I don't want to set the world on fire

Length: 10.2k

Genre: zombie!au

Rating: NC-17

Summary: Kyungsoo survives the zombie apocalypse, but Jongin lives.

                Kyungsoo wakes up with sunlight dappling his face in abstract patterns. The scent of death hangs heavy in the air. He rubs his eyes as he sits and tugs on a worn out shirt, cotton made soft from too much use. He adjusts the doctor’s mask on his face, tightening the straps behind his ears.

                Three years since the plague had started. Three long years. Kyungsoo peers out the broken window to the pavement and pulls on his backpack, adjusting the straps so that it’s high on his back for support. He grabs his handgun and slips it into the holster on his hip, leaving it in easy access and double checking to make sure his taser and ammo are secure. As he leaves, he grabs the bat by the door, a solid metal one that’s admittedly heavier any of his other gear and more than a little bit of a giveaway to his position if the metal  - which is under a layer of caked on mud  - catches in the sun. It’s too useful to not carry with him. He can already feel beads of sweat forming between his bag and back, the heat from the peak of summer more of a hindrance than anything else. He knows he’ll be wishing for the heat in the winter, though, so he tries not to think about it.

                The convenience store he scouted last night looks the same, no broken glass and an actual faint noise of electricity coming from it. He knows zombies too well at this point to get ahead of himself, though, and digs a handful of marbles from a pouch secured to his bag. He takes a breath and puffs his cheeks, checking over his shoulder one more time before stepping into the open door and bowling the marbles down the first aisle he comes across. He ducks behind the nearest counter, pulling his gun from the holster and propping himself so that his eyes can scan for movement. He waits an entire minute before sliding the gun back to its resting place and getting up, taking the time to collect the marbles again and put them back in their pouch. He wanders up and down the aisles as quickly and effectively as he can, scanning for what he needs and a few things he knows he’ll be able to use later that aren’t too heavy. Salt. Raw honey. Cayenne pepper. A box of granola bars he rips open and dumps out to save some room. He pauses and chews on his lip for a long moment when he comes across a pound of baking soda. He shakes his head and picks it up, slipping it into his backpack and rearranging things a little to make room. It’s extra weight, yes, but Kyungsoo knows how to use it well enough that it’s worth it.

                He checks the street before he heads out, hand hovering near his weapon as he walks, trying to find a building without too much broken glass. He figures he should probably walk at least a few miles before he stops anywhere.

                Kyungsoo’s not sure how zombies track humans – the uninfected ones. He wasn’t even really all too sure how someone really became a zombie. It was a virus. The media had managed to tell the public that much before the government labs started to order silence. Broadcasts had become minimal once the zombies started to outnumber living people. Kyungsoo freezes mid stride when he hears a trash can lid fall around a dozen yards away. He reaches for his gun, keeping it ready in front of him, safety turned off. It’s easier to take zombies down at a distance, Kyungsoo’s found, although he’s skilled at close range as well. Not as skilled as he would like to be, but enough to survive, at least. Kyungsoo holds his breath behind his mask as the creature stumbles into view.

                It’s about as much of a plain zombie as Kyungsoo could have asked for. A man – Kyungsoo silently thanked the universe that it wasn’t a child - , probably a zombie for a while judging by state his clothes are in and the amount of blood that’s soaking his peeling skin. Kyungsoo can see bone on a section of his leg. He doesn’t wait for the zombie to see him before he pulls the trigger, bullet going clean between the zombie’s eyes. He doesn’t hesitate to approach, shooting again when he gets close enough to the collapsed figure. He figures that as some point he’ll have some kind of break down for killing so many “people”. He knew plenty of survivors that had. Kyungsoo had spent months carefully constructing a wall of indifference to killing zombies. They were already dead to him. It was just… putting them out of their semi-consciousness. Re-killing, at the very worst.

Kyungsoo scans the alley the zombie came from for others briefly before passing it. He adjusts his pack and his lips. There’s a half empty gallon of water hanging from his waist, but he doesn’t want to touch it yet, not when he’s barely been walking. He knows it will be empty by the time he stops for the night and he’ll have to refill it in whatever sink he can get to work. The water is rather disgusting coming from pipes now, and if it wasn’t for his precious supply of iodine, he would have probably died from dehydration long ago.

An apartment building is Kyungsoo’s next stop. The lock on the gate is broken, and Kyungsoo figures that plenty of others have broken into apartments over the years. Kyungsoo holds his bat a little tighter as he enters the lobby. Although zombies seem to stay mostly outside, he’s seen plenty in large buildings like this one. The possibilities of what he could find outweighed the risk, though, so he continued. A quick scan of the hallways reveals that the first floor has been mostly entirely ransacked. There are some corpses on the ground, a bitter smell hangs in the air. Kyungsoo takes the stairs to higher floors, not trusting the elevator. Although there’s a light flickering in the lobby, electricity is a rather fickle affair, and there’s no way he survived this long to let himself die in an elevator caught between floors. He makes his way to the eighth floor. He figures that it’s high enough that there will still be some supplies in the apartments.

                The first door that he breaks open greats him with a stronger scent of death than the entire first floor, and he nearly stumbles backwards. He holds the bat at the ready, but no undead come running at him. He swallows a lump in his throat and goes inside, nearly turning back out immediately when he enters the living room. There are three corpses. Not undead. It’s difficult to tell normally, but the tiny corpse held in the arms of another shows that it was a family of humans. Kyungsoo looks the other way and goes further into the apartment, starting in the kitchen and scavenging. Most of the food is rotten, gone to the same bugs that are infesting the corpses, but Kyungsoo finds a can opener he immediately tucks in his bag, having lost his in a zombie attack, and finds a few cans that are still good and a couple boxes of uncooked pasta that he takes before going to the bedrooms. He bypasses the room that’s obviously the child’s and goes straight for the parent’s room. He searches through the drawers and manages to find a second gun to take with a decent amount of ammunition and clothing that will probably be too big on his skinny frame, but he bags it anyways. He goes through the woman’s drawers, taking half a dozen pairs of pantyhose, which will be more than useful at some point.

