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It isn’t uncommon for Gyuvin to have periods of time where he felt like his body was too heavy and his mind was too foggy for him to move from his spot on the bed. Usually curled up, surrounded by his boyfriend's clothes and blankets, or hunched over his latest assignment. The thought of moving from his nest and leaving his circle of safety would make him feel terribly sick, as though something was tearing him apart from the inside, ripping at his heart and puncturing his lungs. There would be days where even breathing felt like too much of a toll on his fragile body.
Whenever Gyuvin felt like this, as if his body was being turned inside out, he knew his boyfriends were only an arm's length away. As though they had a sixth sense for these spells that Gyuvin goes through.
Until this week.
The phoenix plastered on a wide grin, waving enthusiastically from where he’s leaning against their dormitory door and watching as Gunwook and Ricky lug their duffle bags through the narrow corridor. Their feet dragged against the blue patterned carpet, shuffling reluctantly and casting longing glances over their shoulder to the boy swaddled in a large hoodie, grinning at them.
Gyuvin chuckles fondly, watching his partners with heart eyes, laughing louder when they exchange a glance, discarding their luggage on the floor in order to race over to where Gyuvin stands and scoop him into a big hug, squishing their cheeks together leaving small pecks on soft skin.
“Yah! You have five minutes until that coach leaves without you. Wookie, you should already be there!!” Gyuvin scolds, the blow weakened by Gyuvin being buried between the two, voice muffled by Gunwook's wide shoulder, feeling Ricky run gentle finger tips through the hair on the nape of his neck.
Gunwook snickers.
”They can’t leave without their manager and their star player anyways.” he says, peeking at Ricky from over Gyuvin’s head, watching as the flush rises up the siren's neck, illuminating his ears a bright pink. Gyuvin sneaks a hand up to pinch at the lobe, with a teasing grin on his face.
Ricky pouts, pulling away from the huddle. He grumbles under his breath as his skin flushes further at the attention he is getting, thumping his back over to his bag.
Gyuvin giggles, running up to him and turning him around by his belt loops to leave a kiss on his lips. Ricky stills, frozen as he watches Gyuvin do the same thing to Gunwook.
“Love you, win for me!” Gyuvin says to his two boyfriends, standing like statues as he closes the door behind him.
Gunwook and Ricky stand there frozen for a few minutes, staring at their door wistfully, waiting for Gyuvin to come back out. Like puppies, they wait, Gunwook whining quietly at the closed door before sighing and trudging over to their abandoned luggage, then making their way down the corridor to their waiting coach and team.
༺✧༻
Gyuvin stumbles through the doors of his flat, letting his bag slip off of his shoulder and chucking the jacket he stole from Gunwook next to it. He sneaks a look at the clock hanging on the wall, and sees the numbers 5:02 shining down. He bends down, trying to untie his trainers when he’s hit with a wave of dizziness and black spots dancing around his vision. Gyuvin straightened himself up before collapsing back onto the wall, yelping as a white hot rod of pain dances along his spine, his wings crumpling under his body weight.
Gyuvin sighs and coughs harshly, rubbing his chest as though to rid himself of the emptiness in his lungs. Kicking his shoes off and pulling his hood up over his head, he staggers through to the bedroom. He strips off his jeans, feeling them stick to his sweaty thighs and all but throws himself onto his warm bed. He rubs his aching legs together under the soft blanket and burrows his face into the pillow next to him, smelling faintly of the strawberry scented shampoo that Ricky uses. He wishes distantly for two warm bodies pressed on either side of him.
It had been a week since his boyfriend left for this season's tournament, and they were not due back for another week at least. This period of emptiness isn’t new to Gyuvin, but it's the first time in a year that he has had to go through it alone. He curls onto his side, his wings twitching around him, and he stares at the matted feathers he couldn't bring himself to clean. The ache and hollowness of his limbs weighed him down further into the mattress. He weakly reaches for his phone. Seeing the missed calls and messages from his partners sends a pang of sorrow through his heart, but he can't force himself to be happy right now and so he tosses his phone aside, wrapping the worn, fluffy blanket smothered in Gunwooks scent over his prone body.
Gyuvin whines at the feeling of emptiness filling his body, the feeling of his chest gaping. His skin tingles, raw and exposed, hair standing on end as the silence of the room deafens him, static filling his head.
He sniffles weakly and grabs the box of tissues from his nightstand, his hand curling into a fist in the blanket, and slowly drifts off into a restless sleep, his wings fluttering in pain behind him, curling into his back.
꧁⎝ 𓆩༺✧༻𓆪 ⎠꧂
A key turns softly in the lock, and the dormitory door creeps open gently. Two heads peak in, eyes soft as they spot the faint twitching from the lump of blanket on their bed.
Ricky sighs, flicking their lamp on, bathing the room in a golden glow. Gunwook takes their bags, stuffing them in the corner to deal with later before racing into their kitchen and filling a glass with water.
