enhypen sunset series seven

note: "baby i'll fall in love again come every summer time."

soulmate!au

tw: none

- linden

You were at the same summer camp you attended every year since you were ten. Before that, when you were younger, you'd attended another camp where the counselors were teens your age. At this camp, all the counselors were adults well into their late twenties and early thirties. Essentially, the camp was a bunch of unruly preteens and teenagers crammed into little cabins and forced to do stupid activities. You loved it.

The first day was always slow. Your mom drove you the tiring four hours to camp and once you got there, you were given a room and bunk where you crashed until dinner. Or that was how it typically went. Now that you were older, the other kids your age in the cabin were buzzing with plans to meet in the woods after dinner. You lay in your bunk staring at the ceiling. Only the first day and they were already making plans? With a twinge, you remembered seeing the older kids when you were eleven or so sneaking out after dark, giggles and joy thick in the warm night air. What amused you as a kid was that all the counselors knew, it wasn't a secret that they were sneaking out and two of the counselors would stay awake sitting at the edge of the woods just in case. They would slip away when they heard the kids coming back and the kids would never know.

A girl who you've been friends with since your very first year at camp climbed halfway up the bunk bed ladder and tapped your leg, "Hey! You wanna come to the woods tonight?"

Your eyes widened slightly as you sat up, "Rose!" You smiled. She giggled and drew you into a hug, pressing a friendly kiss to your cheek, "So?" She asked. You smiled, "Yeah, of course, sounds fun!"

"It will be." She promised with a cheeky grin. She leaned in, "Also, I heard there's a new guy in camp and he's really cute, just your type. Make a move before anyone else does!" She lightly swung at your arm as you felt your face heat in embarrassment, "No, I can't! Too scary to talk to boys." You put your hands to your cheeks and shook your head. laughed, "Don't worry, I'm backing you up." She sang. You rolled your eyes but for all you tried, you couldn't hide your smile.

Rose had tried previous years in camp to set you up since she, in a three year relationship with her soulmate, was apparently an expert. You had refused all of her attempts although you appreciated it. She had come to learn though, what your type was, and you could tell just by her expression that she believed she would be successful this year. You didn't know why she tried, you were searching for your soulmate anyway, not just a random guy.

———

After dinner and after the counselors called lights out, pretty much your entire cabin got up and snuck into the woods. A group of boys were already there when you arrived and someone had started a cozy fire. You smiled at the white flickering heat of the flames and burst out into laughter when a friend of yours and Rose's, Ben, crushed her in a hug. He patted her back as she struggled to breathe and once she was released, he earned a smack at the back of the head. You knowing you were the next victim jumped in place and ran off into a corner of the campsite as you were chased and the kids began to mingle. You didn't get very far until he picked you up from behind.

You screeched as Ben squeezed you and let out a big breath when he plopped you down on a log beside a tall boy. You glared at him and he cracked a proud smile. Rose came up behind you then, gently tugging your hand, she whispered in your ear, "That's the boy." You glance sideways at the tall pale haired boy staring up into the sky. "Him?" You asked. Rose nodded and let go of your hand, retreating to chat with another girl from your cabin. The boy didn't seem to be very social. He was certainly attractive, what, with the pretty curve of his lips and the gentleness of his eyelashes as they brushed his cheeks.

The boy's gaze dropped from the sky to the fire. "You're staring." He said finally. Your heart nearly exploded as you took a shaky breath and snapped your gaze away, "No I wasn't." You stared down at your feet and toed at the dirt. It was a light shade of gray, almost like the pale tone of sand. When you kicked at it, a lick up dust rose up from your shoe. "Yes you were." The boy's voice, prominent and deep and soft and smooth. You felt your heart twist. You'd come across plenty of attractive people in your life but none of them were your soulmate and none of them ever bothered to speak to you. That was save for Rose and Ben.

You sighed at the feeling of his gaze on you, "What's your name?"

"My name is Riki but my nickname is Ni-ki."

Your skin seemed to be burning where his gaze lingered. Your ear, your cheek, the side of your neck, your shoulder. You heard him clear his throat, "Your name?"

"No nicknames." You said, "Just..." Your gaze drifted upwards and when you made eye contact with him you weren't sure if it was bad or good,
"Y/n." You said. The loud laughter and chatter around you faded away. Riki's face flushed with colours. Colours. Soft skin in the prettiest tone, dark little beauty marks on his chin and under his left eye. His cheeks flushed with pink and his lips so saturated and beautiful. You heard him take a sharp intake of breath, "You're my-"

"Soulmate." You finished. You were practically basking in the way his gaze roamed your features as if you were the most beautiful creature he'd seen in his life. His gaze dashed away and your world desaturated, falling back into the familiar tones of black gray and white. "No." You softly grabbed his chin and he allowed you to turn him back to face you, hungry for the blush of his face. You moved closer, breaths unsteady as you took it all in. Deep brown in his eyes, so dark it may as well be black. You understood the difference though, of black and brown. Black was that soft darkness you were familiar with. Brown was new, warm and deep. The colour of his eyes were what your mom described her morning coffee as. Dark but saturated with the pigmentation of life.

Riki's hand fell to your shoulder, shaking against your skin. His lips quivered as your eyes dropped to them, taking in the pretty pink flush. Your breath hitched, watching them form words as he spoke, "You're like a hungry animal."

