this is where it splits in half honey, love or death (grab an end, pull hard and make a wish)[12/12]

[januarys_lovers]

Sehun's body feels so good, so good against him, much better than space, air and darkness. Jondgae lets Sehun effortlessly fit into his every curves, seize the space around him while Sehun hugs him closer, and closer as he falls asleep. It's the first time the room seems so small around Jongdae, so suffocating. He's missing air, missing space, but Sehun feels too good against him, and Jongdae can't push him away. His body burns, and everywhere Sehun has touched him while they were walking back to the tree house is now itching, so much that Jongdae, although unable to check, is pretty sure he has angry red patches of skin popping up on his body. Sehun's low snores vibrate against his throat, and his hair grazes Jongdae's cheekbone. He wants to let go so much, he wants to pull away from Sehun's body, but Jongdae is caught in a paradox where holding Sehun against him is also the thing he desires the most. He cannot breath with Sehun's ribcage weighing on his lungs, and it scares him, it scares him so fucking much.

Tears are gathering in his eyes, and oxygen is rotting in the back of his throat. Jongdae can't help but think about Jongdeok taking their father's razor and biting back his tears. He had forced Jongdae to go into the bathtube to protect him before opening the door and taking care of their parents. Jongdeok saved them both, but three weeks later, Jongdae was holding him under water. I won't bleed Jongdeok had said, it's safer for you, but you have to help me, Dae. And Jongdae did. Just like he let go of Jongin's hands because the plastic cracking. Jongin, with his dancing gait and his boyish looks. He was so soft, so nice, so... precious, and Jongdae was supposed to bring him back to his friends. They were biting his legs, licking the blood dripping down his ankles, and Jongin was terrified, but Jongdae looked at him in the eyes, and he let go. And then it's all about mistakes Jongdae is trying so hard to make amend for, but it doesn't work, of course it doesn't.

He lets out a broken whimper as his eyes, staring at the dark before him, fill with vision of Yeri running, running, and then falling. She was dead before he even reached her, her brain splattered on the concrete. It took her years to build herself, to decide what her favorite color was, years to grow her hair, and start to love her body. It took less than a second for everything that she was to collapse, to stop moving, and never move again. Yeri was running, and then she was falling. Gone in the blink of an eye.

Jongdae holds Sehun's closer even though it hurts, it hurts so fucking much. He was supposed to know better, he was supposed to have learned how it always ends. He has no idea how it happened, but it did, and now, all he can think about is Sehun, and how much he cares, how much he wants him to stay alive. He's honestly so grateful Sehun has fell into a deep slumber, because Jongdae can hardly muffle the broken sobs going past his lips now. He would love to reach out and turn the flashlight on, because he can't have enough of Sehun, even though the latter is taking his breath away. He doesn't want him to wake up though, so he'll have to do with his fingers running through Sehun's hair, following his jawline and clenching on his shoulder blades.

Jongdae is so scared, but he knows what to do. He doesn't want to do it, and it's why he's crying so hard right now, white spots filling his vision, but he has to do it.

Jongdae wakes up, his eyes swollen by tears he probably cried even during his sleep. Last time he let himself go that far was after Jongdeok's death, and even though it feels like ages ago, Jongdae's whole body hurts as if he had closed his brother's eyes the day before. He's so exchausted, so tired of it all, and for a few seconds, he allows himself to pretend that the darkness around him means that he's finally gone, he's finally dead and everything has ended.

Sehun's body is still pressed against his, but this time, it's Jongdae lying on the top, or at least, partly. He has a leg thrown over Sehun's thighs and his arm stretched on the latter's chest. The sweet scent of sap is still filling his nose, Sehun's natural smell lurking under it, so much that Jongdae feels it ghosting the tip of his tongue. His eyes still closed, he shifts closer to Sehun, smiling to the void when his nose brush against a strand of air. Sehun is still fast asleep, the slow rise of his chest making his ribs press against his skin, and dig into Jongdae's arm. His body is warm, pliant, and way more relaxed that when Sehun is awake. It's not that he's tense, he just has a way to move, to stand, that turns him into slender and straight lines, but when he's asleep, he's all curves and soft positions.

Jongdae bites his lower lip as he slides his hand up to Sehun's neck. He follows the smooth skin until his fingers reach Sehun's jawline, and he stops them there, his fingertips prickling and aching for more. He needs to move now, before Sehun slowly comes back to himself. He lets out a faint sight and presses his forehead against Sehun's temple. He has to move, he has to move now.

Jongdae finally pulls away. He grabs a blanket and pulls it over Sehun's body, then walks on all fours towards the door, out of habit. He gets out on his hands and knees and quickly closes the door behind him. The day has fallen into the greyish atmosphere that comes with dusk, and the thick clouds covering the sky makes the luminosity dimmer than what Jongdae had expected but he doesn't want to take any risk anyway. Sehun needs to sleep a few more hours for his plan to work.

Jongdae takes in a long breath, his eyes sliding over the surroundings, the rope ladders on the branches, and the other three houses, merging so well with the trees they're perched up on. It smells like sap here too, and leaves, and everything that make woods a good place to daydream. Jongdae smiles. It is, after all, a good place to live through the end of the world.

He checks the door behind him one more time, and finally tiptoes on the patio, then down the stairs, and straight into the main house. Both he and Sehun left their bags there when they came home after their adventures the night before, the emotions still taking their tolls on them so they didn't bother to unpack. It turns out way more convenient than it should have been. When Jongdae opens the door though, he freezes as Baekhyun, standing in the middle of the room, turns around, surprised.

“Oh!” Baekhyun stutters. “Al-already awake?”

He blushes, and it's only then that Jongdae notices the plank he's holding with what is the closest to a breakfast they can have these days (which means fruits and snacks) carefully put on it. He's standing close to the other door on the back on the room, the one that leads to a sort of bridge, which is the only way to reach Baekhyun and Chanyeol's room. Jongdae can't help but smile, not because he's mocking Baekhyun, but because it goes so well with the whole tree house thing. It's six or seven meters high above the ground, but sometimes, Jongdae feels like it's just enough to escape from the madness ruling down there.

“Hi,” he tells Baekhyun with a warm smile.

Baekhyun stares at him, his nose scrunched up with defy, and something warm and overwhelming floods Jongdae. He chuckles. Baekhyun is so quick to let people forget about him, using his height and his skinny body to disappear in dark corners, but he's far from being as harmless as one could think. Chanyeol might the leader, sort of, Baekhyun is definitely the strongest of the two. Jongdae will miss him, and the way he so easily makes Sehun and Chanyeol do everything he wants.

