Nice dreams and Memories

And yet, the god of love did not care in the slightest. His beautiful face was still stretched into a smile all while his hips undulated on top of Taemin's lap. They apparently didn't give a damn who saw them and who didn't- and the one person who wasn't supposed to see, did.

Without a word, the god of Blacksmiths turned his scarred back to the scene and left. Usually, he would be conscious of your predicament and slow his pace for you, so you could wobble behind him unsurely on a wooden leg and crutch, but this time, he was numb to the world.

Numb to the surroundings.

The lovers did not move from their position, but as you turned one last time to catch a glimpse of them, they both had a victorious smile on their faces.

This was all planned.

There wasn't much you could do- you already had a taste of what gods can do to you when they think you've wronged them; a painful and phantom pain just slightly above your right knee, the pain that prevented you from catching up to Kyungsoo and doing something, anything to calm him down.

You didn't even know if he would allow it; after all, it was his kindness that helped you survive, and his gentle soul that brought you back to his smith when you were halfway into the embrace of his brother ruling the underworld.

Is it in your place to comfort him after something as heartbreaking as the infidelity of the god of love, who vowed to love him and only him?

It took a while to return to Kyungsoo's palace.

Many times you believed it was not for you, on the lonely rock teetering near a volcano, the source of Kyungsoo's powers. It dried out your skin much quicker than normal environments and it was only thanks to the ingenious idea to carve out a hole into the deep rock, filling it with ocean water that you were able to stay with him as long as you had.

The sky turned gradually from the softest of blue into a reddish hue, cotton-white clouds darkening into ashen grey and then black, mirroring Kyungsoo's mood. There were times when the sky rejoiced with Kyungsoo, each amused snort of laughter releasing a joyous white cloud in the sky, his warm approach mirroring in the soft wind softly blowing and sun caressing the skin instead of blistering it.

Today was not that case. The mountain was unlike you had seen it before. The black and red falsely made you think about the scorching heat, but as you approached the realm of the god blacksmith, the closer you huddled into your feeble covering, trying to conserve warmth, wobble up the rocky hillside and hurry at the same time. The furnace was not happily puffing with warmth, the fire inside was ice blue, almost white.

The closer you came, the more you were unsure whether you wanted to face the god and his anguish. It was difficult to walk up the stony pathway that was crushed under the hard steps of Kyungsoo, who oozed destruction in every way. The further inside you got into the mountain, the more broken possessions you had seen; it was mostly objects of Jongin's or something that they shared that lay crumbled on the ground. Jongin's mirror, enchanted by Kyungsoo to magically fix whatever blunder dared to appear on the face of the god of love, was punched out, the lasting shards of glass tinted red from Kyungsoo's knuckles. Their bed, made from both the softest satin for Jongin and the hardest mattress for Kyungsoo's back was splintered, one of its legs sticking from the portrait of at that point happy newlyweds.

Amongst the destruction of their joint life sat Kyungsoo. His scarred back was turned towards you, as he sat in front of the caldera, his furnace and piece by piece, he dropped in objects from Jongin that he held dear. He was naked, the clothing given as a birthday present ("It is enchanted to cover those horrid scars on your back. I really can't stand looking at them at times," the red flags were always there, but so were the pink glasses on Kyungsoo's eyes) lay beside him, soon to be thrown in the fire as well.

You knew he heard you, how could he not, with the tapping of your wooden cane against the volcanic rock, but he gave no acknowledgement to your presence. Hobbling to stand next to him, you became unsure of yourself; how to lower yourself gracefully and without hurting yourself? You've been on your feet for far too long, and the wooden leg was already painfully cutting into your thigh, causing immense pain. As you pondered about lowering yourself with your canes, Kyungsoo extended his scorched hand towards you, offering an anchor to slowly sit yourself next to the bubbling lake of magma. Usually you would watch it curiously as it bubbled in happiness of its master, baffled by how pure fire looked so similar to its polar opposite, water, but watching the pure blackness slugging rather made you turn to look at Kyungsoo. He didn't return your gaze and kept staring into the darkness.

"You should go take a dip," his voice was quiet, no emotion hanging off the syllables. It could have been evident that the opposite for the god of fire and brimstone would be the absence of any passion, the absence of life. "You are already drying out."

"I don't want to leave you alone." you murmured in reply, your hand twitching, unsure whether reaching out and grabbing his hand would be a good idea or not.

"You don't need to do that, ___, I'm fine."

"Kyung-"

"It was expected." he sighed, leaning back on his hands, and looking up at the dark sky. Kyungsoo frowned, as if he didn't know why the sky was weeping, as if he didn't know it was angry and wept for him.

"A god of love with a god of metal, of permanence? How absurd." You had no idea what to say to him. Your heart broke at how Kyungsoo, a god who showed you mercy when his uncle didn't, thought of himself as not enough.

"He deserves to be with somebody more fleeting. And who is more fleeting than the god of wind?"

"What he did was bad." your words rung out in the emptiness of the hilltop, searching Kyungsoo's face for any recognition. The only response you got was a frown.

"He gave you his word. He vowed to keep you happy, to be faithful. Kyungsoo..." you really didn't know if you should have told him the next information, but if anyone deserved to know, it was him.

"They looked like they planned it." His eyes turned to look at you. Not saying anything, he stared at you, bidding you to continue with your accusations.

Kyungsoo wouldn't tolerate any vile words aimed at his partner. Jongin was without error, without capability of being bad. However as of now, the god of blacksmiths was not so sure.

"As you were leaving, they paused...they paused and looked over, making sure you saw them. If they were having an illicit affair, why do it so obviously, in an open space?" not able to hold his gaze anymore, you turned to look down at your hands, curling them into fists at the frustration of unfair treatment towards Kyungsoo. The silence was palpable. It was thick as the magma swirling underneath you, slow, angry, oh so angry, as it turned from black to bright red. Kyungsoo's body temperature seemed to shoot up, even sitting next to him felt as if you were touching a white hot object.

"Why would he hurt me like that?" was the most heartbreaking thing he could utter in anger. "What did I do to him for him to want to hurt me like this?" even if he wasn't the one who did something wrong, he still blamed himself.

"You didn't do anything wrong, Kyungsoo." you tried, but he was already not listening to reason. The scars on his body began to seep through with magma, filling him with passion, but not the passion that you seemed to know. This was passion to hurt, passion to create a weapon.

Passion to hurt the one that he vowed to keep safe.

Taking a deep breath, Kyungsoo stood up, the scars drying into dark lava. Before you could do anything else, he already put his hands on you, gently unstrapping the wooden leg, the leather straps feeling like teeth, the same teeth that brought you into this predicament. Making sure not to touch your bare skin, Kyungsoo lifted you up, bringing you over to your small pool of ocean water, giving you the hydration your body sorely needed. The feeling of being filled with water was so overwhelming that you almost missed the fact that Kyungsoo forgot to bring over your prosthetic leg.

"Kyungsoo...my leg..."

"It will be safer for you to stay here for now."  

You have stayed outside for too long. The soothing effect of water on your skin made it hard for you to keep your eyes open. You knew you should stay awake and speak to the god, make him feel like not everybody in the world turned their backs on him, but you struggled to not slip into the land of dreams.

"Kyungsoo..." you murmured silently, reaching out to grab at him, but you were only met with the stuffy air against your fingertips. "You're drained, ___." came his velvety voice from afar, and through blurry eyes you saw him put on his apron and prepare his hammer. The open caldera was once again bubbling, but not happily, more agitated, prepared for whatever Kyungsoo was thinking up.

"You should rest. I will be here once you wake up."

"What are...what are you doing..."

"A gift. One last gift for Jongin."

And in that moment, your consciousness slipped away.

-

You swam through the world of sleep, disoriented. Usually you would not dream, and you didn't need much slumber to feel energized once again. However this time, you felt as if you had been dreaming for eons, just swimming through the murky and starry waters of the sky. Your leg was still attached to your body, as if it had never happened.

"You know, ____," Poseidon's voice rumbled through the darkness of the waters, from all and none direction at the same time, filling you with the same amount of dread it did the first time you heard it.

"You really are beautiful. Much more than my wife." the phantom feeling of his fingertips against the lower of your back made you kick faster in the water, hoping to get away from him. But how can you get away from something that was not there in the first place?

Something glistened in the dark waters, a thing that made your heart clench in fear.

"It makes it really hard to not do anything about this. About you." From the corner of your eye you could see her. Beautiful, and terrifying at the same time, Tethys with arms crossed at her chest, deep frown between her brows, gaze that can and will hurt you in the end. You tried to open your mouth, to plead with her, to explain that you had no intention to woo her husband nor to give him access to your body, but rather than sound coming out, water rushed into your lungs, cutting off your speech.

"Nobody has to know, ___," Poseidon appeared once again, heated whisper brushing against the shell of your ear.

"Nobody will know if you do this one thing for me," but she will know, you tried to argue, but there was no sound coming out, and no matter how fast you tried to swim, he was always there, following you like a shadow.

"Imagine the power I can give you," came the enticing voice from the waters, and the image of Poseidon appeared in the distance, swimming towards you. Strong strokes had him meandering confidently through the water, through his domain and in the moment, you understood how a seal cub felt as it was circled by predators.

"Just one night with me, to once again feel...young, by holding a dainty thing like yourself... and I will give you anything you want." You want him to leave you alone, though. There is nothing more you wanted, you wanted to be left alone to frolic in the waters and serve your queen, not betray her.

And yet you knew you couldn't fight this. This was already set in stone, and no matter how much you wished you could change the past, how you could change the reluctant nod of your head to a determined shake; no pleading, no crying, no anger can change what you had done in the past.

Poseidon was still around you. You couldn't see him anymore, but you still heard the lewd and heated whispers traveling through the water like oil. You stopped trying to swim away, and you floated in the dark waters. It made no difference whether you kept your eyes open or closed, and yet you still shut them to protect yourself from what was coming next.

You nodded, agreeing to shame Tethys by sleeping with her husband. And this time, you didn't see the great white shark surge from the darkness, biting at your leg and shaking until it gave way.

-

You woke with a start, kicking against the bottom of your pool as if the shark who mutilated you was waiting for you at the bottom. You only dreamt of this when you were extremely tired and restless, your biggest insecurities following you into the realm of sleep.

"Hey. Hey, ___..." the rich voice broke through the splashing in the water, and you understood that what was keeping you in the water was the gentle yet firm grip of Kyungsoo's hands on your shoulders. You sighed out his name, fingertips sliding across his hands and forearms to make sure it was him and not the scaley grip of the former master of the seas.

"You are still weak," he murmured, softening his grip once he felt you relax into the water. "You should stay in the water for a little bit longer." there was something wrong with his voice, and with a frown you pried your eyes open to look at the blacksmith.

