Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Lay huffed, peering out of the windows to gaze upon the city lights.

Every night had been like this, waiting and biding his time. His fellow men sat around aimlessly, some trying to bury themselves in plans, financial sheets, and others cleaning their weapons in wait for the next attack, the next message.

The Sheep were a semi-notorious mafia gang, hidden high rather than low.

Those named after domestic or stray animals usually liked to hide in the darkness, in the corners no-one bothers to look, in the deepest parts of the city no normal person would explore. Places like sewers, abandoned train stations, warehouses and forest bunkers.

The Sheep left the other gangs to their own business for now.

But things were tense.

Lay heard footsteps from behind him and turned around swiftly, smiling down at his younger brother.

Yangyang nodded to him respectively, “There’s no news as of yet.”

Lay chuckled and patted him on the back. Although Liu Yangyang was the youngest of the team, he was in line for his position once Lay retired; or worse… was kidnapped or left for dead.

“Excellent work. Though we seem to be getting bored waiting for further messages.”

He removed his hand off Yangyang  and turned back towards the window, holding his arms behind his back, sighing deeply. “How are the others?”

“Admittedly impatient, but ready at a moment’s notice.” Yangyang grinned, “Maybe we should take their minds off their work. I say we spoil them with some barbecued pork and soju.”

Lay chuckled, “Living in Korea was easier than we thought. You have done well to learn of the culture here. Things are different here than back in China.”

“Of course.” Yangyang nodded curtly, a sense of pride in his tone.

~

Down by the docks sat two of Lay’s men, one smoking a cigarette, and the other sitting at the end of the pier, legs crossed and staring aimlessly at the rippling water.

Kun was the oldest, and the most patient of his members.

His eyes followed the waves, distracting himself from his wandering thoughts.

A cough from behind him broke his reverie, and he turned to the other man.

Ten pulled the cigarette from his mouth and sighed, “I’m bored waiting.”

Kun huffed out a laugh, “We all are. The time will come when we are called to fight.”

Ten groaned, then cried out when his smoke blew out from a small sea breeze. “Son of a bitch.”

He pulled out his lighter and clicked it open, balancing the rolled tobacco between his lips, cupping his hand around the lighter as he flicked it on.

Kun tapped him on the back, and Ten turned back to the water. A boat was coming.

“Just a fishing boat, nothing to worry about.” Ten murmured through his teeth, “Should we go back now?”

“I’ll call Lay. It’s getting too dark for anyone to be active.”

“Except the nocturnal fuckers.” Ten laughed, “But they’re our allies for now, nothing to worry about. I’m fucking starving.”

“Same. Alright, calling him now.”

Wearing full black, the two were usually the ones on watch. Whereas their usual get-up involved fingerless gloves, bulletproof vests and steel capped boots, the current closest thing to uniform was anything black and relatively stylish. Not that Lay cared about fashion.

Ten wore a turtleneck sweater and simple work style pants.

Kun however went with a full black casual style suit, all plain.

“The Black Sheep” was something of their code. The outcasts. They were the members kicked out from other groups or high class positions. They knew too much to join back with society. 

So it wasn’t a surprise they weren’t recognised on the streets, but occasionally some of them would be flirted with, especially when cases of enemies were seen in night clubs.

Although Ten found it hard to refuse a dance, the Sheep were very good at their work.

~

Back at the apartment, Xiaojun had escaped from the stuffy four walls of The Sheep floor, and had crawled to the roof, where he now sat, intently looking over the city.

His thick eyebrows furrowed inwards in deep thought.

He had been itching for a fight since coming back from the military two years ago. Much like the others, he became someone who couldn’t blend with the blue collar workers anymore, he needed something he couldn’t ever get with the average job.

He slapped his knees with exuberance and grinned. Yes, this was the kind of work he was glad he could find, especially when he was at his lowest and living on the streets.

Violence was his kind of calling, but he wanted to do it right. He wanted to go after the bad guys.

A sound behind him would’ve made him jump, had he been anyone else.

“Yangyang.”

Yangyang chuckled, “You can tell me by my footsteps?”

Xiaojun smirked, “I can do more than that. I can tell everyone apart by how they breathe.”

Yangyang smiled and walked up behind him, before taking a seat beside him on the raised garden wall.

“How have you been going, what with this hiatus?”

“Suffering only slightly. Looking forward to it though. ‘Tis a pity we can’t go for a surprise attack.”

Yangyang nodded, “If only we knew where their base is. We’ll have to wait for them to come to us. It’s the only way. But we have to be on the top of our game. Words through the grapevine is that it’s real close.”

“I give it a week.”

“Good call. I think our leader would like to get his hands dirty again. He hasn’t left the apartment for months now.” Yangyang frowned, “Not even to eat.”

“Your brother is a strange one. But we couldn’t ask for anyone better to take charge. God knows, I couldn’t do it.” Then Xiaojun turned to Yangyang, “Hey, little sheep… Do you think you’ll be able to take the reins if something happens to him?”

Yangyang didn’t say anything for a moment. The thought of something happening to his sibling made him a little forlorn. Sure, he was excited to be given the role, but in a way, he hoped he would never have to take over. At least, until Lay retired, whether of old age or injury…

Anything but the worst.

“I’ve seen him work long enough to know how he works and why he does what he does. As much as I want him safe, I know I can do the job if it ever comes to that stage.”

~

Down in the back streets of the city, the outskirts of the bustle of traffic and pedestrians, lay a sweet little street where two men took post.

Sicheng, or better referred to as ‘Winwin’ for his charismatic nature, was deep in conversation with one of the Sheep’s connections.

“You need a new delivery of nerfs?” An older man spoke, his hair greying in the back, a thick cigar between two large fingers.

Winwin nodded, “We can feel the war coming. As soon as you can deliver them to the Greens, we will pay you quickly and discreetly.”

‘Greens’ was one of their codewords for a predetermined location, just off the seaside. ‘Nerfs’ of course, were the weapons they were after; guns. 

Though Winwin preferred the power of a small, shiny pistol, he knew his member’s strengths and the weapons they’d rather use.

Ten was a sniper, rather being at a distance, than balls deep in the action. When he could, anyway.

Xiaojun was adaptable, having been on the front lines with rifles, up close with pistols, and even something of an expert with machine guns. Though, if he had the chance, he was rather the master of using his fists over any weapon in his hands.

The Leader, Lay, went between pistols and knives, depending on the situation he was in. Some of his sharper close combat weapons were closer to swords than daggers. None of it mattered, any sharp weapons he possessed were lovingly nicknamed “Stabbies.”

Lucas hadn’t touched a gun before. 

Sitting on a park bench across the road from the interaction and typing swiftly on the computer, it was clear he was something more technologically suited.

He liked explosives as his weapon. Anything he couldn’t do with a computer, he would rather replace with grenades. Something about explosions made his heart glow, the shrapnel and fire reflecting in his thick steampunk-like goggles, lighting up the grin on his lips.

Lucas looked up from his laptop to see Winwin’s silhouette grinning, reaching out to shake the older man’s hand, before bowing politely and heading towards Lucas, the other man walking back into his house.

Lucas stood up with a smile, “Got news for you. The boys are going out for dinner. Let’s go!”

~

Inside the apartment, in view of the leader's silhouette, sat a man avidly typing into his own laptop, mingled with the clicking of his mouse.

His expression was of pure focus, his eyes darting around the screen, eyebrows raising occasionally in his search.

Hendery was a studious type. He was all about the paperwork, the internet, and doing what he could to evolve the Sheep's knowledge and power.

Currently, with the wait in play, he was entirely concentrating on finding any hidden information about the whereabouts of the enemy.

They hadn't heard of a name yet, but rumour had it they had called themselves something of a predatory animal.

Something that would call the Sheep their food.

Lay enjoyed the sounds of him tapping away, for him it meant that his group were passionate and more than ready to fight for their new family.

And it did feel like family.

Where this group of strangers had met over time, some of them originally cold and distant towards each other, had now come together and worked as if they were brothers in the family business.

Lay didn't really feel like a father to them, he wasn't that much older, just born five years earlier than the eldest two of his group.

Ten and Kun were the watchers. Though months apart in age, with different levels of maturity and patience, they seemed to even each other out. Sometimes their banters questioned their age and maturity, but being the eldest pair meant they were respected |

Out in public, they could refer to each other as “hyungs", at least, to fit in with the Korean culture. Otherwise, indoors, Kun preferred the “gege” title. Generally though,  they were seen as equals.

Lucas and Hendery usually worked together, but worked well with other members. Sometimes they preferred the fresh air over the apartment, but Hendery liked the quietness when nobody else but Lay was in. It was rather a perfect, distraction-less location for his studying.

A buzz of his phone took him out of his focus, and he instantly picked it up to read the notification.

“Hey, Yixing!” Hendery called out to the leader, using his actual name, “You coming with the others for food?”

Lay waved him off, “Not tonight. I want you all to enjoy yourselves and tell me if anything comes up.”

Hendery sighed dramatically, “But siiiirr, you should come! You’re the most important part of the Sheep! Come on, for one night, come join the boys.”

Lay turned around and cocked his head, “Hendery.”

“Yes, sir.” Hendery sat up straighter and grinned.

“You’re off duty now, go and meet the others. Bring me back something if you wish.”

~

Chapter Text

Winwin raised his full glass of soju and cheered, “Hwaiting!”

“Hwaiting!” The other six cheered back, all clinking glasses together before downing the shot.

Although the group might have looked suspicious wearing all black around a tiny circle table, no-one around them really cared. Hendery was smiling as he grabbed the soju bottle, pouring more into everyone’s glasses and laughing as Yangyang spilt some onto his shirt.

The fire flew up a little from the grill, and Winwin laughed as he grabbed the tongs and moved the meat away from the centre, Xiaojun grabbing the scissors and helping him cut it up into bite size pieces.

Lucas was leaning on Kun’s shoulder and giggling, before picking his shot glass up and calling for everyone to drink again.

Another round of clinking glasses and drinking the alcohol, before they finally relaxed and shook off their stress.

“So wait, what do you mean he still won’t come down and join us?” Ten asked, raising an eyebrow at the youngest three around the table.

Yangyang smiled awkwardly, whereas Hendery scratched the back of his neck. Xiaojun just chuckled.

“He just does what he does, without any fresh air. I don’t know how he can do it.”

Yangyang followed up with a soft laugh, “He’s my brother and I still don’t understand it. But anyway, help yourself. I’ll order another lot and we’ll cook it and take it back with us.”

“Good idea. Our leader needs to look after himself.” Kun replied, before he stole the tongs and grabbed a piece of beef. “I’m so hungry... don’t burn it!”

A few minutes later, once the food was cooked and the pieces dished out, the seven men dug into their treat, all humming and groaning at each other in pleasure.

Nights like this made the work worth it. Just hanging out, forgetting for a couple of hours about the upcoming mission.

Though they were excited to take down the rival, sometimes it got to them too much, and they were unable to relax at night, always prepared to work on minimal sleep.

Hendery had been getting headaches from his computer work, but he’d been finding ways to cope, looking out for Lucas to make sure he wasn’t suffering either with his own laptop screens.

With the work on his laptop, he couldn’t really afford to scope out any screen filters without possibly giving away information, let alone his identity.

Maybe sometime in the near future, when he had the free time to be careful and ask around for the best deals. Money wasn’t an issue, but scamming and spies were.

Which is why they had to be careful doing a lot of things, like coming out to eat together.

Lucas was about to grab the soju bottle again when something caught his eye, and he looked up to see what it was. His eyes widened and he gasped.

“Winwin...” Was all he could mutter, before nodding over his shoulder.

Winwin looked up to him with a worried expression, before turning in his seat to see what it was.

Or who it was…

“Uh oh, the Mad Dogs are here.” He muttered, and the others all straightened instantly and looked to where Winwin was staring.

Eight men stood in the open, all but one of them crossing their arms and watching them with indifferent expressions, the closest man bowing with a smirk and coming back up to raise an eyebrow.

“Is this any way to greet your old boys?” The red-head asked with a laugh, “Or does being a Sheep make you too good for us, huh?”

“Taeyong…” Winwin murmured under his breath, a hiss in his tone. “You’re the ones that didn’t want me anymore.”

Taeyong laughed. “You’re not usually out in the open like this. Y’know, Dogs do like the taste of Sheep.”

Xiaojun stood up, surprising the others. “Come on, if you like the taste so much, why don’t you all suck my dick?”

A round of “Ooh’s” and laughter roared from the Sheep’s table, Xiaojun cocking his head smugly.

“Gentlemen…” Taeyong called, “Why we’re not here to start anything.” He spoke aloud, raising his arms into the air. “Why, can’t we just get along as friends?”

His tone was nothing other than sarcastic and amused. Not that the Sheep and Dogs were enemies, but they had their differences. While they could be called Allies, they weren’t entirely the best group to trust to team up with.

Winwin scoffed at him, “Why don’t you all kneel and eat out your boss’s mutt bowls, huh? Leave us. At least we’re doing work here.”

Taeyong chuckled, “If you were doing work, you’d have heard the news by now...”

This time, it was Yangyang’s time to stand up, a panic across his young face. “News?”

“Johnny,” Taeyong waved a taller man to the front, “Recite the letter.”

Johnny walked to the front, expression unchanging as he grabbed a folded letter from his pocket, flattening it out and clearing his throat.

The rest of the Sheep listened intently, the tenseness they had so happily brushed off only minutes before, now returning with a vengeance. 

“You can see my footprints on the concrete

Everything I pictured all around me.

Gave one final warning…”

Johnny looked up from the sheet, and stared right at the others.

“They’re calling for the Sheep.”

~

Lay turned around in his seat at the noise of the apartment door opening, hearing a loud bustling of steps and plastic bags crinkling as everyone clambered into the rooms.

Yangyang half-ran up to Lay, placing the bag on the desk, before folding it down to reveal some freshly cooked pork inside a container, complete with side dishes and chopsticks.

