Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

Riki was clawing at the walls. Okay, maybe he wasn't quite at that stage yet, but Jake knew damn well that it was coming. To say that they were all anxious was a gross understatement, and it didn’t help that they were all shit at hiding it.

Jay had suddenly taken up baking, with stacks upon stacks of baked goods piled high in their fridge, making it a game of Jenga to get anything, one that Jake often lost, leaving him to pick up cupcakes or muffins off the floor. Heeseung set up new cameras around the house, checking them obsessively for any signs of Syrus or the Underground. 

Sunghoon was slightly more subtle about his anxiety, often just wanting to be close to them, but that didn’t mean he knew how to ask or communicate that desire. It had to have been two weeks of a straight guessing game for Jake, who had nearly convinced himself that somehow he was dying with how closely and silently Sunghoon hovered, like a cat in a hospital that somehow always knew who was next. It wasn’t until Jake had walked in on Sunghoon practically trying to crawl into Jay’s skin that it had clicked. From there, it felt simple, pulling Sunghoon into his lap or throwing himself onto Sunghoon’s, allowing the other to soak up the physical affection he wouldn’t ask for, even if Jake was always willing to give it. 

Sunoo, not so subtly, started skipping meals, claiming he’d already eaten. Which was an easy enough lie to disprove, especially when he couldn’t name what it was that he’d eaten. Jay, of course, would not have any of it, and Jake, unfortunately, had to suffer as a mediator through their arguments. Jay won—something Jake could have predicted from the start, but all it served to do was make Sunoo feel controlled, which caused Jake to sit through another round of arguing. 

Jungwon handled stress like he always did: by avoiding it. Which didn’t work when the thing that stressed him out was the possibility that their home could be broken into at any given moment, so now he just always looked minutes away from a panic attack. Yet another uncommunicative member that Jake had to coax into telling him how he was feeling. But Jake couldn’t pretend to be mad, not when the night always ended with Jungwon pressed against him. The softer side of Jungwon was always more visible then, in his small smiles anytime Jake would crack a joke or how gently he’d touch Jake’s skin, carefully amazed, like Jake was something to admire. It made Jake’s throat feel tight, how thoughtfully Jungwon handled him, the way he’d smile against Jake’s lips or drag his teeth over Jake’s mark, just to remind himself that Jake was his. And Jake gave into it every time, eagerly, hungrily, just as happy to be claimed by Jungwon as he was to claim Jungwon back.

Jake thought he’d gotten good at reading people. After years in the coven, it was muscle memory — learning what each look meant, what tones implied what moods, what kind of touch soothed what type of fear. But Riki didn’t fit into any of the usual boxes, and that unsettled him more than he wanted to admit. He was always happy to be included, to be held, but his habits didn’t quite fit any of the patterns Jake had been trained on with his other members. Riki didn’t clean or cook obsessively, nor did he distract himself with movies or music. He didn’t distance himself or refuse contact, and if Jake didn’t know any better, he would think Riki was somehow handling everything better than everyone else. 

But Jake did know better.

He knew that Riki snuck out of the nest each night, slipping out the front door silently. Just as he knew that Riki came home at odd hours, throwing the clothes he’d worn into his laundry basket in his room, hiding the scents that had stuck to him during his escape. 

But Jake kept his mouth shut. 

He didn’t say anything when Riki returned to bed, carefully rearranging himself so that it looked like he’d never left. At first, Jake had tried to rationalize it, even if he felt like the world pressed hard against his lungs every time Riki left. Maybe he just needed air, to be away from the constant state of vigilance their home had become. But Jake couldn’t understand why he wouldn’t just tell them. Tell him. 

He hadn’t imagined it would be like pulling teeth to get information out of Riki, but here he was. He’d considered telling Jungwon—or anyone—briefly, but the words had stuck like glass shards in his throat. Jake let out a frustrated huff, shifting and eventually just biting down on the surface beneath him.

“Ow! Jake, what the fuck?”  

Jake smiled slightly, even as Heeseung pushed him off his lap, sending him tumbling to the floor. Heeseung threw him glances, rubbing his leg over his sweatpants. 

Jake grinned, and Heeseung glared, but it held no bite. “Great, now I’m going to get rabies or something.”

Jay passed by, not even bothering to question why Jake was on the floor. “I’m pretty sure Jake doesn’t have rabies.” He paused, tipping his head to the side as he studied Jake. “Or maybe he does, don’t quote me on that.”

Jake rolled his eyes but kissed Heeseung to placate him. Heeseung pouted when he pulled away, but Jake ignored him.

“There’s a carnival thing in town tonight.” He said instead.

Jay stopped what he was doing, leaning against the back of the couch to face Jake. “Do you want to go? Or are you telling me we’re going?”

“I’m telling you that if I have to spend one more second watching Jungwon stare at a wall or Heeseung flinch every time his god damn phone goes off I’m going to lose it.”

Jay nodded solemnly. “Alright, carnival thing it is. But you’re going to have to convince Jungwon.”

Jake shrugged. “He’s going whether he likes it or not.” 

Heeseung chuckled, tugging on the hem of Jake’s shirt and leaning up to kiss him again. “Good luck with that.”

Jake rolled his eyes again but accepted Heeseung’s kiss, then Jay’s as he left in search of Jungwon. 

Jungwon was exactly where Jake had thought he’d be, still curled into Sunoo’s side, their movie playing on Sunoo’s laptop.

Jake grinned at the softness of it, of them. Sunoo looked up, clicking pause. 

“Hi, hyung.” 

Jake settled next to them, pulling Jungwon closer by his waist. Jungwon melted against him, humming quietly when Jake pressed a kiss to his throat. “Hi, baby.”

Jungwon twisted in Jake’s arms, letting out an exaggerated sigh as he pressed his nose into Jake’s neck. Jake tried not to squirm at the tickling sensation, but Jungwon noticed, nipping playfully, instead. Jake gasped, wriggling down a little to dislodge him, and ducking his head down to kiss him.

Jungwon blinked, momentarily startled, but brushed his hands over Jake’s shoulders. Jake grinned, letting his fingers ghost over Jungwon’s sides, slipping his hands under Jungwon’s shirt just to feel the warmth of him. Beside them, Sunoo muttered something about “not again,” but Jake saw in the corner of his eye how he settled on his side to watch, a faint smile on his face. 

Jungwon caught Jake’s hand with a lazy grip, eyes half-lidded. “What are you doing, hyung?”

Jake dragged his fangs down Jungwon’s throat with just enough pressure. “Just making sure you’re still with us.”

Jungwon made a sound in the back of his throat, hiding himself in Jake’s neck. Jake traced little circles along Jungwon’s side, letting his hands linger where he could, in awe at how easily Jungwon leaned into him.

Sunoo’s hand tangled with Jake’s at the base of Jungwon’s spine. Jake smiled, pulling him in for a brief kiss. Sunoo hummed, then tipped his head towards Jungwon—a silent continue. 

Jake brushed a hand through Jungwon’s hair, letting his breathing even out against his chest. “You need air, Wonnie,” he murmured. “Let’s get out tonight. There’s a carnival in town — lights, noise, something that’s not this room.”

Jungwon groaned, trying to detangle himself from Jake, but Jake refused to let him go. After a moment, he sighed and relaxed fully against him. “What about Riki?” He asked quietly. 

Jake exchanged a look with Sunoo, who looked like he was trying to contain his excitement. “He’s coming with us, obviously.”

“Hyung, you want to bring a fledgling to a carnival? Filled with people? Are you hearing yourself?”

Jake shifted, gripping Jungwon’s chin to see his face properly. “We’ll be there the whole time. He’s stronger than you think.”

Jugwon glared. “I know he’s strong, that’s the problem.” 

Jake must have made a face because Jungwon continued before he could speak. “We don’t know his limits—what will set him off. Does someone have to bleed or is just being around that many people going to be enough?”

Sunoo shuffled closer, and Jake reached for him without thinking. “We know his heartbeat,” he said gently. “We’ll know if it gets to be too much. And if it does, we leave. Simple as that.”

Jungwon groaned again, but Jake could feel that he’d won. He pressed a kiss on Jungwon's temple. “If you really don’t want this, I’ll drop it, no questions.”

