Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

A MONTH LATER [THE NEXT DAY]

Okay, he’s waited long enough.

It’s been a day, after all.

A long, long day punctuated by morning classes that seemed to go on forever and an even longer night of waitering.

They had group tours during the dinner rush that evening — it wasn’t pretty, and really, he’s so fucking glad it’s almost over.

“Well?” Mingi says now, his voice annoyed but not mad anymore, though his arms are crossed on his chest and he’s pouting, if only because he’s still in a really shitty mood after his shower.

He watches as Yunho purses his lips in front of him, scratching at his nape as he looks away from Mingi’s steady gaze.

They’re currently in Mingi’s room again, him sitting at the foot of his bed and Yunho standing a few meters in front of him.

When Yunho still doesn’t reply after he’d counted to twenty in his head, he sighs, “Yunho-ya —

“It’s because I have to fuck you,” his best friend suddenly blurts out.

Fuck? Mingi finds himself snorting inelegantly. 

Yeah. Right. As if they haven’t done just that almost every single day since that first time in the sauna. 

Yunho had made good on his promise to have lube at every corner of every floor in the building, after all, to Nabi’s eternal suffering.

Now he raises a brow, his tone sarcastic and mean when he deadpans, “What, like during a full moon or —

Yunho rolls his eyes, “Seriously? I’m not a werewolf,” he groans in frustration, glaring back at Mingi, “I-I’ve read about the mating process, Mingi-ya. I have to fuck you and tie you to me, in partial Wolf form. Then there’s the supposedly consensual biting,”

Tie? Wolf? 

Huh?

That’s not where he thought this conversation would go.

And it sounds so oddly familiar, like he’d read about something similar somewhere before.

“Tie?” He swallows, “You mean like a knot?”

Knotting. What did he read somewhere about knotting?

Yunho shrugs, “Something about my dick engorging inside you while fucking you, tying you to me forever. Don’t ask me about the science of it all — I think the Wolf God just had a sick, twisted sense of humor. It’s supposed to hurt a lot, which is why I couldn’t get myself to tell you,”

Like something clicks in his brain at the word ‘engorging’, it suddenly comes to him where he’d read about knotting before. 

It was in a manga. 

About males giving birth.

He looks down at his own flat stomach with horrified eyes before exclaiming in a voice about two octaves too high, “Is this the part where you tell me that I’d have to give birth to your Wolf babies or something? Because I love you but I don’t think I can go through with that! I’ve never been able to understand the mechanics of it in the manga I’ve read,”

When he looks up at Yunho, his best friend’s looking back at him with wide eyes and parted lips.

There’s a blazing trail of red on his cheeks and ears.

“W-wolf babies?” Yunho asks incredulously, “You love me?”

Those two things should not go together.

Mingi shakes his head, “I’m not giving you wolf babies!”

“What the fuck are you talking about?”

They both sound so confused.

“I read about this in a manga!” He hastily explains, “I’m not letting you knot me full of cum to get me pregnant, Yunho-ya!”

“What the hell? No!” Yunho answers just as loudly and even more scandalized, “We have to tie our life forces together and then I have to nibble at the nape of your neck to turn you into a wolf, which is supposedly a lot of pain for a normal human being to go through — why would you get pregnant?”

Mingi trails off before he could complete his hysterical spiel. So he doesn’t have to get pregnant?

“So…the tying…is for our life forces?” He asks after a while, calmer this time.

Yunho nods, still staring at him like he’s crazy, which he totally understands. 

He rubs at his nape, feeling sheepish for having to ask again, “And…I don’t have to give you Wolf babies?”

“I don’t even know where you got babies,” Yunho mumbles back, “I’m basically ending my lineage with you, which is probably why Jihoon worked so hard to get you off the roster of potential mates, so I can get some girl pregnant instead,”

Nope. 

But Mingi doesn’t say it out loud, just clears his throat.

Okay. Okay okay okay. “So…you just didn’t tell me because it might hurt?”

“Mingi-ya,” Yunho says very seriously, “I’m seven feet tall in my wolf form with a dick to match, it’s going to hurt,”

Right. “We…we’ll work up to it, then,”

Yes. Adult conversations.

This is what they should keep doing, instead of dodging around the very important matters at hand and living in their own little bubble, or screaming about wolf babies.

But he’s going through with this regardless.

Because how many times has he thought of asking Yunho to turn him into a wolf?

Just so his best friend’s not alone in this, always waiting until someone turns, the two of them dreading the day he just caves in and starts turning people himself.

Yunho’s teeth graze his lower lip, “You’re…you’re still willing to be my mate?”

He scoffs, “Well that depends, any more secrets about to be divulged by the butlers in our lives anytime soon?”

This time Yunho shakes his head, “That was the last one,” he frowns, “And I’d been planning to ease you into it slowly, but…”

But then Jihoon suddenly, magically appeared out of nowhere yet again.

Reptilian asshole.

“Can’t you rip his head off?” Mingi asks, only half-joking when he does.

He gets a smile, but it’s mostly vacant. Yunho’s still really shaken up by this guy, “I’ve asked, but we have to play nice with the Committee, at least for now,”

“Okay,” Mingi nods, “You’ll get your shot, eventually. For now though, I guess we should go down and have dinner before Nabi thinks the worst two days in a row and finally snaps,”

He gets up from the bed, stepping forward, thinking Yunho would turn away and leave as well. 

So he’s understandably confused when Yunho steps closer to him instead, cupping his face with gentle hands.

His best friend’s voice is quiet and contrite when he says, “I’m sorry,”

“You should be,” he whispers back.

Then Yunho leans in closer, his breath fanning Mingi’s face (the smell isn't so doglike in this form), “Can…can I kiss you now?”

Yes. Fucking yes.

