tw: brief mentions of child experimentation

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Seonghwa wasn't surprised he ended up in an unfamiliar place again as soon as he'd fallen asleep. Before, he'd rarely paid much mind to his dreams and sometimes he didn't even dream at all, but lately he'd find himself stuck somewhere he hadn't seen before, somewhere that usually felt so candid it was like he was actually experiencing it in real life.

This time, the place appeared to be some squared off area with glass walls that stretched above and beyond. Seonghwa's eyes opened to dreary surroundings and his arms caged around his knees. He slowly extended his limbs before he could feel any more claustrophobic, wondering why the hell he was here.

His answer quickly came though, and it was in the form of the lone figure at the opposite corner seated in a similar position to him.

"Hong...joong?" Seonghwa's voice echoed along the vast chamber, quickly earning the brown haired boy's attention.

Hongjoong had on a bright yellow sweater with sleeves that extended to his palms, as well as overalls that seemed far too preppy and childlike for...wherever they were. But he looked nothing less than adorable, the sight of him distracting Seonghwa for a second before he remembered the present.

"Wow," Hongjoong's grin matched the impeccable twinkle in his eyes as he dusted off the imaginary dirt on him and made his way to the taller male. "You're... actually here."

"What do you mean?" Seonghwa rather dumbly asked. It wasn't his fault, though. He couldn't quite concentrate on anything whenever Hongjoong was around, no matter how freaking cliche that sounded.

Hongjoong settled down next to him, tugging at his sweater sleeves. "I wanted you here tonight, and you ended up showing up." His glossy lips curled into a firm line. "We need to talk."

Seonghwa tried to pretend he had no idea what the shorter was talking about, tried to pretend like his pointed stares weren't affecting him in the slightest. "Talk about what?"

Hongjoong looked unimpressed, cutting straight to the case without despite Seonghwa's attempts to stall. "You need to let me know what went on when Dr Hwang treated you. You've been avoiding telling me all week."

"That's because nothing happened," Seonghwa let out, his voice thinning out at the end. His hands ran over his sweatpants, clenching over the fabric while he hoped he sounded believable enough.

"You know," Hongjoong began, tilting his head as he observed the older's tension. His yellowish eyes looked a lot more intense, like they could see right through him. "You really suck at lying."

"I do not," Seonghwa denied, hating the way his voice came out all whiny and defensive. He frowned when Hongjoong just started to laugh. "Seriously. I'm a good liar."

"So you admit that you're lying," the shorter boy stated, catching him in the act.

Seonghwa's ears turned a deep red. "I'm not," he weakly mumbled, his last chance at trying to get Hongjoong to somehow believe him.

Hongjoong stayed quiet for a while, slowly surveying his face. Seonghwa quickly noticed, and it caused his reddened ears to burn even more.

"What?" He questioned.

Hongjoong broke out into a giggle, shaking his head a bit. "Nothing. You're just really cute."

This was just like the other moments where Hongjoong would casually let out a compliment about how cute, or lovely, or attractive he was, and just like those times, an army of butterflies swarmed his stomach and suffocated him with the best kind of nausea possible. It sounded weird, but it made total sense to him.

"Where are we?" And, like most times Hongjoong's words alone made him blush like a stop sign, Seonghwa tried to deflect the topic to something else.

"One of the 'fear boxes' I got held in during my experimentation days," Hongjoong replied with little to no hesitance in his tone. As soon as Seonghwa heard his words though, he felt like leaving immediately.

"Jesus. That's fucked up," he said, catching sight of the way Hongjoong shrugged.

"It's supposed to be a nightmare -- just like most of my dreams lately -- but seeing you here just... alleviates my nervousness. I don't feel as stressed out when you're present."

Seonghwa felt touched as he really hadn't expected Hongjoong to say that, but he could relate. Truly. The shorter was always present whenever he panicked, held his hand and comforted him whenever he needed it most. He was just so good at making Seonghwa happy, even when he didn't do anything at all.

"What is this? 'Spill your guts night'?" Seonghwa joked, loosening up as soon as Hongjoong went along with his teasing. His heart skipped a beat when Hongjoong graced him with a big smile that was just so pretty.

"I dunno. Maybe?" Seonghwa's heart raced even more once he felt Hongjoong's head nuzzling over his chest. "I'll tell you something else too about me. It's something I've never admitted to anyone else apart from Yunho, and maybe it'll make it easier to 'spill your guts' about what you and Dr Hwang talked about."

Seonghwa scrunched his face in mock disgust. "Now that you said it, let's not use 'spill your guts' ever again."

"...Spill your guts."

"Joong." Said male began to snigger, broadening the smile on Seonghwa's face. "Stop it."

