you enjoyed this chappie because ATAC is going to end soon unfortunately :( As for Melody and Kyungsoo, I'm not going to promise anything at the moment because I am working on some other fics outside of this, which is why this fic isn't my top priority at the moment. You can check them out here if you wish! (sorry for the shameful self promo lol):

Across Two Seas : Baekhyun x OC Fanfiction

Kaleidoscope : Theseus Scamander x OC Fanfiction

And I'm also in the works of working on another personal writing project that I will be entering for a competition. Trying to get real with my writing, ya know :,) Cause girl really wants a chance to prove that she is talented with words although she tries her hardest not to give out ty writing xD Anyway, as always, thank you so much for reading and for supporting this fic so much <3 I love you all and I wouldn't be here without you. 

Love, 

- nutmeggu