“Do you like to dance?” The boy asks.

Kyungsoo doesn’t know if he should answer, doesn’t know how to answer. His thoughts are caught in the cage of his throat and each syllable sticks like glue. He draws his knees up tightly against his chest and his hands flutter nervously against the sheets, clenching and unclenching. “Who are you?” Kyungsoo asks, because that is generally the first question one inquires when a strange boy appears in their bedroom in the middle of the night.

The boy is perched in a little ball of lithe limbs on the floor in front of Kyungsoo, hunched slightly with a smile decorating his full, rose petal lips. He’s balancing just on his toes encased in small pointed shoes and his long, shapely fingers are restless against his knees. He stays half hidden in the darkness of the room, shadows painting his tanned skin gray and the moonlight from the window chasing the shadows away.

“Do you like to dance?” He asks again, ignoring Kyungsoo’s question. He tilts his head slightly to the left and his lips curl crookedly into a little smile. “I love dancing.” He wiggles his fingers a bit as if to prove his point and keeps his eyes locked on Kyungsoo.

Kyungsoo swallows and absentmindedly traces the hem of his sheets. “I, um, I can’t dance. I’m terrible at it.” The boy pouts and shakes his head, short puffs of dark chocolate hued hair falling into his eyes.

“Nonsense,” he says, chuckling. “You simply lack practice. Everyone can dance, they just need a little motivation.”

Kyungsoo opens his mouth to say not me, but the boy is already gone in a puff of smoke.

-

It’s a strange dream, to say the least. Kyungsoo hasn’t had one that weird since the time he dreamt of Chanyeol being an alien who tried to harvest his brains.

He shuffles into class the morning after the dream with bags under his eyes and feet dragging against the floor. He flops down beside Chanyeol who looks up at him with wide eyes and a shocked gasp and flinches at Kyungsoo’s grimace.

“Chanyeol,” he murmurs, “remind me again of why I thought Psychology would be a good major. Because it’s absolutely terrible.”

Chanyeol leans forward and narrows his eyes slightly, taking in Kyungsoo’s impressive eye bags and permanent scowl. “Nightmares again?” He asks, tilting his head in confusion. “They must’ve been pretty bad.”

“No, it wasn’t really a nightmare,” Kyungsoo answers with a shake of his head. He opens his mouth to elaborate but finds that he has no clue what to call the fairy-like boy with the dark hair and eyes like wells of ink. With his nimble feet, his knowing smirk, the extended hand and the hanging invitation to dance; he’s completely ethereal. Kyungsoo nibbles at his bottom lip and falls into silence as Chanyeol watches him curiously. He doesn’t look up until the professor enters the room, rapping once against the board to catch the students’ attention.

Not a nightmare, but a dream.

-

The boy is back the next night.

“Dance with me,” he insists. Kyungsoo stays curled up in the safety of his blankets, watching as the boy leans over the foot of his bed and grins. “I can teach you how. It’s simple, easier than you think. Just let me act as your guide.”

Kyungsoo almost does it, almost takes the hand stretched out for him. He looks up and meets the boy’s eyes, dark pools that drag him under the surface, gasping for air. He starts to inch forward, lets the sheets clutched in his hands fall limp.

The boy urges him forward with a nod of his head and Kyungsoo hesitates. “Wait,” he says. “This is a dream. I can’t possibly dance with you if you’re a figment of my imagination.” He tugs his knees up to his chest, moving away from the boy. “And there’s no music for us to dance to.”

The boy chuckles, almost childishly. He rocks forward on the tips of his toes and his head to the right. “You don’t know that,” he says coyly. “You just have to listen, Kyungsoo.” 

