When I awaken, I am alone. Daehyun’s warm body is nowhere to be found when I roll over, only the impression of his head on the pillow and mat. I scrunch my eye brows a bit before rubbing my eyes. There is sun shining in from the hand carved rectangle that made for a window and I can tell that today is going to be warm.

I lift my arms into the air while stretching out my toes but continue to lay there. I wonder where Daehyun is… Maybe he’s just going to the bathroom or something. It was weird to not find his cheery face this morning… Well, maybe it was afternoon, judging by the direction of the sun.

I nod it off and let myself relax, staring up at the ceiling as I think of the fact we would have to go back to the hangers soon… I was excited to see the boys again but there was a part of me that really wanted to have just one extra day here, maybe two if I was lucky. I was happy in the hangers but there was part of me that just really needed to find some type of way to help this city… Maybe if I studied the people enough, I could find ways to help bring it into a prosperous state.

Who am I kidding? Me do the work of a diplomat? Tripping over my own two feet was a daily occurrence; there was no way I could find a way to help a city…

My thoughts change course when I hear some noise coming from downstairs and I am suddenly on high alert. I sit up and let the sheet fall away from me, my body thanking me for lessening the heat of the room.

I hear someone bounding up the stairs as I watch the door and finally see Daehyun opening it quietly. He looks cute as he tries to sneak in, thinking I’m still asleep.

I smile to myself, “You know I am awake.”

He closes the door and bolts around with a smile but with slightly shocked eyes.

“I didn’t want to wake you up,” He tells me.

He walks towards the bed and I notice he’s carrying a large canvas bag. It looks full, the edges rounded out. Before I can ask him about it, he is throwing something towards me form his pocket.

I catch it and when I look it over I finally realize what it is. It’s something called an apple… something I had only seen travelling diplomats and incredibly wealthy people eat but never tried before because of just how pricey they were.

“Daehyun, these are really expensive,” I scold, knowing the method he used to get it.

He sits beside me on the bed and I notice his large smile.

“Well, the way you talked about it made it sound like you have never eaten one before,” he explains, “I wanted to get it so you could at least try it.”

I smile largely at him, turning the apple in my hands. I can feel myself blush and Daehyun notices my pink cheeks.

“Well, I haven’t so… Thanks!”

I brush it off a bit and turn to look at him as he smiles back at me. He was sweet… He picked it based upon the fact I hadn’t tried it yet.

I take a bite from it after turning it in my hands for a bit and the flavour is incredible. The crunch it gave was even more interesting and it was nothing like a tomato. I look down at it with widened eyes before taking another bite into, soaking up the juices that leaked from it. How could it be so sweet but so hard at the same time? That was strange… But, who am I to complain, because this was probably the most delicious thing I had ever tasted.

I hear a chuckle and it breaks me out of my reverie. When I look at Daehyun, he is watching me with a glorious smile. I take another bite and he laughs again which I return it with a grateful smile.

“That’s cute.”

I blush while I pause and then I look at him from the corner of my eye. He’s got the strange food in his teeth and he begins to look through the canvas bag on his side. He looks happy as he pulls out what looks like clothes, except they don’t look his size.

One piece he pulls out is light blue and at least mid-thigh length. It has shorter sleeves and there’s not really any shape to it. The next is a plain white garment, maybe an inch longer than the blue piece, but has long sleeves.

He takes the apple from his mouth and hands me the two pieces while holding his smile.

I look at him in awe and he gives me a once over quickly.

“I thought these would fit you, because those ones are getting to look a little old.”

I quirk up my eyebrows in surprise at him and he keeps his smile but looks at me softly.

“Thank-you…” I tell him.

He nods and urges me to try them on.

I quickly finish my fruit and pick up the pieces, holding them in front of me.

“Wow, you really got the size right,” I compliment.

He continues to eat his apple as he watches me play with the fabric.

“I want to put it on... Yah, turn around at least,” I command him.

He giggles a bit but salutes me as he bites into the last bit of his apple. He turns to face the wall and I quickly, but nervously, strip down to my underwear. My bra was getting to be a bit too small but that was something I could think about another time.

