EDIT 200721: Kris Wu has been replaced by Huang Zitao.

§ 1

Shaking his head, he moved forwards after his horse nudged him into his shoulder to move. The door was open and the garage looked more like a car mechanic shop. He didn’t hear a mortal or any sound, beside the ones from the road.

“Âllo?” he rapped his knuckles loudly against the leaned open door, he cringed at the loudness of his own voice and just wanted to turn around and leave. The smoke was itching in his nose and he remembered his surroundings. Stepping back from possible flammable fumes, he lifted his beanie and pushed the rest of his white hair under it. He waited. His horse also decided to use its tall withers height to her advantage and placed her jowls on top of his head, trying not to put her whole mechanical weight on him. Sehun, unsure what to do, blindly grabbed skywards and patted around her head until he found her neck and fondled it. Just because she was a piece of metal didn’t mean she disliked such ministrations. He called again, “Âllo? Someone here? ”

This time he received a response, but one he wasn’t expecting. He saw a cat rushing through a door with a man hot on her heels. Exactly before the cat exited, the animal processed Sehun there and came to an abrupt halt. Sehun received a humped back and a hiss paired with such a hateful expression only a cat could muster he hadn’t seen in some time in five years. Sehun felt himself slouching his shoulders and a sigh escaping his lips. Cats never liked dead people.

“I’m sorry, she apparently doesn’t like robots she’d never seen in her life.” The voice was deeper than expected. Sehun almost corrected him but bit his cheek at the same time his horse lifted her muzzle off his head.

“Pour l’amour de Dieu, ne me fait pas peur comme ça!¹ It’s okay, the people didn’t look any better today. Apparently mechanical horses are seldom these days,” he said, waving it nonchalantly off.

“Oh, you’re not from here? And you speak French, didn’t hear that in a while!” The mechanic, Sehun presumed, smiled at him, and he didn’t miss that assessing look and how the young man bit the inside of his cheek. Sehun almost felt sorry for him that he had to choose the aual way, except there came advantages with changing into a materialised appearance, but he wasn’t here to test that out. “But I need to ask for an ID, the authorities here are very...well...”

“I saw that. Give me some time to find it, I wasn’t asked since I set foot into Paris. Maybe I’m too unsuspiciously suspicious that they think I belong here.” He really couldn’t tell that he just lived seven banlieues over on an old cemetery. “And couldn't we call her robot, it’s already bad enough she has no name.”

“Oh, really?” The mechanic sounded way too immersed into his horse, while Sehun rummaged through to the saddle bags hoping Death really put the ID there. Suddenly his horse took two steps backwards, Sehun already automatically wandering with her, his hand in his saddle bag.

“She doesn’t like to be touched. Especially not by strangers.” Sehun offered the ID to the mechanic, one eye on the cat that looked like it was ready to summon a circle of witches to banish Sehun into the realms of a non-existent underworld.

“And what about you?” Sehun didn’t register it first, but the mechanic suddenly spoke German. His multilingual brain didn’t even decipher between languages anymore.

Sehun stared unmoving and silently at the mechanic, his eyes turned into slits. To his advantage he was still wearing sunglasses, “What the ? Non. Certainement pas!”

“What, you understood that?”

Sehun was tempted to pull down his sunglasses for good measure, but he refrained from it and just pinched the bridge of his nose, “Just because I speak French doesn’t mean you can assume I don’t understand German.”

“But aren’t you from Lille?”

That whole thing just saved Sehun, “Lille belongs to Nord-de-Pas-Calais. I’m not from the Bretagne or any very rural village where we still only speak French.” He snatched his ID from the other, shooting it a short look to know what was written on it. Nothing out of the ordinary, except his supposed address and name.

“So, Hyuk, what’s the deal with your second name?” The mechanic looked too smugly and Sehun didn’t like it.

“My parents had been close with a Catholic prêtre —priest who chose my second name. It means ‘to bring death,’ wanna try? And I’m here to offer you a job, do you want it or do you prefer to ually harass me?”

