(HunHan) Pretty little Lies like stars in the sky (part 2)
part 1
Luhan sighs with relief as Suho nods, features softening as he picks Luhan up and allows Chen to unlock the chains binding his hands.
Then, before Sehun has any time to process what has just happened, Luhan has bounded across the room and thrown his arms around the younger male, almost knocking him to the floor.
“I knew you’d come for me, Sehunnie,” he whispers, lips tickling Sehun’s ear and sending shivers down Sehun’s spine, “I knew. No Lie could convince me otherwise.” Sehun is smiling, instinctively embracing Luhan’s small figure despite the confusion that has practically exploded in his mind.
“About time. For Dims sake, Zitao, your ‘I’m the evil Demon Lord so I’m going to make everyone shit their pants’ antics get old really fast,” Kris shakes his head, groaning as the lord giggles (Sehun does a double take; giggles? Really??) and leaps up from the throne to possessively attach himself to Kris’ waist.
“But it’s fun,” Zitao whines. Sehun’s in the middle of debating if the entire underworld has bipolar disorder before he realizes that it was all just their idea of, as the lord puts it, fun. “Come on, love, you look so hot when you’re actually scared of me~” Kris rolls his eyes.
“W-wait a minute,” Sehun is saying, pulling away from Luhan, who pouts at him, to look incredulously between all of the room’s other occupants. “So you mean- that is- I don’t have to sacrifice anything? And that was all... a joke?” Chen and Suho look at him before both bursting into laughter while Kris scowls at them, and Zitao and Luhan give him understanding smiles.
“I’m sorry, Sehun, really, I am,” the lord says, amusement lacing his words. “It’s just an, er, hobby of mine. I’m not the Demon Lord for nothing, you know~” Sehun kind of feels like crying.
So he psyched himself up for nothing? And he and Luhan were free to go, just like that?
“Now hold on, there are a few conditions to meet before I can open the gate back to the human realm,” Zitao says hurriedly as if reading Sehun’s thoughts. “First of all, it’s Dims Week. You heard about that, didn’t you?”
“Yes,” Sehun says hesitantly, “But I don’t understand what it is.”
“Ah. And I’m shit at explaining,” the lord frowns. “Just a minute,” he tells Sehun before calling out, “Kyungsoo!” A moment later, the door is opening to welcome another archangel, whom Sehun recognizes as the one that had given him and Kris the stink eye on their way to the castle.
“You called, my Lord?” the archangel named Kyungsoo asks, wide eyes taking in the scene in front of him and shrinking slightly as he spots Sehun.
“Yes. Walking dictionary, tell our human friend about Dims Week,” the lord instructs.
“Of course,” Kyungsoo smiles amiably, turning toward Sehun. “Dims Week is the memorial celebration of the week-long battle fought by our Lord’s ancestors to guarantee our right to the land of the underworld. Special drinks are prepared each day, and lots of archangels end up intoxicated, which is why the higher demons patrol each evening.”
“Exactly, exactly,” Zitao claps his hands, nodding in approval. “So you see, this celebration, well, it’s kind of a mess, and I can’t open the gate in case any of those archangels happen to get through and cause trouble in the other realms. That will be all, Kyungsoo, thank you.” The archangel bows and exits the room.
“But what does that mean?” Sehun asks. Maybe he’s just had too much excitement for one day, not to mention Luhan is leaning dangerously close to his face and making it impossible to think coherently, but none of this is making sense to Sehun at all.
“It means that one week from now, I will open the gate and you and Lulu will be able to waltz through and return to the human realm. Kapeesh?” Zitao says, but Sehun’s only half listening because Luhan’s lips are nearly touching his, and it’s not fair because if he’s going to be that close they might as well just kiss already.
“But Zitao, you know it’s not that simple-” Kris begins, but the lord silences him by pressing one finger against his lips, warm gaze focused on the two lovers.
“Let them enjoy the peace while they can. This may be the last time they’re able to,” he says quietly.
Sehun is far too preoccupied with Luhan’s exceedingly tempting lips.
“So if you knew I was coming,” Sehun says, nose touching Luhan’s, “Does that mean you already weren’t going to be executed?”
