“Let’s go in there!” Saeran pulled Yoosung behind him. The fair had been a great date idea. They held hands and Saeran loved to see how happy Yoosung was. The Haunted House would be great for making Yoosung cling to him.
“Th…there?” Yoosung stammered but he was dragged along. He wrapped his arm around Saeran’s, already leery of the dark and creepy building. Over the entrance there was a leering clown head with missing teeth that bobbed back and forth, almost touching those who entered. There were also ghosts, werewolves, zombies, and vampires crawling out through the fake windows. Yoosung knew they were just automatons and not a real threat, but they still scared him.
He closed his eyes as they passed through the door into darkness only broken by an eerie green light. Something grazed his hip and he screamed, practically jumping into Saeran’s arms. Saeran just chuckled and wrapped his arm around Yoosung’s waist and pulled him close. This was working like a charm! It was difficult for Saeran to show his affection, there was still some residual abandonment fears. He was working on being more open and not safeguarding his heart, but it was hard to change those habits he’d had to employ in order to not get hurt by others.
Haunted houses were fun but not that scary to Saeran. He knew Yoosung didn’t like scary movies so this would have the same affect. He almost felt guilty but didn’t seem to bother him that much when this was the result. He held Yoosung closer as they walked deeper. People kept jumping out, horror music playing through the hidden speakers, and eerie lighting flickered around them. Yoosung mostly kept his eyes closed, but when he opened them, he screamed and clutched at Saeran all the more. At this point he was grinning from ear to ear and winking at the people working in the house that were scaring his boyfriend, conspiratorially. It seemed to confuse many of them, but they soldiered on.
A little past halfway and Saeran was beginning to think maybe he’d made a mistake. Yoosung was shaking and there were tears falling from his closed eyes. This wasn’t what he’d had in mind.
“Uh…umm…yeah, this…this is fine…” Yoosung struggled to speak, his voice sounding thick with swallowed tears. Damn.
A zombie walked out and lay a hand on Yoosung’s shoulder, making the blond scream loudly and step on Saeran’s toes. That was it! Saeran turned, placing Yoosung behind him and punched the zombie in the face.
“Don’t touch him!” he screamed.
The zombie stumbled back, hands going to his nose, which was suddenly gushing blood. “Ok Ok!” he whimpered, scuttling back to his hiding place. Saeran picked Yoosung up and began walking towards the exit.
“That goes for the rest of you too! Hear me?” he yelled down the hallway. A succession of ‘uh huh’ ‘you got it’ ‘no problem’ came from every direction, even behind them. A light came on above them as he carried his boyfriend out and into safety. The blonde clung to him, even when they were out into the heavily lit fair grounds.
Saeran gently put him down. “I’m so sorry Yoosung. I shouldn’t have made you go in there.” He sheepishly looked away, not wanting to meet the blond’s eyes.
Yoosung slammed back into Saeran, hugging him tight, burying his face into his chest.
“No no, I’m sorry. I’m such a scardy cat! I know it isn’t real, but I can’t help it. I should have said I didn’t want to go in there.”
“You don’t understand.” Saeran whispered into his fluffy hair. “I took you in there on purpose. I knew you didn’t like to be scared. I thought…it would be a good way to get you to be close to me. I didn’t even consider how terrified you would get. I’m a terrible boyfriend. I don’t know why you would want to stay with me!” He tried to pull away, sure Yoosung would leave him now because of his selfishness.
But Yoosung held him even tighter, refusing to let him pull away even an inch. “Oh shut up you idiot!” he mumbled against his chest. “I swear to God! You act so tough, just like your brother but both of you are nothing but marshmallow inside! Looking for the same thing but terrified to admit it!” he looked at Saeran, purple eyes swimming in tears but brilliantly resolute. “If you want to hold me, then just do it! If you want to kiss me. DO IT! If I’m not feeling it, it’s not a rejection of you. I love you. I want you. I’m not going anywhere. You don’t need to ‘trick’ me into being affectionate! Idiot!” his face softened, and so did his words. He leaned towards Saeran and kissed him.
Saeran tasted salty tears and cherry gloss. He sighed into the kiss, his body losing the tension he’d accumulated, absolutely feeling like the idiot Yoosung called him.
“I’ll try, it’s just so hard to ask for what I need.” Saeran frowned.
“I have an idea.” Yoosung said as he pulled away, keeping his arms around Saeran’s shoulders. “How about we come up with a code word and when you feel like you need some affection you can use it.”
“What do you mean?”
“Say our code word is ‘banana split’. If you want physical touch and don’t feel comfortable initiating, or asking for it, just say something like ‘I feel like having a banana split’, and I’ll know to hold your hand, or give you a hug, or even a kiss.” As he talked Yoosung did all those things.
“Oh. I see.” Saeran smiled as he understood what Yoosung was suggesting. “But, can we make it something other than banana split cause I do like having those a lot.”
Yoousng laughed but nodded. “Very true. We don’t want any misunderstandings. What do you want it to be then?”
“Hmm, let me think.” Saeran furrowed his eyebrows. “I got it! ‘Fractal Pattern”!” he grinned and pulled Yoosung in tighter, delighted with himself.
“How are you going to use that in a sentence?” Yoosung laughed.
“Don’t have to. I’ll just say it, like…” he shrugged and let go of Yoosung walking a few steps away. “Fractal pattern.” He said.
Yoosung chuckled but stepped into the man, laying his head on the red-heads shoulder as Saeran wrapped his arms around him. “Perfect. But, why that phrase?”
“I don’t know, fractals are beautiful and unique, just like you.” He kissed the top of his head and sighed contentedly.
Yoosung tried not to let the newly formed tears of happiness fall.
“You’re right. This is much better than trying to scare you so you cling to me.”
“Yeah. Although, I think the workers in there are more scared than I was.”
“Oh, heh. I hope that guy is OK.”
“Just in case, maybe we should leave before they come out after us.” Yoosung suggested.
“Good point. Don’t worry though, I’ll protect you.” Saeran said as they walked away, further into the fairgrounds.
After a few seconds of walking hand in hand Saeran said, “Fractal pattern.”
Yoosung happily moved in closer, wrapping his arm around Saeran’s and pressing himself against his side as they walked. Saeran sighed, squeezing Yoosung’s hand. Yep, this was much better.
