Mists of Celeste - an Ateez Fanfic

act two ➻ part 7.5

"You left dinner rather early," Yeosang says, tone soft as he steps over the threshold and into Wooyoung's room. Wooyoung snaps his chin up and looks at the man with wide eyes. He relaxes when he realizes it's Yeosang, but the tension in his shoulders remains, shoulders so high up that they nearly touch his ears.

"I wasn't feeling hungry," he mutters back. He picks at the skin around one of his nails absentmindedly, too lost in thought to care about the damage he's doing to his fingers. Yeosang releases a small sigh, one that Wooyoung barely picks up on, and he moves to join Wooyoung at the edge of the bed. The mattress dips under the added weight.

"You know it isn't good to do that." Yeosang reaches a hand out and pushes Wooyoung's fingers away from the skin around his nails. Rather than letting his hands fall back to his side though, Yeosang laces his fingers through Wooyoung's.

"O-Oh, yeah," Wooyoung exhales, blinking back at the blond. He squeezes his fingers around Yeosang's and revels in the warmth of his hand.

"What's on your mind, Woo?" Yeosang's voice remains quiet and calm, a soft lisp to his words, and Wooyoung nearly smiles as he hears it. His mind is too busy to think about how precious that little lisp is, and a frown overtakes his lips instead.

"I don't know... I just — I'm shaken up, I guess. San and Y/N almost – they almost–"

"But they didn't." Yeosang doesn't let him finish the thought. Wooyoung is almost grateful for it, but his mind has already thought through what could have happened. Imagined it, pictured it, played it out scene by scene. Wooyoung thinks about those sorts of things too much, in all honesty. "They're both alive and well. Aren't they?"

"Yeah, yeah. They are, but... it just makes me wonder."

"Wonder about what?" Yeosang asks, chin tilting a bit.

"What would happen if one of us dies?" Wooyoung didn't intend to ask the question aloud; he merely thought about it and debated the issue to himself, but somehow it found the air anyway. Yeosang stutters a little, no sound coming out of his mouth as he struggles to come up with a response.

Yeosang's grip tightens a little, and Wooyoung stares down at their joined hands with too many thoughts inhabiting his mind. He lifts his free hand to his neck, toying with the metal collar around the skin. Yeosang notices the movements in an instant. His hand slips away from Wooyoung's. Wooyoung chases after his fingers, missing the warmth immediately after losing it, and Yeosang doesn't let him grasp his hand again. Instead, he pushes back on the bed and moves closer to the pillows. Wooyoung watches him go for a few seconds, then shifts to join Yeosang when he beckons him. Yeosang props his back against the pillows and crosses his legs, patting the inside of his thigh. Wooyoung doesn't wait for further instruction; he drops his head onto Yeosang's lap and looks up at the man with brows knitted together.

"It won't happen. I won't let it happen, Wooyoung."

"How many times has Hongjoong promised us that? San almost died, and Hongjoong wasn't there." Yeosang shifts his jaw.

"He didn't need to be. Y/N was there."

"She nearly died too. If either of them had been alone, things wouldn't have turned out the way they did."

"You're thinking too much about what could have happened, and not enough on what actually happened. The fact of the matter is that they came out of there alive. Isn't that what's important?"

"Okay, but what if one of us ends up like that? And what if we can't get out of there alive? What then?" Wooyoung doesn't sit up, but he looks up to peer into Yeosang's piercing eyes with an equally intense stare. The man above him offers a faint grin.