Kyungsoo swallows when the boy leans closer, the musk of some sort of mint and the sweet scent of flowers washing over him. He meets hooded eyes with nervous ones and clenches his blankets even tighter. “A dream, hmm?” The boy says, bracing himself with an arm pressed into the mattress as he hovers over Kyungsoo. The pads of his fingers ghost over the smooth skin of Kyungsoo’s flushing cheek. He hums slightly as Kyungsoo takes a sharp breath, the touch of the boy’s fingertips real and anything but imagination. “If this is a dream, then wake up Kyungsoo. Pinch yourself, something. Wake up.”

Instead, Kyungsoo squeezes his eyes shut. The boy is gone with a laugh and another thick cloud of black smoke.

-

The next day, there is a memory of unfamiliar music echoing faintly in the back of his head and the sound of his name rolling off of the boy’s tongue.

Kyungsoo tries to focus in class, tries to listen to Chanyeol complain about the way Baekhyun snores, but he can’t shake the previous night from his head. If this is a dream, then wake up Kyungsoo. Pinch yourself, something. Wake up.

It had to be a dream. What other explanation was there?

“Kyungsoo? Hey, Kyungsoo-ah. Are you listening?”

Kyungsoo glances up in surprise. “Oh, I’m sorry. Did you ask me something?”

“You really need some sleep, or a visit to the doctor. You’re worrying me,” Chanyeol says over their daily morning coffee. He pokes and prods at the creases in Kyungsoo’s forehead with the heel of his hand, grinning. “Turn that frown upside down.”

Kyungsoo gives him a weak smile and takes a sip of his cappuccino. “Maybe I’m just lonely,” he answers. “Maybe I need a roommate like Baekhyun to keep me up at night with his snoring.”

“Hey!” Baekhyun calls from across the café. He’s swiping at a table with a damp rag, hair falling in his eyes and apron coming undone. “My snoring is endearing. Chanyeol says so.”

Chanyeol blushes slightly and distracts himself with his latte. “Only because you’ll kick me out if I say otherwise,” he mumbles. Kyungsoo laughs, and for a moment, he forgets all about the boy.

That, however, doesn’t last for long.

In the confines of his empty apartment just off of campus, he’s left with only his rampaging thoughts and a stifling quiet. In a sense, he’s afraid to fall asleep, afraid that if it really is a dream, the boy will return before his eyes have fallen shut. He hates the unsuited insecurity and the dangling realm of possibility, the distorted line between real and not. He hates not knowing.

He falls asleep on the couch with the TV on mute, glowing shades of cyan and vermillion flashing behind his closed lids.

When the soft touch against his forehead stirs him awake, his eyes flutter open and meet the heavy gaze of the boy. A hand rests against the arm of the couch just beside Kyungsoo’s head and rough fingertips smooth dark hair out of his eyes. The TV is off and the room is silent, with just Kyungsoo’s breaths to stir the quiet. 

“I want you to dance with me, Kyungsoo,” the boy murmurs, breath scented with ambrosia and the promise of night as it fans against Kyungsoo’s cheek. 

Kyungsoo swallows. The touch on his forehead is electric and far too real. “What’s your name?” Kyungsoo asks, avoiding the boys persistence as his voice wavers slightly. “You know mine but I don’t know yours.”

The boy smirks, lips twisting crookedly. “I’ll only tell you if you dance.” Kyungsoo starts to protest but the hand against his forehead leaves and tangles with his fingers instead, pulling him gently to his feet. The moment their palms are pressed flush together, hypnotic music fills Kyungsoo’s head, eerie and lulling at the same time. The boy presses against him and they dance, Kyungsoo’s feet thinking for themselves as he hops and spins and twists ways he never has before, the boy twirling the two of them around the entire apartment until Kyungsoo can’t feel his toes.

When the music slows and they find themselves in the dark cage of Kyungsoo’s bedroom, the boy tugs him into a warm embrace, full lips pressed against the shell of his ear.

“Kai,” he hums. “My name is Kai.”

