CHINGUX 2014: light a match, stand back, watch 'em explode (3/3) for kryaoi
← PART 2
The worst part of having a psychotic supervillain as an ex-friend is that he knows your scent well enough to know where you are at any given moment. He bumps into Pegasus on his way back to the dorms, takeout food in one hand and a ball of light in another. "I told you, man, you have to let go. I've moved on now," Baekhyun says, voice cracking as he drops the food to the ground. Chanyeol slips from the scene, calls reinforcements. Baekhyun lets him because he still has somewhere else to be and the faster they take Pegasus back to prison, the sooner he can feed Kyungsoo with juk.
"Got a date with someone?" Pegasus asks. He's lifted off the ground, grinning down at Baekhyun like Baekhyun's being short is the most amusing thing ever.
Baekhyun rubs his hands, clenches and unclenches his fists. His palm starts to glow. "Gotta take care of a sick boyfriend," he replies almost too easily.
"Angry leader or tiny guy?"
Baekhyun shakes his head. "We don't talk about height in these parts, Peggy." A tight clench of the fists, and he feels power surge up his arm. "You're really asking for it, aren't you?"
Pegasus cocks his head, grins. He never thought it was possible for someone else to have more teeth that Chanyeol. It's disconcerting.
He jumps, using the force of his beams to push himself off the ground. Pegasus flies farther away, though, dodging the balls of light Baekhyun throws at him with relative ease. "You've got to try harder! Flap your wings!" Pegasus calls out, and Baekhyun throws himself onto Pegasus before the beam that had pushed him off the ground reaches its limit. All too familiar, he feels a shiver run down his spine. The only difference is that Baekhyun knows how it feels to die now and then come back to life.
He clamps a hand on Pegasus' waist and sends a stream of light into Pegasus's system. Pegasus gasps, chokes, then kicks his feet in the air.
Pegasus attempts to shake him off, but he wraps his hands around the villain's neck tight. He focuses energy on his thumbs and presses on the base of Pegasus' throat. "You talk too much," he whispers, before they start falling to the ground. He can still feel the shift of Pegasus' muscles, so he can't be completely out yet. He snakes one hand up Pegasus' nape, presses his thumb just under his spine - just enough pressure to knock him out, but not leave him in a coma for more than a few days.
"So considerate," Pegasus mumbles. He spreads out his wings, feathers falling on Baekhyun's face. Baekhyun strains to keep his eyes on the other. "That's why you keep losing, Baekhyun. You'll never be able to bring me down-"
He hears the whoosh of the wind and grins. "That's what makes me different," he says. He hooks one leg around Pegasus and wraps both hands around Pegasus' body, keeping him from using his wings.
There's a good distance between them and the ground, about the height of three convenience stores, one on top of the other. Sehun's down there somewhere, unable to fly because of his back injury, but he trusts Sehun enough to not let them fall. If anything bad ever happens, Chanyeol can fly to where they are. If he isn't lucky then he can turn their bodies over so that Pegasus will receive the brunt force of the fall. Maybe then Pegasus will realize how awful it is to slam an ex-friend to the ground.
But instead, stone pillars rise from the ground and Jongin teleports to the last pillar, catching Baekhyun by the back of his shirt. Wind whips shoot up, wrapping around Pegasus' wrist. Pegasus groans and mumbles a last bye, hun before getting pulled down to the ground by Sehun to be punished a second time.
Back on the ground, Kyungsoo says, "So what part of 'take care' did you not understand?"
Baekhyun dusts himself off, grinning weakly as he takes the containers of juk he'd set down on the ground minutes before. "Juk for you! Sorry for taking too long," he announces. Kyungsoo doesn't say anything, though, no sound above the collective noise around them that sounds anything like Kyungsoo's voice. He cranes his neck, looking over his peace offering. "I'm… sorry for putting the food down on the ground?"
Kyungsoo huffs. "At least you let them help you this time."
"Only someone stupid would attempt to take down Pegasus alone."
Kyungsoo rolls his eyes, then sneezes. "Thanks for the juk," he says, then runs his fingers along the curve of Baekhyun's jaw. "Not hurting anywhere?"
"Why, are you going to kiss the pain away?"
"Don't push your luck, hyung."
Baekhyun sways, pretends to go a bit too loose-limbed, knees wobbling. "Oh, please send some help- I'm in pain-"
Kyungsoo picks him up by the arm, grip strong but not painful. Kyungsoo's hands are warm, his breath is warm, the heaving of his chest is uneven. Kyungsoo, sick in the stomach and maybe in the head, pink-eared, came out of his cave to rescue him and help him take down Pegasus.
"Hey, Kyungsoo?"
Kyungsoo looks to his side, peeking through his bangs. "Hm?"
Baekhyun looks around for an audience, then leans close to press a light kiss to Kyungsoo's forehead. "Thanks."
The grip on Baekhyun's arm tightens and he can feel the traitorous cold creeping up Kyungsoo's fingers. He doesn't laugh, though, only leans back as he watches a light flush crawl up Kyungsoo's neck, missing his cheeks. "Uh. Sure," Kyungsoo mumbles and drags Baekhyun forward, away from the lights and into a calmer part of the street.
From a distance, he sees Chanyeol flashing two thumbs up and mouthing, Go. We'll take care of this. See you tomorrow. The dull ache in his knuckles lifts, and his chest feels oddly light. He turns to Kyungsoo, smiling, and whispers, "Come on, let's go home."
☄
Kyungsoo passes out shortly after they eat juk. Baekhyun tries to keep him awake, telling him about that incident with Jongdae back in KEPCO, but Kyungsoo's eyes giveaway halfway through. At least his fever's gone down considerably - 37.3 now, instead of the 38.7 it had been earlier. "You shouldn't have gone out to battle," he remembers telling Kyungsoo while wiping his face with a wet towel, and Kyungsoo just let him. Kyungsoo might have even mumbled a sorry.
