#bap au

“What is it, dear?” Cassie asked once Evie sat down cautiously.

Evie pressed her lips together briefly, hoping her nerves didn’t show on her face -- though she was sure they did.

“I --” she began. “I just... was wondering... what it’s like being married.”

Cassie reached up and cradled her sister’s cheek in her palm, her lips curving into a soft but beaming smile. “You’re nervous for the wedding? It’s understandable. It’s a huge change in your life.”

When Yongguk had somewhat proposed to her on Christmas Eve, right before he’d left to go find Joey and Brian, she had been so excited. She knew Yongguk was the one she wanted to spend the rest of her life with; there were absolutely no doubts in her mind.

And when he actually proposed to her three days later after bringing the newly married couple home, she had accepted with tears of joy in her eyes.

They’d been planning the wedding for a few months now, and Evie was still excited...

But she was also nervous, as Cassie presumed. Not necessarily in a bad way, of course. She loved Yongguk dearly, and she still knew she wanted to spend the rest of her life with him.

But it was a huge change. And Evie had never been the biggest fan of change. She liked reading her favorite books over and over again because they never changed.

She’d lived her whole life at Mistletoe Manor with her two sisters, and now... she would be getting married and leaving.

Cassie had stayed here with Daehyun because she could quite possibly give birth to a son in the future, and he would become the heir to the estate. They certainly could have moved back to Daehyun’s home, but they had eventually decided to stay here.

But Evie had no real reason to stay and had agreed to move into Yongguk’s house.

...Well. ‘House’ was not the correct term. From her future husband’s description, it was even bigger than Mistletoe Manor. And she would become the mistress of the household in just a few days.

So, yes. Evie was just a bit nervous.

Or... terrified.

She nodded in response to her sister’s question, wringing her hands in her lap and furrowing her brow deeply. “Is it normal to be nervous?”

“Of course, dear,” Cassie assured her. “I would like to meet a bride who wasn’t nervous before her wedding. I most certainly was.”

“I just... I thought it would be different since I actually --” But then Evie cut herself off because she didn’t want to sound insensitive.

Cassie finished her sentence for her, though. “Since you actually love him. You’re right, I didn’t love Daehyun when we got married. And our first year of marriage was... not typical. And quite difficult. But now we’re happier than I ever dreamed we would be. Imagine what will happen to you. You’ll fall even more in love with Yongguk, and you’ll be so happy your heart could simply burst, I’m certain of it.”

“You are?” Evie asked meekly.

“Absolutely,” Cassie nodded. “It might be difficult, at first, but Yongguk will be there by your side. He’ll probably be nervous, too, and the two of you can help each other through it.”

Once Cassie stopped talking, Evie let out a shaky breath, though her stomach was not quite as jittery as it had been just minutes ago.

“Thank you,” she whispered to her older sister, reaching to take both of her hands. 

“Oh, Evie,” Cassie murmured, bringing her sister’s hands up to her lips and kissing them. “I feel I have always underestimated you, and for that, I am truly sorry. But I hope you know just how delighted I am that you’ve found someone who loves and appreciates you for who you are and not who you should be.”

Evie simply smiled softly before leaning forward to hug Cassie tightly. “I love you,” she whispered.

“I love you, too,” Cassie replied, her voice becoming choked with emotion. “I will miss you, but I know you’ll be more than content over at Blackmon Abbey. Do say you’ll come and visit as often as you can, though.”

Evie nodded, finding a lump of emotion forming in her own throat. “Yes, of course,” she promised. “As often as we can.”

When Cassie pulled away, she reached up to quickly wipe a tear away and then sniffled. “Thank you for coming to me. I hope I helped, even if just a little bit.”

“Oh, you did,” Evie assured her. “Very much. I -- Why were you alone, though? Where is Lydia?”

Cassie’s eyes were still glassy with tears but at Evie’s question, a sly smirk appeared on her lips. “Lydia is... otherwise engaged.”

Unsurprisingly, Evie knew just what she meant. “Ah, I see,” she murmured with a smirk of her own. “I shall not seek her out, then, and let her enjoy her evening.”

“You should seek out Joey, however,” Cassie suggested. “She certainly has an entirely different perspective on marriage than I do, so she might have some other advice to offer.”

“Oh, yes, you’re right,” Evie agreed, her brow furrowing softly. “I’ll go into the village to call on her tomorrow.”

“Perfect,” Cassie grinned. “I would offer to accompany you, but I have plenty here to keep me busy.”

The look on Cassie’s face was just secretive enough to make Evie suspicious... but she kept her lips zipped. For now.

“Where are we going?” Lydia asked quietly, her lips tugging into a soft, shy smile.