-

“It can’t be just a dream,” Kyungsoo mumbles the next morning, dark bags heavy under his eyes. “I know there’s a possibility that it’s some kind of lucid dream where I just think I’m awake. Or it could be a recursive and very realistic dream that symbolizes something.” Chanyeol eyes him skeptically and purses his lips before taking a bite out of his bagel and giving it a disapproving frown. Chanyeol glances back up at Kyungsoo as he sighs at his own cup of coffee and runs his fingertips along the rim of the mug. “But, it’s just…it was so real. He was real and I was awake, I could feel him, I could hear the music. That doesn’t happen in dreams, not so vividly like that.”

“Maybe you were just sleep walking,” Chanyeol interjects through a mouthful of bagel. “You know, like that one time when you were sleeping walking and you stumbled into Sehun’s room and-”

“Let’s stop there,” Kyungsoo says hastily, reaching out to cover Chanyeol’s mouth. “Now is not the time for storytelling. I want answers.”

Baekhyun huffs and pouts slightly. “You’re a psych major Kyungsoo, don’t let it bother you too much. If it’s not a dream, what else could it be? Some creepy guy hanging out in your apartment every night?” Kyungsoo remains silent and Baekhyun sighs. “Look, if anyone can figure out what’s going on inside your head, you can. Just dig a little deeper. Maybe you can talk to your professor about it.”

“Hey,” Chanyeol interjects. “I’m a psychology major too. Are you saying that I wouldn’t be able to help?”

“No offense Chanyeol, but you’re failing all of your classes,” Baekhyun says with a grin, nudging the other’s shoulder. Chanyeol pouts.

“That’s not my fault, I- wait, Kyungsoo?”

Kyungsoo pauses, silent and brooding, and shoves away from table, ignoring their shocked glances. “I’ll, um, I’ll see you guys later. I’m just not feeling up to class right now, I need to think. I’ll call you or something.” He shoves his way out of the café and doesn’t take a breath until he slips out the door.

“I hope he’s okay,” Chanyeol says with a frown. “That dream thing is even freaking me out. It’s so weird.” Baekhyun raises an eyebrow.

“Chanyeol, you’re weird enough to begin with. Please don’t make it any worse.”

-

When Kyungsoo arrives back at his apartment, Kai is in the kitchen.

Kyungsoo is singing under his breath when he steps into the room. He drops his keys with a clang on the linoleum floor and Kai glances up in surprise, a chipped mug in his hands.

“This is disgusting,” Kai says curtly, meticulously inspecting the half full coffee pot. “Do you actually drink this stuff?”

“I…” Kyungsoo starts. His breath catches in the cage of his throat and he reaches out for anything to hold onto. His fingertips close around the cool granite of the countertop and he gasps. “I-what?”

Kai takes another sip and makes a face, nose scrunching. “Blech. Gross.”

“You’re not a dream,” Kyungsoo breathes. His wide eyes take in Kai, all dark shadows and deep curves of mystery with an ethereal air. His gaze drifts from the top of his head, adorned with thick coifs of dark hair that fall in his hooded eyes like wisps of smoke, past his tight fitting dark clothing, stopping at the points of his leather shoes. “You’re really not a dream. I mean, I had suspicions, but. I’m awake.”

Kai frowns slightly and lets the mug rest on the countertop. “Of course I’m not a dream,” he says softly. “I thought we established this already.” His lips curl crookedly and he leans forward away from the countertop. Kyungsoo rolls back on his heels.

“Care to dance, Kyungsoo-ah? We could go for a jazzy sort of number this time. I’ve got just the song in mind.” Kyungsoo swallows, glancing down at the floor and away from the endless pools of Kai’s eyes.

“Why are you here?” He asks. “Who are you?”

Kai watches him, standing so still that Kyungsoo fears that one touch would shatter him. His stares at Kyungsoo for what feels like an eternity, lips frozen in his crooked grin. When he tilts his head slightly, Kyungsoo feels himself jump back.

