Hello!

Forst of all I am incredibly sorry for the half-a-year wait for this but I haven't been in the mood for updating. This story is written in a style that is sort of hard for me to write in and I have to be in the right mood. Still that is a ty excuse and I am so,so sorry. Hopefully someone still reads this update (and haven't compleatly forgotten the story like) and think it's nice.

I will try to update more in the future (and do less depressing updates, gosh I am sorry for this :P) until then, enjoy <3

The wind scrambles along the road. Hugs the grass and plays with the strands. It flies over the ramps of the skate park, plays with the shadows casted by the moonlight and swirls in the sun-damaged dust. It moves forward, ruffles Junhong’s hair and whistles past his ears before it loses its cause and the air particles spread out and their velocity decreases.

Junhong breathes in.

151 years.

He breathes out.

He’s lived in France for 151 years, never leaving the country. It had been his home base, even as he'd let the wind swirl across continents and controlled it’s movements over the Atlantic. He’d stayed, liking the beautiful country and typical frenchness surging through the people that make them leave him alone most of the time but still appreciate his dancing enough to give him a few euros to stay afloat.

And now he’s leaving.

Just because a group of people like him that he’s always known existed but never talked to showed up out of nowhere and told him to go. Because Youngguk asked him to follow.

Because Jongup smiled.

Junhong thinks back on the boy that made him tumble out of the bed earlier and flee out of the room as soon as the other's breathe had evened out. Not that Jongup had done anything. Junhong had simply panicked. His breathe has speeded up as Jongup’s slowed down even though Jongup had made sure to keep a careful distance between the two of them.

Maybe it was the distance that had made it harder. The thought of closing it that had burned through Junhong’s skull and fried his insides until he was burning up from the inside. He'd had to leave, take shelter in the night and stay out as the hour’s ticks by.

He can’t go back. He can’t sleep. He can’t think.

He’s leaving France.

Breathe in.

He’s leaving home because he can’t crush the hope that he might find a new one. For a stupid amount of feelings that chases him out in the night, breathe clogging in his lungs as he tries to run back in time, forget and burn himself down for the small chance that he’ll be able to escape the change. Still, they’ll catch him before the end of the night. The feelings will capture him in their hold and drag him back to the hotel before the sun is up. They’ll bring him up to the hotel room, make him stare at Jongup and the doors into the rest until he’s whimpering and shivering and remembering. And then they’ll take him down to breakfast, make him respond to Youngguk’s ‘good morning’ with the taste of defeat in his mouth and make him smile at Daehyun’s joke as his insides ties into tight knots. Then they’ll put him on a flight to Germany, away from France.

Breathe out.

At the airport Youngjae stays close to Junhong, sending Daehyun annoyed (frightened) looks when he tries to move closer. Daehyun sulks next to Jongup, trying to feed of the others naïve cuteness and happiness to brighten his mood but Jongup’s almost constant babbling about Junhong doesn’t help at all. In his defense Daehyun didn’t mean to move that close to Youngjae last night, or well maybe he did but he wouldn’t have done it if he knew Youngjae would react like this.

Normally people doesn’t have a problem with being close to Daehyun, physically or emotionally, sure he is a little cold, physically, but most people don’t mind that too much as long as they get to look at his face and touch him.

Youngjae is not like that. He’s not okay with Daehyun being close at all. He distance himself, physically and emotionally, and Daehyun is 90% sure it has nothing to do with the facts that Daehyun is cold and has more to do with the rest of him. Daehyun is used to people thinking he’s weird, that he’s too much too fast. That he’s more of a snowstorm than Christmas flakes lit up by candles. He’s had people that have whispered in his ears at 2 am that they find him intruding and special and beautiful and he’s had people that have thrown insults and accusations of being too cold and too much and too selfish and too annoying at him at 2 pm.

But he’s not used to being met with indifference. With a person that shrugs and raises an unimpressed eyebrow at him. Daehyun is not used to being unimpressive and uninteresting. He’s the life of the party.

Maybe just not Youngjae’s party.

Daehyun doesn’t even think he’s at Youngjae’s party.

He’s cold and shut off during the flight. He spends the time staring out of the window as Jongup tries to get Junhong’s attention beside him. It’s ridiculous how Jongup has all of Junhong’s attention but fails to realize it as the other boy looks away and stutters out his answers.

“And then I flew to Athens, I never realized how it has changed over the years! Are you listening?”

“Y-yes I-I am l-listening”

Daehyun is not sure if he wants to laugh or roll his eyes at them.

They arrive at Berlin Tegel airport, an airport Daehyun recognizes but doesn’t remember. Youngguk shuffles them along, packs them into a taxi and fires German at the taxi driver before they’re off. Berlin is grey and brown and yellow, autumn clinging to the trees and painting the sky monochrome above them. It’s a turn around from Marseille and Daehyun embraces the cold he can feel swirling in the air outside the taxi. He sneaks some frost on one of the trees as they stand in a crossing but Youngguk notices and sends him a sharp look from the front seat.

Daehyun responds with a cheeky grin and Himchan snorts beside him.

They reach the hotel and Youngguk splits them up. It’s obvious that Daehyun and Youngjae are going to share the same room, not because Youngjae wants to but simply because the pairs are set and Daehyun is his only option. It doesn’t make Daehyun feel better and he has something akin to despair settling in his bones as they take the elevator up.

“I will behave” He assures Youngjae cheekily, hoping that the other will detect the hint of seriousness in his voice. He doesn’t.