“I have some news.” Yangyang panted out, “While we didn’t return immediately after hearing about it, we thought your health comes first.”

Lay had been staring longingly at the food, now looking up to his brother with worried eyes.

“You finally have an update?”

“Yes.” Yangyang let out breathlessly, “The Dogs found us and sent us a letter. Here,” he fished into his pockets to pull out the crumpled sheet and handed it to the Leader. “It’s from… Them.”

Lay hurriedly grabbed the sheet before opening it, reading the words intently.

The rest of the members lined up next to Yangyang in a neat line.

Hendery was fidgeting with the leftovers, before quickly leaning over and plopping it onto a nearby armchair and straightening himself back up.

Lay hummed to himself, reading the note over and over.

Yangyang cleared his throat. “Can you make anything else from it?”

Lay shook his head, “They’re just being mysterious.”

“What do you propose we do in return?”

Lay looked up at him, then at everyone else, seeing them smile awkwardly back at him.

“I say we send a reply back. Tomorrow. We should sleep and prepare in the morning. It’s late.”

Everyone bowed in reply, each murmuring their gratitude, before departing.

Hendery stole back the leftovers, running to the kitchen to refrigerate the container.

It was go time. And right now, with the news finally at their feet, they could rest well in preparation for the next morning.

Meanwhile, Lay opened his freshly cooked food and smiled to himself, grabbing the chopsticks and inhaling the smell before digging in greedily. He was glad the others had thought of him.

~

“So, what do you think?”

Xiaojun was excited as he sat on the floor, his knees pressed to his chest, his eyes wide in excitement.

Lay and Yangyang both looked at the small notebook together, their eyes almost in sync as they read the words scribbled onto them.

Anxiously anticipating their reaction, Xiaojun was subconsciously clicking and unclicking the pen in his hands, watching the siblings judge his work.

“You wrote this? By yourself?”

Xiaojun nodded excitedly, “Ever since reading their message, I’ve been thinking about it, even while trying to fall asleep last night. I think this is the perfect reply back to them, just as mysterious as the first, but they’ll know.”

“They’ll know?”

Xiaojun grinned, “That we’re coming for them.”

Winwin had his black case rolled out onto the bed, his pistol apart on the spread and cleaning it with a fierce focus, making sure it was in top shape for the day. He loved his baby, it had served him well for years. He noticed a scruff on the corners and sighed.

“Should we pick up the shipment today?” He called out, seeing Lay turn to him from the window and smile. “You and Kun can go receive the shipping.”

Winwin nodded and turned back to his cleaning.

“And as for you nerds…” Lay spoke, turning to the other direction.

Lucas and Hendery looked up from their laptops with wide eyes, “Yeah?” They asked together.

“You two rest your eyes. I need you to do something for me.”

Hendery jumped out of his seat and ran to Lay, “Yes, sir?”

Lay held out a notebook, ripping the top page out and handing it to the dark haired boy.

“Give this to the Dogs. We should let the word spread back to our targets. Let them know we’re on our way.”

Hendery nodded, before reading the note quickly, and handing it to Lucas as the other man stepped towards them.

“You like it?” Lay asked, turning to him with a smirk. “Who knew our war child could write so well?”

Xiaojun looked up from where he sat on the floor, pausing cleaning his boots to smile up at Hendery and Lucas. He then faced Lay and bowed on the spot, “Thank you.”

As Hendery went to head out the door with Lucas, he turned towards Winwin and caught his eye. He pulled a worried look and saw Winwin grin. You’ll be fine. Winwin mouthed.

Hendery smiled and headed out the door, Lucas in tow behind him.

“Nervous?” Lucas asked, adjusting his shirt.

Hendery grinned. “A little. They can’t do anything to us though. They know we’re a force to mess with. That’s why they’re all bark, no bite.”

~

“Are the Sheep crawling back to us for help, huh?”

Hendery scoffed at the male across from him. “Says the boy who looks like he’s from Final Fantasy.”

Yuta laughed in reply, giving a small shrug. “What are you both here for then?”

Lucas handed over the sheet of paper, his eyes squinting from the bright sun.

The Dog’s meeting spot was a large red abandoned firetruck on the side of the road, some 200 metres from their base. The shadow was on the other side of the vehicle, but that was beside the roadside, where they were more likely to be seen.

“Ah, message back to them… heard a rumour by the way.”

“Yeah?” Hendery asked, “About who’s after our necks?”

Yuta nodded, “Word around the block says they’re from the woodlands on the outskirts. Might have better air over than it does in the city. Not as bad as where y’all are from. Heh.”

Hendery sighed, of course it wouldn’t be too low of the Dogs to attack their home country. 

But you could guess, when they couldn’t accuse the Sheep themselves, they had other points they could try to attack. At least it kept the Sheep on their toes.

By this point, they were used to the spiel. It was all just trash talk, anyway.

“Just, can you pass the note on or not? It’s clear there’s connections between you and whoever the rivals are.” Hendery stated, “We have to head back soon.”

Yuta chuckled, “Of course. Regardless of the odds, I wish you Sheep luck.”

“Thanks.” Hendery muttered under his breath, but was shocked when Lucas stepped forward and right into Yuta’s face.

“Yeah, well… we don’t need it. See you around, Dog.”

Yuta laughed up at him as Lucas stepped away. “Sure thing, Sheep. See you around.”

~

Back at the apartment, the others were just finishing up their preparations.

Kun swung his backpack over his shoulder and nodded to Ten, “Need any help?”

Ten, who was taking longer to clean his sniper rifle, just shook his head.

“I heard from someone that it’s bad luck for someone to touch your prized possession, especially with good intentions.”

Kun was stunned for a moment, “Well, I’ll let you believe that. I might pick up the shipment now with Winwin. See you later.”

As Kun walked away, Ten sighed to himself. “Will I even get to use you?” He pouted sadly, staring at his rifle. “Still, if you have to sit at home, you might as well sit pretty.” He kissed the side of the barrel and lay it back onto the bed, crossing his arms and thinking.

Winwin looked up at Kun with a keen smile, “Ready to go? I’ve just messaged our supplier and he says he’s ready. Let’s head out.”

Kun smiled, “Let’s go.”

“Let’s get an ice-cream on the way, weather says it’s hot and humid out there.” Winwin winked.

~

Chapter Text

A mysterious pair of hands, enveloped in fingerless leather gloves, held a familiar piece of paper between it’s fingers.

The lined paper was unfolded, a small silence followed as eyes flickered over the words.

“Master. We have received our reply.” Came a deep man’s voice, the owner of the hands turning around, a wicked laugh from his lips.

Sehun was dressed to the nines, wearing a full yellow dazzling suit, with silver bracelets and necklaces to match, his undershirt, gloves and shoes a matching black.

The most interesting part of his outfit was the iconic red triangles above and below his right eye.

The Master, or leader of the group, turned to Sehun with an unsettling gaze.

Without saying a word, Sehun walked up to him and handed over the piece of paper, instantly holding his hands in front of him patiently, waiting for commands or feedback.

Instead, the paper was shoved back into his face. “Read it for me, Sehunnie.”

“Of course,” Sehun replied, straightening the sheet.

“Big things, sure enough

There’s a monster coming from the forest

Sheep gang, glorious

Run through the city with a message for it.”

“Excellent.” Came the reply, soft but powerful. “Rally the boys. We should prepare for the fight.”

Sehun bowed, “At once, sir.”

As Sehun walked off, each of his steps echoing in the room with his long, heavy strides, the Master looked back to his view over the treetops, and snickered to himself.

“I’m coming for you, Sheep. I’ll show you who’s really in charge here.”

A small breeze creeped in from the window, pushing the mysterious Master’s hair back from his forehead.

He smiled to himself and chuckled, “Nobody fucks with the pack and comes out of it alive.”

~

Underground, in the apartment car park, the eight men were all piling equipment into the back of their car, fitting it all alongside a new container, marked neatly with ‘Nerfs’ on it. 

Winwin pulled out ice-creams for everyone, including Lay, who hadn’t left the apartment in ages and was now enjoying being outside. Not yet in the sunlight, but still a step in the right direction.

“Alright, where to?” Lay asked, opening his own treat.

Lucas cleared his throat, “The dogs said they were out in the woodlands. Just on the edge of the city, or something.”

“Well, that’s where we’ll start. Looks like we’ll have to search a lot by foot. Hendery, anything in the inventory we’ll need to buy before we head off?”

Hendery opened a handwritten list, with handwriting only he could personally read. “Other than water and sleeping equipment, I think we’re set. How’s the rations?”

“Plenty. Enough for a week, that’s all we’ll need to get to their base and back, according to research. Hendery, you scout anything you can find as we drive. Lucas, see if you can pick up any last minute signals that could lead us towards their location quicker.”

“Yes sir.” They both replied, grinning from ear to ear. 

“Alright, boys.” Lay motioned to the Sheep, “Let’s head off. Xiaojun, you’re in charge of shopping when we reach the location.”

Xiaojun bowed. And with that, they were packed into the off-road vehicle and heading out into the daylight.

~

Lay wasn’t used to the sunlight, even with his arm leaning out the window, he was squinting against the bright natural lighting.

Kun, who was driving, flawlessly popped the glove box and handed him some sunglasses.

“I packed extras.” he murmured, taking a turn with one hand. “Hope you don’t mind.”

“If I didn’t, I would have said something.” Lay chuckled, sliding the glasses onto his nose and sighing in relief. “All of you never fail to surprise me.”

Taking the compliment in their stride, the other seven members smiled and simultaneously looked out the windows to hide flushed faces. 

Lay wasn’t so rare with compliments, but they were occasional enough to surprise them.

The leader smiled to himself, looking out at the city-goers; those crossing roads and especially those walking along the more grassier, beach side pathways. Everyone looked so natural, looking the part of busy workers, rich shoppers, or those in between, looking for their dreams.

The crowds that his boys couldn’t join whole-heartedly, always on the lookout for rivals.

At one point, he had been one of them. Chasing a dream, a fantasy just out of reach. 

He had been going after a lover too, someone he could call his honey.

He had been a casual worker in a small, local business. 

Whereas some of his Sheep colleagues were born from war or corrupt corporation rivalry, the latter being Kun; previously working as big business CEO, Lay had been working as a simple florist.

The thing that brought him to this kind of work was a simple case of identity theft.

A simple framed DNA test on several murders included his fingerprints, and with nothing to save him from jail, he had been on the run from Chinese officials for years.

But the Sheep wasn’t his first experience in downtown mafia gang troubles. Though that past seemed behind him, he wondered if he would ever be safe from his history.

He had a feeling he would find out soon enough.

Xiaojun ran back to the car later with the supplies and a grin on his face.

“Let’s go!” He called excitedly.

~

The crunch of fresh leaves underfoot gave the Sheep a sense of purpose. Walking deeper into the forestation, sharing the weight of supplies between them in separate bags.

All of them were still wearing the all-black clothing, so it wasn’t surprising when a couple of them started to sweat, but nothing they couldn’t handle.

Xiaojun was used to worse, so him walking ahead wasn’t a surprise to the rest of the members.

Lay, who liked to be towards the front, had now purposely fallen behind to protect from the back.

Winwin was crouched low, his pistol tucked neatly into his side.

Once they were in the clear, they were able to stand up straight.

“Hendery, keep an eye on phone signals. Make sure no-one’s nearby, stranger or otherwise.”

“Yes, sir. No signals yet. Head north-west.”

Ten, with the compass, pointed the way with an open, vertical palm.

Hendery kept a close eye on his phone, making sure the volume was loud enough when alerts came through, if something came about that forced him to be unable to look away.

He had come from a background of a college degree of coding, learning more through joining the Sheep after his first introduction (and run-in) with Lucas.

The pair had been found running away from a house explosion that killed Lucas’s uncle, who was his only family at the time, which explained how Lucas had gotten into basement bomb-making from a young age with the eccentric family member.

Hendery and Lucas found shelter in the sewers. They were then saved from an attack from the Rats; who had been tracked down for a “plague” by the Sheep on their scent.

Mafia code for plague was code for the Rats secretly infecting enemy and innocent people with syringes of… questionable substance.

It was a mess, and Hendery and Lucas ended up owing their lives to the Sheep.

Originally he had met Lucas through college, seeing Lucas with his own laptop. He had the impression Lucas was a lot like him, studying hard out of passion.

But, whereas Hendery liked studying his work, Lucas was doing research on more explosive ideas, and hadn’t admitted to Hendery he wasn’t really focussing on his college classes.

Still, even though Hendery’s first impression of him was a bit psychopathic after they first got talking, the two still got along until said incident happened.

Even then, the two had been best friends, and now they felt like family with the other boys, rather than feeling indebted to them out of respect and fear. Now it was with respect and awe.

No alerts came through for a good hour, so Hendery started to become relaxed, though he was still always watching the radar. If there were enemies about, they would find the best ways to stay stealthy and quiet. Being titled with a top-of-the-food-chain name would mean they were to keep to it like a personality trait. A reputation to uphold regardless of circumstances.

The Sheep weren’t always like their own title though, though they did seem to stay flocked together for protection.

Lay had purposely chosen ‘Sheep’ to fool those who would be after them. Though the farm animal name would purposely make them out to be timid and easy to prey on, they knew that not all of them would fall for the ruse, and would be more careful if they were to take them down. 

Much like the Foxes did way back when they first started out. Easy work for the Sheep.

Now the Sheep had set out a name for themselves, allying with the best and worst of groups, it was missions like these that had them on their toes.

How was this going to work out?

While the group was confident in themselves, sometimes the unknown unnerved them. It was scary walking into territory foreign to them. Not so much the trees, but they weren’t on home ground anymore while out of the city’s own jungle.

“Maybe we shouldn’t go to their base but meet them somewhere in between?”

Lay stopped from behind them, “Who asked that?”

