black shield * jeonghan x seungcheol

41

Seungcheol carded the door and swung it open to silence. He looked over at Wonwoo who shrugged and instinctively put his hand on his gun as they walked into the apartment. Not a sound could be heard. Seungcheol wished he were armed as well. He was licenced but carrying a firearm had never been considered but he was thinking it might now have to be an option.

Wonwoo pressed his body flat against one wall as Seungcheol pressed against the opposite and they moved slowly in sync towards the living area. When Wonwoo swung around the corner with his gun pointed Seungcheol was right behind him. And then they knew why the room was silent. A blanket fort to rival any was standing in the centre of the room. The barely-used dining table was on its side making the back wall and blankets were strung from chairs and couches and even the wall where a very expensive art piece had been discarded on the floor to make room for the corner of a sheet.

They stood in silence as giggling was heard from inside. Seungcheol walked over as Wonwoo holstered his gun and the front of the construction was pulled open. "Hi!" Jeonghan giggled as he gripped the controls of the Nintendo Switch. "This was all Junhui's idea!" Junhui turned to him with a gaping mouth open and pushed the singer who toppled over on his side laughing hysterically. Chan Chan pounced on top of the giggling man and Junhui laughed too, the game of Mario kart soon abandoned in favour of a tickling match.

"Where's Jisoo?" Seungcheol asked and a head popped up from a pile of pillows in the back. "They made me!" Jisoo whined as he flopped over and the two giggling men pounced on him instead of each other. Seungcheol looked over at Wonwoo who was wearing just the faintest hint of a smirk. The detective in him ensured he remained standing steadfast but Seungcheol knew there was a happy child somewhere inside Wonwoo who wanted nothing more than to collapse into the pile of blankets and roll around with the others. However, they had responsibilities and just held it in as the other three laughed and rolled around until the side wall of the fort collapsed on top of them.

Two hours later they were on the move. Wonwoo had eventually extracted a very reluctant Junhui from the blanket fort which was being deconstructed by two grim faced maids. Jisoo was driving and Seungcheol was in the back seat with Jeonghan who was staring out the window as the city sped past them. "What are you thinking about?" Seungcheol asked softly as his gaze wandered over the beautiful man. "Do you think something could really happen to me?" he asked and Seungcheol shrugged. "I can't say never. I don't know what the future holds. But I can say that while I'm by your side I'm a hundred percent devoted to protecting you." He rubbed the scar on his chest absentmindedly as he remembered the last time he felt even half as strongly about someone and took a bullet to save their life. He'd do it all again in a second.

Tears filled his eyes as he looked over at Jeonghan. His hair, still rumpled and white blond, dark roots showing, the ends still only slightly tined pink, looked fuzzy and unkempt. His face was bare and his clothes, once again, were a combination of his own and Seungcheol's. No pink, no pussy bows or bow ties, no berets or vests in sight. He just looked like any other man, the most beautiful man, as he stared out the window at the buildings whizzing by.

Jeonghan disappeared into the recording studio after lunch accompanied by his producer. Jisoo sat quiet outside as he worked on his laptop. Seungcheol tapped away at his phone, trying to tie up all the loose ends that had suddenly appeared in his life since he started working for Jeonghan. He had been in this job for less than three months and he was barely even the same person. His phone was gone; Luda was gone, now he had to move out of his apartment and move in with Jeonghan for the time being. His head spun as the overwhelming reality of how much things had changed hit him like a brick.

"Are you okay?" Jisoo asked as he observed Seungcheol silently panicking on the other couch. "Maybe," the man gasped a little as he rubbed the scar over his chest. It had been hurting a lot these last few days and he was wondering if it was more in his mind than physical. "I have to move out of my apartment Jisoo," Seungcheol said as he turned towards the manager. "How am I going to find time to do it?" Jisoo shrugged. "We can help you. Jeonghan and I can help pack up what you want and whatever you don't well get someone to put it in storage for you for the time being."

"You'd do that for me?" Seungcheol said and Jisoo smiled. "You saved my ass with him. If you'd told him to fire me he would have." Seungcheol nodded and he knew Jisoo was right.

And somehow, at 9pm when the album was finally done and the music video had been planned, Seungcheol found himself in his apartment surrounded by boxes. Jisoo has come through with the storage company and the three men were packing Seungcheol's life away.

"You want to bring these right?" Jeonghan asked as he began to carefully wrap photos from a shelf. Photos of Seungcheol, younger and less weary, standing proudly with his parents on his academy graduation. Photos with seniors on his promotion to Detective, a photo of him and Wonwoo smiling covered in dirt and camouflage, a photo of him and Luda dressed up for a relatives wedding.

"Not that one," Seungcheol took the frame with him and Luda. He didn't put it in the box marked 'disposal' but wrapped it carefully and put it into the one marked 'storage'. He was ready to move on completely.

"Cheollie..." Jeonghan gasped as he opened a drawer and found a gleaming medal hanging from a red ribbon. "That's my bravery medal," Seungcheol said wistfully, picking up the black velvet box from the drawer. "They gave it to me when I got out of the hospital. The day after they told me I didn't had a job."

Tears pricked his eyes and he went to turn but Jeonghan stopped him. He wrapped his thin arms around the bodyguard and held him tight as he felt Seungcheol's head fall into his shoulder. "I know you miss it," Jeonghan said softly as he stroked he thick mop of dark hair tickling at his neck. "But you saved his life. And now, he might catch this creep stalking me, and save mine."

It was logic Seungcheol couldn't disagree with.  He nuzzled against Jeonghan's neck and inhaled deeply, that rich spicy scent of coconut and ginseng that he was so addicted to, and soon his lips were pressing gently against the soft white skin.

And in that perfect moment, surrounded by the scavenged carcass of his previous life, it all seemed so stupid. The reticence, the insecurity, the holding back. And when they parted and their eyes met Jeonghan shivered when he saw the blown pupils of Seungcheol's lust and abandonment.

"I've got tomorrow free right?" Jeonghan called out to Jisoo packing plates in the other room. "Yeah, why?" He replied and Jeonghan smirked. "Don't you dare come over," he called out as Seungcheol pulled him tighter and began to kiss down his neck again. He definitely didn't want any interruptions. His schedule was about to get crazy and he just wanted to have one perfect day.

"You should bring this," Jeonghan said and Seungcheol added the velvet box to the memories along with the photos. He was ready to accept his past and bring his former life out of the shadows.