"Spill your guts, spill your guts, spill your guts -- "

Seonghwa swooped in and effectively shut Hongjoong up with a quick kiss, knowing it would work. "Shh."

"Now I'm just tempted to say those words again to get another kiss from you," Hongjoong breathed, and to be honest, Seonghwa was tempted too.

Leaning in again, he captured the shorter's lips once more, revelling in how cotton soft his lips felt against his. "...And luckily for you, you don't need to say anything to get me to kiss you."

Hongjoong grimaced, but even with this, his grip on Seonghwa tightened. Now his head found its place on the slope of the taller's neck. "Cheesy ass."

Seonghwa felt a giggle bubble up his throat. Gosh, for what felt like the hundredth time tonight, he widely grinned. "Only for you."

Hongjoong pretended to barf. "Okay, okay. Let's move on now."

Seonghwa laughed, eyes zeroing in on the smaller boy's hand trying to play with his as discreetly as it could. "Sure. What did you wanna tell me?"

Hongjoong's thin fingers stopped fiddling with his. "...Well, I already told you about Yunho and I being put in the 'aquatic section' while being experimented on, right?"

It was slight, but it was still noticeable. Seonghwa could hear it as clear as day. Hongjoong was unsure, conflicted.

"Wait. Hold on to me for a sec," Seonghwa instructed, hoping his attempt at what he was about to do would turn out to be a success. Hongjoong obeyed him easily, and before they knew it, the world turned on its edge, their surroundings warping out of existence.

Cloudy pinks and sunny peaches shone through the atmosphere, a steadying wind enveloping both males. A soft, spacious blanket cushioned their fall, and everywhere they looked there were daisies of all sizes swaying about in the air.

"Woah, what the hell?" Hongjoong exclaimed, his words opposing the fondness and outright adoration lacing his tone. He stared right at Seonghwa, wide-eyed and amazed. "Hwa, where is this place?"

Seonghwa beamed at the realization that his plan had worked out, after all. He peered up at the sky, the setting sun akin to a supernova shooting dazzling orange sparks everywhere. Even the puffy lavender coloured clouds did next to nothing to lessen its brilliance.

They even had two picnic baskets in front of them, just like he'd envisioned.

"I just thought of it now," Seonghwa remarked, amazed himself. "I was like, 'where would Hongjoong love to be right now', and somehow I came up with this place."

Hongjoong continued to stare at him in wonder. "Wow, Seonghwa," his arms wrapped around his waist, "I love this so much. This is like, my dream date!"

Seonghwa's neck burned as he fought really hard not to show just how much Hongjoong's devastatingly adorable self affected him. "It is?"

"I know it may sound lame, but I always dreamed of having a picnic with you right as the sun sets," Hongjoong admitted, cupping the taller's cheek. "And now that I am, I feel like I'm falling for you all over again."

Seonghwa grinned, his heart vivaciously beating inside his chest. "You're so cringe, but I love it."

"Shut up." Hongjoong seemed like the bashful one, for once. He entwined their hands, running his thumb over the curve of Seonghwa's knuckles. "Let's eat something first; that way I'll feel better about what I want to say."

"You don't need to tell me anything you don't want to. You know that, right?" Seonghwa said, watching as Hongjoong pulled the first basket towards them.

"I know. But I want to. I like it when we're able to freely communicate," Hongjoong placed a slice of pie on a plate and passed it over to Seonghwa. "Communication is...so sexy."

Seonghwa felt like he'd heard wrong. He laughed out loud. "I totally did not expect that."

"It's 'cause I'm unpredictable, babe," Hongjoong replied, before going on to bite his slice of pie in the most provocative way possible, causing Seonghwa to start coughing.

"What the fuck did you just do?" Seonghwa said, more in shock than anything else.

"What did I just do?" Hongjoong repeated with a shrug, innocently nibbling on his pie.

Seonghwa decided not to press further, mostly for his sanity. He didn't eat much -- not because he hated the food or anything -- but because of the sheer awe his surroundings left him in. He couldn't stop looking at the fiery orange sky, the purple clouds and the cute daisies littered across the field. But most of all, he couldn't stop staring at the boy right next to him; the most picturesque sight out of everything else.

He waited until his boyfriend was done and comfortable enough to share whatever he wanted, and as they cuddled underneath the dimming skies, Hongjoong eventually released what had been on his mind.