He runs one last swipe along the underside of Kyungsoo's jaw before rinsing the towel and placing it on Kyungsoo's forehead in a neat rectangle. He'll check back later. For now, he has to get rid of his own grime.
Fifteen minutes and a couple of yelps after, he emerges from the bathroom. His wounds still sting a little from when he'd taken a couple of hits from Pegasus. It's never been the same since that near death experience, really - his hair grows slower, even his nails. The cuts no longer heal as quickly, either. He can still feel the force of the fall in his arms as he dries his hair. It's as if everything has slowed down for Baekhyun to figure things out easier, or maybe Baekhyun has been moving too fast all this time.
He makes his way back to Kyungsoo's room, but stops when he catches a door slightly ajar. He hasn't seen this room yet. The last time he was here, he was too hungover to even stuff himself with food.
He peeks inside and sends a sliver of light to the ceiling when he doesn't find the switch.
"Hoooly shit," he mumbles under his breath. He takes a few steps back until he hits a wall, turning on the real switch for the lights. The room takes a softer, yellow glow, and from where he is he can see Starburst and Heatmore action figures, posters, all sorts of collectibles that SM has ever thought of. There's even that limited edition wall calendar they sold back in 2006 posted on Kyungsoo's wall. He runs his thumb along the edge of the calendar, then snorts when he sees the life-sized poster of the Rice Krispies trio.
"Jongdae will flip when he sees this," he says as he eyes the poster from head to toe. Chanyeol's got his elbows on their heads, that asshole.
He turns to his left and takes a step back. There's a limited edition Starburst costume in a glass case, one he remembers selling in an auction for typhoon victims. "I can't believe this-" The Starburst action figures lined up on the shelf, CDs of the TV animation's soundtrack, two cork boards filled with news clips with the name STARBURST in big, bold letters.
He takes a step closer and squints as he reads the headline out loud. "SM hotshot Starburst saves sixteen-year-old from being beaten up in an alley, becomes icon of hope for young Koreans." There's a photo of him on his knees as he talks to the teenager. There's no sign of Chanyeol in the picture, so this must be from a long, long time ago. The kid looks familiar, though - messy hair, big eyes, plump lips. A smile so distinct that it runs shivers down Baekhyun's spine.
Baekhyun scans the article for a name and takes a sharp breath. SM trainee Fissure receives threats from the supervillain community after taking down time lord 'Pluto'. "I would have died if Starburst didn't save me," says Fissure in an interview. "He's the hope of the new generation. He drops his hands to his sides, hangs his head low.
Kyungsoo's twisted display of confidence, the willingness to give his own self up for the sake of Baekhyun regaining control over his powers. The way he looked at Baekhyun like he's spent years watching him, back turned and cape waving in the wind, body aglow.
Baekhyun shakes his head. He shouldn't be here.
He turns off the lights and closes the door behind him, slumping against the wall. It sort of makes sense now, how Kyungsoo had agreed so easily to Joonmyun asking him to keep an eye on Baekhyun and train him until he could fully control his powers again. "Because he's been watching over me." All this time, those two years that Baekhyun was out and unconscious, without any promise that Baekhyun will return from the grave. The same person who developed the technology that saved him is the same kid he saved when he was twenty-four. He was just starting out then. SM's secret weapon, that's what they called him. Then Baekhyun decided to make a show out of saving a kid in an alley and somehow landed in the front page of broadsheets all over Seoul.
Kiss the bubu away, he'd demand from Kyungsoo if he could, but Kyungsoo's asleep now, body trying to fight the fever with every inch of his power. So instead, Baekhyun leans back until he feels a dull ache at the back of his head.
One more thing they didn't teach in Super school: piecing secrets of other supers together. Figuring out Do Kyungsoo - hero name 'Fissure' - with Baekhyun's bare hands and heart.
☄
When Baekhyun wakes up the following day, Kyungsoo's already beaten him to it. Kyungsoo's on his feet, albeit backed against a wall, and he has a hand on his waist. The other one is trying to hold onto his mug. Steam softens Kyungsoo's features, tugs the small smile on his lips further up. There are five pimples on Kyungsoo's bare cheeks. Baekhyun sort of wants to map them out, but his body wants to slip back into slumber.
He leans forward, burying his face in the sheets, then pushes himself up. "Hey, feeling better?"
"Yeah," Kyungsoo replies. He takes small steps back to the bed, places his mug down on the bedside table before climbing back on. Instinctively, Baekhyun reaches out, pressing the back of his hand to Kyungsoo's forehead, his cheeks, the column on his neck. Kyungsoo sucks in his bottom lip and grabs Baekhyun by the wrist, pulling his arm down. "No more fever. I checked earlier."
"You sure?" Baekhyun scrunches his nose. "You still look dead."
Kyungsoo chuckles. His voice is still a bit scratchy, but he sounds better than he did last night, out in the crime scene with cheeks flush from fever and red ears. "You should go back to sleep, hyung."
Baekhyun shakes his head. "Nope. Gonna watch over you until you're good enough to kick me out of your flat."
Kyungsoo cocks an eyebrow, but he doesn't throw him out. Instead, Kyungsoo grabs him by the wrists and pulls him up on the bed, face buried in Kyungsoo's chest.
Kyungsoo is warm, for the most part, but that's the heat of sleep working its magic on him. At least he isn't scorching hot anymore - last night, Baekhyun couldn't touch him for a full five minutes. Then Baekhyun wrapped his hand in a layer of light. Only then was he able to give Kyungsoo a sponge bath of sorts. "Mm yeah, not sick," Baekhyun says, voice muffled in Kyungsoo's shirt, and Kyungsoo cards his fingers through Baekhyun's hair, massaging Baekhyun's scalp with the pads of his fingers.
"I guess you're not too bad a doctor."