I pull the white piece on first and it hangs loosely around my waist, the sleeves coming down to my mid palm. Afterwards, I pull the blue one on overtop, letting the white show both at my thighs and along my arms. It scoops around my neck a bit too low but the white counteracts with it well as it sits higher. I glance down at myself and enjoy the colour of it. Daehyun definitely had nice taste…

“Okay, I’m done,” I say as I face him and wait for him to turn around.

When he does his eyes widen a bit but he lets a soft glint linger in them.

“Wow, that colour looks really pretty on you,” he compliments.

I blush but smile and thank him. When I sit down next to him I give him a quick hug which he returns after a moment of hesitation. It was a simple action of thanks, even if my heart raced a bit while doing so.

“Daehyun,” I begin to mumble as we sit casually next to each other, “I was wondering… if we could maybe stay one more night…?”

He looks at me in surprise, “Ravi will literally kill me if we wait too long…”

I grab his hand and give him a smile, “I kind of wanted to grab some medical textbooks for training and maybe some other stuff…”

He eyes my face quickly and then looks away, contemplating my eager question.

“Fine, but let’s get enough to eat for both today and tomorrow then.”

He looks to me with his large smile once more and I thank him quickly, wrapping my arms around his neck in a quick embrace.

“Also,” he begins while leaning backwards after we finish our hug, “you need new footwear… Those cloth sneakers will wear down pretty quickly.”

I glance over the sneakers that sit by my old clothes and then back at him.

“Well, I guess we could go look around,” I suggest.

He nods and stands up, keeping the canvas bag slung over his shoulders. He saunters to my shoes quickly and grabs them and returns only to kneel in front of me.

“Are these even the right size?” He asks as he softly places a hand around my left ankle.

He slides the shoe on and notices its large size and gives me a smirk. He lets go and grabs hold of my other foot and slides it into the other shoe quickly. The warmth of his hand lingers on my skin as he stares up at my with a questioning look.

“No wonder you fall all the time.”

I roll my eyes a bit and smack at his arm. “Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know.”

Daehyun extends his hand to me as he chuckles, helping me up off the mat.

“If were getting enough food for both today and tomorrow, we should probably stay here once we get the supplies. They might start to get suspicious,” Daehyun suggests as we move out of the room to the stairs.

I nod with a smile as we descend the stairs and I keep my eyes on him. He’s cheery today and I’m really grateful he has agreed to stay the extra time. I know Ravi, and even maybe N, will have a fit. I pause for a minute as an image of a distressed Leo pops into my mind… Surely, he would kill me.

I shake it o as we exit the house and I feel the heat of the sun beating down on me. I was never a big fan of hot weather. I tended to enjoy the cooler seasons, if any, and stayed out of the sunlight as much as possible. I guess that would explain why I am so pale.

I look over to Daehyun who is walking beside me and I take note of his darker skin tone. I guess it would be from all the runs and missions, but I find the slightly tanned colour suits him well. His sandy hair colour compliments his skin colour well too.

It’s about half an hour before we reach the market and I can feel the sweat on my neck, my cheeks reddened from the sun. I definitely was going to have to wash up later.

Daehyun puts his hand in mine as we enter the market place and weaves through the people with ease as he eyes the various booths. He’s quick to find a booth with vegetables and in a matter of minutes he’s already snuck at least eight things into his bag. I watch him anxiously each time he hurriedly places a vegetable into his bag, hoping a merchant won’t notice. Either the people around us have not noticed or they have chosen not to say anything, probably wanting to do the same thing if they are hungry as well.

When we are finished with the food, he suggests that we make our way to a clothing booth that is located near an exit.

“I saw some boots there that would probably fit you… If not, they’re at least better than those things.”

I smile a bit but feel a sudden pang of guilt as he explains how fast we will have to run since he won’t be able to fit them into his bag.

“I’m going to grab them and run, so just don’t let go of my hand,” he whispers to me as we close in on the booth.

Luckily, there is a woman with two children looking at the products strewn across the tables of the booth. On the edge of one table I take note of a pair of dark brown lace up boots. They look like they would sit a few inches above my ankle. They look a lot sturdier then the shoes currently on my feet.

