“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“You know exactly what I’m talking about.”

Ryeowook crosses his arms indignantly. “Don’t you think it’s a bit hypocritical, Kyuhyun, that you’re the one saying this to me?”

“I’ve moved on from being embarrassed about Zhou Mi, unlike you seem to be doing with a certain someone.”

“No, that’s not it. I just…” The medic lets out a sigh. “It wasn’t too long ago that I was seeing someone else. I assumed he wanted a serious relationship, but I was wrong, and I ended up humiliated.”

“So you want to make sure Henry’s serious about you first.”

The nod Ryeowook gives him is more than a little sheepish. “It’s stupid, isn’t it?”

“Of course not. You have every right to go as fast or slow as you want,” Kyuhyun is quick to correct him. “Just don’t wait too long.”

“I know.”

“You just...well, you might have to ask permission from Donghae first if you two decide to go out.”

“He does realize that he and Eunhyuk didn’t actually...? Whatever makes them happy, I guess.”

Kyuhyun raises a skeptical eyebrow. “You’re not still jealous?”

“As if either of those two have any other intention besides continuing their neverending honeymoon phase.” His expression sobers. “And besides, it’s probably good for Henry. He misses having his parents around, but maybe they can help with some of the homesickness.”

Kyuhyun has to pause for a moment, shaking his head at the younger man in disbelief. “How are you so nice all the time?” he can’t help but ask.

“You’re nice, too, Kyuhyun, even if you don’t want to admit it. Otherwise Zhou Mi wouldn’t like you. Which reminds me…” He has a triumphant smile on his face, which Kyuhyun doesn’t trust in the slightest. “If you’re forcing me to be up-front about my feelings, you have to promise to do the same thing.”

“I take it back. You’re devious and manipulative.”

“Deal?”

“...Deal.”

~*~

In the spirit of the successful rescue mission, Sungmin insists that the Resistance members gather that evening in the main room for a few hours of bonding time. One or two of them roll their eyes, but Donghae is nothing but excited about the prospect; it seems like it’s been ages since they’ve last done something like this.

To be fair, though, there’s something to be said for Heechul’s teasing ‘campfire singalong’ comment. With all of them sitting in a circle on the floor, and with Sungmin strumming a few practice chords on his guitar...that’s exactly what it looks like, if one ignored the lack of fire, their underground location, and the fact that they were all a bit above the age to be doing such a thing.

“Okay,” Sungmin says, finished warming up. “Yesung, Ryeowook, you have a song in mind?”

Donghae can’t help but smile in anticipation. There’s certainly no lack of talent among the Resistance members, but Yesung and Ryeowook’s voices are on another level entirely. Even if everyone else doesn’t show it, Donghae is sure they’re all just as excited as he is after not hearing the two sing for so long. Except, now that he thinks about it, there’s one person here who’s never experienced this before…

As if sharing Donghae’s thoughts, Siwon speaks up from the other side of the circle. “Wait, did anyone ask Kyuhyun if he’s a good singer?”

Ten pairs of eyes turn toward the member in question, who seems a bit shy under the scrutiny. Umm...I think I’m okay?” he says uncertainly.

“Sing something!” Ryeowook insists. “Yesung and I wouldn’t mind another voice.”

It isn’t like anyone can say no to Ryeowook’s pout. Donghae is completely unsurprised when, a few seconds later, Kyuhyun is singing the opening lines to “7 Years of Love.”

A few jaws actually drop, Donghae’s included. Kyuhyun’s voice is...heavenly.

“Kyuhyun…” Ryeowook says when the other is done, “You have to sing with us now. Do you know ‘This Is Love’?”

“Of course, but I’ve never━”

“Sungmin, start at the first chorus.”

The guitarist gives a nod, and Donghae watches Kyuhyun’s face go through a series of about five different expressions before the first chords start and three voices since in unison:

This is love, this is love, the gentle breeze…

The whole circle is into it, humming softly under their breaths or just swaying to the music. Donghae is so transfixed by the harmonies interweaving with each other that it almost comes as a shock when Eunhyuk appears in front of him, offering a hand.

“Should we do what we do best?”

Donghae gives him a wide smile. “Of course.”

Sungmin’s guitar solo starts, and Donghae’s legs move as if they have a mind of their own. He hardly has to look at Eunhyuk to know ━to feel━ how the other moves. In the center of the circle, they flow around each other like water, twisting and turning without abandon until Eunhyuk twirls the younger man against his chest, halting their movements.

