“You have dimples.”

            “I have what?”

            “Dimples.” Hongbin glanced over at Sanghyuk.

            “Yeah, and?”

            “I just never noticed.” Hongbin looked back down at his sketchpad.

            “Well, I do.” Sanghyuk was quiet for a second.

            “They’re cute.” Hongbin shrugged, rolling his pencil between his fingers.

            “So I’m told. I used to not like them very much.”

            “Why?” Hongbin tapped the end of the pencil against the paper.

            “I dunno, I just didn’t. People always talked about me having dimples and I guess I just got tired of hearing about it.” Sanghyuk didn’t quite understand how anyone could NOT like having dimples.

            “What changed?” Hongbin leaned back in his chair.

            “When I moved to the city, I didn’t really know anyone, so it didn’t come up as much. Customers talk about it sometimes, but it’s not as bad as every day and all the time. So I just got used to it.”

            “Hmm.” Sanghyuk reached across the space between them and poked Hongbin’s cheek.

            “Stop that.” Sanghyuk grinned.

            “When you laugh really hard they stick out.” Hongbin rolled his eyes.

            “Exactly how much attention to you pay to the state of my face at any given time?” Sanghyuk pressed his hand to his chest dramatically, widening his eyes.

            “Why, I have to make sure that whoever wins the heart of my-“ here he paused. “My dearest friend is only a perfect specimen of beauty! I couldn’t let someone in here who didn’t work well, who knows why I even let Wonshik in.” The satyr looked up from where he was sitting at the other side of the room.

            “Sanghyuk, what are you saying about me?”

            “Only good things!” Wonshik scoffed, and turned his attention back to what he was doing. Sanghyuk turned back to Hongbin.

            “Anyways, back to my dramatic speech. Have you been paying attention?”

            “Yeah, you gotta find the perfect person to date your mom, I get it. Do I fit the standard?”

            “He’s not my mom, that’s weird.” Hongbin grinned.

            “Okay, I’ll ask him to call you some weird pet name about being a child and we will see about that.” Sanghyuk shoved Hongbin.

            “You’re so weird. I’ve made up my mind. Dimples or not, you are not fit to live here. I’ll have to ask you to pack your things, sir.” Hongbin smacked him.

            “Okay, are you ready to tell Hakyeon you are kicking me out? I bet he’ll be so excited.” He dragged out his words.

            “Like I said before, Hakyeon’s not scary.” Hongbin shrugged.

            “I dunno, he can get pretty scary sometimes.” Sanghyuk smirked.

            “Like you’d know.”

            “I would, actually-“ Sanghyuk cut him off.

            “No, don’t explain. Don’t.” Hongbin laughed. Sanghyuk glared at him.

            “Maybe I’ll kick Hakyeon out too.”

            “Best of luck.”

            Later, Hongbin was sitting at the kitchen table, watching Hakyeon cut up some little fruits.

            “Hey, Hakyeon?”

            “Hmm?”

            “Remember how you told me that one time that vampires and elves don’t get along?”

            “Mmhmm?”

            “Why?” Hakyeon finished pushing the pieces into a bowl, carrying it over to the table.

            “It’s kind of a long story.”

            “Good thing I have plenty of time,” Hongbin pointed out, and Hakyeon grinned.

            “I guess so.” He sat down across from Hongbin, offering him a piece of strawberry. “The vampires have never been really good friends with anyone, so it’s not like it’s odd to not be accepted by other groups. But between the elves and the vampires is a bit more history.

            “Elves are, according to most historians, the oldest race here. We’ve been here maybe around 2,000 years? I don’t know exactly, you’d have to ask someone who really knows the history. But since the elves have been here so long, it was kinda hard to get used to co-existing.

            “The humans weren’t so bad, as long as they stayed away from the forest, and they mostly kept to themselves. I think they might have been a little scared of the elves, with good reason. Elves weren’t as friendly to outsiders back then as much as we are now. But as long as everyone else didn’t interfere, everything worked out okay, and we were able to get along pretty well with the humans, and then the satyrs and nymphs and others. The fairies we didn’t like so much, well, you know fairies. Not very aware of personal space most of the time. So it was pretty uneasy for a while, pretty tense.

