© @bangstergram

Larkspur – ardent attachment

                Since it was Sunday, they gym was closed. But as usual, Yongguk brought Daehyun to the latter’s house to check on the plants. Daehyun didn’t always let Yongguk help him to water them. However, he had no choice today when he found out that one of his flowers had wilted.

                Yongguk continued from where Daehyun stopped and now, he was nearing the few last pots. He would take a moment while watering each of the flower pots to stare at his mate, wondering if he should laugh or feel sorry at the sight of the man bawling his eyes out over a flower’s death.

                “I can’t imagine it’s going to be like this for every single flower here,” Yongguk muttered to himself. Even if Daehyun’s backyard was small, there were still a lot of flowers when he surrounded it with the pots.

                “Maeumi, why?! You were just fine yesterday!” Daehyun kept wailing while crouching in front of the pot with the dead flower in his palms.

                Yongguk grimaced at Daehyun’s ugly face before shaking his head. “Good thing he doesn’t cry over every dead leaves too.”

                He moved to the next pot and his mind began to think of a way to cheer Daehyun up. It only took him a second to come up with something. Though he was not sure if it would work, he decided to go with it anyway.

                Yongguk stopped watering the plant, aimed the direction of the water hose above his mate, and started spraying some water. He quickly went back to watering the plant right after the water sprinkled over Daehyun.

                “Huh?” Daehyun felt the top of his head and was surprised to find some water droplets there. “What? Is it raining?”

                Yongguk honestly didn’t expect to receive such reaction from Daehyun. He really thought that Daehyun could easily know what was actually going on. It suddenly made him feel bad about what he had done, but at the same time, he also found it funny. Laughter bubbled up inside him and he tried his best to stifle it.

                On the other hand, Daehyun was already growing suspicious of Yongguk when the older man didn’t answer him. He was about to call for the man again, but before he could do that, his sharp hearing caught a suppressed chuckling sound from the other side. It was enough to make him realize that he was being pranked.

                “Ha ha ha so funny.” Daehyun expressed his extreme annoyance before jutting out his bottom lip.

                Yongguk immediately covered his mouth because of that. Even so, he pointed the hose above Daehyun’s head again and sprayed the water for a longer time than before.

                Daehyun gasped when the water droplets fell onto him like a heavy rainfall. “Stop!” he whined while covering his head.

                “I can’t stop the rain!” Yongguk laughed, but broke off the spray of water anyway.

                “You’re supposed to water the flowers! Not me, idiot!” Daehyun scolded, wiping his face that was not just wet with tears, but also the so-called rain.

                “Aren’t you a beautiful flower too, Daehyunnie?” Yongguk teased.

                Daehyun was starting to blush at Yongguk’s words. He was sure he could totally melt into a puddle if the water didn’t suddenly hit his arm, causing him to flinch in surprise. In less than a second, he was back to being annoyed again.

                “If you’re not gonna do it, then give me the hose!”

                Yongguk was still smiling despite Daehyun having a fit. “Okay, okay. I’m really watering the plants right now,” he said as he hosed them down.

                “No, give me the hose.” Daehyun put the dead flower down and finally stood up, facing towards Yongguk’s direction with his hands balled into fists at the sides of his body. “I know you’ll play around again later.”

                Yongguk feigned a surprised gasp. “How did you know?” Then, he sprayed the water at his mate again. This time, his target was Daehyun’s whole body.

                “Hyung! I’m all wet now!” Daehyun yelled as he ran his hands over his shirt.

                Yongguk laughed, even louder than before. He proceeded towards Daehyun right after that and threw his arms around the smaller figure, didn’t even mind that his clothes would get wet too. “I’m sorry,” he apologized, cradling Daehyun’s head in the nook of his neck while ruffling the damp hair at the back of Daehyun’s head.

                “You know that I was just playing around, right?” Yongguk asked rhetorically, but he didn’t expect to be pushed away.

                Daehyun was still grabbing to Yongguk’s shirt though, as he only intended to create a space between them. He quickly searched for Yongguk’s hand and when he found the hose, he just seized it from the older man.

                “I’ll forgive you if you let me have my turn,” Daehyun said with a cheeky grin on his face.

                Yongguk stared at his mate, giving it a consideration. He almost gave in since his mate was being so adorable, but his conscious mind knew better not to take the bait.

                “No way!” He turned Daehyun’s body around before fleeing in the opposite direction.

