Japan was everything Dongwoo wanted it to be and more.

From the very second they stepped out of the doors of the airport in Tokyo, he knew they were in his beloved country of interest. He didn’t know how - it was actually probably all of the people speaking Japanese - but there was also something inherently, well - Japanese about the place. They climbed in a taxi and Dongwoo read out the address on the paper Hoya had passed him to the driver and soon enough they were travelling through the streets of Japan.

Dongwoo’s hands were pressed against the window as he took in the sights that Tokyo had to offer, he bugged the taxi driver with pointless questions about tiny things and thankfully it wasn’t too long of a journey until they arrived at Dongwoo’s new abode. Hoya insisted on paying for the cab, using up some of the Yen he had been saving from his last business trip to the country, and in no time at all they were stood outside the building, suitcase beside them, ready to head up to the place that Dongwoo would be living.

It was a fancy apartment building, Dongwoo really liked the decorations and he inhaled in appreciation. Whilst Hoya got to work speaking to the owner of the flat and finalising the paperwork Dongwoo spent the minutes running his hands over the marble counter.

Finally, Hoya had a key and Dongwoo could only follow him as he climbed into the elevator and punched the button of the floor that they were heading to. When the finally stepped out onto the plush carpet of the 12th floor, Hoya was pleased to see that it was just as well maintained as the pictures showed. At least Dongwoo would be living somewhere comfortable and inviting. They wheeled the suitcase down the corridor to Dongwoo’s door. Hoya unlocked the door and they stepped into the apartment, which once again looked exactly like the pictures Hoya had seen.

He had chosen the place all by himself, taking into account the location and the accessibility and the view which Dongwoo noticed immediately.

“Okami-san, look!” He shouted from the front room window. “There are trees and a lake and flowers and it’s so pretty!”

Hoya smiled, strolling up behind the alien who had his nose pressed against the glass. “It really is.” He agreed. “Do you like it?”

“Like it? Okami-san I love it!” Dongwoo grinned. “The couch is so plushy and the bed is so big and the view is so splendid and everything is perfect and Okami-san, I can’t thank you enough! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!” He ran forward and wrapped his arms around the ambassador, who froze at the touch. “Seriously, Okami-san, I can never ever thank you enough for all that you have done for me…”

Hoya wrapped his arms around the alien loosely, allowing himself a moment to take in Dongwoo before they got down to all of the important things that needed to be done.

Because soon enough they were sitting down to go over finances and all of the things that Dongwoo needed to know about living alone, and soon after that Hoya was standing up and preparing to leave.

Hoya took one last glance around Dongwoo’s apartment, before picking up the keys to his rental car. “Well, it looks like you’re all set. You have my number just in case you have any questions, otherwise I’ll see you next month when I fly in to check in on you.”

Dongwoo crossed his arms, a worried look taking over his features. “Next month? Won’t we talk before then?”

Hoya smiled sadly at the floor. “You don’t need me anymore, Dongwoo. You’re in Japan now… this is where you want to be.”

“Okami-san…”

“I have an early flight. And today has been a long day. So I should get going so I can check into my hotel.” He moved to the front door of the apartment, pushing down that feeling of panic at leaving the alien behind.

“That’s it?”

Hoya stopped at the door, turning around to face the pink haired man. Dongwoo looked upset, his eyes downcast on the floor. “What else is there?”

Dongwoo stepped closer, his voice sounding hurt. “But Okami-san, aren’t you going to say anything else? Or hug me? I don’t know… this just feels wrong somehow. We’re supposed to be friends-”

“I’m your ambassador Dongwoo. It was my job to get you to Japan, and I’ve done what I promised to do. Enjoy your time here, I’m sure that it will be everything that you dreamed about.” Hoya couldn’t bear to look at Dongwoo any longer, he looked so sad and lonely and a million other things that just seemed wrong on the usually happy alien. He knew he was being harsh but he just couldn’t pretend anymore. It was better for Dongwoo to think that he didn’t care than for him to know that Hoya cared too much.

“But Okami-san-”

“Goodbye Dongwoo.” Hoya walked quickly out of the apartment, shutting the door behind him resolutely. He practically ran to his car, needing to get out of the building, needing to get away from Dongwoo as soon as possible. He wanted nothing more than to wrap the smaller man up in his arms, to demand for him to return with him on the flight the next morning.