“No.” Jungwon murmured. “We…need this. I just need a minute to prepare mentally.” 

Jake smiled, giving him a gentle squeeze. “You have until five to prepare, then we leave.”

Jungwon eyed him suspiciously. “You’ve planned all this, haven’t you?”

Jake shrugged vaguely, but it said enough. 

Jungwon shoved him playfully, and Jake laughed, giving him and Sunoo a final kiss before finally freeing Jungwon and standing. “Enjoy your movie.” 

They waved him off, and Jake closed the door as Jungwon crawled into Sunoo’s lap, the movie long forgotten. He found Heeseung and Jay in the kitchen, heads bent over Jay’s phone, talking in hushed tones. Jake slid in next to them, bumping their heads with his. 

“What are we looking at?”

Heeseung glanced at him, startled. “We’ve been working on a fallback plan in case anything goes sideways. How’d Jungwon take it?”

Jake couldn’t help but feel smug as he grinned. “He’s on board.”

“...are you sure that’s Jungwon?”

Heeseung slapped Jay's shoulder. “Don’t say that, I’ll panic.” 

“Panic about what?”

Jake screamed, nearly tripping over the counter in his effort to get away. Riki stood by the fridge, maybe two paces away from Jake, one hand on a blood bag, another holding the tower of baked goods in place. 

Riki, along with improving his concentration on his hearing, was becoming increasingly determined to sneak up on them. Jake was his most frequent victim, but surprisingly, Jungwon and Sunghoon were also strong contenders. Sunoo, unsurprisingly, had yet to fall victim to Riki’s many attempts. 

Riki grinned at their likely stuttering heartbeats, and Jake worked on not having a heart attack on the kitchen floor. Heeseung laughed breathlessly, beckoning Riki closer, who obliged without a fight.

“Jungwon being a Syrus clone,” he said.

Riki wrinkled his nose. “What?”

Jay rolled his eyes, stealing Riki from Heeseung’s arms. “Nothing, baby. But we do have some news.”

Riki’s eyes lit up, and he turned in Jay’s arms, resting his hands on Jay’s shoulders. Jay’s smile softened, and for a moment, he almost looked tender. Then his elbow landed in Jake’s ribs. Jake doubled over, and Jay’s grin turned feral. He considered strangling Jay, maybe tackling him to the ground, but he was still holding Riki, and Jake didn’t want to break him quite yet. 

So, instead, he rubbed the area roughly, throwing Jay a glare. “We’re going out tonight.”

Riki’s grin widened, fangs flashing. For a moment, Jake thought maybe this would actually go well. 

Sunghoon sauntered in then, plucking the bag from Riki’s hands and smacking him upside the head lightly. “Are you being a little shit again?” He asked it like he already knew the answer.

Riki frowned, taking a swipe at him, but Sunghoon ducked out of the way easily, backing into Jake. 

“He scared us,” Jake complained, and Sunghoon tried to hide his laugh, pulling Jake into a hug with faux sympathy. 

Jay ruffled his hair over Sunghoon’s shoulder, and Jake leaned into it. “He scared you. I heard him coming twelve minutes ago.”

Jake yanked back like he’d been personally betrayed. Riki grinned at him, tipping his head onto Jay’s shoulder, molding himself easily around him. Jay wrapped an arm around him, lips pressed to Riki’s forehead like it was second nature, like there had ever been a time when they weren’t like this, when Riki hadn’t been a part of them. 

Heeseung cleared his throat, dragging everyone’s attention towards him, but his smile was warm, soft even. “Same rules as before, got it?” He pointed a finger at Riki, who nodded solemnly, but there was something behind his eyes Jake couldn’t quite name. 

“Yes, yes, stay by you, tell you if something feels off and if I tell Jungwon or Jay—” he sent a sideways glance at Jay, who immediately looked puzzled. “I’m a dead man.” He finished.

Heeseung was pinching the bridge of his nose, and Jay had turned a less-than-pleasant look on Heeseung. “Care to explain that, hyung?”

“Not really—” Heeseung started, but Jay had turned on his heel, heading up the stairs. Jake guessed he was looking for Jungwon, likely so they could team up against Heeseung. Heeseung seemed to know Jay’s plan as well, as he scrambled over to Jay, trying to catch his wrist. 

Jake watched them go with amusement, listening closely to the sounds of Heeseung begging Jay and Jungwon for forgiveness as Sunoo complained about his movie being interrupted again.

The warmth of Sunghoon against his side again grabbed his attention. Sunghoon was smiling, something gentle, one hand on Jake’s waist, the other cupping the side of his neck. Jake melted against his hands, and Sunghoon’s smile only widened. “Heard we’re going out tonight?” He murmured.

Jake hummed. He had half the mind to fall asleep standing, surrounded by Sunghoon’s warmth and touch. Sunghoon’s thumb stroked over Jake’s cheek. “I bought tickets for the carnival,” he shrugged, trying to feign casual, “seemed like a good idea.”

Sunghoon saw through him instantly, but he didn’t say anything. He leaned in close, catching Jake’s lips in a slow kiss. It was a kiss that had Jake stretching to press them closer, but Sunghoon pressed Jake back into the counter with the hand on his hip. “Thank you.”

Jake blinked, dazed. “Thank me for what?”

Sunghoon’s thumb grazed his bottom lip. “For being you.”

Jake flushed, turning his head to the side when Sunghoon planted small kisses all over his face. He caught sight of Riki, leaning against the counter, eyes fond but hesitant. Jake hated it, but, for the first time, felt like he could do something about it. He snagged Riki’s wrist, catching him by surprise when he dragged him closer.

“You’re so far,” he said.

“You were having a moment.” Riki answered, voice quiet, like he was afraid of popping a bubble that didn’t exist. 

It was enough that Sunghoon paused his attack on Jake’s jaw, but he didn’t interrupt. Jake frowned, weaving an arm around Riki’s waist to bring him close enough to feel the heat of him through their clothes. “I want you close, too.”

It was far from their first confession—or confession of sorts—but Riki still looked thrown. His breath caught, and Jake could feel a slight tremor in his hands where they rested on his bicep. Jake couldn’t fathom why Riki always seemed to doubt their…desire? Affections? Jake didn’t quite have the word to describe what Riki meant to them yet; the emotion was too raw, maybe too frightening to name. But what he did know was that they didn’t ever plan on going back to how they were before Riki walked into their life, covered in blood and shivering with fear.

Riki somehow, some way, managed to integrate himself completely into their lives. Even the thought of him leaving felt like someone was punching Jake in the diaphragm. He couldn’t fucking breathe. But Riki—Riki was the oxygen he needed. 

But Jake didn’t know how to put that into words, at least not without scaring Riki off, so instead he just squeezed Riki’s hand. Riki squeezed his arm in response, and Sunghoon finally decided to pull away from Jake’s neck. He grasped Riki’s chin, pulling his face down. Once he was sure Riki wouldn’t move away, he slid his hand into Riki’s hair, pushing it off his forehead. 

The scars lining his hairline were a stark light pink against Riki’s pale skin. Sunghoon’s thumb hesitated, hovering over the raised skin before tracing it gently. Jake looked between them. Riki’s eyes never left Sunghoon’s face, but Sunghoon wouldn’t return his stare; instead, he was intently inspecting his scars, and it was the same look Jake saw when they first saw Riki’s wounds. 

Riki flinched when Sunghoon brushed his largest scar, spanning from just above his forehead to just above his temple. Sunghoon retracted his hand immediately, small apologies dropping from his lips. Riki didn’t respond, carefully fixing his hair to cover his scars, but he wouldn’t look at Sunghoon anymore. 

“Do they still hurt?” Jake breathed, something in his chest breaking at the thought. 

“No,” Riki said, then stronger, “no. I just—don’t like them.”

Sunghoon’s hands hovered over his face again, asking, but not touching without permission. Riki tilted his head into Sunghoon’s palm, eyes closed, encouraging, as Sunghoon’s thumb stroked his cheek. 

“You’re just as beautiful with them as you were without them.” He said quietly. 

Riki’s eyes snapped open, and he watched Sunghoon cautiously, almost like he was trying to catch him in a lie. And Jake saw it—the way Riki braced for disappointment.