                “Don’t run away!” Daehyun turned back around when the sound of Yongguk’s footsteps were still clear to his ears. He just sprayed the water right ahead of him and burst out into laughter after hearing Yongguk’s loud groan.

                It was a moment later when he lost track of Yongguk, all because of his own boisterous laughs. He didn’t really care though. He just started spraying the water randomly in every direction and never stop laughing, moreover when he heard the man occasionally shouting at him to stop.

                When he was totally drenched from head to toe, Yongguk realized that there was no point in running away anymore. He had circled the backyard for a few times and yet, Daehyun could still locate him. So now, he just ignored the water spraying at him and advanced towards his mate before taking the younger man into his arms from behind.

                Daehyun yelped when he was rendered powerless in Yongguk’s tight hold. They were both soaked right now, so it was fair and square for him. However, Yongguk didn’t seem to stop having fun when the man suddenly lifted him from the ground, making him squealed in surprise, before spinning him in the air.

                Daehyun just laughed instead of telling Yongguk to put him down. For once, he wouldn’t take revenge on the man because he had known that everything Yongguk did would always bring a smile to his face.

                “So, there has never been a weredragon with human mate?” Jongup asked Youngjae as they sat in the park.

                “Not that I’ve heard of,” Youngjae replied while looking around randomly at other people. He agreed to go out and have some coffee with the younger man since he had no reason to turn him down.

                “Then, who’s gonna lead the clan after Yongguk hyung stepped down?”

                Youngjae shrugged his shoulders. “I think I will be Junhong. He's the only alpha after Yongguk hyung among the younger ones.”

                Jongup nodded his head, his gaze never leaving Youngjae’s lovely side profile. “Will you still be a part of Empyrean when the time comes?”

                A smile tugged on the corner of Youngjae’s lips. He didn’t even have to think for the answer. “Of course. They have treated me like their own family,” he said calmly before taking the coffee which had been placed beside him.

                Jongup chuckled at Youngjae’s firm response. “You are loyal, aren’t you?” Turning to the front, he brought his cup of coffee near his mouth, but before taking a sip of it, he muttered another comment. “I like that.”

                Youngjae whipped his head towards the younger man, his eyes wide as his ears began to redden. But the time he got to be embarrassed was cut short when he forgot to drink his coffee slowly.

                Youngjae’s sudden yelp grabbed Jongup’s attention. “What’s wrong?” he asked, but immediately got the idea when the older man was sticking the red tip of his tongue out with the deepest frown on the cute face. “Oh, are you okay?”

                “It huwt,” Youngjae whined unwittingly as his hand kept fanning his burnt tongue.

                Jongup covered his mouth, trying to hold back his laughter, but failed terribly. He didn’t think Youngjae could be any cuter than before, moreover when the said man glared at him after being laughed at.

                “I thought weredragons can tolerate heat?” he remarked.

                Youngjae rolled his eyes with a scoff. “I’m a hooman wight now?!”

                Jongup laughed even louder because how could someone be so cute while being so angry? Standing up from the bench, he held a hand out to the latter. “Come on, let’s get you some ice cream or something.”

                Youngjae stared at the outstretched hand, contemplating whether he should really take it. His eyes then diverted towards Jongup. The face that was so bright with laughter before was slowly dimming, probably because his hand was left hanging on his own for quite a while now. It made Youngjae realized that he actually preferred to see that smile again. So when Jongup was about to draw his hand back, he quickly take a grip of it.

                Jongup had a hard time to believe it at first, but his lips gradually carved a smile. Youngjae got up on his feet and Jongup started to pull him gently towards an ice cream stall. The younger one had his gaze straight to the front, whereas the older one had his gaze casted to the ground, both trying to hide their flushed face from each other.

                That evening, Yongguk was lying on the couch, going through various social media apps on his phone while his mate was busy packing his clean outfits for staying over at the clan’s house later. Daehyun sat on his bed as he folded the clothes and loaded them into his backpack. He was almost done when the doorbell rang. Before he could get off the bed to answer it, Yongguk was already shouting at him from the living room.

                “I’ll get it!”

                Daehyun didn’t say anything in return and resumed his packing. Just after he zipped up his backpack, he heard Yongguk calling for him.

                “Daehyun, pizza is here!”

                Daehyun frowned at that. “You ordered pizza?” he shouted back before getting down from the bed and made his way out of his room.