It’s been a fucking day. 

Mingi simply nods though, “Fine,”

When Yunho presses his lips to Mingi’s, soft and chaste and nice, he leans into it, his hand grasping onto Yunho’s. 

When Yunho nudges them backwards until the back of Mingi’s knees hit the bed and he falls onto it, Yunho climbing on top of him right after, he doesn’t resist.

When Yunho whispers, “We can just make our own food later,” against his lips, Mingi just pulls him in closer.

“Okay,” he says, wrapping his arms around Yunho’s neck and kissing him properly, darting out his tongue to trace the seam of his best friend’s lips.

It’s been a long day, but it’s fine.

As long as they end like this, they’re all fine.

Neither of them address the very large elephant in the room, though.

It’s not the right time, especially not in conjunction with fucking wolf babies.

TWO MONTHS LATER 

There’s one bit of information that Mingi never asked Yunho about, though it’s been lingering at the back of his mind ever since Yunho told him that his family had been relocated by Nabi, just before she rescued him. 

“Yunho-ya?” He asks one night as the two of them lounged around in the living room one glorious weekend where they both had nothing to do, him with his head on Yunho’s lap as he reads through his notes for one of his classes, and Yunho playing a game on the Playstation.

“Hmm?” Yunho asks absentmindedly, his full attention on the game at the moment.

Mingi watches blankly as Yunho's on-screen character dodges enemies and stray bullets, not really focused on it as he mulls over his question, before asking, “Will your brother turn into a Wolf too?”

The character on-screen gets shot and goes through a dramatic fall as Yunho’s hands falter on the controller, the usual timer popping up after to count down the seconds he’s allowed to replay from the nearest checkpoint, before the game restarts.

“I…I don’t know,” Yunho finally says quietly, making Mingi look up from the game to regard his best friend, who’s still staring at the screen now, “The legend states that the Wolf God only granted powers to the Dominant that first time, and he turned everyone else. But all the others should have the dormant gene in them now, from the first war,”

The screen flashes. Game Over.

“So, you don’t know if they’ll just turn as well, or if you’ll have to turn them again like the first time?”

Yunho nods, looking down at him now, “Yeah. This is only the second time this has ever happened, so no one really knows,” he sighs, “I hope it’s not the former, though. I don’t want Geonho-ya involved in any of this. At least one of us should get the chance of a normal life,”

Mingi agrees, actually.

Geonho still seems so young, after all, for this to be his definitive future.

But then again, it would be nice if Yunho had his brother to share the burden with him, or any other Wolves aside from Mingi. 

“He hasn’t shown any of your symptoms at least, right?”

Yunho shakes his head, “Nah. Just living normally as a dumb kid almost done with highschool. He even has a girlfriend now,”

Mingi smiles, “That little brat got himself a girlfriend?”

His best friend snorts, “Yeah, really nice and pretty, too. I told him she’s too good for him, actually,”

He finds himself snickering, since he’d always found Yunho’s relationship with his brother funny, “Of course you would. What’d he say to retaliate?”

When Yunho pouts at him, Mingi laughs harder, already knowing what Yunho would say even before he grouses, “He said that you’re too good for me, too. I told him to shut his trap before I march over there to Gwangju and turn him into a runty little Wolf,”

“You’re both ridiculous,” Mingi grins, “Well, we could only hope he’s safe from all this for now, at least until he’s old enough to understand it better and make an informed decision for himself,”

When Yunho glances at him, he looks like he’s about to say that he’ll never turn Geonho willingly, the frown pronounced and introspective on his face, but in the end he sighs, “I’ve already had Nabi prepare a floor for him below us, just in case, but he can also stay at one of the properties in Gwangju, if he’d rather live there,”

Then he looks away, back at the screen, to restart the game.

It’s a diplomatic answer befitting a future leader, Mingi finds, nodding at Yunho in agreement before returning to his notes. 

They’ll figure it all out, little by little, one piece of the puzzle at a time.

FOUR MONTHS LATER

By the time Mingi’s college graduation comes along, it already feels like such an anticlimactic end to a very emotional four years of his life. 

But he smiles as he plays with the tassel on his graduation cap anyway, truly proud of himself for pushing through with his studies, especially right after he’d turned his back on his first dream just before reaching it and gone through the soul-crushing grief of that decision.

His Hongjoong-hyung had sent him a voice message first thing that very morning — a very messy voice message with all seven members of Ateez talking over each other while congratulating him for graduating. 

Even Wooyoung and Jinyoung.

He’d played the message for Yunho once he got it, who smiled and noted how much he missed all of them as well, his eyes staring a little wistfully at the phone. 

Then he’d shaken it off and tucked a strand of Mingi’s hair behind his ear, giving him a sweet peck on the lips right after, “Are you happy though, even if we’re not a part of them anymore?” He’d asked quietly.

Mingi had smiled, kissing Yunho back on the lips, before explaining as sincerely as he could, “Part of me will always wonder how it would’ve gone had we debuted, but I’m happy with this new life we have now, all the same,” he snickered, “Life with you is pretty good, Yunho-ya — you even come with a private sauna now,”

Yunho had snorted and shoved him away, but he’d simply laughed.

Now he places the cap back on his head as he waits in his seat among all the other students in his year, wishing they’d just get it over with and call his name already, just so he stops fidgeting. 

For the umpteenth time, he readjusts his glasses on his face.

He doesn’t even try to look back and search for Yunho, who’d probably make a dumb face to make him laugh.

Or he’d be blinded by the handsomeness, or something.

After what seems like a lifetime, he finally hears his name, “Mr Song Mingi, Bachelor’s Degree of Finance and Management Studies I, Class 1A,”

He swallows before getting up, willing himself not to stumble on his feet as he makes his way past the rows of students to walk up the aisle.

