(HunHan) Pretty little Lies like stars in the sky (part 3)
part 2
Sehun allows himself to be dragged out of bed and dressed by Luhan. The older male is the one who knows how to properly wear the archangel clothes anyway, so admittedly Sehun wouldn't be capable of doing it himself, regardless of whether or not Luhan had just kissed him senseless.
They finish off the leftover food from the previous night before heading out, but hardly get anywhere when they bump into the earth archangel named Kyungsoo, who is talking animatedly to Kai as his upper body protrudes from the castle wall.
"Ah, our honored guest," Kai says with obvious sarcasm, bowing his head slightly. "Had your fair share of fucking yet? I hear the castle beds are quite exceptional." Kyungsoo's face turns a brighter shade of red than Sehun's does, but Luhan just laughs.
"Kai, that's enough!" Kyungsoo scolds, giving Kai a hard stare, "Don't speak so profanely!" Kai rolls his eyes, a smirk on his lips.
"You liked it last night," he mutters, barking a laugh as Kyungsoo blushes even more brightly. "So you two heading for the lake?" he addresses Sehun and Luhan, ignoring as the earth archangel slaps his toned arm.
"Yes," Luhan answers, smiling eagerly. "It'll be my first time number fishing, I'm really looking forward to it!"
"Ah, that's right, you were sent to the human realm before the last Dims Week celebration," Kai muses, nodding. "Well, have a good time, I suppose. I'd love to join you, but trust me, I have better things to do." With that, Kai's torso sinks into the wall until only his face remains visible. "See you lovebirds around," he says, shooting a wink at Kyungsoo before his face, too, disappears.
"Ugh, such a handfull!" Kyungsoo groans, covering his faintly blush-painted cheeks with his hands. "I'm sorry. No matter what anyone says or does, Kai really just does whatever he wants."
"It's fine," Luhan smiles sweetly. "So Kyungsoo, are you going number fishing, too?"
"I'll be at the lake, but not to fish," the earth archangel sighs, beckoning for Luhan and Sehun to walk with him down the hallway. "Lord Zitao assigned me to work the lake and explain the origins of the sport to newbies."
"Aww, how disappointing," Luhan frowns sympathetically, and Kyungsoo offers a smile in return. "But surely you'll have time to try your hand at fishing at some point...?"
"I hope so," the earth archangel says with a frivolous nod. "I was pretty good at it during the last celebration. I caught all the numbers between one and one hundred, except for ninety-nine," he gives a sheepish grin.
"Wow, that's impressive," Luhan says, awe evident in his voice.
"I have no idea what you two are talking about," Sehun cuts in, glaring slightly as Luhan bursts into laughter and Kyungsoo looks at him curiously.
"Luhan, you didn't tell him about number fishing?" Kyungsoo inquires, one eyebrow cocked in slight bemusement.
"That's your job, isn't it?" Luhan says with another warm laugh, clinging to a rather vehement Sehun's arm.
"That it is," Kyungsoo looses another sigh before addressing Sehun. "Would you like me to tell you about number fishing?"
"Wait!" Luhan exclaims, shaking his head, "Wait to tell him until we reach the lake!" Sehun's eyes narrow at his companion, but he simply grinds his teeth in silence as Kyungsoo shrugs and Luhan grins happily beside him.
Sehun thinks Luhan is having a little too much fun, forcing him to wait to learn about this whole "number fishing" business. What's so great about it, anyway? It all seems like complete nonsense to Sehun, no matter how he looks at it.
They chat idly as they make their way out of the castle and approach the lake. Only a few other archangels are there, putting together what look like fishing rods.
"Oh, are we early?" Luhan asks, detaching himself from Sehun to look around. Sehun stares at the murky lake water, watching shapes move in zigzags under its surface.
"Yes, you're early!" says a loud voice, startling Sehun into looking up. The speaker is the pheonix archangel - Chanyeol, as Kris called him. "We're still finishing setting up, but it'll start very soon," Chanyeol grins widely, one eye twitching as if the expression requires all of his facial muscles. Sehun finds it strangely cute, albeit creepy.
"Ah, Chanyeol, don't tell me Lord Zitao assigned you to explain the basics," Kyungsoo says, laughing as Chanyeol rubs the back of his neck, grin still plastered on his face. "You're only the best number fisher in the underworld, I guess it makes sense he'd come back to you."
"I'm not the best," Chanyeol laughs (more or rather guffaws, Sehun notes), "Baekhyunnie is!"
