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[vixx-is-my-light]

Can I Alohomora Your Heart? (Or Do I Need a Key)

There are two unknown students running around as illegally unregistered animagi and Prefects Wonshik and Hongbin are tasked with catching them

or

Rabin on a wild goose chase trying to catch two cats 

|Ravi/Hongbin|5033 words|

(cross-posted from my AO3 - exo_miracles)

Half the names on the list had already been crossed off. It's only Monday and Hongbin and Wonshik are more than ready to call it quits. Just because they are prefects doesn't mean they should be forced to do slave work like this. It's understandable though why they were chosen for the job by their Heads of Houses. Although they just became fifth years and were chosen to be prefects along with many others, Hongbin and Wonshik are well known in the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw houses as they both exemplify their houses' characteristics.

Hongbin is one of the most hard working and supporting students despite all the sass he throws left and right. When he's in a good mood some of the students swear they see flowers sprouting in his wake when he graces them with his presence (although that rumour may have started due to Sanghyuk's prank that really did make flowers grow anywhere he went). Wonshik on the other hand may not be a total bookworm like most Ravenclaws but he does have a knack for easily learning and even creating his own theories. When Sanghyuk comes begging for help with Potions or Charms homework, Wonshik usually rattles off a load of information that Sanghyuk has to filter through and determine what's actually relevant.

And so they were tasked with what now seems like an impossible investigation. "Really, is it necessary to spend all this effort looking for cats?" Hongbin whines for the nth time. Wonshik shakes his head fondly at his slumped over partner. "You know they're just not normal cats Binnie, they're two students running around in plain sight as illegally unregistered animagi." "That's what I just said." Wonshik shakes his head again before looking at the list again. "Okay so next on the list is...Hyukkie." Hongbin slumps further to ground, "Just kill me now."

The smoke and fumes currently swirling in the air are an acidic shade of green. It contrasts horridly with the fiery red hair of the person brewing the potion. Wonshik looks about nervously before asking, "Hyuk you're sure this stuff is okay to breathe in right?" The younger boy looks up from his cauldron with an innocent look. "Of course it is, do you think I'd be brewing anything that's not textbook safe without permission?" Wonshik and Hongbin share a look, the answer is pretty obvious but neither say anything for fear of pranks worse than flowers. "Okay just answer our questions and we'll leave you to brew...whatever this stuff is." "What's in it for me?" The Slytherin fourth year asks while grinning at them. Hongbin moves forward as if to hit Sanghyuk on his head but shies away when the boy holds up some sharp snake fangs which he throws into the cauldron. "How about help with all your homework for a month?" Wonshik tries. "No." "A new broomstick?" "No." "A free pass to forbidden section of the library?" "No." "New illegal potions ingredients?" "Tempting but no." "What do you want, a dragon!?" Hongbin finally yells in frustration. "Well hyung if you insist, although I was going for food from the kitchens whenever I want. But I'll take the dragon." Hongbin splutters while Wonshik rubs a hand over his face.

"Just kidding, I'll take the potions ingredients." The Slytherin grins unashamedly at them, "Okay I can't give you exact names but I'll give you a hint. An animagus usually has certain features or marks that tie them to their human form right?" Wonshik and Hongbin nod in unison. "And you know what these cats look like right?" "No but I'm gonna skin them alive when we catch them for making us go through all this..." Hongbin's rant is cut short as Wonshik covers his mouth. Hongbin glares daggers at his partner who studiously ignored him. "Two cats, one solid black and the other solid orange. The two have matching white marks on their chests which seem to be a crescent moon and sun respectively." Wonshik rattles off in one breath then removes his hand from Hongbin's mouth. "Right so what brilliant insight can you lend us?" Hongbin asks in a suffering tone. "Obviously you need to find two people with sun and moon markings hyung." Wonshik restrains Hongbin from strangling the younger boy. "We know that Hyukkie but we just can't go around stripping people," Wonshik replies patiently. Sanghyuk smirks at Hongbin who is still struggling to free himself. "The thing is you guys just don't know where to look, but the answer's right there."

Wonshik and Hongbin stop their struggling to stare at Sanghyuk. When they obviously still don't get where he's going Sanghyuk shakes his head in disappointment, stirring some fairy wings into the cauldron. "Exactly why did they choose you guys to be prefects again?" Before Hongbin has a chance to retort Sanghyuk continues, "Obviously they're not birthmarks so they've got to be tattoos. All you need to do is find the artist. And luckily for you I happen to know the only student that does illegal astronomical tattoos in this school." He drops a dried bat wing into the cauldron before looking up at them with an uncharacteristically serious gaze. "But if I tell you who he is you can't report him."

"Why shouldn't we? We only let you off because you're our youngest friend and we like you-" Hongbin makes a protesting noise which Wonshik ignores, "-but it's against the rules to have a tattoo business running and we don't know this guy." "J-just because hyung..." Hongbin stares at the younger boy, observing the stuttering and his cheeks and ears that have been stained red. The kid looks cute and Hongbin wants to squish his cheeks but he restrains himself. He exchanges a knowing look with Wonshik before turning back to Sanghyuk. "Ooh our Hyoggie has a crush~" Hongbin coos in a disgustingly sweet voice. "Okay, okay Hyukkie we'll make an exception just for you." Wonshik hurriedly tells him before Hongbin can embarrass the boy anymore.

Sanghyuk avoids their gaze, stirring the cauldron when he tells them, "He's in Hongbin's house but he's a sixth year. You'll find him on the Astronomy Tower on Friday night after classes are done. He'll talk to you if you tell him I sent you." "Thanks Hyukkie, you helped us a lot. We'll just ask him for help and that's it," Wonshik assures the younger while fluffing his red hair. "Yeah and we'll see if the crush is mutual too or we'll beat him up for you," Hongbin teases as he flicks Sanghyuk's hair up to look like he has two horns. Sanghyuk whines in Wonshik's direction for mercy.  "Alright stop teasing him Binnie...although the horns suit him, he really looks like satan now." Wonshik stops when he sees Sanghyuk pouting, "Sorry, sorry we'll stop." Which is a wise decision otherwise the Slytherin's pranks might really escalate from flowers if they tease him anymore.

*****

By Thursday Wonshik and Hongbin had finally finished the list. They had questioned and even followed many students but all the info they got only served to make the job more difficult. A Hufflepuff sixth year by the name of Seokjin said that one night when he had sneaked into the kitchens for a late night snack he saw the black cat drinking a bowl of milk. After the cat had left, looking satisfied and licking his lips, Seokjin discovered that it was not milk the cat had been drinking but coffee. Another student, Minseok, a seventh year Gryffindor, had spotted the orange cat while on his way to the Quidditch pitch one early morning. The cat was walking away from the back of the greenhouse were non-magical flowers and plants were grown. The cat was holding an azalea by its stem in his mouth, trotting along happily back to the castle. And lastly a sixth year Slytherin, Eunji, had seen the two cats curled around each other sleeping in an unused section of the library. When they asked her why she never reported it her reply was that they looked so cute together so all she did was take a picture of them.

At first the picture looked like a muggle picture, unmoving, but upon closer inspection the cats were quietly breathing and their ears and entwined tails twitching. Seeing no harm in the picture they left Eunji with it, the girl squealing about the cute cats and how she wanted to see them again. Needless to say by the end of the day Wonshik and Hongbin were exhausted and both left for their respective dorms with Hongbin muttering about and the lack of common sense and the incompetence of Hogwarts' students and "Why couldn't they have simply caught them and save us all this trouble."

It's Friday and when the two prefects meet up for breakfast they both look tired but still hopeful because it's Friday and they're meeting Sanghyuk's tattoo artist that night. Unfortunately they still have their normal class to attend before night so they both split to go to class. During the day they still see each other and during lunch they see Sanghyuk with his usual partner in crime, Sungjae, at the Slytherin table. Afterwards Wonshik and Hongbin make sure to steer clear out of the way whenever they spot either of the two fourth year Slytherin boys. The day ends without much incident thankfully and the two prefects set a meeting place up for later in the night and meanwhile they finish up homework and their normal prefect duties.

It's one o'clock in the night when Wonshik and Hongbin promised to meet and Hongbin mentally curses the cats in his head while climbing up flights of moving staircases to meet Wonshik. He's a tired mess of limbs, struggling to make it to the tapestry where Wonshik was supposed to be. Just as he's sure he's going to fall right over, strong arms wrap around his waist and move to lean him against the wall. Wonshik is looking at him with careful worried eyes, his icy blue hair falling into his eyes. "Binnie you know I can do this on my own, go back and get some sleep." Hongbin can't help the faint blush, reddening his cheeks. Wonshik is holding him a little too close and he hates seeming like he's weak, especially to the Ravenclaw. He straightens up, dismissing his thumping heart and heated face. "Never mind me, lets go see this artist that managed to capture Hyuk's heart." Wonshik still looks troubled like he wants to say something but he nods instead and leads the way to the Astronomy Tower.

*****

"Jaehwan?!" Hongbin looks at the familiar face of one Lee Jaehwan who's sitting at the edge of the Tower. "Hey Bin, here for a late night star gazing date?" Jaehwan asks suggestively, wiggling his eyebrows meaningfully at Wonshik who chokes on spit when he hears the older Hufflepuff. Hongbin's had enough of this whole blushing thing so he does what he does best and slaps Jaehwan on the back of his head. "No and...wait you're Hyuk's crush? You?! I thought the kid had better taste." Wonshik doesn't even bother to try and stop Hongbin but sends a mental apology to Sanghyuk. "What do you mean by better taste?!" Jaehwan starts off indignantly but stops as he takes in the rest of what Hongbin said. "Oh...Oh...so that's why he's so nice to me and doesn't set snakes on me like Sungjae does." Jaehwan says with a tone of wonder and surprise. Then he starts grinning, "So apparently Hyukkie told you I'd be here, what do you want?"

"You gave two students a sun and moon tattoo didn't you?" Wonshik asks. Jaehwan gestures around him as if the answer wasn't blaringly obvious enough. Now that Wonshik takes a proper look at his surroundings, he sees various vials filled with swirling and glittering ink and parchment with sketches scattered all over the floor. "Uh right, so you did...even though this stuff's against the rules." Jaehwan raises an eyebrow at Wonshik, "I'm pretty sure my little ink patterns are nothing compared to what our little Slytherin friends get away with." Hongbin holds up a hand between the two of them, "Relax we're not going to report you or anything unless we want Hyuk either crying or sending snakes on us, we promised him." "He did that?" Jaehwan asks, grinning again. "Yeah and I promised I'd beat you up if you don't be nice to him," Hongbin says. "Have no fear Bin, you have no need to and besides violence doesn't match that pretty face of yours." "I'll take that as a compliment." "But that mouth of yours also doesn't match your face." Wonshik once again finds himself holding back Hongbin from throttling someone.