Everyone stopped, Hendery turned his body and finally ripped his eyes away from his phone before peering around at the others, waiting for an answer.

“I did, sir.” Ten replied, “We’ve never attacked at base before. They could be stocked to the brim and we could be walking into a trap. They know we’re coming, yeah?”

“Of course.” Xiaojun answered, “They’d have received our reply by now…” Then he turned to Lay, “I know this is last minute, but I agree with him. Meet them halfway or this could be a death sentence.”

Lay sighed, “You’re right. We’ll find somewhere and then send a message… somehow.”

“Maybe a clearing.” Kun pondered, “Something tells me they’ll sniff us out before we find them.”

~

Crawling along the forest floor, a man dressed in red stalked along the tall grass, hiding behind the trees and peering out every now and then.

Under his slicked back black hair, his blue and brown eyes stared deep into the woods. He knew the Sheep were coming for them, and he had been on the lookout for a week, having only received their reply three nights ago.

Jongdae, better known as ‘Chen’, wasn’t dressed for stealth, but he was aiming to see them from a distance rather than being noticed by them up close. With his bionic contact lens, he was able to see at greater lengths than an average human.

You could say, he was able to see at a distance a canine species could.

Black. In the distance.

Chen raised his eyebrows, blinked and looked closer.

He stalked again in the long grass and hid behind a thicker tree, peeking out carefully.

The Sheep.

They were on their way.

Time to run back and tell the others. The Master would be pleased with the news.

~

Winwin veered slightly to the left, thinking he saw something in the distance. It turned out to be a bird.

He sighed to himself, turning back to the others. “Can we rest, yet?”

Lay turned to Hendery, “How far have we walked?”

“About 8 hours worth.”

“Okay, yeah let’s rest.” The leader quickly replied, before pulling off his backpack and leaning against a tree. It had started getting dark, and thankfully it was getting cooler.

The others had followed suit, taking off some layers and lying on trees or across the ground as they pleased. Ten lay across Kun’s legs, reaching into his backpack lazily to search for his water bottle he had regretfully buried deep into it.

Kun sighed, “So who should keep watch first later?”

Xiaojun replied instantly, offering to be the first to stay awake, “I’ve worked on minimal sleep some nights while on duty.”

The others sighed at the reminder, it wasn’t the first, and definitely not the last time he’d mention his own time in the military. He laughed softly at their reactions.

“Okay, then I’ll go next.” Kun replied. “Soon it’ll be too dark to see.”

Lay moved to stand up before squatting down next to Xiaojun, “Then I’ll start now. We’ll go an hour each. Entertain each other as needed. We’ll sleep at about nine.”

Chapter Text

~

Back at the treehouse in the forest, Chen reached the front entrance again, out of breath as he panted against the tree, before heading in.

A pair of wooden doors opened seconds later, revealing the Master already waiting on the other side on the main floor. Raising an eyebrow, he motioned to him.

“News?”

“They’re on the way. I ran back as fast as I could.”

“Well, go meet them again. Take this.” He shoved something into Chen’s hands. “I want you to intimidate them. We’ll prepare in advance.” Then he grinned. “Think you can do that?”

“Of course.” Chen chuckled, a wicked look in his eyes. “The Sheep should be easy to scare.”

The smile fell from his face as the leader laughed at him, “That’s why they call themselves that. To fool us. Don’t underestimate them. But don’t fear them either, it’s their job to fear us.”

Chen nodded, “And if they negotiate?”

“Then do what’s best for the pack. No matter what, we will win this. I’m counting on you.”

Chen was back in the trees in the early hours, thankfully he could see in the dim light.

The Sheep hadn’t reached much further than when he found them.

They were on the watch, not that he was planning to attack alone.

He moved the audio receiver up to his face, and rested it around and in his ear, hooking the mic onto his jacket.

While he had the chance, he might make an appearance and let the others listen in.

“Wolf pack? This is Chen, over.”

“Loud and clear. You heading in?” Came the voice of another member.

“Yep. Gonna make contact. Who's listening in?”

“Mostly everyone. We’ll be hearing every word. Stay safe.”

~

“Guys, you hear that?” Ten asked out loud. Kun who was trying to fall asleep just rolled over with a disgruntled, ‘huh?’.

Ten turned off his torch. “Listen.” Ten spoke, his finger pressed to his lips as he stayed as silent as possible. Though the night was brimming with nocturnal energy, there was a noise creeping closer to them.

Ten leant forward from the tree he was leaning against, turning his ear towards the open air.

Kun heard it, and sat up straight, before reaching over a sleeping Hendery and grabbing his night vision goggles. He put them on and looked into the forest.

Movement. A smiling face in the distance, belonging to a crouching body.

“It’s them, or at least one them.”

“Shit.” Ten replied, before leaning over and waking the others. “Don’t look away.”

“Wasn’t thinking about it.” Kun joked back, “He’s not even trying to hide.”

The others woke up swiftly, rubbing sleep from their eyes, Xiaojun immediately jumped behind Kun and stared over him, “You see him?”

“What’s happening?” Lay asked, sleepily but alert.  “You got a visual?”

“Heading straight to us. Grab a weapon, just in case.” Ten replied calmly, still rushing around.

Winwin was the first to grab his pistol, leaving the safety on while he got into position close to the tree. His eyes narrowed, though it was eerie he couldn’t see the rival themself.

“How do you know it’s them?” Lay asked, though he regretted asking as soon as he said it.

“The outfit. And it’s 4:20am.” Kun replied, unbothered by the question. “But again, he’s not trying to hide. What do you propose is happening?”

“Fuck.” Ten swore again, searching for another set of goggles, “What if they’re surrounding us?”

“Shit.” Lay swore now, grabbing for his own pistol and cocking it. “No time for games. Prepare for a fight, boys.”

Ten slammed the goggles on as fast as he could and peered around 360 degrees around the trees. Even though he was unarmed, he was trusting his Sheep to attack for him if needed. Snipers at night weren’t an ideal combination. “Can’t see anyone else. I’ll keep looking though.”

Kun called out excitedly, “Rival at 100 metres. Someone hand me my weapon, please.”

Hendery and Lucas, who had finally opened their phones and laptops, quickly worked together to search Kun’s bag for his weapon. Hendery handed it into his open palm swiftly.

The Sheep were tense until the man got closer. Ten kept an eye on the surrounding bushes, listening on the updates from the others to hear when their target was close enough.

“It’s just me.”

Ten finally slid his goggles off, blinking at the darkness, before his eyes adjusted to the stranger in their presence.

Kun had slid his own night vision equipment off, and was resting his eyes while Xiaojun held the torch towards the stranger.

The strong red coloured outfit was stranger against the darkness of their own uniform, but it did nothing but cement the difference between them. Winwin cocked his gun, to which the intruder slowly raised his arms with an amused grin. “I’m sending a message, of course. I mean no harm as of yet.”

Lay gasped, but was ignored as the others trained their eyes on the human.

“Chen.” He bowed, “Not that I care for further introductions but… you Sheep ought to be careful in these parts.”

“Currently 8 against 1.” Winwin replied, “But I’m sure you passed your first year of Maths. You know the odds. Why are you here alone?”

“Why, ever heard of a Lone... Wolf?

“Radio signal.” Hendery called out, “He’s using a receiver as we speak.” He turned to the others with a worried expression, “The... Wolves?… can hear us.”

Chen lowered his arms, “I have nothing to hide from them. I just came to say you boys better watch yourselves while you’re in our territory. Heading our way is a sure fire way to get caught up in the crossfire.”

Xiaojun spoke up, “We’re not reaching your base. Meet us halfway. I’m sure you’ll find us when we’re ready.”

“I have no doubt. You were heading in the right direction.” Chen smiled, a little more creepily than normal. He paused for a moment as he looked to the ground, listening to his ear piece.

The Sheep shuffled uncomfortably in their spots as they waited.

Chen peered up for a moment, staring right past the younger members and staring right at Lay, who took a step back in return, eyes widened in an unnatural fear.

“You won’t believe who I’m looking at.” Chen spoke out loud, confusing the others as they stared, confused. “Yes. Of course, sir.”

With that, he looked back up at the eight members with a feral look in his eyes, dragging a tongue across his bottom lip. “I’ll be seeing you around then, Sheep.” He said.

And with that, he growled and turned in his step, before strolling calmly back towards where he came, a few metres off before breaking into a keen run.

The Sheep were still for a good ten minutes after the Wolf was out of sight.

But things started happening when Lay fainted onto the grass out of nowhere, leading Yangyang to appear beside him and hold up his head, checking him over and lightly slapping his cheek.

“Yixing, wake up! You okay?”

The torch was shone onto Lay’s face. He was pale, which greatly worried his younger brother. Yangyang motioned for someone to look for first aid supplies, and Ten stumbled over with Lay’s water bottle.

“Why do you think he fainted? That whole interaction felt kinda weird to me.”

Yangyang hummed, glancing to the dark forest and then back to the leader in his arms.

“Yeah, it doesn’t sit well with me either. How could they know Lay? We haven’t met the Wolves, and I’ve been with Lay since the Sheep first started.”

Ten was silent for a moment, but he was thinking hard. The Sheep honestly didn’t know a lot about Lay’s past. He had a feeling the two were connected somehow.

“It’s not like Chen was faking it. Lay seemed to take it seriously himself. Was there a time in his life you weren’t there beside him?”

Yangyang sighed, “Well, I don’t know if that’s important now but, maybe it’s worth considering discussing at a later time.”

With that, Lay started to awaken.

The others heard his grunts and stepped closer, all crowding around him.

“Hey, you okay?”

“Looks like you might’ve hit the tree with your hand on the way down.”

“We should check him out and bandage him up if needed.”

“Quick, sit him up and hand him some water.”

Lay sat up, the voices crowding in his ears, and he was handed some water. He gratefully sipped it and tried to make sense of the world around him for a few moments.

The horror set in in moments, Yangyang holding Lay tightly to him as he started to have a panic attack on the ground, the others having to hold him down, Kun and Yangyang working to calm him down, unsure what was happening and why the look of fear in his eyes was so real and raw.

It was terrifying, especially with them having put their whole trust on the leader to be the strongest. In a moment, Yangyang and Xiaojun looked at each other’s shadowed faces. 

No matter what, they knew they could figure something out if Lay wasn’t his best in the upcoming days. None of the others noticed this, still reassuring Lay calmly.

~

Of course, this turn of events was exactly what the rivals hoped for, even better than anything they could have imagined, in fact.

“You… found him?” The Master asked, who had incidentally let his surprise escape in his tone.

“Yes, would you believe it?” Chen asked, as the other wolves shuffled in to listen in.

Sehun raised an eyebrow, “Our last member?”

“Lay was right there in front of me. Check my eyes.” Chen replied, eagerly removing the contact lens-thick view wear. “I saw him…”

He blinked in the bright room, gently holding the contact out to the other members.

The Master’s slim gloved hand reached out to grab the technology.

While he worked to open it up onto a screen, someone else spoke up.

“So, what do we do now?”

“Well, now I’m not sure. You heard them… they wanted to meet somewhere between here and there. But with this… we’re not sure how the Sheep will react, let alone our pretty boy.”

Murmuring went around the group of men, all dressed magnificently in their outfits.

“Do we need to send another message or wait for one from them?”

The Master thought for a moment, then deciding to not reply as he pressed a button on the keyboard, pushing a projection of the video onto a screen where all the Wolves could watch.

He skipped forward ‘til Chen had seen the Sheep at their closest, and paused at the clear view of them all.

“No, skip forward to when I noticed him completely. The fear in his eyes… fucking delicious.”

The Master did so, pausing perfectly on Lay, middle of the screen, eyes wide; after the gasp and the step backwards.

Everyone was silent, staring at the screen in awe and confusion.

“So he’s one of the Sheep now… oh this.. This is glorious.” Someone commented, they stepped forward, bright eyes focussed on the person on the screen. “It’s so perfectly ironic.”

Suho was dressed mostly in red, his bright matching hair spiked up into makeshift horns, paired with a  curved under-eye battle scar.

Underneath his unbuttoned red jacket sat a cropped, open black vest, showing off his toned, tanned abdomen. This look was rounded off by a simple gold chain necklace, two bracelets and three silver-gold rings on his pretty slender fingers. Suho laughed, “What do you think, sir?”

The Master chuckled from in front of them, still facing the projection above them.

“Well,” he drawled, “I guess we’ll just see where this goes… Shall we?”

~

Chapter Text

Back at the improvised campsite, the Sheep were still worrying about the leader and his strange reaction to meeting a Wolf member. The sun had gone up, and there was a breeze between the trees that sent shivers up some member’s spines.

Right now, Lay was huddled against a tree, with a blanket wrapped around his shoulders and his gaze pointing straight to the ground between his knees. He was rocking back and forth a little and in deep thought.

He hadn’t slept a wink all night and it was starting to take a toll on his mind.

Yangyang sat next to him, on care-watch. He was thinking hard too, then he saw Ten from the corner of his eye motioning to him. He was mouthing something to him. ‘Come with me.’

Yangyang nodded, then turned to the others, “Someone sit by Lay. I need to run an errand.”

Moments later, Ten and Yangyang were pacing slowly away from the others, out of earsight.

“What can we do? We can’t really continue, we can’t really stay, and we for sure can’t go back now. We’re stuck.”

Yangyang rolled his shoulders back, now understanding that his role as leader could be realised sooner than he thought. “We’ll just have to play it by ear. Hendery can tell us if there’s a chance we’ll be caught out and we can hide. Otherwise…” Yangyang shrugged, “We just gotta wing it. We can work with anything that comes our way. We just have to keep an eye on Lay. I know some of us are aching to question him, but he’s, for all intents and purposes, still the Leader. We need to respect him, no matter what state he is in. And, we have to respect each other too.”

Ten nodded, pressing his finger to his lips in thought. “So, are there roles we should take? Pretend Lay is out for leadership, you’ll have to take over. We’ll do anything you ask.”