Daehyun pulls me slowly around the various tables as we pretend to look over the different items. Daehyun gives my hand a squeeze when he notices the merchant helping the woman with her children. The older woman tells them to wait a minute before fumbling to turn and walk back a bit, no longer facing us.

Quickly, Daehyun has his hands on the boots and he is pulling me out of the booth and exiting out of the market place down the street. Its a few minutes before he turns into a small alley way to let me catch my breath. He shoots his head out for a moment, making sure no one is following us.

“That was easy…” he breathes.

I nod along and he hands me the boots. I take them from his gratefully.

When I try to take off my sneakers I stumble a bit, not able to find my balance on the dirty ground.

“Yah, here,” he says while extending his arm and I grab hold of it as I slide my sneakers off.

It takes me a few minutes before I slide the boots onto my feet but Daehyun stands steady as I struggle to lace them up. I leave the sneakers where they are, hoping a less fortunate person than me could find them.

“You really need some stealth training or something…” He mutters.

I look at him with a bit of a glare but find he has a worried expression gracing his handsome features. I smile at bit at him before answering.

“If you can convince Ravi and the boys, then gladly.”

He smiles but the worry doesn’t leave his eyes as I finally let go of his arm.

“It’s just that you’re so small… like weight wise, not height,” Daehyun mutters while keeping his eyes on me.

I nod along, “I was less when I first came to the hangers.”

I gesture for him to leave the alley way and he follows me as we begin our walk back to my home.

“Why?” he questions quietly.

I shrug a bit, suddenly feeling uncomfortable with the question I would have to answer. There were a lot of reasons why, I suppose and each reason hurt my heart when thinking about it... I just never really explained it to anyone. But, maybe there is a time and place for everything.

“Well, I haven’t really eaten well since VIXX was decimated,” I begin shakily and I glance at him and notice he is staring intently at me, “I was two when my biological parents were killed and when Ravi found me, and that was the first week I experienced hunger.”

I can feel my body becoming tense as I realize just what I am explaining to this boy. I have never really been comfortable attaching myself to anyone, and it was becoming apparent I wanted to be attached to Daehyun…

I take a deep breath as I glance up a see the house a few metres away.

“Even when the boys brought me to my adoptive parents, it was hard to find things to eat, considering everything had been destroyed.”

I look at him and see he has clenched fists. We walk up the path leading to my front door and we stop as I continue my explanation.

“And as I aged, my family tried our best to feed the people instead of ourselves. Eventually they died from sickness and old age but I started doing first aid to follow in their footsteps… Although, I couldn’t find enough work to get what I thought was my equal share of food, so I only ate every few days… So I guess that’s why I am so tiny.”

When I finish, I take note of the tears that have collected in my eyes but I smile at him instead of letting them fall. I blink a few times before giving my final answer.

“I’d rather die starving helping someone, than hoard what isn’t rightfully mine.”

Daehyun has an unreadable expression on his face, almost a look of anguish in his eyes. It’s quiet for a few moments until he suddenly moves.

He wraps one of his arms around my waist, the other hand landing in my hair to press my face against his chest.

“I’m sorry,” he breathes out quietly, “I couldn’t imagine doing that…”

My hands are on his stomach and I am a bit taken aback as he holds me against him. I bunch some of the fabric into my hands and I can finally feel my tears escaping. I press my face into his chest and let out a quiet sob.

“Thank-you,” I mumble after a few minutes of silence. He lets me stain his shirt with my tears for a while until I lift my face from his chest to eye him and quickly find our gazes locking. The air changes after a few moments of this and I watch him as his gaze drops from my eyes to my lips.

I can feel my chest tighten and my breath hitch as I finally understand the tension in the air. I’m nervous and I think he notices this. His eyes quickly lock with mine once more and his arm around my waist loosens as the other hand drops from my hair to rest on my neck.

“Taylor…” Daehyun whispers hoarsely as I take note of the sweat on his neck.

I’m nervous… I mean, I’ve kissed before but it’s never felt like this. The tension in the air can be cut with a knife and I can feel my anxiety get the best of me.

“We should go inside,” I mumble, turning away to open the door and walk inside.