After they finally settle down, Wonshik tries to question Jaehwan again. "So will you tell us who the two students are?" "Should I?" Jaehwan asks playfully. "It's not like we want to know," Hongbin says tiredly, "So can you help us or not?" Jaehwan looks at them for a while then sighs. "You guys know you interrupted me right? I was sketching out new tattoos," he says while looking at the starlit sky. Despite knowing better, Wonshik lets his curiosity get the better of him, he's always wanted a tattoo anyhow. "Can we see what the process is like?" Hongbin looks surprised at his request. "Sure if you want," Jaehwan replies easily. He lifts his wand and dips it into one of the vials of sparkling ink then lifts it as he says a complicated bit of enchantment that neither prefects are familiar with. After he traces patterns into the air while looking at the sky through the telescope he has next to him. The ink, sparkling like actual stars are mixed in, remains hovering in the air like intricately woven web. Then with another muttered spell he uses his wand to guide the ink onto the blank parchment. The tattoo is still sparkling on the parchment, a constellation, but Wonshik doesn't remember which one. "Wow, that's actually really cool," he says and Hongbin nods in agreement. "Thank you, at least you appreciate my illegal artwork," Jaehwan says, looking proud. "But I guess that's not gonna distract you long huh?" Hongbin shakes his head in response.

Jaehwan sighs in frustration. He looks like he wants to say something but can't. "Okay I'll help but answer some of my questions first?" The prefects agree, sleepy and just wanting some answers. Jaehwan looks at Hongbin first, "How's Quidditch going this term Bin?" Not the question he was expecting but Hongbin answers regardless. As one of the best Seekers on the team in recent years, Hongbin's always practicing in his free time but hasn't been able to recently because of the cats. He shrugs, "It's okay, we won against Gryffindor but Slytherin's stepping up their game. Taekwoon's the new captain and he's not making things easy for us. They won against Ravenclaw so it's Slytherin versus Hufflepuff for the final match. We have a bet on the outcome. If he wins he gets coffee whenever he wants for two weeks." "And if you win?" Jaehwan asks. Wonshik snickers, knowing the answer as he was there when the bet took place. Hongbin grins, "He has to be Hyuk's personal assistant whenever he's brewing potions for a month." "Ah he's gonna die." Jaehwan shakes his head in sympathy, knowing first hand how Sanghyuk tends to man handle the seventh year Slytherin. Wonshik nods his head in agreement, although he enjoys seeing the youngest bully their quiet friend.

This time Jaehwan asks Wonshik another seemingly random question, "How's the gardening club going these days? I heard there have been some arguments about the non-magical plants you guys are growing." Wonshik scowls in response. "The argument started as a result of some stupid pureblood kid who didn't want 'unnecessary, useless muggle stuff' growing here. But Hakyeon's the captain of the club and he was the one who started growing the non-magical plants in the first place. Not to mention he's the Head Boy so no one's really worried about it." "Oh, that's good to hear," Jaehwan says. "I suppose Taekwoon and Hakyeon are really busy these days, no wonder I don't see them so often anymore." Wonshik and Hongbin nod, not sure where Jaehwan was going with his questions. "We know, they have more duties than we know of but they always try to help us out when we need it," Wonshik says. Jaehwan looks at the prefects for a while before deciding finally, "Okay I'll help you guys figure out who these cats are but only because I trust you not to do anything stupid when you find out."

When Wonshik and Hongbin finally leave the Astronomy Tower they're tired and sleepy and just about ready to drop to the floor and sleep. When they finish the struggle of getting down the moving staircases Hongbin really does slide to the floor. "Leave me, I'm fine here. It's so comfy Wonshik believe me." When he doesn't hear Wonshik reply he raises his head to see the Ravenclaw on his knees with his back towards Hongbin. "Get on, I'll carry you." Before Hongbin can respond Wonshik's already reaching for Hongbin's arms despite the awkward position they're in. Hongbin gives up and leans on Wonshik's back. He wraps his arms around Wonshik's neck as he stands up and lifts up Hongbin's legs around his waist. Hongbin hopes Wonshik can't hear his erratic heart thumping loudly in his chest or feel the heat of his cheeks where it's resting on his shoulder. The walk to Hufflepuff's common room entrance is long but quiet except for Wonshik's humming. The deep sound is familiar to Hongbin as his own voice is. By the time they reach the barrels that mark the Hufflepuff entrance, Hongbin has long since fallen asleep, breathing deeply near Wonshik's ear. Not having the heart to wake him up, Wonshik carries him in, knowing the password and places him on his bed, hoping none of the other students will wake up. After Wonshik returns to Ravenclaw dorms to get what little sleep he can get. At least it's the weekend so he can sleep in.

*****

Wonshik wakes up around ten o'clock the next day feeling well rested and lethargic. It's Saturday and the Quidditch match between Slytherin and Hufflepuff is taking place in the afternoon. He heads down to the Hall for a late breakfast, not even looking for Hongbin as he would most likely be with his team running through tactics for the match. Jaehwan's plan to help them out is supposedly going to take place after the match, although they don't exactly know what the plan is. After lazing about in the common room with his roomate, Namjoon, Wonshik heads down to the Hall for lunch and to find Hongbin. The Hufflepuff, already in gear with his broomstick is seated at his table, eating and spouting reminders here and there between bites to his team members. Wonshik approaches, not sure if it's okay to intrude, but Hongbin simply makes space on the bench next to him while talking to his Keeper, Hoseok. Wonshik takes his seat, non of the team batting an eye, so accustomed to Wonshik and Hongbin being glued to each other's sides. The lone Ravenclaw eats lunch silently, admiring his friend as he encourages his teammates. He would surely make a great captain in the future. Eventually the Hall starts emptying, everyone heading down to the Quidditch pitch and Wonshik leaves too, trailing behind the Hufflepuff team.

Hours later, Wonshik's voice has gone hoarse from screaming too much. All he can do now is wave his banner around wildly whenever a player flies close by. Wonshik's banner is bright yellow and decorated with various flowers, the centre flower, a huge sunflower, has Hongbin's face on it. With some help from Sanghyuk the banner shoots sunflowers into the air every five minutes. After being knocked sideways from Sanghyuk and Jaehwan screaming for the two houses, a whistle is blown and the commentator is shouting over the noise, "Slytherin's caught the snitch, I repeat Slytherin's caught the snitch!" Hakyeon's out on the pitch before anyone else to meet Taekwoon. Wonshik wants to cheer for his friend, Taekwoon, it was his last chance to win and he's deserved it, but at the same time his eyes seek out Hongbin, wanting to comfort him and tell him he did his best. After squeezing his way through the crowd to Taekwoon, he hugs him and congratulates him, making the older boy blush and duck his head.

After congratulating the Slytherins, Wonshik makes his way to the changing rooms that have been emptied by now. There's one person left and Wonshik listens before he enters the room. He hears sniffling sounds that make his heart wrench and his nails dig into his palms. He scoffs at the floor as he enters, announcing his presence. Hongbin startles, quickly straightening up and moving to wipe his tear stained face. Wonshik silently walks up to the him, gently taking his hands and moving them away from his face. "It's okay Binnie, you know you don't have to hide from me." He says softly before wrapping his arms around Hongbin in a hug. At first Hongbin seems unsure of how to respond but then he holds onto Wonshik, clutching at his back and resting his head on Wonshik's shoulder. They remain there late into the night, alone with the sound Hongbin's muffled sniffles and shaky breaths and Wonshik's comforting humming as they hold onto each other.

*****

After they leave the changing rooms, Wonshik and Hongbin head up to the Astronomy Tower to meet Jaehwan as they had planned before. The older boy is there waiting and wisely doesn't say anything about Hongbin's red eyes. "Ah I'm sorry to make you guys come all the way up here, but this the only way to be sneaky about it. He gestures to the two binoculars he has set out. They're the same ones he and Sanghyuk had used during the Quidditch match. "You'll need these but not for another say fifteen minutes?" Jaehwan turns to his usual mess off parchment and ink set out on the floor. With nothing to do but wait, Wonshik watches Jaehwan while Hongbin goes to sit at the edge of the tower. Wonshik watches the tattoo artist before deciding. "Hey Jaehwan can you tattoo something for me?" He asks in a low voice, not wanting Hongbin to notice. Jaehwan looks surprised but agrees. "...Could you tattoo a snitch for me?" Jaehwan hesitates, probably to say he only does astronomical tattoos but he dips his wand into a vial of glittering ink before tracing it out in the air. He doesn't take long like Wonshik thought he would, but he motions Wonshik forward, asking where to charm the tattoo with a silent gesture. Wonshik quickly unbuttons his shirt and places his hand over his heart. Jaehwan's eyes seem to light up in understanding and glances at Hongbin before whispering the enchantment and the tattoo smoothly slides onto Wonshik's skin. It doesn't hurt but Wonshik feels like someone's dumped ice cold water on him. After the strange sensation has passed he fixes his shirt just as Hongbin calls them over, "Hey I think I see them."

Jaehwan and Wonshik move to the edge of the Tower where Hongbin is looking through one of the binoculars. Jaehwan motions for Wonshik to look through the other one. "Yeah that's them alright," he says after looking through the binocular. He turns to Jaehwan, "How'd you know they'd be there?" Jaehwan shrugs, "You notice stuff if you're up here all the time. I only do business on Fridays but most nights I'm up here on my own." Wonshik turns back to look through the binoculars. The two cats are slinking across the grounds in the moonlight, the orange one almost glowing while the black looks more like a shadow. "...They're headed to the Forbidden Forest?" Hongbin asks after following the cats' movements. "Yup they always go there at this time of night." Wonshik and Hongbin track the cats till they reach the edge of the forest. There at the edge, still illuminated by moonlight, the cats transform into their human forms.