                “Should we eat it here or the kitchen?” Yongguk asked on his way back to the couch.

                “Here is fine,” Daehyun said as he walked towards the living room. “But aren’t we having dinner with the clan?”

                “I changed my mind,” Yongguk replied, setting the pizza box on the coffee table.

                “Is it really okay if we don’t eat with them?” Daehyun asked hesitantly. He reached the end of the couch, the smell of freshly baked pizza permeated the air, making his mouth watered. However, he still felt inappropriate for not eating with the clan after days of doing so.

                “Yeah, don’t worry about that. I already told my mom,” Yongguk assured his mate. “Besides, isn’t it good that we can spend some time together? They barely leave us alone at the clan’s house.” He clicked his tongue in irritation.

                Daehyun snorted in disbelief. “We’ve spent more than enough time at the gym, at the garden. Even in the woods!”

                Yongguk gave Daehyun a side-eye. “So you don’t like being here with me right now?” He poked the younger man in the ribs to show his grump.

                Daehyun let out a high-pitch yelp at the sudden attack. “It’s not that I don’t like it.” He extended his hands forward, searching for Yongguk’s impish hand and took a tight hold of it. “It’s just that you still have to send me to the clan’s house later since you need to make rounds.”

                Yongguk shrugged his shoulders as if it was not a big deal. “There’s plenty of time left. Don’t worry too much about it.” He ruffled Daehyun’s hair reassuringly. “I’ll get us some drinks,” he said after that, making his mate release his hand.

                “Should I turn on the TV?” Daehyun asked.

                “Sure, or we can just watch anything you like,” Yongguk said while walking towards the kitchen.

                Daehyun gave it a thought for a second. “Then, could we watch the movie we bought the other day?”

                “Of course,” Yongguk answered, smiling widely after taking a look at his mate as he stood before the fridge.

                Both of them sat close to each other on the couch as usual. Yongguk gave Daehyun a slice of pizza and they began eating after playing the movie. It was a romance film and the beginning was a little slow. Because of that, Daehyun’s mind started drifting away.

                “Hyung, have you ever dated anyone before?” He became curious after knowing that the male protagonist in the said movie had just broken up with his girlfriend.

                Yongguk was quite taken aback by the matter. “Why do you want to know that?”

                “Why can’t you answer it?” Daehyun retorted with sass.

                Yongguk scoffed. “You know, aside from being a dragon, I’m just an ordinary human being,” he began deliberately. “I went through my teenage phase like everyone else does. Of course I’d get a little curios about being in a relationship.”

                Daehyun’s cheeks unintentionally puffed out a little at Yongguk’s excuse. “Girls or boys?”

                Yongguk saw how Daehyun’s face changed after his confession, but he told himself to keep being honest towards his mate. “Girls only.”

                “How many?”

                Yongguk shook his head incredulously at his mate’s insistent questioning. “Does it matter anymore?”

                “It does to me,” Daehyun stated sternly.

                Sighing heavily, Yongguk took another bite of his half eaten slice of pizza before answering the latter. “Two.”

                “You’re lying!” Daehyun elbowed the older man’s arm. “You said girls just now.”

                “Well, yeah. The amount two is plural, don’t you know that?” Yongguk snapped back.

                Daehyun huffed loudly. Fixing himself in his seat, he continued eating his pizza. Yongguk just stared at the younger man. He wondered why his mate was not acting like his usual self. He was not the one who started it and he had been honest with his answers, but yet, his mate was still mad at him.

                Yongguk kept his gaze on Daehyun, as if he could eventually read the man’s mind and figure out what did he actually want from him. But then, he heard Daehyun’s quiet murmur.

                “Did you sleep with them?”

                Just like that, Yongguk got everything unraveled. He smirked, putting down his unfinished pizza back into the box before turning to his mate again. “Daehyun, are you... jealous...?”

                Daehyun’s face immediately reddened, making Yongguk’s smirk to grow even wider. “You- You have to answer me first,” Daehyun stuttered out with a pout.

                Breathing out a deep sigh, Yongguk wrapped his arm around Daehyun’s small back. “I might have slept with someone else before, but they were not my mate. You are,” he said, voice full of love towards the other. “You should know, when weredragons finally mark their mate, they can never be satisfied with others.”

                Yongguk’s words caused Daehyun to get so shy that he couldn’t even lift his head. “I… understand now…” That was all he could say in response before finishing up his remaining pizza.

