The air was too warm, too thick with humidity. Smoke drifted up from a nearby window, carrying the cloying scent of candied something-or-other baking in an oven. Hyesung leaned against the low wall surrounding the roof of the apartment building and sighed. It had to be nice, making dinner with your family, sitting down to eat with them.

Nicer than worrying about legal troubles, he thought. MIri was still on the warpath over that damn necklace. Fortunately there was a limit to what she could do without real evidence, but it didn't stop her from harassing Hyesung. There'd been some fourteen phone calls from her in the last two days alone. Hyesung considered asking to hide out at Eric's place but he wasn't sure how Eric would react to that. So for the moment he found sanctuary on the roof.

Well, sort of. Sanctuary from Miri at least; not from his brothers.

"What's that woman's problem, anyway?" Dongwan said, his tone sulky. "What did you ever do to her?"

"She's a ," Junjin said simply.

Hyesung rubbed his forehead. "That does seem to be the verdict. I have no idea why she hates me so much. I tried to be a son to her, even though it was hard to have her and the girls move into our lives, but..."

"Well, forget her," Andy said. "We're all the family you need."

"Us and Eric," Junjin giggled

Hyesung shot his brother a dirty look. Andy sat to one side of him, Junjin to the other; while Dongwan crouched down in front of him. Minwoo sat atop the wall, a tall glass full of shimmering amber liquid in his hand. More and more these days, whenever Hyesung wasn't with Eric he was with his brothers. Even Minwoo no longer seemed as scary as he first had, and they had a lot of fun together.

"What about mom?" Hyesung asked. "I thought she sent you to fetch me."

"Yeah, but she's away right now," Junjin replied. "She does that sometimes, just poof disappears—well, you know. So it can wait until she gets back."

Minwoo's eyes narrowed. "But you know where she went, don't you, Junjin?"

Junjin looked away. No matter what happened, Junjin, Andy and Dongwan acted subordinate to Minwoo. Yet for all that, Junjin didn't say a word. What's going on here? Hyesung wondered, glancing back and forth between his brothers. The air buzzed, going warm with tension and power. Aside from glamour and their disappearing trick his brothers rarely used their powers. Now he felt it, so thick in the air it raised the hair along his arms. The intensity of the power frightened him.

When the silence became too much to bear, Hyesung cleared his throat. All four of his brothers looked at him.

"So uh...what is that stuff?" he asked, pointing at Minwoo's glass.

"This?" A smile blossomed on Minwoo's face. "Want to try it?"

"Is that wise?" Andy questioned. "Maybe we shouldn't—"

"Oh nonsense! Sunggie is family. He's allowed."

"Maybe I shouldn't," Hyesung hedged. "If it's not a good idea..."

"It's fine," Minwoo insisted.

Junjin bit his lip. "Well, it's not alcoholic or anything, so..."

Minwoo snapped his fingers. Three glasses of the liquid appeared on the wall next to him. Hyesung took one when it was handed to him and inspected it carefully. It looked as harmless as apple cider, just richer and brighter in color. A thin film of foam lay across the top of the liquid, glimmering in the moonlight. Weird, Hyesung thought, holding the glass up to catch the silvery light. It's beautiful...

Cautiously he took a sip. For a moment he tasted little except a faint hint of apples. Then flavor flooded across his tongue, filling his senses. Apples, yes, but berries, darker ones like blackberry and blueberry, and a tang he couldn't name, though it reminded him of nights on the beach. And he could have sworn he tasted shadows and starlight, even though that was impossible.

He pulled the glass away from his lips and stared at it in astonishment. Then he took another sip.

"Good?" Minwoo nudged Hyesung with his foot.

"Yeah. Really good. What is it?"

"Just something we like to drink," Junjin replied. He leaned into Hyesung's shoulder.

"You're totally one of the family for real, now."

Warmth flooded through him; from the drink or from Junjin's words, he wasn't sure. He drank more, savoring the taste of the liquid and the press of his brothers' bodies. In between sips of the drink, Andy put his arms around Hyesungs shoulders rocking him side to side in a swaying motion.

"Not quite," Minwoo said. "He still needs one of these.

Minwoo held out his left arm. Low on his forearm in a similar spot to where Eric had one, was a tattoo. Dark butterfly wings, limned in purple and silver, spread across Minwoo's arm. Hyesung studied it curiously, trying not to grin. It wasn't funny; he just felt giddy for some reason. He finished off his glass and didn't protest when Minwoo pushed another one into his hand.

"You all have these?" Hyesung asked.