"Hakyeon and Taekwoon?!" Wonshik and Hongbin yell in unison. They look at each other before looking through the binoculars again. Barely shaded by the trees, the two boys are talking while leaning side by side on a tree. Then Hakyeon steps in front of Taekwoon and leans to whisper closely in his ear. Then he lifts his arms up to embrace the Slytherin. Oh. Wonshik and Hongbin both look away before they could pry anymore into the intimate moment meant to be witnessed only by the darkness of the night. Both prefects are silent for a few moments, trying to process what they saw. "So now you guys know, happy now?" Jaehwan asks merrily. Hongbin turns to the older boy, understanding finally. "You let us know because they're our close friends and we would never report them, right?" "Yep." Jaehwan agrees. "They know that I know of course. They seem to just be living in the moment since it's their last year. They disappear all the time as cats because they never have time to themselves." "Oh well that explains the coffee and flowers now." Hongbin mutters. "But they could have trusted us and told us! Do you know how many time I've reported to Hakyeon and all the bastard did was smile at me and say 'keep up the good work!'." Sensing more whining from Hongbin, Jaehwan wisely gathers up his stuff and leaves with a cherry "Good night!" and "You better catch this snitch Binnie." Hongbin looks confused at this while Wonshik coughs, seeming to get Jaewhan's message.

The two prefects stare at each other not saying anything for a while. Wonshik is the first to break the silence, after glancing back at the forest, he gathers his courage at last, "Ah fuck it, if the Head Boy's running around with his boyfriend as cats, I can do this." Hongbin makes a small sound of surprise at Wonshik's declaration which turns into a loud squeak when Wonshik starts unbuttoning his shirt. Hongbin's eyes widen at the sight of the new tattoo glimmering on Wonshik's chest. Before he can ask about it Wonshik takes one of Hongbin's hands and places it over the tattoo, on his heart. "Binnie...I-i wanted you to know that no matter how many times you fail catch a snitch you'll always be able to catch this one and what's under it." Wonshik eyes shift, looking embarrassed and afraid Hongbin might laugh. Instead Hongbin moves his hand from the snitch, it's wings shimmering as it flutters slightly. He lowers his head to press a small kiss to the snitch. Wonshik shudders at the feeling of warm lips on his bare chest. Hongbin traces small kisses up to his throat and along his jaw. He stops a breath away at the corner or Wonshik's parted mouth and places his hand on Wonshik's heart again. "I'll never let it go." he says softly before leaning in and pressing his lips to Wonshik's. Their bodies mould to each other's so perfectly, Hongbin wonders why they haven't done this before. Breathless and trembling, Hongbin can't help the small gasp that escapes him when Wonshik's slick tongue teases past his lips to rub against his own. Hongbin's legs feel like jelly and he slides to the floor. He's feeling teary eyed again and Wonshik gently wipes the welled up tears away, silently asking with his eyes. Hongbin shakes his head in response, deciding to ignore all the expectations and responsibilities he has for once. Here he's not Hufflepuff Seeker Lee Hongbin. Here he's happy to be with Wonshik, the boy who decided to give him his heart, tucked away from the rest of the world with the moon and stars as their only witnesses.

*****

"You guys are so shameless, at least Hakyeon and Taekwoon are subtle about it." Wonshik and Hongbin look up, innocent looks on their faces. Jaehwan stares back, unimpressed. "Ever hear about PDA?" They're lazing about under a tree by the lake looking at the giant squid making lazy laps in the water. It's hot so Hongbin's shirt is unbuttoned and his sleeves rolled up, head nestled in Wonshik's lap. Running along his inner left arm is a key tattooed in shimmering ink. Wonshik's been playing with his arm, constantly caressing the tattoo and running his fingers over it. "Hey it's not our fault Hyukkie's too young for you too jump him," Hongbin says defensively. "Hey! I'd never do something like that," Jaehwan squawks out, "...Although it's the other way around," he mumbles with a red face. Wonshik and Hongbin snicker, knowing full well how Sanghyuk can be. They hear a funny sound at that, something like a hissy...laugh? There's no one else around so all that's left is up. They look up in the tree to see two now familiar felines settled comfortably on a branch. They gaze down at them with knowing eyes. The prefects shake their heads, too accustomed to the cats hanging around them now. Jaehwan narrows his eyes at them, "Hey quit laughing at me Taekwoon or I'll throw you in the lake for the squid to play with!" The black cat stares back defiantly. Jaehwan throws his hands up in exasperation, "I'm not dealing with all you love birds today." He stalks across the grounds back to the castle. "Tell Hyuk we said hi on your date!" Hongbin shouts at Jaehwan's retreating back. This time the orange cat let out a weird hissy laugh. Wonshik pulls back Hongbin's arm to admire the key glimmering in the patches of sunlight falling through the tree. In return for basically giving his loyalty and heart to Hongbin, the Hufflepuff in return had used Ravenclaw logic. A key to his heart and his love.

[vixx-is-my-light]

You Put My Soul To Rest

Taekwoon can kill vampires, demons, werewolves, you name it. But when he moves into a new house what does he do when a cute, chatty ghost starts appearing every night? Or is there more to the lost ghost that helps Taekwoon sleep at night when nothing else can?  |Leo/N|8248 words|

(cross-posted my AO3 - exo_miracles)

Sweat trickles down the side of Taekwoon's temple as he lugs the last of the heavy boxes inside. His new house is small but more than enough for one person. The haphazard stacks of boxes containing his belongings look like they could fall over any second but Taekwoon could care less, tired and ready to collapse on his none existent bed. He grumbles to Leo, his fluffy orange persian cat, who's been watching him struggle with the boxes from his comfy spot on the window sill the entire time. "Hyuk's been rubbing off on you hasn't he?" He demands. Leo in turn blinks his eyes and turns to jump out the window with a swish of a tail to explore his new territory. "I knew it," Taekwoon mutters to himself. His youngest friend and co-worker, Sanghyuk, much like Leo, used to be more timid and even respectful towards him. Now both seem to have Taekwoon placed at the bottom of their hierarchy of important people, which only changes on occasion when he gives them food. His other co-worker and friend, Hongbin, at least treats him slightly better. Although maybe that was because Taekwoon likes neatness and order almost as much as he does, unlike Sanghyuk and Leo who thoroughly enjoyed making a mess and seeing Hongbin riled up.

Taekwoon works as an officer in an organization known as the Guardians. He, Sanghyuk and Hongbin's work as a team in the Field Work department, unofficially dubbed the Hunters Department by pretty much everyone in the organization and even the city. It's at the point where introducing himself as a Field Officer gets him blank stares until he rolls his eyes and states he is a Hunter. Instead of blank stares he receives awed looks sometimes accompanied by fear. He's used to this by now, his team famous in the organization, after years of free lancing in his late teens before joining the Guardians with Sanghyuk and Hongbin.

Their small, young team the best at hunting and handling out of control werewolves, blood crazed vampires, mischievous fae and all other creatures that terrorize the city at night. While the organization does allow non-humans to join, Taekwoon's team is human. Mostly. Some say Taekwoon's a psychic or clairvoyant, how else to explain his too sharp reflexes or when he aims his knives at creatures lurking in the dark before anyone else spots them? Taekwoon says it's just instinct while Sanghyuk, the anime nerd he is, says he senses chakra or chi, always trying to get him to choose between Naruto (He's got the nine-tailed fox in him!) or Ling Yao (He's one of the best fighters and he's not even an alchemist.). Taekwoon secretly prefers Sasuke because they both have to deal with idiots on a daily basis.

Hongbin is the team's strategist, well versed in any and all creatures they've encountered and have yet to meet. He knows their specific weaknesses and strengths, which weapons and charms work best and he is the level headed one that knows when to retreat, especially when Taekwoon and Sanghyuk are too wound up in a fight and don't want to back out. He also makes sure to clean them up after a rough fight, "Not because I care if you idiots bleed to death, do you know how hard it to get out these blood stains?!".

Sanghyuk on the other hand may be the youngest but he's known as the largest of the three and arguably the strongest. What others don't know is that Sanghyuk's father who abandoned his mother and him as a child was a werewolf. While Sanghyuk doesn't turn into a howling wolf on full moons, his nails grow slightly longer and sharper, his usually warm brown eyes almost glow amber and his senses become sharper than Taekwoon's. On these days Taekwoon and Hongbin make sure to keep him out of the office and "on parole" (more like snuggled up at home marathoning anime) because they have enough unwanted attention on them and they were too lazy to handle the paperwork when they first joined the organization.

Taekwoon spends most of the day arranging and organizing his furniture and appliances. After getting out his mattress and shoving it into a corner of his new bedroom, Taekwoon decides to try and rest at least even if sleep is impossible for him most nights. He took a few well earned days off to move and he has one more day to finish unpacking his precious few belongings. Sanghyuk and Hongbin, the jerks, didn't even stop by to help him, only sending him "Good luck moving in!" and "See u back at work!" texts. After the usual rolling around and punching his shapeless pillow routine Taekwoon reaches for his phone and selects a playlist, titled 'Dreams', that is familiar to him as his own breathing, after listening to it for more nights than he could remember. By now Taekwoon is somewhat dependant on the music, not being able to sleep without it. The first song starts off and Taekwoon sings along quietly, his only audience is Leo, who is again lying down on the window sill right above the mattress, looking out into the darkness. Eventually Taekwoon gets tired of singing and starts humming. Leo jumps down on the mattress a while later next to a sleeping Taekwoon, curling up at his feet, finished with his job keeping Taekwoon company when sleep seeks to evade him.

*

In the still darkness of the night, Leo's ears twitch unconsciously. Something shifts in the shadows. Feline eyes snap open but the darkness is stagnant as it usually is. The persian eyes the room warily before moving to lie on top of Taekwoon's chest and goes back to sleep.

*

Taekwoon wakes to a very heavy ball of fluff almost stifling him. He glares at Leo for the rude wake up call after shoving him off his face with some effort. Maybe a diet is in order. Leo, as if sensing the direction of his thoughts, purposefully walks over to his empty bowl. Taekwoon sighs, knowing he could never refuse Leo, and goes about finding food for the both of them.

