Chapter Text
Jeongguk is running. Whenever he runs, he feels like he is running from something.
The shadows of his past.
Everyday responsibilities.
The nagging of his pack members, even though he knows they mean well and nag him out of love.
The feeling of loneliness even if he’s never really alone .
Jeongguk runs a lot, mostly in his wolf form because he’s faster in that one and he feels like he can outrun every problem in the world.
He’s a fast runner, the fastest out of his pack and he loves the feeling of freedom that comes with it.
Complicated thoughts get swapped away by the wind that brushes through his fur and when his paws dig into the muddy paths of the forest, Jeongguk feels anchored and secure, like he has some footing in life and the ground isn’t going to get swept away under him no matter how much it feels like it.
His claws are sharp enough to sink into the soil even through this time of the year when the cold of the winter freezes the ground and covers it with a white blanket of snow.
Jeongguk is used to rough weather conditions, which is why he went out for a run even though a snowstorm is raging over the land.
Jeongguk loves snow. He has a sensitive nose, even for a wolf, but snow smells clean and fresh. He also loves how cold it feels. He isn’t a big fan of anything hot and scorching.
His pack brothers always tell him not to go prowling on his own, especially since humans comb through their territory quite often these days, armed with knives and bows and the intention to kill.
But Jeongguk doubts that a human would go wandering around in weather like this and he can’t ask anyone in his pack to accompany him since they are all out on a supply run and they won’t be back home any time soon.
He’ll be fine on his own, he isn’t a kid, he is 24 years old even though his pack brothers like to treat him like a 5 year old pup at times.
Yoongi sometimes calls him little one. Jeongguk hates it.
He picks up his pace, snow leaping up left and right of him as he dodges trees and their thick roots that tower above the ground.
It’s then that he smells something other than the crisp snowy air.
It’s a scent that doesn’t belong to the forest. It’s the scent of a human. And the human must be close by.
Jeongguk stops abruptly, paws skidding on the slippery snow but it’s already too late.
He’s run right into the field of vision of a lone human that sits huddled up against a tree.
The human’s head shoots up, scent spiking with anxiety as his eyes land on Jeongguk.
Jeongguk shifts his weight, ready to attack and the human’s scent acidifies even more at that.
Jeongguk waits for the human to act. He isn’t going to be the first to attack.
But the human is merely clutching a basket to his chest as he stays seated in the snow and shivers like a leaf.
The human might be wearing a thick scarf and a big coat but Jeongguk knows that it’s not enough to ward off the cold. Jeongguk’s fur does a considerably better job at keeping him warm. His body is made for cold temperatures. The human body isn’t. They aren’t supposed to be out in this cold so what’s the human doing here?
He looks lost, huddled against the tree like that and even a human should know that a tree provides no proper shelter during weather like this. But then again Jimin has always told Jeongguk that he overestimates the intelligence of humans.
According to his brother a human’s brain ain’t bigger than the size of a pea.
According to Seokjin, his pack brother and right-before-dinner-6pm-brawling-partner, the human’s brain size doesn’t differ from theirs, they just don’t use their brain to its full capacity.
It’s why they try to inhabit land that their bodies aren’t made for.
Jeongguk has his own theory as to why humans try to make everything their own. He doesn’t think humans are dumb. He thinks they are greedy. They don’t know how to share, they only know how to take and they destroy whatever is in their way.
“Hey buddy, I won’t harm you if you don’t harm me,” the human suddenly starts to speak and it startles Jeongguk so much, he fletches his teeth and lets out a growl.
The human flinches. “Okay, so maybe you do mean harm. Sorry for assuming.” The human blinks a few times and starts to frown. “What am I doing here apologizing to a wolf?” he says as if in an afterthought.
Jeongguk stops growling and cocks his ear. Maybe humans are stupid after all.
The human in question takes something out of his basket and for a moment Jeongguk thinks it’s a knife or another weapon meant to kill him so he starts to growl once again.
The human extends his hand, showing off an apple lying in his palm. “You want an apple? Peace offer.”
Jeongguk huffs. What the actual fuck. Maybe the human isn’t only stupid but also already delirious.
Jeongguk inches closer to make sure he isn’t talking to a ghost.
The human stays unmoving, hand still extended. He really doesn’t seem to mean harm.
His scent is less spiked now too and underneath the sourness the subtle scent of iris comes through. It’s a simple and clean scent, smells a little like the human took a bath a few minutes before, with lots of soap bubbles lathering his skin.
