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Valko has been restless.
Throughout the night, you watched as he paced around the kitchen with the excuse of “finding a midnight snack,” only to be empty-handed when he joined you on your living room couch. Then, as he held you throughout the duration of the rom-com you wanted to watch, his hand was shaking. Even when you checked on him multiple times and offered to change the film into something he liked, he shook his head with a jittery smile.
Maybe when he joins you in your bedroom, you can figure out what’s going on.
But an hour after you’ve prepared for bed, Valko still isn’t beside you.
It’s unlike him to not join you in bed when he visits. Usually he’s the one to convince you to go to sleep, and when you finally relented, he’d open his arms to welcome cuddles. It’s always warm in his arms, and the sweet nothings Valko would whisper on your head quiets down all the worries you may have carried throughout the day.
So when you’re met with the cool and silence that lingers because of his absence, it feels suffocating to say the least. Your blanket is not nearly as comforting, and your pillow doesn’t carry your worries quite like his words did.
With exhaustion weighing in your bones and concern etched into your heart, you stand up to see where Valko went. Your deepest fear clings onto your soul like a parasite as you search for your wolf — did he wander off into the woods without bringing you with him, never to be seen again?
But your heart calms and panics simultaneously when you see Valko on your couch instead. The TV remains off, and the only noises you can hear are your sharp, nervous breaths and the sniffles he hides behind his hands.
“Valko?”
He looks up in response to your voice, his entire face red and decorated with tears. “Oh, sweetheart. I-”
You immediately sit beside him, wiping his tears before he can get the chance to hide himself again. “What happened?”
“Nothing. I-I’m okay.”
“No.”
It sounds harsh coming out of your lips, and it even makes your boyfriend’s eyes widen a little, but you refuse to let him hide his emotions from you. Nonetheless, you soften its impact by placing kisses all over his tear-stricken face, letting him know that you’re here to help carry the weight of whatever it is he’s shouldering.
“Tell me what happened, my love,” you gently ask, but Valko’s eyes dart down to your shirt as though its design were code he’d love to learn about. The only response you get are his sniffles as his tears fall down to your hands, soft whispers of your name in-between like you’re his salvation.
With every teardrop that falls, a new question appears in your head. Did someone hurt him? Did you hurt him without knowing? Why didn’t you comfort him sooner?
“I…” Valko interrupts your thoughts, but he falls into your embrace before he can finish his sentence. Your questions halt completely, your utmost focus now placed in comforting him.
“Oh, my baby.”
You swear his hold on you tightens hearing that, so you continue to call him all sorts of affectionate names in the same way he does when he’s cuddling you. Darling, my love, honey… hell, even “my wolfie” escapes your lips, earning you a soft but meaningful chuckle from him.
“Do you want to tell me about it?”
His ears are down as hesitation turns into a shake of his head.
“That’s okay my love. I’m…” Tears coat your face as well, but you hide it with a smile he cannot even see. “I’ll be here for as long as you need me.”
Valko gasps, pulling away from your embrace just to meet your gaze. His eyes widen again when he sees how much your face mirrors his in terms of melancholy. “Do you mean that?”
You nod with no hesitation. In every life, in every timeline, in every world where he is yours, you will stay by his side until the very end. “Of course.”
“Even when I’m like this?”
You tilt your head in confusion, a habit you’ve gotten from him. “Like what? Like a cutie?”
His gaze is elsewhere, but you notice his cheeks and ears turning a pretty shade of pink. “N-no. Like a… a monster.”
The world outside stops, stunned into the same silence you are. Only one question in your head remains loud enough to drown your shock: Who made him feel that way?
But Valko falls back into your embrace, and all of the words you wanted to say are robbed from you. Whispers of “I love you” coat him warmly, and he even giggles when you lightly poke his ears.
“I love you, my little wolf. Forever and ever.”
Valko meets your gaze once more, bravely asking you questions through his eyes alone. Who could see a monster in a man whose heart is on his sleeve and with loyalty akin to a kindred spirit? Who could see a monster in those eyes that stare at you like sun rays do?
You gently caress his ears again to hear that giggle you love so much. “You’re a cutie, my love. I don’t know who made you feel like you weren’t, but they’re wrong.”
“But I’ve… I’ve made a mess in your home-”
“You’ve made my house a home,” you clarify before he can finish talking down to himself. “Picking up Pile It Up blocks and getting hugs from you as I cook is amazing. I wouldn’t trade it for the world.”
“But I look like-”
“Like a cute little wolf,” you say with a smile on your face, rubbing his head of hair. “You’re so handsome, my love.”
And this time, Valko doesn’t say anything. The pink hue on his cheeks that gradually darken speaks for itself.
Your smile widens when you see your victory, and you share it by kissing him again. On his forehead, his cheeks, and especially his lips — no place is left unloved. No part of him is left to wonder whether or not he’s beautiful.
Because in your heart and soul, you know that Valko is the most beautiful person you have ever met.
“I’m glad you’re here,” you tell him. “Don’t disappear on me, yeah?”
Valko smiles, as if to say, Why would I ever do that?