Taemin shook his head,"It's not your time Luhan", he said as he gently caressed Luhan's hair. Luhan opened his mouth to speak, but Taemin silenced him with a kiss. His hand cupped Luhan's cheek as their lips met, gently brushing over his cheek with a touch that soothed his nerves. Luhan melted into what felt to him like a fairytale kiss, something that could only have come from a dream. His pain drifted away little by little as he moved his lips in perfect harmony with Taemin's right up until Taemin pulled back. This time Taemin tried to speak, but Luhan pressed their lips back together, greedy for more of the forbidden taste that he'd longed for all these years. His hand travelled up to Taemin's collar and gripped it lightly to keep him close.

A groan slipped from Taemin's lips when Luhan pushed him to lean back against the leather. Luhan pulled back quickly once Taemin gripped his wrist tightly to stop him. "Sorry.... I nearly forgot that you're hurt. Can I see the wound?", Luhan asked as he looked down at where Taemin clutched his side.

Taemin laughed a little,"That's alright, I remember you always did like it rough. I've gotten used to your ways", he said as he tussled Luhan's hair playfully. Then he took off his shirt, tossing it over onto a nearby armchair. He let Luhan's intrigued hands graze slowly over his chest with the gentle tips of his fingers.

Luhan was fascinated a bit by the definition of Taemin's abs as he traced over them, but his attention soon turned to his wound. "You've bled through your bandages...", he frowned as he spoke with a worried tone.

This made Taemin look down, but he was not too worried. "It's only a little. I must've pulled a stitch loose when I got up to watch your little show. I'm fine", he pulled off his bandages slowly to check. Sure enough, one of the stitches had come loose. As much as it discomforted him, Taemin carefully pulled the stitch back tight. Then he dabbed at the the blood with his handkerchief to clean it up before putting the bandages back on. Luhan helped put them back on tight, then he got up from his lap.

"I'll be going then, since you're too stubborn to fulfill my request", Luhan said, then snapped his fingers. The white tiger rose instantly at his command.

Taemin got up as well, and grabbed Luhan's wrist again. "Don't go. Why don't you stay here with me? You did say how much you miss old times. I have plenty of spare rooms. Be my long term guest, I insist. You must be tired from your journey all the way out here anyway. Rest here for at least a night. Take my bed if that's what it takes to make you stay", he seemed almost desperate to keep Luhan there as he asked him.

Luhan turned back to face Taemin again, eyes roaming over all those tense muscles,"Relax, you worry too much. I'm not going to lie with the devil under my own hand. I told you, it's only your hand that'll deliver me from my burdens. Goodbye, Minnie", he said softly as he moved Taemin's hand back over his cheek. He smiled, pecked Taemin's lips once more, and then went out onto the balcony. Luhan leapt from it and landed in a bush, quickly joined by his furry companion. He hopped onto the back of the tiger, gripping a fistful of fur to keep him steady as he rode the beast off into the blackness of the night.

A servant came in just after Luhan's showy departure, telling Taemin that there was another visitor for him. Another man stepped out from the shadows with his gun pressed to the back of the butler's head. "Ah, Kai, have I missed some sort of high school reunion of sorts? It seems that everyone from the compound has been making the effort to visit me lately. Although, your hostile state seems to say that you're here more for business rather than a social visit. Am I right?", Taemin calmly finished off his glass of wine with complete disregard for the butler's life being in jeopardy. 

"Where is Kyungsoo? I know that you've taken him. It could only have been you", Jongin barked with rage as he aimed for Taemin's smug smirk now.

Taemin hummed softly in thought as he looked for the answer to Kai's demands. "Hmmm... The little one with the big eyes? Yeah, some of my men thought he'd be good to ransom, but he got away during a recent erm.... Team building exercise gone wrong", he answered carefully. For a long while there was tense silence in the room, but that was broken by Taemin's men as they grabbed Kai from behind in a surprise attack. Taemin watched as Kai writhed and thrashed around aggressively in attempt to get away, but with three men holding him back it was just impossible. "Have you heard from Luhan?", Taemin asked as he got up and picked up Kai's gun, which had been thrown in the struggle, examining it more closely.

Kai eventually gave up the fight, since there was no way that he'd win now. When Taemin asked about Luhan it calmed him, because he was very confused. "Luhan? I left the compound right after you did. We had the same dream. Don't you remember? I haven't gone back or sent word back since. What is Luhan doing in Seoul?", he asked, but only got an equally confused look from Taemin in response.

Taemin hummed softly, a habit he had accquired in his very early years whenever he was thinking intensely on something. "Do you know what would make Luhan distraught? He always seemed to hide himself away, but recently he seems very emotional. He came here acting very strange, depressed one second, then euphoric the next", his gaze turned to the floor, focusing on a speck of dirt as he drifted off into space while trying to make sense of Luhan's visit.

Kai was left quite intrigued as well. Of all people it would make sense that Luhan would go to Taemin in a time of distress. The two were closer than any couple he'd ever seen back when they were kids. The three of them had all been close, but Kai knew he could never get between Taemin and Luhan. "If you can find Kyungsoo, I'll send word back to the compound for you, to find out why Luhan left. After all, your ties with them are severed completely. You're dead to them. Find Kyungsoo, don't touch him, just find him and tell me where he is. I've searched everywhere, but I can't find him. It would be easier if more men were searching, if your men were searching", Jongin suggested.

Drawn from his focus by Kai's suggestion, Taemin looked up again, then nodded. "I suppose that's fair. Men! I want Kyungsoo found, but not touched. You are to follow, observe, and report back. Do not spook him into further concealment", Taemin ordered his servants to spread the word. Then he put Kai's gun back into its holster on Kai's hip. "And let Kai out at the front gate. Tighten security around here as well. There's been too many intruders lately", he said, then went back to bed after everyone left. As hard as he tried to get some rest, Taemin ended up staring up at the ceiling in thought most of the night.

"Minnie~! Minnie~! Look! Auntie Bom's dog finally had her puppies. Auntie let me have one. Isn't he cute?"

"I told you not to call me that in public...."

"But... I want to call you something that no one else will. You're the only one who calls me honey, because it sounds like Hannie, remember? We're special that way, when we have special nicknames for each other~"

"We are special, honey, even without nicknames we would be. Our friendship will always be more special than anyone else's. Now stop calling me that... It's embarrassing..."

"I guess you're right, but it's just fun seeing the way you flush when I call you Minnie~"

"Hush.... My name is Taemin, Lee Taemin. I'm gonna be leader once The Awakening finally comes like they say it will. A leader needs a respectable, manly name that carries honor. So, don't call me 'Minnie'..."

"Mhm you can be whatever you want. You can command an army of a million men who will do anything you say, but you'll always be my Minnie. So, it up, Mr. Respectable Manly Honor Man~"

Taemin sighed as he finally shut his eyes,"...And you'll always be my sweet honey, because a single drop of your sweetness brightens my day like honey on toast. I can't start the day without you", he breathed out softly.