masked / soonseok (soonyoung x seokmin) / words: 1,692 / requested by maecaron

note: happy halloween everyone~ technically where i'm from halloween is in like in 11 hours but in asia it's halloween already hehe 0.0 this is the second longest drabble on this collection so far fyi~^^ there's a good mix of fluff and angst and i really love how it turned out (~^u^)~ here's the promised halloween drabble!! :)

note II: there's a tiny bit of meanie in here too

note III: the gif above is life tbh

“Seokmin.” Mingyu nudged his arm with his elbow.

They were in the middle of Lotte Mall along with their respective boyfriends, Soonyoung and Wonwoo. Seokmin and Soonyoung’s hands were intertwined while Wonwoo’s hand was still tugging on Mingyu’s sweater after asking the taller if they could get something to drink.

“Yea?” Seokmin turned his head to the silver haired boy.

“Wonwoo’s thirsty as ,” Mingyu laughed with a wink. “So we’ll go get some drinks at Starbucks. Want us to get you guys something?”

“Get me their caramel frappe,” Soonyoung intruded after having his eyes locked on a pop up halloween store for a while.

“I’ll have their green tea one.” Seokmin handed Mingyu a few bills, which he refused to take.

“It’s all on us.” Wonwoo stated for him, pulling on Mingyu’s arm again. “Hurry, I need my daily dose of coffee or I’m gonna drop dead.”

“Whatever,” Mingyu scoffed. He pulled the shorter male into his embrace, pecking him on the lips quickly before taking his hand. He turned to the other couple who were smiling sheepishly at them. “Where should we meet you two when we’re done?”

Soonyoung poked Seokmin’s side and pointed to the store he was staring at from a few shops away. “That one. The halloween one.”

The three others widened their eyes, knowing shops that sell things solely for that holiday was extremely rare in South Korea, let alone even possible.

“I heard that place has everything for halloween. It’ll be perfect to find costumes for our party next week!” Soonyoung gleamed happily, and it was his turn to tug on someone’s sweater sleeve. Seokmin’s.

Seokmin giggled at how cute his lover was being. He nodded towards the other two. “Meet us there then.”

“Okay, see you guys,” Wonwoo rushed before pulling Mingyu away to the coffee place.

“Let’s go, babe!” Soonyoung practically screeched, forcing Seokmin from his standing position to running speed towards the shop he wanted.

“Well it sure does have a cute name,” Soonyoung laughed when they stopped in front of the store. “Who knew someone could name a store like this ‘Babyblood Halloween’?”

"I bet you they have that creepy baby mask that I showed you yesterday," Seokmin said, causing Soonyoung to continue laughing. "I wanna buy one."

"Then let's go look, shall we?" Soonyoung controlled his laughter by then and pulled his lover into the store, going to the mask section first.

They ended up trying out almost all of the masks on display. The two tried scaring each other, mostly Seokmin did, and they did mini roleplays with them. They were laughing together over and over again, smiling like there was no tomorrow.

By now, Soonyoung found himself looking like a swamp monster with a swoop of blonde hair in the mirror while Seokmin was... missing?

"Seokmin?" Soonyoung looked away from his reflection and turned his gaze around the whole store. There were children and adults all over the place, but none of them were his boyfriend.

Soonyoung called out his name even louder, hanging back up the mask he was just wearing. "Where are you?"

His boyfriend wasn't aware of this, but Soonyoung was fragile when it came to jumpscares and gore and blood and monsters... basically anything having to do with Halloween. He couldn't help it, his fear. He just kept it hidden from Seokmin for his reasons.

Like something inside just struck him, Soonyoung suddenly became aware of everything surrounding him. The masks hanging on the wall now felt as if they were taunting him, how weak he is. His eyes gazed all over the store, and soon all there was to him was a blur of mere objects sticking their tongues at him for being so afraid.

Soonyoung brought his sight to the only thing he could look at that wasn't horrifying, the carpet flooring. He suddenly felt helpless and limp, his eyes filling up with ugly tears as his back slid down the mirror to the blue ground. He tried to hold in his tears, but he tried to regain his posture when he looked up again.

Soonyoung deeply regretted doing that, because a huge poster of the grudge was staring right at him.

"Stop..." Soonyoung whispered, resting his forehead on his knees as his sobbed silently to himself.

He loved Halloween, he honestly did. Soonyoung almost cried of pure happiness when he took sight of this store because he's never been in one like this all his life, and he wanted that experience to buy a costume in person, not have to make it himself or order it online. Soonyoung almost forgot that he was afraid at all. He hated his fear that pulled him back, so he never shows it unless the scares are too much for him to take.

Soonyoung was shaking, his cries becoming louder as he felt more weak and lonely by the second. He was in public, crying over a Halloween store. He knew people would see him.