“I-I’m sorry. What do you need? I assume it’s about the horse?”

“Yes. Do you, by any chance, work with nuclear cores?”

The mechanic nodded his head, now finally eyeing the horse, “What’s the matter with her? She also seems like an older model to me. Never seen a specimen like her before.”

“I have her for over five years now, she might be older though. One of her nuclear cores tends to overheat on occasions and the cooling system can’t cool her down. I have checked the cooling system a couple of times. It’s still fully functional, but maybe you’ve a different opinion?”

“Okay, I’ll check it. I don’t know how long it takes and what parts I need. It might cost a nice sum, depending on the work and since I don’t know how you’ll pay—” he eyed Sehun again.

“Don’t worry, I have the money.” Sehun felt sick. The mechanic was definitely his type, but the way he behaves? Sehun’s fingers itched to conjure the scythe.

“Okay, as I said, it might take some time. So maybe you want to go out and explore the city? It might take some days?”

“And here comes in my proposal: I can’t leave her alone. I’m willing to offer money if I can stay here and maybe even occupy the couch, based on how clean it is?” Sehun tried not to use his abilities to influence the mortal who had this look of lust again. He nodded again, a weird glint in his eyes. Sehun unloaded his horse and reprimanded himself that he didn’t exchange the set pieces for his carriage.

“My name is Arv Bebbington-Fell.”

“Hyuk Kim.”

“I thought your second name is Methu—”

“We don’t talk about that.”

§ 2

Sehun just now realised what he did. He didn’t do things mortals would do. Trying to eat would lead to him vomiting, he didn’t need to sleep, in general, his body functions were non-existent. He let his eyes glide over the garage when he settled down on the couch. Might fake sleeping. He held his eyes low when he removed his sunglasses and pulled off his beanie, his hair falling free into the loose bun he hat knotted it into earlier.

“And here I just thought your white hair was fake.”

Sehun kept his eyes on the ground and just hummed in response before laying down on the couch, arm overthrown over his eyes. He just hoped he could establish a connection with Death. He suddenly rose up, without looking at the clearly startled mechanic, holding up a hand, “Do not, under any circumstances, turn her off. I’m not sure if she would turn on again. She runs smoothly on one core as well.” He fell back down, staring at the ceiling. He was in deep , he clearly did not think it through.

“I didn't know she'd be able to run on only one core. Never heard about that before,” the mechanic commented when Sehun heard him remove the outer metal shields. How would he knew, anyway, the horse had been infused by a power unknown to humans and Sehun had updated her regularly with electronics and modifications himself. 

“In case you need parts delivered tell me beforehand so I have the right amount of money. Merci. ”

“Mentioning that I might need to purchase a new core. Do you, by any chance, know what Gen core it is?”

Sehun wasn't sure; he had the horse for five years, but she might be older. “I updated her a couple of my times, the electronic should work fine with–” Sehun didn't even know how advanced the humans were already, never really keeping an eye out for that. How would he ask which generation they're already in, without being suspicious?

“Ah, the core is really outdated, that might be it. The second core is a Gen IX and the problematic one is VII, I'm surprised the horse still works. I guess an XII won't work, but I can try to get my hands on an IX, or even better, on an X. I know someone who sells older cores. Let me give him a call.”

Once he was out of sight, Sehun turned his head the moment his horse did the same, but for other reasons. Death had appeared out of thin air, Is he trustworthy? 

“To be honest, I have no idea,” he whispered into thin air. French did flow more easily off Sehun's lips than English did. 

I did check the number he called, and we're in good hands. He called someone that is definitely trustworthy, Death ran his hand along the horse's muzzle who leaned into the touch, snorting in delight. Death beckoned Sehun over who compiled and when he stood right in front of his horse, she leaned into the crook of his neck, nuzzling against it. Sehun didn't even register it at first, but Death stood behind him, enclosing his arms around him in a back hug, his nose digging into his shoulder. We should travel once this is over. I don't have to do the dirty work on this planet myself after all. Will you accompany me? It's not like you have a chance. 