Junjin held out his arm. His butterfly wings were lighter than Minwoo's, its wings filigreed around the edges. Andy's was actually blue, with streaks of darker blue and green like veins. While Dongwan's was a sparkly seafoam color that had a metallic quality to it.

"We can take you somewhere you can get one," Junjin said. "If you want."

Hyesung drained his second glass. "I don't know. I mean, they're cool and all, but also kind of permanent."

"That's the point." Junjin wound an arm through his. "Come on."

"Sunggie, why not?" Dongwan said with a sly smile

"It's almost dinnertime," Hyesung protested weakly as his brothers dragged him to his feet.

The giddy feeling intensified. He sagged against Andy, trying not to giggle. His brother hauled him upright and spun him to face the wall. With Minwoo's help they got Hyesung up onto the wall too.

"Uh, guys..." Hyesung tried to pull back. "This isn't the way to the stairs, you guys."

"We don't need the stairs," Dongwan said.

"Well, I do."

"Not when you're with us." Andy said

Hyesung struggled against their grip, but they were stronger by far. The lightheadedness he felt didn't help either.

"Relax," Minwoo murmured in his ear. "You're safe with us."

Hyesung's brothers clutched his arms and stepped off the roof. Hyesung opened his mouth to scream but the fall never came. Instead the air went buoyant beneath his feet, fluffy and light, feeling the way clouds looked. Hyesung gaped as they floated slowly across the parking lot. If they drop me, he thought, I'm so dead. But he grinned anyway. Cool wind rushed through his hair and the sky, dark and full of stars, felt close enough to reach up and touch.

His brothers laughed; he laughed with them. Perhaps it was only because he felt a little drunk, but just then he couldn't remember why he'd ever been afraid of them.

*******************************************************************************************

"All right, you're done."

Fingertips ran along his arm. Hyesung shivered at the sensation they left behind: a sensual fire that immediately left him breathless and aroused. He jerked his arm back, then whimpered at the pain pulsing through his newly tattooed flesh. I don't care, he thought, glowering. I don't want anyone but Eric touching me like that.

Even if the Faerie who'd done his tattoo was gorgeous. Really gorgeous. Like, emerald green eyes and dark hair gorgeous. High cheekbones and a delicious, crooked smile gorgeous. Even though he wore a T-shirt he could see the hard lines of muscle through the cotton. Maybe if Eric had never made a move, the Faerie guy would be more tempting. Not that he wasn't tempting at all—he was only human, for crying out loud—but he wasn't Eric.

"As feisty as your brothers," he said, grinning. "If you ever decide you're available, little one, you know where to find me."

"Down boy," Minwoo retorted as he helped Hyesung up. "Available or not, he'd still be our brother."

"Hey, relax, M. I was just, you know. Giving him a warm welcome."

"I know all about your 'warm welcomes', Kangta. Give it a rest."

"What's the matter?" Dongwan put in. "That little mortal girl you've been lusting after the past couple years still not giving you the time of day?"

Kangta scowled and shooed them out of his shop. With Andy and Junjin to supporting him, Hyesung managed to stumble out of the tattoo shop even though his arm throbbed.

When they'd first brought him in, he'd been too star struck for his surroundings to really sink in. He wondered if the other mortals here—for their were others, he could tell—saw what he saw. In basic design it looked like a human mall: several floors, escalators, shops on all sides, even a foot court.

Yet foliage grew everywhere. Clinging vines wound around railings and grew above doorways. Huge leaves, some larger than Hyesung's head, hung down like awnings over doors. Flowers in vibrant colors from fiery red, peacock blue green, sunshine yellow, to amethyst purple, were everywhere, framing shop windows. Lights danced in the air, silver and gold sparks like fireflies that drifted above their heads. I've never seen anything so beautiful, he thought, awed.

"You sure you're set with that Eric guy?" Minwoo asked, nudging him with an elbow.

Hyesung snapped to attention. "What?"

"Kangta is...well, he's as yummy as he looks, shall we say. And he was totally into you."

"That was probably just the glamour."

No matter how many times Hyesung told himself he shouldn't let his brother put glamour on him, he always gave in. It felt so good to have people look at him rather than through him. Like an addiction he let them use more and more on him every time. Except when he saw Eric; then he put up with as little as possible.

Junjin shook his head. "Nope. We can see through glamour. He likes you, all right."

"It's the skinny girly legs," Dongwan said matter-of-factly. "He loves 'em. Loooooovveess. But you didn't have to be so jumpy, Minwoo. I doubt he'd act on it. He's mad about that girl, whatshername."

Minwoo snorted. "Mad is right."

"What is this place?" Hyesung asked, to get them off the topic of dreamy Kangta. And to keep his mind off his arm.