“I’m Kai, silly,” he says as if chiding a small child. “You sure do forget things easily.” Kai reaches out, fingertips grazing the soft skin of Kyungsoo’s arm. There’s a surge of emotion and adrenaline in Kyungsoo’s chest that rises with the touch and a small twinkling of music at the back of his head. “I’m here because I like you Kyungsoo. You interest me, and you’re a good dancer, despite your protests. Do I need another reason?”

Kyungsoo swallows thickly. Kai’s fingers are the hue of golden honey against the pale skin of his arm.

“No,” he says, “I suppose not.”

Kai grins and hooks his arm around Kyungsoo’s waist, tugging him away from the countertop. The moment they twine together the music begins to flow, pounding under Kyungsoo’s skin.

If this is a dream, he thinks, I wouldn’t mind staying asleep forever.

-

Dancing with Kai becomes his routine.

Sometimes he comes late at night when all has fallen dark and silent, little pointed shoes tapping against Kyungsoo’s floorboards to the beat of the song trapped in his head with a shining grin on his face. Sometimes he comes when Kyungsoo is curled up on the sofa with his homework, or in the morning when Kyungsoo is bent over the trash can muttering curses as he scrambles for the keys he just happened to drop in. Once, he dances with Kyungsoo late into the night until the pinkest rays of dawn come creeping out to play, and he ends up curling against Kyungsoo in the confines of his twin bed. When they wake up, Kyungsoo makes him real coffee, and Kai acquires quite a taste for it.

The “sleepovers” slowly become more regular, and Kyungsoo’s days begin to divide between With Kai and Without Kai. He finds himself enjoying the days spent with the dancing boy the most, the one who touches him with palms made of music and teaches his feet the right ways to move.

“Kyungsoo-ah!” Kai calls from where he’s sprawled out on the couch. It’s a With Kai day, and Kyungsoo is making them soup for dinner. “Could you make me some coffee, please?”

“Make it yourself,” Kyungsoo mutters under his breath. He knows Kai will hear it anyway, despite the volume. He chops meticulously at a pile of carrots, frowning when he nearly nicks his thumb.

“Please? I never make it nearly as good as you do.” His voice lilts slightly and Kyungsoo can almost see the satisfied smirk on the other boy’s face, limbs spread lazily across the couch. He stares at the pile of vegetables then glances at the coffeemaker with weary eyes. “Lots of sugar and a ton of milk, and make it hot enough to sear my taste buds. None of that cold stuff you always have leftover after class.”

He sighs and obliges, flicking the on switch and adding all of the right ingredients. When he glances over his shoulder, Kai is in the doorway, crooked smile lighting up his eyes and chasing away the shadows that seem to stick to his skin. His fingertips are dark against the stark whiteness of the doorframe. “You’re the best, Kyungsoo,” he says. “This is why I like you so much.” Kyungsoo blushes. He’s still not used to the compliments, and Kai likes to hand them out often.

He likes Kai. He likes his hands made of honey and music that seem to know just the right places to set themselves on his skin. He likes his pointed shoes and wicked smile and the way his hair curls just beneath his ears. He likes his voice, sounding as if it was made of music as well, likes the way it tremors when it’s pressed up against his ear.

He likes Kai, and that scares him, because he doesn’t know what Kai is.

He’d tried asking once when Kai had appeared in the bathroom with a puff of smoke in the middle of Kyungsoo’s shower. Kyungsoo had promptly shrieked at Kai’s silhouette behind the curtains, thinking he was about to get robbed, when Kai had said his name in that condescending tone of his.

“Sometimes you make me think I’m crazy,” Kyungsoo had said when Kai yanked him out of the shower with his towel just barely hanging on his hips. They had slow danced in the hallway and Kai didn’t seem to mind that Kyungsoo’s wet hair dripped on his shoulder the entire time. “Because I don’t know what you are, or how you can do what you do, but I know for sure that it’s not human.”

