[FIC] Memories

Title: Memories
Characters: Super Junior
Rating: R
Chaptercount: 26/26
Summary: Fifteen people try to find the memories they forgot - or maybe they're just looking for each other.
A/N: A fic written on a hunch. One day I thought; "Super Junior. And vampires. This calls for a fic!" and well.. Here we are? Memories is one of the stories that I'm proud of, despite its sometimes messy storyline. It's also a story that won't be fully understood until you've read it completely. Things will be very confusing as you read, but will also get explained in future chapters. Be warned.

- - - -

“Who’s we?” Kyuhyun asked first, his voice sounding slightly disbelieving.

“Heechul hyung, Hangeng hyung, Li Yin, Misun noona and I for starters.” Sindong stated calmly, a small smile brightening his expression as he knew exactly what would come after that.

“I will go too.” Jongwoon immediately stated as expected and it wasn’t like anyone present in the room was surprised over that fact with the way he had been protecting his wife up to that point.

“Count me in as well.” Zhou Mi added to that in a soft voice, a short nod in Heechul’s direction following those words. “Someone needs to have a say over him.” It was a joke to keep the mood light and it worked, some of the members even chuckling softly. Heechul’s gaze was less happy but it was obvious he was only playing.

“Same for Ryeowook and me.” Siwon spoke after a moment, the younger vampire looking at him in surprise for a moment but nodding anyway. “Jack’s been toying with us and our lives long enough now.” he added then, his smile grim, eyes filled with a great dislike that bordered hatred.

“Guys…” Hyukjae spoke up at that point, making all eyes turn to him. He had meanwhile cleaned his face from the tears and gathered himself again. He was standing in between Jungsoo and Sang Mi, Donghae hugging him from behind, chin resting on Hyukjae’s shoulder. “There’s no need to all state it separately. We’re all going to help Hangeng hyung and Heechul hyung out in the end anyway.” His eyes were a normal brown, but he didn’t have to read minds to know he was right.

“Perhaps. But I want my sleep first.” Sungmin responded to that and Jungsoo nodded slightly. “I prefer feeding first too, I haven’t had a decent meal in years.” His eyes flashed a vivid red at the mere thought of blood and as Sang Mi inched further away from the vampire almost invisibly, Youngwoon let out a small sigh.

“We all do. Let’s rest and feed first before continuing this discussion.” he contributed gruffly, running a hand over his face. “Talking about this on an empty stomach and with a headache isn’t going to get us far.”

“There’s time anyway.” Misun agreed, speaking again for the first time in a while, a smile on her face as she eyed the brotherhood that had been recreated between the people present in the apartment. “If we’re really going to go against Jack, you’re all going to have to learn how to control your powers better and how to fight other skilled, bloodthirsty Daywalkers. He’s a skilled fighter, it’s not going to be anything like storming in and taking over just like that. Besides, he probably expects some sort of attempt from my side to take back what is mine.”

“Well he’s not too wrong there, is he?” Henry snorted, his strikingly red eyes focused on the woman for a moment as a smile started brightening up his expression. “It’s nice to see you again, noona. Really nice to see you’re still alive as well. How’s the little one?”

The question raised memories in many of the other members’ minds except for Youngwoon, Jungsoo, Hyukjae and Shindong who had been changed before Jongwoon an Misun’s daughter had been born. Donghae and Kyuhyun had not been around anymore at that time either, but they had gotten their memories from Jongwoon, so his memories of his own daughter were still vividly clear in their minds.

“She’s fine.” Jongwoon spoke upon seeing his wife’s expression grow sadder again. “She lives with her grandparents who are taking good care of her. Last time I checked on her she was doing a great job in school.” He smiled back at the younger member, before turning to Misun and slipping his arms around her, pulling her against him and whispering something to her that was too silent for anyone else in the room to understand. They left the room then, gently closing the apartment door behind them. No one doubted they’d come back.

☆.:**´¨`**:.☆

“Alright.” Heechul spoke up mere seconds after the door had closed behind the couple. “We don’t have all day so I suggest you find yourself a space to sleep so that Seasoning and I can leave.” His eyes wandered over the people present before a small amused smile appeared on his face. “Just like before, three places on the bed, two in the couch, the rest will have to take the floor and the chairs. Fight it out amongst yourselves.” he added then, more amused by that fact than he probably should be.

