Hakyeon rubbed his hands over his face, carding them through his hair afterwards and successfully disheveling his already messy hair even more before leaning back against the wall with a deep sigh, staring into nothing.

 

It had been two weeks since Hongbin had left, and he hadn’t heard from him since then. It was driving him crazy, not knowing if the fae was fine or hurt or even-… He shook his head vehemently, getting up from where he was sitting in an attempt to dispel such thoughts.

Quickly, he climbed the stairs out of the cave, only stopping long enough in the hallway to grab his cloak before darting out of the front door and to the forest.

The whole last two weeks had been like this; he’d start doing something inside the house, more often than not ending up reading, until something reminded him of Hongbin and he had to get out. He couldn’t stand expecting to see him around the next corner but at the same time knowing he wouldn’t be there… and not knowing if he ever would be again. So, he went out, hoping to distract himself at the same time as he hoped to run into Hongbin somewhere out there, per chance.

So far, he hadn’t seen hide nor hair from the fae, and the longer he went without, the more worried he got. He couldn’t even stand being in the forest for long now, thinking that maybe, just maybe, Hongbin would come to his house to find him, and what if he wasn’t there then? And so, he would turn around and hurry back home after a while.

This time was no different, and he was back home after not even an hour.

Frustrated, he threw his cloak on its hook in the hallway, pausing afterwards to think about what he should do now…

That was another frequent occurrence now. Before, he’d never had to think about what to do. He always had enough to do, never found himself bored. Now, he couldn’t even focus on one thing for long.

The thing he could do the longest was sort the books from the boxes into shelves he’d installed in the room in the cave, until he got distracted by one and started reading it. That was what he decided to do again then, too.

He looked around the cave when he reached it. Half the boxes were already empty, their books neatly lined up on the shelves. The enchanted dust that had been covering everything had disappeared overnight after he’d started putting up the shelves, leaving the floor and all the surfaces sparkling clean and Hakyeon very grateful he didn’t have to figure out the spell to get rid of it himself.

He picked a random box to start unpacking, the one closest to him. It happened to be the one with vampire-books. Mechanically, he started sorting them into the next free section of shelves on the wall, getting lost in the repetitive movements until one of the books distracted him and he flipped it open to read a bit.

After hours, a knock on the door upstairs startled him, even though the noise was tiny. He didn’t think twice before dropping the book on an empty shelf and rushing upstairs, throwing the door open just as the knock finished sounding again. Hakyeon froze as he saw the person he’d been hoping to see actually standing in front of him, unable to believe it.

“Hey… It looks like it’s going to rain again tonight, and I was wondering if I could crash here?” Hongbin asked with a small tilt of his head.

Hakyeon didn’t answer, rushing forward to close the small space between them and pulling Hongbin into his arms, holding him tight. He could feel more than hear Hongbin’s chuckle as he returned the hug.

“Don’t tell me you missed me…”

Hakyeon huffed.

“Shut up…!” He didn’t let go of Hongbin, even tightening his hug, unbelievably relieved to have the stupid fae whole and alive in his arms. Hongbin didn’t seem to mind, either, holding Hakyeon just as tightly as he adjusted in his arms to bring him even closer before eventually backing off.

“So, can I sleep over?”

Hakyeon huffed again, shoving at him.

“No, why would I let a total stranger into my house? Do I even know your face? Have we met? I can’t remember…”

Hongbin rolled his eyes, pushing past Hakyeon inside the house.

“It’s been two weeks, not two centuries, Hakyeon.”

“Felt like the latter, though…” Hakyeon grumbled, closing the door behind them.

Unaffected, Hongbin led the way to the living room, flopping down on one of the couches face-down, hugging the soft pillows with wide-spread arms.

“Ooh, I’ve missed you, old friend!”

Hakyeon snorted, sitting down on the small space Hongbin wasn’t using up on the couch.

“You missed the couch?”

Hongbin nodded.

“And the bed, and the roof, and the kitchen… more like the pantry, but, you know…”

Hakyeon shook his head in disbelief.

“Aish, what a freeloader…”

It was then Hongbin chuckled, turning onto his side and wriggling up on the couch until he could lay his head on Hakyeon’s thighs.

“And this, too…”

Hakyeon could no longer hold in his smile, his hand automatically wandering up to comb through Hongbin’s hair, brushing the strands out of his face. For a while, neither of them said anything, the silence not bothering them as all they needed was the other being close, until Hongbin eventually broke it, his voice small and serious.

“Did you worry a lot?”

Hakyeon hummed non-committedly, not interrupting his hand’s movements.

“I’m sorry it took so long… I didn’t expect to be gone for longer than a week…”

Hakyeon tilted his head, giving him a questioning look. He didn’t dare try to ask him aloud, fearing his voice would fail him mid question.