“Hello?” Baekhyun asks in a tentative voice. He watches Jongdae with a frown, and finally gestures to the plank he's holding. “Please, don't have me hanging if you want to laugh at me, I have better to do,” he adds with a cheeky voice.

Jongdae chuckles. He shakes his head.

“I'm not gonna laugh at you, Baek,” he says. “Go, and say hi to Chanyeol for me.”

Baekhyun narrows his eyes at him, but to prove him his good faith, Jongdae looks away and walks to his bag, still against the right wall.

“Okay,” Baekhyun beams.

He turns around and walks to the door. Jongdae smiles and slowly shakes his head before kneeling before his bag. Something seems to stop Baekhyun just before he walks through the door though, because he stops again and turns toward Jongdae.

“Are you okay?” he asks, hesitant.

Jongdae looks up, surprised, and meets Baekhyun's intrigued and concerned eyes. They have a lot in common, actually, because Jongdae also likes to appear weaker than he really is, just to make sure he'll have the upper hand when he'll need it, but also because Baekhyun, just like him, is extremely good at reading people. Jongdae can totally picture him as social butterfly, the kind that never goes unnoticed, not because he does everything he can to draw everyone's attention him, but simple because he's made like that, a little brighter than others.

But Jongdae knows he can fool Baekhyun just the same though, so he smiles and nods.

“Yeah. I'm going to pick up some berries for breakfast.” He casts a look at the plank between Baekhyun's hands. “But I suppose you won't want them, am I right?”

Baekhyun chuckles. “Yeah, we'll be fine.”

Jongdae smiles back, and Baekhyun gives him a short nod before pushing the door with his foot. He walks through it without a look back. Jongdae watches the door swaying until it finally closes. He looks down to his bag and opens it, his heart turning into lead in his chest. At least, he thinks, trying to cheer himself up in vain, that's the memory he'll always keep of Chanyeol and Baekhyun. Sharing breakfast when the world is crashing down and burning. It's completely crazy, but it goes with the two of them so well that Jongdae can't stay sad for too long. Those two would have defy Korea and its prejudices if things hadn't completely blown up, and they were clearly ready for it. Seulgi's face suddenly pops up in his head as he realises she would have been like Baekhyun if Joohyun had still been alive. She would have been two instead of one, complete instead of broken.

Jongdae's smile fades as he pulls out the food stashed in his bag. It's not his food. He wants to leave, not steal Sehun, Baekhyun and Chanyeol. He'll find a house at the end of the night, and most surely some food in it. And walking with a lighter bag on his back will help him be faster, which can't hurt when you're against Oh Sehun.

Jongdae hides the food in one of the closer trunks, thinking that it'd be less odd, and mostly less alarming. Maybe the excuse he gave Baekhyun will buy him a few hours, and they're too precious for him to be reckless. When he's done, he closes his bag, and his eyes catch the handwriting, faded but still here, on the handle. He runs his thumb along it and finally shakes himself. Without letting anything distract him this time, he puts the bag on his back and heads out.

Barely five minutes after, his two feet are on the ground, and the ladder to the tree house still sways behind him. Jongdae keeps his eyes on the trees around him, not daring looking over his shoulders. He can't help but think about Soojung, and he wonders if she's still crying for him, if she misses him. He wonders how long it'll take Sehun to get pass his absence, he wonders how long he'll stay alive and what he'll miss in Sehun's life. They're all bound to die sooner or later, future has literally been wiped out of the surface of the Earth, and Jongdae knows it. He's not leaving because he thinks Sehun will be safer without him. He's leaving because the world has grown fangs, and one day, they'll close on Sehun, and Jongdae doesn't want to see it, he doesn't want to live it. He's not strong enough for that, and as odd as it sounds, leaving doesn't really mean he's losing Sehun. If Jongdae goes away, he'll always have hope, a tiny hope that Sehun still jumps from branches to branches somewhere, that his heart still beats, that he still smells faintly like sap. That's honestly all he needs, even more than the feeling of Sehun under his palms. Jongdae just needs him to be alive.

He adjusts the strap of his bag, and keeps his eyes on the darkness between the trees. The sky is growing darker, the shadows are growing scarier, but Jongdae doesn't slow down. He's nowhere near the knowledge of Sehun when it comes to the woods, but he knows enough to be sure he's heading in the right direction. He tries not to curse at the few bundles of roots he almost faceplants on, and keeps a sustained pace as he zigzags between the trees. The farther he gets from the house, the stronger the sense of urgency washing over him is. He knows Sehun is probably up now. He imagines him getting out of his bed house, squinting his eyes in the darkness to try and find Jongdae. Were Baekhyun and Chanyeol out of their room already? Did Baekhyun tell Sehun he was out to pick berries? Did Sehun believe him...?

Jongdae glances over his shoulder. He's been walking for an hour and a half now. In a few minutes, he'll reach the border, and then he'll head straight to the village and walk through it before sunrise. He doesn't really fancy the idea of sleeping there because of what happened in the villa, so he'll hope he'll find a house after, which would give him a chance to go even farther away. And then, what? North, to Russia? That's where Seulgi's group is going. Stay in China? He played with the devil once, he won't bet on his chances again. China is Luhan's territory, so no. That's when Jongin's voice pops up in his mind.

You'll tell Seulgi, and she'll lead us somewhere else. Probably west, to the European seaside. They were the farthermost countries, they probably had time to organise themselves.

Jongdae chuckles in the silence, slightly shaking his head. He has a brief thought for Yeri's letter, written by a ghost for a ghost, with love, and decides to go for it. West it will be. He's always wanted to see the Eiffel tower after all.

Jongdae finally stops on the edge of the forest. After the darkness he's walked through, the night outside of the woods looks lighter, more greyish than pitched-black despite the clouds still hiding the moon.

“Okay,” he whispers to himself. “Let's do it.”

He takes a first step, but immediately freezes when he hears a branch crack behind him. He spins around and pulls out his gun, immediately aiming at the shadows. Another branch cracks, then another one, and another one, but Jongdae doesn't hear moans or jaws clicking despite the fact that it's getting closer. But there is someone walking closer, someone who doesn't seem to care about the noise they're making. That's when it hits Jongdae, and he lowers his gun a split second before Sehun emerges from the night.

“Hey,” Sehun says with a smile. “Baek told me you wanted to pick berries for our breakfast.”

Jongdae watches him as Sehun glances around him. His eyes finally settle on Jongdae again, and the new smile he flashes him breaks Jongdae's heart.

“But you weren't really planning on picking berries, am I right?”

Jongdae shakes his head. Sehun looks away, looking hurt by the gesture, and Jongdae wants to reach out so bad, but he forces himself not to move. When Sehun's eyes meet his again, they're determined, defying.

