Chapter Text
When Jay woke up, Jungwon was gone. He only had a moment to panic before Jungwon’s soft breathing filled his ears. He found him on the balcony, face turned up to the night sky, the faint light of the stars above bouncing off his face. He was wearing Jay’s sweatpants, one of Sunghoon’s oversized t-shirts hanging off his shoulders. He must have heard Jay coming because he didn’t turn or startle when Jay wrapped his arms around his waist, resting his head on Jungwon’s shoulder.
“You were dead,” Jungwon whispered. His voice was painfully frail.
Jay slipped a hand under Jungwon’s—Sunghoon’s shirt, stroking the soft skin. “We’re okay,” he murmured, “we will be okay.”
Jungwon shuddered, and Jay could feel the doubt running through his veins. “I couldn’t stop it. I couldn’t—” His breath hitched, sharp and hurting. “I couldn’t save you. I couldn’t save any of you.”
Jay squeezed him tighter, dropping a kiss on Jungwon’s shoulder. “I saw,” he said. “We won’t let that happen. Not all of this rests on your shoulders, Wonnie, let us share it with you.”
Jungwon turned around in his arms. His eyes were puffy, and the tracks of tears on his face had dried now but were still visible. Jay cupped Jungwon’s face, gently kissing away the faded tracks. Jungwon sniffed, but tipped his head into Jay’s hands, desperate for more of his touch.
“He was in it too. Riki, he was there.”
“I know,” Jay said. Jungwon looked up, startled. “You lost control of the bond, baby. We all saw it—the nightmare.”
Tears welled up in Jungwon’s eyes, and he choked on his breath. “I don’t know what to do. Hyung—”
Jay folded Jungwon into his arms, tucking his face against his neck as Jungwon dragged uneven air into his lungs. Jay didn’t know what to do either. He had never considered Jungwon fragile before—still didn’t—but maybe Jungwon had been cracking for a long time. Jay’s chest hurt just thinking about it. How had he not seen it? The sleepless nights, the avoidance, the biting words, were all glaringly obvious to him now, and he wished he could go back just to beat himself over the head with something.
“You don’t have to know what to do, okay? Because we’ll figure it out together, yeah? As a team. As a coven.”
Jungwon didn’t respond, and Jay felt his tears soaking the material of his shirt. But he couldn’t care less while Jungwon was still shaking in his arms.
“Hyung?”
Jay didn’t know whether to curse his timing or kiss him for it, but Riki stepped in smoothly, crowding in behind Jungwon. Jungwon reached behind with one arm, keeping Riki pressed tightly against him, the other still curled in Jay’s shirt.
Riki glanced up from his resting spot in Jungwon’s neck. He was so close. His thumb swiped under Jay’s eye, but Jay barely noticed, too busy studying the dips and corners of Riki’s face.
“Have you been sleeping, hyung?”
Riki raised an eyebrow when Jay took too long to answer, and Jay cleared his throat. “I’m fine. I just woke up because he was gone.”
Riki hummed and retracted his hand, and Jay had to practically bite through his lip to prevent himself from begging for it back. For his warmth, for him.
Before he knew it, Jay was dragged over to their couch, separated from the central nest, close enough to be near without actively being inside. Jungwon was propped up against his chest, facing Riki as he leaned over them, fingers idly tracing where the moonlight met their skin. Jay turned his wrist over to give Riki more room, and Riki grinned.
“I like…I like being able to touch you both like this.” He dragged the very tip of his fingernail down the path of Jay’s vein.
Jungwon made a soft sound, arching into Riki’s hands when they traced down his neck. Riki let out something close to a giggle, leaning down to brush their noses together. Jay heard Jungwon’s breath hitch, but he imagined the reason was entirely different from the one on the balcony.
“What’s wrong, hyung?” He whispered, and Jay couldn’t resist tugging on his hair, which had fallen on his face.
He was not, however, prepared to face the effect of Riki’s full attention. Riki looked up, eyebrows raising as he gently bit Jay’s finger. Jay felt shock waves run from his finger to every nerve in his body.
When Riki released him, Jay’s eyes caught on the dagger pendant hanging from a chain around Riki’s neck. Jay touched it with one hand, bringing it closer both to get away from the heat of Riki’s gaze and to get a better look at it.
“This is pretty.” Jay murmured, and Riki’s hand enclosed over his, dragging his attention back.
“Heeseung-hyung gave it to me, said he thought it matched my vibe. What do you think?” Riki leaned closer, close enough that Jay could feel his breath against his face, feel every twitch in his body.
Jay flushed—unwillingly. “I think Heeseung was right.”
Riki hummed, looking far too pleased with himself as he finally moved out of Jay’s space enough to think of other things besides Riki’s scent, face, and voice. Jungwon shifted against him, and Jay looked down just in time to watch Jungwon’s eyes flick from Riki to Jay before his hands shot out, grasping the back of Riki’s neck. Riki barely made a noise as he was pulled down, barely hovering over Jungwon.
Jungwon’s thumb caressed just under Riki’s eye, and Riki grinned, like he was getting exactly what he wanted. Jungwon growled lowly under his breath.
“Fuck it.”
Riki’s eyes went wide when Jungwon crashed their lips together, but he fell into it easily, letting out breathy laughs in the brief moments he could come up for air. Jungwon bit at his lips in retaliation, prying his lips open with his tongue. Jay watched, transfixed, when Riki opened to him, running his tongue over Jungwon’s teeth, shivering when Jungwon let out a quiet moan when he went over his fangs. They were heated, gripping each other like they were afraid the other would disappear, pulling until there was no room between their bodies. Jungwon laced his fingers through Riki’s hair, tugging it in a way that made Jay shiver with the sound Riki made.
Riki pulled back just enough to whisper something against Jungwon’s lips that had him growling and dragging him back in. He laughed, running his hands down Jungwon’s sides just to hear the sounds he made.
Jay ran a finger down the side of Riki’s face, using the other to pet Jungwon’s hair, heavy enough for them to feel his presence, light enough not to interrupt. Riki pulled away again, dropping one last kiss on Jungwon’s lips when he complained, then glanced up at Jay.
His lips were kiss-bitten when he grinned, and his face held a light flush from his cheeks to the tips of his ears. But he looked alive. His eyes held mirth as they darted across Jay’s face, searching for something. “You didn’t think I forgot about you, hyung?”
“No, I was hoping you didn’t. Have some more for me?”
Riki let out a pained breath. “Always.”
Jay clasped an arm around his waist, dragging him over Jungwon to straddle him. Riki looped his arms around Jay’s neck, leaning down to kiss his cheek and jaw until Jay got impatient and grabbed his jaw. Riki looked smug, his breath heavy as he shifted, straining to reach Jay.
Jay ran his thumb over Riki’s bottom lip, laughing when Riki’s tongue peeked out to catch it. “What are you playing at?” He murmured, more to himself than anything.
Riki gripped the back of his neck, taking him by surprise when he tugged him closer so they were a breath apart. “Currently? I’m trying to kiss you, hyung. Can I?”
“Always.”
Riki pulled him in, and now Jay could understand why Jungwon was so hungry. Riki tasted amazing, like his scent. It was sweet but with something underneath, like musk, maybe. But, more than that, Riki smelled of them, and Jay reveled in it. He could smell Sunghoon in his clothes, Heeseung in his skin, Sunoo in his hair. And it felt as much a claim as any mark. Jay’s fangs itched, begging him to bite into Riki’s skin, to make it official—make it clear to anyone that Riki was theirs. That he would always be theirs. But he couldn’t, not when he wasn’t even sure what Rik wanted. It would be unfair—cruel even—to bind him to them forever if it was not something he truly wanted.
Riki kissed as he did all things, with reverence, eagerness. Jay quickly lost whatever breath he had; it all went to Riki. And Jay quickly realized there wasn’t much he wouldn’t give or do for the vampire in his lap. He rested one hand on Riki's hip when he asked for entrance, running his tongue across the seam of Jay’s lips. Jay opened, and Riki grinned into it, licking his mouth.
Jay twisted Riki’s hair between his fingers idly until Riki bit his lip, sending a jolt through his entire body, enough that he tugged Riki’s head back, grinning at his reward of Riki’s sounds, the way his body went pliant above Jay. Their chests rose and fell in time, and Jay was just about to surge forward for more when movement in the corner of his eyes caught his attention.
