Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The hallway was dim, the only light spilling from the half-open door of Seokmin's room, casting long shadows that stretched like grasping fingers across the floor.

Joshua's arms were tight around Seokmin, his grip possessive, unyielding, as if he feared Seokmin might dissolve into the darkness if he loosened his hold even for a second.

Seokmin's left arm curled around Joshua's neck, his fingers tangling in the short, dark hair at the nape, clinging to him like a lifeline. His right arm hung limp, the bandages stark white against his flushed skin. A silent reminder of his fragility, of the way Joshua had to handle him with care even as he devoured him.

Joshua's strides were long, purposeful, each step eating up the distance between them and the bed. The air was thick with the scent of sweat and something darker, muskier. The unmistakable aroma of arousal, of two bodies already primed for what was to come.

Seokmin's breath hitched as Joshua kicked the door shut behind them, the click of the lock echoing like a gunshot in the charged silence. There would be no interruptions. No escapes. Just this. Just them.

The mattress dipped beneath Seokmin's weight as Joshua lowered him onto it, not gently, but with the controlled force of a man who knew exactly what he wanted.

Seokmin's back hit the sheets, his body arching instinctively as Joshua followed him down, caging him in with his arms, his thighs pressing Seokmin's legs apart. The heat of Joshua's body radiated against him, a furnace of need, and Seokmin whimpered, his lips parting in anticipation.

Then Joshua's mouth was on his. It wasn't a kiss. It was a claiming. Joshua's lips crashed against Seokmin's with bruising intensity, his teeth sinking into the plump flesh of Seokmin's lower lip until he tasted copper.

Seokmin gasped, the sharp sting of pain morphing into something darker, something that coiled low in his gut and made his cock twitch against the confines of his jeans.

Joshua didn't give him a second to recover. His tongue surged forward, invading Seokmin's mouth with a wet, filthy stroke, mapping every ridge, every sensitive spot, as if he wanted to memorize the taste of him. Seokmin moaned into the kiss, his left hand scrambling for purchase, nails digging into the taut muscle of Joshua's back.

Joshua groaned, the sound vibrating against Seokmin's lips, his hips rolling once, twice, the thick ridge of his erection grinding against Seokmin's thigh.

"Fuck, you're dripping for me," Joshua growled, his voice rough, his breath hot. His hands were already moving, sliding beneath the hem of Seokmin's shirt, calloused fingers tracing the dips and planes of his abdomen. Seokmin shuddered, his skin prickling with goosebumps, his nipples hardening into tight, aching peaks.

"Hyung-" Seokmin's voice was a broken whisper, his body arching into Joshua's touch, desperate for more. Joshua's lips curled against his, a dark, satisfied smirk, before he tore his mouth away, leaving Seokmin's lips swollen and wet.

His teeth grazed the sensitive skin of Seokmin's neck, biting down hard enough to leave a mark, and Seokmin cried out, his fingers tangling in the sheets.

"Louder," Joshua demanded, his voice a low, dangerous purr. "I want to hear you beg."

Seokmin's breath hitched as Joshua's mouth latched onto his collarbone, sucking until the skin burned, until Seokmin was sure there'd be a bruise tomorrow. A brand, a reminder of who had owned him tonight.

His left hand flew to Joshua's hair, gripping tight, his hips jerking up helplessly. "P-please, hyung... more, please-"

Joshua growled, the sound almost feral, and Seokmin felt the vibration of it against his skin, felt the way Joshua's cock twitched against his thigh in response. His shirt was yanked up, torn over his head in one rough motion, and then Joshua was looking at him, his dark eyes burning with something that made Seokmin's stomach flip. Hunger. Possession. Ownership.

"Fuck, you're perfect," Joshua snarled, his hands mapping Seokmin's chest, thumbs brushing over his nipples before pinching them just hard enough to make Seokmin hiss. His mouth followed the path his hands had taken, lips wrapping around one tight bud, tongue flicking over it before he bit down.

Seokmin's back bowed off the bed, a broken cry tearing from his throat. "Hyung! Fuck-"

Joshua chuckled darkly, the sound sending a fresh wave of heat pooling in Seokmin's groin. His teeth grazed Seokmin's other nipple, his free hand sliding down, down, until his fingers hovered over the bulge in Seokmin's jeans.

"You want me to touch you here?" he murmured, his breath ghosting over Seokmin's damp skin.

Seokmin's entire body trembled, his cock throbbing painfully. "Y- Yes. Please, hyung, I- I can't-"

Joshua cut him off with another bruising kiss, his hand finally, finally, cupping Seokmin's erection through the denim, squeezing just enough to make Seokmin's hips jerk.