“I'm not letting you leave,” he says. “Where would you go? What would you do?”

Jongdae shrugs. “I'll survive.”

Sehun clenches his jaws.

“It's safe in the tree house,” he retorts. “What will you do out there, Jongdae? Lose more people?”

“I was alone all this time, Sehun,” Jongdae says softly. “I'll be fine.”

Sehun glares at him.

“No, you won't!” he snaps back, and Jongdae startles at the angry intonations in his voice.

“Sehun, the nests--”

“I don't care about the nests! That's what is waiting for you if you go, Jongdae! Nests and Infected, and death! It's the safest here, and you know it!”

Sehun's anger is like fuel to the fire slowly rising in Jongdae's chest, and when flames finally lick at his heart is when he snaps too. He clenches his fists and glares back, furious. He wasn't expecting Sehun to understand-actually, yes he was. Sehun isn't oblivious, he knows what's going on between them, he knows it so well that not later than the day before, he risked his life because Jongdae was in danger. They're both smarter than that.

“Let me go,” Jongdae says through gritted teeth.

Sehun stubbornly shakes his head. Hurt flashes through his eyes, overcoming anger for a split second.

“You weren't even going to say goodbye,” he says, in a lower voice, full of reproaches.

“Damn it, Sehun!” Jongdae hisses. “Don't you understand?! I can't stay and watch you die! We'll make a mistake sooner or later, and it'll cost us everything! And I do not want that!”

Sehun's gaze hardens, overwhelming. His reaction is immediate: he walks to Jongdae with long and fast strides, and grabs his face with strong fingers Jongdae can't pull away. He barely has time to gasp before Sehun's lips crash against his. They're surprisingly soft, surprisingly light for the intensity Jongdae can still feel in Sehun's clenched fingers, and he whimpers as they dig deeper into his cheeks, Sehun's thumb catching in the smooth skin under his jawline.

Sehun pulls away. He's towering Jongdae, but the way he looks at him makes Jongdae feels like he's the taller one, the more important one. Sehun's grip on his face loothens until one of his hands slide down to his neck while the other slightly tilts Jongdae's head, so that Sehun can check his cheek. He leans down, and Jongdae holds his breath, his heart beating erratically in his chest, pumping white and red through his veins. When their lips meet this time, it's stronger, faster. Sehun curls his fingers on his neck, and Jongdae grabs his shirt to pull him closer. He whimpers again when Sehun's tongue lingers on his lips, slowly stroking its way in. He catches Sehun's upper lips between his, and can't help but shiver when Sehun shudders against him.

Sehun's hands let go of him as they fly down to hips. He grabs them and pulls Jongdae up, the latter's feet leaving the ground for a split second, so easily manhandled against the closer trunk. He crashes against it with a soft thud, and Sehun muffles the slight moan leaving his mouth with another kiss, this time deeper and more desperate. Jongdae hurries to slide his arms out of his bag's straps, letting it fall to the side before grabing a handful of Sehun's hair. His back arches off, and Sehun's hand rushes into the space between his skin and the trunk, and closes, like a talon, on his shirt. Jongdae moans, Sehun's fingers scraping his back at the same time his tongue curls around Jongdae's. His whole body is ablaze, days and days of wanting to touch Sehun taking their tolls on him, and now that he has finally given in to the want and the need, he can't seem to be able to stop. He clenches his free hand on the thin material on Sehun's shirt, his fingers almost closing on his collarbone, and he pulls hard on it as Sehun's face slides down his neck, his lips, so hot on him, leaving a trail of kisses behind. Jongdae gulps, lips parted on erratic breathing, and turns his head to give Sehun a better access to the oh so pleasantly sensitive skin of his neck.

“Sehun,” he pants. “Sehun...”

Sehun's teeth graze his carotid, and Jongdae closes his eyes.

“I won't let you leave,” Sehun whispers, nuzzling into Jondgae's neck. His fingers loosen around his shirt, and he slowly wraps his arms around Jongdae's waist, bending down to keep his face in the crook of his neck. “I won't.”

Jongdae strokes Sehun's hair before stopping his palm on Sehun's nape.

“Then bring me back home.”

Sehun straightens, surprised. He stares at Jongdae, and Jongdae stares back. The night is moonless, yet there is nothing darker than Sehun's eyes, than Sehun's hair. He fills Jondgae's vision in monochromatic colors, white for his skin, silver for his lips, and everything about him echoes in Jongdae's body, from his lashes to the freckles Jongdae can barely make out in the night. He reaches out to Sehun's hips, and clenches his fingers on his shirt.

“Bring me back home,” Jongdae repeats, his voice breaking.

Sehun nods. He slides his hand under Jongdae's, slowly pulling it away from his shirt to intertwine their fingers. His other hand tilts Jongdae's head backwards, leaving soft touches under his chin, and he leans down to press his lips against, soft, so soft, and so--

Overwhelming.

Jongdae clenches his jaw when his back hits the blankets with a soft thud. Sehun's body immediately follows as Sehun climbs on top of him, his hands sliding up Jongdae's sides. Jongdae swallows, shivering, and curls his hands around Sehun's wrists, folliwing the latter's muscles up to his shoulders. Sehun's knee presses harder against his crotch, and Jongdae whines, throwing his head backwards. Sehun swoops down on him, but his lips miss Jongdae's mouth by a few inches, and he finds himself pecking him on the cheek instead. Jongdae lets out a faint chuckle, and Sehun groans. He sits up, straddling Jongdae's hips, and palms the ceiling with hasty gestures. Jongdae doesn't let the darkness engulfing them dig its way between him and Sehun though. He puts his fingers on Sehun's thighs, and slowly make them walk higher and higher. Sehun's sharp hipbones pop up under his index fingers, and Jongdae follows the muscles, mindlessly licking his lips when he reaches the soft hair on Sehun's abdomen. He feels the latter shiver under his touch, then speed up his search of the flashlight. Jongdae smiles to himself, replacing the shadows in his mind with slender lines, taut muscles and a trail of goosebumps following his hands.

The flashlight goes on with a faint click!. Jongdae looks up, squinting to get used to the light. Sehun still has his hand curled around the flashlight, but his eyes are on Jongdae's. Touching was great, but seeing is even better. Sehun's skin is so smooth, so pale that Jongdae catches a few veins here and there. He blinks, heat swelling in his chest, and adrenaline curling his toes. He sits up, slightly groaning with the effort, and crashes his lips against Sehun's.