You made me realize love is about the small things

The ending notes fade out, morphing into cheers and applause, and Donghae finally takes a moment to catch his breath. His head lolls forward to rest against Eunhyuk’s, who’s looking at him in awe. “Amazing as always, Hae,” he says softly, and it would be a really sweet moment, too, if Heechul didn’t cut in with “Honestly, you two, either kiss and get it over with or get the hell out of the circle.”

Donghae knows there’s nothing behind the words, but he still feels the need to be contrary. So when Eunhyuk says, “Your idea, Heechul, not mine,” and plants a deep kiss on Donghae’s lips, the latter feels no shame.

“Oh, for the love of━ I take it back. Sit down, lovebirds.”

The two are a blushing, laughing mess as they reclaim their spots in the circle. It’s probably why Heechul decides he’s finally had enough.

“Before we continue, I have something to say,” the Strategist starts.

Shindong snorts. “Look everyone, Heechul’s finally admitting his skincare routine is the reason we go over budget every month.”

“I thought that was because he keeps stealing extra food from the kitchen before I can ever cook with it,” Ryeowook says, sounding only half-amused.

Donghae didn’t think someone could physically roll their eyes this dramatically, but somehow Heechul manages to pull it off.

“I despise every single one of you. But as I was saying, I have an announcement.” Heechul allows a few seconds for a dramatic pause. “After everything that’s been happening recently, I sat down to do some thinking, and I realized that life is too short and these business cards…”

He takes a slip of paper out of his pocket, one that Donghae has seen before. (Not because he’d gotten one, but because he’d seen Hyukjae seething at the one he himself had received, just before he’d shredded it into a million unrecognizable pieces.) “These business cards are ridiculously pretentious. No one play dumb; I know you’re all aware of what they’re for. But that’s why I’m getting rid of them entirely.”

Donghae feels a wave of relief come over him. Finally, Heechul can stop doing this to himself. It’s not like Donghae has a problem with who the Strategist chooses to blow off steam with, but he can’t help but view it as an unhealthy way to bury his grief, no matter how nonchalant he appears.

That relief evaporates when the next words come out of Heechul’s mouth.

“My services are open to anyone who wants them, with no limits and no strings attached. You’re welcome.”

He...what?

The others seem to have about the same reaction as Donghae. They look at Heechul like he’s grown another head.

“Heechul━” Sungmin says, a warning in the way he says the name, but the Strategist cuts him off.

“I know what I’m doing. And I thought it only made sense to tell all of you at once, so rumours don’t start spreading. Can’t have anyone thinking I’ve suddenly gotten shy, can I?”

Donghae doesn’t know what to say. He blinks a few times, staring at the Strategist and unable to wrap his brain around the words that have just come out of his mouth. Normally this sort of thing was expected from Heechul, considering how “shameless” could practically be his middle name. But this? Something doesn’t sit right with Donghae.

Shindong is making a half-hearted joke about Heechul maybe wanting to have some modesty for once, but Donghae doesn’t want to hear any more. Instead, he leans into Eunhyuk, asking quietly, “Coping mechanism?”

“That was my first thought,” the other man agrees immediately. “I just hope this isn’t going to make things worse.”

Donghae’s concern only compounds when he sees Leeteuk looking at Heechul with the most brokenhearted expression on his face; not one of disapproval, but one that says the Resistance leader knows exactly what Heechul is doing ━ and it’s not going to end well.

But there’s nothing Donghae can do now to reverse Heechul’s decision. He’ll just have to hope that this doesn’t end in disaster, that the Strategist won’t have to go through any more pain. For the moment he puts a smile on his face and let’s Eunhyuk’s fingers intertwine comfortably with his own, letting the rush of renewed arguing and teasing wash over him. It is, after all, the first time in a long while that all is well.

He has to savor it while he can.

~*~

Leeteuk paces the floor of his office, chewing absently on his thumbnail. He feels restless, somehow. Like there are so many things that he should be doing but isn’t. Or maybe it’s because he knows who will be knocking on his door in a few minutes, and despite his better judgement, it makes him nervous.

Knock, knock.

“Come in!”

The door opens gingerly, and an uncertain Kangin appears in its place. Leeteuk knows the uncertainty is his own fault: after all, he’d been the one to put his responsibilities as leader above...whatever they’d had. But that decision isn’t what he regrets, exactly. What he regrets is the way they’ve grown apart ever since, to the point that sometimes it even feels like they’re strangers. As for whether or not things have to continue that way? That remains to be seen.

“You, um...wanted to see me?” Kangin asks, still hovering near the door.