There were heavy bags under his eyes and his whole body hunched under a mixture of pain and exhaustion. He was no longer wearing the apron and you could see the new scars that crisscrossed his chest and arms like white hot strings. You whined in confusion as you tried to get out of the pool for another reason, to assess his injuries, all while asking him what happened.

"I have something to do, ___. It's not safe for you to get out right now; the earth is still too hot." the water around you was still enticing, luring you back under to sleep, and you could hardly fight against it.

"Kyungsoo...don't..."

"Sleep now, ___...it will all be better soon..."

-

Going down under, you found yourself almost at the same spot when you were ripped out from your dreaming. Your body was being whipped back and forth through the strong currents of the sea, banishing you from the realm you were born to live your entire life in. When your head broke the surface of the water, the sky was just as dark as the sea underneath, occasional lighting forking through the clouds to illuminate the fact that you were left out at sea, forced to swim or drown. Your leg was still bleeding profusely, and as it was a miracle you were not dead yet, you knew that Tethys must have made sure that the shark bite is a certain, but very slow way to drag you into the underworld.

More sharks were circling under you, fighting over who deserves to get a chunk out of you first.

This is it. This is the end of your small, pathetic life. Being ripped apart because of injustice done to you. The sky above you roared with lightning, and with a start you realized that the crack you heard was the sound of the bolt hitting the ground. The darkness that you mistook as night and storm was a looming cliffside.

Seeing that land mass made something in your heart burn. It made it yearn for life, for getting the chance to explain yourself, to ask for forgiveness from your mistress, for being able to look into the eyes of the one who caused your death and show him that even a nymph like yourself was able to survive the order of a dying god.

And with that surge of hope and anger, you kicked as hard as you could, swimming straight towards the land. Not knowing whether the sharks have already began following you, you didn't look back, trying to fight against the current that at one moment pulled you further back into the sea and then the other surged you on top of a wave closer to land. At one of the pulls into sea, you felt your leg bump into the coarse skin of a shark close behind you, and you kicked its nose with the remaining strength that you had before with the final wave forward, you could feel your front skid across the jagged, but solid side of the rocks on the cliff. Grabbing at the cliff with both hands, you held steadfast as the water of the sea kept slapping against your back, pushing the air from your lungs and trying to pull you back into the sea. Another crack into the mountain top had you seeing fire on the edge of the cliff, indicating life just a few meters above you.

The cliff, as jagged and dangerous as it looked, had many roots and rocks sticking out and realizing you had to choose between waiting for the tide to come in and the sharks in the nearby water to pull you back down, or falling to your death, you began the arduous climb up the cliffside. It could have taken hours. It could have taken minutes, and you would be none the wiser, but after many moments when you thought you would just give up in the lightning illuminated night, you finally reached the top of the cliff, dragging your broken body over the edge and into safety.

That was the last bit of energy you had. You were going to die, but you were going to die knowing you tried to do everything to prevent it. And as your eyes were closing for what you thought was the last time, you caught a glimpse of a figure rushing towards you.

-

Heavy hits of a hammer dragged you from slumber. Still disoriented, your eyes fluttered open as you tried to locate the source of the noise attacking your ear drums with a shill 'pang!' every time the hammer hit the metal.

With blurry vision, you saw Kyungsoo's naked back straining to pound the hammer with efficiency against the desired product. Even from a distance you saw his form shake. Focused on his product, he was overworking himself once more, putting the satisfaction of a customer above his wellbeing.

He was like this even the first time you've met, on that cold and rainy night that you've escaped Poseidon's deathly grip.

What you thought was the last time your eyes close was a lie; they sprang open when you felt searing pain in the place where the shark bit off the majority of your leg. You tried to get away from the pain, eyes brimming with tears and whines ripping from your throat when you noticed that a deep voice was murmuring apologies into your ear, making sure your thrashing would not burn you more than it should. The pain was excruciating, but also short-lasting and moments afterwards you were being turned away from the white-hot furnace, your stump sizzling as your wound was burnt shut.

Your confused babbling was soothed by the man holding you, now pulling you away from the furnace and onto a makeshift bed, still gripping tight and making sure you would not fall. It was so sudden, and the fact that you were already prepared to begin the afterlife before somebody gave you another chance at life made you feel extremely weak. You already fought as much as you could. You didn't think you can keep holding on; your whole body burned from the chafed skin with dried salt in its deep ridges and every time you wished you squirm and move your leg a bit to the side you were hit with the sudden realization that you did not have a right limb anymore.

It was all so tiring. You only wanted to die. Whoever is trying to save you is not doing you any favors, and that much you tried to convey to them, but it seemed that they were not listening. They were still mumbling something calming, trying to ensure you that you were in a safe space and that you were taken care of.

The rag that they used to try to wipe out the salt in your wounds made you hiss, but there was no more energy in your body to squirm away. Only then you realized that you were not alone.

"I don't think she will last, Soo," came an almost disinterested voice from behind the man treating your wounds. "Look at her. She's barely hanging on."

"The bleeding stopped. She looks like a sea nymph...I think that if we clean her and make sure she has contact with water, she will survive."

"She's been evidently banished. Probably screwed by Poseidon and attacked by Tethys. She isn't the only body that washed up near here, you know." in the murky confusion of your mind, it finally made sense why you haven't seen many of your friends anymore. Their names were forbidden in your realm, and the same fate awaited you.

The man treating you was kind. From first glance, he did not seem like someone you would want to talk to; scars forked out under the frayed and dirty tunic that he wore and his overgrown hair fell deep into his eyes, covering the sliced scar that started at his temple and ended under his right eyebrow. His left cheek had been sliced open as well, leaving a deep ridge in the otherwise meaty flesh. His back was hunched, and he was missing a piece of his little finger to the second knuckle, but the moment his eyes met yours, you knew you were in good hands.

Chocolate brown eyes, round with wonder and with the determination to help you were mixed in with a bit of worry.

"Don't be afraid, nymph..." his voice was deep, and yet soothing. In a strange sense, it didn't seem to match his appearance, and yet on the other hand you couldn't imagine him sounding any different.

"Just stay awake."

You tried to speak, but the sounds got caught in your dry throat, making you cough. The stranger frowned at your state, turning back to look at his companion.

"Jongin, could you please go get some sea water from below? I think she's thirsty." The name rang a bell in your mind, but you were not sure where you heard it first. He was replied to with a scoff.

"I'm not your servant, Kyungsoo, I'm your husband." there was rustling heard, as if something was being packed away. "Just because I'm tolerating her messing up the dinner I made doesn't mean that I'll play hospital with you to ease your mind." The hunched stranger was quiet, gently stroking at your eyebrows to ease out the crease between them.

"I couldn't let her die..." was his mumbled reply, and with a sigh, Jongin rested his hand on his shoulder, thumb rubbing gentle circles into the muscle.

"I know it's your thing, darling, this...obsession with broken people and cliffs." the hand slipped away from him before Kyungsoo was able to grasp at it with his scarred hand.

"But just because you were flung from that cliff and survived doesn't mean that she climbed it and will live."

-

It took you a long time to realize how cruel Kyungsoo's husband Jongin was, and it took you even longer to realize why the god of love can be cruel to the god of blacksmiths in such a way. Kyungsoo was cast away at birth, flung from the same cliff on which his smith now stood, left to die by his parents. By some fateful intervention however, he survived and through quiet and persistent work he showed he was worthy of living and of a place within the deity pantheon. His father was so impressed by Kyungsoo's ability to overcome any difficulties, that he gave him the love of the god of love himself, and Jongin was forced by the majority of the gods to marry the scarred blacksmith with a heart of gold.

Your recovery took a while, but Kyungsoo made sure to cater to your every need. After being on the ground for too long, he carried you down to the beach, digging a hole deep enough in the moist sand that it filled with water, safe from the sharks lurking and hunting for your life but still close enough to the source of your power so you could replenish your energy. Your wound began healing, but your leg would never grow back in its place, that much Kyungsoo was told by the god of medicine who came to check up on you after the first crucial week that you had survived. Your body was still littered with bruises, both black and purple, ridged with red strings caused by the jagged edges of rocks.

The first month or so you didn't want to leave the haven that was the small pool of sea water that Kyungsoo created for you. Even though he made sure that you knew that there was always a place for you at his table, a fact that annoyed Jongin to no end, you didn't have it in yourself to leave the safety of the water and more importantly, to show the world your new form. The absence of your leg haunted you incredibly. Water nymphs were extremely proud of their forms, of how fast they could swim, of how strong their kicks were, of how enticing they were to sailors and other poor souls that came in contact with them. The attention nurtured them, made them feel important.

Who and why would anyone find you attractive now? You were broken. Banished for your vanity, hurt for your insolence. There were many nights when you couldn't help but to burst into silent tears, feeling so alone and so abandoned in that tiny hole in volcanic rock, so far away from everything that you knew.

And yet Kyungsoo never pushed you out of your shell. He kept you company, made sure that the Vulcan did not overheat your water, brought you food and news of the outside world. He was the one that brought you the news of Poseidon's stepping down and the reining of a new king of the seas. You met Junmyeon before and even though you knew there was a strong chance you would not be let back in your home anymore, you rejoiced. He was a just and kind ruler, and the terror of Poseidon's lust came to an end.

As time passed, you became more curious about what the master blacksmith was doing when his husband was out. Seeing your curiosity, he would bring over his finished products to show you, and in a matter of days you were his advisor in Jongin's gifts. Kyungsoo's husband was extremely lucky to have a partner like him. On an almost daily basis Kyungsoo would spend hours to craft the most intricate of gifts, cradling the finished product with such warmth in his eyes it made you almost look away from the intimate moments, as he wished they would bring joy to Jongin. His husband would always receive them with lukewarm reactions, planting a sloppy kiss to the blacksmith's face as thank you, and yet it seemed to be enough for him. He was the one to create a crutch for you, made out of driftwood from the sea, regulating the moisture in the bark to let you know how long you could be on the surface without feeling sick. At night, with both of the gods sleeping, you stared at the crutch with a mixture of admiration and disgust; admiration for the blacksmith god and disgust at the fact that you now needed an aid like this to move around.

-

A loud groan ripping from Kyungsoo's throat brought you back into reality, into the land of all the beautiful gifts shattered on the volcanic rock, and the god in front of you crumbling to his knees. He didn't hear you calling out to him, his hands curling into fists, knuckles white as whatever pain he felt coursed through his body.

You still weren't strong enough, that much was evident; your arms shook as you tried to lift yourself from your pool, and your leg immediately buckled under you as you tried to straighten up. However, you needed to get to him, you had to help him, as in the end, his body sagged and the tension it held snapped like a rubber band. Your heart skipped a beat at the sight, and for one horrifying moment you thought you had lost him. That thought alone fueled you to abandon your attempts to hobble over to him with your crutch, and you crawled over the volcanic rock, eyes misty, hands shaking, heart going so fast you thought it might jump out of your chest.

