Moonlight (A KaiSoo Fanfic)

Chapter Seventy-Two | His Time

Kyungsoo's POV

As the weeks dragged on, our concerns for Lay started to become a reality. It started out with a bad cold that only gradually got worse until the point that Xiumin and Chen temporarily moved into the main house to care for him. 

Jongin's worsening mood only made the situation worse. He still hadn't made up his mind on whether or not he was going to take over as alpha and he never wanted to talk about it any time someone tried to. It was rare to ever see a natural smile form on his face except if he was with the kids, and the fact that he still blamed himself for Joonmyun's death wasn't helping him begin to cope with what was happening with Lay. 

I tried to be as supportive as I possibly could be, but it was difficult to help someone who didn't seem to want to be helped. 

"Thank you for helping me with the dishes," I said as Jaehyun carefully hopped off the stool he was standing on in order to reach the sink. "Do you like helping appa?"

He smiled up at me brightly, nodding his head quickly. "It's my favorite thing to do," he said, grinning cheekily. I laughed and gave the top of his head a brief kiss.

"Well, in that case," I started, my voice going up a little as I folded the towel and hung back on the stove handle, "why don't you do appa a big favor and get your bath ready? Do you think you can do that by yourself?"

"Appa, how old do you think I am?" he said, his eye narrowing and his thin eyebrows rising as he talked. "Two? I can definitely do it."

I chuckled again. "Okay then, go show me that you can," I said as I gently tapped his butt, leaving the smile from my laugh linger on my lips. "I'll be up there soon."

"Aye, aye, captain," he said formally, saluting me before running off to the upstairs bathroom. I laughed at him again as I watched his little legs go, shaking my head a little as I tore my focus away from him. 

As I was putting the final details on the now cleaned kitchen, I happened to glance out the window and see Jongin just as he was phasing into his human form. With my eyebrows furrowed in concern, I wiped the remaining traces of water off my hands and opened the door, walking outside as the night was settling in.

"I wondered where you went," I said after I sat down on the stone steps, placing my arms on my thighs as I turned my head in his direction.

"Sorry," he said in a plain voice, his facial expression never changing. "I just needed to go for a run and get some space."

Turning my head away for a moment, I sighed heavily and said, "Jongin, you've needed space for the past month and a half. When are you going to stop beating yourself up for something that isn't you fault?"

He scoffed a little and shook his head. "You don't understand," he said, glancing at me as he spoke. "Okay, you just don't get it."

"Then help me understand," I said, maneuvering my body in his direction. "Help me get it because I'm really trying to. I hate seeing you like this and so does everyone else. And whatever you're not saying is starting to affect our relationship. You're hardly ever home anymore and when you are, you hardly speak to me."

"Don't pull that shit on me, Kyungsoo," he said, his eyes closing as his head shook again. "I'm sorry I can't be how I was before all this shit happened. I'm sorry Joonmyun is dead and now I have to decide if I can handle being alpha of the pack while trying not to miss him. I'm sorry I'm not getting over it quickly enough for you."

"It's not that I want you to get over it, I just..." I said, taking a moment to pause and think. "I want to know why you're shutting me out." He sighed heavily, lowering his head down to his hands and running them through his hair.