bloodline. ateez x reader

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Parting from your embrace with Yunho, a sunken, sour emotion emerged when you noticed the cherry-haired captain had already slipped out of sight.

Exhaustion pricked at your limbs, your eyes traveled deeper into the living room. You yearned to be in the pile of bodies connected on the couch, each locked together comfortably. You longed for the warmth of familiar faces, and without thinking, took a step in that direction before a hand jutted out to cut the stride short. Connected to the movement, Jongho, who kindly suggested to let the boys rest and wait to greet them in the morning. A surprise for when they woke up, he called it.

You weren't one to argue at this time. Instead, you washed the grime and blood away- but you were subdued. A haze covered your incoherent thoughts, your mind left behind, perhaps somewhere back in the forest while your body stood under the stream of hot water. You were there for a longer time than you had intended.

Then you wiggled up the ladder and collapsed into an encompassing mattress.

Stillness grew around you as the familiar sheets melt into your skin, the silence so loud it made your ears ring. As the white noise began to overcome you, you counted.

Six .

You had been in the forest for six hours.

The idea that you found your own way back was miraculous. In the forest, you wandered for hours before realizing you had to turn around. Independence was not an option; independence meant being lost, alone, in the middle of the night, with absolutely no help.

You attempted to find your own way back, searching for any familiar land for hours before resting on soft, open earth next to the rushing river. The moon was absent, the sky offered no light to you, but it took a few hazy moments to realize you had been there before.

It was the Tree; the area San used as training grounds so many times before. The area you laid, the same grass he collapsed on. From there you could discover the trail back, wondering how many times Hongjoong got lost before he labeled himself fluent.

Those recollections did not wander, soon you were out like a light. There was a soft blanket around you that wasn't yours.

Jongho entered not long after. He had stayed up speaking to Yunho and trying to break through to Hongjoong. The boy was a ghost of a person, distracted, frantically searching through papers and maps in the basement. Your absence a reminder of the dangers that lurked, Jongho didn't interrupt him. So he gave up on that and retired upstairs.

When Jongho came to the attic he was ready to nestle somewhere else, but noticed you shifting in your sleep. He stepped closer, his ears picking up on soft noises of protest, you twitched as your mind colored intrusive thoughts that plagued you.

A nightmare, obviously. Yeosang gets attacked with night terrors often, and you were a spitting image.

He knelt down next to you. It had only been an hour since you returned, you were quick to fall into darkness, he noticed. Jongho placed a hand on your shoulder.

"Y/n," He whispered. You didn't move, and he spoke louder, "Heyy, Y/n-"

You gripped his wrist and opened your eyes, for some reason, aggression your initial response to being woken up. His expression cracked into shock and your composure quickly softened.

"Jongho," Your hand fell back to your lap, tone softer, "Shit, I'm so sorry."

"You're fine," He muttered. "Seemed like a nasty nightmare."

"I," He looked at you expectantly and you stuttered. "I can't remember it."

"Well, you've got a hell of a grip," His smile was reserved as he moved to abandon your side.  "'night, steelhands."