The reason for your survival was lying on the floor, feeling abandoned once more, just like all those decades ago when he was flung from the cliff. The reason for your recovery shook in overextension, eyes rolled back. For one second you thought that his eyes detected yours, and you cradled his head in your arms, gently caressing his scarred cheek.

"It's alright, Kyungsoo...just stay awake...we will make you feel better, I promise..." you tried to murmur to him all the words he whispered to you in your darkest moments, tried to make him feel as loved as he made you feel the moment your whole world crashed around you. In a sudden spasm, Kyungsoo coughed up blood, spraying your neck with the red liquid, and his eyes closed once more.

"Hey!" your voice grew urgent, wiping at his lips, rubbing at his chest to bring back some heat into the abnormally cold body.

"I said stay awake! Please!" You didn't have any healing properties like your sisters. You didn't even know if you could concoct some potion to make him feel better. You didn't know who, or if you could call somebody.

On the black rock, holding the body that you felt so grateful to, you were lost.

"There are so many people who love you, Kyungsoo," you sniffled, leaning down to press a kiss against his forehead, uncaring whether you crossed any boundaries. "There are so many people for who you are a joy. Jongin is wrong. You are not unlovable. You are loved in each and every way. Please, please, wake up!"

You heard a rumble behind you, but you couldn't care less about anything that was not Kyungsoo, the man that deserved the world and seemed to receive only broken shards. And why? Because of his appearance? Because he let himself be walked over, since any attention is good attention to a boy who was flung from a cliff? Your heart bled in anger, it cried in grief, and yet it pulsed with new-found love for the man.

You never knew that you would find it. Love was not meant for nymphs like you, and it was definitely not for you to give to a god. However, you couldn't help it, the way your shaky hand brushed through the matted hair, soothing at Kyungsoo's scalp. Unable to keep your sudden revelation anymore, you cupped Kyungsoo's full cheeks, squeezing at them in hopes to wake him up.

"I love you, Kyungsoo. I love you for how gentle you were with me when I needed it the most, for how you always give your best, even to people that don't even deserve a speck of your attention." you choked on your tears, and to calm yourself down, you peppered soft kisses to the brow of Kyungsoo's arch, the skin feeling salty underneath your trembling tears.

"Whatever you're trying to do...please...stop. It's killing you, and you, of all people, deserve to be happy in this life. Please...come back..."

You haven't even noticed that the rumbling gained on its intensity as you tended to the broken god of blacksmiths, but it got to such a level that you could not ignore it anymore. It attacked your earbuds, a sound jarring and uncomfortable, and when you looked up in annoyance at the source of the noise, the trembling object on the anvil suddenly broke in an explosion of light, swallowing your entire vision.

After the shock of white, everything turned black.

---

It could have been moments between your periods of consciousness, but it also could have been hours. The feeling of floating you felt was not imagined, and when you gradually began feeling more lucid, you realized that you were back in your pool.

However this time, you weren't alone.

Strong arms were holding you secure, making sure you would not slip off the lap of the person you tried to save before. On the back of your thigh, you could feel his fingertips prune from being in the water too long, and when you tried to voice your protest in a mewl of discontent, he replied in a comforting grumble. Your eyes opened and as you regained focus, you saw the entire scenery change.

Gone were the dark clouds marring the sky. It was left without a spot, the sun on the horizon casting hues of deep orange and soft pink across the starry canvas. The furnace, bubbling and huffing in anger before was as calm as the evening sea. The smithy was no longer trashed with Jongin's broken belongings, and it looked pristine. And at the edge of your pool, an object took your breath away.  

"As you were asleep, I was trying to create something to punish Jongin." behind Kyungsoo's voice, you heard exhaustion.

"A net. I wished to catch them in action once more, so I could throw a net over them and drag them to the pantheon, to shame them for their deeds. I wanted them to feel as humiliated as I was when I saw them. I wished they would feel the pain I felt when I realized that Jongin's promise was as light as the wind Taemin wields." you reached out, grabbing at the hand gently stroking your side. When his fingers relaxed, you slipped yours between them, gripping in support.

"The net I wanted to create requires the pain from the blacksmith in order to work. I thought I was broken enough to create it. My parents didn't want me at birth, my husband didn't want me in marriage, my brothers didn't want me in the pantheon...I was okay if I died in order to create the net." the words had you grabbing at his hand in fright, and turning to watch his face. However, as you looked into Kyungsoo's eyes, you saw nothing but comfort and calm, the same calm the sea has after a horrific storm.

"And I almost thought that I did. I was ready to meet Tao, and I hopefully had done enough good deeds to go on into Elysium. And then, I heard your voice. I felt your touch, and your kisses..." bringing your clasped hands up to his face, Kyungsoo peppered a gentle kiss over your knuckles.

"I couldn't do it. I can't punish for Jongin for looking for love elsewhere, in a relationship that had no future. Especially if I myself had doubts about its genuineness."

"Kyungsoo..."

"I'm not trying to promise you anything," he added hastily, sitting straight up, and holding your hands between his. Under your fingertips, you felt the wrinkles caused by the water. How long was he holding you here?

"After such a long time that I lived for Jongin, I think I need to figure out what I should do next...about my existence outside of this marriage...I mean, I don't even know whether you yourself feel something else, but, ___..." your fingers gripped back, and you sat up straight to look into his genuine eyes.

"Would you allow me to court you?"

The question that has been denied you in the past. The need of affirmation from your side is what had you nodding through tears, your heart bursting with new affection for the immensely shy god who surprisingly found courage to ask you, a lowly creature, the approval of courtship. He tried to not make it evident, but you could see the relief on his features, and the smile that graced his features as he leaned over and pressed a kiss against your forehead.

"Will you then accept my first gift?"

Bidding you to look over at the object at the edge of your pool once again, Kyungsoo smiled at the uncertain question of "is that for me?" that escaped your lips.

"I know that the crutch and the prosthetic were just temporary solutions. You tried not to let it show, but they were quite cumbersome to use, yes?"

At the edge of the pond stood something that resembled a pillar. It slimmed down into a pen-point blade, and the surface was pearly, shining with iridescent hues as the sun cast its light on it. It was beautiful, and you almost feared touching it, but with Kyungsoo's encouragement, you reached out and slid your fingertips along the smooth surface. It was surprisingly warm to the touch, and despite the seemingly hard material, the object felt almost life-like.

"I think we need to get out in order to see if it works..." Kyungsoo murmured, pulling himself out of the pool first, in order to help you sit on the edge. "This is my first time trying something like this, and maybe it will not be perfect, but I can try again..." as he spoke, more to himself than to you, Kyungsoo gently grabbed at the prosthetic and placed the thickest side of it against the stump of your right leg. It felt warm against your skin, and you thought he would fetch ropes from somewhere in order to attach it to you, but Kyungsoo patiently held the marble against your skin, watching it with brows furrowed from nerves.

Moments passed, moments that had you holding your breath in tension.

It was in the moment you both thought that the prosthetic did not work that you saw the tendrils of white reach out and clasp at your skin.

"Look!" was the only thing that stopped Kyungsoo from pulling the prosthetic away, and despite your first fright, you realized that the tendrils did not hurt, and instead of burrowing into your skin as you thought they would have done, they latched onto it. Before your own eyes, you watched the marble form and change, vein-like grooves appearing along the length of it, tiny petals and leaves blooming in one place or the other. The sharp point slowly changed, and within moments, you stared at a marble-white foot lying right beside your left one. The prosthetic never changed its iridescent hue, but to the touch, it felt as if you never lost a leg in the first place.

"Would you like to try standing?" Kyungsoo tried not to sound too giddy about his gift working, and you immediately nodded. The blacksmith grabbed at your hands, and with gentle strength, helped to lift you to your feet. In reflex, you still held the majority of your weight on the left side of your body, gripping at Kyungsoo's hands in fear that he would let you fall.

"Slowly..." he instructed you, patient, as he watched you transfer some of the weight on the prosthetic. Still in awe, you watched your now two feet.

You wiggled your left toes, gently padding against the warm volcanic rock under you.

You then wiggled your right toes, the movement just as suave as the one on your left leg.

Kyungsoo watched you with a great smile on his face as you took your first steps in months, strides still unsure. What you thought you would never do again; you took your first steps after a god plotted your killing.

Looking back, you still saw Kyungsoo smile, the warmth and happiness making his scars disappear. In this moment, in your eyes, he was more beautiful than the god of love.

You couldn't exactly pinpoint the moment when you two became an item. You probably couldn't even say when this began.

There was that one time the two of you couldn't get back to the tower in time, a while ago when it was still necessary for every able-bodied individual to participate in runs. It was a mixture of adrenalin, fear of the future and the extreme need to be held that had the two of you reaching for each other like people starved.

After that, you had no talk about what you were. The two of you weren't exactly a secret, Jungkook walked in on the two of you more than he'd like (hence the newly installed lock on Joon's office door), but you weren't as public about your relationship as Hobi and the Doctor.

This was enough for you, you settled with a little sigh as your lips molded against his, and you wiggled in Joon's lap for comfort.

As you rubbed against him, Namjoon groaned deep in his throat, hands sliding down the expanse of your back to perch on your ass, swatting at it as you giggled at the rumbled "behave" that left his lips.

Namjoon led the tower with a firm hand, but it never slipped into dictatorship or terror as you had heard from other groups. He fairly often offered his position up for taking and consulted each decision with as many people as he could.

He was a good leader, fair, kind, but also able to make decisions a few would. He relied on the whole group, and he was a shoulder you could lean on when the night got a little too dark.

And that's what you hoped you were to him at this point.

Many times Joon was the first one to rise and the last to sleep, hunched over maps of scavenged territories, scheduled runs, and inventory documents, trying to figure out the necessary steps that needed to be done. Even though he no longer participated in runs, he was still as active as he was before, when he was jumping from roof to roof.

You felt his body relax underneath you, the lazy smile that stretched over his lips evident as he trailed kisses down your neck. The tenseness of his shoulders disappeared under your touch, which you encouraged with a hum, gently grinding down into his crotch. Joon responded in kind, nipping at your neck in playful warning.

"If you keep this up, I won't get back to work when I'm supposed to," he warned and you laughed, scratching at his scalp.

"Oh my god, I would totally hate if you ended up kissing me all afternoon. Please don't," sarcasm heavy on your tongue, you laughed when Joon sent another swat to your ass.

You dipped down to kiss him once more, when you suddenly felt your skin vibrate in something you hadn't experienced in a while. You couldn't have been imagining it, because Joon tensed up as well, brows furrowing as he tried to locate the source of the sound.