Seo Joon smirked to himself as he held Lydia’s shoulders with one hand and covered her eyes with the other, guiding her to a small room off the servant’s hallway. It was typically used for ironing and shining shoes, but not tonight. Tonight, Seo Joon had conspired with the cook and Anna to...

Well, you’ll find out soon enough.

He bent down as he shuffled along the hall, placing his lips next to Lydia’s ear. “How many times have I told you to just be patient?” he whispered.

“I’ve been patient the whole afternoon!” Lydia retorted with a giggle. “Plus, I’m starving. You know I get more impatient the hungrier I am.”

“Don’t worry, that will be remedied soon enough, my love,” Seo Joon murmured before pressing a kiss to Lydia’s earlobe.

Lydia leaned back slightly against Seo Joon’s chest, bringing one hand up to hold onto his wrist as he kept her eyes covered.

“Almost there...” he said as they approached the doorway.

“Can I see now?”

“Hold on just... one... more...”

Seo Joon stopped walking, letting go of Lydia’s shoulder and reaching out to open the door. As the hinges squeaked and the door swung open into the room, he removed his hand from her eyes and pressed his lips together in anticipation.

Instead of the usual shoes littering the table, there was a crisp, white tablecloth and two lit candles in silver candlesticks adorned the top.

Lydia’s eyes fluttered open, her lips parting slightly in surprise when she saw the scene before her. Also on the table were two plates of Lydia’s favorite meal: roast chicken with mashed potatoes and vegetables.

Seo Joon had thought to ask (plead) the cook to make a fancier meal, one she would prepare for the family upstairs, but... he knew Lydia particularly loved Cook’s roast chicken, and all he wanted to do in life was make her happy.

“Seo --” Lydia gaped, turning around briefly to glance at him before stepping forward toward the table. “You... you prepared this?”

Seo Joon gently closed the door behind him. “I did,” he replied with a very proud grin. “It’s been so busy, and we haven’t had a chance to have any real alone time since the Mistletoe Ball, so I thought I would kindly ask Lady Cassandra to give you the evening off tonight.”

Lydia turned around fully then, her eyes wide and her brow furrowed slightly. She stepped over in front of Seo Joon and took his hands. “Thank you,” she said, squeezing his hands gently. “This is -- it’s perfect.”

Seo Joon’s grin widened, and he leaned down to press his lips to hers. He let go of her hands, moving his arms to circle around her waist and pull her closer.

The corners of Lydia’s mouth turned up into a hint of a smile as she slid her arms around Seo Joon’s neck.

“Have I told you,” Seo Joon murmured in-between kisses. “Just how much I love you?”

“Yes,” Lydia chuckled softly. “But, after all these years, it’s more than nice to hear it as often as you say it.”

To be honest, she was still getting used to everything. A voice inside her head was still telling her she shouldn’t be touching or kissing Seo Joon right now because she was so accustomed to hiding her feelings.

But the door was closed. No one else was in the room with them. Cassie had given her the night off. She could kiss the man she was in love with as she damn well pleased!

“Well, then,” Seo Joon whispered, rubbing the tip of his nose against hers. “I love you.”

“I love you, too,” Lydia replied with a grin.

“I love you so much that... it’s hard to even put into words.”

“Who needs words, anyway?” Lydia’s grin widened, and she stood on her toes to kiss him again. She pressed her lips to his more urgently than before, capturing his bottom lip and tugging on it. Seo Joon held her even closer, even more tightly, and a whole flock of butterflies suddenly appeared in her stomach.

...Oh, wait.

Those weren’t butterflies. Butterflies didn’t growl like that.

She was just still hungry.

Seo Joon pulled away, letting out a soft laugh and gazing down at her with a teasingly adoring grin. “I see it’s not actually me you’re hungry for.”

Lydia’s cheeks warmed at his remark. She pulled away, trying to hide a bashful smile as Seo Joon took her hand and led her over to one of the chairs at the table.

“The food is starting to get cold, anyway,” he pointed out as he helped her sit down and spread a cloth napkin over her lap. Before he sat down across from her, he served her, dishing out the potatoes and vegetables and cutting off some tender pieces of the chicken.

“Why thank you,” Lydia grinned, her eyes widening as she took in all of the delicious-looking food now in front of her.

“Please, don’t wait on my account,” Seo Joon assured her as he began to fill up his own plate.

Lydia, although polite, was also very good at following directions... so, she lifted her utensils and dove right in.

Unsurprisingly, the next ten minutes or so consisted of just a few sentences exchanged between the couple. The two of them were far too busy eating to engage in conversation, and when Lydia finally set down her knife and fork with a satisfied sigh, Seo Joon informed her they weren’t quite finished yet.

