Taekyun laid Haneul gently onto the bed.
The mattress dipped beneath them as
He followed, bracing his hands on either side of Haneul's body.
For a moment,
He only looked at him, the flushed skin, the trembling breath, the unfocused eyes burning with heat.
Then he leaned down.
Their lips met slowly at first, restrained, hesitant.
But Haneul responded immediately, fingers clutching at Taekyun's sleeve
The kiss deepened, breath tangling, control slipping inch by inch.
Taekyun shifted closer, his forehead brushing Haneul's as he broke the kiss only to trail lower, toward his neck.
The moment his lips touched there, his thoughts went blank.
Haneul was fully in heat now, his body arching instinctively, soft sounds escaping him before he could stop them.
Taekyun continued, pressing careful kisses against his neck, grounding him even as his own restraint cracked.
He pulled back just enough to slide Haneul's shirt away, baring his flushed skin.
Their eyes met again Haneul's dark and burning, searching, trusting.
That look undid him.
Taekyun leaned down once more, murmuring something too quiet to hear as his lips brushed Haneul's ear.
His teeth grazed lightly, just enough to draw a sharp breath from them both.
Haneul's arms came up, wrapping around Taekyun's neck, pulling him closer.
Taekyun exhaled shakily and shrugged off his own shirt, heat rolling off him in waves.
The more he tried to slow himself, the more Haneul clung to him pressing closer, desperate for comfort.
Pheromones flooded the room, thick and overwhelming.
Taekyun lowered his forehead to Haneul's, his hands tightening in the sheets beneath him.
He looked at Haneul.
Haneul had completely lost himself to the heat.
"Are you okay with this?"
Taekyun asked quietly.
Haneul looked back at him weakly.
Tears slid slowly down his cheeks.
Taekyun lifted his hand and wiped them away with his thumb, gentle and careful.
As he leaned closer, his forehead pressing into Haneul's neck, his voice dropped.
"Why are you crying?"
"Does it hurt?"
Haneul reached up, holding Taekyun's face, pulling him down into a soft kiss.
"I really like you,"
He whispered.
"For me there's no one in this world except you and Haru."
Taekyun slowly pulled back.
Haneul lay there, drenched in sweat, his chest rising unevenly as he cried.
"I want you to trust me,"
Haneul said through tears.
"And I really want you."
Taekyun's eyes burned as he looked at him.
He heard every word, yet he couldn't bring himself to respond.
He only reached out again, gently wiping away Haneul's tears.
Haneul leaned forward and pressed another kiss to Taekyun's lips, his pheromones releasing all at once, washing over Taekyun.
Taekyun's breath stuttered.
He moved slowly, carefully removing Haneul's pants.
"I hope,"
He said quietly,
"that no one regrets this after."
He leaned down again, kissing Haneul.
The more he touched him, the more Taekyun realized how little control he had left.
His heart was beating even faster than Haneul's.
He reached toward the drawer, opening it to take out a condom.
And then his eyes caught on the wedding photograph hanging above the bed.
Himself and Harin.
Taekyun froze.
The photograph loomed above them a reminder he could never erase.
For a heartbeat, guilt crashed into him so violently it stole his breath
Haneul noticed the shift immediately.
Taekyun's gaze had drifted past him back to the photograph.
It was the same.
Harin, frozen in time, smiling softly in the wedding frame.
She had been fragile too.
Quietly broken.
After losing her brother, then her father, sadness had become the only thing she knew.
When it was decided she would marry Taekyun, everyone believed it would finally give her peace.
A safe life.
A place to rest.
But everything had ended wrong.
So painfully wrong.
It wasn't supposed to be like this.
That night came back to him without warning
the same bed, the same space between them.
Harin had been lying there, right in front of him, crying just like this.
Shattered.
Helpless.
He had promised her then.
"No matter what, I'll protect you"
But he couldn't.
Haneul drew in a shaky breath.
He couldn't control it anymore tears slipped from his eyes, his body trembling even as he tried to smile weakly.
He reached up, holding Taekyun's face with both hands, grounding him.
Then he wrapped his arms around him, pulling him close.
"I don't know what happened in the past between you and her,"
Haneul said, his voice breaking between small hiccups.
"But don't think about it right now."
His tears fell onto Taekyun's skin.
"I'll ask Bora later,"
He whispered.
"And I won't do anything that reminds you of her... anything that hurts you."
Taekyun turned to him.
His chest caved in completely.
His vision blurred as he fought the tears burning behind his eyes.
Unable to take it anymore, he leaned down and kissed Haneul desperate, almost pleading
Trying to end the conversation before he broke.
But Haneul gently pushed him back.
"I won't let you be hurt,"
He said, crying harder now.
"I'll always keep you healed."
His hands trembled as they held Taekyun's face.
"Just don't"
He swallowed painfully.
"Don't look at that.....
Just look at me."
His voice cracked.
"I told you not to open up to me too fast," Haneul whispered, tears streaming freely now.
"But don't push me away either."
Taekyun lowered his head.
Nodding slightly.
Then he leaned over Haneul again, pressing his lips to his, slower this time heavier, filled with everything he couldn't say.
Haneul's eyes closed.
Tears slid down his temples, but he didn't speak.
He only wrapped his legs around Taekyun's waist, quietly, fully allowing him.
Taekyun's heart burned.
He was really doing this.
For the first time,
He couldn't stop his tears.
Even as he lost himself in Haneul's warmth, his tears fell mixing with Haneul's, slipping softly down his cheeks.