K-Fic writing

WORD COUNT: 628

WARNINGS: mentions of alcohol, sexy times but with clothes on, cursing

Screw the clothes, just come here…

You trudged through the door, letting your bag down to the floor with a thud. When Chanyeol turned around, you were struggling to remove the heels you’d chosen for that day. A small, kind smile crossed his face as he came to your rescue. 

His scent invaded your nostrils as he wrapped his arms around your slightly trembling frame. A deep sigh left your pursed lips as you allowed yourself to relax for a moment. He sweetly kissed the top of your head, giving you reason to pause and calm down. Once your shoes were gone, he led you to the couch where he had your favorite drink waiting on the coffee table. 

He helped you slip out of your blouse and skirt, taking his time and rubbing at the usual tense spots. Once he had you housed in one of his rock t-shirts, he pulled you to his lap. You were adjusted to straddle his crotch as he tucked your head into his shoulder. Neither of you spoke a word as he gently rubbed at your back.

“You always know.” Your lips brush against his neck as you speak softly, knowingly. He chuckles and tightens his hold on you.

One of his large palms spreads out over your ass, kneading and pulling at the fleshy mound. “I wouldn’t be the best boyfriend in the world if I didn’t.” His ministrations made a certain heat pool in your lower belly. You couldn’t lie, you were kind of turned on but absolutely exhausted. Chanyeol, however, noticed. 

One quick swat to your ass had you hissing at the contact. You jerked your head up to look him in the eye and question why. His lips took away any words that were going to follow your pointed look.

His plump lips slotted perfectly over yours as you could feel the nastiness of the day you’d had begin to melt away. One swipe from his tongue had you groaning into the kiss. His hands wrapped around your hips, centering you directly over his hardening member - guiding you. 

Back and forth, he led you as he stole your breath. You pulled back momentarily, trying to come up with words as to why you weren’t up to this. He just shook his head before you could start. “Screw the close, just grind…” You listened, rolling your hips down harder than he anticipated earning a growl from him. “Fuck. Just like that.” 

His lips trailed down your jaw to your neck where he left rough, open-mouthed kisses. As he marked your shoulder, one of his hands worked their way around to where you wanted him most. 

Your fingers tangled into his locks as his index finger teased around your swollen bud. “Yeollie, pl-please.” His deep chuckle had you clenching around nothing. 

“Take it, baby. Take what you deserve.” His gravelly voice sent you reeling as you ground faster, speeding your hips up, feeling that precious heat build and build. It was hard to tell what was your juice and what was his. Once glance down told you that both of you were close.

He sealed his mouth to yours, determined to drown your moans as his hands resumed their place on your hips. A grip so hard, you were sure you’d have marks in the morning. He matched your grinds by thrusting up and meeting that sweet spot.

“I’m… Yeol”, you tried to mewl as he swallowed each syllable. White light burst behind your eyelids, back arching you into his body. You felt the stutter in his hips as he moaned into your mouth. 

Burying your head back into his shoulder, you pant and shake with aftershocks, just yours and his breathing sounding into the room. 

“Welcome home, babe.”

WORD COUNT: 3465

WARNINGS: Bodily harm threats, mention of narcotics, smut, cursing, alcohol consumption, Heechul feels a lot more than he actually realizes

DELICIOUS RENDEZVOUS

CHAPTER 7

Throbbing throughout your body was the first thing you noted. It was hard to pinpoint just where the pain began, where it stopped, but knowing that you felt it was a good sign. You were still alive.

Eyelids heavy, you tried to open them slowly; bright lights shining down made it next to impossible to see clearly. You attempted to turn your head to the right, just to get a sense of where you were or what was going on. Then you heard him.

“Ahh, I see you’re back among the land of the living. Just in time, too.” Claude’s sharp voice sent a chill through your body. It made you shrink back, but not anywhere near as far as you’d have hoped. A quick tug to your wrists gave you the tinge of clarity you needed. You were strapped down onto some sort of table. At least he’d had some sort of humanity to leave something soft under your head.

You groaned, trying to find some sort of relief and adjust. “Please, I’m begging you, le…”

Claude hummed sarcastically, as through he was enjoying every moment. “Are you?” he drawled, clearly excited. “If you were begging, you’d be on your knees.”

Your eyes cut to him quickly, mouth opening to hurl insults and swears his way when his hand clamped down, muffling you effectively. “Nice try, but you, my dear, are going to listen to what I have to say. You may not enjoy it, but I am quite through with playing nice.” The sinister look that settled upon his face had you recoiling as much as your straps would let you. The way his hand moved to gently caress your cheek made you want to retch, and the loving look that took over his face gave him a psychotic-looking aura.

Claude begins to murmur to himself as he turns away from your immobile form. You can hear metal hitting against metal as he moves items around. “You should have just said yes. No one has ever turned me down.” He turns back to you with some type of syringe in his hands. You see him push the plunger, fluid coming from the rather larger bore needle that sits threateningly atop it.

Shivering at the surprisingly gentle touch he is using, you can tell he’s about to inject you with some unknown substance. Whether it’s poison or narcotics, you cannot afford to be under his spell. Your brain whirs as you try to pull some magic from the reserve you keep closed off, in case of emergencies. It shocks you to find that he hasn’t placed any magical dampeners on wherever you are. If you can just hold on a bit longer, the perfect time will happen and you can bust your way out of here. But for now, you need to keep him occupied and keep that syringe away from your neck.

You cleared your throat, mustering up the strongest voice you can manage in this situation. “This isn’t the way to make anyone love you.”

Claude stops short, taken aback by how unaffected you sound. “Love?” He laughed at that, fondly even, as he looked down at you with heat in his eyes. “My sweet plaything, this isn’t about love.”

“You haven’t forced yourself on me. You haven’t even touched me until now.” You swallowed, forcing yourself to maintain that steadiness. “And even then, it was as though you think I’m made of glass.”

He smiled, utterly sure of himself, “I’m patiently waiting for you to ask nicely.” He leaned down to murmur right into your ear, “And you will ask nicely.” He looked away for a moment - gone was the tenderness. “Him and his damned predictions, trying to turn everyone against me. But now that I have you, all the power lies in my hands.” His muttered rant continued as he stared off into the distance. “He’s been a thorn in my sides for more decades than I care to count. Now that I have the opportunity to take him out? It’s a win-win situation.”

You struggle against your bonds as he comes closer to you with the menacing shot in his hands. He looks you up and down and smiles, creepily, evilly, knowingly. There is something darker, more menacing behind his eyes and you aren’t sure you want to stick around and find out what he’s on about. He gets down in your face, lips dangerously close to yours. 

Claude took in a deep breath, nosing down to your ear. “You will love me eventually.” Once his hands make contact with your skin, it flashes through your mind like a highlight reel, all the plans he has for you, the chaos he plans to create where Heechul is concerned. What frightens you the most is that he sees you standing beside him, a lifeless smile plastered across your face while he hurts those you’ve come to know and quite possibly love.

Before his lips can touch yours, a blinding light surges through your body, feeling like a dam has broken and all its water is surging forward with nowhere else to go. You’re hurtling through some unknown space, lights making it so you can’t see. Somewhere deep in the back of your mind, the only image you can see is Claude flying through the air and landing far away. You can tell you are no longer in that sadistic opulent room.

Jagged concrete digging into your palms is the first thing you notice when everything goes still. Dampness begins to encompass your overheated body. Taking in deep breaths as you struggled to sit up, your body sagged and fought for you to be still. “Need...” You rasp as you try to get up again, head swimming. Shaking your head to clear it seems pointless. You manage to crack open one eye and see a city street before you, street lamps dark and fog settling around you. “Got to get ba-”. The sentence doesn’t get completed because as you finally stand to search for the club, you feel yourself falling down, though you don’t land on the harsh concrete. A strong pair of leather-clad arms caught you securely as the darkness welcomed you into its cool embrace.

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

Siwon was the first to notice the dark lump on the sidewalk. An unknown force was pulling him towards it, telling him to check it out. Once he caught your scent, he moved in carefully, cautious because something didn’t feel right. He caught you on the second sway, carefully cradling your body close to his, damning his cold nature. “Master!” He cried out.

He didn’t need to yell too loud. Heechul was right on his heels the moment he felt your energy reappear in his area. His eyes searched your face, his sweep surely noting the pallor of your usually tanned skin. You felt drained of blood, of everything. He noticed a few small pin pricks along your carotid and fumed. He saw how your sluggish eyes struggled to open as he took your frail form into his own arms. “Shhhh. It’s me.”

It didn’t register. Not at first. You fought with what little energy remained in your body. He tightened his hold, pulling your head into his chest and squeezing your shaking body gently. “It’s me! Calm down. You’re safe.”

A quick kiss pressed to your forehead, then he teleported you both into his chambers.

Once Heechul had you settled, he began to mentally bark out orders. They were so loud; he wasn’t taking care to direct them. Though you could hear it, your comprehension still drifted in and out, sluggish, the words jumbling, crashing into each other. He sent word for Jongwoon and called for some water. So loud. But then so gently, he clutched your hand with his eyes closed, muttering to himself. His grip tightened. Your lips were moving but he couldn’t hear what you were saying - if you even knew yourself. He lowered his head enough to barely catch your whimpered ‘don’t leave’. His little gasp meant he must’ve heard you.

A feedback loop seemed to have formed between you and him, its switch stuck in the on position. If one of you was supposed to do something about that, it clearly wasn’t going to happen. His skin felt so nice where it touched yours.

The doctor showed up moments after Heechul had reassured you that he wasn’t going anywhere. He sat quietly by your side, thumb running across the back of your knuckles softly. Muting out Jongwoon, he zoned out; more quietly thinking of all the ways he can exact revenge for what happened to you, like a low muttering beneath your own muddled thoughts. Claude was going to pay for taking you right from under his nose. That much, you agreed with. Heechul still couldn’t wrap his head around how it all went down. An elegant plan: create chaos, misdirect attention and extract the real target while the distractions play themselves out.

That bastard didn't care how any of it went because he didn't have to.

He was brought out of his moment when he heard you clear your throat. Turning towards the weakened sound of your voice, his eyes lit up, knowing things were sort of alright. You struggled swallowing, wincing each time. He grabbed the cup from the side table, assisting you to sit up and drink some more.

“You don’t have to say anything right now. Just rest.” Heechul’s words shot out rapidfire, so fast they nearly tripped over each other. Caught off guard by your giggles, his eyes go wide. He’s not used to someone taking him lightly like this. His mouth opens and closes several times, unsure what to say, what to do.

He felt you grip his hand tighter to bring him out of his head. “Heechul, stop trying so hard.” A flush of embarrassment threatens to rush to his face as you continue, the curling in dread of it mirroring itself in your chest, yet not yours. “This is weird, even for you.” The energy you put off hits him like a freight train. You’re still terrified and now he can see it in your eyes, reflected in pulses coming off of him.

Eyes boring into each other, he breaks the silence first. “I can see it in your eyes. The panic. What’s gotten you so scared?” 

He watches as your eyes divert to the other side of the room. The frazzled energy you were giving off earlier grows even greater. “Claude got me because of chaos”, you whisper. “Who’s to say he won’t do it again?”

“Look at me.” Heechul’s command leaves no room for argument. His tone sounded firm even though he was still shaken on the inside. “I have an idea, but, you need to rest first.”

He goes to leave, but a quick squeeze to his hand was how you told him you wanted him to stay by your side. Being left alone was the last thing you wanted right now. He slipped off his shoes, removed his suit vest and settled in beside you, hand still clasped firmly with yours.

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

“Alyssa, we need to re-do the ritual.” Heechul says matter-of-factly. It’s glaringly obvious that it wasn’t enough last time but he knows he didn’t go all out either. “I know you aren’t up to it right now. And that’s okay.” His last few words were hesitant. The sooner they pull this off, the better protected she’ll be and the better he’ll feel. 

He lays beside her, arm draped across her waist as he breathes in the comforting scent that she gives off. She’s awake but not talking. He can feel her processing his words, trying to decide if she’s ready for that level of commitment. He’d had her research sex magic a bit more since their last rendezvous in this same bed. He wanted her to be aware of her options, of what she would be signing up for should any of it be required. Admitting that it was more of a necessity than he'd impressed upon her was... a matter he had thought he would have more time to prepare for.

She sighs deeply. “I’m ready. I don’t ever want to experience that again.” A visible shudder rolls through Alyssa’s body that causes her to grind on him, given their current positions. He bites back a moan, but she feels the catch in his breathing. She arched her back in his hold, ass on his nether regions as she whispers, “Tell me what to do.”

His hands gripped her hips tightly as his lips trail down the cusp of her ear to her jaw line, leaving behind open-mouthed kisses. “This is going to be more intense than last time.” One of his hands slipped away from her hips, fingertips trailing up to her breasts where he kneads the clothed mound gently. “We must connect at a deep level,” he groaned out. “I know just how to achieve that.”

He’d smirked when he said it, but the edifice of his confidence, in truth, felt fragile.

Heechul rolled the two of them so he was laid comfortably on the bed and Alyssa was straddling his hips, her throbbing sex lined up perfectly with his hardening crotch. “The truth is, I... have a predilection for, well-” Embarrassment was a feeling nearly forgotten from how very much time had passed since it had last visited him. This wonder atop him, oh, how she has brought out so much that had long been buried! “I enjoy being moderately restrained,” he whispered at last as he produced a golden, corded rope from under the pillow. She bit her lip and ground down on him, making them both cry out; his groan deep and raspy, hers high and wanton. 

She gathered his wrists together, securing them to the post at the head of the bed. She begins to litter kisses down his jaw to his collarbone, paying particular attention to the pulse point that had him shivering. He tried to continue. “The protection will be much more powerful this w-” He visibly swallowed. A nip to his skin had him stuttering while Alyssa continually ground down. “Fuck. Th-this way, our powers will combine better, but yours will be more in control, as will you.” He jerked his hips up to emphasize that last point.

She whined out and caught herself before she could fall completely on him. She found his lips and kissed him passionately. He returned the kiss with just as much fervor, tongue swiping at hers, asking for entrance. As their tongues clashed, her hands roamed to his belt, fighting to get it undone just enough. She paused their makeout session as she gestured for Heechul to lift his hips. 

“God, you’re eager.” He moaned as she worked diligently getting his throbbing member free and stripped down herself. 

Alyssa smirked back at him. “And you’re not?” Her hands on her hips, eyebrow cocked up as she stared at him. The feedback loop snapped back on, the circuit complete once more, his every thought and feeling hers and the same returning to him. They were completely open to each other, as though they were one person sharing two bodies. He surrendered to it, to being overpowered with her thoughts, her feelings, her very being.

It reverberated through him, She couldn’t deny how turned on she was right now. How she’d never been in control like this, and the power trip she was currently experiencing was otherworldly. The pre-cum dripping from his reddening tip was enticing her. She crawled back up his legs, placing a kiss to the slit, carefully watching him writhe in his bonds. It was exquisite agony. Deciding to play with him a bit, she took his hot length into her mouth, carefully sliding it all the way to the back of her throat. 