"Maybe I am." You whispered. The urge to kiss him was so overwhelming and unprecedented that you dragged yourself away, slightly shaking as you steadied your breathing. Riki's hand moved from your shoulder gently to your back. Steady and warm. When you glanced up, you made eye contact with Rose, who grinned at you. She made some sort of motion that made it clear she was suggesting you and Riki go alone into the forest for privacy. Your skin heated up at the thought. Riki's hand slipped down your arm and to your own hand. You lightly squeezed his hand. The longer he held your hand, the more the world became tinged with loveliness.

After a minute or so, the flames of the campfire were so cast with reds and oranges and yellows and blues that you couldn't help but watch, so breathlessly. The reflections of the flames burned in your eyes. Riki followed your gaze and laughed under his breath. You spent the rest of the evening like that, making small talk with Riki and shamelessly admiring the flush of his cheeks and eating smores that Rose offered you, a bright laugh in her voice as she passed small comments about the two of you. One dirty comment from her made Riki nearly drop your hand and you smack her arm. She'd only exclaimed through a laugh, "I'm kidding! I'm kidding. You only met tonight, after all. But," She'd shrugged, "One night stands exist."

"Rose!"

"Kidding!"

———

It was well past midnight by the time someone dumped water on the fire and you all stumbled back to your cabins, yawning and with arms wrapped around each other. Your cabin was on the way to the other one, so you stopped Riki there, just off to the side. You tightened your grip on his hand, gaze helplessly drifting over his features, "Can I hug you?"

Riki nodded, a small smile spreading over his features. You grinned and drew him into a hug, your face pressed to his shoulder and his chin against the crown of your head. You felt the vibrations in his chest as he spoke, "I used to hate the ideas of soulmates." He mumbled, "I thought it was stupid." He laughed bitterly, "But you convinced me otherwise in a few hours."

"Isn't that what soulmates are for?" You pulled away. Riki furrowed his eyebrows, "For what?"

You smiled mysteriously, "You try and figure out. If you can't," You shrugged, "If you can't, come to me tomorrow by dinner, and maybe I'll tell you."

Riki stared after you, puzzled as you shut the cabin door behind yourself. He sighed and dragged himself after Ben, who was waiting and watching him in amusement.

———

You sat with Riki in the morning, eyes wide as you took in all the colours. He also glanced around, filled with wonder and curiosity. He gasped during breakfast as he poked the yolk of his egg, showing you the bright creamy yellow of it. You'd laughed and in turn showed him the purple smudge of blackberries on your fingers and lips. His gaze had lingered on your lips, a different kind of curiosity sparking in his gaze. Then he'd raked his gaze back to his plate, tracing the dark grooves in the table with his finger.

You felt like you were seeing the entire world anew. Almost like you were a newborn baby experiencing it all for the first time. Come dinner time, you'd already told Riki ten or so times that you wanted to see the sunset with him that night. As you sat there, squished between Rose and Riki, anticipation swirled in your belly, "What if we miss it?" You frowned.

"We can leave dinner early." Riki stuffed a bite of pale noodles in his mouth. You hummed in agreement before letting out a breath in remembrance, "Did you figure it out?" You asked him, "What I was saying last night?"

Ben watched with bright eyes, having witnessed the scene. Riki glanced at you thoughtfully, cringing slightly at his thoughts, "Well...I was going to say...loving?" He shook his head, mouth twisted in disgust. You chuckled softly at his expression, "No you're right. That's what I was going to say."

"You're so cringy." He mumbled. You laughed, "I'm making up for your lack of excitement."

———

Just as he'd suggested, you both left dinner early, creeping up a bright green hill of soft grass that faced the west. You took seats just beside each other, legs stretched out into the warmth of the sun. As the sun dipped lower into the sky, the world lit up in pinks and oranges and gold. Your breath hitched at the beauty. Riki grasped your hand, "This." He said, "This is what we live for."

"Yes." You agreed, "We live for the beauty of each other."

"And each other." He said softly. "We live for people."

You only nodded then, letting your head fall onto his shoulder. His sit breath stirred the hair resting across your forehead. As he first stars popped into the sky, Riki leaned his cheek against the crown of your head, "Let's watch the sunsets everyday together."

You didn't need to respond. You both sat with the only sound between you being your breathing, birdsong, and the swish of the breeze on the grass.

———

You did end up watching the sunsets everyday together, at least for the length of camp. Although you weren't sure what to do with your relationship at first, by the end of the month you were much closer than you'd been at the beginning. Everyday as you sat on that hill, you would whisper to each other, your words like a song, about yourselves, about your lives, and just over the course of a month, he became a piece of you.

On the very last day of camp, you stood with Riki by your side, all packed up and ready to go. Your mom was the first to arrive between you, Riki, Rose, and Ben. You bid goodbye to each of them, hesitating at Riki. You lingered in the hug, burying your face in his shoulder and taking deep breaths of his soft scent of soap and lavender. You didn't want to let go. You finally had to. When you did, Riki leaned to whisper in your ear, his face tinted a steady pink, "Can I kiss you?"

You heart hammered in your chest. "Yes." This time when he pressed you close to himself, you became focused on the erratic rhythm of his own heart. You smiled into the kiss, took a fistful of his shirt, mentally begged that you wouldn't have to let go. You let go. You pressed another chaste kiss to his lips as Rose grinned, and you were off. You didn't care that your lip tint was smudged, you didn't care that your mom had likely observed that scene from her car.

Every sunset after that reminded you of him, through the school year it carried you. The next year he was back at camp, but that was your last year at camp. You'd reached the age limit and of course, so had he. You'd both gotten accepted into different colleges. You watched every sunset that year at camp together. You promised to come back for each other after college, no matter where you ended up. In the years you waited to get out of school and reunite with your soulmate, you would stare longingly at the sky.

In the sunsets, you looked for him.