“I had a good time tonight,” Sungmin smiled, comfortably bundled in his winter coat with his gloved hands holding lightly to Leeteuk’s arm as they walked along the brightly lit sidewalk at night.

                “I’m glad,” Leeteuk agreed, patting the younger man’s hand on his arm warmly.  “Though next time I might have to ask we try something other than ice skating,” he laughed in chagrin, breath misting in front of him.

                “You did good for your first try!” Sungmin giggled, hugging the other’s arm tighter.

                Leeteuk looked down at his boyfriend wryly and asked, “And by good you mean my skill in hobbling around the edge of the rink and still managing to bust my on the ice?”

                “Oh come on, now,” Sungmin urged, pausing to tug on his arm.  “You weren’t that bad,” he chided, pointing his finger at him.  “And you did make it around the rink a few times, after all.”

                “With you pulling me.  Going backwards no less,” he scoffed, turning to pull the shorter male flush against him, looking down into the upturned face in amusement.

                “But you didn’t fall,” Sungmin reminded him sweetly, wriggling in place.

                “When you put it that way,” Leeteuk smiled, bending down to close the distance between them as he lightly kissed the soft lips.  “I guess maybe I could give it another try,” he sighed, resting his forehead against Sungmin’s covered one.

                “Yeah?” he asked, placing his hands against the other’s waist.

                “Yeah,” Leeteuk kissed him again, adding, “But I still insist we try something else in the meantime.  I may have hurt more than my pride tonight,” he chuckled with a slight wince.

                “Do I need to kiss it to make it better?” the blonde asked, just the tips of his bangs peeking out from under his toboggan.

                “Mm hmm,” Leeteuk hummed in response, his own dark hair hidden beneath a similar covering.  “That would certainly help.”

                “Then you have something to look forward to when we get home,” he teased with a wink, stealing a quick peck on the lips and freeing himself.  “Come on, Teukie,” he urged cutely, capturing his arm again and taking a step forward, pulling the other along with him.

                With a silly smile, Leeteuk moved up alongside the shorter male again, humming contentedly under his breath.  It wasn’t particularly late yet but it was definitely getting chilly and it was keeping most of the sensible people indoors; not that he could blame them.

                Granted, it had been several degrees warmer when they’d headed out earlier in the evening.  After dinner, they’d missed the movie they had meant to catch so Sungmin had rather easily convinced him to try ice skating instead.  Damn aegyo…  The thought made him smile and he reached across his body to rest his hand on Sungmin’s.

                His companion chirped happily and snuggled closer, walking slow enough that he could rest his head against Leeteuk’s shoulder.  They both stopped and stiffened though, when they heard a boisterous voice behind them.

                “Looks like we’ve got us a couple of queers, fellas,” he laughed, the sound raucous and automatically annoying, due in no small part to what he was saying.

                Eyes narrowed, Leeteuk partially turned around to glare at the offender, taking note he had three others with him.  The speaker was tall and broad, larger than either himself or Sungmin, and he appeared to be the ‘leader’ of the bunch.

                “I don’t know, Kangin,” his more slender companion commented on his left.  “The little one looks kinda girly to me,” he chortled, resting his arm on Kangin’s shoulder in amusement.

                “Hah!  Not that I’m arguing, Geng, but the other one’s pretty too,” an even taller male said, stepping up behind the blonde who wasn’t wearing any head covering.  He looked Leeteuk up and down and smirked at his own commentary.

                “Don’t you have anything better to do?” Leeteuk stated flatly, trying to turn around but impeded by his companion, which was probably a good thing since it was already hard enough to keep his temper as it was.

                “It’s alright, Teuk.  Let’s just go,” Sungmin urged, eyeing the group with a calculating look before focusing his attention back on his boyfriend.

                Still glaring at them, Leeteuk reluctantly let himself be pulled along by Sungmin, grumbling under his breath about rude bastards and pricks…

                “Aww.  Going so soon?” a new voice asked, the tone smug.  “I guess that means neither of you have a pair then, right?”

                “Oh!” the other three cried in unison, crowding around him with entertained expressions.  “Nice one, Kyu!” the tallest grinned, dimples appearing in his cheeks as he slapped the other on the back.  The newcomer smirked and brushed at his longer hair sticking out from under the knit cap he was wearing, eyeing the pair to see what sort of reaction they’d get.

