He just couldn't sleep during storms unless someone was with him.

The alpha tucked Yeosang into bed and sat on the edge of it. He ran his fingers soothingly through Yeosang's hair and asked quietly, "Why do storms scare you?"

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hongjoong

After two weeks of dealing with their slightly out-of-sync cycles and discussing possible stressors that could have caused Hongjoong's earlier rut and the alpha being forced to promise Seonghwa that he would spend less time composing, and more time sleeping, they both felt refreshed and ready to leave the house.

Hongjoong was beyond thankful that heats and ruts only happened every three months, although, sometimes, the three months seemed to pass in the blink of an eye. Although he lost a week or two to his and Seonghwa's cycles, he couldn't complain too much when he felt refreshed and his inspiration was renewed.

Feeling in good spirits despite their out-of-sync cycles, they had both agreed that a night out would be great. It had been a while since they had, had time for a night out- or had the energy for it. Their previous home had become so filled with pressure and stress that their cycles were so aggressively out of sync that they began feeling drained after each cycle, rather than full of energy. Their doctor had suggested moving to a new place and cutting ties with the toxic people in their lives, including family members.

Mates were supposed to have synced cycles and mates whose cycles were out of sync were often looked at with pity and concern. Mates who weren't in sync were more susceptible to becoming ill after their cycles or falling into an omega drop or rut drop. It was why Seonghwa and Hongjoong went to the doctor after four gradually more out sync cycles happened and Seonghwa started losing his appetite and weight- the last straw being Hongjoong's brief hospital visit after his rut that he'd forgotten to prepare for amidst his work and caring for Seonghwa. Hongjoong had been ready to do whatever the doctor suggested from the moment he said it, but Seonghwa had needed some time to consider it. They were on the same page for most things and despite Seonghwa's hesitance, he had allowed Hongjoong to start looking into places they could move to and ways they could cut ties with everyone toxic who was just adding to the stress of their studies.

Obviously, Seonghwa eventually agreed to do as the doctor suggested and as Hongjoong wanted, because now here they were in a new suburb, no ties with those who had only sought to harm them and their cycles were almost back in sync after several months of being out of sync.

Now, they were walking hand in hand down the path after their meal, planning on stopping at the ice cream parlour on the next street for desert. They pause when they see something unsettling a few metres away. There, in the middle of the path with three leering alphas surrounding him, stood Yeosang, his words slurred and loud as the alphas pressed at him with their hands and spoke to him with barely disguised excitement. It wouldn't take a genius to work out what the alphas intended to do once they herded Yeosang away from the main path. Hongjoong's protective instinct immediately flared up and his eyes flashed the tell-tale red as he saw the wandering hands and smelled their revolting scents. A wild fury burned within him as some stragglers, a solo beta and a small group of humans just stared pointedly at the ground and practically scurried away from the scene, no intention to even call for help or intervene. A low rumbling beside him startled him and he glanced to his right where he saw Seonghwa's gaze fixated on Yeosang trying in vain to shove the alphas' hands away from his body while yelling something or other that was indecipherable from how slurred his words were.

Launching into action, Hongjoong stormed forward, ordering the other alphas to get away from Yeosang. They dared to bare their teeth at Hongjoong and Hongjoong ordered them once more, the alphas forced to begrudgingly do as they were told. Hongjoong sneered at them as they slunk into the shadows, their gazes lowered as his status outranked theirs. Once Hongjoong was sure they were going to stay back, he glanced at Seonghwa, both of them sharing a look before they approached Yeosang. The human was staring at them, but his eyes were glazed over and the dumb smile on his face probably meant that he didn't even realise they were in front of him, or what had just been happening. The boy reeked of alcohol and Hongjoong gently grabbed his arm, intent on leading him away from the club where the sleazy alphas they had just scared off were waiting in the shadows, hungry eyes watching Yeosang's stumbling form.

Hongjoong bared his teeth at the alphas and they feigned disinterest, glancing away as Hongjoong struggled with an extremely inebriated Yeosang. Seonghwa helped Hongjoong lead the swaying human down the path and towards a waiting cab that the omega had flagged down a few seconds ago while Hongjoong was trying to get Yeosang to listen to him and stop trying to return to the bar. Yeosang babbled slurred nonsense as they led him away, his arms flailing in their grip as he claimed that he could walk just fine by himself.

