autumn.

     it half clicked for abel then. if it wasn’t about love, then the only other thing basil mentioned was to keep him. abel hadn’t made sense of that one yet. but now it seemed glaringly obvious. now basil wanted to deal in absolutes. there was nothing particularly wrong with basil wanting this security, in actuality, except for that abel didn’t quite feel like it was doable by his standards. could he control the future, he’d manipulate it to the way basil wanted no matter the outcome, but he stood powerless not so dissimilar from when he lost god. “do you mean forever?” abel asked, soft in wondering. “i can try, but i don’t control forever. even if god doesn’t, i don’t think i do.” could he control the future, his sister would still be here. and so would his friends.

she liked to tell herself she didn’t spend an awful amount of time watching him, but the truth was she did. there were the moments he never noticed—moments when his eyes remained focused on the road when she was study the outline of his jaw, and how it tightened when she decided to tease him with the soft patter of her fingertips against his jeans; or when he didn’t quite agree with something, the way his knuckles turned white with disagreement though he’d never express it through his words. everything about simon was non-verbal. which was why she watched him, learned him in a way she never bothered to with anyone else. she told herself it was merely because she wanted to be sophisticated just like him—grown up. but it always more than that. even now as she caught the glint in his gaze, the tenderness betraying whatever lightly humored words that fell from his lips. would she hate that? the idea of falling in love with him. would she hate that? allowing herself to openly yearn for his attention in a way that was more than just physical. would she hate that? the two-lettered reply already in her mind before he spoke again. 

hayoung faltered, fear rearing its head out to warn her of all the things she had been warned of from her friends, and even from her unknowing family. because she’d never had her heart broken before, never felt this kind of vulnerability creep into her the way it was now. if she allowed that door to open wide, they’d both cross into unfamiliar territory. or maybe it was only unfamiliar to her. “have you ever fallen in love, simon?” she murmured, eyes searching through the depth of his hues as her fingertips froze in their place along his lips.

his inhale was quick and deep; a rush that betrayed exactly how off guard the question caught him. because the answer was convoluted. long-winded in a way that he didn’t think the woman before him would like, and what if THAT was enough to topple the fragile balance their current, quiet MAYBE rested on. “ once. ” he hummed softly. simon could boil hayoung’s own hesitance down to two things: reputation and experience. or maybe lack thereof. but he couldn’t do the same for himself -- not when his history wound only tales of deceit and abandonment. things he wasn’t going to be proud to claim. still, honesty seemed important in the moment. like it would be far better to lose her now -- while both of them remained guarded -- than it would to take a chance on acceptance once they’d swallowed the risk. made a home in the skin of it. “ maybe twice. ”

carefully, he pried a distance between them. not one far enough for note, but enough that he switched from holding HER to holding her hand; larger fingers laced with hers and rubbing at the soft skin anxiously. “ i used to know this woman -- i thought we’d be forever. and then one day she stopped coming around. so i suppose she never thought the same. ” she’d half lived in his bed. they’d shared rooms more often than not -- shared a dog, shared lives, shared paychecks for pushing a year before she’d dropped off the face of the earth. and somehow the ghost of that woman was still easier to bear than the weight of the man he’d betrayed. “ and my best friend. i was in love with him for a while. but that one ended badly and now -- now i just hope he’s happy somewhere else. with someone else. seems right that he should be. ”

vincent didn’t really have any visitable hobbies. his entire life was his work, his mother’s health, his charity mission, and his far-fetched dream of one day being able to follow his passion for fashion design to a professional level. unless taeho could somehow wrangle fashion show tickets, vincent didn’t have a ‘ go-to ’ date location in the same way the other did. but the wonderful thing about the lanky boy was that he appreciated every date location, and every minute of every second of said dates, no matter where they were or what they did. 

and, it just so happens, he’s great at bowling. grin spread its way onto his features as the setting for their latest outing came into view, eyebrow raised as he listened to taeho speak. vincent’s never been a cocky boy, but there’s a first time for everything. “ baby, i am going to DESTROY you. ” words chased by a baby boy giggle that completely negated any semblance of seriousness in his tone, vincent leant closer to give the other a quick kiss to the cheek. “ i hope like the taste of defeat. ”

“ oh i’m intimately familiar with it. ” he clutched a hand to his heart in a dramatic fashion. truly, talent had nothing on his self-deprecating base humor. though, bowling was a skill of his. not something he’d ever meant to hone in on, but there had been nights as a kid he COULDN’T hole up in the local aquarium. he’d call a friend or two, pay for a few rounds with whatever allowance he hadn’t squirreled away for drugs, and kill time thinking of nothing but the pins in front of him. it was nothing near professional level -- maybe even just sheer dumb luck. but it was fun; the kind he wanted to share with his lover. there was nothing like watching the other man’s eyes light up, and taeho wanted to make it happen again and again.

