EDITED!!!

            Taekwoon might not remember the details of their first fight, but Hakyeon definitely did.

            “Did you forget again?”

            “Forget what?” Hakyeon sighed.

            “I’m gonna take that as a yes, then.” Taekwoon sat up and looked at him.

            “What’d I forget?”

            “What day is it, Taekwoon?” He thought about it for a second.

            “Today’s June… Oh.” Hakyeon put his stuff down by the door and went across to his desk, passing Taekwoon.

            “June 30^th.”

            “Hakyeon, I’m sorry, it just slipped my mind, I-“ Hakyeon sat down, not turning around.

            “You didn’t remember last year either.” Taekwoon chewed on his lip.

            “I’m-“ Hakyeon cut him off again.

            “I don’t care at this point, you don’t need to apologize.” Hakyeon set his supplies out on his desk, not looking over at where Taekwoon was sitting on the bed. It hurt, honestly. He never really made a big deal out of his birthday, but it was still frustrating to come home and be greeted by his family with little gifts and food, but then to find Taekwoon and not get any sort of reaction. Taekwoon forgot a lot of things, and usually it wasn’t a big deal, but Hakyeon had figured something like this wouldn’t slip past him, not for the second time. And he was tired, they both were, it had been a late night.

            “Ilsung is making dinner, so if you decide that you want to come out and eat with us, I’ll save you a spot.” Ilsung was one of the other elves, and decidedly the best cook out of all of them. He was making something special for Hakyeon’s birthday, and then they would go out to the forest and everyone would dance, which was always Hakyeon’s favorite part. Taekwoon had gone with them last year, but it didn’t seem as though he had as much fun as the elves did, but Hakyeon pulled him in to dance anyways, and Taekwoon just went along, smiling. Hakyeon finished unpacking his things, slipping off his jacket and hanging it in the closet. He turned to face Taekwoon, who wasn’t looking at him. It took him a second, but he finally looked at Hakyeon.

            “Are you mad?” Hakyeon sighed again.

            “Yeah, kinda. But it’s not that big of a deal, you just forgot again.” Taekwoon bristled a little bit.

            “It’s not like I meant to forget, you don’t have to sound so accusatory.” Hakyeon rolled his eyes.

            “I’m not accusing you of anything, you just forget things a lot. It’s whatever, I’m used to it.” Taekwoon sat up.

            “I said I’m sorry.”

            “I know, I heard.” Taekwoon moved to the side of the bed, staring at Hakyeon, who rubbed his eyes. Taekwoon frowned.

            “What, is that not enough? You don’t have to get mad at me.” Hakyeon looked at him.

            “Sorry isn’t a cure-all, you know that. And I already said it wasn’t that big of a deal.”

            “You’re making it a big deal.” Hakyeon crossed the room.

            “I’m not the one who is raising their voice, Taekwoon.” Taekwoon stood.

            “Are you walking away?” Hakyeon turned back to face him.

            “Yeah, I’m tired, and I don’t want to argue with you right now. I’d prefer to go enjoy my birthday with my family.” Hakyeon could tell that Taekwoon was getting angry, and he really just wanted to go have dinner. They didn’t fight often, but it usually wasn’t a big deal, just little things. But it still startled him when Taekwoon started yelling.

            “It’s not like I’ve been the only one to forget things. You do sometimes too. And I bet some of your friends do too. Don’t act like I’m the only one who messes up.”

            “I’m not acting like that, stop assuming things. Just drop it.”

            “I bet Minhyuk forgot things too.” Taekwoon regretted it as soon as it left his mouth, but the words hung in the air between them. Hakyeon froze, eyes wide. Taekwoon almost wanted to say something, but he didn’t know what he would say and he was still angry. Hakyeon didn’t move, tightening his fists. His voice was low when he finally opened his mouth.

            “Don’t act like you know anything about Minhyuk.” Taekwoon was silent now. “I can’t believe,” Hakyeon inhaled sharply. “That you would even dare to say something like that to my face, Taekwoon.” His voice cracked, and he could feel his eyes watering and he shook his head. He scrunched up his face, twisting his mouth, before spitting out his next words. “You insult his name, and you insult me.”