Leeteuk is quick to gesture to the other chair in the room. “Yeah, you can sit down, if you want.”

The other man hesitates for a brief moment, but he accepts the offer, and they each take a seat on opposite sides of Leeteuk’s desk. Which, as far as the circumstances go, is actually a fitting metaphor.

Focus, Jungsoo. If you mess this up, you probably won’t get another chance.

Thankfully, Kangin doesn’t wait for him to start.

“So, tell me honestly,” the Boom Squad leader says, “how are you holding up? We’ve been celebrating ever since you’ve gotten back, but you still spent thirty hours in enemy hands.”

“I’m…” How do I say it? “...alright, I guess. I could have been much worse, especially if all of you hadn’t shown up when you did. But I can’t stop thinking: what kind of leader am I, waiting to be rescued like that?”

“You’re human. There’s nothing wrong with needing other people; otherwise there wouldn’t have been a point in founding the Resistance.”

“They still shouldn’t need to worry about me. I’m their leader. I’m supposed to set an example for the rest of the group, and what have I done lately besides end up thrown up in prison, stay behind while the others actually make a difference, and get our members killed?”

“Jungsoo.”

“Sorry, I shouldn’t have brought it up. I’m sorry.” Leeteuk clenches his fists until his nails start to bite into skin, willing himself to keep it together.

“Stop apologizing. I know I’m not the first to tell you this, but what happened wasn’t your fault. Not a single person here blames you, even Heechul.”

Leeteuk is going to respond, but he suddenly forgets every word he’s about to say, because no one has ever looked at him like Kangin is now.

“Not just anyone can be a leader,” the other man continues to insist. “You inspire the others to follow you, and they trust you. I trust you.”

“Even though I was a few seconds away from selling every single one of you out?”

“You reacted like anyone would.”

“But━”

Kangin suddenly changes tactics. “How did that happen?” he asks, pointing to Leeteuk’s bandaged face.

“I wouldn’t let them touch Ryeowook.”

“Exactly. You’re selfless, brave, and too kind for your own good. A leader. One that I would follow to Hell and back.”

The conviction in the other man’s voice is so strong, Leeteuk actually, finally starts to believe it. He has to swallow the lump in his throat, the rush of gratitude that comes over him almost too much to handle. “Thank you, Youngwoon.

“Any time. I mean it.”

It’s only after Kangin leaves a short time later that the Resistance leader realizes what was missing from their exchange: Kangin had been so invested in making sure that Leeteuk was fine, there hadn’t been a chance to ask...was Kangin, who had grown more and more distant from everyone as the months passed, alright?

~*~

Kyuhyun props his chin up with one hand, elbow resting on the table in front of him, and doesn’t even try to disguise the goofy grin that was probably (read: most definitely) stretched across his face. How could he, when he was unashamedly smitten with the man sitting across from him?

It isn’t their first time out together on a date like this, which is why Kyuhyun can use ‘smitten with’ and not ‘unreasonably nervous about’ as his descriptor of choice; it’s actually their third. Only a few days after they’d met, Kyuhyun had followed Sungmin’s advice and set up a time for them to get lunch, which had gone surprisingly well. Well enough for them to be here now, sitting comfortably in the back of some eatery suggested by one of Zhou Mi’s friends.

A familiar voice draws Kyuhyun out of his distracted state. “I’m sorry I made you wait for so long,” Zhou Mi apologizes. “I was going to get in touch with you right away after last time, but between moving to the new Cluster and securing my new job, things have been pretty chaotic.”

With his free hand, Kyuhyun waves away the apology. “It’s fine, Mi. It hasn’t exactly been smooth sailing on our end, either.”

“Oh?” the immediate concern that appears on Zhou Mi’s face admittedly makes Kyuhyun’s heart flutter. Just a little. “What happened? Are you alright?”

“Yeah, I wasn’t the one in danger ━ the police got into the Bunker and took Leeteuk and Ryeowook. We rescued them eventually, but...I don’t know. Leeteuk seems really shaken up, and we had to move to a different hideout.”

“And you don’t know how they broke in?”

“We know how. Someone forgot to re-seal the entrance. The real question is who. It was strange, though, because Heechul cut the conversation off before anyone could own up to it.”

Zhou Mi frowns. “So you think it was him?”

“Honestly? I have no idea. But everyone’s safe now, so I guess that’s the important thing.”

There are a few beats of reflective silence before Zhou Mi asks, “How’s Henry holding up?”, putting the smile back on Kyuhyun’s face.

“He adjusted right away, seems to be happy. I talked to Ryeowook about coming clean with him━”

“Kyuhyun!”