"And so are you." Baekhyun sits up a little, but pushes Kyungsoo back against the pillows so they can lie together, his cheek pressed to Kyungsoo's shirt. Finding confidence and losing a bit of his lethargy, he gulps, then looks up at Kyungsoo. "Didn't know you… headed such a big project two years ago. What was it called? Ah, The Starburst Project."
Kyungsoo stops massaging his scalp. He can feel the shift in Kyungsoo's muscles, the way his fingers grow cold. "How… How did you find out?"
Baekhyun doesn't answer for a while, presses his ear closer to Kyungsoo's chest, listening for his heartbeat. It's not taking it usual steady beat, but it isn't racing yet., like Kyungsoo hasn't decided if he should panic or hang around long enough to listen to Baekhyun speak. He's still here, though, hand sliding down to Baekhyun's nape.
He presses a palm on Kyungsoo's stomach. "I… sorta stumbled across your Starburst shine." Kyungsoo swallows hard, and he holds the gaze, feeling a bit more confident. "You should take down that horrible poster of the three of us, I'm telling you-"
Kyungsoo narrows his eyes at Baekhyun. "Hyung. The story."
"I saw the news clips. Read 'em all and… well…" He scrunches his nose. "I'm sorry I forgot I saved you before. As you probably already know, my memory is shit."
Kyungsoo scoffs. "Also, your hearing skills."
"Well yeah. That, too." Baekhyun draws lazy circles on Kyungsoo's stomach. He catches the tiny quirk of the lip and capitalizes on it, pressing down a finger and twisting it in Kyungsoo's shirt. Kyungsoo lets out a breathy gasp and slaps his hand, buries Baekhyun's face in his chest. Now there's the racing heartbeat, left of his chest, thumping against Baekhyun's cheek. "And thank you for nursing me back to life. You actually saved me back there."
Kyungsoo shrugs, hums. The next thing he knows, Kyungsoo's got his nose buried in his hair. His first thought is, what if he hates people using his toiletries? His second, "Can I kiss you?"
"Oh?" Kyungsoo leans back, cocking his head as he looks Baekhyun in the eye. He hasn't seen this in a while, a look of complete shock - eyes wide, lips slightly parted, a question in the curve of his mouth. Kyungsoo almost always has his shields up, impenetrable. The only time he doesn't have at least a thin barrier shielding him from the world is when he asks, in his sweetest possible voice, can I please have more yellow radish? "You're asking for permission?"
"What do you think am I doing, kid? I mean-" Baekhyun frowns. Kyungsoo brings up a finger, taps Baekhyun's top lip thrice. "Can I? Not as a pretend boyfriend but just as- Yeah."
Kyungsoo shrugs and leans back against the pillows. His hair is disheveled and his threadbare shirt sort of slips off his narrow shoulders and damn. Still sleep sticky and contagious, he shouldn't be this sexy. "Go ahead," he says, though, voice low and soft. Sunlight filters through the curtains, casts Kyungsoo a warm glow.
Baekhyun reaches out, cups Kyungsoo's cheeks in his hands. Kyungsoo hiccups. There goes wall number one.
Wall number two is their weakened limbs, but Baekhyun leans in, anyway, until their noses touch. Kyungsoo giggles, voice weak and scratchy. He doesn't push Baekhyun away.
Wall number three is Kyungsoo snaking his hands around Baekhyun's waist, pulling him close until Baekhyun is sitting on his legs. Baekhyun hovers, lips brushing against Kyungsoo's lightly. Kyungsoo's cold hands slip beneath Baekhyun's shirt, one of Kyungsoo's not-black ones. "This one's my favorite," Kyungsoo whispers. He means the Mickey Mouse shirt, not Baekhyun, but Baekhyun sure feels fit to play the part when Kyungsoo parts his lips, too willing.
Baekhyun presses closer, meeting Kyungsoo's lips.
It feels nothing like their first kiss where they pulled off a great show in front of Chanyeol and Jongdae. This one's more gentle, unsure, like they're both testing the waters even if they're supposed to be familiar with each other's mouths already. Then Baekhyun takes the leap, takes Kyungsoo's bottom lip between his teeth and sucks hard. Kyungsoo groans but fights back, sucking on Baekhyun's top lip, then the corners of his mouth. Baekhyun goes deeper, licking where Kyungsoo's teeth meet the roof of his mouth, and Kyungsoo's breath hitches. He memorizes these things, tiny details about Kyungsoo - the way his back arches when Baekhyun dips his head to suck on the underside of his jaw, the way he digs his nails into Baekhyun's skin in an attempt to choke down his noises. He can feel his thighs trembling and the dull ache in his jaw, but he presses on, licks and sucks and kisses Kyungsoo until there's nothing left on his tongue but Kyungsoo, Kyungsoo, Kyungsoo.
He pulls away, lips swollen but tugged up at the corners. It hurts a little, but Kyungsoo makes it bearable, pressing staccato kisses on his lips, its corners, his cheeks and his chin.
"Was that a 'get well soon' kiss or a 'thank you for saving my life' kiss?" Kyungsoo asks later, once they've broken off completely.
Baekhyun's lips feel too heavy for speaking. He laughs a little. "A boyfriend kiss. A real kiss," he answers, curt. Kyungsoo's small smile blooms into a grin. He's just won the battle. "As simple as that."
☄
Baekhyun gets a wake up call from Pegasus at nine in the morning.
It happens in a flash - one minute, he's talking to Joonmyun about wanting to master transforming his light energy into a tangible weapon, and the next minute Pegasus is scooping him from the ground, lifting him a few good feet from Joonmyun. "Is this your interpretation of sweeping me off my feet? Because lemme tell you, it's not the best," Baekhyun grumbles, and Pegasus chuckles in his ear and circles Joonmyun.
The air thins around them. Behind the clouds, the sun shines brightly. Baekhyun cranes his neck, tries to hit Pegasus with his elbow but misses. His aim's always been shit pre-coffee.
