ATEEZ ONE-SHOTS |BXB|

A|He's in the rain|Wooyoung

TW: domestic abuse|mentions of child abuse| murder|suicide| slur usage (only once)|arson|slight internalized homophobia|

This is possibly undertagged. Please read with caution.

Also, this contains Woosang and is very long. Take your time with this.

⊰᯽⊱┈──╌❊ - ❊╌──┈⊰᯽⊱

And there he stood, a note crumbled in his hand, clothes drenched by the pouring rain, screams silenced by the thunder and for the first time, his mind stopped racing. It was just him, his aching heart, and the last words of the love he failed to protect but instead watched turn to ashes.

~

"Look what I got for my birthday!" he cheered and showed his first skateboard to his best friend. "Now you can teach me how to use it and then we can be cool together!"

Thirteen-year-old Wooyoung seemed to be the sun in person as he looked up at Yeosang's face and smile so wide and bright. The kid had always had this aura that made the night lit up as bright as day, turn the moon into sun, and hush away the clouds on a rainy day. It was this brightness Yeosang adored, he pure love the boy spread everywhere he went. It made him smile genuinely, honestly.

"You'll never be on my level, tsk."

"You wait and see!" the younger replied and sat on his new skateboard, "I will even be better than you!" Wooyoung sounded convinced by his words and Yeosang played along, like the playfully mean friend he was, he still teased him with a sigh and eye roll.

"Wooyoung!" the elderly lady called from the other side of the street. She stood at the door, waving at her son, "Please come inside, your grandparents are here and want to congratulate you too!"

In an instant, the boy's face fell and he sighed. "I don't want to..." he groaned and rose from the ground. Wooyoung looked over his shoulder to the woman waiting for him impatiently. "I'm coming, Mom!" he yelled back and turned his eyes to his best friend once more. "Will you come over tonight? You still need to give me a present for my birthday!"

A laugh rolled over Yeosang's lips and he nodded, waving him off. "Yeah, yeah, see you tonight. Don't let your mom wait."

With an excited smile, Wooyoung left, ran across the street, and disappeared behind the door. Yeosang watched his back until the elderly woman's eyes fell on him and an ice-cold chill rolled down his spine. There was something in the woman's glance that made him uneasy. Though he was just another child the age of her son, she looked at him differently, with faint dislike in her eyes. He had never spoken to Mrs. Jeong. He had tried to say "Hello," whenever he saw her but she would never reply or look his way. Yeosang hadn't found out the reason for her behavior until a couple of years later.

But on that night, the two young boys climbed out of their windows and walked down their street to the playground not too far away. Yeosang did in fact not have a very expensive present, but one with a lot of value in its own way. As they sat on the swings and watched the stars dance around the moon, Yeosang gifted him a simple bracelet he had made and showed off his matching one proudly.

"Yeosang," Wooyoung called calmly as his eyes were on the moon. The elder hummed in response, drifting his eyes away to the younger one on the swing next to him. "Let's stay together forever, Yeosang."

~

"Faster! We're going to miss the first day of school!" Wooyoung urged and pushed the elder down the street they were living in. It was his first day in high school, he was excited to be at the same school as his best friend again. Yeosang on the other hand didn't seem to have a fraction of the excitement he was feeling. The elder just trotted slowly and heavily, let himself get pushed and dragged however Wooyoung wanted.