“Thank you, I admire that you’ll listen to me, regardless of me being the youngest. It means a lot to me, and I know it means a lot to my older brother too.” He smiled, “But don’t stop calling me Little Sheep, I like it too much.”

Back at the site, there was a small fire roaring. Everyone seemed wide awake, despite it being early morning, with little sleep for all of them.

Yangyang glanced to see Winwin had replaced him to look after Lay. It seemed like all of the Sheep had the same idea as Yangyang approached them.

He would be who they had to listen to. Yangyang felt the pride swell in his chest fleetingly.

“What are we gonna do, sir?” Hendery asked, being only a year older than Yangyang.

“We’re gonna figure it out as we go. Keep an eye on the signals so we don’t get caught out by third parties. Otherwise, our main goal is to care for my brother, and take care of ourselves. We’ll know what to do once we understand the situation better.”

Everyone nodded, bowing in their sitting positions, and Ten bowing his head from where he leant against a tree.

It felt weird to Yangyang, but he did quite like the feeling. He buried his internal conflict; wondering if he would like to get used to the feeling, or keep it as temporary as possible.

After all, he had followed in his brother’s footsteps for years.

There had been the period in his time when Lay went missing after his enlistment. 

Back when they weren’t the Sheep, Yangyang had tearfully watched his older brother leave for his “compulsory” military service, even so young compared to most other boys. But, it was the best plan Lay had to escape the Chinese authorities.

Yangyang had known about the alias, he was the only other one in the family to know about it.

Their parents didn’t care much for them, but were forced to take Yangyang back into their care when things went downhill money-wise, leading to a mortgage on their house and preventing them from financially supporting Yangyang going to study at university.

Lay dedicated his life to becoming the “Korean citizen” his alias said he was. Yangyang was always in awe of his plans, but wished somehow he could escape and help his sibling.

“Come find me when my return date comes, okay?” Yixing had said in a video call, dressed in his army uniform, looking at his dewy-eyed brother through his phone screen.

“Of course I will.” Yangyang replied, sniffling. “I’ll miss you.”

“I know.” Lay replied, smiling through the camera. Even Yangyang thought his big brother was so handsome, he wanted to hug him so badly before he would disappear again.

“I’ll get you when you’re done. I promise. I’ll escape from mom and dad. I’ll help you hide.”

Which all came to head two years later, when he waited at the airport to pick Lay up, but was soon worried when his brother hadn’t arrived.

There had been a late announcement that prior to the flight, multiple men had gone missing and they were in a black hole zone to communicate this back to the families.

“Listen, he has to be out there. Where did they go? Where is my brother?” 

“Calm down, young man.” An official replied, holding his open palm out. “We have others back at the base. We’ll find your brother and the others.”

But they didn’t. It was a year later Lay had found Yangyang, but he was in bad shape.

Yixing had collapsed just in front of the house, crawling to the front door.

His face was bloodied, and his uniform was covered in filth; blood, sweat, tears, dirt, and god knows what else. Yangyang had pulled him in and cleaned him up as best as he could.

Lay refused to tell Yangyang about what happened, but Yangyang knew it was something bad. Something that had affected him for a long time, to which he would refuse to ever bring up or answer when someone got curious.

Later on when the Sheep gang was created, it was just Lay and Yangyang. Lay had kept his alias but having to escape back to China to find his brother meant he was in danger again.

With the help of the Chinese group, Dragons, they managed to escape back to Korea together, pretty much hand in hand, and found themselves hanging with underground gangs to stay safe, with no money to support them.

The main group to take them under their wings were the Butterflies, easygoing park-goers posing as a sports team in the daytime to keep an eye on the recreational edges of the city.

Then, Lay found a rugged Xiaojun on the side of the streets some months later, freshly returned back from war and had been dumped by his girlfriend, found homeless and living off mere coins for food. Lay had briefly recognised him from his training days, but that was all their familiarity.

In fact, Xiaojun had volunteered himself at an earlier age, hence why his youthful looks had him on the front lines.

It was so easy to adopt him at the time, which inspired Lay to look for more outcasts.

After that, time seemed to fly with finding the other members, and Lay was happy to distance himself from their original saviours to gain footing as his own rising gang.

He owed the Butterflies his life, and promised the Sheep as an ally at a moment’s notice.

All of his members had come from difficult backgrounds, and suddenly being the Sheep was all they knew. And they had felt secure again in life, they felt like they found their calling.

But now, in the forest, the Sheep were questioning everything.

While knowing only what Yangyang knew about Lay’s past, the gap in his life now weighed on everyone’s minds. What happened in those three years?

Chapter Text

Lay had passed out by 8am, and all everyone could do was sit around until they knew what to do.

The trip towards the base was shorter than they thought, so they weren’t in a panic for rations. Winwin was resting and throwing trail mix into his mouth, a little bored. He wasn’t much of an overthinker, unlike his other members, so he was more relaxed in looking out for Lay.

He was very loyal, and trusted Lay too much to worry about it. Regardless, his pistol was usually on hand once he heard any hint of danger.

But to the other members, even Yangyang, there were some major questions running around their heads. Xiaojun was a quiet thinker, occasionally glancing over to look at the oldest.

Being from the army himself, he wasn’t sure he could offer any new ideas on what happened.

And while he wasn’t Lay himself, he couldn't think up anything from his enlistment that could hint to what happened to him. So, Xiaojun just muddled over it quietly and kept an eye out on the bright forest, his hands clasped together and thick eyebrows furrowed in his wait.

While Kun was on and off about the topic, more focussing on ways of taking down the rivals, a little like Hendery and Lucas on their computers, he wasn’t one to get distracted from original plans. In order to distract himself, he worked with the techies to dream up an ideal ending.

“So,” Kun whispered real close to the two, “If we decided to reach their base first, say, around a long track, you’re saying we have the equipment to not only bug them, you know, for audio and stuff, but we could theoretically burn their base to the ground before anyone else notices.”

“Yes.” Hendery instantly replied, his face perfectly blank and content.

Lucas giggled behind them. “Ka-boom. Watch the wolf pack crumble under our hooves.”

The three childish plotters all started laughing quietly, shushing each other desperately as the others started to look at them with confused expressions. 

Again, how Kun was one of the older members, sometimes the others didn’t know.

Things seemed to finally start up when Lay woke up from his sleep hours later, seeing a couple of the others had passed out too.

 Whereas some members were lying on their sleeping bags, against trees, or over each other and out cold, other members had kept their eyes open and peeled.

Yangyang, Xiaojun and Lucas had stayed awake, though Xiaojun was resting against a tree, conserving his energy and leaning his chin on his chest.

As soon the three Sheep noticed Lay was awake, the air grew tense.

Lay, still a little groggy, peered between all the pairs of eyes on him, and knew what was to come. With a discontented groan, he rubbed his eyes and slowly rose up into a sitting position.

Just as two of the Sheep went to speak, Lay put his hand up.

“Please… please don’t ask me.” He asked, his voice breaking momentarily as he did so, refusing to make eye contact with anyone while he spoke. “I couldn’t tell you then…” Lay continued, hinting towards Yangyang, “I couldn’t tell you all before, and I sure as hell can’t tell you now. I’m sorry.”

“Sorry is not good enough.” Someone said. Hendery had awoken to him talking, he rubbed his own eyes and moved onto his side, leaning on his elbow. “Lay, we need to know...”

Lay didn’t reply, but he did spare a second to look into Hendery’s eyes. There was an emotion in the eldest man’s gaze that scared Hendery. But he had to push forward. “Yixing…”

Lay hissed at hearing his real name. Usually that name was spoken from the younger’s lips with amusement, now filled with pressing adamance.

“If only you knew. What it was like….”

“What do you mean?” Yangyang leaned forward, resting on one knee, worry evident in his young eyes.

“I’m ashamed of what happened all those years ago.” Lay replied, looking up to his brother, but staring at his shirt to avoid his gaze. “I know you’ve always looked up to me. But this, I don’t want you to see me in a new way. That past is not a part of me anymore.”

“That’s clearly the truth, since it’s still affecting you to this day.” Yangyang seemed to snap back.

By now, the rest of the members had started opening their eyes, realising there was talking, and immediately looking for where Lay was. 

Instantly, Ten jumped out from under Kun’s legs, and stood up to look at Lay. 

Kun groaned at losing his human pillow, scrambling for a bag to rest his head on.

“What happened? What did I miss?” Ten started asking, before Yangyang held his own palm up to quieten him, not looking at him.

“He’s ashamed of what happened in his past, whatever it was. But like Hendery says, we need to know. Yixing… above anyone else, I need to know. What happened in the year you were missing? Or the two years you were enlisted? Anything, please.”

Ten interrupted the brothers from saying anything else. He had mean, furrowed eyes when he spoke. “If you’ve had anything to do with the Wolves, if you’ve worked with them and still know things you haven’t told us. I won’t spare you the pity party.”

Ten leant against a tree, letting out an annoyed huff, “The last thing I want is to be betrayed by my own damn leader. Wolf or Sheep, you better have picked a side before you came with us today. I won’t speak for the rest of the guys, but I’ve dedicated a lot of my time to a Sheep leader, and let that be known before anything else.”

Lay sighed. He had feared something like this would happen, that he’d be seen as a bad guy.

His voice was thankfully stable when he replied, “All I can say is… we escaped from the base before pick-up. I had no choice… I was dragged along with them.”

“With who?” Multiple voices asked, surrounding Lay.

More hesitation, “Them. The… uh, guys... from the military. I didn’t know what was happening. And he, the Wolf… was one of them.”

Lay exhaled deeply, “And of course.. I turned up at your door once I could get away.”

Yangyang had leant even closer, switching to his other knee, “That was a year later... Lay, we need more information. The Wolf seems to know more about you than we do, and that…. That could kill us. You heard him, others seem to recognise you too!”

Lay shook his head. “I didn’t mean for him, them, to use… to use it against me. Against us.”

The oldest was struggling to think, to word his answers, to tell the truth but hide it away too.

Yangyang rested his head in his open palms, clearly frustrated but trying to be patient. He was struggling to understand, to know what to do, how to plan for the next step.

Lay was struggling to further hint to what happened, he looked up to the pairs of eyes again, not looking for help in their stares, but trying to gauge the emotions they had towards him.

When he met Ten’s eyes, he saw skepticism and annoyance.

When he met Winwin’s eyes, he saw an expressionless face, merely absorbing the scene.

He met Hendery’s gaze, full of something else, plotting, but nothing concrete. 

And he saw that same expression in Lucas’s and Kun’s eyes, with the eldest holding a fierce look, wanting to fight, to get revenge on the Wolves. Even if he didn’t know what he was fighting for, or why.

He met Xiaojun’s eyes, who had merely looked up under his eyelashes at him, still resting. Though the angle made him look pissed off, Lay knew that he just wanted to fight the Wolves.

And suddenly, Lay felt suffocated, he didn’t know whether the Sheep wanted to fight the Wolves.... or if they were itching to fight him instead.

And finally, when he met his own little brother’s eyes, he saw the worst emotion. Sorrow.

The youngest now had tears welling in his eyes. “I looked up to you and you fell off the face of the Earth. And I couldn’t protect or save you until you came back.”

Lay started to scrunch his face up too. “Please, don’t…” He asked again but was quickly interrupted by Yangyang falling to his knee, a fist in front of his face.

As he spoke, his voice started cracking as he talked, a tear starting to fall down his cheek.

“If those fucks did anything to you, I want to know so I can hurt them more than they could have ever wished to do to you. If it’s because of them, I’ll show them we can’t be fucked with.”

Lay’s body started to shake, failing to hold back his rising emotions, which only spurred Yangyang to continue, “I swear to god, if you don’t tell me…”

“You don’t understand. Please, I wasn’t who I am now. I was weak…”

Ten, who had been trying to ignore them, now quietly faced the scene. 

He watched the youngest fall apart in his own words as he replied to his older sibling, “You will always be my brother, no matter what your past is. I need you to trust me…”

Lay, who was physically in pain at the words, reeling back as if he was stabbed. 

He tried to hold himself together just enough...

“Yangyang…”

“It’s like, you’ve never trusted me. I was always weaker than you. You pretend to put all this trust into me, and yet you can’t even tell me -!” Yangyang screamed the last word, aggressively jolting a pointed thumb towards his chest. “-what happened to you all that time ago.”

“It’s not like that-” Lay murmured through his tears, tone nasally through his now stuffy nose.

“ Then what is it…!? ” Yangyang yelled at him, “Cause I’m dying to know.”

Lay couldn’t say a word, he just turned away in shame and started to cry softly into his own shoulder.

This caused his younger brother to fall apart right after, collapsing on the ground in front of him and sob loudly, his whole body quivering with this unrestrained build up of guilt, misery and raw helplessness. It took a moment for the Sheep to let it sink in what happened.

Winwin then sprinted to Lay to hold him, the oldest wrapping his arms around Winwin and crying openly into his shoulder, and even more-so at the comfort his fellow member offered.

Ten jumped next to Yangyang, attempting to pick him up, receiving a blood-curdling wail that made Ten’s hair stand on end. He motioned for Xiaojun to help him, and together they held Yangyang up by his arms, peeking his filthy face, strewn with tears, snot and dirt.

Ten wiped at his face with the corner of a pillow case before hugging him tightly, softly talking into his ear and playing gently with his hair.

Yangyang cried even harder over his shoulder, before burying himself in Ten’s chest, surrounded by Xiaojun embracing him from behind, covering him with what they both hoped was a comforting warmth.

The Sheep felt cracked by the interaction, and those that watched were frozen with a mix of emotions.

Lucas, Kun and Hendery stood there in shock. And they stayed like that for the next following hour, stuck in place and wondering what was going to happen from here on out.

Chapter Text

Once the sounds of sadness had ceased into a mingle of heavy breathing and soft cooing noises, there was an awkwardness in the air between everyone.