“What do you mean?” she asked curiously as Seo Joon took her empty plate away.

He set both of their plates down on a side table behind him and then bent down to retrieve...

When he stood back up and placed a small trifle on the table, Lydia let out an extremely delighted gasp.

“You didn’t think I would forget about dessert, did you?” Seo Joon smirked as he handed her a spoon.

“Oh, I do love you!” Lydia giggled.

Seo Joon’s grin lit up his face as he watched her -- Lydia, the absolute and complete love of his life -- scoop into the trifle with unadulterated glee. 

Even if he didn’t have a romantic walk in the cold moonlight planned after this, and even if he didn’t know he would kiss her until she was breathless later, this would go down in his personal history book as a perfect evening. Just the fact he got to spend this time alone with her, and the fact she was so adorably happy was enough. More than enough.

He would have to plan more nights like this -- as many as he possibly could. One day, far in the future, he would plan a night like this to propose to her.

But, for now, he was fully content with the way things were. No more secret longing, no more hidden glances, no more worrying and fretting over ‘what ifs.’ He wanted to marry her, yes... but one day. Not just yet. 

He’d waited so many years just to get where they were now. He could most certainly wait to take things a step further, and Lydia -- without question -- was worth the wait.

It had taken Seo Joon, Yongguk, and Daehyun almost two days to find Lady Josephine and Brian after their somewhat dramatic escape on Christmas Eve.

Thankfully, when they did find them, the couple was already married and awaiting passage on a boat to America.

Daehyun managed to convince them there was no need to run away to a whole other continent; her sisters certainly wanted her to return, and even if her parents didn’t quite approve of the marriage, they would much rather she stay here than be an ocean away.

Joey had -- somewhat reluctantly -- agreed to come back, and when she and Brian had returned to the manor, her entire family had surrounded her. They’d hugged and kissed her, both Cassie and her mother had been crying, and her father had almost immediately ushered Brian into his study to interrogate him.

The next week, the newlyweds had moved into a house in the nearby village, and Brian had begun teaching at the local school. Apparently, knowing how to read and write was a good enough qualification; Brian did end up rather enjoying the job, though.

And now, just about three months after their legendary departure, they were settled in their quaint cottage and -- much to some’s surprise -- incredibly happy.

Joey smiled to herself as she thought of how Brian -- her husband -- still teased her and got on her nerves. Daily, in fact. As she stuck the needle through her embroidery hoop, she recalled the first snowball fight they’d had -- and the few they’d had since, as well.

When a sudden knock interrupted her thoughts, she let out a soft gasp and dropped her project on the floor. Instead of picking it up, she scurried to the door and practically threw it open.

With Brian being gone at the school all day, Joey’s ideas for keeping herself busy were wearing thin, and she was more than glad to have a visitor.

“Evie!” she cried with delight when she saw her sister standing on the doormat.

She was especially glad to have this specific visitor.

“I hope I’m not interrupt --”

“No, of course not,” Joey assured her hastily, stepping aside to usher her in. “Please, come in. Shall I ring for some tea?”

“Oh, yes, please,” Evie answered, taking off her coat once she’d entered the house. “It’s almost colder than it was at Christmas time.”

Joey popped her head into the kitchen and requested a tea tray from the cook -- the only servant she had now.

“Come, sit down,” she murmured to Evie before leading her to the living room, the room she’d just occupied. 

Joey bent to pick up her embroidery, and Evie let out a soft sputter of a chuckle.

“What is that?” 

“It’s -- it’s my embroidery!” Joey explained with a huff. “Why did you say it like that?!”

“You’ve never embroidered a thing in your life,” Evie laughed.

“Well!” Joey cried defensively. “I can’t think of anything else to do! I’m stuck in this house all day while Brian’s at work!”

Evie’s jaw practically dropped at her younger sister’s ludicrous statement. “Are you quite serious?”

“Yes! I’m bored out of my mind!”

“Joey! There are so many things you could do outside of the house!”

“Oh?” Joey asked, quirking an eyebrow. “Such as? And don’t say planting a garden, you know my thumb is the opposite of green.”

“I can think of any number of things you could get involved in! Like -- the orphanage, for example. They’re always in need of help!”

Joey’s brow furrowed softly, and the corners of her mouth turned down in thought.

Hmm. The orphanage.

...Why had she never thought of that? She hadn’t been around children too much, but the ones she’d met in her adulthood had certainly seemed rambunctious and clever enough to keep her thoroughly occupied. It wasn’t too far from the village, and it would certainly be much better than trying to embroider all day.

“Evie,” Joey said softly. “I believe... you have come up with a wonderful idea.”

For a split second, the expression on Evie’s face was one of surprise. It quickly morphed to one of satisfaction, however, and she tipped her chin into a satisfied nod. “Of course, I have.”