Heechul convulsed on the spot and pleaded, “Let, let me finish!” She popped off, a trail of saliva still connecting her lips to his member. When she stared at him through the tendrils of hair that covered his face, he wanted to cum right on the spot. “You are in control,” he said, knowing its truth. “This is what we’re focusing on this time.” His wholly unnecessary breaths nonetheless grew rapid; he couldn’t discern what was whose anymore. “You can decide what magic comes through and what doesn’t.” He watches as she wipes her mouth off with the back of her hand and moves to line her entrance up as she takes him into her hands. “It will draw from- your power- hngh!”

He bit his lower lip as she eases down onto him, her velvet walls sucking him in, fitting him like a glove. She moaned out so loudly that he knew someone would hear them, but she felt so good like this, he couldn’t bring himself to care. As she set the pace, her hands found purchase on his chest. She leaned in, kissing him deeply to try and mute herself.

He closed his eyes, allowing their magic to combine in this moment, the very last barrier falling, him alongside it. 

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

His fingertips traced random patterns along her naked thigh as he watched her slumber deeply, content to allow her this moment of peace. She deserved at least that. From the simple yet intoxicating scent he was breathing in from her to the comfortable weight of her legs entwined with his own, Heechul felt something deep in his soul - something he’d thought to be lost. 

He quickly but gently adjusted his hold on her, smirking when she subconsciously fit yourself against him again, like a puzzle piece. From this angle, he noticed the reddening around her wrists had begun to fade. Anger surged to the forefront of his mind. How dare he mark her body like that, like he owned her. 

That thought hit him like a freight train.

The idea of someone else having any claim to her was not as foreign of a concept as he initially thought it was when the two of them first met. She was just a side project that would, in time and with some luck, become a full-fledged member of his menagerie. How had she managed to break through every single wall he’d manage to build up in the past few centuries? 

He considered all the possibilities until he heard the door creak open. He shifted slightly, pulling more cover over the both of them and closed his eyes to appear asleep. However, that familiar scent gave the intruder away. Heechul heard a gasp once his bartender fully realized what he was seeing. He silently chuckled, opting to send the comical man a telepathic message instead of disturbing Alyssa.

‘Let me find out you breathed any one word of this to any of the brothers.’ He could physically feel the way Shindong gulped, almost seeing the way he was trying to not trip over his own two feet to vacate Heechul’s bedroom. He pulled her closer, heart warming slightly as she relaxed further into his hold. Work had to be done, but... Now was not the time.

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

After helping Alyssa get to the shower and making sure her strength had returned, Heechul contemplated returning to his office. His mind was running rampantly, deconstructing what had happened, how they’d made it through his barriers. So lost in thought, he didn’t even notice how red Shindong had gone in the face when he walked past. Muttering voices hushed as he passed but he paid them no mind.

Safely ensconced in his office, he went to his private stash to pour a stiff drink. Several of the bottles were a personal collection and every bottle had a story behind it. He recalled who was with him when he gained a particular bottle. A special occasion indeed. A small smile stole over his face at the memory of how it was a group effort, but his brothers knew what it meant to him.

A second after he picked up his drink, he put it right back down to pace without having taken a sip. “Of course! My mistake is so obvious now. Trying to topple them by myself is a fool’s errand.” He tried to rest for a moment on a soft chaise lounge at one end of the room, but sprung right back up, shaking his head before going back to pacing. “I must choose my first prospective ally wisely..."

He cleared his throat, taking a large swig of his beverage. “Siwon.” Nothing more needed to be said. The calm, commanding aura of his clan’s leader surged behind him. “It’s time for a meeting. But first, we need to talk.”

WORD COUNT: 3708

WARNINGS: injuries and slight gore, cursing

DELICIOUS RENDEZVOUS

Chapter 6

It was a good thing Donghae was well fed, because otherwise, everything would’ve already gone to hell.

Something was sapping the strength from the glamours. Every centimeter of the building pulsed in intuitive waves through Heechul, his focus sharp, and he could feel it as surely as the throbbing in his wrist. He grabbed Donghae’s arm, made half of them walls with thin, hasty force barriers, and shored up the rest as best he could.

Heechul would’ve passed out if he’d had to do that from his own strength, and then who would be left to try and talk down the agents that were trying to bust their way in?

Every trail of energy he could feel moving farther away lightened his fearful heart, steeling him for the task ahead. One fewer thing to agonize over. They’d tried to go back to the work-

Show time. Heechul smoothed his hair down with his hand, not daring to use any extra energy when he may well still need it.

He took a look around watching his kids get back to work, ensuring the shields will hold. It was frantic and dirty, but the job was getting done - and that was all he cared about at this point. He felt the forcefield at the front door hum angrily as the agents attempted to cross the threshold.

“Everyone out!” Seeing that Donghae already looked somewhat woozy, Heechul whispered a quick apology before taking another pull, snagging the shoulder of Donghae’s jacket and yanking him back while muttering the finishing lines of the last few glamours that were almost done.

He sent at Siwon’s mind to get them all out of here, fast.

A quick snap followed a puff of smoke and the group was on the opposite side of the building. He could hear panting coming from a few of his newer kids, hearts racing from the rapid spellcasting and crudely-drawn sigils. If he could, he would take time to soothe each and every one of them, but duty as their leader calls, and it’s time to handle business.

As he walked away from the safety that his brothers held, he slipped his glasses on and adjusted his cufflinks. With just a few steps, Heechul became a different person as he met with the group of federal agents standing in the lobby.

“Gentlemen, how can I help you today?” He asked as he slowly crossed the room. When the group of eight all turned their heads towards him, he noticed a certain look in their eyes. Shit, he thought. Quickly sending a message to Donghae for one last bit of assistance, he kept conversation going smoothly with the leader of the team when he heard a racket come from the door he’d just come through.

Eyes widened throughout the group of feds as though they were itching to search and find what they’d been told would take down this club. When Donghae burst through the doors, he was clutching his sides and groaning as though in pain. Heechul was by his side in a second flat. “I would love to take time and show you around properly, but as you can see,” he gestures to the demon beside him, “I really need to get my assistant to a doctor.”

The leader of the group looks down his nose at Heechul as though he’s disgusted to be in such a place, going by the rumors he’d been told in the days leading up to this moment. Sensing the fear in each man standing there in tactical gear was child’s play for Heechul; he decided to use that caution to his advantage. He slowly guided Donghae to a chaise lounge while the latter played up his aches and pains. Not that it took much acting - Heechul knew he’d siphoned out a lot of energy, and Donghae’s skin was noticeably sallow.

Now, to play legitimate businessman until an opportunity to tip the scales in his favor arose.

“There is quite a lot of room here. Probably the main selling point when I bought the place.” Heechul looks around proudly. “Quite a few of those doors are empty rooms that I’m just using for storage until a more lucrative opportunity shows itself. You can check the boxes in there if you would like.” He half smiled, trying to appear mousy as well as nerdy as he turned to his business lingo.

He dusts some nonexistent lint off his shoulder as he begins to rattle off dimensions and permits and codes that, while they sound legit, are far from it. All while he’s droning on about the code of the building and the plans he has, his mind is touching on each glamour; making sure each is holding well and there are no cracks.

Whatever was interfering with them earlier seemed to be gone - and his patch job was holding over what had been a good foundation until then. Satisfied with the work of his kids, he decided to bring an aura of calm through the agents who look tense but, at the same time, immensely bored. He could work with that. Boredom was much more predictable than fear - humans are a wild card when they get scared enough.

But boredom was good for him. The segue would be easy. All he had to do was take it slow...

The sweet scent of his magic began to envelop the space they occupy, and he could visibly see the difference. The agents were beginning to relax their shoulders, postures slouching and not as rigid as they once were. One started scratching somewhere under his gear, another stretching with an audible exhale. The only thing they were scared of anymore was being bored to sleep. Attention was wandering. And- There. Opportunity struck.

All of a sudden, the lead agent looked as though he was confused, but Heechul purposely drew no attention to it, instead choosing to mention that while the compliance officer was out for the day, he would happily call him back to the office to show that their licenses were all in order.

“Mr. Kim, the room is starting to spin.” Donghae’s meek voice barely rang out. He attempted to get up, only to groan and slide back into the laying position he’d once occupied. Heechul turned back to the agents, urgency covering his face.

Letting out a deep sigh, he finished the ruse. “Gentlemen, I really need to look after my employee. Please come back any other time. We are more than happy to cooperate again soon.” Just as the last of them crossed the threshold, he felt sheer panic flood his mind, pulling him to the front of the house. He pulled the demon to his feet, not wasting any time for them to rush out to see just what chaos had occurred.

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

You’d blacked out for a second. When you came to, rattling with the memory of an unearthly shriek, your legs pulling you in the opposite direction because of the persistent sense that whatever happened out front where you’d been hidden among the customers, who were all now conveniently asleep, Heechul was still in danger right now.

Only it turned out you need not have worried.

Not in danger - near someone dangerous. Previously, at least.

You saw Heechul standing over a frozen man who was halfway transformed into some hideous creature. The sight of him with pure hatred in his eyes was enough to make you double take and wonder just what happened. Siwon was at his side, nodding profusely as the former instructed him to do a ‘hard trace’ to track where this bastard came from.

It was impossible to miss when Heechul got into the intruder's face as he spat, “Dispose of him once you know the location. We need to send a message.” If you could still feel terror, or much of anything, perhaps that’s what you would.

Trying to take it all in and process the carnage before you, he had a firm grip on your arm as he teleported you both to the front, barely a few steps from where you’d been before. A gasp left your lips as you realized most of the room looked as though they were passed out, haphazardly laying wherever they fell in that moment. The doctor was in your peripheral moments later, calling for Heechul to send him back for his kit. Henry’s leg was sporting a nasty-looking gash, fabric torn and twisted, giving the doc a reason to be quicker than usual. Magic wouldn’t work, you remembered without any urgency, stuck at a remove from everything around you. The pale man in question didn’t appear to be conscious either, but nothing was adding up.

“Another fucking distraction,” you heard Heechul mutter. It sounded distorted even though he was literally in front of you, facing the din of activity. You tried to take a step to sit down, half-stumbling forward, only to somehow manage to bump into Ryeowook who had just returned with a towel to press onto Henry’s leg. He growled a bit at the inconvenience, but his eyes flickered over to Heechul swooping in to check on you. At least, from his light touch, you were pretty sure that was what was happening. The room sounded like a muffled party from two stories above you; everything was moving in slow motion. You shook your head, willing the cloudiness to disappear. But it was too hard to process the scene before you. 

The doctor reappeared before you, blocking your view of the madness. You turned away from what he was doing, though not before catching a glimpse of the tenderness with which the siren was brushing his partner’s hair back from his forehead, that same gentle care that had reared up in your conversation before he’d cut it short. The guilt radiating from him now could’ve bowled you over if one of Heechul’s texts hadn’t started teaching you how to turn the dial down on that aspect...

But where was Heechul himself?

“Alright, the powder’s gelled. Let’s move him behind the curtain, just be gentle and take it slow,” came from a husky voice behind you. There wasn’t anything you could do to help, you don’t think. Plus, you weren’t that great with blood that wasn’t your own, so it was better to not actually risk passing out and make more work for the doctor.

Shindong raised his eyebrows at you as you passed, and you nodded back. Something fishy was going on.

Not to mention that the very last words you heard, though you should’ve been too far away to actually hear them, only added to the confusion - Ryeowook’s high voice turning tough as nails when he said, “I’m going to go clean up the roof.” The accompanying flash of an image that you accidentally gleaned from his mind left you dry-heaving behind your hand.

You stumbled off after calling out “I need a moment” to whoever was able to listen. If anyone was listening. Even your own voice sounded flat and sickly to your ears. Crashing through the first outside door you could find, you gulped in the fresh air as though you’d been suffocating for the past ten minutes. Tears stung your eyes as the reality of what you’d just seen hit you. An attack had been ordered and the raid was just a Trojan horse.

The air didn’t seem to unscramble your mind...

Pacing was the only logical thing to do, at night, in an alleyway, in the weirdest part of town you’d ever been in. Your brain struggling to place all the pieces together made you oblivious to the world around you. Especially to the silent figure quickly approaching you. Suddenly, you felt strong arms wrap around your torso, trapping your hands to your sides. Then you heard the familiar little snap as you were instantly plunged into a completely different location altogether.

*******************************************************************************************

“If you guys would just tell me what’s going on, I’d be a better sport about it, honestly.” You sighed, then blinked your eyes rapidly, clearing the darkness from your vision. “Now I see why the doctor gets so grumpy about this. I feel like shit!” You yelled out, hoping a quick little guilt trip will help them realize just how off teleporting makes you feel. Whether or not that’ll do anything for you...

As you take in your surroundings, you realize that you aren’t quite sure where you are. Heechul’s got a couple of nice rooms, but this is way nicer than anything at his place. You should know, you’ve seen every room by now.

While you saw that you were alone in an extravagant room, you didn’t feel alone. Someone was watching you, observing you, even. That thought made your skin crawl. The energy surrounding you gave off vibes that were incomprehensible at first. A shaky exhale escaped your pursed lips as panic threatened to surface at the thought that had just crossed your mind. I’m not at the club anymore. I can’t feel any of the others. Your brain whirled as you tried to figure out where you could be or who would have taken you. Then you heard the voice that made your gut twinge the last time you’d heard it.

Across the room, Claude stood proud, smirking and predator-like. “We got off on a bad start. You caught me on an off day.” He emphasized those last words as though it would wipe the slate clean. All it did was make you nauseous again.

 You backed up for each step he took towards you. Sensing the disgust rolling off you, he stopped where he was, speaking again. “Let me reintroduce myself. My name is Claude. I have served on the Council for longer than you can imagine, and with my vast holdings, I could give you anything your heart desires.”

With a snap of his fingers, several clothes racks appeared with labels you’d only ever read about in magazines. Running your fingers over the immaculate garments, he took notice of your mild fascination with those. Thinking it wasn’t enough, he let out a sigh and snapped again. The clothing was replaced with designer bags and accessories that would have cost an entire year of an average worker’s wages. Though you politely smiled, you still shook your head. 

“I can’t be bought, Claude. That’s not me,” you offered in a slightly sincere apology. Having kicked into self-preservation mode, you tread carefully, praying you would find a way to escape unscathed. The older man looked unimpressed, quickly crossing the room to get directly into your line of sight.

“You do realize you’re just another plaything of Heechul’s, right? Countless times, I have seen this story play itself out. Once he’s gotten his intended use from you, you’ll be kicked to the curb.” He sounded so sure of himself as he continued. “He keeps you locked away in that club. For what? Training? Perhaps pleasure?” The counselor placed his finger under your chin, tilting it up to look dead into your eyes. “Hmph. You might as well be a prisoner.” His words were laced with venom; it took everything inside you to not yell in his face.

Biting your tongue could be your only chance at making it out of here. Back to...

