Because You’re My HOME
Pairing: Joshua x autistic!reader, best friend!Jin x reader, friend!Mark x reader
Word count: 3.5k
Warnings: autistic meltdowns, accidental self harm during meltdown (hair pulling and lip biting, not in a kinky way), anxiety, self doubt
Summary: Joshua unexpectedly finds you, his mate, in the middle of a meltdown. He manages to calm you down and the next time you see him you’re too embarrassed to talk.
Author's Note: This is the second member of the Moonlight Symphony. The masterlist can be found here. Please let me know if you like it, and feel free to ask to be tagged as well!!
After Seungcheol found his mate, everyone wondered when they would find theirs and who would be next. The others started making bets of how it would go but Joshua couldn’t care less. He knew he would meet his when the time was right, so he didn’t think anything of it. Sure, he hoped he would meet his soon, but he wanted it to happen naturally. Joshua would occasionally daydream about meeting his mate, but he never could have imagined how it actually would have happened.
You had gone outside to get some sort of relief from your obnoxious neighbors. You texted your friends begging them to let you come over, and they were all busy. One of them sent you over the edge with the comment of “that’s what you get for living in the dorms at university.”
You were sitting on a bench, your face hidden in your hands as you silently sobbed. The Resident Assistants wanted you to take care of it, but how could you?
Your crying was the first thing Joshua heard when he came out of his late study session at the library, and your scent in the strong breeze the impression that gave him the near animalistic urge to find you. He didn’t say a word to Seokmin as he ran off, following his nose.
It took all of your self control not to bang your head against the bench, so instead you were pulling your hair and biting your lip hard enough to bleed. Sobs racked your body, tears mixing with blood as they dribbled onto your shirt.
If he didn’t know better, Joshua swore his heart audibly broke at your pitiful sight before him. He was no expert for caring for strangers, and he didn’t to mess things up with his mate. He couldn’t help but sit next to you and wrap his jacket around you.
You stiffen and jump some at his touch, looking up at him horrified. You wanted to explain what was wrong, but you couldn’t. You were too upset to speak; you had gone mute. It wasn’t something that happened often for you, but you were so upset and now conflicted with such an ethereal man in front of you.
“Please, don’t hurt yourself,” He whispered, gently taking your wrists.
You wanted to hesitate, but his touch was so gentle and calming that you let him remove your hands from your hair. The stranger gently held them with his, and smoothed out your hair.
“What’s wrong? You can talk to me. I promise I won’t judge you.” He assures you.
Your hands clenched into fists and you shook your head. He was asking for you to do the one thing that you couldn’t give him.
So, Joshua tried to use his observational skills to understand what was wrong. Since you were in your pajamas with a bathrobe halfheartedly tied around you, and you were wearing slippers, his guess wasn’t too difficult. “Were you trying to sleep and couldn’t?” he gently asked, trying to get you to hold his hands so that you wouldn’t hurt yourself further.
When you nodded to his question, he continued. “Were your neighbors being noisy?”
You nodded again, and shakily withdrew one of your hands. You didn’t know why you felt so comfortable with him, a stranger, but you did. You unlocked your phone and showed him the messages between you and your friends.
“That’s not very nice of them. I’m sorry about all of that.” He tells you, and you nod.
Unconsciously, you lean into him some for comfort, making Joshua blush. “If- if you want… I have an extra bed at my place. It’s a bit far so I’d have to drive you. My name is Joshua, by the way.” He offers.
Despite Joshua being a stranger, you were too upset with the thought of staying at your dorm for the night. You nod and he helps you stand, whispering soft encouragements. “It’s alright, I’ve got you. Everything will be okay, I promise…”
Joshua wraps his arm around your waist when he notices your uncertain steps. Despite normally hating being touched after and during a meltdown, you didn’t mind his.
Joshua guided you to where his car was parked, and Seokmin was waiting. Seokmin was going to ask what was going on, but Joshua’s glare shut him up before he got a chance. You hardly noticed the extra male as Joshua helped you in the car and buckle up. You ended up falling asleep in the car, not waking up until the morning.
Joshua left you in his room, and he nearly shifted out of excitement for finding you. If it wasn’t for Seungcheol scolding him, he would have sat outside the bedroom door all night, waiting for you to wake up. Eventually, he managed to convince Jihoon to let him sleep on the floor in his room, since it was across from his and he could hear you if you got up.