                “It seems like you’re still holding a grudge over my past relationships,” Yongguk mused.

                “What makes you say that?” Daehyun let out a dry laugh as he his greasy fingertips. He knew it was useless to be bothered with Yongguk’s past, but he didn’t regret asking because he could finally stop wondering about it and start to worry if Yongguk could actually be satisfied with his inexperienced self.

                With the long time they had spent together ever since they first met, Yongguk had come to know when his mate was overthinking. Every part of Daehyun’s body would freeze, like how the tip of his finger was currently stuck in his slightly parted mouth, as a result of getting lost in his thought in the middle of it clean.

                Taking a hold of Daehyun’s wrist, Yongguk gently pried the finger away, pulling Daehyun out of trance at the same time. He closed the gap between them, the tip of his nose lingering over Daehyun’s cheek. “Should I make you forget about it?”

                Daehyun could almost feel the vibrations from Yongguk’s low husky voice, which made some kind of heat stir in him. It was foreign to him, something he found unnerving but also exciting. Slowly, he turned his face to the side, backing away a bit when their nose brushed against each other. “H- How…?” he breathed out meekly.

                Yongguk’s eyes met Daehyun’s dark brown orbs. They had always been steady and fixed whenever Daehyun managed to look straight into his eyes. But now, they were quivering. Those large round eyes were full of wonder, but beyond that, they sparkled with anticipation. They were just as beautiful as they had ever been.

                Letting his gaze fall onto Daehyun’s lips, Yongguk didn’t think he could hold himself any longer by how inviting they looked. He softly brushed their lips together at first and he was reminded how addicting Daehyun’s lips could be. He always had to force himself to stop from wanting more of his mate every time they had kissed before, thinking that it might be too early for them to move on to the next base. But tonight, he braved himself to make an attempt.

                It startled Daehyun when Yongguk’s lips were suddenly attached against his. The kiss was different from anything they had had before. It was a hot, fervent kiss, until Yongguk moved his lips, which made it turn into something eager and tempting.

                Daehyun felt like his heart could explode by how fast it was racing in his chest. Of course, he had no idea what he should do at the moment and since he couldn’t really think straight anymore, he decided to follow Yongguk’s lead, just like how he had always did. So when Yongguk’s tongue parted his lips, as if asking for entrance, he instinctively let it slip into his mouth.

                Leaning further into the kiss, Yongguk smoothed his hands over his mate’s back. Daehyun too had found Yongguk’s face, cupping it briefly before letting his hands wander into Yongguk’s hair. Something was burning in the pit of his stomach as Yongguk’s tongue explored his mouth, something so pleasurable that he never expected to be possible to experience. It all became too much when Yongguk grazed a certain spot in his mouth that caused him to elicit a soft moan.

                It made shivers run down Yongguk’s spine. He slowly pulled back from the kiss, nibbling on Daehyun’s lower lip for a second before letting it go. The way Daehyun tasted was driving him crazy and he could feel himself pulsating with desire. The younger man was breathing heavily in his arms; rosy lips parted, gleaming eyes half lidded and cheeks glowed. He couldn’t believe how his mate could be any more beautiful than before, how did he get so lucky to have Daehyun as his mate.

                Drawing himself closer to the latter, Yongguk rested his forehead against Daehyun’s. Still panting from their previous kiss, he could feel their hot breaths mingled at the closeness.

                “Can I show you just how much I love you?” he finally gave his answer, but instead of waiting for Daehyun’s response, Yongguk connected their lips again, now with more passion and want.

                Daehyun kept into the kiss, albeit shy and embarrassed. Yongguk let out a soft noise in return, indirectly telling his mate that their feelings were mutual. He continued to deepen the kiss until Daehyun was flat on his back with him in between the younger man’s legs.

                As if he was losing control of himself, Yongguk slipped his hands into Daehyun’s shirt, letting them roam across the soft expanse of Daehyun’s smooth skin. He ran his hands down the bare chest and felt the muscles contract at his touch.

                The shirt rode up in the process, but Daehyun couldn’t care less when Yongguk began kissing down his neck and at the soft skin there. He inhaled sharply and moaned even louder at the new sensation. His hands traveled down from Yongguk’s hair in instance, fingers curling into the older man’s broad back as he arched into the prickling contact.

                Daehyun could imagine where this was going and he had to collect himself to speak up. “Hyung…” he breathed out, holding onto Yongguk’s shoulders before pushing lightly against them.