Oh. Back to being trapped in a different building.

You jerked your head back and swung around to get some breathing room. Before you could step away far enough, he locked your wrist into a crushing grasp, stopping you in your tracks. “You have eyes enough to see it yourself. Truly, you might as well be a prisoner and you know it. To be a trained puppet.” He yanked you back against the wall you were once on, fully pressing his weight on you to keep you still. “I could make you so very happy if you’d just be willing to stay here with me. What will it take for you to realize? I could give you whatever you wanted. All you’d have to do is be mine.” His words were laced with anger, and they grew more furious as he spoke. You kept silent, which only seemed to fuel his building rage.

“Fine. Have it your way.” He muttered and backed away, pacing around the room hastily as though he was debating with himself what his next move was. The ones he’d made so far, that brought you here, already hinted that you wouldn’t like what he came up with.

You crossed your arms tightly over your chest as your eyes darted back and forth just to keep up with him. Then you blinked, and in a split-second, he was standing before you. “Just remember, you brought this upon yourself.” A stinging sensation worked its way from the side of your neck up to your brain. Not a single touch.

He backed away, watching you carefully with a predator’s gaze. You barely noticed the phone he brought out, conversation becoming more and more muted as you struggled to remain conscious. Slowly, dimly, you noticed it was getting harder and harder to keep your eyes open, eyelids feeling weighted down. Fighting to stay standing was... a losing battle as your strength slowly faded away. Your knees buckled as you- crumbled to the ground, darkness overtaking you.

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

Hands held loosely behind his back, Heechul sighed. “This whole disaster only proves my thinking that we need to accelerate developing teleportation among the kids. But first..." He could barely feel his feet moving him around the room. Every few steps, he’d accidentally start floating off the ground, he was so distracted. “A riddle to solve. They sent a peon to get the job done, but also a distraction out front...” Heechul reached the wall, then turned to pace some more the other way. “One that only missed because of Ryeowook’s quick response. On top of moving up the raid, though. Argh!” Back the other way. “I can’t tell if I’m being toyed with. Siwon, how do I figure out how badly one of them wants me out of the picture?”

“Not to mention why,” Siwon said, sounding too calm. That wouldn’t last, but for now, it was more than necessary. Heechul badly needed someone else who would keep a cool head while assessing the situation and planning their next moves. “Taking out one of the top moneymakers in their territory over an annoyance isn’t like them. Not when they’ve been expanding, even diversifying their holdings.” He uncrossed his legs, recrossing at the ankles as he leaned back to face the ceiling. “We were able to hitch a ride on their legitimate licensing without issue. Which can only mean they now believe you to be a threat.”

“Fuck.” Heechul moved his jaw back and forth agitatedly. “We don’t have enough information. We don’t know why they believe that, no clues as to what they may attempt next...” He scrubbed his hand over his face, then wiped both palms over his thighs. At least his pacing had stopped. Siwon never did like that habit, even if he was too polite to show it - a holdover from the old noble defense against the nouveau riche learning their social rules and infiltrating their ranks. “Only one option remains. I will start attending the Council’s monthly meetings with my apprentice. We shall use that to try to glean any information we can.”

“Master, with all due respect... This course of action seems far too dangerous for a novice, especially given Claude’s attempts thus far. Being in their presence so regularly provides too many opportunities for something to go wrong.”

Heechul placed his hands on Siwon’s shoulders, looking him straight in the eye. “Mon coeur, I need you to trust me. You know the saying that two can keep a secret if one is dead, yes?”

He could feel Siwon’s shoulders stiffen in his grasp. “Master?” So Heechul forced himself to laugh. Even to his own ears, his brief chuckle was pathetic, but it would have to do.

“Perhaps I misspoke. Let me put it his way: I would put you in a great deal more danger if you knew. The very second the benefit outweighs the danger, I will impart this knowledge to you. However, until then, I am tasked with protecting you as well. Let me do that.” He gave the other man a quick hug, then went back to pacing.

Though Claude was persistent, he was usually much more fickle than this. Not to mention, Siwon was right; the Council had shied away from significant moves against the bigger establishments in their grasp in recent years. They perceived a bigger threat than he could imagine himself and his club to be.

The question was, why? What are they seeing that I’m not?

Would the knowledge gained be worth the risk of keeping his nemesis’ attention on Alyssa? Although, if he was already willing to go this far, there was nothing to indicate his interest in the matter was waning. Heechul’s entire crew would be far safer if he could find out what the bastard was planning. And of course, the best way to do that was to rip the very knowledge from his mind. If that asshole’s head wasn’t more valuable attached to his neck-

He unclenched his fists. So much for keeping a cool head. His- apprentice in danger, magic interference, the damage of a raid barely averted, one of his injured... He resolved to go check on the kid, then chat up the patrons out front. Smooth things over. Hopefully, he could think rationally again once he set the basics back to rights. “Let us reconvene later in the night.” An easy bit of spellwork got Heechul’s hair to finally frame his face just the way he wanted it. “My mind has yet to right itself.” That was the truth, much to his chagrin. “If fortune should be so kind as to favor us, we may yet reach the small hours without further incident,” he added sourly, resting his hands behind his back, awash in too many thoughts.

Suddenly, one pierced clear through. His scan came up empty. His heart was seized with terror. I don’t know where she is.

WORD COUNT: 4638

WARNINGS: flashbacks to torture, shameless flirting, over-worked and stressed main character

DELICIOUS RENDEZVOUS

Chapter 4

“Bad news,” Siwon said as soon as he was in earshot of Heechul. “Our contact in 223 has been transferred and is locked out of the local system here.” He bit his lip, a rare slip of control. “As I’m sure you know, we’re cutting it too close to develop a new one just yet.” His first creation walked up to him with a look of hesitation on his face.

No mystery as to why.

Back when the terror of it was fresh, Siwon informed Heechul of a raid that had occurred a decade ago and how badly it had ended. The whole thing played like a movie reel of memories and fears. It wasn’t the sex work that sank them that time - no one runs that kind of operation without a contingency plan. No, it was who was doing it that led to tragedy.

Several of the employees ended up in a specialized prison only to be slowly tortured to death because supernatural creatures weren’t known then... And groups of humans have the capacity to do terrible things when they’re afraid of the unknown. Ingenuity, put to exactly the wrong purpose. What little inside data could be gleaned was... It was... Unspeakable, to this day.

Heechul considered giving him a moment of comforting touch, but it would be crass to make it so very evident that his right-hand man’s thoughts were left entirely unlocked. They sure as hell didn’t have time for a fight, either.

Not a creature anywhere didn’t hear about that disaster. The Council exploited those fears, the prejudices borne of it, but for the rest of the community, lacking that level of power... Whatever there was where Heechul’s stomach used to be turned just the same way at being bombarded with it all over again, shrunk into a few nauseating seconds. If his hair could still stand on end, it would. Even the humans that supported that establishment had been fined so heavily that they were out on the streets, and then... disappeared. Maybe to the same place. Who knows? Siwon visibly winced at that last thought, but forced that idea to the side. There were days that his confidence that his master would never let anyone harm him or their brethren was all that allowed the leader to make it happen.

Yet, sometimes, Heechul really wished Siwon had more magic potential. This was one of the rare moments where he’d very much like to be able to not hear these thoughts. Keeping his hands from ripping his own hair out was as much as he could manage here, arms stiff at his sides. Was he even capable of crying anymore? Did he have what it would take to stop a repeat of such horrors between his very own walls?

It was all too much. Too much. Heechul had to set it all aside too. Rather than comfort, he ended up having to tap Siwon’s cheek just to bring him back to the present.

“Sorry,” he mumbled with a shake of his head. ”I remembered it again.” That raid was the last time Siwon tried working for anyone else, is the only other thing he would say about it out loud. He broadcast the rest louder than an echo in a cave, though, he just didn’t know he was - right to Heechul like an open book, at least. Not a hint of a side gig since.

The grass only looks greener, as it were.

Finally, that portion of mental agony was over, tucked away back in its box. Upon realizing the massive amount of work that their contact being pulled out from under them meant, Heechul’s shoulders slumped. There was too much weight upon them.

However, he only allowed himself those two seconds of self-pity before squaring them back up. “Shit. That means there’ll still be a raid tomorrow night.” He checked, unwittingly holding his breath, but couldn’t get much detail. “That only gives us about a day and a half.” He counted off on his fingers as he called out instructions. “We need to put up glamour and force barriers on the rooms, make excuses, reschedule appointments, make sure all my kids have somewhere to stay for the night..."

A groan slipped out. But only one. How he dreaded this last part. “I’ll have to handle the backstage regulars. They would feel slighted if informed through an intermediary.”

While he was appreciative of his higher-paying customers in that they kept the show running, literally and otherwise, they always looked down their noses at him when complications came up. Fuck, he felt a headache coming on already. He pinched the spot just above the bridge of his nose. He’d have to add on the promises of a free service to make sure they kept silent about where they went and who ran the show - and he hated burdening his kids like that.

Hated it with everything in him, but the alternative was worse. He’s not risking any kind of prison cell for anyone.

“Of course, Master. I’ll initiate the protocol and distribute the workload immediately.” A floating schedule appeared next to Siwon, its constituent lines made of light if light could be smoke.

“Thank you. Time for me to get to my part of the work as well.” Heechul watches as Siwon carefully inspects the list and moves to assign each task. He stretches his arms out wide, a satisfying crack sounding in response, as he rotates his neck and searches his mind for where Alyssa is and what she’s doing. He needs her now more than ever. 

While her training had, of course, been intended to prepare her for bigger and better things, he needed that untapped power she was sitting on to pull this off on such short notice. It felt as though he had more to hide this time, more at stake, when in reality, the only new addition to the club was his little witch. A flush took over his cheeks quickly. He’d not felt the need to protect anyone quite so strongly since he’d made Siwon. “Stupid sex magic. Everything is amplified.”

He tried to sound mad about it, but inside, even if only to himself, he had to admit that he was more amazed at just how much change the ritual had wrought in the first place. He also decided then and there that he would not perform any sex magic with another person, ever.

Definitely not if it turned out like this. He didn’t want this with anyone else.

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

No better way to learn, Heechul had insisted, than throwing you in to help with glamouring the back rooms to look like cramped offices and storage space. Everything was tightly coordinated - regimented, even, which was surprising to see in a place usually so loosely and chaotically run. Time constraints would do that, you supposed.

He rattled off instructions and even showed you exactly what you needed to do and say, but your brain was foggy with all the veins of magic flowing through the club. There was an anxiety running through the employees that you couldn’t help but soak up to some extent. “Let’s add empath to the list of things to deal with. That’ll be fun,” you said under your breath, none too pleased with the discovery. Your eyes rolled, but you continued with the task, pride not allowing you to step back and admit defeat.

Maybe even that little voice inside that was happy that Heechul was the one who needed you, for once, instead of the other way around. Just the thought made your ears burn.

Putting up the glamours was the easy part, though. Imbuing them with enough power to stay up for two entire days left you sweating and ravenous. You huffed, taking a second to wipe the sweat off your forehead and sip from the water bottle Mi had brought you hours ago, tossing it on his way past with a small smile and a congenial nod.

When all this work was done, you for sure had to get him to show you that one shade of purple again so you could try to find a matching dye. His hair had only held it for a second earlier.

You were getting distracted again. And you finally noticed that your hands were shaking, too. The strain was getting to you.

“Fucking hell. This shit is for the birds.” Your voice was tired and wavering. Hands on your hips, you stood there admiring the iridescent sheen from the last barrier you put into place. “God damn, I should have eaten first.”

“Such dirty words coming from such a pretty little mouth.” Of course, when you’re a sweaty mess, that’s when Heechul shows up to inspect your work. On his face blooms his signature smirk; after holding your attention on it for a second, he adds, “I like it,” with a ridiculous waggle of his eyebrows.

Damned if it didn’t make you want to kiss him again. You whimpered at the thought and immediately flushed, thinking that while he was still there.

As usual, though, he was gone before you could give the thought any weight.

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

You were carefully not thinking about the absurdity of taking a coffee break in a... house of pleasure where your magic training is happening, the legitimate front half of the building notwithstanding. Even after all the upheaval, there was something sort of amazing about creatures of all sorts here milling about, living their ordinary lives and being themselves. The comfortable atmosphere in this room left you feeling bold enough to lean back against the counter near where the siren was, the dull gray microwave buzzing on the other side of him. You were protected now, right? And his boyfriend was really friendly with you, so that’s gotta count for something.

"Hey," you said, wiggling your fingers in a sheepish wave. He acknowledged you with a sideways glance, but nothing more. After hours working quietly side by side, following his occasional directions about images and dimensions, that didn’t seem odd anymore. "Look, you can tell me if this is out of line, but I'm really curious about something."

"Hmm?" Ryeowook answered absentmindedly, watching Henry and Donghae play-fighting across the room with a fond half-smile. You may have even heard a faint, tuneless humming; couldn’t be sure, but you felt a little bolder, a little more free either way.

"Does the, uh, backstage work affect you at home?" This was so embarrassing to ask about, but you'd been dying of curiosity and this seemed like your best bet to get some answers. Usually, it was your training regimen that left you too drained to make conversation. To be honest, you were still kinda drained; it was hard to tell whether your thoughts made sense, your brain-to-mouth filter just about gone.

When Ryeowook turned to you, though, his brow was furrowed in confusion. "Why would I do work at home? Heechul’s wards and security are far better than anywhere else, even clubs supposedly owned by the very wealthy,” he pointed out, crossing his arms. “I only do work here."

"No, I mean, um," you blushed as your composure slipped further, not wanting to have to spell it out, "you know, you do-" You waved towards the hallway of back rooms. "You do this for work, so does it, uh, when you're at home, does it get in the way of, wait, no, does that cause any problems for you with," you were definitely red as a tomato now, your entire face aflame, "making love?"

But Ryeowook only blinked twice. "If he wanted to, we could."

"Oh! Oh, sorry, I didn't think- Sorry. I shouldn't have assumed. You probably think I'm a jerk now, huh," you admitted clumsily, pursing your lips. I sound like an idiot! This was such a bad idea.

But he only hummed nonchalantly, turning away once more. "Hmm. Well, you wouldn't be the first to assume, only the first to apologize for it," he said offhandedly, taking a sip from his mug. "But it doesn’t matter to me. I suppose I take after my mother that way," he continued in a wistful voice, a touch of sorrow coloring his features. "Keeping my mate safe and happy is my heart's greatest desire."

"That's so sweet!" You cooed, genuinely touched by the sentiment, only to be met with an icy stare as he whirled around to face you.

"Don't know why I'm telling you all this," Ryeowook said while he pushed off from the counter, his tone acrid and sharp as though the words were meant to cut to the bone, his eyebrows drawing together in anger, startling you when he slammed his mug down on the hard surface. "I don’t care if you’re Heechul’s newest, shiniest project. If that's your power,” one peak of his upper lip curled up towards his nose in contempt, “let's not do this again. I need to get back to work."