                He moves through a dozen other apartments, leaving with a much heavier bag, but nothing he can’t manage. He’s used to sharing a load with companions, but he can handle this. He turns the corner, freezing mid-step when a zombie came out of an apartment. He curses when it starts running at him, faster than the zombie on street. He hefts his bat and waits for the snarling corpse to get close before swinging hard and making the creature stumble into the wall. His handgun is out in the next instant, and a bullet later the zombie is dead on the ground. He’s panting when he hears a growling in the apartment and suddenly there are undead coming from three different rooms, too many for him to take on. He turns and bolts, not bothering to be quiet as he throws open the door to the stairwell, taking the stairs two at a time as he scrambles down to the street, managing to twist his ankle on the fourth floor when a couple zombies come through the doors and take him by surprise. The taser in his pocket doesn’t actually manage to kill zombies, but it comes in handy in desperate situations like this, when one is practically on top of him, teeth inches from his skin, the shock will be enough for Kyungsoo to roll away and keep running. He makes it to the street relatively unscathed besides his ankle, which he can already feel swelling in his boot. He ignores it and forages ahead, distinct growling of zombies growing faint before it finally fades, and he sinks to the ground in the middle of the street, breathing heavy.

                He glances at the sky. Scavenging that day didn’t really save him any time or give him much distance between night stops, but he doubted he was going to get much farther with his ankle throbbing like it was before the sun set. He stands after a moment, walking at a slow limp through the city streets the best he can, gaining as much distance as he can in the time he has left. He takes more breaks than he wants to admit, eventually yanking off his boot and opening his bag to try to find his first aid kit, settling for wrapping up his ankle and foot tightly in a medical bandage and pinning it in place before slipping it back into his boot. It’s still throbbing, but at least he can put more pressure on it than before. Kyungsoo estimates that he has an hour or so until the sun starts to go down, so he needs to get moving. The trek is anything but pleasant, worse than normal by the weight on his back, pain that is now traveling up from his ankle into his leg, and solitude. He sighs when the sun starts going down and scans the buildings nearby. None of them look particularly safe, and he’s about to just camp in the gas station on the corner when a light from an apartment building catches his eye. It’s not an electric light, but softer and moving. A fire? He counts windows. The fifth floor.

                Kyungsoo shifts his weight, taking a moment to make the decision before he heads inside, pushing open the door and knocking it to the ground by mistake when the hinge breaks. He winces, hand tightening around the bat as he waits for a zombie to come running. The building is one that Kyungsoo would normally avoid, windows on the bottom floor smashed in and an obviously weak door. The perfect spot for zombies to live in. But there isn’t a single undead body coming towards him. He raises an eyebrow and slips the bat into its makeshift holder, instead scanning the halls with his gun firmly in his hands. He takes the stairs, cursing himself for the thousandth time that day for twisting his ankle. By the time he reaches the fifth floor, it’s burning, and he’s unsure if he’s going to be able to walk much farther. Most of the doors are closed and there isn’t light coming from under them. It’s at the end of the hall that he finally sees the telltale flicker of a flame. He doesn’t hesitate to push the door open, in too much pain to really think it through. An instant later, there’s a click and a shotgun is pointed at him.

                “Not a zombie!” Kyungsoo holds up his hands. It’s a man, Kyungsoo can tell from the build, although whoever it is is very thin and hidden in shadows, face hidden by a hood. He hears the shotgun and he stares at the barrel of the gun. “I’m not a zombie.” There’s a pause before whoever’s holding the gun speaks.

                “Why do you have a mask on?” Kyungsoo balks. Of all the things he was expecting, that wasn’t it.

                “It’s a virus.”

                “And?”

                “Viruses can be airborne?” Kyungsoo says. He knows his reasoning for the mask is sound, but it comes out more of a question. The man lowers his gun and pulls back the hood hiding his face in shadows. Kyungsoo blinks. The man doesn’t have a mask on, something Kyungsoo and his companions had always done as a safety precaution. He’s got a sharp jawline and a shock of nearly white blond hair. He’s not old though, probably close to Kyungsoo’s age.

                “You know this virus isn’t in the air, right?” Kyungsoo shrugs, still taking in the man’s rather strange appearance.

                “Better safe than a zombie.” Kyungsoo says quietly. The man stares at him a long time.

                “Well. Don’t just stand there. Sit. Take off your bag. You look like you’re about to tip over.” Kyungsoo accepts the invitation, slipping his bag from his back and placing it on the ground, taking a seat on the floor. He doesn’t say anything else to the man immediately, instead tugging off his boots and wincing as he pokes at his ankle. “That looks pretty swollen.” Kyungsoo nods and props it up on his bag, trying not to grimace.

                “I twisted it on a staircase. There were a bunch of zombies that got the drop on me.” The man his head.

                “You didn’t get bitten?”

                “You think I’m an idiot?” Kyungsoo mutters. “I know how to defend myself.” The man chuckles.

                “I could tell. You did have a gun pointed at me for a couple seconds there. You really think an undead is going to have a contained fire going?”

                “Well, no, but still. Can’t be too safe.” Kyungsoo explains. “Besides. You had a shotgun pointed at me.”

                “Shotgun, handgun, whatever.” The man shrugs. “You get shot by anything and you’re as good as dead.”

                “The zombies will get you.” Kyungsoo nods. The man raises a brow.

                “The undead are the least of your problems. They’ll take a while to smell your blood and come after you. What you have to worry about is bleeding out in the meantime.” Kyungsoo frowns and looks away, scanning the room instead. He blinks and then looks back at the man.

                “Do you… live here? Like… live here?” The man nods.

                “Of course.” He glances at Kyungsoo. “Oh. You’re one of those roamers.” Kyungsoo doesn’t respond, but instead takes in the man again. The blond notices Kyungsoo’s stare and grins. “What? Is it weird to think of someone living somewhere permanently?” He stretched and gets up, turning his back to Kyungsoo for a moment to reach for a can on a high shelf. Kyungsoo catches sight of the design on the back of his jacket. A ‘x’ in the center with an almost snowflake like design on one side and a rounded out ‘o’ on the other side of the x. He gasps softly. The man glances over his shoulder, raising an eyebrow.

                “Y-You’re…” Kyungsoo fumbles with his words a moment. “You’re Kai.” The man grins.

                “Oh. You know about me.” He chuckles and sits back down. “I’m surprised. Most of the time people get it from the blond.” He points to his hair. “You got it from looking at me from behind?”

                “Your jacket.” Kyungsoo says softly. “It’s got the design on it.” Kai glances over his shoulder, straining to look at his back.

                “Is it really so obvious from that? There could be anyone with a picture like that on their clothing. It’s not like you have to pay for clothes anymore.”

                “It’s the combination.” Kyungsoo mumbles. “Living somewhere, hair, jacket….” He shrugs. “It just didn’t click.” Kai hums and then smiles.

                “You know Kai isn’t even my name?” He tilts his head back a little. “I’m Jongin. Kai got made up somewhere along the way for stories. It sounds better than Jongin.” Kyungsoo looks at the man for a long moment and then clears his throat.

