Mists of Celeste - an Ateez Fanfic

another snippet

"What payment... did this man require of you for that information?"

Hongjoong hums, rolling his head from side to side as though contemplating the question with more thought than necessary. His gaze finds you — or rather your feet, trailing up the length of your body before locking eyes with you. The faint smile gracing his lips makes your skin itch.

"A corpse. What else do you pay a death merchant with?"

Behind him, Yunho blanches, face losing all color in the blink of an eye even though his captain has such a reputation for cruelty. How it manages to still surprise the healer is a wonder.

"Where the hell did you get a corpse from here?"

"I have a myriad of options, of course, but namely a friend of a certain ghost we know."

You snag your tongue between your teeth by accident when your jaw clenches, and the sudden burst of pain makes your eyes water. If Hongjoong gets off on the idea that he's brought tears to your eyes, then you would be elated to correct him. Instead, you maintain a blank expression as best you can as not to grant him the pleasure of getting under your skin.

"How hefty was the cost when you did business with Karna?" he presses, and it infuriates you that he won't let it go.

Fed up, you spit back, "Thirteen."

The pause that follows comes from your realization that you tumbled right into his trap. Hongjoong grins something deranged and unpleasant.

"Is that all I'm worth to you?" The grin drops into a rather exaggerated pout. There's a clenching in your gut and a lump in your throat. Your eyes flick down to follow the movement of his tongue as it drags across his upper lip. Suddenly, he jerks like he's going to lunge at you, and you flinch backwards a hair in retaliation. But the man stays rooted to the spot where he stands, and you only look more of a fool.

An airy laugh fills the alleyway.

"Killing for information about me... you could bring a strong man to his knees like that, y/n." His brows pinch together but his parted lips stretch into an almost wistful smile. It lasts only that second. "I see why he begged for a taste so pathetically now." His expression disintegrates, lips twitching at one corner as he sneers at you. It's the most hatred you have ever felt from him thus far. Your laugh comes out forced.

"What? Do you want to kiss me that badly?"

Hongjoong lifts his chin, and this time he actually does step towards you. You take a step back in tandem with his movements, following each one of his approaching steps with one more in the opposite direction, but there is nowhere for you to escape to and within seconds he has you up against a wall. You glance to the left in search of an escape, just for his hand to come up in a closed fist right beside your head.

"Do I?" he asks.

His free hand cups your chin in the crook between his thumb and index finger. You are forced to face him but your eyes follow late, just in time to see him lean in so dangerously close that his lips brush yours like a feather. If you had to describe the feeling in your gut, it would be smugness — the feeling that you have finally got him back and ensared him in your trap for once rather than the other way around. Hongjoong's lips skate over your jaw as he presses closer, leaning to put his lips against the shell of your ear. He catches one of the silver barbells sticking through your ear with his tongue. You have no time to brace yourself as he snags it between his teeth and yanks hard enough to make you let out a hiss of pain. The sound of your discomfort draws a laugh from him.

"No," he whispers before you recover. He's gone before you can clearly process the humiliation you have just suffered. A shaky exhale of disbelief leaves your chest. Now when your eyes burn and sting at the corners, it is out of sheer embarrassment. Out the corner of your eye, you spot Yunho staring at you with his mouth agape in similar shock.

Unbelievable.

...

a/n: one day i'll figure out what kind of witchcraft i was working with when i was churning these things out like butter... but for now it's me and the brick wall called writer's block that i'm trying to climb over