Hunted

And scheming they did.

Luo had just spent in excess of an hour talking with Choi and Takuya. They had figured out his reluctance to kill Ramesh, and were intent on getting their thinking through to him. He had tried rather early in the conversation to claim he understood it was necessary, but they wouldn't let it go with that. When they finally let him off the hook, his mind was swimming. It felt like a race of who could kill the other first. The whole thing made him sick.

Okay, they got their way. Did that upset his position as leader? He didn't have a mind to even consider that side of things. It didn't matter at all. Killing someone - planning to do so, even - was much too big, much too uncomfortable, to ponder such petty issues. He knew, deep down, that if he got the chance now, he'd kill the guy. If he didn't, people he cared about would die. It was Ramesh, or it was them. Easy choice. The strength of his own resolve bothered him, but he didn't fight it. He needed that resolve until this was over.

Still hungry. Luo hadn't had more than that bowl of soup and a beer since breakfast, so he hoped there would be more food in the kitchen. Making his way through the living-room, he saw the four guys being caught up in a video game. Well, good thing they were enjoying themselves.

The spiky-haired Korean found himself a carrot, probably left over from the soup making. Didn't matter. Munching noisily on it, he made his way back to watch the other guys, glad they were already four so he had a good excuse not to play.

The redhead was focused on the game, nearly unblinking. Though it was obvious by the way he had tensed that he knew of the added person in the room. Killing off a few more people in the game with what looked like a rocket launcher, Nele grinned proudly and then spared a quick glance at Luo. "Threesome over already? I'd have thought Luo the Almighty would have the stamina of a rabbit... Is Takuya as bad in bed as he looks?"

It was almost as if the yellow-haired Japanese had been cloned, only this one didn't know to leave him alone. Luo ignored the comments, sitting down in a nearby chair. The long day was making him sleepy, but he was starting to regret not exercising before he went back. Now his mind was too distracted to bother with it, so setting something up - in the back yard probably - would have to wait till the day after.

Probably needed permission for that too... and there it was again. Something that felt important to him, yet he didn't have the position to just make it so. That sucked, especially now that there was nothing to go back to. The worry about what to do when they couldn't stay at this place anymore crept in on him, but he cleared it out of his head soon after. No point thinking about that when safety was on the line.

At least the redhead didn't push it any farther. One of the four divisions of the screen turned red and the purple-haired guy snickered to himself as he dropped his controller. "I think I walked into a trap again..." Breaking into a yawn and then smiling lazily at Luo, he reluctantly pushed up to his feet. "Oh well, I'm going to go brush my teeth."

That yawn was contagious. The spiky-haired Korean stretched, then gazed lazily over at Julian. "I guess I'm heading off for that myself. Might be a real long day tomorrow." He yawned again, then pushed to his feet, nudging at Kyun with his foot. "What about you? Staying up much longer?"

The other Korean turned to flash him a smirk. "Nah... just going to finish this game. You two just get ready, and I'll be right with you."

Julian made his way to the bathroom but paused in the doorway. He glanced back to fix the guys a curious frown. "What do you mean a long day? Though, yeah... I guess it would be. Can't expect things to be easy from now on, can I?" He flashed a quick smile and then disappeared into the bathroom. "There's still a chance tomorrow could be a good day, though!"

A good day? Luo hadn't really considered that possibility. He finished off his carrot, then headed off to the big bedroom to find his toothbrush. Once he got it, he walked over to the bathroom. Door was left open, so with light reluctance, he moved in to join Julian. "Sure," he said firmly as he took tooth paste onto his brush, "tomorrow could be a good day."

There was already a brush in Julian's mouth and a bit of foam from the paste dribbling down his chin. He gazed at Luo with confusion and then wiped the foam away when he caught sight of himself in the mirror. After spitting the first mouthful down the drain, he shrugged and lowered his eyes to stare absently at the sink. "Despite the terrible things that happened today, I'm glad everyone's here. If nobody gets hurt tomorrow, it won't be too bad, right?"

After considering that for a while, the Korean decided that the most important bit was not scaring the smaller guy any more than necessary. So he let a confident smile spread on his face, resting his free hand on Julian's shoulder. "None of us are going to get hurt. We're safe here, and we'll get through this as long as we're careful." With that, he started brushing his teeth.

It worked immediately. Julian smiled happily at that, visibly reassured. He went back to brushing his own. Soon after, he finished and rinsed his brush out with water. After grabbing a bit of floss out of the medicine cabinet, he started out of the bathroom, though paused before exiting. In a low whisper, he mentioned, "Even if they find us... I met Ramesh. I think you could kick his ass easily."

Luo took his time to spit so he could respond. "Thanks," he said with a smile, "I think you're right." He wanted to pat the guy somewhere for that, but refrained from doing so. This was not Korea, and here, body contact was not 'cool'. So instead, he turned around to get his face back over the sink, and resumed brushing.