‘Don’t trip, don’t trip, don’t trip,’

He’s ushered towards the wonky X-mark made of black tape on the floor, a few paces away from the Dean, who’s still waiting for the diploma to be handed to him.

That’s when he finally scans through the crowd, his eyes finding his mom, who waves at him — he doesn’t wave back, that’s too embarrassing — then Yunho right by her side.

His wandering gaze stops when he finds his best friend (mate, etc etc).

For all that he looks confident, Mingi knows how much it took Yunho to be around that many people, so he’s glad.

His best friend’s staring right back at him, a small smile on his face.

He’s dressed so well that day too, in a well-cut black suit with gems along the collar and a big, crystal buckle on his belt, his hair tousled and parted in the middle.

It’s a bit much to attend a college graduation looking like that, but Nabi, who had the suit custom-made, seems to have a penchant for purchasing impossibly detailed and embellished pieces for Yunho’s formalwear, stating, “He’s a Hyeon now. He should dress like a Hyeon,”

She’d started having pieces tailored for Mingi too, even asked him if he’d like to wear an expensive, three-piece Chanel suit for his graduation, but he’d snorted and turned her down.

For now. 

They don’t look bad at all, just…not to graduate in a school auditorium.

Some of the other guests around Yunho seem to have their eyes drawn to him as well, but his eyes never leave Mingi, not until Mingi’s mom whispers in his ear and he looks away to answer her.

He lets out the breath he didn’t know he was keeping in, just in time for him to be called forward. 

The Dean whispers a very pro-forma ‘congratulations’ as he reaches up to move Mingi’s tassel to the other end of his cap, placing the rolled piece of paper in his waiting hands right after.

A turn of a tassel and a rolled piece of paper, the most anticlimactic symbols to the end of another huge milestone in his life.

Still, when his eyes find his mom and Yunho again during the photo op, Mingi finds himself smiling back at their wide smiles.

Regardless of symbolism or level of excitement, it’s done.

He’s done it.

Dinner with his mom after the ceremony goes swimmingly well, with Yunho buying them all meat to celebrate.

They dodge the obvious questions of where Yunho went after he left KQ  (“Eomma, I already told you, he had to go study in America,”) and blush through the questions of whether or not they were together together (“You two have always been too passionate with each other! Mothers can tell these things!”)

When Yunho reddens to the roots of his hair once Mingi’s mom asks if he’s going to take care of their son, should she decide to bless their relationship, Mingi finds himself laughing.

But it dies in his throat when Yunho stutters out a very impassioned (and unintelligible) reply, saying, “I shall take care of Mingi to the best of my abilities, eomeonim,” 

Did it make Mingi’s stomach flutter? Maybe.

Once they finally part ways that evening, Mingi gives his mom a long, warm hug, promising to visit them all in Bucheon soon.

Soon. When everything’s safe again.

LATER (24)

They’re laying in their bed that night, naked but for their underwear, and facing each other on their sides.

It’s quiet, too quiet, in the room.

The mood is electric yet a little somber between them. It feels almost…reverential, really.

Too sacred to cut through the tension with mindless jokes or banter.

Yunho’s absentmindedly running fingers down his cheeks, along his bare arm, his eyes not once wavering as he looks at Mingi, gauging his headspace. 

Then he starts, “We don’t have to do it tonight —

“Yunho-ya,” Mingi cuts Yunho off, only because he’s heard this counter-argument a million times before, “We’ve discussed this,”

Yunho looks back at him, his expression laced with concern, “Once we do this, you’re tied to me. Forever. Which could be a very, very long time,”

Forever still sounds daunting, he’s not going to lie, but Mingi finds it in himself to shrug anyway.

“Yeah, I know,” he takes Yunho’s hand and places a kiss in his palm. 

Yunho’s breathing hitches.

“You’ve warned me of what I’ll be getting into so many times already, and I’m telling you now that I’d still rather be with you, even if there’s just the two of us — and Nabi — against all of them,” he finds himself smiling, “We can be alone together,”

That statement was cute when it was about three-day sleepovers during Christmas holidays, but now it holds so much more weight. 

There’s a flicker of recognition in his best friend’s gaze when Mingi says those words, his lips parting at the seam, but no more excuses pass through them. 

So Mingi finally sidles in closer, looking up to smile at Yunho, “So, are we going to talk a bit more, or are you going to kiss me and finally make me yours for real, Yunho-ya?”

He runs a finger down Yunho’s cheek, watches as Yunho’s eyes start to blaze.

Fucking finally. 

When soft, chapped lips press into his, he leans into it immediately, giving as good as he gets, nipping and kissing and swiping along Yunho’s mouth with his tongue, garbled moans and spit mingling between their lips.

Fingers grip tightly at his waist, scratching down his sides, while his own hands leave a trail of marks down Yunho’s back.

It’s hot.

It's always hot now, because Yunho’s normal body temperature runs like a furnace, searing the skin he touches on Mingi’s body. 

Mingi doesn’t mind the heat though, never has.

When Yunho pushes him down, he goes willingly. Moans loud when his best friend leaves a wet and pleasurably painful trail of heat down his body by marking him everywhere.

Mingi angles his hips upwards when Yunho tugs at the waistband of his boxers, letting them get slid down his legs.

He spreads his legs apart when nudged, letting Yunho settle in between them.

The only time he says anything is when Yunho kisses lower, on his inner thigh, before licking a slobbery stripe right across his hole. What the hell? “What are you doing?”

“Just…just let me make you feel good first, alright?” Yunho whispers, blowing into it and making him clench.

When a tongue digs sloppily into his hole he lets out a loud whine, digging into the meat of Yunho’s shoulders with his nails, especially when a sticky hand comes up to tug at his member as well.