“But you shouldn’t have gotten them,” Sunghoon continued, “and that’s our fault.”

Something in Jake cracked again, and his heart lurched. Riki’s face flashed in his mind, bloodied and bruised, his eyes barely conscious but still fighting, for them, to get to them.

Riki looked like he was going to protest, but Sunghoon stopped him. His hand slid to Riki’s neck, tugging him closer. When his lips hovered just a breath away from Riki’s forehead, he paused.

“Can I?”

Riki swallowed audibly, but nodded. Then, when Sunghoon wouldn’t move, he said, “Always.”

Sunghoon smiled, even as he pressed a gentle kiss to Riki’s forehead. “Go get ready,” he said, “it’s going to be fun, okay?”

Riki’s shoulders dropped, and he nodded along to Sunghoon’s words. Sunghoon let him go then, and Riki slipped past them, his touch lingering on their shoulders and spines as he walked back upstairs. 

Jake watched Riki disappear up the stairs, already missing the sound of him humming under his breath. Sunghoon sighed into Jake’s hair, the tension he’d been holding finally softening. “How bad do we think it’s going to be?”

“A sensory nightmare.” Jake said, grinning a little when Sunghoon winced, looking like he was regretting everything already. He kissed the corner of Sunghoon’s mouth. “I love you.”

Sunghoon allowed himself a small smile, but he returned the kiss easily. “Yeah, yeah, I love you too.”

***

Riki refused to move. His coven stood on the other side of the door, expressions ranging from amused to exacerbated. Heeseung was leaning against the driver’s side door, arms crossed over his chest, which moved with his laugh. Riki glared at him, but Heeseung seemed undeterred. 

“You’ll be fine. I promise.” Sunoo insisted. Again.

Riki eyed them again. He had to admit, they looked more beautiful in the light than Riki had imagined, practically glowing in the faint but still direct sunlight. His lips pulled into a frown, and he carefully toed the line where the sun met the shadows of their home. Jake lifted his head from where he was resting on the sun-warmed hood of the car.

“Oh? Are we finally leaving?” He asked, casting an amused glance at Riki.

Riki resisted the urge to flip him off. “Can’t we just wait until dark?”

Sunoo groaned, gesturing wildly with his hands, but his words were too fast for Riki to follow. This time, Riki didn’t bother resisting flipping them off. Unfortunately, while he was distracted, he hadn’t noticed Jay slipping away from the group. Not until he was thrown over a shoulder, screaming and all. Jay ignored the way he was clawing at his shoulders and set him down solidly next to the car. 

Riki braced himself, shoulders curling in as if steeling himself for impact, but nothing came. Jake hopped off the hood, slipping into the car when Jay held open the door for him. Sunghoon laughed on his way past Riki, bumping his shoulder playfully as he fell in beside Jake. Riki glared again and caught the ghost of a smile on Jungwon’s lips as he rounded the car to get in the passenger’s seat. He turned his hand over in the light, marvelling at the way it caught against his skin, warm, but not harmful, not painful. 

Sunoo saddled up next to him, hooking his chin over his shoulder. He traced the lines of Riki’s veins through his skin. “Told you it was a myth,” he said, voice smug, “but we still don’t want to be out in it too long. You’ll start to feel the fatigue before anything actually starts to hurt, but better safe than sorry.” 

The horn blared, and Riki practically jumped out of his skin. Jake’s upper body was leaning into the front seats as he stretched to reach the horn, his hand prolonging the obnoxious noise for far longer than necessary. Everyone else had their hands over their ears, and Heeseung attempted to bat Jake away. Jake raised an eyebrow when Riki made eye contact and pushed down on the horn several times in succession. When he finally stopped, he made a “let’s go” gesture and sat back. Jay rubbed his eyes tiredly, sighing heavily like Jake weighed on his soul, then swept a hand toward the still-open door and practically shoved Riki and Sunoo inside. 

Riki tried to bat his hand away, complaining about his hair, but Jay simply pushed him again, leaving his hand as a cover to protect Riki’s head from hitting the top of the car. Once they were all in, Jay slammed the door and slapped the back of Heeseung’s seat to let him know they were good to go.

By the time they’d parked, the sun had mostly dipped past the horizon, leaving the sky splattered with shades of pink and orange. They piled out, limbs tangled and voices rising. Jake jumped onto Jungwon’s back without warning, but Jungwon didn’t falter under the additional weight, simply adjusting so he could grip under Jake’s thighs and hoist him higher. 

Jay’s fingers circle Riki’s wrist, his thumb pressing into his pulse point, but Riki couldn’t tell if it was meant to ground him or Jay. Sunghoon flitted over, throwing an arm around Jay’s shoulders, enough to jostle him. 

“God, I haven’t been to one of these in years,” he said, eyes tracking the herds of people crowding into the area. 

Jay laughed, turning his head to hide in the crook of Sunghoon’s neck. “Do you remember the last one we went to together?”

Sunghoon blew out a breath, one hand on his hip. “Fuck, I totally forgot about that.”

Riki looked between them, trying to gauge what had happened solely from the looks on their faces. He came back empty-handed. “What?”

Jay grinned at him, pressing a quick kiss to his cheek. “I’ll tell you later.”

“No! Why would you embarrass me like that?”

Jay laughed again, his fingers slipping free of Riki’s wrist. Sunoo tugged on his arm next as they stopped in front of the ticket stand, and Jake pulled seven tickets seemingly from thin air. Riki held out his hand, and Jake wrapped a wristband around him. 

The moment they were inside Riki’s head felt like it was going to implode. He could hear every screaming child, every conversation, every breath. They all melded together in his ears, creating a static in his head that beat his brain against his own skull. Every smell burned through his nose until Riki almost thought he should stop breathing altogether. Lights that had once seemed beautiful were grating on his eyes, and for a moment, he considered shredding his corneas out. Blood. It was everywhere, burning the back of Riki’s throat, suffocating him, stuffing his lungs with cotton. He couldn’t breathe. He wasn’t ready, he wasn’t—

He didn’t realize he’d squeezed his eyes closed until he felt someone prying his hands away from his face. Sunoo stood in front of him, his body doing a frankly impressive job of blocking everything else out. Riki didn’t want to take a breath, but he sucked a small bit of air through his teeth, just enough to squeeze out, “Hyung,”

Sunoo looked sympathetic, and he gently traced Riki’s face. “I know, it’s a lot,” he murmured, and his voice was like a balm to Riki’s nerves, “focus on me, yeah? Listen to my heartbeat, block everything else out.”

Riki tried; he listened for Sunoo’s heart, but there were just too many. Every sound fought for his attention, and every sound won. He shook his head, and Sunoo caught his hands when they went to cover his face again. 

Sunoo took his hand, splaying it across his own chest. “Riki, it’s just us, find my heartbeat, baby.”

Riki focused on the heart pounding beneath his hand. He felt the pounding spread from his fingers, up his arm, until he could no longer distinguish his heart from Sunoo’s. It filled his ears and finally, finally, the world fell quiet around him. When he cracked open his eyes, the whole coven surrounded him. They’d ducked behind a stall of some sort, his coven blocking him from the outside world. 

Jake was anxiously twisting his fingers, but his shoulders dropped when Riki made eye contact. “Hey, you okay? We can go home—”

“No, no, I’m fine I swear. It was just…a lot.”

Jungwon was perfectly still, which was somehow worse than if he were panicking. “Riki…”

Riki tapped his closed fist against his head in an attempt to relieve the pain. “Hyung, please, I’m fine.”

Jungwon stepped back, and Riki had to resist the urge to lunge for him. But Jungwon just gave Riki a once-over, like he was assuring himself Riki was fine. Then he bent down to grab a rock from the ground beneath them, turning it over and slicing the sharp end against his neck. 

Jay winced, reaching for Jungwon to inspect his neck. “Babe, that’s not sanitary!”

Jungwon waved him off, reaching for Riki instead. Riki went easily, his mouth closing over the wound. He fed slowly, letting the taste of Jungwon’s blood wash over all of his senses, dulling the fire in his throat and pain in his limbs. Jungwon’s hands rested against his carotid, rubbing small circles into the skin. Riki fed until it faded, and Jungwon let Riki pull back first. He could still hear the distant shouts and lights of the carnival in the background, but they felt miles away now.