Sunoo stood, dressed in Heeseung’s clothes, slightly to their left, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. “Is this what you’ve been doing for the past,” he looked down at his wrist—that had no watch—“hour and a half?”
Jay blinked, and Jungwon and Riki froze around him.
“I thought you guys had died or something.” He huffed, gesturing back at the nest holding Heeseung, Sunghoon, and Jake’s sleeping forms. “Can we go back to bed now?”
Jay opened his mouth, but closed it, entirely at a loss for words. Riki recovered the fastest. “Hyung? You’re not…mad?”
Sunoo’s eyebrows furrowed. “Mad? Mad about what? That?” He gestured to Riki, still straddling Jay’s lap and Jungwon’s disheveled form.
Riki nodded slowly, and Sunoo rolled his eyes, crossing the room in quick strides. He grabbed Riki’s jaw, bringing him into a bruising kiss that was more tongue and teeth than anything else before pulling back and doing the same to Jay, then Jungwon.
Jay felt lightheaded, but Sunoo looked smug as he ran his hand through Riki’s hair, pulling his head back to make eye contact. “No, baby, I’m not mad. Maybe a little that they got to you first, greedy bastards,” he sent a harmless glare towards Jay and Jungwon. “But not mad. They just did what we’ve all wanted to do for months.”
Riki let out a breath and practically melted into the touch. Sunoo kissed his forehead, then straightened, addressing them all again. “Can we go back to sleep now?”
Riki scrambled off Jay’s lap, practically throwing himself into the nest, burying himself beneath a mound of blankets and pillows. Jay chuckled, standing to draw Sunoo into a sweeter kiss, savoring how soft his lips felt, how Sunoo responded with a hum, molding his body to Jay’s.
“Hi.” Jay said when he pulled away.
Sunoo gave him a peck. “Hi.”
Jungwon cleared his throat, and Sunoo gave him a similar treatment, catching Jungwon by surprise. Jay watched with warmth unfurling in his chest. Jungwon fell into Sunoo easily, allowing him complete control of the pace as he looped his arms around Sunoo’s neck. He whined when Sunoo pulled back, and Jay laughed, kissing Jungwon’s cheek.
He also slid an arm around Sunoo’s waist, pulling him against his chest. “Did you wake up because we were gone?”
Sunoo snorted. “Fuck no, I had to pee, ended up catching you guys trying to defile our couch.”
Jungwon flushed, muttering something about it having already been defiled, and Jay ignored him. “So no one else has Riki’s weird ring-doorbell-powers?”
Sunoo’s wrinkled nose was enough of an answer, and Jay laughed, kissing his nose.
“Not my fault you guys don’t feel it when I leave the nest.” Riki’s voice came muffled from his blankets, and everyone’s heads snapped towards him.
Jungwon stepped into the nest, pulling away Riki’s blanket defenses. “You leave the nest?” He asked, incredulous as he pulled away another layer. “When? Why? To go where?”
When he finally pulled away the last blanket, Riki grabbed him, pulling him into the chaos and wrapping his—frankly ridiculously long limbs around Jungwon’s torso. “I’m joking, hyung, I’m joking.”
Jungwon hit him with an adjacent pillow. “You better be.”
Riki bit his lip, looking up at Jungwon through his eyelashes, and Jay didn’t even blame him for being unable to resist. They were gentler this time, less about fighting about who had control, and instead just being able to be together.
Sunoo crawled next to them, kissing their temples and effectively stopping them. Riki turned his head, puckering his lips dramatically, and Sunoo shoved his face away. “Can we sleep now?”
Jay grabbed him by his waist, pulling him against his chest again. Sunoo huffed but settled against Jay, turning to tuck his face into his neck. Jungwon lay on Riki’s chest, sprawling out his limbs, not that Riki seemed to mind.
Sunoo’s breathing evened out quickly, and Jay held him tighter, letting the soft sounds of Jungwon and Riki bickering drag him into the depths of sleep.
***
Sunghoon was warm. Overtly so, but he didn’t mind, at least not really. Heeseung was breathing against his neck, the air blowing directly over his mark, and Sunghoon shivered. Heeseung hummed, pressing his lips to the delicate skin before sitting up.
“Good morning.”
Sunghoon grabbed his phone. “It’s afternoon. Again.”
Heeseung laughed, bright and loud. Jake smacked him.
“We’ve got to stop doing that.”
Sunghoon dressed quickly, donning some combination of his members’ clothing, and walked downstairs, Heeseung trailing behind.
The others were already up, Jay cooking, adding enough blood to the food that Sunghoon assumed it was for Riki. Sunghoon cocked his head. Jay’s hand brushed Riki’s lingering for a beat too long. Jungwon’s hands never left Riki’s body, a hand on his shoulder and his knee, which could look casual if Sunghoon didn’t know him. Jay had hickies scattered across the expanse of his neck, ones that Sunoo would occasionally dig his fingers into.
Heeseung made his good-morning rounds, offering them each a kiss, dropping one on Riki’s head, too. Jake seemed oblivious—or half-asleep as he chewed on his food.
Sunghoon leaned against the counter. “So, what’d you guys do last night?”
The brief lock in Jay and Jungwon’s frames told him everything.
He smacked his hand against the counter, accusingly pointing a finger at them. “Did you fuck him without us?”
Jake stopped chewing, and Riki choked on his blood bag. Jay’s mouth dropped open, useless excuses falling from his lips as Sunoo began cracking up.
Sunghoon turned on him. “You were there too? What the fuck? I thought we agreed to at least tell each other!”
“They didn’t fuck me.” Riki said, somehow completely unbothered by Sunghoon’s questions.
“What? You fucked them?”
Jay threw his hands up, exacerbated. “There was no fucking!”
Sunghoon frowned, crowding Jay until his back hit the counter. He tipped Jay’s chin back, inspecting the bites that adorned his neck, running a careful finger over them. “Then where’d you get these, baby?”
Riki snorted. “Ha! That was me.”
Jake seemed to have lost all interest in his food, pushing it away to give Riki his full attention. “Alright. Continue.”
Riki shrugged. “I found them on the balcony, went to go help because Jungwon seemed upset, and ended up kissing them on the couch. That’s it.”
Heeseung pointed at Sunoo. “Then where do you come in?”
“I caught them making out, dragged them back to bed.”
Jake threw his hands up. “No fair! I want to kiss him too!”
Riki grabbed him by the front of his shirt, tugging him into a heated kiss that had Jake practically climbing into his lap. Sunghoon tilted his head, and Heeseung muttered, “Damn,” somewhere to his left.
Riki pulled away, and Jake stared like he’d forgotten what oxygen was. Riki grinned. “Better, hyung?”
Jake nodded slowly, like he was reconsidering his entire existence. Riki ran his tongue over a fang, lazy and smug.
“Heeseung-hyung? Sunghoon-hyung?” His lashes cast shadows across his cheeks. “Want some?”
Heeseung made a strangled noise and pretended to find the floor very interesting. Sunghoon reached across the counter, dragging a hand through Riki’s hair. “I’ll get you in due time, baby. Don’t worry.” Riki shivered—victory claimed.
Breakfast—lunch? Whatever—went smoothly after that. Riki gagged a few times on pieces that weren’t thoroughly soaked, but he powered through. Eventually, they migrated to the living room, some mindless show flickering in the background. Jungwon ended up with his head in Riki’s lap, letting him card fingers through his hair. It was soft.
Too soft.
Riki traced Jungwon’s jaw with his thumb. His voice was low, but it sliced right through the quiet. “You didn’t calm down for hours last night. What happened?”
Jungwon froze. Jay went still. Sunghoon swore under his breath.
The silence wasn’t innocent anymore.
Riki looked between them, reading faces the way predators read heartbeats. He found something—and went still too. “What aren’t you telling me?”
Jungwon sat up and pulled away from his touch. “Nothing, Riki.”
Riki let out a short, disbelieving laugh. “Don’t insult me. You were shaking. That’s not nothing.”
“Riki…” Heeseung warned softly.
“No,” Riki snapped. “I heard you talking about the council, I’m not an idiot. But I can’t help if I don’t know what’s coming.”
Jungwon was on his feet now, warmth gone like it had never been there. “You’re not supposed to help. You’re supposed to stay safe.”
“That’s not your decision!” Riki’s voice rose. “You’re not giving me a choice, you’re acting like you’re the only ones who will be affected!”