You woke up with a start, your heartbeat increasing. You were in a new place with new smells, and you couldn’t remember how you got there.
There was a soft knock on the door, and the man you recognized as Joshua came inside. “Hey, I’m glad you’re awake. I have class in a half hour, and wouldn’t mind getting to campus early so you can change. Or you could always borrow one of my shirts…” he offered, blushing.
Checking the time, you realized you too would have class soon. Either way it was an awkward situation, so you nod and say, “Um, borrowing a shirt would be nice… if you don’t mind, that is…”
Joshua’s face lights up and he goes into the closet, picking out one of his favorite shirts that he thought would suit you. “Here, wear this. I’ll be in the hallway waiting.” He tells you, smiling and shutting the door behind him.
Joshua takes you to school, and oddly enough, the quiet car ride was not that awkward. He seemed a bit nervous and fidgety, but since you had just met, it didn’t mean much to you.
After you left you realized that you never got his number in order to give Joshua his shirt back. In actuality, you didn’t mind; it was a comfortable and cute shirt.
It was a few weeks later at the Super Smash Brothers Club tournament your college had that you saw Joshua again. One of your best friends, Jin, was the former president of the club. Now that he was in graduate school, he didn’t have time to run the club but did have time to still play. He was one of your first friends at college, and you eagerly took on his hobby.
You got butterflies in your stomach suddenly when the player with the gamertag Th8, who’s real name was Minghao, walked in the room with Joshua in tow.
You blushed as you made eye contact, and quickly retreated to Jin. “Jinnie Oppa~ he came…” You whined cutely, hiding slightly behind him. “Minghao mentioned last time how he planned on dragging a friend to the tournament and I thought it would be Seokmin so I could meet him and make fun of his gamertag… But it’s Joshua.”
“Is he the one who helped you out a few weeks ago?” Jin asked, setting up the broadcast on Twitch.
“Yes. And he’s super cute and I don’t want to like, scare him or something. I’m like, head over heels for him and I’m afraid he won’t notice me and my normally pathetic existence.”
“Your existence isn’t pathetic, and I already told you that I’m really sorry you couldn’t come stay with me. This time it was Jungkook and he’s no good when it comes to you-know-what.”
You pout slightly and sigh, leaning against Jin some and taking his hand. He smiled slightly and walked over to Minghao, you tripping over your feet as you followed, not wanting to leave Jin’s side.
“Hey Minghao, are you wanting to participate in the tournament? Your name isn’t in the brackets yet.” Jin said, smiling. “And what’s your name?” he added, directing the question to Joshua.
Jin noticed a flash of jealousy in Joshua’s eyes when he noticed you two holding hands, but said nothing about it. “Joshua. It’s nice to finally be able to come and meet everyone. It’s good to see you, y/n.” Joshua said.
You can’t help the blush that turns your cheeks pink as you nod. Minghao speaks up, not wanting to not answer his hyung, and simultaneously sparing you the pain of coming up with a coherent answer for Joshua.
“Yep, I was about to do that. I didn’t want to sign up because I wanted to make sure I could get him out of the house.” He chuckled, pointing to Joshua.
“Awesome. I’ll go start some of the games now then. If you want to sign up to, Joshua, I can show you how.” Jin offered, gesturing to his computer and offering his help.
“That would be nice, thank you,” Joshua responds, smiling slightly and following Jin to his computer.
Meanwhile, you snuck over to Mark, the current president of the club and say next to him. He was preparing himself for the tournament, and you grabbed your controller to join him. “Mark, I have an issue. Minghao didn’t bring Seokmin like we thought. He brought Joshua.” You tell him.
“And? It’s another of his pack mates. Maybe Seokmin is in rut or something.” He said nonchalantly, choosing to play Mario against your Kirby.
“I just hate it because my friends go missing for like a week and I get lonely,” you whine, doing your best rather than button smashing.
“Yeah. I’m not due until after finals, thankfully. Jin says his is in about a week, which is why he’s being so protective of you.” He responds, glancing back at Jin.
You looked too, only to have Kirby be beaten off the stage and die. Jin seemed to be in an arguement or at least a serious conversation with Joshua, which made you anxious.
“Mark, werewolves can have humans for mates, right?” You ask, causing him to accidentally commit suicide in the game.
