⛓️

It was that time of the month again. That time that Hongjoong specifically didn't like and didn't care for, as the whole process took copious amounts of time and was mentally draining to say the least.

And this time, Hongjoong had a feeling it'd last even longer.

"Stop frowning, Joongie," Yunho assured him as soon as they both stepped through the portal that'd led them to the Gathering. He was dressed in a long winter coat, hands shoved into its pockets as the air over here was bordering on negative degrees. Even when he was of aquatic variance and should've been used to the cold by now, he wasn't.

"I'm not frowning," Hongjoong grumbled although it was quite obvious he was. Several other Variants surrounded them in their casual wears, chatting and laughing with each other despite the gloomy ambiance the Gathering exuded. But it wasn't surprising; almost everyone here was used to it by now, after all.

The Gathering was the rather simple name given to the large set of aged-up buildings that stretched over miles and miles of snow. In there they would gather, train and lecture Variants, as well as assign areas of specialization for the every new Variant they received. A lot went on in there, but Hongjoong wasn't in the mood to give any more details.

He just wanted to go back to his house already, or maybe even sneak up on Seonghwa and watch the guy go bonkers over him.

"Cheer up. I think everything would take nothing more than two hours this time," Yunho said again, forever his highly optimistic self. It was a trait Hongjoong admired and so desperately wished he also had, but alas he and his brother were built different, both physically and mentally.

"We'd be lucky if it was only two hours," Hongjoong replied with a huff as he played with his fingerless gloves. Usually by now he would've engaged in conversation with the other Variants, because it wasn't everyday he got to see so many people just like him gathered in one area, but he didn't want to be here right now.

"Okay. I'll give you 20,000 won if the whole thing lasts more than two hours," Yunho told him.

"30,000 won."

"20,000. I don't shit money, you know?"

It wasn't very often Yunho swore, so Hongjoong couldn't help but laugh. "Fine. I'll give you the same if everything ends in two hours."

Yunho's much larger hand shook his. "Deal."

Yeah, sometimes Hongjoong did wish he was as tall as his brother, but then he remembered he liked his small size as it allowed him to be nondescript, as well as to stay more hidden whenever he had missions. People tended to underestimate him because of his height, and there was nothing he enjoyed more than to see their shocked faces when they finally saw just how insanely powerful he was.

And besides, Yunho was a baby.

A deep grating sound echoed through the atmosphere, drawing Hongjoong's attention to the gigantic main doors that were now opening up, reminding him quite frankly of a Mon's mouth. He'd been familiar with those same doors for a long time now, and they were in dire need of an intervention (or a prompt destruction). Either way, they were practically ancient and an eyesore to look at, and Hongjoong hated seeing them whenever he arrived here.

As soon as he and Yunho entered the Gathering, they spent about thirty minutes in the central hall sitting through a boring, monotonous speech about how they'd done the right thing by choosing to use their powers for good by ridding the dimensions of dangerous Mons. It was repetitive and predictable to Hongjoong by now, the boy tuning out the entire thing by the time the first five minutes had passed.

Next were the blood samples that needed to be taken from them in order to check their health and see if they hadn't been 'contaminated'. Hongjoong had no problem getting his blood drawn, but that couldn't be said for Yunho.

"Try not to look at the needle," Hongjoong advised the taller male as soon as it was his turn to go. The medical official for their group had already gotten his blood sample, and despite the dull sting in his arm he was fine overall. "It'll be over in a sec."

"I know," Yunho pouted, "but it makes me nauseous."

"I'll buy you those burgers you like after we're done, hm?" Hongjoong assured, Yunho nodding along. It was clear he was still nervous as fuck, but luckily he didn't have a breakdown over it like he'd done countless of times when they'd both been new at this.

"A-Alright," Yunho replied, before heading into the room, the door closing after him.

Hongjoong had spent nearly half his life getting acquainted with this place. The Officials were the ones to take him, shelter him and give him a tangible reason to exist, but even with that a part of him still held a distrust for higher institutions like them. He'd always had ever since what happened, and it wasn't going to change anytime soon.