Many questions hung unanswered in the air, all except one, who was asked by the youngest, looking up at everyone with lost eyes.

In that moment,Yangyang had given up on his leadership role, along with his older brother, and softly asked what everyone wanted to know; 

“What do we do now?”

Xiaojun released Yangyang slowly, before standing up and rolling his shoulders back.

“We can only go forward from here. But we can’t do this alone.”

“Why, there’s eight against … ah. We’re not sure how many there are.” Ten looked down at himself, twiddling his thumbs for a moment.

“But,” Xiaojun replied, letting a smile appear on his face for the first time in a while. “I have a plan.”

Everyone instantly turned their heads to him, shocked. “You’re not one to plan... or lead.”

“Yeah, well, even I can tell we’re not going to do well when some of us are emotionally compromised. Hence, why back in enlisting, you had to be strong to be on the front line. It’s the same here, guys.” At the murmur that followed, he finished up with, “Just trust me...”

~

Instead of Chen being the usual forest-goer, Wolf member Chanyeol had been the “designated” member to head back out, solo. In reality, he was too excited and volunteered himself to go.

But things didn’t quite turn out that way.

Other Wolves started following, some of them convinced the Sheep could hold a single member to ransom, and thus followed to protect the pink-haired boy. Their leader was the last to know.

The Master stared at the empty room, save for himself and one of his main men.

“And Sehun left too?”

“Yes sir.”

The Master sighed, “Then we shall leave too. Come with me, Kyungsoo.”

His side man nodded, wearing a yellow jacket over a black plain turtleneck. The sides of his heads were shaved, and he had a silver chain linked to a ring around his thick bottom lip, connecting to an earring, and another to the side of his ear. Red gloves enveloped his hands, the back cut out and showing off his tan, veiny hands. 

He looked serious, but something ignited in his eyes when he was thinking of meeting the Sheep.  The Master disappeared quickly, leaving Kyungsoo to his imagination.

Then the leader returned, a flash of green and red, before the Master cleared his throat.

Instantly, they walked out together, the Master heading out first, swearing quietly under his breath. “Fucking idiots.”

~ 

Chanyeol stalked along the forest, not realising the others weren’t far behind.

He had pastel pink hair with shaved sides. He wore a thinly striped green on white shirt, covered by a long black overcoat. A scar on the side of his temple was visible, from a fight not long ago, and another over his nose. Pale blue eyes kept a close eye between the trees.

“Should we catch up?” Kai asked, from the following Wolves.

Said wolf looked almost tired, from his red eye makeup, the corner of his lips scarred and bleeding from where he had picked it mindlessly. He had sea green hair, and wore a cropped yellow jacket with thick black collar. His pants were long, black and shiny; too shiny for stealth.

“No. Not yet. I want to see something.” Chen replied, taking the lead of the others.

Much to their surprise, Chanyeol stood up upright. He was just within sight of the others, about 150m off, very much ahead.

The Wolves paused, a panic on a couple of their faces. What was happening?

“We meet… twice for the Wolves, once personally...” Chanyeol grinned. Another voice yelled back from the forest, but the Wolves couldn’t see where from, or what they looked like.

“Doesn’t sound bad… but we should be prepared for anything.” Chen murmured, before walking ahead and motioning for the others to follow.

They found a purchase some fifty metres away, crouching low to stay hidden, especially with their colourful clothing. Usually they wore just black for missions, but this was different.

This was akin to a boss fight, much like some of the video games they used to play in their free time. Much like their third-person-shooter game where the protagonists fight against a robot, and the villainous mastermind behind it, patting his cat. It was one of their favourite pastimes.

But now, things were real. And they couldn’t be careless. 

They couldn’t think too little of the Sheep, per the Master’s request, as circumstances may have given them more power, somehow. But all in all, the Wolves were sure they had the upper hand.

 Chanyeol chuckled at whoever was in front of them. A black leather jacket was shown, and a blond guy holding a pistol in Chanyeol’s direction.

“I don’t know what your kind did to him…” The man spat out, “But none of you will get away with it.”

Chen chuckled, “You hear that? They think they know anything.” Laughter replied back at him.

They stalked forward, intending to meet with the tallest member to back him up.

“You got the wrong guy,” Chanyeol laughed, “If you don’t know what happened, how can you know who to blame, huh?”

~

Winwin snapped at Chanyeol, running at him to kick the Wolf, but he was blocked and swung aside, falling onto the forest floor.

Winwin had been upfront, and Xiaojun at his side, taking the role of the main man. 

Ten started to ready himself to run, but Xiaojun stopped him. “Wait…”

Everyone stilled, except for Winwin who stood up and went back to aiming his gun to the pink haired boy’s head. “I could blow your brains out in a second if I wanted to.”

“Oh, I’m sure you could.” The Wolf replied, a wicked look in his eyes. “I’m assuming you’re ready to fight then? And, uh, last time we checked, there were eight of you.”

Most of the Sheep were there, Hendery had stayed behind with Lay.

“Yeah, well, we only need six of us to kick your ass.” Ten called out, grinning victoriously.

Kun and Ten cheered and high fived each other with exuberance.

Chanyeol laughed, “Well, you need me to give the word, don’t you?”

“Shut the fuck up.” Winwin replied, stepping even closer and grabbing him by his collar, pointing his pistol right at his skull.

Chanyeol smiled, and tilted his head back, Winwin’s gun staying against his forehead, “At least don’t get blood on my clothes. This shit is Gucci.”

Winwin switched the safety off, snarling.

“Don’t touch him!” Came a voice.

The Sheep turned to see the other Wolves coming up, Winwin pulling his pistol away, the anger fading off his face.

“So, you all came anyway, huh? Didn’t need Daddy Wolf’s permission?” Winwin talked back to them, a look of contempt on his face. “None of you look important enough to call the shots.”

The rest of the Sheep raised their weapons, to which the Wolves slowly raised their hands, their own weapons between their fingers.

“Six against six, huh?” Winwin called out, after silently counting them all.

“Actually, no.”

The Wolves all spun around, opening up a pathway for a single man in the middle, staring at the Sheep with cat-like eyes.

“Master, you’re here…!”

The Wolf chuckled, ignoring the others. He gave them the silent treatment as he walked to the front of them, Kyungsoo close behind him, standing to the side once the leader stopped.

The Wolf master had his torso completely exposed, a cropped green jacket, with red sleeves and collar sat loosely on his body, his lower half covered by long loose pants, with mixed waking and waning moon crescents all along it.

“I’m the leader… but as one of your old boys might remember.. I’m Minseok.” He grinned.

None of the Sheep reacted, except Yangyang, who seemed to catch on to his hinting.

“So you’re the one that fucked my brother up, then?”

He raised his own gun, sleek and black, new. He had his thumb on the safety.

His eyebrows furrowed, the look on his face was full of anger, mixing with confusion.

Guilt still ran through the pit of his stomach and threatened to give him a headache.

Minseok chuckled again, “Well, you could say that…”

Yangyang thought back to his past again, this time, in the recent days of the Sheep.

After they had formed the Sheep, Lay and Yangyang wanted something special. They never wanted to be seen as Leaders to be feared into faux respect.

They worked on letting the others respect them and look up to them. Lay, as the oldest and most mature member, protected the others the most, though he had been continuously proud of how the others had each other’s backs, especially on missions and fighting with other groups.

And so, the Zhang brothers, taking their Liu family name out of their lives, wanted something to show off their ranking within the group.

So they had given themselves the honour of keeping beautiful women within their base.

Thankfully, being in a gorgeous apartment house, usually just called a ‘room’ for it’s four walls, lay these intricate, expensive set-ups to keep these ladies comfortable.

Whereas Yangyang had found his perfect lady, finding her from a kidnapping (within her own family line) and working for money at his old nightclub, Lay hadn’t found his own companion.

Only now, with his pistol pointed to whom he suspected had messed with his brother’s past, Yangyang realised something… 

Lay hadn’t been able to keep any of his women for more than a day. He had been between all kinds of partners, and left them astray the next day, back to their real lives. No ties afterwards.

Then, six months later, he gave up. This lasted for two years and up until now. Lay had been, for all intents and purposes, celibate. 

And in fact, this counted to him not leaving the house lately either.

So maybe his past had been affecting him this whole time, even before he came face-to-face with the ‘Chen’ Wolf member.

It seemed like a hint. But he couldn’t figure it out just yet, so he had to focus back to the present.

Kun had been silent until now, with Lucas beside him and staring down at his gadgets.

“Incoming.” Lucas whispered, and that all Kun needed before he smiled, not looking away from the Wolves.

“Time for the fun to begin.” He murmured, before walking closer, catching the Wolves’ attention.

“So, which of you fucks wants to own up? Either way we’re fighting, and we’re gonna win, but it might be a little fun if we’re doing it out of revenge. Don’t you think?”

Minseok stared straight at him, lowering his head only slightly to stare up at him.

“It’s only fun if we had the pretty boy with us. Helps me to… visualise the past, per se.”

“Yeah, well we’re not dumb enough to let you see him again.” Kun hissed, “I don’t think you deserve that right. Seeing one of you once is sickening enough.”

Minseok smirked and looked to the ground, before rolling his neck around, cracking his bones.

“You’ll soon see we have the strongest men. It’s eight against six now. What are the odds?”

“Oh, I think you’ll see, they’re more than in our favour.” Kun chuckled, raising his hand upwards.

He pointed a finger to the sky, and gauged for the Wolves’ reactions. All but Minseok; confusion.

“You’ve just walked into an ambush.” 

Chapter Text

The Wolves all widened their eyes, some panicking and looking around, bumping into the Master, who simply stayed still, staring at Kun, before glancing slightly to the left of them.

Men were approaching them, camouflage painted over their faces, all armed with pistols.

“How many of them?” Someone called out, a shuffle of bodies and panic ringing out.

Baekhyun, a silver haired boy, hid behind the Master and peeked out. “Shit, we’re outnumbered. I see seven of them! There could be more. Look, there’s another one!”

“Fuck. Run!”

“Run!”

Baekhyun’s lip ring and face chain nearly caught on the Master’s jacket as he started to run, scrambling to get ahead of the other Wolves. His side ponytail bounced as he ran, his shiny leather jacket flashing under the sun as he sprinted, much like his black squeaky pants.

The Master cocked his head, before turning to watch the others run away.

He turned back to see the Sheep closing in, and he calmly started walking backwards slowly, before running off as well, which led to the allied teams sprinting behind them, a chorus of screams and singing as they ran between the trees, adrenaline pumping in their hearts.

It had finally come, the big fight.

Wolves vs Sheep.

With some help, of course.

With six of the Sheep running, and a total of eleven allies running with them, they were a force to be reckoned with, and they purposely ran just slow enough so the Wolves could get close to their base.

Xiaojun sprinted past as soon as they were outside, and proceeded to kick the back of a Wolf’s knee, making them fall forward and smack their face into the base of the tree, the one holding their treehouse high in the air.

Kai, who rolled into a sitting position, looked up to Xiaojun with a bloodied, nearly broken nose, rolled just out of the way of his boot, and tried to stand before Xiaojun spun swiftly and tackled him down the ground, before sitting on him and punching him in the jaw over and over again.

Xiumin was grabbed from behind, spun around and had a fist slam into his chest.

Yangyang was pissed, and he was focusing on the leader only, not caring for the other members. Xiumin stumbled backwards, holding his chest, but growled and jumped at the youngest, dodging a punch from the side.

Xiumin followed through with a punch into Yangyang’s own chest, then swiftly kicked his leg out to trip Yangyang onto the forest floor.

Xiumin jumped on top of him, grinning down at the youngest. Once he had the youngest pinned, he grinned and leaned down close, “You really wanna know what I did to your brother?”

“Fuck you!” Yangyang hissed, pushing the leader off and rolling on top, “You’re fucking evil!”

Xiumin didn’t seem phased as he was on his back, “Well, what if I told you I wasn’t the only one?”

Yangyang let go of his wrist to swipe a hand over the Master’s cheek, hissing and grabbing the wrist reaching for him, and dug his nails into his wrist.

“What the fuck do you mean by that?” He hissed, “We know there were at least two of you!”

Xiumin gasped, stretching out his mouth, before grinning again, “We all got to… have a taste.”

Yangyang screamed at him, throwing punch after punch into him, with Xiumin blocking some of them while laughing wickedly.

He got the youngest off guard and threw him off again, before standing up, blood trickling slowly down his arm. He grabbed for his gun and pointed it at the youngest.

“But nothing’s going to kill him more than seeing his lifeless little brother outside his rival’s base.” He laughed, “Now come on, make sure your death pose looks pretty.”

Off to the side, Ten and Winwin had joined forces in taking down Sehun and Kyungsoo, the two who had tried to head to Xiumin’s defence when he was knocked to the ground.

The two Sheep made sure they failed as Ten held them back, letting Winwin roundhouse kick Sehun unconscious onto the ground.

Winwin then followed through with the other, swinging a low kick into Kyungsoo’s crotch, seeing the Wolf cry out and fall onto his knees, before Ten backed off for Winwin to kick the Wolf square in the forehead and knock him to the ground.

By now, the Butterflies had caught up, now catching the Wolves trying to hide back in the base.

The Butterflies were a trusted ally of the Sheep, of course, being the ones to care for Lay and Yangyang back in their escaping days into Korea.

Originally they had been two separate unnamed groups of friends, trying to live on the streets as homeless men, until one of them heard of a reward for taking down a rival group, the Coyotes. Allying with another homeless group the next district over, they all ganged up and used all their street smarts to take down the enemy.

With the reward money, the groups decided to pair up, split the money, and made themselves to be a once-casual group, sticking together in times of need. With eleven members, it was hard to not be intimidated when other groups had seven at the most.

But now, having been called on by the Sheep, having heard about Lay’s trauma, they had come with no quarrels, eager for the fight.