Before Joey’s train of thought could get permanently derailed onto thoughts of the orphanage, she turned back to her older sister.

“Now, why did you come to see me?” she asked directly. Joey had never been one to mince words.

Evie instantly frowned, though, her forehead wrinkling adorably. “Why do I need a reason to come see you?”

“Because... I mean, don’t you, especially, always need a reason to leave the house?”

“...Well, yes.”

Joey simply smirked triumphantly.

“The thing is... it’s rather a... well, a private topic,” Evie replied in hushed tones.

Before Joey had the chance to ask what her sister could possibly mean by that, the door opened, and the cook ambled in with the tea tray.

Evie sat silently as the cook set down the tray and poured tea into two floral, porcelain cups.

“Thank you, Mrs. Whitmore,” Joey grinned before taking one of the cups and handing it to her sister.

Mrs. Whitmore dipped into a curtsy before shuffling out of the room, closing the door behind her.

It took less than half a second for Joey to focus all of her attention back on Evie.

“What could you possibly mean by ‘a private topic’?” she asked in hushed -- but hurried -- tones.

Evie’s cheeks immediately pinkened, and Joey’s mind went right into the gutter.

“I’m just... nervous,” Evie gulped.

Joey waited as long as she possibly could for her sister to continue... which ended up being about three seconds.

“About the wedding night?”

Evie’s cheeks pinkened some more, and her brows rushed down to wrinkle her forehead. “No! I mean, yes, but I’m not -- just -- getting married, in general. And moving away from home and being mistress of such a large estate and -- there are just so many changes, and I’m incredibly anxious about it all.”

“Ohhhh,” Joey nodded in understanding before taking a sip of her tea. “Yes, of course. You would be nervous about that.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” Evie murmured with a slight pout.

“You are a creature of habit, my dear,” Joey pointed out. “You like to be surrounded by things and places and people you already know, like books and our family. And you prefer to stay in the background. You don’t like attention -- never have. And now, suddenly, you’ll be in a new house with all the servants looking to you for direction and leadership. I should have guessed! My, you must be quite terrified!”

When Joey lifted her gaze to her older sister, the look on Evie’s face was not one of relief that Joey had just voiced the nagging thoughts in the back of her head.

No. Not one of relief in the slightest.

Her expression was one of absolute panic.

Hastily, Joey set her teacup down and reached over, resting her hand comfortingly on Evie’s knee. “Oh, my dear, you will be all right. I’m all right, aren’t I? And I moved from Mistletoe Manor to this... well, it can only be called a cottage, can’t it? It took a while to get used to, but having Brian with me helped tremendously! Truly, it took hardly any time at all to create a new routine and get settled here.”

Evie softly quirked one eyebrow at that. “But you’re embroidering to pass the time...”

Joey waved one hand through the air dismissively. “Oh, you know me. Always wanting to do things I’m frightfully bad at. I’ve never had a hobby like you, which is why you will be fine. I am much assured that Blackmon Abbey has a very well-stocked library. Does it not?”

Evie nodded, though she still looked just a bit anxious.

“Then you will be more than fine. There are probably an enormous amount of books in there you haven’t read, so if your husband is not on hand to ease your worries, you’ll have your books.”

After chewing on her lip for a moment or two, Evie shot her younger sister a hopeful glance. “It won’t be... too scary, will it?”

Joey shook her head vigorously. “My best advice is to simply talk to your husband-to-be. I know how much you hate talking about your feelings, but it must be done. And I promise you will feel better afterward.”

Knowing her sister was right -- for once in her life -- Evie nodded.

“I will,” she said with quiet determination. “Thank you, Joey.”

Joey, looking entirely too pleased with herself, removed her hand from her sister’s knee and took her teacup again.

“You are most welcome,” she said with a confident grin. For she was feeling quite confident. She had just given her sister some smashingly wonderful advice, and she was currently devising a plan to keep herself occupied.

Things were looking up!

You shook the thoughts from your head and got out of your car, you fast walk towards the building, you absolutely didn't want to talk yourself out of getting a pet. Maybe a cat would be nice, they’re cute and maybe it’ll love you enough to attack this stalker of yours and scratch their eyeballs out! You push the door, it doesn’t budge. You, quickly, glance over to make sure it wasn't closed today, then you realize it says PULL in big letters right where your hands are at. Your head falls a little, hoping no one saw that until you get in and notice the lady in the front was trying her hardest not to stare at you. You smile at her anyway.

“Looking to adopt?” You nod your head, your voice didn’t want to work.

“The cats are just around the corner, small animals like bunnies are two doors down from them, and at the end of the hall is where the dogs are at!” She smiles at you.