Sehun moans, wrapping an arm around Jongdae's shoulder. He lets himself fall backwards, not even reacting when his shoulder hits the flashlight. He bites down on Jongdae's lower lip when he hits the blankets, and Jongdae crashes on top of him. Jongdae puts a hand on the blanket next to Sehun's head and props himself up, his other hand sliding down to Sehun's belt. Both their shirts are lying somewhere in the room, and right now, all Jongdae wants is their pants gone too. Sehun looks as eager as he is, since he bucks up his hips to make it easier for Jongdae, his own fingers already taking care of Jongdae's belt. When Jongdae's fingers graze the skin under the hem of Sehun's underwear, the latter's breath speeds up, and then dies down in the back of his throat.

Jongdae watches him as he pulls down both his pants and underwear. Sehun holds his gaze, despite how erratic his breathing becomes, his chest going up and down with drawn-out shivers. He's so beautiful under the swaying of the flashlight. Shadows are spreading over his chest, then running away down to his ankles. He's grey and black one second, silver and white the following, chiseled lines then soft edges. His skin is glistening, his lips are swollen by kisses, and Jongdae can never have enough of that sight. He mindlessly licks his lips, and Sehun snaps. His hand shoots up, and he grabs Jongdae by the neck to pull him down and kiss him. His other hand pulls both Jongdae's pants and underwear down before he topples him.

Jongdae's moan breaks, then dies down when Sehun climbs on top of him again, this time pressing his whole body against him. He moves his hips against Jongdae's, and Jongdae's body answers, following Sehun's in the slightest movement.

“Jongdae...” Sehun whispers in his ear, his voice hoarse and his breath almost too hot against Jongdae's skin.

Jongdae slightly nods, clenching his fingers on Sehun's shoulder blades. He turns his head and presses a kiss against Sehun's temple.

“I know,” he says. “I know...”

His skin his burning, he feels raving, delirious. The light is still swaying over their heads, white and black merging on his retinas. It's hot, too hot, and Jongdae can barely breathe, even less gather enough air to speak. Their hips are rocking back and forth, and the friction is driving him crazy, pushing him off the edge. His eyes close on themselves, and then it's all a chaotic mix of sensations and feelings, fire, explosions, and blood pumping through his veins fast, way too fast. It's all Sehun. Sehun's hands, Sehun's tongue, Sehun's breath, Sehun's body, and it's too much. So much that it eventually breaks Jongdae, but Jongdae has never felt so great.

He throws his head backwards, and gasps for air, his body tensing and his conscience drowning in blinding white. And Sehun follows him straight into the abyss.

Jongdae sits up with a gasp, his mind already fighting off the nightmare that woke him up, so much that the more Jongdae tries to remember what it was about, the faster it fades away. The only thing left from the fear is the erratic beating of his heart. Jongdae licks his lips, wincing at their dryness, and clenches a hand on his chest to try and calm his heart. His first reflexe is to squint his eyes at the darkness around him, but he quickly lets it go to reach out and turn on the flashlight.

Light floods the room, and Jongdae grumbles, looking away to shield his eyes. When he's a little more used to it, after a few blinking, he notices his shirt, crumpled in a corner. With a jolt of his heart, Jongdae looks down and notices only then that he's naked, or actually, almost naked. He still has one leg in his pants.

Jongdae lets out a small chuckle as he untangles both his pants and underwear. He slips them on, grabs his shirt and pulls it on. Sehun isn't in the room, but Jongdae knew it before he turned on the flashlight. He's pretty sure Sehun would have been curled around him, like it probaby was the case when the younger boy woke up.

Pictures of the previous night flood Jongdae's mind, successfully erasing the aftermaths of his nightmare. He should have been far right now, after the village, out of Sehun's reach, but Jongdae can't find it in himself to regret what happened. How could he, when he still feels Sehun's fingers on him, his breath, his kisses? They need to talk though, because the fear is still there, lurking, and Jongdae wants a few rules, he wants every precaution possible.

Jongdae ties his belt, checking both his machete and gun, and finally heads to the door. More than the hunger grumbling in his stomach, he wants to see Sehun. He doesn't feel the need to be reassured, as he's convinced that they shared what happened the night before, meaning that what Jongdae is feeling, Sehun is feeling it too. He just... wants to see him.

Jongdae opens the door, and once again, he's greeted by the sunset's colorful light. It looks like it's coming straight out of a painter's palette, pink and orange landing smoothly on the deep green of the leaves, red mimicking fire licking the branches and a hint of faded, but velvety blue where the night has already settled. Jongdae considers the surrounding, the woods, so silent, a little bit surprised that it's already the end of the day. He doesn't feel like he's slept that much, but considering the poor amount of sleep he's gotten the two previous nights, he guesses it makes sense. He may have been in the tree house for several weeks now, it still feels odd to him to be able to sleep until his body is fully rested.

He closes the door behind him, and follows the patio to the stairs. The tree house is plunged in a thick silence, and although it is totally normal for the early hour (or late hour, depends on how you see it), Jongdae can't help but feel uneasy. His nightmare suddenly pops up in his head, and although it's still blurry and confused, it comes with a suffocating sensation of cold and fear. Jongdae scratches the back of his neck, mentally scowling himself. He would have heard it if something had happened, but even though he knows logic is on his side, he can't help but feel like something is off. His stomach knotted, Jongdae jumps over the last steps, and hurries along the main patio. He needs to find Sehun. He's probably at the lake, taking the stones they leave under burning rays of sunlight during the day to warm water when night comes. Lots of stones, Jongdae reassures himself, his voice like a mantra in his head. So both Baekhyun and Chanyeol are probably with him. They only need to be two to carry them in the tree house, but the total absence of sound in the main house is--

Jongdae stops dead in his tracks when he reaches the front door. Under the aggressive last rays of sunshine, it's impossible to mistake the puddle a couple of meters ahead of him. It's darker than the red pourring from the sun, but definitely redder than the black lurking around the forest. It's small, but it's more than enough. Jongdae's heart jumps straight into his throat.

“No,” he breathes out as he turns on his heels.

He runs back to the stairs, and hurries back on the patio around Sehun's room. Whose blood was it? There wasn't any body. Nobody screamed. Infected aren't exactly silent or discreet. Jongdae would have heard them. Sleeping in the safety of the three house hasn't made him weak, or reckless. He would have heard them.

He doesn't stop by Sehun's room, doesn't even spare it a glance as he hurries to the end of the patio and jumps on the rope ladder dangling there. It leads to the food house, in which Jongdae hurries to go. He needs to find Sehun, they need to get the fuck out of here, and fast, before dozens of Infected drag their purulent asses over here. And mostly, Jongdae needs to know it's not Sehun's blood.