             “Vampires had been around about as long, but had never really strayed over in this part of the valley, staying up in the mountains. They were used to being in charge up there, with an established pecking order that they were obviously at the top of, being as strong as they are, as well as immortal. So when they decided to move here, towards Talgi, which was just being built, the elves weren’t as welcoming.

            “As soon as the vampires arrived, they started immediately taking over, kinda, I guess just establishing power. They got the humans and fairies and everyone else to be scared of them, but elves are pretty stubborn, and we don’t like giving things up if we already have them. Possessive. And we viewed this as ours, since we were both first as well as already placed kind of at the top. I don’t think anyone really knew why the elves kept up the top spot, because nothing really ever happened, but elves are good at managing things, so Talgi was pretty prosperous and smooth.

            “So when our order got challenged by the newcomers, it didn’t go over well. The disruption of balance wasn’t appreciated, but it wasn’t until some of the vampires started to move closer to the forest that we really took any action.” Hakyeon paused, readjusting.

            “Elves are pretty tough, and very strong. Even when we are young we get taught things like archery and martial arts. And cunning, very cunning. Lots of attention to detail. You might have noticed by now, whenever you see anything elvish, that it’s very precise and exact. That’s just about how everything is with us.

            “The vampires on the other hand, rely on more brute strength. Most could beat an elf pretty easily, if it was just based on basic strength. What they lacked in, however, was agility, as well as speed.” Hongbin interrupted.

            “So, are the vampires faster than you guys?” Hakyeon leaned his head on his hand.

            “Not faster, exactly. If a vampire is going in a straight line, yeah, probably faster, but they aren’t as fast in non-linear and complicated movement. And, of course, it depends on the individual.”

            “Remind me never to race you, then.” Hakyeon grinned.

            “Anyways, so the vampires started getting closer to our forest, and it sounds kind of possessive and stuck up to say ‘our forest’ but it really kind of was, at this point. It was our domain.

            “The elders didn’t appreciate this very much, and they held long meetings- and when I mean long, I mean like days long, the patience levels are high- and discussed for a long time what to do.

            “One day when a younger vampire wondered into the forest and ended up killing a pair of elves, the council decided that they weren’t going to tolerate them anymore. So, they gathered up a huge number of elves, older, more trained ones, and sent them off to clear out the vampires.

            “It was a long fight, if you could call it that. Since both parties are so strong, there wasn’t a lot of progress very often. But we were more organized and efficient than the vampires, and singled them out one by one until there were very few left.” Hongbin interrupted again, and Hakyeon nodded at him.

            “How do vampires die?” The answer came from across the room, where Sanghyuk was emerging from the hall.

            “It’s pretty hard to do. We’ve got pretty hard skin, so most iron and steel knives are ineffective. Sun doesn’t exactly kill vampires, but we don’t like it very much. I think maybe if you’re out in it too long you can get injured, but I’ve never tried to test it out.” Hakyeon nodded again.

            “The elves figured this out pretty quick, and started working on figuring out ways to kill them. It got pretty brutal, I hear. Apparently we captured a bunch and tested out methods on them. But what we figured out is that vampires are weaker around their joints, like shoulders and hips. We also developed a different kind of weapon, made of a hardened stone that we collected from inside the forest that we had already used to make arrows and knives out of. We learned that this kind of weapon was more efficient than steel and iron, even if it wasn’t perfect.” Sanghyuk dropped into a chair next to Hongbin.

            “Yeah, it hurts like a . Hakyeon has a kitchen set of knives made out of the stuff, I almost sliced off a finger when I dropped one. Also fire, that one works on vampires too.” Hakyeon offered him the bowl of fruit, and Sanghyuk picked out pieces of oranges.