As if a switch went off, it both came to you at the same time and you few off his lap, ripping the door open as Joon grabbed at the radio, ordering all runners to find near shelters and get out of sight.

From the windows, you saw the military truck, mounted with numerous blades, spikes and spears which were getting overwhelmingly weighed under by the mass of dead bodies that blindly followed the booming music resonating from the two venue sized speakers on top of the truck.

All the masses of undead had flown to the source of disturbance, looking like ants from the top of the building. With how loud the truck was, you knew it was not only the walkers that were coming, but also the rabid virals that were much quicker.

You reached the entrance to the tower out of breath and turned on the electric traps while grabbing at the radio stationed near the two alert guards.

"The entrance is armed, I repeat, the entrance is armed," you huffed, trying to catch your breath.

"Do NOT return to the tower," but you watched with mouth agape as someone sprinted around the corner, two virals on their trail. Before you could say anything, the person launched themselves in the air, somersaulting over the electrified fence and landing in the rubble on the other side.

The mindless zombies ran straight into the trap, and before they could attempt to flee, their nerves were charred and the smell of rotten burning flesh got in the air.

Quickly shaking off, the runner rose and climbed the barricades to safety. Jungkook was bleeding from where he cut his palms as he landed in the rubble, and he had a smaller gash on his forehead, but other than that he was fairly okay, and it was okay for you to smack him up the side of his head for scaring the soul out of you, something you just told him. Jungkook grinned sheepishly, scratching the back of his neck.

"Sorry, noona," he murmured, wiping at his bloodied brow. "The tower was the closest safehouse for me."

"And the one near the van?" you handed out the melee weapons to the two guards- after the drama with the girl who saved Yoongi's life, guns were forbidden by the entrance, replaced by spiked bats, axes and machetes.

"It's overrun. Some of the virals smashed through the front entrance and there were already some walkers in there." your heart dropped as you heard this. Before you could ask, Jungkook beat you to it.

"None of ours were there. I checked it out and cleaned some of the walkers when the two virals saw me." you sighed out in relief, walking over to the windows. The music was harder to hear now, slowly going farther away, leaving behind empty streets. The further away the car was, the more runners began to check in.

Hope was just fine, monitoring the situation from the nearby watchtowers. Yoongi took the opportunity to practice his aim and test out of well his homemade silencer worked.

And when you looked over at Jungkook, he had a look on his face as if he was the king of the world. His smugness and the amount of injuries on him didn't match him just escaping two virals.

You eyed him warily.

"What did you do?" he shook the backpack in his hand, before throwing it to you.

"Finally got there." your heart got stuck in your throat as you wasted no time in ripping it open, eyes almost glittering in happiness at the amount of pills that spilled out.

"You didn't!" you exclaimed and immediately rummaged through it, checking what he got. Painkillers, cough drops, anti-inflammatory pills, disinfectants, numerous bandages at the bottom, and so much more.

"I wasn't quite sure what to take, so I just got the basics. When hyung writes me a list, I'll go back at take some more."

"Did you keep it open?" Jungkook shook his head.

"Lured in two walkers and then locked the door. Covered it with some rubble, just like I found it. I hid some things that seemed to look important away and ransacked the place, so it looks like it's been raided. Tried to do more, but I heard the music." Jungkook frowned, but nevertheless you threw your arms around his neck, hugging him tight. You knew how low you were running on some specific medicine, and just this backpack stocked you up for weeks.

"You're a hero, Kookie," you cooed, pulling back to press a kiss against the smudged cheek. Underneath the soot, you could see the blush shining through as a tiny giggle escaped his lips.

"Ah, noona..." he mumbled in embarrassment, wiping at his forehead. The wound didn't look very dangerous, but you still took it up to pull out one of the disinfectants Jungkook scavenged to clear it out. The two of you shuffled away from the entrance, leaving the two guards to peer over the ledge and make sure no stray walkers found their way inside.

"So, you saw the van even before?" you asked as you soaked a piece of cloth with the alcohol. Jungkook winced before he nodded.

"Yeah, they went down the main road. There was quite a bit of walkers behind them, because of the music. The women also shot at them, so it brought even more traffic in."

"Women?" you jumped, not even realizing when Namjoon joined the two of you. Jungkook's eyes twinkled as he looked up at his hyung, nodding.

"Yeah, they had assault rifles and also explosives. They threw some in the crowds every now and then, thinning the herd."

"Did you recognize anyone there?" you gently pressed your thumb against the crease between Kook's eyebrows, as he frowned in thought.

"I don't think so. I'm not sure, they had these weird masks over their faces."

"Masks?"

"Yeah, like red masks with a white hand over it? Remember Lord of the Rings, hyung? Something like that." It was Namjoon's turn to frown, his look souring. You reached out, grabbing at his hand in comfort, but the squeeze he returned was feeble at best.

"Damn," he cursed, running a hand through his hair and biting at his lower lip in frustration.

"I gotta go." your stomach dropped, as he turned on his heel, leaving both you and Kook staring after him in alarm. Both of you turned to look at each other, puzzled and confused. Torn between wanting to follow him and ask what's going on and to stay behind and tend to Jungkook's wound, you silently watched as Namjoon took the bare necessities and ordered the electric trap to be turned off, before he disappeared over the ledge, leaving the building.

"Where did he go, noona?"

You wished you could answer him.

-

It has been a while since Namjoon had gone out alone. It has been a while since he had gone out, period, but even when he did assign himself a run, the others made sure he would be accompanied by the more experienced runners. There was not much need for him to be with someone, anyways- the streets were almost cleared out completely. If there wasn't as much rubble and occasional fires sprouting up, he could pretend as if no apocalypse happened in the first place.

The wind was blowing softly, ruffling through his hair and bringing the stench of death to his nostrils. The smell that would have made him puke just mere months ago now seems like something natural to him. He tenses only once the stench increases, signifying the approach of an enemy; luckily, he seems to be following the van's tracks meticulously, because all the fast virals are gone, and only a straggler shuffling from inside appears here and there. Even so, he doesn't take any chances and opts travelling on rooftops when possible.

He heard of the rumors, but he didn't want to believe them. It seemed surreal, but seeing the van on his own eyes, and hearing Jungkook speak of the people using it confirmed his suspicions.

He travelled swiftly, jumping from one roof to another, using the ground only if absolutely necessary. There weren't many walkers he offed, some stragglers who got stuck when the van passed their way, only now getting loose. He still had some time left before the sun went down, but he didn't want to waste any chances.

The army base on the outskirts of town was said to be abandoned and overrun with dead soldiers. Since there is a theory that the sounder the body was before the infection, the more dangerous zombie it would create, people steered clear from the institution of possibly extremely agile undead shuffling about. The closer he got, the more disposed bodies appeared to be lying on the ground. Here and there, he saw crucified zombies, warning signs for the living to turn back, and yet he ignored them all. Normally, he wouldn't so easily walk into a human settlement; just because his people and the tower were friendly didn't mean that the others wanted to keep humanity afloat. He already heard of gangs overpowering smaller groups, of mafia hoarding the important supplies and trading them for guns or people. There was talk of human trafficking, of gladiator style games being set up where prisoners desperately fought against unleashed zombies without a weapon.

He might be making a grave mistake, Namjoon thought to himself, frowning, as he neared the reinforced gates of the institution. Already from afar, he could see at least three assault rifles pointed at him, the women wielding them growling at him to state the reason why he came. He came closer, hands in the air.

"Are you the Harpies?" Namjoon called out, trying to stay calm even though he knew his voice attracted potential undead lurking afar.

"What's it to you?" one of the guards scoffed back, hoisting the gun higher up.

"I'm your leader's husband."

-

The headquarters of the Harpies was full of life, and mostly female. Since he was brought in, he has not seen a man, but instead was met by a horde of battle-toughened women who eyed him suspiciously. It wasn't surprising; he wasn't one of them. There was no white handprint on him, indicating his allegiance to the group. The placement of the handprint didn't seem to be of importance: he saw it on the crown of a bald woman's head, over clothing, printed over someone's throat in a ghastly reminder of how the virus has society in a choke-hold.

Weapons also seemed to be heavily distributed amongst the members. There was not a single woman without some kind of weapon, be it an assault rifle all the way down to a knife strapped over the waist.

After patting him down and disposing of his weapons ("We might give them back...if we don't forget," crooned the guard with a sly grin as she slid his handgun from the holster hidden under his shirt), Namjoon was led down the hangar, instructed to keep his eyes forward. He seemed to attract attention; did they think of him as a hostage? Did he freely turn himself over to the enemy, the sudden thought came to his head. What if they would hold him hostage and blackmail the tower for pharmaceutics or food? A weight suddenly set over his shoulders. He and Yoongi had a mutual understanding on how to deal with situations like these; calmly assess if the price is adequate. If not, see if there is a different way to get one of them out. If not, establish a shrine of remembrance for the fallen comrade, because having one dead is better than dozens. You flashed through his mind just as he reached the end of the hangar, and the door to the former commander's office opened.

A woman stood with her back to him, pondering over a huge map which spread all over one wall. Her hair slicked back, held in a tight braid.

"Boss, there is some guy who says he knows you," came the introduction from one of the guards. Immediately, the woman scoffed.

"Who the fuck has the balls to come over he-" and as she turned and sighted Namjoon, her grumbling cut off, the frown on her face replaced by a ghost of a smile he had remembered from before.

"Namjoon," she breathed out, waving the guards away with a flick of her wrist. Her voice. It still haunts him in his dreams sometimes, calling out for him. And he usually wakes up, the presence of her name on his lips.

"Mina."

-

There were three hours left before the sun came down, and yet you still couldn't stop pacing. Namjoon broke the most vital rules one has to abide when they go out: always say where you're going and have some kind of communication channel on you. Namjoon broke both, and it was unlike him, and it freaked you out.

You tried to entertain yourself by doing other tasks; bringing Jungkook up to the doctor to make sure there were no other injuries on him, before dumping him off at his room to rest. You then took his bag over to Seokjin, who almost wept with happy tears at the sight of so many necessary medicines being dumped on his desk. You catalogued all of them and then made changes on the roster of most vital items the runners had to keep their eyes out for. It did put your mind somewhat at ease, knowing that there were so many items taken off there, and that there is a place where you can go and restock.

That made you call up Jimin and one more runner, marking the pharmacy on their maps and sending them off to see if they can find other necessary items. There was still enough time, as the pharmacy was shockingly close. How could they have missed it?