“I didn’t say anything too pushy! And I held out as long as I could, really, but if you’d have seen them when we rescued Ryeowook...all they needed was a bit of a shove in the right direction.”

Zhou Mi shakes his head good-naturedly. “Romance is dead, it seems. But, um, on that note…” To Kyuhyun’s surprise, the other man looks shy, even embarrassed. “So, we’ve gone on these ‘dates’ a few times now, and I guess I assumed some things, but I need to ask: are we together? Exclusive? In any way serious?”

Kyuhyun’s smile grows even wider at Zhou Mi’s flustered state. He reaches out to take the other’s hands in his. “Mi,” he says gently, “You don’t have to feel weird about asking. But to answer your question, you’re the only one I’m interested in, and believe me when I say that I’m really, really interested.”

“That’s a relief,” Zhou Mi says sheepishly. “Because I actually think about you all the time? And I can’t stop counting down until the next time I get to see you? And sometimes I just stop and wonder where you’ve been all my life?”

“Why do all of these sound like questions?”

“Because it’s embarrassing! How would you feel if━ Kyuhyun, stop laughing at me!”

“Sorry, your face was priceless. But I actually did think all of that was really sweet.”

“Well, then, as long as I’m in the midst of throwing away my pride, I have another question.”

“Go for it.” Kyuhyun gives his hands an encouraging squeeze.

“I want to call you by your Chinese name.”

“You want...what?”

Zhou Mi bites his lip. “I was just thinking about it recently. Because I realized I wanted to address you differently than everyone else, like in a couple way? So I thought, ‘of course, I’ll just shorten his first name,’ but then I realized that a lot of your friends seem to do that anyway, so...I wanted to call you Kui Xian, instead.”

Cho Kyuhyun, you are the luckiest bastard on this planet, and you’d better act like it.

“I like it,” Kyuhyun agrees, even more so when Zhou Mi’s face lights up like a kid on Christmas morning.

“Kui Xian,” Zhou Mi repeats, seeming to test it out. “My Kui Xian. It’s perf━ are you blushing?”

“Umm.”

“Kui Xian, you look so cute when you blush!~”

~*~

“They’re ridiculous.”

“I don’t know; I think they’re pretty cute.”

Kyuhyun turns to look disbelievingly at Sungmin, making sure to keep his voice down and not give away their hiding place when he says, “I thought you would have been the first to be fed up with them running circles around each other.”

“Does that look like running circles to you?”

Craning his neck to get a better view from the doorway, Kyuhyun peers at the pair in question. They’re facing away from the two observers as they lounge on the couch in the Bunker’s main room, so all that’s visible is the backs of their heads. How is Sungmin making any judgements from this?

“I can’t even see what they’re doing.”

“They’re watching a movie on someone’s laptop . Probably something from Donghae’s collection ━ God knows he has enough hoarded in his room to choose from.”

Okay, so maybe that’s a little cute, if predictable. But Kyuhyun still doesn’t see any evidence of anything being different than it had been...wait, did Henry just…?

“Please don’t tell me Henry just pulled the ‘yawn-and-whoops-my-arm-is-around-you’ move on Ryeowook,” Kyuhyun says flatly.

Sungmin laughs under his breath. “Come on, they’re adorable. And a bit ridiculous, but really, what else did you expect from these two?”

Kyuhyun is about to concede the point, but then something ━or rather, someone━ poking his head out from the opposite entryway catches his eye.

Donghae?

“Where there’s one, there’s the other,” Sungmin says, following Kyuhyun’s gaze. “Wait for it...and there we go.”

Eunhyuk’s face appears beside Donghae’s, but they don’t spare one look at the other observers. They have eyes only for the (gag-inducingly cheesy) couple, who they seem to silently coo over with matching grins, looking for all the world like proud parents.

And to think we’re all going to be the ones to topple a government regime.

~*~

The next few days pass without incident, which is, in Kyuhyun’s mind, nothing but a sign that something is bound to go wrong. When Kangin does a full inventory of their weapons cache, he’s surprised that several grenades don’t go off and blow the armory to bits When Yesung leaves to re-scout the area around the entrance, he braces himself for Drones to come pouring down the stairwell. And when someone (Donghae) thinks it would be funny to hide half of Heechul’s skincare products, he fully expects the Strategist to morph into a six-headed Hydra and devour their souls.

To be fair, that last one isn’t too far off from what actually happened.

As the disaster-free hours tick by, Kyuhyun is nearly lulled into a sense of complacency, and of course that’s when things go wrong.