"But wait, I didn't-" He'd crossed the short distance to the doorway in three quick strides and left before you could finish your sentence. "-do anything," you finished dejectedly, dropping your raised hand. Not that you knew what you were going to do with it anyway. You muttered under to yourself, “‘Make friends,’ he said. Do this, do that, blah blah blah.” Wait a second. Newest project?

What happened to the others?

“Don’t take it too personally,” a genial voice said next to you, cutting off your train of thought. Guess your muttering was louder than you’d realized. “He takes a while to warm up to most people.”

You turned to- not the butler. Mi. Seriously, still not a butler, you hastily reminded yourself. More of a jack of all trades? Maybe it was better not to call a shapeshifter that, so you went with, “You really think it’ll be okay? I feel like I screwed up pretty bad.”

“Welllll, maybe warm up isn’t the right word. But he’ll probably stop being an ass.”

“Probably?” Despite yourself, you laughed, smiling back at Mi’s toothy grin. He patted your shoulder in a friendly way before saying, “Excuse me, I need some tea,” his hair color and the shape of his arms changing three or four times between the microwave and what you’d come to call caffeine central more towards the back of the room.

Still, after the- intimacy you and Heechul had shared so far, the idea that you were one in a long line of projects, to be set aside whenever he decided he’d had his fun, rubbed you the wrong way.

Which not only lingered through your meal, but grew. And grew. And grew bigger still.

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

You stomped down the extravagantly decorated hall, footsteps echoing off the marble tiles that probably set him back more than you cared to think about. A red haze settled in your mind as you mulled over the words Ryeowook spat to you. Hands curled into tight fists, you didn’t bother knocking before making entrance into his office. Hopefully, whatever sights awaited you wouldn’t be something you’d regret seeing, because you were way past caring now.

"So I'm your latest project, am I?" You flung the words at Heechul the very second you walked into the room.

"Feisty today, aren't you."

You wanted to slap him. Something. Anything. Instead you settled on a seethed, "What happened to the others?!"

Heechul laughed. "What happened?" He asked condescendingly, moving his upturned palm in a horizontal arc, his eyes following before landing back on you. "Look around you, darling."

"Argh!" You clenched your fists. Eyes rolling as you wanted to tear your hair out.  "Can't you just say what you goddamn mean for once?!"

But Heechul only sighed. "Really, you could stand to learn to read between the lines. Can't always rely on your power, you know." But as you glared, he seemed to relent a bit, his smile turning amused, his eyes a touch fond. "Haven't you noticed? Those who sincerely come to me for aid... I don't take that lightly. Why, I develop them to the fullest of their talents. How else could I build all this?"

Silence enveloped the room as you looked deep into his unwavering sight. Dammit, you sighed under your breath. He was being honest - well, his version of it anyway. Relenting yourself, you breathed out a long exhale. "...That's it?"

"Yes, that's 'it'. It's a mutually beneficial arrangement. My favorite kind," he finished with a smirk, alluding to extremely pleasant memories of the 'arrangement' already between the two of you.

You took a moment to gather what you wanted to say. His aura gave you a reason to pause. Your words needed to be chosen carefully. You gestured your hands between the two of you. “This? Us? Just me scratching your back and you scratching mine, I’ll assume?”

“We both know what assume means, sweetheart. Let’s not do that.” He turned to walk out, but before he made it through the doorway, he called out over his shoulder, “Good job out there. You’re doing better than I expected.”

Might’ve been better that he looked away before you could flip him off. You tried sending it mentally anyway, pleased to faintly hear his distinctive laugh. At that point, you didn’t know if the warmth in your heart that you felt a moment later was his or your own.

He kept getting you all mixed up like that.

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

Donghae was speaking in hushed tones with Heechul when you rounded the corner. He noticed you coming in and moved to intercept you as the man you wanted made his smooth escape, right back into the office you’d just vacated. Damnit. “Come on, Alyssa, follow me. You need to let off some steam.” Objecting, you pointed towards the doorway where you were trying to go, because Heechul kept escaping conversation like some sort of extremely beautiful eel, but Donghae wrapped his hand firmly around your wrist, steering you in a completely different direction. “Your work is done for now. The boss has some things to tend to. He asked me to help you get some frustration out.”

Before he crossed the threshold to a room new to you, he looked at you, waggling his eyebrows. “I’m more than happy to help, Lys.” He giggled at your huffed response as he pulled you out a side door and a few buildings over into what looked like a gym at a country club, just on a smaller scale. Taking in the sights before you, your brain reeled at the possibilities of what Heechul was going to have you working on now.

“It’s not like I’m not appreciative for a break, but is physical fitness really important to my training? I’m fit enough, but…” Donghae shushed you with a finger to your lips.

Eyebrow raised, he explained. “This isn’t just gym class. Boss asked me to evaluate your skills. See where you are so we’ll know where to start.” You wondered what he was talking about. Surely you wouldn’t be stranded without your powers? He grinned as though he knew exactly what you were thinking. “Come on, just think of it as a bit of stress relief. Let me show you what I want you to be able to do.” He proceeded to throw a few punches, one sequence after another. A minute became more as he got more focused. 

You allowed your eyes to roam his form as he continued his session. The thick, corded muscles from his biceps down his back, his ass just as shapely as his chest was, even to his hips as they tightened and flexed as he danced around the hanging heavy bag. A small sheen of sweat coated his forehead as he threw hit after hit. You even noticed how his tongue was situated between his teeth at the corner of his mouth. It was cute, but then, you took his figure in again in its very nice entirety.

If anything, you were getting more frustrated, though certainly not the way he’d intended.

You weren’t blind. Donghae was fit. That was the simplest way to put it. But the way he moved around the bag gracefully almost had you forgetting he was a supernatural creature. His eyes had a dangerous focus blazing in them, and you shuddered to think of those who would be on the receiving end of an angry version of this barrage. You couldn’t help but find it attractive, mentally thanking Heechul for suggesting this break; truth be told, you didn’t even try to stop your gaze from going wherever it was drawn to. Oh, the things you could imagine...

He stopped at hearing a whine from you, his eyebrow raised high. For a second, you were irrationally terrified that he could read your thoughts too. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were staring, hard.” He looked none too surprised by that - amused, if anything.

Fuck. At least he couldn’t see what I was thinking. You stuttered out some nonsense, words failing you at the fact that he’d caught you drooling over him.

Eyes shut in embarrassment, you didn’t notice him move, which is why you ended up jumping in surprise when you heard his voice in your ear. “This is delicious. Thanks for the free meal.”

“I...” Damn this anxiety. “Hey wait, I didn’t tell you that you could do that!” He rolled his eyes, and, really, you could tell you needed to concentrate so you could get done and leave. For your sanity’s sake. You stepped to the bag and looked at him, wide-eyed and ready for his instruction without any further distractions. Hopefully.

He chuckled. “Let’s see what you got. Give me a few good sequences and we’ll call it a day. And I promise I won’t tell Heechul that you were eyeing me like a piece of meat. Besides, it’s my job to do the ogling around here.” He winked, making you feel a bit weak in the knees.

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

“As I mentioned, we unfortunately have a highly contagious bout of illness, and thus, those facilities are unavailable for a couple of nights. We can reschedule your appointment if you would just come this way.”

“You’re a goddamned liar! Lemme back there!” Regular though this man may be, at the moment, he seemed to be doing his best to make the saying that hell is other people a reality. Heechul’s temper reached its last frayed thread.

“You, sir, need to calm the hell down. You’re at a fifteen and I need you at, like, a seven,” Heechul snidely commented as the regular patron threw every excuse in the book at him as to why he should be allowed inside even if no one else is there. The growl that rumbled at the back of his throat was deep and raspy, full of rage as the patron tried to push his way from the front waiting room onto the main floor. Heechul called out in a dead language - and suddenly, the snarling long-time customer was frozen on the spot.

The thread snapped.

No longer willing to hold back, Heechul took a deep sigh of relief as he got right in front of the now confused man. “I told you, countless times,” he emphasized as he bared his teeth, “we are closed for the next couple of nights. I can see that you refuse to take my words seriously, not even attempting to cooperate.” His hand glided up to the patron’s face as his nail traced his red, splotchy cheek. “What you fail to realize is just who,” Heechul took that same nail and raked it from the patron’s temple to his lips, leaving a deep, seeping wound behind, “I am.” Taking the customer’s chin in his other hand, he jerks the man’s head in the direction of the floor.

Seconds later, Heechul had drawn a crude symbol on the marble. “You will never step foot in this establishment again. Should you even try, I will know. I will hunt you down and tear you limb from limb. And I will enjoy every single second of it,” he hissed, face contorting in unbridled rage. Then he stood, straightening to his full height as the doors flew open.

As Heechul walked towards the doors, the man who was still immobile was moved to the opening. His body seemed to fly as he let out a terrified scream. 

“I don’t ever want to see you here again.” Heechul turned on his heel to walk away. He tilted his head a few degrees towards the sound when he heard Mi’s firm “Sir”, but didn’t falter in his step, as he had more important things to deal with. His favorite shapeshifter could handle the situation however he saw fit. Trash disposed of, Heechul added the area to be monitored more closely in addition to his typical security alert set, along with making a mental note to check his crew for potential teleporting capability or an ability to learn quickly so he could evaluate offering security training and shifts. There were plenty enough to rotate at the front and connecting doors, but in the back rooms...

That’s where danger turned on a dime.

Breathing slowly, Heechul ran his hand over the back of his neck. Problem after problem continued to appear. If he couldn’t entice some of the other customers to fill in those appointments, cover the disruption, it’d be two months at most before he had to evaluate dipping into the stash. The guilt of it ate at him whenever he couldn’t keep it entirely at bay. The ex-noble’s possessions were Heechul’s by right, but he hated exercising that option; Siwon was loyal, and good at his job, and would never turn down the request.

That it benefitted his safety as well as everyone in his employ was not as comforting as it should have been. Taking from it, even with permission, still felt like stealing. I need a drink.

No time. Back to work.

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

The static took over your vision as you saw bits and pieces of something happening. Grainy images and darkened tones did not help. Even as your eyes closed, you squeezed them tighter and found you could see through someone else at the moment, someone tall and weighed down by something. Equipment? What could- You could hear a sinister cackle to your right but the current head you were occupying wouldn’t turn so you could see who it was. Though, if your memory served you well enough, it sounded like Claude and he was headed somewhere with a mission.

You studied the surroundings of the overly dressed-up group of men you were envisioning. Sidewalks, street lamps, old brick. “Shit!” You yelled out, gasping for breath as your feet began to move without you willing them to. You couldn’t be bothered to apologize for knocking into the others as you dashed to where Heechul’s magic was emanating strongest.

The doorway to his office was shut with a supernatural energy, but somehow, your inner self anticipated it. Without breaking stride, your palm came up and a small glow emanated from it. Light enveloped the door, causing its edges to hum, opening to you silently but swiftly.

“They’re coming.” Your eyes darted around the room, taking in the sights of Heechul’s closest and most trusted. Gulping, feeling like you couldn’t get enough oxygen, you panted, “It’s happening early. The...” A boom against the barred doors down at the end of the hallway sounded throughout the club. “The raid. Claude got- someone to bump up the time frame.” Heechul was by your side in an instant as the rest of the crew flew out of the room, knowing exactly what they needed to do.

This is the best gift I’ve ever gotten

A soft Jeongin smut, Christmas themed.

WORD COUNT: 838

WARNINGS: nothing major, touches on heavy make-out sessions, just a quick mention about dominatrix but it’s an empty threat.

“What are you thinking so hard about on Christmas Eve?” You gently ask Jeongin while he seems to focus more on washing the dishes than talking to you. A soft smile crosses his face as he pauses his motions to debate on how he should answer you. 

He straightens his posture but keeps his back to you. He casually answers, “I was just thinking.” The way he says it, you know there’s a smile on his face. A silence permeates the air. Neither of you move.

You try to pry the answer out of him, “About? Come on, babe. Tell me.”

He chuckles but remains silent. You’ve been with him for close to a year so you’d like to think you know his mannerisms fairly well. He’s teasing you, baiting you to ask more questions. He wants to pique your interest. In the spirit of the holiday, you play along. You walk up behind him and wind your hands around his waist, squeezing slightly but he doesn’t respond. You rest your head on his back, between his shoulder blades and can almost swear he relaxes into your touch.

It’s enough to note that neither of you have pushed that boundary. Not yet anyway. It’s not that you don’t want it, because you do. You know damn well that Jeongin would be an amazing lover because he’s already so intune with your needs outside of the bedroom. And you would be lying if you didn’t admit that your makeout sessions had possibly crossed a line or two but you’d never slept together. You knew he was a virgin and you were definitely not going to push him.

As you were lost in your own thoughts, he cleared his throat. “I thought long and hard about your Christmas present. Between the hints you would occasionally drop and what I wanted to do, I think I found the perfect thing to do for you.” He reached for a towel and dried his hands then moved yours so he could turn around and see your expression for what he was about to say.

“Would you like your Christmas present tonight?” He cocked his eyebrow up, grinning. You took in the look on his face. There was a certain look behind his eyes that you think is lust but you don’t dare get your hopes up just yet.

You pecked his lips quickly and replied, “Sure, only if you’ll open one of mine tonight too.” He hummed as though he was contemplating the offer. You pulled away to walk into the living room, going to retrieve a small wrapped box from under the tree.

He laughed out, confusing you for a moment. “Mine isn’t under the tree, Y/N”. 

You hold your gift to Jeongin in your hands as you try to figure out what he’s referring to. While you try to ponder just what your doting boyfriend got you, you handed him your gift box. “I know we haven’t gotten to this point, but I wanted to get you something we could use our first time.” You blush slightly, imagining just what he could do to you once he got used to the act.

He chuckled, a knowing smile crossed his face. “What a coincidence..” he trailed off. You looked up even more confused than before. He had the black lace lingerie hanging from his index finger with a lustful look in his eyes that had your insides warming up rather quickly. “You’re gonna need to put this on then.”

Your eyes go wide, taken aback at what you just heard. “Is this-” you start to ask but you pause as you take in the information you can from the scene before you. “Is your gift your virginity?” Your question sounded almost as innocent as he was. His thumb grazes your jaw as he looks at you with an unquestionable love and devotion.

He leaned down, lips brushing on the cusp of your ear, “The perfect gift, yes?” His teeth nibble on the shell of your ear as he pulls away. He could see the concern in your eye, his hands moving to frame your face. “I’m sure, Y/N. Trust me. I wouldn’t want to give this gift to anyone else.” The two of you stare at each other for a moment more before you just happen to glance down.

“I think someone’s really excited about this gift too.” You teased as you snatch the black lace from his hands and take off to the bedroom, making sure to lose your shirt and shorts along the way. You called over your shoulder, “If you’re not in that bed when I get out of the bathroom, I’m going full dominatrix on your ass.” 

He took in a sharp breath and felt a pleasurable shudder roll through his body, “Please. Like you could over-power me,” he murmured as he wondered how you would look in control.  