He felt Jungwon’s eyes on him. “Better?”

Riki swayed. “Yeah, thanks.”

Jungwon nodded, guiding them back toward the main path where the crowd could sweep them away. They were surrounding him, close enough to touch, far enough that Riki didn’t feel suffocated. Heeseung bumped their shoulders as they passed through food stands, artificial scents filling their noses.

“Any idea what you want to do first?”

Riki pursed his lips, head swiveling back and forth as he searched for Heeseung’s answer. His eyes caught on a ride filled with screaming people as it swung back and forth, nearly tipping around in a full circle. The coven paused around him, and Sunghoon followed his gaze.

“Hell no. You can go on that by yourself.” He said, already taking several steps back. 

Riki tried and failed to hide his grin. He turned on Sunghoon with a faux pout, “Hyung, please? I don’t want to go by myself!”

Sunghoon visibly faltered, some of his resolve cracking. “Riki—” he started.

“Please?”

Sunghoon sighed, and Riki reveled in his victory briefly, snagging his wrist as he dragged him to the end of the line. Sunghoon grumbled something unintelligible under his breath, but nudged Riki with his elbow. 

Riki turned with an expectant look. “Yeah?”

“Listen.”

Riki frowned but strained to find his coven. For a moment, the only sound that came to him was the world slamming back into his skull. He winced, and Sunghoon’s hand landed comfortingly on his back.

“Heeseung’s talking, can you hear him?”

Riki’s eyebrows furrowed. Hear him? He wasn’t anywhere close enough with everything—

He twitched, but once Sunghoon had given him a focus, he found Heeseung easily. It was a low murmur, just the sound of his voice, and Riki frowned, trying to figure out how to fine-tune it to hear what he was saying. He strained just a little further, and Heeseung’s voice filtered clearly through his head, just as loud as if he were standing right next to him. 

“Jake and I are going to kidnap Jungwon to take on the ferris wheel. Meet you guys back here after?”

Riki blinked, a little dazed. Heeseung felt so close. Like if Riki had reached out, he would’ve felt skin. He glanced around. Sunghoon was whispering under his breath, some kind of response, Riki assumed. Heeseung was easy enough to find in the crowd, leaning against the railing meant to control the line. He was smiling, and Riki shifted slightly to watch as Jake poked at Jungwon, succeeding in getting a rise out of him. 

Heeseung turned, like he’d felt Riki’s gaze drag across his skin, and Riki’s breath caught. Heeseung smiled, bright, nearly blinding, and threw a wink in Riki’s direction before the line moved and the crowd swallowed them up. 

“...ki? Riki?” 

Riki startled, forcing his attention back to Sunghoon, who was standing on the other side of the guard rail now, closer to the ride. He tossed a cautious glance at the operator who held a barcode scanner for Riki’s wristband. Sunghoon reached across, wrapping a careful hand around his wrist. 

“You okay?”

Riki shook himself off, holding out his wrist. The operator gave him one last curious look before scanning it and stepping aside. Sunghoon’s hand slid up to the back of his neck, squeezing comfortingly.

“I’m fine,” Riki assured.

Sunghoon eyed him but dropped it, settling next to Riki on the ride. He pulled a metal bar down over their laps, and it secured in place, locking them in. The operator went around, checking each bar to ensure everything was in place before inserting the key into the machine. The ride stalled, jolting forward. Sunghoon muttered a curse, grabbing at one of Riki’s hands to steady himself. 

Riki grinned as it shot forward, throwing them above the ground. Sunghoon scrambled for purchase, gripping onto Riki’s shirt as they tipped higher and higher. Riki laughed when Sunghoon went to hide in his neck, throwing up his arms as the wind whipped at them. He tilted his head too far back—smacking straight into a metal rail. Sunghoon’s laugh quickly dissolved into a scream as the ride swung up again. 

When it finally slowed to a stop, Sunghoon walked away with shaky legs, clinging to Riki for stability. Riki wrapped an arm around his waist, sharing his weight. He glanced up.

“Hey, there’s no line right now.”

Sunghoon’s head shot up, his voice cracking with pure betrayal. “No. Riki—” 

***

“How long does a Ferris wheel take?”

Jay shrugged, jostling Sunoo, who was resting against his shoulder. Jay turned to him, brushing his hair out of his eyes. “You okay?”

Sunoo grunted. “Too much noise.”

Jay offered up his wrist, and Riki didn’t know how they could be so casual about that. Sunoo shoved Jay away, taking refuge on Sunghoon’s shoulder instead. Sunghoon kissed his forehead, offering him a French fry for his troubles. 

Riki rested his chin on his palm, glancing up at the Ferris wheel that dominated the area. He squinted, only serving to acquire a headache. Jay leaned into his space, following Riki’s gaze. He let out a little aborted laugh, elbowing Sunghoon to get his attention. Sunghoon hummed, not looking up from his French fries, but Jay shoved him. Sunghoon sighed, and Riki heard him counting to ten under his breath. 

“Yes, Jongseong?” 

Jay pointed towards the Ferris wheel. “Third car from the top.”

Sunghoon gave him a look but followed his finger. His head tipped to the side. “What—oh come on!”

Jay laughed, and Sunoo leaned forward to catch a glance, too. Riki glanced between them before squinting up at the Ferris wheel again. When his head started to pound, he gave up. 

“Okay, I don’t get it.”

Sunghoon gripped his chin gently, turning his eyes back to the ride. “Focus.”

Riki resisted the urge to roll his eyes. “On what?”

Jay smacked him upside the head, but Sunghoon held him tight, refusing to let him move to retaliate. 

“Fourth car from the top now. I know you can hear them, but can you see them?”

Riki gave him a long-suffering look. “Hyung, are you aware of how far they are? How am I supposed to see them?”

“Close your eyes.”

“How is that supposed to help—”

“Oh my god, just do it.”

Riki bit off the rest of his words, closing his eyes.

“Find them,” Sunghoon continued. 

Their heartbeats were easy to find, a single thread of light in an otherwise dark room. He zoomed out just a little, enough to hear them, not just their heartbeats. There was a metal squeak, followed closely by a quiet groan. 

Riki’s eyes snapped open. The world tilted slightly, colors bent, and it was like everything was falling out of frame. Shapes had edges but no borders, like they were melting or sharpening all at once. Riki stumbled back, and the world spun with him, suddenly behaving as if it were in 4D. He could hear Jay calling his name. Sunghoon’s hand gripped his shoulder, the only thing keeping him upright. His ears rang like someone had hit a tuning fork inside his skull.

“—it was too much, Hoon—”

“Stop. He’s not fragile, you said it yourself, just give him a second.”

“He looks like he’s going to throw up!”

“He’s fine!” Sunghoon’s grip tightened instinctively—steadying, grounding, almost desperate.

Riki thought Jay was right. Maybe he is going to throw up. A cool hand tangled in his hair, and it took everything in Riki not to gag when his head was pulled sideways. 

“Focus on Heeseung, it will all stop spinning when you find him.”

Riki didn’t have the energy to respond, but Sunoo turned his head back to the thing Riki assumed was once the Ferris wheel. 

Sunoo’s hand tightened in his hair, forcing Riki’s attention on the Ferris wheel again. Riki sucked in a breath he didn’t want; the air was too bright, too sharp, but he forced his senses to tunnel down, down, down—to that single, warm thread.

Heeseung.

At first, it was just the sound of his heartbeat again, steady and low, thumping under the mechanical creak of the ride. But then it pulled Riki harder, like a hook catching under his ribs, dragging his awareness upward. 

His vision strained, and everything blurred into streaks of color and light; then it suddenly snapped into focus. 

The Ferris wheel didn’t look miles away anymore. It looked close. Too close. Like Riki was standing right there next to them. And suddenly, he could see them.