On your way back from assigning their run, you passed by Yoongi and the girl who rescued him; she recently underwent restorative surgery to have her ankle put back into place, which rendered her basically immobile. The senior runner took it up to help her get from spot A to B. You were glad to see that she is getting used to the tower. Being in isolation for so long can seriously harm a human being, but she is slowly making progress to grow more accustomed to the life here. The kids seem to help- they like her voice and so she and Yoongi make bedtime reading rounds every now and then, reading from the frayed books that were left behind by former residents. Thinking about children had you turning on your heel, walking over to the Teacher. She has been quiet on supplies for a while, especially because Donghun always seemed to scoff at any supplies she asked for. You didn't agree with him- school was necessary even in times like this, to teach the children basic facts about the world, and to give them a semblance of what normal life looked like.

At first she resisted, affirming she needs nothing new, but seeing that the walls of the make-shift classroom have doodles all over them confirmed that they do need some sort of paper, and maybe if they were lucky, some arts and crafts supplies to keep the children busy. You also took note of her state; it seemed to be a struggle for her to get up from the floor, and the cushion probably isn't cutting it anymore as a good seat. You will soon need diapers and possible baby formula.

You visited the doctor afterwards, mentioning the new possible addition to the tower, and asked her if there are any specific items she will need for the procedure. As Joon still didn't turn on his radio or tracker, you had nowhere to be and the initial check-up for the vital things for birthing turned into an inventory checkup of the medical resources. Even though the whole tower voluntarily gave it up in favor of disinfectants, you found out that you were running low on alcohol, and you immediately informed the current runners outside to swipe up whatever hard liquor they could get their hands on. Jimin just sent you a message, informing you on their trip to  the pharmacy- they found everything on the list and more, but still decided to stock up on medicine the tower already had an abundance of - if needed, they could trade it for other material in the long run.

The sun was already low on the horizon as you left the doctor's office. With a shaky hand, you raised the radio to your lips, voice so unsure you almost couldn't let a sound out.

"Joon?" his name got swallowed by the static, and the more you listened to the gritty sound of nothingness coming back at you, taunting you, the more your heart tightened in fear. What is happening?

-

Namjoon would never expect to meet her again in these circumstances; her offering him tea in her great office. Despite being a leader, it was evident that Mina was out on the van mission as well. Her arms, already blackened by new tattoos that ran from her shoulders down to her wrists in bold strikes, had blood splattered all over them. She followed his gaze, smirking.

"Sorry about that," she said nonchalantly, as she wiped down a bit of brain matter from her bicep. "Didn't get enough time to get ready." Giving up on her task, she dropped the towel in a nearby bin, sitting back in her chair.

"I wasn't expecting company, you know." To this, Namjoon chuckled himself. "To be quite honest, I didn't think I would be going around making visits either." it was strange, seeing her like this, so familiar and yet so strange. The face staring at him was the first thing he saw in the morning for many days, and yet looking at her now didn't evoke the same giddiness of love as it had before.

He was filled with apprehension. He felt like he was locked inside a cage with a sleeping tiger, not knowing whether he fed or not.

"Your van stirred up quite a bit of trouble for us." Mina nodded, lifting her legs to rest them on her desk. "Yeah, we usually don't go down there, but we noticed an increased number of walkers." Her striking eyes pierced his, and the breath stuttered in his chest. Even though he felt like he didn't know her, Mina was still beautiful.

"Was it from you?"

"No. We are keeping a good job at staying whole." at in that moment, as something flashed through Mina's eyes, he knew he shouldn't have said that. Something along the lines of pain flickered in them, but it was gone as quickly as it came. Mina gave him a wry smile.

"I'm glad to hear that."

Silence spread among them; nobody quite knew what to say. If he still had it, Namjoon would've been fidgeting with his wedding band at that moment. But that comfort was lost in the apocalypse.

"And so, what are you doing here?" Mina snapped from her thoughts, a smile spreading across her face.

"The world evidently has gone to shit, Namjoon. It has been months, and there has been no outside contact from any government institution. There has been no cure for the bite, apart from immediate amputation if a limb was the source of the disease." Kicking away from her desk, Mina stood up, walking over to the large map painted on the wall. Namjoon took it as an invitation to join her, studying the various symbols spread across the area of the town.

"At this point, we don't operate under the presumption that the people might get better. We expect things will just go downhill from now on. And we need to start cleaning up." Namjoon's stomach dropped at her final sentence. The purge, something Namjoon strongly opposed and tried to stop, is going to happen. He looked up from the map to stare at his former wife's profile, somewhat stunned. How a woman who was adamant about leading the ants out of their kitchen instead of killing them could lean over a map of the city they built their life in and actively plan to get rid of their neighbors, their co-workers, their...

The door slammed open and a woman with a smile that could light up the room entered. Mina's head snapped up and she grinned fully at the newcomer, opening her arms, which the woman took as an invitation to jump into her embrace. Her movements were so full of life, so active, Namjoon only later noticed that her arm was crudely cut at the elbow, something that did not seem to slow her down in the slightest. The white handprint went over the stump from where her forearm would grow.

Namjoon choked at his spit when his former wife and the newcomer shared a kiss, this being the first time they saw each other since Mina returned from the vehicle mission. Not knowing what to do, Namjoon screened the room, trying to find something, anything he could keep his eyes on while his wife greeted her lover. Hearing her chuckle, he turned to her, a sly grin throning on her face. With one arm still wrapped around her lover's waist, she pointed to the area around her neck with a suggestive lifted eyebrow.

"I see you've also been busy in your tower, Joon." red seeped into his cheeks as he pressed down on the new bruise you left behind, and the thought of your earlier escapades made his stomach clench with guilt. He left without telling anyone his whereabouts, without checking in. There was still a couple of hours left for him to return, he analyzed as he looked out the window. It was only after Mina spoke that her lover seemed to have acknowledged his presence.

"Darling, this is Namjoon. He leads a group downtown." She tilted her head in curiosity.

"So you met during the raid today?" Mina laughed at the same time as Namjoon smiled.

"No, we've known each other even before the apocalypse. He probably saw our mark and it reminded him of me." Mina hit the nail on its head. He still remembers the white handprints on the red wall, ones he had passed every time he went to work. Her lover laughed, shaking her head.

"What did you come here to do, Namjoon? Are you here to trade?"

The handprints on the wall stood out, blooming from the bottom, and crowning out into a tree. Namjoon's bigger palmprint was always complemented with Mina's slender fingers.

He shook his head. "I came to offer a chance to merge groups." Mina, whose smile was still civil up to that point, turned sour. With a tightening of her arm, she pulled her lover back to her, pressing a firm kiss to her temple.

"Hyeri, love. Can you give us some privacy? I'll tell you everything tonight." Hyeri, seemingly sensing something important from her lover, nodded in understanding. She returned the gesture, kissing the tip of Mina's nose, which made her giggle slightly, before taking leave.  

The tree seemed to travel through the history of their relationship. Some palm prints would hold small keepsakes, such as the movie tickets of their first date, an old key to the first apartment they rented together, pictures of them with their families, friends...

As the door clicked shut, Mina's gaze turned cold.

"You want to collaborate with the Harpies?" her voice was unlike the one he knew for so many years, and it made a shiver run down his spine.

"We have many doctors," he tried to appease the anger in the woman's face. "Scientists even, ones that are working on trying to find a cure..."

"And have they been successful?" she cut him off, leaning back against the wall. Only then he saw that the wall was covered with pictures of women. Some had a red "X" placed over them. Namjoon knew very well what that meant.

The tree trunk continued with pictures from their wedding. He still vividly remembers the feeling of the day, but the visual aspect of it disappeared in the smoke of the destroyed city. The pictures are still probably stuck to the wall, back in their own apartment, with everything else that makes his heart tug in pain.

"No...I mean, n-not yet, but they could be! Mina, those are our people out there."

"They're not." Mina's glare was stone-cold, and if he did not see the white of her knuckles, he would have thought this was easy for her to speak of.

Their wedding pictures were followed by pictures of house renovations. They bought a run-down apartment near the center of town, and it took a while and many pain-filled days to mold the place in what they hoped would be the home that they would grow old in. It was in a great location; supermarkets were nearby, the public transport was a minute away, parks were near, bordering with a kinder garden.

"They're not our people. If you need to tell yourself that to appease your survivor's guilt, I completely understand that. But they stopped being human the second their eyes turned grey and they reached out to bite at you." Namjoon clenched his jaw, looking away from his former wife.

The following pictures on the family tree were of Namjoon and Mina looking bright and happy. Pictures of Mina's body. A black and white grainy picture which only doctors could decipher but held so much happiness.

"Everybody deals with this pandemic their way, Joon. I cannot sit around and try to keep my women safe, knowing that every day there is more of them and less of us. I need to work on trying to give my people a sense of fulfillment, and if it is by killing the monsters and ensuring our safety, so be it. If it is marked with the price of some of mine dying or losing limbs in the fight, so be it."

The bundle of sheets held the most precious treasure of them all, and it hung from the family tree as a valuable fruit. And the two types of handprints would be joined by another.

"What if it is reversible?" he found that he couldn't speak aloud. The words were as fragile as his belief in them, just barely above a whisper.

"What if we can bring back all those that are suffering at this point?"

"And what if we can't, Namjoon? What if they keep mutating, and there will be a tipping point where they will overpower us?"

He still remembers the days when he would play fight with her. Where he would act as if the tiny hands pushing at his calf were strong enough to topple him down. He would still wake up in a sweat, shivering as he dreamt of a dark lake where the same small hands were pulling him under.

"I don't think I can go around and systematically kill them all, Mina...what about...what about us?" his eyes held too much pain, and it made Mina step up to him and cup his face in her palm. The way she brushed under his eye made him almost believe none of this happened. It almost made him believe that she just woke him up to coax him to a breakfast and then work. He almost didn't want to open his eyes.

He saw them. He saw Mina, holding their daughter. He saw his firm, he saw his colleagues still alive, he saw him and Yoongi drinking beers by the river. He almost thought all of this was just a horrid, horrid nightmare.

But then he opened his eyes, and he was still standing in Mina's office. He saw Mina, eyes full of pain and inherent understanding that there might not be another time they meet. Her hand slid down to his neck, brushing against the hickey that you left behind, and her eyes filled with tears. The last time he saw her crying was when she left him, running off with the protype version of the harpies. The last time he saw her crying...

"Our relationship died when our daughter reached out for me with the intention to kill instead of love." her voice cracked. Something broke in him, and he gathered Mina in his arms. He embraced his wife. The woman that he studied with, dated with, fell in love with. He held tight both the woman who gave birth to their only child and killed it away three years later.

"I will die trying to kill them all, Joon." The hug couldn't have lasted more than mere minutes, but it felt like hours. When Mina pulled away from him, she wiped at her eyes viciously. Turning towards the window, she took a deep breath, and Namjoon could see how she visibly tried to hide all the pain behind the wall of hatred she built. The sun was almost down. He had less than an hour to get back, and he felt tired. So, so tired.

"If you need the help of the Harpies, we will be there. In return, we do expect your help in regards with medical assistance if one of us falls ill. However, we prefer death to undeath."