*

Surprisingly, Sanghyuk and Hongbin do stop by and bring lunch much to Taekwoon's delight. They also bring coffee and Taekwoon almost, almost, professes his love for them. They actually help him out a bit too instead of watching him struggle while cuddling Leo. The day goes by again, too quickly for Taekwoon's liking but at least his house is in order by the end of it. Late at night once again continues with his useless struggle for sleep. He starts up his usual playlist on his phone before closing his eyes and starts to sing. Less than a minute into the song and Taekwoon hears a loud, hair raising hiss from Leo's spot on the window sill. Taekwoon immediately reaches for the knife he has under his pillow. The room looks dark and empty as usual, nothing amiss at first. Then his sharp eyes pick up on the wavering darkness in a corner of the room. He moves forward despite Leo's warning growl. Usually Taekwoon knows when something has malice or killing intent aimed at him. In this room all he senses is confusion and discomfort. Flicking on a dull lamp, Taekwoon narrows his focus on the corner of the room.

The darkness is gone and there's no monster hidden there but a young man with frightened eyes cowering in the corner. Taekwoon lowers his knife but doesn't put it down. "Who are you?" he asks softly, not wanting to scare the spirit? any further. The young man looks surprised, "Do I know you? Wait of course I don't, you were just going to gut me with that knife. How did you get here? Or rather what am I doing here? Oh where's my manners, my name's Hakyeon. What's yours?" Taekwoon stares at the man, spirit, whatever he is, who is smiling at him now, waiting on an answer. Taekwoon's not sure what he was expecting but certainly not a lost, bubbly, talkative (pretty) young man with purple hair who may or may not be dead, in his room asking for his name. "...My name is Taekwoon," he answers slowly, "...and the spitting, overweight cat in the back is Leo." Leo releases another hiss either in response to Taekwoon's introduction or to Hakyeon, who moved forward as if to pick up the persian. Hakyeon pouts at the cat, clearly wanting to snuggle the fluff ball. Taekwoon shakes his head at the sight before him. He collapses on his bed, assured that there's no real threat.

"He'll only give you a chance if you give him food," he says to a pouting Hakyeon who just received a scratch on the back of his hand for trying to pet Leo. He brightens up again, smiling at Taekwoon before moving closer to Taekwoon and sitting on the other end of the bed. "Sooo where am I? Why am I here?" he asks while swinging his legs. Taekwoon smells the faint scent of flowers coming from Hakyeon. "You're in my room. On my bed. And I would like to know why you're here as well." Hakyeon shrugs, "Not sure, I remember going to sleep and then I was standing in the darkness but then you were there with your pointy knife looking like you were gonna slit my throat or something. I thought I was dreaming but then there's no way I could dream up someone like you. I'd definitely remember if I met you in real life." Taekwoon blushes at this, ducking his head so Hakyeon wouldn't see. Taekwoon's 90% sure Hakyeon is a spirit who hasn't realized they've died and is just wandering around but he doesn't say anything. "If you just appeared, maybe you'll simply disappear? Anyhow, it's better to wait till morning, it's not good to leave the house at this late at night," he says. Hakyeon looks at the clock on the wall, "Wait it's three o'clock? In the middle of the night?! I'm sorry you should be sleeping now. I'm sorry for disturbing you." Taekwoon stops Hakyeon from apologizing, amused by his worry, "It's okay, really, I'm usually up at this time most nights...I'm used to it." Hakyeon looks even more upset at this, "That's not good. You have insomnia? I could help but not while I'm stuck here. Ah! Why don't I sing you a lullaby? I've been told I have a nice voice." Taekwoon doesn't stop him partly because he doesn't know how to refuse Hakyeon and partly because Taekwoon really does like the sound of Hakyeon's pleasant voice filling up the usual silence instead of his own.

*

Taekwoon wakes up with a start. He looks around for Hakyeon but the room is bright with sunlight and there's no sign of the cherry purple haired man. His bed smells of flowers. He wracks his brain, trying to figure out what happened last night. All that surfaces is Hakyeon's voice, his eyes, his smile and the soft touch of his fingers combing through his hair before he fell asleep to Hakyeon's lullaby.

*

Starlight's Charms is having a rare slow day yet Hakyeon is feeling unusually tired. Even his employees who pretend to ignore him most days look worried about him. The employees in question, Wonshik and Jaehwan, are huddled behind a shelf of flowers discussing Hakyeon's lack of sunny smiles and his usual hugs he forces on them. "Are you two talking about me?" The two grown men jump at Hakyeon's voice, looking guilty as Hakyeon squints at them. "No! No, we were just discussing what new charms we should try to make. Wonshik wants to try nipple piercings because they're easier to hide," Jaehwan says quickly. On the side Wonshik splutters and chokes on spit at Jaehwan's excuse. Hakyeon sighs, "I know I'm not at my best today, you don't need to lie. Besides I'm sure Wonshik would rather pierce your nipples," he says to Jaehwan, making the usually loud man go quiet, "I just had a really bad night's sleep. The dream's kind of fuzzy though. One thing I remember for sure is this huge fluffy cat that was being mean to me," Hakyeon sighs tiredly again. Wonshik and Jaehwan exchange looks. "Maybe we should close up early? No one's really coming in today," Wonshik tries to suggest. "No, you never know who needs help from us, we open and close according to schedule no matter what," Hakyeon says firmly. This time the two employees sigh in resign knowing their boss (and best friend though they deny it) was going to work himself into an early death someday.

Starlight's Charms was Hakyeon's pride and love bottled in one. The shop started from a hobby, well a few hobbies really but Hakyeon was the one that started it all. His hobby for candle making and gardening as a young boy developed into a skill not many had or bothered to learn when one could simply go buy the more trusted products sold by the Guardians for the public. Using candles to ward off evil creatures, for cures and treatments, protection from spirits or bad luck, flowery scents for your home, even mosquito repellents, you name it and Hakyeon had a candle for it. Wonshik and Jaehwan who were roped into the business had their own areas of expertise. Wonshik charmed piercings used for protection or wards and Jaehwan specialised in tattoos, which basically did the same as the piercings, and drawing his own charms that were used as bindings or seals. Together they served the city, not like the Guardians, but they offered their own little protection to anyone who wanted it. Their clients were more often desperate customers mixed up in illegal business so they couldn't go the Guardians for help, freelance hunters and witches who deemed the Guardian's products to be more modern and weak compared to the more traditional methods such as Hakyeon's candles.

*

After finally closing Starlight's Charm's, Hakyeon feels like one of the walking dead and he would know, after having a close run in with one recently near a cemetery while on a trip to procure some flowers for a new candle. He drops onto his bed after lighting a candle for heavy sleep mixed with good dreams. He closes his eyes and in no time he drifts off to the scent of cherry plums.

Hakyeon opens his eyes to be surrounded by darkness. He feels fuzzy and disoriented for some reason. Weird, his candles have never failed him before. The scent of cherry plums is gone and Hakyeon belatedly realizes he's not on his bed anymore. Before he can move though, he hears something soft humming through the darkness. At first Hakyeon wonders if this is what a siren actually sounds like and he understands perfectly how easily men have fallen prey to the call of a siren. The humming stops abruptly and a dull light illuminates the room Hakyeon is standing in. The first thing he notices is that a very beautiful man is sitting on a bed staring at him, a sharp blade resting next to his pillow. The second thing he registers is that a huge orange persian is glaring at him. For some reason this all seems familiar to him but he's not sure how. He takes another look at the glaring cat and squints at him. "Ah! It's you! Leo! Am I right? There's only so many overweight cats that look as mean as this one." A small laugh interrupts him and he looks over to the man on the bed. "You remember Leo but not me? Should I take this as an insult?" His quiet voice almost sounds like he is offended but Hakyeon spies a smirk on his lips. Hakyeon looks at the man who simply stares back with arched eyebrows. "Taekwoon!" Hakyeon exclaims, his memories of the other finally resurfacing. "But I thought you were just a dream...unless I'm dreaming again," he looks at Taekwoon in question. Taekwoon shrugs, "I wasn't really expecting you here again either. It's late again too so you should stay." He pats a spot on the bed near him.

Taekwoon and Hakyeon talk late into the night, Leo purring loudly in Taekwoon's lap and throwing occasional glares Hakyeon's way. Hakyeon talks and talks and Taekwoon listens, piecing together bits of Hakyeon's life. Taekwoon still thinks Hakyeon is probably a lost, wandering ghost, how else to explain what was happening in his room in the middle of the night. It's easy, if one knew how, to exorcise a ghost like Hakyeon. Lost and confused the spirits wander around with no memories of their death. They move on when they realize they're no longer part of the living world or if their regrets that are keeping them back are resolved. Taekwoon could help Hakyeon move on but at the same time he doesn't want to. Selfish, he knows, but he can't help it as he fondly listens to Hakyeon tell him about all the times he found his employees, Jaehwan and Wonshik, making 'heart eyes' and 'love sighs' to each other. "And they're still in denial that they like each other!" Hakyeon rants, finally having someone to complain to about his dense friends. This makes Taekwoon thinks of Sanghyuk and Hongbin who purposely try to get under each other's skin all the time. Maybe their slaps on the heads and sighs of frustration are their version of 'heart eyes' and 'love sighs'.

His train of thought stops when he realizes Hakyeon is looking at him expectantly, "Sorry, what did you say?" Hakyeon looks a little unsure, having to repeat his question, his cheeks lightly dusted with a blush, "I asked if you have someone you like?" Hakyeon's blush must be contagious because Taekwoon can feel his face and the tips of ears growing warm but he shakes his head in response to Hakyeon's question. It's true, sort of, but Taekwoon's not sure if it's okay to tell a ghost that he think's he's cute or that he's growing more fond of his bright, chatty personality. "Ah well me neither, I don't really have time for that sort of thing considering the type of business I run." Intrigued, Taekwoon asks exactly what kind of business Hakyeon is working in. Hakyeon is more than happy to fill him in on how he started Starlight's Charms.

Hakyeon looks at the clock on the wall. It's past three once again. While he and Taekwoon were getting carried away talking, well at least Hakyeon did, the time slipped away without them noticing. Hakyeon had to practically force Taekwoon into his bed before singing him another lullaby. Taekwoon had drifted off in less time than he did the other night. Hakyeon too is feeling sleepy but he doesn't know how to leave. He slumps down on the bed next to Taekwoon watching him breathe evenly in his sleep. Leo is settled between them, still purring loudly. Hakyeon's eyes close of their own accord, the last thing he sees is Taekwoon, with his inky hair a mess, eyelashes fanned out and his lips slightly parted, just a breath away before he succumbs to the darkness. When he opens his eyes again, Hakyeon is on his own bed, his hand reaching out for Taekwoon.

