Hongbin didn't take Hakyeon up on his offer. Hakyeon didn't even see him for a long time, though he kept finding signs of him.

A bundle of honey-nettles dangling from the wind chimes on his front porch could only have been left there by Hongbin. The same went for to the little pouch with dried bee-berry seeds on his doormat and the coockoo-grass sprouts freshly planted under his bathroom window.

After that, he didn't find any more gifts by his house, but along the paths when he wandered through the forest. Half the time, he was sure Hongbin was following him silently, hidden from his sight, and making sure he found his gifts.

One day when he was wandering towards the river, a noise behind him distracted him from the path and had him turn back around. He couldn't see anything suspicious, though, and decided to continue on his journey, just to almost trip over a bundle of sweet-roots that had most definitely not been there before he’d turned around.

With a sigh, he bent down to inspect the truly impeccable roots.

“Hongbin-ah… I told you I didn't want you to do anything for me. I mean it. I'm very grateful for your gifts, but please, you don't need to do this…”

He didn't get an answer.

“Hongbin? I know you're here somewhere!”

Still, no answer. He couldn't locate him, either. Sighing, he gathered the roots. He wasn't going to let them go to waste and dishonour the work Hongbin had done and the troubles he’d gone through. It was uncomfortable, a little, accepting all of the gifts, but he had to admit they were extremely useful and he would have taken ages to gather them himself.

Eventually, he got somewhat used to them, and in a way he was glad to see the little gifts appearing if he couldn't see Hongbin in their stead. As long as they were there, he knew Hongbin was alright and still around, not caught by some hunters.

Spring was well underway when Hakyeon was rudely awoken one morning, disoriented at first at what could have disturbed him. He quickly found out, though, that it was the alarm system he had set up a while ago to alert him of foreign magic in the forest.

He was sure he'd never gotten dressed and left the house for the forest that quickly. There wasn't really much he could do if someone decided to breach his territory, at least not when it came to a duel, but he had devised other methods to get rid of hunters that came to his forest. Enchanting his cloak, he became invisible to others, but only shielded his magic every now and again as he ran through the forest, confusing the hunters’ tracking spells.

It wasn't a very well thought through plan, though, and at the end of the day, when he hunters finally left, he was beyond exhausted. He hadn't eaten all day, and both his body and his magic were depleted of energy. He barely made it back to his house, bringing up just enough energy to cook something to eat up and drag himself to his couch. He made it through half of the meal before exhaustion claimed it's tribute and he fell asleep.

When he woke up again, it was the middle of the night. It had been a frantic knock that had woken him up, and it sounded again just as he was getting up. He didn't bother lighting any lamps as he rushed to his front door, using his magic to find the way.

He recognized the figure on his door-step immediately, even without light.

“Hongbin-”

“Hunters!” The fae panted, and Hakyeon stepped out of the way.

“Come in!”

The fae didn't have to be asked twice, darting past Hakyeon into the dark hallway. Hakyeon closed the door behind him hastily, following Hongbin.

“Stay away from the windows; they might suspect you came here and look for you.”

Hongbin nodded, stopping halfway down the hallway to lean against the wall and take deep breaths, his eyes closing as he tipped his head back against the wall, too.

“Are you ok? Are you hurt?” Hakyeon worried, giving the fae a quick once over.

Hongbin grimaced.

“A couple of their spells grazed me, I don't know… I haven't had time to stop and assess the damage… Thank you for hiding m-”

He was interrupted by a sharp knock on the door, his eyes widening in fear.

Hakyeon's breath hitched, debating what to do, before he grabbed Hongbin's arm and pulled him with him a couple of steps further down the hallway, opening a door.

“Careful, stairs! They lead to the basement. There are no windows. Wait here until I come back!”

He shoved Hongbin through the door, gently but urgently, and closed it quietly behind him. Again, the loud knocks on the front door sounded, then a voice.

“Step aside, I’m going to blast that damn thing away…!”

Hakyeon hastily ran up to the door, opening it wide.

“I’d rather you didn't blast anything away! May I ask what prompts this rude nightly visit?!”

The sorcerers jumped, the one about to throw his spell at Hakyeon's door burning his fingers with his spell as he got distracted. Hakyeon paid him no mind, glaring at the trio on his front porch.

“Aahh~ You live here?”

“Yes, as you can see. Now why do you want to blast what damn thing away? My door? My house? Did I do something to you?”

“Aah~ N-no, sorry, we-...”

“We didn't know someone lived here. We were after a fairy-...”

“A fairy. And you thought to look for it in a sorcerer's house?! This is rich! You must have at least felt the magic surrounding it, you can't tell me you had no idea this was a sorcerer's home!”