She turned to him, and he no longer saw his wife.

"If you see me stumbling around the town, Namjoon...please, kill me. I don't want to be them."

"I'm really sorry, Mina. I..." I didn't want this to happen. I didn't want us to end this way, on the opposite spectrum of life. I didn't want to leave the body of our only child underneath the tree of memories we grew for ourselves.

All these words were stuck in his throat and didn't want to leave, and yet Mina understood them all. She smiled at him sadly, secretly glad he did not continue.

"I know, Namjoon. You should go, before the sun falls down."

She led him down the compound, and returned his weapons, as promised. As he turned to say goodbye to his wife, he saw Hyeri standing on the side. She reciprocated his small nod with a wave of her hand.

"Good luck, Mina."

"Stay safe, Namjoon."

----

The tower was already lit up in evening mode. People were slowly heading off to bed, already used to the schedule organized by the sun. Guards changed for the evening, every runner that was scheduled to be on a run returned. All their loot was put into inventory and new lists were made up for the next day. The children were all washed and put into beds. Some of the doctors were already sleeping, preparing themselves for the potential crisis that could happen in the middle of the night.

And yet there was one person still unaccounted for. One person because of which you still didn't turn on the UV light traps.

The sun was already behind the mountains, but the skies were light. There were still a few minutes left before the light would die out and the monsters would come out to hunt the unsuspecting victims.

You were sitting at the edge of the entrance to the tower, legs swinging nervously. A machete lay across your lap and you tested your grip on it every now and then, feeling the weight of it in your hand. Would you be able to do it if the necessity rose up?

The radio was still silent. Namjoon probably didn't even take it with him, so it turned out to be useless at this point. The only thing that was left for you was to wait for him and trust him to come home. The urgency with which he left...it was something that he could not postpone, and something he had to deal with, no doubt. But why did he not tell you?

It wasn't as if you were together together. You were fooling around, were you not? But why did you feel as if your heart were about to jump out of your chest and shatter on the floor when you thought of him getting hurt? Where was he?

"___." deep in your thoughts, you didn't hear him step over the rubble. With a loud gasp and a sob lodging in your throat, you jumped down to meet him, hands flying over his body to ensure that it is indeed him, and he indeed returned in one, unbitten piece.

"Namjoon! Where did you--- what did you..." the tears streamed down your face with no control at this point, and you only did freeze when you felt something drop on the hand resting on his chest. Your skin was unblemished, so it was not blood.

Namjoon was silently crying, gripping you hard as if someone was about to snatch you away from him. His chest shook with held back sobs, and your heart broke to see him like this.

Leaning up on the tips of your toes, you pressed a deep kiss against his plush lips. You slowly helped him get up the barricades, bypass the guards and their questioning looks. You made sure the tower was secure and the night defenses were in place.

Afterwards, you led him to his room. Helped him strip down, wash off the dust and the tears from his broken face. Held him when he couldn't anymore, and after he calmed down, led him to his bedroom, holding him so tight, wishing you could protect him from all the evil in the world.

As the two of you lay in bed, you thought the exhaustion and tears pushed him to sleep, however when you tried to wiggle out from underneath him, he held you tighter.

"Stay." he rumbled quietly, slowly sitting up, pulling you up with him. He heaved a big sigh, running a hand through his damp hair.

"Is...is everything alright?" Namjoon shook his head in response, grabbing at your hand and squeezing it.

"There...there is something I need to tell you." he played with your fingers, looking down at your hands. Bringing them up to his lips, he kissed at your fingertips gently.

"A...a story. About myself. About...why I left today." you nodded in understanding, returning the affection by peppering kisses to the hand you brought up to your face.

"It's a long story," he warned, but you shook your head, dismissing his worries. He stared at you for a bit longer, before reaching over to the nightstand, pulling out several objects. They scattered between the two of you.

A photo of a couple, a suede ring box, and a strand of hair in a little bag. You watched the things, trying to piece them together.

Days passed and you did your very best not to look at the domain of your lover, a decision he was not very fond of. Granted, it was not the easiest task, as you worked as a waitress at a beach bar, but instead of giving in and being comforted by the crashing waves, you went out of your way to stare down at your tray and face away from the sea whenever you could.

Junmyeon did not appreciate this in the slightest. The lifeguard must've lost a lot of weight at the beginning of the summer season, as the first week he was rushing out on a daily basis to save unsuspecting beach-goers, and the other he was lured out to search for the lone swimmer whose head popped up closer to the beach than ever.

Even so, you didn't let him get to you, and every time you closed the bar up you immediately headed home for a shower and bed.

Even a god is not allowed to behave towards you like this.

The seas became gradually rougher. The currents were more severe, the waves gained on their intensity, and many bright-eyed tourists became sad when they rushed to the beach and found that the waters were dangerous.

Every time the seas turned too unruly; the town's elders began appearing at the bar. They would turn up early in the morning, the first customers in dark garbs and solemn faces as they sipped on their coffees and stared out at the seas. After several days of the continuous angry seas, they began to appear in the evening as well, just before sundown as they could see if the appearance of the moon could somehow alter the behavior of the blue giant.

Seemingly ignorant towards the staged celebrations of a weekly Greek night, they dedicated their complimentary shots to the sea god in hopes of soothing his anger, and they disappeared before you could realize they were gone.

Their tab was always paid by the manager of the hotel.

You didn't mind the angry seas, even though you felt guilty towards the unhappy visitors who were looking forward to days spent splashing around in the sea. You didn't mind adding more concerned wrinkles to the elder's foreheads as they pondered on the reason of the god's wrath.

/

 It had been days since the last time you saw the sea and after a rough day of work, you were too tired to be mad at him. Even if the moon was hidden and there is no way he can come out and comfort you, you decided to find solace in the gentle lull of still warm waves. Your head throbbed with an oncoming headache, and you let a smile with the thought of a day off that was in front of you.

Settling into the warm sand, you smiled at the immediate contact of sea waves that licked at the tips of your feet gently. It has been too long since you felt the sea water on your skin, and it felt extremely good and almost nostalgic to experience it once more.

And with one look around yourself to make sure nobody was on the beach beside you and the deity somewhere in the water, you began to talk. You talked about your job, talked about what you ate for lunch. What made you happy, and what made you angry, and underneath all of that, you hoped that it would convey how much you missed him. The more you spoke, the more you thought that the gentle waves felt more like Junmyeon's hands stroking you in comfort, since he couldn't embrace you and make you feel that much better.

With a deep sigh, you leaned back to look up at the sky.

"I miss you," you whispered so softly, you thought that he wouldn't be able to hear you. If you looked hard enough, you thought you could see him in the distance, looking over at the shore, over at you.

As you focused your gaze over at him, you yelped when something suddenly bumped into your fingers. It felt cold against your knuckles, but you grabbed at it either way before it could be brought back by the waves.

Bringing the object up to your eyes, you almost couldn't believe it at first. It couldn't be, right?

The ring you had lost three years ago at this same beach rested in your palm is if you had never lost it in the waves. It was right after you couldn't feel the ring on your finger that you met Junmyeon, walking up to you at the beach to ask you what you were looking for. He later on confessed that it was his doing so he could find an excuse to come up and talk to you (it still feels bizarre, that a god older than nations felt so bashful he needed to find an excuse to speak to you).

It was a beauty of a ring, slim silver circle with three green ambers shaped like teardrops circling each other the main decoration. It felt strange, as the ring was a perfect fit on your finger, and it wouldn't make sense why you lost that one instead of the other rings which sat much looser on your fingers.

You threw your head back, laughing heartily for the first time today.

"And you said that you couldn't find it anywhere," you sent an accusing, yet playful glance over the waves, and if you used your imagination, you could most definitely see his sheepish smile. Slipping the ring back on your finger, you felt that much better. You could feel the anger from before shimmer down slightly. Junmyeon had that effect on you, you decided with a sigh as you rested your cheek on your palm, braced against the knees, as you stared out at the sea.

"I miss you," you whispered, and in the dark night, you swore you could hear the sea whisper it back.

/

"Back on your bullshit are you, huh?" you seethed at the sea with an angry scowl as the lifeguard lugged another nearly dead customer (and in Junmyeon's eyes, a suitor) from the water which pulled him down under and let him swim back up again like a yo-yo. The waves traveled up the sand to reach to you, and you kicked at the water with a furious growl.

"I don't need a fucking bodyguard or a parent, 'Myeon. He didn't do anything wrong. I'm sick and tired of feeling guilty about being the reason of someone's death." At this point, you didn't even care that much if someone would watch you have an interaction with the sea- you were pretty sure that they were all preoccupied with resuscitating the almost drowned Norwegian, who just days ago bragged about swimming from England to France. You ran a hand through your hair, as you laughed at him mockingly.

"So keen on killing anyone who puts their hands on me, but if you're supposed to let someone die to make everything better, you chicken out, right?" Looking down at the sand, you saw jewels and treasures of the past appear between the pebbles, a desperate attempt of your partner to appease you. Scoffing, you looked once more over the white caps of the waves.

"You're no God. You're a coward."

And with that, you turned your back on the sea, handed in your apron to your boss, and retreated into the mountains.

/

You were gone for days, walking through the gorges and canyons surrounded by tall mountains which effectively blocked your vision of the sea. The white-hot anger still coursed through your veins and you hastily packed up whatever necessities you could think of at the time, catching the first bus inland that came your way. The time would come when you would realize that using that was a pretty mean thing to say, but in the heat of the moment, you couldn't help but to spit out whatever you knew your partner feared and hated of thinking.

You hated it, too. The thought of leaving everyone behind, but you were ready. It was Junmyeon who resolutely refused to have any part of the plan that you had, even though he was the most crucial component of it.

Being in the hills calmed you down slightly. It was a change from the yellow and blue you were surrounded by on the beach, scarce cypress trees planted artificially in groups by the hotels to suddenly be emerged in an explosion of lush green and earthy brown, the salty feeling in the air overpowered by the deep and full scent of the forest that you swallowed in gulps.

You no longer feared the woods when you were alone. They welcomed you back as an old friend, and when Junmyeon would come out of the ocean, the two of you would retreat inlands, away from what he had known and owned, walking through the domain of his family that still kept an watchful eye over you. Even now, you would see supernatural understanding in the doe's gaze, as she watched you from the shrubbery. Yixing's messengers and companions were littered all over the woods, and even the hungriest wolf knew not to approach you with the intent to hunt.

The silence was healing to your ears, deafened by the constant hum and laughter of care-free people. Who knew such a sound would become dull after days of repetition?

The hum of the leaves, the small crack every now and then when you break a branch, the chirping of birds hidden in the tall tree branches mended your irritated soul minute by minute. And in that silence, green lushness and solitude, you found peace. You tried looking at the situation from different angles. Tried to put yourself in Junmyeon's shoes.

