#she's so tormented. so messed up. i can't stop drawing her someone help

[averlym]

do you want to settle? or do you want to fly?

[nominnation]

Of Fins and Tails

Pairing(s): Jaehyun x Doyoung

Synopsis: Doyoung has a rocky past. A dangerous and deadly past. One that haunts him because, try as he might, he can't escape it. Perhaps he should come clean about his past to his boyfriend. But what if he has passed the appropriate time to reveal such baggage?

How will Jaehyun feel when he finds out that the man he loves is far more complicated than any human?

Warnings: drowning, mentions of major character death, mentions of blood, secrets, supernatural beings.

Word Count: 5100

Author's Notes: This is the second fic in the Qian Manor series. It has been posted on ao3 and amino. I hope you enjoy!

Edit created by Sunny on NCT Amino

1723

Air drifted through an open porthole, chilling the occupants residing in the lower deck prison. A young man, Doyoung, who sat closest to the window, shivered thanks to his fagged and torn clothing that did little to protect him from the harsh environment. He drew his knees to his chest, rattling the freezing shackles locked around his ankles. He wrapped his arms around his knees in an attempt to capture warmth, the handcuffs tightly chained around his wrists restricting his movement. He curled himself into a small ball against the wall of the ship hull, head resting against the porthole bolted into the frame.

“Do you want a blanket?” a kind voice asked in a whisper.

Doyoung looked up to see a boy, no older than fourteen, offering him a smelly, rat-gnawed blanket. Doyoung would like the blanket. It wouldn’t be much, but it would be more than he had. However, as he glanced around the prison where he and fifteen other people had been forced into, he couldn’t bring himself to take the blanket. Mothers with young children were already struggling to keep them warm against the cold, half of them holding their children to their breasts with blue lips. He couldn’t accept a blanket for warmth when so many others were freezing. A blanket, torn or not, could mean the difference between life and death for some of them.

“Give it to someone else,” Doyoung answered.

As he spoke, another gust of wind blew through the porthole, immediately illiceting a shiver from him.

The boy gave him a sympathetic glance but nodded and turned to drape the blanket of a mother who held a bundled up two year old against her body. She smiled at the boy gratefully and snuggled into the blanket. It wasn’t much, but it’d keep her warm for a little longer.

“Who do these people think they are,” Doyoung mumbled to himself.

He must have been too loud, or perhaps he just had rotten luck, because a moment later, the metal door burst open and a bulky man wearing stained brown pants, a ripping white shirt, and a velvet red coat stormed in. He had a mop of long, greasy hair and a black pirate hat perched atop.

“I’d watch your mouth if I were you!” he sneered.

Doyoung couldn’t help but to roll his eyes at the man. It wasn’t their fault that they were in this situation and hated it. Most of them were there for no reason. Sure, some of them had been previous thieves, including the boy who’d offered him a blanket, but the rest of them? They were just random people in the wrong place at the wrong time. Doyoung amongst them.

“Why don’t you just let us go? We’re not animals. You can’t keep us caged up down here like animals!” he snapped.

He knew it was the wrong thing to say before he said it, but he couldn’t help it. He had held his tongue for long enough. These pirates had kept all of them down here until selling certain ones off to slave traders or until one of them died from hypothermia or malnourishment. He was sick of watching them die.

The pirate stepped into the room, a glare sharp across his face. Out of the corner of his eye, Doyoung saw a mother draw her child closer, protectively. He felt sorry for her. He had caused this with his mouth, but something had to be said.

“We can keep you here for as long as we see fit. No one even knows you rats are missing!” The pirate venomously tongued.

A growl made its way from Doyoung’s mouth.

“You’re a bunch of dirty rotten pirates and one day, you’ll pay for the torment you put these people through!” He yelled.

The second the words were out of his mouth, he knew he’d messed up. His eyes grew wide and he put his hands over his mouth.

“N-no! I didn’t-”

But the damage was already done. Before Doyoung could comprehend what was happening, a fist was colliding against his nose, knocking him back against the wall. As his head hit it, his jaw clenched and he bit down on his tongue. Blood pooled into his mouth, dripping down his jaw. He let out a loud whimper, but he didn’t have time to check the damage done to his tongue before his shackles were yanked. Pain sprouted through his body.

“Doyoung!” he heard someone yell.

“Shut up!” the captain yelled.