                “Right, ah… Jongin. I’m Kyungsoo.”

                “Kyungsoo. Hm. That’s not very intimidating, either. They would have had to make up a name for you too. But I guess that would go along with the made up stories.”

                “Made up?”

                “You don’t really think I did all the things people say I do?”

                “You… You don’t?”

                “Of course not. You know how many stories I’ve heard about myself? People always seem so shocked when I haven’t really done something they heard about.”

                “You’re a legend.” Kyungsoo sits up a little. “I mean, I’ve heard such amazing things.”

                “Do share.” Jongin smiles again, and Kyungsoo’s not sure why it’s already becoming a signature look for Jongin in his head. “I love hearing about myself.”

                “Excuse me?” Kyungsoo pauses. “You mean like… like things that you’ve done?” Jongin nods and Kyungsoo lets himself fall back again. “I… You’re amazing, people say. We used to run into bands of travelers. They were all in awe of you. Everyone knows that you travel by yourself. Or…did, I suppose. Most people have been saying that you settled down somewhere. Which I guess is true…”

                “Oh wow. A true part of my legend.” Jongin laughs. “That’s different.” Kyungsoo his head slightly as Jongin falls silent again and gestures for him to continue.

                “You’ve always been alone. Never had a companion. And I’ve never heard of you having any one night stand or anything.” Kyungsoo adds. “You took out whole hoards of zombies at a time. Fifty at once, I’ve heard. You just shot all of them down. Clean through the head with every shot. I’ve heard that you made a bomb and took out a ton of them that were in the zoo. And that you managed to survive when the animals that were infected broke free of their cages by managing to lead them to the other zombies and basically having them tear each other apart.” Kyungsoo pauses when Jongin chuckles softly but continues. “That you spent a week camping out in the mall and basically cutting loose on any zombie that came by. I’ve been in the malls. They’re full of zombies. I can’t believe you managed to come out alive from something like that.” Jongin is still silent, and his eyes are closed. Kyungsoo’s almost sure that he’s asleep until he sighs.

                “What about me? Did you hear anything about me? Besides what I’ve managed to do to the undead?”

                “You dye your hair.” Kyungsoo gestures to Jongin’s mess of hair, tangled and all over the place. “The design on your jacket. And most of the women say that you’re pretty handsome.”

                “But nothing about me. Typical.” Jongin sighs and sits up. “Well, you obviously aren’t going anywhere tonight, not with that ankle.” He stretches. “This building is undead free, but I always do a nightly scout on it to make sure. You have your handgun. Don’t shoot me when I come back.”

                “I can stay?” Jongin nods, raising an eyebrow.

                “I’m not about to kick someone out when they’re just going to become food for some undead. You owe me, though. Tit for tat. ”

                “Jongin?” Kyungsoo calls as the blond loads up his pockets with ammunition.

                “Hmm?”

                “Do you really… live here? All the time?” Jongin smiles a little and nods.

                “Yeah. I told you that they got some of the legend about me right. You’re free to look around if you want. Although I don’t suggest putting too much weight on your ankle. I cleared this floor earlier, there won’t be any undead on it. Stay in this apartment, though. I have it ashed so that the undead don’t come in.”

                “Ashed?” Jongin simply hums in response and looks at Kyungsoo.

                “Don’t you know anything about the undead? Bleach and ash. That’s all it takes to keep them out. Well, that and a loaded shotgun.” Jongin runs a hand through his hair. “I’ll see you in a bit. Don’t shoot me.” He says again before vanishing into the hall.

                Kyungsoo holds his gun a little tighter in his hand as he hauls himself to his feet, wincing a little as his ankle takes his weight, but limps around. The area that he’s in now is a living room, or it was at one point. There are dozen different shotguns by the couch Jongin was sitting by. All the furniture is flipped over, and Kyungsoo peers over to the other side of the couch to find a pillow and blanket. Jongin’s bed, probably. He must be pretty self-assured that there won’t be any zombies coming in the middle of the night if he doesn’t even sleep facing the door. He makes his way to a door and cracks it open, checking with his gun first out of habit before lowering it. A bathroom. Nothing fancy. The pipes must not work, though, because there’s clothing folded up in the bathtub. Kyungsoo pokes at the clothing for a while before lifting a jacket, when he feels something hard, revealing a box full of grenades. He gingerly places the jacket back in place and backs out of the bathroom, cracking open the next door he comes across. It’s the bedroom… or what used to be the bedroom. The mattress is missing and the bed frame is moved so that it’s leaning against the wall, a few articles of clothing hanging from it. There’s a pile of wood in the corner that Kyungsoo thinks was probably pieces of furniture, an ax resting next to the oddly shaped fragments. Half the room is taken up by long rows of pots with green leaves and heavy with fruit and vegetables. Kyungsoo blinks a couple times at the pots in sheer shock of seeing fresh produce. He stoops to examine one of the plants, a tomato with dozens of small red fruit that he’s half tempted to pick. He exits and peers into the kitchen, mouth dropping at the sheer amount of canned food that Jongin has stocked, walls and walls of carefully stacked cans and boxes of dried foods.

                “It’s impressive, right?” Kyungsoo jolts, looking over his shoulder at Jongin. “You’re lucky the undead aren’t stealthy.”

                “Why did you sneak up on me? I might have shot you.”

                “I figured you could handle a little bit of a scare. As long as you didn’t land on that ankle.” Jongin glances down. “Which is still looking rather swollen.” He holds out his hand. “Give me the gun. I don’t trust you limping around with it. You fall and it’s going to go off.” Kyungsoo grudgingly hands Jongin the gun, and he tucks it in a holster at his side. “Can you manage to get back to the fire okay?”

                “It’s twisted, not broken.” Kyungsoo mutters, limping back to the fire and sitting again to prop up his leg.

                “Don’t you travel with a pillow?” Jongin deadpans when Kyungsoo puts his head on the floor.

                “Too much space. I thought you travelled for a while. You should know that.” Jongin tosses a pillow over the fire, hitting Kyungsoo square in the face.

                “I did. But I carried a pillow.” He stands and ducks behind the couch to where he’s made his bed. “God, how do you live in the undead apocalypse if you don’t even carry a pillow?”

“I don’t live in it.” Kyungsoo mumbles. “I survive it.” There’s a pregnant pause, and Kyungsoo can tell that Jongin wants to say more before he shakes his head.

 “Good night. I’m sure we both wake early. See you in the morning.” Kyungsoo rolls slightly to face the door.