“I’m trying to protect you.”
“Protect me?” Riki scoffed. “I got my fucking skull cracked open a week ago! Tell me how your protection is working out so far!”
Jungwon flinched hard, shoulders curling in like he’d been struck. The silence that followed was ugly and alive.
Riki realized too late, and his expression flickered with guilt. But he didn’t take it back.
Their voices rose again—sharper now, jagged and hitting places that already hurt.
Then—
A cold slid into the room. Not a draft, or an open window. A presence. Something that snuck in without their permission.
Sunghoon’s muscles went wire-tight. He shot a hand out to stop Jay from stepping forward.
“Do you feel that?”
Jay blinked—and then his face changed. The others fell silent one by one, instincts syncing without words. The air felt wrong. Weighted. Observed.
Something unseen dragged its nails down the walls.
And then—
A voice. Light, amused, and too calm.
“Oh, don’t stop on my account.”
Every head turned.
There, at the top of the staircase, stood Maddie.
Same clothes. Same smirk. Like she’d never left. Like she'd been invited. One hand on the banister, one foot crossed casually in front of the other—as if she’d been watching long enough to get comfortable.
Jake froze, and Jake shifted to stand in front of him, baring his fangs. Maddie laughed, her head thrown back. “What, you don’t appreciate a familiar face?”
She sighed when no one answered her, waving a hand. “Fine, fine.”
Her edges started to pull apart, like someone pulling a thread loose. Her form stretched, and her lines went blurry. She grew taller, and her long hair was suddenly short until she was no longer Maddie. A man stood in her place. His hair was platinum blond, his features were young, but there was something distinctly…ancient about him. He frowned, but it seemed theatrical, like everything he did was for some invisible audience’s benefit.
“Shame. We were just getting to the good part.”
Heeseung took a startled step back. “Syrus.”
Syrus grinned, and Sunghoon shuddered. “Heeseung! It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”
“What are you doing—how did you get—?”
Syrus pouted. “You didn’t think you were the last of us, did you? Or that we wouldn’t be watching you?”
Sunghoon took a quick scan of the room. How the fuck had Syrus gotten in? There hadn’t been a single change in the air until Syrus wanted to be noticed. No scent was unfamiliar until Syrus made it known, no sound or object out of place. Like he just appeared out of thin air. How long had he been there? How long have they been watched?
Heeseung shifted, his face falling into a carefully neutral expression, but they could all hear how loud his heart was hammering, practically beating outside his ribs. “Why are you here?”
“What, I can’t check on an old friend?”
Beside him, Sunoo reared back in disgust; all thoughts or reservations about what Syrus could do were thrown away. Jungwon lunged for him when he started marching towards Syrus, fangs bared, claws at the ready.
“You were never a fucking friend!”
Syrus seemed delighted by the turn of events, watching with glee as Jungwon wrestled Sunoo back. “Ah, the famous Sunoo, isn’t it? The one that found out about us before they even said anything.”
Sunoo stopped resisting, too shocked to do anything but let Jungwon drag him closer to the group. Sunghoon shuffled closer too, snagging Riki and Jay on his way, trying to keep everyone as close together as possible.
For a moment, Syrus seemed genuinely taken aback. He turned to Heeseung, the spark in his eyes gone as he stared. “You really thought we wouldn’t keep tabs on you? Oh, Heeseungie, you are more foolish than I thought.”
“We?” Sunghoon growled, but Syrus ignored him, making his way down the stairs like he had all the time in the world.
“We took bets, you know. Who you would end up with, if you would end up with anyone at all. I’ve got to say, Maya was a strong contender for a while, I lost a lot of money on her.”
Heeseung flinched violently. “I’m so sorry Yoonchae ripping her brain from her skull in front of me caused you to lose your bet.” He bit out, but Sunghoon could see he was trembling.
Syrus waved a hand dismissively. “She wasn’t worthy anyways.” Then he grinned, turning on Riki. “But you. No one had any bets on you. You just…appeared.”
Sunghoon grabbed Riki’s wrist, pulling the other vampire behind him slightly, anything to get him away from Syrus’ curious eyes.
Syrus looked unimpressed. “Sunghoon,” he chided, “don’t be such a prude, let me see the fledgling.”
“Fuck off.”
Syrus’ eyebrows shot up, and he reached like he was going to grab Sunghoon, maybe move him out of the way himself, and Sunghoon braced himself, tightening his grip on Riki. But Syrus’ touch never came. Heeseung held him back by the wrist, shoving Syrus back so hard he stumbled.
“Don’t touch my coven.”
Syrus blinked, regaining his balance before promptly bursting out with laughter. “You’ve gotten brave in our time apart.”
“Where are the others? You wouldn’t be stupid enough to come alone, so where are they?”
Syrus tipped his head to one side, and Heeseung dropped to his knees, completely limp. His eyes were cloudy, almost glazed over, as he stared at nothing, silent tears dripping down his face. Heeseung didn’t cry — not like this. Not unless he was seeing something that already lived under his skin. Something that lived in his nightmares.
“Hyung?” Sunoo dropped beside him, cupping his face, shaking his shoulders, but Heeseung was entirely unresponsive. Jay shouted, trying to drag Heeseung away from Syrus, but he was nailed to his spot. Syrus was cackling, asking Heeseung if he felt so brave now, and Jungwon launched himself at him, only succeeding in getting himself thrown into a wall. Jake ran for him, frantically checking his head for any injuries, and Jungwon was wincing, holding onto Jake for stability.
Sunghoon backed up, keeping Riki behind him. Heeseung said Syrus was an illusionist. Was this an illusion specific to Heeseung? Why does he seem locked in his head? Sunghoon took deep breaths, trying to straighten out his thoughts and block out the panic threatening to take over.
When his heart returned to a somewhat normal pace, he almost choked on air when he felt it — not a hand, not a voice, but a separate presence, sliding along the seams of his mind. Slow. Patient. Searching. For what? A way in? A weakness? Sunghoon closed his eyes, trying to trace it, find its origin, but it was…moving. Sunghoon waited until he felt it was just close enough to reach it. Then, without warning, his hand shot out. There was an aborted shout, and Sunghoon twisted, throwing the person to the ground and digging his fingers into their chest. His fingers sank in like wet clay. The woman gasped, a sharp, startled sound — not pain, not yet, more like disbelief that someone dared. His fingers closed over her heart.
Everything froze, and Sunghoon finally looked down at his captive. The woman beneath him gasped, her heart pulsing against his hand, blood pooling from the corner of her mouth. Heeseung fell forward, whatever trance he’d been in broke, and he scrambled back.
Syrus, for the first time, looked a little nervous. “You know you can’t kill an original that way,” he said.
Sunghoon tightened his hold, and the woman choked, her nails trying to tear his arms apart. “I know, but that doesn’t mean this won’t damage her.”
Syrus strode forward, and Sunghoon pulled just a little bit. Not enough to dislodge her heart, but enough for Syrus to get the message. “Oh, I wish you would.”
Finally, Syrus’ persona broke, and he growled, throwing his hands up, and Sunghoon was shrouded in darkness. Sunghoon tensed, but he still wasn’t prepared. He hit the wall—or was it the ceiling? All he knew was that he was falling. There was pressure, somewhere in his abdomen, like someone was pushing him from his stomach.
Then, pain. Blinding and white hot pain radiated from his stomach, and Sunghoon couldn’t even make a sound. He could hear Riki calling for him, Jake’s heart hammered in his chest, and Heeseung yelling at Syrus to stop. Sunghoon pressed his hand against his stomach; something was protruding, and Sunghoon bit back a groan, applying pressure on the edges.
The woman was long gone, and when Sunghoon’s vision returned, Syrus had somehow speared him with the guard rail in that short period of time. He almost snorted — of course it was a fucking railing. Syrus would choose something theatrical. Jay’s face filled his vision, and Sunghoon tried to hide his stomach even though he knew what was coming.
Jay was saying something, maybe counting down. All Sunghoon knew was that someone ripped the metal from his abdomen, and Sunghoon felt white hot pain everywhere. He thinks he screamed, maybe threw up, perhaps even both. Everything was a blur, but then he had Heeseung's wrist pressed to his mouth, and skin stitched itself over slowly, painfully.