            “So anyways, as soon as we started figuring all this out, the whole fighting scene changed pretty drastically pretty fast. We took the upper hand very quickly, and just about wiped out more of the vampires in the region. One of the older vampires asked for a meeting with our council, and she asked that we let them be if they promised to stay away from us. The council debated that for a long time too, and eventually agreed, setting boundaries. Even to this day, we are the ones in charge of policing the more violent vampires around the city, since just about everybody else is afraid of them.” Sanghyuk the juice out of one of the slices he was holding.

            “None of the other vampires like the elves, they complain all the time about how stuck up and boring you guys are. But they are all too worried about you guys deciding to fight us again, at least the older ones, that new vampires get educated pretty quickly, because if not, swoop, gone.” Hakyeon held out another strawberry to Hongbin, who was listening intently.

            “But anyways, now things are a lot more peaceful, but like Sanghyuk said, I guess it left a lasting effect on the relationship. That’s why vampires tend to avoid us.” Hongbin leaned back, taking a bite out of the fruit.

            “So, Sanghyuk, why are you here?” Sanghyuk turned to him and grinned.

            “Mostly for the convenience, and the food.” He dodged a grape thrown at him from Hakyeon. “Okay, partially for that. But I never really got the whole thing, and no one ever told me about it until I was already here. The elves have never really picked on me, maybe because I hang out with Hakyeon so much, but it hasn’t ever been a problem. None of the other vampires really get it though, they all think I’m some kind of freak. No, Hakyeon, don’t respond to that.” Hakyeon grinned at him, and looked back at Hongbin.

            “So that’s just about the story, I guess.” The whole story had both answered some of Hongbin’s questions as well as creating more, but he figured he would wait on those until some other day. Hongbin glanced over at Sanghyuk.

            “So, Hyukkie, why do you always talk about being able to fight Hakyeon off? Have you ever tried?” Sanghyuk glared at him, but avoided looking at Hakyeon.

            “Don’t call me that.” Hakyeon laughed.

            “Does he really say that?” Sanghyuk’s glare deepened. “No, I guess I’ve never actually tried sparring with him, it never really came up. But I guess if he’s being so arrogant…” Sanghyuk glanced over at Hakyeon now, a mix of curiosity as well as, was it fear? Some sort of wary look, displayed on his face.

            “Psh, I’m not arrogant.” Both Hongbin and Hakyeon raised their eyebrows at him, and he rolled his eyes. Hakyeon rested his elbow on the table.

            “So how about it, Hyukkie, do you want to have a match with me?” Sanghyuk looked indecisive, and Hongbin waited.

            “I dunno, are you gonna stab me with one of your weird rock knives? That’s an unfair advantage.” Hakyeon waved his hand.

            “No, of course not. I’m not looking to kill you or anything, I think I’d feel lonely without you bothering me all the time.” Sanghyuk made a face.

            “I mean, if you promise to fight fair, sure, I guess. Just be ready to feel my wrath.” Hongbin laughed.

            “What wrath? There isn’t any wrath in you. Weirdo.” Sanghyuk scowled at Hongbin, and Hakyeon laughed.

            “I’ll just go tell Taekwoon we are going out for a bit, and then we can go, hmm?”

            Jaehwan and Wonshik had shown up just as Hakyeon was rinsing out the empty bowl, and had insisted that they come along. Taekwoon wanted to come too, so all of them followed Hakyeon outside in the cloudy fog and towards a big empty patch of dirt, one that Hongbin could remember him trying to teach him how to dance on. Hakyeon slipped off his shoes, and Sanghyuk eyed him. Hakyeon had changed into a basic pair of loose black pants as well as a basic white top, and was rocking back and forth on his heels, stretching his arms.

            “You don’t look very threatening.” Hakyeon grinned at him.

            “Well neither do you, so what’s your point?” Sanghyuk bared his teeth at the elf.