“Uhm, well, it did run in this direction and then disappeared all of a sudden, so we thought-...”

“If there's one thing you clearly didn't do, it’s think! A fairy hiding in a sorcerer's home, please! All day you go around keeping me busy while you're disturbing the magic in my forest in a way that it's going to take weeks until it's restored, and then you won't even let me sleep at night!”

The three young sorcerers looked contrite, until the one with the burned fingers looked up.

“You sleep in your clothes?”

Hakyeon glared at him.

“I fell asleep on my couch, reading a book; not that that is any of your business! Maybe you should try that sometime, too! There's probably a great book about manners somewhere out there just waiting for you!”

“Ah, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, don't mind him…! Uh, so, you didn't see the fairy?” One of Burnt Fingers’ friends stepped in, and Hakyeon crossed his arms in front of his chest.

“No. But if there is a fairy living on my lands, it belongs to me! Just like every bird, deer or hare, and any fir, elm and oak. My lands, my fairy. Go hunt somewhere else, and leave me and what’s mine alone!”

The sorcerers shifted uncomfortably.

“Sir, but… There was nothing indicating these lands belonged to anyone, or that the fairy belonged to anyone, and we already hit it a couple of times, it should be easy to catch now… If you do, we deserve to get a share of the harvest for our troubles…”

Hakyeon's gaze darkened.

“Do I need to paint road-signs now to tell you fools where my territory starts like for humans? Are you even sorcerers? My signature is everywhere in that forest, if you paid more attention to your surroundings and not all of it to your hunt, you would have noticed! A share of the harvest… What do you dream of at night?! If anything, be glad if I don't make you pay for damaging property! Now remove yourselves from my lands before I take that upon myself!”

Burnt Fingers looked at him defiantly, but the other two seemed to think better of it and took him with them as they left hastily. Hakyeon stayed to glare after them until they were out of sight before going back inside and shutting the door behind him vehemently. As soon as it did, his fierce demeanour fell off him, worry over Hongbin taking over.

He took the time to conjure a mirage that would show him going upstairs and to bed and nothing else inside the house if someone happened to peek in through a window, and then rushed to the door to the basement, opening it carefully.

“Hongbin?”

“Here.” Came the answer from the bottom of the stairs.

Hakyeon conjured light into the lamps on the walls and hurried down the stairs to where Hongbin was sitting, but not getting up.

“Are they gone?” The fae asked when Hakyeon came to a halt next to him, and Hakyeon shrugged.

“I don't know, to be honest. I think they left, but they might come back. I put a spell on the windows so they can't see us, though.”

Hongbin sighed, leaning heavily against the wall behind him, and Hakyeon couldn’t help but notice how beaten up he looked.

“How bad is it, Hongbin-ah? You look… bad.”

Hongbin blinked his eyes open.

“I feel it, too. Ever since I got to sit down and start to relax, I’ve been starting to feel where their spells hit me. I wonder how I didn't feel that before…”

“Adrenaline, probably. Come, let's get you upstairs and cleaned up. Is your cloak still intact?”

Hongbin nodded as he tried to get up, failing and needing Hakyeon's help.

“It should. I took it off when I knew for sure they had found me so they couldn't destroy it again. I hoped I’d survive long enough to get to yours, and tried to keep the cloak safe so I would still have it should I make it. At least part of the plan worked, so far.” He then reached under his shirt, pulling out the cloak and shaking it out. He winced at the movement, though, doubling over as coughs started to wrack his body, each of them making him wince in turn.

Hakyeon was at his side in no time, steadying him so he wouldn't fall and guiding him to sit down again.

“Whoa, whoa, easy there! Here, sit down again, come on… Deep breaths, slowly, shhh, breathe, Hongbin.”

The fae tried, calming the coughs down eventually and breathing more calmly, though still pained. Hakyeon patted his back lightly, comfortingly.

“You can check if your cloak is fine tomorrow. Right now, I'm going to carry you upstairs and see to those spells that hit you!”

Hongbin shook his head.

“I can walk…”

“...But you won't! Seriously, Hongbin, you’re hurt! Let me help you. And don't tell me again how you have a rest of dignity to preserve! There is no such thing as a dignity that needs to be preserved in this house, and I won't let you hurt yourself more because of it!”

Hongbin looked like he wanted to protest, but then gave in, lowering his head. Hakyeon didn't waste time to pick him up, letting his magic help him, and carried him the two flights of stairs up to the bedroom he’d had him stay in before. There, he set him down on the bed, and promptly noticed the blush covering Hongbin's cheeks, the fae avoiding his gaze. He sighed, somewhat fondly, before flicking the fae’s forehead gently, never enough to hurt him.