Heeseung, Jungwon, and Jake, crammed together in the tiny metal car, suspended a quarter way from the top. Jake was laughing into Jungwon’s neck, one arm slung over Jungwon’s shoulder, the other braced against the car’s panel, causing the awful metal squeak that had stabbed through Riki’s skull. Jungwon groaned in annoyance, but the sound came out soft, hopelessly fond. His cheeks were flushed, his brows drawn together like he regretted every life decision that had brought him here. 

And Heeseung—

Heeseung had one hand curled around Jungwon’s waist, pulling him in, the other gripping the wall of the car, like it was the only thing keeping him from climbing directly into Jungwon’s lap. He wasn’t kissing him, not at that moment, but he was about to. His face was lit up, eyes hooded, lips parted like he’d been doing it a second before Riki tuned in. 

Riki’s breath caught. The world swayed.

Jake pressed a loud, wet kiss to Jungwon’s jaw, and Jungwon shoved him weakly, muttering something that sounded like, “You’re the worst,” but he tilted his face anyway, letting Jake do it.

Heeseung huffed a laugh, tightened his grip around Jungwon’s waist, and leaned in again. Riki’s heart slammed against his ribs. His vision sparked. Sunghoon’s hand tightened on his shoulder, tethering him to his spot, but Riki barely felt it. Because then Heeseung froze. 

It was tiny, just a little inhale, a twitch of recognition. Then he turned his head, slow and deliberate, like he knew exactly where Riki was. His eyes locked on Riki across the carnival. Riki’s knees nearly gave out.

Heeseung’s smile spread slowly, brightening until it split across his whole face. He lifted his hand from Jungwon’s waist and propped his elbow against the metal frame of the car like he had all the time in the world. 

Jake burst out laughing, loud enough that Riki heard it clear as day. Jungwon buried his face in his hands, looking anywhere but in Riki’s direction. The ground swayed under Riki’s feet.

Jay’s voice came from somewhere over his shoulder. “See? Too much, I told you—”

Sunghoon hissed, “And I said he’s fine, he can fucking see them, just give him a minute to adjust.”

But they sounded far away, muffled. Because all Riki could focus on was Heeseung’s grin, stretched wide, and stupid and impossibly fond, like he was thrilled Riki had found him through the chaos.

The dizziness finally broke. The world snapped back into its proper size and distance, the Ferris wheel retreating into the sky where it belonged.

Riki blinked hard. His vision swam and steadied.

Sunoo’s hand stayed firm on the back of his head. “Better?” he murmured.

Riki swallowed. His mouth felt dry. His heart was still trying to crawl out of his chest. “…they were kissing,” he said without thinking.

Jay snorted so hard he choked on air. Sunghoon groaned into his palm. Sunoo just sighed like he expected nothing less.

Riki covered his burning face with both hands. “Oh my god,” he whispered. “Why are they like this?”
When Heeseung, Jake, and Jungwon finally stepped off the Ferris wheel, Jay, Sunoo, Sunghoon, and Riki were waiting for them. Heeseung had his arm wrapped around Jungwon’s shoulders, pulling Jungwon closer when he laughed at something Jake said. Sunoo glanced up from his phone, and Riki distantly missed the dull scratch of Sunoo’s nails on the skin of his arm.

“Are we good to go?”

Jake’s lips tugged in a smile, “Sorry, it took forever.”

“I wonder why,” Jay mused.

Sunghoon elbowed Riki lightly, “Where to?”

Riki blinked at him. “What?”

Jungwon threw a bored look his way, but it was ineffective. “What do you want to do next?” 

Riki wasn’t expecting the heat of all their attention, but his skin felt as if it were set on fire. He wouldn’t look at them, eyes searching for the nearest ride until—“That one.”

He felt their eyes leave him, sliding towards the haunted-themed ride, ridiculously animated monsters painted across the front. He didn’t look to see their expressions, but he could assume based on their silence. “We don’t have to.”

Sunghoon muttered something under his breath but started towards the attraction, Jake and Sunoo hot on his heels. Riki hung back for a second, watching them clamber over each other, their affection so glaringly obvious.

“So, how was it?”

Riki flinched, not having expected Heeseung to wait with him. “Huh?”

“I saw you see me,” he said slowly, “this wouldn’t be my first choice in terms of places to teach you how to do that but it works I guess.”

Riki’s stomach churned at the memory, “it was a lot. I could taste colors, see sounds, it was freaky.”

Heeseung laughed, and Jay finally turned around, beckoning them closer. They scanned in and were ushered toward the entrance. It was dark, with just enough light that Riki could make out everyone’s outlines, and if their posture was anything to go by, they certainly weren’t fans of the lack of light either. 

A smoke machine hissed, and Riki barely bit back his scream at the automated sound. Sunoo did not succeed, fingers gripping the back of Riki’s shirt. Riki forced his voice low. “It’s okay, hyung,” he whispered, but Sunoo didn’t respond.

They inched forward, Heeseung and Riki taking the lead, while Jungwon and Jay secured the rear. Their pathway was drenched in radioactive green light, overwhelming, but tolerable. For a long stretch, nothing else happened, and Riki was almost disappointed. 

He saw something in the corner of his eye and stopped short. Jake ran into his back, complaining, but Riki shushed him. He turned the corner. A mannequin stood stalk-still, mask pulled over its face, a long, glinting knife in its hands. Riki flinched, even if he was expecting it.

Sunoo let out a stream of profanities, refusing to even look at the overgrown prop, and Riki grinned, poking at him. But something was off, under their indistinct chatter and Sunghoon’s attempt to get past the prop, something drummed. Seven in-sync heartbeats and one erratic one.

Riki turned.

The mannequin screamed, launching itself at them. 

“Oh, fuck!” Riki scrambled back, grabbing hold of Jake’s sleeve to haul him forward, taking a random turn. He pulled Jake to a stop, hiding around a bend. Jake’s chest heaved against his, and he rested his forehead against Riki’s collarbone.

“I don’t like this anymore.”

Riki laughed, breathless, head thumping against the wall behind him, “Aw, don’t worry, hyung, I’ll protect you.”

Jake rolled his eyes, pushing at Riki’s chest. “Yeah, great, just what I need.” 

Riki ignored him, peering around the wall to the path in front of them. It looked clear, but for all Riki knew, it could be another trick. A short scream echoed, sounding remarkably like Sunoo, and Riki tensed. But then Sunoo was cursing out whatever had scared him, and Riki released a breath, relaxing against the wall behind him.

Jake was looking at him, head tipped to the side as he hid a smile. “He’s fine, Jay’s with him.”

Riki opened his mouth to question how Jake knew that, but then he heard Jay’s yelp, followed closely by Sunoo’s laugh, like he hadn’t just screamed moments ago. Riki felt it before he heard it, a metallic whirling, vibrations that shook the air around them.

“What—?”

Something shot out beside Riki’s head, and he ducked, pulling Jake down with him. Jake’s scream was cut off, and the plastic creature retreated into the wall. Jake settled between his legs, like he felt better with Riki bracketing him in.

“This sucks. This sucks.”

“It’s not their fault you’re so easy to scare.”

Jake turned a glare on him, but it didn’t hold any weight. “Careful, I know where you sleep.”

“Oh, no, I’m so scared.”

Jake punched his shoulder, hard enough to leave a bruise, but Riki couldn’t find it in him to care all that much.

“You two are impossible.”

Riki looked up at the hand extended to him, allowing Heeseung to haul him up as Sunghoon did the same for Jake. Jungwon stood with his arms crossed, facing the path like he was guarding them from it. They started on the path cautiously again. Riki nudged Heeseung.

“Where’d you guys go?”

Heeseung peered around the approaching corner before calling an all clear. “Ended up in some random room,” he said, “Sunghoon punched a prop, and nearly hit a scare actor that snuck up on us, but Jungwon stopped him.” 

Riki chanced a look back at Sunghoon, who shrugged unapologetically. He almost looked calm, unaffected, until Riki took in the absolute death grip he had on Jake’s hand. 

“I—”

Something streaked by them, crashing into Heeseung and knocking him clean off his feet. Riki paused, grabbing the scruff of the person and pulling them off of Heeseung. Sunoo’s eyes were wide, but some of the franticness in his eyes melted when he saw them. 

“There’s a fucking clown. I hate clowns,” he said.

Heeseung groaned, still lying on the floor, rolling over onto his stomach. Jay paused his light jog when he reached them.