But the alien coming back to Korea was Hoya’s dream, not Dongwoo’s. It wasn’t fair for Hoya to make Dongwoo give up Japan, the only way for the alien to be happy was to let him go.

Then why did this feel so inexplicably wrong? Why couldn’t he turn on the car and drive to his hotel? Why did he feel like leaving Dongwoo like this was a huge mistake? He sat in the driver’s seat in silence, his forehead resting on the steering wheel as he tried to get the courage to do what he knew he needed to do; the only way this could work would be for him forget about his feelings, and especially the words Dongwoo had said to him that one drunken night.

He was pulled out of his musings by the buzzing of his cell phone. He looked at the screen, not surprised to see his brother’s face; he probably wanted to know that Dongwoo had made it to his new apartment safely. He begrudgingly picked up the call, hardly in the mood to pretend to be happy.

“Hyung, what happened? I just got off the phone with Dongwoo, he said that you didn’t even tell him goodbye properly… That you said you weren’t even friends?”

“Sungyeol, I-”

“No you listen hyung! I’m not sure what’s going on with you, but you can’t treat Dongwoo like this! You know how important today was to him, how happy he was-”

Hoya sighed into the phone. “I am perfectly aware of how happy he is to be here Sungyeol. I spent the whole day with him, showing him around, and getting him settled. He’s finally where he belongs now, he doesn’t need me anymore.”

“Hyung, what is this about?”

“I just couldn’t act like I was happy about him being here anymore Sungyeol. I know I must have hurt his feelings, but it’s like he doesn’t even care about what he’s leaving behind. Japan is the only thing that matters to him, and I should have never let myself entertain the idea of him wanting to change his plans.”

“Hyung, you know that Dongwoo cares about us.”

“Sungyeol, there are things you don’t understand.”

“Then talk to me about it!” Hoya bit his lip, looking out the window worriedly as the silence dragged on. “Does this have something to do with the night Dongwoo got drunk?”

“What? Why would you say that?”

“Because Dongwoo said something to you that night, you asked me if I thought he could lie… I don’t know hyung, ever since then you’ve been different around him. More careful… did you two fight?”

“No, we didn’t fight.”

Sungyeol sounded exasperated, his patience starting to wear a bit thin. “Then what did Dongwoo say? What could have possibly happened to make you act this weird?”

“He said he liked me, okay?”

“Dongwoo also said he liked vanilla cola and rubber ducks, so what’s your point?”

“He didn’t mean it like that. He confessed to me Sungyeol. Dongwoo told me that he had feelings for me.”

There was a beat of silence on the phone, where Sungyeol took a moment to comprehend his brother’s words. And then there was laughter, and the sharp noise of what sounded suspiciously like knee slapping.

“Sungyeol, what-”

“What the hell are you waiting for hyung? Dongwoo likes you! And you like him!”

“I do not-”

“Hyung. He’s been ‘working’ a minimum wage job for like six months in order to earn his way to Japan on his own. But he somehow managed to afford a first class plane ticket and one of the nicest apartments in a luxury building in Downtown Tokyo.”

“Well, money isn’t an issue for me, why wouldn’t I give him something nicer?”

Sungyeol groaned, as if this conversation was painful for him to endure. “Hyung, you realize that you are still charging me rent to live in your house and I’m your brother. But you have no problems just doing all these things for Dongwoo, he doesn’t even have to ask and you go out of your way to make everything perfect and easy for him. You like him. You want him to have the best things and experience Japan without any worries.” He paused for a moment. “Actually you really like him hyung; you like him enough to put your own desires aside, in order for him to be happy. That’s why you didn’t tell him that you feel the same, isn’t it? Because you care about him enough to want him to be happy, even if it isn’t with you.”

“It’s… better this way. Dongwoo gets his dream, and that’s what is most important.”

His little brother made a noise of disapproval. “No it isn’t! Dongwoo deserves to know how you feel about him, especially if you already know that he feels the same.”

“But he might not! Those words could have been a mistake-”

“Go back to Dongwoo and find out the truth, or spend the rest of your life wondering what if.” Before he could even protest his little brother had hung up the phone, apparently done saying what he needed to say. Hoya slid the phone back into his pocket, thinking over their conversation.