“ Seriously, what am I supposed to do with you?” 

“Am I interrupting something?” the mechanic was back and Sehun shook his head in denial, sighing to himself. But his horse snapped after air again, because it saw Death touching Sehun's again. Death snickered and vanished again. 

“Is it normal she bites air? Should I check that?” 

“Nah, that's normal for her.”

§ 3

Sehun tried fake-napping while listening to the mechanic talking to his horse and gushing about how hot Sehun apparently was. He might have thought that he was whispering, but Sehun’s hearing was better than it ever had been back when he was living. Sehun lifted his arm of his face and glanced incredulously into the man’s direction when he started analysing what he might look south his belly button, following down the happy trail when Sehun scratched his belly earlier when he had a connection established with Death who was currently somewhere in Russia checking up on some of his underlings that had been fleeing from some shady government officials.

§ 4

“Shaw Guillermo Joseph Artur Arv Bebbington-Fell!” someone shouted from the outside. Sehun had felt someone approaching earlier but apparently the mechanic, with a name officially worse than Sehun’s fake one, wasn’t expecting someone and shrieked. “When you told me you needed a nuclear core for a mechanical horse I had to see for myself. The last time I saw one was three years ago! You get a discount if the information is real.” 

Something about that made Sehun’s ears ring and the mention of three years ago, Death calling him trustworthy? The door was kicked open and revealed someone Sehun didn’t want to see and that might expose him. Zitao Huang, an Quebacian demon living in France for over ten years, someone that knew Sehun from the inside, literally. Sehun tumbled down from the couch in shock, staring wide-eyed at Zitao who looked taken by surprise as well, but his look changed shortly after into one of delights.

He was about to speak and the first syllable of Sehun’s name left almost his lips when the mechanic interrupted him, “That’s Hyuk Methuselah Kim, he’s from Lille and the core is for his horse...”

“ Hyuk? Huh? What a surprise to bless Paris with your visit again,” Zitao moved directly towards Sehun, who supported himself against the wall. If he was weak for Death, he was even weaker for Zitao.

“You two know each other?”

Sehun didn’t know he could swallow spit after all those years, but he did. He was suddenly feeling so many emotions by just seeing his past lover from when he was still alive and just barely sat through the meeting three years prior.

“We do, quite well so,” Zitao now stood directly before Sehun, “Isn’t that right, Hyuk? ” And Sehun was even weaker for his accent when he spoke French. Zitao trapped him between his arms and leaned in, close to Sehun’s ear, his breath fanning directly over Sehun’s still sensitive spot after all those years of being dead. “If the core is for your horse, Ankou, I might give it to you for free.” Sehun’s hands curled into fists against Zitao chest who towered over him. “Under two or three conditions, after you managed to hide from me for so long, Hyuk, don’t you agree? We live in the same city after all.”

§ 5

Scratch the thing about , but apparently Sehun’s mortal appearance manifested his bodily functions back into existence. His eyes dropped to Zitao's lips that were drawn into a lopsided smug smile.

“Zitao,” Sehun whined against the crook of his neck, “Will a rendez-vous be payment enough for the meantime?”

“That’s the least I can expect.” Zitao let go of Sehun and turned around, letting Sehun slide down against the wall, hiding his face in his hands. His horse snorted, its hooves scratching against the concrete floor, pulling at his restrainments against the wall.

“Arv, take them off, she needs to go.”

“Go?” Sehun heard the restrainments meeting the ground in a clank and hooves tapping against the floor until they had been right before him, and a mechanical muzzle nuzzling his hair before the parts clanked out and together, when the horse folded his legs so it could lie down and its head in his lap.

“Arv, I’m pretty sure you could work that way as well on interchanging the core, just let me get it from the car.”

Sehun felt the tension leaving the air when Zitao stepped outside, but his longing inside his chest grew. 