Keonhee, the leader of the Butterflies, had sprinted past to knock out 3 of the Wolves at once with the side of his rifle at the entrance to the treehouse, before calling out to the others to split up, “District 1 - Oneus, here! District 2 - Onewe, go after the stragglers!”

A roar of yelling replied, the groups cutting into a half as they went after the rivals.

Keonhee high fived Hwanwoong as he went past to fly a punch with his free hand into Chanyeol’s face.

Keonhee ran back out, seeing Yangyang on the ground. He came up behind Xiumin and put him in a headlock, with Yangyang swiftly reaching his foot up to kick the pistol out of his hand.

Yangyang jumped to his feet, raising his fist and throwing it into Xiumin’s jaw.

Keonhee released the Master as he fell to the grassy floor like a ragdoll.

“Hey,” Keonhee said, “We went past your brother. We think he’s coming in. Meet him halfway. We’ll take it from here.”

Yangyang nodded, “Thank you.” He replied, before sprinting back towards camp. He turned around after a moment and cupped his hands around his mouth “Keep him alive! Tie him up!”

Keonhee raised his hands in understanding, making a butterfly with the base of his palms together and crossed thumbs, before ushering him off with a wave of his hand.

As he watched Yangyang run, he heard something behind him and swung his arm around to find a Wolf running into his elbow, falling down and crying out, before reaching out to Keonhee’s legs to trip him over, with Keonhee kicking him under his chin as he tried to crawl over him.

Baekhyun growled as he fell back.

“Keonhee, are we killing them?” A Butterfly called out to him, currently holding a Wolf hostage in his arms. Dongmyeong looked worried.

Keonhee laughed, getting to his knees to punch Baekhyun back onto the ground.

“No, we need them alive!”

“Oh, okay.” Dongmyeong replied, before throwing Suho against the tree and hearing the smack of skin against wood, before he collapsed.

~

Yangyang saw his brother as he rushed to meet him.

“Lay!” he called out, seeing Hendery come out from behind him, both of them racing between the trees towards him… or the base.

“Yangyang! What are you doing?” Lay screamed out, Hendery panting behind him as he tried to catch up.

Yangyang finally caught up with them, forcing Lay to slow down.

“What- what happened to your shirt?” Yangyang asked, worried as his brother was bare from his pants up.

Hendery caught up, doubling over as he panted breathlessly.

“Hendery? What’s up?”

“Your brother….” The boy gasped, “Wants to fight… he thinks… they’re all involved.”

“Oh, they are.” Yangyang confirmed, almost forlornly, before looking up to meet his brother’s gaze. He could read the pain in his eyes, the fire of revenge, the need for answers.

“Brother…” Yangyang murmured, “Don’t do this to yourself.”

Lay wasn’t as exhausted as his fellow Sheep member, but still let out a hard exhale before answering.

“I need to. I can’t hide from them forever.”

Then Lay smiled as he ruffled Yangyang’s hair, “And I can’t hide from you either.”

Yangyang also smiled a little, hope rising inside him.

“And… about your shirt?” He asked.

Hendery stood up straight, finally. “It was getting too hot for him. He may or may not have done it out of anger before sprinting off without me.” Lay proceeded to glare at him.

Yangyang shook his head, “Listen, we’re winning at the moment. So, let’s get there ASAP.”

Lay huffed, clearly anxious. “Let’s go.”

Chapter Text

By the time the three had come back, there was no-one outside the base, just occasional splatters of blood and an abandoned jacket.

“Well shit..” Hendery spoke, before a noise made them all look up.

The treehouse entrance opened, Butterfly member Geonhak looking out. “Oh hey, you’re just in time. Come in.”

The three were puzzled, the younger two even more so as Lay stepped ahead of them and headed inside, Yangyang following right behind and Hendery taking a moment to catch his breath before walking last in a row.

Geonhak nodded at Lay as he walked inside, “Long time, no see, sir.”

Lay smiled, playfully punching his shoulder. “Guessing I owe you guys twice now.”

Geonhak laughed, “Don’t worry about it. This is the most fun we’ve had in years.”

The doors closed behind them, before pushing out and camouflaging with the tree base.

The in-built elevator raised up, taking the four men up to the base floor.

Before the opposite doors opened, the others could hear pained groans, the doors finally parting to see one of the Wolves, Chen, getting a punch to the side of his face, his arms tied behind him as he fell onto another Wolves’ lap with a cry.

“I said, keep your mouth shut!” Hwanwoong, another Butterfly, hissed at the Wolf.

“Attack someone your own size, short ass!” Xiumin called from a chair in the middle of the room, snarling at the short ally.

“Shut your mouth, fuckstick.” Hwanwoong replied, without turning around. “You’ll be dealt with shortly.”

Xiumin huffed, struggling in his chair. His legs were restrained with rope to the chair, his hands tied behind him with the ropes around his waist and up around his shoulders, his abdomen mostly exposed, where blood and dirt had collected, bruises forming from punches newer to Yangyang.

Xiumin saw the newcomers and looked at them, his look of anger subsiding as he licked his lip.

“Oh, look who’s here.” He murmured, sensually. “I never thought I’d get to see you again.”

Lay grit his teeth, taking a stance before running at Xiumin and stopping just before him, ripping his knife out of his belt and holding it under Xiumin’s neck.

Yangyang was frozen in surprise, watching his older brother suddenly so brave.

“Oh god…” he whispered, as others started to take notice, Ten moving in to catch up with Lay, standing behind protectively.

Xiumin looked up to Lay with that shit-eating grin, “Go on, then. Kill me. You weren’t strong back then, and you sure as fuck can’t stand up to me now.”

Lay hesitated, but the anger flared in his eyes like nothing else mattered. “Says the man tied up, for once. No longer in control.”

Xiumin dropped his head, amused. “And you still think I’m not in control… you know how much power I have. You just don’t want to admit it. Even sitting here, I can break you down to nothing.”

“Lay-” Ten whispered behind him, “He’s messing with you. Don’t let him get to your head again.”

Xiumin glanced at Ten, “Why don’t you let your strong, independent leader handle this? Hm?”

Ten raised his arm as if to hit him, but Xiumin scrunched his nose up tauntingly.

Ten stepped back. He was right, it was Lay’s territory now. And this was how he was going to come to terms with his past.

Yangyang stayed where he was, every inch of him flaring up, in protective mode, his fists clenched and his leg muscles twitching, as if ready to run at any moment.

Then Lay stood up and stepped back, his body was shaking.

Ten raised his hands as if to reach out to him, but knew better than to touch him.

“Winwin..” Lay said, simply and blankly, before walking towards the wall and leaning against the wood, breathing deeply.

Winwin walked up instantly, anger furrowing on his eyebrows already.

“Well, I guess I’ll take it from here.”

Minseok gave a curt nod, though it was anything but respectful. “I guess we’re not dead yet since you need us…”

Winwin huffed, scratching the bottom of his chin with the butt of his gun. “You’re right. We need you to admit what you did to Lay. And then, maybe, we’ll let you go.”

“Of course.” Minseok smiled, not reaching his eyes. “Because he won’t tell you himself, right?”

“That’s a lie.” Hendery walked forwards.

Lay didn’t look up, just kept his arms crossed and closed his eyes.

“I figured it out. We got the basic idea of what you did to him.”

“We do?” Yangyang cried out, walking towards the other member, “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“We didn’t have time.” He pouted, "This was right before we caught up with you.”

Hendery looked over to Lay, waiting a moment. As if knowing, Lay looked up to him, hurt in his eyes. He nodded slowly before looking back to the ground.

Hendery turned to Xiumin, walking forward.

“I’d like to speak to the court.” He said out loud, causing a murmur between everyone.

“Don’t tell them anything!” Chen cried out, making Hwanwoong grip the pistol harder in his hand and smack him across the other side of the face. “I said, shut it, Madonna!”

Hendery grinned to himself, before turning back to a serious expression.

“The term, ‘Alpha Mother’ is something you previously used to call Lay. Am I wrong?”

Xiumin poked his tongue into his cheek, “Well, you’re definitely brains over beauty…”

“Those two words were the only thing Lay could tell me, but it was enough.”

Yangyang looked over to his brother, seeing him almost relaxing at the story. Like, it was coming off his chest. Yangyang’s own swelled with a growing pride, keeping a close eye on him.

“I googled the term, of course. And this was something that came up:” Hendery coughed.

“ These two animals are dominant over all the other wolves in the pack. The alpha male and female are the only wolves that breed and produce pups in the pack, and they also get to eat first at kills .”

A couple of people seemed to gasp, as if a piece had clicked together for them, but not for everyone.

Yangyang spoke up, “What.. does that mean?”

Hendery coughed, glancing over to Lay again, before nodding.

“It means… Lay was sexually abused by the Master-slash “Alpha” for a long time, and it may have started back when he was in the war under his alias.”

Yangyang was the first to react, running to his brother instead of the smirking Master watching him, and stopped before Lay, looking up at him with worried eyes.

“Lay, I’m so sorry… I should’ve known…” He started, feeling the words choke a little in his throat.

Lay sighed, “It’s okay, I didn’t want you to know… Not until now.”

Minseok giggled, “And not just by me.”

Everyone’s attention was back on him, even the Butterflies who had guns raised to the wolves, threatening them not to move.

“You’re sick.” Cya said, one of the allies. Then turned back to all the Wolves, “All of you make me sick.” He gasped, then spat on them.

Winwin swallowed thickly, “You wanna explain it then? Go on, since you seem so excited to share with the class.”

Minseok didn’t hesitate, “You could say the pups got to have a go too.”

Some of the Wolves laughed to themselves, as if proud of themselves. It made the Sheep sick to their stomach.

“So, if you want to know, in delicious detail… I might as well tell. I think our pretty Mother would like to remember the details.”

Lay gagged in reply, feeling physically sick at the horrible name, but he didn’t try to stop him.

“You need to hear this too… Don’t worry about me.” He gasped. Yangyang pursed his lips in worry but stayed where he was, hands ready to catch his brother if it got too much.

Minseok started, as if on cue. “Lay was my lover. During his enlistment, we had grown attracted to each other. I wasn’t subtle with my intentions and he fell in love with me.”

He chuckled to himself, “But it was innocent, and almost beautiful.”

Winwin grunted, “Get on with it.”

Minseok bit his lip, “But that was before the incident. He played the Korean citizen so well, almost too well. But in the heat of the moment- yes we were fucking- he swore. In Chinese.”

Yangyang flinched.

“And you know how us Koreans like to fetishize the Chinese. Well... I had quite the taste for it. But I wasn’t greedy , no no. I promised I’d keep it a secret, but I let my friends know-” He cocked his head to the row of tied up Wolves, all watching their Master with mixed expressions.

“I let them know where my pretty boy was. At first, Lay seemed to like the extra attention. But then, we didn’t stop when he had enough. We boys, we like our fill. And being in the army, we couldn’t get enough of having a little toy all to ourselves.”

Minseok grinned, as if remembering the memory fondly. “So, you could say, by the time the two years was up, with only having owned his body for only two months of it, we weren’t quite done with him. We didn’t want to come back home. We took him away, hid from the helicopter. We made our own way back to Korea, set up base… and we used him how we wished. We bred him so much, he could have been pregnant so many times over if he could…”

He looked over to Lay, looking over his bare chest and licked his lip. “I do quite miss you on your back.”

Lay made a move as if he wanted to run- whether towards the Master or in the opposite direction, even he couldn’t tell. He just felt nauseous and filthy.

He let out a deep breath, filled with the memories, while also feeling like a weight was coming off his shoulders, the secret out of him, out for the Sheep and Butterflies to hear.

Yangyang and Hendery seemed to turn to the Sheep leader at the same time.

“Lay,-” Yangyang started, with Hendery finishing the question on everyone’s minds-

“Lay, can you confirm all of this?”

Lay raised his head, looking everyone in the eye who was standing, his allies, the ones he called family, and finally on his biologically related sibling, and nodded solemnly.

“That’s exactly what happened.”

There was tension in the air, and Lay cleared his throat before finishing.

“I managed to escape from them, about eleven months later. I can’t remember what happened exactly, but… I ran, as fast I could. Everything was a blur, I’m pretty sure I drank the entire weekend away before I finally reached home. Yangyang had found me on the lawn, worse for wear. That was the first thing I remembered, looking up and seeing the look in his eyes.

The first look of genuine care I had seen in years, and it made my heart ache.”

Yangyang wanted to stop him, seeing Lay trying to keep it together while explaining his side.

“I didn’t tell you, or anyone…” The oldest continued, referring towards Yangyang, “I didn’t want you seeing me any differently. I wanted my life to go back to normal… But of course, that never happened, but I thought I could still put it behind me… Until I saw him.”

He didn’t say a name or pointed, but the Sheep knew.

Hendery caught the eyes of the allies and motioned lazily towards Chen, who was now sporting a bloodied scar on both sides of his face. He didn’t move, just watched everyone intensely from where he sat, frowning.

“Him?” Hwanwoong asked, which turned the attention back on him and the Wolf at his feet.

Hendery nodded. “So, if you want to shoot him now, I don’t think anyone here-”

“Well I mind!’ Minseok interrupted, but Hendery ignored him and continued.

“-I don’t think anyone that matters will have an issue with that.”

“Fuck you!” Chen cried out, and Hwanwoong raised his pistol again to smack him, but just grinned and switched off his safety instead, the sound loud in the silence of the base.

“I think I should put my money where your mouth is…” Hwanwoong murmured, before moving the weapon into the Wolf’s mouth, seeing Chen’s eyes widen, “And I did spend a lot on this gun.”

“Hmpth!” Chen called back, and Hwanwoong just huffed in amusement.

“Seeya.” He simply said, before pulling the trigger.

Chapter Text

Everyone looked away at the bang, not out of disgust, but to avoid seeing the aftermath.

Hwanwoong hummed as shuffling noises were heard, before he stood up and chuckled to himself. “It’s a pity, he did look prettier alive.”