If Seokmin saw him though, it would devastate him.

His lover always saw him as a purely talented figure to look up to. Someone who wasn't afraid of taking risks, or anything else.

So why was he afraid of fake objects anyway?

He didn't know, and he despised it.

"Seokmin where are you," he cried, holding his knees closer to his chest. "I need you, please."

Soonyoung suddenly felt a hand trailing down his leg. Immediately, he thought it was a detached hand that was moving on his own.

So he screamed and turned his body so his whole left side was leaning on the wall. Soonyoung cried even harder after that, until he heard a familiar voice.

"It's just me. Why are you crying?"

Soonyoung furiously wiped his eyes with his sweater sleeves to remove all evidence of his tears. He couldn't hide his newfound mood, however when he saw a baby mask in Seokmin's other hand.

Soonyoung blinked out another tear, gaze down on the floor. "Get that away," he stated quietly.

"What, this?" Seokmin held the mask closer to Soonyoung's face, only to find the blonde shoving it back towards him.

"Stop!" Soonyoung snapped, his body filled with anger he didn't know he had.

He closed his eyes and sighed, immediately regretting his action to yell at the younger when he heard no reply.

After a minute or two, Soonyoung felt arms enclosed around his waist, someone's breath in his neck. He looked behind him to find the mask now gone from Seokmin's possession. Soonyoung started crying again. He knew that mask was something Seokmin wanted for years. Now, he wouldn't get it because of Soonyoung's wishes.

"I'm sorry." Soonyoung choked out an apology, keeping his head down.

"Ssh, it's okay," Seokmin whispered into his ear, massaging his hips and calming him down. "I'm here."

They were silent for a while, save for Soonyoung's hiccups while trying to calm himself down. The blonde leaned into Seokmin's embrace, loosening his grip on his own knees as he found another source of comfort in his arms.

“I’m sorry, I just-”

“Babe, I know.” Seokmin brought his hand to Soonyoung’s hair, the strands lightly as he whispered sweetly into his ear. “You don’t have to be sorry about it.”

“But why shouldn’t I be sorry?” Soonyoung turned his body around so he was facing the younger, his gaze elsewhere besides Seokmin’s own eyes. “I’m ruining the fun for you by showing you this side of myself. My weak self that I never wanted to reveal to you.” Soonyoung barely choked back more tears, his forehead resting on Seokmin’s chest.

Seokmin’s hands were gripping the older’s waist, and one of those hands moved to Soonyoung’s chin. He made Soonyoung look straight at him, and Seokmin felt a deep pang in his heart when he saw how vulnerable his lover looked at this state. He never saw Soonyoung this broken for the many months they have been dating, and he regretted not finding this part of Soonyoung sooner. Seokmin wanted to help him in any way he could. Maybe not relieve the blonde’s fear of Halloween elements, because that was something Seokmin was reluctant of doing.

Seokmin didn’t want to change how Soonyoung is. At all. Soonyoung’s talents, interests, intelligence, athleticism, and even his fears. He loved the older for who he was, no matter what Seokmin would have to sacrifice.

“I love you no matter what, Soonyoung. If you’re scared...” Seokmin smirked before pressing his lips onto Soonyoung’s and pulling away with their foreheads touching. “...I’ll just have to be protecting you.”

Soonyoung finally broke into a smile after a while, biting his lips as he felt his face redden. “I would love that.” He pulled the younger into a tight hug, squeezing him tight as to say ‘Thank you for everything’.

After another trail of silence while in each other’s embrace, Seokmin stood and pulled Soonyoung up with him. Seokmin grinned at how the dancer was in a better mood again, his face clear from tears and replaced with a big grin.

Soonyoung cleared his throat. “Hey, Seokmin?”

“What is it?” Seokmin held one of his shoulders, massaging it lightly.

“Kiss me.”

“Why all of a sudden?” Even as he asked the question, Seokmin lightly pushed Soonyoung so his back was leaned on the fogged mirror.

“Do you want me to feel better about this or not?” Soonyoung pulled him by the neck, moving them so their lips were mere centimeters apart. “Just kiss me.”

“Well, okay.”

“Yay! I love you,” Soonyoung smiled before making the distance between their lips disappear.

Seokmin held his waist while Soonyoung’s hands lingered down to his shoulders. Small phrases of ‘I love you’ and ‘Ah more’ were elicited from the two boys as they felt the pure love between them. They didn’t care that they were in public, and Soonyoung didn’t care that a ton of inanimate scary creatures were witnessing the scene.

Seokmin wanted Soonyoung to figure out that he would protect him from anything, even as the younger lover, and Soonyoung wanted him to know that he was okay with that.

this was basically a halloween soonseok version of my junhao drabble with interaction of other svt members, angst, and kissing... i like this though so yeaa