*

"So let me get this straight. You've been having strangely realistic dreams where you're in this hot guy's room with his fat cat, talking about life in the middle of the night?" Jaehwan says, looking expectantly at Hakyeon. "Hey Leo's not fat, his fluff just gives him more volume," Hakyeon protests, though he's not sure why he's defending the persian. "But yes you've got the gist of it," Hakyeon says while mixing petals together for a simple scented candle. Jaehwan doesn't say anything but he exchanges a look with Wonshik who's been sitting quietly to the side. Hakyeon's sharp eyes don't miss the silent communication, too accustomed to keeping an eye on the other two since they were kids. "What is it? They're just dreams aren't they? Unless he's some kind of dream demon that's going to kill me in my sleep?!" Wonshik shakes his head at the elder's theatrics, "Whatever it is, it's taking a toll on your body. We need to figure out how to stop it." Hakyeon does feel tired but at the same time he doesn't want to give up their night meetings where they simply talk or, when Hakyeon can see how tired Taekwoon is, he sings for him till he falls asleep. He doesn't mention any of this though, knowing that Jaehwan and Wonshik will only worry about him more.

A few days later Hakyeon is cornered just before he opens Starlight's Charms in the morning. Wonshik looks kind of shifty, a look he often wears when he's not sure if he should follow one of Jaehwan's crazy plans. He turns to Jaehwan, "You guys aren't eloping and leaving me on my own are you?! I wanted to decorate and plan your wedding!" Wonshik turns an alarming shade of red meanwhile Jaehwan looks like he's seriously considering Hakyeon's words. Wonshik slaps him the back of his head, whining, "Don't encourage him!" "Hakyeon, as much as I wouldn't mind riding off into the sunset with Wonshikie, we're here to discuss you." "What about me? I'm not eloping with anyone." "...Not yet at least." At Hakyeon's quizzical expression, Jaehwan sighs, "Hakyeon we know you like Taekwoon even though you don't even know if he's real. This is the first time we've seen you like this in years." Hakyeon makes no signs if denial, already aware of how often his thoughts are clouded by the hunter.

"We think we know what's happening to you," Wonshik explains, "This isn't something that's common. It's mostly hereditary but you wouldn't know since your parents died when you were young, but our parents all worked together right? Jaehwan found records in his father's old journals about your mother. She apparently used to have dreams of your father before they met but it turned out that she was performing astral projections without knowing it. She used to appear in a semi-corporeal form at night and that's how the two met. You've probably been doing it since you were a child but you just don't remember." "So how am I remembering Taekwoon now?" "Who knows, there's not a lot of records about astral projection to know the why's and how's," Jaehwan answers, "Just old superstitions and sayings." "Like what?" Jaehwan, looking shifty now, looks to Wonshik for an answer. "Well...there's this one thing I remember my mom used to say about your parents," he says looking at Hakyeon, "Your mom could've appeared anywhere but she always ended up with you father, like she was pulled there. Like they were meant to be or..." "Or?" "Or like they were soulmates."

There's silence after Wonshik finishes, Hakyeon staring at his two friends, taking a while to absorb everything Wonshik said. "...So you're saying that Taekwoon's like really real? Like a real human and not just my hot imaginary friend? And we're soulmates and meant to be? And I've been fighting with the man's cat and babbling all sorts of nonsense to him in the middle of the night?!" Jaehwan and Wonshik nod in unison, not sure how to respond to their friend who looks like he's going into shock. Wonshik catches Hakyeon just as he slumps against the wall and drags him over to a chair. Jaehwan fetches two of Hakyeon's calming candles and set them alight on either side of Hakyeon who's staring blankly at the wall. "...Is he gonna be alright?" Wonshik asks, looking at Hakyeon. "Don't worry about him, he just regretting a few life decisions," Jaehwan responds as Hakyeon whispers to himself in a mortified voice, "I argued with the cat about his diet." Mentally Hakyeon wonders how he'll ever face the hunter again, knowing he was real and that he was in love with him...

*

Taekwoon is bleeding, blood running down one side of his face from a gash on his temple. He ignores the throbbing burn of it and aims his last knife at the group of undead surrounding him. The blade impales one of the undead but there are more swarming to take it's place. Out of blades to throw, Taekwoon has no choice but to pull out his katana. Most hunters would not fight the undead in close combat for fear of being bitten and infected by the mindless beings (except for Sanghyuk) but most hunters can't move as fast as Taekwoon. The first time Hongbin and Sanghyuk had ever seen him in action with his katana, Sanghyuk had called him "the new Kenshin Himura". Hongbin and Sanghyuk weren't far behind either, Hongbin with his spear, staying well out of reach while plunging the sharp blade into his opponents. Sanghyuk on the other hand went against the norms as per usual and fought with a pair of trench knives. When they used to freelance Sanghyuk had used brass knuckles but when they joined the organization he upgraded to trench knives, the knuckle guards sharp and pointed. Taekwoon could spot the younger boy fearlessly punching and stabbing the undead close to him while slashing his own opponents with his sword and continuously moving out of reach before he could be bitten.

After piling the bodies of the undead and setting the mass on fire Taekwoon slumps to the ground. It's been a while since they had fight like this one but it gave Taekwoon an excuse to use his katana for once. The poor thing had been sitting at home collecting dust for ages now. Taekwoon carefully wipes the blood off the blade on his clothes, caring more for the sword that was once his father's than smearing the foul black blood of the undead on himself. He feels fine mostly, maybe a little dizzy from blood loss but at least none of them were injured seriously. It could have been worse considering the report had said a few undead were spotted near the cemetery. It certainly had not been just "a few" and Taekwoon wonders how on earth anyone could have missed the huge gathering of undead walking out of the cemetery. It was very unusual for groups of undead to be this large and to stay together like a pack rather than wandering off on their own, meaning they had a specific target. That would mean a necromancer was involved but there were no obvious targets in the area. The Guardians had no branches nearby and while Taekwoon's new place was nearby he's had no run ins with any necromancers or undead...

A shout interrupts Taekwoon's train of thoughts. He turns to see Hongbin and Sanghyuk arguing as usual. "I'm telling you I'm fine! It's just a little blood. Taek's had his head bashed in, go mother him!" "Taekwoon doesn't have blood literally running down from his neck! So shut up and stop moving!" Hongbin is very threatening when he's like this and Taekwoon doesn't understand why Sanghyuk still tries to resist. "Hyukkie let Bin treat you before you pass out and we can't carry you back, you oversized giant." Despite Taekwoon's light-hearted words, Sanghyuk can hear the warning. Taekwoon watches from the side as the youngest reluctantly relents and lets Hongbin clean him up. Under Hongbin's orders Sanghyuk takes off his bloodied shirt. As Hongbin gets to work cleaning the wounds as best as he can, Taekwoon notices the silence from Sanghyuk. Usually he'd still be complaining and pouting but now he's uncharacteristically quiet. Then Taekwoon notices that despite the blood loss, there is a slight pink tint to Sanghyuk's cheeks and when Hongbin asks him a question he averts his eyes. Hongbin as well is handling him far more gently than he usually does, not even berating him for all the injuries he received. Interesting. It reminds Taekwoon of the conversation he had with Hakyeon. Not exactly heart-eyes but there's definitely something there. Taekwoon feels a slight pang in his chest, wanting to see the ghost who's smile and laughter was like actual sunshine in the darkness of the night.

*

After the disaster with the horde of undead, Taekwoon's team take the next day off not because they needed rest or anything but it's a full moon so they take advantage of the situation to stay out of the office. They meet up for breakfast, Sanghyuk wearing huge shades to hide his eyes. They decide to camp out at Taekwoon's for the whole day for "bonding time" as Sanghyuk put it while pulling out a stack of dvds and "not because your TV is bigger or anything Taek". Usually Hongbin complains about Sanghyuk's obsession for 2D characters but this time he sits next to Sanghyuk on Taekwoon's small couch, quietly joining the younger for what seems like his usual whole day anime marathon. Leaving the other two, Taekwoon heads to his own room where Leo is sprawled out on the centre of the bed in a patch of sunlight shining through the window. The persian wakes up when Taekwoon slumps down next to him. "Hyukkie and Binnie are here, want to say hi?" Usually the persian would suck up to the other two, preening under their attention but this time he curls up on Taekwoon's stomach and goes back to sleep. Taekwoon tries not to gasp, the heavy feline squashing his lungs, but he upholds the unwritten rule that you can't move once an animal falls asleep on you. After a few minutes of struggling to breathe and shifting around without waking up Leo, he finally settles into a comfortable position. He wonders if he'll see Hakyeon later. The ghost didn't always appear every night and lately he hasn't shown up. Maybe the ghost finally realized what he was on his own?

After what feels like hours later, Taekwoon is still on bed, staring at the ceiling. Leo had rolled off onto the bed in his sleep and looks like he's dreaming, ears and whiskers twitching constantly. Taekwoon's stomach not-so-gently reminds him that it's time for lunch. With a groan he gets up and finds that Sanghyuk and Hongbin are right where he left them, the only difference is that they both fell asleep. Hongbin's head is resting on Sanghyuk's shoulder, tucked into the crook of the younger's neck. Taekwoon quickly snaps a picture before they wake up. His kitchen is mostly bare at the moment so Taekwoon decides to go out and buy lunch, leaving the other two sleeping.

When he returns, Sanghyuk and Hongbin are awake and watching anime again. A closer look and Taekwoon notices that both are still curled into each other's sides. He shuts the door loudly, alerting them of his return. He watches with satisfaction as the two break apart slowly, both avoiding eye contact and looking slightly embarrassed as if only just realizing how close they were. Taekwoon shakes his head at the two, feigning ignorance and calling them to the kitchen for food.

*

It's late and Hakyeon's tired and ready to close up but there's still one last customer in Starlight's charms. It's not his customer but Wonshik's. A boy who looks to be in his mid teens is getting his ears pierced. It takes a while to get done as Wonshik needs to charm the earrings. Hakyeon wants to ask why someone so young needs those kinds of piercings but he knows there are many out there just like this boy, learning to fight so they can live. Hakyeon thinks of Taekwoon, a hunter since he was a teenager much like this one. His family killed when he was a child. His last memory of his father, being handed a sword and the words, "You have to live on." His mother hiding him under the bed in a final attempt to protect her son. Hakyeon shakes his head at the memory of the night Taekwoon told him about his past, remembering how pale and fragile the hunter had looked in the moonlight, but his eyes defiant, shining with unshed tears. Looking at the boy in the shop, he has the same look in his eyes, steeled and set to face what the world threw at him.