I can feel regret building up in my stomach and part of me wants to turn to him, but I’m scared of what he might think. All I hear is a quick sigh before I hear his feet following me. The click of a door signals we are now completely alone and I saunter to the bookshelf to hide my reddened face.

What would he think of me now? All the signals were there, but I just chickened out. God, I’m so hopeless…

“Want to help me carry some of these books upstairs? I really want to read over them since they’re my parents… Maybe I can actually teach you a thing or two.”

I’m quick to bring up a topic and hope he’ll go along with it. I let a nervous giggle escape my lips as I wait for his answer.

I hear a bit of a cough before his voice sounds through the room, “Sure, that’d be fun.”

I’m glad he agrees and hear him walk to where I am. I don’t make eye contact but find multiple books to pile in his arms. I take two and ask him to follow me as I make my way up the stairs. I wander into my parent’s bedroom and drop them beside the mat and he follows suit but takes a seat on the mat beside them.

We make eye contact for a brief second and I can tell he is trying his best to smile, although his eyes say something else.

“I’m just going to go rinse my hands quickly,” I stutter out as I turn to walk from the room.

“Okay,” Daehyun answers.

 I walk into the bathroom, and I pace for a second or two before looking at myself in the mirror with a horrified expression. How could I not do what I’ve been thinking about for the past two days? I mean I had already kissed his cheek… But what if he’s more experienced than me? He’s going to think I’m a loser for not having that much experience, I mean I’m twenty for goodness sakes.

I splash myself with a bit of cool water before looking myself over again… Don’t be such a scaredy cat, Taylor. Go in there and just read over some books… Basic Anatomy doesn’t take much concentration, which would calm my nerves. I breathe deeply and make my way out of the washroom and turn into my parent’s room. I find Daehyun doing something unusual and only take time to admire the way he looks.

I look him over as he fingers his way through the few medical books we had just carried up from the main room. He has an intriguing expression and interestingly enough, ‘Basic Anatomy’ seems to be gripping his attention. He looks his regular happy self as he reads. He’s sitting cross legged and he has his elbows resting on top of his thighs. My hopes of reading said book are lost so I keep my eyes on it as he works his way through it. He takes note of my gaze and he soon looks up to meet my eyes.

“What?” he asks.

I shake my head a bit don’t let my eyes leave him, “Nothing.”

“I know there’s something on that mind of yours… You kind of get this look,” he tells me.

I blush at his response. Did he really take note of things like that?

“Well,” I begin with a happy sigh, “I’m waiting for that book you have.”

He smiles brightly at me before telling me to come over to the mat.

“No, I won’t bug you. Go ahead and finish,” I tell him.

He shakes his head in response, “Just come and sit with me.”

I smile and look down for a brief moment and then finally make my way over to him. When I take a seat, our legs press against each other and my face heats up.

“So,” he breathes as he rests the book on our touching legs while placing a hand behind me, “be my teacher… What does all this stuff mean?”

I catch my breath and try to explain the words on the page to him.

“Well, most of this is talking about bone structure,” I mumble out.

I can feel his eyes on me but I keep mine locked with the page in front of me.

“Like the femur… It’s one of the strongest bones in the body, and it’s definitely excruciating to break it.”

I can feel his breath on my cheek and I let one of my hands fall onto his thigh to explain further.

“Although, we luckily have a lot of muscle to protect it so there’s less chance of breakage.”

I squeeze his leg lightly and finally turn to look at him and I find the tips of our noses brush against each other. My breath hitches immediately and our gazes lock. The blood rushes to my face and his eyes are glancing at my lips in mere hesitation.

“Can I…?” he breathes out, the words felt on my lips.

I nod a bit, letting my eyes close as I feel his lips press against mine. His hand quickly finds its way to the back of my neck.

The sensation of his lips pressed against mine sends blood rushing to my face and to steady my nerve racked body I place a hand at the base of his neck. His skin is warm and soft and his collar bones are felt through part of his shirt.

Our lips meld together and I appreciate how soft his pink lips are. His sweet nature exudes through his mouth as he softly grazes his tongue against my bottom lip and I eagerly grant him entrance, his tongue tenderly exploring the inside of my mouth.