“Thank you.” You walk to the first round of animals.

Your heart drops when hardly any of the cats would pay attention to you. Each cat you would walk up to would sniff and attempt to nibble on your finger, but that was it. There was one kitten that gave you attention, and as much as you loved the idea of having her, having a kitten would be more work especially since on her chart it states that she was still learning how to use the litter box. You frown and tear yourself away from her, but if none of the other animals worked, she was coming home with you.

You sigh to yourself, this is going to be harder than I thought.

You stop in front of the small animal door.

“I mean it wouldn’t hurt to look.” You tell yourself as you walk into the large room.

*******************************************

You stand in front of your last stop, your heart began to race, behind this very door could potentially be your new best friend and protector.

You walk in and almost immediately frown. There were hardly any dogs in their kennels, you take out your phone to check the time. It was still early, the shelter wasn't going to close for another few hours.

You sigh and put your phone away and continue to walk, maybe there just wasn’t any dogs in the first couple kennels.

A small whimper caught your attention.

A small little thing, her tan fur had random black spots on it. She hesitates, but walks up to you. You press your hand against the fence separating you two, her wet nose wiggles against your fingers.

“Oh my god, you're so cute.” You whisper to her after reading that she was still super timid and wasn’t used to loud noises.

“Oh, hi.” You look up to see a really attractive man walking into the kennel room. He looked awfully familiar. “I see you met my new baby, y/n.” He smiles.

That’s when you realize that’s what ON HOLD meant and that this insanely attractive dude was your new neighbor, the one you were somewhat on edge about since he moved in right at the same time you started having a stalker. You look at her and frown to yourself but then perk up knowing that she’s going to a (hopefully) good home.

“I didn’t know you were looking for a pet?” He says as he picks up the small dog.

You stand up, looking at him, silently asking if it was ok for you to pet her. He picks up on your little glances and leans her towards you.

“I figured it’s about time, my roommate just moved in with her boyfriend so I’m basically alone now.” You mentally slapped yourself. Yeah tell your neighbor that you barely even know that you’re all by yourself.

“May I suggest you get a big dog? As much as I love Daphne, small dogs are good at being barkers, not entirely so much at physically protecting.” You nod at his words, ok so he could be a good guy. “Oh, I’ve got to get going. I have an appointment at the groomers, I want Daphne to look her best when she meets my cat, Richie! Bye, y/n!” He didn’t even let you respond back, which was a good thing since you couldn’t remember his name to save your life.

You turn around and continue your search. Your heart could possibly explode, all you wanted to do was take every single animal you've seen today home with you.

You walk to the very last kennel, you stop and read his chart. According to his chart, he’s a highly aggressive dog, shouldn’t be around children of any age, since he’s rather larger he could be a wolf-dog so he’ll probably go to a wildlife center instead of being here at the shelter if a permanent home wasn’t found.

You peer around the chart to look at him, and almost gasp. He was huge, he basically took up the entire kennel. His back was towards you, but you notice his ears perking up, you move to stand in front of his kennel, he growls at you.

“Relax, I’m not going to hurt you. If you don’t mind, I’m going to sit right here.” You sat on the floor next to his kennel, he was stubborn and refuse to lift his head to look at you.

You take the opportunity to admire him, the shelter named him Rocky, his fur was a beautiful swirl of chocolate brown and black colors. You accidentally bump into the fence making him jump up into a fighting stance, you could see the random white spot on his chest leading up to his snout.

“Sorry, that was completely my fault. I’m sorry.” You put your hands and kept your eye contact to a minimal.

What you weren't expecting was for him to take a step closer to you and press his nose against the fence and try to sniff you.

“Hi.” You say, shyly to him. You lift your hand to let him sniff it when you hear someone screams no to you.

The lady yanks you away from the kennel; she begins to check your hands for any signs of bite marks as she glares at him.

“Oh my god! I forgot to warn you to not go near his kennel. He’s a vicious dog, he's un-adoptable!” She pants to you.

You look back at him, his head was tilted and you could’ve swore that you saw his eyes fill with sadness.

You shake your head.

“I want to adopt him.” You don’t break eye contact with him.

“Young woman, I just told you he’s un-adoptable, he’s been returned multiple times!” She explains to you, her tone was starting to tick you off. She was speaking to you like you were a small child.

You look at her and slightly got in her face, your eyes not blinking. How could someone place blame an innocent animal for being returned multiple times? It wasn’t his fault, at least you’re certain that it wasn’t. You briefly look back at him and look at her once more.

“He’s coming home with me. Today.” The lady opens her mouth to reply, but you hold up your hand. “I’m already pre-approved, so don’t try anything.”

