At the station, Eunhyuk dropped off the last of his paperwork and flopped down in his chair. Ever since detectives Park and Kim had started on the murder case he'd been left to do all of the backup. And the two detectives didn't even seem to be making progress!

 

He sighed and grabbed his bag. "I'm heading home." He called to no one in particular. He'd memorized every detail from the case even that recently DNA had been found.

 

Throwing his things into his car, he got in and headed home.

He smiled as he arrived at his house and got out. No matter what happened at work Donghae could always cheer him up.

 

"Hae! I'm home!" He called and the hyper man ran up to him, enveloping him in a hug.

 

"How was work?" He asked, standing on his lover's feet as he walked them backwards into the living room.

 

"You're killing my toes Donghae. Work was boring as ever. Everyone was in a fuss over Kangin and Leeteuk's kids or something. I didn't even know they HAD kids." Eunhyuk huffed, plopping onto the couch.

 

Donghae sat on his lover's lap and smiled. "I did. I saw him today. Cute thing. I also saw them with a long haired teenager." He said, nibbling on Eunhyuk's lower lip.

 

"Hae stop it I have things to go over." He whined and Donghae shrugged, standing and stretching.

 

"I need to shower anyway." He agreed and Eunhyuk pouted.

 

"But I wanted you to go over the files with me. You always make it so much less boring." He whined and Donghae grinned.

 

"Not tonight Hyukkie, besides, didn't they already find out there's a leak. Don't need that happening to you as well." He said.

 

 

 

 

Leeteuk gently closed the door to the guest room and walked down the stairs quietly.

 

"How is Kyuhyun?" Kangin asked as soon as Leeteuk entered the room.

 

Leeteuk sighed heavily and nodded, "He's asleep. He's going to have a killer headache but he should be fine. Did you call his house?"

 

Kangin nodded. "No answer but I left a message saying we would take him home tomorrow."

 

"Good." Leeteuk confirmed and looked around the room. Kibum was crouched down in the corner of the far wall and Ryeowook was nowhere in sight.

 

His eyes met Kangin's in a silent question. 'Where's Wookie?'

 

'In his room.'

 

Leeteuk bit his bottom lip and brought his thumb to his mouth to bite at the skin there for a minute before motioning for Kangin to follow him into the hallway with his eyes.

 

 

"What's up?" Kangin leaned against the door and kept his voice low.

 

"I'm worried about them. All of them. This couldn't have been an easy for any of them. Especially Ryeowook and Kibum." Leeteuk almost hissed.

 

Kangin grunted before looking over his shoulder at the curled up ball against the wall. He knew his partner was right; these kids had been through enough in their lives already. They didn’t need things like this.

 

“Did we make the right choice Kangin…?”

 

Kangin’s breath caught in his throat as he slowly turned his head to look into his partner’s eyes; eyes that were glazed over in uncertainty, pain, fear, concern, and love.

 

Love.

 

He saw that emotion in those onyx eyes often but this was a different kind. For Kangin, the love Leeteuk felt was unconditional. He would do anything and everything for Kangin even if it meant losing his life in the process. He would rather die than not have Kangin at his side. And Kangin felt the same. They were two halves of a whole, Yin and Yang, sun and moon.

 

But for Ryeowook and Kibum it was a different love. This love was like that of a mother; that deep rooted concern for the safety and health and wellbeing of her children. Kangin knew it would break Leeteuk to lose either one of the boys, especially since they had just gotten the family that both of them had always wanted.

 

“Why would you ask that?”

 

Leeteuk let his eyes fall to the ground and wrapped his arms around his torso.

”Kangin maybe we were rash, we’re used to this. These boys have never been in situations like these. They are in even more danger now! Tonight was just once! It will happen again and we might not get there in time.”

 

Kangin cut off his lover’s concern by placing his index finger over his lips. He wrapped his arms around Leeteuk’s waist and brought him to rest against his broader frame, laying Leeteuk’s head in the crook of his neck. He kept one arm around his waist but brought the other one up to thread his fingers through his head.

