I have officially forgotten how to end stories hahaha but I finally wrote a new thing!

When the usual hustle and bustle and noise from the front of the shop suddenly trickled off, leaving the store completely silent, Ryeowook sighed heavily. The clicking of boots on tile confirmed his thoughts and he carefully put down the icing flower he was in the middle of piping, brushing off his apron before marching out to the front of the store.

His cashier, Kyuhyun, was leaning away from the counter slightly, unconsciously intimidated by the figure examining the display case.

“Good afternoon!” Ryeowook said, his voice crisp and clean and cutting through the thick air of silence that had descended on the shop. Every eye flipped to him, then back to the man who was seemingly unaware of the disturbance he’d caused by entering the store.

The man blinked and a smile lit up his face, contrasting starkly with his black pants and tight white shirt. He slid off his dark sunglasses and slipped them onto the collar of his shirt, leaning nonchalantly against the counter. “Wook! You’re here!”

Ryeowook rolled his eyes. “I’m always here, idiot. I own the place.” A flicker of worry passed through his eyes and he leaned forward, carefully running his fingers over the band aid under his left eye. “What did you do, Hae?”

Donghae sighed, dodging Ryeowook’s touch and taking half a step back. “Nothing. I want a cupcake.”

Ryeowook glanced around the shop quickly and decided now was probably not the best time to probe any further into the matter of what had happened to Donghae’s eye, so he reached into the display case and pulled out an earl gray cupcake, expertly wrapping it up in a clear box and sealing it with a sticker. He slid it across the counter; Donghae grabbed it immediately, like he was afraid that if it left it too long Ryeowook would take it back.

“Come back at closing,” Ryeowook said, softly enough that his customers couldn’t hear. Donghae nodded once before strutting his way out of the building, straightening his leather jacket and winking at the younger man once before he was out the door.

---

When Donghae walked back through the bakery’s doors that evening, he found Ryeowook leaning against the counter with his arms folded over his chest, his mouth pressed in a thin line.

“I told you to come at closing.”

“Well, I’m here—”

“Closing was two hours ago!”

“But—”

“And how many times have I told you to quit coming in during working hours? You scare all of my customers! Mrs. Park nearly fell out of her chair when you walked in today. She’s eighty-two, Donghae!” He hit Donghae on the shoulder; Hae winced and rubbed the spot gently, looking dejected.

“But I wanted to see you!”

Ryeowook’s eyes softened just a bit. “I know. But just because I know you’re not completely hopeless and not actually as tough as you look doesn’t mean everyone else knows. Have you even looked at yourself in the mirror recently? And what did you do to your eye, seriously, it’s not helping you look any less like a gangster.”

Donghae stuck out his lower lip and tried to look as sad as possible in an attempt to draw pity from the younger man. “A guy hit me. He was wearing a ring and it cut—”

“Why was a guy fighting you?”

Donghae immediately knew he’d made a mistake and tried to backpedal. “Uh, well, we weren’t fighting, really—it was just—um—just a friend, we were playing around and—”

“God, Hae!” Ryeowook shoved his boyfriend gently before grabbing his arm and pulling him out of the shop. He paused only to lock the front doors before he continued dragging his hyung down the street toward his apartment. “You’ve really got to cool it on the whole ‘thug’ thing. You’re gonna get hurt.” He spoke up after a couple minutes of silence, glancing back at Donghae.

“But—!” Donghae stopped, his tongue flicking out nervously to run over his lips. He chose his next words carefully. “I’m more of a…bodyguard-for-hire?”

“Who is never actually hired and just goes around picking fights with people while never guarding anyone,” Ryeowook said dryly, raising an eyebrow.

Donghae grinned sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head with his free hand as they entered Ryeowook’s apartment building and dashed into the elevator before the doors closed.

“The guys are nice though, Wook, really. They’re family. Eunhyuk and Jongwoon hyung and Heechul hyung took me in when I was on the streets as a kid. It’s not like I can just leave them.”

Ryeowook glanced over at his boyfriend, biting his lip. He knew that Donghae hated talking about his past, how he was left alone when his parents died and how he’d struggled to survive alone for nearly a year before Heechul and Jongwoon had found him. He gently tugged on Donghae’s hand, leading him into his apartment.

“Sit on the couch. I’ll be right back.” His voice was little more than a mumble, but Donghae obediently flopped down on the couch, tugging off his jacket as he did so. Ryeowook reappeared a minute later, first aid kit in tow. He sat down next to Donghae, carefully peeling off the band aid and making a face at the slash he found across the skin.

