While Yongguk didn’t exactly expect to see Luna over the weekend, he was slightly disappointed she wasn’t around all the same.  Personally, he hoped she was having a good time, whatever she was doing.  Himchan was a bother, if only because he insisted upon pestering Yongguk to do more but he was still firmly of the mindset that if Luna was attached, it wasn’t his place to try and steal her.

                With a little bit of discussion from Junhong, they did confirm Coach Kris and Luna’s boyfriend were one and the same though.  And unfortunately for Junhong, Himchan grilled him almost mercilessly, tempered somewhat by Jongup’s calming presence.

                The young man didn’t offer much in the way of words, though when he did, he was surprisingly insightful, but he was also a wonderful balance to Himchan’s exuberance.  “Channie…” he called softly, usual smile still in place as he rested his hand against Himchan’s shoulder, the contact tentative but demanding.

                “What?!” Himchan practically whined, turning to focus on Jongup with a well-practiced pout.  Fortunately, his boyfriend was mostly immune to it, earning him a static smile for the expression.

                “Save me, hyung,” Junhong groaned, manually hauling Yongguk in front of him so he could hide behind his older brother’s back.  “He’s relentless,” he hissed, peeking over the broader shoulder at Himchan and Jongup, the former of which just laughed at him.

                “But effective,” Himchan gestured with his index finger.

                “That’s enough for now, Channie,” Yongguk echoed, patting Junhong’s knee encouragingly with a smile in place.  “We should probably think about getting food soon anyway.  Anybody up for pizza?” he asked, glancing around to reward them for the info they had been able to dig up on Kris so far: he was older than Yongguk, oversaw the weightlifting class at the end of the school day, coached the varsity boys basketball team, was generally admired by the boys and fawned over by the girls at school, and he had an apparent knack for charming the faculty and staff when he wanted or needed something.

                “Me!” Jongup and Junhong shouted at the same time, both perking up immediately with their hands jutting into the air.

                “I’ll take that as a yes,” Yongguk chuckled, patting his person for his wallet.

                “Only for food does he get this excited,” Himchan stated dryly while he pointed at his boyfriend with his thumb, giving him a sidelong look out of the corner of his eyes.

                “Liar,” Yongguk snorted with his card in hand, scrolling through his contacts for the right number, earning a laugh from Himchan when the younger male realized he’d actually saved it in his phone.

                “Oh!  Can we order some sodas too, hyung?” Junhong pleaded as he bounced in place on the couch.

                The elder male snorted and gave his sibling an incredulous look, “Like you need sugar?”

                “Please!” he was double-teamed by Jongup and Junhong again, leaving him to blink blankly between them before he focused on Himchan with a raised brow.

                He raised his hands in surrender and chuckled, “Might as well.”

                “Yay!” Jongup cheered, throwing his arms around Himchan before he dared enough to plant a kiss on his cheek, retreating immediately with a blush rapidly spreading while his boyfriend just grinned happily.

                Yongguk held up his finger as if he was going to say something, mouth partially open, and then just exhaled heavily.   “Never mind,” he shook his head, turning his back on them to focus on placing the order instead.

                They spent the rest of Saturday lazing on the living room floor, watching movies and eating pizza while Junhong and Jongup drank most of the soda and promptly sugar crashed, hard core.  “I knew that was going to happen,” Himchan sighed, poking at Jongup as the younger male slept soundly on his shoulder, lips parted and hands resting around his boyfriend’s in the older male’s lap.

                “Yep,” Yongguk nodded in agreement, eyeing Junhong sprawled out in the recliner from his vantage on the floor in front of the couch.  “It is getting late though,” he sighed with a glance at the wall clock, frowning when he realized just how late.

                “Yikes,” Himchan chuckled, rather surprised himself.  “Come on baby,” he urged, shaking Jongup’s shoulder before he moved his hand up to trace the short bangs back off his forehead.  “Uppie,” he sang in a sing-song tone, tapping his cheek gently until he got a sleepy reaction.

                “Don’t go in there,” he grumbled, blinking tired eyes at the television, apparently stuck on the memory of one of the horror films they’d watched earlier.

                “You tell em, baby,” Himchan laughed, standing up to pull Jongup with him.

                “Time to go?” Jongup asked with a confused look around, laughing once when he noticed Junhong’s position.

                “It’s been good seeing you guys again,” Yongguk encouraged, making sure they had everything in hand before he gestured towards the front door politely.  “We’ll have to do it again sometime.”

                “Definitely,” Himchan beamed, one arm slung around Jongup’s waist to help guide him along.  He paused to grin at Yongguk, “And one of these days we’ll have to get Luna over here too.”