Hongbin sighed, fixing a point somewhere on the ceiling over Hakyeon’s head.

“I went to find the colony, but they had moved on from where they’d been last time I visited.”

Hakyeon frowned.

“The colony?”

Hongbin nodded, humming.

“Yes. The colony that protects our elders and the youngest… We used to have more colonies, but now there’s only that one… They have to keep moving so they won’t be found as easily, since it’s harder to hide that many of us; and that even though this colony has shrunk immensely, too… Anyway, I went to find the elders, to ask them about our singing magic, and about the council.”

Hakyeon gave him a surprised look, but Hongbin only adjusted his position to lay more comfortably on Hakyeon’s lap.

“What did you find out?” Hakyeon pressed, and Hongbin shrugged with a nonchalance he didn’t feel.

“They said I can learn it, since all fairies supposedly have the innate ability to do that, but they can’t teach me, since it’s too dangerous. So, I told them about you.”

Hakyeon’s eyes widened.

“What? What about me?!”

Hongbin shook his head placatingly.

“Don’t worry… I just told them that you rescued me from the hunters and healed me, and that you don’t always despite being a sorcerer. And that I trust you. They still said they wouldn’t help me with growing that tree we need in the backyard, though, because they can’t afford to trust you. But, well, our eldest did encourage me to try and learn our magic if I can do it safely, namely with your protection.”

Hakyeon nodded.

“Of course, you can practice in my garden and I’ll set up protection spells around you to hide your magic.”

Hongbin hummed.

“Thank you, that would be great. Well, that’s all I ended up accomplishing, though, since none of the elders were willing to share anything they knew about the council. Or rather, they didn’t share anything useful. Just that it existed, that our representative was the first to get kidnapped or killed -everyone was saying something different- and that his name was long forgotten. They had never heard about any prophecy the likes of which our old man wrote down, either. Basically, all they told me was to stop dwelling on a past that would never return and focus on keeping myself alive.”

Hakyeon tightened his grip in Hongbin’s hair, tugging slightly.

“And right they are! You are far too reckless, travelling across the country on your own like that without even telling anyone where you’re going!”

Hongbin flinched, and Hakyeon released his grip, soothing where he had pulled before.

“I didn’t want to worry you, and I could hardly take you with me. I didn’t know it would take me this long!”

Hakyeon huffed, giving Hongbin an unimpressed look that was weakened by the gentle combs of his hand through the latter’s hair.

“You know you didn’t have to go that far for me, though, right? I can always find another way to hide the library or even the whole house without that elm tree. And I think we’ll be able to find out a lot more about the council ourselves just by reading the old man’s journals.”

Hongbin hummed, looking away sheepishly.

“I know, I just wanted to-… to contribute something useful, too. And, well… I missed seeing others of my kind, I guess.”

Hakyeon’s expression softened, understanding taking over.

“Of course… And you’re back now… Are you going to stick around the forest from now on?”

Hongbin nodded.

“I have nothing else planned at the moment… I’ll make sure to tell you next time I plan on leaving, so your hair won’t go white from worry that I left again in case we don’t see each other for a day.”

Hakyeon half felt like retorting that it would go white when he told him he would leave again instead, but refrained. It wouldn’t be fair to guilt-trip Hongbin to stay in the forest like that.

“Thank you.” He replied instead, just as Hongbin yawned widely, snuggling closer and closing his eyes. He looked about to fall asleep.

“Have you eaten yet?” Hakyeon asked nonetheless, and Hongbin blinked his eyes open again with sudden interest.

“Not in a while… I was focusing on getting back here as quickly as possible.”

Hakyeon frowned sternly

“And how long was that while?”

Hongbin bit his lip, sheepish.

“Since I left the colony… a little over 4 days ago."

Hakyeon sighed, exasperated, poking Hongbin’s side to make him sit up.

“Let me get up, I’ll whip something up real quick. And don’t you dare fall asleep before you’ve eaten something!”

Hongbin mock saluted once he’d saved himself out of reach of the poking finger, and Hakyeon shook his head, resigned, before leaving to go to the kitchen.

Still, he couldn’t hide a relieved smile as he worked to gather something to eat for the fae, too glad that he was back in one piece and healthy, even if starved. Halfway through his preparations, he felt a pair of arms sneak around his waist and a heartbeat later Hongbin’s magic nudging his own. His smile grew and his magic nudged back.

Hongbin’s magic didn’t mimic his own anymore, having found back to its own calm pattern, yet it still aligned with his own just like it had when it was disturbed. He didn’t mind the feeling at all, despite how taboo he’d been thought it was to touch another’s magic.