He's a god, son of Mother Earth, older than the human consciousness goes. He's lived through millennia and stayed away from human civilization for centuries before he had met you.

He was adorable when he came on shore and was dazzled by how far human technology had come, completely enamored by gadgets like a cellphone, or his favorite one of all, the camera, which he used far too frequently in your opinion, catching every moment of his stay with you on pictures. You still remember how heartbroken he had been when he came up the next time, confiding in you that the photographs that he had called out in a laboratory became soggy in water and disintegrated within a few days. He took home mostly photographs of the two of you, of his favorite dish so he wouldn't forget it, of a new dog breed that he was completely smitten by ('He looks like sea foam!' he told excitedly to the owner of the white poodle, who didn't seem to be very okay with their award winning pooch being compared to sea foam. The dog was very okay with it, and his tail kept wagging until Junmyeon stroked the fluffy fur), and the little jut of his lower lip had you crooning and trying to placate him with more kisses.

While he was asleep, you had the photos done once more and meticulously sealed them in waterproof packages, whose only downside is that they tend to float upwards. You still find some of them floating around his palace, the only thing keeping them from escape were the high ceilings that Junmyeon loves to swim up to every now and then to remember all the good memories he had.

His lack of understanding of the modern culture could've been cute on one hand, but you completely disregarded the fact that back when he was roaming the Earth, women had a much different position in society, and jealousy or the suspicions of a new suitor were dealt with much differently. The plebs were killed for doing so much as looking over at the lovers of rulers, some going as far as attacking their own spouses in fear of being mocked by other royalty.

You knew you told him it's not right to deal with emotions that way, but you also didn't meet him halfway with the understanding that it takes a while to change some traditions and actions that were deeply ingrained in the society of old. Junmyeon had another strain and reputation to keep, and it was amongst the gods as well. He mentioned to you the story of how Hephaistos was so humiliated by the open adultery of his husband Aphrodite that he had spent weeks of constructing a net with which he caught his spouse and brought him screaming before the court. The magical net burned at his husband's skin, but the numb blacksmith paid no heed to the pained groans of his supposed lover and found retribution in the court of the gods acknowledging his husband's wrongdoings and banishing him from the realm of the gods for five centuries.

Thinking back about it now, you could've been glad that his wrath wasn't oriented towards you, because you had to admit that in order to get a tip, you had to throw a coy smile here and there, and had to endure the more than friendly touches by alcohol imbued customers. Junmyeon always kept you safe, and he never killed anyone, even though you were sure all of his gut told him to do so. You weren't the only one having to adapt to a new lover, someone you hadn't been with ever before. Junmyeon had the same cross to bear, but unlike when you stepped out of line, he was there to correct you with a soft smile and a gentle lead, while you left him in the dark, cut off from telling him what's wrong, or letting him figure it out by himself how to make it right.

Junmyeon could've razed whole villages in anger, and without knowing clearly what he did wrong, he continued in showing you affections in the only way he knew ages ago- overprotective jealousy.

The deer poked her head from the bushes again, understanding eyes looking over at you. You chuckled, wiping the tear from your eyes.

"I'm a dumbass, right?" you scoffed over at the animal, staying still when it emerged from the shrubbery and made its way to you. It gently licked at your palm.

"We all make mistakes. But it is what we do next that shows character."

Yixing, the ever so wise. Flipping your hand over and presenting your palm to the animal, you bowed your head in thanks.

Now you knew what to do. And the first moment you could, you stood, and made your way back to the shore.

/

However, your stomach did drop when in the morning you let your curiosity get the best of you and you caught sight of a beached shark. Sharks were his feat of strength- you can't remember the time you weren't accompanied by one of them as you went down under. Seeing one of these majestic beasts on the beach, lifeless and pitiful had you worrying about the same thing the elders discussed at a meeting last night.

Something was wrong with the sea god.

The rough waves were gone, but so was everything- the huge sea turned into a still lake, and after that shark in the morning, other fish followed suit. Confused parents forbade their children from entering the sea, and a normally overcrowded beach became barren.

This of course meant that bars such like yours became filled with people, and you became overwhelmed with the amount of work that was ahead of you. A rise in customers of course meant that you left every evening richer than the last, but it didn't make you smile.

Because along with the sea, you grew weaker as well.

As if you were left out in the sun for too long, you felt dried up, left without any energy. Your eyes lost their spark, the pep in your step was gone. Your regular customers were worried about you and your manager glared at you when you didn't perform at your normal level, and instead of customers leaving charmed by good service, they left with a sour expression at the overall ambience of a grey sea and overworked waitress.

It was already deep in the night when you finished counting up your money and you pulled down the shutters of the circular bar. You were usually accompanied by the soft lull of the waves, but this time the silence distressed you deeply. The beach was empty, the sunbeds and umbrellas cleaned in neat rows and closed up for the night. Only the air was filled with sea salt, a gentle scent that had you closing your eyes and taking deep breaths after a hard day.

"Where are you, Junmyeon?" you murmured to the dark waters, eyebrows furrowed as you kicked off your shoes and let the sand sift under your toes. Without hesitation, you thumbed at the button of your pants, stretching them out on the nearby sunbed. The waves reached further up the beach, leaving behind perfect ovals of wet sand.

You wished it was a full moon. Not only your beloved could visit you in the realm of mortals, you loved how the moonlight glistened over the ripples in the water, bringing its own special magic to a realistic world. You and he would spend whole nights on the beach, just staring mesmerized at the water illuminated by the goddess. It was under moonlight where Junmyeon would whisper greatest love stories of his kind, stories filled with pain, separation, but also the sweet feeling of reunion and eternal happiness.

This night, you sat on the sand alone, in the dark. The water was still warm from the whole day, and you welcomed its feeling as it gently swept over your toes. Closing your eyes, you let out the deepest sigh and rested back on your hands as the water slowly glided further up your legs, feeling less and less like liquid and more like caresses of your lover.

So much time passed since you felt Junmyeon's fingers glide over your calves, gently massaging out knots from being on your feet the whole day. The feeling of his lips, teasingly pressing into the insides of your knees, trailing higher and higher, leaving you so breathless and yet so full of life you knew at that moment you belonged with him until the end of ages.

The water was up to your waist now, and it was slowly gaining on intensity. You let it, leaning further back, and it was only a matter of time when it would reach all over you, the waves washing your body from the grime of whole day's work.

You were never really used to travelling to your partner's domain. It was far from comfortable and exciting. You've been there more times than you can count, and yet that first moment when you realize that the sea now holds you hostage with its currents has fear slipping through your veins. It was a moment you always wanted to counter by digging your heels into the soft sand, by reaching back and trying to scramble up to the beach, because you unconsciously knew what was following.

You could only see how far you've been pulled out before your head disappeared under the waves, and something was dragging you further down. Going to Junmyeon during the night taught you that it's better to keep your eyes closed for this part, because no matter how bright the moon, the light always distorts reality underwater, and even though you know that Junmyeon sends his most powerful beast to your side only for protection, sharks never looked more terrifying lurking underneath the dark water, their beady eyes watching your every movement.

You knew that you were about halfway there, because that's when you started choking. The salty water burned down your throat, and after the reflex kicked in, you were convulsing in a deadly vice, gripping you tight. Of course, you knew seas were deep, but the descent seemed to be endless, the pressure bursting at your earbuds. Junmyeon had explained it to you before, that you had to be on the brink of death for him to be able to carry you over to him, but you had always wondered, what if he wouldn't get to you in time? And now, that he was weakened?

What if the next time you open your eyes, you would look at the guilty and pained expression Junmyeon's brother, deep in the underworld?

 /

 When you slowly came to, it was like you were back on that beach again. You felt the refreshing feeling washing over the tips of your toes, over your feet and ankles. You wanted to open your eyes, but you felt far too weak for it just yet, only able to crack a small smile as you felt the lips of your lover brush against your calves, fingers gently squeezing at your flesh in both appreciation and confirmation that you were really there.

"Junmyeon..." you breathed out, propping your legs up so you could slide your toes down the firm muscle of his thighs. Junmyeon replied with a sigh of your name as he spent his time showering your thighs with kisses, deep and wet ones, with just a bit of teeth that had the breath hitching in your burnt throat and fingers twitch at your side, yearning to reach out to him.

"My love..." he whispered, voice unraveling like rivers meandering slowly through scorched lands.

"My life, my everything," he continued, his hands slipping up your thighs and parting them to make space for himself. Your shaky hand lifted and Junmyeon guided his head under it, yearning for your touch. You gave it to him freely, fingers brushing through his locks as you made sure that you were really there, with him, after all that time apart. The strands of his hair were dry, extremely fine, nothing like the lush locks you were used to gripping with passion.

"What's wrong, my love?" you asked with a frown marring your features. He slid up completely, letting your legs wrap around his waist as he caged you in his arms. A thumb gently pressed against the ridge in between your eyebrows, smoothing out the wrinkle of worry, and just as you were about to open your eyes, he pressed his lips against yours in a full kiss, one so full of life that it had you feeling silly for a second that you doubted the vitality of the god of life.

It was as if the life was being poured back into you through your connection, and you pressed back against the lips insistently, finally understanding how a person lost in the desert and encountering an oasis might have felt. Your grip around him tightened, your ankles crossing at the small of his back to press him further against you. Your hands stroked the apples of his cheeks gingerly before sliding down his neck, to his shoulders, nails digging into the strong skin insistently. It was as if Junmyeon was coming back to life as well, his back filling out with the strength of his muscles that seemed to be missing before.

He did not hesitate in the slightest to lick at your bottom lip, gently coaxing you out, the stroke of his tongue against yours making you shiver all over. Being in his arms once more, you wondered how was it possible that you rejected him for so long.

You squeezed your legs tight, and Junmyeon took the hint, his palms sliding down your body to grip at your hips and tug you upwards, up into his lap.

You parted, eyes opening to look upon your lover for the first time for weeks, and it almost made you choke up. This was not the Junmyeon that you knew, so vital and full of life. There were bags under his eyes, a deep purple, lips cracked from dehydration, eyes milky and tired. This was a shell of a king, a shell that you contributed to creating.

"Is this...my doing?" you whispered so quietly you almost didn't hear it yourself. If it wasn't for the pain flickering through Junmyeon's eyes, you were sure the question missed him as well.

"My love..." he started, cupping your cheek gingerly. Immediately, you grabbed at the hand, grip tight so you could feel his pulse underneath your fingertips.

"What happened to you?" his smile was almost embarrassed, a dimple jumping out his cheek that you couldn't resist but peck.

"You will be mad if I told you." was his reply, his other palm sliding over your body in appreciation. He had clothed you in robes as light as a mountain stream while you were out, and the ethereal fabric bunched under his insistent palm.