                “Channie…” Yongguk warned in obvious amusement, propelling him along that much faster.

                “I’m just saying,” he winked, opening the door before he snagged his shoes, holding still long enough for Jongup to do the same.

                “Thanks for the pizza, hyung,” Jongup waved, eyes unusually narrow in his sleepiness.

                “Any time, Uppie,” Yongguk chuckled, ruffling the short, black hair in a fond gesture.  “Drive safe, Channie and enjoy the rest of your weekend.”

                “No worries there,” Himchan responded with a devilish grin, eyeing Jongup pointedly.

                “Bye,” Yongguk managed to say in a neutral tone, practically shoving his friend out the door before he shut it behind him, laughing once when they were gone.  He really was too much some days.  With amusement, he regarded his younger brother and shook his head.  “Alright, Junhong!” he called loudly, approaching his sleeping sibling.  “Bed time buddy.”

                Sunday morning was almost depressingly uneventful and Yongguk used it mostly to take care of the menial chores he’d been putting off all week.  Well, that and help Junhong with his homework for Monday.  He still hadn’t seen Luna around so he opted to swing by her place later that afternoon to see how she was doing.  He didn’t know why but the more he thought about it, the less he liked the way her boyfriend had been acting when he was in the area on Friday.  It just made him uneasy and he wanted to set it to rest as soon as possible.

                After a month and a half, he’d finally overcome his usual jitters whenever he stood in front of her door but when he didn’t get a timely response, they returned in full force.  “Luna?” he tried again with another knock, listening hard when he thought he heard someone on the other side.

                After another long pause, he finally heard, “Just a minute.”

                Yongguk frowned.  Luna was always prompt about the door and her voice sounded subdued.  Was she sick maybe?  That was possible…  Concern colored his expression as she finally pulled the door open, partially hiding behind it so that only the right side of her face was fully visible, though her hair was down and brushed forward.  “Hi,” he waved with a gentle smile, feeling bad for her already.  She had to be sick.

                “Hey Yongguk,” Luna managed a hesitant smile, apparently glad to see him.  “What’s up?”

                “Nothing much,” he shrugged, bouncing on the balls of his feet.  “I was just stopping by to see how you were doing.  Did you have a good time on Friday night?” he asked, trying to keep things light.

                He was not expecting her to force a smile and drop her gaze, nodding with a vague agreement.  “Ne,” she added, scratching at her cheek nervously.

                Warning signals flared to life in the back of his head and Yongguk immediately felt uneasy about why she was hiding behind the door that had nothing to do with her possibly being sick.  Gently, he pressed on the barrier, feeling slight resistance but it didn’t hold before it swung open all the way, revealing the rest of her face mostly hidden by her hair.  “Are you alright?” he asked carefully, eyes narrowed in concern.

                “I’m fine,” she answered breathlessly, threading her hair behind her right ear though she kept her face turned down, having a hard time looking at him.

                “Luna,” Yongguk murmured, stepping close enough to gently place his fingers against her chin, biting his bottom lip when she practically flinched under his touch.  The reaction hurt and it reminded him of unpleasant memories, though he kept the contact long enough to get her to look up and peer at the left side of her face.  A thick knot clenched in his stomach when he noticed the faint outline of a bruise coloring her upper cheek and around her eye.  “What happened?” he whispered, staring at her until she finally met his gaze and seemed to pull herself together again.

                “I got careless around Wind’s Playmate yesterday morning,” she explained with a rushed laugh, pretending embarrassment.  “I did something she didn’t like and she kicked me,” she went on, trying to wave it off as if it was nothing, though the words rang hollow in his ears.

                Yongguk’s face hardened and his lips thinned in obvious anger.  “Don’t lie to me, Luna,” he told her softly, forcing his expression to relax when she cringed at the display.  “You’re never careless around the horses,” he reminded her matter-of-factly with a shake of his head.  “He did this to you didn’t he?” he demanded in a quiet tone of voice, left fist clenching almost painfully.

                Luna shook her head but she couldn’t hold his gaze.  “It’s nothing, really,” she assured him, getting more agitated by the minute.  He couldn’t tell if it was at him or herself but he didn’t like her response.

                “Nothing my ,” Yongguk practically growled, stepping close as he raised his left hand to cup her cheek but he stopped when she flinched again.  Dammit!  Firmly, he dropped his hand to his side and murmured, “I’m not going to hurt you,” as he carefully picked his right hand up to trace the strands out of the way, revealing the rest of her face so he could see the full extent of the bruise.  It looked sickeningly familiar…

                “I know.  Sorry,” she apologized dejectedly, biting her bottom lip and having a hard time meeting his eyes, obviously embarrassed and ashamed.  “It was an accident,” she sighed, shrugging her shoulders fluidly.  “He didn’t mean it.”