"Just what it looks like," Andy answered. "We have places like this, too, you know. It is, as you can see, open to mortals."

"Do they sell...I mean, is the stuff in the shops Faerie stuff?"

"Not in these ones. That stuff is more...behind the scenes. All of this is mortal safe. Wanna see?"

Like I have a choice, Hyesung thought, but he laughed as his brothers pulled him along. Silly though it might be, the butterfly tattoo on his arm made him feel more like one of them.

He'd had Kangta make his green, a green that matched freshly cut grass; he thought Eric might like that. It had large, graceful wings, like a Monarch's but more curved and fancy along the edges. Twining braids of silver, gold, and copper lined every major detail. Warmth flooded through him when he thought about it. For once in his life he had something the rest of his brothers had.

"So, what are you wearing for your next date with Eric?" Andy asked, as they walked along the upper floor.

Hyesung shrugged. "No idea. I'm going through my new clothes pretty fast. But..." He flushed. "He likes them..."

"What about that?" Minwoo said, pointing to a store window.

Hyesung turned to look. He'd been trying not to look at the clothing here too much; a few glances were enough to see that it was all heartbreakingly beautiful. This made his breath catch in his throat. A short sleeved t-shirt, it should've looked like any other black t-shirt. But the material shimmered with thousands of silver specks; neither glitter nor sequins, just something that made it look like a night sky full of stars.

"Perfect," Hyesung murmured.

"No, wait," Andy said, frowning. "It's not quite...come here."

He grabbed Hyesung's hand and pulled him into the store. Together they found a second version of the shirt, one in a dark blue—a color that would be less stark against his skin. Hyesung ran his hands over it, Light. Airy. And perfect, he thought.

When they came back out of the shop he carried a bag with the shirt in it. Not that she knew for sure what he and Eric would be doing for their second date, but he could adapt. As long as they weren't rock climbing or something, he'd be fine.

"Sure you don't want to let Kangta see you in that?" Dongwan teased.

"If Eric wasn't around? Probably." Hyesung grinned. "I'm not blind, after all. But Eric is around and well, he's the one I want."

"He is pretty hot for a human," Junjin said. At his brothers' curious stares, he smiled innocently. "What? You know I popped out the other night. Just wanted a peek at lover boy while the two were on their date."

Hyesung bit his lip to keep the surprise off his face. He glanced covertly at Junjin, but nothing showed on his brother's face. That's odd, he thought. I mean, maybe he was there during our date, I don't know. But... But that definitely wasn't the first time Junjin had seen Eric. Why would he lie about it? None of the other brothers seemed to suspect anything, at least.

"Oh, how about here?" Minwoo grabbed Hyesung's arm.

"You guys are way too touchy-feely," Hyesung chided with a laugh, pulling away. "Where are you dragging me—"

He trailed off as Junjin and Dongwan pushed him into a toy store. Not a toy store for children: one for adults. The malls he was used to didn't usually have these. People in his small town could be, well, uptight about this sort of thing. I can kind of see why, he thought, blushing and staring at the floor. It was hard to look straight at any of it.

"How cute," Minwoo cooed, poking Hyesung's flaming red cheek. "Sunggie is embarrassed. What's the matter, bro? Don't you own a ?"

"Um...no," he responded, rubbing his cheek. "I don't really need one."

Minwoo let out a trilling laugh. "Everyone needs a . Ooo, how about one of these?"

He held up some odd contraption that looked a bit like a small remote. Packaged with it were two small, vaguely egg shaped things of different sizes. Hyesung stared at it, baffled. What on earth do you do with it? He wondered. Minwoo tried to hand it to him; Hyesung backpedaled quickly, bumping into a counter. He felt a little ridiculous, acting like the thing might jump at him and bite or something, but he had no experience with this.

"Don't be so mean, M," Junjin said, wrapping an arm around Hyesung. "Though he's right, Sunggie. Everyone ought to have a ."

"Who's side are you on?"

With his giggly brothers dancing around him, Hyesung allowed himself to be dragged further into the store. Not that he intended to buy anything—or let them buy anything for him. But maybe it would help him get over some of his shyness. His date with Eric—namely what had happened after it—had been a big step forward for him. Yet even so, he found himself a little uncomfortable around Eric in the days since. Bringing that timidity under control, even a small bit, would be great.

And if anyone can help with that, he thought, watching his brothers play around, pretending to swordfight with enormous s, it's these four.

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No Ricsung but i thought this would be a good chapter to show that hyesung and his brothers are starting to get along. I might extend this story to a few more chapters. There are still things I need to explain. I hope that you liked this chapter. Please Comment!!