changer ❧ j.sc | ✔

book two ❧ [xiii]

"That could've gone worse," you declared as soon as your parents' front door shut behind the two of you, leaving you and Sungchan on the sidewalk. There wasn't much in the way of leftovers aside from the berry tart, which your mom sent you off with so that your father wouldn't eat it all.

"You think so?" Sungchan asked warily. "Because I uh... I did hear what you all were talking about when I was in the bathroom."

"Yeah, I thought you might've." You nodded, squeezing his hand. "I'm sorry about all that, Sung. I think they get it now. And really, it was my fault for not at least giving them a heads-up about the bite, it didn't even cross my mind. We just caught them off-guard."

Sungchan suddenly stopped the two of you on the empty sidewalk. He cupped your cheek in his hand, running a thumb over your cheekbone, then down your jaw, the side of your neck, until he stopped right over where you knew the mating bite was. His thumb once again stroked over your skin, tracing the shape of the bite and pushing aside your collar when needed.

"Hearing you say that this is what you want, I'm what you want... made me really happy," he declared simply, eyes still locked on the mark.

"It's true," you replied.

A bright, giddy smile spread across his face. "I know. And I knew it as soon as I heard you say it, too."

You grinned back up at him. "That makes me really happy to hear, Sung. I always want you to know how much I love you."

He leaned in nearer, and you closed your eyes anticipating a kiss, but instead he just dropped a fond peck to your nose before standing up straight. "I think it's starting to finally uh, get through my thick skull."

"Finally," you echoed with a giggle. "Alright, your place?"

"I actually wanted to ask... Can we go to your place tonight?"

"Finally going to give poor Taro some peace?"

"That, yeah. But I wasn't even thinking about him to be honest. I just... I want to."

"Okay, Sung. Come on." You tugged him down the street in the direction of your apartment.

⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

Sungchan had been to your place on several occasions as your friend and your boyfriend, and yet you were drawing a blank for exactly the last time he had been there. Maybe your third date? Or, technically your fourth date, but you and Sungchan had unanimously agreed to not count that first awkward blind date that the guys set you up on as your official first date. Regardless, it'd been... a while since he'd been over. You kicked your shoes off by the door and didn't bother to turn the lights on as you deposited the leftover tart in the fridge before beginning your nightly plant-tending. There were a few that needed to be misted still, then you could fully relax. You did the majority of your plant care-taking duties during the actual day, there was just the odd handful that needed a couple good spritzes.

Sungchan watched you patiently as you did so just in the moonlight coming in through the sheers you had over a window. Then, once the spray bottle was put back down, you led the way into your bedroom with maybe a little bit of a skip in your step. While you weren't a werewolf, you were understanding how nice it felt to have your person in a space that you felt safe and warm and good in again. Like everything was going to be okay forever, maybe.