Sunghoon pulled away, feeling like he was choking. He searched for Syrus, holding eye contact long enough to say. “Fucking cheater.” Before turning to cough or vomit, he wasn’t sure which.
Syrus was panting, fangs on display as he grinned. “Heeseung, I’ve got to say, I’m disappointed. You call this a coven? These strays? I thought I raised you better than this.”
Something broke, and Heeseung moved in a blur, too fast for Sunghoon to catch, but he saw Heeseung’s hands tightening around Syrus’ throat. There was a mess of claws and blood, and Sunghoon tried to get up when he saw blood soaking Heeseung’s shirt. Jay shoved him back, hissing about staying put, and Jungwon shot up instead.
Syrus's hold on the illusion to keep the others hidden fell, like a curtain being dropped, and Sunghoon tried not to panic when he counted seven other originals in his home. When Jungwon managed to grab Heeseung, he was covered in blood, the droplets dripping rhythmically on the floor, not that he seemed to notice. Syrus didn’t look much better, but he was still fucking smiling. Like this was the most entertainment he’s had in his entire life.
“Tell Mira to keep her fucking hands out of my head.”
“It's not my fault it was so easy to get in.”
Sunghoon stood up, using the wall behind him for support and ignoring Jay’s protests. The woman from before was getting in Heeseung’s face, her shirt stained with blood, and Sunghoon wished he’d pulled her heart out when he had the chance.
“Your mind is weak, it was so easy to trap you in with all those scary, little dark things you keep locked away. Even he was stronger.” Mira pointed vaguely towards Sunghoon, who bared his fangs.
“Watch your mouth or I’ll rip your tongue out next.”
She laughed, and Sunghoon itched to do precisely as he threatened. Jungwon grabbed Heeseung’s shoulder, hauling him back to the group, and Sunghoon felt marginally better with them closer. Heeseung gathered Sunghoon’s face in his hands, swiping his thumb over Sunghoon’s cheek. Blood stained Sunghoon’s skin.
“Are you okay?”
Sunghoon tipped his head into Heeseung’s hands. “I’ve been better.”
Jay was in his ear, whispering something about having to clean the wound, but Sunghoon refused. He wasn’t going to leave them alone.
It’ll only take a minute. Hoon, please.
Sunghoon hesitated. Jay’s voice filtered in his head, and his mark pulsed on his chest.
I’m not going to leave.
“Are they always like this?” Syrus asked, looking somewhere between amused and annoyed. Heeseung flipped him off, and Sunghoon felt him prodding around the bond.
I don’t want you guys to leave either. I don’t know what they’re here for, I don't want to risk it.
Jay sighed, running his hands down his face roughly. “Fine. Okay.”
He pressed a too-gentle kiss to Sunghoon’s temple and disappeared from the living room. Jake glanced anxiously between their intruders and the door Jay had left from, following before anyone could say a word. Sunghoon watched, waiting with baited breath until they both returned. Jay held his first aid kit, and Jake dragged over one of the chairs from the kitchen table.
None of the originals moved as Jay guided Sunghoon into the chair by his shoulder, crouching between his legs. Jake immediately shifted to cover Jay’s back, and Riki dropped beside Sunghoon, resting his head on Sunghoon’s knee.
Jay rucked up Sunghoon’s shirt, dabbing the area with a wet cloth, and Sunghoon winced, trying not to shift under Jay’s hands. He scanned the room again for a distraction. Eight originals—at least Sunghoon’s, assuming they all are—stood in their living room, arms crossed, watching them with either boredom or disdain. Sunghoon reached out to Heeseung through the bond.
Want to fill us in? Who’s who?
Heeseung cringed. Not really. He cleared his throat, speaking aloud. “Why are you here, Syrus?”
Syrus had migrated to the couch, kicking his feet back, looking at home. The rest of the originals followed suit, surrounding Syrus, and Sunghoon couldn’t help but wonder if he was their leader. “We’d like you to re-join us. You can keep this,” he gestured vaguely at them, “coven, hell, some of them might even be useful, but come home with us and—”
Heeseung broke him off with laughter, a shrill, manic sound that had Sunghoon’s head snapping towards him.
“Go with you? Go with you?”
Jay looked up, and Sunghoon exchanged a glance with him.
“Why would I ever go with you? You are not home, they are my home.”
Sunoo stepped up behind him, pressing his lips to Heeseung’s shoulder. The shift was immediate. The tension in his body loosened, just a fraction, just enough. Jay resumed his task, wrapping Sunghoon’s abdomen with gauze, tight enough to make Sunghoon hiss. Jay pressed a kiss over the spot in return before straightening. He gave Heeseung a once-over, raising an eyebrow, but Heeseung waved him off. Jay sighed but dropped it, tugging on Jake’s arm to pull him to the side slightly.
“We’re not going anywhere. Whatever it is you’re planning, do it yourself.”
One of the other originals tipped their head to the side. His face was dotted with freckles that would have made him look…innocent if it weren’t for the apparent delight in his eyes. He looked even younger than the rest, no older than nineteen, and Sunghoon couldn’t help but feel sorry for him. Turning was hard, but turning that young, when emotional stability was already scarce, Sunghoon couldn’t even imagine.
“The bodies don’t concern you?”
Riki startled beside Sunghoon. “Bodies?”
Sunghoon flinched, and Jungwon visibly shut down.
The freckled vampire grinned, all sharp, pointy teeth. “You’ve yet to tell your fledgling about the bodies?”
“Hyung,” Riki whispered, and Sunghoon chanced a look at him.
He looked so hurt. Like the carpet had been ripped out from underneath him. Sunghoon reached for him unconsciously.
“Baby, it’s not—”
Riki pushed his hand away and stood, putting distance between them. The originals looked ecstatic, pointing and jeering, curled together like kids watching a movie. Heeseung’s arms dropped, but Riki shrugged him off, too. Jungwon let out a breath, as if he were exhausted, and Sunghoon felt a faint throbbing through the bond from Jungwon’s end. He tugged Jay’s arm to get his attention.
He’s losing control of the bond again.
Jay winced but nodded grimly, shifting to stand behind Jungwon, running his hands down his arms. Sunoo approached Riki cautiously, but he wasn’t turned away. He wasn’t exactly acknowledged either, but Sunghoon didn't miss how easily Riki gave into his touches.
Jungwon took another deep breath. “You haven’t been involved or even heard from in nearly a hundred years. What the fuck do you want with them?”
The original ignored him and Jungwon growled. “You don’t think it was odd you couldn’t use your echo, Heeseung?”
Sunghoon could feel the shock reverberate through the bond but no one said anything. Their silence must have said enough.
Syrus leaned forward, but Heeseung beat him to it. “You’re the only ones that know about my echo, that sounds a lot like a confession to me.”
The freckled original rolled his eyes. “We got to you so easily. Would it not be easier to have just come here? Why go through the trouble of bodies? And then to drain them just so you couldn’t use your echo? Pointless. We could’ve killed your precious Jaeyun, but we didn’t. Give us a little credit.”
Sunghoon blinked. “Do you expect a ‘thank you’?”
The original turned, like he was just now realizing the presence of other people. “And if we do?”
“We’d tell you to go fuck yourselves.”
He stood, but Sunghoon refused to take the step back his instincts begged him to. “You think you’re so funny, so clever, Sunghoon. We know everything about you. You forget you have far, far too many vulnerabilities to be talking to me like this.” Heeseung stepped between them when he got too close. “I seem to recall your great-nieces and nephews. How are they doing?”
Sunghoon felt like he was going to throw up.
“I could tear your entire coven apart in front of you if I wanted to—”
“Enough, Songmin.”
Songmin backed off, and Sunghoon finally felt like he could breathe again. Jay grabbed his arm, yanking him back. He cupped Sunghoon’s face, searching for any sign of injury, but Sunghoon gently removed his hands.
“I’m fine.”
“Yeah, maybe stop pissing off the psychotic originals in our living room.”
Sunghoon glanced at the others. He could hear their heartbeats hammering inside his skull, feel their fear through the bond; it was like injecting adrenaline into his veins. Even Riki had forced himself closer to the group, and when Sunghoon offered him a hand, he clung to it.
Sunghoon cradled the back of Riki’s head, guiding his face into his neck. His breaths were uneven, and he was shaking slightly. “I’m fine, baby, I promise.”
“Hyung’s right. Stop pissing them off, please.”
