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The gunshots ricocheted through the air like wildfire.
They pelted through the room, scattered in the air like sawdust and crashing into targets with the force of fireworks.
Most of the bullets ended up destroyed and mangled on the floor, useless after none of them ended up where they were supposed to.
Hyunjin didn’t know if he should be thankful for that or not.
Whilst he was thankful neither he nor Felix had been shot yet, he was also kinda wishing the enemies would take one for the team and maybe take a few bullets so Hyunjin and Felix finally could escape. The last thing they needed was to get stuck all night.
They were both crouched behind an up-turned table, bullets smacking into the wood and kamikazeing across the floor all around them, but the table holding out enough that they weren’t taking any hits yet.
They had guns gripped tightly in each of their hands, getting loaded and re-loaded as Hyunjin and Felix routinely threw themselves over the top of the table to fire at the enemies they’d bumped into in the warehouse. The same enemies who were hiding behind a wall and trying just as hard to kill Hyunjin and Felix as Hyunjin and Felix were trying to kill them.
Hyunjin sighed. Him and Felix hadn’t even been causing trouble that time. They’d just been looking for somewhere to hide for the night after stealing a huge bag of money from one of the biggest underground bosses in the city and trying to run away with it.
Okay, so maybe they should have pre-empted some people coming after them.
But Hyunjin had hoped they’d get at least a little peace before the boss realised what had happened. Turns out Felix stole a much bigger amount of money than either of them had realised. Maybe Hyunjin shouldn’t have fought Felix so hard on talking him into that one.
But they had each other now, each other and a whole city of underground criminals who suddenly had it out for them. Hyunjin supposed they didn’t have the best odds, but it had taken him and Felix long enough to discover that they were unbeatable when they were together.
At least that’s what they hoped.
“So, I’m guessing this wasn’t your idea of a romantic evening, right sweetheart?” Felix’s voice carried elegantly over the sounds of the shooting, his gaze flicking to grin at Hyunjin before he was back over the table again firing at the bodies disappearing behind the wall.
“Well, darling,” Hyunjin grinned back at him, joining him in shooting, “I guess you can’t say you’re not having fun right now.”
“Who would have guessed it, eh?” Felix laughed, bumping his shoulder with Hyunjin’s, “Two troublemakers just wanting a peaceful night now getting shot at. These people just can’t get enough of us, can they?”
“Well, they never really liked it when their money got stolen,” Hyunjin mumbled back, having to duck back behind the table to re-load as Felix covered him.
He listened to Felix shoot for a few moments, unable to resist turning to admire Felix’s lithe body stretched above the table. Felix was wearing a leather jacket that was unbuttoned, revealing a white t-shirt that was far too tight and revealing for Hyunjin’s sanity.
“Why have you stopped?” Felix’s voice came from above him, his deep brassy tone vibrating all the way through to Hyunjin’s chest, “What are you doing?”
“Admiring your abs,” Hyunjin answered casually, like they weren’t in the middle of a shootout, his hand finally dislodging some more bullets into his gun before he reached out to brush his fingers tenderly over Felix’s stomach, “You’ve got such cute, baby abs.”
“Quit it!” Felix scolded, managing to reach out and slap the hand away, “You can admire those later, we’re kinda busy with something else right now.”
Hyunjin couldn’t resist a pout, tugging on Felix’s t-shirt a couple of times and managing to make him look away from his target for a second to see what Hyunjin wanted.
“You promise you’ll let me admire your abs later?” Hyunjin said like a little kid, and Felix didn’t hesitate to reach out and smack him.
“I swear to god if we lose this fight, it’ll be your fault,” Felix said, rolling his eyes as he went back to shooting, clicking his tongue at Hyunjin as he went.
Hyunjin just laughed to himself. Felix was so whipped for him.
And he was so whipped for Felix.
Which became apparent a second later when Hyunjin was readying his gun, twisting around so he could prepare himself to lean over the table again. The sound of bullets was still exploding all around him, but even that wasn’t enough to cover the noise of Felix’s stomach suddenly growling loudly from next to him.
Hyunjin frowned to himself, casting a glance at the abs next to him that suddenly seemed a little too lithe for Hyunjin’s liking. He trailed his gaze up to Felix’s hands, noticing they were shaking slightly.