WORD COUNT: 4486

WARNINGS: mentions of assault (whipping), bloodshed, vampiric healing through ingestion of human and animal blood, 

DELICIOUS RENDEZVOUS

Chapter 4

You’d barely finished the last paragraph in the chapter about coaxing flowers to bloom when a premonition hit you like a punch to the gut, so strong it left you slumped over the table for a moment or two, winded and breathing hard.

It was garbled, but you could make out enough to know that the Councilor who tried to buy you was searching for another way to make it happen, as well as feel his glee over finding a potential avenue for that by putting Heechul in a bind. You couldn't let it happen again! The knowledge terrifies you to the core.

Though you knew he couldn't get you if you weren't there to get, you were just as sure, too, that even if you told Heechul, he wouldn't approve of you doing what you had to. He'd insist that within his wards was the safest place for you to be. That left one option: you'd have to sneak out without him knowing. For his own good. He’d understand, right?

He’d have to.

Oftentimes, the best laid plans can go to shit, and quickly at that. You weren’t stupid - rational thinking and patience were going to be necessary if you were going to slip through this club of horny patrons and all of Heechul’s employees unnoticed.

A quick glance around you and you knew exactly how your escape plan needed to work. Hair fanned gently around your face, falling in a smooth curtain while you kept your eyes to the floor, following the path Henry had taken you down just a day or so ago. It was tempting to peek at the hedonistic miasma surrounding you. Instead, you decided to use it to your advantage.

The watch adorning your small wrist showed eight at night, which meant a crowded house who had come to watch the infamous Ryeowook on stage. Whether the patrons were entranced by the magic carried in his voice, senses dulled by fine liquor, or lured away by their lust, they wouldn’t prove a problem, but... The employees would be harder to fool, considering their various powers. Shadows cast by the bulky, black velvet curtains gave the perfect opportunity to blend in while keeping an eye on your surroundings. 

You watched as Ryeowook removed his thick hooded robe and tossed it directly towards the dark shadow you were hiding in. Frozen, you held your breath and quickly pulled your feet back so it would fall on the floor, his bracelets jangling together hiding even that soft sound. “Dammit. I’m late for my stage.” Practically in front of your hiding spot, he let out a frustrated huff that felt louder than it sounded. “I’ll get it later.” Then you heard him breathe deep as he rotated his head, stretching his neck out. “Okay. I’m ready. Cue music,” he called out as he painted on his alluring smile for the crowd, his hips swaying exaggeratedly as he walked away.

Which was all you needed to keep going.

When no one came to pick up the robe, you quickly snatched it up and put it on, slightly overwhelmed by the piercing sweet scent of the siren. Your head felt fuzzy as you shook it to clear your mind. No wonder Henry can’t help but zone in on him. If this was all I could smell when he was around, I wouldn’t want anyone else either, you couldn’t help but think. Bracing yourself once more, you pulled up the hood, quickly ducking out of the corridor and into the crowd as you took off towards the door.

The closer you got to the door, though, the harder it became to move your body. It wasn’t impossible, but you could tell some sort of magic was making it difficult. If you were farther along in your studies, you couldn’t help but realize with a pang, or in any less of a rush, there’d be a chance for you to identify something about it. Not now. No more distractions.

No matter that the air looked no different between the barrier and where you stood, it felt impenetrable, as though a wall pushed back against you with the very force of gravity itself. Before going any further, you steeled yourself, focused your intent into a sharp point, and pushed forward again, narrowing your power into one shoulder.

That second try was more like rubber - not impassable, but nothing close to easy, either. Your throat felt like it would squeeze shut. Or like your lungs would collapse. Every muscle in your body tensed, coiling danger-tight from the inescapable awareness that time was rapidly running out. The distraction would only last so long...

There was no fucking way you would be here for that creep to get anywhere near you.

Shuddering, you pushed your other shoulder forward, the air flowing around you more like molasses this time. Step by step, the invisible barrier eased reluctantly but steadily, right up until your hand was on the decorative door knob. Swirling patterns embossed into it felt electric, the base metal itself unnaturally cold. It made you sure the other side was colder, outside of the embrace of the very protection you ran here for.

Still, what would that even mean if you couldn’t protect anyone either? Or yourself? Time ticked down, the foreboding sense of the creep’s chance to possess you or worse grew nearer, and with all your strength, tears gathering at the corner of your eyes for reasons you couldn’t begin to fathom, you made the bit of metal held tightly in your hand turn.

You had no memory of actually making it outside, and yet, here you were. Somehow, it was even colder than you could’ve imagined.

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

He picked up something from her, half static though it was. Fear. Determination. The urge to escape. The sex magic worked a little too well, apparently. Heechul had to take a steadying breath at the panic that quickly surged through his body. “What has her so spooked?” He could feel the anxiety building, though he wasn’t sure why. 

Nothing he'd ever done had created such a strong bond, nonetheless inadvertently. He'd barely gathered his focus to try and find her, soothe her, when the wind howled behind him.

Wind. Indoors. In a room that held him alone.

"What are you doing here?" Heechul asked after he turned around, just barely keeping the quaver out of his voice.

Claude, his newfound nemesis smiled, all teeth and malice. His incisors were long as though in hunger.

Dread rose up from the pit of Heechul's stomach.

"The central Councilor has been so... generous... as to allow me to resolve this matter on my own. You see, you little pest, you've been found to have called a meeting frivolously."

"You- You can't be serious!" He couldn’t be sure why he bothered objecting, however; ultimately, the Council did what they wanted with impunity, regardless of the appearance of having rules and laws. And they’d never liked him very much...

That asshole leisurely counted off each point with his fingers as he said, "You filed no grievance, introduced no actionable agenda item, nor resolved any contested matter or claim. Oh, but you need not worry." Heechul was definitely worried. "He conceded to my plea to lower the penalty to a mere twenty lashes. After all, I know how very difficult that is on our kind." Terrifyingly, his rictus smile widened. "Who knows what could happen to you without an immediate feeding of significant size afterwards. Why, you might even have to lure in the nearest bloodbag and drain it dry.” The Councilor’s smirk turned Heechul’s stomach as much as his wording - a stark reminder that the Council’s cruelty and disdain for their own community still paled in comparison to that which they held for the nearly defenseless humans surrounding them. “Care to... make a deal?"

As soon as the words left Claude’s mouth, the worst part was that Heechul knew exactly what this man wanted. He was just as sure that he would never hand her over. "I have no substitute to offer." Not for the first time, he said the ritual words without a trace of the fear hiding within him. Not now, not ever, he thought.

The Councilor's eyebrows rose nearly to his hairline. "Again? Not even to save your own skin? You're an absolute idiot," he sneered. "Very well. So it shall be.” His expression settled into an unnerving countenance made up of eyes open maniacally wide, teeth long and dangerous, every visible inch gleaming with malicious glee. “You shall undertake the punishment alone." A purple-black swirl rose up in recognition of the agreement, exploded into a shape made of spikes, compressed itself again. Finally, it resolved into the instrument of punishment.

Heechul only had time to ward his surface thoughts for the moment it took him to resolve that he would find a way to take them all down.

The menacing underling stood there, a malicious smile on his face, as he held the whip, its top layer holding the frighteningly familiar shine of a liquid silver soak. He crudely commented, “I’d ask you to count, but I don’t think you want your kids-” That cherished word dripped poison from Claude’s lips, and Heechul hated him more than he thought possible in that moment. “-to hear you scream. Who knows what they’d think of such a weak leader?”

Heechul turned around and unbuttoned his shirt with as much dignity as he could manage. He would not let this imbecile see him falter. He refused. As he walked to the center of the small room, he told Claude, “Do what you must.”

“Believe me, I will” was barely heard over the first crack of the whip.

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

The street lamps flickered as you walked past each one. While it wasn’t that odd of an occurrence, you couldn’t help but think it had something to do with you and your repressed power. The air was overwhelming, the scents were sickening and you had no clue where to go or what to do now. You couldn’t exactly go back to the people you once called family.

“I need to think.” A small alleyway appeared in your peripheral. Turning into it, you weren’t expecting the sharp stinging force that seared your back as you stepped into a shadow. The pain was so great that you were sure your head was about to explode. Barely a few blocks away from the place that had nearly grown to be your new home, you fell to your knees on hard concrete, clutching your head, nausea and fear overpowering you. 

It quickly became obvious that Heechul wasn't doing this on purpose; your connection was too strong, and he was too weak. You grew dizzy, feeling the Councilor's glee, seeing the scene through his eyes as well, though distorted like a failing TV, half the picture in focus, half in jagged indecipherable zigzags of color. The streaks of blood flowing down Heechul's back. The rings gleaming on the Councilor's hand. Heechul's pained cries slipping out at last.

By the time it was over, you'd nearly passed out, slumping against a nearby brick wall.

This was your fault too. But you couldn't just leave him like this. He'd said that all creatures have their own hunger... and that meant he needed you right now.

You didn't know if you had it in you to run back, but you had to try. Even if you didn't stay after. Doesn't matter. I have to make sure he's okay. I have to make him okay.

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

Before he awoke fully, the cologne swirling around him told Heechul that his head was pillowed on Siwon's lap.

"Master," Siwon whispered, smoothing Heechul's hair back. "Heechul," he hissed with more urgency.

Groaning, Heechul half-opened his eyes with all the strength he could muster, which wasn't much. "Muh?"

"It's your turn," Siwon told him gently. He swiped the tip of his index finger over his tooth, then held the cut up to Heechul's lips.

He wasn't happy about it, but still, Heechul lapped at the sluggish flow of blood, finding it enough to allow him to keep his eyes fully open. A few seconds more let him hold up his own head. Siwon's moon-topped cane lay on the floor beside them; Heechul kept his eyes on the light reflected in its smooth sheen rather than trying and failing to meet Siwon's gaze. He didn't like showing such weakness.

Regardless, Siwon helped him sit up. At that point, the cut had halfway closed. Heechul tried to push it to heal the rest of the way, but only managed to make his own head spin. The man holding him chuckled. "Stubborn as ever, I see."

Whatever Heechul had meant to reply to that, it was gone from his mind the moment she crashed through the door.

“What happened?!” She yelled, running right up to him, dropping to one knee and peering at him with undisguised horror and worry.

“No bad customers today,” Heechul croaked, trying to make light of the situation as much to ease her fear as to avoid the appearance of further weakness. So many people depended on him...

But he instantly grew lightheaded again. Woozy, he turned back to Siwon. “It’s my apprentice,” he said needlessly. Siwon only smiled down at him.

“I know, Master,” he replied, dropping a kiss onto Heechul’s forehead.

So tired. Heechul’s limbs felt heavy as lead. He managed to turn his head back towards her before his eyes started drooping closed, but only just. “Look, it’s my favorite apprentice,” he slurred.

“I’m your only apprentice,” she grumbled, dropping to sit beside him. “You need to feed from me.”

“That’s not necessary-”

“You look terrible. I’m not gonna take no for an answer.”

Faster than he could say anything else, she was running the side of her wrist over his elongated incisor. She hissed, cutting it quickly, then held it to his mouth, blocking him from saying anything more. What could he do? He was so hungry...

The blood flowed fresh and smooth from her cut. Soon, he regained his sense of balance. His eyes stayed half open, enabling him to lick the cut closed. Siwon was still stroking his hair, though Heechul didn’t know when his second in command had started doing so.

Heechul weakly pushed his apprentice’s wrist away. When the witch looked at her wrist, however, her frustration was palpable, and she repeated herself on the other side. Weakness and hunger still held the leader in their sway, but he managed to confine himself to a couple of licks before closing that one too. Pushing her away again, he felt stronger already, even sitting up on his own next.

“Thank you,” he said hoarsely, “but listen to me already.” He cleared his throat, trying to sound more commanding and less like a human with a cold. “I was trying to tell you,” he coughed once, but his voice otherwise remained steady, “that Ryeowook’s already out finding a cow to drain for me, so I’ll be fine.” He dredged up a faint smirk. “You get me there faster, of course.”

“Faster.” Her incredulous look was worth every bit of effort it had taken to sit up. “That’s all? That really fucking hurt! Are you saying I did that for nothing?”

“Oh, darling, of course not!” The laugh that came out was a paltry one, but not too bad, all things considered. Heechul pressed on. “This way, you only get one day off from your lessons instead of two. We both know how much you enjoy my personal attention.”

Standing up, she huffed and looked at him like he’d just told the world’s worst joke, her arms crossed. “I seriously hate you.”

When Ryeowook burst in through the door, audibly out of breath and gripping what looked like a plastic thermos, he immediately rushed over to Heechul’s side, hardly sparing her a glance. “Here, boss.” He pushed the container into Heechul’s hand, but the vampire’s hold on it visibly trembled, causing the siren to have to take it back and open it himself, pouring some of the blood into the cap before tipping it into Heechul’s mouth.

Heechul cursed under his breath, both at his less-than-stellar condition being obvious to people other than Siwon, which would’ve been bad enough by itself, and at the way his little witch turned faintly green and retreated to the opposite corner of the room. This day couldn’t get any worse.

“I’ve got this,” Siwon insisted, surface-polite with an undercurrent of anger. Ryeowook didn’t look like he wanted to relinquish the cup, but when Heechul caught his eye to give him a small nod, he reluctantly let it go before stepping back.

“Hmph. Okay, well,” Ryeowook threw his hands up in defeat, “the rest is in the freezer, boss. I’m going to eat my part, but you let me know if you need anything, okay?” Strangely, his voice sounded on the verge of breaking towards the end of his sentence. That and a quick squeeze to Heechul’s shoulder was the only hint of emotion he showed, yet the vampire felt comforted by even that much. How his kids loved him!

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

Though the shift was subtle, the petals did indeed open up towards you the slightest amount. Heechul’s satisfied smile told that he’d seen it as well. “Well done! It may be a translation, but, truly, no writer has surpassed Figueroa in teaching natureweaving. Look how this little one moved to your bidding!”

Chuckling, you were only a bit surprised the vampire didn’t start outright clapping his hands together in glee; truth be told, you were glowing with such pride that the idea didn’t even bother you. “It worked,” you said quietly, as though speaking too loud might dislodge your work. “You were right. The well refills.”

For a moment, you only smiled at each other, feeling a little closer to equals. Your heart betrayed how much you liked this moment of warmth between you, but, with any luck, it didn’t show on your face.

Then his eyes flicked down to your mouth.

Nothing came of it, though. He led you to the meditation corner, though he’d warned you that the setup was a beginner’s tool, and to practice using your power in a variety of situations, including with distractions around.

He waited until you were seated comfortably to speak. “You’ve got a hell of a sharp tongue on you sometimes, but I will admit that you’re no slouch when it comes to your studies. You’ve got potential,” he said with a grin.

“Thanks, I think?” Overall, it sounded like praise, but experience and reflex had you searching to make sure it wasn’t a backhanded compliment somehow. You stretched your back to one side and then the other, then your arms up above your head and out to your sides. Even though he didn’t seem the type to do that to you, you couldn’t help but stay on your guard.