“Certainly!” Luhan laughs softly. “Of course, we still had to go through the procedure - which was very nerve wracking, let me tell you - but once that was over with, all I had to do was sit and wait for you.” He nuzzles closer to Sehun, eyelids fluttering closed. “I knew it could never be the wrong decision to love you.” Sehun’s stomach does somersaults as Luhan’s words seem to spread all throughout his body, from the tips of his fingers down to his toes.
“I missed you,” he says without thinking, fingers tangling in the fabric of Luhan’s shirt. “I missed you so much. You were all I could think about. I wouldn’t believe I’d lost you.” Luhan smiles before planting a few butterfly kisses on Sehun’s lips.
“I’m sorry, Sehunnie,” the archangel murmurs, another breathy laugh bubbling in his chest. “I warned you about Lies, but then I got tricked by one. It’s ironic, isn’t it?” Sehun nods, laughing as well.
“But you’ll be more careful from now on, won’t you,” the younger male says, voice betraying the inordinate level of affection he feels for Luhan. The days, hours, minutes, seconds of fear that Luhan was out of reach, that he might not ever see Luhan again; everything is replaced with the intense desire to devour the immaculate male in front of him.
“Yes, I will,” Luhan chuckles, lips finding Sehun’s once again. “I promise I won’t leave your side again.”
“Good,” Sehun whispers.
It takes a little convincing, but the two finally part when Zitao orders them to follow Chen and Suho to one of the guests room - how a castle can have such things as a guest room, Sehun’s not sure. Kris stays behind with the excuse of ‘business’, according to Zitao, but Sehun doesn’t want to know exactly what that entails.
“I’m sorry about earlier,” Suho apologizes as they proceed down a long hallway, glancing back at Luhan with big eyes. “I didn’t mean to kick you that hard.”
“It’s fine,” Luhan says with a reassuring smile. “You really played your part very well.” Suho beams charmingly at him, eyes twinkling.
“I knew I smelled a human earlier,” Chen cuts in, staring pointedly at Sehun. “You didn’t have to hide, you know.”
“How was I supposed to know?” Sehun frowns, arms folding defensively across his chest. “I was under the assumption that we’d be arrested if anyone found out I was here.”
“Which wasn’t wrong, all things considered,” Luhan adds for good measure, wrapping an arm around Sehun’s waist.
“You speak to archangels pretty easily for a human,” Chen mutters, a hint of distaste in his voice. “If I were you, I’d be a bit more careful-”
“Now, Chen,” Suho says sharply, giving the lightning archangel a look, “The Lord has given him permission to stay here for the next week. He is our Lord’s guest, and therefore deserves our respect.” Chen clicks his tongue, but says nothing and returns to following behind them in silence.
“My apologies,” Suho addresses Sehun with a warm smile. “Chen isn’t usually like this. I believe he is simply in a bad mood.”
“It’s not a problem,” Sehun says, unable to stop himself from smiling back. Suho’s smiles are infectious and seem to have that effect.
“The Dims Week celebration officially starts tomorrow. Will you be participating in the festivities?” the water archangel inquires, turning down a narrow hallway.
“F-festivities?” Sehun repeats, the word catching in his throat. He wants very badly to pay attention to what Suho is talking about, but Luhan is really too distracting for his own good, what with the way he’s looking at Sehun with those stupid doe eyes and the way his lips are puckering just so, like he’s thinking about how nice it would be to just kiss Sehun without stopping because he doesn’t need to breathe, but Sehun does so-
“The first day is always the most quiet, but the second day is the start of the number fishing,” Suho’s voice interrupts his thought, and he wonders if he heard correctly or if his brain is muddled from staring at Luhan’s lips for too long.
“I’m sorry, number fishing?” he says, tearing his eyes away from Luhan as the male licks those goddamn lips.
“Yes, yes, but there’s plenty of time to learn about that,” Suho replies cheerfully. “Here’s your room,” he stops abruptly, opening a door Sehun hadn’t noticed they were approaching to reveal a spacious room with one king-size bed in the corner (oh god, Sehun thinks, the sheets are leopard print).
Sehun stands in the doorway and stares as Luhan walks inside and throws himself onto the bed. “I hope it’s to your liking,” Suho smiles. “I’ll send Kai up later to deliver some clothes for you to wear, Sehun,” he says with finality before lightly pushing Sehun inside to close the door.