Screw the bad guys, Hyunjin suddenly thought, he was really angry now.
“You little brat!” Hyunjin couldn’t stop himself from cursing, dropping his gun to wrap a hand around Felix’s shoulder and pull him harshly back behind the table.
“Hyunjin, wha-” Felix stuttered, crashing against the floor and almost winding his back against the table as Hyunjin swung him around.
“Are you hungry?!” Hyunjin practically yelled at him, glaring straight into Felix’s eyes.
“We’re in the middle of a shootout right now and you’re asking me if I’m hungry?!” Felix yelled back incredulously, staring at Hyunjin like he was insane, “What is the matter with you?”
“What is the matter with me?” Hyunjin seethed at him, pulling his face closer to Felix’s, “You told me that there was enough dinner for both of us last night, that’s why I ate so much! Don’t tell me you lied to me!”
Felix looked panicked for a second, his eyes blinking harshly as he seemed to fumble for words. Hyunjin was about to scold him again when his features suddenly hardened, his hand shoving Hyunjin away.
“This isn’t important right now!” Felix said, swivelling around to grab his gun again, hiding his shaking hands behind his torso as he fumbled to re-load it.
“Like hell it isn’t relevant!” Hyunjin grabbed the gun out Felix’s hand, not even looking at Felix as he started to re-load the gun himself, “You are not allowed to go hungry!”
“So, I should let you go hungry instead?” Felix snapped, his anger barely covering his embarrassment as he snatched the gun back from Hyunjin.
But Hyunjin couldn’t bring himself to snap back, not when he realised.
‘So, I should let you go hungry instead?!’
Felix wasn’t going hungry deliberately, or out of some sick stubborn habit that they’d both developed over years of trauma. He was going hungry because it meant Hyunjin would get more food, because Felix would rather eat nothing if it meant Hyunjin got to eat everything.
It was a habit they were going to have to break, one that Hyunjin was definitely not going to let continue, but Hyunjin supposed it was just another stupid, stubborn thing that they’d developed for each other. They’d unintentionally been taking one another’s hits for years, the two of them forever happy to throw themselves into danger to protect the other.
They drove each other crazy doing it, but Hyunjin knew how difficult it would be to stop.
That, however, did not mean that Felix was allowed to go hungry. Ever.
So, Hyunjin let another wave of anger consume him as he reached out and grabbed Felix again, throwing him onto his back on the ground.
“You and your shaky hands are going to stay down,” Hyunjin growled at him through gritted teeth, trying not to let himself give into Felix’s shocked eyes, “I’ve got this.”
Felix looked like he was about to protest, but Hyunjin didn’t give him the time to, throwing himself back over the table and starting to fire his gun again. Felix wouldn’t risk distracting Hyunjin now, they both knew that.
So, Hyunjin concentrated on his targets, forcing all his concern about Felix to the back of his mind and focusing on getting him out of there. Hyunjin could fuss over Felix later, for now he had bad guys to defeat and a beautiful boyfriend to protect.
When Hyunjin ran out of bullets, Felix already had new ones ready, giving Hyunjin a look as he handed them over and saying nothing when Hyunjin leant back over the table.
Hyunjin felt a stab of anger at the action, and he forced the emotion into his motion as he straightened up over the table.
That was Hyunjin’s first mistake.
In all his years on the job, Hyunjin knew to never ever go into a mission with extra baggage. Taking emotion into a job was a guaranteed death sentence. Hyunjin often speculated that maybe that was the reason he’d been so scared to ever allow himself to feel anything for Felix.
Emotions made you weak. Falling for someone meant falling completely. Having a weakness, someone who could be targeted instead of you, something you could potentially lose, it only made you easier to defeat.
It was easier to be Felix’s enemy than it was to love him, because loving him only opened both Hyunjin and Felix up to more pain. If anything were to happen to one of them, it would kill both of them. Emotions like that just weren’t built for the lives they led.
And yet they still took the risk. Hyunjin knew Felix was worth it. He would never ever doubt that Felix was worth it.
