For Your Protection- Sookai

The Copies

"Let me know if you need anything from me. I'll update you as much as I can." Taehyun hugged the younger then straightened his uniform. The two went downstairs together. Before the elevator doors even opened, they could hear a massive argument from the youngest Chois and the oldest Chois.

Soobin was so mad that his hands were shaking. "I DON'T CARE WHAT YOU GUYS SAY! YOU'D HAVE TO TIE ME TO THE PLANE AND EVEN THEN I'D PRESS CHARGES FOR KIDNAPPING AFTER! I'M STAYING HERE!" Seeing Kai walk out only confirmed it. "What if I stayed with him?"

Hyuka was mortified when the blonde heads turn to stare at him. The parents seemed to stare into his soul. Beomgyu looked confused and Soobin couldn't stop grinning. They all turned away to face each other. Another argument ensued. He looked at the glass doors and debated on walking out while no one was paying attention.

"What's so bad about that idea?!" Soobin wasn't going to stop arguing until he got his way. "You won't let me stay in my condo, a hotel or fuck where else in this state!"

Mrs. Choi argued "you don't even know him!"

"Okay? What about Beomgyu?!"

"Me?!" Beomgyu saw the "I'm going to kill you face" from Soobin and quickly changed his attitude. "I'd love to live with him!"

Hyuka watched the argument circle back to how it started. Soobin insisted he wasn't moving, his parents insisted he was, and Beomgyu spat out sarcastic comments that didn't help either side.

"I'M NOT RISKING MY SON AND MY NEPHEW'S LIVES!"

"THEN EITHER PUT ME IN A HOTEL IN THIS CITY OR LET ME STAY WITH KAI!"

Richard and Aria were tired of their son's stubbornness. Their measures were extreme but in their eyes, they were just protecting their only child. Aria left the lobby to place her anger back at the police station. Richard's shot towards Kai. "Why the fuck does my son want to stay with YOU?"

Hyuka swallowed a large lump in his throat. "We're um... we're-"

"-we're dating." Soobin folded his arms like he was daring his father to have a problem with it. "He's my boyfriend. I love him and I'm not leaving him."

Richard did take it as a challenge but not one for Soobin. He looked at Kai again and asked "since you supposedly love each other then what do you think Soobin should do to keep himself safe?"

Hyuka's head sunk. His posture quickly straightened when he decided to say how he truly felt instead of how "Kai" would feel. "I think he should start by taking some defense classes. I also think whoever is trying to kill him is pretty fucking determimed to and that moving him will only delay another attempt. Not prevent it. You can't keep moving your son. It's not fair to him or to you two."

"See?!" Soobin proudly stood by his boyfriend's side with his arm around his waist.

"I'm not done." Hyuka took a step back then looked deeply into the blonde's eyes. "You'll never have your old life back if you don't take your privacy more seriously. I'd rather you be alive than dead."

Soobin grabbed Kai's hands and pleaded "tell me what you'd do."

"I'd change my name. Then I'd change my appearance, my habits, and my lifestyle. Then I'd move to a location I'd feel safe in and get very familiar with the local police. Lastly, after all that was done, I'd take some shooting lessons because someone who has failed three times to kill their target, is a desperate person. And desperate people are the most dangerous."

Soobin held Kai's cheek. It became a habit he was addicted to. "Did you mean it? When you said you'd do anything to be with me?"

"Yeah. I meant it."

"Even if I moved to D.C?"

"I'd buy a plane ticket with my first paycheck."

"I love you."

"I love you too."

Soobin kissed Kai's forehead then faced his father. "I'm not leaving him. Sorry. Think of something else."

Despite how in love his son clearly was, Richard's mind still hadn't changed. "We'll discuss this later. We love you too Soobin. We're just trying to keep you safe."

The older Chois were gone. People were still staring. Beomgyu loudly clapped his hands together then shouted "ALRIGHT! BACK TO WORK EVERYONE!"

Taehyun approached the youngest Choi when chatter resumed. "I'd like to ask you a few questions if you don't mind."

"Not at all! I'd like to ask you some things too! Do we really have aliens in Area 51?"

The best friends shared a look. Hyuka started giggling when Beomgyu asked three questions under thirty seconds. Taehyun's big "help me" eyes from the elevator door made him laugh harder. To his boyfriend, he joked "that's going to be a long questioning."

Soobin's smile left as quickly as it came. "Let's go to our office."

"Sure." Hyuka sat down with his hot chocolate and started to sip it. "All things considering, you okay?"

"Not really? I should've asked you before I volunteered myself to move into your place."

"You can. I don't mind it."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure. I can sleep on the couch."

Soobin softly kissed him with a smile on his lips. His fingers brushed Kai's bangs away so he could get a better look into his eyes. "It's your place. I'll sleep there until you're ready for me to join you."

Hyuka tried to maintain a positive attitude. Consistently being let down made it nearly impossible. "I hope you get to stay here."

"Kai. I WILL stay here."

"What if you really don't have a choice?"

Soobin fumbled through his desk drawer until he pulled out his keyring. One of them was taken off. He then took his boyfriend's hand and slapped it into the middle of his palm. "That's to my condo. Go make a copy so you can have one too."

Hyuka teased "is that my first order boss?"

"Sure fucking is. I'll see you in a bit."

Hyuka pocketed the key, grabbed his hot chocolate, then left the building. Google told him a copying machine was five blocks away. The sun was out. It was a nice enough day for a walk so he took his time getting there.

The machine was straightforward. You put the key in, enter how many copies you want, let the thing scan and then pay. Using the company card was still something Hyuka found odd. Part of him thought it was a form of stealing by using money that wasn't his. The other part wanted to buy himself some lunch with it. Either way, it was still weird.

In less than two minutes, the machine spit out an identical key to the one he put in. It was as equally fascinating as it was scary how easy the process was. He pocketed the key then stared at his own. If Soobin needed to run, he wanted to let him know that his place was always a safe place to go.

Soobin had half a mind to block his parent's numbers after they sent him flight information. They could send the entire national guard and he wouldn't go. His stuff at his condo was being packed while he argued with his parents. Those boxes were set to be shipped by midnight that day. His parents then sold his condo to the first buyer that made an offer. Completely exhausted, he hung up on his parents for the fourth time and cried.

The sunshine outside seemed nonexistent when Hyuka saw the blonde crying into his arms. He ran up to him to envelope him into a large hug. "It'll be okay. Here. I have your keys."

"Forget it." Soobin wiped his eyes then angrily threw his tissues into the trash. "I have nothing. My parents are shipping all of my shit to D.C right now."

Hyuka handed him the keys anyway.

"What's this?" Soobin held the unfamiliar key between his fingertips against the sunlight.

"It's the key to my place."

Soobin dropped the key onto his desk to pull Kai into a long kiss. He didn't have nothing like he assumed. He had him and that was all he really needed.