Other than with the nudge of his own magic, he didn’t acknowledge Hongbin’s hug, though, knowing the fae would probably step back as soon as he did, and he liked the feeling of the simultaneously hot and cold body against his back too much. Only when he’d finished putting together the quick meal did he turn around in Hongbin’s arms, nudging him to go sit down so he could put the plate down in front of him.

Hongbin didn’t waste time to devour the meal, making it obvious he hadn’t eaten in days, and Hakyeon shook his head disapprovingly.

“Next time you travel make sure to at least take something to eat with you… If you can’t find anything come to me and I’ll pack you something; do you hear me?”

Hongbin grinned, lopsided, as he brushed a crumb out of the corner of his mouth and pushed the empty plate away from himself.

“You nag like one of the elders…”

Hakyeon huffed, sending the plate flying to the sink where it washed itself with a wave of his hand.

“Maybe your elders are up to something and you should actually listen to them…!”

Hongbin rolled his eyes, still grinning.

“Or maybe I’ll continue being a rebel until the rebel-life bites me in the .”

Hakyeon grumbled, shaking his head as he got up.

“If anyone’s going to bite your for not listening to reason, it’s going to be me one day.”

Hongbin laughed, getting up as well to follow Hakyeon.

“Is that another of your kinks?” He wriggled his eyebrows suggestively as he caught up and draped an arm around Hakyeon’s shoulders.

Hakyeon elbowed his side none too gently.

“Yeah. You know I love seeing you in pain.”

Hongbin grimaced, rubbing his molested side with his free hand while he still kept the other around Hakyeon’s shoulders as they climbed the stairs.

“I can tell…”

Once they reached the top, Hongbin pulled Hakyeon to a stop, though, all jest gone from his expression.

“Sleep with me?”

Hakyeon studied his expression for a moment, making sure Hongbin meant it, before he nodded. The lack of a smart-aleck response from Hongbin only confirmed how serious the fae was about the request, and he only went to gather his pillow and change into his pyjamas before joining the fae in bed. Hongbin wasted no time to close the space between them, pillowing his head on Hakyeon’s chest before letting the pitter-patter of the rain that had started in the meantime lull him to sleep.

Hakyeon lay awake for a while longer when the fae was already fast asleep, observing the dully glowing specks of golden and green dust floating just above Hongbin’s skin, and eventually reached out to play with the visible magic. He wished he could hold Hongbin that close forever.

*#*#*#*

Hongbin left again as soon as the rain had stopped after breakfast the next morning, but Hakyeon met him again in the afternoon, by the stream. The night promised to be clear, and Hongbin decided to spend the night outside, though. Still, he came over for breakfast the morning after, and Hakyeon and him went out to the forest together afterwards.

The following days passed in a similar way. Sometimes Hongbin would come over for a meal, sometimes they met in the forest, but generally, they saw each other at least for a little while every day. Only once did Hongbin spend the night over again when it started raining heavily in the afternoon and they hurried back to Hakyeon’s house together.

A week turned into two, then three, and the weather got warmer. Hongbin positively glowed in the afternoon sun as they sat in Hakyeon’s garden, drinking tea.

“I want to learn how to sing.” Hongbin stated suddenly, and Hakyeon tilted his head in question.

“Right now?”

Hongbin nodded.

“If I can…”

Hakyeon thought for a while, then nodded before going inside, telling Hongbin to wait a second. When he came back out, he was carrying his bag with several magic utensils and one of the books with the golden ribbons.

“This is the first in the series as far as I can tell, you should probably start with that one.” He said as he handed Hongbin the book, then went on to cast a spell over his garden to keep the sound of Hongbin’s voice as well as the glare of his magic hidden inside, while Hongbin studied the first pages of the book.

“Do you want me to leave you alone to practice?” He wondered when he saw Hongbin bite his lip apprehensively once he’d finished.

The fae nodded with a shyness Hakyeon hadn’t seen on him before, but only shrugged in response.

“Ok. I’ll be in the basement. Just call if you need something.”

With that he left, smiling out of Hongbin’s sight at the fae’s sudden embarrassment. He was half tempted to stick around to eavesdrop on him, curious what his singing voice would sound like, but then decided against it. He was sure Hongbin would let him hear him one day when he was ready to.

While Hongbin practiced in the garden, on that day and many after, Hakyeon finished sorting the books into their shelves in the cave, and then set out to install a potions lab in another of the unused rooms in the cave.

His constructions went well, a door appearing between the new library and the lab, a new chimney winding its way up through the earth to connect to one of the ones in the house, water pipes growing to connect to existing ones like roots until he had all the installations he needed down there. Furnishing the new lab was his favourite part, giving the old furniture that he found in the basement new life as he renewed their purpose.