"C'mon, Pop, I'm doing us a favor. It's just you and me here, just like old times," Pegasus croons.
Pegasus takes them higher, passing through the clouds. Baekhyun shivers. "You don't have the license to call me that." He kicks Pegasus' legs. "And we were never a thing, man. You're like a crazy, delusional girlfriend."
Pegasus scoffs. "I'm really hurt."
"Doesn't matter," Baekhyun mumbles. He looks down, catches Joonmyun's gaze and winks. "I don't care."
He snakes his hands up, grabbing Pegasus by the neck, and presses his thumb on the base of Pegasus' throat. Pegasus' body gives a light shake, and he uses this opening to flush more light into Pegasus' system. He can feel the villain's muscles relaxing, shoulders falling forward. He goes deeper into Pegasus' system now - his nerves, his brain, memories of the battle they had a couple of days ago. The battle in Gangnam where Starburst turned into dust. Their first encounter where Pegasus tried to fly past the border and was captured by the Rice Krispies trio.
Pegasus running, flying away from home and finding himself in an adoption center. Baekhyun's parents visiting them every so often. The visits coming to an abrupt halt because they had to chase after Baekhyun who'd gone to Seoul for superhero training.
Pegasus' entire body shakes and his eyes fly wide open. "You motherfucker-" And then Pegasus pushes him away, kicks him to the ground, lets gravity work its magic on Baekhyun as Pegasus flies away from the scene.
A whoosh of the wind, and then he's back on solid ground. "Thanks, Sehun," he mumbles without even looking over his shoulder.
Joonmyun walks over, holds him by his arm and turns him around. "What happened up there?"
He takes a deep breath, then looks up at Joonmyun. He can still feel the trembling of Pegasus' fingers on his skin, the sting of Pegasus' words. "Two things: first, I think I just graduated from being an illusionist to a telepath."
Joonmyun furrows his eyebrows. Baekhyun gulps hard. "And I think I know how we can take down Pegasus once and for all."
☄
"Can you take me through the plan again? C'mon, Pop, one last time-"
Baekhyun elbows Jongdae in his side but makes a loud kissing sound right after. "Ask your partner there, at least he knows how to listen," Baekhyun replies, but repeats the plan, anyway. Once Sehun and Jongin get back with intel on Pegasus' location, they surround the place. Chanyeol pairs off with Sehun in the event that Frost decides to show up, and Joonmyun and Jongdae take care of Psycho. "But remember, we don't have much time. Ten minutes, tops. And Jongdae, don't forget to charge the atmosphere. That'll limit his flight ability," Baekhyun reminds Jongdae. Jongdae winks in response.
Kyungsoo slides right next to him and bumps their shoulders together. "You need me to do anything, hyung?"
"Cheer for me. Pray hard. Maybe sometime between today and tomorrow, I'll develop flight as part of my power roster." A moment of hesitation, then, "How about a good luck kiss?"
Kyungsoo rolls his eyes. "You want to kiss my fist?"
Baekhyun doesn't reply, keeps making kissy faces at Kyungsoo until Kyungsoo does introduce his fist to Baekhyun's lips. For a second, Baekhyun forgets that he's with the rest of the super team, and says in a voice too loud, "Thanks, kid. I thought I was your favorite?"
The light flickers. The air turns abnormally cold. Joonmyun offers to buy dinner for everyone in preparation for the big fight and Kyungsoo looks around for an audience. Then he brings his fist to his lips, making a sloppy kissing sound. "Does that count?
Baekhyun feels his cheeks heat up. If Kyungsoo ever notices, he doesn't call Baekhyun out on it. Instead, he pushes Baekhyun forward so they can catch up with the rest of the group. "Seriously, though, what do you want me to do?"
Baekhyun hums for a while, then thinks back on all the months they've spent in the training rooms, Kyungsoo with his thinning patience and Baekhyun with pressing need to get back in the business. He thinks of finding himself again as he regains control of his power, thinks of discovering something new after that encounter with Pegasus. He thinks of Kyungsoo and his unwavering trust and loyalty, of bright eyes and his pretty lips.
He threads their fingers together and thinks, maybe this part of the plan will work. They could work.
"Remember the thing you did back in the restaurant? The pillars thing?"
Kyungsoo cocks an eyebrow. "Yeah. What about it?"
"I… need you to do something like that. Except with a few tweaks."
Baekhyun grins. "I need you to give me a boost."
☄
Pegasus, strangely nice as always, finds them instead of letting them seek him out. It's pretty convenient since Jongin and Sehun won't have to exhaust themselves just trying to track a supervillain down, but it's also rude when Pegasus attacks the whole establishment with a flurry of feathers. "Can't a hero eat in peace!" Jongin groans, then pops two more pieces of meat in his mouth before teleporting out of the restaurant. Sehun forgoes the samgyupsal but eats a few more pieces of kimchi. Joonmyun downs a glass of water in one big gulp.
"Just like old times?" Chanyeol says, bumping his hip into Baekhyun's.
Baekhyun looks to his side, reaching for Kyungsoo's hand. He looks back at Chanyeol and Jongdae, then says, "Yeah, but better."
The reunion gets interrupted when the walls turn into ice, then explode all around them. Chanyeol's first instinct is to spread his wings; his second, to stretch his arms wide, trying to scoop up the three. "Okay, hang on tight!" And then they're lifting off the ground, heading to the ceiling. Lighting strikes from above and creates an opening for them. Outside, the sky is a thick blanket of darkness. It's the perfect time to take Pegasus down.
"I brought my friends," Pegasus begins. "I was feeling lonely." His voice booms from feet away. Psycho's carrying Frost bridal style, it's almost funny, but then ice starts to tower over the little town.
Chanyeol lets loose a stream of flame. Without the proper signal boost, he'll only be able to take down a section of it, maybe leave a nasty burn on Frost. He tries, anyway. Frost shivers a little.