Sungyeol could be wrong, Dongwoo might not have been sincere in his confession and he could just be upset at what he thought was the loss of a friend. But if Sungyeol was right, if Dongwoo honestly liked him, could he live with himself if he just walked away like this?

He was out of the car in seconds, determined to return to Dongwoo’s apartment and face the truth. He faltered for one moment when he reached the door, and that moment was just enough for the door to open right before his eyes. In front of him stood Dongwoo, his face blank but his eyes showing the signs of crying,

“I thought you were leaving.” Dongwoo mumbled. Hoya felt the guilt fill him up at the tears that were filling the alien’s eyes. “You seemed in a hurry to get away.”

“I’m sorry Dongwoo.” Hoya whispered. “I needed to come up here and say… I needed to say goodbye properly.”

“You’ve already said goodbye.” Dongwoo replied, his eyes still fixed on the floor. “What else is there to-” He was cut off by Hoya’s arms wrapping around him, pulling Dongwoo against his chest.  It was then and only then that Dongwoo let the tears that were so close to falling go.

When Hoya felt the wetness on his shirt he raised his own shaky hands to Dongwoo’s cotton candy coloured hair. “Why are you crying?” He asked, full of confusion.

“I was so excited to come here… it’s been all I could think about for so long… So why don’t I feel happy right now?” Dongwoo mumbled tearily.

Hoya looked up, his own eyes sad. “It’s because I’m still here. When I’m gone and you’ve had time to settle in on your own everything will feel great. You can go out to explore Tokyo, you can see all the cute Hello Kitty things…” Hoya trailed off, his throat tightening at the thought of Dongwoo happy here in Tokyo, Dongwoo on his own out here in the world.

“But Okami-san, that isn’t true.” Dongwoo said, pulling back as his eyes bored into Hoya’s. “Because the thing that’s making me so sad isn’t you being here, it’s the thought of you not being here anymore.”

“But you’ll get used to it-”

“No I won’t!” Dongwoo cut in, his voice raised slightly in a way that Hoya had never heard from Dongwoo. “I don’t want to get used to life without Okami-san, because that’s a really sad sounding life and I like to be happy, and Okami-san makes me happy!”

“What are you saying Dongwoo?” Hoya asked, trying to keep his voice steady.

“I’m saying that I like you, Okami-san.” Dongwoo replied, his eyes dropping to the floor and his hands nervously twisting. “I really really like you! You’re nice and you’re cute and you’re handsome and you’re just… Okami-san.”

“Dongwoo…” Hoya breathed. “Is that what this is about?”

“I think so…” Dongwoo admitted. “I think that - as crazy as it sounds - I don’t want to be in Japan if it means leaving you. I think I want to stay in Korea with Kirin-chan and the cute animals. He’s my best friend and I don’t want to be apart from him. But mostly I think I want to be wherever you are. I love Japan, but I also think that I might love you, and Japan will always be here for me to visit but if you leave me behind right now then I might just lose you… I don’t ever want to lose you.” Dongwoo trailed off, his eyes flicking nervously back up to Hoya’s before dropping straight back down to the floor again.

“I don’t want to lose you either, because I love you too.” Hoya replied, feeling a weight lift off his shoulders as he realised that he definitely did love the alien in front of him. “I’ve been dreading today because I knew that saying goodbye would break my heart, but I didn’t want to ask you to stay because I never wanted to put you in a position where you had to choose…”

“Okami-san?”

“Yes, Dongwoo?”

“If I come back with you right now, will you promise me something?” Dongwoo asked.

Hoya was prepared to do just about anything as long as it meant that he got to keep Dongwoo by his side, but he didn’t vocalise that thought. Instead he just nodded silently.

“Will you promise that we can come back to Japan sometime? Not to stay, but to visit for a while? Just you and me, maybe even Kirin-chan and Neko-chan if they wanted to.” Dongwoo paused briefly, before smiling sadly. “I want to stay with you, and I know that your life is in Korea, but I really really want to visit Japan properly one day.”

“Of course.” Hoya promised, knowing that it was a promise he could fulfill so easily. “As long as you answer a question for me…”

“A question?” Dongwoo asked with interest,

“Yes. A while ago when you were drunk, you called me a different name. You called me Koinu-chan. I wanted to know… what does that mean?”

