summer nights and morning dew | jjk

05

As expected, Jeongguk only manages to stay away for two days. He wanted to last longer, but when he's finally off guarding duty, having spent the entire last night out in the cold woods, he wavers. It's not too bad in wolf form, but he's tired, has been a little grumpy, so just the thought of seeing you...

He's at your door just after six p.m., the world already dark, and he gives an impatient howl to let you know to come to the door.

"Hi, puppy," you smile, and he thinks it makes him even warmer inside than the heat he can feel well out through the doorway.

"I must say, although the weather is nicer, I'm a bit too tired to stay out in the snow with you today."

Despite promising himself it was just that one time, Jeongguk soon finds himself standing in your hallway again, paw after paw dried on that towel.

At first, he's busy looking around, enjoying the feeling of your gentle hands maneuvering his paws and the occasional scratch he receives behind his ear. He doesn't notice the way your eyes droop, or the thick, thick sweater you wear despite the sound of the fire crackling, and the slight sheen of sweat on your forehead.

Like last time, Jeongguk follows you to the rocking chair and fireplace, lying down in front of the fire and sighing. However, he raises his head when you walk past the chair and toward a door.

It's when he grumbles questioningly, and you turn around to watch him fondly that he notices how tired you appear.

"I'm sorry, but I won't be able to sit here with you tonight. I'm not feeling very well, so I'm gonna head back to bed, but you're welcome to stay there if you want. Soak up the warmth while you can, that's the last of the firewood," you smile sadly and nod toward the fire.

The floor creaks as you enter what must be your bedroom, and yeah, Jeongguk can glimpse the end of a bed through the door that you leave ajar.

For a while, he lies quietly on that sheepskin, the dwindling fire warming his fur. You left the door open for him, but he's already too deep inside your home. He can't go inside your bedroom.

But you're sick–feverish, it looked like. You've run out of firewood in the middle of December, and if he could, Jeongguk would've found some for you, but the snowflakes would destroy any attempt even if he found any.

A pained whine slips from him. He just wishes he could at least see you, but the foot of the bed is the only part visible to him.

Would it be okay if he just... lied at the door? Just so he can keep an eye on you? He beats himself up for it the very second he rises to carefully approach the door.

Peering inside your bedroom, Jeongguk finds that he doesn't see very much of you since you're turned the other way and are underneath a mountain of blankets. But he can see your even breaths and the top of your head, and that calms him a little bit. Enough to lie down and place his head on his front paws.

He lies awake for a while, but after watching you fall asleep and doing so seemingly comfortably, he drifts off himself.

In his dreams, Jeongguk gets to meet you as himself. Not that his wolf isn't him, but as a man. It's odd. You're the same; kind and pretty and all around very lovely. But Jeongguk, not normally shy, doesn't know how to behave around you. He stumbles on his words and he sweats so much he's sure you notice, but you don't seem put off by it. By him. And in the end, right before he wakes up, you tell him that you love him.

He can't tell how much time has passed when he wakes up, but he can tell that the fire has gone out and that the remaining heat is phasing out quickly. The candles you keep on your nightstand are still burning, casting their light on your sleeping body, but they don't do much heat-wise.