“That’s probably gonna leave a scar.” He gently dabbed at it with disinfectant, doing his best to get the dirt and dust out of the still-raw cut before he bandaged it again. When he was done, Donghae spread his arms and Ryeowook stared at him for a moment before relenting and sliding up against him. He smiled slightly as the strong arms wrapped around his waist, holding him close. After a few minutes of silence, Donghae’s hand drifted up and he started to run his fingers through Ryeowook’s hair absentmindedly.

“I just…” Ryeowook paused, fidgeting slightly before glancing up at his boyfriend. “I just get worried when you show up hurt.”

Donghae nodded slightly, pressing soft lips to the younger man’s forehead. “I know. I’m sorry.” He tugged Ryeowook closer, resting his cheek in his hair. “I’ll be more careful.”

Ryeowook just hummed in response, his eyes slipping shut; it wasn’t long before he was asleep, eyes dashing back and forth rapidly beneath his eyelids as he dreamed. Donghae scooped him up in his arms, carrying him to the master bedroom and gently placing him on the bed. He took one last look at Ryeowook before he turned, grabbing his jacket and slinging it on as he strode out the door.

---

It had been nearly a week since the last time Ryeowook saw Donghae. He was working diligently on a cake in the kitchen, doing his best to keep busy instead of worrying, when his store when completely silent. He paused for a minute, his forehead creasing slightly in confusion when the silence gave way to hushed murmurs. Curious, he wiped his hands on his apron and made his way to the front of the shop.

“Good—” His greeting died in his throat when he saw the figure standing at the counter.

It was Donghae, he knew it was, but it didn’t look like Donghae. He was wearing a nice pair of fitted jeans and a crisp black blazer over a baby blue button up and his hair was styled down instead of up off his forehead like it normally was. He’d even swapped his normal contacts for a pair of sleek black glasses, which he pushed nervously up his nose as he stared at the bakery owner.

“Uh, hi, Ryeowook.”

Ryeowook just stared at him blankly, obviously confused.

“Can I have a couple earl gray cupcakes?”

Ryeowook snapped to attention, suddenly nodding as he scurried about to package the cupcakes. He paused before handing the box over. “Hae?”

“Yeah?”

Ryeowook pulled the box back across the counter, holding it tightly and keeping it out of Donghae’s reach. “Will you come with me to the back, please?”

Donghae blinked in surprise; Ryeowook had never asked him to do that, especially not when there were other people in the shop. Nonetheless, he followed the younger man back into his office, putting on his best innocent face as the door closed behind him.

Ryeowook carefully placed the box on his desk before he turned slowly, his eyes starting on Donghae’s shoes and running up to his glasses. Without warning, he grabbed his boyfriend’s hand, pulling him closer and wrapping is arms around him.

“What are you doing?”

Donghae laughed. “I wanted to see you. But you said I scare your customers, so I, uh, changed.”

Ryeowook pouted. “And now the girls are going to be all over you instead!” he whined playfully, reaching up and running his fingers over the scab underneath Donghae’s eye. “You haven’t been putting any medicine on it, have you?”

“Bodyguards-for-hire are too busy to—”

“You mean gangsters.”

“‘Bodyguards-for-hire’ keeps me from being arrested.”

“How’s the bodyguarding business going?” Ryeowook quickly amended, cracking a smile.

“It’s alright. I, uh…I actually have an interview today. For a real job. Well, a part-time job. For you. So then I’ll only be ‘bodyguarding’—” he paused to let out a snort of laughter; it sounded ridiculous, even to him “—part of the time, so you won’t have to worry about me getting hurt as much. Okay?”

Ryeowook froze, tilting his head back to stare up at Donghae. “But—but you love being with your brothers—”

“Hey, it’s not like I’ll never see them!” Donghae laughed for real this time, ruffling Ryeowook’s hair playfully. “Just a little bit less than I do now. They’re okay with it too. Besides, I want to do this.”

Before Ryeowook had a chance to respond, there was a sharp rap on the door and Kyuhyun’s voice floated through the wood. “Hyung! Mrs. Lee is going to be here to pick up the special order in half an hour!”

Ryeowook swore softly; he’d forgotten all about the cake he’d been decorating.

“Well, I’ll call you later, okay?” Donghae turned to leave but was stopped in his tracks as thin arms wrapped around his waist from behind; Ryeowook leaned in, pressing a kiss to the older man’s cheek.

“I love you,” he murmured, keeping his lips against his skin. “Gangster or not.”

Donghae laughed, squirming in Ryeowook’s hold until he had turned around and was facing his boyfriend. “I love you too, stupid,” he retorted, capturing soft pink lips in a short, sweet kiss. He winked once before he was out the door, the box of cupcakes in hand.

Ryeowook watched him go with a smile on his face before heading back to the kitchen to finish the cake thinking to himself that, despite everything, he, quite possibly, had the best boyfriend in the world.