“Leeteuk!”

Ryeowook’s voice echoes through the Bunker, reaching Kyuhyun’s ears even all the way down the hall and into his room.

What the━?

He jumps out of his chair, grabs the pistol on his nightstand, and rushes toward the source of the noise. He isn’t alone; the other members emerge from behind doors and on stairwells, equipped with similar weapons.

Leeteuk meets them in the main room. “I heard Ryeowook’s voice,” he says frantically. “Did anyone see━?”

“Leeteuk!”

It’s coming from the entrance, just up the stairs. Leeteuk moves faster than Kyuhyun thought humanly possible, and the others follow his lead. The entrance is open and the metal hatch drawn back, which is the first evidence that something is wrong. But the entrance itself isn’t what everyone’s eyes are drawn to as they step out into the hazy mid-afternoon air. That distinction falls to Siwon, who’s lying motionless on the ground in front of Ryeowook.

Leeteuk hisses in a breath, but he goes to the younger man first, asking, “Are you hurt?” while Shindong kneels down next to Siwon.

“I’m fine,” Ryeowook reassures the Resistance leader. “I just don’t know what happened. I was going to get something from the kitchen when I noticed the entrance was open, so I went to check. At first I thought Siwon had just forgotten to close it when he went out on patrol, but then I found him like this...I didn’t know what to do, so I called you.”

“You did well, Ryeowook.” Leeteuk nods in Shindong’s direction. “How’s Siwon?”

“He’s got a pulse; he’s just unconscious, but I don’t know━”

“Blunt force trauma,” Yesung says suddenly, making ten heads turn his way. “What?” he asks. “You can see where the welt is forming. Someone hit him over the head and knocked him out cold.”

The sound of a gun being loaded shifts the center of attention from Yesung to the Shadow Squad leader. “You know what this means, then,” Eunhyuk says seriously. “Someone else is in the Bunker. And we need to teach them a lesson.”

Leeteuk frowns. “There’s one thing bothering me, though...If the break-in was by the government, it would have been with a police force, and we wouldn’t still be here to talk. My guess is that it’s a scavenger looking for supplies who saw us as an opportunity. Which means…”

“No lethal weapons,” Eunhyuk finishes for him, re-engaging his gun’s safety with a disappointed look.

“Exactly. When we go back in, everyone needs to get one of the tranquilizer guns from the armory and split up. Heechul, you divide teams up once we’re inside.”

“Got it.”

“Ryeowook, you and Henry stay in the main room. We’ll all be able to hear you if you need to call for help.”

Both of the men nod their agreement, and unified under the orders, the Resistance members file back inside.

Heechul is still splitting them into groups when a loud sound comes from the main room.

Kyuhyun is at the front of the rush back, ready to defend his friends, but the scene he gets is the exact opposite of what he expects to find: Ryeowook stands in the center of the room, frying pan raised threateningly over his head and a scavenger’s body crumpled at his feet.

It’s as fantastic as it is terrifying.

There was a collective silence as the other members process the unexpected conclusion, broken only by Henry’s shocked voice.

“Ryeowook...I’ll be perfectly honest: I have never been as attracted to you as I am right now.”

The man in question starts to look a little less like he could break someone’s neck with his bare hands and a little more like himself with the bashful smile that appears on his face. That’s the only warning anyone gets before he’s pulling Henry away by the wrist, out of the room and down the hallway before anyone can get a word in.

“Use protection, kids!” Heechul calls after them, before he’s silenced by Leeteuk’s slap.

“They grow up so fast.”

“You two have a serious problem; you’d better be glad you don’t actually have children.”

“If you insult Donghae again, Heechul, I’ll shave your head while you’re sleeping.”

“You won’t dare.”

“Guys, I think Henry and Ryeowook might end up being worse than Eunhae.”

“Hey!”

“Seriously, whose idea was it to get them together? Sungmin?”

“Don’t look at me. it’s Kyuhyun’s fault.”

“Zhou Mi’s the one who even brought it up to me; if anyone’s to blame, it’s him!”

“Are you seriously throwing your boyfriend under the bus right now?”

“Not cool, Kyuhyun. Not cool.”

“Guys!” Ryeowook’s face appears in the hallway once more, voice cutting off the bickering. “I love all of you ━ really, I do. But you’re killing the moment.”

A/N: An update on the day I promised it? Are you sure you're reading the right story? (Kidding.) I'm loving seeing what you guys are thinking about the story so far (please keep the comments coming!), and as always, thank you for reading and enjoying. :) See you next Friday!