The library became cozy, too, over time, though the unopened boxes bothered him. He kept moving them from one place against the wall to another, pushing them around so often he wondered if whatever was in them would even survive the constant moving.

Still, he had to move them again, because they looked horrible in the corner where he’d stacked them in. It made the whole library look like a cluttered cave-room instead of the cozy place he wanted it to become. And so, he set out to move them yet again, this time deciding to spread them out throughout the room, between the shelves and bookcases. A few pillows on top made a few of them look like chairs or benches, a doily and a vase on another few like side tables.

He was about to set his biggest vase down on the last one he’d left in the corner, when he noticed something underneath it. He would have thought it to be mere cracks in the floor, if they weren’t so evenly distanced.

Curious, he set the vase down somewhere else, pulling the heavy box out of the corner.

The cracks continued all the way to the wall, where he noticed a narrow but long slit in the angle formed between the wall and the floor, covering the length between the first and the last crack in the floor.

His curiosity grew, and he poked at the cracks with his magic. One by one, they seemed to grow, straighten, the connections between them disappeared, until the appearance of stone floor disappeared and gave way to the original wooden planks forming a trap door.

Without second thought, Hakyeon pushed at the opening, the no doubt heavy lid sliding into the wall effortlessly, revealing a steep staircase leading down into the darkness. He was about to set his foot on the first step when a commotion from upstairs interrupted him.

“Hakyeon!” Hongbin sounded panicked, and Hakyeon didn’t waste another thought on what could be hidden under his basement in favour of hurrying upstairs.

The first thing he noticed when he stepped into the hallway was how dark it was in the whole house, despite the doors to the rooms being open everywhere. Lighting his way with magic, he bumped into Hongbin in the living room, leaning heavily against the door leading out into the backyard.

“Hakyeon, I’m so sorry, I didn’t know this would happen!”

Hakyeon gave him a concerned look.

“That what would happen…?”

Hongbin flinched.

“You know how I managed to make that sunflower bloom on the second day already?”

Hakyeon hummed, nodding for Hongbin to continue.

“I thought since that was so easy, I could skip a couple of steps and start singing to roots to make them grow into plants already…”

Hakyeon nodded again, knowing that much already.

“Well, I thought I was singing to a dandelion root, but…”

“But what?”

Hongbin bit his lip. You better see for yourself… But we have to go through the front door, and we better hurry…”

Hongbin rushed forward, leading the way, and Hakyeon followed him closely. Hongbin struggled for a moment before he could get the door open, and Hakyeon frowned at the fae when he stumbled outside, following suit. As soon as he was outside and turned around to take a look at his house, he gasped.

“It wasn’t a dandelion root…” Hongbin admitted, panting slightly, and Hakyeon noticed the fae growing pale, his dust struggling to lift off his skin at all.

Hakyeon shook his head as he turned back to his house, now covered so over and over in wildly growing ivy that it didn’t even resemble a house anymore. He gulped.

“I assume you tried to make it stop growing already?”

Hongbin nodded, swaying on his feet, and Hakyeon helped him sit down on the stone walkway leading to his front door.

“It won’t listen, though… It only started growing faster, and when I tried to yank the original root out to stop it from growing it latched on to my magic, and…”

“And it’s draining you now.”

Hongbin nodded, his breathing growing labored.

Hakyeon cursed, staring at the ivy that had covered the front of the house and the front door by now, too, locking them outside.

He cursed again when Hongbin decided to lay down on the ground instead of sitting, the ivy weakening him quickly.

“What did you tell the root to do?”

Hongbin blinked, tired.

“To grow… To grow and become a pretty adult… The biggest of its kind… Until it couldn’t grow anymore… I’m so sorry, I really didn’t know it was an ivy-root…!”

Hakyeon groaned, shaking his head.

“That’s not important right now, we need to stop this before it kills you!”

Hongbin whimpered quietly, pressing his lips closed.

Hakyeon tried not to let the fact that he was running out of time distract him, to ignore it when Hongbin lost consciousness. He couldn’t, though, reaching out to him automatically, his magic finding what was left of Hongbin’s and holding on to it.

The ivy bristled, it’s leaves rustling as if a wind was rushing through it, only affecting the ivy but none of the trees around them.

“You won’t get him.” Hakyeon growled lowly, his magic holding tighter onto Hongbin’s as the ivy tried the same.

Before long, a thin sheen of perspiration appeared on his forehead from the struggle. So far, the voracious plant hadn’t been able to drain more of Hongbin’s magic, but Hakyeon was sure he couldn’t keep it from doing so for much longer. Hongbin’s own spell on the plant was too strong for him.

