Track 139 | 13 by LANY

“Tch.” Rara’s eyebrows furrowed as she concentrated on folding the sleeves of the dress shirt she wore—which belonged to Baekhyun. It was so big for her, with the sleeves way past her fingers. Even if she rolled them up to her elbows, they still fall off; she had to fold them properly to avoid such disturbance. She struggled to fold them and while this was such a nuisance to her, this was a pleasant sight to Baekhyun.

Since Rara didn’t stay at her place that much, she didn’t have any food stocked, so they had their breakfast delivered from McDonald’s. Initially, Rara was the one who called the fast-food chain, but Baekhyun was the one who took the food from the delivery boy at the front door because he couldn’t let Rara greet the guy with only a blanket on—he was one to blame for ruining Rara’s dress. And since she had no clothes lying around, all he could offer was his dress shirt. And because it was men’s clothing, it came out looking like a dress when Rara put it on. But she didn’t have much of a choice; he didn’t have much of a choice other than being half- either.

“There.” Rara looked at both of her arms, the sleeves folded neatly. “I can eat in peace now.” She remarked with a smile, as she sliced her pancakes into cubes. They sat perpendicular to each other, Rara on the end of the table, and Baekhyun on the first seat to her right side.

He wolfed down his food faster than Rara because no doubt, while his heart and soul were full from last night, his energy was drained to the max. Still, he had energy reserved just to watch her affectionately. He was made aware of the sand falling, and that they didn’t have much time left.

Sooner or later, they had to part.

Again.

“Rara.”

Rara swallowed the piece of pancake she was chewing. “Yes?” She asked, looking at him with curious and wide eyes.

“I love you.” It was said with so much affection that it was so similar to the feeling of dipping yourself in warm water after being exposed to cold weather or finally lying down in bed after a tiring day, literally feeling your bones and muscles relax. The sincerity was so evident that Rara swore if it was an object, she would have caught it in her hands. “Thank you for meeting me halfway.” He said gratefully.

She raised an eyebrow at him, an amused grin on her face. Baekhyun was always so doting, no doubt, and Rara was the polar opposite. “You’re welcome.” She replied in a happy tone while she continued to cut another piece of pancake.

“Whoa, I said two statements, and you only reply to one?”

Rara stared at him innocently and shrugged. She was about to eat another cube of pancake attached to her fork, when Baekhyun took hold of her wrist, preventing her from devouring that piece. He lightly slammed one foot on the platform of her high chair and dragged her chair in front of him with ease.

She laughed at his quick movements in response to her missing answer. He hadn’t let go of her wrist yet, and she was already itching to eat that piece of pancake that was complete with butter and soaked in maple syrup, so she quit playing games and finally said, “Okay, okay.” She chuckled. “I love you, I—” She said with a genuine smile. “—I love you too.” She repeated.

Baekhyun grinned appreciatively, then he reached for the container of maple syrup, dipped his thumb in it, and swiped it on Rara’s bottom lip and before she could even say something, he kissed her passionately, slipping his tongue inside , exploring it, pretending he hadn’t been here before, but ultimately knowing he’ll stay. Rara’s held the fork, that piece of pancake cannot fall off, and at the same time, the tips of her fingers rested on one of his arms. She responded with the same energy as Baekhyun, unable to prevent herself from smiling in the middle of kissing him back.

Before retreating, he made sure not a trace of syrup was left on Rara’s lips and when he was done, Rara asked, “So...can I eat in peace now?” She asked jokingly.

Baekhyun smirked and grabbed both her lower legs, resting them on his thighs. “Sure, Rara. Carry on.”

She shook her head at his gesture, crossing her legs together so that they could just weigh under one thigh. She resumed eating without Baekhyun interrupting her. He occasionally tapped her ankles but that was as far as he got.

A question suddenly popped inside his head. “What are your plans later?”

Rara looked at him intently and crossed her arms. “Don’t even think about hanging out with me today. We already had tonight, you can—”

“Yeah, I get that but I mean, what are you going to do after?” He asked. “Where are you going?”

“At Haoran’s. Most probably.”

“Are you going to drive there...” Baekhyun looked at her up and down. “...looking like that?”

“I wondered about that too but going to Haoran’s place is a major headache.” Rara sighed tiredly. “I think I might ask him to come and get me.” She said. “I’ll ask him to bring me clothes too. I have to return this to you.”

“He’s okay with that?”

“Yeah, I guess.” Rara pondered for a while. “I need to talk to him anyway. I need to ask him if we haven’t stepped on a red zone or if we’re sitting on a ticking bomb.” She said. “He and I risked a lot during the blood moon. I’m sure he went to his partner like I did, even when Aima expects us to be under the same roof last night.”

“I know we put a lot at stake last night but it was worth every second.” Baekhyun told her. They held each other’s gaze for a moment. Even though last night was something they routinely do during blood moons, it was different in its own way because unlike the many others that were done out of various reasons, even without eclipses or full moons, last night unfolded with the complete package of missing each other, incredible longing and a lot of abstinence. If you were used to having something, say a beverage, Coke, for example, you could have a replacement if Coke runs out—Sprite, Royal, Mountain Dew, Pepsi—but since Baekhyun and Rara didn’t really have replacements and their system only recognized each other as the compensation for their needs, it was harder to endure the distance knowing there was no second best.

