“I love you.”

Key smiled like he was supposed to, sitting up in bed and wrapping his arms around his knees. “That would be the talking.”

Siwon turned back to him, a frown crossing his admittedly perfect face. “I’m serious, Key.”

“Come back to bed,” Key said, tugging Siwon’s side of the blankets down. “You’ve got me for another couple hours.”

Siwon shook his head, gesturing for Key to join him at the window. Key glanced longingly at his clothes spread throughout the room, then joined Siwon at the window. After so many years it wasn’t so much that bothered Key. And Siwon was easily the most attractive of Key’s patrons, so his definitely wasn’t a problem. But they were going to be standing in front of a massive window.

“It’s tinted,” Siwon said, grinning at his hesitance. “Nobody can see in. But look.”

Key looked. He wasn’t sure what he was supposed to see. There were lights shining from thousands of windows even this late at night and car headlights on the road far beneath him. It was beautiful, he supposed. It looked better from up here than it did down there.

“I’m looking…”

“This is mine,” Siwon said, and there was fierce pride in his voice. “Mine and Heechul’s. Even Makoto wouldn’t dare touch you if you stayed with me.”

Usually people gave this line up with a little casual deflection on Key’s part. Siwon, apparently, wouldn’t be redirected.

“I doubt that,” Key said, watching Siwon’s reflection in the glass. He tried to soothe the sting of his words by running his hand across the warm skin of Siwon’s lower back. “Not with Taemin. If it were just me, maybe. But I can’t leave Taemin, and he and I make too much money for him to let us go without a fight.”

“Key—“

“Siwon, stop, please.” Key flinched. If Makoto found out he had taken that tone with a patron he’d have more to worry about than Siwon’s plans.

Siwon’s hand settled on his shoulder, warm and gentle and some part of Key keened for more of that touch. He quashed that part down, locking it away into the furthest recesses of his mind. He had never deserved that kind of gentleness, and he would get it from nobody but Siwon. Siwon who, despite the requirements of his position, would never hurt anyone who wasn’t involved in the life.

“I’ll stop,” he said, wrapping his left arm around Key’s waist, fingers tracing the edge of the mostly healed scar along Key’s hip bone. “The offer stands, but I’ll stop. You’re shivering. Come back to bed with me.”

Key went dutifully along, sliding beneath the blankets. Siwon lay beside him, head propped up on one arm as he looked Key over, that frown back on his face.

“You don’t deserve this,” Siwon said finally, fingers barely brushing an old bruise along Key’s jaw. “I would never let anyone hurt you like that.”

Nobody was supposed to leave marks that high, but for an extra 60,000 Makoto had ignored the discretion. Key was scheduled to see the man again next week.

The practiced smile came easily to Key’s face. “It’s a job.” Before Siwon could get started on love again, Key added, “Can I ask you something kind of rude?”

Siwon laughed, settling back onto the pillows. “Kind of rude? Yeah, go ahead.”

Now that he had permission, Key floundered for something ‘kind of rude’ to ask. “Why do you pay for es? I mean…” He swept his hand up and down, indicating Siwon’s body. “I think you’d be able to get whoever you wanted.”

He snorted, copying Key’s gesture. But then the amusement faded from his face. “Do you really want to know?” When Key nodded, Siwon’s lips twisted, dark eyes casting downward toward the rich maroon of his blankets. “Because you’re protected. We have run of the city, between Heechul and I. The only trade left is es and drugs, both of which Makoto controls. There’s always upstarts, kids who think all they need to do to get cred is to off one of us.”

Siwon shifted, rising up on one elbow and twisting so Key could see his shoulder blade. There was a small, round scar there, not fresh, but new enough that the skin was still pale.

“The kid who shot me was an idiot, dead now, and it only cracked the bone. But I can handle myself, and I have Kyuhyun and Hankyung if I need them. Even idiot kids wouldn’t dare touch Makoto’s property, but anybody else could end up getting killed, and I don’t need that on my conscience.”

Siwon had his share of scars, most of them on his arms and hands, and a couple on his torso, from knife fights over the years. But Key couldn’t help the sympathetic grimace when he touched the one on Siwon’s shoulder.

“That looks like it hurt.”

Siwon rolled over to face him. “I don’t think I get to complain.”

“At least I’ve never been shot,” Key said. That brought a smile to Siwon’s face and he leaned in to kiss the starburst burn scar on the front of Key’s shoulder.

“That’s true.”

“And I’ve managed to avoid getting into fights twice a week.”

“I don’t get into fights twice a week anymore. Twice a month, if I’m lucky.”

Siwon leaned in once more, but the sound of someone knocking firmly on the door interrupted him. He groaned, sitting up and making sure Key was fully covered by the blankets.

“Come in.”

After a discrete pause, the door opened, and Zhou Mi stepped in. His eyes flicked across Key once, then fixed firmly on Siwon’s face. “I’m sorry to interrupt, sir, but there’s something that requires your attention.”

“Can it wait?”

“No. Kyuhyun’s already been sent to wake up Heechul.”

Key privately thought Zhou Mi got the better end of the deal. He didn’t envy whoever had the job of rousing Heechul, although of anyone could handle the other half of the pair who led the gang, it would have been Kyuhyun.

Siwon looked over at the clock, rubbing at his face with both hands. It was a little past three in the morning. Anything that required the attention of both Siwon and Heechul at this hour probably wasn’t going to be good. And Siwon hadn’t gotten any sleep yet that night.

“I’ll be out in a minute. Have Henry bring a car around.”

“Sir.”

Zhou Mi backed out of the room, closing the door behind him and calling for Henry. Key could hear the sound of his voice fading as he receded down the hallway.

Key rose onto his knees, resting his forearms on Siwon’s shoulders. “You know where to find me.”

Siwon’s fingers curled over Key’s wrist for a moment, a possessive but unthreatening gesture. “Get dressed. Henry should be ready for you by the time you get downstairs.”

Siwon was dressed and straightening his hair in the mirror by the time Key finished getting ready. There were tense lines to his body Key could see even through his clothes, his lips tight and eyes hard.

“You know what this is about, don’t you?” Key asked.

Siwon met his eyes in the mirror, but didn’t answer him. “Henry will get you home safe. I might not…” Siwon let out a harsh breath. “I might not be able to see you again. But if you ever need anything, come to me. Or Heechul. Any of us. We’ll see you taken care of. You and Taemin, both.”

“Siwon, what’s going on?”

Siwon gave Key a tight smile, brushed his knuckles across Key’s cheek, and then turned to the door. “Zhou Mi!”

The door opened before he’d even finished the second syllable. “Yes, sir?”

“Bring Key to Henry. Is Heechul ready?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Good. Be careful, Key.”

And with that, he had flowed out the door, jogging down the stairs and collecting his men like planets drawn to their sun. Zhou Mi waited until Key had stopped staring after Siwon to begin leading the way to the valet door, although Key knew the way well enough on his own.

“What’s going on?”

“Siwon will be fine,” Zhou Mi said so smoothly that Key almost believed him.

Except even he was tense. The few people they saw on the stairs were tense. Ryeowook was so intent on where he was going he nearly tripped over Yesung as the older man emerged from another hallway. Yesung didn’t even snap at him. Hankyung only offered Key a tight smile as he passed, talking to Heechul in a low, rapid-fire voice. Key couldn’t understand any of it, the words spilling so quickly off Hankyung’s tongue he may as well have been speaking his native Chinese. Heechul looked right over Key as though not seeing him. But Key understood Heechul’s response well enough.

“If we need to go to war with Makoto, we’ll go to war.”