Five more minutes that felt like an hour passed, and the ivy won, thin tendrils of Hongbin’s magic seeping through the cracks forming in his own and wandering towards the plant that seemed to rejoice it’s win.

Hakyeon cried out in frustration; he had to do something, and quick, or Hongbin would die!

If only he could kill the plant! But how did one kill an ivy, a magically enhanced one at that? The only thing he could think of was burning it…

He winced as the idea crossed his mind. If he burned the ivy, he would also lose his house…

Hongbin’s breathing slowed in his arms, rattling in his chest, and Hakyeon knew he didn’t have a choice. Without another second of thought, he let go of Hongbin, got up and threw his own magic at the plant, which erupted into flames as soon as it touched it. Behind him, Hongbin cried out, arching off the ground without waking up.

Hakyeon’s heart stopped beating for a moment as he realized that by killing the plant, he was killing Hongbin’s magic. There was no stopping it anymore now as the flames spread over the plant, in no time engulfing the whole house.

Hakyeon couldn’t look on, turning his back to the raging inferno and sinking to the ground next to the still fae. A sob wrenched itself past his throat as he pushed his arms under his body, lifting him up and cradling his limp form close to him.

His tears were by no means silent as he sobbed blindly against the top of Hongbin’s head, not quite able to comprehend what just happened just yet, but their sound was drowned out by the cracking and howling of the burning house behind him

He didn’t even feel the faint tug on his magic at first, even though his own magic reacted by clinging to the tugging tendril. It took a sharper tug, amplified by the hold his magic had on it for him to notice. It was the faint rest of Hongbin’s magic, too weak to cling to Hongbin himself, but only just strong enough to reach out to Hakyeon’s magic.

Hakyeon gasped when he realized not all was lost yet, wrapping his magic around the faint whisper of Hongbin’s with fervor. Still, he could feel it slipping, bit by bit flying into the flames.

He cried out in frustration, reaching out after the disappearing flickers, and to his own surprise, managed to get a hold on them.

Quickly, he returned the magic he’d caught to Hongbin’s, a flicker of hope refusing to die within him as he chased after every bit of magic he could that left Hongbin. If he could only keep what he had left together until the fire killed the rest of the plant…

It wasn’t enough though. Hongbin barely breathed anymore, his chest not even rising at that point, and his pulse could only be felt with a lot of imagination and willpower, until even that ceased.

Hakyeon was past the point of rational thinking when he lost the last tendril of Hongbin’s magic, and he hurled all he had left of his own magic at the raging fire. He could feel Hongbin’s magic pulsing in the fire, as well as his own that had started the flames. The ivy was dying, only a few of the roots resisting the fire, but Hongbin’s magic was still there.

Hakyeon froze as he felt Hongbin everywhere in the fire, his magic intact and intertwined with his own detached one in the flames.

His magic wasn’t hurting Hongbin’s. They were one.

He didn’t think as he gathered every last ounce of strength he had in him to call his magic back, every last bit of it, and with it, Hongbin’s. He could feel Hongbin’s magic like a foreign force as it streamed into him, feeling that it didn’t belong to him, but he called more and more of it back as he cradled Hongbin’s lifeless form to himself.

He acted on instinct as his lips landed on Hongbin’s, and the magic coursed through him like a whirlwind as it returned to its owner.

Behind him, the fire lost strength, the flames collapsing in on themselves, leaving behind swelling ashes until the magic retreated from even those and they grew cold.

Hakyeon didn’t look up, his lips still pressed to Hongbin’s cold ones while hot tears streamed down his face. He had no more of Hongbin’s magic within him, but he didn’t want to accept that he had failed even if he had returned Hongbin’s magic to him. Eventually, he couldn’t deny it any longer, though, and his hold grew weak as he lowered Hongbin back to the ground.

He’d lost him.

The fae was dead.

A few, soft raindrops began to fall, hitting Hakyeon’s hand, his neck, his forehead, but Hakyeon couldn’t bring himself to care, not even when the single drops turned into a steady, soft rain that gradually became harder until it started seeping through Hakyeon’s clothes. He didn’t get up though, merely tilting his head back to let the rain wash over his face until all that existed were him and the rain soaking him through.

For a while, the world around him ceased to exist, with all its sounds, smells, sights. All that existed was the rain pelting his face, his closed eyelids, cooling him down until a leaded, false serenity overcame him.

He didn’t feel the wet fingers interlacing with his own, squeezing lightly and warming his shaking, cold hand. It was only the clearing of a throat that woke him out of his momentary stasis.

“What’s for dinner?”

His eyes flew open, and he looked around himself frantically, finding no one anywhere next to him until he heard a small chuckle, and felt the tug on his hand.

“Down here, silly.”