“Oh, hey,” he glanced down at Heeseung, “what’s he doing on the floor?”

“Sunoo tackled him, something about a clown.”

Jay grinned. “The guy had a chainsaw and everything,” he reached down to help Heeseung to his feet. “We saw the exit a couple of paces back.”

Jake hid himself in Sunghoon’s sleeve, muttering something Riki couldn’t quite hear. Jay ignored him, taking the lead.

Jay, as it turned out, did not know where the exit was. He led them down winding paths and dead-end hallways and enough scare factors that Sunoo straight up refused to untuck himself from Heeseung’s side. Riki hadn’t realized how long they’d been stuck until someone had come to get them, stating that they’d been watching them run past the exit for the past fifteen minutes. 

When the cool air hit them, Sunoo kicked the wall of the attraction with his shoe, cursing it with every name he could think of. Jay coaxed him away easily with the promise of food, and Riki was dragged right back into their chaos. 

***

Jay tossed another ring, trying and failing to hide a smile when it landed around the neck of a bottle. Beside him, Jake muttered something about him being “unfairly good at this”. Riki made an offhanded comment that he could do better, and without a second's hesitation, Jay offered him a ring. When Riki reached to take it, Jay pulled him closer.

“Show me what you got, baby.”

Riki’s mouth dropped open, and Jay laughed lightly, stepping back. Heeseung nudged him with his elbow as a failed attempt at a reprimand. Sunghoon snorted, and Jake didn’t even bother hiding his grin. Jungwon pretended not to watch, but they all knew he was.

Riki shook himself off and stepped towards the game with a confidence that made Jay hide in his laugh on Heeseung’s shoulder. Riki held the ring in a loose grip, pulled back, and threw it.

Straight into an adjacent booth. 

Riki looked dumbfounded, and Jay cackled. Riki flushed, and Jay gave his hand a squeeze on his way back to the game. He landed every ring on a bottle, and the man behind the booth looked bored as he told Jay to pick a prize. Jay picked a ridiculously large stuffed elephant and presented it to Riki as soon as he was handed the toy. Riki grumbled something, but Jay noticed the way his eyes softened when he took the elephant from him. 

They drifted to a different stall, a shooting game with an aiming system. Heeseung practically wiped the floor with them, and even then, Jay could tell he was holding back. Jake insisted he could do better, hit nothing, then demanded a rematch, to which Heeseung obliged with a fond smile.

When they crossed paths with the strength hammer game, Riki paused. Sunoo pushed Jungwon towards him.

“You guys do it.”

Before Jungwon could protest, Sunoo handed the game operator the cash. Jungwon tossed the hammer in the air, clearly unsure of himself. He looked at Jay, who just shrugged, as if to say, What’s the harm?

Jungwon seemed to relax a bit as his reassurance, and before Jay could blink, he slammed the hammer down. The ball shot up to the bell without so much as a sign of slowing and slammed into it, creating a horrible ding that left everyone nearby staring. The operator stared slack-jawed at the bent-out-of-shape bell. Jay winced, and Heeseung reached for Jungwon, turning him around.

“Alright, we gotta go.”

They’d disappeared before the operator could comprehend what was happening. Jungwon’s cheeks were flushed a pretty pink as they weaved through the crowd, and Jay tugged on his earlobe to get him out of his head. Jungwon turned into him.

“I didn’t even hit it that hard.”

Jay hid a smile as he reached for Jungwon’s hand, giving it a quick squeeze. They wandered again, not in any particular direction or with purpose, but just to observe. There were small children running unabashed, ducking under people’s legs and dodging the oncoming crowd. Couples littered the area as well, small signs of affection that were glaringly obvious, a brush of hands, the small, subtle pivot that angled their bodies towards their partners in any scenario. 

Jay almost didn’t stop with his coven when they all, unanimously, lined up for a bumper cars attraction. They all looked…happy. Riki looked as if he was having the time of his life, even as he shadow-boxed Jake with the ridiculously large stuffed elephant tucked under his arm. Heeseung and Jungwon looked more relaxed than Jay had seen them in a long time, occasionally instigating a fight with some of the others, only to step back and watch it play out. Even Sunghoon and Sunoo were smiling as they watched. 

He really should’ve placed a bet on the absolute pandemonium they unleashed the moment they scanned in. There was a brief, almost endearing beat when Riki buckled his elephant into the seat beside him, then Sunghoon and Heeseung decided to “declare war” on one another. Dozens of innocent bystanders were rammed into walls or other cars in their attempts to get to one another. 

“What the…” Jay drove in lazy circles around the track, unintentionally getting the best view of Riki slamming his car into Jungwon’s, then speeding off. Jake didn’t seem to have a pattern to his chaos, ramming into children and adults alike with a maniacal laugh that startled even Jay. 

Jay’s car went sliding sideways when Sunoo threw him into a wall; somehow, the picture of innocence as he smiled. 

“Hi, hyung!”

Jay couldn’t respond before Heeseung slammed into them both. He sped away with a parting, “Suckers!”

Jay didn’t have to look at Sunoo to know they’d formed an alliance against Heeseung. They chased him across the track in every direction, getting several good hits in. It was only when Jay was running away that he noticed that Jungwon had finally gotten revenge on Riki, to the other vampire’s absolute delight. 

When the cars slowed, they were visibly disappointed, but Jay was able to get them out with the promise to come back later. There were food stalls everywhere they turned, and Jay thought they’d probably purchased at least one of everything. Riki was slightly more complicated because even if he exceeded all expectations, human food hurt. The solution was easy enough, even if Jay had to buy a ridiculously expensive water bottle to fill with blood.  

He and Riki were just walking back, halfway down a row of glowing booths—music thumping, lanterns swaying in the breeze—when Riki slowed, eyes widening. His heartbeat stuttered and then lifted, bright and startled in Jay’s senses.

Three people stared back at him from across the walkway. A woman with a glitter-sprayed jean jacket and two men wearing similar dark outfits. All of them looked like they’d seen a ghost, then like they didn’t care that they had. Their faces cracked into pure relief.

“Riki?!”

“Holy shit—no way—Riki!”

Before Jay could think, they rushed him.

Riki laughed, a sound Jay hadn’t heard in that exact way before, and let himself be pulled into a hug. He hugged them back, tight and warm, and something in Jay’s chest softened. The coven was standing at their table now, entirely thrown by the turn of events, but somewhat relaxed now that they knew Riki wasn’t in any immediate danger. 

Jay backed away quickly, stealing Riki’s water bottle from his hands, lest he spill it. He smacked the back of Jake’s head when he was close enough. “Give them some semblance of privacy.”

The coven turned away as one, pretending to engage in meaningless conversation, even if all of their senses were trained on Riki. His heart was thrumming, a rhythm Jay adored, and a quick glance proved that Riki was glowing. 

“I can’t believe it’s you,” one friend said. “Where the hell have you been?”

“We thought something happened—you vanished dude.”

“Are you okay? You look thinner. Are you safe? Who are you with?”

The questions piled on top of each other. Heeseung rubbed at his eyes tiredly. “We did not prepare for this scenario.”

Jay couldn’t even pretend to pay attention as he watched Riki’s smile falter. They waited for a second while Riki struggled for words before Jay turned to Jungwon. 

“Send help?”

Jungwon nodded without taking his eyes off Riki. His friends were giving them nervous glances. “Send help.”

Jay stood, knocking on the table as he did so. “Sunghoon, Sunoo.”

“Hey! Why not me?” Jake complained.

Jay pointed at Sunghoon, then Sunoo. “He’s intimidating, and he puts people at ease. I’m middle ground.” 

Jake grumbled something, but Jay didn’t stick around long enough to hear what it was. They approached Riki slowly, trying to seem casual. They were probably a few feet away when Riki deflated, turning to them. The rest of the coven looked away in the world’s worst synchronized act of pretending-not-to-listen.

“What took you so long?” Riki whispered once they were close enough.

“Just trying to give you time,” Jay responded.

The woman reached for Riki reflexively as they settled around him, and Jay felt Sunghoon twitch. “Riki…who are these guys?” 

