Warning: Some violence… but I try to make up for it with feelings.

Everything in the room seemed to spin even though Chanyeol sat very still on the floor. The walls wouldn’t hold their shape and the edges of his vision seemed to blur a soft pink. Most alarming was the tingling sensation that pricked and poked at his red swollen lips and the familiar stirring somewhere below his gut that had him immediately and embarrassingly admitting that blood loss had nothing to do with his current state.

He had just been kissed by Byun Baekhyun.

The Byun Baekhyun.

His boss Byun Baekhyun.

The man who kills for a living. The man who broke his wrist and threatened his life at gunpoint.

But , he thought as his injured arm was gingerly placed over his chest and he sunk lower into the floor, he was good.

---

The plan had been to meet near the aft of the ship if something went awry. On the 5th level near the stairwell was an employee’s room seldom occupied and was less likely to be in the case of an emergency. That’s where he was supposed to be meeting Tao and Kris in such an event as this.

But something in his gut made Baekhyun turn the opposite direction. He knew they wouldn’t be there now even if he checked, and the sooner he figured out what was going on the sooner something could be done about it. Worst case scenario, they could always meet at the second rendezvous point and divert to plan C.

He had a feeling that this was where the night was headed. But after hearing those men shouting his name earlier, he wasn’t leaving without some answers.

Noise seemed to still from the floor above, so silently and close to the walls Baekhyun slunk back up to the grand casino there. However, before he quite finished ascending the stairs he caught a glimpse of a man standing outside the main doors he’d burst from earlier. He easily ducked back down the stairwell to hide, noting the familiar automatic weapon in the man’s hands, a small but powerful machine gun.

In a fire fight, he would have little to no chance of coming out alive, but then again he had the element of surprise on his hands. A quick peek told him that this was the only guard in the area, pacing the large doors to the hall, but he was almost one hundred percent sure that the other side of the ship had others, and the hall was definitely full.

But those worries were small as he adjusted the silencer on the barrel. He barely had to aim when he jumped up from his position, the silencer muffling the shot to an almost inaudible pop. The man was too slow and his chest too big a target to miss, and he fell to the ground in a huge heap. It was rather like killing a cow, Baekhyun thought dully as he stepped over the unmoving body.

He stuck a small finger in the crack on the door and inched it open slowly. From what he could see, about three quarters of the room, all the casino patrons had been crowded and made to sit in the center of the room. There were three men surrounding them in a triangle sort of formation and two more walking between the people, collecting cell phones and valuables, probably.

It didn’t take him long to notice that one of the men was holding a piece of paper, bringing it up to men’s faces then just as quickly shaking his head and bringing it down.

They were looking for someone. Him, most likely, and the Japanese businessman from earlier. He didn’t have time to wonder where the Japanese man went, but he hadn’t seen him lying amongst the dead and figured he’d most likely escaped. Baekhyun finished assessing the situation and had already formulated a quick plan.

It could be disastrous and potentially fatal, but Byun Baekhyun was no stranger to lethal situations and he’d already said his goodbyes. The memory of soft lips was the only courage he needed to push the door all the way open.

---

Much earlier…

Tao’s eyes were glued to the monitors set up on the table, and he easily spotted Baekhyun and Chanyeol amongst the finely-dressed crowd near the chip exchange in the casino. The tall man was really a beacon next to their shorter boss.

He typed a quick text: It’s time.

Not a full minute later he watched from above as Baekhyun fiddled with his ear piece and there was an awkward cough going across the line and filling his hotel room.

“Tao?” came Baekhyun’s static voice filtered through the sounds of muffled chatter. “You hear me?”