Getting Yeosang into the cab had been a task and a half as the boy was intent on returning to the bar now that the building was once more in his line of site. It had taken several tries, some agitated shouts from the driver and the bribe of chicken if he hopped in, for Yeosang to finally comply. Thankfully, the human passed out not even a minute into the thirty minute drive. Hongjoong and Seonghwa sat in complete silence, too stunned by the state in which they had found Yeosang in. This wasn't the Yeosang either of them were used to.

Neither of them had been looking for Yeosang, and neither of them had anticipated running into their human friend in this small city area, figuring Yeosang would be hanging out with Wooyoung or Jongho at either the cafe or his house, or doing something close to home, not somewhere half an hour away, getting absolutely wasted by himself. Hongjoong glanced at Yeosang, the boy's head resting heavily on Seonghwa's shoulder where it had fallen after the car began moving. Asleep, Yeosang looked peaceful and relaxed, it was a stark contrast to how tense he had been before Hongjoong's rut or even how wild he looked before passing out.


The rest of the journey home continued in silence, both Hongjoong and Seonghwa glancing intermittently at their sleeping friend. Hongjoong had a bad feeling about whatever had made Yeosang upset enough to get so wasted.

~~~~~~~~~***~~~~~~~~~

Yeosang

He had stayed the night at Jongho's as the storm picked back up and the alpha refused to let him go out in such bad weather.

The alpha had handed him his phone to call his mother and let her know that he was safe when he found out that Yeosang had snuck out of the house without telling his mother. After the phone call wherein his mother was both relieved to find out that her son was safe and alright and anxious because he was staying the night with some stranger, and a wolf hybrid alpha at that.

Yeosang's mother wasn't a close minded person, but she did have an implicit bias towards wolf hybrids, and in particular alphas. Alphas were stereotyped as aggressive and horny beings who wouldn't hesitate to do anything and hurt anyone to get what they wanted. They were also labelled bullies in school, someone to be wary of because of their super strength and unstable hybrid minds. Yeosang was uncertain where these stereotypes came from, but he still didn't believe them. Every alpha he'd met thus far were the kindest and softest people he'd ever had the pleasure of interacting with.

It was the omegas that everyone should look out for...

Sleeping at Jongho's house had been nice. The alpha had given him his bed and said he'd be fine on the couch, but Yeosang had come back out barely ten minutes later to ask if the alpha could stay with him, at least until the storm passed. It was dumb, he knew but he just couldn't sleep during storms unless someone was with him.

Jongho was up and guiding Yeosang back to the room the moment he embarrassedly explained himself. Yeosang saw no judgement in the alpha's eyes and easily relaxed as Jongho's fresh scent surrounded him comfortingly.

The alpha tucked Yeosang into bed and sat on the edge of it. He ran his fingers soothingly through Yeosang's hair and asked quietly, "Why do storms scare you?"

Yeosang was silent for a moment, his mind already lulling to sleep with the comfort of having the alpha near and his sweet hot fudge brownie scent making Yeosang feel safe; protected. He opened his eyes and found Jongho's shining in the dark as lightning flashed through the gaps between the curtain and window, lighting up the room briefly.

"My dad had an accident," he answered in a small voice. He inhaled deeply, using Jongho's warm scent to ground himself as the memories he'd being trying to ignore reared their ugly head. He'd only ever spoken to Wooyoung about it. He trusted Wooyoung with his entire soul. Wooyoung was his anchor in this unstable world. Even his mother and therapists couldn't pry the information from him.

He felt the alpha's hand still in his hair and he knew the alpha had picked up that there was more to the story. A lot more than Yeosang was going to say.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to," the alpha whispered hoarsely. Yeosang blinked up at the alpha. Without thinking, he wiggled his arm out from under the blanket and touched Jongho's cheek gently. He instinctively moved his thumb to wipe away a tear that was sliding down Jongho's face. The alpha made a surprised, almost choking sound.

"I'm sorry," Yeosang said. Jongho's eyes widened.

"You- What are you sorry for? You've done nothing wrong," the alpha sound panicked.

"I know my scent is sad. I'm sorry I can't hide it."

"No. Never try to hide how you're feeling from me, okay? If you are sad, I want to know so I can comfort you. I want to be here for you, no matter how you are feeling. Never be sorry for how you are feeling," Jongho's voice was stern but his words were soft. Yeosang gave the alpha a small smile.

"Thank you, Jongho."

They didn't speak again after that. Jongho's fingers resumed their amble through Yeosang's hair and Yeosang quickly found himself drifting off.

~~~~~~~~~***~~~~~~~~~

When he woke up, sun peeked out from behind the curtains, the light faint but offering Yeosang the comfort of a storm free morning. Yeosang sat up slowly, eyes roving around the room.