Sunghoon nodded, pulling back enough to kiss Riki’s temple before releasing him, handing him off to Sunoo again.
“Did you mark him?” Mira asked, incredulous. “We warned you not to mark him!”
“You don’t get to decide that.” Heeseung hissed, but Mira ignored him, turning on Jake.
“They warned you, did they not?”
Jake scoffed. “A bit hard to recall after you’d tried to burn my fucking mark from the inside out.”
Panic zipped through Sunghoon’s veins, but it wasn’t his own. Heeseung was frozen, staring at Jake with unrestrained terror, his face pale, pulled taut. “What?”
Syrus rolled his eyes like Heeseung was a child, talking about the monster under his bed for the umpteenth time. “Heeseung,” he chided.
Heeseung backed up slowly, his breathing erratic, his movements clunky, like he no longer had control of his limbs. “No. No. You didn’t bring them here. You didn’t.”
It sounded like pleading.
“You’re so dramatic.”
Syrus gestured behind himself, at one of the other originals, a woman with vibrant red hair. She was curled against Songmin, twirling the fabric of his shirt in her hands. She sighed, then waved her hand. Someone appeared, standing in the center of the room. Their hair was cut short, in a shaggy sort of way.
There was a thud, and Sunghoon turned just in time to see Jake catch Heeseung as he crashed to the ground. He scrambled back, clutching his side like he was in pain. He was muttering to himself under his breath, every muscle in his body shaking, trembling. Jake murmured to him lowly, trying to get through the panic that so clearly held Heeseung captive. Sunghoon took another look at the stranger. They were just…standing there. Vacant. Their gaze was empty as they just stared at nothing. Sunghoon stood before Heeseung like a shield, but the stranger still didn’t move.
Jake was frantically trying to calm Heeseung, and their voices beat against Sunghoon's skull. Then he realized the stranger's chest didn’t move with breath in their lungs. Their heartbeat was nonexistent.
He turned, gently taking Heeseung from Jake. “Hyung, hyung, look at me. They’re dead. They have no heartbeat, listen.”
“They can’t be here, they’ll kill you!”
“Hyung, they’re gone, they can’t hurt you. They can’t hurt us.”
Heeseung’s breathing slowed enough, and Sunghoon cupped his face, whispering encouraging words under his breath. Jay stood abruptly, grabbing Syrus by the front of his shirt and slamming him into the nearest wall.
“Make it go away or I swear—”
Yoonchae collapsed to the ground, a mess of limbs without coordination, like a puppet with its strings cut. Heeseung flinched, grabbing Sunghoon, but instead of clinging to him like Sunghoon expected, he covered Sunghoon’s body with his own.
“Jay, come here.”
Jay hesitated. “Hyung—”
“Jongseong!”
Jay cursed, dropping Syrus in favor of rushing towards Heeseung. Heeseung caught him easily, searching him like Jay had searched Sunghoon. His hands trembled where they rested on Jay’s face, but shifted, forcing Jay behind himself as well.
“I made sure—”
“You did.” Songmin interrupted. “As Sunghoon said, they’re dead.”
The confession didn’t seem to ease Heeseung as he eyed Yoonchae, like they might rise and run for his throat.
“We were just checking on them, to see how their search for you was going, but we were a moment too late.” It was an original that Sunghoon hadn’t heard talk before, a man with long, inky black hair and a scar that ran from the corner of his eye to the bottom of his jaw. “The council was trying to clear out the body when we arrived, so we figured, why let a perfectly good one go to waste? They might be dead, but their power is not.”
Sunghoon didn’t even want to begin to unpack that. Heeseung stared at the body, but Sunghoon didn’t know if it was out of fear or instinct.
“Mira, is there—is there anything in their head?”
For a moment, Mira looked almost sympathetic as she watched Heeseung try to regain his breath, and she made a soft sound that Sunghoon guessed should have sounded comforting. “No, they’re a husk, nothing more.”
“Get it out.” Sunoo said.
Mira turned to him slowly. “Come again?”
“I said, get it out. You don’t get to walk in here with them and do that to my hyung. Get. Rid. Of. It.”
Silence swept the room, and even the originals seemed surprised. Syrus looked back. The redhead waved her hand again, and the body disappeared as quickly as it appeared. Sunoo deflated, and Sunghoon felt a rush of exhaustion run through him. Sunoo’s hands shook slightly as he crouched beside them again, and Riki pulled him into his lap, burying his face into Sunoo’s neck. Sunghoon extended his hand, and Sunoo took it, squeezing slightly.
Heeseung’s next breath rattled in his lungs, but he sat up straighter, his knuckles white where he gripped Jake’s shirt. The air was thick, heavy with the tang of blood and fear. Even breathing felt like trespassing, trespassing in their own home. “If you’re so concerned about the council, why don’t you just do it yourself?”
There was no answer. Sunghoon looked away from Sunoo, but the originals were looking away for the first time, avoiding eye contact. Songmin glared heatedly when Sunghoon huffed a small laugh. Of course, they couldn’t do anything—
“You need us.” Heeseung whispered.
Syrus rolled his eyes.
“You hold no real power anymore. You need us to get the pull of the vampires to start your little uprising.” He was laughing now, and Sunghoon couldn’t even blame him. All those years he’d spent suffering at their hands, and now they were the ones coming to him for help.
“You have…influence.” Syrus admitted begrudgingly.
Jay leaned against Heeseung. “Influence that you need.”
“This is ridiculous! Just come with us and—”
“No.”
Songmin gaped at Heeseung, like he’d been expecting Heeseung to bend to their will. “What?”
Heeseung stood, and Sunghoon followed suit. “Get out of my house. You need my help, fine, but it’s going to be on my terms and my terms only.”
“Heeseung, be reasonable—”
Heeseung raised his voice to be heard over Syrus. “Get out.”
Songmin stood, and for a moment Sunghoon thought he would listen, but it would never be that easy. He bared his teeth at Heeseung, but for the first time, Heeseung didn’t flinch.
“I think you forget we can take away everything you love before you can blink.”
“If you touch one hair on their heads, I’ll burn everything down,” Heeseung hissed. “You can’t use me if I’m dead.”
Songmin tipped his head to one side, his voice dropping so low Sunghoon wouldn’t have caught it if he wasn’t standing so close. “You’ve tried that before, Heseung, but it hasn’t quite worked yet, has it?”
Sunghoon froze, his breath catching as he digested Songmin’s words. Something flashed behind his eyes, memories of all the late nights he’d spent mapping out the dips and divots of Heeseung’s skin. All the scars he had run his fingers over, kissed. How many of those were a part of a story Heeseung hid away?
Heeseung recoiled slightly, but he didn’t back down. “I don’t trust you, Songmin. Get out.”
“You don’t trust me? Don’t trust that what we’re saying is the truth?” Songmin’s fingers traced dangerously close to Heeseung’s face. “You know there’s only one way to be sure…”
The redhead popped up behind Songmin, her head resting on his shoulder. Songmin tipped his head back, and the redhead sank her fangs into his neck. It was the first time Sunghoon had seen them act like a normal coven, the first time he could see parallels. The redhead pulled away, and Songmin leaned forward again, turning his head to the side, like an invitation.
Sunghoon barely bit back the growl crawling up his throat. Heeseung was his. He grabbed Heeseung’s arm, tugging him back a couple of steps, away from whatever offering Songmin was giving.
The redhead giggled, propping her head up on Songmin’s shoulder again. “I don’t think the fledgling likes that, Minnie.”
Sunghoon’s brows furrowed, and he glanced back. Riki glared, and Sunghoon easily recognized Jungwon’s arms around him as restraints. Jake’s jaw tightened; Jay’s hand twitched, as if holding himself back from lunging.
Songmin raised an eyebrow, the bite around his throat slowly closing. “Is that so, fledgling? Is Lili correct?”
Riki pulled against Jungwon’s hold. Heeseung sighed, gesturing for Jungwon to let Riki go. Jungwon’s jaw flexed, but he let go, eyes trained on Riki. Riki shook off his arms, and before Sunghoon could blink, he had an arm around Heeseung and the other wrapped around Sunghoon. Heeseung fussed with him a little, patting down his hair and even kissing the crown of his head. Riki’s thumb pressed into Sunghoon’s neck, rubbing insistently over the skin before dropping to his wrist and doing the same. Heeseung froze when Riki did the same to him, and Sunghoon had to stifle a laugh.