"A water snake; that's the animal I now share my genes with," he muttered, chewing his lip. "No offense, snakes are cool, but I hated myself those first few years after undergoing those experiments. I did all I could to...sort of hide myself, I guess. I wore whatever I could to get people's eyes on my attire instead of me, and avoided talking to anyone that wasn't Yunho, which, now that I look back on it, seemed more like a coping mechanism more than anything. I thought I was some sort of freak, but as time passed, I learnt to accept myself and everything that made me who I am. The word 'freak' soon meant something unique, something amazing that I embodied." Hongjoong paused, his eyes reflecting the disappearing sunlight. "Yunho got the worst of it, though. I think it was because he was bigger than most of the kids back then. Those twisted scientists mixed and matched whatever they could with him like it was all some fucking game to them. Sometimes, no matter how hard I try not to, I can still hear his cries on those days, begging them to stop..."

Seonghwa pulled Hongjoong closer to him and made sure he didn't let him go for one second. He gently kissed his hair, hating the way his smile had totally disappeared. "I'm so sorry."

Hongjoong grazed his fingers over a daisy, its white petals complementing his nails. "It's okay, Seonggie. I'm just so glad I could finally talk to you about it." He watched the older, grinning brightly at him. "I really like it when we talk things out."

Seonghwa felt too guilty to return Hongjoong's smile. Instead, he looked away, wondering how he could word what he wanted to say in the best way he could. He figured he just needed to say it, with no overthinking on his part. Like ripping off a bandaid.

"I get hallucinations," he confessed, deciding on taking his own advice. "I see this masked shadow several times a week, as well as the flames it brings along with it. And... and sometimes, it talks to me. It's terrifying. Dr Hwang said it's like my own personal Mon. I can only gain control of it once I hone my powers."

"When did it start?" Hongjoong questioned. He was extremely worried, if his tone alone was enough to go by.

"At Flora. On the tower." Seonghwa ignored the lump in his throat, as well as that horrid memory.

"Shit," Hongjoong turned to face him directly. "I'd seen you shouting at something that wasn't there -- Yunho had too. But we both thought it was as a result of something else. I had no idea."

"That makes me feel even worse," Seonghwa admitted. "Now I feel crazy."

"You're not crazy," Hongjoong quickly denied the taller's claims, cuddling up on his lap in no time. "Pretty, adorable, funny, honest -- yeah. But crazy? Never." He cusped Seonghwa's cheeks with his soft hands and squished them, much to Seonghwa's bemusement.

"Cwinge," Seonghwa tried to speak, only for Hongjoong to squeeze his cheeks further. "Le me guh."

Hongjoong cackled. "Sorry, Hwa. I need to cheer my boyfriend up. Is it working?"

"It's nuh. I um annoed."

"What was that?"

Seonghwa went on to chuckle, Hongjoong's grip on his face making it difficult to do much else. He puckered his lips, heat coiling his abdomen when he saw the way Hongjoong kept looking at them. "Kith mi."

The shorter rose an eyebrow, acting all oblivious. "Huh?"

Seonghwa rolled his eyes, before breaking out of Hongjoong's hold to tackle him down on the picnic blanket. Hongjoong's melodious giggles vibrated against his skin as he attacked his face with numerous kisses.

Hongjoong reciprocated them all, happy to let Seonghwa take the lead. He body eagerly arched into Seonghwa's, melting under every touch and kiss they exchanged.

But, it wasn't long until he switched them around, caressing Seonghwa's face and staring at him like he was the most glorious thing on this planet.

Seonghwa admired the way the indigo blue starlight fell on Hongjoong's body, framing his features like a work of art. He was so stunning that Seonghwa often wondered what he ever found in someone like him. He just couldn't take his eyes off Hongjoong, insides purring in contentment as the smaller's cold hands slipped inside his shirt, tracing over his every muscle.

It was when Hongjoong's hands began to verge lower down his sweatpants that Seonghwa totally stiffened, eyes widening with panic. He tried to quickly hide it, though, pretending that he hadn't tensed up only a few seconds ago, but it wasn't a surprise that Hongjoong picked up on it.

"Are you okay?" Hongjoong regarded him tenderly, his eyes warm.

"Yeah," Seonghwa cleared his throat. His heart was racing and he didn't know why. "I'm fine. You can go on."

"I saw you freeze up, so I'm gonna stop." Hongjoong answered with a shake of his head. "You being comfortable is my priority."

Seonghwa exhaled after realizing he'd been nearly suffocating himself, but the shame was still there. "I literally just ruined the mood."

"You didn't ruin anything," Hongjoong assured. "And hell, why would we have sex in a field? That's doesn't seem right at all."

Seonghwa almost choked on his spit. He covered his face, his skin hot as an array of visualisations filled his head at that moment. "Oh my god."

Hongjoong laughed, patting his thigh. "What? I'm only telling the truth. Plus, we've got no protection."