Baekhyun cracks his neck, opens his palms and shoots a stream of light down to the floor, the barrier slowly crawling up. There's a dull glow all around them. Step one. "This is like one of those club wars in high school, huh?"
"I was one of the quiet kids, though."
"Ah, it's always the unassuming kid who plans to destroy the world," Baekhyun groans. Beside him, Kyungsoo snorts. "You're really bad at moving on, aren't you?"
Sehun walks over to where Chanyeol is, while Jongdae takes the spot beside Joonmyun. Jongin cracks his knuckles. Frost gets back to his feet, but his knees shake when he realizes they're too many feet off the ground. Step two.
Pegasus shrugs. "I guess I just really want to finish what we started. You and me, Pop, just like the old days."
"I told you, stop calling me 'Pop'. The Rice Krispies trio isn't taking new members."
A few feet away, Chanyeol raises a thumbs-up, produces a tongue of flame at the tip of his finger. The skies begin to rumble.
"Oh really?" Pegasus says. "I'll just have to force you guys to take me in, then."
Psycho lifts a foot, and Frost leaps from where he is to the thin sheet of ice. Kyungsoo stomps and gives the ground a good shake.
Baekhyun laughs a little. "I'd like to see you try."
The first flash of light comes from Chanyeol who sets himself aflame. Sehun runs to where Frost is, circling him, and Chanyeol jumps then tackles Frost to the ground. The impact makes the ice crack all around them, and Kyungsoo quickly turns around to summon a stone wall, shielding them from the blast. Chanyeol grins at the intervention. Baekhyun almost misses the shelter as he shoots out beams at Pegasus. The cleanest shot he'd made is a light ball to Pegasus' face. It only makes him even more handsome than he should be.
On the other side, Psycho takes a splash to the face and Jongin fastens him to the ground. "Move away!" Jongdae yells before pinning Psycho down, palms flat on Psycho's wrists. He's cloaked in lightning and his hair is a shocking shade of yellow. The next thing Baekhyun hears is the crackle of thunder and Chanyeol's flames. After that, a loud thud that feels a lot like Pegasus slamming him to the ground, then pulling him up to the sky.
Baekhyun resurfaces, shaking his head. In the evening, his power isn't at its prime, but that doesn't mean he can't try. "You'll want to put me down, honey," he whispers, then slams his palm on Pegasus' face.
His palm glows and every inch of him feels lighter than it should be. He tries doing it again, the memory digging thing, tries to reach Pegasus' mind. C'mon, buddy, there's gotta be something in here somewhere- Pegasus preparing for the fight, meeting up with Psycho and Frost to ask for their help. Pegasus staying the night in Psycho's place and Psycho fixing his trench coat. Anything useful, anything at all-
Pegasus' face flashes right in front of him. The memories stop pouring in, and everything turns into white. "Stop fucking around with my mind!"
Pegasus lets him go, then, and it's like 2012 all over again - the rush of wind against his cheeks, tousling his hair, the feeling of falling and the fear of hitting the ground. His first thought is shit, I can't die like this, not when I've almost defeated him; his second, I haven't tried hard enough yet.
He opens his eyes and meets Kyungsoo's gaze. His throat tightens, but he still screams as loud as he can. "Now!"
Thunder roars in the skies. Baekhyun can feel it now, the warm blanket of electricity around him, Jongdae's power coming into play. Pegasus slows down considerably, stuck between trying to flap his wings harder and looking over his shoulder to see if Baekhyun has caught up. Another peal of thunder, then pillars shoot out from the ground up. He lands on a pillar on one knee, then pushes himself up. Kyungsoo summons another pillar, and then another, and Baekhyun tries to keep up, jumping off each solid rock, inching closer to Pegasus. He's got just one shot at this, just one window of opportunity to take Pegasus down without Pegasus shutting himself off and turning his memories into dust.
He kicks his feet in the air and grabs onto the edge of a pillar. The friction of his nails against the stone is painful enough to kick his senses into overdrive. He pushes himself up as quickly as possible, then jumps again - three more pillars if his calculations are correct. Three pillars until Kyungsoo reaches his limit. Three pillars until the gift of flight magically comes to him, if that's even possible.
"Hey Peggy, membership's temporarily open!" Baekhyun yells. He makes his way to another pillar and Pegasus stops to look over his shoulder.
The last pillar shoots up and he lands just inches shy of the edge. He takes a deep breath and jumps, takes a leap of faith, claws at air until he's able to latch onto Pegasus.
"What do you think about joining SM?" he asks, breathing ragged. Pegasus tenses, and he presses one palm flat on the back of Pegasus' head.
He summons every bit of power in him and focuses it on the palm of his hand, releases all of it until he feels Pegasus' body go limp. And then everything goes blessedly white, light, airy. Pegasus' memories start to fade. He can see Pegasus' childhood, running in the field with little Psycho and Frost. He feels the rush of air against his skin again, except he's falling faster. His entire body is numb.
He closes his eyes and thinks of hitting the ground, closer to home.
☄
Chanyeol's laughter is the first thing he hears when he wakes up. The second, Chanyeol's strangled groan. It takes a few minutes before everything else clicks - the white walls, the steady beeping, four bodies hovering him, one of them being forcibly pushed back. "Get out, Chanyeol. You're taking up the entire room," a familiar voice says, and then everything comes to focus. Jongdae's hair is a deep shade of brown, and Chanyeol's flashing all ten million of his teeth again. Beside him, Joonmyun mumbles, "Finally."
"Your best record so far," Kyungsoo whispers, then rests his hand on Baekhyun's. "3 hours, hyung. Not bad."
"I did an hour before," Baekhyun complains. He chuckles, then winces when he feels a heavy pain in his ribs. The fall couldn't have been that bad, but it's not as if his body has been the same since his two-year-long coma. "Cut me some slack."
"Is that some code for 'Go away, Chanyeol?'" Jongdae asks. Chanyeol tries to frown but fails at it miserably.