                “Don’t,” Yongguk told her, dropping his hand to his side as he looked at her fiercely, upset for her.  “Don’t you dare excuse this,” he muttered darkly, forcing himself to swallow around a throat that had gotten very tight.  “He hurt you.”

                “But-”

                “No,” he cut her off.  “This is inexcusable.  Where is he?” Yongguk asked icily, voice devoid of emotion.

                “Yongguk, don’t!” she urged, grabbing at his hands when he stepped back as if to leave and find her boyfriend.  He looked down at her hands and then met her gaze, searching her teary eyes.  “He won’t do it again,” she explained, swallowing loudly, desperation evident in her tone.

                “Luna.  You can’t let him get away with this,” he explained as evenly as he could, feeling his blood pressure going through the roof at the mere thought.  It took a great deal of effort for Yongguk not to grab her shoulders and shake her in frustration at her ease of dismissal for this.  Instead, he calmly placed his hand atop hers and stated, “If he’s hit you once, he will do it again, Luna.  Trust me.”

                “But he apologized right after,” she explained as she her lips, taking a shaky breath.  “And he does care about me,” Luna exhaled with another trembling breath.  “He loves me!”

                “People who really care about you don’t do this,” Yongguk stated firmly, trying to convince her.  He knew she was in denial, very much so, and it was painful to watch once more.

                “He won’t do it again,” she denied, shaking her head.  “He promised.  And he’s never done it before.  He was just angry.  We had a fight.  That’s all,” she explained, her lips nervously.  “Please don’t… don’t say anything,” she pleaded, her face close to crumpling in the myriad of emotions fighting for dominance.

                Yongguk could see she was scared and confused; hurting still and trying to pick up the pieces.  He’d seen the look before and he hated Kris all the more for it.  And as much as his anger demanded some sort of retribution right now, she needed him more.  “Alright,” he agreed, carefully pulling her into his arms, feeling her tense up and then relax against his chest; he was relieved she could still able to accept that comfort.  “I won’t go to his house,” he confirmed, just hugging her protectively.

                “Thank you,” she sniffed, crying softly against his chest as she allowed herself to embrace him back, hiding the bruised side of her face against his person.

                “But if he hurts you again, I can’t make any promises,” Yongguk murmured softly, lips brushing against her hair as he spoke.

                Luna tightened her arms and sniffed, finally managing a trembling response.  “I… understand.”

                “Good,” he smiled, closing his eyes as he held her close, wishing he could protect her from herself just then.

                Not that he could go by Kris’s house anyway, since he didn’t know where it was, but she didn’t know that.  No.  He just stayed with her for the next hour, keeping her company and simply being there.  ersely, he rather wished that Kris would show up just so he’d have an excuse to lay into him, but the tall remained absent.

                When Luna’s phone went off later though, he watched her read the text message, eyes darting to him nervously.  Yep.  That was from him.  Irritated, he had to wonder what their fight was about.  He had figured things were tense when he’d seen Kris that night, the body language yelling all sorts of threatened signals, but he never figured he’d go so far as to hit her.  If Yongguk had known that was going to happen, he wouldn’t have left her alone period, boyfriend be damned.

                 “Damn.  It’s that late already?” he asked in surprise with a glance at his watch when he realized she was getting uneasy after that text message.  He smiled at her over the raised wrist and waited for her response.

                “I know, right?” she laughed, the sound somewhat forced but at least her smile was genuine.

                “I should be going.  I’ve got a few things to finish up around the apartment anyway,” he shrugged, getting to his feet slowly and waiting to see if she was going to join him.  A small smile tugged at his mouth when she did, coming to rest a hand on his upper arm.

                “Thank you for coming by,” she murmured sincerely, her fingers tightening just a hair.

                “Of course, Luna.  That’s what friends are for,” he promised, taking her free hand in his, keeping the gesture friendly and unthreatening.  He’d love to be more to her, to show her how she should be treated, but this wasn’t the time or place to hash it out.

                She gave him a teary eyed smile and squeezed his hand hard, fingers trembling slightly.  “It’ll be okay,” she told him, almost as if she was trying to convince herself as much as him.

                “I know,” he nodded in agreement, nearly choking on the answer.  He didn’t know any more than she did, but he promised himself he would do everything he could to make it true.  “Will you be okay tonight?” he asked, moving to rest his right hand under her elbow, maintaining the gentle contact.

                “Ne,” she agreed with a quick nod.  “I’ll just turn in early and head to the stables like always, first thing in the morning,” she laughed once, a measure of her old self present.