He stutters and turns red, looking at you with wide eyes. “Why do you ask?”
You chew on your lip, eyes glued to the television screen. “I’m just curious,” you lie, afraid to tell him the truth.
“Yeah, they can. More often than a werewolf, actually. Mostly because there aren’t as many females. Not that there’s more males born, but it’s a genetic thing where they end up just human.” Mark explains, sounding as though he had an odd amount of knowledge on the subject.
You made a mental note on that, deciding to ask him for help and information if you needed to. His response cleared your head some, and you managed to not be destroyed miserably by him.
After the game ended, Jin gently took your hand, wanting to talk to you. “Hey y/n, can we talk for a minute in the hallway?” He asks, not giving you a chance to say no as you smile apologetically at Mark.
Once you were out of even werewolf earshot, he ran a hand through his hair and sighed, sitting down on one of the many benches in the building.
“I need to be honest with you. I asked to tell you first, and he got upset… but I just want you to know that if you’re scared I’m here for you, okay? It’s a lot to comprehend and I get it if your apprehensive and need time to talk it out and process it. I can keep you safe.” He said, punctuating his last sentence.
“Jin, what’s wrong?” You ask, sitting down next to him, wondering what has him so worked up.
“You probably figured this out or Mark told you, but Joshua is a werewolf… and, well Mark wouldn’t have known this, but… you’re Joshua’s mate.” Jin said, looking you dead in the eye for your reaction.
You’re shocked a little, but also pleasantly surprised. Above all, you’re afraid. Jin sees these emotions flash through your eyes, and opens his arms, welcoming you for a hug. Tears begin to form in your eyes and you shake lightly. You never expected this to happen to you, but now it was your reality. You had no clue what this would mean or how much your life would change because of it. Above all, you were afraid you’d mess things up and ruin the relationship you were apparently destined to have with Joshua.
Despite being afraid, you were also excited. The prospect of Joshua being perfect for you was a relief, and starting a relationship was something you’ve been wanting to do. It just seemed right.
You gladly embrace Jin, tears falling down your face and onto his shirt. You were overwhelmed, and Jin’s arms was a calming and gentle way to get yourself grounded.
Jin gently hushed you as you cried, brushing his fingers through his hair just the way you like it.
“What did you do?” You hear Joshua say, his voice accusing, angry, and sad all at once. “I thought you said she wouldn’t freak out as much if you told her!” He says, clearly frustrated.
A soft whimper left your lips, and you heard a rumbly whine fall from Joshua’s lips. You could tell how upset he was, and it didn’t help your situation.
“She is. She’s not having a full blown meltdown, but this kind of thing can be difficult for y/n to process. Like I said, she’s autistic so cut her some slack. Be a little more empathetic and try to understand.” Jin protectively growled.
Joshua growled back deeply, and your flight response kicked in to get away from the two predators. If Jin’s arms were not secure around you, you would have ended up halfway across campus.
Joshua shifted on his feet, torn between not wanting to back down but also to prove himself worthy of you by getting you calm. He sits down next to Jin, facing you.
“Y/n, I don’t mind taking things slow. I want to get to know you, and will never ever pressure you into doing something you don’t want to or aren’t perfectly comfortable with doing. And if you want, I’ll leave for the tournament or walk you to your dorm, if you’d prefer.” Joshua says slowly and gently, not wanting to upset you further or give you too much information at once.
You start shaking, and Jin gently rocks you. “I want my weighted blanket,” You mumble softly. You thought only Jin would hear, but Joshua easily heard as well.
“Why don’t we get you back to your dorm, hmm? Then you can have your weighted blanket, okay?” Jin assures you, trying to get you to look at him.
When he finds your eyes red and face tear stained, his heart breaks some. Joshua fares worse, and bites his lip harshly to keep from making things worse by getting upset and setting up over the edge on accident.
“Do you want me to walk you back?” Joshua offers, rubbing the back of his neck and feeling awkward.
Your get butterflies in your stomach at the thought and nod, standing up and taking Jin’s hand.
“Let’s get your things, yeah?” Jin responds, guiding you to the game room. He gently ushers you to Joshua and gets your things for you.
You are unsure of yourself because of how overwhelmed you were, but you took a few steps towards Joshua. You end up stumbling, and he easily catches you so you fall into his arms. You stay there for a moment blushing, pulling away to take your backpack from Jin.
