Work Text:
“Are you sure this is alright?” Junhui asked nervously for what felt like the hundredth time that day.
He was picking at his clothes so much he might actually tear a hole into it, but the gesture was also coupled with the way his eyes were sparkling with hope, clearly excited about everything as well. Minghao looked more than just a little bit amused at the sight, since he’s assured the other boy that things were going to be fine each time he had asked. Really, there was nothing wrong with bringing Junhui to Moonwalker Cafe on a night where it would be packed with magical creatures left and right.
“You said you wanted to go,” Minghao humoured him regardless, going through his accessories until he picked out a cross necklace that would go perfectly with what the human was already wearing. He had managed to find a few clothes of his that fit Junhui’s taller frame, dark and brooding and very fitting for Halloween. The vampire was actually pretty pleased with himself after he had managed to style Junhui like he came straight out of a Vampire Weekly magazine.
“I still do,” the brunette replied quickly. “I just don’t want anything to go wrong.”
Minghao took the other boy’s hand, always so warm against his own, and gave it a light squeeze.
“Like I said, you won’t be the only human around tonight, so you don’t have to worry about that bit anymore,” he said reassuringly, watching the way Junhui’s stiff shoulders began to relax at the small gesture. “We’re going to a costume party, remember? Halloween is the one night where Moonwalker is open to everybody, so it’s not like I’m breaking any rules. Not tonight, anyway.”
At the reminder of their illegal rendezvous, Junhui’s cheeks flushed a pretty pink; one of the vampire’s favourite things about dating him would have to be how easy it was to get the other boy to blush, despite the bravado that he often put up. Junhui had the looks that could rival any model, along with the charm that came with it when he tried, but deep down he was ultimately a dork. He laughed at anything that wasn’t even that funny and cried at anything that was even just the tiniest bit sad, his feelings always on display.
Seeing—or well, more like feeling—his blush always made Minghao pleased with himself.
“Just make sure you act like you don’t know you’re actually sharing a cafe with a bunch of supernatural beings and you’ll be fine,” the vampire continued, adopting a joking tone and smiling when Junhui had laughed.
With their final preparations done, the two had left for the party hand in hand. As they walked, it wasn’t hard to miss all the various Halloween decorations that were put up around the city; fake cobwebs, hanging bats, and carefully crafted jack-o-lanterns lit up their path. The air around them was just a little bit chilly, reminding Minghao of the night they first met, with Junhui tumbling into the cafe by accident on a rainy night. It felt like such a long time ago that that had happened, along with the events that followed.
There was no way he was going to forget Junhui after that night, after all. It didn’t take long for fate to somehow find its way to get them together again, and next thing he knew, Minghao had made it a bit of a habit to sneak Junhui into the cafe late at night. The other boy had been nothing but accepting of everything, taking all the information with thinly veiled curiousity and looks of awe and wonder. Minghao should have known that if any human was going to take things well, it was going to be Junhui.
Since Halloween was in the air, Wonwoo had taken down the wards that often hid Moonwalker Cafe from human sight.
The brick wall illusion that was normally there was gone, instead revealing a quaint little cafe that still looked just a little bit out of place in the city. It didn’t look like the type of place people would visit, but on a night like Halloween, anybody can tell that the place must be packed. Since it was a party after all, Wonwoo had finally taken Minghao’s advice to add some more nightlife themed drinks on their menu along with a few new decorations here and there.
“Excited?” The vampire asked when they neared the establishment.
He didn’t really need to ask though, with the way Junhui was practically vibrating with joy next to him.
The moment they entered, it was like being transported into another world.
Even Minghao had to stop and stare a little; Wonwoo did a really good job turning the place around. The furniture remained the same mix of wood and every other material available—silver still not included—but there were a few pieces here and there that were clearly for show. The cauldron that the wizard kept around for brewing purposes transformed into a sort of bubbling punch bowl, with iridescent smoke surrounding it. It probably looked like dry ice to the humans, but Minghao knew better.