Again, that flicker of his eyes, but it retreated just as quickly as the first time.

“I do not praise lightly, though I must also caution that potential is not easy to develop into reality. And,” he held up one finger, “I’ll be testing your basic wound healing tomorrow to make sure you’ve absorbed the material rather than simply reading it. On yourself,” he emphasized in the face of your overly interested expression. You felt a little bad about that, but not too much, truth be told - you even ended up giggling a little bit, a short second of it that you immediately clamped down on. “I am your teacher, not your test dummy.”

“Spoiling my fun already,” you shot back in jest. Heechul leaned back on his hands for a moment, letting his head tip backwards, but it didn’t hide the faint smile he still wore.

Rather than a statue, he was far more like a painting when he smiled.

After a few seconds, he settled forward, legs crossed, one forearm on each knee. "You've probably been letting whatever premonitions you get come to you, right?" You nodded hesitantly; it was still a little spooky every time he did that. "There's a misconception common among our kind of practitioner. We don't have full control of it, no, but neither do we have none. The trick is, you have to do it for the right reason."

"What makes it the right reason?" There were so many more rules than you’d ever realized, after so long using whatever information you happened to get whenever it decided to show up. But if it could keep you safe, and make you strong, you’d learn each and every one.

Heechul shrugged one elegant shoulder. "The magic has decided that, whether we like it or not. At first, mine was always random except when..." He looked away for a moment. "When I needed it to protect someone. If I tried to do it for selfish reasons, greedy ones, the failure rate was high, unless it was to save my own life. But when you reach out from the feeling of, 'I want to protect this person. I want to keep people from getting hurt. This will help me help others.', it comes much more easily." Then he smirked. "Of course, that’s not a guarantee either - you won't always know why you get the information you do. Don't let it drive you crazy."

"You'd know all about that, huh," you drawled, though you found that even the bite in your voice had a touch of fondness to it that you didn't intend.

"Oh, sweetheart." He tucked a lock of your hair behind your ear, tilting his head just a bit in a way that almost looked affectionate. "Only I can make crazy look this good."

Though you didn't want to, you found yourself laughing at his cocky facade. The last thing you'd intended was to start understanding this impossible man with his odd sense of humor, but here you were, letting him get under your skin with hardly a word of protest.

Then, Heechul stood back, pensive to the right of you as he took in a deep breath. Something was eating at him, even if you couldn’t pick up on what. He opened his mouth several times but words escaped him with each try. As you threw a glance his way, curious as to why he was still standing there, your scent permeated the connection between the two of you, wrapping around him, clinging to him. His eyes fell shut; you could feel it washing over both of you, not there and yet real.

He was slow to open his eyes, though it wasn’t long before he returned to his characteristic sharpness. "Hmm. You know, I've partaken of your blood twice now. I make no requirement for the name you give me to be the one decreed at your birth, same as anyone who is granted my protection,” he turned and flipped his hair back before facing you again, with the perhaps-accidental effect of emphasizing his long, elegant fingers, “but it would be quite unseemly to just keep calling you ‘apprentice’," he finished with a grin. That his voice holds warmth and the faintest laughter leaves you with a small smile despite yourself, not to mention a burst of warmth you can’t quite explain somewhere around your navel.

As your eyes lock onto each other, a subtle sweet scent wafted into your memory, charming colors blooming; with that, you knew just what to pick.

“There was a flower I remember from when I was a child. Alyssum. It was rare that my grandmother even had it.” You smile at the memory, continuing softly, “But when she did have it, she made sure to take care of those who had problems with keeping their blood pressure down. She always took care of- ev-” No matter how hard you tried, you couldn’t choke out another word. A few tears were beginning to gather at the corners of your eyes. You dabbed at them quickly, hoping you’d be ready to continue your story if only their flow would stop. 

It was plain to see that it was hard for you to speak on such a personal subject. His hand made its way to your upper arm, slowly enough that you could’ve moved away. You wouldn’t, though. Cold and warm mixed confusingly, heightened by the short arc his thumb drew over your skin. Though you were certain he didn’t tell you that it’s alright, you heard it more clearly than any words could tell you.

“I think-” You started, without knowing how to finish. The choice was the right one, but it took courage to reach for it. “I- Yes. Alyssa. That’s... That’s me.” And it was, now. The very act made you feel renewed, no matter the secrets you still held close - something like turning over a new leaf. Being granted a chance at a new life. Turning away from hurt, and accusations, and someone who, though you loved, could not accept when fault lay with their own actions. From the past you, scared and small.

You didn’t curse anyone. You weren’t cursed, either. The pain of-

“It fits, to be perfectly honest.” Sideswiped with relief from Heechul’s kind words interrupting your recounting of the past, you were brought back to the present, where you couldn’t help but return his wide smile, the happy gentle curve of his eyes mirrored in your expression as well. “Alyssum is graceful and full of wonder, playful when the time calls for it.” He beamed at you as he leaned in to tuck a stray hair behind your ear. “Worth beyond beauty,” he murmured. He was still so very stunning up close.

A chuckle falls from his lips when you look at him with shock on your face. Your eyes widened when you mentally asked yourself, ‘How does a vampire know about the meaning of an obscure flower that only grows well off the Mediterranean sea?’ He smirks, and you feel the motion on the cusp of your ear. “When all you have is time, you pick up a thing or two, darling.” His voice was so low and rich, you couldn’t help the shiver that crossed your body.

“I can see that,” you tried to volley back, but the words came out so quiet and breathy that you’d rather not have said anything at all.

“Thank you for the gift,” Heechul said simply. He moved to be face to face with you. His gaze locked on to yours, which was flitting between his eyes and his lips, lips which were dangerously close. It was only a second, one blink, when you felt his lips on yours. It was sweet but powerful. A buzzing sensation spread throughout your body as he pulled away and walked out.

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

WORD COUNT: 4151

WARNINGS: cursing, an attack of sorts (no bloodshed), thinly veiled protectiveness

DELICIOUS RENDEZVOUS

Chapter 3

“There,” Heechul told you, panting. “It is done.” He pulled away to lay beside you. For him having a cold touch, you still immediately missed what warmth he brought. The sensation of the spell spreading the rest of the way through you was half pins and needles, half a deep sort of pleasure that defied explanation or words, running up your spine. He turned on his side, one elbow bent, chin resting on his head. “I’m going to be quite busy - frankly, I’ve already taken a lot of time out of my day for you.”

His nonchalance came as a surprise after the intimacy he’d just shown. “You could be nice for one second,” you mumbled, the afterglow quickly fading, but he was apparently determined to ignore any and all feelings, including yours. You shook your head to hide your face and the look of disappointment. 

“I’ll figure out a training schedule for you tomorrow. For now, go make friends and get some food. Order what you like.” He smiled as though he’d handed you the keys to the club. “I’ll let them know to expect you.” Heechul continued to make himself presentable when he added, “I didn’t take much blood, but you still need to replenish what was lost. Let Shindong know what you want at the bar and he’ll relay it from there.”

“...Wait, huh?”

Heechul let out a put-upon sigh. How were you supposed to learn anything from him, let alone stick around for the next three months? Was he really going to be able to help you? You rolled your eyes.

“Look, I thought you were pretty good at talking to strangers, but maybe I was wrong.” He huffed out a little almost-laugh through his nose. “Just start with,” he gestures with his chin towards the door, “Ryeowook’s little boyfriend, the kid at the piano. He should be wrapping up soon. He loves to eat and he’s a blank, so you aren’t in any danger from him and you won’t be alone for now.”

Your eyes widened, “Am I in danger from anyone else?”

Heechul raised his eyebrows once. “That depends on you, doesn’t it.” His grin is wide and knowing, one eyebrow cocked up. While you gaped as such an unhelpful response, he levitated himself to standing, summoned his pants and slipped his lean legs back into them. Though you couldn’t help but watch the movement of muscles beneath the skin for a moment, you were determined to not make a habit of it, forcing your eyes away.

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

“Nice to meet you!” Henry shook your hand enthusiastically, already a weird start. He didn’t look old enough to be in a bar in the first place, which the rosy tint perpetually blooming on his pale cheeks didn’t help. After the ritual, though, you probably didn’t look any better, so it was nice of him to not comment on that.

“Um, I was told Ryeowook-”

“Oh, yeah! He got me this job.” He looked over in the direction of the stage and back, though not before you caught the gleam in his eye, a particular one that left you aching with longing. Adoration couldn’t be written more plainly on his face. “It works out really well, you know? I didn’t actually know what I was going to do with my degree.”

“That’s really good.” You feigned politeness just long enough to ask the question you really wanted the answer to, leaning forward to speak more quietly. “How is it here really, though? Do they treat you well?”

“Yeah, everyone’s so nice here!” He beamed. “When Ryeowookie is busy,” the gleam of affection cropped up faintly again before fading, “Donghae makes sure I get lots to eat. My visa got processed so much faster here than my school one, and I got direct deposit since my first check. It’s great!” With a cute tilt of his head, he added, “I’m glad no one minds that I don’t really drink. I get all itchy. But Heechul’s never had a problem with it.” Sticking his hands into his pockets, he frowned. “To be honest, the only thing I’m worried about is that Ryeowook never eats breakfast. But everyone’s different, right?” He concluded his rambling with an easy, friendly smile, shrugging his shoulders, then rocking on his heels.

“...Right.” In your mind's eye, you could see clearly what Ryeowook would look like with his wings and claws out. And that the butler was actually over by the entrance to the club, his shoulders subtly widening and narrowing over and over again, his hair growing longer and then shorter. You realize what wasn't said. That made you mad as hell! Oh my god, you thought, this kid doesn’t know anything, does he. Heechul is a bastard.

Too bad you still needed his help.

“Oh yeah, you just got here, so you don’t know where anything is, huh.” Henry’s words drew your attention back to him and away from your thoughts of Heechul. “Come on, let me show you the break room.”

As the two of you made your way past the bar, Shindong came in from the back, carrying a nondescript box. He pointed at you, then immediately, his hair shot up and back as if by a gust of wind. His confused expression was so comically exaggerated that you couldn't help but laugh. 

He patted it back down into place, looking confounded, then went on his way as if nothing happened without so much as a wave.

“He’s a weird one.”

Henry held his finger up to his lips, eyes that told you to be quiet. “Don’t let him hear you say that.” The rosy-cheeked man looked around, as though he was worried Shindong was watching at that very moment. He stepped closer. “Man is insufferable, at times. Even moreso if he likes you. At least you got some form of interaction from him being it's only your first day here. Took me a week to get anything out of him.”

All you could manage was a quiet “hmm”. Henry resorted back to indifference as he made sure you were following him as he continued to guide you to the much-needed food. Something about Shindong was intimidating, despite the brief comedy routine, so you decided to come back to the issue of ordering food a little later, when you’d had a chance to gather some courage.

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

Once he’d taken a bite off the corner of one sandwich, Henry exclaimed, “Alriiiiight! He remembered to salt them more this time like I asked.”  Handing out the egg sandwiches, cut in two halves to form neat triangles, he added, “You’d think it wouldn’t need it when the bread has garlic butter on it, but there’s a lot of egg, you know?” One was placed in front of Donghae, and another in front of you.

“Oh, uh, thanks.” This only left you more determined to put off figuring out Heechul’s food. The kitchen you’d passed on the way was loud and looked extremely busy, so it just felt weird to add to that. And you hadn’t seen a menu anywhere, either...

“No problem! Ryeowook always makes extra anyway. I think he gets worried when our schedules don’t line up to eat together.”

Both men sharing the small round table with you stuffed practically a whole triangle in their mouths at once. You couldn’t help but giggle. “Oh, is he going to be on stage for a while?” You asked, trying to keep the conversation going. It was a fair trade - garlic butter was such a simple indulgence, yet oh so worthwhile. Had you missing home, all of a sudden... Missing it so bad that you couldn't bear to think about it.

The conversation turned out to be a welcome interruption.

“Nope,” Henry said, only half succeeding at covering his mouth. “That part's done for today. He’s got backstage appointments to get to.”

“...Technical work? I didn’t know he did both.”

He only stared at you for a moment. “No,” he said slowly, “backstage work.” Left utterly confused, you looked back and forth between them until Donghae’s lascivious smirk got the meaning across.

It slowly dawned on you that it was a euphemism, not to mention what was going on behind all those closed doors. “Oh.” Your eyes widened so much they nearly fell out of your head, and you had to force your mouth closed, because you were something like a guest here and it’s not polite, right? What if it seemed insulting or condescending, the longer you looked scandalized? You could feel your cheeks heat further at that thought, even if that had seemed impossible with how they’d burned immediately after Donghae’s hint got through. “Oh! Right. I see.” Well, you’d really rather not, but it appeared the rumors were true after all. Staring at the plastic container was the closest you could get to meeting anyone’s eyes for a little while after that kind of revelation. “That doesn’t bother you?”

But Henry only shrugged. “Nope.” He offered no details whatsoever. That was that; he and Donghae proceeded to bicker over who had to eat the carrot sticks hiding underneath the stack of sandwiches. (Donghae insisted that demons don’t eat carrots, which Henry reluctantly accepted, though not without a heaping spoonful of skepticism.)

The three of you chatted amiably for a few minutes between eating. That calmed you down enough to see about asking for a menu after all, making your way through the same corridor from earlier, the one with the framed drawings of urban wildlife with inspirational slogans under each one. You were pretty sure the kitchen was back this way-

Whatever just took you off your feet meant business. Your eyes opened to find the ceiling above you and the cool marble tile beneath your back. You sucked a deep breath in all while moving your hands and feet to make sure everything still worked correctly. What drew you out of your self-inspection was the groaning coming from a few feet away. The strange yet beautiful man from earlier was bent over with his hands braced on his knees. He looked wobbly, maybe just as hurt as you were.

Laying back and being still just made more sense at that moment. You closed your eyes as the back of your head met the ground

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

He sensed the spell and honed in on it to take him there.

Of course, he’d already been attuned to security alerts for defensive spells. From his alcove, Heechul had watched as his apprentice stumbled back and fell, at the same time that the reflective force flung Sungmin just as far back. Luckily, the incubus had reflexively done one of those martial arts rolls, but now leaned heavily against the hallway wall where he was sitting slumped against it, his eyes glazed, one small hand pressed to his own cheek and temple.

While Henry ran over to him, Heechul shot a faint blue spark from his fingertips.

“You know being teleported makes me dizzy,” Jongwoon grumbled at Heechul in the next instant, but quickly softened when he spotted his patient. Dropping onto one knee next to her, resting his forearm on the other, he leaned forward the slightest bit. “Hey there. Can you tell me what’s wrong?” He asked in a soft, husky voice.

“M’dizzy,” she mumbled, “and I fell.”

Jongwoon turned to the vampire, already back to looking annoyed. “Did you set your shield to let healing through?”

“Of course I did,” Heechul scoffed.

“Then open up pain relief as well.”