                “Wait, wait, wait.  I’ve got it,” Kangin said, getting their attention and smirking when he saw Leeteuk turn around despite his companion’s attempts to the contrary.  “One of them’s a tranny right?  That’s got to be it,” he exclaimed clapping once and laughing at his own explanation as the others joined in.

                Geng leaned on Kangin’s shoulder and pointed at Sungmin who was still trying to hold Leeteuk back rather unsuccessfully, “I bet it was him.”  He grinned at his companions, gesturing animatedly as he stepped in the front, body angled between the two parties, and continued, “She got tired of being on the receiving end and wanted- Yah!”

                “Leeteuk, wait!”

                “Whoa!” the other three yelped as Leeteuk surprised them all and clocked the blonde across the side of the face with his fist, knocking him into Kangin.

                It only took them a second to recover and the three were on him with Kangin recovering a hair slower.  Kyu and Kangin both snagged a limb to hold him between them while the taller male stood in front, hand gripping Leeteuk’s coat with his other arm pulled back to pummel him while he struggled to get away, kicking at his front attacker ineffectively.

                “Teukie!” Sungmin yelled, tearing in to jump-kick the unsuspecting Kyu in the side, sending him stumbling away erratically and freeing Leeteuk’s left arm.  Swiftly, he followed through and dropped down beside them both, sweeping his leg around to the back of Leeteuk’s primary attacker, kicking them out from under him and landing him flat on his back with a loud thud as he hit the concrete hard, temporarily stunned.

                “Get off me!” Leeteuk yelled, already focusing on Kangin and getting one good hit on him before he wrested himself away roughly, only to be tackled by the returning Geng, sending them both to the ground, sprawled on the sidewalk.

                Sungmin spared them a glance before he had to focus on the recovering trio.  He back-stepped away from Kangin and felt someone grab him from behind, lifting his feet off the ground and holding him pinned against a hard body.  The arms that held him were strong and he knew there was little point in trying to overpower him, but that didn’t stop him from struggling.

                “Keep him still, Siwon!” Kyu cried while he rushed to close the distance, one hand holding his side where he’d already been kicked.  A quick, frenzied look showed that Kangin was moving to head towards Geng and Leeteuk, leaving Sungmin to deal with the other two.

                Before Kyu could lay a hand on him, Sungmin picked his feet up, relying on the other’s strength to hold him in place, and rammed them firmly into the young man’s chest, kicking him away with a pained cry.  Kyu flailed back while Siwon stumbled under the unexpected force that shoved him off balance.  Awkwardly, he tried to regain his footing and was forced to release Sungmin or fall to the ground again, arms windmilling as he struggled to stay upright.

                Alerted things weren’t entirely under control, Kangin turned back around, catching a glimpse of Geng duking it out with Leeteuk before he moved on Sungmin.  His attempt to grab the smaller male failed when he ducked under Kangin’s hands and promptly kicked his shins with his heel, sending him careening into the finally steady Siwon.

                The pair cried out and fell in a tangle of limbs, hitting the ground painfully, leaving a bruised Kyu rubbing his sore chest as he moved closer.  He looked behind the shorter male and tilted his head to the side with a mildly confused expression, so Sungmin took a step back and snuck a peek too.

                Leeteuk and Geng appeared to be taking turns hitting each other, trading a blow to the face for a knee to the gut and vice versa, when they weren’t gripping each other’s coats with both hands already.  Geng rammed Leeteuk’s back into the wall and then gasped when the other managed a glancing blow to his groin with a knee attack, sending him shuffling backwards to allow them both space, creating a momentary lull in their combat.

                Collectively the spectators winced and Sungmin focused on Kyu, Kangin, and Siwon conferring among themselves.  Preemptively, he slid his foot back into a more defensive stance and watched them intently, ready for anything.  Clearly, this fight wasn’t over…

                Kangin waved at Kyu to go first and when he balked, he motioned for Siwon to.  “You go first,” the taller male muttered in annoyance.

                “Pansy,” he sneered, brushing himself off and moving forward hesitantly with Siwon and Kyu right behind him.  Abruptly, he charged the smaller male and while Sungmin managed to plant his foot in Kangin’s gut, the forward momentum allowed him to continue on and grip his coat in hand while he drove him against the wall at his back.

                Sungmin gasped in surprise and pain while he quickly assessed his situation.  Kangin held him firm against the wall and Kyu and Siwon were rapidly closing to assist the larger male…  He set his jaw and took a breath before he head Kangin and grabbed one of the hands, twisting it painfully in a maneuver that put acute strain on the ligaments in his forearm forcing his attacker to let go.  Sungmin couldn’t help but smile just a tad when the taller male’s knees buckled quickly and he set him free to deal with his other two opponents.

