Night Rider- Tyunning

Yellowstone National Park

Taehyun took Kai flying the night before he had to go back to school. It's been a while since theyve had a real adventure together. Usually when they flew, it was a quick hunt or flying to a lighthouse for an hour to clear his head. Today he flew to yellowstone national park in Wyoming.

Soobin had been telling him for weeks that he had to go. The dragons love the gysers. Hot salty water was like a bath for them.

The park was empty as the stars were out. No city lights made you feel like you saw the whole universe.

Kai landed in an open field. Bison were roaming around so naturally he began to chase after them. His size made it look like a tyrannosaurus rex chasing a cow through the field. Taehyun couldnt help but think it was hilarious as the poor herd ran for their lives. It looked almost comical.

He began to walk around and admire the nature. Large gysers bubbled up every couple of minutes. The scent of them smelled like rotting eggs but their beauty almost made up for it. Almost.

You could see the orange coloration from idiot tourists throwing coins into it despite the signs that say not to because it'll ruin the environment.

Taehyun kept walking over a small bridge and followed the trail. It led to a small lake on his right. The stars reflected on the surface. He heard Kai doing his happy roars in the distance from filling his belly on bison meat. It caused the surface of the lake to ripple. He began to wonder how long it would be before he got used to the sheer volume of his dragon. It was like having a base speaker blasting in the distance. Something that you could feel for miles.

The cell service was weak but he recieved another text from Hyuka saying "Yeonjun and I are playing in Yankee Stadium again on December 27th! I cant wait for us to sing our song for you! I love you Taehyunnie! Consider this an early birthday present! 🥳"

Taehyun loved him so much. He tried texting back but the message didnt send. He was going to try again when they got closer to the gift shop on the way back.

Kai landed near the thumb geyser and began to sniff it. He started hopping around excitedly as he sniffed the edge some more.

Taehyun saw what was about to happen and screamed "WAIT! ITLL BURN ME! LET ME RUN AWAY FIRST!"

Kai patiently stood at the water's edge. The purple scales electrified in excitement as his rider got further and further away. Once he got the thumbs up, Kai flew 20 feet above the geyser and dropped into it. The splash went everywhere. Hot salty blue water covered the dry dirt. Taehyun was so thankful he ran far enough to where the splash didnt burn his skin off.

The dragon twirled around the water. It was the perfect hot tub. He was so happy in his element. Sea and fire met and it was beautiful.

Taehyun laughed as he watched Kai splash around. After he realized his dragon wasnt leaving his spot anytime soon, he began to walk around some more. Loneliness began to sink in. He didnt have anyone besides the couple to tell and it wasnt anything they havent seen before.

There was so many adventures like this that was saved onto his phone. They were sorted into galleries with the dates and locations. He couldnt wait to show his boyfriend everything. The idea of flying with Hyuka made his heart sing. Never again would he have to take a trip alone or keep his adventures a secret. He just hoped it wouldnt scare his boyfriend away.

Taehyun walked the path some more to see a small waterfall. The water rushed into the river it created and flowed into the dry land. The sound was calming. A shooting star dashed across the night sky and Taehyun made a wish. "I wish Hyuka is happy. Even if it's not with me. I just want him to be happy."

He started to play their song as he circled his way back to his dragon.

Kai was so happy he let extended his neck towards the sky and let out a large beam of fire. After, his big head bobbed in and out of the geyser.

Seeing that large blast of fire made Taehyun worry he wasnt the only one who saw that. He ran over and yelled "Kai! That is how we get caught! We need to go now! Youre invisible but your fire isnt! And Im not either!"

The dragon rolled his eyes and whined. He curled up into a ball and rested his head on the edge of the geyser. They both saw flashlights come from the trees. Kai got up, shook the salt water off and flung Taehyun on his back. They flew out of sight of the park rangers.

Taehyun looked behind to watch the national park get smaller and smaller. He wondered what the reaction of the rangers would be when they saw some of their bison torn to shreds.

Hyuka began to call him but the signal quickly got lost as Kai ascended higher into the atmosphere. At home he would try to call. It would be very late though. The new yorker was an hour ahead of the minnesotan so there was a chance he wouldnt even be awake by the time he got home.

Kai turned his head mid-flight to lick his rider. He was given a new favorite place to go when he wasnt hunting. His scales kept illuminating as he heard Taehyun giggle on his back.

When they landed, Taehyun went inside to make sure he had everything ready for school. It was 12am. 1am in New York. He wanted to call but couldnt without feeling guilty for disrupting his boyfriend's sleep.

Just as his head hit the pillow, Hyuka called again.

Taehyun answered "hey!"

"What the hell Taehyunnie?! Are you okay?! You havent been answering me all day!"

"I was working and then I was... getting ready for school..."

"But you didnt respond to my texts either!"

Taehyun started laughing "you really want to talk about ME responding?" The other end of the line went silent. He could feel Hyuka getting sad. "Babe. Baby Im sorry. I didnt mean it like that. I really wasnt trying to ignore you."

"...you were right though..."

"Hyuka... please I really didnt mean it like that. I know how busy you are."

"...really?"

"Yes baby. Really."

Hyuka's voice changed to a happier tone. "Okay! So you saw what Yeonjun and I are doing on December 27th right?"

"I still cant believe youre doing that again!"

"Me too! Seungmin's family gives so much money to the stadium that he said his family gets anything they want. He even showed me pictures of him and the team! Oh! And he got throw a few first pitches over the summer!"

"Thats crazy Hyuka! I cant wait to hear you guys sing our song live!"

"You better be watching!"

"I will be! I wouldnt miss it for anything!"

"Yay! I love you Taehyunnie. Its really late. I need to go to sleep."

Taehyun looked at the time. It really was late. They both were going to go into school exhausted tomorrow. "Baby why are you awake? You couldve called me tomorrow."

"I thought something happened to you... I was worried."

"You were worried about me?"

"Well...yeah..."

Taehyun began kicking his feet under the covers. It was his adorable way of letting his joy out. "Call me tomorrow? Please?"

"I dont know about calling. The band is going to be practicing and I have stuff with my parents and Yeonjun... I'll text you every time I can though!"

"I'll send you my work schedule so you dont end up calling me when Im at work. That way we can really talk!"

"Okay! Goodnight cutie!"

"Goodnight. I love you Hyuka."

"I love you too."

Taehyun watched the screen go back to his home screen. He saw the background photo of the most recent selfie Hyuka sent him and couldnt wait until he could change it to a selfie of them together.

He took one last look at the stars and fell asleep. Less than a year to go.