Riki was marking them. Blatantly, openly, and in front of a group that obviously did not want him claimed. Heeseung melted when Sunghoon pinched him, as if he was waiting for permission before falling into Riki and his claim.
Heeseung pressed one last kiss to Riki’s head before Sunghoon took him, allowing the anxious vampire to dig his scent deeper into Sunghoon’s skin.
“You’re instigating.”
Songmin shrugged, but Sunghoon didn’t miss the twitch in his face whenever Riki’s hands drifted back towards Heeseung. “Won’t you drink from me? For old times' sake, hyung?”
Heeseung glared. “Don’t call me that.”
Songmin blinked, the picture of innocence. “But you liked being called that.”
“I don’t like being called that by you.” Heeseung grabbed Songmin’s wrist, tugging him forward, and Songmin grinned, like he was getting exactly what he wanted. He tilted his head back, but Heeseung didn’t go for his neck. He brought Songmin’s wrist to his mouth, fangs digging in hard enough that Songmin winced, and Sunghoon felt a little surge of satisfaction.
Syrus stepped out from the background again, his slightly exacerbated face tinged with concern when Songmin hissed. “Easy, this is my coven, don’t damage him.”
Heeseung didn’t acknowledge him; his eyes were glossed over, cloudy, like he wasn’t present. Lili hummed, wrapping her arms around Songmin’s neck as she watched, and Songmin reached up like he was going to touch Heeseung. Sunghoon twitched, but Jay got there first.
“Don’t touch him.”
Songmin rolled his eyes, ripping his arm out of Jay’s grasp. “He’s fine, we’ve done this a thousand times,” he paused. “Although, usually he preferred…other places.”
“Oh, my god, do you ever shut up?” Riki bit out, and Sunghoon blinked, hiding his smile in Riki’s throat as he grumbled.
Sunghoon heard Songmin’s breath thin before he saw it. Heeseung was still drinking, his fangs buried deep in Songmin’s veins. Songmin tried pulling his arm away, but Heeseung’s grip was deathly tight. Syrus’ eyes widened, but Jake prevented him from getting any closer. Sunghoon shifted Riki behind him, just in case, as all the originals stood from the couch, shouting and trying to rip past the barrier the coven had made with their bodies.
Jungwon broke away, clamping his hand on the back of Heeseung’s neck, his lips at Heeseung’s ear. Sunghoon could hear his voice, urgent and low, but he couldn’t hear the exact words.
Then Heeseung pulled off Songmin, his mouth stained red. He stumbled slightly, and Sunghoon rushed to catch him. He was out of breath, and his eyes darted across the room, like he saw things Sunghoon wasn’t.
He grabbed Heeseung’s jaw. “Hyung, you good?”
Heeseung took a shaky breath but nodded, his eyes finally coming into focus. “I’m fine.”
“Do you believe us now, hyung? Did my memories satisfy your curiosity?” Songmin was manic, cackling even as he shook in Lili and Syrus’ hold.
“You could’ve hidden things from me.” Heeseung gritted as Sunghoon helped him stand again.
Songmin looked disappointed for a moment; a soft, sad flicker across his face that disappeared just as quickly as it came. “You’re brave, Heeseung. Stupid, but brave.” He leaned out of his coven’s arms. “We’ll see how long that lasts when they come for your coven.”
Riki flinched, hard. “I’ll kill them all.”
The silence that followed was thick, trembling. Songmin wiped the blood from his mouth, eyes cutting toward Riki.
“Cute,” he said softly. “Protective little thing, aren’t you?”
Jungwon’s hand twitched at his side, but he didn’t move.
Songmin smiled widely, too many teeth showing. “Keep marking your toys, fledgling. The council loves a tragedy.”
“Enough.” Mira’s tone was silk. She tugged at Songmin’s sleeve, and he let her, even if his glare lingered on Heeseung until the last second. “Let them play house while they can.”
“We’ll be in touch,” Syrus said simply. “One way or another.”
Like a flicker of soft energy, the air shifted just enough to blow out candles or force the shadows to crawl to the opposite wall. Then they were gone, like smoke blowing through an open window, nothing left but their scents and the destruction they wrought upon the house. Their scent stayed—old blood, something rotting—clinging to the walls and the air, sticking to Sunghoon’s skin.
He didn’t even realize he was shaking until Riki’s hand found his again.
***
The unease lingered long after the originals vanished—long enough for Riki’s legs to ache from standing guard against ghosts. Jungwon was the first to move, making careful rounds and checking over their bodies as he went up to each of them. When he reached Riki, Jungwon was just as thorough, pushing back the fringes of his hair, lingering just a moment too long on the scars there. Riki leaned into his hands, letting himself soak in the feeling of being held up, because Jungwon would never let him fall.
“Are you okay? Does anything hurt?” Jungwon murmured, thumb tracing gently over Riki’s cheekbone.
Riki shook his head, refusing to open his eyes. He felt tension drain from Jungwon’s shoulders—just for a heartbeat—before it coiled tight again, sharper this time. A hiss tore from behind him; Riki turned just in time to see Sunghoon collapse.
His hand was pressed to his stomach, and when he looked at it, it was slick with blood. Jay cursed, jumping into action with an efficiency Riki could only dream of having. Sunghoon was protesting, insisting he was fine, and beside him, Jake smacked him upside the head, not caring in the least when Jay reprimanded him for it.
Riki darted to the kitchen, grabbing handfuls of blood bags and rushing them back to Jay. Jay already had Sunghoon lying flat on the couch, peeling back the layers of gauze as another wave of blood poured from the wound. Riki froze, his stomach turning at the sight, and his extended hand started shaking.
Jay looked up, surprised, but not displeased. “Thank you.”
Riki nodded numbly, turning automatically when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Jake guided Riki to the chair Sunghoon had sat on earlier, fitting him onto his lap despite Riki’s height.
“He’s in the best hands, don’t worry.” Jake whispered, tugging lightly at the hairs on the nape of Riki’s neck.
Riki couldn’t bring himself to reply, focusing instead on breathing through his mouth, but the weight of Sunghoon’s blood still weighed heavily on his tongue.
Jay cursed again. “Hyung, can you grab my bigger med kit?”
Sunghoon groaned, and Riki heard the distinct sounds of Jay wiping a towel across his body. “This is what you get for pissing off a group of originals, baby.”
Riki risked a peek over his shoulder. Sunghoon’s head curled Jungwon, his hands shaky where they rested on his face. Even through the pain twisting his face, Sunghoon’s fingers kept tracing the curve of Jungwon’s ear.
“Why isn’t it closing?”
Jay glanced at them, his face softening just a little. “He has fucking shards stuck in his stomach. I’m trying to get them out now so I can patch him up.”
Jungwon’s hands stilled, his nails cutting crescent moons into his palms. Sunghoon caught it, tugging gently on his ear again.
“What was the first song we made together again?”
Jungwon blinked, his hands loosening. “Given-Taken,” he said. Sunghoon hummed, like he had forgotten.
Riki rested his head on Jake’s shoulder. “When did you make that?”
Sunghoon smiled, tugging again to get Jungwon’s attention. Jungwon cleared his throat, tracing over Sunghoon’s face. His touch was gentle, like he feared Sunghoon would break if he used too much pressure.
“Um, it was probably ten years ago now, it was in November, the thirtieth.”
Sunghoon laughed. “Took us, forever—ow! Jay, be careful!”
Jay made a sad sound. “I would if you’d just stay still.”
Riki looked over, catching how Jay gently dabbed ointment around the wound before covering it with gauze. Purple and blue bruising already covered the edges of the skin. Sunghoon sat up, even with Jay’s protests.
Sunoo hissed. “It went all the way through?”
Jay’s head shot up from where he was gathering bandages. “What?”
Sunghoon leaned forward, and Riki caught a glimpse of his back. In the center, slightly to the right, was an identical wound, if more minor. Jay cursed, throwing his bandages back into his bag before assisting Sunghoon in rolling over so he could clean that wound. Sunghoon pulled Jungwon closer, hiding in his lap as Jay cleaned and dressed the wound.
Sunghoon stayed mostly still as Jay finished up, only shifting when Jay went to wrap the wound. Riki let himself sink into Jake as he watched Jay methodically wrap cohesive bandages around the gauze he’d used to cover the wound.