 

“Tonight was a scare, one I wish hadn’t happened. You’re right it might happen again, but it might not. And if it does we will save them again. It might be close but close is better than not saving them at all.”

 

Leeteuk brought his head up.

 

“But what is-”

 

Kangin gently kissed his partner’s lips. Leeteuk resisted at first but sighed and gave in and started to move his lips with Kangin’s. They pulled apart and Leeteuk looked into Kangin’s eyes scanning them for doubts and uncertainties but all he found was love and promise. 

 

“I’ll talk to Kibum so how about you go talk to Ryeowook alright?”

 

Leeteuk smiled gratefully at his partner. He nodded and pecked him on the lips.

 

“What would I do without you?”

 

Kangin grinned and leaned down to nuzzle Leeteuk’s nose. “A single father with two teenagers. So…probably a patient in a psych ward.”

 

Leeteuk laughed and nuzzled him back. “I’d meet you there.”

 

Kangin laughed and Leeteuk danced out of his arms and towards the stairs.

 

“I love you.”

 

“I love you.”

 

 

 

 

A gentle knock woke Ryeowook from his trance.

 

“Ryeowook?”

 

It was Leeteuk’s voice.

 

He opened his mouth to say come in, but nothing came out. Not even a sound. He tried again but it was the same thing. The door opened and a concerned Leeteuk entered his room.

 

“Wookie?”

 

Leeteuk’s soft voice filled Ryeowook’s senses. Home. He was home. He was safe. So why? Why could he still feel the ropes on his wrists and the gag in his mouth? Why could he still hear that man’s voice in his ears?

 

Unknown to himself, tears began to fall like waterfalls down Ryeowook’s cheeks. The sight broke Leeteuk’s heart.

 

“Oh Ryeowook.” Leeteuk sighed and sat down on the bed to pull his son’s form to him.

 

He whispered soft comforts in his ear while he ran a hand soothingly through his reddish-brown hair and the other rubbed soft circles on his back.

 

“I’m so sorry.”

 

The walls broke and Ryeowook started sobbing hysterically into Leeteuk’s chest. He grasped his shirt in his fists and pulled and jerked, trying to get closer to his guardian’s warmth. Leeteuk cradled the broken boy to his chest and gently started to rock soothingly on the bed.

 

“Shhh it’s alright. You’re okay. I won’t let this happen to you ever again. I swear it.”

 

Leeteuk wasn’t sure if Ryeowook heard him or not but the boy started to cry harder and utter incoherent words and sobs. Leeteuk bit his lip again and held the boy tighter to himself as the sobs echoed in his heart, where they would stay for a very long time.

 

“I’m so sorry.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kangin watched his lover walk up the stairs before taking a deep breath and walking stiffly back into the living room. Kibum was still curled up in the corner and made no response to either Leeteuk or Kangin when they had spoken to him earlier so he wasn’t sure how to approach to younger male. He didn’t want to scare him but he also didn’t want to come across as not being serious at all so he had no clue how to talk to him, let alone actually comfort him.

 

Kangin mentally scowled to himself. ‘Oh come on Kim Youngwoon! He’s a freaking teenager! You can handle this!’

 

With his new found confidence Kangin once again resumed his stride towards the wraith. But then a thought hit him.

 

This ‘teenager’ had just bashed someone’s head in.

 

A shiver ran up and down Kangin’s spine as he remembered walking in on the boy bashing a stranger’s skull in. Smiling. His step faltered for a second before he gulped and took another huge intake of breath.

 

“I know you’re scared of me.”

 

Kangin jumped and almost squealed at the sudden baritone. A small snicker echoed for the room and Kangin glared at the source. Through the thick mop of black hair Kangin could just barely make out the amusement in the ghost boy’s eyes before they turned solemn again and hid his face from view once more.