Even when Hyunjin got angry at Felix during a shootout and didn’t concentrate enough on his movements. It was only supposed to be Hyunjin’s eyeline and his gun poking out from the top of the table, any more and he’d be an extremely easy target to hit.
And that’s exactly what Hyunjin became.
The bullet lodged itself in his shoulder, shocking him to the point that, for just a moment, Hyunjin didn’t even realise he’d been shot.
Felix, of course, noticed right away. He panicked enough for the both of them and Hyunjin almost worried that Felix was the one who’d taken the bullet.
But Hyunjin was the one who had blood dripping down his arm, and he flinched when Felix yanked him back down behind the table. He was forced to lean against the wood, a sharp wince leaving his lips when fire blazed all down his side.
“You absolutely bloody idiot!” Felix was growling, Hyunjin trying to focus on him as he rummaged through the backpack they had between them, “You call me stupid and then go and get yourself shot!”
Hyunjin wanted to defend himself, but no words came out when he opened his mouth, just a strangled sound that was dripping with too much pain for his liking. Felix’s head whipped up, his blond hair falling into his eyes, and his gaze switched like lightning from anger to concern.
“Just hold on, baby,” Felix said gently, his voice somehow carrying over the bullets still storming around them, “Hold on to your shoulder for me, okay? I’ll be right there.”
Hyunjin quickly scrambled to do as Felix said, pressing a palm against the bloody wound on his shoulder. He hissed at the feeling, but preened at the sound of Felix’s praise from next to him, telling Hyunjin that he was an idiot, but a brave idiot.
It didn’t take long for Felix to be in front of him, all gentle hands and white bandages and quick words. He made fast work of wrapping a gauze around Hyunjin’s arm, trying to talk him through the pain.
Hyunjin could feel beads of agony sweat dripping down his forehead, but he kept his eyes locked on Felix, counting his freckles to keep himself distracted.
Somehow Felix’s hands had stopped shaking, and the touch of his cold fingers was the most beautiful feeling in the world.
But then Felix finally looked up and met Hyunjin’s eyes, and Hyunjin felt his heart drop.
Hyunjin knew that look.
That was the same look Felix had worn when they were still enemies, when he truly finally had enough of Hyunjin and stared at him with all the ice in the world, promising to destroy him.
That was the look Felix had worn later when someone threatened Hyunjin, when someone threatened to come between them.
That was Felix’s I’m about to do some damage look.
“Lix, no!” Hyunjin found his voice, trying to lean forward and reach Felix, “Baby, it’s not safe!”
Hyunjin didn’t know what Felix was about to do, but he did know that Felix most likely hadn’t thought about it, and that he was most likely about to throw himself in the path of imminent danger.
They were both a bit reckless like that.
“It’s going to be okay, sugar,” was all Felix said, his voice far too calm for Hyunjin’s liking, “Just stay here, okay?”
“No, I won’t!” Hyunjin tried to protest, but he froze when Felix leant forward to place a kiss on his forehead, sending warmth tingling through Hyunjin’s body.
“I’m going to fix this,” Felix simply said, and Hyunjin felt the warmth reach unbearable levels when the tips of his veins started to scorch, his shoulder crying out in pain, “Stay here.”
With that, Felix grabbed a gun, making a show of cocking it and smirking at Hyunjin before he was off.
“But Lix, you’re hungry!” Hyunjin screamed after him, but it was too late.
It didn’t matter that Hyunjin still had a bullet in his shoulder, it didn’t matter that there was still blood leaking through his fingers. All that mattered was that Felix had just thrown himself into battle. And he was hungry.
All Hyunjin could do was use his good arm to pull himself to the edge of the table and peek round it to watch whatever Felix was doing. He hissed at the pain the action caused him, but the feeling was over-powered by Hyunjin’s absolute terror as he tried to spot Felix.
Felix was, much to Hyunjin’s fear, sprinting his way across the room. He was ducking and rolling, darting from side-to-side and throwing himself behind various obstacles. The bullets followed him the whole way and Hyunjin felt his heart pound relentlessly against his ribs.
But Felix carried on, his hair whipping behind him and his feet smacking against the floor. There was a look on his face, a look of pure absolute determination. It was a look Hyunjin trusted more than anything in the whole world, but that didn’t make the horror burn any less bright inside him.