It’s a scent no one wouldn’t like.
A mere jump length lies between the human’s neck and Jeongguk’s sharp row of teeth now but the human seems unperturbed by the close proximity between him and an animal that could mean immediate death to him.
Maybe the human knows that the snowstorm is going to carry him off soon enough and he gave up on his life already.
Jeongguk’s never been so close to a human without having to fight for his life.
It makes him curious.
He sniffs at the apple. Doesn’t smell like poison, but who knows, Namjoon once said odorless poison exists but then again Jeongguk wouldn’t be in this situation if he was one for caution and he’d never say no to free food. If the human wanted him dead, he’d probably have attacked Jeongguk by now anyway. There is no reason for guile if you’re up against one wolf, so Jeongguk accepts the offer and starts to munch on the apple.
The human actually grins at him, cheeks rising like dough. He looks as innocent as he smells. His teeth chatter as he grins.
Jeongguk has good intuition. This human isn’t going to hurt him.
He looks young, around Jeongguk’s age with a face that’s objectively likable, much like his scent. Brown friendly eyes, sharp jaw but round cheeks that are framed by brown curls.
The human slowly lifts his hand and tentatively starts to scratch Jeongguk’s ear. Jeongguk lets him.
“You’re a friendly one after all,” the human says as his fingers wander to draw circles in the fur between Jeongguk’s ears.
Jeongguk likes the sensation. He also likes when the human talks. He has a soothing deep voice that’s pleasant to the ear.
“Are you lost too?” the human asks and Jeongguk huffs yet again because the thought of him being lost in the woods is a rather funny one.
“I guess not. These woods must be your home.” And as if in an afterthought, the human mumbles, “I’m glad I’m not dying here all alone.”
Jeongguk is a rather simple being. It does not take long for him to decide what to do next.
He takes the cloth of the human’s sleeve between his teeth– careful not to scratch any skin– and tugs at it.
“What is it?”
Jeongguk tugs at the sleeve once again, using his whole head this time and the force actually makes the human tumble forward slightly.
“Do you want me to follow you?” the human asks and Jeongguk yips at that before he lets go and runs a few steps ahead.
He looks back at the human and yips again.
The human gets up, ready to follow Jeongguk and Jeongguk is happy that the other got his intentions.
He is going to help the human.
Jeongguk leads the human to his den. Though den might not be the right term for the home his pack has made for themselves.
Other than most wolves, they do not live beneath ground. They built themselves a treehouse.
The wooden house with the crooked roof sits hidden in the crown of a large oak tree.
A staircase leads up to the house, winding around the thick trunk and it’s those stairs that Jeongguk is leading the human up now.
The human is squinting his eyes because of the strong wind and snow that hits his face but when the house comes into view, his eyes grow wide for a moment and he whispers a “wow” under his breath. The awed little sound gets carried away by the whistling wind but Jeongguk’s ears catch it nonetheless.
“This forest truly holds magic, huh,” the human says and Jeongguk smiles to himself. “Thank you for leading me here little friend.”
Jeongguk barks, wholly amused by the fact that the human called him little friend even though Jeongguk reaches to the human's hip in his wolf form and could easily overpower and kill him in one swift motion.
He watches the human knock on the door. No one opens. Of course not since the only one who could open is Jeongguk and Jeongguk is currently unable to answer the door .
The human knocks again and then waits. “Maybe they can’t hear the knocking over the wind,” the human muses while Jeongguk muses that the politeness of the human is going to be his death if he continues to wait for someone to open the door for him in the freezing cold so Jeongguk stands on his hindlegs and opens the door with a targeted hit of his forepaw to the handle.
As soon as the handle is pressed down, the wind does the remaining job of opening the door by pushing against it and Jeongguk trots in.
The door is never locked. No key would fit since it has no keyhole to begin with.
The human stupidly stands in front of the door for a moment as if to decide if he wants to trespass and save his life or if he’d rather find his demise outside in the cold.
He decides on the first option–wise decision–and steps inside, closing the door behind him and leaving the wind outside to fight for itself.
“Hello, is anyone home?” the human asks into the silence.
Jeongguk barks in answer, since, yes, he’s home.
“Guess not,” the human mumbles, ignoring Jeongguk unbeknownst.
The human lets his gaze wander through the room and Jeongguk tries to see his home through the eyes of a stranger that enters the house for the first time.