The sound of a body hitting the floor and Doyoung wanted to object. To tell them to let him get whatever brutal punishment awaited him, but he gurgled on his own blood, the thick liquid dripping down his throat.

It didn’t matter anyway. He was yanked from the prison faster than anyone else could intervene. As soon as he was out of the door, his head smacked against the metal frame and his vision tunneled before going black.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The sun beat down on his face, bringing a small smile to his face. Freedom. They must have set him free. Finally.

“Look at this! The boys’ smiling!” a wicked voice spoke near his head.

His eyes slowly cracked open, the first thing his eyes catching being the black sail of the ship. So, he wasn’t free…

His heart sank. There was no telling what they were going to do with him now, but he doubted he’d be allowed back with the other prisoners. He never considered being down there with them was a blessing.

“You’ve got a big mouth boy,” another voice sneered.

Doyoung closed his eyes. He didn’t want to see what they had in store for him. Maybe they’d have mercy. Perhaps he’d made them angry enough they’d just slit his throat and be done with it.

He was never that lucky.

One of the greasy pirates grabbed his forearm tightly, too tightly for comfort, but even as he grimaced, the hold didn’t loosen. Instead, he was dragged up from the ground roughly. He let out a yelp as he was tugged a little too hard, his jelly legs too weak to balance himself, but the pirates showed no mercy.

It was only when he was standing that Doyoung realized his once shackled feet were now bound by a thick, irritating rope tied so tightly around his ankles he couldn’t even shuffle.

“Normally, with someone as loud and irritating as you, we’d hand them over to the captain, let him teach ya lessons the hard way,” one pirate spoke, his voice low and gravely.

“But, he’s too busy right now, with us closing in on land and all, so he doesn’t have time to teach ya the lesson below your belt,” another sneered.

Doyoung felt his stomach tie in knots. Below the belt…? They didn’t mean…?

“So we’ll just have to dispose of you the good ole fashion way!” another spoke, a wicked grin plastered on his face.

Before Doyoung had time to process what this meant, the pirate holding his arm yanked him forward. He went tumbling down, unable to move his feet to compensate for the sudden lurch. Laughter erupted around him and Doyoung’s face burned, although he wasn’t sure if it was more from embarrassment or anger.

Another hand gripped his other arm just as tightly as the first and the two arms hauled him into his feet again before dragging him across the spintery deck, his bare feet catching on raised pieces of wood that sliced his feet open. He was dragged up two steps, toes crashing against the edges of the steps, making him wince, until finally, he knew what was about to happen. Tears sprang to his eyes as he struggled, but it was no use. The pirates simply laughed at him as the two holding him pushed him out onto a short board dangling over the water.

“You should have kept your mouth shut boy,” one of the pirates sneered at him.

Doyoung stared down at the roaring waves splashing below him. He didn’t know how to swim! Even if he did, his feet were bound so tightly, he wouldn’t be able to anyway!

“No! Please!” he begged.

Hot tears burned liquidated lines down his cheeks as he begged for his life, but the laughter of the pirates only grew.

“See you in Hell, boy,” the same voice said darkly.

A hard, sharp object was plunged into his back, opening up a large, gaping wound that immediately began pouring blood even before he went plunging into the water.

Doyoung didn’t have time to take a breath before being submerged under the salty ocean waters. He had no stored up air and the pain in his back was nearly unbearable. He struggled to get his feet free, to at least make them move, desperately reaching for the surface, praying for just a bit of oxygen, but as his blood stained the water red, his body sank deeper. His eyes locked on the ship sailing above water. The ship full of hateful pirates who, as he struggled not to fill his lungs with water, would pay for their transgressions.

He lost the battle with his body, his eyes already closing from blood loss, his mind fizzing in and out of consciousness. He inhaled the salty water, filling his lungs and choking.

His body flailed, rejecting the insufficient oxygen, desperately seeking air that would never come. His heartbeat hammered in his ears and, here in the silence of the ocean, suffering his death, he swore he saw movement rapidly moving toward him.

His eyes closed. A shark must have smelt his body and come for dinner, but he couldn’t find it in himself to care any longer as his mind finally stopped responding and his body stopped struggling.