                “Alright,” he smiled in return.  “Call me if you need anything, ne?  Or just stop by.  I won’t mind.  I promise,” he assured her, searching her face and then holding her gaze to let her know he meant it.

                “You can count on it,” she replied, loosening her hold at last.  “Have a good night.”

                “You too, Luna,” Yongguk exhaled, letting her go with great reluctance.  It was incredibly difficult for him to step back enough for her to close the door in his face, an occurrence he was beginning to get really tired of, and he watched silently until he was unable to see her anymore.

                When he got back to apartment, Junhong looked up from the couch and called out, “Hey, hyung.  How’d it go?”

                Yongguk shut the door behind him, fists clenched at his side with his expression locked into a tight grimace before he stalked over to the wall in front of his room and punched it, knocking a hole right through the drywall.  “Dammit!”

                “Yah!” Junhong yelled, falling off the couch before he just stared at his brother with huge eyes and stammered, “W-what the hell?!”

                Flexing his aching fist, and offhandedly grateful he’d missed any of the studs, Yongguk took a shaky breath and turned around to explain in a frighteningly calm tone of voice, “Kris hit Luna.”

                Junhong’s eyes widened even further and his expression blanched.  “No way…” he exhaled in a whisper, seemingly frozen in place.

                Yongguk sat down and explained to his brother what he’d learned, watching his sibling’s reactions closely, recognizing the resultant outrage that accompanied the news.  By the time he was done, he leaned close and clamped his hand on Junhong’s shoulder, holding firm as he asked, “Now.  When is Coach Kris available at the school?”

                “Hyung…” Junhong started to say, wincing as he trailed off when Yongguk’s expression deterred further words.

                “Junhong,” he stated simply, staring at his brother without batting an eye.

                “Eh…” he groaned, slouching where he was.  “Just don’t do anything stupid,” he grumbled as he gave the requested information.  He really didn’t want his brother to get in trouble…

                “Don’t worry, Junhongie,” Yongguk smiled, shifting his hand to pat his brother’s neck instead.  “I’ll be careful,” he promised, a dangerous smile gracing his lips.  Junhong winced further but didn’t argue.  It wasn’t like there was anything he could do to talk his brother out of something once he’d set his mind to it anyway.

                Sleep was a long time in coming for Yongguk and morning came much too quickly, leaving him irritable and annoyed.  He should be early enough though, considering he could count the number of times he’d seen four in the morning, without staying up all night, on one of his hands.  Getting ready for the day was slow but he managed to plant himself next to Luna’s door before she came out, appointing himself as her silent guardian.

                “Oh!” she gasped in surprise when she stepped out and looked down to notice him seated beside her door, smiling up at her.

                “Morning,” he waved with his left hand, keeping the bruised right hand hidden and acting as if nothing was amiss.  His eyes scanned her face quickly and he saw that she’d done a good job of hiding the remains of the bruise with some sort of cover-up, letting a couple strands of hair hang loose to frame her face attractively, the rest pulled back into a ponytail.

                “Morning,” she responded, almost back to her normal self.

                “I figured it might be nice if you didn’t have to come make sure I was ready,” he winked, standing up and gesturing for her to lead the way, blinking with some difficulty as he wiped at his tired eyes again.

                “I see,” Luna agreed going along without complaint.  She seemed rather relieved to have him beside her and he took that as a good sign when they rode the elevator down in silence.

                As usual, they took separate vehicles and went their separate ways when they got on site.  Yongguk made sure Luna was distracted before he sought out Minseok in particular, dragging the older male off to the side to keep their meeting private.  Very quickly and briefly, he sketched what he’d found out, since he knew for a fact Luna wouldn’t say anything, and explained he would need some time off that afternoon for just a little while.

                “Shouldn’t take long,” he assured the elder male nonchalantly.

                Minseok glanced at him suspiciously but then looked out towards the area where Luna would be with the rest of the hired hands.  “What are you- You know.  It’s better if I don’t know.  Really,” he said with a shake of his head.  “And don’t worry.  I’ll let the others know.  We take care of our own here,” he explained simply, giving Yongguk’s shoulder a reassuring squeeze.

                “That’s what I was hoping to hear,” Yongguk admitted with a relieved smile.  “I guess I better get back to work then,” he grinned, waving at the shorter male before he hurried back to the stables, timing it so Luna wouldn’t see him coming back either.

                He wasn’t quite able to slip off the premise without Luna noticing later on though and he had to pause when she caught up with him.  “Leaving us so soon?” she asked, trotting over on Wind’s Playmate before he could make a getaway in his car.

