Fire is Warm
Moonless NightsTaemin had gotten special permission to go hunting on the Roy Coven’s lands while he was there, as long as he kept to himself and cleaned his messes. It was unspoken, but he was also expected to keep his hunting to a minimum. He had no problems with the restrictions, but carrying his gear and Minho’s when the human started to get tired was awkward. He finally found a good enough clearing and dropped the gear, hoping he was right and they were just out of sight enough.
This was not going to be simple hunting. Minho had never even held a rifle or bow, let alone shot either of the weapons. He had practiced with them both the day before, ignoring Taemin’s teases as best he could. He wasn’t perfect, but at least he was hitting the circles on the target by the time the sun went down. Taemin had been pleasantly surprised with his natural skill, even if he wasn’t going to admit it to his boyfriend.
Crackers and peanut butter were a messy snack when Taemin decided to continue being immature, smearing the stuff on Minho’s face. Then he his boyfriend clean, and there was an extra half hour lost from the kissing which ensued. Minho wasn’t used to being the mature partner, but he sighed as he pulled away, grabbing the rifle case and putting the weapon together just like he’d been shown.
“Yay, the silly baby did it,” Taemin cheered, smiling wider when he was answered with an eye roll.
Minho scoffed, taking a shot and grinning triumphantly when the pinecone right next to the one he’d been aiming at fell to the ground in two pieces. “Well I’m sorry I didn’t grow up in the stone age where you learned these things,” he rolled his eyes again and flipped off his boyfriend for at least the tenth time since they were away from the cabin.
It was two hours later that Minho finally felt comfortable with a shot he had available. It was only a rabbit, but he was going to try. He shushed his boyfriend when he heard Taemin whispering reminders in his ear. He took an extra breath and let it out slowly, eyes widening after he pulled the trigger and saw the rabbit’s life end. He wasn’t sure how he felt about it, staying put as Taemin went to retrieve the creature, but he did love it when Taemin’s eyes were slightly red.
“Drink it, Tae.. Its blood is all drippy and smells weird,” he mumbled, his own eyes closed now once he saw his boyfriend lift the furry thing to his lips. He sighed softly once he was over his brief mourning and sat to look at his boyfriend. “I did it,” he smiled softly, reaching out to look at the little thing. He hummed and scratched at his ears, tilting his head a little. “You can tell by the blood if it’s healthy, right? Could we cook it?” he asked, smiling bigger when Taemin nodded.
The vampire leaned in to press a slow kiss to Minho’s mouth, smiling softly when he pulled back and the man was his lips. “Hunting tradition, baby. Just a little taste of the life you took, to remind you of how precious it is that she gave herself for you to live on,” he whispered, kissing him again with a clean mouth this time.
Minho’s nose scrunched up as he did the next task with his own hands, glad Taemin was there to help talk him through field dressing the creature. It wasn’t anything intense, but Minho hadn’t ever even gotten a whole fish from the store. Maybe it was the eyes, though. Creepy dead fish eyes made his skin crawl, but the rabbit’s eyes were closed and made it easier for him to cut open her stomach to pull out all the guts. He sighed in relief when it was only guts, but Taemin had guided him away from a pregnant squirrel earlier. He didn’t know what he would have done if he’d killed a soon-to-be rabbit mommy.
“There’s a storm coming soon, Min,” Taemin reminded him, and Minho nodded as he dropped the entrails onto the ground for some scavenger to have for dinner. He hummed as he considered that, feeling a lot better about the whole experience because they were being responsible and using all the parts in different ways. Not themselves, but he knew with the wolves and foxes around that the yucky stuff on the ground wouldn’t go to waste.
The snow was falling faster and harder than either of them had expected; Taemin with his keen eyesight and the smell of the air, or Minho with his almanac and printed forecast. Minho was proud of himself for keeping up with the elder, nevermind that Taemin might have been carrying every bit of gear. The windows of the cabin were dark as they entered, and Minho was quick to light the stove and fireplace for the warmth. He stripped down from his hiking layers as much as possible, shivering but smiling once they were comfortable and starting dinner.
Taemin, in his old age and wisdom as Minho put it, knew just how to skin the entire fur from the rabbit in nearly one piece. The human knew enough about food to cut the animal into the right places and toss her in with some vegetables and seasonings for stew. It was going to be perfect for such a chilly night, and Minho smiled more as he cuddled with Taemin in front of the fire.
A falling branch outside the cabin made Minho jump as he was checking the soup, and he nearly dropped the lid in surprise. He hadn’t noticed how bad the wind had gotten until he squinted at the window and saw the other branches still attached to the trees waving so violently. He stirred the stew slowly, then walked to the window so he could look at the weather better. It was still very dark and he couldn’t see much, but the window was nearly frosted from the cold.
Minho smiled slowly as he felt Taemin’s arms around him and leaned his head back against his shoulder. “I think the stew is ready. I think just some bread with it sounds fine,” he mumbled, always happy with the vampire’s arms squeezing him.
Dinner was extra cozy as the pair bundled up next to the fire, three blankets turning out to be too much warmth once the stew had thawed them even more from the inside. “Ready for a game? Kibum sent me a bunch of suggestions for games, and I brought cards and dice and a few other board games,” he smiled, going to one of their suitcases. There were some presents wrapped for later during the vacation, books for each of them, and a few other miscellaneous things besides the board games and other game supplies Taemin had tossed in for fun. Clean fun. His naughty fun supplies were in one of his private bags, where he’d placed all of the junk Jinki and Minji decided to gift them.