“Sure” Youngjae says shortly with an eye roll and Daehyun just wishes that he’d look at him.

They split up in the hallway. Himchan and Youngguk in the middle. Jongup and Junhong to the right. Daehyun and Youngjae to the left.

Youngjae has the keys. He opens the door and they walk in together, Daehyun trying to light the atmosphere. The atmosphere is nothing but dark as their eyes land on the double bed. The sigh Youngjae lets out is heavy and crush down on Daehyun like a boulder.

“Don’t worry Sweetie, as I said I’ll behave” Daehyun says with an wink and Youngjae lets out another sigh and this one slams into Daehyun’s chest like a train at full speed and pushes the air out of his lungs.

“Just stay out of my personal bubble okay?” Youngjae answers bitterly and puts his things on the bed, an action that puts him right in front of the window. Daehyun is drowning. Youngjae looks ethereal, the soft, gray light from outside is casting a shadow over the face that enhances all his beauty and Daehyun just wants to touch. Daehyun needs to touch, he always has. He needs to feel close to people, cuddle up to them and feel warm.

But Youngjae needs his personal space.

“Yeah sure, Imma just go out an explore Berlin, you wanna join?” Daehyun asks, already halfway out the door before he can hear Youngjae’s ‘no’.

Daehyun speeds down the stairs, seeing Junhong escape out on the street as he reaches the bottom floor and decides to go in the opposite direction. Junhong also needs his personal space.

Daehyun wish that he could understand.

But he doesn’t. That’s who he is. He’s not cold, not like his element is, not on the inside, but he’s not warm either. He needs someone to heat him up. Heat up his body and burn through his brain, erase the bitter taste in his mouth from spending so many decennia’s on his own, with partners coming and going just as fast as the sun goes up and down in the north during winter.

Daehyun walks around aimlessly, slowly making Berlin colder and himself warmer. He swirls across the streets, smoothly moving around the slower pedestrians and reaching the suburbs in 10 minutes and is back in the city in 5. Eventually he settles in a café from the German coffee chain Balzac and orders some coffee he doesn’t really care about and an enormous chocolate cake before he settle down in a table in the middle. He likes being in the middle, he can see most people and everyone can see him.

There is a larger chance that someone will great him when he’s in the middle.

And someone does. A woman, beautiful, with blond hair and green eyes. Daehyun finds himself intrigued as she sits down opposite to him.

“Daehyun, nice to meet again” She says with a sunny smile and he smiles back.

He knows her, of course he does. They’re old friends, have always been, but it’s been a long time since he saw her, a long time since he visited Berlin.

“Yes Aevum, it has been too long” He says and leans over the table to give her a hug.

“Careful! You’ll spill out our coffee” She says with a laugh but still hugs him back. He leans back over the table again and watches as she brushes a brown hair strand away from her eyes. “So what brings you to Berlin Daehyun? I only got your message saying that you were coming with no details! So tell me, what bring you to my city” Her smile is the perfect amount of cheeky and Daehyun laughs before he answers.

“I don’t know really” He says with a shrug. “I am just following Youngguk and I mean, you know him better than I do so you might understand why he’s so mysterious but I can’t for the life of me see how travelling to Berlin has anything to do with anything! I am not even sure what we’re searching for, and I doubt he does either. He just keeps babbling about answers to questions and uncontrolled weather and I just” Daehyun does a sweeping gesture with his hand and sighs. Aevum smiles at him over her coffe cup and her blue eyes tingle with amusement.

“I do know him better than you do” She says and Daehyun rolls his eyes. Of course she does, didn’t Youngguk mentioned that they go way back? Not any details of course because that was never Youngguk’s style. “But I can’t say I know what he’s thinking all the time. But Berlin is a wonderful city isn’t it? Why wouldn't he want to go here!” She continues with a wink and Daehyun grins at her.

“Of course, everything is better when the beautiful Aevum is near” Daehyun teases and makes kissy faces at her. Aevum laughs and swats a hand at him.

“Geez, you’re still such a tease! Some things never change do they?” She says and Daehyun wiggles his eyebrows at her. They small talk for a bit more, Daehyun enjoying the familiar banter with his old friend.

“Well I need to keep going, you know how it is: so much to do and so little time!” She says after an hour or two and looks down at her watch. Daehyun pouts at her and she smiles when she looks up. “Now, now Daehyun, don’t look at me like that. I’ll see you again, right? You’re visiting the Pergamon museum tomorrow, am I right?”

“Of course, I am looking forward to dragging Youngjae around that entire thing to try and look cultivated and intelligent and interesting” Daehyun answers easily and she smiles one last time as she stands up.

“I will see you tomorrow then” She says with a smile and then she’s gone, her cup leaving the table together with all other traces of her.

Daehyun looks down at his cup. It is empty since a long time ago and he really doesn’t understand why he decided to stay at the café all alone for so long, he must look ridiculous and lonely to everyone who passes. Still, for some weird reason he feels a little better. Youngjae might need his own space but that just means that Daehyun needs a new approach for his flirting. Maybe he should take Youngjae and the rest to the Pergamon museum? It will make him seem intelligent and cultivated and all that . Besides if he brings the others along it will just seem like he’s trying to get to know them better and not like he's trying to flirt with Youngjae..

With a little, sure nod Daehyun stands up, new determination in his step as he makes his way out of the café and towards their hotel.

On the other side of the road a woman with red-brown hair and brown eyes watches him go with a small, fond smile.