Jongho was no longer beside him, but he could smell bacon and hear the faint sizzling and popping of something cooking in hot oil in a pan. Yeosang rubbed gently at his eyes, trying to clear them of sleep.

Slowly, he stood from the bed and walked out of the room. He made his way to the bathroom with a small yawn. Checking himself in the mirror, he decided to wash his face and tame his sleep mussed hair with his fingers.

Making his way to the kitchen, he found Jongho singing softly to himself while flipping some eggs. Yeosang leaned against the counter and smiled at the alpha's angelic voice.

"Have you ever thought about becoming a singer?" Yeosang asked, hiding a smile behind his hand when the alpha startled, jumping and whirling around.

"You scared me!" Jongho exclaimed with an embarrassed laugh as he turned back to the stove. "I-uh, to be honest, I have thought about it," Jongho admitted. "But I know how alphas are treated in the music industry..."

Jongho didn't need to clarify. Yeosang knew what he meant. He felt bad for even bringing it up. Alphas were often treated poorly with very little promotions or screen time granted to them. Their every movement and breath was scrutinized and twisted to turn them into monsters to propagate the alpha stereotype. Even other hybrids turned on alphas in the music industry. It was sad and many alphas didn't survive the cruel industry. Often killing themselves after enduring cyberbullying, false rumours, fake sexual assault accusations and a handful of disgusting slurs with no reprieve or help. The companies turned a blind eye and other artists kept out of it to avoid any hate. The few alphas who handled the industry well didn't renew their contracts when the time came. There was only one alpha, Wonjun, who was thriving in the industry and bringing in fans from all across the world. It was surprising how popular he was considering he was a solo artist and the fact that he was an alpha. But his music somehow did something that other solo alpha artists had not been able to achieve. So far, he was the only alpha to survive in the ruthless industry. He was an inspiration to many which had lead to an increase in alpha's joining the industry and also a higher suicide rate as even Wonjun's fans attacked the new alpha's and called them wannabes and other nasty things. The alpha had made several statements on the matter, but it, unsurprisingly, never solved anything.

Now that Yeosang thought about it, he was glad that Jongho had been dissuaded by the poor treatment of alphas. "Oh, well. It's their loss really," he said with a smile, attempting to shift the mood to something lighter. Jongho returned his smile before focusing on cooking. Yeosang settled on a stool next to the counter and watched Jongho focus on cooking.

The breakfast tasted better than Yeosang had expected and he wondered how he could find more opportunities to taste Jongho's cooking.

"How come you're a waiter at the cafe when your cooking skills are exceptional?" Yeosang asked brazenly as he shoveled more food into his mouth. He glanced up when the alpha remained silent. Jongho was blushing, his eyes fixed on his half empty plate.

"I'm not that good," Jongho finally answered.

Yeosang shook his head. "That's a lie! This tastes better than any other time I've had it."

~~~~~~~~~***~~~~~~~~~

The morning went surprisingly well.

Yeosang was in a better mood than the previous night, a small weight lifted from his shoulders. And, as he headed home after bidding farewell to Jongho at the cafe around midday as his shift started, Yeosang found himself feeling positive about the day.

When he walked in the door, he was greeted by his mother who practically suffocated him in her eagerness to hug him tight.

"I-I can't believe you're truly alright! I mean, I'm pleased- beyond pleased! But-"

"It's okay, mum. I get it. But you need to stop thinking alphas are so bad. And Jongho is super nice. You don't need to be worried about him hurting me or anything," he said as he extracted himself from her grasp and walked towards the kitchen, stomach grumbling lowly. He glanced back and saw a small, knowing smile curling her lips up prettily. He met her fond stare. "What?" he asked, shifting uncertainly.

"Oh, nothing. I'm just glad you're okay," she said, her smile turning mischievous. Yeosang nodded before searching the fridge for something to eat. He stopped, however, when his mother sidled up beside him. He closed the fridge as he straightened up and looked at her. She stared back silently.

"What is it?" he asked, tone somewhat exasperated. He knew something was on her mind, but she was waiting for him to bring it up. The problem was, he had no idea what she wanted him to talk about.

His mother stepped back, pulling a face as she shook her head, shoulders turning away as she prepared to leave the kitchen. Yeosang sighed and grabbed her shoulders, holding her in place.

"I know you're dying to ask me something. Just ask it."

She turned around in his arms, a grin on her face. "Well, it's just, you had such a tender tone while speaking of this alpha- this Jongho..."

Yeosang felt his cheeks burn, a blush obvious on them if his mother's growing grin was anything to go by. He groaned and hid his face, turning away. "I-it's not like that!" he denied her assumptions quickly. Too quickly. She muttered a quick 'mhmm' before raising her hands in surrender when Yeosang shot her a glare.

"I believe you. I believe you," her tone indicated otherwise, but Yeosang dropped it as she walked away. Continuing would just look even more suspicious.

He snorted as he went back to searching the fridge. As if he liked Jongho. What an insane idea.