Soft, careful hands pull the blanket down to reveal Gyuvin’s pale face and blank stare.
“Oh, Gyuvinnie…” Ricky whispers, hands cradling his cheek, sunken slightly from lack of care. He strokes a thumb pad over his cheekbone.
Gyuvin pulls his gaze away from their white sheets, watching as Ricky’s worried face melts into a slight smile with sad eyes. A stray tear slips from Gyuvin’s eye at the sight of him. His golden feathers catch the rays of the sunset slipping through their curtains and flutter weakly as though they’re trying to pull the siren into his embrace. His hand comes up to clasp Ricky’s, still pressed onto his cheek. He leaves a soft kiss on the back, gripping it tightly, holding their grasped hands to his chest, right above his heart.
“…You’re home? So early?” Gyuvin whispers, brows furrowed as his bleary eyes dart around the dimly lit room to find Gunwook’s frame.
“You weren’t answering our calls, baby, we left early to see you.” Gunwook says with a soft expression on his features as he helps Gyuvin sit up with a large palm on the small of his back.
He brings the glass up to Gyuvin lips, coaxing his jaw open with his fingers, massaging his neck gently and watching as the phoenix gulps down the water. Gunwook and Ricky share concerned glances over Gyuvin’s shoulder when he slumps forward into Ricky’s neck, snuffling into the skin as his tears dampen the siren’s collar.
They let him stay like that for a while, soaking up the embrace of his lovers. His mind feels settled for the first time since they left and he feels his cold body start to warm up again, like the first hints of summer after a long winter.
His wings shiver as Gunwook traces fingertips over the bones, gentle and slow, like he is something fragile. He traces a path down his spine, ghosting over the matted pile of feathers on the centre of Gyuvin’s back. Gyuvin shivers at every light graze, squirming in Ricky's embrace, biting his lip to keep his sounds in, not allowing himself to worry his boyfriends further.
Ricky leaves a path of kisses across the side of Gyuvin’s face, from his hairline to his temple, across his closed eyelid and down to his soft cheek, before pulling away.
Gyuvin whines, grasping for Ricky again, to pull him back into his embrace. Ricky brings his palm up to kiss, pressing a delicate dusting of kissing onto his pulse.
“I’ll prepare the bath.” Ricky says with finality, making a pit stop at the closet before reaching the bathroom, humming to himself under his breath. Gyuvin watches him go with sad eyes and a pout, before Gunwook is filling his line of sight, taking Ricky's place in front of him warming his palms underneath Gyuvin’s loose, worn shirt.
Gunwook rubs circles into his stomach, feeling Gyuvin’s ribs with careful hands. Gyuvin’s hands lace around Gunwook's neck as he pulls him closer. They hear the running water from the bathroom turn off, and Gyuvin pulls him closer, trying to delay the inevitable movement.
Gunwook sighs, pulling him away slightly.
“Come on then, angel baby, before Rik gets fussy.” Gunwook jokes, helping Gyuvin unfold his aching limbs.
They stand, Gyuvin leaning on Gunwook cautiously, who wraps hands around his hips to help him walk towards their bathroom. Ricky holds open the door, reaching for Gyuvin when he is in arms reach, fingers intertwined.
𓆩༺✧༻𓆪
The bath was filled about an inch with warm water, just enough to soak the bottom of Gyuvin’s wings, to swirl softly around the tips of his golden feathers.
The tension in the room settles, a soft current of concern and heartmelting love mixed together, letting Gyuvin relax further, melting into Gunwook's palms.
Gunwook led Gyuvin to the bath, and Ricky took one look at Gyuvin’s small face, hazy eyes and tense shoulders, and sighed gently. Gunwook carefully turned him around, allowing Ricky full access to the span of his back, as well as his large wings.
The typically impressive sight of Gyuvins golden brown wings looked particularly upsetting today, curled up tight to his skin, in a way that looked painful and aching. He ran a gentle fingertip along the ridge of the limps, watching the way Gyuvin shivered and twitched, jolting in Gunwook's arms, whining wetly into the crook of the werewolf’s neck. Gunwook shushed him gently, running long fingers through the matted locks on his head, while Ricky left gentle pecks on the nape of his neck, rubbing firm, but soothing circles onto his skin just below his wings.
When Gyuvin managed to calm down, trembling slightly, nuzzling into Gunwooks scent gland. Ricky slid his loose cotton t-shirt off before painstakingly slowly uncurling the wings, like Gyuvin was made of fragile porcelain. Gunwook held his phoenix gently by his small waist, letting him bury his face further into his neck, stroking the skin under his hands and pressing kisses to his temples whenever he felt Gyuvin jolt or his breath hitch.