He laughed a bit before he pressed the intercom on his keyboard and leaned into the mic. “Yeah, Boss, loud and clear. To your right and left are small cameras in the corners of the room. There’s one behind the bar, and two more looking over the dining area. We have full visual of the situation. Nice suits by the way,” Kris walked into the room from the balcony, sighing at his partner’s antics. But Tao promptly ignored him and continued. “There are two men, like we expected, but two more we’ve named as suspects for their guards. We’re about ninety five percent positive it’s just the four of them and Kris is keeping a close eye on those other two. The guys you’re meeting are already waiting in the dining room.”

“Thanks,” said Baekhyun slowly before cutting the mic on his end.

Kris raised an eyebrow. “I’m keeping a close eye on them?”

Tao tossed a headset across the room that his partner easily caught. “Now you are. Pay attention.” Kris took a seat at his side and equally monitored the screens, easily noticing the two men standing idly around the casino and he chuckled lightly. The Japanese thugs were too easy to spot, standing with serious expressions amongst the crowd of vibrant gamblers; it was almost no fun.

Both mics were flipped back on and into their headsets both listened to a steady stream of Japanese being poured out by their boss. Tao couldn’t help but tap his fingers on the table impatiently. He hated not being able to understand.

Apparently Kris did too, though Tao knew that Kris understood more than he, he lolled his head to the side and stretched his arms before dumping his headset. “Well it looks like they’ve got everything under control. Those guys aren’t moving anytime soon.”

Tao scowled as Kris made for the balcony again. “You’re the one who’s always nagging Chanyeol to be vigilant,” he snapped, but Kris only shrugged in his general direction before disappearing behind the curtains.

Tao’s attention snapped back to the monitors when he heard Korean again.

“Could you be a lamb and get me another drink?” came Baekhyun’s voice, dripping with honey.

“You’re okay alone?” said Chanyeol’s low rumble. Then Tao watched him snatch the drink quickly from Baekhyun’s hand and tromp away. It didn’t take a genius to guess that Baekhyun had made some sort of face at him. He laughed on his end.

“Kris! Come back in! Chanyeol’s going to the bar and there’s too many screens to watch!” he called leaning back in his chair.

The other merely scoffed and called back with disdain. “That big lummox can handle getting a drink for like two seconds without me watching can’t he?”

Tao resisted the urge to throw a monitor out the door. But he bit his lip and turned back to watching as Chanyeol fumbled with speaking English to a petite male bartender.

“Tao,” called Kris suddenly.

“What?” he snapped in irritation.

“Come here.”

“I am trying to do my job. I-“

“Tao, come here!”

His jaw snapped shut and he quickly detached himself from the monitor. He was only on the balcony for two seconds before he caught sight of what caused Kris’ attention. There was a boat on the water heading towards them, lights shining over the side of the ship.

He hurried back inside and sat back down, breathless voice coming heavy over the microphone. “Something weird is happening.”

“Our boat’s not moving anymore,” Kris called before hurrying inside, himself.

Tao repeated into the microphone, “There’s lights outside on the water, and Kris said the ship’s stopped.”

“What?” asked Chanyeol softly.

The lights outside the room shone in and blared glaringly bright. The other ship was much too close to theirs. Then, in an instant, a resounding shriek echoed over the monitors and throughout the room. Both of them jumped up, hearts pounding, and set to work.

“!” Kris swore loudly between them as he switched from the feeds of the casino floor to those stationed around the ship. Tao was frantically tapping at his own keyboard, trying to figure out what the loud screech had been when he glanced across to where Kris was looking.

Both of them saw an unbelievable sight. Somewhere on the lower decks, a large door was opened and a large gangplank was extended between the two ships. Men poured out of the adjoining one and into theirs.

“What the is happening!?” yelled Tao. He turned back to his screen briefly only to see that it had gone all sorts of haywire, the images and sound waves distorting the screen and causing it to glitch. “Kris! We’re losing contact!”

The tall blonde man reached across him in an instant and ripped the mic off its stand. “Chanyeol!” he yelled, and Tao had never seen him so frantic, blonde strands falling out of place in his perfectly gelled hair. “Chanyeol, get back to Baekhyun now! Something weird is happening! We aren’t sure but something is disrupting the signal. You need to get back to him. In the lower hallway there are men with guns! Get to the rendezvous point! We’ll be right there!”