Those that looked over saw Chen’s red jacket over his face, saving the view of his dead body.

Hwanwoong huffed as he looked over his gun, “And now I have to deep clean my baby when I get back. Gross.” He wiped his gun across his uniform and turned back around.

Minseok didn’t say a word, just stared at the lifeless Wolf’s form with a sadness in his eyes.

“Even he didn’t deserve that, you assholes.” He finally whispered.

“Well, honey bun.” Winwin replied, snark thick in his voice.  “We don’t all get that freedom, do we? Don’t fuck with the flock, and you won’t get fucked up yourself. He got off easy compared to what we’re considering doing to you.”

Minseok grinned, “Yeah?”

“Are you that turned on by power, you’d let us shoot your other members before giving in?”

Minseok’s grin faded for a moment, looking away and chewing the inside of his cheek.

“What do I have to give in to anyway? You have me restrained, and my boys. What is left of you to do with me? You’ve gotten the truth out of me… And, we’re outnumbered.”

“Yeah well, you know all about outnumbering, don’t you?” Winwin stepped back, clicking his safety back on and holstering it, crossing his arms.

Hendery shrugged, “Well I don’t think any of this was how we originally planned. But I think… at least one of us has a plan.”

“Yeah, me.” Xiaojun spoke up, from where he was hiding on the opposite side of the base. He walked up towards the middle of the room, leaning on the chair the Wolf leader was tied up on.

Minseok looked up at him with disgust.

“I say,” Xiaojun started calmly, “We start with letting our guest here, getting a first row view into his comrades getting a point-blank shot in the face, let it sink in, and then we take it out on him as we wish.”

Someone retched in reply and Xiaojun raised his eyebrows worryingly, “Wait, I meant by violence. I did not mean sexual abuse… Lay doesn’t need to see that.”

“Thank you.” Lay whispered, almost too quiet for anyone to hear. He made no other comment to Xiaojun’s suggestion, his expression unreadable for any opinion on the matter.

“Any chance we can let them rot in jail?”

Hendery shook his head, “That would get us tied up in the mess. I say we sort this out here and now. Above all else, it all comes down to what Lay thinks we should do for him to get the best closure.”

A unanimous hum rang around the room.

Lucas was sitting down, keeping to himself and watching out for signals. Still, he stayed silent. He was never the one for voting, which the Sheep knew too well.

“Any other ideas?” Hendery called.

Out of the eleven allied members, no-one said a word for the following twenty long seconds that followed.

“Well, if no-one else has ideas… I say we go with Xiaojun’s idea. Shoot ‘em all.”

“No, wait-!” Minseok cried out.

Keonhee nodded, signalling his men to line up in front of the seven wolves. The ten others stood forward, pairing up randomly.

“Go for the skull. Point blank. Hold until I say so.”

Lay raised his head, a strange look in his eyes. Yangyang went to speak but couldn’t come out with the words, following the taller as he walked over to the Butterflies silently.

“Make- make way!”; was all Yangyang could let out, the Butterflies moving apart and letting Lay take a spot between them. He was silent for a moment, in deep thought.

Finally, he took a deep breath and looked up, into the eyes of the Wolves.

His chest tightened instinctively, but was surprised when the sneers they had been so comfortable with expressing, was now replaced by fear, some staring down the barrels of the guns pointing at them, others looking up to Lay. A couple of them were silently begging for mercy.

Lay was finding it hard to talk, staring into the eyes of his abusers.

But he was able to smile at that moment.

“It’s nice seeing you again. For the last time.” 

He stepped back and turned around, the butterflies leaving the gap open for the Wolves to view in terror.

“Give the word.” Lay called, which triggered Keonhee’s war cry.

A ring of gunshots sounded throughout the base, Lay flinching at the echoed noise.

The silence after was deafening.

Then, soft sobs from Minseok, unable to look away from the bloodbath.

“You bastards…” He whispered. “You absolute, fucking bastards.”

Hendery nodded, “I’ll take it from here.”

Lay looked up to him, tears in his eyes. But he was happier, wearing a genuine smile. “They’re gone, aren’t they?”

“Saved the best for last.” Keonhee replied, cocking his head to the leader.

Lay turned his head to Minseok, who no longer smirked when making eye contact with him, instead his tears streaked down to his mouth, curled up in a growl.

“I shouldn’t have let you escape all those years back.” He hissed, “Fuck you and your boys. If I ever come out of this alive, I’ll never forgive you. I’ll chase all your men down single-handedly.”

Lay seemed to laugh softly, “Oh, I’m counting on it. Because I’m too far gone to forgive you.”

Minseok turned away, he didn’t bother struggling in the ropes anymore. His body slumped, as if giving up hope completely.

“So, what’s the call?” Winwin asked, “Do we kill him too, spare him, drag him somewhere and let him rot?”

Hendery hummed. “So many choices. So little that he’ll like.”

Minseok, for once, didn’t have a come-back. He sat there silently, staring at the floor to the right of him, not looking anyone in the eyes.

Lay was thinking. Hard.

After all, it was up to him to call the shots.

As soon as he had made his choice, Xiaojun called out, interrupting his thoughts; “There’s something you guys gotta see.”

Lay replied, raising his voice to be heard “Go on without me. Keonhee, stay with me.”

~

Xiaojun had found a lever. At first, he was curious to check out the base again, but something had caught his eye. An album.

The beginning was of course the Wolves in the army, and Xiaojun quickly skipped to the end once he had seen the horrible photos of Lay… only to see a new person on the back.

Xiaojun quickly pulled the lever, beckoning everyone to hurriedly follow him.

The Sheep and Butterflies all scattered down the stairs that opened up, leading into an open room, the right side were weapons… the left side being where the nightmare lay.

Someone was breathing heavily, strapped down to a table.

Xiaojun bolted to their side, without even thinking, starting to free them from the table.

Yangyang walked around the other side, taking in more of the view, his throat getting choked up at the sight.

Another male, bruised, scarred and filthy, nothing but the straps covering their body.

“Is this…” Yangyang started, as the Butterflies scurried around them and started unlatching the victim, “Is this what happened to Lay?”

“Don’t think about it.” Xiaojun barked, “Just help him! Quick!” 

Cries of pain were heard from the stranger, his skin red and raw, his arms lined in red indents where he was held down. He started crying softly, almost silently, as the allies worked with him.

Ten went to Xiaojun’s side, to help him off the table, holding his entire weight.

“Anyone? Find some clothes!”

More scrambling, someone finding a long coat for him, wrapping it over the unidentified man and gently moving the sleeves over his sensitive arms.

“We got you, we got you…” Ten assured, “We’re here to save you.”

Xiaojun was thankful he had found him, but silently appreciated himself as they headed back up the stairs, before barking back to the others “Look for anything you can worth taking back with us! Anything this man might own!”

Ten and Xiaojun stepped back onto the base floor, both seeing the sight in front of them.

At the same time, Lay looked up to them, seeing the third guy semi-conscious between them.

“Is that… another….?” He asked, barely getting the words out.

Xiaojun nodded, “Let’s go home.”

Lay nodded, making way for the others to walk past, glancing at Keonhee who was still staring at the Sheep stumbling through.

Lay looked back down to Minseok.

He was barely breathing, having had the chair knocked back flat, his head hitting the floor hard. He was now knocked out, unconscious and lying still.

Lay could see his handiwork, extra bruises and scars on Minseok’s exposed abdomen where he had taken his anger out on, including extra scars on his face, blood down the Wolf’s chin.

By all means, Lay had found closure that day.

He stood there, panting, holding his red knuckles and soothing them from the ache.

He had nothing to wipe the blood off his stomach, so he left it. At least he’d be reminded of what he’d done before he could shower back at the apartment.

With that, the Butterflies and Sheep all came to the surface, holding weapons and bits of identification, heading to the elevator and taking turns going down.

Finally, Keonhee tapped Lay’s shoulder and forced him to look away from the still form.

“We should go.” Keonhee smiled, “You did well today.”

Lay thanked him quietly, with a soft smile. “I think we all deserve a drink after today.”

Keonhee nodded, “Come on, I know a place we can all go.”

Chapter Text

Back at the Sheep apartment, the Sheep and Butterflies had all collected, showering in the two showers available in the rooms.

Hwanwoong came out first, drying his hair and meeting Xiaojun by the side of a bed.

“How is he?” Hwanwoong asked, kneeling beside him.

The stranger from before, now cleaner than before, was bandaged up and with a wet washcloth over his forehead as he lay in the bed. Under the duvet, he wore Xiaojun’s loosest clothes.

“He’s exhausted, and still can’t speak. I’ll try and offer more water when he awakens.”

Hwanwoong nodded, sighing. “Who do you think he is?”

Xiaojun searched a plastic bag beside him, “Well from what people collected around the room, he has a name.” He pulled the ID up into the Butterfly member’s view. It read ‘Cha Eunwoo’.

“No idea where he’s from, but we’re hoping to get him talking once he recovers more.”

“Hey,” Came another voice, and the other two turned to see Winwin approaching them.

He wore a fresh leather jacket, walking to the other side of the bed and sitting down on the duvet.

He looked over the man’s face, smiling softly. “Well he definitely looks better than when you found him.”

Xiaojun nodded, “How is everyone?”

“Everyone else is just glad it’s over. But about Lay… he’s just resting. I think this’ll be the first he'll sleep well in a long time.”

Xiaojun smiled softly “I’m glad.”

Winwin hummed, then looked to the stranger, his eyes widening. “Oh, he’s stirring!”

Eunwoo, the identified victim, started to awaken from his deep sleep.

He opened his eyes groggily, looking around the room. It took him a moment to take in the surroundings, staring up at the roof and down to the walls, regaining his breath and awareness.

Then he looked over to Winwin and stared for some moments.

Winwin offered a small smile, which made Eunwoo widen his own eyes.

He tried to speak, going to reach out, but was too weak to be able to do either, which led Xiaojun to send Hwanwoong off to get some water, and himself to help sit the man up, talking to him softly. “Hey, take it easy. We’re not going anywhere. There’s no rush.”

Eunwoo found it hard to look away from Winwin, but had to once the water came. 

He gratefully drank it, spluttering and finding it hard to swallow, but the small grunts that came from his mouth showed his gratefulness. It was cold and refreshing, and did some help soothing his throat.

He only drank about half a glass before he choked, coughing and trying to breathe. Winwin leant over and patted his back as Xiaojun gently grabbed the glass from Eunwoo’s shaky fingers.

“Don’t worry if you can’t speak… we can only imagine what you had to go through.”

Eunwoo glanced up at Xiaojun, pursing his lips in a kind of sadness. He nodded softly, before slumping back against the bed, and looking back at Winwin.

There was a look in his eyes, like he knew something, wanting to tell the Sheep member.

“His hands are too weak-” Winwin commented, still meeting the other’s gaze, “It’s a pity he can’t write what he wants to say.”

Xiaojun made a noise of surprise, “Why, you want to know about his-”

“No no, I think he knows me or something.” Winwin frowned a little in thought. “But if it’s what I think it is, it’s been years since I was last recognised for it.”

Eunwoo’s eyes lit up, grinning a little eagerly.

“Holy shit, you do recognise me?” Winwin asked, almost excitedly.

Eunwoo nodded, he couldn’t move his hands much without scrunching his face up, so Winwin tapped his hands back down to his lap reassuringly. “No wait, let me…”

He stood up, looking around. “Where’s my gun?”

Hwanwoong made a noise, “The fuck?”

“Just watch.” Xiaojun grinned.

Winwin sprinted out the room, the sound of someone yelling, then he came back, holding his pistol up. He quickly unloaded the bullets and put them into his pocket, then held the gun up and doubly checked the safety was on.

“Alright, pose one.” He grinned, raising his foot up as if he was leaning on something, his gun raised to the air, and his thumb and finger resting under his chin.

Eunwoo smiled slightly and nodded.

“Okay, pose 2.” 

He went to the side of the bed, crouched and rested one knee on the ground, holding his gun with two hands and with an eye raised, looking to the side.

Eunwoo gasped excitedly, nodding a little harder.

“And 3, see if you know this one.”

Xiaojun and Hwanwoong watched intently as Winwin moved into another position.

This time, Winwin sat on the side of the bed, on an angle so all three of the men could see. He crossed his left leg over his right, leant on one hand on the duvet, and had his gun close to his mouth, a more cheeky smirk on his face.

Eunwoo did the closest thing he could muster closest to a squeal and weakly clapped his hands.

“That’s the one!” Winwin cried out, pointing to Eunwoo. “You know me from that!”

Eunwoo nodded as hard as he could manage, definitely looking happier than he was earlier.

Hwanwoong cleared his throat softly, “What the fuck was that about?”

Xiaojun looked at Winwin in awe. “He used to be in action movies before he came here. Can’t believe THIS is how he finds a fan. They weren’t overly popular but, enough to get noticed.”

“Huh…” The Butterfly replied, then shrugged to himself. “I guess you can take a break now. Winwin seems happy to keep him company.”

“Hey, Winwin!” Xiaojun instantly called out, “You good to take over?”

Winwin nodded, smiling. “Go on ahead. You too.” He then said to the other man squatting beside the bed. “I think the others have plans.”

With that, the other two stood and bowed to the man in the bed before departing the room.

Once they had left, Winwin winked at Eunwoo. “Well, I think you’ll fit right in.”

Eunwoo tried to soften his smile, embarrassed, but he couldn’t. At this moment, it was almost like he had never gone through those horrible things. Winwin was pleased he could be of help.

He put his pistol on the nightstand before leaning back over the duvet and facing Eunwoo.

“So, I should explain some things. The people who saved you… well, that guy back there helping you, he found you. But the rest of us, the Sheep and the Butterflies, we brought you back.”

Winwin smiled to himself, “So uh, we’re like mafia groups. At this point, I don’t even know. We protect ourselves, other groups, and people like you who get dragged into other’s messes.”

