WARNINGS!!! THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS MENTIONS OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR AND GENERAL SORT OF ANGSTY STUFF. Maybe I should make this story M-rated? (just realised....ooops) Anyway guys, if this makes you uncomfortable don't read this :3 and tell me if  it should be M rated...:P

Enjoy anyhow~ <3

Youngguk has gotten too used to waking up like this: tangled in sheets with a warm body too close to his and thick, moist air surrounding them. He doesn’t even blush when he becomes aware of the weight of Himchan’s head on top of his shoulder and the others feet pressing into his thigh. It’s all familiar by now, comforting and calming. He resists the urge to snuggle closer.

Instead he gets up, slowly as not to wake Himchan, and stumbles out into the bathroom. The sink is occupied by their toothbrushes and Himchan’s beauty products and Youngguk moves aside something with the label “essence” to lean down and splash some water on his face. He dries himself with a towel afterwards and decides that his morning routine is finished- he showered the night before anyway.

When he walks out of the bathroom Himchan has managed to make himself into a small burrito of blankets on the bed and Youngguk smiles fondly at the sight before he frowns at his own actions.

He’s getting smitten.

The hotel they’re staying at has a breakfast from 7-10 and after getting dressed Youngguk heads down to the hotel restaurant. On his way out he sees the black folder lying by his bedside table and after a second of hesitation he takes it with him down. He figures no one else is up at 7.30 and is surprised as he walks into the room only to find Junhong sitting by himself at a table. Even though the boy is ridiculously tall and older than his looks he somehow manages to look small and inexperienced as he fiddles with his croissant.

“Good morning” He says as he approaches Junhong with a small smile. “Slept well?”

“Yes” Junhong answers and Youngguk immediately knows that the guy barely closed his eyes. He was worried about how it would work to have Jongup and Junhong sleeping in the same room and Junhong obviously wasn’t comfortable with being so close to another person.

“That’s good” He still answers, deciding to not call Junhong out on his lie, before going to grab some food.

Jongup walks in through the doors minutes later and bluntly stares at Junhong as he makes his way to the food, not caring if he’s being indiscreet. Youngguk watches him approach with clear amusement.

“He’s pretty isn’t he?” Whispers Jongup and glances over to where Junhong is. Youngguk tries and fails to suppress a smile Jongup’s bluntness. It’s cute how he’s not even trying to hide his interest with the other boy. “Do you think he’s scared? He looks scared, should I talk to him? Do you think he wants to talk to me?”

“Good morning, I am sure he does” Youngguk says and takes a piece of bread in front of him.

“He didn’t talk to me yesterday” Jongup mutters and he looks sad and confused in a way that makes Youngguk unsure whether he should laugh or be supportive. He settles for patting Jongup on the shoulder.

“He’s just shy” He says before walking off towards their table.

“But why?” He hears Jongup whisper and breaks out in a wide grin. He settles down opposite to Junhong who gives him a questioning look. Youngguk only shrugs at him before turning to look out of the window.

The start of a morning traffic is forming outside and Youngguk watches as a woman of business rushes past on high heels. Further away a man is sitting in a car, waiting for the light ahead to turn green as he converses with his daughter in the back seat. The daughter pouts at something and drums at the window as the father continues with his rant.

Jongup sits down by Junhong and tries to start a conversation. The wind swirls up some dust outside, brushing past the car with the angry man and the displeased daughter and continues up past the other cars and the traffic light. The sun is rising over the horizon, the ocean breathes salt. Marseille is stretching out from wherever Youngguk can see. He strolls in hidden alleys, watching a young man run along the harbor. Sees how an old man opens a store with the help of his younger grandson as another little boy plays with toy cars beside them. A woman with a perfect ponytail and flawless makeup walks into a shopping mall and he swirls after her, following her to see her arrive at the make-up store in the middle of the first floor. Beside her a man of her age gives her a shy smile and starts a normal morning conversation as he opens the clothing shop right by her. The woman seems disinterested.

Notre dame de la Garde watches the city flow by underneath and the clock turn 7.56.

Youngjae sits down by them, closely followed by Daehyun. Youngguk irrupts his travelling to wish them both good morning. Youngjae answers with a nod and Daehyun with a cheerful “good morning” before he turns to Junhong.

“I didn’t have the time to properly greet you yesterday” He starts, ignoring Youngjae’s groan. “"I am an adventurer. I am a dreamer, an inventor, a singer. I am the love of your life and your worst enemy. But you can call me Daehyun” he continues with a grin and Junhong looks beyond confused and very flustered. “What’s your introduction?” Daehyun asks with a bright smile and Junhong seems to turn paler.