“I know.” Rara replied, sounding melancholic. She lifted her legs off his thigh and said, “I’m texting Haoran.”

“You know, you’re really asking for it.” Luhan stared at Haoran, his eyes crimson red as a result of the rage seeping inside his heart, circulating around his body. “You gotta stop this Haoran.” He snapped.

Haoran lifted his eyes lazily to look at Luhan from the couch. “How many times do I have to tell you?” He sighed deeply. “You’ll never understand until it happens to you.”

“And while it still hasn’t, that doesn’t mean I’ll keep tolerating this rebellious phase of yours!”

“See? You don’t get it, Luhan.” Haoran retaliated. “It’s not just a flimsy phase. If you think an eternity is the duration of a phase, then you could be correct. Phases pass. Partners don’t.” He pressed.

“If you were with her last night, where was Rara?” Luhan asked in an annoyed tone.

“Exactly where she’s supposed to be.” He answered simply. “With the wolf.”

Outraged, Luhan raised an arm, and out of nowhere, a glass coffee table came flying towards Haoran, but his beloved pet dragon appeared just in time to shield the tamer with its wings. It was a relief that the coffee table was wooden, or it would have pissed Haoran off to have furniture broken by a visitor at his own home. There was a brief staring contest between Luhan and Chongwu until Haoran asked the dragon in a low voice to relax and stay down, to which the creature obliged to.

“You don’t know what you’re getting yourself into, Haoran.” Luhan growled. “This is ing absurd. I’m covering up for you, now I have to cover up for Rara. We’re meant to align the thinking of the vampire community with ours, not give them consent for the total opposite of the rules.”

“Our judgment isn’t right all the time and you know it.” Haoran retorted. “I’ve observed way too many women, seen too many movies, documentaries, read thousands of books that one would say feminine or appeal to women, to know the type Rara is. She’s sheltered—got so many walls towering over her. You’d expect the guy to need an astronomical amount of strength to tumble them down but you know what’s even harder? For Rara to admit defeat when someone actually cracks her roof open and shines a light on her territory. One silver lining is enough for her to falter. It’s not easy for her to show affection, much less return it.” He explained. “My point is, a person’s attitude could go through a whole 180-degree rotation if given the chance to meet the right person. I met mine, and you know how different I am with her. Rara has met hers, and you met Rara. You saw how she crumbled at the castle. She’s different with him. There’s a pattern in how she treats acquaintances, and then we know how she is with the wolf. That’s already enough proof that he really is her partner.”

“This is enough proof that you’re betraying the council.” Luhan said silently but in a deadly tone.

Haoran slowly got up from the couch and stood up to face Luhan. “One day, you’re going to meet your partner, and I pray to God that she’s a pure-blood Araio with exceptional abilities. God forbid she’s human, or she’s a werewolf. I hope she isn’t going to be judged, like my partner or Rara’s. Because I swear, the second you ask for my help, I’d just stare at you. I won’t laugh. I won’t snicker. I’ll just look at you and say,” Haoran looked at him coldly, his eyes ought to be blue rather than red because it seemed like he was shooting ice beams out of his eyeballs. “Get over it. It’s just a phase.” Luhan’s mouth pressed into a thin line at Haoran’s remark. “I’m not going to convince you to keep your thoughts out of mine or Rara’s. You’re a grown- man. You can tell which is correct from incorrect. I’m going to ask you to do what is right.”

“And being a traitor to the council is the right thing to do?” The telepath asked sarcastically.

“And being a backstabber is? You’re fully aware that we’re actually doing nothing wrong, just spending time with our partners, and yet you throw us out in the open?” The corner of his mouth twitched as he looked at Luhan smugly. “We’re not even supposed to be hiding.” He continued. “Please, Luhan. Do tell me straight in the face that all of this is happening not because Haejung favors a community of elites. Tell me that she didn’t do this because she only wanted the royal blood. Look me in the eye and tell me that she doesn’t have a minuscule of an idea of the truth that Byun Baekhyun is absolutely and undeniably Rara’s partner.” Haoran raised an eyebrow at Luhan, waiting for an answer. “Zhenxiang would make a great company right now, don’t you think?”

Haoran earned a snob from Luhan at the mention of another one of his pets. A lie detector wasn’t appealing right now because Haoran was really telling the truth.

“I don’t want to be part of this once you get caught, Haoran.” Luhan mumbled. “No offense.”

“None taken.” Haoran replied flatly. “Go all Pontius Pilate on me; wash your hands of this matter.” He added. “But what’s between you, me and Rara stays between us. This is not blackmail. I know you got it in yourself to see it from an ethical perspective.”

Before Luhan could say something, Haoran’s phone, which was lying on one of the tables in the living room, vibrated. Haoran swooshed down to the table and read the message.

Luhan took notice of Haoran’s expression; his face lit up and he snickered. “Is it her?” Luhan asked, displeasure evident in his voice.

“No. It’s Rara.” Haoran said while typing on the keypad, coming up with a reply to her message.

“Oh,” Luhan mumbled. “what’s with the face? What’d she say?” He asked curiously.

“Asked me to pick her up and,” Haoran paused, a hint of amusement in his tone. “bring her a change of clothes.”

Luhan was aware that all of Rara’s stuff was there; if she asked Haoran to bring her some clothes, that m