“Are you sure you’re not going to turn all the innocent little games into something nasty? Poor Tae baby all needy and going to turn Scrabble into Strip Scrabble or something?” Minho chuckled at the vampire once he returned with some dice, paired with a pad and pen. He smiled again at the look on his boyfriend’s face, leaning in to kiss him softly. The game went really well though, and Minho almost forgot how cold it was as he ate his stew and laughed with the other man. The rabbit was obviously fresh, and all of the vegetables they’d picked up were perfect with the meat. There was enough for lunch the next day as a bonus, and it was the full warm stomach that finally sent him to sleep once they moved to talk in bed.
The cabin was chilled the next morning and Minho wrapped a blanket around him tightly as he stirred the fire and added more wood to bring it back to life. He the oven so it would be ready it for breakfast, before crawling back to bed and nuzzling his cold nose into Taemin’s warm neck. The vampire jumped away and scrunched his nose, then sighed and bit at his boyfriend’s mouth. “You’re evil…” he mumbled, frowning at the door when it wouldn’t open. He really, really needed the outhouse, and pushing against the door was really, really not helping.
“Ah… The storm last night snowed us in, baby,” Minho explained as he looked out the window, frowning with the elder because now that he was out of bed a second time, he really needed to go as well. Taemin sighed, not wanting to break the door because he pushed too hard to get the snow away. He checked to see if the windows opened and cleared his throat once he had a plan.
“I uh… I think I have an idea, Min,” he mumbled, going to one of the larger pots and clearing his throat again. “If we put a plastic bag inside of here, it’ll have to work about like a chamber pot,” he explained and glanced down. He hadn’t had to use such a primitive toilet since a similar camping trip when he was five in human years. He was barely toilet trained to begin with, and he’d been so confused that Jinki had taught him to just go outside instead. He shook his head at the thoughts and sighed, rummaging for a bag because he wasn’t waiting anymore.
Minho had the decency to turn around while Taemin took care of his business, but he’d barely let his boyfriend up before shaking his head and taking his turn. He told himself how it could be worse, but then just rolled his eyes at himself because it really couldn’t get much worse. He didn’t dare speak the worse aloud, didn’t dare tempt the fates, and just bagged the mess to drop outside by the window.
Despite their little bathroom troubles, Minho and Taemin found that they loved being stuck together. Long talks about random topics, mixed with games and eating. That stew was even better after the flavors had melded together more, and Minho’s moan from his first bite had earned him a sharp glare from his boyfriend.
The fire kept away the chill, and the snow around the frame of the door blocked any wind, keeping the cabin warm and comfortable. Eating, talking, cuddling, sleeping, just like they’d wanted the trip to be. They even scooped snow in from a different window to boil down and took a bath together. They each had books to kill the time, and life settled into the cozy warmth they had ben seeking.
Despite their love of being stuck together, Minho and Taemin were getting a little antsy on the third morning the door wouldn’t open at all. Taemin finally climbed out one of the windows just before dinner and started digging them out. Unfortunately, since they had left it so long, some of the snow had melted and refrozen, leaving the door stuck by ice instead of simply snow. Minho tried to be encouraging, but Taemin grumbled until he came in an hour later, only half done.
Minho pulled Taemin into the bed with him and rubbed his skin to help warm him, sighing softly and pulling the blankets tighter. “I love you, Taemin. You’re way manlier than me and my little rabbit, saving us from the snow,” he murmured, nuzzling into his neck and sliding his hand over his chest.
“Wanna show me how manly I am once I get the door opened?” Taemin smiled slowly and picked his head up. His gaze was dark and full of mischief, but Minho knew he was ready for whatever ideas the elder was spinning. He nodded at his boyfriend and smiled against the deep kiss he was given before the bed was suddenly empty and Taemin had slipped through the window again.
“Well, …”
"I thought you couldn’t read minds yet, babe.”
Minho groaned and shook his head, biting his lip as he tried to stop feeling like such a as he got into his bags for the lube, just in case this was really what he thought it would be. He sighed and stood at the window, smiling at his boyfriend as he used a pick he’d found to break up the still frozen pieces and cursing the sweat that ran down his face even in the cold air. Damn him and his beautiful face. When the door was clear enough, he pulled away from the window and tried it. He had to half jump against the block of wood, but it opened to reveal a smirking Taemin. A somehow smirking and yet cheeky looking Taemin.
"You did it, yay!” Minho cheered weakly, though his own grin gave him away. He pulled Taemin closer and shut the door they’d just opened, pressing him against it and kissing him slowly. He left open mouthed kisses all along Taemin’s jaw on both sides and down the front of his throat before moving to the sweet spots on his neck. “Now, you said something about being manly?”
Taemin laughed darkly as he lifted his boyfriend, Minho’s legs wrapping around him immediately. This was not at all the way he’d envisioned having with Minho for the first time, and it didn’t take any real amount of prying to see Minho’s plans had been quite different too. He laid the human on the bed and kissed him slowly, his cold hands making Minho shiver as he danced them over his skin. “You’ve had to prove yourself too much, Choi Minho. It’s my turn to really show you just how much I love you.”
Happy New Moon!
Happy Halloween!
Just a little more fluff, but what you think is going to happen is going to happen next chapter ;)
Yes, rated M coming very soon~
Happy Halloween!
Just a little more fluff, but what you think is going to happen is going to happen next chapter ;)
Yes, rated M coming very soon~
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