“Right, not human,” Kai had murmured beside his ear, hands warm against the small of Kyungsoo’s back. His tone was solemn but his eyes lit up until Kyungsoo slapped him lightly on the nape of his neck.

“I’m not joking,” he said, sighing. “Can you at least try to put my mind at ease? Are you like, a fairy or something?” Kai had snorted, loud and obnoxious against his ear.

“A fairy? Really? That’s degrading.” He paused then, fingers tracing slow circles at the base of Kyungsoo’s spine to the rhythm of the soft piano flowing from his veins. “I’m not a fairy. I’m not a human, and I’m not a monster. There are…rules, when it comes to being me. Regulations that keep me in check and keep me from wreaking havoc. I’m simply a shadow, a part of the darkness. I dance with you because I need you to survive, because I’m drawn to you and you are my partner.” He had nibbled at his bottom lip and frowned. “I just…I don’t know how to describe it.” No, Kai might have the words, but Kyungsoo knew.

Kai was a song without words, a dance with no music, the darkness behind his eyelids. He was everything in between.

-

But the days Without Kai are unbearable. Kyungsoo’s life is entirely too quiet without music pressing into him, without Kai curled against him in bed with shadows clinging to his skin. He goes to class and he talks to Chanyeol and Baekhyun but all he can really look forward to is falling through that doorway and into Kai’s arms, letting himself get swept into a dance that takes his breath away. But he can’t, because Kai is unpredictable; sometimes he’s there, sometimes he’s not, it’s all a matter of where he wants to be.

“Kyungsoo? Is that okay?”

“Oh, what?” Kyungsoo says, tapping a finger against his temple. “Sorry, I was kind of distracted.”

Baekhyun rolls his eyes. “I said, I set you up on a date.”

Kyungsoo chokes on his drink and Chanyeol claps him hard on the back until Kyungsoo hacks out his last cough. “You what?” He croaks, tea still burning his windpipe.

“A date. I set you up on one. Just give it a chance, okay? I think you really need to get out and just enjoy being with someone for a while, it will be good for you.”

“I…I don’t…”

“Oh!”” Baekhyun exclaims, glancing over his shoulder at the doors of the café. “There he is now.”  Kyungsoo nearly chokes again and it takes a few more sharp claps against his back from Chanyeol for him to breathe again.

“You set up the date now?” Kyungsoo hisses, eyes wider than they’ve ever been before. Baekhyun nods eagerly with a shining grin and snatches Chanyeol’s hand.

“Now stay here and have a good time. I want to see you smiling and in love next time we have breakfast together.” Kyungsoo tries to protest but Baekhyun is already dragging Chanyeol along behind him as a boy stop at the table where Kyungsoo sits.

“Hi, um, Do Kyungsoo?” The boy tilts his head curiously and pats at his pockets softly as if searching for something. Kyungsoo nods slowly and the boy smiles so brightly that it nearly blinds him. “My name is Suho,” he says, proffering a hand. Kyungsoo shakes it hesitantly as the boy takes the seat across from him.

“So, Baekhyun said that you wanted to go on a date?” Suho asks. When Kyungsoo doesn’t answer, he swallows and taps his fingers hesitantly against the tabletop. Kyungsoo simply stares, heart caught in his throat. All he can think about is how he doesn’t want to be there; he wants to be home, held safe in Kai’s arms dancing until the sun sets behind them.

“Um,” Kyungsoo says.

Suho’s hands flutter nervously on the table. “Should we, ah, get something to eat? I could get you another tea or something, or if you’d like to share a-”

“I have a boyfriend,” Kyungsoo blurts. “His name is Kai.” It takes all of his willpower not to slam his hand over his mouth and keep himself from spewing any more nonsense. He’s positive that his own shock matches the expression on Suho’s face. “I mean, um, I didn’t really set up this date. It was all Baekhyun’s planning and I’m not, uh, single? Right now. I guess.”