“Koinu-chan means puppy.” Dongwoo stated. “Because when I first met you, you were like a wolf, tough and protective at the same time. But now, you’re just cute and cuddly all of the time so you’re Koinu-chan. My Koinu-chan.”

Hoya felt his heart fill with joy at those words, and he couldn’t stop himself from reaching out and pulling Dongwoo into his arms. “And you’re my Dongwoodedoodeedoop.”

Dongwoo giggled. “Close enough!”

Hoya just smiled as he pulled away from the tight embrace and guided his hands up to Dongwoo’s chin, pushing it up so their eyes met. “But seriously, I’ve just got used to Okami-san. You can’t change it now.”

“Can too! Koinu-chan. Koinu-chan!”

“Dongwoo…”

“Koinu-chan!”

“Seriously-”

“Koinu-chan! Koinu-chaaan!”

“I’ve changed your mind. I’m not taking you back to Korea with me.”

“But Koinu-chan-”

Dongwoo’s joking pleas were cut off by lips pressing against his own. He wrapped his arms around Hoya’s shoulders, smiling into the kiss. He was pleased to see that Hoya looked just as happy as he felt when they pulled apart. “So does this mean you’ll be my koibito?”

Hoya laughed, holding Dongwoo’s cheeks in his hands. “Yes… I’ll be whatever you want.”

The alien squealed, practically jumping onto Hoya in his exhilaration. “Oh, I’ve always wanted to be in love! Isn’t this just wonderful, Koinu-chan?”

The taller man nodded, kissing Dongwoo’s lips sweetly as he held onto him.

“There’s just one thing I need to know, Koinu-chan.”

Hoya brushed the pink hair out of Dongwoo’s eyes, smiling at him warmly. “What’s that Dongwoo?”

“Do you burn easily?”

“Do I- what?”

“Well, if you want to officially transition from my ambassador to my koibito, there’s a couple of Mato rituals we’ll have to do, but don’t worry! If the fire hurts you I can always heal you straightaway!”

“Wait, what?!” Hoya squeaked, jumping away from Dongwoo’s hot body in shock.

“Like I said! No need to worry-”

“But fire… and burning… and healing and… Can’t we just kiss it out or something? Do this the Earth way. I feel that as your ambassador it’s important for me to inform you that- Ow! Dongwoo what did I say about the fire! It burns! Don’t give me that look! I’ve changed my mind- Okay, that feels better now. Please, no more fire!”

As Hoya’s increasingly annoyed shouts rang out through the twelfth floor of the Tokyo apartment, he couldn’t help but wonder how his life had ever come to this. He figured that it had all started with a crashed spaceship and an alien in a dinosaur onesie. He remembered that fateful night, how disbelieving and annoyed he was.

And now here he was, in Japan with that very alien over half a year later, completely happy even though he was also very annoyed. He didn’t think that he would have changed anything, even if he had the option to, because everything right now felt so perfect-

“Ow! Dongwoo!!”

Except maybe, just maybe, if he had the option to, he would have taken Dongwoo’s power over fire away. Simply for the safety of all people on Planet Earth. Even if dating the alien might be slightly hazardous to his health, knowing that he would have Dongwoo to heal him with his kindness, his affection, his love - made it all worthwhile.

It was now time for Hoya to leave the title of Earth ambassador behind in favor of a much more meaningful one - Dongwoo’s lover.

A/N:

Okay, we really have no idea how we actually got here, but they are finally together!

Can we have a round of applause for the happy couple!

After ten chapters of utter ridiculousness we finally made it to the end of the second DarkSpirit collab. Can I get a woot woot?!

Ugh, this was such an insane thing to write. After our first collab (Show and Tell) we wanted something really light and fun and quick to write, but with Jade working full time this took forever to write. Also we have to take into account that this was meant to be a lot shorter than this (It’s like 38000 words!) but I mean it is an xdark_blue and StarlightSpirit collab and we both have a reputation of making things longer than they have to be. But Jade can honestly say that she absolutely adores how this turned out, so she is absolutely ecstatic right now (we wanted to write something ridiculous and that is what happened). Thank you all for supporting Animal Planet!

Please drop by with a comment if you have time. We love to know what you think of our writing <3

Love as always,

Jade & Ray