            “I can look scary if I want to. I don’t think you are even capable of looking scary.” Hongbin almost disagreed, thinking back to the way he had seen Hakyeon dance before, with all the force and power and concentration, but decided not to say anything. He was just interested to see how it would turn out. He always thought about vampires being the strongest around, but hearing Hakyeon’s history lesson had made him doubtful. If the elves really had fought off the vampires so efficiently, then they must have some sort of advantage. Plus, he wondered exactly how much of that history Hakyeon had just learned. He thought about it, and realized that he wasn’t sure exactly what the details of Hakyeon’s history were. He’d never thought to ask. He focused back on the pair in front of him.

            Sanghyuk was just watching Hakyeon, who was just staring right back. Hakyeon smiled at him.

            “You were the one who wanted to fight, you’re gonna have to start it.” Sanghyuk twisted his face a little bit, but seemed to settle down into a more firm stance.

            “If you say so.” It took another second for the vampire to start moving, but Hongbin couldn’t exactly pinpoint exactly when he started moving, because he really just saw him end up where Hakyeon was, or at least where he used to be. At some point during the speed at which Sanghyuk had lunged forward, Hakyeon had stepped to the side and ended up right at Sanghyuk’s side, where he leaned forward and shoved his shoulder into Sanghyuk, driving him back. The vampire reeled and turned back to face him, eyes narrowing. Hakyeon was just watching him with a serious, but still easy expression.

            This time, when Sanghyuk moved towards the elf, he was slower, still fast but less so, aiming directly at Hakyeon, who didn’t step out of the way. Instead, he sank back onto his heels, bracing himself. As Sanghyuk got closer, Hakyeon sprung forwards, solidly colliding with Sanghyuk, but pressing his hands onto Sanghyuk’s shoulders, simultaneously pushing himself up as well as forcing Sanghyuk down towards the dirt. Sanghyuk landed on his hands, quickly twisting back around to grab at Hakyeon’s arm and pull him back, aiming his knee towards the small of Hakyeon’s back. It was stressful to watch, Hongbin thought, and when he glanced at the other three standing beside him he could tell that none of them had seen this before, even if Taekwoon looked slightly more composed, but he always did.

            Hakyeon curled himself in, avoiding Sanghyuk and as Sanghyuk went to let go of his arm, he stretched out and brought a leg around to drive firmly into Sanghyuk’s side. Sanghyuk tripped with the force, and as he tried to regain his balance Hakyeon approached him again and swept his legs out from under him, forcing the vampire to his knees, and Hakyeon leaned his knee against Sanghyuk’s back, pushing him until he was folded over, forehead against the cool earth. He stayed there for a moment.

            “Just let me know when you’re done, okay?” He said, and backed away. Sanghyuk whirled up and around and reached for Hakyeon’s leg, intending to twist it until the elf fell, but instead Hakyeon just danced a few steps backwards, watching as the vampire stood, facing him.

            “Why, are you getting tired? Hyung?” Sanghyuk drew out the end of the word, and Jaehwan started laughing from beside Hongbin. Wonshik shoved him, and he suppressed his laughing into smaller giggles. Hakyeon grinned too.

            “Ah, finally, the proper respect I deserve.” Sanghyuk rolled his eyes.

            “Are you going to do any of the attacking, or are you leaving all of it to me?” Hakyeon shrugged.

            “If you want me too.” Sanghyuk didn’t reply, just standing back straighter and watching Hakyeon, who shifted his weight between his feet. After a brief pause, Hakyeon was the one to move, and this time Hongbin couldn’t quite follow his movements. Sanghyuk obviously could though, and was turning to the right before Hongbin even realized that Hakyeon had shifted his direction. Sanghyuk’s arm went out to brace against his side, before Hakyeon’s foot hit it, and the elf used it as a sort of springboard to launch himself back, immediately going back into action again. This time they were going too fast for Hongbin to follow exactly, but he could tell that Hakyeon was gradually increasing distance, which seemed to frustrate Sanghyuk, who only pursued him faster.