*

Hakyeon watches the teenager fearlessly walking down the street in the dark, ready to close the shop but he spies movement in the dark across the street. The dull street lights barely illuminating the shadows in the alleys. Focusing on the movement, Hakyeon finally sees what's causing the shadows to shift, a slow staggered mass of limbs ambling forth in the direction of Starlight's Charms. Hakyeon rears back in alarm, automatically slamming the door shut, locking it and the windows' blinds. Wonshik and Jaehwan are right behind him and he hurriedly motions for them to peep through the blinds. They turn to him, both wearing horrified expressions. Despite their line of business they're not actually fit for actual fighting. Hakyeon's the oldest and even though they make fun of him for it, Wonshik and Jaehwan look to him for instructions. He quickly whispers instructions to the two, trying not to flinch when he hears the first of the undead trying to get through the door and windows. "Jaehwan, put up all your strongest seals on the doors and windows. Wonshik get the poison and paralyzing candles from the back." The windows rattle and Hakyeon feels it in his bones. He needs to call the Guardians immediately because their defences won't last long against the horde outside. He spins around trying to locate his phone and he spots in on the ground near the door. He races for it just when there's a crash. The grunts and bellows of the undead are louder now and the last thing Hakyeon hears is another crash before he feels a sharp pain on the side of his head, heavy and throbbing. There's broken shards of glass digging into his back and he can hear Wonshik and Jaehwan shouting. He tries to tell them to stay back but his vision and mind slips off into the dark.

*

It's late at night and Sanghyuk has the final episode of Bleach on while complaining about it being the final episode. He and Hongbin are still on the couch but this time Taekwoon's on floor between their dangling legs. All the lights are off but the bright silver light from the full moon is shining through the windows. Taekwoon's nodding off, maybe from seeing the same episode for the hundredth time, when Leo comes crashing into him. The persian looks frantic and is making ruff loud meows and biting Taekwoon. Slightly alarmed, the three humans stop the anime and follow the persian when he runs quickly to Taekwoon's room. Before even flicking on the lights Taekwoon knows Hakyeon's there, the room smelling of flowers but at the same time Taekwoon is sensing a distraught, panicked presence. The lights turned on, they see Hakyeon trembling in a corner. Upon seeing Taekwoon, Hakyeon throws himself at the hunter, tears running down his cheeks. "Taekwoon please help us! I l-left Wonshik and Jaehwan alone a-and we were surrounded. P-please, your the only one I can ask for help now!" "What do you mean? What's happening Hakyeon?" Taekwoon asks hurriedly, trying to make sense of Hakyeon's stuttered crying. "Undead! E-everywhere. They're surrounding the shop. You have to save them-" Hakyeon's form flickers and disappears altogether.

The three hunters are silent for a short moment before Taekwoon grabs his knives and katana and runs out of the room. Sanghyuk automatically rushes to retrieve his trench knives and follows Taekwoon without even questioning it. Hongbin takes his spear but he stops them before they leave, "Taek what's happening? Who or what was that? Where are we going?" Taekwoon looks at them with pleading eyes, asking for their help despite not knowing what they were getting into. "I thought he might have been a lost ghost but I don't think so anymore. He told me before his shop's near the city's cemetery we fought the undead the other day. Please, I don't have all the answers right now, but he needs my help." The younger hunters look at the desperate expression on their friend before nodding in unison. "Lead the way, we'll follow," Hongbin says.

*

"Hyuk can you smell the undead? They're nearby." Taekwoon lives fifteen minutes away from the cemetery but at the rate they were sprinting through the dark streets, one would think that starved vampires were chasing prey down the streets. In a few minutes they're already there in the general area but as Taekwoon doesn't know the exact address, they're relying on Sanghyuk's heightened wolf senses. The youngest takes a sharp turn into an ally and the other two follow immediately. The first thing they see is a shifting, swarming mass of undead, much like the pack they fought, in front a shop with shattered windows and a broken down door. The hunters instantly move in, slashing and stabbing at the undead, trying to make it inside Starlight's Charms. Fuelled by the memory of Hakyeon trembling and crying, Taekwoon carves a path through the undead, leaving behind severed limbs and splatters of black blood.

By the time they make it into the shop, the hunters are all covered in splashes of red and black blood. There is something happening inside, the undead eerily still and silent. There at the centre of everything is a hooded figure holding onto another person. Taekwoon figures this should be the necromancer if his outfit is anything to go by. A hooded cloak with dark runes embroidered on them and a necklace of small skulls. He looks at the intruders without surprise and turns towards them, showing the person he has in his grasp. Hakyeon looks pale and frightened just like he did when he appeared in Taekwoon's room, struggling to free himself from the necromancer's hold. To the side, two undead are holding down two other persons, who Taekwoon assumes are Wonshik and Jaehwan.

The necromancer hisses at them, "I see help has arrived but it's too late. I'm going to kill this one first and make him into one of my own." "Why him? He's nothing special for you to want to make him one of yours," Taekwoon asks, trying to stall. He needs to figure out how to get Hakyeon away from the necromancer. Just then Taekwoon feels something being shoved into the back pocket of his pants. "It's only fair, he killed my first child so now he and his friends are going to be mine." The necromancer holds a dagger against Hakyeon's throat and a thin line of blood wells up under the blade, "Drop your weapons and behave or the other two will die," he says while motioning to Wonshik and Jaehwan. Hakyeon begins to struggle again, looking at his friends being held down. At Taekwoon's nod, Sanghyuk and Hongbin throw down their weapons. Sanghyuk's hands are mostly covered in blood, but he only threw down one of his pair of trench knives and then Taekwoon understands the weight in his back pocket. "You too. Lower your sword," the necromancer says to Taekwoon. Very slowly he pulls the sheathed sword free with one hand and moves to put it down. In the instant the he senses the necromancer lower his guard, his eyes not as focused on Taekwoon, his posture more bold, not hiding behind Hakyeon as much and radiating confidence, Taekwoon pulls the trench knife free and aims it the necromancer's head. The blade flies through the air before anyone can blink, and Hakyeon very nearly faints from shock. The blade is sticking out an inch away from him, imbedded in the necromancer's forehead. One by one the remaining undead all drop down, their creator no longer alive to animate them.

The dagger at Hakyeon's throat clatters to the ground along with the dead necromancer, and when he thinks he's actually going to faint or at least fall flat on his face, he falls into steady, blood-slick arms. He wrinkles his nose at the blood and looks up at his rescuer before smacking him on the chest. At Taekwoon's surprised expression he explains, "If I ever wanted a knight in shining armour, he's definitely not supposed to show up late and covered in smelly blood!" Taekwoon just stares at the smaller man for ten seconds before laughing out loud. At Hakyeon's pout he laughs even more, eyes tearing up and his body shaking from the laughter. "Well it's not like my damsel in distress is crying or shaking in fear like most would," he replies. "-Hello! Yes we're alright here if anyone wants to know!" At Jaehwan's shout, Hakyeon freezes in Taekwoon's arms, as if only just remembering the current situation. Taekwoon turns around as well to check on his friends. Sanghyuk and Hongbin are standing side by side, arms folded and eyebrows arched, staring at Taekwoon. Both red and flustered, Taekwoon and Hakyeon introduce their friends to each other and explain the situation, ignoring the teasing grins from both sides.

*

After cleaning up the mess and burning the bodies, somehow everyone ends up at Taekwoon's house once again. Sanghyuk breaks out Taekwoon's not-so-secret stash of ice-cream much to everyone's delight, excluding Taekwoon of course. However, watching Hakyeon trying to share his ice-cream with Leo and his bright smile when Leo finally gives in makes it worth giving up his ice-cream. Leo is enjoying the attention (and the ice-cream) as the new humans declare their love for him until the loud one (Jaehwan) says, "So this is the fat cat you argued with!" Hakyeon laughs at Jaehwan after he receives a scratch from Leo, knowing how it feels all too well. Jaehwan and Sanghyuk become ecstatic when Sanghyuk resumes his anime marathon that they left off. Wonshik and Hongbin shake their heads at them, the two finally having found someone to share their excitement over anime. Taekwoon, exhausted for once, declares he's heading to bed, saying the others can squish into his one small guest bedroom if they want. At Hakyeon's unsure look, looking like he wants to follow, Taekwoon nods and heads to his room with Hakyeon following behind.

When Hakyeon and Taekwoon make their quiet escape, their friends don't say anything but exchange knowing grins. Jaehwan and Wonshik are given the couch as they're guests and Sanghyuk and Hongbin make a nest of blankets on the floor for themselves. Eventually Jaehwan and Wonshik get tired and sleepy, heading to the guest room to sleep. The bed is kind of small, and Jaehwan and Wonshik are definitely not on the small side but they make it work, Jaehwan taking the initiative to snuggle against Wonshik, wrapping his arms around him. At first Wonshik freezes but Jaehwan is warm and he relaxes into the hold, his back pressed against Jaehwan's chest. Lying silently in the dark for a while, he's not sure if Jaehwan is awake or not but he whispers, "Jaehwan? Whether you're awake or not, I'm just glad we're here and you're okay. I was really worried today but I'm just happy you're with me now." At first there's no response but then the arms around him tighten and the steady breath against the back of his neck becomes shaky, "I'm glad too Wonshikie, but an army of undead isn't enough to keep me away from you, you know that right?" "I know." Neither say anything else but they understand each other perfectly even with little to no words spoken, their tangled fingers and breaths louder than words.

*

Even with everyone else asleep, Hongbin and Sanghyuk are still up, anime still on but it's more like background noise at this point. They're still wired from the fight, and Sanghyuk usually has trouble sleeping on full moons. He turns to Hongbin who's petting Leo in his lap, "Hey, want more ice-cream?" At Hongbin's nod he get up and heads for the kitchen. Between the six grown men who all like sweets, Taekwoon's bucket of ice-cream is mostly finished. He kind of feels sorry for Taekwoon. There's enough to fill Taekwoon's One Piece mug that was a birthday gift from Sanghyuk years ago. He sticks two spoons in the mug and returns to the blanket nest. Leo is gone, and Hongbin is still watching the anime on the TV. He doesn't look away but reaches for a spoon. At the same Sanghyuk reaches for the same spoon and it's knocked out of the cup and hits Sanghyuk on the face. Hongbin looks surprised at first but the sight of Sanghyuk with chocolate ice-cream smeared on his face is too much for him. He laughs at the younger until he crosses his arms and starts to pout, "Binnie, you made this mess so clean it up." Hongbin stops laughing and looks at the younger, "When are you gonna learn to start cleaning up after yourself?" he asks. "Never. You like cleaning right, you'll have to stick with me all the time then right?" "Brat." Hongbin leans up and instead of wiping off the ice-cream, he moves closer and licks the ice-cream off Sanghyuk's cheek. The younger turns red and stares at the TV, forgetting how to speak, the soft feeling of Hongbin's tongue still there like static on his skin. When his voice returns he looks back at Hongbin, "I guess this means you'll always stay by my side then?" "Yeah. Always."

