Quaver and Storm

Chapter 21

"Good morning." Seungmin's voice was slightly deeper than normal, and his yawn let you know he hadn't been up long. Still, he'd called you in response to your text almost immediately.

"Good morning. Did you sleep well?"

"I dreamt I had a gun that could make people invisible."

You laughed, and he went on to describe his dream before your giggles made him stop.

"Oh, sorry. Nobody likes hearing about dreams, I know."

"Um, excuse me, your dream was hilarious. If you have dreams like that, I always want to hear about them."

"I usually only remember them right after I wake up, so I'd be calling you early to tell them."

"Or, you know, just rolling me over." You grinned at your innuendo, but there was silence from the other side. You cleared your throat. "Sorry, I -"

"Now I'm just going to dream about waking up next to you," he said frankly.

You wanted to go on, quipping about how dreams can come true and yada yada, but you were nervous about flirting too hard with Seungmin. You weren't that comfortable with him, and you didn't know if he liked angels or brats. Instead, you just laughed softly and continued with the purpose of the call.

"So, are you free this week at all? I'd love to go out with you, if you have time."

"Hmmm..." you heard him rustling around, turning over in bed to put you on speakerphone and check his schedule. "I'm free on Sunday. In five days. That's a long time away."

"If that's all you've got, I'll take it. Wanna go out?"

"I'd like that. Do you want me to come up with a plan? Or do you have something in mind?"

You liked his directness. Nice when a man just asks if he has a question, instead of pretending like he already knows. You had thought of some ideas, but you were much more interested in what Seungmin might come up with.

"I would love it if you planned your perfect date. Or a reasonable facsimile," you smiled.

"Challenge accepted," he said, and it sounded like he was smiling back.

"Hyunjin-ah!" Changbin yelled at what you knew wasn't the top of his lungs, but was still a very loud volume. You covered your ears, watching the giggling dancer munch happily on the piece of samgyeopsal he'd stolen, while basking in the baleful glare of his friend. Changbin couldn't help but break out into a grin, though - you strongly suspected Hyunjin was one of the few people in the world who would have survived such a trick, having Binnie completely wrapped around his little finger.

You smiled to yourself, watching the two interact. You knew how to manipulate situations to your benefit, too. You still felt the distance between Binnie and the rest of the family, mainly because he quietly refused to share his time with you with any of the others. You had an idea, though.

It was no coincidence that Hyunjin had shown up at the restaurant and "found" you guys already there - you'd planned it, the graceful dancer being more than up for the challenge of charming his way into bed with you and Binnie.

It just might take a little time.

You didn't mind that. You needed to feel safe. Bringing your family together made you feel safe. Even if it was just sex to anyone outside your circle, it meant more to you. More to have them all love you... together. Maybe it was selfish, but you didn't think the relationship would survive otherwise. And you absolutely wanted it to survive.