"Please stop."

It was obvious the shorter wasn't done yet. He seemed to quite like seeing Seonghwa all flustered and at a loss for words.

"Top or bottom; which one do you prefer? I'm good with either."

"God, you're so bold," Seonghwa said rather adoringly, blushing hard at the sight of Hongjoong grinning down at him.

"Mhm, yeah I am." Hongjoong soon laid on him, his chin nuzzled on his chest. Their fingers slowly found their way back to each other again. "But...I need an answer..."

Seonghwa wrapped an arm around Hongjoong's waist, both males breaking into a smile once their eyes met. "...I'll go along with whatever you want. I guess I don't really care about it like that..."

Hongjoong planted a kiss on his nose. "Just like I'd thought."

"Hey, what do you mean by that?"

"Nothinnng."

Hongjoong yelped just as Seonghwa started tickling him in retaliation, resulting in them promptly launching a tickle fight that took their minds off most of their worries.

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After Seonghwa's father managed to convince him he'd be fine alone in the house at Halloween, Seonghwa soon landed himself in a dimension he'd never been to before coincidentally called Twilight, considering it was already dark by the time he made it there with the others.

Hongjoong was dressed in this cat-witch-vampire-suit that looked unfairly good on him. Seonghwa also guessed it gave him an excuse to wear black lipstick and apply more eyeliner than usual, but Seonghwa wasn't complaining. Not when he looked so attractive and sultry like that.

"The people around here don't call it Halloween," Yeosang spoke next to them in their gothic fit, their words snapping Seonghwa out of his Hongjoong-induced daze. "They call it Jjongst in honour of Choi Jongho, the youngest prince of their kingdom who'd introduced this tradition to them."

"Really?" Mingi asked. Like everyone else, he was enamoured with the bright fairy lights glittering from almost every building and the glowing pumpkins that lit up the pathways. There were even large skeletons waving at the townspeople walking by. "Wait -- how old is he?"

"People here live for a very long time," Yeosang replied.

"Let's start our trick-or-treat conquest!" Wooyoung clapped, green eyes alight with unmatched joy. "This is like, a once in a lifetime opportunity!"

"You say that every year," San answered. Seonghwa couldn't help but smile fondly at their similar princely outfits. Only San's was black and Wooyoung's was baby blue, but they both looked dashing.

"Yeah, because Halloween's amazing! Right, guys?"

Yunho was practically ready to burst out of excitement where he stood in his big bunny costume. "I can't wait to get some candy!"

"You guys are such kids," Seonghwa said, laughing to himself when Wooyoung blew him a raspberry.

"You're the one dressed as Peter Pan here -- the actual kid," Hongjoong joked in defense of Wooyoung and his brother, drawing out an overexaggerated frown from Seonghwa himself.

"You're the one who told me I'd look cute wearing this!" Seonghwa gasped.

"Uh-oh, lover's quarrel," San whispered, but before Seonghwa or Hongjoong could react, he was already pulling Wooyoung away.

"Wait up!" Yeosang shouted, hurriedly chasing after them.

"You guys remained, and that means you're officially cool. Like us," Hongjoong said, gesturing to Yunho and Mingi. "We should try head bowling first."

"Head bowling?!" Seonghwa and Mingi exclaimed at the exact same time.

Yunho giggled. "Guys, it's not an actual head. The bowling pins are just shaped like it."

"Still horrifying," Mingi stated.

"Says the one dressed up as a mummy," Seonghwa teased, grinning at the unimpressed look his best friend shot him.

"I didn't agree to come with you guys to be attacked like this." Mingi pointed at Hongjoong, who rose his hands in surrender. "You're turning him even meaner."

Seonghwa placed a hand on his chest like he was appalled by his friend's accusation. "Even meaner?"

Yunho, in the meantime, was currently dying of laughter.

"Okay -- " Hongjoong stepped in, "before any murders end up happening tonight, we should go head bowling like we all said we would, okay?"

They ended up doing so, splitting into teams when Yeosang, San and Wooyoung eventually joined them. It resulted in a lot of cheers and quite a few friendly banters that only served to humour everyone. Things got crazy when Mingi scored the highest point at one round, resulting in him being piggy-backed around the bowling alley by Yunho despite his several complaints about the taller accidentally dropping him (which he didn't, by the way).

Then, Yunho and Wooyoung fulfilled their wish of going trick-or-treating, quickly getting their bags filled with candies and snacks that they eventually shared with everyone else. It was nice.

Even the stores were Halloween-themed, speckled with decorative bats and silvery cobwebs that glimmered under the smokey lighting. Yeosang got a ring at one of them, and then served as a distraction to Hongjoong and the others as Seonghwa quickly bought this pair of bracelets he'd been eyeing there as well.