Next to him, Junhui couldn’t seem to believe his eyes, which made sense. Whenever he did visit the cafe, it was during the hours where everything was toned down even further than normal, since it should be closed and all. Apart from the decorations, he looked like he was busy gaping at everybody who was there, too. He probably figured everybody there wasn’t human. The vampire could easily pick out the ones who were, though.
Including the ones he should probably stay away from.
A few vampires had their eyes locked on Junhui, which didn’t make Minghao comfortable, even if they looked harmless for now. Sure, an attack in the middle of a Halloween party would also be pretty tactless—and not to mention illegal—but it didn’t hurt to be on the safe side. Not that he would allow any of them to hurt Junhui, anyway, but who knows? Subtly, he began to lead Junhui over to where some of his friends were lounging about.
“Minghao! I was beginning to wonder where you were,” Jeonghan trilled happily once he spotted the vampire, pink hair enchanted to be longer than its usual length, now resting on his shoulders. Next to him, Jisoo had offered a smile and waved. The two sirens looked like they were dressed in matching outfits that matched their pink hair quite well. Jeonghan’s eyes soon landed on the boy next to Minghao. “And you brought a friend!”
The raven haired boy knew that Jeonghan meant to ask whether Junhui was a vampire or not, but stopped himself from doing so. It must have been clear that the answer was a no, anyway. Junhui’s skin tone was a dead giveaway, after all, golden to look at even in the dim light of the cafe. He could pass off as a vampire if he tried, maybe, since he was dressed for the part. Nonetheless, it didn’t seem to bother Jeonghan, who quickly offered Junhui a seat around their little circle.
“This is Junhui,” Minghao introduced, gesturing towards the brunette next to him and then rattling off the names of the others around them, all of which were the cafe’s regulars.
“Hey,” Junhui greeted, a little breathlessly. He still released waves of nervous energy, but he must have noticed it himself too, as the human quickly turned up the charm and gave a blinding smile. It was blinding to Minghao, at least, but he was definitely biased. Regardless, it seemed to work because next thing he knew Junhui was roped into an easy conversation with Jeonghan and Mingyu, a werewolf who was a lot more like a puppy if Minghao had to be honest.
There was one person Minghao still had to introduce Junhui to though, but he couldn’t spot the cafe owner anywhere, which was odd.
It was Wonwoo’s cafe after all, so where was he?
Turned out he didn’t have to wonder for that long, as there was a loud commotion at the other side of the store. There was a noticeable crowd forming, magical creatures and humans alike shouting in excitement and surprise—nothing unusual if it had Wonwoo showing off magic tricks for everybody. Nothing Minghao hasn’t seen, but he figured Junhui would be interested, so he decided to ask the brunette if he wanted to go check.
“What’s over there?” Junhui asked, but he stood up to follow regardless.
“Wonwoo most likely,” the raven haired boy replied, weaving them through the crowd. He felt Junhui’s hand curl around his in the process and tried not to smile too widely. “He doesn’t normally like attention, but he loves it when the crowd enjoys his magic, so yeah.”
Sure enough, when they emerged along the front of the crowd, they were greeted with the wizard himself. His glasses were perched on the edge of his nose as his hands waved about, a large cauldron in front of him. It must have just looked like he was throwing around powder and chemicals here and there, but the effects it had on whatever the cauldron contained was spectacular; the liquid inside turned different colours with each gesture.
“He’s your boss, right? He looks really powerful,” Junhui said in awe a moment later, eyes never leaving the scene before him.
“If he looks powerful now, you should see him when he isn’t performing magic tricks,” Minghao said a little proudly, pleased he was working for someone with such a reputation, after all. “He uses most of his magical talent maintaining this coffee shop though, so he’s pretty harmless. Don’t let his stoic face scare you.”
The little show ended soon enough with an applause from the crowd. As they began to disperse, Wonwoo’s eyes landed on the pair. He quickly raised his brows at Minghao, a look that meant he was about to say something very important and often something the vampire wouldn’t want to hear. Overall, a look Minghao didn’t like, but Wonwoo was already making his way towards them before he could flee the scene. Next to him, Junhui visibly stiffened again.