Yunho’s groan vibrates around him.

Fuck, he didn’t think Yunho would want him to cum this quickly.

All too soon, Mingi finds himself already at the edge of the precipice, his babbling getting worse as he mumbles, “C-cumming,”

He taps on Yunho harshly, warning him, but Yunho simply tugs and licks even more insistently, not stopping until Mingi cums right on his hand and hair with a loud gasp.

His best friend looks a little too…happy when he pulls away, cum dripping on his fringe.

“You look ridiculous,” Mingi says in between pants, a little annoyed at cumming before the sex, “Can’t believe you made me cum before fucking me,”

The grin widens, before Yunho takes Mingi’s cum from his hair and sucks his fingers in his mouth, pulling off with a lewd pop.

Holy fucking shit.

“No worries, Mingi-ya, I’ll fuck the next one out of you after you catch your breath, I promise,”

By the time he’s cum for the second time that last hour, Mingi’s already wondering just how much sex is too much sex.

He’s now on his side, facing away from Yunho, who’s grinding at him from behind.

“M-Mingi-ya,” Yunho’s voice sounds choked, like he’s holding back but just barely, “Last warning, are you sure?”

He feels himself clenching down on Yunho in reply, eliciting a moan to pass his best friend’s lips, “Yes, yes just do it, Yunho-ya,”

Like they’ve practiced before, he feels more lube being poured down the cleft of his ass (they’ve probably destroyed the sheets by now), before a finger inserts itself right above where Yunho’s already big dick is still deeply seated in him.

He wills his body to calm down, wills himself to relax, reveling in the sting and yet now pleasurable feeling of being the fullest he’s ever felt.

Mingi taps at Yunho’s thigh, letting him know he’s good.

When the second finger inserts itself, the sting increases, but he taps twice again.

Still good. They’ve practiced this, he’s ready.

“M-mingi,” Yunho lets out a pained whine at his nape, though either because of too much stimulation or actual pain, he can’t actually tell. 

“Just do it,” he says firmly.

He feels it the minute white tendrils of smoke caress his skin, the body behind him growing at least a foot more.

When Yunho reaches for his middle, it’s half him, half Wolf, his claws digging painfully into Mingi’s middle, almost but not quite drawing blood.

Yunho growls from behind him, the sound more feral, more animal than human, and begins snapping his hips even harder.

Mingi yelps when he feels Yunho’s dick also increase in length and girth — so deep in him he can taste Yunho at the back of his tongue.

His best friend’s dick drags almost painfully along his walls. Almost. 

Then, a furry hand taps twice. 

“Yes, yes just do it!” He babbles far past coherency, too overstimulated by pain and overwhelming pleasure to really think logically at the moment.

But Mingi yelps in actual pain when he feels the dick in him catch at the hilt, then begin to engorge even bigger and wider, as Yunho begins to cum. 

Two taps at his thigh, but barely, the wolf still growling behind him in pleasure as he continues to roll and snap his hips, riding out his high.

Honestly, the Wolf God’s idea of soulmates is a fucking joke.

Mingi makes a high-pitched, keening moan at the back of his throat at the acute feeling of being split open to accommodate the beast behind him, his back arching almost painfully.

He feels tears slide down his cheeks. Fuck, now it hurts.

Then, three taps on his thigh. The bite.

“Just fucking do it, Yunho-ya,” he bites out in between sobs, feeling as if he’d need medical attention soon.

Or maybe he’ll pass out.

When a sharp fang sinks into the back of his neck, he groans in pain.

Then he feels it, the actual thrum of energy that runs through his body as venom spreads into his system, searing him from the inside.

The venom hurts, like it’s burning him from the inside.

He bites down on his fist to stop himself from crying out, unable to comprehend the pain anymore as he resorts to clutching tightly at Yunho’s fur with his other hand instead, ignoring his best friend’s constant taps asking him how he is. 

He is not fine. Not fine not fine not fine.

Then the pain suddenly bursts, enveloping around him instead of searing him from inside out, his whole body suddenly calming down just as quickly. 

Everything feels tingly, not painful, not even the matching dick of the seven-foot Wolf behind him.

So when Yunho jostles them behind him (probably to make him more comfortable), he finds himself cumming for the third time that night, laying spent in Yunho’s arms after riding out his high. 

Subconsciously, he feels a long, rough tongue licking at his tears, just before he falls into a haze.

When Mingi comes to, there’s a tongue licking gently at his nape, an arm around his middle, and he’s only mildly startled to find out that they’re still…connected at the hilt.

“Are you okay?” Yunho says worriedly from behind him, “Sorry, the saliva should stop the bleeding,”

He peers behind him, finding the very human visage of his…well, best friend but also now mate and everything else. 

Mingi can actually feel it now. Yunho is his mate.

“How long was I out?” is all he asks back, rubbing at his eyes until his vision clears.

Then he all but deflates into Yunho’s chest afterwards, wincing when it stings.

“Too long,” Yunho clutches him closer, “You were out too long. How are you feeling? Are you okay?”

He thinks about the answer, taking stock of himself.

Aside from the usual sting of sex, there’s not much in terms of pain.

Really, he feels quite awesome, like he’s still basking in the high of his orgasm, sated and tingly all over, “I am now,”

A hand raises to swipe gently at his cheeks, which he realizes is still wet with tears, “But…but you were crying,”

“It hurt earlier, especially after the bite,” he tries to explain, “But it’s good now,”

A head nuzzles into his shoulder, hair tickling his skin, “Don’t lie to me,”

But he simply reaches out and runs his fingers through Yunho’s hair, “I’m not. I’m good, Yunho-ya. Are you?”

