Are You There - Chapter 22: Chapter 22

"Have you seen where Changkyun's gone?" Minhyuk, having realized that he will not be going back to sleep, rolls over again to face the fae at his bedside. "Or did he block you out?"
Hoseok, feeling as if he has turned green in the face, only shakes his head at the nurse. He has been trying his hardest for the last ten minutes to block out everything to do with Changkyun. He does not exactly want to see Jooheon hovering over the dark man, or hear the thoughts racing through Changkyun's mind. Just don't come back to this apartment, Hoseok warns, his thoughts like acid as he shoots them straight for Changkyun.
He can only hope the younger is listening. Surely Minhyuk would hate to be kicked out by two horny guys with little care of the nurse's healing process. Hoseok knows he'd hate it.
"Hoseok?" Minhyuk, reaching a hand out for the fae, can tell that the man is straining against something. He looks as if he is in pain, and it worries the nurse despite his weakened state. The moment his fingers graze over Hoseok's hand, he understands why. Grimacing, Minhyuk draws his hand back, the thoughts tangling through Hoseok's head too intrusive for the younger fae. "I can help your block," Minhyuk mumbles as he attempts to sit himself up.
Hoseok leans forward to push Minhyuk back down against the pillows, none too eager to have the telepath root around his mind. "You're weak," he warns the younger, scouring his mind for a better excuse. "And I can block him easily enough." Hoseok tries to prove this to himself, but the fact of the matter is that Changkyun is running about the streets of Seoul with a mind full of Jooheon and where the pair can hide away for a few hours. He cannot actually block out anything, and the older man is in a near state of panic.
Minhyuk is skeptical enough to reach forward again, touching his fingers gently enough to Hoseok's forearm so as not to startle the older man. "Just lemme block him out. I don't want to watch you blow up because he's either screwing Jooheon or killing him."
Hoseok gasps, shocked to hear the insinuation come from the nurse, but he forgets to be upset soon enough. Thoughts of Changkyun and what he begin to fade after but a moment, and Hoseok pulls in a breath of relief when Minhyuk sags back against his pillows. "You don't think he'd actually kill Jooheon, do you?"
Hoseok is obviously worried; he is nearly disappointed in himself for feeling relieved to have the younger locked from his head. Minhyuk only shrugs, stretching a hand out for his discarded mug of tea. Hoseok was right, he is far too weak for this. He has no idea how long the block in Hoseok's mind will last, but he hopes the two younger men will not take up much of anyone's time.
Hoseok gathers the hot mug in both his hands, glaring at Minhyuk when the telepath tries to take it and sip from it himself. "Just let me," Hoseok murmurs as he presses the warm glass against Minhyuk's lips. He moves one of his hands to the back of Minhyuk's head, supporting its weight for him as he helps Minhyuk sip from the mug.
"I'm not a child," Minhyuk grumbles when the ceramic surface is retracted again, a stray strip of sage pressed to his lower lip. The nurse does not notice it, but Hoseok feels his eyes linger there as he wonders what to do. He does not want to point it out and embarrass the telepath, but he does not exactly want to reach his hand up to brush it aside for the younger either. Setting the mug aside, Hoseok figures he will wait until Minhyuk licks his lips and feels it there. Letting his dark eyes drop back to his lap, Hoseok sits and waits rather impatiently, glancing up every few moments to find that the sage is still sat on Minhyuk's lip, begging to be acknowledged. Hoseok, without Changkyun's thoughts in his mind, finds that he has very few things to linger on now.
One of them is the fact that Hyungwon has apparently Claimed him. He does not know what that means, or what happens because of it, but he knows he can have his alleged Master put down by the Counsel if he wants to.
The only other thing haunting his suddenly tired mind is that damn sage strip. Perhaps if Minhyuk's lips were not so perfectly plump, Hoseok's eyes would not keep lifting to stare. Perhaps if there was an unsightly scar or something other than that damned sage, Hoseok would feel too awkward to narrow his eyes and glance.
"What exactly are you staring at?" Minhyuk, having caught on to Hoseok's shifting gaze, lifts his hands to his cheek to hide what he assumes is a feverish blush. "Am I all red?"
Hoseok nods quickly, embarrassed to realize he has been caught. "Yeah, you look horrible," he blurts, trying to divert Minhyuk's attention. "Like you've just been sucked dry by a vampire."
Minhyuk, after pausing to process the man's words for a moment, parts his lips wide to let out a long bellow of a laugh. That dangerous strip of sage lifts up at the edge as he laughs, tickling Minhyuk's top lip and drawing his attention. He lifts his fingers to his mouth, peeling away the herb with wide eyes.