I greet his mouth with my own, letting out a soft sigh as his free hand snakes around my waist to pull me closer to him. I let my other hand find its way to the back of his head as I play with his hair. He takes his tongue away from the inside of my cheeks to graze against my own tongue and I let out a bit of a quiet moan and I hear him chuckle a bit but he doesn’t break our kiss.

His kiss was too perfect… It scared me a bit. How could he be so good at this? I feel my nerves crawl, chills finding their way up my back as I suddenly feel his warm hand on the small of my back, the fabric of my shirt hiked up a bit. His mouth moves away from mine as he places his lips against the base of my neck, on a spot where the end of my collar bone met my neck.

I moan again quietly as my hands stay in his hair. He worked his way to another spot as anxiety started to consume my mind… I’ve never gone further than a kiss before, what if he makes fun of me? What if I’m bad at it? I’m too scared to tell him that…

“Daehyun,” I breathe out as he nips at the skin behind my ear, “I’m hu-hungry, let me m-make you dinner o-or get y-you something…”

He slows his kiss on my neck and brings his face to look at me and I smile at him, my face noticeably flushed from the heat of our moment.

He nods, that unreadable expression grazing over his features as I leave the mat and ask him to follow me downstairs. I know he’s left he canvas bag with our food supplies downstairs because it’s nowhere in sight when I walk from the room.

I can hear him following closely behind me as I find my way to the main room, quickly eyeing the bag by the front door. I pick it up and bring it to the small kitchen, placing it atop the counter.

God, what was he thinking now? How could I just run away like that…?

When I open the bag a few of the contents spill out onto the counter and roll onto the floor. When I turn to grab them he is already there picking them up from the floor, but this time there is no smile on his handsome face.

“Thank-you,” I tell him when he hands them to me.

He nods, only letting a smirk play in his expression.

I feel guilty suddenly and put the vegetables down on the counter, tears springing into my eyes. Why don’t I just tell him? With the way things were moving, I wouldn’t have been surprised if he was expecting it to go there…

“I’m sorry,” I blurt loudly. I look at him as he leans against the counter beside me.

“I just… I was nervous and I didn’t know… I –“

He cuts me off by placing his finger against my lips, “Calm down, I don’t bite.”

He has a soft smile on his face and it urges me to keep speaking. I take a deep breath when his hand moves away from my lips and takes a moment to wipe away at the stray tears on my cheeks… I should just say it, that’d be the best way for him to understand.

“I’m a .”

I wait for him to laugh but he only gives me a confused expression. Did he not think I would be one?

“I don’t know that term…” he mutters.

Are you kidding me? Was living in Mato that much different than VIXX that he didn’t know the term ‘’?

“You know… Someone who’s never had before…” I mumble.

“Oh, okay,” he nods with an understanding look in his eyes.

“You’re not going to laugh at me?”

He smiles at my question, “Why would I laugh?”

I quirk my head to the side and gaze at his face hoping he would understand my nervousness.

“Well, most people my age have had before… And at my age, it’s weird if you haven’t.”

He nods a bit, “I don’t think it’s weird, I didn’t have till a couple years ago… It’s nothing to be ashamed of. You could’ve just told me.”

I smile at him, “Thank-you.”

I give him a once over, admiring the way his arms looked. What would be so bad about sharing this with him…? He was one of the few people I felt connected too… Would he still have with me if I really pushed it… Or would he push me away this time? He’s a few inches away from me so I decide to go with a leap of faith.

Before I can register what I am doing, my lips are pressed against his in a bit of a forceful kiss. It takes him by surprise and it takes him a moment before he can respond. One of his hands drops onto my waist and his lips press against mine passionately. My hand finds its way to his neck and I keep him there for a few minutes until he breaks a way to catch his breath and I can feel his body stiffen a bit.

“Are you sure…?”

I nod, holding a nervous smile.

“Yes…”

He inhales quietly, “You don’t have to-“

I cut his sentence off with a kiss and soon both of his arms are wrapped around my waist. The intensity of his kiss tantalized my senses and I let him guide me as we begin to inch our way to the stairs.