Hakyeon froze, tensed, not daring to believe-… His body betrayed him, though, and he looked down, finding Hongbin looking up at him through squinting eyes, blinking drops of rain out of them.

Hakyeon gaped at him, thinking he was staring at a ghost

“Why are we out here getting rained on?”

Hakyeon shook his head.

“Hongbin…”

Hongbin tilted his head slightly.

“Hm?”

“You’re… alive?” Hakyeon breathed the words carefully, in disbelief.

Hongbin smiled lightly, merely a small quirk of his lips.

“Hm… It would seem I am… At least I hope I am; if I was a ghost with this bad of a back-pain, I would be seriously pissed...!”

Hakyeon gasped, his hands flying to Hongbin’s chest, under his shirt, sending his magic inside the fae’s body in a hurry.

Hongbin gasped indignantly, but held his breath until Hakyeon’s frantic search was over. As soon as he retreated, though, he lifted his hand to punch Hakyeon’s side, though weakly.

“Hey! Just because I said it didn’t feel that weird anymore back then that doesn’t mean a warning wouldn’t be apprecia- wha! Hakyeon!”

Hakyeon had thrown himself over Hongbin, clutching to him as sobs even worse than before wracked his body.

“You’re alive…!” He repeated over and over, hiding his face in Hongbin’s chest as Hongbin wrapped his arms around him.

“Hm. I am alive. And I’m very soaked through and you’re not helping.”

Hakyeon ignored him.

“I thought I’d lost you… You-… you weren’t breathing, and your magic was gone…”

Hongbin grimaced.

“But you brought it back and now I’m all good. My magic is fine, I’m fine…”

Hakyeon only cried harder, and Hongbin sighed, resigned.

“Hakyeon… It’s ok. You saved me… again. I’m all whole and healthy. Well, I might catch a cold if I keep laying on these stones like this…”

Hakyeon wrapped his arms around him then, lifting him off the ground just that little bit, and Hongbin sighed.

“Really now? Hakyeon, please… You’re going to catch a cold, too. Let’s go inside, I hate the rain…”

Hakyeon stilled then, sitting up slowly, wiping at his eyes.

“I’m sorry… I would, but… the house is gone…”

Hongbin blinked up at him, incredulous.

“What?”

Hakyeon flinched.

“I… I had to set it on fire, to kill the ivy… It was killing you, and I didn’t see another way…”

Hongbin stared at him, frowning, and Hakyeon lowered his head.

“I don’t blame you, though, so don’t worry. But it looks like I can’t give you shelter anymore, even though I promised to…”

Hongbin’s frown grew, and he cleared his throat.

“Uhm… Do you mean you set that house on fire, over there?”

Hakyeon blinked at him, bewildered.

“What? What other house would I mean?”

Hongbin cleared his throat again, sitting up and nodding past Hakyeon.

“Because if you mean that house over there, it looks pretty fine to me.”

Hakyeon frowned, wondering if Hongbin had hit his head at some point, before turning around to where Hongbin was looking.

His jaw dropped as he saw the house standing there against the darkening evening sky, looking like always, front door open and light shining out invitingly.

“W-what?!”

Hongbin chuckled, reaching out to ruffle Hakyeon’s soaked hair gently.

“You went through a lot today, didn’t you?”

Hakyeon shook his head.

“I swear it was burning… I saw the roof collapsing, I heard the windows burst… How…”

Hongbin passed his arm around Hakyeon’s shoulder.

“You said the house was full of magic, though, right? That there were so many spells on it you didn’t even know them all… Maybe resistance against fire is one of them. I mean, it’s been standing here for over three thousand years already, surely it must have some protection spells that keep it intact against all kinds of threats on it, right?”

Hakyeon only nodded dumbly, and after a moment, Hongbin decided to get up, using Hakyeon as leverage at first before reaching out to help the sorcerer up as well.

“Come on, let’s go in and see what the house managed to save from the fire…”

Hakyeon took his hand but got up mostly on his own. Hongbin might fake bravado, but Hakyeon knew all too well how much he had been weakened, and it became apparent the more the fae leaned on him as they approached the door.

As soon as they stepped inside, though, the door slammed closed behind them without anyone touching it, almost catching Hakyeon’s heels.

Hakyeon frowned slightly, but got distracted by Hongbin yawning.

“I think I’m just going to sleep, I’m so tired… You should do the same, actually.”

Hakyeon hummed distractedly, looking around himself in bewilderment. Everything inside the house was the same as before, not a trace of fire to be seen anywhere.

“Hakyeon?”

Hakyeon tore his attention away from the torn off moon calendar page that still lay in the exact same spot he’d left it a week ago, on a side-board next to the kitchen door.

“Let’s go up?” Hongbin asked, but it was more of a request.

