Are You There - Chapter 30: Chapter 30

"Well were you a virgin or something?" Jooheon's eyes are narrowed on Changkyun's face, his tone one of questioning as he thinks of the younger man's words from the night before. Leaning back in his seat, he asks, "Or a stalker..?"
Changkyun sighs, stirring a spoon through his own cup of coffee. He had managed to add a few ounces of blood in from a chilled pack hidden in the fridge without the blonde noticing, and the taste is now at least bearable. He considers admitting that he was a virgin, despite the lie, and just letting the conversation drop off there. But Changkyun has gotten sick of lying over the last few months.
Changkyun wants more than anything right now to just escape Jooheon's watchful eyes, dark and repressing. Though his face has aged some, Changkyun knows that look well after years of seeing it aimed just for him. The need for an answer, an explanation, a reason. Changkyun almost shakes under that gaze, not scared of what the blonde may do, but scared that he can only disappoint him.
Changkyun cannot tell the truth here. He and Hoseok had worked harder than ever to make sure the vampire was not involved anymore. Not until his hunger could be restrained and his needs were not pressing enough to cause harm. But he realizes now that while Jooheon may have escaped from their past, he never will. He still has every memory of their time together, and it makes it that much harder to tell Jooheon anything more than a lie.
Changkyun blinks a few times, trying to control his near panicked breathing, freezing when Jooheon chokes on his coffee across the table from him. He lifts his head, searching for any problem, and is shocked to find the blonde standing from the table in a rush. Jooheon has a hand to his chest as he stares at the place where Changkyun was just sitting, his eyes unblinking and his mouth agape in terror.
"What..."
Changkyun watches as Jooheon backs away from the table, his chest heaving and his lips parting to mutter out incoherent things. The vampire rises from his seat, but feels no give of the cushion once beneath him. He forces his gaze down, finally realizing what he has done before the human's very eyes. His body, dissipating into the air around him, is near invisible now. His ability to evaporate at will still has not come under control, and he tends to lose handle of his own molecules when under pressure. This is the third time in the last month that he has faded in and out. The first two times were before just Hyungwon or Hoseok. This however is far worse than the pain of his first fade.
He cannot speak while at a cross between solid and dust, and can only will Jooheon not to run away in his silence. The vampire rises the rest of the way carefully, scared to wink out completely and have his body crumble onto the linoleum beneath him. He is glad to see that Jooheon is too stricken to run off, his body flat against the kitchen wall with both hands up to his rampant heart.
Changkyun can hear each thud of blood that pushes through the older man's veins, too fast and too loud. Calm down, Changkyun calls out, knowing the words will not reach the blonde. Jooheon only stares in fear, lost in what the hell is happening before him. He has never seen anything like this, only in movies, but he is sure this is not a movie. He feels sure that he is wide awake and Changkyun is truly disappearing.
Ghost, he thinks at once. I'm seeing a ghost.
But he must abandon that thought in an instant, recalling how close he had been with Changkyun just last night. Jooheon has never heard of anyone touching a ghost, or feeling warm because of one. Though Changkyun had been unnaturally cold at first, the younger man's body had warmed easily enough. Not a ghost, he amends after the moment's thought. Jooheon does not believe in witches and wizards, nor clever magicians on the street. He believes in things he has never seen, but this is something he has never even thought of.
"-swear it's-"
The blonde's head snaps up, unaware that his gaze had dropped to the floor in fear. Changkyun's voice, he has heard it, but now he cannot even pretend he sees the darker man. He has completely faded out, and the blonde is alone in the kitchen. Jooheon shivers, huddling in the corner of the room to stare out over the entire open floorplan of the space. There is no sign of Changkyun anywhere, and he wants so desperately to run out barefoot.
He does not have his phone, nor his wallet, and he cannot remember where he left his jacket last night. Despite it all, he wants to dart out and pretend last night simply never happened. That he had not woken up in confusion, and nearly vomited in a panic.
But last night did happen. The connection he felt to the vampire, with no reason for it, is still strong even in his shock. He does not know why, or how, but Changkyun is a part of him deeper than anyone else has ever been. So instead of running, he sinks down to the floor and cradles his knees to his chest to wait. He does not know what he is waiting for, but he will become aware when it happens. He knows not how long he sits there. Until the steam from his coffee mug ceases and the morning traffic outside picks up. A spring rain begins pattering against the den's windows, and Jooheon remains still despite the beauty in the serenity.