"Nonsense," says a musical voice, one that sends waves of warmth throughout Sehun's body. It definitely sounds out of place in the underworld, that voice. "Stop being ridiculous, I've hardly fished in my life," says Baekhyun, the being of light. If Sehun didn't know better, he'd think Baekhyun were a song angel, an angel whose voice has the quality of only the prettiest harmonies and chords. How he managed to live unnoticed in the underworld baffles Sehun greatly.
"Well, if you fished more, you'd definitely be the best," Chanyeol says, laughing as Baekhyun smacks the back of his head with an unfinished fishing rod.
"So you two are here to learn how to fish for numbers, then?" Baekhyun asks, giving Luhan and Sehun an amiable smile. Sehun revels in the fact that his voice is very, very pleasant. "Please take this idiot away and have him show you." Chanyeol laughs again as the song angel pushes him toward the other two.
"Would you please teach us?" Luhan asks eagerly.
"Of course, of course!" Chanyeol beams, taking three finished rods from the handful that Baekhyun is working on. "Follow me, beginners!"
He leads the way to the lake's surface, Luhan hot in pursuit and Sehun grudgingly following behind.
"Now I will explain what number fishing is," Kyungsoo says, watching as Chanyeol hands the two boys their rods.
"Number fishing," the earth archangel begins, "is the activity of attaching a hook to a rod and fishing for numbers. You've dealt with letters, I presume?" he asks, pausing to let Sehun nod in response. "Well, unlike letters that live primarily in dark enclosed spaces like caves and tunnels, numbers are aquatic and prefer water as their home.
"When caught, they play dead until their captor isn’t paying attention; then they will make their escape and slip back into the water." He pauses again, staring when Chanyeol yelps after having accidentally poked himself with his rod's hook.
"If one is able to hold captive a number, it can be baked or fried. They taste like assorted foods or drinks, depending on the number."
"W-wait," Sehun says, thoroughly confused, "you eat numbers?"
"Only if you want to," Chanyeol says, shrugging. "I heard some of the water archangels started a petition to banish number fishing, which is really stupid to be honest because numbers don't have brains or any sort of feelings, so it's not like we're murdering them in cold blood or anything, and they're already way too many numbers in the underworld anyway, so we're actually doing our lakes a favor by-" he stops when he sees Baekhyun giving him a hard stare, and that's when he notices the blank expressions on Luhan’s and Sehun's faces. "Oops, I was blabbering on, wasn't I," he laughs. "My bad. You came here to learn how to fish, not get lectured about fishing petitions."
"Fishing petitions," Kyungsoo murmurs as he goes to sit by Baekhyun and assist with making the rods. "I hadn't heard about those. I'll have to do some research."
"Typical walking dictionary Kyungsoo," Chanyeol grins fondly before directing his attention to the two boys in front of him. "All right, pay close attention! I'm only gonna show you how to do it once!"
Number fishing is, to put it lightly, insanely difficult. Numbers, despite Chanyeol's claim that they don't have brains, prove to be very intelligent and know very well to avoid a hook when they see it- or rather, sense it, since numbers don't have eyes.
"The trick is to wait until you've targeted a specific number before you cast out your line," Chanyeol explains. "The earlier numbers are a bit easier to catch, and it only gets harder as the number increases." He waits a long moment, eyes glued to the lake's surface. Then, in a flurry of movement and the back-and-forth flick of his wrist, he reels in a plump looking 827. Sehun stares, wide-eyed with shock, while Luhan applauds excitedly.
"Hmm..." Chanyeol frowns, examining the number. "I must be off my game. I can usually get at least a 900 on my first try..." Both Kyungsoo and Sehun gape at him. Baekhyun just chuckles.
It doesn't go over so well for the two newbies. Luhan manages to catch a 4 on his second attempt, but Sehun can't seem to catch, well, anything, and his continued failures make him all the more frustrated.
"It could be because you have human eyesight," Baekhyun offers when Sehun gives up and goes to sit with him and Kyungsoo as Luhan and Chanyeol keep fishing. More archangels are showing up, taking Baekhyun's finished rods and going to the water's edge to try their hand at the sport.
"Yeah, Baek's right," Kyungsoo nods. "Human eyesight has approximately one one millionth the accuracy of an archangel's." Sehun gives him an extremely put-out look. "I mean- erm-" he smiles sheepishly.
"Don't mind our Kyungsoo," Baekhyun jumps in, patting Sehun gently on the back. "He's a little awkward at interacting with others, on account of being a walking dictionary. His only real friend is Kai, that odd demon who lives inside the castle walls." Kyungsoo's face flushes and he gives the song angel a warning look.