“I am not- I-I don’t” He stutters and looks down at his croissant. “I am just Junhong.” He states and refuses to look up at any of them. Daehyun looks confused but Youngjae places a hand on his arm, mouthing “leave it” and Daehyun deflates with a frown.

“I think just Junhong seems pretty good” Jongup says and stares at Junhong who blushes and doesn’t answer.

Himchan sits down at a table with his normal huge breakfast in front of him.

“Good morning” He mutters and per normal he doesn’t sound like it’s a good morning.

No morning seems to be good to Himchan before he’s had his coffee.

“Slept well?” Youngguk ask, heart speeding up uncontrolledly and Himchan grunts something that could be an affirmative in response.

“I slept very well” Daehyung says and wiggles his eyebrows suggestively at Youngjae, who looks more bored than anything.

“In the next hotel I demand separate beds” He states plainly and Junhong’s head shoots up.

“Are we going somewhere?” He asks and immediately seems to regret opening his mouth.

“Germany” Youngguk answers and 5 set of eyes turn to him. Himchan drops his spoon. Junhong’s hands start to tremble. “There is a plane leaving tomorrow morning from Marseille that arrives in Berlin at noon. We have tickets for it.“

“Why Germany? Are we meeting someone else?” Daehyun asks with a frown.

“I don’t think so. There’s only three rooms booked, all doubles” Youngguk answers.

“Then why Germany?” Daehyun insist and Youngguk shrugs.

“I don’t know” He answers and beside him he can sense an upcoming storm.

“What do you know?” Himchan asks with annoyance. “Why are we even going on this trip, maybe I’m not going to go to Germany.” He continues and stares angrily down at his plate.

Youngguk decides that it’s time.

“Have you ever lost control?” He asks slowly, looking them all separately in the eye before continues. “Have you ever felt like the weather suddenly stopped listening to you? That something was formed without your intention and without you being able to stop it?”

He can see it in their eyes. In the way Youngjae’s hands tense around his cup and Jongup’s mouth open to a small “o”. In the way Junhong’s eyes turn round as he stares down at his half eaten croissant and in the way Daehyun shrinks into himself as he glances around the table for conformance. In the way Himchan’s breathe speeds up.

And Youngguk remembers. He sees the Sahara desert in front of him, a vast nothingness stretching out for miles and even more miles. He feels his own sunshine burning down on the ground, drying out life of the earth underneath him.

And he could do nothing. Only watch and try. He tried to stop the sunlight, ease it’s harshness into softness but it wouldn’t listen. It was like he didn’t have any control. No powers at all.

He brings up the black folder on the table, opening it so that everyone can see the tickets and the words under.

The answers are in Berlin.

There is a moment of silence.

“What answers?” Daehyun then asks.

“The answers to why we can’t control our powers sometimes.” Youngguk mumbles back.

“How do you know? It might be answers to something else.” Youngjae points out but Youngguk shakes his head.

“No. This is the only question I have.” He says.

“Are you sure?” Its Himchan’s turn to sound doubtful and Youngguk turns his full attention to the man beside him.

“Yes.”

“Will you follow?”

Looks are shared around the table, eyes flickering and hearts filled with doubt but in the end they all know how it will end. Someway, somehow they will follow.

Hurricanes. Junhong remembers them. Remembers watching them destroying cities and ripping up trees. Seeing them spin houses and people and animals and life to a mess with no colours but grey.

And he hates them.

He thought he caused them.

“Sometimes thunder storms take over” Jongup whispers as they pack their stuff in the evening. He’s carefully packing down an “I love Marseille”-t-shirt and frowns at his bag. “I always thought it was my fault. That I couldn’t control myself. Sometimes I’d be miles away and they’d still occur but I’d still think it was me.”

Junhong doesn’t answer. Partly because he can’t maintain conversations and partly because Jongup only had eyes for Himchan the entire day and Junhong can’t speak to him with disappointment, broken self-confidence and hope he couldn't crush still lingering so close to the surface.

“Do you really think there might be another reason?” Jongup asks and Junhong does the mistake of looking up. He can’t not talk to Jongup when he looks like he cares and believes in something.

“I don’t know. Youngguk is very vague”

And Jongup is dangerous. He can make Junhong speak whole sentences with a look and he can make Junhong tongue-tied with a smile.

And Junhong is scared. So, so scared because Germany means weapons and wagons and the army marching underneath his window. Germany is a foreign flag in France with a robust language. It’s fear and uncertainty written in the faces of everyone around him.