Changkyun rests in place as well, struggling before Jooheon to reclaim his dusted body and gather himself together. He has never faded for this long before, and he can feel the pain begin to settle on him. He feels as if every fiber of him is being pulled further and further apart the longer he sits like this. He considers evaporating completely and reappearing elsewhere. He can control himself better if he has made a molecular transfer somewhere, but he cannot always perfectly determine where his body reappears.
The last time he attempted it, he got caught between the walls of the comic store and had to keep from panicking just so he could reappear again. He scratches the idea, scared he will accidentally sink into the floor of his apartment instead of out on the street like he intends. The vampire counts the minutes until he can finally take his next breath. He has waited fourteen minutes and thirty-seven seconds. Each passed in silence until now, and Jooheon's shout of fear is louder than his gasps in pain.
He is not as weak as he had been when he first faded and attacked Minhyuk, but the combination of human food last night and only the diluted sip of blood this morning leaves his body unsettled. He scoots across the floor away from the blonde, who has made no move to approach the vampire.
"What the hell is going on!" The mortal's shout hurts Changkyun's suddenly sensitive ears, having gone too long hearing only the movements of air around Jooheon's bated breaths. Before Changkyun can catch his breath and do more than clench his teeth around his pain, a key in the apartment door twists. The sound is like a bullet ricocheting through the kitchen, and both men watch in slight surprise as their moment of fear is interrupted.
"Changkyun?" The door opens and fills with a familiar broad man, the vampire sighing in relief as he motions Hoseok into his apartment. He is for once thankful that the fae has a key. Hoseok tosses his key ring onto the table and hurries himself to the vampire's side, thick hands ghosting over his collapsed form in a slight panic.
"What're you doin' here?" Changkyun whispers, lying flat on his stomach to try and reclaim his oxygen. They both face away from Jooheon in the corner, who has yet to be spotted by Hoseok. The blonde man watches in fear as his closest friend fusses over the other, worried that if he moves he will be caught and punished. Hoseok has never hurt him, but Jooheon has never seen the man look so concerned over anyone before and the human suddenly has no clue what the elder is capable of.
"I just felt you go blank." The fae considers grabbing a knife from the butcher's block and slicing across his palm for the vampire, but Changkyun shoves that thought out of both their minds. "You're weak," Hoseok complains, wanting to try his best and help Changkyun heal. "Fae blood is best-"
"Shut up," Changkyun warns. He gestures over his shoulder with his eyes, and Hoseok follows the glance to find a stricken Jooheon still hiding behind the now open apartment door. "He saw me fade," the vampire hisses through his teeth, struggling to push himself up on weak limbs. "I panicked and just-" Changkyun collapses again, his arms giving out beneath him and serving his cheek with a firm slap against the floor.
He and Hoseok both sigh, while Jooheon continues on with his silence. He does not know what to do. Even as he watches his broad friend stand and drag the darker man across the kitchen floor and into the den, he sits still. Not until Hoseok walks back towards him with his hands up does the blonde begin to babble.
"Hoseok. I swear he just disappeared while we were drinking coffee and I thought maybe I was dreaming or he's maybe a ghost but- But he can't be because we slept together and that doesn't even make sense-"
Jooheon's words fall on deaf ears as Hoseok walks right past the blonde to shut the apartment door. "You're dreaming, Jooheon." The fae does not even push any compulsion into his words, knowing Jooheon is frazzled enough now to believe just about anything. Only it does not work this time, and Jooheon huddles closer to himself in absolute fright.
"Hoseok, I swear, he disappeared. I didn't do anything, but he just disappeared right in front of me and I could see through him Hoseok-"
The fae sighs, lifting a hand to his hair in annoyance. "Jooheon, did you drink last night?" Hoseok really does not want to make implants on the blonde again. The wipe he had made six months ago had damaged his mind, and each time he forced a new false memory into Jooheon's head, it fought back harder and harder. It is getting increasingly difficult for Hoseok's abilities to last on the blonde.
Hoseok waves a hand at the blonde dismissively, figuring he will just sit there until he either runs away or falls back asleep. The fae does not have the time to deal with the vampire and the human's fear. Crossing through the apartment again, Hoseok crouches down beside where he has left Changkyun on the den floor, keeping his voice low to avoid being heard by the blonde across the space.
