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There are only a few things that Luhan is reliable for. Saving Yixing’s ass against unexpected attacks, distracting Minseok with irrelevant questions, or the occasional facts about herbs that can improve the chances of conception. Therefore, Yixing shouldn't have been surprised that Luhan would mess up with something so simple: watching his sons, Jia and Lei.
As a father, he's affectionate and overprotective, so usually he wouldn't trust anyone to watch his sons. Today is an exception because Minseok has asked him to go to a neighbor pack, and help heal one of the sick wolves. Their pack is trying to make new allies, especially since a lot of wolves died in the war against the rebels. Minseok sees this as an opportunity to strengthen their bonds, and Yixing, if he wasn't a father, would agree too.
Unfortunately, his instincts as a father can sometimes override logical sense, which is why he spent the last few hours struggling to accept Minseok’s decision. In the end, the needs of the pack outweigh the needs of one wolf, so Yixing relents.
There are many good wolves who'd watch his sons carefully, such as Hangeng, Kyungsoo, or even his sons’ uncle, Baekhyun. In general, anyone is a better choice than Luhan. However, most of the good choices are busy with their own thing and some are gone for a day trip to Saron. Therefore, Yixing is stuck with either handing his sons over to Luhan, or to a wolf that he isn't close to.
The healer ignores the uncomfortable feeling in the pit of his stomach, and scarily threatens Luhan to not let the twins out of his sight. He knows that kidnapping can happen anytime, especially for pups who are known to be Unik.
He and Jongdae found out recently that the younger twin, Jia, is showing traits of becoming a Unik. The scariest part is that Jia has green eyes, similar to Yixing, and the elder has an anxious feeling that his son is going to be like him, a healer wolf. They're both worried for their son's future, but for now, they shield the truth from outsiders and casual acquaintances. Only Uniks and close friends would know this detail.
Luckily, Jia and Lei doesn't depend on their parents as much as before. They used to need their parents’ scent to keep them calm, and to keep Jia from accidentally using his Unik defense mechanism. Now , they're old enough to be left with a friend or a family member for the day, without worrying about Jia's safety. Even then, Yixing or Jongdae have to pick them up by the end of the day. Like any pups, they miss their parents the most during bedtime.
Yixing reluctantly hands them over, after copiously scent marking them, and making sure the twins are in a happy mood.
“Relax, sheesh,” Luhan notes. “I've read on books about pups and on how I should handle them. This will be good practice for me once Sehun decides to let us mate him.”
“I would trust you more if your attention span isn't as short as theirs,” Yixing immediately argues.
“That is so not -- ,” Luhan trails off before noticing a monarch butterfly. “Oh my God, it's a teeny tiny monarch.”
Yixing curls his hand into a fist before reminding himself to breathe and that he promised Jongdae of no violence in front of the pups. Instead he smacks Luhan in the head before glaring at him.
“I swear if something happens,” the younger growls at him, barely containing his anger.
“ Okay , I get it,” the elder relents, pouting over his bruise.
Yixing doesn't bother giving Luhan pity as he kneels down to say goodbye to his pups. They're in tiny wolf forms, even though they can turn into human sometimes. He still can't believe that they're a year old now.
“I'll be back in a few hours,” he whispers to them. “Stay with uncle Luhan. He's weird, but he'll protect you. Don't stray too far.”
Jia licks his palm in understanding, while his older brother, Lei, rolls over to his back, showing his fluffy white fur. Yixing reaches out and rubs the tummy, enjoying his son’s happy whines.
He reluctantly stands up, and sends Luhan a final glare. He takes a deep breath as he exits Luhan’s tent, and thinks that he needs to calm down first. He's probably paranoid because this is the first time the twins are left with someone unqualified, but he hopes that he's wrong about his gut instinct.
***
Luhan doesn't know how it happened. The twins were getting restless inside his tent so he decides to bring them out for a chase in the forest. He leads them to a small clearing, a common place for pups to play around. In fact, there are other pups there, and Jia and Lei seem happy to play with them.
The clearing only have small branches and a small puddle, so technically it was a safe place for pups to explore nature and recognize scents. Therefore, it doesn’t make sense that Lei manages to hurt himself despite the fact that there's no sharp objects around them. Luhan panics once he sees Lei howling in the ground and blood is seeping out of his leg. He panics even more knowing that Jia can see this, and he's afraid that the Unik defense mechanism will come out.
He hurriedly picks up Lei, and tries to soothe him a little while figuring out the best way to heal the pup. His saliva won't work since Lei isn't his son, and all the medical herbs are in the healer tent. His choices are to either steal some herbs, or let Yixing find out and risk an early death.
Before he can put forth on his plan, he notices that Jia is approaching them, and the young pup seems keen on being near his brother. Surprisingly, Jia doesn't looked panicked as he licks his brother's tears, and communicates through little whines and nose rubbing.