"Patience," Joshua murmured against his lips, even as his own hips rolled, his cock grinding against Seokmin's thigh.

"You'll get what you need when I say so."

Seokmin whined, his fingers clawing at Joshua's shirt, fumbling with the buttons in his haste. He needed skin. Needed to feel him. Joshua caught his wounded hand before he could do any damage, pinning it gently above his head, his grip firm but careful.

"Easy there," he rumbled, his voice softening just a fraction. "Don't hurt yourself."

Seokmin's chest heaved, his cock aching, his entire body strung tight with need. Joshua leaned back just enough to tug his shirt free, the buttons popping open to reveal the hard planes of his chest. Seokmin's mouth watered.

But Joshua wasn't done. He reached into the nightstand, pulling out lube and a condom with practiced ease, tossing them onto the bed beside Seokmin's hip.

Then his hands were on Seokmin's jeans, popping the button, dragging the zipper down with a slow, deliberate scrape of metal.

Seokmin's breath came in short, sharp pants as Joshua hooked his fingers into the waistband of his boxers, stripping them down his thighs, baring him completely.

The cool air hit his overheated skin, his cock jutting up, flushed and leaking, the tip already glistening with pre-cum.

Joshua's gaze darkened, his lips parting as he took in the sight of Seokmin spread out beneath him. Naked, trembling.

"Look at you," Joshua murmured, his voice rough with awe. "So fucking pretty."

Joshua bit on his lip. He shouldn't have said that. But he did and there was no going back now.

Seokmin's face burned, but he didn't look away. He couldn't. Not when Joshua was stripping off his own jeans, his boxers, his cock springing free. Thick, veined, the head already wet with arousal. Seokmin's hole clenched at the sight, his body aching to be filled.

Joshua didn't make him wait. He slicked his fingers with lube, the sound obscenely wet in the heavy silence, before his hand was between Seokmin's legs, his touch firm, unyielding.

One finger pressed against Seokmin's entrance, circling slowly, teasingly, before pushing in to the first knuckle. Seokmin gasped, his body tensing for a second before he forced himself to relax, his inner muscles fluttering around the intrusion.

"That's it," Joshua murmured, his voice a dark caress. "Take it for me. Take all of it."

A second finger joined the first, stretching him, scissoring him open with slow, deliberate strokes. Seokmin's nails dug into his own palms, his cock leaking onto his stomach, his breath coming in ragged, needy pants.

"Hyung... more. Fuck, please-"

Joshua's free hand wrapped around Seokmin's throat, not tight enough to cut off his air, but enough to make him feel it. Enough to make his pulse race, his cock twitch.

"Say my name," Joshua demanded, his fingers crooking inside Seokmin, hitting that spot that made his vision white out for a second. "Say it like you mean it."

"J-Joshua hyung!" Seokmin cried, his voice breaking. "Please, hyung, I need-"

That invocation of his name was everything Joshua craved, a confirmation that it was him. Only him, ruining Seokmin in this moment, not some phantom from the past.

Joshua didn't let him finish. He pulled his fingers free, leaving Seokmin empty, aching, before he was rolling on the condom, slicking himself with lube. Seokmin's legs were spread wide, his hole clenching around nothing, his entire body trembling with anticipation.

Then Joshua was there, the thick head of his cock pressing against Seokmin's entrance, and Seokmin whined, his hips trying to lift, to take him in, but Joshua's hand on his hip held him still.

"Say it again," Joshua growled, his voice a raw, desperate thing.

"Joshua hyung- please-"

Joshua surged forward in one brutal thrust, filling Seokmin completely, stretching him wide, wide enough that Seokmin's back arched off the bed, a broken cry tearing from his throat.

Joshua groaned, his fingers digging into Seokmin's hips, holding him in place as he bottomed out, his balls pressing against Seokmin's ass.

"Fuck- fuck, you're tight," Joshua snarled, his voice strained. He gave Seokmin a second to adjust, his cock twitching inside him, before he pulled back and slammed home again. Seokmin's vision blurred, his cock leaking, his entire body alight with sensation.

Joshua set a punishing pace, his thrusts deep, relentless, each snap of his hips driving Seokmin higher, higher, until he was babbling, his fingers clawing at the sheets, his cock throbbing, desperate for release.

"Hyung- I'm- fuck, I'm gonna-"

"Come for me," Joshua growled, his voice a dark command. "Now, Seokmin. Now."

Seokmin's orgasm crashed over him like a wave, his cock spurting thick ropes of cum onto his chest, his stomach, his hole clenching around Joshua's cock, milking him. Joshua groaned, his thrusts turning erratic, before he buried himself deep with a shout, his release pulsing inside Seokmin, filling the condom.