"Yeah, I guess you could say that."
Joonmyun motions for the other two to leave the room. Chanyeol looks over his shoulder one last time and says, "Hey Pop, get out of bed soon. You still owe us dinner."
The room falls silent when Joonmyun closes the door behind them. Kyungsoo moves closer, runs his thumb along the side of Baekhyun's hand. "That was really risky," Kyungsoo begins, voice croaked and rough. "You could've died."
"Worst case scenario, I'd have slipped into another coma."
Kyungsoo raises his fist, but drops it soon after. Baekhyun laughs a little. "Sorry. Bad joke. Wouldn't want to put you through that again."
"Just… try to get some rest. We'll get you back in tip top shape soon." Kyungsoo gives his hand a light squeeze. "Shouldn't be too hard."
Baekhyun smiles a little. He can feel warmth creeping back to his arms. It's a pleasant feeling.
"D'you think I'll ever be good to take real field mission again?" he asks Kyungsoo after a while.
His head feels heavy again, and he sinks deeper into the pillow. Kyungsoo cocks his head, gives him that lazy smile where only one of the corners of his lips is tugged up. Kyungsoo chuckles. "Maybe."
Baekhyun threads their hands together in a last-ditch effort to keep himself awake. "Maybe?"
"Probably," Kyungsoo answers after a while. The other corner of his lips tugs up. Baekhyun hangs on for a second longer. "Definitely."
☄
SM's an asshole for gathering them at seven in the morning for a mission deployment. The brief was that they had five different countries to cover, and Jongin had already volunteered to go solo. Joonmyun agreed to be involved again, taking Pegasus under his wing. "You're the only one who can handle him," someone from the management had said. Chanyeol laughed and Jongdae cackled then. Everybody knew Baekhyun was lying about the elite membership being open. Pegasus doesn't seem to remember anything, though, so Baekhyun breathes easily.
"Pegasus and I are taking China, and Sehun will be working alone on the Malaysia case," Joonmyun says. "Any takers for Japan?"
"We'll take it," Chanyeol offers, raising Jongdae's hand in accord. Jongdae only snorts in agreement. His hair burns a bright yellow.
Baekhyun shifts in his seat, sitting on his hands to keep himself from moving around too much. "I haven't even had coffee yet," he mumbles, and Kyungsoo nudges him in his side. Despite Kyungsoo's bloodshot eyes, he looks completely at ease, like he's the one who's had more exposure to field assignments. Baekhyun nudges right back in frustration, twists his elbow in Kyungsoo's side until he earns a scowl.
"That's it, I'm terminating this partnership," Kyungsoo declares.
Kyungsoo motions to get up his seat, but hovers for a while, glancing at Baekhyun. In front, Joonmyun calls out their names and says, "Vietnam. You guys okay with that?" Baekhyun looks up, searching Kyungsoo's eyes for a response, but all he gets is light laughter at Kyungsoo pinching the tip of his nose.
"Gonna beat you to filing the termination papers-" Baekhyun wheezes, then pinches Kyungsoo's stomach. "And you'll regret passing on this opportunity-"
"Hey, you two, I was asking if you're okay with Vietnam," Joonmyun calls out again, louder this time. He isn't irritated; it's just too early. Maybe it's too early for Baekhyun to be having second thoughts, as well.
"I'm okay with that, I guess," he says in feigned nonchalance, and then Kyungsoo's slapping him on the arm and dragging him to the front, laughter still bubbling on his lips. Baekhyun takes it all in - the sound of Kyungsoo's laughter, Kyungsoo's smile, the warm press of Kyungsoo's palm on his wrist and the steady grip that says, if you're gonna fake it then try harder, Byun. So when Joonmyun asks for the last time, Starburst and Fissure for Vietnam? he nods and takes the mission envelope from Joonmyun's hands, grinning.
"Yes," he says, finality in his tone. He looks to his side, meeting Kyungsoo's gaze. His knees are shaking. Kyungsoo's smile is too bright for his eyes.
"Starburst and Fissure, reporting for duty."
The worst part of having a psychotic supervillain as an ex-friend is that he knows your scent well enough to know where you are at any given moment. He bumps into Pegasus on his way back to the dorms, takeout food in one hand and a ball of light in another. "I told you, man, you have to let go. I've moved on now," Baekhyun says, voice cracking as he drops the food to the ground. Chanyeol slips from the scene, calls reinforcements. Baekhyun lets him because he still has somewhere else to be and the faster they take Pegasus back to prison, the sooner he can feed Kyungsoo with juk.
"Got a date with someone?" Pegasus asks. He's lifted off the ground, grinning down at Baekhyun like Baekhyun's being short is the most amusing thing ever.
Baekhyun rubs his hands, clenches and unclenches his fists. His palm starts to glow. "Gotta take care of a sick boyfriend," he replies almost too easily.
"Angry leader or tiny guy?"
Baekhyun shakes his head. "We don't talk about height in these parts, Peggy." A tight clench of the fists, and he feels power surge up his arm. "You're really asking for it, aren't you?"
Pegasus cocks his head, grins. He never thought it was possible for someone else to have more teeth that Chanyeol. It's disconcerting.
He jumps, using the force of his beams to push himself off the ground. Pegasus flies farther away, though, dodging the balls of light Baekhyun throws at him with relative ease. "You've got to try harder! Flap your wings!" Pegasus calls out, and Baekhyun throws himself onto Pegasus before the beam that had pushed him off the ground reaches its limit. All too familiar, he feels a shiver run down his spine. The only difference is that Baekhyun knows how it feels to die now and then come back to life.
He clamps a hand on Pegasus' waist and sends a stream of light into Pegasus's system. Pegasus gasps, chokes, then kicks his feet in the air.
