Youngbae sat on the edge of the bathtub, smiling at the brunette who was playing with the endless amount of bubbles. He smeared the sticky foam into his hair and styled it funnily, one time even trying to imitate his educator's mohawk. 

"Look Bae! I look like you right now!", he said, giggling. 

Hearing that, the older man couldn't help but grin even more, so that his bright teeth were showing. He found it adorable how Jiyong would always have fun, no matter what he was doing. Even simple things like a bubble bath brought as much joy to him as going to an amusement park. His flushed cheeks were constantly lifted by a lovely smile that graced his beautiful face, making it hard for Youngbae to tear his eyes away and continue washing his slim body. Those wonderful light brown eyes seemed to sparkle even more in the foggy bathroom. It was so damn mesmerizing.

Youngbae put the washcloth away and reached out for Jiyong's head, gently putting his palms on either side of the parting before he slowly smoothed his hair down, destroying the fake mohawk. He let his hands wander until they cupped the younger boy's face, feeling the heat of his smooth skin under his fingertips. The educator smiled. 

"You look perfect the way you are. No need to try to look like me.", he said sincerely while caressing his protégé's face. 

The brunette's eyes stayed glued to Youngbae's, half lidded and almost hypnotyzed. Why did it seem like time had stopped for a moment?  Why did it always seem like they were all alone in this world in moments like this? Sometimes, Jiyong wished they were. He wished there could be a world with only him and Youngbae and maybe his parents. He didn't want any teachers, or doctors, or policemen or Madleines, because he had already found a person who mastered all of their abilities at once. Youngbae taught him what he didnt know, healed him when he felt sick, protected him when he was scared. He was everything and more for him, so why would he  even need anyone else in this world? 

Jiyong closed his eyes and leaned in to the gentle touch on his cheeks, almost like a kitten. Slowly, he brought his own hands up from under the water and placed them on Youngbae's, gripping them and leading them up and down on his face because there was nothing more soothing than that. 

The educator watched open-mouthed at how the brunette led his hands, guiding them through his hair first, then down his neck, his shoulders and his chest. Youngbae felt his warm, wet and smooth skin under his fingertips and couldn't suppress the urge to gulp. The way Jiyong had his eyes closed told him that he must enjoy his touches and to be honest, he didn't feel any different but ... 

"Ah, l-let's wash your hair now. You will catch a cold if we don't hurry." 

By then, Youngbae had already pulled his hands away from the younger boy's grasp and the way the latter looked at him told him that he may have done it a bit too hastily. He flashed his protégé an apologetic smile,  hoping that he wouldn't feel rejected. Luckily, the brunette didn't protest or complain. In fact, he kept quiet the whole time as Youngbae was washing him. 

Jiyong really wondered if the older man had noticed his strong heartbeat just now. 

Being done with washing his protégé, the educator instructed him to get out of the tub and let himself be wrapped in a large towel. He waited patiently when Jiyong lifted his body and set one foot after the other on the ground next to the bathtub until he had finally stepped out. Youngbae walked towards him with the towel, keeping his eyes downcast as he blindly covered his body. Eventually, he glanced up and was now face to face with his protégé. He smiled. 

"You are officially clean now!" 

"But Bae, my hair. It is still wet. You have to make it dry." 

"Oh, right!", Youngbae exclaimed, quickly grabbing a smaller towel, "I will handle this in a matter of seconds." With that, he started rubbing the brunette hair, gently squeezing the fine strands so that the last amounts of water in them would come off. After that, the older man grabbed a hairbrush and combed every strand carefully while the familiar apple scent invaded his nostrils again. 

"Okay. you are done.", Youngbae said, putting the hairbrush away before he gripped Jiyong's shoulders and made him turn around in order to face him. "I have put clean clothes on your bed. How about you go ahead and change? I will just take a quick shower and join you right away, alright?" 

"Only if you will be quick for real."

The educator laughed. "I will be as nimble as Jerry when he is running away from Tom. How does that sound?" 

Jiyong smiled. "That sounds good." 

"Alright then.", the older man said smiling, patting the brunette's cheek before taking him by his hand and guiding him out of the bathroom. 

The warm water sprinkling down on his body did wonders to Youngbae's aching muscles. It felt as if every cramp was leaving his body together with every single waterdrop that landed on his skin. The educator closed his eyes in comfort, tilting his head upwards against the shower head.