Sunoo smiled disarmingly, and Jay got the immense pleasure of watching all three of Riki’s friends visibly lag. Their eyes lingered on Sunoo for several beats too long before drifting to Sunghoon, who looked mildly entertained by the attention. Jay felt a surge of pride. He knew his coven was beautiful, just as he knew these humans would never have them, and maybe that made Jay stand up just a little bit straighter. He stuck out his hand.

“I’m Jay, nice to meet you.”

Jay smiled when Riki’s friends faltered. One friend grabbed Riki’s arm, not harsh but insistent. “Did they take you? You don’t have to go with them—”

Sunghoon was on him so fast the air shifted, the temperature dropping a degree with him. “Let go,” his voice was low enough to be dangerous.

The friend recoiled, startled. 

Riki was shaking his head and leaning back into Sunghoon’s space, seemingly without realizing it. “They wouldn’t hurt me,” he said. “They’ve been helping me.”

But now his heartbeat was too fast. Signs flashed in Jay’s ears, and he recognized Riki’s sharp inhale for what it was. Hunger. One of his friends, the other man, stepped in again, ready to hug him a second time or just grab him. It was too close, too warm, too vulnerable.

Riki swayed.

Sunghoon pressed his hand firmly against his spine, and Jay shifted subtly between them, just blocking off the friend’s access to Riki. 

Sunoo frowned and whispered, “Oh, this is going to be bad.”

“Riki,” the girl said, voice breaking, “you were missing. Did they hide you? You don’t look okay—”

“I’m fine,” Riki said quickly, and Jay saw the exact moment Riki realized: He wasn’t as in control as he thought.

Jay glanced between Riki’s friends. He knew without a doubt they wouldn’t give up and let Riki walk away. He had to respect it. He dug Riki’s phone out of his pocket, something he’d held onto for safekeeping while they were on the rides. He passed it to Riki, who looked at it as if it were a foreign object. 

“Hyung?”

Jay didn’t bother taking the time to address Riki’s friend’s surprised faces. “Go with them,” he pointed to the phone. “Call me when you want me to pick you up.”

Sunghoon opened his mouth in protest, and Jay pinched him behind Riki’s back. Riki looked lost, and he turned back to where Jungwon was sitting. Jungwon had his head cocked to the side, but he waved his hand forward. It was Riki’s decision.

His friends looked relieved, and Riki shoved his phone into their hands. “Add your numbers, I’ll be right back.”

He dragged them back a couple of steps, just out of earshot of his friends. Sunghoon turned on Jay immediately. “What are you doing?”

Jay rolled his eyes. “He needs people outside of us. I won’t make him choose between his old life and us,” he turned to Riki, dropping his voice to make sure Riki paid attention to every word. “You do not deserve to lose everything because someone else decided to take it away from you.”

Riki’s throat worked around a silent swallow, something grateful flickering across his face that Jay pretended not to see. “I’m not choosing. I’m not,” he insisted when Jay went to interject. “But I came here with the coven. I am leaving with the coven. I will call them and set up a day we can meet. But, today, I just want it to be us.”

Sunghoon stared at him, mouth agape, and Jay wondered distantly if he’d have to stop him from jumping Riki right here. Instead, he visibly composed himself, then spun so sharply the gravel scattered under his shoes.

Riki’s brows scrunched up, and he looked at Jay as if to confirm he hadn’t said anything wrong. Sunoo released a carefree laugh, turning to hide in Jay’s shoulder. 

“What?”

Jay shook his head. “Nothing, baby. He’s just trying to control himself, but I’m not sure if we can save you later.”

Riki turned an endearing shade of pink, but a small smile graced his lips as he watched Sunghoon pace back and forth in front of Heeseung. Jay nudged him to get his attention. “Go talk to your friends, we’ll wait for you.”

Riki’s shoulders loosened as relief washed over his body, and Jay, this time, just barely restrained himself from grabbing Riki and hauling him off somewhere. He squeezed Riki’s arm instead before leaving with Sunoo in tow. 

Jungwon inclined his head as they approached. “Final verdict?” he asked. 

Jay flicked him as he sat down. “Don’t act like you weren’t listening.” 

Jungwon shrugged noncommittally, but Jay could see the ease with which he held himself now. Nothing like how he was when Riki’s friends first approached him. He laid his hand on Jungwon’s back, and Jungwon leaned into him immediately, his mouth ending up pressed to Jay’s neck. Riki came back a second later, and Jay pushed Jungwon away. 

Jake practically crawled over Heeseung to get to him. “How’d it go?”

“They were reluctant, to say the least, but they know I won’t leave with them today.”

Jake reached across the table, thumb brushing over the dip under Riki’s cheekbone he always fixated on when he was worried. “And they made you call your mom to confirm?”

Riki rolled his eyes, shoving Sunoo into Heeseung when he started laughing. “I roomed with Taki and K while we were trainees; they were my family, they made the move from Japan easier.”

Jake blinked, taken aback, and Jay’s heart squeezed. Riki smiled, trapped in his memories. “And Ryujin was Taki’s friend from school, so we hung out with her while we could.”

Jay thought about Riki’s friends, how relieved they looked when they saw him. He couldn’t blame them for what they thought, not really. He couldn’t imagine what he’d do if Riki simply disappeared for months without a word. Riki had only gone missing with them once for a handful of hours, and Jay had been ready to start a fucking war to get him back.

“You have their numbers now, though, right?”

Riki shook his head, like he was pulling himself from the memories. “Yeah, I’ll call them.”

Jay resisted the urge to kiss him, so he pulled on a strand of wayward hair instead. “Good.”

Riki grinned, like he knew exactly what Jay was thinking, but accepted the food Jake offered without comment. Jay handed him back his water bottle, which earned him an additional smile.  

They sat for a while, and it was almost calm. Heeseung took far too many pictures that Sunoo would complain about later, and Jungwon looked younger, happy in a way that reminded Jay of when they’d first met. Sunghoon was giving Jake shit about something Jay didn’t bother listening to, but he did notice when Riki joined to help Jake team up against Sunghoon. Jungwon bit into an ice cream he’d bought, one hand reaching out to hold Jay’s gently. Jay reciprocated, stealing a fry from Heeseung while he was distracted. 

When the scent of blood hit the air, Jay froze.

It wasn’t much — just the sharp sting of copper carried on the breeze — but for their kind, it may as well have been an alarm bell. His head snapped toward the sound at the same moment a thin, piercing cry ripped through the carnival. The screech was high and raw, the unmistakable wail of a child in pain.

Jay turned just in time to see her — a girl no older than six, crouched on the concrete path, both hands cupped around a scraped knee. Bright red welled between her fingers.

“Fuck,” Jay breathed.

Beside him, Riki went utterly still.

His body locked up like a wire pulled too tight. A tremor rolled through him. His pupils blew wide, swallowing the brown of his irises, and his fangs dropped—clean, sharp, involuntary. His breath clipped short, then vanished altogether.

He stood so abruptly his chair screeched against the ground.

Heeseung moved faster, one steadying hand snapping out and pressing firmly to Riki’s shoulder. The gesture wasn’t harsh—just decisive enough to force him back into the seat before instinct could take hold.

Jay already knew what was happening. He nodded sharply at Sunoo.

Sunoo didn’t hesitate. He rushed toward the girl, crouching low to soothe her, murmuring gently as he tried to get her up and away—out of scent range—before things escalated.

But the damage was already done.

Riki had stopped breathing entirely, shoulders rising with a tense, silent hitch. His hands were fists, knuckles bone-pale, nails slicing crescents into his palms until Jay smelled the faintest trace of Riki’s own blood mixing with the girl’s.

“I can’t—” Riki choked out, voice breaking on something feral.

He launched forward.

Sunghoon moved like instinct, throwing himself at Riki just in time to intercept him. The impact jolted through both of them, but Riki barely seemed to feel it. He twisted immediately, slipping through Sunghoon’s loose grip like water, driven by something primal that didn’t recognize restraint or reason.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck—” Jay was already moving.

He caught Riki’s wrist mid-lunge, using the momentum to pull him off balance and drag him in close. Riki’s chest hit his, and Jay pinned Riki’s arms to keep him from pushing off again. He felt the tremors in Riki’s muscles, the wild, frantic push of strength fueled by hunger and panic and instinct.