Feeling a bit sheepish when he realized that that type was indeed still blocked, Heechul did just that, drawing a quick symbol on his palm with his fingertip. Admittedly, he hadn’t cast this sort of protection in quite a long time, and the last time... That wasn’t sexual in the least. So he’d asked Shindong to set up tests for it, making sure his friend wouldn’t tell him when or how. It was a mercy that he didn’t have to specify to not hurt her; the risk was too great, and the very thought stabbed fear through his heart.

An invisible anodyne cloud sprung up around Jongwoon, a sort of magic dandelion the doctor himself had developed. Caught in its radius, the ever-present ache in Heechul’s wrist dialed down to a faint hum.

The pained grooves marring her forehead eased at once, too.

She was in good hands. Heechul knew this, knew it with the knowledge of many decades, so he turned to check on Sungmin, but... It was more difficult to do so than he’d imagined. No matter how much he tried to make his eyes focus forward, he itched to do otherwise.

Worriedly looking back over at her, Heechul nonetheless made himself turn away once more to attend to Sungmin, where Henry was already murmuring to him while pressing the back of his hand to the incubus’ forehead. Logically, Heechul knew Sungmin must've gotten the brunt of it, but-

That was all he’d allow himself. He shook himself back into action. Heechul motioned Henry away with a small gesture of his head. The young, bright eyed man wanted to stick around and help, but Heechul’s eyes insisted, mouthing ‘thank you’. Henry, ever shocked by the silent but kind motion, nonetheless complied. He turned his sights back to the scene he’d turned away from. "You did a great job, Sungmin. We got the test data we needed." Sungmin nodded gingerly, only grimacing. "Thank you for helping again. Donghae should be back near the bar by now, or soon, that'll be kicking up some lust. Go soak that up until your head settles, then lie down for at least five minutes, alright? I'll send the doctor to check you over when he's done here."

"Yes, boss," Sungmin said, slowly standing up, one hand on a nearby wall the whole way up. Heechul lent his arm for support, only remembering to call out when Sungmin had made it a couple of feet away on his own, "And drink some water!" Sungmin merely threw up a thumbs up over his shoulder as he cautiously walked away.

Setting that aside, he hurried over to her. To his apprentice. That's all, he told himself. Just someone who needs my help. The shield held beautifully, though nothing could beat real world experience to be sure. Since every scan and both tests came up well...

Mostly well, he realized, watching Jongwoon shine a small light into her eyes, then asking her to follow his finger. Fuck, the stun shouldn’t have gotten through that strongly. That meant there were cracks, and right now... He didn’t know how to fix those.

There were no shortcuts. He couldn’t help but get close enough to squeeze her hand, needing to touch her even if only fleetingly, to feel that she’s alright, then immediately left to do a field reset on the room he’d set aside to start her training. She would need so much more than just this. No telling how soon she’d have to be able to protect herself.

Not for the first time, Heechul lamented that he couldn’t be in two places at once.

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

Hardly a minute or two later, belly full and mildly nauseous after whatever that stunt was, you felt a caress brush against the confines of your mind. It drew you in, past this door, that way down the hall, into a quiet carpeted room that contained only Heechul. His trademark smirk sat easy across his mouth.

“So you’ve properly met at least one of my kids now.”

“I did,” you said tartly, recalling what you’d realized, “and-”

“Hold on.” Holding one hand up, he stopped you with merely two words; you hated that you were going along with it. “If you’re looking to chew me out some more, save it for another time. Training requires dedication and concentration.”

“...Fine. But it’s only a delay.”

“Good enough,” he said, rolling his head side to side. “So, he’s a sweet kid, right?”

“Henry? Yeah...”

With that admission, Heechul’s smile turned genial. “Good. You have some basic sense.”

“Oh, so you get to insult me during training? What’s wrong, you can dish it out but you can’t take it?”

Though he rolled his eyes, his smile grew wider, too. “Some fires are unquenchable. We’ll work it out as we go. Now. Follow me. Deep breath in, then let it out slowly.”

Reluctantly, you did as he said, putting all other concerns into a box and setting it aside in your mind’s eye. “Okay, now what?”

He raised one eyebrow. “You really will have to learn some patience. Not an insult, darling!” He added with a laugh. “A simple fact required to progress.”

“Hmph.” You crossed your arms. Realizing how petulant that looked, though, you forced yourself to let them hang loose at your side instead. “I suppose. If you learn some manners.”

“Fair’s fair,” he answered with a shrug. “Now, back to the kid. Only pull up the image of him if it helps you; the essential part is whatever feeling of connection you can find. This works the same way an address on a building does.” He blinked slowly, tilting his head back, then forward again. “You feel it?”

The thread may have been thin, but you were able to strengthen it by kind of... latching onto Heechul’s connection as well. Were you supposed to do that? Who knows, but it felt like it was working. “Yes,” you answered distantly, almost having forgotten that you were asked a question at all.

“Good. Now imbue it with your magic.”

For some reason, this step scared you. Was it safe? Would it hurt anything? What if once you did it, that little bit was gone for good...

“You’re panicking.” But you weren’t- Oh, Heechul was right. Your breathing had gotten heavier, shallower, too quick. Before you’d noticed, he stepped closer, one fingertip tilting your chin up. “What is it?”

“I don’t wanna let it go!” You blurted out. Immediately, Heechul’s hand smoothed over your hair.

“It’s alright,” he said more gently than you’d thought possible of him. “You’ve done it before, and it’s always filled back up. You just didn’t know you were doing it.” But he stepped back, screwing up the corner of his mouth, and that also frightened you. You wanted his reassurance back. “This will be the only exercise for today. We’ll start you on foundational material next time.”

“Did I mess it up?” You croaked.

“No, everything’s alright,” he assured you, still in that too-gentle voice. “Let’s just try one more time, okay? The well will refill. You’re just taking a drop from it. Deep breaths. Two, three, four. There we go.”

Slowly, the whole thing feeling embarrassingly elementary, you made your way back to being calm and levelheaded. “Okay, I did it.”

“You found it? Good, well done. We’ll continue tomorrow.” Before you, far too close, Heechul visibly swallowed, then pressed his face to your neck for a long moment, taking a deep breath and leaving you feeling immensely calmer, strangely enough. When he wrenched himself away, his eyes held a faint tint of red, something gleaming in his mouth as well. “Forgive me,” he said. “A moment of weakness.” He looked at you intensely, his nostrils flaring. “All creatures hunger.”

Then he whirled away. “Please do not think me evil for it.”

You desperately wished you could see his face when he said that, but in a blink, he was gone.

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

“Kamau’s treatise on diplomacy and oratory is a must,” Heechul muttered to himself, flipping through the pages absently before adding to the pile on the table at the center of the room. “Oracles are known to be inherently weak in persuasion, and Zhang’s research on complementary domains proved it..." Back at the shelf, he ran his finger over the spines of an entire row, hoping it would jog his memory. “Damnit, who wrote that particularly clear natureweaving introductory text a century ago? I know I have it here somewhere, I just can’t remember their name.”

Familiar footsteps accompanied by a click on the floor sprang up behind him, so he didn’t feel the need to turn around. It wasn’t long before strong hands alighted on his shoulders, that familiar moon-topped cane gleaming where it leaned against one of the shelves.

“You’ve been in here for hours, Master,” Siwon murmured, clearly doing his level best to forcibly massage the tension out of Heechul’s body through his shoulders.

Probably true, but the leader wasn’t going to admit it. He allowed himself to hum low in his throat, turning into a closed-mouth groan, but no more. “Why aren’t you finalizing the quarterly ledger?”

But Siwon only chuckled. “The computing machines handle nearly everything in the modern era, Master. Did you forget again?”

“I still don’t like that whole expense,” Heechul muttered. “They’re just little boxes and they don’t show their work!”

Moving down his back, his right-hand man told him in a strangely indulgent tone, “I can audit them any time you’d like. You need only say the word.”

Heechul sighed. “No, don’t bother. There are much more important uses of your time.”

“Like this?” The other man joked, digging his thumbs into a knot at Heechul’s lower back.

“You very well know I meant getting ready for that raid that I sense coming sometime next week,” Heechul said archly. “See if,” god his head hurt just pulling the info, but raids were always hard on his kids, “the same one’s still in the 223 precinct to cut a deal.” However, when he felt the loss of those strong hands, he failed to hide his laughter when he complained, “I didn’t say to stop!”

“Very well, just another minute, then, shall I?”

His head drooping forward, Heechul muttered, “Whatever happened to ‘Yes, Master’?”, though the words had no bite to them.

Suddenly, hovering next to Heechul was a grid without lines, each one holding what looked to be a title and author. “How about an index instead?”

“What would I do without you?” Heechul whirled around, the index following to his right, to squeeze Siwon’s hand. “I guess it was worth saving you after all, if you’re going to make yourself useful.”

In front of him, Siwon beamed as though Heechul had said something far more affectionate. “You might even like me, too,” he lobbed playfully, squeezing back. “Also, Whitman’s parlor tricks book got into your pile again,” he added, pointing to the table with his chin.

“Ugh.” Heechul ran his hand through his hair. “Goddamned cursed fucking book. You see?” He picked it up, waving it around. “This is why I tell everyone to not get me presents. Not everyone can sense what’s been cast on them, so I get stuck with a useless book that tries to follow me around like a lost puppy. Prestidigitation? Hardly a step above distracting children with a marionette,” he huffed.

Siwon held his hands behind his back, but he was visibly suppressing laughter; Heechul never could prove where the wretched tome came from, but he had his suspicions. “Your evening appointment grows near, Master. Are you going to be in here much longer?”

Flipping through the index with only half his mind on it, Heechul did a locate on a symbolism book. He’d have to review that one first before adding it to the curriculum - not to mention, there was something waiting its turn to be shown to him that left him feeling that he’d need to have it fresh in his mind.

“Return to me in half an hour. I’ll be ready then, but I need you to handle the nightly security review in my stead.” The flash of fear in the other man’s eyes had its answering echo in Heechul’s chest, and he hated being powerless to assuage it.

“May... May I ask why?” Siwon sounded hesitant when he asked. If Heechul took in any more information, though, he’d be completely overloaded, and thus useless for meeting with the ingredient supply broker. Still, he knew that Siwon had never done a security review without him, and didn’t know how to reassure him about what it could mean. There was just... too much to do. And no way to know what kind of attack could be coming next.

Of course, if that fact became known to his staff, it would bring nothing but panic. Leaving Siwon entirely in the dark was not a viable option, however. If only the damned visions would be more specific!

Once more, Heechul sighed. “I need to be prepared while I know not for what I prepare. Don’t make a Cassandra of me for saying so, hmm? But I have a feeling,” he said, shelving the gag book while pointedly not looking at Siwon, “that our troubles are far from over.”

WORD COUNT: 4100 and some change

WARNINGS: kissing (same sex and opposite), sex (kinda rough but not really), biting, blood

DELICIOUS RENDEZVOUS

CHAPTER 2

“Shall we begin?” The central Councilor asked. Though it was phrased as a question, it was no such thing.

Heechul knew the rules inside and out, though, so he pretended it was one in order to say, “Let me summon my secretary.” When the Councilor’s eye twitched minutely, he knew he’d won. A small red spark shot up from his fingers; inside of a minute, the demon arrived at the vampire's side, still with half his hair pulled back into a ponytail, strangely unmussed. “I name Donghae-” Heechul gestured in his direction with an open, upturned hand, an old tradition to show a lack of weapon or artifact held at the ready, “-my secretary for this session.”

The Councilor folded his hands together, his flat expression somehow still skeptical. “He brought no writing instruments.”

“He has a great memory,” Heechul lied. Then knocking against the gate of his mind, he heard a voice. Who’s supposed to be the brainless idiot this old guy is complaining about? And why do all three of them think so loud? I want pizza too, but you don’t hear me whining about it. When these mean assholes get stuck in traffic later, they'll deserve it.

After a moment of being startled, he realized it was her voice - the nameless woman several rooms down. He scanned the Councilors. No sign that they’d heard anything. Heechul’s shoulders, arms, thighs, every muscle in his body stiffened in shock.

It was then that he realized all at once what she was: Untrained. Untamed. And very, very dangerous.

Not only a connection of such strength and focus, made without knowing it, but she was... Oh god, they can’t know about this. None of them can know about this! Hastily, Heechul schooled his expression. Without even realizing it, she was doing something he’d never seen nor heard of. She was reading the Council.

“Enough of this insolence!” The central Councilor roared. “You have long pleaded for an audience. Courier after courier, day. After. Day. You have it now; do not waste our time further.”

The outburst was strangely reassuring, as it contained no hint that they’d detected the reading of their thoughts and futures. That gave Heechul the strength to go on. And the will. Because if he didn’t- If the formless destruction he foresaw came to pass...

He couldn’t bear the thought.

"Very well, I’ll get right to the point,” he said, placing his hands on the desk, spreading his fingers wide, steadying against the feeling squeezing his chest that was all too much like a tightrope wobbling beneath his feet. “Something is coming.” He leaned forward. “It will not only turn our community upside down, but may well be the end of the world as we know it. I- We can't let that happen."

The spurned Councilor from earlier cut in without the necessary request. "And do you offer any evidence for such a farfetched claim?" He sneered. "Or do you just have a baaaad feeeeling?" He finished mockingly.

God, this jackass again, Heechul thought, barely keeping himself from saying so out loud. Happy to doom us all just because he doesn't get to fuck whoever he feels like.

With his attempt disastrously rebuffed, the remaining formalities of the meeting were both disorientingly short and endlessly long. Two minutes in a flash that also went on forever.

Just as Heechul had thought it was over, the very thing he dreaded happened. He didn't know what precisely had been shot in their direction; a second's warning was all he had, and it was all he needed. Immediately, his hand shot out to grab one of Donghae's muscular biceps, pulling hard on his energy reserve to put up a quick burst shield strong enough to dissipate it. Hopefully.

If it was from anyone in the audience, or only a casual shot from a Councilor, it would hold. If not...

His shoulders slumped in relief. It held. He could tell because he was here rather than being burned to a crisp.

"What a pity," he heard faintly in the voice of the Councilor who had apparently decided to become his nemesis, right before the high-pitched shriek of wind that signaled his leaving.

Turning around, Heechul found the room empty. He nearly dropped to the floor, grateful for the ordeal to be over. Fucking Claude, he thought with no small amount of resentment. In his grasp, he could feel Donghae trembling faintly, so Heechul steeled himself to look more steady than he felt and turned to the demon.

"Good boy," he said, patting Donghae's cheek. His demon looked a little sallow. "Oh, I bet you're hungry after all that, aren't you."

"Yeah," Donghae replied in a near-monotone, though his eyes regained a bit of their usual shine at the words.