🔮 — moments with @meteoren​ ✨

She felt like Little Red Riding Hood, though in some ways the fictional protagonist had it rather easy compared to the feeling of being hunted by a creature of night. Huffing and puffing as she ran through the back roads trying to get to the safety of her home, Suah could hear the voices of her sisters scolding her for being so careless. A water witch thinking she could take on demons of the dark by herself—and then she was reminded of an episode of The Power Puff Girls when Bubbles felt like she had to prove herself to everyone that she wasn’t their weakest link. Truth was, Suah knew without a shadow of a doubt she was. And maybe that’s why she thought it was a good idea to take a late night walk to clear her mind of some of the negative things that had managed to steep through her eternally positive disposition.

As she turned the corner, she’d realize what a mistake she’d made running right into a dead-end street. And it didn’t take long before the bone-chilling sensation of being hunted brought the hair along the nape of her neck to stand at attention. “W-whoever you are—I-I’m warning you I’m not to be m-messed with!” A weak attempt to assert dominance, but her fingertips were poised, ready to call on the elements to protect her as she stared into the darkness.

jiho had seen perhaps more of the world than he wanted to. lines of streets just like these that decade by decade had begun to blur together. maybe it was true that he was by no means old for his kind, but he knew ENOUGH -- experience coming to his aid in place of outdated academia. he’d seen this scene play out a thousand times before; whether in his own prey or another’s. everyone liked to talk big until while they still had distance on their side. thought they could threaten the unknown on the off chance he might simply cower. but no, he wasn’t someone to be ‘ messed with ’ either. and if it was between his capability and hers, he’d bet on his own every time.

a long while ago, some friend of the family had clued in jiao to the fact that he was an empath. finely crafted to be in tune with the spirits that still roamed around. jiao didn’t really think anything of it. he didn’t feel like this meant he had some duty to hunt ghosts and help them. the dedication to hunting ghosts the past few months was out of pure interest. if he heard from one, got to talk to them, then cool. he’d be pleased with that. it was never his plan to help them cross over. but the more time he spent doing this, the more he was starting to think that family friend was just a load of — and then the evp lit up. quickly so as to not miss anything, but still full of doubts, jiao lifted the headphone back to his ear and did a quick playback. the fact that there were words there - some too muffled to make out, some a lot more clear - left a chill creeping along his spine. “ holy shit …” he muttered aloud, eyes scanning the room. “ y-you wanna say somethin’ else for me ?” he asked the dead air. 

the kiss reward brought out an even wider, smarter smile from holden, pleased to find that he did something to entertain the other man. more than once lately he had been called out for being a people pleaser and he knew without a doubt that they were right. anything to get someone else smiling. “ yes well, i would like to keep our wedding day kind of free from cannibalism you know ? doesn’t scream romance to me .” his eyes scanned basils features before looking back to the cake and grabbing up his own fork, twirling it between his fingers in thought. “ very bold of you to assume i didn’t already ask them to bring us something hazelnut next .” which was exactly what he had done already.  some creation was going to be out in a few minutes. given that this one was basil’s namesake, holden held back and let him try it first. proved to be well worth it to be patient after all. he would have hated to miss hearing that noise from basil. “ sure you don’t mind ? seemed like you two were having a moment here .”

     abel couldn’t help that his spirits were a little crushed when he heard that. it wasn’t like he had brought up sex on the basis of wanting to fuck. in fact, that wasn’t something so simple anymore. sex never just came with quick short bouts of anger anymore. but he’d be lying if he denied that he was attracted to some part of the hurt. the difference was that he liked to see blood and hear bones and see skin break, but he never liked anything so parasitically at basil’s emotional expense, not if it wasn’t something light he couldn’t tease about. that was to say: emotional abuse didn’t really get abel off. he wasn’t interested in whatever games basil had managed to play with any other boy before him. “if you think i don’t love you, i don’t know how else to show it, herb. remember that i don’t have to be here. if i didn’t want to, i wouldn’t.” he knew the words were a little more prickly than comfort, but he was right, at least. he knew because he spent years doing what others told him at his own emotional expense.