"There's no laws against telling humans about us." His words are meant to console the vampire, but Changkyun only shakes his head violently as he stares up at his friend. "Well then I'm calling Hyungwon to deal with this. I only came because I thought you were hurt, but if you won't even let me offer up help, you can ask him."
Hoseok moves to stand, but Changkyun reaches out both his hands to grasp onto the fae's arm in a silent plea. They sit still for a moment, speaking silently. Jooheon does not understand why neither of them make a sound, but seem to nod as if one body after a long stretch of just breathing. Hoseok stands, dragging Changkyun up with him and draping his dark arm across his shoulders.
"I have blood in the fridge," the vampire murmurs as the offer flits across Hoseok's mind once again. "I don't need yours."
"Well if you really intend to tell him you've got fangs and a thirst for blood, maybe you should just drink his." Changkyun does not laugh at Hoseok's joke, and instead only grimaces as they stumble as one towards where the blonde still cowers.
"I don't have fangs," is all the vampire offers in response as they stop before Jooheon. "You call Hyungwon, and I'll get this show on the road."
[ x ]
"Minhyuk." Hyungwon's thin hands shake against the telepath's shoulder, urging him to awaken soon. "Minhyuk, I apologize but I've been summoned-"
The nurse groans, smacking the hands away amid a disastrous dream of his mother and father. He hums in his sleep, asking in his dream just where his father is going. Why is he leaving? Why is he acting like he will never return?
"Wake up!" Hyungwon slaps his hand flat against the telepath's chest, knocking the air straight from his lungs. Minhyuk wakes in agony, his hands clenching the sheets beneath him as his eyes tear apart to find his Master hovering above him.
"W-what?" He asks harshly, gasping for breath still as he sits himself up.
"Hoseok and Changkyun have called for me. Something about their little human."
"Jooheon?" Minhyuk pushes his thick hair back from his face, recalling to mind that yesterday was meant to be Changkyun's first meeting with the blonde after so long. "Did something happen? Is he okay?"
Hyungwon hums, playing the part of his old coy ways as best he can in the late morning. While Minhyuk slept, he took the time to think hard on how he treats his disciples. He refuses to keep coddling them, no matter how soft they leave his heart after every interaction. No matter how attached he is to any of them, they will all die eventually. Changkyun included. The moment the Counsel discovers his existence, a Rogue will be sent along promptly.
The young vampire is lucky enough to have only met others of his kind with no interest in the Counsel or their rules. Otherwise, Hyungwon knows his dear youngest would be dead already.
"Nobody is dead. Nobody important at least." Hyungwon waves his hand down at the telepath dismissively, ignoring the flash of annoyance on his young face. "I didn't want you to throw a fit when you woke to find me gone. I'll be back soon enough so you can take from me all the blood you need and have a that chat with your father-"
Minhyuk shoves his way out of his mother's old bed, knocking the vampire out of his way in search of his jeans on the floor. Hyungwon tries hard not to shove the man back, and tries even harder not to stare at Minhyuk's endlessly long legs bare and pale in the dark room. "I'm coming with," Minhyuk murmurs, his voice too thick from sleep to be understood right away. "And don't think I didn't notice you undressing me-"
"You've only slept for three hours-" Hyungwon cuts himself off, swallowing his complaints as he watches Minhyuk step into his jeans. He does not often see the man in his scrubs, and wonders if he is given a locker at the hospital to keep his street clothes in. "Have it your way," he says instead of fighting the telepath on it. "Just don't faint on the way, I'm fading."
Grasping the telepath's hand tight in his own, Hyungwon pretends his lungs do not stutter at the warmth as he hurries to evaporate. Minhyuk holds his breath, terrified by the sensation that overtakes his body as Hyungwon's hold on him draws him into the fade as well. It is a rush of air, just a breath of heat that breaks apart everything and strips him of everything he is. He has gone through this only three times before, and this time is no better than the last few. It burns, and he begs for it to end quickly.
When he finally breathes in again, he pulls his eyes apart to find that he has returned home. His kitchen is clean, but for two cold mugs on the table, and he can see Hoseok pacing a hole into the carpeting in the den. The telepath attempts to take a step forward, but without the support of his Master's hand in his, he stumbles to his knees. He curses, glancing to his side for Hyungwon, but the vampire sidesteps Minhyuk in search of his youngest Claim.