But the others weren’t as set on good sleeping spots as he seemed to think they would be. In seemingly no time they had settled on where to sleep with no one complaining. Hyukjae, Sang Mi and Jungsoo took over the bed this time, Hyukjae sleeping in the middle after repeated requests from the girl. Henry and Sungmin curled up next to each other on the couch whereas Siwon, Ryeowook and Hangeng just settled for free chairs to sleep on.

Kibum surprisingly lay down on the ground as if nothing was wrong, soon joined there by Donghae and Youngwoon respectively. Shindong settled himself against the wall, closing his eyes but seeming to not actually relax. Kyuhyun was the only one not to take a rest despite badly needing it, but even though no one asked, they all knew he wanted to wait for Jongwoon to return safely before going to sleep.

It was like that that Heechul and Zhou Mi left the apartment together, their friends already fast asleep despite the sometimes uncomfortable positions. Li Yin wanted to come along with them but Heechul for some reason convinced her to stay behind and look after the sleeping ones. She let them go only after demanding – and getting – a kiss that had Zhou Mi looking away for a moment to leave them to their lovey-dovey privacy.

Yet Heechul didn’t leave him waiting long, soon taking hold of his hand and dragging him outside, closing the door behind them with a soft click. He allowed the older man to drag him along until they stepped outside onto the street, which was when he gently tugged his hand free and crossed his arms in front of his chest, looking at the other.

“So tell me why you’re taking me out with you when Li Yin is much more willing and much less tired?” he calmly asked, making Heechul look at him with a contemplating look in his eyes for a short moment before he shrugged.

“Because I like you, Seasoning. Now don’t complain and walk along, we need to be in time before they close for the day and we can’t get any more blood. I don’t think Hyukjae would appreciate it if Jungsoo or Jongwoon suddenly attacked his girlfriend.” The words were said in a somewhat uninterested manner, making Zhou Mi roll his eyes.

“We can get to wherever we need to be in no time so don’t give me stupid excuses.” he muttered then, starting to walk anyway. “And we both know the kid’s not his girlfriend. She’s barely half his age. What’s going on with her anyway? What was all that talk about it not being his business to speak up about?”

Surprisingly Heechul smiled despite the somewhat rude words of the redhead, reaching out and patting his shoulder. “See, this is exactly why I brought you and not Li Yin.” he said as he gently steered the other in the right direction at the end of the street. “She already knows everything. You’re much more fun to talk to.” He chuckled softly over a joke only he knew before giving an actual answer.

“The girl’s Jungsoo’s daughter. It was a slip-up with his girlfriend back in the day. He’d have had it removed because of his career, but she said she would raise it on her own and would make sure it wouldn’t affect him. He has no clue who she is, though, which is why I didn’t allow Hyukjae to say anything. Both Jungsoo and her are better off not knowing.” With those words, he suddenly broke out into a run, so fast he became invisible to human eyes.

☆.:**´¨`**:.☆

Misun rested her head against Jongwoon’s chest, closing her eyes and letting out a small sigh of contentment. She couldn’t remember the last time she had been able to relax and unwind, to leave the worrying to someone else and just enjoy the warmth of a loving embrace. The fact that Jongwoon was the one those arms belonged to made it all the more meaningful and to her surprise she soon felt the bitter sting of tears welling up in her eyes. The realisation that she was crying made her tense up, uselessly wondering when the last time was that she had done so. She couldn’t even remember, but most probably it had been over his death.

“Jagiya…” that warm, low voice whispered to her and she felt herself tremble because of the familiarity of it all. She never thought she would be in such a position again. There was a certain limit to the amount of happiness people had in their life and she had always figured she had reached hers, but this moment proved how wrong that assumption had been. “I’m here, you’re here too. There’s no need to cry. I love you.” All words that seemed so impossible yet were very true, which was proven by the way her husband’s shirt got stained by her tears.

“It all feels so surreal, Jongie.” she whispered back, fingers curling into the fabric of his shirt and body trembling with the vastness of her emotions. “For the past ten years I lived thinking you were dead, that I’d have to go on alone, that I’d have to go back to see our daughter one day and tell her that her father died in a car accident. And yet there always was this small flicker of hope that maybe, just maybe, the reality I was working in included you after all, but it never became more than that faint splatter of hope, hidden behind layers of harsh reality. Yet now you’re here. You’re really here.”

