Yunho hadn't let go of Seonghwa's hand during their entire stroll through the park. A constant blush simmered beneath Seonghwa's cheeks as they followed behind Wooyoung and Hongjoong, who had run off with Snoopy to play. Both of them made sure that their designated responsibilities were always in their line of sight, but their conversation was focused on each other.

"He seems quick at inserting himself in people's lives," Yunho commented about Hongjoong as he watched him chase Snoopy and get chased in return while Wooyoung's squeaky giggles accompanied them. The kid was far slower than the other two on his short legs, but he had the same amount of fun.

"Yeah, he... Some social norms go past his head. One of a kind, for sure."

Yunho glanced down at Seonghwa. Both of them were still mindlessly nibbling on their ice creams, and Seonghwa was all too happy with the second time he spent with Yunho on an unofficial date.

"Is he bothering you?"

Quickly, Seonghwa shook his head. Hongjoong was anything but a bother, more of a lovable poltergeist. On some days, Seonghwa enjoyed his distracting character very much. For a demon, it could have gone way worse. Hongjoong could have been a gruesome killer as well.

"Sometimes, he feels like just another kid at home. But he is an adult, and he can behave like one. Not enough that I want him to take care of Woo during the weekend, though."

The last comment pulled a chuckle from Yunho's lips. His large hand on Seonghwa's warmed him and protected his skin from the chilly air of autumn. Seonghwa looked at his feet and how they shuffled through the colourful leaves on the ground that wove nature's unique carpet that no artist could ever replace.

"I have camping equipment at home. I could lend it to you if he needs a corner for himself."

It had been half an hour since the bold statement that Hongjoong made about them sleeping together, but it hadn't left Yunho's mind. The thought that he might be jealous or annoyed by it flattered Seonghwa.

"No, it's fine. But thank you anyway."

Yunho had accepted the topic like that. He didn't pry too much about Hongjoong, but curiosity oozed from him in waves. However, since he understood the certain secrecy that Seonghwa wrapped around Hongjoong, he refrained from making their meeting about him. Instead, he focused more on the aspects around them.

"I like how your hand feels in mine. Your fingers are delicate." As if he were surprised by that fact, Yunho rose their hands to look at them. Their fingers curled around each other naturally, and even if Seonghwa deemed his hands unsightly because of the many scars and rough patches his work had left on them, he appreciated the way that Yunho held them as if they were a precious treasure.

"These hands work so hard... I respect them a lot."

With a grin, Yunho dropped their fingers again to swing between their bodies. Seonghwa stared at him as if he were a fallen star.

"You smooth-talker," he called Yunho with a faint smile. His heart was too busy nearly jumping out of his chest to come up with more.

"I'm stating the truth."

Their little walk commenced with Yunho's playful flirting and Seonghwa continuously letting his guard down around him. Time passed in a flash, and Seonghwa barely noticed its urgency with how relaxed he was around Yunho. Only when they had walked the large route all around the park and Wooyoung tiredly stumbled along on Seonghwa's hand it was time for them to part. Yunho said his goodbyes at the parking lot, not excluding a mischievously grinning Hongjoong. Once he had safely gotten Snoopy in the back of his car, the man drove off.

Seonghwa sorted his kids into their respective seats and pulled up his car's navigation system for the nearest stable. The drive re-energised Wooyoung, and while he and Hongjoong busied themselves by looking at the horses, Seonghwa could revel in the memories of Yunho's sweet voice next to him and the feeling of his hand in his.

Back home, Wooyoung and Hongjoong built a pillow fort in the living room to be unbothered while they did Wooyoung's homework. Seonghwa could squeeze some work in and packed the few remaining items he would need for his market weekend. Then, he called San to chat a bit before it was time to rest.

Wooyoung was overjoyed to be put back into his own bed after dinner. It took him three minutes of bouncing around excitedly and complimenting his bed to the degree that Seonghwa worried that the bed in his room would start crying if it listened before he settled down. Once he was accounted for, Seonghwa searched the house for Hongjoong. They hadn't cleaned up the pillow fort yet since they wanted to play again in there tomorrow, so Hongjoong had to abandon his documentaries and sit in the kitchen instead. By the time Seonghwa urged him to go to bed, too, tiredness already weighed down his lids and had him yawn.

Hongjoong followed him reluctantly. For whatever reason, he wasn't as talkative with Seonghwa today as he was with Wooyoung, but Seonghwa didn't mind much. All the better once they went to sleep.

"I would appreciate it if you could sneak around quietly if you leave during the night. I'm a light sleeper, so any form of regard would be great." Seonghwa pulled his sweater over his head to exchange it with his sleeping shirt. He halted in the movement when a wolfish whistle came from the corner of the bed that Hongjoong had settled on. Irritated, Seonghwa stared at him.

"Where did you magic your abs from? I must say I didn't expect a seamster with a kid to be ripped."

With a huff, Seonghwa dressed his body so the man would stop gawking.

"You would be surprised how much time I have to train around that kind of work. Even with a kid."

Hongjoong's face looked sharp and was painted with dark shadows where the orange glow of Seonghwa's little night light couldn't reach. His patient smirk was as devilish as it could get. Then, his fingers hooked under the hem of his shirt to pull it over his head, too.

Seonghwa hadn't meant to look. He was well aware of his curiosity concerning the demon's horns and wings whenever he changed his clothes. Yet, his well-educated brain that knew how rude it was to stare or comment about other people's bodies, immediately turned his head to follow his rules of decency. However, the faint shimmer of something on Hongjoong's chest had him halt.