“What? Are jeans and a t-shirt not appropriate underworld attire?” he jokingly asks Luhan, stepping over to the bed to look down as the archangel rolls over and looks up at him.
“I’m sure Lord Zitao is just following some sort of procedure,” Luhan says, grinning coyly. “He always is.”
“Whatever. I could care less about clothes right now,” Sehun murmurs, smirking slightly as he slowly lowers himself onto the bed and on top of Luhan, whose smile widens. “So is there a procedure for getting you out of yours?” Luhan snorts and closes his eyes, probably to conceal the fact that he’s rolling them.
“Oh Sehun, you are ridiculous,” he says, shaking his head.
“Yes,” Sehun shrugs briefly before brushing his lips against Luhan’s, “But you missed me.”
“I will not deny that,” Luhan chuckles, reaching up to attach one hand to the collar of Sehun’s shirt and pull him closer, “Only because you confessed how much you missed me.” A light shade of blush spreads across Sehun’s cheeks.
“Hey, that was-” he’s cut off as Luhan assaults his mouth with hot kisses, tongue darting out to swipe along Sehun’s bottom lip.
Before Sehun has any time to think, the elder male has swapped places with him, hanging over him as cool fingers walk up his chest. He lifts his head to press his lips to Luhan’s jaw, smiling as Luhan fingers the hem of his shirt. Instinctively, he leans into the archangel’s touch, having dearly missed it during its short period of absence. Luhan senses this and gently feels underneath the article of clothing, his icy touch sending little jolts of electricity through Sehun’s torso.
Then, Luhan sits up, a smirk tugging at the corners of his mouth as he gestures one hand and uses his power - telekinesis - to tug Sehun’s shirt over his head. Sehun’s repressing an amused grin; the archangel seems to enjoy his power when it comes to using it for this sort of purpose.
But as Luhan begins planting kisses along Sehun’s chest, they are interrupted by a choking noise and a groan that comes from somewhere on the other side of the room. Sehun is immediately alert, but Luhan barely stops kissing the younger male to look up and see Kai’s face grimacing on the wall across from them.
“Oh Lord, Suho didn’t mention you’d be fucking,” Kai wails, eyes narrowed into such small slits they hardly appear open. “Why am I bringing you clothes when you obviously don’t need them?!” A hand and arm quickly materialize from the wall to drop a neatly folded pile of archangel attire onto the floor before disappearing along with Kai’s face, leaving them with the last sentiment of, “You couldn’t have waited at least five more minutes, could you!”
Sehun and Luhan exchange a look. Then, after a moment of silence, they both burst out laughing, Luhan resting his head against Sehun’s chest in an attempt to stifle his giggles. Sehun holds onto him, grinning and chuckling, and even though Kai had been a pain in the ass earlier, Sehun’s beginning to think they might actually get along.
“I love you,” Luhan murmurs once he’s regained his composure, tenderly kissing Sehun again. “I love you more than anything any of the realms could offer.”
“I know,” Sehun whispers, smiling into Luhan’s mouth.
As the kiss deepens, his toes curl into the blankets of the bed.
When Sehun wakes up, Luhan’s head resting on his chest and arm draped possessively over his torso, he can tell it’s morning.
It’s one detail he’d noticed about the underworld, that a lot seems to rely solely on feeling. He can feel that it’s morning. There’s no sun shining in through the window, no birds chirping just outside to inform him that he is correct, he can just feel it.
Archangels don’t need to sleep. Luhan had told him that once before; they don’t need to sleep, but they do it anyways. Something to do with the aftermath of having once been human, or wanting to be human again, or, well, it’s all very complicated and Sehun can’t remember very clearly.
All he knows is that Luhan looks positively stunning while he’s half asleep, lashes fluttering, his soft cheek pressed delicately against Sehun’s chest. He stays like this for a while, watching the archangel, taking in every intricate feature of his face. It’s been a long time since he’s been able to just gaze upon the elder male like this.
“Oh Sehun, I can feel you watching me,” Luhan murmurs, voice laced with the remnants of sleep. Sehun just chuckles, bringing one hand up to run his fingers through Luhan’s messy hair. “You’re not inconspicuous, you know.”