                “Ne.  I’ve got an appointment to take care of,” he wrinkled his nose as he tried to wave her off.

                “Oh?  Doctor’s appointment?” she asked with some concern, ready to slide off her horse to get a closer look at him if necessary.

                He didn’t exactly want to lie to her…  “Eh, not really.  Just an unexpected bill I gotta take care of,” he explained with a roll of his eyes.  He could reason that one out enough that it wasn’t a complete lie in the end, even if he had to get all manner of poetic for it to make sense.  It was the principle of the matter that counted though.

                “Ergh.  Bummer,” she winced sympathetically.  “Good luck with that.  Do you think you’ll be gone long?”

                “Nah,” he waved her concern off.  “Should be able to get it cleared up pretty quickly,” he explained with quiet confidence.

                “Wonderful,” she nodded once enthusiastically.  “I’ll see you when you get back then,” she waved, nudging Wind’s Playmate around to return to the practice ring.

                “That you will,” he agreed, hurrying the rest of the way to the car.  The drive to the school was infinitely too long and getting a guest pass to see the Coach was also a pain in the , but he tried to time his visit so that Kris would be in his office and otherwise unattended.  Hopefully anyway.

                He couldn’t quite help the smirk that appeared when he stepped into Coach Wu’s office and saw the surprise and… was that anger that flashed across his face?  Yes.  Yes it was.  Good.  “What the hell are you doing here?” Kris asked as he watched Yongguk close the door firmly behind him.  He stood up behind his desk when the shorter male got near so that he was looking down at him, but his unexpected visitor wasn’t the slightest bit intimidated.

                Cocky smirk still in place, eyes locked on Kris’s, Yongguk placed his fingers on top of the desk and stared at the taller male as he leaned forward slightly.  “Touch her again and I’ll break your hands.”

                Confusion flashed across his face, followed by anger.  “Who the hell do you think you are-”

                “I’m her friend, ,” Yongguk cut him off flatly, keeping his voice level but filled with all the suppressed anger he could manage.  “And if you so much as harm a hair on her head again, you will regret it.”

                “ you,” Kris snorted with a dismissive wave.  “It’s none of your goddamned business,” he snarled, mirroring Yongguk’s posture as he leaned over the desk, looming closer in a menacing gesture.

                “I’m making it my business,” Yongguk promised, jaw clenching noticeably as his expression fell flat, mutely daring him to try something.  He wanted to hit him.  He really did, but Yongguk knew better than to make the first move in this situation.

                Kris sneered at his act of bravado and taunted, “You lay a finger on me and I’ll have you arrested for assault.  I should have the cops come and drag your off for even threatening me, you lousy piece of .”

                “If it comes to it, I guess I’ll just have to make sure you don’t get up,” he added softly, keeping his voice low so it wouldn’t carry beyond the room.  Kris might have been bigger and possibly stronger than Yongguk, but he knew how to handle himself in a fight and he had a special sort of hatred towards anyone who would raise their hand against a woman or loved one.

                “You wouldn’t dare,” Kris hissed in response, searching Yongguk’s gaze, though there was a hint of nervousness in his eyes at what he saw in their depths.

                “Try me.”

                For a long moment, Kris just glared back, silent while he tried to determine the truth of his statement.  Eventually, he gripped the front of Yongguk’s shirt with both hands and muttered, “Get out of my office, shoveler.”

                At the obvious dismissal, Yongguk let the smirk slide back into place and he mockingly replied, “Yes, sir,” giving Kris a half-assed salute as he stood up, tossing the taller male’s hands off, and backed away.

                He found the door by touch and opened it enough to ease out without turning his back to the other man.  With the barrier in place behind him, he clenched his hands into fists and muttered a stream of profanities under his breath, wishing it would have been possible to beat the out of him right now.   Oh, how he wanted to.  And if Kris had made the first move, nothing would have stopped that fight, school grounds or not.

                Taking a deep, calming breath, Yongguk reminded himself that a school was not the best place to vent his frustrations out on his target though, however much of an he was.  Hopefully the warning would be enough.  He couldn’t very well make Luna try to leave if she wasn’t ready, no matter how bad Kris was for her.  He knew that part as well as anybody could.  But he meant exactly what he’d said.  Luna didn’t deserve to be treated that way and even if Yongguk was relegated to being nothing more than her friend, if Kris hurt her again, he would pay for it.  One way or the other.

(a/n: I love using Himchan and his interactions with the rest of the guys for some manner of comic relief.  ^_^  It was definitely a breath of fresh air after the last update anyway.  heh  I do hope you're enjoying it and would love to hear from you but if not, happy reading and please look forward to the next update.  ^_^)