She could hear him swallow, knew that what she was saying probably was hard for him to take, but after staying strong for so long it felt incredible to be able to break down. And at the same time it made her feel too vulnerable, too open for more heartbreak. Luckily there was no such thing as Jongwoon pulled her even closer, probably holding her as tight as he could without care. For once she was even more glad to have become a venger and therefore able to withstand the brute force her husband now possessed in his vampire form.

“I’m really here.” he said then and a small noise escaped her at the implications those words brought with them. “I’m not leaving you again, dear. They’ll have to come with something huge to get me down this time – and even though his ego may be I don’t consider Jack huge.” The intent was obviously to cheer her up and it worked, however silly the joke may have been. She chuckled softly in between the tears, slowly letting go of him to wipe her tears away. He got to it before she could however, gently running his thumbs over her cheeks to dry away the last tear tracks and sending her a small smile then. She smiled back.

“Let’s go back inside, Jongie. You need to sleep and go feed after, you look horrible.” she spoke then, voice soft, filled with warmth. The slight disgust on his face had her taking a firm hold of his hand. “If there’s one thing I learned in the past years it’s that vampires simply need blood to survive and it won’t do you any good whatsoever to abhor it. I don’t blame you for it, nor do any of the others, so don’t blame yourself for it either.” Her encouraging smile was mirrored by his grateful one and he entwined his fingers with hers as they walked back down the hallway.

☆.:**´¨`**:.☆

With his hands tucked in his pockets, he calmly strolled through the hospital, waiting patiently for the two men that had gone inside the room to come back out. He was there to look over them after all, just like he had been there for every single one of them after their change. The only one he couldn’t protect had been Jungsoo, the vampire too close to his sire at all times to even try and get in between. But now the Jimin creature was dead and he had free range to protect these boys that were his responsibility.

Right as an anxious feeling started to eat at him, the door of the room opened and the tall redhead walked out of it, followed shortly after by the smaller Heechul. They didn’t notice him just like they never had before and he felt proud of his own skills again for a split second. He had always been able to stay out of their sight, hide his presence from them with the ease of years of training and a natural talent for it. But the smile froze halfway appearing on his face when suddenly Zhou Mi reached out and slapped his friend over the back of his head, right as they walked by him.

“You’re an idiot, hyung, that’s what you are. Why would you tell those people that you help out people who can’t afford to go to the hospital? What will you do if ever they try to check up on you and find there’s no such thing? You shouldn’t lie to people.” the redhead complained to the other, making him smile in amusement. They were still the same – bickering nonstop.

“What do you mean lie to people? I AM helping people! You see, I’m helping our friends who can’t afford to go to the hospital because they will be found out. I never said that I’m helping sick or hurt people, it’s just what they assume I’m doing. Now stop complaining and take my bag, it’s heavy as hell.” the black haired vampire countered and almost immediately Zhou Mi’s arm shot out to take hold of said bag. Yet the redhead didn’t hold on to it for very long.

“Take your bag back and stop ordering me around, hyung.” he said with a frown on his face, but the huff that came out of Heechul when he realised he was forced to keep carrying his own bag was even worse. It made him smile as he slipped out of the shadows of the hospital hallway and followed after them, completely relaxed, a hundred percent sure they wouldn’t even notice him if he stamped through the hallway at full speed.

It didn’t take long for the two to speed up their pace once they were outside and he easily followed after them, entering the apartment building with them and watching them step inside the right complex. He remained outside, allowing them to settle in and find themselves a place to sleep as well. Everyone inside was asleep already which was audible by the steady breathing from the few still living people inside and the complete silence that the others emanated.

Only when he was sure both Heechul and Zhou Mi were asleep just like everyone else, he walked up to the door of the apartment, opening it with surprising ease and stepping inside. The door slid closed behind him so silent even he himself couldn’t hear it click into the lock again, which made a smile appear on his face. His eyes took in the people spread around the room on the floor, in the couch, on the bed and everywhere they had found a place suitable to lie down and close their eyes. The most endearing was probably the sight of Jongwoon and Misun curled up together, right beside where Li Yin and Heechul were sleeping back to back.

He breathed out an inaudible sigh, closing his eyes for a moment. As their grandsire and the reason why they were all gathered together in this room now, he felt an urge to make sure they’d all stay as peaceful as they were at that moment. He certainly wouldn’t allow any of them to get hurt like they had been in the past. After so many years of looking over them, they had gotten themselves a spot in his heart, no matter how well he hid it from them.

“Don’t worry my friends.” he whispered to the room filled with the sleeping forms of the vampires he had indirectly created. “I’ll help you.”