A groan, “Fuck, it felt so good,” the arm clutches him tighter, “I almost couldn’t control the wolf from actually pounding you into the mattress, regardless of how you were feeling at that point,”

Mingi finds himself smiling, “But you did,” 

“Of course I did,” Yunho mumbles, “Mind over matter, remember?”

He chuckles, still a little floaty after all those mixed emotions and highs and very painful lows, so he’s not really in the mood to speak.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Yunho asks again, “Because you’re really quiet,”

Mingi nods hazily, “I am,” he looks down confusingly where they’re still connected, “Why haven’t you slid out yet?”

“Not done tying you,” Yunho groans, “May take a while actually, sorry,”

He shrugs, “Stop saying sorry,” then he giggles as he shuffles closer to Yunho’s chest instead, “This isn’t half bad,”

And it’s not. It’s really not.

Good enough to fall asleep, even.

When Yunho’s fingers tentatively thread around his, he clutches back, placing a kiss on Yunho’s knuckle. 

It’s fine. They’ve done it.

It worked and now he’s floaty and sated and a little high after his orgasm.

He’s also happy, quite happy, with the fact that Yunho’s now his, too.

Together they bask in the silence just like that, holding each other.

Mingi’s just about to nod off when Yunho finally decides to lighten the mood, though how he goes about it deserves major setbacks in their relationship for the foreseeable future.

A (fake) evil laugh, “I’ve finally got you right in my trap, Mingi-ya,” their clasped hands ghost over Mingi’s stomach, “Now for you to birth me a hundred wolf babies, mwahaha,”

Mingi’s eyes wrench open, peering behind him in horror, before he comes across Yunho’s face lit up in a grin.

The audacity has him unlacing their fingers and whacking at Yunho’s shoulder, which makes Yunho jolt, which makes him groan.

Worth it though, “Don’t even joke about that!”

His anger dissipates (somewhat) when a happy and open laugh, one that reminds him of old times, leaves his best friend’s lips, “But it’s funny,” more giggling, “Not my fault you read weird porn,”

A heat unrelated to pain creeps up his face before he shoves at Yunho again, devolving into the same few steps that has him groaning from the sting of still being tied. 

“Asshole. You’re really making me question why I love you,” he grumbles.

“You love me?” Yunho asks, his voice still a little playful, but also a lot more genuine.

Mingi rolls his eyes, “Do you really think I’d let myself go through all this if I didn’t?” then he scoffs, “Even despite your best efforts,”

A kiss at his cheek, soft and chaste and wet, has him smiling like a damn idiot, “I love you too. I love you so much, Mingi-ya,”

His stomach flutters, but really, Mingi doesn’t mind all these feelings, “You should, because you’re mine now, too,”

“Yours?” Yunho sounds amused.

“All mine,” Mingi can almost feel his own, newly-awakened beast grinning at him, totally in agreement with that wholly possessive sentiment, as he tugs at Yunho’s arm closer to him until they’re fully flushed against each other, until there’s no space between them at all.

(“Do I get a cool superhero scene when I shift into a Wolf for the first time?” Mingi asks a while later, once they’ve finally managed to separate from each other and Yunho’s given him a really nice scrub down.

“You’re joking, right?” Yunho sounds unamused, looking down at him with a frown.

He shrugs back, only half-joking, really.

When Yunho snorts, he rolls his eyes, “Well, first you get to have that really hot and sweaty fever,”

Mingi finds himself cringing. Ugh. Being sick and sweaty doesn’t sound very heroic.

“Then you’ll get the headaches,” Yunho continues with a chuckle, “But don’t worry, I’ll buy you all the sunglasses you’d need for when that happens,”

Too nice. There’s probably a catch in there somewhere, “Not the dumb ones, right?”

“Only the dumb ones, Mingi-ya,” Yunho says a little too chirpily, earning himself a whack on the shoulder for his efforts, which makes him groan in (overdramatically fake) pain. 

Serves him right.

But Mingi still continues anyway, “But after that, surely —

“After that, we’ll ease you into the shifting here, in the privacy of our own home,” Yunho explains a little more seriously, “Without any Shadows or shady government people to bother you,”

He shrugs, “Well, what if the Shadow —

“If a Shadow manages to reach our floor, even after all the security and contingencies Nabi’s placed on this building, then I’ll really rip her head off,” Yunho deadpans. 

His new joke really is quite mean, but funny all the same.

So much so that it has Mingi giggling despite himself, “You’re ridiculous,”

A scoff, “So are you,”

And they both are, really.

But Mingi wouldn’t have it any other way, he thinks, as he tilts his head up to press a kiss to Yunho’s lips.)

LATER (-)

His Hongjoong-hyung answers after two rings, voice bright and alert when he asks, “Mingi-ya, what is it? Are you in trouble?”

Mingi finds himself pouting that Hongjoong would automatically assume he’s in trouble just because he called, “Hyung, I’m fine! Why would you think I was in trouble?”

“Because you have not once called me first in the last four years we’ve spoken over the phone,” Hongjoong explains point-blank.

Oh. Good point.

He finds himself clearing his throat, “Touche, I guess,”

“So what’s up?” Hongjoong continues, “Have you sent in your CV yet?”

Mingi shakes his head, a smile playing at the corner of his lips, “No, and uh, that’s part of the reason why I called, actually,”

“Okay?” 

“I…I found Yunho-ya,” he finally explains, knowing that his hyung has been searching for answers regarding that, just as long as he has.

Yunho and Hongjoong were in KQ together first, after all.

Like he predicts, he hears Hongjoong’s breath catch on the other line.

“You…you have?” Hongjoong finally asks.

Mingi nods, then answers verbally, “Yeah, I…I ran into him, after we met that last time,”

“Where?”