                Breathing hard, Leeteuk cringed from another knee to the gut and an elbow against his back when he caught Geng around the ribs with his arms and struggled to drive him backwards.  The other male shoved him away when he managed to stop their momentum and kicked him hard, sending him sprawling into a trash can at the side of the road.  Painfully, Leeteuk slumped against the container and felt the lid slide just a bit.

                “Come on you ,” Geng spat, moving closer and grabbing the back of Leeteuk’s coat to haul him around.

                “ you!” Leeteuk growled, whirling around with the trash can lid in his hands to slam it across Geng’s head, sending the slightly taller male reeling away, a dazed look in his eyes.  Leeteuk followed him at an involuntary angle and whomped him again with a loud crash, denting the lid as he sent his target crumpling to the ground.  “And stay down,” he huffed, dropping the trashcan lid on the concrete before turning around to find his boyfriend.  “I got him Minnie!  Look… I…” he trailed off, eyeing the three bodies sprawled around Sungmin with the latter picking himself off the ground, disentangling his legs from around Siwon’s torso in what he figured must have been a sleeper hold.  “Oh…”

                Sungmin brushed himself off and made sure they were unconscious with one more sweep before he hurried over to Leeteuk, assessing the damage.  “Are you alright?” he asked, reaching up his hands to explore the split lip and cheek on Leeteuk’s face as well as the black eye he was already starting to sport.  Miraculously, his nose seemed intact.

                Leeteuk simply looked at his boyfriend for a second and then back at the bodies on the ground.  “I’m…  Yeah,” he slumped forward with a heavy sigh, forcing a laugh at the results.

                For a few seconds more, Sungmin picked Leeteuk’s face up and eyed him, searching his bruised visage to make sure he really was.  “Alright, Teukie.  Let’s go home, ne?” he asked, sliding his arm around Leeteuk’s waist and pulling the other over his shoulder.

                Still shaking his head ruefully, Leeteuk murmured in agreement and followed along.  They really hadn’t been that far from their apartment either, considering it only took them another couple minutes to make it home.  Sungmin guided his boyfriend to the living room and set him down on the couch, motioning for him to stay where he was before he stole off quickly.

                Battered and bruised, considerably more so than the one he’d been trying to protect, Leeteuk finally removed his toboggan, revealing short black hair that had been spiky at the beginning of the night but had surrendered to being squashed flat under the head covering.  The gloves came off next and he frowned at how stiff his knuckles felt already.  He was just taking off the coat by the time that Sungmin returned with a first aid kit and damp washcloth in tow, similarly free of his coat, gloves, and toboggan.

                “Here,” Sungmin urged, setting the kit on the coffee table in front of Leeteuk and folding his knees under him as he sat down on the couch too.  He handed the taller male two ibuprofen and watched as he swallowed them dry, still looking like a beaten puppy.  “What’s wrong baby?” he asked, dabbing at the cheek wound first, wiping away the slight traces of dried blood.

                With Sungmin leaning as close as he was, it was easy to notice he’d also gained a bruise on his cheek and Leeteuk was briefly mollified that he wasn’t the only one to get beat.  The feeling quickly traned to shame and then gratitude that was all that had happened to him.  “I’m just glad you’re alright, Minnie,” he sighed, a half-truth.

                Sungmin pursed his lips at the words and treated the cheek wound with an antiseptic cream before he grasped the hairless chin in his fingers and wiped at the split lip carefully.  Leeteuk winced with one eye closing but he held as still as he could otherwise.  “You really did do good tonight, Teukie,” he assured him, dropping the cloth to his lap while he searched Leeteuk’s face again.

                “Like I did with ice skating?” he sighed, meeting his boyfriend’s gaze evenly before he had to drop his eyes again.

                “Yes,” Sungmin told him firmly, lifting his chin up so he’d be able to see his eyes.  “Would I lie to you?”

                Leeteuk murmured a very quiet, “No.”

                “Okay then.  So you did good,” Sungmin told him again, leaning forward just enough to press his lips against Leeteuk’s, mouth moving slowly so as not to disturb the cut already there.  When he sat back, his Teukie still wasn’t smiling.

                “Yeah, but you took on three of them,” he gestured towards the door ineffectively.  “And I struggled with just the one.”

                “I told you we should have just let it go,” the blond reminded him pointedly.