Pegasus attempts to shake him off, but he wraps his hands around the villain's neck tight. He focuses energy on his thumbs and presses on the base of Pegasus' throat. "You talk too much," he whispers, before they start falling to the ground. He can still feel the shift of Pegasus' muscles, so he can't be completely out yet. He snakes one hand up Pegasus' nape, presses his thumb just under his spine - just enough pressure to knock him out, but not leave him in a coma for more than a few days.
"So considerate," Pegasus mumbles. He spreads out his wings, feathers falling on Baekhyun's face. Baekhyun strains to keep his eyes on the other. "That's why you keep losing, Baekhyun. You'll never be able to bring me down-"
He hears the whoosh of the wind and grins. "That's what makes me different," he says. He hooks one leg around Pegasus and wraps both hands around Pegasus' body, keeping him from using his wings.
There's a good distance between them and the ground, about the height of three convenience stores, one on top of the other. Sehun's down there somewhere, unable to fly because of his back injury, but he trusts Sehun enough to not let them fall. If anything bad ever happens, Chanyeol can fly to where they are. If he isn't lucky then he can turn their bodies over so that Pegasus will receive the brunt force of the fall. Maybe then Pegasus will realize how awful it is to slam an ex-friend to the ground.
But instead, stone pillars rise from the ground and Jongin teleports to the last pillar, catching Baekhyun by the back of his shirt. Wind whips shoot up, wrapping around Pegasus' wrist. Pegasus groans and mumbles a last bye, hun before getting pulled down to the ground by Sehun to be punished a second time.
Back on the ground, Kyungsoo says, "So what part of 'take care' did you not understand?"
Baekhyun dusts himself off, grinning weakly as he takes the containers of juk he'd set down on the ground minutes before. "Juk for you! Sorry for taking too long," he announces. Kyungsoo doesn't say anything, though, no sound above the collective noise around them that sounds anything like Kyungsoo's voice. He cranes his neck, looking over his peace offering. "I'm… sorry for putting the food down on the ground?"
Kyungsoo huffs. "At least you let them help you this time."
"Only someone stupid would attempt to take down Pegasus alone."
Kyungsoo rolls his eyes, then sneezes. "Thanks for the juk," he says, then runs his fingers along the curve of Baekhyun's jaw. "Not hurting anywhere?"
"Why, are you going to kiss the pain away?"
"Don't push your luck, hyung."
Baekhyun sways, pretends to go a bit too loose-limbed, knees wobbling. "Oh, please send some help- I'm in pain-"
Kyungsoo picks him up by the arm, grip strong but not painful. Kyungsoo's hands are warm, his breath is warm, the heaving of his chest is uneven. Kyungsoo, sick in the stomach and maybe in the head, pink-eared, came out of his cave to rescue him and help him take down Pegasus.
"Hey, Kyungsoo?"
Kyungsoo looks to his side, peeking through his bangs. "Hm?"
Baekhyun looks around for an audience, then leans close to press a light kiss to Kyungsoo's forehead. "Thanks."
The grip on Baekhyun's arm tightens and he can feel the traitorous cold creeping up Kyungsoo's fingers. He doesn't laugh, though, only leans back as he watches a light flush crawl up Kyungsoo's neck, missing his cheeks. "Uh. Sure," Kyungsoo mumbles and drags Baekhyun forward, away from the lights and into a calmer part of the street.
From a distance, he sees Chanyeol flashing two thumbs up and mouthing, Go. We'll take care of this. See you tomorrow. The dull ache in his knuckles lifts, and his chest feels oddly light. He turns to Kyungsoo, smiling, and whispers, "Come on, let's go home."
☄
Kyungsoo passes out shortly after they eat juk. Baekhyun tries to keep him awake, telling him about that incident with Jongdae back in KEPCO, but Kyungsoo's eyes giveaway halfway through. At least his fever's gone down considerably - 37.3 now, instead of the 38.7 it had been earlier. "You shouldn't have gone out to battle," he remembers telling Kyungsoo while wiping his face with a wet towel, and Kyungsoo just let him. Kyungsoo might have even mumbled a sorry.
He runs one last swipe along the underside of Kyungsoo's jaw before rinsing the towel and placing it on Kyungsoo's forehead in a neat rectangle. He'll check back later. For now, he has to get rid of his own grime.
Fifteen minutes and a couple of yelps after, he emerges from the bathroom. His wounds still sting a little from when he'd taken a couple of hits from Pegasus. It's never been the same since that near death experience, really - his hair grows slower, even his nails. The cuts no longer heal as quickly, either. He can still feel the force of the fall in his arms as he dries his hair. It's as if everything has slowed down for Baekhyun to figure things out easier, or maybe Baekhyun has been moving too fast all this time.
He makes his way back to Kyungsoo's room, but stops when he catches a door slightly ajar. He hasn't seen this room yet. The last time he was here, he was too hungover to even stuff himself with food.
He peeks inside and sends a sliver of light to the ceiling when he doesn't find the switch.
"Hoooly shit," he mumbles under his breath. He takes a few steps back until he hits a wall, turning on the real switch for the lights. The room takes a softer, yellow glow, and from where he is he can see Starburst and Heatmore action figures, posters, all sorts of collectibles that SM has ever thought of. There's even that limited edition wall calendar they sold back in 2006 posted on Kyungsoo's wall. He runs his thumb along the edge of the calendar, then snorts when he sees the life-sized poster of the Rice Krispies trio.
"Jongdae will flip when he sees this," he says as he eyes the poster from head to toe. Chanyeol's got his elbows on their heads, that asshole.
He turns to his left and takes a step back. There's a limited edition Starburst costume in a glass case, one he remembers selling in an auction for typhoon victims. "I can't believe this-" The Starburst action figures lined up on the shelf, CDs of the TV animation's soundtrack, two cork boards filled with news clips with the name STARBURST in big, bold letters.