§ 6

Sehun had met Zitao years before and even if the incubus just made Sehun fall for him on the first night, something grew out of this. Somehow they spent a whole two years together, almost, until it became too much for Sehun and he signed up for an expedition in Africa after he talked long nights with Death because the relationship made him insecure and Death had to comfort him many times. Sehun knew it was partially because of the fact that Zitao was an incubus and the mortals flogged around him like flies sometimes, but Sehun couldn’t help the fact that he didn’t feel too comfortable with it. He got together with the incubus some months after he lost his leg. It made him insecure and he wasn’t too sure if a ual relationship with a thousand-year-old demon was a good thing even if he made him feel good and let him forget his troubles. Sehun fled the country at nineteen temporarily, accompanied by Death on his way to Vredenburg. He called Zitao when he passed the border to Egypt, breaking things off with him. He told him about his insecurities and how uncomfortable it made him at times that Zitao wasn’t a mortal. Zitao understood and let Sehun go.

Sehun knew that he still had somewhere deep down feelings for the incubus, but he didn’t know how legitimate those feelings really were. 

Zitao wanted to meet him, when Sehun would be back, to talk things through, but Sehun blocked all communication and spent most time abroad. The first time he met him again was when he needed a replacement core for his horse, when he had been dead for two years already, working as the ankou. It had been awkward to say the least, but he had Death by his side. Zitao needed to digest the fact that Sehun was indeed dead, and that he was directly working right under Death, kinda like his right-hand man, that Death placed a protective and warning arm around him whenever Zitao tried to bring up the past. Until that day, he’d never saw Death in a human appearance and it freaked him out, as well as the fact of how comfortable Sehun seemed to be with him. That’s why he stopped himself from approaching Sehun and only did so on the second day when Sehun picked up his horse. Zitao had stopped himself from releasing any kind of power over him, but he saw the hesitation in Sehun’s eyes, how he had looked at him, even four years later after he was dumped back then by the mortal. But Zitao still wanted Sehun, and Sehun felt that but he was unsure about what he wanted.

“You two...”

Sehun looked after Zitao, not looking at the mechanic. “We’re ex-lovers that never properly broke up face-to-face. I only called him a couple of years ago.”

The sound of screws being loosened resonated in the quiet. “Huh? I never knew Zitao had been ever in a relationship. I thought he doesn’t like relationships or had been ever in one?”

“He always had been private about stuff like this, and it seems like he still is...” Sehun closed his eyes and leaned his head against the wall, inhaling deeply. Death? Sehun waited, but nothing came to fruition. 

He heard Zitao coming back into the store, placing a metal box on the ground. He and the mechanic spoke in low voices with one another. Long fingers suddenly had been placed on top of his head, being dragged through his hair. Tilting his head into the touch, he opened his eyes and looked up to Zitao, who smiled down at him, “Hey.” Sehun lifted his hand and clasped it around Zitao, intertwining their fingers. He felt a smile tugging at the corner of his lips, he let it happen. “Hey.”

“I’m still sorry for attacking you earlier like this, but I really couldn’t help myself when I saw you. As I said, you always have this pull on me, even after all these years. A mortal should have never had this effect on me and it just grew with the knowledge you’re an immortal yourself now,” Zitao continued. He slid down next to the wall and wrapped an arm around Sehun. “And I’m afraid of Death’s wrath that might happen, for doing this to you. But I might enjoy it until he finds me like this.”

Sehun kept his eyes trained on Zitao, but he had a weird feeling creeping up on him, the mechanic was too close to see. “He might see my eyes, Zitao.”

“He won’t talk, trust me. Isn’t that right, Arv, you won’t talk about anything you see here? ” Zitao's voice threatening and menacing, Sehun felt the shift of Zitao's powers. The mechanic jerked and nodded his head, staring with wide eyes at the incubus. “Sehun, maybe you should tell Death what I did, or at least mention that we might have a rendez-vous together. I’ll pick you up later.”

¹French: For Christ’s sake, don’t scare me like that!