The little guy left to the living room but his voice could still be heard. "Kyun! Have you won yet, or should I go to bed without you?"

A mumble was heard in response, and Luo went back to getting ready for bed. Just as he finished up, someone was joining him in the bathroom. With a quick glance in the mirror, the spiky-haired youngster recognised Kyun, and turned around with a smile. Screw cool - he rested an arm lightly at the other Korean's side, wanting to say something, but not knowing what.

That motion seemed to amuse his friend. Kyun gave a light chuckle, then brought a hand to brush lightly over his leather-covered thigh. "Glad to see your mood up," he said with a smile, "now just go ahead. I'll come as soon as I'm done."

With a gentle graze of Kyun's cheek, Luo headed out and walked over to the bedroom. Nele and Kiyoshi were still playing, and it seemed Choi and Takuya had joined them - at least, all four were sitting near the TV, the occasional argument filling the air. The spiky-haired Korean shrugged and opened the bedroom door. Julian was already in bed, and Luo threw a weary glance over at the couch before replacing the toothbrush in his bag.

The purple-haired guy leaned over the side of the bed and pulled off his shirt. With an inquisitive glance at Luo, he started rearranging the pillows as he settled into the middle. When Luo started unzipping his jacket, Julian politely averted his eyes. "We were going to go to a bathhouse tomorrow, but I don't know if anyone's up for it anymore. Do you think they'll still want to go?"

Not exactly what the Korean had expected from his friends, but he didn't want to discourage the small guy either. "We can discuss it during breakfast. See who's in the mood then?" He flashed a light smile, but was unsure whether the guy had seen it. In either case, he finished shrugging out of the jacket, then took his cell phone out and switching it off. Probably shouldn't have told that redhead about that number...

Only seconds later, Kyun joined them. Luo wondered for a second whether his friend had been sloppy with his tooth-brushing, but after a moment he got more caught up in the less-than-content expression of his friend. The smaller Korean closed the door behind him, then gazed restlessly between the bed and the couch. Apparently, Luo wasn't the only one who felt slightly awkward about it.

"Kyun!" Julian's face lit up with a wide grin, but it faded just as quickly. He looked back and forth between Luo and Kyun, his expression becoming almost stubborn about something. "Why do you guys keep looking at the couch? Wait, you... You're not thinking of sleeping on the couch, are you Luo? This bed is so big, you have no reason to think about something like that. It can easily fit three people."

A bit of confusion entered Luo's mind as he gazed over at the fellow Korean. Kyun was soon smiling happily and nodded. "Yeah, there's plenty of room!" He said, almost excitedly, and moved over towards the bed. The spiky-haired Korean wondered for a moment whether to turn the suggestion down, but kept quiet and gave a light smirk as Kyun asked Julian amusedly, "who do you want in the middle? Yourself?"

Julian folded the covers over on either side of him in an invite to both of the others. "Yes, I was planning on it. This way I don't have to worry about you two getting too friendly with each other in your sleep. Not to mention, I'll be surrounded by strong attractive men! It's a once in a lifetime opportunity!"

Leaning down, Kyun placed a firm kiss on Julian's lips, then turned over and returned to Luo, who was in the process of removing his leather pants. With a hand on the taller Korean's chest, Kyun spoke insistently. "Which side do you want, my fellow strong attractive man? Wall or edge?"

Luo couldn't really turn down that offer. They were much too eager for that. So instead, he offered a half-hearted way out. "Wall," he said with a smile, "but are you sure you dare having me next to your sweetheart? I could end up touching him..."

With that comment, Kyun seemed to relax. Having pulled his shirt off, he laughed lightly. "As long as he doesn't mind, touch him all you want. I trust both of you." He smiled as he sat down on the bed, sliding a hand into Julian's hair. "All three of us in one bed? This will be great."

The little guy seemed to enjoy what was said. He laid back with his selected pillow and gazed happily at Kyun. His hand covered the Korean's and playfully kissed one of the other man's fingers. In a soft murmur, he pointed out with a shy playfulness, "He called me your sweetheart. Does that mean I'm going to get a promise ring soon?"

Lifting himself up a little to get rid of his pants, Kyun soon slid in under the covers. "Maybe," he said as he wrapped his arms around Julian, "but I think you should rather convince me when we're alone." He chuckled, then brought his nose down to nuzzle the other guy's neck.

They were so cute together. Luo found it great to see them enjoy each other that much. As he dropped his shirt, he climbed over them, back towards the wall as he laid down. His eyes drifted shut immediately, but he opened them soon after, gazing at the sweet couple next to him.

"Sounds easy enough. Does that mean you want another massage tomorrow, or that I'm supposed to put out?" Julian laughed and then turned and looked at Luo. "If we do end up going to the bathhouse, will you come?"

~~~~~

This is a collab, written together with Chlover. You can find her author profile here: http://original.adult-fanfiction.org/authors.php?no=26260