*

After leaving their friends alone, Taekwoon and Hakyeon settle on Taekwoon's bed. It's strange finally being there after all those nights. Taekwoon looks like he doesn't know where or how to start so Hakyeon starts instead. He tells him how they figured out his visits were astral projections and how he probably inherited to ability from his mother. Taekwoon listens, taking in everything Hakyeon tells him, although he still can't get it in his head that yes Hakyeon's there and he's real and not a lost ghost that was going to move on at some point. After Hakyeon's explanation, Taekwoon asks him a question that's been bothering him the entire evening, "Is it true that you killed the necromancer's first undead?" Hakyeon looks surprised and a little sheepish, "Yeah it's really my fault but I didn't know and it was following me when I went to get some flowers! And how was I supposed to know necromancers had some weird hang-up on their first undead!?" "But how did you kill it?" "Ah...well you see I carry around some candles with me at all times for protection and I lit a paralyzing one and threw it at the undead. It's really strong but as long as you don't smell it you'll be okay. So when it became paralyzed it fell down I dragged over to the pond near the cemetery where there's a small colony of kappa living there. I kinda just rolled him into the pond and left him there for the kappa to play with."

After Hakyeon finishes his story, Taekwoon is staring at him in awe. He waves his hand in front of Taekwoon, "Hello? Anyone home?" Taekwoon catches his hand, "I don't know whether to think you're incredibly smart, brave or dumb." At Hakyeon's squawk he smiles, "But I probably wouldn't have met you today otherwise. I thought you were just a little lost ghost." "A ghost? Do you normally let ghosts into your bed at night?" Taekwoon blushes at Hakyeon's choice of words, "No but I keep thinking that you're not real and you're going to disappear when I wake up in the morning," he admits. Hakyeon raises his hand, still held in Taekwoon's, and squeezes their fingers together. "Does this feel real?" At Taekwoon's nod he continues moving their hands till he presses Taekwoon's hand to his chest, over his heart, his heartbeat erratic. "And this? Can you feel it? Is my heartbeat real?" When Taekwoon nods again, he releases his hand and leans up, closer to Taekwoon. He stops a breath away from Taekwoon, "Do you believe I'm here Taekwoon?" The murmured "Yes" is a soft sigh against his lips when they close the gap, soft, slightly chapped lips brush and the warmth of Hakyeon's breath when he parts his lips finally make everything real. He chases the heat, his tongue rubbing against Hakyeon's. Hakyeon's fingers tangle in his hair, pulling when Taekwoon traces the roof of his mouth. There's the taste of chocolate and the scent of flowers that followed Hakyeon stifled him, the feeling of just Hakyeon surrounding him. They part, breathless and panting, and slump down on the bed together. When they've both calmed down, curved into each other, limbs slotted together, Taekwoon's head is resting against Hakyeon's chest, tucked under Hakyeon's chin, nodding off. Then Hakyeon's soft voice pulls him back slightly, "I made a candle for your insomnia. Do you want it?" "No, I don't need anything more than this," he replies, and it's true with Hakyeon there holding onto him. At that moment, the only thing Taekwoon is sure of is Hakyeon. He can't see Hakyeon but his heartbeat is there assuring him, the constant thumping lulling him into sleep.

[vixx-is-my-light]

Dream Job

Sanghyuk loved his job more than anything else. He got to bake questionably decorated cupcakes and play with dogs all the time, what more could he want? |Leo/Hyuk|2113 words|

(cross-posted my my AO3 - exo_miracles)

The pleasant tinkling sound of a bell alerts the presence of a new customer. Ears twitch and tails swish in excitement. Sanghyuk looks up from the cupcake display he was arranging. A quick glance at the clock on the wall tells him it's only half past seven. The dogs, however, looked more than ready to start their day early. Sanghyuk feels sorry for the unfortunate soul who decided to come in at this hour. A customer at this time of the day was unusual for Sanghyuk's cafe as most people didn't brave coming in for coffee while dealing with some overexcited dogs. He usually started work at five am before his employees arrived because he liked to spend time by himself preparing dough to bake and coming up with new menus. He also had the cafe's stars to prepare for the day.

His dogs were rather high maintenance. N, a tiny chihuahua, demanded the most care, giving sharp nips if he felt Sanghyuk didn't give him the best grooming. Ravi, a doberman, despite his breed not being the most suitable for a cafe was perhaps the most gentle of all the dogs, always climbing on Sanghyuk's lap to be cuddled. Hongbin, an akita, only ever permitted Sanghyuk to hug him when he gave him more treats than usual. Ken, the cafe's resident troublemaker was a golden retriever who hoarded all the toys and caused Sanghyuk great pains whenever he took him for walks by chasing birds and passing cats. On mornings, the dogs needed a lot of brushing, grooming and numerous bowls of food that ended up scattered on the floor and most of the time Sanghyuk needed some grooming himself because he usually ended up rolling around on the floor with his four legged friends and covered in hair and drool after being licked on the face by slippery tongues.

It was hard work but Sanghyuk loved his job and looking at the customer who had just walked in, he loves it even more. The handsome stranger had only opened the door to be bombarded by the dogs. Most people didn't have the energy to deal with them this early but the customer looks delighted, his eyes lighting up in joy at the dogs jumping around him. Sanghyuk observes him discreetly while he can. The stranger is tall but still shorter than Sanghyuk, dressed in all black with gold hair peeking out of a black beanie. He's scratching and petting as many heads as he can, trying not leaving out anyone. After a while the customer straightens up and Sanghyuk gets a proper look at his face. Oh. Sanghyuk kind of wants to duck under the counter and hide his face. He's used to middle aged women and children but not beautiful strangers like this.

He can imagine what he looks like. Face streaked with flour, fingers stained from coloured icing and his own blond hair sticking up in various directions. Instead he puts on his brightest smile and greets the stranger. "Good morning, welcome to Starlight Cafe. Can I take your order?" The stranger looks at him for a moment not saying anything, then in a very soft voice, "Latte." Sanghyuk gets to work while the customer turns around to play with the dogs. He looks at the customer ever now and then while making the drink. The dogs all seem to like him, even the oh so cold Hongbin is giving the customer his undivided attention. Ken is rubbing his body all over the customer and Ravi has assumed his place in the customer's lap already. N is lying on his back, his tongue lolling out while the customer scratches his belly. Sanghyuk quickly snaps a picture to put up on the wall of customer's photos. And also maybe because he's not sure if this is something he'll ever have the chance to see again.

A week later, the scene of the beautiful customer surrounded by the dogs in the early morning is something Sanghyuk is very familiar with. Almost every morning the man comes in, orders a latte in his soft voice and then gives the dogs his attention for an hour or so before leaving. After another morning of quietly pining for the man's attention or at the very least his name, Sanghyuk turns to the dogs to vent. "Binnie how come you let him give you hugs all the time?!" The akita turns his head away, ignoring Sanghyuk. "Fine, be that way." Ken is busy rolling around all the toys he carried over to one corner. N is taking a nap and Sanghyuk knows the chihuahua won't like being woken to hear Sanghyuk moan over his crush. He looks to Ravi for affection. The doberman readily curls up in his lap as Sanghyuks pines after the beautiful customer, making deep little woofs every time Sanghyuk asks him if he knows the painful feelings of unrequited love. After pouring out his feelings to Ravi, the doberman licks him on his cheek. "Ah I knew I could count on you to understand Ravi," He says while pointedly looking at Hongbin. The akita turns his head away again in response.

One morning Sanghyuk finally gathers his courage and asks the customer his name. The man looks surprised, his eyes widening before he answers, "Taekwoon." Surprised that he actually got an answer, Sanghyuk smiles at Taekwoon before going to make his latte. Still feeling brave, Sanghyuk decides to give Taekwoon one of the cupcakes he baked earlier. On it in yellow icing is the face of a dog that looks suspiciously like Ken. He places the cupcake and the latte on the table near Taekwoon who is sitting on the floor with the dogs. He scurries back into the kitchen before Taekwoon discovers the cupcake. Peeking from behind the door, he watches as Taekwoon gets up from the floor. When he notices the cupcake he immediately looks around for Sanghyuk who is hiding. Picking up the cupcake, Taekwoon smiles at the iced Ken on it. Not that Sanghyuk hasn't seen him smiling before but the quiet man usually reserves his smiles and quiet laughter for the dogs. Seeing Taekwoon smiling because of him causes Sanghyuk's heart to flutter and silly grin of his own. He doesn't go back out till Taekwoon leaves, silly grin still in place, and sighs loudly. Ravi woofs loudly as if agreeing with him.

Taekwoon now comes in every morning and for longer periods of time. The dogs love him and Sanghyuk's definitely not complaining. He gets up each morning looking and bakes his signature cupcakes and grooms the dogs. Taekwoon doesn't even order anymore, he comes in and smiles at Sanghyuk in greeting before giving his attention to the mass of fur and wagging tails at his feet. While he's playing and talking to the dogs Sanghyuk brings him his customary latte and a cupcake with one of the dogs iced on it before escaping to the kitchen for a while. When Sanghyuk's feeling one his seemingly random bouts of bravery he strikes up a conversation with Taekwoon although their conversations mostly consist of Sanghyuk telling Taekwoon stories of customers or kitchen disasters. When he asks questions he receives little nods or shakes of a head.