                “Goodnight.” There’s a long pause before Jongin clears his throat.

                “Aren’t you going to take your mask off?”

                “Virus. You don’t have to be awake to be infected by a virus.”

                “Not airborne. And no one here is going to be sneezing on you and infecting you.” Jongin replies. Kyungsoo glances at the couch, where Jongin is poking his head out with his signature smirk on.

                “Why do you want me to take it off?”

                “I don’t. I’m just questioning your judgment.”

                “You shouldn’t be. I survive out there, too.” Kyungsoo says and rolls back the other way, placing the handgun Jongin had returned next to his head, pointed at the door. He drifts off not too much later, exhausted from the day.

---

                When Kyungsoo wakes up, it’s much too hot and much too bright.

                “!” He bolts upright. “What time is it?”

                “Around nine.” Jongin’s voice comes from the hallway before he appears. “I’m making breakfast. You need to trade me something if you want some.” Kyungsoo hauls himself to his feet, nearly crumpling when he puts his weight on his bad ankle.

                “.”

                “Still swollen.” Jongin sighs. “You know that it’s probably from walking around yesterday, right?”

                “Should I have stayed and let the zombies eat me?” Kyungsoo grumbles, hauling his backpack with him to the kitchen in slow steps. “What do you want for trade?”

                “You don’t carry much, right? Let’s see what you got.” Kyungsoo dumps out his bag on the table, and Jongin sorts through things for a while before picking up a crumpled pack of cigarettes Kyungsoo has tucked away. “You smoke?”

                “God no.” Kyungsoo says. “Only an idiot would smoke with zombies running around. Sometimes I can get a trade off of them. From idiots.” Jongin clucks his tongue against the roof of his mouth and opens the carton, taking one out and wedging it between his lips. A moment later, it’s lit from a zippo lighter and he blows the smoke in Kyungsoo’s face.

                “Your legend undead hunter is an idiot, then.”

                “Apparently so.” Kyungsoo mutters. Jongin sorts through Kyungsoo’s belongings for a while longer, holding up the pantyhose he collected the day before.

                “What have we got here?” He chuckles. “Is someone a little bit of a ert, going through ladies drawers?” He teases. Kyungsoo snatches them back.

                “Shut up.” He mutters. “They’re good for holding things. And everything is still in the packages. It’s not like they had feet in them.”

                “For holding things? Isn’t that what your backpack is for?” Jongin continues to tease Kyungsoo as he shoves them back in his bag.

                “They’re for smaller things.” Kyungsoo says, pointing to the leg of a stocking that holds the marbles he uses to test for zombies. “Useful. And if you cut a hole in them and wear them like a shirt they’re good for fighting the wind when it gets colder.” Jongin chuckles a little.

                “You must be some kind of survival expert. Or just insane. To figure out random like that. I could have used you around back when I actually travelled through places.”

                “Oh, I’m not a roamer.” Kyungsoo corrects Jongin’s earlier assumption.

                “You aren’t?”

                “Roamers are from all over. They travel through places. Most of them have the idea that there’s some kind of safe haven of uninfected that they can get to.”

                “And you really aren’t one?”

                “There’s no safe haven. There isn’t a safe place. Everyone is either infected, dead, or like us and just trying to survive. It’s not worth wasting time and resources to go out looking for a fantasy. I don’t even bother leaving the city. I’ve been here for three years. “ Jongin stares at Kyungsoo for a while and then sighs.

                “By yourself for three years? Don’t most people keep their families with them? I’ve seen a lot of children with guns in their hands.” Kyungsoo looks down, falling silent. Jongin looks at him again. “Oh.” He pauses. “You lost them?”

                “I don’t know.” Kyungsoo murmurs. “We got swarmed. Dozens of zombies. Everyone was shooting. I don’t know who got out and who didn’t.” Jongin is silent for a long time before he reaches over and yanks Kyungsoo’s mask off suddenly. Kyungsoo claps his hands over his mouth. “Hey! What the hell? Give that back!”

                “You can’t eat with it on.” Jongin grins widely. “And you traded me for breakfast.” He puts a plate in front of Kyungsoo. “I’m afraid most of it comes from powder. Real food is a little scarce. But the vegetables are from the bedroom. I’m sure you saw it.” Kyungsoo glare at him for another moment before dropping his hands. Jongin looks at his face.

                “What?”

                “I just haven’t seen your whole face yet.” Jongin pokes Kyungsoo. “You don’t have a hideous scar. I was kind of looking forward to seeing it.”

                “Jerk.”

                “Your lips are super chapped, though.” He says. “Isn’t that a health hazard? You start bleeding and boom, infection.”

                “Shut up.” Kyungsoo mutters, picking at the food.

                “Anyways,” Jongin stretches and then starts on his own meal. “I doubt you’re going anywhere today. But no more story sharing about people, okay? Don’t get attached. That’s the rule out here, and you know it.” He yawns. “Do you have water? One thing I’m terrible at getting is liquid.” Kyungsoo nods and puts the jug on the table.

                “You have to trade for it.” Jongin fakes a gasp.

                “Really? I think housing you here for the day counts as fair trade. Unless you want to be on the pavement with undead.” He pulls the jug forwards and takes a long sip. “Ah. Amazing. I love water.” Kyungsoo frowns.

                “Hey. Unless you’re going to go out and get a bunch more, take it easy. I can’t go get any today.” He gestures to his leg.

                “Oh, quit worrying. I’ll find somewhere. I’m a little concerned about what you’re going to do here by yourself. Don’t go and eat all the food in the bedroom, okay?” Kyungsoo rolls his eyes.

                “I know how to control myself.” He says. He roots through his backpack and pulls out a map of the city, moving his plate to lay it out on the table. “There’s a section of the river about a mile from here. Shouldn’t be a problem with empty gallons…” He picks up two empty gallon jugs and puts them on the table. “I travel with three of these partially full a lot. A mile will be slow to carry them but not difficult.” Jongin glances at the map.

                “There’s a pocket of undead here.” He points to a point just past the river on the map. “They come this way sometimes. No more than a few at a time. The entire building is undead deterrent, but it doesn’t mean they don’t come inside sometimes. There are bottles of bleach and ash by the door. Take one of the guns with a scope and go a few rooms over. The door is broken in. It’s got a good view of the street. You should be able to catch them before they start coming too close. They can’t smell us here if we’re careful. Drizzle the bottle behind you when you enter the room. Don’t get any of it on the ground in here, though. You need to keep the fire going all day. Easier to keep that way.”

                “You won’t run into the zombies when you go to the river, will you?”