Of course, he'd show them to Hongjoong once he was ready, feeling proud he'd found something that represented the both of them so much.

Half an hour later, San and Wooyoung put every fairytale act to shame by straight up making out under a dazzling green clock tower. It was cute, but Seonghwa also didn't wanna witness it.

"I feel uncomfortable," Yeosang stated while Yunho tried to cover Mingi's eyes.

"Get a room!" Hongjoong yelled, but it was from amusement than anything else. When Wooyoung and San showed no signs of stopping anytime soon, Hongjoong hooked arms with Seonghwa and walked off with him.

"There are some people performing over there," he said, snuggling up to Seonghwa, which the taller boy didn't mind at all. "We should go watch."

And so they did. People dressed up as whoever and whatever they wanted sang and danced, or even acted out a couple scenes from plays. Seonghwa, however, did not expect Yunho to enter the circle everyone had formed and volunteer to dance at one point, but that was exactly what the pink haired male did.

"I'll use this against him later," Hongjoong told Seonghwa as he brought out his phone whilst sticking out his tongue in concentration. Clearly he had no ill will against his brother, but it only made the situation twice as funny.

Seonghwa laughed as Yunho body-rolled to the tempo in his fluffy bunny costume, him, Mingi and Hongjoong hooting and cheering louder for the teen along with the rest of the crowd as he began to twerk. Yeosang just had their face covered in second-hand embarrassment.

"Did you get all of that on video?" Yunho asked Hongjoong as soon as someone else had taken his spot. "We need to show San and Wooyoung those awesome moves of mine."

"I think they'd be better off not seeing any of that," Yeosang answered. Yunho just rustled their blond hair to their dissatisfaction.

"It was seriously cool," Mingi complimented, giving Yunho a high-five.

"I know."

"I got everything on video." Hongjoong tossed his phone to his brother, his fingers sneakily hooking around Seonghwa's belt loops in the process. "You guys can watch and rewatch it for as long as you'd like. I'm grabbing Seonghwa for a bit."

He was met with no resistance, and when they were both now finally together, he spoke. "I saw you get something at that store. Mind telling me what it is?"

Seonghwa rubbed his ears, which were quickly burning under Hongjoong's simmering stare. "It's nothing, though."

"I shall go along with it tonight, for the sake of Halloween." The shorter then dived in to whisper into Seonghwa's ear. "But that doesn't mean I'm done with you just yet."

Seonghwa knew Hongjoong loved it whenever he got him all worked up, turning him into a blushing mess. And right now, he decided to play the shorter's game. "If you wanted me to kiss you this bad, you could've just said so..."

"I always want you to kiss me," Hongjoong replied, challenge swirling within his golden, cat-like eyes. He wanted to see if Seonghwa would take the bait and kiss him in public, and unsurprisingly, Seonghwa did.

Their lips connected in a frenzy, Seonghwa's hands immediately curled in Hongjoong's auburn hair. Heat blazed inside his chest as Hongjoong slipped his tongue into his mouth, rubbing soothing circles all over his stomach and gripping the skin of his hips, his hands dangerously close to groping his ass.

"I feel uncomfortable: the sequel," Yeosang's voice was heard, pink quickly spreading across Seonghwa's cheeks.

Hongjoong stuck his tongue out at Yeosang, his dark makeup and broad smirk making him apppear all roguish, wild and seductive. Seonghwa suddenly wished they were alone.

"I bet they're gonna fuck later. I can just feel it," Wooyoung blurted to everyone's (except Hongjoong's, to be honest) utter shock.

San quickly covered his partner's mouth. "He said nothing, guys!"

"How do I un-hear this? Oh wait -- I'm part robot," Yeosang said, massaging a spot on their head to actually rid themselves of the memory.

Yunho laughed uncomfortably, before grabbing and steering a beet-red Mingi in the other direction.

The night went on and was filled with more fun and no more unsolicited comments from Wooyoung about Seonghwa and Hongjoong's relationship. Somehow, Yunho ended up dancing in the middle of a crowd again, but now everyone else -- apart from Yeosang who stayed where they were to record for more 'questionable material' -- had joined him. One thing led to another though when Wooyoung and San started grinding up on each other and needed to be separated for safety purposes, but all in all they had a wonderful time.

Seonghwa could even say he'd found people he could see himself being friends with for a long time, as well as a boy by the name of Kim Hongjoong who he was starting to realize he felt something quite like love for.

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a/n: fave comment goes to HJ11O798 ! cuz its so true lol

this book is gonna end soon :')
thoughts?