His nose could still sniff the wonderful scent of Jiyong's shampoo. In fact, the whole air smelled like Jiyong. His scent was everywhere. Youngbae remembered what had happened half an hour ago, when he had been bathing his protégé. The way he had guided his hands, the way he had closed his eyes, enjoyed his touches ... The images hadn't left the older man's mind for a second since then. The feel of his soft skin was still lingering on his fingertips as they still tingled just by the mere thought of it. Youngbae sighed heavily, bumping his fist against the showerwall.

What the hell was wrong with him? Why did he suddenly become so nervous around Jiyong? Why did touching him make him feel so dizzy all of a sudden? He was supposed to get him clean, dry and ready for bed and that was all. Why had such an easy task overtaxed him so much? He couldn't believe it. Youngbae let out another sigh. 

Okay, he couldn't deny it. Yes, Jiyong attracted him. Yes, he liked touching him, liked having him in his arms and he even liked brushing his hair. Yes, Jiyong had a beautiful body and yes he had stolen a few glances from time to time. But why was that so strange? The fact that the brunette was male was not what really disturbed Youngbae. He had pondered about that a long time ago and had drawn the conclusion that he was not really homoual. He still liked girls. But with his protégé ... it was something different. He was an exception. However, he had stopped worrying about that because there was something else that bugged him much more ...

"This is ia, Youngbae!"

No, no. no. That couldn't be. Hell, no! He was no sick ert. He did not, absolutely not, long for children. How could his affection for Jiyong be even compared to ia? He was no child. He just ... didn't know how to be the adult that he actually was. His actions did ressemble those of a child at times but that didn't make him one. It wasn't that Jiyong was a child trapped in an adults body. Jiyong was an adult. And if Youngbae was attracted to him, then he was attracted to an adult. 

This invisible barrier between them though ... It was still there, no matter what. In the end, Youngbae couldn't just go up to him and tell him about his feelings, could he? And even if he did, Jiyong would not understand. He couldn't understand or could he? And what if Youngbae just did to him what he wanted to do, like kissing him like adults do, for example. He would be overwhelmed, right? Yes, he would be defenseless. He would be as defenseless as .... 

a child. 

But he wasn't a child. Ugh! 

Youngbae slammed his forehead against the showerwall. He couldn't give him up. But he couldn't be with him the way he wanted to either. Jiyong could never become his ... boyfriend, no matter how much he would love him. 

The awareness of this situation hit him hard. It had been long since Youngbae had felt this ... sad all of a sudden. 

Even the hot water from the shower didn't feel soothing anymore and so the educator lathered his body quickly and washed his hair, rinsed the excess of soap and shampoo from his body and stepped out of the shower. He really wanted nothing more than to sleep at the moment. But then, suddenly ... 

"Bae! Bae! Open the door, Bae! Bae!" 

Youngbae flinched when he heard the loud knocking on the door, accompanied by Jiyong's desperate cries. Panic crept up on his system when he imagined all sorts of things that could have happened while he was showering. He hastily wrapped a towel around his hips and fiddled with the doorknob until the door was finally unlocked.  

A teary eyed and very frightened Jiyong appeared in front of him and immediately jumped into Youngbae, hugging him so tightly, the educator knew something was wrong. 

"Ji, what - " 

Boom.

That was the sound of a thunder. It seemed like a storm was was approaching. 

The brunette whimpered at the loud sound and tightened his hold on his educator's wet body. It was then when Youngbae understood what was going on and he was kind of relieved that it was the weather that was scaring Jiyong and not some thief that had broken into the mansion. 

He immediately wrapped his arms around the brunette's small waist and whispered comforting words into his ear. "Shh, don't cry, Ji. Don't cry. Nothing will happen to you, I promise." 

Another 'boom' was heard soon after and the younger boy flinched again. "I hate storms! I am scared, Bae!", he whined. 

"I know, I know. But I am with you now. You don't need to be afraid, okay? Come on, let's go to my room."

It took more comforting words in order to convince Jiyong to let go of him so that they could walk to the educator's room together. When the younger boy eventually pulled away, Youngbae grasped his hand and led him through the long corridor until they reached his room. Well, it wasn't exactly his room but a guest room that the Kwons had offered him for the time that he would take care of Jiyong. Youngbae switched the bedside lamp on, seated his protégé on his bed and quickly rolled the shutters down so that he at least wouldn't have to see the lightning. 

