Yesteryear

The Remote

I FORGOT TO PUBLISH THIS EARLIER I'M SO SORRY THE SCHEDULE REMAINS

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Wooyoung was plagued by nightmares. Images of blood-red snow and the slit throats of innocent children had him jerking out of his sleep in the middle of the night. The morning had yet to breach the horizon and the storm outside was unforgiving in its howling. Even in the cold temperatures, Wooyoung sweated. When he glanced at the fireplace next to his body, it had glimmered down since the last time someone fed it. With shaking fingers, Wooyoung grabbed some more wood that San had collected. The piece was nearly too heavy for his jelly-like arms to lift, but he dragged it over to plop it down on the residue of embers. Sparks flew into the air as he collapsed back onto San's side.

The warm body of the Viking pressed up to Wooyoung lengthwise, only feeding into his feverish temperatures. San kept him so warm that Wooyoung was ready to melt into a puddle on the floor.

When San noticed him shifting around, he stirred, too. Wooyoung laid still, hoping the man would fall back asleep. Their aching bodies needed the rest.

Yet, Wooyoung's breath stuttered in his chest the moment San reached to wrap an arm around Wooyoung. Pulling him in close against the other man's chest, San nuzzled into his hair. The sweet act had Wooyoung's heart jump. He gritted his teeth around the sobs of guilt that threatened to resurface.

San's fingertips soothed Wooyoung's skin when he noticed his ribcage fluttering under its staccato breaths. Through his thinly veiled whimpers, only his gasping breaths escaped Wooyoung. The tears on his face were silent, but this time, he cried them with his heart instead of just out of shock.

Wordlessly, San held him tight so Wooyoung wouldn't fall apart. From time to time, his lips pressed kisses against his nape and assured Wooyoung's burning heart of his support.

It took them a while to calm Wooyoung's hiccups back down. By the time his muscles unclenched and he sunk into San's side fully, the sky outside had brightened into a lighter shade of grey already.

"I'm stuck here," Wooyoung croaked as soon as he found his voice again. San shifted his face between his shoulder blades, never taking it too far away so Wooyoung wouldn't get cold.

"Stuck?" His hand trailed up and down Wooyoung's ribcage. Sensitive to the touch, Wooyoung shuddered.

"I need to return to my time or else I will get in trouble. But I need a door for that, and my magical talisman. I lost it when I arrived."

For a moment, everything was quiet. When San retracted his arm to rustle with his clothing, Wooyoung immediately missed the weight of his grip.

"This talisman?" The hand was back, and when it opened, it exposed the remote to Wooyoung. With big eyes, he stared down at the intricate device that always reminded him of an alarm clock with a single button and the date he could adjust with the tiny wheel at the side.

Wooyoung gingerly picked it out of San's hand and turned around. His features gave his disbelief away when he searched San's gaze. Sheepish, the Viking smiled at him.

"It looked valuable. I found it among your clothes back on the ship."

Wooyoung couldn't form a single word of thanks. Instead, he just surged forward to pull San in for a hug. The Viking responded immediately and engulfed Wooyoung with his muscular arms. Small and protected in his grip, Wooyoung allowed himself a moment to breathe.

"A door might become a bigger problem. Risking to return to the village might not end up as harmless as yesterday." San's breath brushed against Wooyoung's neck. In response, Wooyoung held him tighter. In the short amount of time that he knew the immortal, he had already done so much for Wooyoung. The historian's gratitude reached deep into his soul to wake emotions he hadn't thought possible to have.