Hakyeon nodded, passing an arm around Hongbin’s back to help him up the stairs.

They had only taken a few steps down the hallway once they reached the top of the stairs, when Hakyeon hit his head on a lamp.

“Ouch!” He exclaimed, rubbing the back of his head where the lamp had hit him, but when they looked up, the lamp was hanging innocently in its usual place, far out of reach of their heads.

Hakyeon frowned, while Hongbin just wondered, and they continued on their way. A few steps later, though, Hakyeon howled in pain when he hit his foot against the leg of a side table -in the middle of the hallway, a good half meter away from where the table stood.

Just before reaching Hongbin’s room, Hakyeon tripped over the edge of the carpet, and once he sat up, both he and Hongbin could see the fold in the carpet smoothing out again, flattening against the wooden floor.

“What in the name of-…”

Hongbin chuckled.

“I think…”

Hakyeon looked up at him as he stifled another chuckle.

“I think the house might be mad at you for setting it on fire…”

Hakyeon gaped at him, then frowned at the walls around him.

“What…? Is it telling me to move out now?!” His stomach knotted in dread, just as the door to Hongbin’s room opened, a pillow flying out and hitting Hongbin in the face, before hitting the back of Hakyeon’s head.

“Ah! Stop it!” Hakyeon hit at the pillow, getting up. He turned towards the stairs, but the pillow lifted off the ground again, hitting him in the face now. He tried to fed it off, but it only relented once he turned around and towards Hongbin’s room.

They looked at each other warily, but when they hesitated too long, the pillow started stirring again, and hastily, they stepped towards the door and inside the room. The pillow sailed past them to land in its previous spot on the bed, and the door slammed shut behind them as soon as they were over the threshold, still catching Hongbin’s and making him jump.

“Hey, that’s dangerous! You could have caught my wings, you know!”

In answer, a shower of dust fell through a crack in the ceiling, covering Hongbin and making him splutter.

Hakyeon laughed.

“It might be mad at you, too, since you covered it in ivy…”

Hongbin coughed again, glaring at Hakyeon and the walls around them.

“Yeah, and I died for that mistake. I really think that’s punishment enough!”

Hakyeon sobered up, stepping closer to Hongbin.

“You don’t think the house hates us enough to kill us or at least seriously harm us now, do you?”

Hongbin bit his lip, looking worried.

“I don’t know… I hope it doesn’t… Hey, house, are you planning to kill us?” He asked, louder, looking nowhere in particular. He didn’t get an answer, though.

The eerie silence was soon interrupted by Hakyeon sneezing, though, repeatedly. It wasn’t from the dust, either, but because of how cold he felt.

“I don’t need the house to kill me, I’m sure I’ll get enough of a cold to do the job…” He mumbled miserably, wiping his nose off on his soaked sleeve.

“Ew, gross, Hakyeon! At least use a towel!” Hongbin exclaimed, throwing said piece of fabric at the sorcerer.

Hakyeon caught the soft towel, marveling at how warm it was, too, before he noticed the stack on the chair next to Hongbin.

“Since when do you keep that many towels in your room…?”

Hongbin blinked, confused, before he, too, noticed the stack.

“I didn’t put that there...”

Hakyeon frowned, turning around to face the bed as he remembered something, and found his suspicion confirmed.

“That’s my pillow on the bed… Why is it here…? And my pyjamas, too! I didn’t leave them here, I slept in my room last night!”

Hongbin tilted his head, chuckling after a moment of thinking.

“I think the house doesn’t hate us after all… It’s just mad at us, but not to the point it wants us dead. More like an angry mother.” In answer to that, one of the towels rose and hit Hongbin against the back of the head, before draping over his wet hair limply.

Hongbin laughed, reaching up.

“Alright, alright, I’ll do it myself!” He started toweling his hair dry as another towel flew at Hakyeon and the sorcerer caught it in the air before it could hit him. He, too, finally started drying his hair, eventually getting out of his wet clothes, too.

“Agh, maybe the house hates me after all, forcing me to see your like that…!” Hongbin quipped when he turned around in the wrong moment, just to see Hakyeon step out of his soaking pants.

Hakyeon scoffed at him.

“I think the house must love you quite a bit to bestow such a blessing as the chance to see my prime derrière in all its glory on you!”

Hongbin made a retching sound, turning back around before starting to take his own soaked clothes off.

“You keep telling yourself that; whatever lie makes you sleep at night.”

Hakyeon hummed, way too close for Hongbin’s liking, before patting his lightly.

“It’s ok, Hongbinnie, I get it. I would be mad with jealousy, too, if I only had your painfully average bum…”

Hongbin jumped, yelling indignantly and swatting at Hakyeon’s hand as the older jumped out of the way. He didn’t see the edge of the rug lifting in front of his feet, though, sending him tumbling to the floor again.