Because he knew what needed to be done, Heechul told him, as he released Donghae's arm, "Let me indulge for a moment, hmm?" After a split-second magic scan confirming the room was indeed empty, he took Donghae's face into his hands, cradling his jaw, then slipped his tongue into the demon's mouth, clearing his mind of all but the pure physical sensation, the sheer pleasure of their tongues sliding against each other's edges, their lips slipping together, every nerve ending that lit up to hum in decadent enjoyment. Only a few seconds of that before he pulled away. "Feeling better?"

Before him, Donghae beamed, his complexion restored to its usual smoothness, too. "Much better."

"Good." Heechul ruffled the demon's hair. "Run along, now. I've got a date with a pretty little witch." Not to mention, Heechul thought, all the more reason to watch my back after that stunt. With a sigh, he brushed imaginary dust off his clothes, straightened his collar, and headed to the endless night's next task.

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

No sooner than he’d crossed the threshold of the cozy quarters did you launch into a tirade.

“What was all that about a formal claim?!” You’d waited for who knows how long, stuck in this room because who knows what else is out there, and all you’d had was the bowl of stew the confused-looking, very tall butler brought you. After the day you’d had, you were at your limit of patience.

But the vampire - Heechul, that’s what the unnervingly handsome man from earlier had called the leader - only waved your objection away with an infuriatingly causal but dramatic flourish of his hand. He raised his eyebrow. “We’ve barely known each other for, what, two hours? I’m not about to go that far.”

You scoffed, rolling your eyes. “That's not what I meant and you know it.”

He stared you down, but you weren’t about to budge. “Rudeness aside,” he drawled, “what brought you to me in such bad shape?” 

In that moment, your heart dropped to your feet. “I… can’t tell you that.” No matter the horrible things he’d said to you or terrifying things you’d just witnessed, you couldn’t put him in danger. You couldn’t allow someone else to suffer because of you.

Surprisingly, Heechul only smiled indulgently. “Yes, yes, just about everyone here answers the same way.” With a world-weary sigh, he continued. “Very well. You need my protection, don’t you?”

Even without knowing any of the situation, he’d hit the nail on the head. “...I do.” The admission made you shrink in on yourself. You’d never imagined you’d have to ask anyone for such a thing, but after last week-

No. You couldn’t think about that. Not now. Not unless you wanted to fall apart. And you were close. Dangerously so. Showing up at Delicious Rendezvous was the only saving grace you could think of on the fly. Its reputation drew you there. Strength resided within its walls; your soul knew, somehow, that you would be taken in. So, no, you weren’t going to fall apart now. That would be a terrible idea while asking for help.

“Then, given…” He looked meaningfully towards the door, presumably in the direction of where the mysterious meeting you’d been politely kicked out of had been held. “Given all that you’re facing, I can offer you temporary protection. A barrier that can repel most magic I don’t allow.” He stepped closer. “It’s not foolproof, as no shield is, and it cares nothing for the intent of the caster, mind you.” His lips forming the words were distracting, even more so than his unaffected, haughty stare. “But it will last three full moons, not a sunrise more.” Heechul brought his folded hand up, examining his nails. The tension in his brow made his nonchalance look strained. “Be that as it may, there are only two options for how to go about this.”

The way he delivered the lead up to his solution was almost hesitant. But if he was going to be insufferable about everything, you might’ve been better off taking your chances with your own skills. You sigh, knowing that you have to agree to one or the other. “Spit it out already.”

His gaze locked with yours; the corner of his mouth curled up in an all-too-enticing smirk, leaving you with the distinct impression that he was trying to toy with you. Drowning in gold, you couldn’t bring yourself to care. If he was using his powers to enchant you, it nonetheless felt as though he’d cast nothing at all. “Blood magic or sex magic. I’d say dealer’s choice, but you have to be willing for one or the other. It won’t work any other way.”

“Wait, but what about-” You started, mind going in a million different directions at once. Knowing good and well that blood magic was a life or death type of ritual. Sex magic was a different ghost of its own. While you weren’t extremely versed in this form of ritual, you knew enough to understand that both parties had to finish and it had to mean something. 

He cut you off by saying, “You don’t have to worry, sweetheart.” As though he’d read your mind, he continued, “Vampires are made, not born.”

Absently nodding, you did what you always do when you get nervous - you bit your bottom lip, nibbling anxiously on the plump muscle. Couldn’t help it. Your eyes scanned the room as you searched for a place to walk away; anywhere to be away from his intoxicating presence. Yet, you couldn’t find it in your being to go anywhere that could get you far enough to make that happen. In the process of scanning the room once more, your eyes landed on his back as he stood at a countertop rifling through an ornate box, its very shape captivating.

“Have you made a decision?” He seemed to know you were about to speak. Without turning around, he nonetheless continued without waiting for an answer, “I’ll need to set up either way. Should you choose blood magic, I need to contact my healer so he’s on standby.”

You blanched at the thought. There would be no knives involved tonight. Taking a deep breath and steeling your nearly set mind, you spoke the words breathily: “Sex magic.” You saw him perk up at your decision. “Please. I don’t know if I can handle blood right now.” Heechul turned around and your stomach tightened at the sight of his face. If you could describe it in one word, it would be desire.

He took a deep breath in through his nose, shutting his eyes and rolling his shoulders back. “Wonderful choice,” he said as if savoring every syllable; the lust-filled tone of his voice sent shivers down your spine. He stood before you, taking your face into his hands, gently cradling it. “Keep in mind, both of us have to cum and it has to mean something. Doesn’t have to be love, but can’t be just to get off either. Make sense?” His eyes bore into yours, desperate to make sure you understood just what was at stake.

You nodded small, eyes wide. You couldn’t help but wonder just how this was going to work. Mind reeling, you felt his fingertips at your waist. A small gasp escaped your lips as you were drawn back into the present moment. The look on his face told you this wouldn’t be any plain sex. 

“You have to communicate with me. If it feels bad, if it feels good.” He began to guide you backwards to the overstuffed settee. “Sit here for a moment. I need to gather some components, and you need to relax. Have a drink.” He brought up a single finger, still with that devilish smirk plastered across his face, his gaze focused solely on you in a way that shouldn’t be so thrilling. “Only one, though - I need you sober enough for this to work.” The glint in his eyes made it clear that he’s excited, though the stiffness nearly hidden in the movement of his body said differently. He moved a curtain to the side and disappeared to an adjacent room as you helped yourself to the bar.

One whiskey sour later, you heard Heechul calling for you. You tipped the glass up and went to find him. Patchouli scents the air as you cross into a bedroom you didn’t know existed. He was standing to the side, one eyebrow cocked up as he watched you walk in. He wasn’t just pretty, as you had originally mused. Truth be told, he was otherworldly and vaguely threatening and you had never been more turned on in your life.

His suit jacket lay across the dresser next to the curtain-drawn entry. The top two buttons of his shirt were undone, giving you a glimpse of a smooth, toned chest. His sleeves were rolled up, showing a hint of a tattoo on one arm. His wide-legged stance was commanding, inviting. You found yourself wanting to wrap your arms around him and kiss the smirk away, but you held off, though it wasn’t easy in the slightest.

Heechul cleared his throat, crossing the room in two strides; invading your space. In a heartbeat, his arms were wrapping around your waist and drawing you close. Foreheads almost touching, you could feel the warm breath coming from his parted lips. His eyes searched for any signs of uncertainty. When he found none, all traces of it burned away from within you, his lips brushed against yours and you swear the spark you felt could jumpstart anyone’s heart. 

You gasped and he chuckled, deep and throaty. Easy as anything, he spun you around so your back was against his chest. “A few things first,” his lips brush the shell of your ear, “mainly, I need your verbal consent. Say it like you mean it.” He walked you towards the bed, hands tightly gripping your hips.

“I want you to fuck me, Heechul.” You tried to sound loud and strong, but his lips worked down your neck and found their home over your collarbone, where he began to suck deeply, bending your voice in the process. “Fuuu...” You whined, feeling a wetness in your panties.

He growled at the sounds he was drawing from you. “Mean it, princess.” His right hand found the waistband of your leggings, pulling it out and allowing it to snap back into place. Your body jerked into him and he made sure you felt the outline of his hardness. “You have to mean it.” His wandering hand dips into your bottoms, fingers searching for your wetness. “Say it.”

“Fuck me, please,” you moaned as his fingers hit your clit, rubbing slow, deliberate circles. Combined with the subtle motions of him grinding on you from behind, your mind was in a haze and you didn’t want to come out of it. It’s delicious. It’s addictive. Heechul knew what he was doing and dammit if you don’t want to ever stop. Your free hand reached back to slide into his hair, threading through his luxurious locks. Like a reflex, you pulled on his hair when he hit a certain spot. He bit down on your earlobe in kind.

“Clothes off. Now.” Domineering words got you clenching around nothing and moving faster than you expected to in your lust-filled state. Once your top was gone, you felt cool fingertips working to free you of your bra. You watched as the offending garment flew across the room. One second passed, then his hands were cupping your breasts, kneading and tugging. His dulcet tones guided you as he worked you into a frenzy. “Bottoms now, sweetheart.”

You pulled away, albeit hesitantly. His ministrations had your nipples harder than they’d ever been. “Not fair,” you whined when you realized he was still fully clothed. He smirked wickedly in your direction, hands slowly moving to undo buttons one at a time. “I’m naked and you’re nowhere close.” You roll your eyes and saunter up to him, your bodies achingly close, taking over the task.

Heechul’s eyes widened at your boldness - gone was the timid little witch from before. He saw the desire radiating from behind your eyes. It was as though another person had taken over, making him harder than he was; you could feel the twitch and press of it against you, irresistible, leading you to press even closer. His eyes looked to the ceiling and then shut tightly as a sigh crossed his lips as your fingers traced the outline of his abs. He could feel your hands as they tried to quickly rid him of the belt and unzip his trousers. Sensing your frustration, he looked down and grasped your hands, moving them away from his body softly but insistently.

“I’ve got it. Just lie back.” He leaned in for a deep kiss, tongue sweeping across your lips, begging for entrance. Impatient, you granted it eagerly, trying to wrap yourself around him. But Heechul had other ideas. His hands gently pushed you back onto the bed, and he let out a dark chuckle as you bounced back. After he finally made quick work of his remaining clothing, he crawled to settle himself over you. 

His hardness was nestled between your thighs just out of reach of where you wanted him to be. You rutted against his hips, aching for some sort of friction. “Nope. We’re not gonna do that. Don’t be so needy.” His patronizing tone made you flush with embarrassment. Your hand began to sneak down to your core to get some much needed relief; before you could get there, he caught your hands, both the wandering one and the other, bringing them over your head and pinning them there with his own. “Be patient. Good girls get rewarded.” The look in his eyes begged you to test him. The grind of his hips gave away that it wouldn’t be much longer. 

“Trust me?” His sly question caught you off guard. Your eyes grew round as you felt a thick cord wrap around your wrists. You wanted to cry out, or to resist. You didn’t, though. Whatever the reason for that, in the next instant, he slipped inside you with no resistance. You gasped at how easily he slid in. “Good girl. Taking it all. I knew you’d be ready for me,” he groaned into your ear.

You didn’t even want to pull at your bindings because it all felt better than you could have ever imagined. Heechul was filling you up better than anyone ever had. “Fu...” was all you could manage as he began to test the waters. His thrusts sped up slightly. One of his hands found your throbbing bud and began to work you over. You were babbling. You writhed against him, utterly helpless beneath an onslaught of sensation. 

He pistoned his hips, finding that one spot that had you seeing stars. You knew he had to be able to feel you clench and know you’re close. He continued his brutal pace; you whimpered, long past any embarrassment about it. “You’re close, I can feel it.” He gritted his teeth. “Look at me.” You couldn’t help but obey his command. His eyes seemed different right now, still primal, but with a sort of protective determination behind them. The next words he spoke bore that out. “Hear this. I will protect you. You have my word. I don’t give that lightly.”

It couldn't be clearer that he meant it. You believed him, and the feeling of something formed in the instant you realized that - something powerful that intertwined the two of you in a place far beyond words.

However, a moment later, he blinked and his irises changed colors. A deep red hue shined through; though it frightened you, deep in your soul, you knew he wasn’t going to hurt you.

Then he grunted, the sound frustrated. Its faint echo reverberated in your chest.

“I’m sorry,” Heechul said, the meager syllables painted in something like desperation. “I know you said no blood. I tried to avoid it, but we don't have- We barely-” Panting, he cut himself off, ducked his head to rest on yours for a moment. “It's not going to work otherwise. I can feel it. It... It'll help me protect you. Please.” He whispered his plea into your ear, so softly it was almost inaudible.

You can kind of feel it, too. How the bond is incomplete, how you’re reaching towards it but can’t quite make both ends join.

“How bad will it hurt?” You asked, trying not to sound scared.

“For about a second, bad,” he admitted. “But it feels fantastic after that.” After he pulled back, his lips met yours firmly, though gently. “I’m asking you to trust me one more time. Or say the word and we can stop right now.”

The very notion was unbearable. You bucked your hips up towards him with as much leverage as you could manage in your current position, showing as well as telling him, “Don’t stop! Fucking do it, finish this.” Even if your words sounded more desperate than you’d wanted to let on, hovering on the edge, every bit of your body straining up to meet his. “I’m ready,” you breathed, hoping it was enough.

Before his eyes blazed in hunger, you could’ve sworn you saw them gentle for a moment. But if it’d ever been there, it was gone by the time his lips dragged a pleasurable path along your jaw, then down, down, down.

He stopped at your heaving breasts, nuzzling and licking. The pressure of his canines against your nipples sent your body into overdrive. His eyes meet yours one more time as his hips pick up their tempo. You see it in his eyes, the genuine meaning behind this ritual. He snapped into you harshly, finding your sweet spot over and over. One hand rubbing deliberate circles on your throbbing nub as he brought you closer and closer to finishing.

He bit down. 

Stabbing pain, here then gone. A euphoric feeling soared through your veins. White light danced behind your eyes as you came hard. Your back arched more than it ever had, and you barely noticed the stutter in his hips when he came.

For a moment, you lost your breath. He gently suckled at the bite mark on your breast, tongue laving over the marks and cleaning you up. When he looked up at you with what must’ve been a smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth, the tip of his tongue caressing the closing wound, something mysterious hidden in his expression nonetheless left your heart feeling warm and full.

Before the two of you could come down from your high, you noticed a thick golden cord linking around your right wrist and his left. It glowed intensely, hot against your skin. You hissed in response to the pain, but Heechul quickly hushed you with a kiss to the bite mark he’d left behind. The spellwork joining you tightened, then seeped into your skin, his following immediately after. Your eyes went wide, but neither of you bothered to say anything. Couldn’t, maybe, for a small stretch of time that felt too momentous for it.

In the silence permeating the room, you felt the seal before he acknowledged it. Strong, safe, those were the closest words to how it felt, a layer over you but also nothing at all, somehow in you but not quite that, either. Carrying something without it having any weight.

Brushing up against your mind was something you could’ve sworn was Heechul’s smile, his expression hidden from view against your skin. Your magic surged up to tug on it hard, wanting to wrap yourself up in him and never leave.

_______________________________________________________________