Kim Doyoung was completely unaware of the arms wrapping around his body or the journey he was about to embark upon.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When Doyoung opened his eyes, he was laying flat on his back. The first thing he noticed was that he wasn’t wearing a shirt. The second was the thin stretch of decorative twine across his chest, tying him to the surface which seemed too hard to be a bed. The third happened when he let out a scream and thrashed about for freedom, bubbles rising from his scream that told him he was most likely underwater.

Confused, Doyoung opened his mouth to take a breath, sure he was dreaming or in some weird state of mind, but as he swallowed in a mouthful of water, his body expelling the liquid, filtrating it out of holes in his neck and keeping the oxygen, he let out a yelp. He could breathe? Underwater?

He was beyond confused, but as he looked around the area he was in, his eyes caught something right below him. A long, scaly, blue-grey tail.

His eyes narrowed. Who did the tail belong to?

He reached out a leg to touch it, however, as he did this, he realized two things. One, he couldn’t feel his own leg and two, when he’d attempted to make a leg work, the tail itself had flexed.

“What the hell?!” Doyoung screeched.

He shook his shoulders hard, hard enough he was able to free an arm from the twine tying him to the surface. He brought his hand down around the twine to pull it free from his body, but as he did this, his gaze fixed on his arm. His skin was there, but on several parts of his skin, skin that was close to the bone, there were blue-grey scales shimmering in a dim light. But that wasn’t the only freaky thing. His nails were also an inch longer, pushing way past the end of his finger. They were sharpened to a point and the same, blue-grey color as the scales.

What the hell was happening to him?! Was this some prank? Or some lucid dream as he dies?!

Regardless of his confusion, his first need was to free himself from this twine. Once he was free, then he could worry about what the hell was going on.

He grabbed his hand around the twine and yanked, surprising himself with the amount of strength he had. The twine broke free from his body.

As soon as he was free, he pushed himself off the bed, but, as soon as he lifted, a sharp pain from his back shot through him, forcing him back down as he thrashed and whined.

“Careful. You aren’t healed yet,” a voice he didn’t recognize spoke.

This immediately caught his attention. He flashed up and looked around the room his was in frantically before finally, his eyes caught sight of long, brown hair floating aimlessly in the water. He narrowed his eyes and, as if coming out of her hiding place, a woman emerged.

She had piercing blue eyes and a slender body. She had a seashell bra that seemed to just barely cover her breasts. Doyoung blushed but he couldn’t look away, his eyes trailing lower, questioning what was going on. His eyes caught scales similar to his own on her arms and, with that, his eyes traveled below her waist where he gaped at her long, shimmering, green fish tail.

“What- how- huh-?” he stammered.

The woman smiled softly at him and moved… swam closer.

“My name is Magnolia, but everyone calls me Maggie,” she spoke, her voice sounding crystal clear in his head, not at all gurgled by the water.

Actually, looking at her, there were no bubbles coming from her mouth that wasn’t even moving.

“I am a Siren. I heard your cry for revenge on the pirates that hurt you, and I granted your wish,” she said.

Doyoung gaped at her.

“How- How can I hear you?” he stammered.

Bubbles flew from his mouth as he spoke.

“Don’t try to speak underwater. It is quite difficult. All of us have a telepathic link that, while in range, allows us to communicate,” she said.

Doyoung didn’t really understand, but he tried to.

“How did you grant my wish? Are the pirates dead?” he thought.

It seems he’d accomplished his goal when the woman gave him a small nod and a smile.

“No. They are responsible for your death. It is your choice to punish them as you wish,” she said.

Death? But… that wasn’t possible! He was alive! Unless this was Heaven, which he highly doubted.

“Don’t be alarmed. You did die. Your body bled out and you succumbed to the water, but, due to the violence of your death and your prayer for revenge, you were born again as a Siren.”

Doyoung stared at her, stunned and overwhelmed. A Siren? But they didn’t exist! Now she was telling him he was one!

“I-I…”

His vision tunneled and his body stopped responding as he lost consciousness once more.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When Doyoung came to again, he could feel the warmth of the sun on his face, bringing a smile to his lips. He took in a deep breath that, at first, he expected to be full of water, but when he gulped down a mouth full of oxygen, his eyes flew open.

His back was pressed against the shore of a sandy beach. Waves lolled against the sand, keeping Doyoung from ever being completely dry.

It all must have been a dream. He must have somehow swam to the shore and washed up on the beach.