the feeling that blossomed in his chest was warm and delicate. burning in the pit of him with a rage he knew would be gone as soon as he inhaled the words. and so basil held his breath while he turned them over in his head. ‘ if you think i don’t love you -- ’ abel had said. and no. he could understand where the hurt had arisen. where his doubts and paranoia had became more than nagging, BITING things. but this wasn’t about love. the man had clasped him in his arms even as he bled out. begged him back to life as basil tried to give him a good goodbye, even as the room around them filled with water to choke the life from abel’s lungs right after. he’d put his own survival on pause to hold the man he sometimes fucked slowly, then nursed him back to health. day in day out in the hospital, holding basil’s hand and smuggling him food. bas inhaled, and the fire in his lungs receeded in a great rush. replaced and smothered by the urge to merge their skin as one. he flattened himself against the other impossibly further.

it had been months since castor last let himself feel light. between work and duty, there’d been little time to rest and less to play. his career path was one deadly and secretive, and it had left him to cope now in odd ways. on a wednesday night, the bar sat mostly empty. seedy enough from it’s weekend crowd that only those who knew what they were walking into tended to frequent the time-weathered booths and shaky stools. but that was fine -- because even if it wasn’t a particularly popular bar, it was quiet in all the ways a front needed to be. and the old jukebox in the corner still played for the right amount of quarters and dimes. cas sat on the wobbly wooden tower closest to it -- 75 cents invested in its rotation -- and sipped his rum pineapple with happy abandon. it was his night off, or so he’d told everyone who’d passed close enough to hear it. his bosses weren’t looking for him loitering there beneath their noses. and when someone finally slid onto the stool beside his, he only glanced over with an easy smile.

“ nice night out isn’t it ? this song really slaps. ” and okay. maybe he was tipsy. 

the bar lights were dim in the kind of way that made everything they kissed glow. neither of them were scheduled to work that night, and they’d chosen instead to enjoy the opportunity to relax together. the entertainment had set up hours ago, now in the full swing of their set. and while it was someone taeho had seen play here a few times during his shifts, he’d never quite focused on the tune. his eyes typically dead-set on the drinks before him, or the various love notes his fiance left hanging off the edge of the bar when he passed. NOW the beat sang to him. lulled taeho into a happy mood, until all he could think about was getting his other half out on that floor to dance. he wandered back to kiha’s perch with a gleeful little hum; wrapping his arms around the back of his lover and pulling him close to his chest. “ baby. ” a kiss pressed to the shell of his ear served as both a hello and a plea. “ if i don’t get to grind on you out there where all of our coworkers can see, i might actually DIE. ”

although weeks had passed since vegas had left the compound, he felt no closer to the coast. when he’d set out ( backpack heavy, a crutch in hand, and a bountiful supply of canned goods nearing expiration ) there had been only fields of overgrown but workable soil before him. wet with the springtime rains and owned -- as much as anyone owned anything anymore -- by the same people who had built the walls around his makeshift bed. their land, their crops, their small bounty a result of the near decade of work they’d put into chasing stability. and it had been beautiful, but depressingly familiar. the last three years of his life spent trapped up beyond those walls; waiting for the day forward progress seemed plausible once more. only now that he was out and walking, he’d caught onto the catch. fields of wheat have given way to rubble and dirt; stretching for miles between the hollowed bones of once-grand cities and american suburbia. he’d been eleven when the world ended. none of it looked familiar, and the rusting highway signs bore no clues. he’d walked and walked and walked on a bad leg, and now he had no idea where he was.

his overnight was a CVS. no doubted cleaned out by those more local than he, but the windows were intact all the same. vegas hadn’t expected to his the jackpot; only to curl up in the employee lounge and if he was lucky, lock the door instead of barricading it. only lucky, he was not. right as he moved for the back row of shelves, a shuffling became clear in the aisle over. “ hello ? ” he asked softly. it sounded far too organized to be dead, but that didn’t mean it was friendly. running was far from his repertoire. this left him only the option of trying to make peace.