If Yunho had to make a list of his happiest moments in life, seeing Jaejoong’s peaceful sleeping face would be high up on that list. Being able to wake up to it every day for the rest of eternity would rank even higher.

Too bad there’s still some way to go before that.

Throwing one last, loving glance at Jaejoong’s sleeping figure, he stands up. He doesn’t know when, but Jaejoong’s hand at some point has found its way to his, and now his fingers circle around Yunho’s, the touch light, but the meaning so much heavier.

It’s much harder to pry himself out than Yunho thought.

Even with the enhanced abilities that comes with being a Keeper (employee’s perks, Yunho thinks sardonically), the bright glare of sunlight still comes as a shock to his eyes, and it’s a couple of seconds before they fully adjust. And when they do, he wishes it’d taken a little longer, because honestly he would have lived a long and fulfilled life without ever having to witness Yoochun stick his tongue down Junsu’s throat.

He’s contemplating just how dead he would be if he tried separating them when Yoochun finally pulls away, breaking into a laugh when he catches sight of Yunho’s expression. “It’s not like you were any better just now on the dock,” he says, as Junsu hastily tries to straighten his shirt and cover his blushing face.

“I need to talk to you.”

“Yeah, I figured if you wanted more you would’ve gone to Jaejoong. What is it?”

“Changmin.”

At his name, even the waves seem to fall silent.

Yoochun’s expression cools even as his grip on Junsu tightens, as though the mere mention of Changmin’s name is enough to drag him into existence. And it would have, had Yunho done it in the right language.

“Junsu,” Yoochun says in a measured voice. “Go to our room. I’ll be down shortly.”

Junsu shoots Yoochun a worried glance, but when Yoochun softens his expression just enough to let some assurance shine through, Junsu nods and leaves, Yoochun’s eyes following his every step. Under his breath, he mutters a long string of syllables in Averian that Yunho can only partially follow. Yet, it’s enough to pick up the important words.

Vanikrilea. Baudo. Gidonney.

Protection. Shield. Hidden.

Though his strength is equal to Changmin’s, and possibly even greater on the account of just how long he’s been alive, Yoochun is terrified. Not of Changmin, but of losing Junsu. Losing two Blood Singers in one fell swoop is not something Changmin would tolerate. He’s got plenty left, sure, and it’s easy enough to appoint another Keeper to manage them. Jaejoong’s and Junsu’s loss will not inconvenience him.

But Yunho and Yoochun have known him long enough to know that it’s not a matter of convenience or thirst. Above all, Changmin has pride, and what they’ve done has wounded it severely. He’s not one to suffer in silence as the gossip surrounds him, whispering about how he couldn’t control his Keeper, how he so easily lost a Blood Singer that belonged to him and another one he was holding. Humiliation breeds anger, and if that anger overrides Changmin’s obsession with Jaejoong, he’s wont to snap Jaejoong’s neck just for the pleasure of restoring his honour and watching Yunho die inside yet again. In the process, he’s likely to kill Junsu too, just to spite Yoochun.

Neither Yunho nor Yoochun wants to contemplate any of those options.

“What is it?” Yoochun says in a guarded voice.

“I’m worried,” Yunho admits. “It’s only a matter of time before Changmin manages to track us down, even faster if he gets the council involved.”

Yoochun narrows his eyes. “In three days’ time, we’ll be in my domain. If they want to challenge me there, they’re free to try.”

“I know, but if anything happens before then, you have no say.”

Officially, the High Council makes the laws for vampires, passes the verdicts, and settles the arguments. Unofficially, their reach is less than they wish it to be, and there are swathes of land around the world that have been passed down through whispered Averian tones to nobles’ heirs, words that seal the land to them and them to the land, so no one can take it away from their reach until they themselves choose to pass it on. Changmin is one such person. Yoochun is another.

But on the sea, where there are no Singers and therefore there is no incentive to claim territory, the Council’s words hold sway.  And Yunho knows that while Yoochun can get away with Junsu—that is, if the Council arrives in time to stop Changmin—Jaejoong is, in the eyes of the Council, Changmin’s. Whatever happens, if either one gets involved, he will lose Jaejoong. Again. And sure, he can find him, like he’s done before. But there’s no guarantee of success, and the wait…he’s done so much waiting, every second of it more agonising than the last.

He’s mine! Yunho shouts in his head to the world in a fit of possession.

“We’ll just need to get there faster then,” Yoochun mutters. He chants something in Averian, and the boat picks up speed, going fast enough that if Yoochun somehow lost control, Yunho has no doubt the boat will hit something and toss the whole lot of them into the sea.

“You should rest too,” Yoochun tells him.

“Screw that. I’m immortal.”

“If only it worked that way, but it doesn’t and you know it. You do no favours exhausting yourself. Go. I’ll wake you up if you’ve slept too long. Besides,” Yoochun his head to the side, listening intently. “I can hear your lover getting restless.”

It’s the last part that convinces Yunho to go back to the bedroom.

He’s right; Jaejoong is shifting restlessly on the bed, the hand Yunho was holding before twitching on the bedspread, as if searching for a warmth that’s no longer there. But when Yunho crawls into bed at his side and gently rests an arm over Jaejoong’s chest, all the movements stop, and Jaejoong stuttering breath smoothes out again, his head nestle against Yunho’s neck. This is bliss.

As the rhythmic gentle rocking of the boat lulls Yunho into sleep, he only hopes that this time, it’s permanent.  

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