The last image they saw before the communication cut out entirely was of Chanyeol pushing off the bar in a hurry. Both of them unclenched their fists, relieved he got the message. Then they did the same, striding across the room quickly to their unpacked suitcase. Sharp snaps and locks clicking were the only chilling sounds they heard, a strange calm of guns being loaded before what was sure to be a storm.

The last thing Kris did was toss Tao his sword belt from across the room. He clipped it with ease and they nodded to each other before pushing out into the hallway, weapons drawn at their sides.

---

It was easy to take down the stray men with guns in the hallway. Even when they were outnumbered they never felt the disadvantage. The two of them were far too skilled for that.

They hoped that Chanyeol and Baekhyun had made it out of the casino before the men arrived, but just because the two hadn’t gone to the rendezvous point didn’t mean they hadn’t made it out.

Tao sheathed his bloodied sword quickly and kicked over the man who’d fallen onto his shirt in disgust. “Knowing Baekhyun,” he sighed heavily, “he’s out of bullets and went to the room for more ammo.”

“I actually agree with that,” said Kris, wiping his hands. “So let’s go. Again, knowing him, he won’t stay put for long.”

Tao nodded in agreement before following Kris at a soft jog down the hallway. They were lucky Tao grabbed the spare keys they’d made before hand, because when they opened the door its occupant didn’t seem to be in any state to check who his visitors were.

Chanyeol was lying on his side clutching his arm, eyes closed, and the world seemed to move in slow motion for a few seconds as Tao dropped quickly to his knees. He roughly shook the other’s body, noting his pale skin and the way blood stuck to his fingers.

“Chanyeol! Chanyeol, wake up, dammit!”

The boy seemed startled and jerked a little, but his eyes fluttered open slowly to Tao’s relief.

“B-Baekhyun?” came the weak reply. “You came back?”

That seemed to snap Kris out of his stupor because he dropped down next to the boy in a squat and examined the hasty bandage on his arm before quickly retying it tighter.

“Baekhyun?” he said gruffly. “He’s gone? Where did he go?”

“Please don’t tell Kris I let you go. He’ll be so angry,” the boy whimpered pathetically and Tao swore loudly.

“He’s bled too much. He’s starting to hallucinate. Kris, what do we-“

“Leave him. Baekhyun’s our priority. If my instincts are right then he’s headed for the security room and the second meeting place.”

Tao smacked his arm abruptly and hard. “What do you mean leave him!?”

Kris’ eyebrows narrowed dangerously. “Exactly that, Zi Tao. He’s a liability now. We can’t drag him around the ship when he’s half dead and useless! There are anonymous shooters at every corner!”

“Well, I’m not going to leave him here to die! He’s a…. a friend!” The two locked gazes heatedly, and Tao clutched at the boy on the floor before turning away from Kris, urging Chanyeol into a sitting position.

“Zi Tao…”

“No, Yi Fan.” He refused to meet the other’s gaze again and waved him off. “Just go, okay. Go find Baekhyun and take him to the extraction point. If we don’t make it there in fifteen minutes then just…go, okay?”

“Tao-“

“Just go, okay!?”

“Huang Zi Tao!” Kris slapped a large hand across the back of the other’s head, causing Tao to whip around to the other’s stern face in a flash. Angry tears were welling in his eyes and he cursed his fragile emotions for the thousandth time since he’d lived. But Kris alleviated it in an instant when he reached down and tugged Chanyeol up from the floor, hauling a lazy arm over his shoulder. “I’m not going to leave you alone,” he said. “And if we have to take this idiot with us then….well, if we die it’s entirely your fault.”