His body felt sore and stiff from laying in one spot for so long, but as he shuffled, he was able to sit himself upright. As he sat up, he took in his surroundings. The island was small and rocky. Jagged rocks plunged from the water around the shore of the island. The rocks were splattered with blood and surrounded by pieces of ships that had no doubt run onto the rocks. How in the world had he floated onto the island without being ripped to shreds by the rocks?! Had someone carried him?

As he looked down, he had his answer. A long, blue-grey tail shimmered in the sunlight. The scales were mostly dry, but the waves crashing onto the shore kept it moist enough.

So it wasn’t a dream.

“Oh good, you're awake,” a voice spoke near him.

He turned around to catch sight of the same brunette woman he’d seen below water.

“What am I doing here?” he asked.

His eyes trailed over her. The first thing he noticed about her was that she was walking, with human legs! Her fishtail nowhere in sight!

“This is one of the islands we populate. This one is a newer one, so the elders thought to bring you here,” she explained.

This boggled Doyoung’s brain. We? Elders? Just how big was this group of Sirens.

As if reading his mind, the woman, whom he remembered as Maggie, answered.

“There are more Sirens in the world than you might think. Some live deeper in the ocean, choosing not to be a part of our life while others choose to live on land with humans,” she explained.

“So… I’m a Siren now too… So what will I do?” he asked.

“That’s up to you. You may live on this island with the few of us that live here too and learn the way of the Sirens, luring sailors to our island and devouring them, you may choose to live far beneath the sea, or you may choose to roam with the humans,” she explained.

Doyoung’s head was spinning. So many choices to make!

“If I decide to stay on this island, can I change my mind later?” he asked.

“Of course! We’ll always be your family, but you are free to go as you please,” she answered.

This forced a breath out of Doyoung’s chest. At least he wouldn’t be forced into sticking with whatever decision he made now.

“What exactly do Sirens do?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Unbeknownst to him at the time, this question opened a large can of worms that led him into spending the next 50 years projecting his newly acquired angelic voice off the island, luring in unsuspecting pirates and sailors. As their ships crashed into the rocks and the dazzled humans made their way onto the island, Doyoung and the rest of his kin ripped open their throats with their razor-like claws and drank in the sweet blood that tasted of wine on their tongues.

Doyoung even had the pleasure of ripping the heart out of the captain that had captured him all those years ago. Actually, it was the captain and the events thereafter that had him where he was today, sitting in a long, porcelain bathtub with his tail stretching over the side.

Doyoung had first become a Siren for revenge. Revenge on the pirates that had killed him. He had lost sight of that over the years until he and his kinfolk had lured the ship onto the rocky shore.

Everyone that Doyoung had known were long since gone, but there were new prisoners aboard, prisoners that had begged for their lives while Doyoung’s bloodthirsty, revengeful mind tore the captain apart.

He felt no remorse for the captain. It was his fault Doyoung had even become a Siren, but as he sat up and watched his fellow kinfolk rip the prisoners who hadn’t done anything wrong to shreds, he couldn’t take the life any longer.

They were innocent, yet, because they were human, their blood spilled on the rocks, even the blood of the purest human of them all, a small, three year old child who died at the hands of the man Doyoung had come to trust. The man Doyoung had fallen hard for, only to be let down at the males intolerance for humanity.

“I want to leave,” he’d told Maggie a few nights later.

And, with that, Doyoung packed away his few belongings and dived into the sea, leaving everyone he’d come to know and love behind.

He’d swum to another land mass, a mass he recognized slightly, but after so many years, a lot had changed.

He pulled himself out of the harbor and began a new life pretending to be human, only feeding when absolutely necessary and, even then, only on the fish he caught during a swim.

Present Day

A knock on the bathroom door tore Doyoung from his reverie. His body jolted, splashing water onto the floor.

“Babe? Is everything ok? You’ve been in there a while!” his boyfriend's voice spoke on the other side.

Doyoung exhaled.

He had wandered from place to place on the Asian continent for about 3 years before finally making his way back to his hometown. There, he had met a man by the name of Qian Kun, a Chinese male who had relocated to South Korea many years before. The two became fast friends and Kun became the only “human” that knew Doyoung’s secret.

Turns out, Kun himself wasn’t human either, but a vampire that had actually been born a century before Doyoung.

Kun offered Doyoung a place to stay in his mansion along with a few other people, some human, some not.