"How long has this been here?" He asks Hoseok slowly, as if in awe of the sage. "Why the hell didn't you tell me?" The telepath laughs under his breath, glancing over at the fae questioningly.
"Didn't notice," Hoseok murmurs, his ears flaring a stark red that fights against the black curtain of his hair. Perhaps it is the lingering thoughts of Changkyun's distorted lust-filled mind, but Hoseok still cannot seem to meet Minhyuk's gaze. The telepath's lips leave the fae enraptured, and the broad man does not like it one bit.
"Is Changkyun still blocked out?" Having noticed the fae's distant stare, Minhyuk begins to worry that his wall has already crumbled and Hoseok is being forced to endure far too much before even lunchtime. Reaching a hand out to console the older, Hoseok is quick to jerk himself away from the telepath.
He does not want Minhyuk to see what really lingers on his mind, but Minhyuk does not stop his finger's approach and latches onto Hoseok's exposed forearm easily. "I'll just build it up better this time-"
Minhyuk's lips pucker as his cheeks flare a vivid pink, Hoseok's thoughts almost startling as he retracts his hand from the fae. Lifting a hand to hide his face, Minhyuk coughs dramatically. "Sorry," the nurse whispers against his palm, Hoseok's ears begging to hear nothing more. "But are they actually perfect-"
"No, they're cracked and perfect." Hoseok huffs, unaware of what he has just said.
"So... They are perfect?" Minhyuk smirks to himself, still half-hidden beneath his hand as he regards Hoseok around his fingers.
"No. I just said no. They're god damn gorgeous." Hoseok rolls his eyes this time, his brain going blank as things begin to rewire themselves. He does not realize what he is muttering, and Minhyuk is caught under the broad man's heavy stare in near fear. "Like I don't even get why you're so pretty. You're a fucking half-blood, what's the point of wasting beauty on you?"
Minhyuk gasps, anger searing into his skin as he shoves himself up from the pillows beneath him. "What are you even talking about!" Minhyuk waves a hand across Hoseok's vision, the man's eyes unwavering as he stares blankly at the telepath. "Wake up, what're you staring at?"
"Not sure," Hoseok answers honestly, his eyes on Minhyuk, but his mind elsewhere. "You, I guess."
Minhyuk groans, preferring it when he did not know Hoseok's innermost thoughts. "What the hell are you on about?" He grumbles as he bows his head, growing tired as Hoseok rounds his words into circles.
"His connection to Changkyun seems to be stronger than we thought."
Minhyuk yelps, not having heard Hyungwon enter. Both fae men glance towards their shared Master, startled to see the tall man lingering in the guest room doorway. "Fae, what exactly are you staring at?"
Hoseok shrugs, gesturing towards Minhyuk as if his words hold no value now. "He's pretty," he whispers, ducking his head as a blush creeps up his neck.
Hyungwon sighs, reaching a hand up to rub at his forehead as if in pain. "I feel as if I've gained a toddler," he grumbles under his breath. Glancing at Minhyuk, Hyungwon sighs once more. "Changkyun's currently acting on a whim, and I'm sure his rather heightened emotions are overthrowing Hoseok's own feelings."
Minhyuk glances between both men, not liking the circumstances he has woken up to. "Well when is he gonna stop telling me I'm perfect and then acting like I'm the antichrist?"
Hyungwon shrugs, staring his telepath down curiously. "Perhaps if we threw some scalding water at your face, you'd be ugly enough to shut him up."
Hoseok gasps, louder than Minhyuk calls out a curse, the fae standing to the nurse's defense. "Don't even touch him!" Leaning over Minhyuk, Hoseok's body makes the nurse naturally press deeper into the bed beneath him. This is not where he wanted to be today, but as he glances at Hyungwon, Minhyuk can tell that at least one person is enjoying the show.
"I'll do with my own as I please," Hyungwon states boldly, folding his arms over his chest. "Anyway, I haven't returned to play house with your impish games." Hyungwon flicks a hand at Hoseok before continuing, staring hard at the telepath still half-hidden beneath the fae. "The Counsel have summoned him."
Minhyuk, shoving Hoseok away from him, sits at attention in an instant. "Already? It's only been a few hours-"
"I know, I know." Hyungwon lifts a hand to his head again, a habit he has picked up from observing humans for so long. He has never experienced a headache, but he knows this is what they typically do when something stressful occurs. "A messenger approached me as I was leaving Changkyun. I'll surely be killed for this."