“Hey! Don’t you think you’ve punished me enough yet?!” He groaned, rubbing his bruised knees before getting up and clambering to the bed, pouting.

“Serves you right…” Hongbin mumbled, finished putting on his own dry pyjamas that he kept in the room in case he felt like sleeping over. The house didn’t seem quite done with him yet, either, though, since the shirt ripped open in all its length as he was about to fit his arms through it.

“Hey!” He exclaimed, but resigned to pulling the destroyed garment off of himself again. “I really liked this shirt, what the …?” He grumbled under his breath as he tried to untangle himself from the piece of clothing, throwing it onto the chair indignantly once he’d managed to free himself. He didn’t go search for a new shirt, though, moving to go to bed with only his pants on.

Hakyeon pulled the blankets back for him as he joined him in bed, draping them over him again once he’d settled. Almost instantly, the lights in the room went off.

The lay in silence for a while, until Hongbin cleared his throat quietly.

“Do you think we’ll survive the night?”

Hakyeon hummed.

“I think we will… It’s probably going to take a while until the house forgives us, though…”

“Let’s go on a trip, then, until it’s cooled down- ouch! What the hell, there’s a spring sticking out my side of the mattress!”

Hakyeon bit back a chuckle.

“Bad choice of words, I guess… I think we’ll just have to behave and wait until the house forgives us… I’ve never heard of one being so strict, though.”

Hongbin huffed, shifting away from the offending spring, closer to Hakyeon’s side, but chose to stay quiet. Silence fell over them again, but neither felt like they could sleep.

“Hakyeon…?” Came Hongbin’s soft voice again after quite a while, tentative so as not to wake him in case he was already sleeping.

“Hm?” The sorcerer wasn’t asleep.

“Thank you for saving me… again. Despite of what it could have cost you.”

Hakyeon shifted to his side, finding Hongbin’s hand in the dark and interlacing their fingers.

“You don’t need to thank me… I would do everything for you.”

Hongbin swallowed audibly in the dark.

“I know that now… But you shouldn’t be so reckless again. What if the house hadn’t survived the fire like it did? You would’ve had nowhere to live. And all those books in the basement? All the carefully preserved information they hold? It would have been gone…”

Hakyeon exhaled shakily.

“I knew that... But all that mattered to me was saving you. I just didn’t care…”

Hongbin shook his head, turning onto his side to face Hakyeon.

“You should care, though. This is your responsibility now, you need to protect it. Not me, when I up like earlier. I’m not worth it-…”

“Like hell you’re not! You are a living being, you will always be worth more than any inanimate object!” Hakyeon interrupted him, hissing.

Hongbin sighed.

“This house is clearly not inanimate, though.”

Hakyeon huffed.

“It will never be as much of a living being as you, and you will always be more important to me than this house!”

A faint growl, kind of like thunder, could be heard somewhere deep below the ground underneath the house, and the windows rattled faintly in their frames. Hongbin hissed, reaching out and slapping his hand over Hakyeon’s mouth.

“Could you shut the hell up with stuff like that before you get the house to really hate us and throw us out?! Or worse?!”

Hakyeon pouted as he shoved Hongbin’s hand away, and Hongbin sighed. Still, he scooted closer, passing an arm around Hakyeon’s middle and squeezing lightly.

“I might not consciously approve of your stance, but deep down inside… Thank you, Hakyeon. I don’t know what I would do without you.”

Hakyeon returned the hug, nuzzling the top of Hongbin’s head before brushing a light kiss against his forehead.

“You wouldn’t be at risk of being killed by an angry house while sleeping in it, maybe?”

Hongbin yawned, snuggling closer.

“I think that’s a risk worth taking, though.”

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A/N: Technically, it's not this fic's turn to be updated, but factually, this has been the one I have been inspired to write. Not that I haven't been wanting to write any of the others, it's just this one was the one banging pots and pans together and yelling at all times of the day to be written, so I got none of the others done. And that's why I have two chapters for this one done and dusted, and am behind on all the others. *sigh* I hope I got it out of my system for now and can write a bit of something else in the next few days where I still have time to write.

 

As always, if you liked this, I'd love it if you'd give me an upvote, or subscribed, or even commented. Comments are always my favourite. I love reading what you think about the chapter. Well, guess you hate me now for accidentally killing Hongbin there, so no surprises there, but that was a slip, and he's not really dead. I'm not gonna promise I won't do that again, though. Just gotta remember that whatever happens, there will always be a happy end, in some way, with my stories. Promise. What was I gonna say before I started rambling…? Ah! If you want to leave me a tip for this story and support my ever-grumbling stomach, you can do so here. <3