"I feel like I had been mad at you for long enough," was your reply, and you angled his palm so you could kiss as his hand in reverence.

"I tried going out after you. After the last time." After the last time he got you mad, your mind supplied but neither of you needed to say it.

Junmyeon trying to leave his kingdom outside of the full moon was reckless. And dangerous. And potentially lethal to him. Eons have passed since he and his kin were worshipped strongly enough to wander the land whenever they pleased. There were small pockets of believers, still giving them their power, but they were now in a situation where even gods had their limits.

And Junmyeon trying to pass his almost cost him his life. Your breath whooshed out of your lungs and caught in a sob at the thought of him desperately trying to scratch his way out of the water, while you were off hiding in the woods.

"You almost died because of me," was a fact, and Junmyeon did not dispute it, eyes heavy with emotion.

"My love, you almost die because of me every time you come here." Even after such short time, he seemed to be much better than before. He seemed to be returning to that Junmyeon that you had known before. With a deep sigh, you collapsed into his arms, gripping at his midsection tightly, as if someone was to come in and taking him away from you.

"I never gave you a chance to explain yourself. I never told you what bothered me, and I never asked you if it bothered you what I do." you mumbled against his chest, pressing as much kisses against the skin as you could. His grip on you tightened, his lips against the crown of your head.

"You try your best to accommodate and learn new things for me, and I never appreciated it before. I only scolded you when you made a blunder." you laughed, looking down at your fingers and noticing the ring you turned with your thumb in a nervous twitch.

"How long were you holding on to that ring?" Junmyeon's chest shook in laughter.

"A long time," he said, voice filled with mirth. "But I thought this time I messed up in a glorious manner to be able to use it."

"We were both wrong." you amended, looking up and pressing a kiss against his jaw. A sudden emotion passed through you, so strong, it swept you down like a whirlpool and unable to fight the current, you angled Junmyeon's face to look down upon you, his deep eyes meeting your emotion-filled ones.

"Junmyeon..." you murmured, unable to resist pressing another kiss against his plush lips. Before he was able to respond by deepening it, you pulled away.

"I want to do it." the lust filled haze evaporated from his eyes.

“He wasn’t able to get out of the car quickly enough, so he got banged up pretty bad…” came Yixing’s explanation when he saw your dumbstruck expression, yet your body knew immediately what to do, as you rushed over to Jongin’s other side, looping his limp arm around your shoulders.

Jongin was able to groan your name in confusion when you gently whispered his, his head tilting your way.

“He doesn’t have anything broken, he’s just really out of it and scratched up.” Yixing assured you once he saw your shaking hands as the two of you led the disoriented burglar to the couch. Once you had him sitting, you immediately cupped at his cheeks, patting them gently. Jongin’s eyes fluttered open, your name slipping from his plump lips when he saw your face.

“I’m here, Jongin-ah…” you murmured softly, thumb swiping at the dried dirt on the side of his face. With a sigh of relief, his head went limp in your hold, and you had to take a shaky breath not to burst into tears. Instead, you turned to look at the other male, concern written all over your features.

“Are you okay, Yixing?” you opted to guide Jongin’s head to your shoulder, as your other, free hand reached over to grab at Yixing’s thigh. He nodded with a smile, squeezing your hand back.

“I’m good. They didn’t get to us…” your sigh was one of relief now, and you turned to look over as much of Jongin as you could in this position.

His arm was completely scraped from the pavement, little bits of gravel caught in his bloodied wounds. His pants were ripped as well, revealing numerous cuts and scratches on his body. You wanted to cry when you saw him in this condition- seeing him being carried through the threshold of the door instead of bounding in excitedly by himself had you tearing up.

The cute, energic man being so broken…

“We…We should clean his wounds…” you murmured to Yixing softly and the older man nodded solemnly, leaving the living room for a moment to get the needed first aid kit.

“Noona…” hearing his voice had you straightening up, hand that was combing through his matted hair freezing for a second.

“Y-yeah, Jonginnnie…I’m here…” you murmured into his hair when he wiggled, whining in slight discomfort.

“Xing brought you home…you’re here, you’re okay…”

“Everything hurts…” you almost cooed at his sad voice, and you helped him sit up, so he was resting his back against your chest, his head still buried in your neck.

“I know, but Xing is coming back with some medicine and we’ll clear the wound out, and it’s going to be all alright, okay?”

"No...no hospital?" even before you had realized the man's fear of these institutions. It wasn't too hard to understand why, having to enter your personal information that would most definitely lead him to being caught. Before his breathing could quicken, your thumbs stroked at the skin under his eyes, humming softly.

"No hospitals, dear. Just me and Xing, okay?" a small crack of a smile appeared on Jongin's face and seeing it made it easier to breathe, even a little bit.

"Don't let...Xing-hyung...kill me..." you chuckled at the dramatic plea the boy had, and in a moment of weakness, you leaned over and pressed a kiss against his forehead.

"Don't worry dear, I won't. I'm the one with the certificate, so I'll do most of the work." Just as you finished speaking, Yixing came through with a small kit in his hands, filled with basic instruments on how to deal with injuries. Noting how Jongin was slowly coming back to his senses, his hyung let out a deep sigh that he was probably holding in himself since he saw the youngster roll out of the speeding car.

"We should probably wash off the dirt first. It's gonna be easier to clean it out when there aren't any pebbles in the wounds." you told both of them and Yixing agreed, hooking the kit around his forearm before reaching for Jongin to help him stand. Unlike last time, he did hold some of the weight on his own, but Jongin's legs were shaking severely, and you knew that without the support of you and Xing he wouldn't make it far before toppling over.

"We'll just sit you down in the bath and wash off the dirt, alright? It's gonna feel pretty awesome, I don't know if you already tried that rainforest setting on the showerhead that Yixing installed last week." you knew that you were rambling, but it seemed to help. You knew that Jongin wasn't too fond of blood and would welcome any distraction that would come his way.

The journey to the bathroom was a short one, and within moments you had Jongin leaning against the sink as gingerly as possible, helping him take off his tattered shirt.

"It was my favorite..." Jongin mumbled with a small pout as he watched it clump wetly on the ground, already beyond saving.

"With what we secured on that last run, you're gonna be able to buy more of them," Yixing reassured him, gingerly rolling down his torn-up jeans, flinching when Jongin hissed as it passed the wounds.

Seeing the young thief in his half-naked glory was the main show of some steamy dreams in the past few days, but seeing him now only made the tears press into your eyes. His golden skin spattered with blood, raw spots and open wounds that had the muscles shaking in distress. At that moment Jongin seemed like a wounded deer just recently saved and yet still distrustful of its saviors. You could recognize it in his eyes immediately.

"It's going to hurt just a little bit, but it's much better than to deal with infection later, Jongin-ah." Yixing seemed to understand the inner turmoil that the thief was going through as well, and Jongin turned to his hyung with a slight pout and furrowed brows.

"I know, I know...I just...should I take...everything...?" it now made sense why he seemed to become more fidgety as he stood in front of you in his boxer shorts, and you instantly felt guilty for your mind going there. Jongin's crush was obvious, and if it wasn't that, his inexperience with women would be the reason number two right after it. Your reddened cheeks matched his own as you scrambled to answer.

"N-no! I mean, you don't have to, but...but I guess it would feel better to do so? And...you know what, I can just step out, and then help dress the wounds, okay?" Before they had a chance to reply, you darted out of the bathroom in search for some shorts that Jongin could wear. Knowing that it's better to first treat to wounds before covering them with fabric as to not irritate the skin, you decided to keep the fluffy sweater on the bed, ready for Jongin when his torso was nice and wrapped up.

A sigh of relief left you as you heard the water running in the bathroom. You were glad- the longer Jongin had to wait, the more pain he would be in. Knocking on the door softly, you made sure to only reach out to the counter to gently place the shorts over there before closing it behind you and returning to Jongin's bedroom.

With him being out all day, the room was stuffy, and he apparently tried to fold his duvet into a modern shape that was closer to being unfolded than made. The sight had you chuckling endearingly and setting out on the task to make sure he would be comfortable to sleep. After bringing over more pillows to surround his body and prevent him from pressing into his wounds more than he should have, you closed the window and grabbed at the first aid kit that Yixing found, getting all the necessary treatment ready to use.

It didn't take long for the shower water to shut off and for the two thieves to shuffle through the door. The warm shower apparently knocked Jongin out even more, because he was standing only thanks to the strong grip Yixing had on his waist, his eyes blinking drowsily and head bobbing slightly here and there. Another fear settled into your mind, and when Jongin sat down on the bed and a blanket was thrown over his shoulders, you crouched down next to him and tapped his knee gently.

"Jonginnie...does your head hurt?" you asked him softly, cupping his cheek to keep his head up and facing you. He shook his head no.

"How about dizzy, do you feel dizzy?" Another groan signaling no passed through his lips, and he smacked at them in discomfort.

"Only sleepy." As if to cement his words, Jongin slumped forward, body limp as if somebody turned the lights off in his head. You caught him with a small yelp before gathering him up in your arms and attempting to slide him further up the bed. Yixing was there to help you, lifting the covers and gently tucking the sleeping thief in for what was to be a deserved rest.

Just as you were about to slip from his grasp, Jongin suddenly tightened his arms around your neck and pressed you into him, making you feel like an overgrown teddy bear. You shared a confused look with Yixing as you tried to escape the tight grip, but it was all to no avail- Jongin voiced his obvious distaste of your escape by a long, deep whine that slid from his lips, and his embrace let you know you weren’t going anywhere.

And to be completely honest, you didn’t want to go. The adrenalin you felt throughout this whole procedure (which felt like it took ages, but if you were realistic it went by in about two hours) made you an exhausted mess and instead of trying to escape, you relaxed in Jongin’s arms. Wrapping your own arm around his waist, you nuzzled into his chest, fingers gently running up and down his back every now and then, to soothe the shudder of exhaustion that came over him.

“Are you okay?” Yixing kept his voice low, in fear of waking Jongin up.

“Yeah, Xing…I’ll keep an eye on him…go ahead and clean up, it’s fine.” You didn’t hear his response, but the soft click of the door closing indicated you were left alone with the younger thief.

You didn’t know what happened to him, but you just thought back on the way he was carried through the threshold, all limp and ragged and bloody, and it pushed tears into your eyes. You almost lost him today. The thought alone had you gripping onto him tighter than ever before, holding him near you and letting the shirt you gingerly slipped onto his form dry your tears. Jongin, even in his sleep, must have felt your distress, because of the little groan that slipped from his lips and how he burrowed closer to you, resting his cheek on the top of your head.

It’s okay, you thought to yourself as you kissed the collarbone that was right in front of you. He’s okay. He’s here, he’s with you, and you’re both alright.