He rushes to the window, which is the largest window in the whole tree house. Chanyeol built it so that they can make a large bucket go through it. Said bucket is currently tied to a rope, the rope itself tied to a thick branch just before the window. They use the bucket when they have something really heavy to carry into the food house, and now, Jongdae is going to use it as his ticket out. He could have used the rope ladder, but it would have meant being less than one meter away from the blood, and with what the ferrous smell is attracting, Jongdae couldn't risk it. He grabs the rope and throws it in the void before sliding through the window. He tries to secure his position on the branch, but he's too much in a rush, too nervous, and he loses his balance. Luckily for him, the rope is just there, and Jongdae manages to grab it before he actually falls. He doesn't get to take it correctly though, and even though it does slow him down, the rope burns his palms, bites the flesh of his hands. Jongdae grits his teeth through the pain, but for fear of bleeding, he lets go of the rope when he estimates the distance between him and the ground around three meters.

He lands with a thud, the shock reverberating through his body in waves. Jongdae curses, a flash of liquid pain going through his ankle, and he loses his balance, falling to the side. That was a bad move, he realises as he tries to move his ankle, only to be rewarded by another wave of pain.

“Fuck, fuck, fu--” he stops to look up at the trees on the other side of the tree house. He can hear them already, jaws clicking, inhuman screams, they're all getting closer. Jongdae braces himself and gets back on his feet, bitting back a moan when he puts his foot on the ground.

Something moves in the bushes on his left, and Jongdae startles, his hand immediately flying down to his waist. He pulls out his gun and aims it at the bush. Adrenaline floods him, fighting back the pain and replacing it with anger and determination. Jongdae narrows his eyes at the dense thicket, but it has stopped moving, and nothing comes out of it. Maybe it was a scared animal. Jongdae wouldn't blame it, the ruckus going through the forest and getting dangerously closer is also scaring the living daylights out of him. He'd give anything to call Sehun, but that would be really stupid right now. It could easily do more harm than good. The lake is just a few minutes from here, and Sehun has probably heard the commotion anyway. He's probably heading back to the tree house right now.

Glancing at the bush one last time, Jongdae finally turns around, and dashes off towards the lake. His first steps aren't easy, with how much he's limping, but the speed makes it easier. The speed, and the adrenaline. The second Jongdae has set off, the noises have started again in the bushes, both branches and sticks cracking, following Jongdae's trail. Jongdae is positive that no scared animal would follow him like that and run in a parallele line to his own trajectory. He doesn't need the certainty anyway, because he's pretty sure he's being hunted. He can feel it, it's choking him, crashing on him, seizing his muscles one after the other. There's a thin layer of cold sweat sliding down his temples now, and fear is making his limp worse, stealing the oxygen away from him.

Jongdae stumbles on a bundle of roots, and he loses his balance. He lands harshly on the ground, the roots digging into his side, and he whimpers. The closest bush starts shaking, as if it was laughing, and Jongdae shoots at it, red flashing through his eyes.

“Come out!” he screams at the now motionless shrub. “Come out, or leave me the fuck alone!”

He shoots three more time at it, just for good measure, but nothing happens. His whole body hurting, and fear still clenching on his heart, Jongdae gets on his hands and knees.

“Sehun!” he yells, desperate. “Sehun?!”

“Jongdae? Jongdae!”

Jongdae whimpers, out of relief. It's Chanyeol, not Sehun, but it's better than nothing. He looks at the bush, bile flooding his mouth, and a couple of seconds later, Chanyeol emerges from another one on his right. He immediately rushes to Jongdae's side, his eyes wider than usual, and the bun he usually sports messy and dishevelled. Jondgae spots a few leaves caught in it as Chanyeol helps him back on his feet.

“What happened?” Chanyeol questions, pressing. “Infected are coming our way!"

“Where is Sehun? And Baekhyun?”

Chanyeol points towards the lake with the tip of his knife. “They were at the lake fifteen minutes ago, and I decided to go and see if I could find some mushroams, but then I heard the Infected scream, and-and then it was you and--'

“Blood,” Jongdae cuts him. “There's blood in the tree house. I don't know where it comes from.”

Chanyeol's already livid face goes even paler. He makes to dash off towards the tree house, but Jongdae stops him, throwing his body against Chanyeol's chest. The latter is so much taller, and he doesn't have a fucked up ankle, which makes him very hard to hold back. Jongdae almost loses his balance, but he grips Chanyeol so tight that the latter stumble with him. Luckily for both of them, Chanyeol manages to stay on his feet.

“It could be Baekhyun!” Chanyeol protests. “Let me go Jongdae!”

Jongdae stubbornly shakes his head. “No! There was no body Chanyeol, no one! They're probably both still at the lake, we need to--” he winces, shifting his weight on his healthy foot. “We need to join them, okay? Trust me, there was nothing.”

Chanyeol seems to hesitate a bit, his eyes scanning through the trees, as if he was trying to catch the tree house. He fidgets a little, but the screams, the birds taking off with loud chirping over their heads seem to give him back his senses. He nods, slowly, and then points at Jongdae's ankle.

“Can you run?”

Jongdae nods.

“Not as fast as you though, so go ahead. Don't wait for me. Make sure they're safe, okay?” He gives Chanyeol a crooked smile, devoid of any happiness. “And come back to me after.”

Chanyeol nods, and immediately sets off. To his credit, he does try to bring Jongdae with him. He takes the latter's hand and drags him behind him, pulling him hard, but Jongdae can't follow his pace. He stumbles a few times, only avoiding the fall thanks to Chanyeol's hand, but it's only out of luck, and he can see coming the moment where he'll faceplant and break his neck. Or bleed. With a furious hiss, he pulls his hand away. Chanyeol looks over his shoulder with big eyes, and Jongdae gestures at him to keep going. Worry flash through Chanyeol's eyes, then determination, and he nods again, and darts off even faster straight into the trees.

The peacefulness usually engulfing the woods when the night comes leaves them dry and high tonight. More than the screams and the jaws clicking, it's now the sound of nails scraping wood that fills the forest. Jongdae realises with a shudder than the Infected must have reached the tree house. The blood being six meters above their heads, they must be trying to uproot the trees which, Jongdae has no doubt about it, they will. They're going to destroy the three house, their home, for a few drops of blood.

Jongdae blinks away the tears gathering in his eyes, furious. He'll be better when he'll see Sehun in flesh, when he'll be sure the latter is safe, and that those few drops of blood aren't his. Chanyeol must have reached them by now, and Jongdae will see Sehun pop out from between the trees any second now. Jongdae holds onto his machete, limping with great difficulty, his whimpers starting to sound more like sobs.