“Right here in Seoul,” he answers truthfully, “He’s here, hyung,”

A click of the tongue, “So you two —

“Yeah, he explained it all to me, what happened those last four years,” Mingi continues, “And I took him back. We’re together now, for real, this time,”

There’s a short pause after that, neither of them speaking, as Mingi lets Hongjoong parse all the information that he’d just shared with him. 

When Hongjoong answers next, it sounds happier, “That’s great, Mingi-ya,” a sigh, “So…do we get an explanation as well? He left us too, you know,”

Oh they will. Someday soon enough.   Hopefully.

“Someday. Most likely over coffee or something, I promise,” he finally answers pragmatically.

There’s a rustle like Hongjoong’s just nodded, the line going quiet again.

Mingi can just imagine his hyung’s expression on the other side of the receiver, his lips probably slightly parted, his tongue darting out to wet them, as he mulls over what to say.

“And you promise that you’re not in trouble?” Hongjoong finally asks.

Mingi shakes his head, “Nothing like that, hyung, I swear. I just wanted to let you know that I’m safe with Yunho, that’s all,” he worries his lower lip, “And to maybe ask you not to come looking for me anymore, at least for the time being,”

“Why?” Hongjoong presses on.

“Just, I’m trying to ease myself into my new normal at the moment, new job, new — well, old — boyfriend, new everything you know,” he shrugs, “And I know you’re very busy nowadays as well. Twenty stops on your next tour, really?”

A chuckle, “Yeah well, hit the ground running and all that,” but then Hongjoong’s tone turns more serious again, “And fine, I promise, no more surprise meetings. You’ll call me though, right? To have that coffee date with you and Yunho-ya?”

“We’re friends, of course I will,” he smiles, “I’ll text you,”

“Alright, I’ll hold you to it then,” Hongjoong relents, “Anything else?”

“No, that’s it. Take care of yourself, hyung. All the best of luck to Ateez,”

“You too, Mingi-ya, and I really am glad you two found each other again,”

When he ends the call right after that, Mingi finds himself smiling wistfully.

But then again, he didn’t lie about any of it.

He will see them soon — both him and Yunho. 

It’s a lovely night, balmy and warm and the moon large and bright in the sky, bathing the city of Seoul in an almost magical, silvery glow.

Aside from the difference in temperatures, it’s actually quite similar to that first night he and Yunho first saw each other again, another lifetime ago, when he was saved in an alleyway by a Wolf from a Shadow.

Now, when arms wind themselves around his middle, Mingi leans into the touch, baring his neck out for the trail of kisses, his lids fluttering shut at the ministrations.

“I missed you,” Yunho finally says from behind him, his hand wandering past the gape of Mingi’s robe to clutch at his pec, before sliding down his waist.

He finds himself rolling his eyes, “You were only gone four hours,” four hours is fucking forever, but Mingi still has his dignity, at least.

“Shut up, I know you missed me too,” Yunho retaliates playfully, nipping at his earlobe, all while his wandering hand slides past Mingi’s hipbone to ghost over his dick — which is already beginning to twitch, the traitor, “See? You missed me,”

He snorts, shaking his head at his best friend’s ridiculousness.

When Yunho speaks next though, it’s more…sincere, “How are you feeling today?”

“Good,” he says truthfully, “I feel really good. I even got some stuff done today — had my fitting for the outfit I’ll be wearing for the gala, for one,”

Yunho hums behind him, probably only half-listening as he continues to do whatever it is he’s doing with his tongue. So, so good.

Still, Mingi continues, “I’m thinking of wearing a ballgown that matches the necklace, actually,” he grins, “Since they called me a princess and all. Would you care if I did that?”

The incredulous snort behind him answers that question, “Wear whatever you want, Mingi-ya. I personally think you’d look pretty in a dress,”

Sweet (as always), “I thought so,”

He giggles when Yunho nuzzles at the mark on his nape with his nose, where the bite is.

Though, Yunho finally asks, “Is that all?”

No. No, there’s one other thing, something that Mingi found while he was helping Nabi list down names of potential Wolves from their camp. 

But he doesn’t know how Yunho would react to that just yet, and he doesn’t want to sour the mood, “Yeah, but I’ll let you know later,”

“Okay,” Yunho agrees, kissing Mingi’s temple, “So, are you ready to go?”

And for all of Mingi’s bravado and his pondering about the moon and the night and all of their neverending lists of things to do, he gulps as he steps away from Yunho to look past the railing of their building’s rooftop again. 

It’s a very, very long way down.

When he answers, all traces of cool Mingi are gone, his voice pouty when he whines, “Why can’t we just take the elevator again?”

“Oh come on, Mingi-ya, where’s your sense of adventure?” Yunho’s arms tighten around his waist as his asshole mate giggles, “I thought you wanted a cool shifting scene?”

“On solid ground!” He grouses.

Yunho just laughs harder, “Oh come on, you know why. I don’t want anyone tailing us, which is why I always used to leave the building from up here,”

But it’s so high and Mingi’s never really been into heights.

What if it hurts when he falls?

Just the idea of falling makes him gulp, “You…you promise you won’t let me fall?”

Yunho snorts, “Mingi-ya, when have I ever…” he trails off when Mingi peers back at him with most likely judgy eyes, “Fine, when have I ever let you fall when not in the context of a prank?”

Never.

And even though his knees are already threatening to buckle just thinking about it, Mingi finds himself saying a very weak but determined, “Okay, but only because I trust you, Yunho-ya,”

“That’s my Mingi-ya,” Yunho kisses his cheek, “Seriously, how’d I get so lucky to have you?”

Ugh, Yunho can get really cringey when he wants to be, but Mingi can feel the smile tugging at the corner of his lips, all the same.