Sanghyuk's stories of the dogs had Taekwoon laughing so much, his shoulders shaking even as he tried to hide his face. At that point Sanghyuk had to restrain himself from jumping the man when he was that cute. On days when Taekwoon came too early, Sanghyuk would ask him to help walk the dogs at the nearby park. Taekwoon had Hongbin and Ravi as they were easier to handle than N and Ken. While Hongbin like to be more refined and sit down on a bench and Ravi was fine to laze about in the sun, N, despite his small size, tried to lead Sanghyuk over to patches of flowers while Ken wanted to chase the birds. The result was Sanghyuk's long legs being tied up with the leashes in an impossible knot, causing him to fall face first to the ground. Taekwoon, face red from laughter, had leaned over to help Sanghyuk up and untie the leashes from around his legs. His warm smile, which he now also reserved for Sanghyuk, and his lingering hands made Sanghyuk's legs feel like they were still tied up.

It's a just like any other day but Sanghyuk wakes up with butterflies in his stomach. He was finally going to do it. With some encouragement last night after pouring his heart out for the nth time, he was finally going to confess. Some reassuring woofs had given him the much needed encouragement in the end. Instead of icing all his cupcakes with the dogs like usual, he ices a red heart on one cupcake and sets it aside, the rest going on display like usual. The time Taekwoon takes to arrive seems like forever but when the bell tinkles, Sanghyuk feels like his heart thumping too loudly, his legs like jelly. Taekwoon's already settled with his furry friends swarming around him. Just as Sanghyuk's going to make his latte, the bell rings out again. Although unusual, Sanghyuk does get rare customers besides Taekwoon this early. He sets aside Taekwoon's specially made cupcake and waits for the new customer to make an order.

The new customer is older man, dressed in a suit, looking irritable and impatient as he quickly strides over. The dogs, curious, come over to see the new customer. When he notices the excited dogs sniffing and wagging their tails, the man becomes inexplicably angry. Sanghyuk, confused because what else would you expect at a dog cafe, tries to explain just that but the man won't hear of it. He moves away from Ken, who is still wagging excitedly near the man's feet. "Move you stupid mutt!" He lifts his briefcase as if to hit Ken and Sanghyuk automatically reaches out to stop him. The mans swings his arm and the briefcase hits Sanghyuk in the face. Before Sanghyuk can react, the man is pulled away by Taekwoon. Without any warning he pulled back an arm and punched the man in the face then he all but throws the man out before locking the door. He approaches Sanghyuk hesitantly, a worried look on his face. The briefcase had caught on the edge of Sanghyuk's lip causing it to split open. Taekwoon silently inspects Sanghyuk for further damage, turning his head side to side. "I'm fine," Sanghyuk sighs. "Really," he insists at Taekwoon's disbelieving face. Despite his words he can feel the slight sting of tears not because of pain but because of frustration. He blinks away the tears, unsure of what to say.

A nudge at his legs had him leaning forward. He looks down to see Hongbin pushing him towards Taekwoon. The other three dogs were settled nearby observing everything. Sanghyuk can feel the blush staining his cheeks red when he realizes what Hongbin is doing. Another firm shove has him in Taekwoon's arms before he can fall over. Hongbin walks over to the other dogs looking somewhat smug. "Um actually you see I had baked a cupcake just for you this morning and I was going to give it to you because the dogs said I should last night because they can't stand me going on about how cute you are all the time..." Sanghyuk's babbling and he knows he should shut up but he can't help it, "...and I made it and I was going to give it to you but well you know what happened-" He's stopped by a finger pressing softly against his lips. He sees Taekwoon also blushing, "I like you too," he says softly before leaning forward and resting his hands on Sanghyuk's shoulders. He stops a breath away, as if giving Sanghyuk a chance to turn away. Instead Sanghyuk licks his lips and curls his fingers into Taekwoon's hair. Taekwoon licks the sore part of his lips that had been hit with the tip of his tongue before licking into his parted lips. Sanghyuk moans in response, sighing into the kiss, tightening his hands in Taekwoon's hair. Taekwoon rubs their tongues together before sucking on Sanghyuk's. The burn of his split lip is forgotten until they part for air. They stay together panting, holding each other until Ken bounds towards them, looking for attention as well. The pair both sit down and then all the dogs move forward as well. They stay there in the locked cafe surrounded by the dogs, and yes Sanghyuk really does love his job more than ever now.

[vixx-is-my-light]

Truth or Dare

VIXX finally getting back at Hyuk for bullying them all the time via a slumber party. |Sanghyuk-centric|1279 words|

(cross-posted from my AO3 - exo_miracles)

It's late, almost midnight and for once they're all back at the dorm together despite their usual hectic schedules. Hyuk is all for playing around and messing with his members despite all the hours of sleep he needs to make up for. However a slumber party is the reason Hyuk is still up and not in bed. Of course Hakyeon is the only one who would've thought to plan something like this for 'bonding time'. This is how they ended up making a nest of blankets and pillows and a huge stuffed Chopper.

"Hyung can I go to sleep now?" He begs Hakyeon. "No Hyogie, it's family bonding time and you're the baby of the group so you have to stay up with your hyungs." Hakyeon firmly replies as he points out the others. Hongbin is singing Park Hyoshin's songs very loudly while Wonshik films him on his phone and Jaehwan is drawing One Piece characters in permanent ink on Wonshik's back while he films. Hyuk double takes when he realises one hyung is missing. He scans the room twice before asking Hakyeon where Taekwoon is. That's when the Chopper he was sitting on shifts and groans. Hakyeon who was also looking around for Taekwoon spies the movement from under Hyuk. He squints at the lump under Hyuk, "Ah there you are Taekwoon-ah. Are you okay?" All he gets in response is another groan. "Hyukkie maybe you should get off him before you squish him to death." Hyuk complies surprisingly easily instead of bullying his hyung like he usually does. It's probably just because he's sleepy. Seeing this Hakyeon thinks of all the fun they could have with an obedient Hyuk. Then he thinks of a great idea that every slumber party needs.

"Alright everyone gather around, let's play a game together!" Everyone halts their various activities and look at their leader. "Binnie, bring that empty soju bottle" Instead of the usual sass, he receives the bottle and everyone is still looking at him. Maybe he should get them drunk more often. And that's how they end up in circle playing truth or dare in the middle of the night. After two rounds of ridiculous dares and inappropriate questions, Hakyeon finally succeeds in getting Hyuk to do a dare. He knows the youngest never backs down from a dare.

"You dare me what?!" Even through his muddled mind Hyuk is sensing danger from the look in Hakyeon's eyes. "To kiss everyone here. Think of it as payback for bullying us so much. But a dare is a dare. Are you backing out of a dare Hyogie?" It's the last question that makes Hyuk determined to go through with it, dignity as the maknae on top be damned.

He turns to first person on his left. He almost immediately turns back to his right. It's his number one victim. Taekwoon pulls him back though and leans in before Hyuk can back out. Taekwoon's kiss is much like him. It starts out with a timid press of warm lips and the addicting scent of coffee but after the shyness is gone, Taekwoon slants his head and Hyuk feels a slick tongue rub against his own. Then Taekwoon is pulling back as quickly as he started, quietly staring with his unblinking feline eyes. Hyuk catches himself as he almost reaches for Taekwoon again, he can't let his hyungs especially this one know he may slightly be enjoying this dare. Next is Hongbin who reaches for Hyuk and pulls him forward. Instead of the kiss Hyuk expected on the lips, Hongbin is lightly mouthing and sucking his jawline which is followed by a sharp bite on that sensitive spot below his ear. Hyuk should have expected this because Hongbin likes to tease no matter the situation and he's probably savouring the sight of the youngest panting and squirming in anticipation for what's to come. He traces back small kisses to Hyuk's lips before he licks into his mouth with a warm tongue that tastes of soju. After he's released, Hyuk thinks that kiss probably has him feeling more drunk than any amount of alcohol could.

Before Hyuk even turns to the next member, his senses are flooded with the intoxicating scent of ink and sweets and the warmth of a body curving around his. Jaehwan has him encased in his limbs and he rests his head on Hyuk's chest. His fluffy blond hair brushes on Hyuk's chin. Hyuk manages to slip one arm out and brings it up to pet Jaehwan's hair. He reminds Hyuk of a huge golden retriever, which he tells Jaehwan. Then lips are at his ears and Jaehwan lets out a soft "woof" before biting his ear lobe then leaning down to kiss him. Hyuk's legs are a tangled mess by the time Jaehwan's done with him and when he tries to move he almost face plants on the floor but arms wrap around him tightly and pull him into a warm embrace. The first thing he registers is the odd vibrating sound coming from the person's chest. It's almost like that chuffing thing that tigers do. He look up to see Wonshik's playful eyes on him. He idly remembers that the heavy purr like sound occurs when two tigers greet each other during courting. Soft lips press on his own and Wonshik deepens the kiss, continuing with his deep, grumbly humming thing. He nips at Hyuk's lips before leaning away and cooing "cute" in his baritone voice. Hyuk wonders when his hyung turned from a doberman into a tiger.

After Hyuk manages to crawl out from Wonshik's lap, he see that the last person is Hakyeon. He attempts to tease him and crawl past him. He doesn't get far partly because he feels like his bones are made of jelly by now and partly because Hakyeon has managed to snake his arms around Hyuk's waist before pulling him back and pushing him down on the floor. Hakyeon moves to straddle his waist,"Hyogie did you just try to skip me?" Hakyeon asks in a deceptively sweet voice. "W-would never dream of it Hyung." Hyuk stutters as Hakyeon leans down with a glint in his sharp eyes. Hyuk almost forgets to breathe when Hakyeon fully settles his body on his own. He stops a breath away from Hyuk's cheek, and hovers there for before just barely brushing against his cheek. Hyuk knows immediately that Hakyeon is teasing him, reminding him of the time they did something similar on camera for their concert. However that kiss was more like a mother trying to kiss her unwilling son but now there are no cameras and Hyuk is certainly not thinking of his mother. Hakyeon finally ends the cruel wait and kisses him. Instead of being rough, not that Hyuk would mind, Hakyeon holds him like he's made out of fragile glass, ironic as he's the biggest in the group. Hyuk feels like he's drowning, maybe because yes he did forget to breathe when Hakyeon sucked on his tongue but the feeling that Hakyeon exudes makes Hyuk warm and secure, something only Hakyeon could do. When Hakyeon's done with him, Hyuk no longer has the will power to move much less keep his eyes open. However just as he's finally falling asleep he hears the others shuffling around and then he's covered with a warm blanket and several arms and legs are tangling with his. He wakes up a few hours later to see everyone still cuddled around him in their nest of blankets. He smiles fondly at them before huddling under the blankets and pulling Chopper to hug in his sleep.