“Jongdae? Jongdae?!”

Sehun's voice emerges from the woods like light in a starless night, and Jongdae stops with a gasp of relief. His legs are shaking, and his ankle is terribly painful, but Sehun is alive. He's alive. Jongdae takes in a lungful of air to scream back at Sehun and let him know where he is, but just when the first intonation, not even a syllable yet, goes past his lips, something hits him at full speed. The shock has Jongdae's body flying away, and he lands on his stomach on the hard ground, another bundle of roots taking the air out of him. Terror swoops down on him, like a knife digging through his ribs, as he desperatly tries to breathe in. Something is clicking behind him, like empty shells falling on a stone, and Jongdae whimpers. He grabs the mat of leaves before him and starts crawling, as fast as he can despite the oxygen still refusing to enter his lungs. It's just wishful thinking though, because a pair of hands closes on his ankles, nails like claws digging in his skin, and piercing it so easily. Still out of breath, Jongdae can barely whimper when the Infected raises him and throws him above his head as though Jongdae was nothing more than an old bag. His head hits a low branch, and the pain errupts in white spots all over his vision field. He lands on an abrupt slope, and he starts rolling down before he can even realise it. He's way too disorientated to try and grab something, and once again, he crashes on the ground down the hill.

Jongdae moans, pain flooding his body. He went through a few bushes, their branches scraping his skin, and he hit a few rocks as well. From how painful breathing is, he's almost sure he cracked a few ribs, not to mention the throbbing pain in his wrist on top of the one in his ankle. What worries him the most though, is the gun he must have let go of when the Infected grabbed him. That, and said Infected rushing down the slope straight towards him, already chewing on the mere idea of turning Jongdae into a feast.

Jongdae immediately sits up, but the movement sends a new wave of pain through the wound on his temple that almost makes him faint. Dizzy, he struggles to keep his eyes open, and even the Infected jumping over the last meters between them doesn't manage to bring him back to his senses. The monster's body lands on top of him, pinning him down, and Jongdae moans, the pain in his chest turning to a growing fire. The Infected grabs his face and tilts it to have a better view over the wound on his temple. He leans down and starts licking at it, his eager tongue sliding between the edges of the wound, waking up even more pain.

It finishes to bring back Jongdae, and he pushes the monster away with a disgusted whimper. The Infected lands on his butt, and the look of surprise would be hilarious if Jongdae wasn't the one facing it. He grabs his machete and points it at the Infected as he grits his teeth. The Infected's eyes narrow at the blade, and he opens his mouth to let out an offended scream, green foam dripping down on his chin mixed with Jongdae's blood.

“You disgusting piece of shit,” Jongdae winces.

The Infected screams a second time, as if understanding the insult, and he shifts on his hands and knees in less than a second. The following one, he's all over Jongdae, but Jongdae was ready. Just when the Infected's open mouth swoops down on his face, he raises his machete, both hands secured around the handle, and he plunges it as far as possible into the Infected's stomach. It goes deeper with a repulsing squeak as Jongdae hunches his shoulders to avoid the jaw clicking above him. The Infected hisses, looking down at the blade in his stomach, looking highly revolted. Knowing that the pus flooding their bodies protects the Infected of bleeding out, hence making such, usually deadly, wounds just merely painful for the monsters, Jongdae fights back the pain in his wrist, and pulls his machete up. The blade easily cut the fragile, sick skin, and as if understanding Jongdae's goal, the Infected starts to fight back. He furiously scrapes Jongdae's face, screaming in outrage. Jongdae closes his eyes to protect them from the hysterical assaults, and keeps pulling up his blade until, finally, the Infected stops attacking him. His body falls dead on top of Jongdae, which can only mean one thing: Jongdae's machete has reached his heart.

Jongdae pushes the body away, his arms shaking. He can feel the blood on his face, and he knows how dangerous it is for him to stay there, but he finds it difficult to move. His whole body hurts, from his ankle to the throbbing pain in his head, and he's currently uncontrollably shaking.

“Jongdae?! Jongdae, where are you?!”

Jongdae opens his eyes, immediately reacting to Sehun's voice. It's more distant than the first time he heard it, and the reason why is obvious. The Infected thrown him down a hill, and Sehun is still up there, searching for him. Still shaking, Jongdae sits up, wincing, and turns his head towards the top of the hill.

“Sehun!” he screams. “Se--”

The rest of Sehun's name dies down in the back of Jongdae's throat as something passes just a few inches from his face, falling from the sky. Intrigued, Jongdae looks down, and his blood immediately freezes in his veins.

He reaches out, slowly, and closes his fingers around one of the two empty, and very familiar tubes lying on the ground before him. His tubes. He remembers getting his bag back from Seulgi after Jongin's death, and realising someone rummaged through it. He also remembers thinking it was Sehun, but he never actually asked him. He never even mentionned it. He had just completely forgotten. What he hasn't forgotten though, is that those two tubes, the last tubes he had, were full when he lost them. At least, now he can be sure the blood in the tree house wasn't Sehun's. It was his.

Jongdae lets go of the tube, his heart surprisingly very slow and calm. He looks up, and when his eyes settle on those, bloodshot, already staring down at him, he holds them, defying.

So it was the alpha the day before. Jongdae should have known better, especially after the ambush he had set up for him and Yeri at the warehouse. In all honesty, he looks even smarter now, with the faint smirk he's sporting. His lips have been so gnawed that they're almost non existent, chunks of flesh here and there the only reminders left that this man was a plain human being before. In all honesty, the alpha looks like he went through hell and back, his body covered in wounds and scratches Jongdae is almost sure he hadn't when their paths crossed for the first time. He takes pleasure in imagining the alpha got them all while he was franctically searching for him. At least, it was no pleasure cruise for him as well. It's a small consolation prize, but oh how Jongdae values it.

The alpha crouches down, still perched up in the tree above Jongdae. He's holding himself onto a higher branch, and he looks so confident up there, so comfortable with the heights, when the rest of his kind has never even thought of actually looking up at the trees. Jongdae has flashes of him leading other Infected up the roof, back when he was guarding the street with Soojung, and red fills through his vision. He's done playing, he's done being scared. That asshole has been after him for too long now, and it's time for him to disappear. Jongin died because of him.

Jongdae's eyes harden on the alpha. He raises his hand and flashes his middle finger at the Infected.

“I hope all those wounds are painful, you asshole,” he hisses.