Hoseok spots the pair in his peripheral and freezes, startled by their sudden appearance. He recovers quickly as Hyungwon stalks down the apartment hall, the fae hurrying to Minhyuk's side to help him up. "Did you guys fade?"
Minhyuk nods, ignoring his annoyance with the fae for the moment and sagging against his broad chest. "I'm never getting used to that," he mutters as they stumble into the living room. Minhyuk drops himself from Hoseok's grasp, collapsing onto the sofa in a sweaty heap.
The fae shuffles his weight in place, unsure of how to help. With the vampires, it is easy. They heal with blood. But fae heal with natural ailments. "What can I do?" Hoseok asks gently, leaning over the telepath to get a sense of just how weak he really is. "Are you sick?" He wonders, taking in the blonde's flushed cheeks and sunken eyes.
The nurse shakes his head, pushing a hand across his forehead to swipe away the sweat that's collected there. "You and Hyungwon both are too nervous about everything." Hoseok disregards the telepath's words and sits him up against the sofa's cushions, pressing his own hand to the man's head.
"You've got a fever," he mutters, sighing. "Aren't you eating? You look half-dead."
"I've been busy with work," Minhyuk admits, settling deeper into the couch to avoid Hoseok's touch. The fae takes the hint and backs off, hustling to the kitchen and back a moment later with a glass of water.
"I can call my father out to the apartment with some ambrosia-"
"Don't," Minhyuk mutters, taking the glass from Hoseok and staring hard at it in his pale hands. He does not know when his fingers got so thin, but the sight suddenly worries him. He had grown thinner during his withdrawals months ago, the struggle of going without a vampire's bite stronger than his body was expecting. But this is a new level.
He catches his morphed reflection in the glass as he lifts it to his face and flinches, not recognizing the gaunt expression staring back at him. He sets the glass down on the arm of the sofa without having a sip, his eyes finding Hoseok's in his moment of weakness. Months ago, the pair had been close to something like dating. The had gone out, they had fooled around, and then they had split.
Hyungwon had gotten in the way. They stopped talking for five straight weeks, not even giving one another a glance when they were together. They eventually reached a point when they realized they were better off as friends, and came to an agreement.
They forgot any stupid fight they had. And then ten days ago, Hoseok had stumbled to the hospital drunk, crying that he missed the telepath. Minhyuk was almost fired, and when he threw Hoseok to Hyungwon for the night, neither had expected the vampire and the fae to connect the way they had.
Minhyuk can read from the vampire well enough that Hoseok has been drawn from five times in the last few weeks, and he hates it. He hates Hyungwon for enticing Hoseok like that. He hates Hoseok for letting himself be drawn in as he himself had done years ago. But here, in this moment of weakness, he only wants the fae's strength. With his pale hands beckoning the fae close once more, he waits until Hoseok is hovering over him before grasping his shirt front and tugging him down. Their lips touch for only a breath's length before Hoseok panics and touches his hand to Minhyuk's temple, urging him to fall asleep as quickly as possible.
Minhyuk's hands drop and he falls unconscious with little coaxing, his body weak and depleted after weeks of overworking and a poor diet. Without a word to the others, trusting that Hyungwon can handle whatever Changkyun needs him to do, Hoseok tugs the sleeping telepath into his arms and carries him from the apartment. His family's store is the only place he can think to go with a half-blood over his shoulder. So he pulls his phone from his pocket and sends a voice message announcing to his father that he will be arriving in a few minutes. "Be prepared," he adds at the end, not knowing how else to make his father's sense of urgency over the phone ratchet up for merely a half-blood.
Shaking his head at his own thoughts, Hoseok makes the note to stop referring to Minhyuk as just a half-blood. Or anything other than his name. Yesterday's slip was enough to drive them apart for good, and he does not want to run that risk again. "Minhyuk," he whispers as he hikes the near weightless man over his back more comfortably. He tries not to notice how warm the telepath's skin is against his, burning and damp with sickness.
He tries even harder to ignore the the loud thoughts that scream through the telepath's mind in his sleep. All dark colors and harsh curses that Hoseok cannot help but read as he grip's the man against him. It hurts to hear his name, and he hopes that he will not have to listen for too long. He hopes more so that Minhyuk will not have to think like that about the fae for much longer.