~~~~~~~~~***~~~~~~~~~

Hongjoong

Yeosang was sitting in front of Hongjoong and Seonghwa, his head in his hands, both a pounding migraine and painful thoughts causing him to scrunch his eyes shut. His elbows were white with how hard they were pressing against the wooden table.

Seonghwa had made Yeosang some hangover soup when he woke up and the latter had eaten it eagerly, his eyes squinting against the bright sunlight as he walked out into the lounge room. He had greeted the pair with surprise but visible relief swept away some of the tension in his body. Hongjoong had inquired how much the human remembered from the previous night and discovered that he didn't remember anything after stepping out of the bar. Hongjoong figured it was probably for the best. But he did warn Yeosang to be more careful next time and told him about how they found him, despite Seonghwa's squawk of surprise and disapproval.

Yeosang had somehow managed to go a few shades paler in response to the information, although he already looked impossibly pale. He had thanked them both before going quiet and focusing on the soup.

Once he had finished the soup and Hongjoong saw he was ready to get up and leave, he asked the question he had been dying to get an answer to since they had run into him the night before.

"What happened?" It was a vague and loaded question, but it was obvious what he was alluding to, and he knew it from the way Yeosang froze, eyes widening until instant regret flooded him and he pressed his palms against his eyes and used the table to support his elbows.

Seonghwa was surprisingly silent, and Hongjoong spared him a glance to see his mate was observing Yeosang intently, his lips drawn down in a tell-tale fretful frown. Hongjoong hoped Seonghwa could hold off on wanting to care for Yeosang's hangover long enough for them to get answers from Yeosang.

The quiet of the room pressed down on Hongjoong. The longer Yeosang took to answer, the worse he began to speculate. Had his mother died?

The words Yeosang uttered next were not something Hongjoong was expecting to hear.

"Wooyoung left," Yeosang's lips trembled. "He left me."

Yeosang's voice was heartbreaking to hear. It was the pure embodiment of despair and confusion, his scent heavy with both of those emotions. Just as Seonghwa reached out to comfort Yeosang across the table, he continued and Seonghwa's hand paused, hovering over the table uncertainly. "He promised! He promised he'd always be- But he lied!" Yeosang pulled his face away from his hands and tears tumbled down his cheeks in tiny rivulets.

"What do you mean?" Seonghwa's voice was soft as he stood up and moved around the table to kneel beside their distressed friend. A hand rubbed up and down Yeosang's back, while the other wiped at his cheeks in a futile attempt to stop the tears. Hongjoong watched the Yeosang he knew disappear before his eyes.

"Wooyoung moved away. He doesn't live here anymore," Hongjoong shared a puzzled look with Seonghwa. Wooyoung moved? Why would he move?

"I didn't realise he was planning on moving..." Hongjoong received a glare from Seonghwa but he ignored it.

"He wasn't!" Yeosang's eyes were wild as the met Hongjoong's, the continuous stream of tears suddenly drying up. The emotions roiling under the surface were frightening. Yeosang wasn't just distraught, he was furious. "At least, he didn't tell me he was!"

The atmosphere changed suddenly as Yeosang's scent shifted into something more somber and his previously drying eyes were wet once more.

"D-Do you think he left because I didn't tell him that Seonghwa was your mate?" Yeosang's expression was pitiful as he looked from Hongjoong to Seonghwa, begging them to tell him he was being ridiculous. Hongjoong leaned forward, wiping at Yeosang's cheek, his heart clenching painfully. He wanted to assure Yeosang- wanted to tell him that there was no way Wooyoung would be that mean to him, but he couldn't. He didn't know Wooyoung well enough to say. So all he could do was move beside Yeosang and cradle the breaking boy in his arms.

A/N: Happy New Year! There is six more minutes until it is 2021 here in Australia. I hope you enjoy this chapter. Sorry it is so short. I've been struggling a lot with this chapter and decided to break it into two separate chapters so that the size was more manageable for my current mental health.