The alpha glances at his middle finger, and he groans. Jongdae barely sees him tense his muscles before he jumps off the branch, and Jongdae startles, immediately throwing himself backwards to try and grab his machete, the blade still deep into the other Infected's heart. The alpha wastes no time to jump on him, and his jaw closes on the first thing Jongdae's position gives him, which is his left hip. Jongdae feels the teeth dig through his shirt then the flesh so easily, as if he was as soft as a marshmallow. The pain is excruciating, violent. Jongdae convulses when the alpha's teeth scrape his bone, his scream stuck in the back of his throat, and he closes his fingers around the first thing he can. He throws it against the alpha's temple, and the shock makes the latter falls backwards. Darkness lurking on the edges of his vision, Jongdae has to blink a few times at the thing in his hand to identify it as a stone.

It flies off his hand when the alpha jumps back on him though, and this time, Jongdae manages to scream when teeth close on his shoulder. He hits repeatedly the Infected's head with his other hand to try and have him lets go of him, but the alpha doesn't let go. He even flashes an amused look at Jongdae, as he, honest to god, starts to pur, his tongue licking Jongdae's blood between his teeth. Jongdae starts crying, struggling as hard as he can. He grabs a handful of the Infected's hair and pulls hard on it. It comes off with no resistance, still attached to a small strap of rotten skin, and Jongdae screams as he throws it away. He searches on the ground next to him, eyes wide opened, terrified and bordering on insanity. His fingers close around a stick just when the alpha starts munching the edges of the wound, and Jongdae grabs the stick with a convulsion. He reaches up with another scream, and hammers the stick right in the alpha's eye. The latter jolts up with a pained shriek that sounds like music to Jongdae's ears.

He manages to pull the alpha off him, the latter trying to pull away the stick with hysterical gestures that only drives it deeper in his eye. Jongdae jumps on him, toppling him over. He grabs another stick and plunges it in the remaining eye of the Infected. The latter screams out of pain this time, and he throws Jongdae away. Even though he's now blind, he's still stronger than Jongdae, so the latter goes flying in the air. He crashes against the trunk, then on the ground, his pained moan turning into a cough, blood flooding his mouth. The ferrous taste has him choking, gaging, until he has to get on his hands and knees to spit it on the dead leaves. Shaking, Jongdae shifts on his knees to take a better look at the alpha. The latter is riggling on the ground, screaming in both rage and pain as he tries to pull away the sticks. At this rate, Jongdae could leave him like that, and sooner or later, the Infected will manager to drive one of the sticks straight into his brain, but it sounds like too much of a favor in his head. That asshole has killed Jongin, and he has chased him until here. The tree house is gone, destroyed because of him, and his little schemes could have had his friends killed. Hell, they could be dead, for all Jongdae knows. No, he won't let him a chance to survive, not a single one.

Jongdae looks around him, and when he spots a huge rock a few steps ahead, he can't stop himself from giggling madly. He glances at the alpha again, and then proceeds to get back on his feet. His whole body hurts like he never thought it'd be possible to hurt, and he doesn't dare to look at the wounds on his hip and shoulder, the warmth fluid dripping from them enough of an answer for now. It's reaching his knee, covering his chest, but Jongdae will worry about that later. For now, all that matters, is that rock and the strength that he'll need to carry it.

Jongdae limps his way to it. He looks at the alpha, and then bends down to catch the rock. The effort needed to pull it up has him almost fainting, but he clenches his jaw and shakes the darkness away. He walks back to the alpha and stops next to the latter's face. That idiot has scraped his face trying to pull away the sticks, and even teared apart his skin here and there. Jongdae can spot the bone of his cheekbone through foaming green pus, and it's surprisingly white, surprisingly smooth.

“Hey asshole,” he says.

The alpha immediately stops struggling, snaping his head towards Jongdae's with a terrifying precision. The two sticks in his eye sockets seem to be glaring at him, but Jongdae doesn't let it impress him. The Infected opens his mouth wide, flashing his teeth at him. They're red, red with Jongdae's blood. The alpha starts screaming, so angry, so deadly, so--

Jondgae lets the rock fall on the alpha's face, and the scream immediately stops with a disgusting splashing sound.

“Shut the fuck up,” Jongdae grumbles.

He wincing, staggering backwards as the blood dripping down his leg reach his calf. He finally looks down, expecting the most terrible sight to welcome him, but there's too much blood on his shirt and pants, and it actually keeps him from studying the wound. It felt deep, really deep, when the alpha bit him, but with a good bandage maybe... he'll need one for his shoulder too, and his head. But not here, not now.

“JONGDAE?!” Sehun's voice echoes through the forest above his head, and Jongdae whimpers. He glances at the machete still burried in the first Infected's chest, and looks away, immediately heading to the slope. He needs to climb up, to Sehun, Baekhyun and Chanyeol. To Sehun.

“No, no!” Sehun screams up the hill. “Let me go, he's not-we need to look for him!”

Jongdae freezes. He squints his eyes at the top, and barely manages to hear Chanyeol's voice over the ruckus still going through the forest. He has no idea why other Infected haven't found their way to him yet, and he supposes it might have to do with the alpha. He's pretty sure he told his 'friends' to stay away from him, but now that he's dead...

It's not the only reason, and totally not the main one, why he's gripping tufts of grass after tufts of grass to help him haul himself up on the slope as fast as he can despite the pain and the dizziness still threatening to take him. No, it's both Chanyeol and Baekhyun's voices, that are too soft for him to catch the words, but also too soft for them to be doing anything else than trying to convince Sehun that he's dead. Jongdae starts crying again when an umpteenth branch break under his weight, making slide down of a few inches. There's dirt in his hip wound, and it stings, it stings so bad, but Jongdae can't stop now, he can't let them take Sehun away.

Sehun keeps screaming his name, his voice strong, then weaker, more distant.

“Sehun,” Jongdae whimpers, shaking. He closes his eyes, and takes in a lungful of air, gathering his strength. “SEHUN!” he yells as loud as he can.

The only answer he gets is the distant roaring of an engine. Jongdae snaps his eyes open, his heart skipping a beat. The car.

“No, no, no, no,” he moans. He uses a thin trunk next to him to get back on his feet, wincing. Glancing at the few meters separating him from the top of the slope, he grits his teeth and starts running towards it.

It's oddly liberating to run when your whole body feels like it's going to give up on you any minute now, and for a split second, Jongdae thinks he's running away from the pain, and even outrunning it. It's just an short-lived thought though, because the pain comes back, stronger, and it has him staggering. He loses his balance and falls forwards, but he uses his hands to stop himself from faceplanting. Pushing hard on his palms, he then straightens up and starts running again, determined. The car's engine is still purring, but it doesn't sound like it's growing more distant, and Jongdae has the feeling Sehun is still struggling, still trying to come and look for him.