"So I take it you don't like number fishing, then?" comes Luhan's entertained voice from behind Sehun, and he looks back in time to see the elder male walking up to take a seat next to him.
"Well, I wouldn't say I don't like it," Sehun gesticulates, making a face, "I just... don't really like it." Luhan laughs, eyes crinkling as a smile spreads across his face.
"Well, I guess it can't be helped, considering you're probably the worst fisher in the history of the underworld," the archangel teases, laughing more when Sehun glares at him.
"You know, according to my research, number fishing is supposed to be a lot easier when you have a Lie as an aide," Kyungsoo says. He swallows uncomfortably as the other three stare at him. "I read about it in the history books!" he explains hurriedly. "Apparently, our first Lord, Lord Dim, had a Lie as his companion."
"Really?" Luhan asks, doe eyes widening in surprise. "But aren't Lies supposed to be exceedingly hard to catch?"
"Yes," Kyungsoo replies thoughtfully. "Only one Lie has ever been recorded as caught, and that was Lord Dim's companion."
"Kyungsoo, what exactly is a Lie?" Sehun asks suddenly. Luhan gives him an amused look that says we've gone over this before, but Sehun's curious to hear it from an actual scholarly source.
"A Lie..." Kyungsoo hesitates, thinking. "A Lie is a creature that can take on many forms. It may appear as spoken words, or it may show itself as a being of one of the realms. They are disgustingly clever and exist purely to cause discord wherever they go."
"So there are no good Lies?" Sehun finds himself asking. It's a stupid question, he knows, and he regrets it once it's out of his mouth, but Kyungsoo's expression becomes quizzical, brows furrowed in thought.
"I'm... not sure," he admits. "You see, it's hard to tell exactly when you're dealing with a Lie until it's too late." He stops, gaze unfocusing for a moment. "There's an old poem about Lies that I found in one of the books detailing Dim's story."
"I know that poem," Luhan murmurs. His eyes close as he softly recites;
Pretty little Lies, like the stars in the sky
fall when the rain pours down
and in their wake, nothing but trouble they make
be careful you don't drown
"That's correct!" Kyungsoo says, surprise evident in his voice. "But that poem can only be found deep inside the castle library. I needed Lord Zitao's permission to access those books, how did you...?" he doesn't finish because Luhan is standing abruptly.
"I think I'm going to fish again," he says, smiling happily. "Care to join me, Sehunnie?" Sehun briefly looks between a disgruntled Kyungsoo and an eerily cheerful Luhan, grunting as the latter grabs ahold of his arm and drags him in the direction of the lake.
Luhan is acting strange. It's not so much a fact, as the archangel has yet to admit to anything, but Sehun's observations have never been wrong.
After the number fishing incident, they retreat to their room, where Luhan proceeds to fuck the daylights out of Sehun for the rest of the day.
They actually spend the following two days in their room, Luhan venturing out occasionally to retrieve food for Sehun. The human gets to try various numbers, but is never able to savor the taste.
By the third day, Sehun is afraid he's going to pass out, and they only stop when he tearfully begs Luhan to take a break - "You may not have to breathe or sleep, but goddamnit, I do!" - and Luhan reluctantly pulls out of the human to let him lay still, panting face first into a pillow he hadn't remembered grabbing. His knuckles are ghostly pale from holding onto it so tightly, and he's pretty sure he'd scratched the hell out of Luhan's back at some point, but he could be wrong.
"I'm sorry, Sehunnie," Luhan whispers huskily, pressing feather light kisses to the exhausted male's shoulders and neck. "I'll be more gentle, I promise."
"Just," Sehun's voice come out unsteady, and he trembles unders Luhan's lips, his entire body shaking from the number of orgasms Luhan had managed to squeeze out of him, "Let me... rest a while, OK?"
"Yes," Luhan murmurs, but he continues to kiss Sehun incessantly, soft, teasing lips extracting moans from the younger male's mouth.
"L-Lu-Luhan, o-oh god-" Sehun bites down on the pillow as the archangel experimentally thrusts against him. "Break- I need to rest-" he's cut off again as Luhan thrusts once more, this time harder and directly against Sehun's hips.
After his next orgasm, he really does blackout, if only for a few minutes. He's awakened against his will by Luhan peppering his face with more tender kisses, and he groans, desiring very much to push the elder male away but entirely lacking the strength to do so.