Hyunjin wished he could be besides Felix’s side.
Eventually, Felix made it to the first gun-man, grabbing their shoulder and pulling them both behind a wall to avoid any other bullets. They disappeared out of Hyunjin’s sight and a strained gasp fell out his lips when he heard a cry of pain from someone who wasn’t Felix.
A few completely and utterly unbearable seconds passed, fuelled only by the rapid inferno of gunfire in the room and the absolute terror clawing at Hyunjin’s chest.
His heart jumped into his throat, strangling and choking him as he could only pray to every god that he could possibly think of that Felix would be okay.
But Hyunjin suddenly remembered exactly who Felix was when a body dropped to the floor and Felix emerged, blood dripping from his nose and bruises on his neck but a whole new blaze of firestorm sweltering in his eyes.
“No one,” Felix growled out, something sharp prickling in Hyunjin’s chest at the deep voice rumbling through the room like thunder, “No one gets to shoot my boyfriend.”
Hyunjin’s jaw dropped.
Felix was unstoppable as he descended, danger sparkling in his eyes like a rapidly-approaching meteor. He was all flying limbs and fast fists and furious snarls as he threw himself at the last two gunmen.
There were more gunshots and more screams, some coming from Hyunjin as he tried to keep his eyes on the scene, frantically trying to keep track of Felix’s blond hair darting all over the place.
But even against two men, Felix’s absolute golden fury was unmatched and it was only a matter of time before the last two gun-man dropped like flies at the mercy of his fists, the sounds of their guns being replaced by the sound of their unconscious bodies collapsing.
They were still when they hit the floor.
Felix was stood between them, his chest rising and falling as he stared down at them. His eyes were still searing, his knuckles bruised, his face swollen with the marks they’d given him and more than one wound making itself known on Felix’s body.
But, still, Felix stood solidly between them. Victorious.
It was only then that Hyunjin tried to shuffle forward again, unable to hold back another cry of pain as his bullet wound blistered at the movement.
Felix whipped to face him, and Hyunjin saw the exact moment he was shaken back into the real world. The sounds of his footsteps echoed almost ominously against the floor as he sprinted over. Hyunjin flinched, crying out again when the action sent agony roaring down him like sparks.
“Shhh, baby,” Felix soothed as he knelt down in front of him, one of his hands immediately finding its way onto Hyunjin’s chin, the other reaching out to steady Hyunjin’s shoulder, “Don’t try to move again.”
Hyunjin couldn’t help but lean into the touch, needing reassurance that not only was the battle over, but that they’d both come out okay.
Felix was okay. Felix was alive. Felix was the winner.
Felix was hungry.
“Y-You need to eat,” Hyunjin managed to stutter out through fast breaths, his good arm reaching up to cup over the hand Felix still had resting on his shoulder.
“You’re literally bleeding out from a bullet wound and you’re worried that I haven’t had dinner,” Felix mumbled back, giving Hyunjin a glare as he cast a careful glance below the bandages he was starting to peel away, “Babe, you really need to sort out your priorities.”
“My priorities are you,” Hyunjin didn’t even hesitate to say, the pure weight of the words hanging silently in the air for a few seconds before they came crashing down like stones.
My priorities are you.
Felix flinched so hard he ended up jolting Hyunjin’s bad shoulder. Hyunjin cried out again.
“I’m sorry! I’m so sorry, baby!” Felix was quick to say, all the anger gone from his gaze as he shushed Hyunjin, tender fingers fluttering against his skin, “It’s alright. I’m going to make you all better, and then you can think about me afterwards, okay?”
Hyunjin managed a smile, looking at Felix through sweaty blond bangs, “It’s bold of you to assume I ever stop thinking about you, love.”
Felix looked back up at him, something twinkling in his eyes as he opened his mouth to speak, “Just no more talking about me being hungry, okay? Not when you’re still bleeding.”
Hyunjin pouted, but didn’t say anything. He allowed Felix to lay him down on his back, watching as pulled out a first aid kit and started tending properly to Hyunjin’s wound. It hurt, it really hurt, but Hyunjin kept a firm grip around Felix’s wrist the whole time, squeezing when it was too much.