“Yes,” he pants. “I'm still alive Sehun, I'm still alive...”

His left foot catches a bundle of roots, and this time, Jongdae doesn't manage to avoid the fall. He lands abruptly on his stomach, and coughs at the shock, wincing. There's blood in his mouth, so he spits it. He's only a few inches from the top of the slope, but it's enough for him to feel his body starting to slide down. He opens his eyes wide and throws himself forward. His fingers close around a few roots, and Jongdae uses them to finish to haul himself up. He manages to get back on his feet, and rushes towards the road where he knows the car is parked on.

He speeds up when he hears the doors close a few steps later. He's close, so close. Sehun is there, around the corner. They're going to leave that forest together, leave all those Infected behind and--

Jongdae emerges from the trees at the precise moment the car drives away, and it's so ironic that he stands there, panting and flabbergasted. It takes him a few seconds to realise that the engine's roars are drawing away, and a few more seconds to realise what it means. Jongdae feels himself breaking under the consequences, the realisation that China is huge, and the world huger, and that he'll never manage to find them again. They're gone, Sehun is gone, a day after he wanted to leave because he couldn't bare the idea of losing Sehun.

Jongdae grabs a stick on the floor and throws it towards the road.

“I'm alive!” he screams at the darkness replacing the silhouette of the car.

The car doesn't come back, it doesn't reappear, not even to run him over, and that's a shame, that's a real shame. Jongdae whimpers, falling on his knees, completely lost. He has no idea what to do now, he doesn't even know if there's something left to do.

“I'm alive,” he starts sobbing, clenching his fingers on the dirt. There's blood on his left hand, blood that comes from his shoulder, and with every drip falling to the ground comes the harsh realisation. He's not strong enough to run after the car, he can't even gather the strength to get back on his feet.

Jongdae wipes his face with his cleaner hand as he tries to stop the tears from choking him up.

“Jongdae?”

Jongdae startles. He turns over, and gasps when he sees Sehun standing behind him. His eyes are swollen, red, and his cheeks are wet. He's watching him, dumbstruck and confused, but the faster his eyes go from Jongdae's face to the road, the more livid he becomes.

“Oh god,” Sehun moans.

He rushes to Jongdae, his knees hitting the ground with a thud, and he takes him by the shoulders. Jongdae hisses when Sehun's fingers graze his wound and he pulls away, moaning. Sehun freezes as he first glances at his palm, now covered with blood, then at Jongdae's shoulder.

“You-You're bleeding,” he says. His eyes, still wide and terrified, go from Jongdae's shoulder to his hip, his other hand hovering Jongdae's face, but not daring to touch him. Jongdae can feel them all, the wounds, the scrapes, the blood. It's putting down a veil on his eyes, taking his thoughts away from him, but despite how confused he feels, he can still make out Sehun's horrified face as the latter glances at the road again.

“They're gone,” Jondgae says, his voice breaking. Sehun should have been in the car too, he can see it now. He should have been safe, away from him. He starts crying, painful and hysterical sobs shaking him.

Sehun throws him a worried look.

“Hey, hey,” he hushes him. “It's okay, it's okay...” He cups Jondgae's face, and looks at the road again. He looks so scared, so young. It only makes Jongdae cry harder.

“You're still here,” Jongdae sobs.

Sehun looks back at him. His lower lip is quivering, and he nods, managing a faint, shaking smile that dies down the second he starts wiping Jongdae's tears away.

“Of course,” Sehun says with a broken, small voice. His hands are covered with Jongdae's blood now, but it doesn't stop him from wiping his tears. He leaves a trail of red on his own face when tears begin to blind him too. “Of course,” he repeats, sobbing.

Jongdae lets out a small breath, somewhere between relief and regret, and he chuckles lightly. He feels so weak, so cold, but Sehun is there, holding him, his fingers leaving soft touches on him. He didn't leave, he chose him...

Jongdae closes his eyes, and lets his head falls forward until his forehead presses against Sehun's shoulder. Sehun wraps his arms around him, and kisses him on the temple, his own sobs echoing Jongdae's cries. He buries his face in the crook of Sehun's neck, and breathes in the scent of sap, and Sehun's natural scent while Sehun's fingers hover over his wounds, shaking. He lets Sehun check up on him, slowly falling into a hazy state of conscience until, at last, Sehun's fingers stop on his jawline and tilt his head for him to have a better look at the wound on his temple. Jongdae looks up through heavy eyelids, slowly smiling when he takes in Sehun's features. He's still as beautiful as ever despite how wrecked he looks. A faint blush has spread on his cheekbones and colored the tip of his nose, and his hair is sticking out on the back of his head. He has the most delicate features, the darkest eyes and the pinkest lips, and grace even radiates from his lashes when he blinks. Jongdae can't help but picture him jumping from branches to branches, his long and slender legs seizing the void and the distance between the trees as if they were nothing. He's the most ethereal thing Jongdae has ever seen, and he's right there, in his arms.

Sehun sniffs as he stares back, and he lets out a long, and shaky sigh. He glances at the forest around them, but this time, his eyes don't linger on the road. He dries his face with his sleeve, and does the same with Jongdae's cheeks, his gestures caring and soft, and terribly determined.

“Okay,” Sehun says in a whisper. Jongdae looks up at him. His body is pitching, or maybe it's his mind. He's not sure.

Sehun secures him though, with gentle fingers curling under Jongdae's chin, and he raises his face. Their eyes meet again, and they exchange a look. Sehun leans down and kisses him on the lips, softly.

Around them, the forest has turned into a giant beast, a monster that screams, bites and breathes, and it feels like the trees are closing in on them, trapping them to make sure they'll still be here when the actual beasts will get to them. They can't hear nor the birds' outraged protests at the noise disrupting their sleep, nor the car over the commotion anymore. Actually, the only thing Jongdae can hear is his own heart, thumping in his ears.

Sehun slips his gun in Jongdae's hand and closes his fingers around the handle. His eyes never leave Jongdae's, not even for a split second, as he takes an arrow out of his quiver and grabs his bow.

“Ready?” Sehun asks him.

Jongdae watches him. He thinks about Jongdeok, about Jongin and Yeri. He thinks about Soojung and Seulgi, and he smiles. It's time to stay.

“Ready,” he nods.

Sehun gets back on his feet and turns towards the forest, drawing his bow and aiming at the trees. Jongdae watches him for as long as he can, but without Sehun holding him now, he irremediably falls on his side. He faintly smiles and tightens his hold on the gun, raising it barely an inch above the ground with a shaking arm, and aims towards the trees, the screams.

His fingers in the dirt, Jongdae removes the safety.

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