When he answers later, he’s fondly thinking of the boy with the bright smile, dressed in SOPA yellow, waiting for Mingi like some anime love interest outside his school in Bucheon.

Funny, when he thinks about it now, how true it turned out to be (somewhat).

“You’re lucky about most things, yeah, but not about me,” he kisses Yunho back on cheek, “I’m here because you were nice enough to wait around and eat with this one boy who’d never asked you to do it, but was grateful you did, all the same,”

He feels Yunho give him a soft kiss on his nape, and a quick glance past his shoulder is enough to see the bright smile on his best friend’s face. 

His Yunho. That smile is all sunshine and really, very his Yunho. 

When his best friend whispers in his ear though, the spell is broken when all he says is, “Sap,” 

Mingi scoffs, “You’re the sap, but it’s fine, I’ve come to accept you as you are,”

He gets a playful shove in reply. 

Some things never change.

“So, would you like to go first? Or should I?” Yunho finally asks him. 

Right, this is happening. Mingi swallows, thinking it over.

Really, he would love for Yunho to go first, but this seems like something he has to do, if only to prove to himself that he could.

“Me first, I think,” he decides.

His best friend (and everything etc etc) nods, helping him pull the tie loose from around his waist and peeling the robe off of his shoulders gently, “That’s great. I’m sorry I can’t really tell you how to do it though, but you should feel it, once you’re ready,”

Feel it. Right.

But he does anyway, trying his best, his face probably pinched in concentration as he ponders on how to go about finding the instinct that Yunho’s told him about.

When he feels the tendrils of white smoke start to emit from his pores, he chuckles in delight.

It doesn’t hurt, the transformation, more like a disorienting feeling of growing even taller than he already is, and the acute sensation of being morphed, stretched and moulded into his new form, before finally settling.

When the transformation ends, Mingi’s surprised when he looks down at himself and sees white and gray fur on his body, glinting silver under the moonlight.

He’s silver?

Oh he likes that.

Mingi turns to look at Yunho then, showing off his Wolf form. He’s decidedly pleased when Yunho reaches a hand around his lower back and nuzzles his face onto Mingi’s arm.

“I knew you’d be a pretty Wolf, princess,” Yunho whispers, “Now I really can’t wait to fuck you in a field,”

And just like that, the mood is shot.

He huffs, eliciting a chuckle from Yunho’s lips.

Honestly, fucking in the dirt just sounds a little unhygienic whenever he thinks about it, but Yunho had seemed so excited when he suggested having sex in their Wolf form out in a field somewhere so, in the end, Mingi had found himself agreeing (as usual).

Not that he isn’t a little excited as well, but nature…ugh. 

He’s snapped out of his reverie when Yunho smiles for him, before pointing to the next roof a few meters away from theirs, “Make your first leap to that roof, since it’s the closest one. We’ll figure out which way to go next, once we’re together,”

Okay. Okay okay okay.

He whines, feeling his own Wolf scoff at his cowardice. Nice, his Wolf’s an ass too.

But Mingi steps closer to the edge anyway, decidedly not looking down anymore but forward, both literally and metaphorically.

It’s more than just a leap from a building, after all, more comparable to a huge leap of faith for him now that he’s fully transformed.

Because him being a Wolf means that tomorrow, they’ll finally have to start looking for the Shadow hive again, one rock formation in Korea at a time.

Tomorrow, Mingi will have to join Yunho at HUE Incorporated, to be introduced as his mate and co-partner of the large umbrella of companies that’s now under their care.

Tomorrow, they’ll have to do more suit fittings for the upcoming gala with the Committee and that side of the Hyeon line, of which they know little about. The two of them will have to memorize hundreds of names and faces of the most powerful people in Korea, many of whom run the country from the shadows.

Tomorrow, Yunho will have to start practicing using the Voice, which Nabi theorizes will be able to awaken the dormant gene without any biting involved. They’re using her as the first test subject when that happens.

Tomorrow, they’ll start creating an army, not just for the looming threat of the Shadows, but for more urgent reasons (the Committee) as well.

Tonight may very well be their last chance in a while to be just Yunho and Mingi, two former k-pop trainees now turned Wolves in a weird twist of fate, though at their core they’re really just two (disgustingly) cute best friends and now mates who’ll be fucking in a field of flowers under the moonlight.

About to jump from a twenty-four storey building to do it.

He lets out a long exhale, mildly startles when Yunho says from his side, “Trust me, you’ll make it, Mingi-ya,” a hand runs down his furry back, “And on the off-chance that you don’t, I’ll be there to catch you, I promise,”

Trust Yunho.

Probably the only reason Mingi hasn’t run away screaming about everything.

‘I do,’ he thinks, as he bends his legs in preparation, his eyes locked on the next roof.

‘Whatever happens, I’ll be okay, as long as you’re there,’ he tells himself firmly as he finally leaps, his eyes widening when his new, powerful legs easily bounds him off of their roof and onto the next, eliciting a burst of laughter to leave his lips.

His landing needs work, though.

When he looks back, Yunho’s grinning at him proudly, fully naked but for the harness fitted around his torso, that adjusts when he shifts into his own, dark Wolf form.

Then he leaps as well, landing gracefully right next to Mingi.

He can’t help but huff at the cocky grin on his dark Wolf’s face when he lands. Show off.

But Yunho reaches for his hand and threads their fingers together, his smile becoming less cocky as he tugs Mingi along, leading the two of them off of that next roof to land at the next one, then the next, the evening breeze running through their furs.

They’ll figure it all out eventually, one piece of the puzzle at the time, but from here on out they’ll do like they’ve always done it.

Together.

- END -

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.

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[POST-CREDIT SCENE]

At best, fucking in a field (with flowers or otherwise) is a three out of ten.