It was there that Doyoung met Jung Jaehyun, the human that would thaw his frozen heart and teach him the goodness of the world again.

Jaehyun was human when they’d met, but it wasn’t long after Jaehyun, a broke college student, had moved in, that an unfortunate accident involving a rogue werewolf in the woods.

Jaehyun was bitten by a newly turned wolf and became a wolf himself. A wolf that had broken up with Doyoung for about a year until Johnny and Yukhei had come to live at the house, Johnny an alpha werewolf and Yukhei, his best friend and beta.

Johnny and Jaehyun had hated each other at first, Jaehyun presenting as an alpha, but after a huge fight in the backyard that ended with Doyoung and Taeyong nursing Jaehyun’s wounds, Jaehyun joined the small “pack” between Yukhei and Johnny.

There was never another issue. Except for the small fact that Doyoung had never told anyone but Kun and Taeyong the truth about his past, or the true creature he was, too ashamed to admit the awful things he had done.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The door handle jiggled, causing Doyoung to jump again.

“Doie! Are you ok?” Jaehyun spoke, voice dripped in concern.

Doyoung’s stomach dropped in guilt. Jaehyun had always been open with him about what he was, granted, Doyoung was there when he became what he was, but still, Jaehyun was always open. Doyoung hadn’t returned the courtesy.

“I’m fine Jae! I just got lost in my thoughts!” he responded.

It wasn’t completely a lie.

“Come to my room when you get out, ok? I want to talk to you about something.”

Doyoung didn’t respond as he heard Jaehyun walk away. What was he going to do? Could he tell Jaehyun now and let everything be ok? Could they survive the truth after Doyoung had hid it for so long.

He pulled the plug holding the water in the tub. The water had long since grown cold, something Doyoung hardly noticed anymore.

As the water drained, he pulled himself off the bathtub floor and held himself up until he was sitting on the edge.

Learning how to bathe without leaving the room with a shredded bathroom had been a challenge, but he’d eventually learned.

He lifted his dripping tail from the water, flicking water off his scales before sliding it gently onto the tiled bathroom floor. He shivered at the contact as he reached for a towel hanging nearby, careful not to shred it with his long fingernails.

He dried his upper body first before getting a fresh towel and running it down his tail, drying the scales and his flipper.

Once dry, he rested his tail on a dry towel laying in the floor and waited for his tail to disappear back into two legs.

He didn’t have to wait long before he was able to push himself off the side of the bathtub and walk out the door. Usually, he liked to double check the bathtub and scoop out any scales that had fallen from his tail. In his haste to get to Jaehyun’s room, he had forgotten.

As he stepped into Jaehyun’s room, the younger male instantly gave him a smile and trotted over. He looked like a puppy excited to see its owner and, had Jaehyun been in wolf form, he was sure the males tail would be wagging.

“What did you want?” Doyoung asked.

His question immediately brought a pout to Jaehyun’s lips. Doyoung shook his head with a little laugh and moved closer. He pressed a soft kiss to Jaehyun’s lips.

“I just wanted to talk. To hang out. We never do that anymore,” Jaehyun said.

Instantly, Doyoung felt bad. He hadn’t intended to ignore his boyfriend. Fact was, he just didn’t know how to tell Jaehyun the truth after he’d been hiding it for so long.

“I’m sorry baby. Let’s talk,” he said.

He made his way over to Jaehyun’s bed. He laid down on one side, immediately pressing his face into Jaehyun’s pillow that always smelled like the woods and Jaehyun’s Old Spice shampoo.

Jaehyun slid onto the bed on the other side and wrapped an arm around Doyoung’s waist, drawing a smile from the male in question as he snuggled closer against his boyfriends broad chest. This was probably his favorite place. A place where nothing else in the world mattered besides the two of them.

“You know I love you,” Jaehyun spoke.

His voice vibrated in his chest, causing Doyoung to shudder as chills sprouted up his arms.

“I love you too,” he whispered.

He didn’t realize until Jaehyun smirked how breathless he had sounded.

He blushed and curled closer to hide his face in Jaehyun’s chest, but the werewolf seemed to have another plan, cupping Doyoung’s face and drawing him to his mouth. Minty breath brushed against Doyoung’s lips as they grew closer. He closed his eyes and parted his lips slightly.