“There you go. You’re doing so well,” Felix praised him as he worked, his voice made of butterflies even when he teased, “This what you get for being a stupid idiot who gets yourself shot. This is why I keep telling you not to be reckless.”
Hyunjin wanted to retort that he wouldn’t have to be reckless if Felix didn’t sacrifice meals for him, but he was cut off by a particularly nasty scrape to his shoulder. Felix apologised straight away, and Hyunjin had a feeling it was more than the pain he was apologising for.
Felix was apologising for both sticking too hard to old habits, and for straying too far away from them.
Felix was still stubborn like he was when he was still enemies. And he was too self-sacrificing now that they were lovers.
It was a constant game of tug-and-war, push-and-pull, love-and-hate. It was a line Hyunjin and Felix regularly toed, and one that they constantly toppled off, one of them always reaching out to catch the other.
Hyunjin supposed he could let Felix sew up the bullet wound. He could let Felix catch him this time.
And, later, Hyunjin could one-handedly scrabble together a meal fit for a king for Felix. He could catch Felix then.
“That’s it, angel,” Felix eventually said, leaning back to properly look down at Hyunjin, “All done.”
Hyunjin smiled up at him, bringing up fingertips to smooth along the curve of Felix’s chin.
“I swear, you better never run into gunfire like that again,” Hyunjin said, his voice weak but eyes glaring, “Or sacrifice food or anything else like that for me. Do you hear me, Lee Felix?”
A gentle smile appeared on Felix’s face.
“I hear you, Hwang Hyunjin,” he whispered back, moving his hand away from Hyunjin’s shoulder to smooth over the bloodied skin on his neck, “As long as you never act recklessly again. I never want to see another drop of blood on you.”
Hyunjin grinned, avoiding all the bruises on Felix’s face to flick him on the end of the nose, “I think that can be arranged.”
Despite all that had happened, Felix giggled at the words and Hyunjin felt all the pain inside him melt away. He beamed up at Felix, letting the peace truly settle around them both and blanket them gently.
In a life full of chaos, Hyunjin had learned to grab every moment of serenity he could.
Felix seemed to feel the same, his touch fond and eyes shining as he smiled. Felix looked like serenity himself, his golden hair falling around his face and framing his bruises. Hyunjin frowned at the sight of a prominent black eye starting to take shape on Felix’s face, dragging a slow finger-nail across it and watching as Felix pouted and cupped the hand Hyunjin used.
“Stop worrying, baby,” Felix whispered, “We’re going to be okay.”
With the words, Felix leant down and pressed and soft kiss on Hyunjin’s lips, moving slowly against him and letting the heat of the movement spread through them both. Hyunjin kissed back fervently, eagerly chasing a feeling that could take away the pain.
Felix would always take his pain.
But they were soon forced to spring apart when Felix’s stomach growled loudly again, Felix’s face blooming a bright red when Hyunjin shot him a disapproving look.
“I’m watching you cook and serve every meal from now on,” Hyunjin glowered, “And every time you make cookies, you’re eating at least half of them.”
Felix looked like he wanted to protest the words, but stopped when Hyunjin just glared harder at him. Instead, Felix nodded sheepishly, giving Hyunjin a small smile.
“Okay,” Felix said, a finger playing with Hyunjin’s lip, “Let’s go get some food.”
Hyunjin was determined to walk on his own, but realised that was definitely not going to happen when Felix pulled him up, keeping Hyunjin draped over one shoulder and all the bags and guns over the other.
It was slow-going as Felix helped Hyunjin stagger out the room, but Hyunjin wouldn’t have changed it, not at the warm feeling of Felix’s arm looped round his back.
If anyone had told Hyunjin a few months ago that he’d soon be curled up against his enemy wishing to every force in the universe that they stayed safe, Hyunjin probably would have shot whoever had the audacity to say such a thing.
But now Hyunjin was content, letting his boyfriend keep him safe and get him home so that later, when the gunfire faded away and they were hidden once more, Hyunjin could make sure his boyfriend ate everything he could and then some.
It was more domestic than Hyunjin was used to, but it was perfect.
Together, Hyunjin and Felix were perfect.
Who could have guessed it?