(no subject)
The first time Donghae meets him, he's twelve years old.
It's the winter holidays and he's fooling around in their backyard, laughing as he climbs their very, very huge tree. Below, his sister is yelling at him to, 'Come down, oppa! You're going to fall!'
Donghae doesn't listen to his sister. And as all boys do, he climbs up the tree more with his sister's warning. By the time he's reached the upper branches, his sister's gone, probably gone off to tell him off to their parents. Of course, Donghae doesn't really care. He's been in enough trouble lately he's kinda gotten used to it. And it's not as if his parents were that scary. Sure, it's a bummer if he gets grounded, but the fun he gets before that sure is worth it.
Grinning happily at himself, he snickers at his triumph of reaching the top of the tree. He looks around for a while, taking in the view of his surroundings. To his left, he could see Andy's house. In fact, he could even see his neighbor in his room, furiously playing games on that new, whatchamacallit-- Family Computer. Andy can't stop gushing about it to Donghae the day he got it. Donghae, though, isn't really interested.
What's so nice about getting stuck in the house playing-- whatever it is you play on that thing anyway? Isn't it much better to go outside and play?
When he looks to his right, he sees his room. Well, there isn't much to see there, except for his precious BB Gun his parents had bought him last holiday. True, it's just a toy, but it's still something that shoots. And shoot well it does! Whenever someone asks, he'll proudly talk about the time he had killed a pigeon with just one shot! And that time he had killed a wild bore when it attacked their house! There was even a time when he shot the wings of dragonfly! They're true stories, he'd insist. They really are!
Just then, Donghae hears his sister's voice. He can't quite hear what she's saying, but as she moves closer, he can see that his sister really has brought their parents with her. More specifically, their mother. As he looks below, his sister points at him, and when their mother looks up, he smiles cheekily and waves.
About to call out to her, Donghae is surprised when he hears his mother hysterically scream: "LEE DONGHAE, GET DOWN HERE NOW!"
Donghae is so surprised by the nervous yell of his mother that he couldn't help but jerk backwards. Backwards, into... nothing.
For a second, he thinks it's a dream. He can't really be falling at this height. It's impossible. But the wind starts to pick up, and he feels the sting of the branches on his face as he falls. His sister would say it lasted just for seconds, but on that moment, Donghae feels like it's happening for an eternity.
During his fall, he can vaguely hear his mother's anguished yell. He throws out his arms more then, trying to get a hold on the branches, sorry for the pain he's been causing everyone. Absentmindedly, he vows that if he ever lived through this, he'll change. He'll be better, he'll start to make people happy.
Unable to hold on to the branches, he closes his eyes and prepares himself for the impact.
However, the impact doesn't come.
When he opens his eyes again, he's met with warm, warm smiling eyes.
He's about to ask what happened, but before he does, his world suddenly goes entirely black.
---
The second time Donghae meets him, he's just turned twenty.
He's in college and he's celebrating his birthday like there's no tomorrow. Laughing loudly as he drinks and drinks and drinks, Donghae stumbles out of the house, drunk as hell.
He's clutching at Kibum tightly, the other boy not really helping much in standing upright, as the other is as drunk as he is. They're both having the night of their lives, and suddenly, Donghae gets the courage to smack his lips against the younger man's.
It's messy; really, really messy, but they manage to find a comfortable enough position to continue making out. Donghae should be having the time of his life. After all, he's been crushing on this particular boy ever since he saw him. But because he's drunk, he messily confesses his soul to the other. The other, who is practically more plastered than he is.
Amazingly, Donghae realizes what he's just done. The thought of it sobers him completely.
He can't quite believe he's just spilled his entire being in one drunken night. And to deaf (stoned) ears.
He sighs. Well, so much for sappy confessions and love of a lifetime.
Disentangling himself from the snoring boy on the grass (seriously, how had they gotten there?!), he drunkenly stumbles away, trying to forget what he's just done.
Hadn't he said he loved Kim Kibum? Loved him so much and so deep that he'd even planned out how he'd confess to him. Though there's a slim chance they'd remember this the morning after, right now, Donghae's disappointed at himself for getting carried away.