You could’ve sworn you saw Rocky look at you like you were the best thing in the entire world.

***************************************************

He was cautious walking into your apartment, already well behaved, he didn’t even try to pull on the leash the entire three hours you had him.

“Come on, Brownie.” He sneezes at you, obviously still not liking his name. “Hey, you know it’s better than Rocky.”

He jumps up on the couch as a protest, you frown. Should you allow him to be up on the furniture? You had done your research and you knew you had to establish your dominance over your dog so he wouldn’t think he was the alpha. You shake your head, maybe you’re overthinking things. Plus it’s just furniture.

You plop yourself near Brownie, and he did something you were one-hundred percent not expecting from him. He rest his head on your knee, not wanting to push your limits, you kept your hands to yourself. Your heart almost literally exploded when you heard his tiny snores.

You took out your phone and snapped a few photos and posted them to your social media. And without realizing it, you put your hand on top of his head, he woke up with a start but didn’t remove his head from your lap. Instead he gaze up at you and leaned into your touch.

From that moment on, Brownie was constantly by your side. From the moment you woke up to the moment you went to bed, he was complete bed hog but you didn’t mind, it still makes you laugh that managed to “accidentally” push you off the bed. The only time Brownie wasn’t with you was when you went to work and when you had to use the restroom.

After a long day a work, you were definitely in need of some cuddles from Brownie. As soon as you walk into your apartment and fling yourself onto the couch, he walks up to your face and begins giving you kisses. He bumps his head against yours.

“How was your day, Browns? I bet it was better than mine...” You sigh and sit up to allow him up on the couch with you. He tries to sit in your lap. “Oh, god! No! Brownie, we’ve been through this!” You struggle to get off of you, you could’ve sworn that he was laughing at you. “You’re not a lap dog!”

There’s a small knock at your door, and almost instantly Brownie’s whole demeanor changes. He stands up and carefully stands over you. You try to move, but he growls and bares his teeth at you. Your heart races, he’s never shown you this type of behavior in the three months you’ve had him. You carefully and cautiously move your hand towards his back and scratch.

“It’s okay, Brownie. It’s probably one of our neighbors.” You slowly stand up and push him, gently, off of you.

Brownie was hesitant, but he lets you up. You slowly walk towards the door, he follows your every move. Every step you took, he took as well. Another knock follows, but this time it’s more aggressive.

Before you could open your mouth to say something, the voice on the other side of the door makes your heart stop.

“Y/n, open the door.” Your legs almost gave out but Brownie kept you from falling. You grab your phone from your pocket and begin to dial 9-1-1. “Don’t you dare call the police. I haven’t done anything to hurt you.”

Brownie moves to stand in front of you, but you nudge him out of the walk. You look through the peephole, there was no one there. The breath you had no idea you were holding finally escapes your mouth. Suddenly, he appears and slams his hands against your door.

“Let me in, y/n! Why won’t you let me in?” You scream and fall back, Brownie begins to bark.

“Go away! I’m calling the police!” You press the call button.

“Please, don’t!” He sobs. “Why don’t you want to be with me?! Let me in.”

You push yourself against the door. Brownie jumps up against the door, almost like he’s helping you keep the door closed.

“9-1-1, what’s your emergency?”

“My stalker is right in front of my door, he won’t leave. Please help!” You cry. “Go away!”

“Fine, don’t let me in. Thankfully I have a key.” Your entire body turns cold as you hear the key being forced into your door.

“He has a key! He has a key to my home!” You give the operator your address.

“I have police on their way, stay on the phone with me, ma’am.” Their calm voice was doing nothing to help you.

The door moves, you scream and cry, pushing yourself more against it.

“Help! Please, help!” You cry.

“Ma’am, they’re almost there, if you can, find somewhere to hide. Re-lock the door and run.” You take a deep breath in and did what you were told. You bolt to the bathroom and slam the door shut. You kept the lights off.

You heard Brownie’s violent barks and growls, you heard a thud and a whimper. You couldn’t keep your cries in, not your dog. Heavy footsteps make their way towards you, you could see the shadow of your stalker come into view, then from the small space between the door and the floor, his shoes. Your heart sank at the sight of bloody footprints. The shoes turn to face you, you push yourself back until you were practically forcing yourself into the tiny space between the wall and the toilet. The door handle begins to turn, you hold your breath.

The door slams open, making you scream. His face was covered by a white flesh mask, but it was now ripped and blood fell from his face. There were claw marks on his shoulders? Before he could take a step into the bathroom, a rather large figure lunge itself towards him, knocking him to the side. It looked like a humanoid wolf, but you shake your head. That wasn’t possible.

His screams pierce the air as police sirens finally arrive. You knew you shouldn’t crawl over to look. Your body and mind scream at you, telling you not to.