Tao quickly patted his eyes with the heels of his hands. “Okay…”

---

While Kris dragged Chanyeol, who was barely taking conscious steps, up the stair case, Tao stayed slightly in front of the two, blade in one hand, Glock in the other, ready to take on any offenders with his life.

Chanyeol felt like he was starting to come around a bit. He didn’t remember Tao and Kris arriving in the room, only being lifted by the taller. His body felt a little numb and most of the pain in his bicep had subsided. There was a sensation as if he were drunk or weightless with the way his body seemed to move automatically. He felt sleepy all at the same time and vaguely had the mind to think about whether he was dying or not.

They’d only gone one floor when they heard a few woman screaming loudly and some booming guns shots rippling through the air.

Tao turned back to Kris with a worried glance. The other shared his expression.

“I have a feeling…” he started.

“I think you’re right,” the other agreed. And they moved toward the noise.

Even in his drunken half-alive state, Chanyeol recognized the doors to the casino and the dead man on the floor in front of them. Kris shifted a bit under his arm and pulled out his semi-automatic, cocking it quickly before again wrapping a hand around Chanyeol’s waist. Then, when another gunshot went off loud and clear, Tao, with a nod, kicked the door open wide and the three stumbled in.

There, among the chaos of screaming people, was Baekhyun.

The crowd was huddled into a group but people clutched at each other and scooted away from the dead man frantically. Baekhyun was standing over said man, but looked up quickly when the door burst open.

He seemed to sigh in relief and ran a hand through his black hair, which seemed to fall back into perfect shape almost lazily.

“Oh,” he breathed heavily. “It’s just you.”

Chanyeol was transfixed as they approached, and not only because he could barely move. His entire focus was on the beautiful man in front of them, who heaved from the exertion. There was sweat sheening on his forehead and blood spatter stained his cheeks and hands. His eyeliner had begun to run in the corners but for some reason Chanyeol was certain Byun Baekhyun had never looked so beautiful.

It wasn’t that he’d never thought Baekhyun was pretty before. No. Even a straight person like he couldn’t deny that. But there was something about the way his eyes glistened that had Chanyeol spinning for whole new reasons. Images of their small scene in the room earlier chose then to barrage his mind and though he pushed the thoughts painfully down, he had to fight his eyes from roaming the other’s body.

His gaze lingered on a certain spot, and his lips opened without thinking. “You’re hurt,” he said breathlessly.

It was then that Tao’s sight whipped between Chanyeol and Baekhyun, and noticed how the latter was slightly clutching the side of his black jacket. In no time at all he crossed the distance between them and ripped the smaller man’s jacket open, to meek protests.

“OW! Watch it!” Baekhyun cried as Tao’s fingers prodded the growing pool of red just above his right hip.

“How are you still standing!?” cried Tao with worry.

Baekhyun shrugged. “Adrenaline probably. It doesn’t even hurt yet. So let’s move before this wears off. It’s gonna hurt like a when it’s all gone.”

“That’s for sure,” rumbled Kris. “But what about all these people?”

The mass of people still seated on the floor eyed them with wary apprehension, unsure of what to make of their unintentional saviors. But Baekhyun only shrugged again.

“It doesn’t matter to me. They’re free now. The Coast Guard are bound to be here soon and I don’t want to be anywhere near this ship. If there’s any one of those amateur thugs left on board well…that’s what the Coast Guard is there for right?”

Kris nodded. “Tao, let’s go. Grab Boss.”

But Baekhyun swatted the other’s hand away. “I’m fine, just deal with that meat sack over there.” He jerked a thumb at Chanyeol who hung limply from Kris’ shoulder. Instead, Tao and Baekhyun armed themselves and led the way out of the hall, sparing no backward glance for the regular people who cowered in the midst of dead bodies.

When they reached a split in the hallway Tao tugged at Baekhyun’s arm. “Boss, it’s this way.”

But the other only shook his head. “You’re forgetting about the security room. No evidence, remember? I d