⛓️

"So...I've ran through all your records and I can see you've successfully completed all your missions." Steve -- one of the very few Officials around here that was close in age with Hongjoong and Yunho -- said as he peered away from the wide computer screen. He ran a hand through his platinum blond hair, adjusting his framed glasses in the process. "And everything's been going well without any problems so far."

Hongjoong itched to leave already. He didn't like spending too much time here without Yunho by his side, and he knew the taller boy felt the same. "I guess so."

Steve smiled, his pale blue eyes crinkling. He was also one of the few young Variant Officials around here. "How's it going with that Park guy?"

Hongjoong frowned, disliking the way Steve referred to Seonghwa. "He's Human, no doubt about it."

"We received intel that he can see Mons."

"He isn't the only human able to, you know that. Can I leave now?" Hongjoong replied without missing a beat, pretending he didn't notice how Steve was watching him.

Steve sighed. "It's been a while since I've seen you, Hongjoong. We should talk."

Hongjoong narrowed his eyes, teeth gritted. "There's nothing to talk about."

"I like you, Hongjoong. I've liked you for a long time now, yet you keep pushing me away," Steve told him, looking genuinely affected by the way Hongjoong kept staring at him. "I've known you since you first came here, and we were such close friends."

"We are friends," Hongjoong corrected. "Nothing more."

Of course, Hongjoong remembered his first day at the insitution like it was yesterday. He and Yunho had been traumatised to bits, and being in an unfamiliar place only worsened the feeling. Steve, only being three years older than them at the time had swiftly befriended them both, and they were all good friends until Steve developed feelings that Hongjoong couldn't reciprocate.

"Come on," Steve said, "you even dated Choi San at one point, and you both didn't even like each other that much at first. So what's stopping you from dating me?"

An image of Seonghwa lying on the rooftop, smiling and staring at him through his pretty doe eyes flashed inside Hongjoong's mind right then. His fists clenched. "It's forbidden for an Official to talk about these things with someone like me. And my twenty minutes with you are up."

Steve slowly nodded, backing off. "...Alright. See you."

Hongjoong left the familiar white office, finally feeling able to breathe again. Seated at one corner of the expansive waiting room were Yunho and San, talking quietly about something.

"Hey Hongjoong," San greeted. Like Yunho, he wore a long coat and had on a beanie to complete the look. "Yikes. You look like you're about to murder someone."

"We need to leave now," Hongjoong said, and Yunho immediately stood up.

"How many hours did we spend here?" Yunho asked, a teasing lilt to his voice.

Hongjoong huffed. "...Less than two hours."

Yunho grinned and humbly cheered, while San stared confusedly between the two of them.

"Look. I already said I'm treating you to burgers," Hongjoong explained, smiling a little bit when Yunho just ruffled his hair. The bad taste his meeting with Steve had left in his mouth disappeared with his brother's presence. He felt a little better now.

"I'm just kidding with you, Joongie," Yunho smiled. "There's no way I'll make you spend that much money on me."

"Did I miss something?" San questioned.

Hongjoong shrugged, walking off with the other two at his back. "Nothing much."

"Fucking shit," San suddenly cursed, wiggling his elongated right arm like it was a rubber band. "This always happens when I get my blood drawn."

Yunho laughed. "Glad nothing like that happens to me. Hey, is Seong -- are Seonghwa and Mingi okay now?"

At the mention of Seonghwa, Hongjoong slightly paused, pulse racing. Luckily, Yunho and San didn't notice anything.

San held a thumbs up. "Mingi called me earlier and said he's happy."

Hongjoong should've been glad. He'd known just how much Seonghwa had worried over his and Mingi's friendship, even to the point of overthinking every little thing. But he wasn't glad.

No, his mood just plummeted, and he didn't even know the exact reason why.

⛓️

Seonghwa didn't know where he was, but then again his dreams hadn't been making much sense lately.