Jaehyun moved slowly. He was teasing him, and Doyoung loved every minute of it, because, the second Jaehyun’s warm lips pressed against his own, Doyoung melted into the males arms, butterflies erupting in his stomach and heart pounding in his chest.

The two had kissed before, of course, but Doyoung could’t get over the feeling every time his boyfriend kissed him. It always felt like the first kiss. And Doyoung wouldn’t have it any other way.

One of Jaehyun’s arms stayed securely wrapped around Doyoung’s waist, keeping him pressed flush against his chest while the other wound into Doyoung’s hair, tugging slightly and eliciting a small groan from Doyoung’s throat.

Doyoung’s hands gripped onto Jaehyun’s shirts, holding on for dear life, as if he’d lose Jaehyun in an abyss if he let go.

Oh how right he was.

Jaehyun’s hand had just slipped under the bottom of Doyoung’s shirt, fingers tracing delicately over the skin, when the door burst open.

The two quickly pulled away, fixing their eyes on the door where Donghyuck stood, hand slapped over his eyes.

“Geez! It’s 6 in the evening! At least wait until everyone's asleep!” the male complained.

Doyoung groaned and shot the younger a glare. It wasn’t harsh, but not soft either.

“What do you want Hyuckie?” Jaehyun asked.

Donghyuck walked into the room, making himself at home, much to Doyoung’s annoyance.

“I was just in the bathroom,” Donghyuck began.

“Congratulations,” Doyoung retorted sarcastically.

Donghyuck shot Doyoung a smirk and, almost instantly, his annoyance at the male turned to fear.

“Hyuckie-?” Doyoung questioned nervously.

“I found these in the bathroom after Doyoung hyungs shower!”

Donghyuck presented two blue-gray fish scales.

Doyoung paled and reached up to snatch the scales, but Jaehyun was faster.

“Oh, fish scales! Doyoung must have been cleaning his fish tank,” Jaehyun responded with a shrug, taking the scales from Donghyuck’s palm.

Donghyuck stared at him incredulously.

“Hyung doesn’t have a fish tank…”

“Thank you for getting them out of the drain, hyuckie! You have really saved Taeyong hyung some trouble cleaning! He already has enough to deal with in the drains with the way Johnny, Yukhei, and I all shed,” Jaehyun said.

With a wave of his hand, he dismissed Donghyuck who stood there flabbergasted before turning around and leaving the room.

Doyoung slid himself away from Jaehyun slightly to look at the man who had covered for him. He didn’t have a fish tank. Jaehyun had acted so cool about the whole thing. Did he suspect Doyoung had gone fishing or something? No. He was way too chill for that. He hadn’t questioned Doyoung at all. But that could only mean…

“How’d you find out,” Doyoung muttered.

He hung his head and sat up, expecting to be kicked out of the room at any second.

“You’re not as stealthy as you like to think,” Jaehyun spoke.

Doyoung flinched at his voice and closed his eyes.

“You were stressed and upset about a month ago because of so much chaos in the house. That night, you ran from the house. Do you remember?”

Doyoung nodded. He remembered that night like it was yesterday. He had bolted from the house and through the city, never stopping until he got to the empty harbor on the other edge of town. He’d jumped into the water and as soon as the water had closed over his head, encasing him in silence, he’d instantly felt better.

He’d swum for a while, debating on whether or not to go back. Part of him wanted to just disappear. But they were his family and no matter how chaotic they got, Doyoung would always go back.

The second he’d slipped back onto the dock, Kun had been waiting for him with a towel. They’d sat out there drying Doyoung off for an hour where Kun comforted him.

“I followed you. Or rather, I followed your scent to the harbor. I was worried but I watched Kun talk to you. I saw your secret. At first, I was angry that you didn’t tell me. But I talked to Kun and I understood. So, I decided to wait for you to tell me. Did you not trust me enough sooner?” he asked.

There was a hint of pain in his voice that brought tears to Doyoung eyes.

“No I do… It was just… I waited to tell you at first. Then I kept pushing it off out of fear. I was afraid you’d think I was a freak…”

The tears dripped down his face now, droplets hitting the soft blankets before Jaehyun wrapped his arms around him and pulled him back into his chest.

“Baby, you know I love you, right?”

Doyoung looked up at him, eyes still glassy. He turned around and buried his face back in his boyfriend's chest.

It felt so nice to be accepted.

“I love you too.”