Luhan sees a small nod from Lei before he notices that Jia is pulling his brother to the ground. The elder isn't sure on what's going on so he complies and places Jia on the grass. He watches as Jia uses his paws to hold his brother's leg still. The young pup licks the wound a few times before getting off his brother's body.
Any other wolves would think Jia is a healer wolf, since saliva healing is one of the first methods that healer wolves would learn. However, saliva healing usually takes a few seconds, and they can usually see the slow process of the wound healing itself after the wolf steps away. This is why saliva healing isn't as effective as using healing energy.
Luhan didn't see that slow process once Jia pulls away. Instead, he sees a perfectly healed wound. He stares in amazement at this young pup’s ability, despite only being a year old. He now understands why Yixing is overprotective. Jia’s power is evolving much faster than regular healer pups.
Lei seems to feel much better as he shakes his leg, to test its ability, and he whines happily once he realizes that he's okay now. The twins go back to rough housing and chasing each other, leaving Luhan dumbfounded.
***
Yixing comes to pick them up an hour earlier than he said he would. Luhan grins nervously at him, despite knowing that Yixing would see through that smile.
“He did a good job,” one of the parent wolf told them. “Your son was crying before, and he manages to soothe him.” The wolf leaves after patting their backs.
Yixing crosses his arms at hearing that, unhappy that his son had cried while he was gone.
“It wasn't that bad,” Luhan starts to defend himself.
Before Yixing can instill pain on the elder, he senses his pups running up to him. Lei tackles against the back of his knee, and Jia runs around him, energetically.
“Hey,” Yixing greets them with a wide smile. He squats down to collect them in his arms and lets them lick his face all over. As he enjoys their affection, he almost didn't notice Jongdae's presence, until the pups decide to abandon him for their mother.
Yixing doesn't feel annoyed by it. In fact, he smiles, for the first time today. He feels calmer now that Jongdae is back and he steps closer to his mate. He pulls the younger into a tight embrace, ignoring Jongdae's laughs, and burrows his face into the younger's hair.
“Oh sure, you miss me when I leave you alone with the pups,” the younger scoffs jokingly.
They struggle momentarily as Jongdae tries to squat down to greet their sons. Yixing doesn't want to let go of him yet.
Jongdae gathers his sons into his arms, trying to keep them in his embrace, but they're both too hyper to stay still. In their excitement, it's normal for young pups to accidentally use their powers, so they're not surprised to see Lei accidentally causing fire to some branches.
“Lei!” Jongdae yells out once he notices that his son is causing fire as he runs away. The young pup has managed to cover his paws with fire, so every step is a fire hazard.
“I got him,” Minseok tells them. The alpha leader was walking by when he sees the chaotic mess.
Luckily, Suho is also around as he throws some water into the poor plants.
Jia is calmer now, as he snuggles against Jongdae's body and closes his eyes.
Luhan walks closer once their family moment is over.
“So, how was today?” Jongdae asks with a grin. “Did my boys trouble you?”
“He made them cry,” Yixing answers for Luhan. He looks at the elder with an unimpressed glare.
“It wasn't my fault! Lei is just very accident prone!”
Jongdae smiles at that, because he already knows that Lei is less careful than Jia will be. Lei sometimes remind him of Chanyeol on bad days.
Nevertheless, he doesn't want Yixing to remain grumpy so he grabs Yixing's hand to calm him.down. He knows that Yixing is normally logical if the healer wolf isn't protective of his family.
“What happened? Did Lei hurt himself?” Jongdae asks Luhan.
“I think so,” Luhan tells them. “They were running around, and then suddenly Lei was howling. I went to him, and he had a cut on his leg.”
Luhan flinches once he sees Yixing’s angry expression. Luckily, Jongdae pulls his mate back before they end up brawling.
“I was thinking of what to do, but then Jia came and --”
Jia looks up from hearing his name, wondering on what's going on.
“Ah, he must have healed his brother,” Jongdae finishes the sentence.
Luhan gapes at him, since he thought that the parents didn't know yet.
“Yeah, he's been doing it since a few months ago. In fact, the first time was when Yixing accidentally dropped a jar on Lei,” Jongdae explains before giving Yixing a teasing smile.
The healer wolf frowns, but can't deny the truth.
“What the hell?!” Luhan yells out before punching Yixing in the arm. “I kept thinking you'd kill me, but you did it too!”
“Mine was an accident! Yours wasn't!” Yixing argues back.
Jongdae rolls his eyes before walking away, with Jia in his arms. He finally sees Minseok holding Lei closely.
“Thank you, hyung,” Jongdae tells him with a grin before accepting Lei. He says goodbye to his brother in law before heading to the lake.
His sons need a bath and so does he. It's been a long day for everyone.