                “Probably a few.” He grins. “I thought I was a legend. How many did you say I took out at once?”

                “Fifty.”

                “Right. I’ll encounter less than fifty.” Jongin chuckles. “The stories are getting more and more extravagant. You know I heard that I rode an undead polar bear once? Seriously. Who even comes up with this ?” Kyungsoo looks down at the map.

                “Right, well…. Just be careful. If you aren’t back by the time it’s dark I’m assuming you went down.”

                “Please.” Jongin rolls his eyes. “I’m Kai. The legend. I’m invincible.” It’s when they’re cleaning up that a thought occurs to Kyungsoo.

                “Jongin? If there’s a river a mile away, why do you have trouble getting water?”

                “No iodine, unlike you. There’s not a great way to get it nearby. And I don’t know the city that well. Half the stories of me running into undead came from random wandering that could have gone better.”

                “You don’t know the city?”

                “Is that not part of the legend?” Jongin holsters a small handgun and then slides the empty jugs over his shoulder. “I’m not from around here. I was on a six week study program when the virus really kicked off and everything suddenly went to .”

                “Study program? What… How old are you? What were you studying?”

                “Ah, ah, ah. I said no story telling. Don’t get attached.” Jongin hefts a shotgun in his hand and it to check for ammunition. “I’ll probably be a little over an hour. I’m going before it gets too hot.” Kyungsoo nods and picks up a bottle of bleach where Jongin gestures to it. He slips a smaller one into his pocket. “For the entrance and gate.” He explains. Kyungsoo nods again and limps into the hall with the gun that’s far larger than he’s ever held, entering the room Jongin points to and drizzling the bleach behind him. The thought vaguely occurs that he’s holding a firearm and a highly flammable substance next to each other, but he shoves it from his mind and lays down on a bunch of cushions set up by the window, obviously put there by Jongin. He sets up the gun and looks out the scope to scan the street once before pulling back to simply look at it, waiting for Jongin to come out of the building. A few minutes later Kyungsoo’s watching him head up the street, empty jugs bouncing on his hip, the tie too high for Jongin in comparison to where it would fall on himself.

                It’s nearly two hours later when he spots Jongin walking back and limps back out to the hall, drizzling the bottle by the door to the room he was in and heading back to the living room, putting down the gun. Jongin enters a moment later.

                “Hey. How was it?”

                “Two zombies.” Jongin nods.

                “That’s not bad. I’ll check the building again at night anyways. I got water.” He pulls the rope holding the belt of jugs from his shoulder and sets them down.

                “Great. Do you have a clean bucket?” Jongin hands one to Kyungsoo and he opens his bag, ripping a pair of pantyhose apart and stretching it over the top. “Use number three of these.” Kyungsoo opens one of the gallons and starts dumping the water in small amounts into the bucket. “Preliminary filter to get out big debris.” Jongin hums and pulls away the hosiery when they’re done filtering the water. “Toss that. It’s probably got virus on it now.” He says, digging out his bottle of iodine and placing the appropriate number of drops in each gallon after they replace the water. “Thirty minutes before you can take a drink of it.” Jongin nods.

                “Oh. Here.” He reaches into his pocket and tosses a tube at Kyungsoo, who catches it easily. He balks a little as he reads the label. Chapstick.

                “What’s this?”

                “I would have been back sooner, but there was a drug store near the river. There were some undead in it. The medicine is all gone, of course. But everyone stopped caring about makeup and stuff when everyone got infected. That’s how I can keep dying my hair.” He taps Kyungsoo’s mask over his lips. “Chapped lips are dangerous. Take care of them.” Kyungsoo stares at the tube another moment.

                “Ah, thank you.” He finally says. “What do you want for it? I still have a mostly full pack of cigarettes…”

                “Free of charge.” Jongin says. “Don’t argue with me. Gifts are hard to come by. Take one when you get the chance.” Kyungsoo looks up.

                “Thank you.” He says again, a little softer.

                “Hey. Don’t get attached. I did it for your health.” Jongin flicks Kyungsoo’s forehead. Kyungsoo rubs his forehead and grumbles. His eyes narrow slightly.

                “I have to take off my mask to put this crap on.”

                “Yep.” Jongin grins widely. “I’m going to get you to live without that thing at some point. I think you’re probably going to be here a few more days.” He gestures to Kyungsoo’s ankle. “You’re the survival expert. Know anything to make swelling go down?” Kyungsoo thinks for a while.

                “There’s a convenience store nearby?”

                “Around the corner.” Jongin nods.

                “It’s probably pretty empty, right?”

                “I’ve done a pretty good job emptying it out over the last year, yeah. There’s still some things there I never had a use for, though.”

                “Like tonic water?” Jongin quirks his head.

                “I can honestly say I’ve never used tonic water in the last three years.” Kyungsoo smiles a little.

                “Go and get as much as you can. They come in little glass bottles we can reuse, too. If you have a sturdy backpack, go fill it up with bottles.” Jongin shoulders a bag.

                “You’re lucky you’re injured. Otherwise I wouldn’t be taking orders from you.” He half teases, nodding to Kyungsoo and then picking up a gun. “Twenty minutes at most. You don’t need to take a lookout. I can see this street from there.” Kyungsoo eases himself down by the fire and props up his ankle again, wincing a little.

                “See you soon.” He says as Jongin goes. He waits for Jongin to vanish before pulling off his mask, cracking the seal on the chapstick with a soft cluck of his teeth and then applying the substance. It burns terribly, lips dry and raw under it. “Ouch.” He mutters to himself. “They really were bad.” He ties the mask back into place after a few moments, easing to rest his back on the couch. His handgun is pointed to the door for security, lowering it when Jongin returned and hid his scent.

                “Tonic water. Just for you.” Jongin places the bag by Kyungsoo, who pulls the bucket towards him and then starts cracking open bottles of tonic to poor in the bucket. “Is this stuff even still good?” Jongin asks, moving to help Kyungsoo open the bottles.

                “Doesn’t really matter. I’m just sticking my foot in it.” Kyungsoo replies absently. “It will help the swelling go down, and then hopefully it will start to feel better.”

                “I have some aspirin in the stock pile somewhere. Do you want me to see if I can find it?” Kyungsoo chews on his lip awhile.

                “Yeah. Take a cigarette.” Jongin waves his hand.

                “I’m an idiot who smokes, but I don’t smoke more than one a week, Kyungsoo. That would be suicide.” Jongin goes to the kitchen and Kyungsoo’s almost concerned by the amount of thumping coming from it as he eases off his sock and wrap to put his foot in the tonic. “The water is done.” Jongin glances at his watch and hands Kyungsoo a gallon. “Drink some. I’ll go back down tomorrow.”