Don’t, you shouldn’t. You hesitate. But what if Brownie is still alive?

You reach the doorframe before you could even look over, Brownie appears just above your head.

You let out a cry of relief and throw your arms around your injured dog.

“Y/n? Oh god, are you okay?!” You could hear your neighbor yell into your apartment. It was the handsome guy, fear and worry was written all over his face. He had a baseball bat in his hands.

Brownie gave him a slight growl before allowing him to help you up. The police rush into your apartment.

************************************

You were in complete shock and surprise and happiness when the judge said you were allowed to keep Brownie. It wasn’t until after the attack and while your neighbor (who you finally remembered, actually you heard him tell the officers his name, Carter) was taking care of your paperwork and comforting you, that Brownie had mauled your attacker, but not enough to kill the guy. In case like that, dogs protecting their owners are usually put down.

But Carter had managed to get you an amazing animal lawyer by the name of Moon Jongup. Mr. Moon did everything he could for you and Brownie.

Carter also convince the apartment manager to give you a different apartment, one closer to his. Usually, you would’ve been extremely uncomfortable with someone basically taking complete charge of your life, but after everything that happened, you were glad that Carter was so helpful.

You walk into your new apartment with Brownie pressed against your leg, the officer assigned to watch over you had you wait at the door as he checked every room. You felt like it was a bit excess but both Mr. Moon and Carter thought it was necessary.

“The area is safe.” You nod and give him a small smile. “I’m sorry for what happened.”

“Don’t apologize, it wasn’t your fault.” And with that he leaves.

You sit on the couch, not entirely sure how to feel. Brownie sits in front of you and rests his head on your lap. You lean over and rest your head on top of his, and kiss it.

You sigh and sit up, Brownie watches your every move.

“I’m going to shower.” He watches you leave and sighs to himself.

You walk into the bathroom, silently cursing to yourself. You haven’t gone to store so you didn’t have any shampoo and conditioner or bodywash. You caught your reflection in the mirror and gasp. You had dry snot and tears almost all over your face. Turning on the sink, you quickly water your face.

You walk out of the bathroom and head towards your room. Your new apartment’s layout was still new to you, the hallway had a cutout that had a perfect view to your entire living-room. You walk by and look over to Brownie. In place of where you left Brownie was a naked man, he had cuts all over his body that were healing almost instantly.

You smile and continue walking until you stopped dead in your tracks.

You reverse and notice that he hasn’t noticed you.

“Who in the hell are you?!” You scream.

Brownie- in human form- stood up in shock, showing you everything.

“Oh my god!” You cover your eyes as he quickly covers his junk. Your face was heating up with shock.

“Um... I’m Brownie...” He says, timidly.

“No, last time I checked I adopted a giant beautiful dog, not a naked man!” You look around the living-room and even the kitchen.

“What are you doing?” He asks.

You turn to look at him, slightly glaring at him.

“I’m looking for my dog, you dumbass.” You huff.

He lets out an angry sigh and suddenly grabs you. You attempt to scream, but nothing came out when he started to turn into Brownie. You sink down to the floor, there was no way that that was possible. Brownie’s a normal dog, right?

He turns back into his human form.

“H-how? I deserve an explanation... especially if you’re going to expect me to continue to let you stay.” He perks up at that comment.

“I’m technically a werewolf.” You really did try your hardest not to snort because Brownie looks nothing like a werewolf, not even the Twilight level werewolf. He gives you a look. “I messed up and got involved with a witch...”

You hand him the small blanket so he could be properly covered, he thanks you and continues.

“My brothers warned me not to get involved, but my wolf was almost entirely convinced that the human I was involved with was my mate. She wasn’t. She was working with the witch to test out a spell that turns werewolves into actual dogs. I was stuck as ‘Brownie’ for two years.” He rubs his face and looks at you. “Oh, my name is Youngjae. Please stop calling me Brownie.”

“Youngjae, got it.” You felt bad, poor dude hasn’t been called by his actual name for two years. Oh god... You gave him so many horribly cringy nicknames...

“My brothers found me, of course they had to tease me-”

“But of course.” You interrupt with a giggle. Youngjae’s heart shouldn’t have swelled at that sound. His wolf let out a small whine that only he could hear.

“Being in dog form, I had to- you know- use the bathroom. Jongup took me outside and that’s when he was ambushed. They took me, but luckily there was some good people who assumed a werewolf turned dog was being kidnapped. But I ended up at the pound.” He begins to shift, you jump back.

Youngjae’s was in partial transformation, his claws are dark and long. His eyes were bright gold, his canines were long but slightly dull, probably from being in dog form for years.

He clears his throat and apologizes.