"I'm sorry," Luhan repeats, finally seeming to sense that Sehun has really reached his limit. "I'm sorry."
"You..." Sehun says, his voice coming out weak and sounding strangely distant to his own ears, "What's gotten into you...?"
Luhan ignores the question, instead burying his face against Sehun's chest, eyes closed and arms wrapped loosely around Sehun's torso. Sehun is far too exhausted to keep his own eyes open, and the last thing he hears is Luhan's mumbled, "I love you, Sehun... I love you..." before sleep claims his consciousness.
Sehun hardly has the energy to wake himself up. He can tell it’s morning, can feel that Luhan has gotten out of bed already, but he can’t even open his eyes. He’s never felt so excessively tired before, and he’s certain that at this point he’s created a whole new definition for the word.
"I'm going out," Luhan whispers against Sehun's skin. Sehun grunts his response, too sleepy to form a coherent sentence, and feels the elder male smile. "Lord Zitao called a meeting. I’ll be back in a bit. Sleep well, my love." After that, he feels Luhan's warmth fade from beside him. It leaves an odd empty sensation in the pit of his stomach, but he's really way too tired to think much of it before sleep ravages him once again.
He is, however, awoken later in the day by an intense, crippling fear.
It takes him by surprise really; he's been sleeping peacefully for at least a few hours.
Suddenly, though, he is jolted awake and seized by a completely mind-numbing dread. He can't pinpoint it, or even understand what he's afraid of, but dear god, he's terrified.
There's the empty feeling, stronger than before, and he's all alone, a strange thick silence clouding the room and making his ears ring loudly, so loudly it's driving him crazy.
His eyes are opened wide, he can't blink, and tears sting them, dripping mercilessly down his cheeks to form pools on his pillow.
It is absolutely irrational and unfounded, but Sehun is out of his mind in bone-rattling fear.
Is he afraid he's going to die?
Is he afraid that something bad is going to happen?
He doesn't understand!
He can't stop trembling. His mouth is open, but he can't make a sound, can't release the scream that's building in his throat.
Is he dying?
Dear God, Luhan, anyone, help!!
And in an instant, there is a loud bang! and sound returns to the room. Luhan is by his side, cradling him in his arms and whispering to him in the language of the beings of light. Soon, they are joined by Kris and a majestic, glowing creature that seems to brighten the whole room with a purifying light.
Sehun is still trembling, crying into Luhan's shoulder as the creature dips its head and touches a single horn to his body.
Slowly, the fear begins to dissipate, replaced with a feeling of tranquility and calm. Sehun's tears subside, but he continues to cling to Luhan for dear life.
"This is the work of the higher demons," the creature says, its voice smooth and resonant around the room. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say Xiumin is the cause."
"That goddamn- I'll cut his stupid fat head off," Luhan growls menacingly. "How dare he use his power against my Sehunnie-"
"Patience, Luhan," the creature cautions, "I do not believe it was on purpose."
"Xiumin has never had an easy time controlling his ability," Kris offers with the same wary tone as the creature, "It could be that he's not used to the presence of a human and reacted this way out of instinct. Xiumin would never maliciously hurt anyone, and you know that."
".... Yes, I know," Luhan snaps hesitantly.
Sehun is finally beginning to relax, but he's so abominably tired now, even more so than before, and is barely able to keep his eye open or listen to what they are saying.
"He'll need rest," says the creature. A unicorn, Sehun thinks; it's the healer. "When he awakens and has regained his strength, take him to see Xiumin so that he will learn the color of Sehun's aura and not repeat this mistake while the human is here." Luhan nods fervently. "I will remain in case he experiences another spell. Luhan, Kris, you are free to return to the meeting. The Lord will require your company."
"Thank you, Yixing," Luhan murmurs, his voice heavy with gratitude. "Please, alert me when he's awake. And... if it gets worse... promise you'll tell me." Sehun feels Luhan's grip on him tighten.
"Of course," the healer says softly. "He may only be able to respond to your consoling. You two share an impeccable bond, stronger than any other I've seen. But you know this already, don't you?"
Luhan laughs lightly before he lets go of Sehun. The younger male whimpers quietly at loss of the warmth, but it returns when the healer presses his horn to Sehun's forehead.
"Stay strong, my love," Luhan whispers, lips brushing Sehun's. "I'll be back as soon as I can."
"Take care of him," Kris addresses Yixing.
"You can count on me," the healer replies.
And then, as quickly as they'd arrived, the two archangels are gone.
Sehun loses consciousness almost immediately.
part 4