“Hyung?” Everyone turned towards him, expressions expectant. “Jay-hyung.” Riki corrected.
Jay hummed his acknowledgement, his focus still on Sunghoon.
“How do you know—?” He cut off, gesturing vaguely towards where Jay was straddling Sunghoon, cleaning one of the more minor cuts above his eyebrow.
Jay smiled, his hand slowing. “I used to be a nurse.”
Jake jostled Riki slightly, his lips pressed to the top of Riki’s hair. “The best nurse.”
Jay flushed, and even Sunghoon teased him. “I…wasn’t.”
“Why’d you stop?”
The room fell quiet, and it felt like a piece of their history Riki was intruding on. Jay had stilled completely, and Sunghoon rubbed comforting circles into the skin of his hip. Riki was about to say something, but Jay took a steadying breath. “I couldn’t heal everyone.”
Riki’s eyebrows furrowed, and Jake kissed his shoulder. “Some people you just can’t heal, even with vampire blood.”
Jay sighed. “I—got burned out. No matter what I did or tried to do, I couldn’t save them.” His voice tapered off towards the end.
“It’s not your fault.” Jungwon whispered as he leaned forward to kiss his cheek.
Jay stared for a moment longer before shaking himself. He turned to Heeseung. “You’re up.”
Heeseung made a face, ignoring the vague threats thrown at him as he went upstairs. Sunoo, full of anxious energy, made a beeline upstairs too, but his heartbeat went in the opposite direction. Jake sighed, nudging Riki to stand.
“I’ll go after Sunoo but someone’s got to get hyung.”
Jay frowned, and Jake rolled his eyes, following the trail Sunoo had left behind. Jay turned on Riki. “Go get hyung for us?”
Riki glanced at Sunghoon and Jungwo, who were pointedly not making eye contact. “Fine.”
“Great, tell him to get his ass down here so I can clean his cuts before I start cutting holes in his favorite shirt. He knows which one.”
Riki nodded hesitantly, heading for the stairs and simultaneously trying to figure out how to reword the threat. Heeseung found him, instead, just as Riki was passing his room.
“In here, Ki.”
Riki paused, but didn’t bother knocking as he pushed the door open. Heeseung was lying on his bed, limbs spread out like a starfish, his gaze turned to the ceiling. Riki entered without caution, settling himself next to Heeseung, mirroring his position. Heeseung’s hand found its way into Riki's hair, and he hummed, leaning into the contact.
“Are you hungry? You haven’t fed in a while.” Heeseung whispered.
Riki sat up, propping himself on his elbow to look down at Heeseung. Heeseung wouldn’t look at him. His eyes darted all around Riki’s face, never staying in one place too long. Riki ran a careful finger down the column of Heeseung’s throat, watching how it bobbed when he swallowed.
“Can I feed from you, hyung?”
Heeseung visibly relaxed, nodding so quickly that Riki was afraid he would hurt his neck. Riki laughed, slipping one leg across Heeseung’s waist to straddle him. Heeseung looked surprised, but eager, his hands coming up to grip Riki’s waist. Riki leaned down, nosing Heeseung’s head to the side and scraping his fangs against Heeseung’s fluttering pulse.
He bit down, caressing Heeseung’s jaw, his throat, his face as he drank. Heeseung tasted explosive, warm, and comforting, yet Riki felt off-kilter. Heeseung’s hands clenched on Riki’s waist, pulling him closer. Riki pulled back, running his tongue over his fangs, noting how Heeseung followed the movement.
“Feel better?”
Heeseung ran a hand over his face roughly. “Yeah. Thanks.”
Riki lowered himself to tuck his face into Heeseung’s neck, molding his body around Heeseung’s. He kept his touches light, but constant, tracing his fingers over areas he otherwise would have been afraid to. He traced patterns into Heeseung’s chest, ran careful fingers over the parts of muscles he could reach, noting whenever Heeseung’s breath caught or sped up.
“So you and Songmin, huh?”
Heeseung groaned, trying to toss Riki off of him, but he clung instead. “You picked up on that?”
“Everyone did, hyung. He wasn’t subtle.”
“Songmin was a distraction nothing more. But he got obsessive, possessive, trying to claim me when he had no right.” Heeseung huffed, running his fingers up and down the center of Riki’s spine once he’d given up trying to throw him off.
Riki hummed, trying to muffle his laugh when Heeseung shivered at the contact. “Any more crazy ex’s we need to know about?”
“Lilith, the red head.” Heeseung said instantly. “I had thought that once her and Songmin started messing around they’d forget about me, leave me alone. But no, instead they teamed up.”
“Fitting name.” Riki muttered.
Heeseung laughed, and they lapsed into comfortable silence. Riki found himself sinking into it, Heeseung’s warmth, the safety his presence brought. Then Heeseung cleared his throat, and Riki cracked open an eye.
“You’re not going to ask?”
“Ask about what?”
“My echo?”
Riki propped himself up again. Heeseung looked anxious, like an animal trapped against a wall, and Riki frowned, using his thumb to smooth away the lines in his forehead. “I won’t ask if you don’t want to talk about it, hyung.”
Heeseung looked at him for a moment, then slowly, like he wasn’t sure Riki was real, traced around his face, the sharp curve of his jaw, and back up again. “You are nothing like we expected.” He said softly.
Riki leaned into the touch. “What does that mean?”
“It means you’re ours now. We won’t let you go because we can’t.”
This time, Riki’s breath caught, and Heeseung merely smiled. Riki’s mind worked around Heeseung’s words, unable to fully process the impact when the door slammed open again. Riki jumped, but Heeseung didn’t look phased at the angry-shaped Jay shadow in the threshold.
“Hi, baby.”
Jay’s stance softened, and he crossed the room, crawling across the bed to them. “I gave you one job, Riki. And this is what I find you doing?”
Riki rolled his eyes, but made room for Jay. Jay leaned down quickly to grant Heeseung the kiss he’d been asking for, grabbing the back of Riki’s neck to drag him in for one as well. Riki’s shoulders dropped; any defense he’d made slipped from his mind the moment Jay’s lips touched his own. His hands curled in Heeseung’s shirt, and he raised one hand to tangle it in Jay’s hair. Jay smiled against Riki’s lips, and Riki took the opportunity to scrape his fangs across his bottom lip.
Jay pulled back first, and Riki found himself chasing him. Jay laughed, pushing him back with a hand on his chest. Riki frowned but relented, overly aware of Heeseung’s eyes on him. Heeseung’s hands found their way into his hair, and he tugged, pulling Riki until they were just a hair apart.
Riki’s eyes flickered up to Heeseung’s. “What are you waiting for, hyung?”
“Brat,” Heeseung muttered, before finally, finally, slotting their lips together. Riki let out a pained breath; all the strength he had felt like it’d been zapped from his body. Heeseung pulled his hair again, and Riki gasped at the shocks it sent through his body. Heeseung ran his tongue over Riki’s lip, and something guttural pulled itself from Riki’s throat.
Heeseung pulled back for a second, against Riki’s wishes. “You like that, baby?” He tugged again.
“Fuck off.” Riki surged to claim his mouth again, bullying his way past Heeseung’s teeth to lick into his mouth.
Heeseung laughed into it, breathless as he wrapped his arms around Riki’s neck, pressing them chest to chest, thigh to thigh. Riki was just thinking he could get lost in Heeseung, in his taste, his touch, but—
“Jay! I need backup!”
Heeseung and Riki broke apart, tossing twin glances at Jay, who frowned, slipping off the bed to follow Jake’s voice. Heeseung and Riki followed suit, and Riki braced for the worst when Jake’s voice led them to the nest.
Sunoo stood in the center, surrounded by what used to be the nest, but now looked like someone had set off a bomb in it. Sunoo had his arms full of blankets and sweatshirts, trying to boulder past Jake on his way out. Jay caught him in the doorway, careful not to touch the multitude of soft objects Sunoo was carrying.
“Hey, what’s going on?”
“They were in here. They were fucking in here.” Sunoo’s voice shook. “Their scents are in here and I hate it.”
Riki glanced at Heeseung before a soft grey sweatshirt caught his attention. “Wait, is that my sweatshirt?”
Sunoo stopped fighting Jay long enough to look at Riki like he was crazy. “Obviously. Your scent needs to be in the nest, too. Otherwise, it isn’t complete.”
Riki felt oddly flattered, even though he’d been looking for that sweatshirt for well over two weeks.