 

Kangin cleared his throat and walked over to Kibum, deciding to instead of looming over the boy like criminal to sit down next to him like a friend or a companion. They sat together in silence. Kangin brought his knees up partially to his chest but left them parted and wrapped his elbows around his knees and letting from below the elbow drape gracelessly between his legs. From the side of his eye he saw Kibum tighten his ever closed position and bury his head into his arms even more.

 

He let his head lean back and trailed his eyes up to stare into nothing. There was a sudden, slight pressure against his side and Kangin looked to see that Kibum had not only scooted closer to him but had also leaned his head on Kangin’s shoulder.

 

He smiled at the sight but didn’t know where to go from there. He wasn’t Leeteuk, he wasn’t made to comfort people and make them feel better. He shifted his body to where he was returning a little bit of pressure to Kibum but other than that he had no clue what he should do to make the younger boy feel better.

 

What could you say to a murder to make him feel better? What could you say to a ghost to make him feel better?

 

Kangin couldn’t answer these questions considering he had never even thought he would have had to comfort a murderer let alone comfort a ghost. In this case he had to comfort both. How in the world was he supposed to do that?

 

“I don’t know why I did it.”

 

Kangin didn’t turn and simply sat there and let Kibum go his own pace.

 

“I was thinking about this morning and what Wookie said as I walked back towards where I used to live and as I went through the building I saw Wookie tied and scared and then I saw the man who I thought had done it. Then there was the gun and the shot and then-”

 

Kibum grunted and cradled his head in his hands. He didn’t want to remember that. He didn’t want to remember how it felt to kill someone!

 

But why did it feel different now? It wasn’t as if this was the first time he had ever killed anyone before. He had killed many victims before. How was this any different?

 

“Because this time you knew you were breaking a promise.”

 

Kibum’s eyes snapped open and turned to see Kangin staring at the ceiling.

 

“You promised us you would stop but when you saw the man you loved being hurt like that, you lost it.”

 

“W-what?” Kibum couldn’t understand. Him love Ryeowook?

 

“You do love him.”

 

Kibum met Kangin’s eyes and saw the knowing glint in them. He shook his head. He was a ghost, he was a killer, he wasn’t supposed to love someone.

 

“You want to protect him and make sure that no one ever hurts him. You want to wipe away his tears and make him smile. Smile only for you.”

 

“I-is that what you feel for Teukie-hyung?”

 

Kangin smiled.

 

Kibum tried to process this new information but his brain kept stopping at one word; love.

 

“It’ll take time for you to get used to it. Especially after today but you two will pull through.” Kangin smiled.

 

Kibum squirmed under the smile. He wasn’t used to Kangin being this nice and he had a feeling Kangin felt awkward being this nice. Kangin cleared his throat and gave Kibum a small pat on the back and turned his head to look anywhere but the boy next to him.

 

“You weren’t made for this were you?”

 

“Nope.”

 

“Same.”

 

“Right.”

 

There was an awkward silence once again before Kangin sat up and dusted his pants off before stretching.

 

“Hungry?”

 

“Sure.”

 

“Pizza?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

“I’ll order.”

 

Kibum nodded and Kangin began to walk towards the kitchen.

 

“Hey, Kangin?”

 

Kangin turned to look at Kibum just in time to see Kibum throw himself onto Kangin and toppling them over. There was a yelp from both of them as they hit the floor but Kibum merely phased through Kangin and the ground before disappearing all together.

 

Kangin groaned and rubbed the back of his head. “Ouch…” He squinted his eyes open and saw a shadow above his face.

 

“Are you this noisy in bed?”

 

Kangin gave a slight scream and literally crawl on all fours backwards and attached himself to the wall. Kibum merely looked up at him from his floating position. “I was merely avoiding getting squished.”

 

“By hovering over me?!”

 

Kibum gave a shrug. “Whatever works.”

 

Kangin nodded and slowly got up but kept to the wall and slid towards the kitchen, his eyes never leaving the floating figure’s form.

 

Kibum rolled his eyes, “Relax. I don’t bite.”

 

“Right.” Kangin grunted and quickly ran in to grab the phone.