“Do you want me to walk with you?” Jin asks, searching your face.
You shake your head no and hug him softly, his embrace a comfort once again. A brief smile flashes on your lips, and Jin knows it’s not genuine but that you are trying. He nods as you turn and leave, Joshua by your side.
Not really knowing what to say, you walked outside, leading the way to your dorm. When Joshua picked that up, he went ahead and began a conversation.
“I’m a business major and in my last year. I was thinking about getting a masters, but I should probably start working first. I have had a good internship for the past two years, and they offered me a full time position. I enjoy it, and it’s not just deskwork. There’s a good amount of networking involved, which is good and bad. It means I’ll have to travel a bit, but I don’t mind. What’s your major, y/n?” Joshua says, his hands in his pockets.
“English. Specifically Literature. My minor is history, because I’m that person.” You respond, giggling a little. “I don’t want to teach. I will have one year left, so I will have to study to get into graduate school. I want to be a librarian.”
Joshua nods, rather impressed. “What kind of degree do you need for that then?”
“A masters in library science. It’s an interesting field, and not just public or school libraries. I think I’d like to work in a university library. I enjoy research.” You admit.
“That’s really neat. What schools are you looking at for that, do you know?” Joshua asks, easily keeping the conversation going.
“Well, there’s a good amount but a lot are hybrid courses and online. I was planning on going in person, but you also have to make sure the school is accredited… But I might not be able to do that now…” You shyly admit, glancing at him as you made it to your building.
Joshua said nothing, wanting to see how things would work out. “Do you want me to walk you to your room, or-?” he offered.
“Um, well… I still have your shirt, so I can give that back to you. Why don’t you come in?” you respond, opening the door with your student ID and letting Joshua in.
“Oh yeah, I nearly forgot about that,” Joshua admits, his ears turning red.
“I’m not sure how clean it will be, so I’m sorry if it’s not. My room itself will be fine, I’m just worried about the living area…” You admit. You were friends with one too many werewolves, and for the rare occasion that they would come over, you always made sure to clean beforehand.
“I normally go up the stairs, because sometimes the elevators smell like vape. Even though they aren’t supposed to vape inside. Plus it’s good exercise… or so my mom tells me.” You ramble some, leading him up two flights of stairs. “And it’s not the worst, because it’s not four or five flights of stairs. So walking is fine.”
“I don’t mind it. Plus there’s the windows to outside too, which is nice.” Joshua responds, gesturing to the big window between the landings.
“It’s nice because I’ll know the weather before I go outside. So if I forget my raincoat or jacket I can go back and get it.” You tell him mindlessly, walking him to your door.
Thankfully, your roommates didn’t leave the room completely trashed, but your neighbors were being noisy… and probably having sex. Joshua’s nose twitched in disgust, and he frowned.
“Do you really have to listen to that a lot?” He asks as there was a particularly louder moan and a few thumps from above you.
“Yep,” you respond, popping the “p” as you went into your closet and procured his borrowed shirt.
“Are you living on campus next year?” he asks, tilting his head inquiringly.
“Yeah. I can’t seem to find roommates willing to live off campus, a place where I would have my own room, an apartment I can afford… The list is pretty long.” I admit, smiling sadly at him.
“Dang… Well, I can, uh, ask my friends if they know of anyone, if you’d like?” Joshua offers, already running through a list of who might know of someone.
“Yeah, that… that would be nice.” You admit, smiling some.
“Oh, by the way… Can I have your number?” Joshua asks, pulling out his phone.
You blush red as he unlocks it and adds a new contact, gingerly taking the device from him. “Yes, I’d love too,” You say softly, and you see him beaming out of the corner of your eye. You put your number in his phone, and he immediately texts you.
Joshua 😊
“I’ll leave you now, if you’d like. Will you be okay?” Joshua asks, tilting his head cutely.
“Yeah, I just… I need some time.” You admit, not meeting his eyes.
“Alright… well, you can text me if you have any questions or anything, okay?”
You nod and can tell he wants to say or do something else, but refrains.
“Will you be able to let yourself out? And not get lost?” You ask, looking down at your feet.
“I’ll be fine. Don’t worry about me, y/n. I’ll see you around, okay?” Joshua responds, turning and leaving you.
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