He was wearing dark boots that dug into pale white snow. Snowflakes of all shapes and sizes swirled every-which way, lightly grazing his clothed limbs and snuggling on top his dark hair. Trees with bare branches littered the area, and the air was cold. Freezing.

Shivers descended down his spine as he took a step forward, and then another step. Right in front of him stood a lengthy gate so tall it seemed to reach the cloudy heavens.

But that wasn't what caught his attention.

Beside him with a detached look on his face was Hongjoong. He had on a pristine gold and purple coat that snugly hugged his smaller form, his black gloved hands pushing apart the rusted iron gate like it was cardboard.

Hongjoong... Seonghwa opened his mouth to say, but nothing came out. His tongue felt a thousand times heavier, unable to articulate any words that could alert the shorter boy of his presence.

Hongjoong walked past him like he wasn't even there and entered through the gates, his expression still unreadable.

Seonghwa fell into step behind him out of his own free will. He still had no idea why Hongjoong was there or if what he was witnessing was real or not, but he wanted to find out.

Hongjoong continued to walk towards the sizeable building in the distance, his attire making him appear nothing less than majestic.

Several times, Seonghwa had tried to make his presence known, but all to no avail. Hongjoong couldn't see him nor was aware that he was there, which only meant that Seonghwa was most likely dreaming.

He was dreaming about Hongjoong.

Hongjoong stopped before the building, the place ruined with broken exteriors, chipped wood and stained windows. Seonghwa had never seen this building before, but he guessed that maybe this wasn't real as well. After all, he was only dreaming. Nothing here actually existed except for him and Hongjoong.

The shorter boy slowly knelt on the ground, snowflakes still tumbling all around them. He planted his palms on the snow, jaws clenched and eyes suddenly sparking with turbulent rage.

Shock submerged every single one of Seonghwa's senses as ice broke through Hongjoong's hands and violently crystallized the snow, scattering and increasing at a scarily rapid pace. The ice punctured everywhere Seonghwa looked, spreading apart like a thin, glassy web of death.

He swore he couldn't breathe when the sharp ice rose and broke through the already sorry state of the building, promptly ripping it in two.

But that wasn't enough as Hongjoong then slammed his fist on the ice, causing some kind of ripple to break through the surface. The sound it made was booming. The air surrounding Hongjoong and Seonghwa tightened and collided, forming a huge tornado that sucked the rest of the building in and made the ground tremble and cry out.

What the hell was happening?? Seonghwa thought, trying to block his ears as more destruction commenced. His eyes fell on Hongjoong who still knelt on the snow, and before he could think twice about it he rushed towards him, using his utmost strength to push through all the noise and the chaos.

"Hongjoong!" He yelled, but the smaller boy didn't respond. Not even when blinding streaks of lightning broke through the skies, rain quickly dousing them from head to toe.

Seonghwa continued yelling Hongjoong's name, but nothing was changing. Hongjoong's eyes remained on where the building had previously stood, wicked flames dancing brightly inside them.

As soon as Hongjoong was within arm's reach, Seonghwa pulled him close from behind. The shorter's body went lax in his arms like he'd given up, but his eyes kept glaring at the space in front of them. Puddles formed next to their bodies, but Seonghwa didn't once let Hongjoong go, hoping with all his might that everything would go back to normal.

The tears in Hongjoong's eyes and his whimpers mixed with the steady downpour, his heartbeat so deafening that it became all Seonghwa could hear.

"Please... please calm down. Everything's okay," Seonghwa assured with every shallow inhale. Shivers racked through his frame, and Hongjoong's deathly cold body didn't make things any better. The latter's eyes still burned and stared ahead of them, even when Seonghwa reached out and timidly wiped away the stubborn drops of rain that clung to his curved eyelashes.

As the rabid tornado gradually cleared off, an old sign board was all that was left of the building. Its surface was weathered, pieces of it splintered about, but Seonghwa could still read the nearly faded words carved into it.

Sunrise Orphanage.

⛓️

a/n: thoughts?