For a heartbeat — a single, terrifying heartbeat — Riki’s eyes didn’t recognize him.

They weren’t “Riki looking at Jay.”

They were entirely instinct, willing to do anything to remove the obstacles between them and the blood.

The moment burned.

Jungwon was suddenly there, appearing at Riki’s other side like a shadow. His hand wrapped around Riki’s jaw, steady but not cruel, fingers guiding Riki’s face up and away from the scent.

“Hey—hey, look at me,” Jungwon murmured, voice low and commanding, carrying that old, dangerous authority he almost never used.

Jake pressed in behind them, close enough for his voice to be a murmur against Riki’s ear.

“Focus on me, okay? You’re alright. She’s gone. You’re with us. Stay with us.”

Riki’s breath hitched, uneven. His nails flexed against Jay’s forearms, desperate for something to hold onto that wasn’t the hunger clawing at him from the inside.

Then something pulled—hard, sharp, right behind Jay’s sternum.

A desperation he’d never felt so violently. Not fear for the girl—fear for Riki, who was shaking apart in his arms, who was hanging on by threads, who was one wrong breath from losing himself completely.

“Riki—hey—stay with me,” Jay said, voice cracking despite every effort to keep it steady.

Riki gave another violent twist, a full-body surge of instinct that nearly wrenched him free. Jay’s grip slipped—just for an instant.

The world tightened.

Jungwon’s hold firmed. Sunghoon caught Riki’s waist again. Jake’s hand came up to Riki’s cheek, warm, grounding, trembling.

And Jay—

Jay locked his arms again before Riki could break loose, dragging him close, refusing to let him fall into the hunger alone.

Sunoo returned, smelling like blood and stepping into Riki’s space without a second thought. Jay couldn’t stop the way Riki’s fangs tore into his throat. Sunoo hissed but didn’t move until Heeseung grabbed him, pulling him back to inspect the damage. 

“What the hell are you thinking?” Heeseung ground out, turning Sunoo’s head left and right.

“I was thinking that we had a problem and I had a solution.” Sunoo snapped back.

He was right. Riki wasn’t exactly pliant, but he wasn’t actively fighting Jay anymore. Jay dug their car keys out of his pocket and tossed them to Jake. “Get the car, we’ll get him out.”

Jake hesitated, then fled. Heeseung carefully wrapped a sweatshirt around Sunoo’s neck, and Jungwon forced Riki’s head down, keeping his blood-stained face out of sight. 

Sunghoon joined Jay in attempting to drag Riki away with the least amount of attention. At the last moment he grabbed Riki's stuffed elephant, tucking it under his arm. Riki’s eyes were vacant. He no longer looked driven by hunger, but he wasn’t quite Riki either. 

They wrestled him into the car with little resistance, and Heeseung took the driver's seat from Jake, handing him off to Sunghoon to sit in the back. Heeseung looked back at Jay once for confirmation, then sped off. His fingers were twitching against the seatbelt, like his body hadn’t realized the danger was gone. Riki was quiet the whole ride to the studio, and Jay had to practically carry him inside. 

They sat him on the couch, hovering nervously. Sunghoon and Jake were propped on either side of him, and Heeseung and Sunoo took up residence on the floor by his legs. Jay grabbed Jungwon before he could sit, blocking the sight of their coven to gain Jungwon’s full attention. 

Jungwon tried to see around him but Jay cupped his face, forcing him to meet his eyes. “I knew this was a bad idea. He could have gotten hurt, that girl could have gotten hurt. I didn’t think—”

“Stop. It was an accident, and he handled himself far better than any of us would have.”

Jungwon made a pitiful sound in the back of his throat, tipping his head forward to rest on Jay’s collarbone. Jay ran a hand through Jungwon’s hair, keeping his voice low as he tried to kiss away Jungwon’s stress. 

“Hyung?”

Jay turned and barely held back from throwing himself at Riki at the sight of his extended hand and pleading face. He delivered one last kiss to Jungwon’s head. “Go comfort our fledgling. I’m going to fix up Sunoo.”

Sunoo made a protesting noise at that but Jay just pointed at one of the love chairs across the room until he got up. Jay nodded, satisfied and walked around to their desk to pull out their first aid kit.

“Do you keep one of those everywhere you go?” Riki asked quietly and Jay’s heart soared at the sight of Jungwon tucked tightly against him.

“Of course, there’s one in the car, one here, one in just about every room in the house.”

Riki giggled a little but it died in his throat when Jay peeled back the blood-soaked sweatshirt wrapped around Sunoo’s neck.Riki’s breath stuttered. His hands pulled back into tight fists against his knees. They were far deeper than Jay anticipated and he pursed his lips but said nothing. 

“I’m not going to say sorry,” Sunoo said, but even to Jay he sounded weak.

Jay could feel his coven’s eyes on his back as he gently cleaned the tear wounds on Sunoo’s throat. “I wasn’t expecting you to.”

Sunoo stiffened with surprise and Jay got to work disinfecting. He could hear the soft words Sunghoon was murmuring to Riki, but it seemed to do nothing to penetrate Riki’s wave of guilt. Riki shrank under Sunghoon’s soothing words, shoulders curled like he was trying to make himself smaller.

When he finished disinfecting he sat back on his heels. 

“You need a couple stitches.”

Sunoo frowned, pulling away when Jay reached for his suture kit. Jay held his wrist. “It will heal faster with the stitches,” he refused to let Sunoo get a word in as he pulled out his supplies. “And after I want you to feed until I say to stop, okay?”

Sunoo opened his mouth to protest but Heeseung cleared his throat. “He can feed from me.”

Jay threw him a glance. “Fine, half from Heeseung and half from the bags we packed. Understand?”

“Hyung—”

Jay gripped Sunoo’s chin, halting his next sentence. “Do you understand?"

Sunoo pulled away, clearly annoyed, but at the moment, Jay didn’t honestly care. He patched Sunoo up as gently as he could, whispering small apologies every time he flinched or hissed. When he was done he wrapped Sunoo’s neck in gauze and kissed over the white fabric as a final apology. 

Heeseung took Sunoo from him easily, guiding the other vampire’s face to his neck. Riki wouldn’t look up from his endless hole of self-pity and Jay crouched in front of him.

“I almost killed her.” Riki’s leg bounced violently, heel tapping the floor in uneven rhythm.

Jay shrugged. “But you didn’t.”

Riki looked thrown. “What?”

“But you didn’t. You controlled yourself better than anyone could’ve expected from a fledgling and let us get you out of there without a scene. I’d say you did pretty good.”

Sunghoon shoved his shoulder. “You’re not helping.”

“I’m trying to get the point across that everything’s fine. He didn’t hurt anyone, we’re all safe.”

“I hurt Sunoo,” Riki countered.

Jay sighed. “Sunoo will heal by the end of the day.”

“Hyung—”

Jay brushed his forefinger over Riki’s jumping pulse, leaning in quickly to press their lips together. “Everything’s okay, I promise. Have I ever lied to you?”

Riki chewed on his bottom lip. “No.”

Jay kissed him again. “Fantastic. Then trust me now—you’re okay.”

Riki relaxed slightly and Jay took the time to hand out blood bags and listen to his coven talk. Jake brushed his hand over Jay’s and Jay took the invitation to sit next to him, curling his body around Jake’s warmth and closing his eyes.

He was interrupted by the scent of something rotting in the air, heavy and thick enough to clog Jay’s throat. His fangs pricked at his gums — not from hunger, but from alarm. He gagged and Jake looked at him, alarmed. He pressed a hand over his mouth and nose, following the heavy scent out of the studio and into the street. There was something almost sweet underneath, like women’s perfume that had sunk too deep into skin. He hadn’t realized his coven had followed him.

“Jay? Jay, what’s—”

They froze. There, laying in a crumpled heap was a woman’s body, her hair sprawled around her head like a halo. Jay closed his eyes, as if that would erase the image from his mind. Behind him, Heeseung inched closer, crouching by her head. His knees hit the ground hard enough that Jay heard it and he reached to touch her face almost tenderly, his voice cracking.

“Lira.”