“I think the curse is still fading away. Don’t worry, a full transformation only happens on new moons.” He explains.

“Jongup? Wasn’t that the lawyer Carter hired for us?” He nods.

“Yes, Carter is a part of another pack in this area. It’s a myth that all werewolf packs are enemies, we have our own territories. We tend to dislike each other, but if one is in need, everyone helps.” You nod your head, understanding what he said. “He had to play it off like he was adopting a dog when he caught my scent.”

You frown at his words.

“Relax, we are part human, we can have pets.”

“Oh.” You felt a little embarrassed.

“But, you... You were able to remove the spell and that worries me.” You tilt you head at him.

“Why?” He hesitates, you could tell that Youngjae really didn’t want to tell you.

“Because that means you’re a witch.”

************************************

Carter and Jongup arrive at your apartment to confirm Youngjae’s story and to give him clothes so he wasn’t walking around your aparment in your pj’s. You were half expecting them to treat you differently after Youngjae told them you could be a witch.

“She’s only half.” Jongup says. Everyone, including you look at him with a questioning look. “I do my research. Your father is a witch- or wizard, warlock? Anyway, your grandmother kept it from him, wanting a normal life for him.”

“How?-” He interrupts you and holds up his hand.

“I called her.” He shrugs, your eyes nearly pop out of your skull, your grandma wasn’t old but you wondered how that conversation must’ve gone down. “And before Youngjae and Carter freak, she come from earth witches, completely different from black and white witches.”

He turns to you. “Nature witches’ powers are passed through generations, most black or white witches can be born from actual witches but most of the time, their magic is learned. But don’t quote me on that, that’s what I learned from the internet.”

Youngjae takes a sip from his water before Carter finally speaks.

“Does this mean y/n is Youngjae’s mate?” Jongup gives a slight nod as Youngjae spits out his water all over you and Jongup.

“What?!” He coughs.

“Like a cliche I broke the spell?” You were surprised that the thought of being a werewolf’s mate didn’t make you freak out, but then again you just found out that you were now a witch, confirmed by your grandma.

“Kind of. Mates don’t necessarily have to be romantic, but the feelings are there.”

“It’s true, my mate is my best friend from elementary school, we don’t have romantic feelings for each whatsoever. We just enjoy being in each other’s company. He just introduced me to his boyfriend.” Carter smiles to himself.

His smile makes you smile and somewhat eager to experience what he does with Youngjae.

“But you already knew that y/n was your mate, didn’t you, Youngjae.” Carter smirks.

You look at him, he refuse to look at you.

“When?” You ask, you place your hand on his knee. That simple touch makes him look at you.

“When your stalker appeared. I felt his anger and desire to hurt you, and when you heard his voice...” Youngjae’s voice strains. “Your fear became mine, all I wanted to do was protect you.”

You couldn’t help it, you threw yourself into his arms. Youngjae hugs you, tightly.

Jongup puts his hand on your shoulder.

“Now that Youngjae is back to normal, you are more than welcome to continue living here or come to move with us. I know Daehyun misses Youngjae.”

“Can I think about it?” He nods, saying his good-byes, Jongup leaves.

Carter gives you a hug before leaving as well. You were finally alone with Youngjae.

“You don’t have to come with my brothers. Carter’s mate lives on his own, but I would have to come visit you often.”

“Or you know you could just stay here and visit them often?” You laugh.

He smiles at you and nods.

“I can do that.”

*************************************

Arriving home was without Brownie- well Youngjae in dog form- was still something you were adjusting to. But arriving home to Youngjae was really nice, especially his bear hugs and cuddles.

You guys were still trying to figure out if you were romantic or platonic mates, but either way you were happy with him. Youngjae didn’t greet you like he always did today, but your nose was met with a horrible burning smell.

“Um... y/n... I need some help...” You could hear him struggling in the kitchen.

You walk to the kitchen, this werewolf was really testing your limits today. Your kitchen was littered with dirty pots and pans and burnt food.

“You’re extremely lucky I love you, Youngjae.” He leans down and places a small kiss against your forehead before you grab the burnt pan from him and turn on the sink to begin cleaning.

“Can we get takeout instead?” You nod at him as you focus on scrubbing. You felt him rest his head against your shoulder.

“Happy adoption anniversary.” He chuckles.

“I thought you wanted to forget the days you were in dog form?” You turn to look at him.

“Not that one, that was the day I met you.” His words make you blush. You dry your hands and walk up to him, wrapping your arms around his waist. Youngjae loved hearing your heart skip a beat when you guys were close to each other.

“Then wouldn’t it be a regular anniversary?” You laugh as he squeezes you.

This my first part of my collab with @sheisdreamingsheisdreaming !!!