Minhyuk bristles at his Master's words, none too keen on losing the man he has somehow become dependent on over the years. While he detests the work he is made to do, and understands that Hyungwon is not a good man at heart, Minhyuk has seen very little support in his life. Hyungwon was the first person, unfortunately, to pay him the time of day and push him to use his telepathy for more than stealing test answers in school.
"You've avoided their punishments this long, you could walk away this time too." Minhyuk, neither optimistic, nor hopeful, tries his best to sound both. "I'm sure they'll just kill Hoseok if anything."
Hoseok, shocked to be called out, slaps a hand to his chest in fear. "Why me!? What did I do?" The fae gets no reply, Minhyuk and Hyungwon communicating through just a glance. They both understand that Hyungwon has no way around this sentence.
He has put a Claim on a faerie, and while Minhyuk was forgiven for circumstances the man did not truly understand, Hoseok will not slide beneath the Counsel. Hyungwon will be punished, if not killed. Or, if the Counsel chooses to make a game of it, they will let Hyungwon walk. His location will be shared. A rogue will murder him for them.
Minhyuk tugs his bottom lip between his teeth as his eyes drop to the blanket covering his lower half. Hoseok can tell that the telepath is upset, but his gaze still lingers on those lips. He wants to fix this before Minhyuk bites through the skin and ruins everything.
[ x ]
Changkyun's hand clenches around Jooheon's silently begging the blonde man to get them into his apartment quicker. Changkyun had gotten the message loud and clear; his own apartment was off limits. But Jooheon's struggle to find his spare key along the door frame has made him increasingly agitated.
He does not like to wait.
Taking matters into his own hands, Changkyun wraps his free fingers around the doorknob and wrenches it to the right, the lock snapping within and allowing the door to swing wide. "You left it unlocked," he tells Jooheon, mentally noting that he will have to pay to fix that later.
Jooheon, with wide eyes, tugs Changkyun into his apartment. The younger kicks the door shut behind them, pale hands already snaking around his neck in fervor. Changkyun does not have a chance to even breathe in before Jooheon is pressing their lips together, practically dragging the younger through the entryway and down the apartment hall. Changkyun has wandered through this apartment countless times, and knows just when to pause so Jooheon can nudge his bedroom door open for the pair. The younger's senses are flooded with nothing but Jooheon.
Jooheon's lips, a deep velvety softness, move against his own as if whispering sweet nothings. Jooheon's thumbs run along the length of Changkyun's jaw, silently urging the man to open his mouth and invite him in. Changkyun's lips part, a small gasp leaving him and hitting Jooheon's waiting tongue.
The blonde hums as Changkyun's hands squeeze his hips, their tongues rolling lazily against one another. Though both men are on edge, neither is in a rush. Changkyun's teeth graze Jooheon's lower lip during a small break to catch their breath, lightly enough to keep from splitting the blonde's skin again. Changkyun does not know what he would do if he got a taste of Jooheon's blood this time around. Control would surely be a distant memory.
Dark hands splay out against pale hips beneath a shirt; Changkyun refuses to let Jooheon go even when the older man stumbles over a fallen pair of jeans on the floor. Practically shaking from pent-up nerves, Changkyun's nails dig into Jooheon's hips hard enough to jar the older man away from their kiss completely.
"Calm down," Jooheon whispers, ducking his head to attach his lips to Changkyun's pulse point. The younger, surprised at the contact, groans out into the stale air of Jooheon's bedroom. The blonde's teeth nip at Changkyun's throat, sending shivers down his spine as they stumble towards Jooheon's bed. They fall in a reckless heap, the younger sprawled beneath the blonde against untucked covers and heaps of pillows.
Changkyun's hands, knocking away from Jooheon's hips, wrench the older man's shirt up from around his waist. "Take it off," he whispers, breathless as Jooheon's lips roam the span of Changkyun's neck. Jooheon steadies himself above the younger for only long enough to have his T-shirt peeled up over his head, dipping low again to suck at the skin just beneath Changkyun's ear as if addicted.
Jooheon's hot tongue licks a stripe along Changkyun's throat, his nose tracing the path just before his tongue tastes the younger man's skin. Changkyun ruts up against Jooheon at the feel, suddenly hard in his jeans. Jooheon's heart beat quickens against Changkyun's empty chest, a steady whisper in Changkyun's ears to keep him grounded. He relishes in that sound; the sound of a living thing, so ready to be disturbed, attacked, ravaged. Rolling his hips up against Jooheon's, the younger is greeted by a hardening bulge pressing against his own. The heat, something Changkyun has missed as of late, makes the young man moan without warning.