“Minghao,” Wonwoo greeted, before setting his sights on the other boy. “And you must be the human my hot chocolate machine tells me about so often. About time I met you, don’t you think?”
“I can explain?” Minghao said weakly, but not without throwing a glance at the hot chocolate machine behind the counter. Traitor. Just when he thought the two of them were getting along just fine, since it’s been producing chocolate surprisingly well these past few weeks. Maybe it was just the guilt this whole time. How much did it tell Wonwoo? When did he start to become used to the sentient machine, anyway?
Surprisingly, rather than the sermon Minghao was expecting, Wonwoo merely offered his hand.
“Jeon Wonwoo,” the wizard said with a small smile. “There must be a good reason Minghao allowed you into the shop, but we’ll discuss that some other time.”
Junhui let out a very obvious sigh of relief as he shook the other’s hand, “my name is Junhui. I hope he doesn’t get fired or anything—“
“I can’t fire my best employee.”
“Your only employee,” Minghao couldn’t help but remark. “At least during night shifts.”
“The only one interested in learning about how my potions work, then,” Wonwoo allowed with an approving nod. He was about to continue on something else, but Jeonghan was calling Junhui’s name from across the cafe, his siren abilities making his voice pierce through the noise of the music and crowd. Thankfully, most humans didn’t pay it much mind, too immersed in the party atmosphere. The brunette glanced between Wonwoo and the table calling him, before looking at Minghao with a pleading look in his eyes.
Adorable, Minghao mused to himself.
“Junhui’s being summoned,” the vampire commented. “We should go—“
“He can,” Wonwoo said, his tone making it obvious that there was no arguments allowed to be made. “There’s something I wanted to talk to you about.”
Unsure about the situation, Junhui made his way back to their earlier table, but not without sparing Minghao one more glance. The raven haired boy waved him off with a smile, hoping it looked as reassuring as he hoped. Once the human was safely out of earshot, he turned back to his boss, an apology already on the tip of his tongue. He knew it wasn’t a small issue that he allowed a human into their cafe, multiple times at that, especially with why the shop was concealed from humans to begin with.
Wonwoo spoke before he could, tone light, “he seems nice.”
“Oh,” Minghao reacted before he could stop himself. He glanced at Junhui, who was in the middle of a conversation with Jeonghan, eyes bright and smile even brighter. Despite his naturally cold body temperature, the vampire couldn’t help but feel a sense of warmth blooming within him at the sight. He smiled softly. “Yeah, he is.”
“I’m not mad you brought him into the cafe,” the other boy eventually said. Minghao nodded, expecting as much. If he’d known this whole time, he would have done something about it long ago. The wards surrounding the cafe could have been made stronger; Wonwoo could have fired him for it, too, or wiped Junhui’s memories himself. He was more than capable of all of those. It seemed the hot chocolate machine only said nice things, then.
Wonwoo paused for a moment, before continuing, “just worried. He is a human, after all.”
“Not something I want to think about right now,” Minghao replied. There must have been something in his voice, something serious, since the wizard easily complied. It wasn’t the right moment for something like that, after all. He returned his attention to Junhui, who was in the midst of telling Jisoo something now, while the siren looked genuinely interested. It was about time he headed over; he’s left his date alone long enough.
“I’m going back to Jeonghan and the rest,” he said, making his voice sound more upbeat. “Are you sitting with us?”
“Go ahead, maybe later,” Wonwoo said, waving his hand dismissively.
As he made his way back, Minghao couldn’t help but think about their recent topic regardless. There was no doubt in his mind how much he enjoyed being with Junhui; even if he rarely said it, he’d like to think he made it obvious through his actions instead. He wouldn’t have risked so much for the other boy otherwise, right? As he neared the table, he could hear Junhui’s cheerful laugh and couldn’t help but smile even if he had no context.
He’s keeping Junhui. He was sure of that.