It’s a house built in height, not in the width, which makes the space cramped and labyrinthine. Upon entering, one steps into a small living room with a table surrounded by chairs, a cabinet that stores books and plants and a fireplace that’s covered by a door out of glass.
A sofa and an armchair are situated close to the fireplace and with all the mentioned furniture there is just enough room to walk without knocking anything over. Jeongguk still managed to knock over a vase standing on a side table by the sofa a few years ago. The piece of ceramic found its demise on the hard wooden floor and Jeongguk had to live with Namjoon giving him the silent treatment for two days because the vase was his and it was one of his favorites. (Namjoon collects ceramics. Not that Jeongguk would understand why one would collect burnt dirt but he still felt sorry for breaking something dear to the pack leader.) Since then, the side table wandered upstairs and Namjoon stores most of his vases on higher shelves.
The living room and the upper floor are connected by a ladder that’s missing one step. It broke through right under Namjoon’s feet last week and the poor guy fell right back down and on his butt because he was caught off guard. Yoongi said he’d fix the ladder but hasn’t come around to actually doing so which is why it’s still not intact.
Jeongguk realizes that he can’t look at the house objectively since there are too many memories connected to it. He’d still say it looks cozy and welcoming which is why he can’t understand why the human is still standing in the doorway. He seems troubled, looking back over his shoulder and towards the front door more than once as if he’s debating on leaving so Jeongguk takes matters into his own hand again and takes the hem of the human’s coat between his teeth to pull him towards the direction of the sofa.
If the human isn’t going to make himself comfortable, Jeongguk will just force him to do so.
The human lets out a surprised noise as he tumbles forward by the force of Jeongguk’s tug. “What’s it now?”
Jeongguk ignores the human since the human ignored him too and continues to tug at his clothes until the human voluntarily starts to walk towards the direction Jeongguk wants him to.
Jeongguk maneuvers the two around the tree trunk that is protruding from the ground in the middle of the room and growing through the ceiling above them.
The human looks at the trunk amazed, not realizing that he is standing in front of the couch now so Jeongguk simply nudges him to sit down until the human actually does so.
“You’re pretty strong willed, huh,” the human says, extending his hand to pet over Jeongguk’s head.
Jeongguk huffs and since the human’s hands feels cold and wet, Jeongguk takes one of the blankets that lie on the sofa between his teeth and drapes it over the human’s lap.
The human chuckles under his breath, the tender sound of a frail being. “Thanks,” he says, reverting to petting Jeongguk’s head.
Jeongguk sits down in front of the human and rests his head on the other's lap, content with being caressed by those soft hands once again.
Calm blankets them while the wind continues to hit against the windows from outside, trying to break in in its rage.
For a moment Jeongguk thinks the storm managed to creep through the ceiling somehow because something wet hits the top of his head but shortly after he can hear a silent whimper and when he looks up he sees the human crying, tears falling from his face and onto Jeongguk’s fur.
Jeongguk startles at the distraught expression of the other. He lifts his head and nudges his snout against the human’s knee, whining quietly along with him.
The human looks at Jeongguk and smiles through his tears. “What am I going to do now?” The smile looks as broken as the voice of the human sounds and Jeongguk feels a little helpless. He wants to shift to properly take care of the other but he can’t just reveal to a human that shapeshifters exist and he’s pretty sure it would upset the other all the more either way.
So instead Jeongguk hops onto the sofa even though his pack has the rule to not sit on the sofa in their wolf form if they have dirty paws since they only have the one and getting stains out of it is a hassle but Jeongguk disregards the rule in order to comfort the human the best he can.
He nuzzles into the human’s neck. It takes the human by surprise and he stops crying, looking at Jeongguk out of huge, reddened eyes.
Then he leans forward and does something that takes Jeongguk by surprise.
He presses their foreheads together.
“Thank you for not leaving me alone,” the human whispers, choked up and vulnerable.
Jeongguk thinks that the person in front of him might be human but in front of him also sits a pure soul and Jeongguk can’t help but feel with him.
He isn’t going to leave him on his own.
The human lies down after a while and Jeongguk takes place in front of the couch again.
He looks at the extinguished fireplace.
The glass that normally shields the fire off from the rest of the room is sooty and Jeongguk remembers that he should have cleaned it three days ago but forgot all about it and since Hoseok isn’t here to remind him to clean, the glass is still black and dirty.
He needs to clean it if he doesn’t want to get an earful from his pack brother.
Jeongguk yawns and closes his eyes.
The hand of the human lies on Jeongguk’s head even after his breath evens out and he falls asleep.