Another 'boom' was soon heard and Jiyong shrieked again, covering his ears with his hands. Upon seeing that, Youngbae made his was in front of him and kneeled down, putting one hand on his knee to comfort him. "Jiyongie, I am here." , he reassured the younger boy while rubbing his thigh comfortingly. "I will protect you from the thunder. Just let me change into some clothes first." The brunette only nodded furiously and waited until his educator was clothed again. He blushed a bit when he turned his muscular back to him. 

To be honest, Youngbae felt a bit odd while changing in front of his protégé but he figured that this wasn't the right time to worry about such things and just changed into some boxers, sweatpants and a black wifebeater before he could finally approach the brunette. Youngbae let the latter lay down on his bed and pulled the blanket over him while he himself sat on the edge. He smoothed Jiyong's hair in a comforting manner and looked into his eyes. 

"Don't be afraid anymore. I don't like seeing you crying. I prefer seeing your smile instead.", he cooed, smiling himself. "Now try to close your eyes and sleep, okay? I will not go anywhere until the thunder is gone. I promise you." 

"Bae? Can you ... can you sleep next to me tonight?" 

"I ... "  Youngbae bit his lip, being uncertain. But then, like so often, Jiyong's eyes got him.

"Please, Bae, please sleep next to me. Please!"

" ... Alright then." 

And so the educator slipped under the blanket and pulled the younger boy into his embrace. He let him rest on his chest. Jiyong heard Youngbae's strong heartbeat and felt his steady breathing. It made him snuggle a bit more into his warmth. Suddenly, he wasn't afraid of the thunder anymore. In fact, he wasn't afraid of anything right now. 

Youngbae once again wrapped his arms around Jiyong and noticed again how well they fitted into each other, like two pieces of a puzzle that belonged together. He used one hand to draw circles on the younger boy's back and combed through his hair with the other. He didn't know if it was because the two of them had showered but the air smelled so sweet that night, it had a calming effect on the both of them. 

"Feeling better?", the older man asked. 

"Yes. A lot." 

"That's good." 

"Bae?" 

"Hm?" 

"Thank you for everything you have ever done for me."

Youngbae's heart felt warm and fuzzy all of a sudden. There was so much more he wanted to do for him, Jiyong had no idea. He didn't know if it was him talking to his protégé the next moment or his heart that was putting the right words into his mouth. He didn't care anyway. He just had to say what was on his mind. He tilted Jiyong's head up and let their eyes meet in the dim light of the room. 

"I would do anything to make you happy, Jiyong. I swear I wouldn't let anything or anyone harm you, neither a human being nor a thunder. And as long as I am alive, I will always protect you. I promise you that." , Youngbae said sincerely, not breaking eye-conatct with the brunette, "You ... you mean so much to me. I ... I can't imagine my days without you. You are the light of my life, Jiyong. No matter how bad I feel, when I look at you, I forget everything that's on my mind. That's how much you affect me. And that's why I should be the one to thank you. Thank you for being in my life, Jiyongie." 

Of course the older man was totally oblivious to the fact that the brunette's heart was almost jumping out of his chest after hearing such sincere words. Jiyong stared dreamily at Youngbae's handsome face, his wonderful eyes, his perfectly shaped nose, his smooth cheeks, his strong jawline 

and those full lips. 

Actually, he didn't know how to do it properly but the brunette couldn't help it. His mind was dizzy from the older man's sweet words and touches. His body, in cooperation with his heart, moved on his own when he pulled himself up and was now inches away from Youngbae's face. 

The educator got so lost in his eyes that he did not even realize how Jiyong pressed his pink lips against his mouth, leaving a very chaste and very quick kiss there. 

The brunette pulled away, his cheeks flushing immediately and he couldn't suppress a giggle when he saw the way his educator looked at him: his mouth slightly open and his eyes widened. 

"You are welcome, Bae." , he said before snuggling back into the older man's chest. 

Youngbae just stared at the ceiling for a long time until he finally regained his composure again.  

A/N: Something cheesy and romantic for my dear readers. I hope you won't cringe too much! 

Thank you so, so much for your nice comments. They make me so incredibly happy! Thank you guys!

Love,

Hatsumomo.