                “What do you want for a trade, then?” He asks. Jongin shrugs.

                “We’ll think of something. I don’t know how long you’ll be here. We’ll make a tab for both of us.” He finds a pen and a scrap of paper and makes two columns, one for each of them. “We’ll write down what we gave and then figure out trades as we go. Me getting clean water from you is for letting you stay. That will be a permanent on that one.”

                “And what if I leave tomorrow or something?”

                “I’m not attached.” Jongin smiles a little. “We’ll get even and then we’ll go our separate ways.”

                “That simple?”

                “That simple.”

---

                Kyungsoo’s amazed when it does end up being just that – that simple. His entire time with Jongin. When a week passes and his ankle is better, it’s Jongin that extends his invitation to stay with him – for as long as he wants.

                “I thought you said don’t get attached.” Kyungsoo asks.

                “It’s not attachment. It’s a mutual need situation. We can trade off each other easily and split work during the day. And have somewhere safe at night.” Jongin explains. Kyungsoo agrees to stay, on the condition that he doesn’t trade for housing and Jongin doesn’t trade for water.

                Another week passes, and they’re sitting by the fire when Jongin asks for more stories about himself.

                “Um, well…” Kyungsoo starts. “You know about the riding a zombie polar bear.”

                “I don’t know where that came from.” Jongin traces patterns on the floor with a bit of kindling Kyungsoo provided. “Are there even polar bears in the zoos here?” Kyungsoo chuckles softly.

                “I heard that you got stuck in an elevator and climbed your way up the shaft to the next floor.”

                “That one is true. Really stupid mistake on my part. To be fair, though, it was within the first six months of the day the virus broke out. Power was still functional.” Kyungsoo props himself up a little to look at Jongin.

                “What about these stories are true, then? I mean, you had to tell some people what happened. Otherwise you’d just be an unknown traveler like me.”

                “If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were asking for my story, Kyungsoo. Stories get people attached to each other.” Kyungsoo falls silent again, and Jongin sighs awhile later. “I haven’t always been alone. The first year I had my roommate from school. He… liked to talk about things we did. Mostly because he liked people. He didn’t exaggerate, really, but some of the things we had done were pretty strange. So people got creative. When it was just me, the stories turned into being about one person. And I kind of stick out some.” Jongin runs a hand through his hair, which is going dark at the roots.

                “Oh. What… What happened to him?”

                “You’re just asking to get attached.” Jongin mumbles to himself. “He got sick. Not the virus type of sick, just… sick. I think he knew it was coming. He kept getting weaker and weaker when we went out during the day and when we were collecting food and water he had to carry less. He died. There wasn’t a real hospital to tell me, but I’m pretty sure he had cancer. I think he probably had it before the virus took over and he was just kind of holding on for as long as he could.” Kyungsoo falls silent, chewing on his lip.

                “That’s…. pretty terrible.”

                “Not really.”

                “Hm?”

                “I mean, he used to volunteer at the hospital.” Jongin glances at Kyungsoo. “I always thought that’s why he was there so often, but he was probably getting treated, too. But he must have seen some of the early stages of the virus when people started coming in sick. He always helped them, though. And when all the hospitals closed… he must have known that he was going to die. You don’t just have a miracle recovery from that kind of thing. But he didn’t just sit and let an undead get him or try to get pity. He got up and fought with everyone else.”

                “You’re kind of weird.”

                “What makes you say that?”

                “You’re just… you come off weird. One minute you’re like an enigma of smugness and then now you’re telling me about your roommate. I mean… you must really look up to him.”

                “I do.” Jongin shrugs. “You asked. Now don’t get attached.” Jongin rolls over and Kyungsoo takes that as the end of the conversation, staring at the ceiling (for) a long time before he manages to drift off.

---

                A few days later, he wakes up to swearing.

                “, god damn it.”

                “What?” Kyungsoo rubs his eyes.

                “It’s getting colder at night.”

                “And?”

                “And the plants are getting too cold.” Jongin runs a hand through his hair. “All the food left on them is going to fall off and die before we can eat it.” Kyungsoo pulls himself to his feet and hands Jongin a handful of packages of pantyhose he keeps picking up when they go to the drugstore or stop to replace clothing.

                “Use number thirty two.” Kyungsoo’s been keeping a tally of the uses just to annoy Jongin. “Cut the legs off and we can hang the food in the socks to dry. The bedroom gets enough sunlight for it. We’ll be able to store the dried food for longer.”

                “You’re kind of a genius, you know that?” Jongin asks while they hang up the stockings on the bedframe to hold vegetable that will dry out.

                “I know. I’m surprised you haven’t figured it out until now. You must be really slow.” Kyungsoo earns a playful cuff to the back of his head.

---

                Another couple of weeks and Jongin is fussing over Kyungsoo as he lays on the bed of cushions he’s managed to accumulate for himself as Kyungsoo coughs.

                “You got yourself sick. How the do you get a cold?” Jongin huffs as he feels Kyungsoo’s forehead. “You wear a ing mask all the time. You don’t have the ability to get a cold.”

                “I didn’t do it on purpose.” Kyungsoo mumbles.

                “Of course you didn’t.” Jongin helps him sit up and hands him a box of tissues from the drugstore near the river. “It doesn’t mean that it’s not a miracle on earth that you managed to catch a virus and not the virus.”

                “I thought you said that was only by contact with something infected.” As time’s worn on, Kyungsoo’s found out just how much Jongin’s figured out about the zombies. How they hunt and find humans, what they eat (which surprisingly, doesn’t just include the uninfected but also other zombies and small rodents), how to deter them, and why a bullet through the head kills faster than several in the chest.

                “Yeah, but you sanitize everything. I’m just in shock, okay? Leave me alone.” Jongin mumbles.

                “Ug. Did you pick up what I wanted from the grocery?” There’s a grocery store about three miles away from them, the opposite direction of the river.

                “Yeah.” Jongin hands Kyungsoo a bottle of vinegar and Kyungsoo fishes out the container of cayenne pepper that’s been in his bag for nearly a month. Jongin holds a glass for Kyungsoo, making a face when he fills it halfway with the vinegar and adds a healthy amount of cayenne pepper to it. “That smells awful. What are you using it for?”

                “Well, you’re going to hold it over the fire for like two minutes to get it warmed up, and then I’m going to drink it.”

                “Drink it?” Jongin holds the glass over the fire obediently but balks. “That sounds disgusting!”