Suho stares blankly at him for a moment, blinking once before he smiles. “Don’t worry, I understand. Can we still be friends? You know, without the awkward not really first date atmosphere?”

Kyungsoo pauses but smiles back. “Sure, I’d like that.”

-

“Baekhyun called, you left your phone here,” Kai says as Kyungsoo slips out of his shoes. He’s hovering in the shadows of the living room, perched on the sofa with his knees drawn to his chest. Kyungsoo flicks on the light and eyes him in surprise, socks padding softly against the floorboards. “How was the date?” Kai asks, pretending to be interested in his nails.

“It wasn’t a date, just- wait, how do you know about that?” Kyungsoo says, eyes wide and bright. “And why are you here? It’s been a few days; I almost thought you weren’t going to come back.”

“Baekhyun left a voicemail,” he answers, ignoring Kyungsoo’s other question. He reaches out for Kyungsoo, black sleeves pushed to his elbows and fingers wiggling in invitation. “Come here, I’ve been itching to dance for so long.” Kyungsoo huffs but gives in, pulling Kai off of the couch and sinking into his arms.

“You leave too often,” Kyungsoo murmurs into his shoulder. “You make this so hard.”

Kai doesn’t answer, just sways with him until the sky falls asleep.

Kyungsoo wakes up alone again the next morning just before dawn.

-

“Tell me why Suho thinks you have a boyfriend named Kai.” Baekhyun says in exasperation. He downs the rest of his hot chocolate and reaches for Chanyeol’s half empty mug, despite the younger’s pointed glare.

Kyungsoo picks at his croissant and shrugs. “Suho was nice, but not my type.”

“You talked to him for less than a minute before saying you weren’t single. Since when are you not single? And who is Kai? Is this why you haven’t been talking to us about much? You’ve been so withdrawn lately.”

Kyungsoo frowns. He’s given up on talking to them about Kai, the boy who didn’t visit him in his dreams but was made of dreams, the boy in the shadows, the dancer. They wouldn’t understand in the least. “I never told you to set me up on a date. And maybe I do have a boyfriend, what’s wrong with that?”

Do Kyungsoo, you are an idiot, he thinks to himself.

“So it’s true?” Chanyeol says, eyes wide. “When can we meet him?”

“Um,” Kyungsoo stutters, glancing around in surprise. “I don’t…”

“We’ll come over tomorrow,” Baekhyun says, gathering his bag and nodding to Chanyeol. “I want to meet this…Kai. If he’s better than Suho, he must be pretty great.” He gives Kyungsoo a small smile. “See you soon,” he says, tugging on Chanyeol’s elbow.

Kyungsoo thinks he’s going to faint.

-

“So I’m your boyfriend now?” Kai asks, smiling crookedly.

Kyungsoo steps forward hesitantly, the note reading Meet me on the roof at midnight still clutched and crumpled in his hands. He hadn’t even known that his apartment building had an accessible roof. Kai is crouched by the edge, hands curled loosely around the stone ledge as he peers over at the street below him.

“I never said that,” Kyungsoo sputters. “Er. Well. At least, not on purpose. And could you please step away from there? You’re making me nervous.”

Kai dissolves in a puff of smoke, effectively stealing Kyungsoo’s breath, and materializes in front of him with a crooked smile still staining his lips. He reaches out and runs his hand through Kyungsoo’s hair. Kyungsoo lets his eyes fall shut as he leans into the touch, smiling slightly.

“They’re worried about you, you know,” Kai murmurs. “Your friends are. It’s because of me, isn’t it?”

Kyungsoo shakes his head. “No, it’s…it’s just…” He clutches the fabric of Kai’s shirt and buries his nose against the collar, sighing. The breeze cuts through the thin cotton of his t-shirt and he snuggles closer to Kai for a bit of warmth. It’s strange how something so dark could contain so much heat.

“It’s okay,” Kai says slowly. “I won’t worry them anymore. Just stay happy for me, okay? Always smile. Always.”

