One quick burst of lightning, then the artment went dark.

The power was out.

Great.

She whimpered and brought her knees to her chest. The couch felt cold and the blanket scratchy against her skin. A cold chill wracked her body, causing her to jump to her feet in frustration. She tugged at her hair and sighed, her hand fumbling in the dark until it closed round her phone.

12:15 a.m.

Where was he?

Another thunderous boom startled her out of her thoughts. She grabbed her headphones and shuffled into the bedroom, deciding to at least attempt to get some sleep. She discarded her jeans and sweater for one of his shirts and sweatpants before curling up under the covers, her music drowning out the sounds outside.

"We will never cry - never, never cry..."

He almost tripped through the front door. Confused, he stumbled around in search of the lightswitch, only to sigh when flipping it didn't yield any results. the storm must have knocked the power out. He didn't hear any other sounds in the apartment, safely concluding she must be asleep.

He was tired, too. Groggily, Junhyung snuck into the bathroom to change and get the make up from their earlier photoshoot off his face. The room would briefly illuminate from the lightning, so he found his way to their bed while somehow remaining in one piece.

He was greetd by the sight of her balled up in the middle of the bed - her lips trembling as she whimpered in her sleep. Junhyung frowned and crawled in next to her. He was hesitant to wak her - unsure of what to do. After several agonizing moments, he placed a hand on her shoulder and shook her lightly.

She jolted awake, images from her nightmare still coursing through her brain. She felt his hand on her, saw his face, and she was immediately clutching at his shirt. Tears pooled at her eyes and threatened to spill over.

"Junhyung..." Her voice came out in a shaky whisper. "I-I-I waited up for you, but it was late and I thought I should get some sleep and-"

"Shh. It's okay. I'm home now. Whatever you were dreaming about wasn't real."

"You didn't come home..." She desperately tried to control her sobbing, her hold on his shirt never slacking.

"I know, I'm so sorry. We had some problems at the photoshoot and at practice so everything ran overtime. But I'm home now, okay? I won't leave."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

"Prove it." She sniffled.

Without hesitating, Junhyung crashed his lips against hers, wrapping his arms around her waist to pull her as close as physically possible. The kiss itself was nedy, apologetic - loving. It was the kind of kiss that twisted her stomach into knots. The kind you get when you're in love. Her hands rested against his chest and one traced over his tattoo. He shivered and sighed into the kiss.

It didn't take long for him to overwhelm her. When she pulled away to catch her breath he brushed his nose against hers, his arms never leaving their postion around her waist, eyes open. He took in the way her eyelids fluttered closed and how curved in that slight smile he loved so much; noticed her cheeks had gone a little pink from how flustered he made her. He committed everything about that moment to memory.

"I love you."

His statement almost caught her off-guard. Junhyung rarely ever said he loved her. Usually, she figured, he was too embarrassed to say it, or wasn't good with words and would rather show her. Tonight it seemed he was doing both. She opened to speak but he cut her off with another kiss, startling her when he made a sound she could only describe as a choked sort of whimper.

"I love you, and I know I don't say it much, but I really do." There was a certain kind of desperation in his voice - the kind that was difficult to decipher.

"I love you too, Junhyung..."

"So what was your nightmare about?"

Junhyung was comfortably seated in the big armchair by the window. She was perched on the armrest, her legs stretching across his lap. The power was still out, so he lit some candles and boiled water for her tea on the gas stove. She was lost in thought, staring at one of the candle flames.

"Hmm? Sorry, say that again."

He chuckled. "What was your dream about?"

She stayed silent for a moment. She didn't particularly want to go into and relive the details. "Don't you ever, ever agree to be tortured for me, Yong Junhyung."

"I can't make that promise. What kind of man would I be if I didn't step in to save my girl?"

She grabbed his face, her eyes wide. "Don't even think about doing it!"

Junhyung laughed. He covered her hands with his and pressed those heart-shaped lips against hers.

"Okay, I'll promise you this - we won't ever end up in a situation that ends in torture like your nightmare, okay?"

"Okay."

They entwined their pinkies and connected their thumbs. Junhyung leaned in to kiss the back of his hand as she did the same. His girlfriend looked up and smiled brightly at him, her previous fears forgotten. He smiled back and shook their hands a little.

"You're my only one, babe."