            “Hakyeon-“

            “Shut up.” His tone was sharp, and Taekwoon recoiled. “Shut up, and get out.” Hakyeon his heel, just as the first tear hit the floor beneath him. His chest heaved, and he drew in a heavy breath. “I don’t want to see you.”

            Taekwoon hadn’t ever seen Hakyeon get really mad before, and it was shocking. He shouldn’t have said that, he knew it would get to him, and that’s why he said it during the moment. Part of Hakyeon knew that, that it wasn’t really Taekwoon saying it but instead it was his impulse, but he couldn’t get himself to give Taekwoon any benefit of the doubt. He moved stiffly, and opened the door, not looking behind him. He considered saying something else, but nothing sounded right, so he just closed the door and leaned against it, sliding down to the floor. He tipped his head back, closed his eyes, and left himself release the tears he’d been holding back.

            Eventually one of the other elves came to find him, gently pulling him up and into her arms. He let her lead him back towards the kitchen, where dinner and his family were waiting. They didn’t go out to dance that night, instead just choosing to stay home. Some of the older elves brought out instruments, and sang. It was good, and relaxing for Hakyeon. By the end of the evening he felt better.

            He talked with one of the older elves, Sungho, until late, the one who had been with him the longest. He voiced his frustrations and his anger and hurt to him, and Sungho told him that Taekwoon didn’t mean it, and that Hakyeon should decide what he wanted to do. After a long discussion, Hakyeon went back to his room. Taekwoon wasn’t there, which he was grateful for. He wasn’t ready to confront him just yet.

            The next morning, he woke up early, which he often did. He sat in his bed for a while, running his hands through his hair. He slid out from under the covers, went into the bathroom and took a rather long shower. He tried to think about what he wanted to say to Taekwoon. He knew that the cat wasn’t one to apologize after a fight, even if he did feel sorry about it. So Hakyeon would have to be the one to confront him about it.

            He had a habit of waking Taekwoon up every day, and once he finished drying his hair he stood in front of Taekwoon’s door for a minute. He opened it quietly, peeking his head in first. Taekwoon was still asleep, spread out under his covers, hair ruffled and messy around his face. Hakyeon smiled a little bit, and Taekwoon stirred. He sat up, rubbing at his eyes until he noticed Hakyeon standing in the doorway. They made eye contact, and Taekwoon was the first one to look away.

            “Good morning.” Taekwoon looked surprised, and stared back at Hakyeon.

            “Good morning,” he replied awkwardly. Hakyeon crossed over the room towards him, and extended his hand.

            “Ilsung made breakfast, and it’s getting cold.” Taekwoon was quiet for a second, and then nodded. He reached out, and Hakyeon was expecting him to pull himself up, but instead he just tugged Hakyeon towards him, wrapping his arms around the elf’s back. It startled Hakyeon a little bit, and he had to readjust his position. Taekwoon leaned his face into Hakyeon’s neck, and his voice was muffled.

            “Sorry, it was wrong of me to say that.” Hakyeon smiled and ran his hand through the other’s hair.

            “Yeah, it was. But it’s okay.” Taekwoon pulled back, looking intently at his face. He chewed on his lip, and Hakyeon waited. He wasn’t expecting Taekwoon to kiss him, but he never really did. It was soft and gentle, and Hakyeon smiled.

            “Come on, you should get up.”

aaah sorry it took so long i've been brain dead ~.~

i've been low on motivation and i keep having a hard time pinning down something i want to write about =>=

here's this though

i wanted to go into the backstory more i guess

i edited this one a lot! bc my original fight story had been more like this but i couldnt decide how i wanted to do it. BUT! i made it like this

um yes

idk what else to say i dunno

i appreciate any and all suggestions! or ideas or whatever (they are really helpful)

thanks for reading, commenting, and subscribing!

~Win