                Yongguk immediately pulled away. His breath came out short as he stared at his mate wide eyed, honestly afraid if he was going to be rejected again. “Y-Yeah…?”

                “Not here…” With his eyes closed, Daehyun managed to say it while panting hard.

                Yongguk’s face went crimson, moreover when Daehyun’s voice sounded so raspy. “Right... Should we get to your room?” he asked for permission and received a shy ‘sure’ in return.

                Telling Daehyun he would carry him there, Yongguk made his mate circled his arms around his neck, his legs around his middle, before picking him up with ease.

                “Hold on tight,” Yongguk said under Daehyun’s ear, making the skin tingle with his warm breath.

                The older man then proceeded with kissing and nibbling around the spot as they left the living room, sending a wave of pleasure throughout Daehyun’s body. Another moan escaped his mouth while his head rolled to the side at the electrifying touch, giving Yongguk an easier access to his neck.

                Daehyun could feel his pants started to be tighter than normal, but he was actually relieved to know that he wasn’t alone in his arousal with how Yongguk was doing him right now. All of his worries about being a turn off as a blind man to Yongguk evaporated into thin air. He was even more convinced that Yongguk’s desire for him was genuine when the said man suddenly gave his a light squeeze, causing him to let out a lewd whimper.

                Carefully, Yongguk lowered his mate onto the bed once he reached there. His lips smacked against Daehyun’s in another heated kiss while he was searching for the hem of the latter’s shirt.

                “Let’s take your shirt off,” he said after breaking the kiss.

                Daehyun willingly complied with him and the sight unveiled before him after that was breathtaking. The tan golden skin of Daehyun’s lean torso was glowing and flawless. He couldn’t help but took his time admiring the incomparable beauty of his mate.

                Daehyun was kind of lost when Yongguk turned completely still. He stretched out his hands before tracing upwards from Yongguk’s chest to his face. “Hyung…?”

                Yongguk blinked his eyes when his train of thought was interrupted. Seeing Daehyun directing those unseeing eyes at him with a confused look on his face, he immediately held Daehyun’s face in his palms before drawing the younger man into another deep breathless kiss.

                “I have never seen anyone as beautiful as you,” he muttered with his lips lingering over Daehyun’s.

                A dark shade of red coloured Daehyun’s cheeks. Yongguk’s words gave him some kind of comfort when he was just starting to get insecure with the way he would look without anything on his body. So instead of chickening out, his hands moved down to Yongguk’s collar and gave it a light tug. “Hyung, you too…”

                Yongguk was happy to oblige. He made a move to slip out of his shirt right away, but Daehyun’s hands were already smoothing over his bare stomach before the shirt could be totally off.

                Daehyun began mapping out Yongguk’s body with his sweaty palms, tracing every dip and crease to Yongguk’s hard abs with the pads of his fingertips. Going upwards, his hands wandered to Yongguk’s broad chest before running his fingers along Yongguk’s prominent collar bone. He just slid his fingers up Yongguk’s neck to the curve of Yongguk’s jaw until he found a pair of tender lips. He could feel Yongguk’s hot breath against them and it only made him want more. That was when he braved himself to advance towards the man and captured those lips with his.

                It took Yongguk by surprise because that was what he wished for. Letting Daehyun explore his body had not been a simple task. The pleasure kept building inside of him with every inch of Daehyun’s touch. And now Daehyun was kissing him with the intensity he had never felt. He might have done similar things before, but no one could set his skin on fire the way Daehyun did.

                Yongguk began to put more force into the kiss, taking control once again and little by little, Daehyun was finally lying on his back. His hands roamed Yongguk’s wide back and shoulders as the man kept making him moan louder and louder with need.

                Yongguk had to stop himself and detached their lips. “Is this okay? This is your first time, right?” he asked in concern while hovering over Daehyun with his palms pressed on the mattress on either side of the said man.

                “It’s fine,” Daehyun muttered, his breaths coming out short. “I want this,” he convinced Yongguk before gnawing on his lips shyly. “Just… please… be gentle with me…”

                As if a switch had been flicked, Yongguk had completely lost his mind. The sight of Daehyun’s flushed face with damp fringe and messy hair underneath him made the younger man seemed so vulnerable.

                “Don’t worry, I’ll take good care of you,” he whispered before taking his mate into a much more burning kiss.