It’s war.

“Have you ever been to Germany before Junhong?”

No. No he hasn’t.

For someone who lives for centuries memories that where formed decennia’s ago still feels fresh.

Yongguk wakes up to the smell of death. It clogs up his breathe and his heart rate speed up drastically. The clouds are filling up the room, each adding up to the overwhelming stench of rotten meat and destruction. Yongguk blinks and tries to shield his nose from the smell while he turns to the side to try and find Himchan. The clouds are so thick that Youngguk almost can't see him but after several blinks of his now stinging eyes he manages to make out the shivering form of the other man. Without thinking and more out of the instinct coming from waking up with Himchan close to him every morning, Yongguk reaches out and drags Himchan close to his chest. Himchan jerks and wakes up with a scream.

"No, no, no please I can't I swear I will never, I would never, not again- please" He screams loudly and Yongguk jerks away as the other trashes and tries to escape from him. Yongguk lets him go and Himchan scrambles away from him with wide, crazed eyes that seems to pierce through the fog.

"Himchan it's me" Yongguk says lowly and tries to blink away the tears forming in his eyes from the clouds. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing" Himchan answers, more a reaction than a truth. He seems to have calmed down a little and Yongguk slowly reaches for him again before he realizes that Himchan is never awake when Yongguk wakes up and untangle himself from the other and therefore isn’t near the level of comfort with touching that Youngguk has reached. It's too late to take away his hand though and to his relief Himchan seems too shaken to question it and simply shrinks back down beside Yongguk.

Yongguk wonders if he should ask.

He decides not to.

He knows how it is to have something you don't want to tell.

"I am sorry for this" Himchan speak up and waves at the clouds. "I will take it away but it takes some time. The stench of human flesh is..."

"Hard to erase"

"Yea"

Himchan takes a deep breathe. Breathing in so deep that Yongguk has to squeeze his hand to remind him to breathe out. They don't talk. Himchan breathes. Yongguk wonders if he could, if he should erase the distance between them. The clouds slowly clears up, the stench slowly decreasing but staying in Yongguks mind as he follows the line of Himchan's jaw with his eyes.

"I had a religion once" Himchan speaks up after an eternity. "I was a Jude. I lived in Europe with a woman and a little girl and a little boy. The year was 1935 and it was just a law. 7 years later I woke up and went to sleep with this smell hanging all around me. The rest of my family was dead. I have lived to see several families die but it still hurts. This time that wasn't the worst. The worst was that I couldn't die. But I couldn't live either. The Nazi was confused but they didn't really care. They were just trying to survive like the rest of us. Blamed it on luck. They put me in the working camp and then I stayed there until it was somehow over. I remember too many details and too many pictures. They say time heals everything but we're in a different millennia and I still wake up with this smell wrapped around me. I still dream of empty eyes and I still stiffen as I hear of Germany or see stars or Nazi crosses."

The room turns silent. The clouds slowly dim away and somewhere along the way Yongguk has erased the distance between them and Himchan is breathing against his chest. Their fingers are still entwined on their left hand and Yongguk use his other hand to smooth invisible wrinkles on Himchan's back. The world outside is asleep.

"You have a cathedral of memories inside you" Yongguk whispers an hour later. "In fact you have many. Some badly lightened, with walls so high you can't see the roof if you look up. Others are just as tall but with beautiful windows covering the walls all the way up so to the top that you can clearly see the beautiful paintings above. Either way they all turns to ruins. Nature takes over and erases everything until nothing is left but a pair of pillars. It can take centuries, it can take millennia's but with time cathedrals disappear. And one day, when you’re walking between your cathedrals, you will stop by a small ruin and after close inspection realize that it was once the black cathedral that was eating you up. But it will be gone and you will have moved on. One day you won't wake up to the smell of death."

I hope you wake up to the warmth of sunshine.

The thought comes unexpected and Yongguk almost lets it slip off his tongue. He holds back, following Himchans eyelashes with his eyes as Himchan blinks.

And Himchan doesn’t answer, only squeezes Youngguk’s hand and breathes. And maybe it’s for the best. Maybe Youngguk would say a little bit too much or too large if Himchan started a conversation now.

Maybe the room is still too cold for real conversations.

And they both stay awake until the sun rises in the distance, starting the day and reminding them of time.

*casually drops this bomb after one month of not updating and leaves to sleep* 

Leave me some lovely comments to wake up to~~ <3 (also I might edit this ch some...)