ETY | MW [✔]

18.

Things got better at such a slow pace that, some days, Wonwoo felt he could be forgiven for thinking they were getting worse. But he and Mingyu pulled together more often than they pulled apart. Wonwoo took on more work gradually rather than all at once, and Mingyu returned to helping Mark out, getting over what had been quite a steep learning curve at first.

Wonwoo felt Mingyu was getting stronger, mentally, but was amused to notice the alpha had a new favorite sleeping position, that seemed to necessitate using his stomach as a pillow. More often than not they went to sleep side by side, spooned together or otherwise entangled in each other's arms, yet when he woke up, Mingyu would invariably be lying with a hand slung low around Wonwoo's hips and his head resting on his stomach. He didn't ask Mingyu what that was all about, knowing that drawing attention to it was as good as telling the alpha to stop. And Mingyu's nightmares were steadily lessening, so something they were doing was working.

He woke up early one morning, the dawn light just peeking in under the curtains. Mingyu's head was pillowed against his abdomen, his hand right next to it, drawing lazy circles across Wonwoo's skin.

"It's definitely getting louder," the alpha rumbled against him, his fingers crossing Wonwoo's skin with gentle taps.

"What is?"

"The sound your stomach is making."

Wonwoo snorted, letting his eyes sink closed. "It's probably wondering where breakfast is."

"It's like..." Mingyu mused, "...the sound of your paws hitting the ground when you run. So fast."

Wonwoo opened his eyes as Mingyu lifted his head and smiled at him, pressing two fingers to a spot below his belly button.

"It's right here. And every day it gets a little louder."

He tried to sit up, propping himself up on his elbows.

"I don't understand, Mingyu. What are you talking about?"

"Can't you hear it?"

"I can't hear anything. But if it's inside me, my ears probably tune it out. Are you sure it's not my stomach? Or my heart?"

Mingyu made a face.

"You think I don't know my own mate's heartbeat? And your stomach is all the way up there and much louder. This is different... quieter but coarse. Like a gallop. I like listening to it."

"Is that why you've been sleeping with your head there?"

The alpha nodded and simultaneously shrugged a shoulder, a hint of self-consciousness in his expression.

Wonwoo let his head fall back onto the pillow, a frown crossing his face.

"I've made you worry," Mingyu said, climbing up to lie next to him. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be," the omega said, managing a smile as he pressed a palm to Mingyu's cheek. "I'm just not sure what is it you can hear. You have such good senses you might just have latched onto the flow of blood through an artery."

"I was thinking there's a tiny little cheetah in there, running back and forth. That's what it sounds like."

Mingyu grinned lazily but his words sparked an idea in Wonwoo. He sat up, suddenly very awake, and stared down at his stomach. What if Mingyu was right?

*****

The drive to see Doctor Bae seemed to take twice as long as the previous time. Taehyun insisted on driving, Seungkwan in the passenger seat, leaving Mingyu to sit with Wonwoo in the back. The omega seemed quiet and withdrawn, but every time Mingyu caught his eye, he'd manage a faint smile.