“I’m not trying to be,” Sehun says, tipping his head to allow his lips to meet the archangel’s forehead.
“Well that’s reassuring,” Luhan’s doe eyes slowly open to gaze up at him, a hint of amusement in his expression. “I was beginning to wonder if you were just incapable of concealing your intentions.” Sehun makes a face and shifts lower so that he can more easily touch their lips together.
“Don’t make fun of me,” he pouts against Luhan’s mouth. “I snuck into the castle to rescue you, remember?” The archangel laughs lightly, wrapping his arms around Sehun as he resumes laying on the younger male’s chest.
“I know,” he hums softly, eyes closing, “and I thank you for it.” Sehun feels a smile effortlessly spread across his face.
They lay quietly like this for a while, Luhan’s head rising and falling with each of Sehun’s breaths. A question tugs at the back of the human’s mind, though, prompting him to break the silence.
“Luhan,” he begins, playing with a few strands of the elder male’s honey-colored hair, “Why is it that an archangel can’t love a human?” Luhan’s eyes flicker open to stare up at Sehun inquisitively. He hesitates, rolling over so that he is laying on top of Sehun with his arms bent, hands resting on Sehun’s chest and propping his head up.
“You’ve asked me this before,” the archangels murmurs, voice just above a whisper. His gaze is gentle, understanding, and it makes Sehun feel silly for asking again. “For the same reason a heavenly angel cannot love a human, we archangels are forbidden from loving any beings of the other realms. It may not have any rhyme or reason, that is just the way it has been since the beginning of time.”
“So that’s why you were arrested?” Sehun questions, “Because you fell in love with me?”
“Yes, well, not exactly,” Luhan chuckles, eyes crinkling tenderly as he moves one hand to brush his fingers against Sehun’s cheek. “It’s not like the underworld has a way to keep tabs on the exact feelings of each individual archangel. I was unfortunately caught by a Lie, which spread to the Demon Lord’s realm and resulted in my removal from the human realm.”
Another question hangs on the tip of Sehun’s tongue and quietly escapes before he has time to really think about it: “So if I hadn’t come, if you hadn’t known I’d come to save you, would you have been executed?” Luhan’s expression instantly darkens and he looks away from Sehun.
“Perhaps,” he mutters after a brief pause, shrugging. “Who knows?”
Sehun regrets the question, but Luhan is smiling again, leaning forward to capture his mouth. “Don’t worry about it, my love. You came, I am saved, we are together, and things are as they should be,” the archangel assures him. Sehun sighs, eyeing Luhan bemusedly.
“Come, let’s get up,” Luhan continues eagerly, “I want to give you a tour of the underworld.”
There’s a lot more to the underworld than Sehun had initially wagered.
The Demon Lord’s castle is like a realm all on its own. There are two levels: the lower level for the throne room and the upper level where the higher demons can be found. When Sehun asks about the higher demons, Luhan tells him that they are basically archangels with more than one power.
The lake is on the border between the castle and the rest of the realm. It is the largest lake Sehun has ever seen, and upon closer inspection, he can see little creatures flitting about underneath its murky surface. But Luhan says they’ll learn more about that the next day.
Sehun tries his best to pay attention to the things Luhan tells him; like how each district has a different name, and certain types of archangels live in each district, and how archangels are only allowed to mate with archangels from other districts. There’s a lot to take in, and Sehun’s certain he’ll never remember any of it in the long run.
“It’s OK,” Luhan says with a carefree smile, “You’re only going to be here for a week anyway, so don’t feel too pressured to learn all of this.”
They meet up with Kris a bit later, who looks glad to get away from the castle.
“You look good,” he tells Sehun. “Our clothes suit you well.”
“That’s what I said!” Luhan pipes up, clinging onto Sehun’s arm. “He looks very, very handsome, without a doubt~” Sehun blushes, looking down at the ground as Kris laughs.
When the three return to the castle, they are ushered into the Lord’s Dims Week feast to initiate the upcoming seven days of celebration. The whole realm is invited, and Sehun’s more than a little intimidated to be in the presence of so many demons of different rank and power crowded around one enormous table laden with food of all kinds, but Luhan stays close by his side, giving him encouraging smiles and making sure he’s never on his own.