Kyungsoo frowns. “It’s hard to be happy when you’re not around. I miss you too much and it shows.”

Kai is quiet for a few moments, fingers blazing trails along the dark roots of Kyungsoo’s hair. He moves closer to him and pauses, one hand locked on Kyungsoo’s waist and the other tangled in his hair. “You’re getting too attached to me,” he says quietly. “You’re not supposed to get attached. I shouldn’t have even stayed this long.”

Kyungsoo is still in his arms. Kai his hair again softly. “There’s just something about you,” he says slowly. “I want to dance with you for the rest of my life, but that’s against the rules.”

He presses a hesitant kiss to Kyungsoo’s temple and sighs. “Dance for me, Kyungsoo-ah.” His tone wavers slightly, crackling with some sort of underlying emotion, and he steps away from Kyungsoo before leaning against the brick of a jutting chimney. Kyungsoo watches him in surprise, eyes wide, and lets his arms fall to his sides.

“Dance for me,” Kai repeats. So Kyungsoo does. He obliges and dances in just his socks, a pair of jeans, and the too-big hoodie he wears to bed sometimes because Kai likes it. He dances without music this time, dances without Kai’s hands to hold him steady, moves with the flow of the breeze under the spotlight of the stars.

“Beautiful,” Kai breathes.

-

Kai isn’t there the next morning, and Kyungsoo panics.

He has nothing to show to Baekhyun and Chanyeol, no excuse, no reason. They’re not going to let him let this go without a reasonable explanation.

He searches his entire apartment until noon and prays that Kai will just materialize like he usually does. He crosses his fingers and makes extra coffee but when the knock on his door comes, he’s still alone.

“Kyungsoo!” Chanyeol cries, smothering him in a bear hug. “Where’s Kai? Is he here yet?”

“He, um,” Kyungsoo starts, squirming out of Chanyeol’s grasp as Baekhyun shuts the door behind him. “He couldn’t make it today. Something came up. He might be here tomorrow though,” he says, plastering on a smile. “Would you guys like something to drink? I made extra coffee!”

As Chanyeol and Baekhyun settle themselves on the sofa, Kyungsoo digs his nails against the countertop and wills himself not to cry.

“You had to disappear just when I needed you,” Kyungsoo mumbles. “Why do you always do this to me?”

“I’m sorry,” Kai murmurs behind him.

Kyungsoo spins around, hand pressed over his mouth. Kai leans up against the refrigerator door with his lips pursed in a frown. “You scared me,” Kyungsoo hisses. “And where have you been? I thought you would have, you know…stayed this time.”

Kai rubs a hand tiredly over his eyes. “This is a bad idea, Kyungsoo. I shouldn’t have come back at all because things are getting dangerous but I needed to talk to you, I couldn’t just disappear forever. You see, I-”

“Kyungsoo-ah!” Baekhyun cries, poking his head into the kitchen with a small smile. “How’s the coffee coming? Need any help?”

Kyungsoo looks up in surprise and hastily reaches for Kai, curling an arm around his waist with a smile. “Baekhyun! Just in time! It turns out, Kai was able to come. Kai, meet Baekhyun.”

Baekhyun stares at Kyungsoo, then at the place where his hands rests on Kai’s waist. His eyes dart back and forth and back and forth before they fill with concern and pity.

“Oh, Kyungsoo-ah,” Baekhyun murmurs sympathetically. “You need help.”

-

“Why didn’t you tell me they couldn’t see you?” Kyungsoo cries, pressing the heels of his palms against his eyes. He paces the floor in front of the sofa where Kai sits, night pouring in the room from behind the curtains and shadows sticking to Kai’s fingertips. “Now they think I really am crazy. They’re going to send me to some sort of asylum!” He stops in the middle of the room and cradles his head in his hands, breaths catching in his throat. He can’t shake the mental image of Baekhyun’s horrified and pitying expression out of his head as he ushers Chanyeol from the living room and out the front door.