                “It is. And it burns like hell in the throat, but it’s the easiest way to make my throat feel better at the moment.” Kyungsoo says, taking the glass back when it’s steaming. He doesn’t waste another moment before tipping it back and chugging it, slamming the glass down on the floor and sputtering, eyes streaming as the pepper burns away at his throat. He takes a breath when most of the pain has subsided, swallowing and looking up. “Jesus, that hurt.”

                “Does your throat feel better?”

                “Of course. I wouldn’t make myself do that just for kicks, you know?” Jongin sits down with his legs crossed, idly handing Kyungsoo the gallon of water and a couple vitamin C supplements they found in the drug store, probably expired but hopefully functional enough.

                “How do you know all this ? The swelling thing, the vinegar thing, the muscle relaxer?” Kyungsoo sighs.

                “Speaking of which, you should do one of those soaks on your leg again soon.” Jongin nods and rubs his leg, where he had pulled a muscle trying to ditch a band of zombies.

                “Alright, fine.  But how do you know?”

                “Don’t get attached.” Kyungsoo repeats Jongin’s own words back to him, the ones that he’s heard about a thousand times since he met him.

                “I’m not attached. I’m curious.”

                “I was a medical student.” Kyungsoo says. “I didn’t work in a lab or anything. Not one of the places that made the virus or whatever. I was probably going to end up being a nurse. I don’t think I would have made it to a doctor.”

                “So why do you know all these weird home remedy things?”

                “Well… when the virus first hit, I had a group.”

                “The one that you don’t know if they’re alive or not, yeah.” Jongin sighs softly.

                “There were five of us. And one of them really, really hated doctors. Or any medicine. I think the whole ‘zombies are a virus’ thing freaked her out, and she refused all real medical treatment. I knew some things, but I ended up getting creative enough that I had a home remedy for pretty much anything.”

                “Huh.”

                “What?”

                “I don’t know. I just don’t see you dealing with that type of thing.”

                “What do you mean?”

                “I feel like that if it were me doing that you would have slapped me and told me to it up.”

                “I probably would have.” Kyungsoo nods. “But you’re a jerk.” He teases. “She wasn’t one.” Jongin sticks out his tongue at him and Kyungsoo chuckles softly. “You know you’re like five years old, right?”

                “A five year old who knows how to use lethal force, owns forty guns, and has his own urban legend.” Jongin reminds him. Kyungsoo smiles softly at him and nods, running his hand through Jongin’s hair. He still hasn’t re-dyed it, dark roots having grown out to a couple long inches of black that suddenly turn white.

                “Yeah. But still five.” Both are silent for a moment before Jongin seems to notice how close they are and pulls away, clearing his throat.

                “I’m going to go search the building for the night.” Kyungsoo blinks at the loss of heat by his side but then nods.

                “Of course.”

---

                “Why do you call them zombies?” Jongin asks a few weeks later as Kyungsoo makes a fresh batch of clean water. It’s getting cold, and they need to stock up for the winter in case the river starts to freeze over.

                “What?”

                “You call them zombies. The infected.”

                “Well… What else is there to call them?”

                “I say undead.”

                “Same thing, right?” Jongin shakes his head.

                “I don’t think so. Not really.”

                “Why do you call them undead, then?” Kyungsoo asks. Jongin sits and crosses his legs under him.

                “Because. “ Jongin shrugs. “The virus makes them undead, right? The heart stops working and it takes over. So I could call them like ‘virus bodies’ or something but that’s too long. And they’re basically dead but still moving. So, undead.”

                “But why not zombies? That’s basically what a zombie is.”

                “Zombies just seems so….impersonal. Detached. I mean, those were people. Like you and me. Who were studying for degrees and had families and stuff.”

                “Which is why I call them zombies. I don’t like to think I’m killing people.”

                “The undead aren’t people anymore. They were once people.”

                “Isn’t that the same thing?”

                “No. It just means…. I respect who they used to be.”

                “I’m afraid I’ll start thinking… I don’t know. That I’m murdering people. Sick people. I don’t want to think like that.” Kyungsoo shrugs.

                “Alright. I guess that makes sense.” Jongin stretches. “Ug. You know what I haven’t done in forever? Put on a record.”

                “A record?”

                “What? I have one of those players you crank for charge to build. It doesn’t need any electricity that way. I rigged it so that I don’t have to be standing right next to it.”

                “Zombies don’t come towards the sound?”

                “Don’t you remember?” Jongin flicked Kyungsoo’s forehead. “I told you they’re attracted by scent. Not sound.” Kyungsoo rubs his forehead.

                “I haven’t played music since before the virus started spreading.”

                “Then I’ll play one.” Jongin grins widely and goes to the record player in the corner that Kyungsoo has always assumed was a left over from the apartment before Jongin moved in. Jongin pulls out a stack of records and dusts one off. “Oh, I love this one. It’s my favorite.” He puts it on the player and cranks it for a while before getting up and holding out his hand. “Come on. Dance with me.”

                “I don’t dance.” Kyungsoo says.

                “It’s the apocalypse.” Jongin rolls his eyes as the record crackles to life. “You kill undead people every day. You can dance.” He tugs Kyungsoo to his feet and places a hand on his waist, taking the other. Kyungsoo blinks at the position.

                “Hey. You’re holding me like a girl.”

                “It’s the apocalypse. I’m going to hold you like the girl and you’re going to deal with it.” Jongin says before twirling Kyungsoo around slowly as the music plays. Jongin hums to the song.

                “This is a love song.” Kyungsoo says plainly.

                “Shut up and enjoy it, Kyungsoo.” Jongin replies, starting to sing with the track. Kyungsoo slowly relaxes, letting Jongin dip him and twirl. Kyungsoo smiles about a minute into the song, and Jongin’s hand on his waist drifts up to tug free the mask from his face. “I want to actually see you, Soo.” He whispers between choruses. Kyungsoo feels color paint his cheeks, but nods. The music is fading out, the bluesy tune’s last notes hanging in the air as Jongin stares at Kyungsoo.

                “Jongin?” Kyungsoo whispers.

                “Hush.” Jongin says, leaning in and pressing his lips to Kyungsoo’s, only half taking him by surprise. Kyungsoo takes a minute to return the kiss, but wraps his arms around Jongin’s shoulders when he does. Jongin’s hands come up to Kyungsoo’s face to cup his cheeks, gently leading him back to Kyungsoo’s platform of cushions that he uses as a bed. Kyungsoo’s head hits his pillow before they break the kiss, Kyungsoo panting and Jongin trailing his lips down Kyungsoo’s jaw.