                Leeteuk leveled a stern frown at him.  “Not after what they said about us.  About you, Minnie.  You didn’t deserve that,” he reminded him, expression lightening as he tenderly caressed his boyfriend’s face with his hand, running bruised fingers through the soft hair to cup the back of his head.

                “Neither did you,” Sungmin arched a brow at him and grabbed his hand to clasp it in front of him between both of his.  “But it doesn’t hurt that I’ve had years of training and you… haven’t,” he ended awkwardly.

                “Hah!” Leeteuk laughed, the sound more like a bark.  “Apparently I can’t ice skate and I can’t protect you when it really matters.  Some boyfriend I am,” he exhaled dejectedly, rolling his eyes at his own failure.

                “Hey,” Sungmin called softly as he placed the damp washcloth on the table and scooched closer, resting his hands on his folded knees and leaning directly in front of Leeteuk.  “I love the fact that you want to be my hero, baby,” he began with a sweet smile, brushing a stray lock of bangs back from Leeteuk’s forehead and shaking his head when they settled in the exact same spot.  “I do,” he affirmed again with a long look into the downcast eyes.

                “But I’m not, am I?” Leeteuk asked with another heavy sigh as he turned his head away.

                Sungmin caught his chin once more and brought his eyes back to meet his.  “I didn’t say that.”

                “Except-“

                Sungmin placed a finger on his lips to keep him from continuing that statement and rested the same hand against his uninjured cheek.  “You always take care of me when I really need it,” he promised as he searched Leeteuk’s face, leaning close to place another gentle kiss on his bruised lips.

                “And when is that?” Leeteuk asked as he reached to rest his right hand lightly atop Sungmin’s thigh, still uncertain of his value.

                “For starters.  Earlier this evening,” Sungmin reminded him pointedly, resting his hand Leeteuk’s and squeezing it lightly.  At his boyfriend’s slight frown of confusion, he shook his head and smiled sadly.  “Part of the reason I did so well was because I know you had my back.  Because I know you wanted to protect me,” he added, grabbing the battered face in both hands tenderly, “As much as I wanted to protect you, pabo.”

                The last word conjured a wan smile from Leeteuk who closed his eyes but nodded in reluctant agreement.  “Bunch of s,” he grumbled, taking another breath before he looked at Sungmin again with a touch less dejection.

                “Ne,” Sungmin agreed easily, nodding along.  “And you did hold your own tonight.  I certainly didn’t have to rescue you,” he pointed out with a raised brow, daring him to argue.

                Leeteuk chose to overlook the moment in the beginning of the fight where Sungmin actually had rescued him and simply wrapped his arms around the smaller male, pulling him into the curve of his body so he could bury his nose in the crook of his neck.  “Some days I don’t feel like I deserve you, baby,” he admitted, relaxing into his boyfriend’s arms.

                Sungmin just chuckled in the back of his throat and cradled Leeteuk against him.  “I chose you too, remember?  I’m with you because I love you.  It’s as simple as that,” he promised, leaning his head against Leeteuk’s warmly as he listened to him breathe.

                “Thank you, Minnie,” Leeteuk whispered while he pulled back enough to give the shorter male a tender kiss before resting his forehead against Sungmin’s, just looking into his understanding brown eyes.

                “Of course.  You’re my baby too,” he beamed at him with all the adoration he could muster.

                Leeteuk chuckled and pulled Sungmin against the back of the couch with him, keeping one arm over his shoulders and threading the fingers of his right hand together with his boyfriend’s left.  “Alright then love.  I don’t suppose you have any words of wisdom for if this happens again?”

                Sungmin snorted softly at the comment and raised a brow.  “Well hopefully it won’t happen again,” he murmured with a knowing look.  At Leeteuk’s almost sheepish look, Sungmin frowned slightly and sighed, “But I suppose if it can’t be avoided, I guess I’ll just have to protect you, won’t I?”

                He met Leeteuk’s eyes evenly, as if daring him to contradict his words, and his boyfriend eventually huffed reluctantly.  “I suppose I could live with that.”

                “Pabo,” Sungmin hummed in contentment as he tilted his head expectantly.  Leeteuk smiled tenderly at the blonde in his embrace and met his lips halfway, sharing a warm and understanding kiss after a very long and eventful day.

(a/n: I wanted something that went at least a little bit out of the beaten path and I find myself satisfied for now.  I kind of like the idea of someone else taking care of Leeteuk every now and then.  ^_^ )