Eunwoo raised his eyebrows as if understanding something, then he weakly raised his arms into the air. Winwin didn’t bother stopping him as he watched closely.

It was only when Eunwoo split his pointer and middle fingers and poked them to the side of his heads, did Winwin catch on.

“Oh, cat! You’re from the Cats?”

Eunwoo nodded, but then flinched from the pain shooting up his arms. Winwin chuckled and gently helped him lower his arms back down.

“We’ll find your guys then. They must be missing you.”

Eunwoo pursed his lips, this time in thought. Otherwise, he seemed content to finally be able to communicate a little. Winwin could tell there was something else, but this was progress enough.

Chapter Text

That night, some of the boys went out and bought drinks to share around, even Eunwoo being able to get up and share one with the boys. Some had sat around the table, others lounged over the sofa, and others against the walls or crossed legged in the middle of the room, laughing away as they talked away the night.

But it was days later that the group of twenty boys headed to a club they knew well.

The bouncers out the front were the two strongest of the Alligators.

“Hey,” Wonho smiled, “Nice to see you all back after so long.” He greeted the Sheep, letting them in, bowing at Eunwoo, then welcoming the Butterflies inside. Shownu smiled warmly.

“There’ll be a meeting, hope you don’t mind joining.” he murmured as they walked past.

It was a special day, the first time in a while Lay had been outside at dusk to party.

And for once, he felt calm being outside of the apartment. He could unwind and socialise.

Other groups like them were here too.

He could see Gorillas, Swans and even Turtles wandering around and partying. It was so rare he was seeing other groups. Even seeing one the Dogs made him smile.

He saw their leader and took a deep breath as they walked over to him.

“Hey,” Came the Dog leader’s soft voice. “So you came out of it alive.”

“Yeah.” Lay smiled. He was nervous, but the Dog seemed friendly at the moment.

Jungwoo gave a small smile, a little pitiful. “Listen, I heard about what happened. I’m sorry.”

Lay shrugged it off, “Things happen. And we got rid of ‘em, most of them.”

Jungwoo sighed, “Thank god. They’re so annoying. I know we had connections but they were so… god damn needy. And talked way too much.”

Lay laughed, relaxing a little. “So, I hope your guys can be cool with my boys now.”

Jungwoo laughed, sipping his drink. “Okay, now you’re pushing it.”

Winwin was almost hand-in-hand with Eunwoo as they walked inside.

“I can do the talking for you if you like. I know your throat is still a little croaky.”

“Thank you.” Eunwoo managed to whisper out. He started looking out for his guys, then tapping Eunwoo’s shoulder once he saw his tallest member. “There!”

Winwin held Eunwoo’s arm and shamelessly walked him through people before he reached the group of five, who smiled widely once they saw their last member. “Leader, you’re back!”

They all swarmed around him, pulling him away from Winwin and hugging him tightly.

“Holy shit, we had no idea what happened to you! We missed you! It’s been weeks!”

Winwin made a face in realisation. Well it was only a slightly better outcome than his own leader.

A couple of the members, Rocky and JinJin, looked up at Winwin over Eunwoo’s shoulder, giving him a questioning look.

Winwin mouthed at them ‘Give him time.’ and then curled his hands on either side of his head. “I’m a Sheep.”

They smiled, with JinJin’s free hand doing the cat ear back at him. ‘Thank you!’ 

Back at the Sheep, Lay had been called away for a Leader’s meeting to explain previous events, with Yangyang tagging along right behind.

“What we’re hoping is-” Xiaojun started, talking to the rest of the Sheep, “Is that we can all ally up. Since we saved a Cat member, that will get some groups on our side. And they have the Alligator members in there in case anything happens, so... I might take over at the front entrance.”

“Sure.” Kun answered, ushering him away. “Thank you for being the leader when the others couldn’t.” He grinned and smacked Xiaojun’s shoulder. “You should be in there too, y’know.”

Xiaojun shrugged, “It was nothing, really.” He tried not to smile at the compliment. “I know any of us could’ve done it.”

Kun just smiled down at the younger, “Well, go on then. Make us proud, war child.”

As Xiaojun walked away, Winwin was coming back over with a huge grin on his face. “You guys, Eunwoo knows my sister!”

“Woah, really?” Ten asked, “The one who was kidnapped?”

Winwin nodded, “So, apparently Eunwoo liked my movies so much, he found out who I was related to, and ended up tracking her down months ago. She’s in a mafia group like ours! And apparently, she could show up today!”

“You mean, you never kept in contact with her?”

Winwin scratched the back of his neck, “I thought, if people were stalking me, they would find her again. I mean… It's the whole reason the Dogs kicked me out, right? They didn’t want to get tracked down through me… again. And anyway, I thought hiding would help me too but then you guys found me.”

“Yeah, cause you forgot hiding isn’t helpful when you have no income, you idiot.”

“Hey.”

Winwin spun around to the female voice, and screamed out in excitement when he saw he recognised her. He wrapped her in a huge hug.

“Sister! Holy shit, I missed you!”

Miyeon giggled as she hugged him back, “You big dork. I heard you found out about me so…” She pulled away, holding Winwin at arm length, “I thought, if anything like that was to happen again, I should learn to save myself instead of relying on my brother. So I’m with the Lions now.” She smiled. “You won’t have to worry about me anymore. Yuqi is keeping me safe.”

“Ah-” Winwin started, hugging her again. “I don’t say this enough, but I’m so proud of you.”

Ten tilted his head at the scene, “Reminds me of my family. I wouldn’t say it’s as exciting but, being born into a family of assassins…” He shrugged, “You could say I grew up on shooting games.” He laughed to himself, “It’s a pity I can’t use my sniper rifles enough.”

He was talking to himself more than anybody, as the Sheep walked past and headed to the bar.

Winwin finished hugging her and started talking with her excitedly, even as the music started up, getting the groups to dance and party together, as if nothing else mattered but the bass booming.

The pair headed towards the seats to catch up, sharing stories of taking down their enemies.

It was a night of re-connection.

Even Yuta approached Hendery, sitting beside him at the bar. “Hey, heard you guys took down the Wolves. Nice work.”

Hendery took a sip of his drink, unsure how to reply. “We did what we had to do.”

Yuta waved down the bartender to take his order. “I know we bicker a lot, but I respect you guys. Even with some help, you did some dirty work no-one else was willing to do.”

Taeyong tapped Yuta on the back before taking his seat next to his fellow Dog. “Hey, nerd. Tell Winwin we miss him.”

Hendery laughed, “Well, I think he’s fine with us.”

“Oh, I know. He’s a skilled guy. I think… we’re scared to admit we’re jealous he’s gone now.”

“Alright, alright…” Hendery waved away their comments, “Stop kissing our asses. Is there anything you want from us?”

“Not yet.” They smiled thoughtfully, a hint in their tone. 

Taeyong followed up with “Just let this be the only night you hear us speak highly of you. I think our Sheep-Dog relationship only works well on insults anyway.”

Eunwoo was trying to talk with his fellow cats, doing poses with finger guns like Winwin did, trying to explain his interactions with the ex-action star, when suddenly the stage lit up and the music was quietened down, all the Cats looking at the scene, the other groups following suit. The dance floor cheered as people walked on to the stage.

All the leaders lined up onstage:

Kino from the Gorillas.

Yuqi from the Lions.

Nayeon from the Turtles.

Jungwoo from the Dogs.

Jaemin from the Fireflies.

Seokjin from the Crows-slash-Swans.

Keonhee from the Butterflies.

And lastly, Lay from the Sheep.

Eunwoo wasn’t onstage, for obvious reasons. He was surrounded by his other Cats, feeling safe in their company, watching the stage with a content crinkle in his eyes.

Yangyang stood at the bottom of the stairs proudly, his hands clasped together as he watched his brother in adoration. Though he had his own moment to shine as leader, Yangyang was proud, more than ever, that his brother had gotten through this hard time, and came back as the same old Sheep leader the boys knew and loved, stronger than ever before.

Hyungwon, the leader of the Alligators, stood in the back, his headphones around his neck and hands clasped together as he lined up with the others.

Nayeon stepped forward with the microphone, clearing her throat.

“Thank you for coming tonight.” She smiled down at everyone, “We’ve come to the decision to ally together for the time being. Please be civil to each other. Protect each other like you would protect your own.” She bowed a little before standing up straight, “We would all personally like to thank the Sheep for bringing down the Wolves and bringing another member back. To them, the Cats are indebted.”

The Cats all cheered, all matching hand cat ears up to the stage. Eunwoo doing so, with more energy than the first time he made the symbol.

Nayeon passed the mic on to Seokjin, who smiled and looked out to the audience.

“As the leader of the Crows-”

“Swans!” Someone called from the audience.

“Shut up, Jimin.” Jin replied blankly before continuing, “We would like to thank you all again for coming here tonight. All I can say is, stay safe, keep an eye on the streets and protect each other. But for now, let’s get back to the music.”

And with that, he blew a kiss out to the audience as Hyungwon went back behind the DJ booth, a bright red ‘H.One’ painted on the front, and started up the music again. 

Soon enough, the dance floor was back to it’s partying mood.

Leaders walked off the stage, with Lay heading straight to Yangyang and dragging him back to the Sheep, finding only Ten where he had left him.

“Hey, how did it go?” Ten queried.

“Nerve-wracking, but it went well.” Lay grinned, “Where’s the others?”

“What do you mean?” Ten asked before looking around. “Ah, son of a bitch, they left me.” He sighed and turned back to Lay with a shrug, “But Xiaojun’s outside on bouncer duty.”

“Sweet, I’ll go talk to him.” Lay playfully smacked his arm, “Take Yangyang to the bar.”

“Sure thing.” Ten replied, seeing Lay walk away before looking at Yangyang. “Little Sheep, you’re coming with me. I’m getting you drunk.”

“I’d rather you not-” He started before he was yanked by his arm, “Ah!”

“Wasn’t a suggestion.” Ten stated, dragging him away.

Chapter Text

The cool air slapped Lay in the face when he opened the door.

Xiaojun glanced over at him and clicked his tongue. “How are you feeling?”

Lay shut the door behind him and leant against the railing with Xiaojun, crossing his arms too. “I’m fine. And yourself?”

Xiaojun took a moment to reply, looking out at the streetlights and smiling to himself.

“I’m doing better than I could ever hope.”

“Yeah?” Lay asked, leaning to face him, “I think you surprised everyone back there.”

Xiaojun covered his flustered grin with the back of his hand. “I didn’t expect it either...  but, I’m just-” He stood up, adjusting his jumper. “I’m just glad you got out of this okay. That’s what matters in the end. Cause I don’t think we’d have gotten this far without you.”

Lay smiled, “Thank you, Xiaojun.”

Xiaojun looked up to him, and then held his gaze for a moment too long. Lay let out an amused exhale, “What?”

“I, uh.. I think too much, but I don’t say a lot of it but… I’ve been thinking…”

Lay sighed, “Xiaojun…”

“I… we’ve both been in the army… and I- I don’t want to sound inappropriate.”

Lay gave him a look and Xiaojun shushed, his hands becoming still on either side of him.

“What do you want?” Lay asked.

“You’re… gay, right?”

Lay’s eyes widened and he looked away, which made Xiaojun panic and stumble over his words. “I didn’t mean it like that, but-”

Lay looked back over, and hummed in thought. “I’ve been with both men and women and others in-between. But, I can’t see myself becoming serious with anyone… at least not for a while.”

Xiaojun nodded, joining Lay leaning against the railing facing the dimly lit streets.

“Y’know…” He started, that shy tone in his voice again. “In the army, it’s not unlike guys to… get with each other. You have needs…”

Lay took a moment to digest that, before he looked back over with a confused expression. “What are you trying to say?”

Xiaojun went to speak, but then huffed out in frustration before holding his head in his hands.

“I haven’t been with a guy yet… but being in the army. I’ve always wanted to. And… when you found me and mentioned you had been in the army too… I started having thoughts.” 

Lay grinned, “Yeah, about me?”

Xiaojun got even more flustered and looked away. He didn’t reply but it was enough.

“So… turn around then.”

Xiaojun’s eyes widened in a panic as he turned back around.

Lay was facing him, waiting. Xiaojun stood up and matched him, looking at him with bated breath.

“I’m not promising anything but…” Lay tilted his head, “But I can trust you.”

“Ah, you can’t just do something like this because you trust me. That’s not-”

Lay grabbed the sides of his cheeks and pulled him closer, making Xiaojun trip over his words, his hands shaking as he met Lay’s gaze.

“You deserve at least one good gay experience before you die.” Lay grinned, before pulling Xiaojun closer to him.

Xiaojun slowly closed his eyes, instinctively letting himself move in with Lay’s movements, and ended up feeling soft lips press against his own. Xiaojun hummed into the kiss, a feeling of warmth enveloping his insides. He laughed into the kiss nervously, making them break apart, but Lay pulled him back for another, his grip on the younger a little harder, the embrace a little deeper than before, Xiaojun making a soft moan into his lips, surprising himself.

Xiaojun grabbed at Lay’s hips to pull him closer, feeling the warmth through his clothing contrasting against the bite of the breeze hitting their faces.

They pulled away, and Xiaojun gasped for breath, not letting go of Lay’s waist.

“Why did you kiss me again?” He asked.

Lay looked flustered too, “I guess… It’s me taking control of my body again.” He stroked his fingers into Xiaojun’s hair softly, “I think… I’ll get to like kissing boys again if they get as shy as you do around me.”

Xiaojun giggled and smiled up at him, “You deserve to find what you want in someone. Even if it’s for fun, even for when it’s serious.”

Lay kissed Xiaojun’s forehead, “Well, then maybe I can start having some fun with you...”

Like that, they held each for some time, standing out of the club, waiting for no-one to come in, and waiting for time to pass before people would want to leave.

And right now, neither of them wanted to leave each other’s side.