For a long moment, there was nothing but the sound of their ragged breathing, the slick, obscene sounds of Joshua's cock slipping free, the weight of Joshua's body pressing Seokmin into the mattress.

They lay side by side, bodies spent and trembling from exhaustion, the silence between them thick enough to choke. Seokmin's chest rose and fell rapidly, lungs heaving as he stared at the blank ceiling, lost in its emptiness.

Beside him, Joshua turned his head, his eyes tracing the fragile lines of Seokmin's profile in the dim light. Slowly, as if he were reaching for something he had no right to touch, he extended his hand toward Seokmin's bandaged palm.

His fingers hovered delicately, never pressing down, afraid that even the softest contact might deepen the wound. His voice came low, cracked with worry. "You're so reckless, Seokmin. Did you do this on purpose?" His eyes never left the trembling hand, his brows drawn tight with frustration that was only a mask for fear.

Seokmin let out a hollow laugh, brittle and sharp at the edges. "You were ignoring me. Shutting me out."

The confession slashed the air. Joshua's gentle movements froze. He turned his face fully toward Seokmin, searching his expression, but Seokmin's gaze remained fixed on the ceiling, unwilling to meet him in the rawness of truth.

"Seriously, Seokmin?" Joshua's tone hardened, but beneath it trembled a plea.

"It could have gotten worse. You're going for a checkup in the morning. I'm not taking no for that." His words fell heavy, lined with command but soaked in care.

Seokmin finally turned his head, their eyes locking for the first time since the words spilled.

"Now are we playing caretaker?" His voice carried a cruel mockery, but his eyes betrayed the softness cracking beneath it.

Joshua pressed his lips together, swallowing the retort, before speaking quieter, almost breaking.

"You know I'm already taking care of you. Do you really think you would have survived the way you're living?"

Seokmin had no answer. His silence was a confession, and Joshua filled it with a touch instead, his fingertips brushing tender circles over the bandaged wrist, fragile as though he were holding something breakable, something irreplaceable.

Seokmin never stayed after. He never lingered. He never let himself bathe in the dangerous warmth that came after pleasure. But here he was, sprawled in his bed, every inch of him betraying the rules he had carved into his bones.

He had sworn he would never call Joshua's name while they tore each other apart. Yet he had, over and over, his voice breaking with desperation, his throat raw from it.

He had sworn he would never collapse into Joshua's arms after, never curl into his warmth like someone who belonged there. But he was doing it now, pressed into the sheets that carried Joshua's scent, the sheets that had tangled around them both.

And the most dangerous vow he had broken was this silence. He always left quietly in the middle of the night, never waiting for dawn to expose him. But now he could not move. He could not leave. Not when the weight of Joshua's hand was still on him.

The bitter truth dawned on him like a curse. This was his room. He had nowhere to escape.

Had Joshua known that when he carried him here? Had he wanted him trapped, cornered in this intimacy?

Seokmin cleared his throat, the words reluctant, unnatural. "Aren't you leaving for your room?" His tongue fought against the sentence, because every piece of him wanted Joshua to stay.

Joshua's eyes darkened, unreadable, piercing through him. "Do you want me to?"

No.

The answer screamed inside Seokmin, clawing its way up his throat, but he bit it back, suffocating on his own cowardice. Instead, he muttered, "I mean... it's not normal to spend the night in the same bed after..." His voice broke off, the words collapsing into the space between them.

Joshua's jaw tightened. "It wasn't even normal for you to call out my name." His voice cut sharp, but the wound it carried was deeper.

He let out a bitter laugh, hollow. "Or what? Was there no one tonight in whose pants you were trying to get in?" His scoff sliced the air, but the tremor underneath betrayed the jealousy he could not swallow.

Seokmin bit his lip hard enough to taste iron. How was he supposed to tell him? How could he bare it, that there had been no one else since Joshua? That every drunken night was haunted by his name, though he was too afraid to speak it aloud. That every stranger was faceless, because all he ever saw was Joshua. That his lips had only been chasing ghosts of the man now lying beside him.

But the truth remained shackled inside him, and he whispered instead, "Something like that." His eyes darted away, refusing to meet the storm in Joshua's gaze.

Joshua's face hardened. He stared at him for one long, aching moment before shifting away, every inch of distance between them slicing deeper than a blade. Without a word, he reached for his clothes, pulling them on with shaking hands, and walked out of the room.

And Seokmin stayed in the sheets that still held Joshua's warmth, his heart breaking in silence.