Four, when he considers the fact that Yunho brought Mingi’s robe with him the entire way there.

But then again, their bed has pure silk sheets, and Mingi’s nothing if not a creature of comfort.

So the final score is quite low.

Still, they lounge around in said flower field quite peacefully, sated and in bliss for the time being.

Mingi’s wrapped up in his robe, and Yunho’s lying naked right on the dirt and grass, both of them facing each other on their sides.

Absentmindedly, Yunho’s fiddling with one of the wildflowers all around them, which he finally decides to pluck before tucking it behind Mingi’s ear.

Really, while Mingi can’t ever help the smile on his face whenever Yunho does stuff like this, they do cement it in his mind that his best friend really, truly is a fucking sap.

But he doesn’t say that to Yunho’s face, since he does find it cute.

Now that they’re both in high spirits though, he does finally decide to tell his best friend the little tidbit he’d found earlier that day, one that had him forming an idea that could be a longshot, at best.

But it could work.

“Yunho-ya,” he starts.

“Hmm?” Yunho replies, his eyes nowhere on Mingi as he continues to fiddle with flowers and blades of grass.

“I found something today, while I was helping Nabi go through the genealogies of Eun-u’s camp — those who left with her, when she did,”

All he gets in reply is a nod, though Yunho does ask, “That’s nice, I guess. Anyone we know?”

And he gets the question right on his first try. Typical. Still, Mingi hums in the affirmative, “Kang Yeosang, from the lineage of Kang Jo, one of Eun-u’s most trusted generals during the war,”

The fiddling stops as Yunho looks up at Mingi, his expression thoughtful, if anything.

“Yeosang-ah?” he finally asks after a few seconds have passed.

Mingi nods, “Yeah,” he eyes Yunho’s face, “Why? Do you think he knows something?”

“He…he was there, when I was picked up on that street,” Yunho explains, his lips pursed, “Didn’t he tell you that?”

Mingi shakes his head, “No. He didn’t tell me anything back then, just that you must have had a good reason for leaving,” he shrugs, “Nabi said that they were informed of your disappearance way earlier than their quarterly check-ins when an unlisted cell number from Seoul called their home, though she couldn’t do anything about it immediately — she wasn’t the butler yet,”

“And…you think that was him?” 

“I don’t know, maybe? But yeah, he’s on the list,” Mingi continues, “And he comes from a more traditional family, we know that. Maybe they kept some of the legends and artifacts intact and passed them down,”

“I guess,” then Yunho chuckles, “So is this how we get KQ FELLAZ back together again? We turn them all into Wolves at some point?”

Seriously, does Mingi have all of his ideas written on his face? “That’s what I was thinking, actually. This war is going to be everyone’s problem someday, after all, not just ours or the Committee’s. I’d feel safer fighting alongside people I trust, in any case,” he presses his lips together, “Yeosang-ah has even bulked up since we last saw him. Like honestly, he’s built like a tank now,”

Mingi’s last argument with Wooyoung passes through his mind, making him think about whether or not what he told Wooyoung back then would actually come to pass.

Would Wooyoung follow Yeosang into a war? Only time will tell, he supposes.

“Then we’ll think about it,” Yunho finally answers, snapping his thoughts back to the present.

He hums back, “I’ve also let Hongjoong-hyung know that we’re to meet them soon — to explain, more than anything,”

His best friend merely smiles, “I trust you too, you know, Mingi-ya,” he fiddles with strands of Mingi’s hair, “So just tell me of any plans you may have, and I’ll follow your lead,”

Mingi smiles as he nods.

Then Yunho snorts, making Mingi eye him questioningly.

“What?” He can’t help but ask.

Nothing about all that was funny, after all.

Yunho eyes him with a grin, “I just realized, now that we’re actively recruiting,” he chuckles, “That we’ll have to use Nabi’s powerpoint again,”

Oh no.

Mingi finds himself groaning into his palm, “Not the fucking powerpoint,”

A bright, cheery laugh, “Yes, the fucking powerpoint,”

Ugh. “Seriously, a bloody ritual would be more impressive, especially with that title she’d chosen for the powerpoint,”

When Yunho laughs, he finds himself laughing as well, though he does feel bad for making fun of Nabi’s hard work.

Then Yunho eyes him with amusement, “Maybe we could add WordArt to it or something,”

Mingi snorts, “Maybe. Or we should just scrap the whole thing and film a recruitment video — you can choreograph it and I can make the music for it,”

His best friend shrugs, though he does sidle in closer to Mingi, “Sounds like a plan. We’ll discuss it further tomorrow,” then he pecks Mingi’s lips, “For now, though, ready to go?”

No, he’s tired. “Do you think Nabi would pick us up wherever this is? I don’t think I can go all the way back right now, my legs hurt,”

A scoff, but Yunho reaches into his harness and presses a button anyway.

The harness was supposed to be a belt, based on the idea of Batman’s utility belt, to be filled with little things they may need to use during their upcoming missions.

But the idea was scrapped when Yunho commented on the fact that wearing a belt, when he’ll most likely be naked, would look so stupid.

Mingi had agreed wholeheartedly, his eye twitching erratically by then at the thought of having to wear it too, and so the utility harness was born.

He can’t help but notice how good Yunho looks in the harness now, though (then again, Yunho would look good in a paper bag).

Maybe they can make Mingi’s silver or grey to match his fur. 

Then he’s jostled out of his rambling thoughts by Yunho saying, “Okay, Nabi should be here in about an hour,” he grins, “So what should we do in the meantime?”

Mingi finds himself smiling, “I’m ready for round three, if you are,”

And like the competitive freak he is, Yunho doesn’t need any more motivation than that, pushing Mingi down onto the grass and dirt and attacking him with his lips, just a few seconds later.