When Ricky deemed him uncurled and comfortable enough, they both led him to the bath, which spanned just wide enough to comfortably fit all three of them and the width of Gyuvins wings.. Gunwook slipped in first, hands not quite leaving Gyuvin’s waist, before pulling him to sit in front of him, between his legs. and letting Gyuvin drop his face back into Gunwook’s neck. Gyuvin sighed, the tension releasing from his back as he settled into the comfortable scents of his boyfriends, feeling both of their hands pressing into his sore spots after a week of his own neglect, and feeling Ricky's gentle, forgiving hands and fingertips start to brush gently through his sensitive, fluttering feathers.
A loud whine ripples through Gyuvin's figure against Gunwook's chest, he shivers violently and goes stock still, trying to curl his wings back up again when Ricky's fingers catch on a sore spot. His vision blurs as the sensation goes straight to his head, and he dazedly watches light spots dance around his eyesight, going limp in Gunwook's grip. tensing his fingertips as he tries to shake the feeling of light headedness.
“Shhh baby, it’s okay, settle down, we have you.” Whispers a soft voice from one of his boyfriends, Gyuvin'sGyuvins cloudy mind not quite registering which one it was, feeling his surroundings melt into a blur. He feels hands stroking along his ribs and petting through his outer feathers. Ricky’s light and gentle fingertips stroke a long line straight down his spine, in between his wings and he melts like pudding Gunwook's arms, whimpering in pleasure as he feels his muscles finally releasing after what feels like forever being hunched over.
“There we go, you’re doing so good for us, aAngel .” Gunwook’s lips linger on the shell of his red ear, as his hands tighten around Gyuvin's small waist, squeezing periodically.
Gyuvin sinks into the feeling of hands in his wings, tuning to the sensation of Ricky’s soft hands stroking over each individual feather, humming a quiet melody that makes Gyuvin drop deeper and deeper into his boyfriend's stable grip.
Like this, his mind finally settles, the worries of the past few weeks disappearing, and the gray fog that settled over his body recedes as he basks in the attention. The emptiness in his chest filled with something solid again, something that Gyuvin thought left forever.
In this quiet little world, he can drift off, letting his partners take care of him again, vowing to himself to never be the cause of their worry again.
꧁⎝ 𓆩༺✧༻𓆪 ⎠꧂
It takes an hour of careful loving before Gyuvin’s wings look in good shape again.
Wi\th every tremor through Gyuvin’s aching body, Gunwook whispers sweet nothings into his hair. Whenever the sensation of the gentle ruffling through his hypersensitive gets too much, his wings spasm and he jolts painfully away from their embrace, crying out at the sensation. It’s a toll on his body and his fragile mind, but his partners are patient, coaxing him back to settle every time.
Puzzle pieces click back together as they stay curled together for a while, basking in the quiet after being away from each other for two weeks without contact. They hold each other carefully, limbs entangled as the water cools around them, bare skin resting on bare skin.
Gyuvin shivers as the cold water drenches his sensitive wings, and Gunwook makes the move to hook his arms around his waist to hoist him up and out of the bath. Gyuvin reaches a hand back for Ricky and they shuffle to the counter as one, drying off each other with a warm towel and bundling Gyuvin up in hoodies and joggers and fluffy socks.
Ricky diverts Gyuvin’s path to the bed and leads him to their little kitchenette.
“When was the last time you ate, Qyubing?” Ricky asks carefully, sitting him down onto a stool before rustling through their cabinets.
The silence is an answer in itself, so Ricky grabs a pot and three packs of Gyuvin’s favourite ramen before getting to work. Gyuvin glances over his shoulder at Gunwook by their bed, watches his broad back as he strips their bed, replacing the old sheets with fresh ones, scenting different items of clothing. Scents were never important to Gyuvin before, his nests only forming when his body refuses to behave regularly, but the scents of his lovers changed that. Strawberry and sandalwood fills his nests now, bringing him comfort when his brain shuts down and his limbs ache.
Gyuvin sighs, warmth filling his body as he watches his boyfriends work around him, feeling Gunwook's hands drag across his covered shoulders before dropping down into the seat next to him.
His large wing stretches out, satisfaction drips down Gyuvins back and the feeling before curling around Gunwook's body, cocooning him in. He chuckles lightly, one running though soft feathers, the other wrapped around Gyuvin, tracing patterns onto his clothed thigh.
”Ricky hyung~” Gyuvin whines with a small grin when Ricky jolts, hands frozen where they dish up their ramen. Gunwook laughs, head thrown back, as pink climbs up the nape of his neck.
Ricky grumbles, a scowl on his face as he places three bowls on the table, before settling in on the other side of Gyuvin with a sulk.
Gyuvin chuckles, his wings curling out again, cocooning Ricky in on the other side as he lets the siren feed him carefully.
Gold rays dance through the dorm room, catching on Gyuvin’s feathers just right, making it look as though the three of them were surrounded by a ring of fire. Red and orange glisten brightly, a golden hue lights up Gyuvin's soft brown hair like a halo. The room softens with the sound of quiet, comforting words and gentle laughter.
Gyuvin rests his head on Rickys shoulder, basking in the comfort of his lover, feeling his chest begin to feel full again.