“Fool…” he murmured, leaving the room.

When he returned shortly after with a few supplies, Hongbin's blush had cooled and he’d sat up on the bed.

Hakyeon closed the door behind him with his foot, then sat a heavy bag down on a chair at the foot-end of the bed before shaking out his sleeve and showing the blood-stained fabric off to Hongbin.

“Since this isn't mine, I’m going to hazard a guess and say it's yours. Most likely from one of your legs.”

Hongbin flinched, then nodded.

“My left leg. I must have a cut or something on my thigh, and the calf is burning like mad, too.”

Hakyeon nodded.

“I’ll check that in a minute. First, your chest, though. That cough wasn't normal!”

Hongbin sighed carefully.

“Alright…”

“Lay back!” Hakyeon ordered him, and he had no choice but to follow, adjusting his wings as he tried to get as comfortable as possible while the sorcerer sat down on the edge of the bed.

“Ready?” Hakyeon asked him, and Hongbin blinked up at him questioningly.

“What for?”

Hakyeon only shook his head, placing his hands on Hongbin's chest and closing his eyes.

The fae gasped, understanding what the sorcerer had meant when warmth started to seep into his body coming from Hakyeon's hands. It wasn't just his normal body warmth, though, but his magic, and Hongbin felt a sudden urge to run. He fought it, though, reminding himself that Hakyeon didn't want him any harm; that he was going to help.

Still, the feeling of a different magic but his own coursing through his body was everything but nice, and he was extremely glad when Hakyeon's magic eventually retreated and the sorcerer opened his eyes again.

“Sorry about that. I needed to find your injuries, though…”

“It's ok… How bad is it?”

Hakyeon shrugged, turning his back to Hongbin as he started rummaging in the heavy bag he’d brought in earlier.

“Your entire right side is bruised, and two ribs are fractured. Your left leg looks like some kind of gigantic cat used it as a scratching pole, and your magic is all over the place.” He looked up from the bag, straight at Hongbin. “In other words, with me healing you or without it, the next couple of days are going to for you.”

Hongbin groaned, letting his head fall back against the pillows as he watched Hakyeon mix something together until it started to emanate an eerie purple glow.

“Does it have to look like that?” He asked with a frown when Hakyeon stepped up to the bed again.

“It does. I need you to lift your shirt.”

He ended up helping Hongbin with that as the fae grimaced in pain trying to follow the request, and then lathered almost his entire upper body in the glowing purple paste. It didn't stay for long, the glow intensifying at first, but then vanishing quickly and no remains of the paste staying behind as the magic seeped into the fae’s body, doing its work. Hakyeon tugged the shirt back down.

“I'm going to heal your leg next, but there isn't much I can do for your magic. Maybe it will calm down when your body isn't as torn up anymore…”

Hongbin nodded in acknowledgement, watching Hakyeon mix another spell, this one glowing a dull yellow.

“You’re going to make me take off my pants for that one, aren't you…” He sighed when Hakyeon indicated he was finished mixing the spell. Hakyeon shook his head, though.

“No. I’ll take them off for you.” Before Hongbin could react, Hakyeon made his pants disappear into thin air with a wave of his hand.

“Hakyeon!” Hongbin exclaimed, sitting up quickly. He groaned at the strain on his fractured ribs, and then paled when he saw his leg. Hakyeon's hand on his shoulder guided him to lay back down on the bed.

“First: I didn't want you to have to struggle your way out of them with those ribs; you should lay down quietly and let them heal first. Second: I figured it’d be better not to peel that rough fabric over those wounds; that would have been just unnecessary. And third: please don't pass out on me because of that sight, ok? It’ll heal; you’ll be fine.” The sorcerer reassured him, but he still felt queasy.

“How did I even move like this? Never mind make it all the way over here?”

Hakyeon smiled warmly at him.

“You’re stronger than you think. Try to relax now, though, ok? Let the spells work and heal you.”

Hongbin sighed as Hakyeon sat down again, with his back to him and facing his legs to apply the spell on the cuts marring his leg. It burned slightly as the magic seeped in, but he barely felt it as exhaustion started taking over. He was well on his way to the land of dreams when Hakyeon eventually finished and got up, barely noticing it.

He did notice the warm blanket Hakyeon draped over him, though, before he packed his things and left the room. He vaguely noticed him dimming the magic light to a minimum, too, and a whispered “Sleep well, Hongbinnie…”.

He wished he could thank him for his efforts, but sleep claimed him definitely before he had a chance to.