"What's that?" The question burst over Seonghwa's mouth before he could keep it in. The easiness with which Hongjoong took it had him abandon all regrets, though.

"They are marks. Like birthmarks in your world, I presume. I had them since I came to be." Hongjoong bent his arms underneath the light. Muscle rippled underneath his skin and had the many little dots that glowed orange shift. They decorated his body like stars, and they shone golden in the light. Fascinated, Seonghwa took a step closer.

"They centre here, where a demon's equivalent of a heart lays." Hongjoong pointed to the middle of his chest where - as if he were Iron Man - the stars collected in a symbol of sorts. A circle held another circle hugged by two triangles pointing at each other to form an hourglass. The different moon phases dotted the free spaces around the inner circle. Hongjoong's heart.

"These are different for every single one of us. They give us our individual selves." His fingers tapped the symbol before they trailed over his arms appreciatively. At once, Seonghwa understood the need for his oversized sweaters. If the light fell right, his true form shone through his skin, and he avoided that by dressing so protectively.

"What do they look like in your demon form?"

His true being that he had shown Seonghwa only once had become a distant memory in his head. He could barely summon the picture anymore. What colour had his skin been? He only remembered black claws and too many teeth.

"That depends entirely. What you saw was only the humanised version of my form. I think they look pretty much the same there. The only difference are a few particular things, like my wings, that are meant to threaten more than anything." Hongjoong let go of his forearms to settle back on them comfortably. Like this, his full chest was on full display, and the lean muscle had his glittery dots shift and move in the light. The view entranced Seonghwa.

"I think they function a bit like snake's skin does, looking at you. They look pretty and lure people in to become our victims. I suppose that is more of use when I'm fully shifted. After all, I can't hurt humans."

Seonghwa had to rip his eyes away from the man with great strength. Seeing him exposed and spread out like that reminded Seonghwa all too well who he was, what he was, and that he was in no way his child, no matter how foolish he might act. While Seonghwa changed his pants, he listened to Hongjoong with one ear.

"What do you look like fully shifted?" He asked, too curious for his own good. Hongjoong's tired voice scratched in his throat as he chuckled. His demon bass-boosting skill came through.

"I won't show you, not tonight. I wonder if your human eye even perceives it well since you aren't used to the sights from other planes. I suppose to you; I might look a bit like a night's sky. It's the closest thing between our worlds."

Seonghwa turned the light off and slipped into bed next to the man. Hongjoong finally stopped glowing and shuffled underneath the blankets, too.

"What, so you mean to tell me that you have regular wings, regular horns, regular fangs like any demon in our lore also has, but you look like the odd biblical creation of an angel?"

Hongjoong giggled into the sheets. He laid a good distance away from Seonghwa, so neither took up each other's space.

"Your storytellers were wrong, but not fully wrong."

Full of wonders, Seonghwa pondered about the unusual creature that Hongjoong was for a while. He fell asleep without them discussing Hongjoong further. Hongjoong radiated more heat than Wooyoung did, even from a distance, and all through the process of slowly dozing off, Seonghwa was keenly aware of how close the man was. His fingers itched to trail over the man's marks to see if they felt any different than his regular skin.

Seonghwa didn't dream that night, and he slept deeper than he could remember doing in a long time. When he awoke in the middle of the night because his feet were cold, the darkness was black. No light from outside the windows streamed into the room. Not even his usually blinking devices in the room were in sight. A darkness that swallowed all light, all sound and all movement enveloped Seonghwa.

Quietly so he wouldn't wake Hongjoong, Seonghwa shifted his blanket. He had never accidentally turned it in the night, so he had no idea how his feet peeked out underneath the shorter end. Yet, he was in the same room with Hongjoong. History told itself.

When Seonghwa glanced over to peek at Hongjoong, he found that the man radiated in the dark. Like one of the fun glow in the dark stars that Wooyoung had on his ceiling, a faint silvery hue dusted Hongjoong's cheeks like freckles. It reached down over his neck and the shoulder that Seonghwa could see before it disappeared underneath his blanket. Seonghwa blinked his tired eyes at the man multiple times, but the image stayed the same. Without him being awake and controlling his appearance, Hongjoong's skin appeared like stars. It was similar to the night sky indeed, and Seonghwa wondered what other beauties the man hid.

Belatedly, he also noticed Hongjoong's wings. They had unfolded behind him as if it were a strain to keep them in during the day, and they broke out whenever he fell asleep. His horns weren't in sight, but the limp leathery appendages hung down the edge of the bed. It looked uncomfortable. Like sleeping in the car, and humans would awake with a strain in their necks. Seonghwa didn't doubt that the joint between the man's back and the huge wings would be sore in the morning.

Careful and slow as if he had to calm a nervous mare, Seonghwa inched forwards. His arm sneaked underneath Hongjoong's blanket and met the man's naked upper body. His smooth skin was warm underneath Seonghwa's fingers, and ever so patient, he reached around Hongjoong. The man slept soundly, not noticing how Seonghwa pulled him forward like a rag doll.

Seonghwa tugged Hongjoong over to his side until they laid closely next to each other, and he could hear the man's breathing. Now, his wings were on the bed for the most part, and the horrible strain had disappeared. Still, as Seonghwa adjusted him, the noise of the leathery tips scratching against the walls sounded vividly in his ears.

Once he deemed Hongjoong comfortable, Seonghwa went back to sleep. He didn't forget to adjust the blanket over the man's glowing shoulder so he wouldn't get cold.