“Sunoo, there’s no way our washing machine can hold everything from the nest.” Jay tried to reason, but Sunoo glared at him, already shouldering past him, down the hallway.
“That’s why I ordered more.”
“You ordered—what?” Jay chased after him, and Riki was left in the war zone that used to be the nest. Surrounded by scents that meant everything to him, but Sunoo was right, there were others layered on top, like a thinly veiled threat. We can get in everywhere. Nowhere is safe.
“We’re moving.”
Riki blinked, and Heeseung tried to stop Jungwon from packing three bags of various sizes. “Hyung? What are you talking about?”
“We can’t stay here. We’re leaving, anywhere, I don’t really care, I heard Canada’s great this time of year.”
Heeseung groaned, failing at grabbing Jungwon again. “Canada’s not nice any time of the year. Jungwon—”
Jungwon pulled out of his grasp, whirling on them with eyes brimming with tears he wouldn’t let fall. “We can’t stay here, not when they can just—what if they—”
Heeseung softened, this time offering his hand, letting Jungwon decide. Jungwon stood there for a while, staring at Heeseung’s hand, his chest heaving, like he was barely containing himself. Riki shared a look with Jake, who just shook his head, holding a finger up to his lips, as if to say: Don’t interrupt. Riki turned back just in time to catch Jungwon accepting Heeseung’s offering, and Heeseung practically crushed the smaller vampire to his chest.
“I can’t protect us from them.” Jungwon’s voice was thick with tears, and Riki had to resist the urge to join the hug, to protect Jungwon from the back.
Heeseung pressed a kiss to his hair. “It doesn’t matter where we go, baby. They’ll find us.”
Jake threw something at Heeseung, making him raise his head in question. Jake gestured wildly before settling on mouthing ‘What the fuck?’
Heeseung shrugged, adjusting his grip on Jungwon. Jay returned then, shaking his head when Jake asked where Sunoo was.
“Let him do his thing; he needs this right now.”
Sunghoon leaned heavily in the doorway, his hands still on the bloodied towel Jay had used. “Didn’t Songmin say something about—echoes?”
Heeseung’s head snapped up. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“You drank from him,” Jake said quietly. “What did he give you, hyung?”
Riki inched closer, catching the trapped look in Heeseung’s eyes. “He gave me his memories.”
Jay frowned. “So…what? It’s a remnant of a bond?”
Heeseung ran a hand through his hair. “No, nothing like that. It’s more like…when I feed I get fragments—memories, feelings. I can’t control what comes through. Could be their best moment, could be their worst nightmare.”
Riki blinked, vaguely recalling the almost clear blood Heeseung prepared for himself. Like he had been filtering it, like he had been filtering the memories.
Jungwon recovered the fastest. “What did you see?”
Heeseung shifted his weight. “Pieces of his life since the war. Hiding, feeding, running. But…” He shared a meaningful glance with Jay. “No bodies, no draining.”
“Could he have hidden those memories?”
“I don’t know if it’s something you can control from that side either.”
“But it’s possible?” Jungwon pressed.
“I don’t know!”
Riki cringed, unconsciously backing away from the escalating fight. A hand clamped down on his shoulder and Riki bit back a scream, whipping around. Sunoo raised an eyebrow, beckoning him closer and Riki slipped out of the room to follow him. They ended up in Sunoo’s room, overflowing with baskets of clean laundry.
“You scared me.” Riki admitted.
“I know.” Sunoo dug through the closest one, pulling out a long, fluffy blanket and tossing it at Riki unceremoniously. “Scent this.”
Riki caught it, his eyebrows furrowing. “What?”
Sunoo looked up from where he was aggressively rubbing his wrist on a set of sweatshirts. “Scent it.”
“Hyung, I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
Sunoo dropped what he was doing and Riki almost regretted saying that until Sunoo took the blanket from him gently. He considered it for a long moment before offering his hand palm-up and Riki slid his hand in Sunoo’s. He smiled slightly, just the ghost of one as he slid the soft blanket across Riki’s inner wrist, taking the edge just to run it across the length of Riki’s neck.
Riki stayed perfectly still, too afraid to break the surrounding atmosphere. The line of Sunoo’s shoulders relaxed intermittently and he started humming, quietly as he rotated the clean laundry to run across Riki’s skin.
By the time Sunoo was done, the room smelled like warmth and home again — or something close to it. “There, now the nest will smell like you too.” He tossed the last blanket aside, gathering as many baskets as he could.
Riki followed him in a daze. Everything felt fuzzy at the edges, overwarm, almost like he had fed too much. It didn’t help that Sunoo was always reaching back to touch him. His arm, his chest, his ear, his neck; each touch sent him right back to that fuzzy place that he was less and less willing to leave.
They ended up back in the nest and Riki felt like someone had ripped the warmth from his veins. Heeseung was pacing and Jungwon looked prepared to jump out the window at any given moment. They were yelling still and Riki cringed. Sunoo dropped his baskets to announce their arrival. The crash echoed loud enough to silence everything else.
Everyone turned but Sunoo didn’t waste any time throwing blankets and sweatshirts at him. “Scent as much as you can then get out. No fighting in the nest.” Jungwon opened his mouth to argue, but one look from Sunoo shut him up. Slowly, the others began picking up the blankets, rubbing the items over their wrists and necks.
When they started backing out Sunoo stopped them again. “Jay-hyung stays.”
Heeseung rolled his eyes fondly. “You’re playing favorites.”
“Jay will help me set up the nest. You will just get in my way.”
Heeseung clutched his chest like he’d been shot and Jay stepped forward to pacify Sunoo. “I still need to clean hyung’s—”
“Jake can do it. He’s done it before.” Sunoo said dismissively, his back turned as he started arranging the laundry in a specific pattern.
Heeseung glanced at Jake with caution, who puffed up with pride. Riki thought he looked like a peacock. “Maybe I’ll wait.”
Jake turned to him in offense. “Hey!”
Riki glanced between them, barely focused on the task of handing Sunoo supplies to rebuild the nest.
“Baby, last time you were put in charge you stabbed me.” Heeseung said gently.
“That was one time! It’s not my fault I don’t have the training for it! Suturing is hard.”
“Precisely.”
“I don’t even have anything sharp this time.” Jake argued, halfway out the door.
Heeseung eyed him with love and terror, but he didn’t resist when Jake pulled him from the room. When they were gone, Sunghoon stepped forward, dropping a kiss on Jay and Sunoo’s heads, leaving Riki for last. “Careful, Sunoo might bite your head off.” He teased, low enough for only Riki to hear.
He raised his voice for everyone to hear. “I’ll supervise them, don’t worry.”
“That doesn’t make me feel better!” Heeseung called from somewhere downstairs.
Sunoo ignored him, dragging Riki’s attention back to reassembling the nest. The argument in the next room faded into muffled echoes, replaced by the soft shuffle of fabric. Sunoo meticulously placed blankets and clothing around the edges, lining them with pillows before adding more soft items. Jay quietly asked where he should put one of Heeseung’s sweatshirt and Sunoo pointed to somewhere closest to the door. Jay complied without complaint.
Riki sat in the center, wringing a blanket in his hands. Sunoo seemed to have a system, and Riki didn’t want to mess that up. A pit formed in his stomach, and his nails dug crescent marks into his palms before he noticed the sting.
“Riki? Hey, what’s wrong?” Jay pulled him into his lap. Sunoo’s hands cupped his face, thumb tracing under his eye.
“Nothing—” Jay pinched his side, letting him know his displeasure. Riki squirmed. “I just…don’t want to mess up your nest, hyung.”
Sunoo’s hand slipped to his chin, forcing their eyes to meet. “Our nest, Riki. Everything that’s mine is yours. If you want to hang a blanket on the fucking ceiling I will grab a ladder. Do you understand?”
Riki blinked, and all the air that had filled his lungs disappeared, leaving him gaping.
Sunoo smiled, so, so soft, tracing over Riki’s bottom lip. “It’s your nest too, baby.”
Riki took a moment to catch his breath before crawling out of Jay’s lap, who only complained mildly. He took the blanket, drenched with the scents of his coven, and laid it in the center, spreading out its edges to reach all parts of the nest.
The scent of clean cotton filled the air, masking the blood and fear. For the first time that night, it felt like they could breathe again— not healed, not whole, but together.