                “Jongin…” he breathes out. “Don’t get attached.” He whispers.

                “I got attached ages ago.” Jongin murmurs. “God, Kyungsoo. I’ve met lots of travelers. It was only you. You got under my skin.” He says, coming back up and pulling away from Kyungsoo slightly to scan him. His fingers slip under the hem of Kyungsoo’s shirt and trace circles on his side. “I’ve heard all sorts of sob stories and I didn’t let them get to me. God, it wasn’t even your story. It’s you. It’s just you.” Kyungsoo bites his lip and closes his eyes. Jongin falls still a moment, hand still on Kyungsoo’s chest. “Is this okay?” He asks gently. Kyungsoo opens his eyes, and he doesn’t think he’s ever seen Jongin this unsure.

                “Of course.” He whispers. “I’m so attached. More than attached.” He leans in to seal their lips together again, and tugs gently at Jongin’s jacket. Jongin tries his best to keep kissing Kyungsoo and rub circles to his side while shimmying from his jacket, eventually sitting up over Kyungsoo and tossing it away, his shirt following it to a banished corner. Kyungsoo’s shirt follows, and Kyungsoo somehow can’t bring himself to feel embarrassed to be exposed to Jongin. Jongin ducks his head, lips meeting Kyungsoo’s skin and dousing him in butterfly-light kisses, chest, arms, and neck, until Kyungsoo’s red and his fingers are clenching against Jongin’s back.

                “God, you’re beautiful.” Jongin murmurs, fingers deftly moving to tug Kyungsoo’s pants away. “So beautiful.” He hooks his fingers in Kyungsoo’s boxers and pulls them down. This time Kyungsoo squirms slightly when Jongin looks at him, faint color rushing to his ears, and he reaches for Jongin’s waistband.

                “Take them off.” He breathes out. Jongin obliges without another moment of hesitation, shifting backwards on the stack of cushions and pulling Kyungsoo’s legs gently apart, coaxing them with light kisses that get pressed higher and higher up his thighs until his mouth is pressed to Kyungsoo’s member. One of Kyungsoo’s hands winds in Jongin’s two-colored hair, gently encouraging him. Jongin parts his lips to Kyungsoo into his mouth. Kyungsoo groans softly, head tilting back. Jongin’s hands roam over his body as he bobs up and down, fingertips counting his ribs and trailing over his quivering stomach before coming down to squeeze his thighs and hold them tightly as he , tongue running over the underside of Kyungsoo’s length. Kyungsoo’s grip tightens as Jongin pulls away a moment later, whining softly.

                “Sorry, Soo.” He leans back up to kiss Kyungsoo, and he tastes himself on Jongin’s tongue as it invades his mouth and explores. Jongin’s hands ghost over his chest and tweak his s gently, eliciting another soft moan from Kyungsoo’s lips, which is muffled by Jongin. He pulls back, lips slightly swollen. “I’m really glad I got you chapstick all that time ago.” He teases gently and pulls Kyungsoo’s legs towards his chest, pinning them there with one hand as the other slides over the curve of his and a dry finger presses to his entrance. Kyungsoo whines and shifts his hips, and Jongin coos softly. “Don’t worry, Soo.” He whispers. He lets go of Kyungsoo completely for a moment, making him flop rather bonelessly to the cushions, and reappears with a bottle of a clear gel.

                “When did you pick that up?” Kyungsoo asks softly, getting silenced by a kiss from Jongin.

                “A couple weeks ago at the drugstore. They didn’t have condoms though. Idiots deciding to just each other through the rest of their days.” Kyungsoo chuckles and pulls Jongin closer.

                “We’re those idiots now, you know that?” Jongin grins.

                “I know. I’m actually pleased to be an idiot.” He whispers back, picking up Kyungsoo’s leg again and this time pressing a slick finger to Kyungsoo’s entrance. Kyungsoo pushes his hips down to meet it, wincing a little but returning Jongin’s kisses easily. Jongin gives him a moment before adding a second and third in quick secession just to watch him squirm a little.

                “Ah… Jongin, slower.” Kyungsoo asks, and Jongin nods, giving a lazy pump of his fingers.

                “I’ll go so slow, Soo.” He whispers, trailing kisses over Kyungsoo’s stomach and dipping his tongue into the other’s navel before trailing back up to his jaw, peppering his face with gentle kisses as he stretched Kyungsoo slowly. Kyungsoo’s hips begin to rock back with Jongin’s s in after a few moments, and Jongin smiles against his skin.

                “Faster.” Kyungsoo asks.

                “Ah, ah, ah. You asked for slow. That’s what you get.” Jongin whispers, languidly twisting and stretching his fingers until Kyungsoo is practically weeping for more, hips attempting to rock down the best they can against Jongin’s firm grip. Jongin wipes his fingers on the cushion – which Kyungsoo will probably scold him for later – and slicks his length, pumping himself a few times before lining up. “Are you ready?”

                “Please.” Kyungsoo nods. “Please.” He repeats as Jongin pushes in in one go, groaning and propping his elbows on either side of Kyungsoo’s head for support as he tries to give him time to adjust. Kyungsoo makes him wait an agonizing moment before he whispers an okay, and Jongin slowly rocks his hips.

                “You feel amazing.” Jongin whispers as his pace steadies, Kyungsoo’s legs over his shoulders and hands moving to interlock fingers. Kyungsoo barely manages a breathy acknowledgement of the statement, giving Jongin’s hands a tight squeeze. He clung to Jongin to steady himself as Jongin picked up speed to a steady , soft whines tumbling from his lips with every movement. It was an embarrassingly short period of time before he felt his stomach coiling.

                “A-Ah, Jongin…” He whispers. “I’m so close.” Jongin nods and nips at Kyungsoo’s lower lip.

                “Don’t hold it in, Soo.” He kisses Kyungsoo again, freeing one hand from Kyungsoo’s grasp to pump his length in time with his s. “I’m almost there, too.” A moment later, Kyungsoo’s back arches as he releases, Jongin following suit after a few more s.

                “Jongin…” Kyungsoo whines as Jongin pulls out and flops next to him, pulling a blanket up around them against the growing chill in the air.

                “Go to sleep.” Jongin whispers softly.

                “I’m too attached to you.” Kyungsoo whispers back, running a hand through Jongin’s hair.

                “I’m too attached to you, too.” Jongin smiles. “We at surviving the undead apocalypse. We’ll never make it like this.”

                “We don’t need to survive it.” Kyungsoo murmurs back. “We’ll live through it.”

---

Next Update: 20/08/2014