Depressed by the thought, he walks unsteadily back towards the house to find someone to pick Kibum up, and himself, as he's too drunk to walk back to the dorms.
Normally, people would notice the huge swimming pool in the backyard. Sticking drunk, Donghae doesn't.
Soon, he finds himself falling again. This time, he doesn't feel the wind wrapping around him dangerously, it's water. As soon as he feels himself unable to breathe, he flails and kicks and yells, desperate to gulp air. But the house is noisy and the people in the backyard are beyond drunk and so, he's falling and falling and this time, this time, he knows he won't be so lucky.
Except, he's being pulled up now. Strong, warm hands have wrapped themselves around his arms. And they're pulling, pulling him to where there's air, to land, to life.
He's spluttering and gasping and shaking like a leaf on all fours when he's out. And as he looks up to see who it is that saved him, he finds himself staring at warm, warm amber eyes.
'Do I know you?' he wants to say. But before he does, the entire world turns black.
---
Presently, Donghae's twenty five. Kind of.
And he'll forever look twenty five for the rest of his life. Or death. Afterlife. Whatever you want to call it.
Apparently, Kibum isn't as young as he thought he'd be. In fact, Kibum isn't really young. Just looks like it. The same way Donghae would be say, after, oh a hundred years?
But Donghae loves Kibum and he'd do anything for him... And that's all that's supposed to matter. Right? He can live like this. As long as Kibum's there with him.
But Kibum doesn't always stay with him.
There are days when he leaves Donghae in their run down apartment. Sometimes, Donghae would have to hunt for blood by himself because Kibum takes so long to return. There are times when Kibum's gone for days and days, which turned into weeks, then into months, which then turned into years.
It's been so long that there are days that Donghae has to think very hard to remember what Kibum looks like.
He's found himself heartbroken a million times with Kibum that he's become jaded. He's a vampire that stays by himself, even when others had offered him their homes.
---
And, as all years go, they fly by.
Donghae, however, still looks like he's twenty five.
He's moved on from Kibum. Time does heal all wounds, like the say. And, little by little, he's found a lot more about the world he carelessly threw himself into.
Apparently, there are a lot more supernatural creatures that lived among humans other than vampires.
After picking the pieces of himself up, he traveled around the world-- something that he had dreamed of as a child. And in his journey, he's met shapeshifters and witches, elementals and weird, animal-like creatures. He's befriended a whole lot but he's happy to have made a home with a few (and Kibum).
There's Eeteuk, who is a crazy, angel-like being who loves to fly during thunderstorms.
And then there's his partner, Kangin. No one really knows what he is, but when the guy gets angry, well... Donghae's learned to never anger the man. No. Matter. What.
Heechul, who shapeshifts into a were-jaguar creature. Personally, Donghae finds him the scariest supernatural being of all, with and without the transformation.
Eunhyuk and Shiwon, who are vampires, like himself.
And where there's Heechul and Shiwon, there's Han Geng, who is a shapeshifter like Heechul. But though Heechul turns into a jaguar, Geng can turn himself into anything he wants.
Other shapeshifters are Kyuhyun and Yesung and Ryeowook. All of which turn into their own, specific shapes.
Then there's Shindong, who, like Kangin, is very much a mystery. They've asked him what he is, but the other just answers with an annoying laugh before popping away into the kitchen. Shindong, however, always keeps with him a golden horn.
And then, just recently, their little family added Zhou Mi and Henry, who brought in with them someone Donghae thought he'd never, ever see again.
Zhou Mi and Henry are vampires that Hangeng knows. They found themselves in a pickle in China and had decided to seek help from Hangeng. Along the way, apparently, they met Kibum and decided he was okay enough to come with them.
And that is how Kibum becomes a part of Donghae's family and life/death/afterlife (again).
It had been very awkward at first. But because time heals all wounds, and they both have become mature enough over the ages, he and Kibum had worked it out between them and suddenly, they're friends again.
They aren't as close as before, but Donghae can safely say he's really, really over the other now.
And then, one winter morning, similar to that day years and years ago, back when he was a stubborn little boy who had foolishly climbed a tree... he came.
On to Chapter One