            Hongbin lost track of what was happening exactly again, until he saw Hakyeon slow down enough for his palm to press up sharply against Sanghyuk’s jawline, and then his knee following to drive into the side of the vampire’s neck. The hit was audible, and Hongbin almost winced. Sanghyuk seemed stunned, and almost had time to react before Hakyeon’s hand reached for his head, grabbing at the back of his neck at the same time he caught Sanghyuk’s arm and wrenched it sharply behind and against his back, pushing him back down again, this time holding the vampires arm up and at an angle, which Hongbin would imagine wasn’t very comfortable. Sanghyuk seemed to squirm for a moment, before stilling. Hongbin expected him to give up, but when he threw his head and weight back, forcing Hakyeon off him, twisting around in his hold.

            Hakyeon readjusted instead of letting him go, and braced his hand between Sanghyuk’s shoulder blades, sinking his weight down into his knees before ing back up, effectively knocking Sanghyuk up and forwards, where Hakyeon caught his other arm and brought it back to sit wedged next to the other one behind his back, stretching Sanghyuk’s chest with the pull of his shoulders. Sanghyuk writhed around for a moment.

            “Ugh, alright, alright, Hakyeon, let go, my arms are cramping.”

            “Are you done?” Sanghyuk pulled himself out of Hakyeon’s loosening grasp, and Hongbin thought it was over until he whirled around, hand reaching out to hit Hakyeon in the side, but Hakyeon rammed two of his fingers into Sanghyuk’s elbow, and threw his other hand around to connect solidly with Sanghyuk’s cheekbone. Hongbin internally grimaced at the impact, and Sanghyuk landed on his side, gasping. Hakyeon stood straight, sweat running down his neck, looking down at him.

            “Are you done?” He repeated. Sanghyuk rolled over and glared up at him, stretching out onto his back.

            “I’m tired.” Hakyeon grinned and reached out his hand. Hongbin watched as Sanghyuk grasped Hakyeon’s arm and pulled himself up. Jaehwan immediately went over to the two of them, chattering about how cool they had looked. Sanghyuk pressed his hand against his cheek, arguing with Hakyeon about if it was fair or not. Taekwoon turned and headed back towards the house, and Hongbin decided to just follow him.

            When they all got back, Taekwoon retreated into the kitchen to make dinner, only pausing to throw a bag of ice at Sanghyuk, who looked grouchy. Hakyeon went to change, saying that he felt gross and sticky and sweaty. When he came back out, he sat next to Hongbin on the couch and smiled over at Sanghyuk.

            “So, how’d it go?” Sanghyuk glared at him.

            “Shut up.” Hakyeon laughed. Hongbin leaned over and turned Hakyeon to face him, noticing a darkening red spot against the side of his tan face, which he lightly touched his fingers too. Hakyeon looked at him, and smiled again.

            “Don’t worry about it, I’m fine.” Hongbin pulled him into his side, running his hands through the elf’s silvery hair, brushing out the dirt that had gathered there.

            “Why don’t I get anyone to brush out my hair? Hongbin, you’re being unfair. I’ll have to ask you yet again to leave.” Hongbin laughed, but Hakyeon responded.

            “Sorry, doesn’t look like he’ll be leaving for a while, you’ll just have to get used to it.” Sanghyuk pouted at him and turned in his seat.

            “Hey, Taekwoon, do you want to come over here and comb out my hair, maybe throw in a back massage while you’re at it?” There wasn’t a clear response from the kitchen, but a very well thrown ice cube solidly landed in Sanghyuk’s lap, which he took as a ‘no’. Hakyeon hummed from his position against Hongbin’s side.

            “Good fight though, Hyukkie.” Sanghyuk rolled his eyes.

            “Yeah, whatever.”

aaaaaaaaaaaaah sorry sorry it took a long time

this started out as a story about hongbin's dimples but then??? changed??

it's like three times longer than most of the other ones lmao oh well

fight scenes are really hard to write and i don't ever want to do it again but i probably will at some point

ummmmmm i dont think i have anything to say? really? just sanghyuk getting his beat i guess

and backstory more backstory

vampires vs elves

idc about stereotypes at this point i'm doing whatever i want

also! thank you for suggestions, and i always appreciate more!

i've been having a little bit of a writers block lately ~.~

anyways, thanks for reading, commenting, and subscribing!

~Win