Jooheon, with eyes squeezed shut to keep himself quiet, pushes his hands up Changkyun's shirt. The younger man's stomach is tight as he holds his breath, his entire chest and stomach flexed from the growing tension between them. A thought lingers in the blonde man's mind as he kisses along Changkyun's jaw, voicing his thoughts between nips and pecks.
"This isn't... your first... time right?"
Changkyun's eyes roll with his hips, his head turning away from the blonde as he chuckles quietly. "I'm twenty-two, not twelve. Of course I've had sex, Jooheon." Though his voice remains unwavering, the scent of caramel is enough to knock him from the face of a cliff. Jooheon's skin is too hot even through Changkyun's shirt, he almost cannot handle the overwhelming sensation.
"But like, with a guy?"
Changkyun rolls his eyes again, shoving at Jooheon's shoulders until the blonde rolls over, allowing Changkyun to sit above the pale man with a smirk. "Obviously," he murmurs, dipping his head to capture Jooheon's lips beneath his once again.
Changkyun runs his hands down the blonde's sides, letting them rest at his hips. The vampire's fingers find their way beneath the top of Jooheon's exposed underwear, grazing the soft flesh beneath. The blonde shivers under Changkyun, the brazen action almost startling him. Groaning, Changkyun pretends he is anything but dizzy from the events unfolding on this chilly October afternoon.
Jooheon's fingers, not knowing what else to do, wind around Changkyun's neck to find a lock of the dark man's hair. He tugs at it rather harshly, dragging Changkyun's head back and breaking their kiss. Changkyun, loving this new side to Jooheon, gasps as he stares at the blushing blonde beneath him. Though only a shirt has been removed, and only their lips have touched, both men could get off on the contact they have shared.
It is not until Jooheon lets one hand wander down between them that Changkyun realizes he cannot do this. With a palm do Changkyun's bulge, Jooheon knows he is about to cross a line drawn in the sand four years ago. But Changkyun, at the insatiable feeling of Jooheon touching him in any way, knows that a line made only a few days ago will be crossed with little remorse. He can hear the blood pumping through Jooheon's veins, warm and rich and delicious. Sweetened like cream, thick like syrup, and so smooth against his lips. Changkyun can feel it, taste it, smell it. Sweet sugary dreams linger in his nose, and he knows he cannot resist it long enough to keep his best friend safe.
"Jooheon," the younger whispers as the blonde reaches to unzip Changkyun's jeans. The blonde hums, his dark eyes lidded over with something dark and beautiful. "Jooheon," Changkyun repeats with a little more force.
Jooheon would be lying if he said he did not love the dominating tone coming from the man above him. "What?" He rushes out, fingering the button that hides the rest of Changkyun's bulge behind his jeans.
"We gotta stop," Changkyun urges, the words almost painful as his hips naturally roll again. His body cannot resist the surges of arousal Jooheon gives him, like waves of sexual tension that make every nerve in his body throb and burn. God, but I want to so bad-
"I don't wanna stop," Jooheon murmurs, unclasping Changkyun's jeans with a snap. He dips his thumbs into Changkyun's waistband, the soft skin rising with goosebumps instantly. Jooheon sighs at the feel of Changkyun's dark hips beneath his fingers, lifting his thigh up to press it against Changkyun's aching member.
Changkyun can feel a fresh damp spot forming in his boxers, his member begging to fill something, release the tension. Anything.
Not until Changkyun's sharp teeth begin to nip at Jooheon's smooth collarbones does the younger force himself up on his elbows, his eyes wide as he stares down at the bite mark he has left behind on the blonde's chest. Changkyun keeps his lips parted, terrified to let his tongue roam over them and find blood.
Jooheon is not bleeding, but Changkyun's teeth have broken the blonde's skin, and Changkyun can smell the sickeningly sweet caramel of the blonde stronger now than ever. It is purely intoxicating, and Changkyun knows if he does not stop now, Jooheon will surely die before either can have a proper release.
"Jooheon, I've gotta go."
Without a single explanation, Changkyun disentangles himself from the blonde, tripping over his own feet as he rushes from the bedroom, and out the apartment. He cannot deal with this. He is uncomfortably hard still, frustrated, and terrified. He cannot do anything about it, and he knows it. He can only return home with the hopes that nobody will stop him, and Jooheon will wait until he can control his hunger.
Or at least get rid of that fucking smell, before Changkyun decides he can live without Jooheon. Before he decides he just wants a toy to screw and throw away. Before the blonde dies, and the dark man is left with nothing but a hunger no one else will be able to curb.