“You didn’t let me finish,” Kai says quietly. “I was trying to tell you. This is why I didn’t want to come back, but I couldn’t just leave you. You know-”

“No!” Kyungsoo shouts. “I don’t know! I don’t know because you don’t tell me anything!” Kai is silent, knees drawn up to his chin. “I…I don’t know what to say or what to do because you’re always so mysterious.” He sinks to his knees in front of Kai and rests his forehead against the couch. “I just…I don’t know.”

“There are rules,” Kai says evenly. “There are rules for people…things like me.” He watches Kyungsoo with eyes like dark pools of ink and takes a breath. “Dancing is what keeps me alive. If I touch you when we’re dancing, some of your energy becomes mine, and that is how I survive. But I can’t stay with someone too long because eventually I will end up the energy out of them until they’re nothing but a shell. That’s why there’s a rule that I can’t stick around, that I have to leave you eventually.”

He pauses and stares at Kyungsoo’s hands, trembling at his sides. “Only my partner, the one I’m dancing with, can see me. No one else.” He reaches out tentatively and runs a hand through Kyungsoo’s hair. The other shudders against his touch. “I can’t stay,” Kai says quietly. “I can’t stay here and take your life away.”

Kyungsoo nuzzles against his touch and crawls onto the sofa, settling in Kai’s lap. He wraps his arms around him and curls his fingers into his hair, savoring the scent of musk and the faint wisp of flowers that seems to seep from Kai’s skin. “But I don’t want you to go,” he whispers.

Kai turns his head and their noses brush, only separated by a breath of air. He flicks his eyes towards Kyungsoo’s as if asking is this okay and Kyungsoo nods once, tightening his grasp on the dark strands of Kai’s hair before pressing their lips together in a hungry clash of need and want.

Kyungsoo swears that somewhere in the back of his head, an orchestra is playing.

They dance again, pulling back all of the curtains so the moon shines bright on the floorboards and rolling up the rug until their dance floor is complete. Kai twirls him around and tugs him in for kisses every now and then, swallowing Kyungsoo’s giggles and throwing in a few of his own.

“Stay,” Kyungsoo says when they’re curled up in his bed once again. “Break the rules for once.”

“I shouldn’t,” Kai answers, but Kyungsoo leans down and kisses away his protests. He shouldn’t, but he does.

-

“How are you?” Chanyeol murmurs a few days later in the middle of class. He keeps his distance; he’s still a little bit scared of Kyungsoo, unsure of what he can’t see. “Anything, um, bothering you lately?”

Kyungsoo smiles to himself and glances up at where Kai sits a few seats away. Kai blows him a kiss and he blushes before turning back to face Chanyeol.

“I’m fine,” Kyungsoo says. “I’m doing great.”

Chanyeol grins in relief. “Awesome,” he breathes, “Baek will be ecstatic to hear that.” He gives Kyungsoo a soft pat on the shoulder and turns back to the professor as he raps on the board to get the students’ attention. Kyungsoo keeps his gaze trained on Kai as he rocks back in his seat, pointed shoes propped up on the desk and hands tucked deep in his pockets.

He’s feeling pretty ecstatic himself.

-

They tumble through the doorway later that night, a messy tangle of limbs and kisses and breathy laughs. They dance down the hallway and chase each other through the kitchen until Kai grabs Kyungsoo and slings him over his shoulder, tickling his stomach whenever he squirms in protest.

“Hey!” Kyungsoo cries through his giggles, pounding against Kai’s back. “Put me down, that’s against the rules! You’re not playing fair!”

“Didn’t I tell you?” Kai says, smiling crookedly as he tosses Kyungsoo down lightly on the bed and curls against him. “I’m a rule breaker now, and it’s all your fault.”

Kyungsoo rolls his eyes but lets Kai kiss him anyway, tasting of dreams and an unspoken promise.