“So you’re the human everyone’s talking about,” a female archangel greets them. She has a friendly face and offers a cordial grin when Sehun gives her an anxious look. “You’re the one who came to save our Luhan, isn’t that right?”
“Yes, Taeyeon, this is Sehun,” Luhan says quickly after Sehun makes no move to answer. “He is my companion.” The female archangel’s smile widens.
“Is that so. You two look good together,” she comments warmly. “I’m glad you came, little one,” she goes on, patting Sehun’s head. “I’m rather fond of Luhan, and I’d have been quite put out if anything had happened to him.”
“Taeyeon,” Luhan is still smiling despite the exasperation in his voice.
“Wait a minute, I have to grab Tiffany! We made a bet and- well, she was dying to know what would be the outcome of your sentence!” the female archangel exclaims, “Stay right there, I’ll be right back!” She hurries off through the crowd, leaving Luhan chuckling and Sehun awkwardly fixing his hair where she’d touched it.
A moment later, though, Zitao stands at the front of the table, commanding silence throughout the dining hall. He clears his throat, smiling when he sees that he has everyone’s attention.
“First of all, I’d like to thank you all for attending. Not that you have a choice, but I appreciate it nonetheless,” he laughs a tinkling sound, and Sehun bites down a giggle as Luhan rolls his eyes.
“As you all know, today is the first day of Dims Week. I’d like to say I have some sort of long, explanatory speech planned out, but alas, we shall suffice without one. Number fishing starts bright and early tomorrow, so those who plan on participating had best come ready. I hope to see you all there~” He bows a little, nodding complacently as a ripple of applause surges through the crowd. “Now, without further ado, please enjoy this bountiful feast cooked up by only our finest chefs~”
Once Zitao sits down, chatter starts back up and Luhan is leading Sehun around the table, telling him what food is good and what to avoid. They manage to fill up their plates before they sneak out of the dining hall and head to their room.
“What about those two archangels?” Sehun reminds the elder male, although he’s pretty content with following Luhan at this point.
“Taeyeon and Tiffany? It’s all right, they’ll understand,” the archangel winks, and Sehun shakes his head, chuckling to himself.
The bedroom was a bad idea, though, he thinks as he abandons his plate by door.
The next morning, Luhan is up before Sehun. The younger male slowly awakens, eyes opening dazedly to look right into the archangel's.
"Rise and shine, sleepy head," Luhan chuckles, smiling as he tenderly kisses Sehun's lips.
"Don't want to," Sehun grumbles, burying his face into the crook of Luhan's neck and cuddling as close as he can to the archangel's warm body.
"But, my love, number fishing starts today," Luhan reminds him, light laughter escaping him as Sehun's breath tickles his bare skin. "I've never been number fishing before, come on!" Sehun responds by nuzzling even closer against the older male, grinning while Luhan squirms.
Number fishing makes about as much sense as the sun rising in the middle of the night, and Sehun's only barely awake at this point, so the only thing he really wants to do is lay in bed with Luhan, the archangel's sweet scent strong in his senses as he pulls Luhan if possible even closer. His arms wrap around Luhan's figure, hands tangling in his hair, pulling him closer, closer, closer.
"Sehun," Luhan chuckles again, "you're smothering me."
"You don't breathe, how can I be smothering you," Sehun points out, voice muffled into Luhan's neck. He loosens his grip just a little, though, pulling away to gaze at the archangel who looks back at him with unconcealed amusement.
"... Sehun..." Luhan says softly, smile fading in an abrupt uncharacteristic seriousness, the back of one hand grazing Sehun's cheek. ".... If... if, say, something bad happened, but you couldn't prevent it... like it was the consequence for..." Luhan trails off, eyelids shutting momentarily before flitting open once more.
"Nevermind," the archangel is smiling again, planting warm, chaste kisses all over Sehun's face.
Sehun wants to ask, Luhan's words ringing oddly in his human ears, but Luhan keeps kissing him, deeper and deeper, effectively desensitizing him.
"Let's get up," Luhan whispers, shifting out of Sehun's weakened grasp.
part 3