He takes a step closer and squints as he reads the headline out loud. "SM hotshot Starburst saves sixteen-year-old from being beaten up in an alley, becomes icon of hope for young Koreans." There's a photo of him on his knees as he talks to the teenager. There's no sign of Chanyeol in the picture, so this must be from a long, long time ago. The kid looks familiar, though - messy hair, big eyes, plump lips. A smile so distinct that it runs shivers down Baekhyun's spine.
Baekhyun scans the article for a name and takes a sharp breath. SM trainee Fissure receives threats from the supervillain community after taking down time lord 'Pluto'. "I would have died if Starburst didn't save me," says Fissure in an interview. "He's the hope of the new generation. He drops his hands to his sides, hangs his head low.
Kyungsoo's twisted display of confidence, the willingness to give his own self up for the sake of Baekhyun regaining control over his powers. The way he looked at Baekhyun like he's spent years watching him, back turned and cape waving in the wind, body aglow.
Baekhyun shakes his head. He shouldn't be here.
He turns off the lights and closes the door behind him, slumping against the wall. It sort of makes sense now, how Kyungsoo had agreed so easily to Joonmyun asking him to keep an eye on Baekhyun and train him until he could fully control his powers again. "Because he's been watching over me." All this time, those two years that Baekhyun was out and unconscious, without any promise that Baekhyun will return from the grave. The same person who developed the technology that saved him is the same kid he saved when he was twenty-four. He was just starting out then. SM's secret weapon, that's what they called him. Then Baekhyun decided to make a show out of saving a kid in an alley and somehow landed in the front page of broadsheets all over Seoul.
Kiss the bubu away, he'd demand from Kyungsoo if he could, but Kyungsoo's asleep now, body trying to fight the fever with every inch of his power. So instead, Baekhyun leans back until he feels a dull ache at the back of his head.
One more thing they didn't teach in Super school: piecing secrets of other supers together. Figuring out Do Kyungsoo - hero name 'Fissure' - with Baekhyun's bare hands and heart.
☄
When Baekhyun wakes up the following day, Kyungsoo's already beaten him to it. Kyungsoo's on his feet, albeit backed against a wall, and he has a hand on his waist. The other one is trying to hold onto his mug. Steam softens Kyungsoo's features, tugs the small smile on his lips further up. There are five pimples on Kyungsoo's bare cheeks. Baekhyun sort of wants to map them out, but his body wants to slip back into slumber.
He leans forward, burying his face in the sheets, then pushes himself up. "Hey, feeling better?"
"Yeah," Kyungsoo replies. He takes small steps back to the bed, places his mug down on the bedside table before climbing back on. Instinctively, Baekhyun reaches out, pressing the back of his hand to Kyungsoo's forehead, his cheeks, the column on his neck. Kyungsoo sucks in his bottom lip and grabs Baekhyun by the wrist, pulling his arm down. "No more fever. I checked earlier."
"You sure?" Baekhyun scrunches his nose. "You still look dead."
Kyungsoo chuckles. His voice is still a bit scratchy, but he sounds better than he did last night, out in the crime scene with cheeks flush from fever and red ears. "You should go back to sleep, hyung."
Baekhyun shakes his head. "Nope. Gonna watch over you until you're good enough to kick me out of your flat."
Kyungsoo cocks an eyebrow, but he doesn't throw him out. Instead, Kyungsoo grabs him by the wrists and pulls him up on the bed, face buried in Kyungsoo's chest.
Kyungsoo is warm, for the most part, but that's the heat of sleep working its magic on him. At least he isn't scorching hot anymore - last night, Baekhyun couldn't touch him for a full five minutes. Then Baekhyun wrapped his hand in a layer of light. Only then was he able to give Kyungsoo a sponge bath of sorts. "Mm yeah, not sick," Baekhyun says, voice muffled in Kyungsoo's shirt, and Kyungsoo cards his fingers through Baekhyun's hair, massaging Baekhyun's scalp with the pads of his fingers.
"I guess you're not too bad a doctor."
"And so are you." Baekhyun sits up a little, but pushes Kyungsoo back against the pillows so they can lie together, his cheek pressed to Kyungsoo's shirt. Finding confidence and losing a bit of his lethargy, he gulps, then looks up at Kyungsoo. "Didn't know you… headed such a big project two years ago. What was it called? Ah, The Starburst Project."
Kyungsoo stops massaging his scalp. He can feel the shift in Kyungsoo's muscles, the way his fingers grow cold. "How… How did you find out?"
Baekhyun doesn't answer for a while, presses his ear closer to Kyungsoo's chest, listening for his heartbeat. It's not taking it usual steady beat, but it isn't racing yet., like Kyungsoo hasn't decided if he should panic or hang around long enough to listen to Baekhyun speak. He's still here, though, hand sliding down to Baekhyun's nape.
He presses a palm on Kyungsoo's stomach. "I… sorta stumbled across your Starburst shine." Kyungsoo swallows hard, and he holds the gaze, feeling a bit more confident. "You should take down that horrible poster of the three of us, I'm telling you-"
Kyungsoo narrows his eyes at Baekhyun. "Hyung. The story."
"I saw the news clips. Read 'em all and… well…" He scrunches his nose. "I'm sorry I forgot I saved you before. As you probably already know, my memory is shit."
Kyungsoo scoffs. "Also, your hearing skills."
"Well yeah. That, too." Baekhyun draws lazy circles on Kyungsoo's stomach. He catches the tiny quirk of the lip and capitalizes on it, pressing down a finger and twisting it in Kyungsoo's shirt. Kyungsoo lets out a breathy gasp and slaps his hand, buries Baekhyun's face in his chest. Now there's the racing heartbeat, left of his chest, thumping against Baekhyun's cheek. "And thank you for nursing me back to life. You actually saved me back there."
Kyungsoo shrugs, hums. The next thing he knows, Kyungsoo's got his nose buried in his hair. His first thought is, what if he hates people using his toiletries? His second, "Can I kiss you?"
"Oh?" Kyungsoo leans back, cocking his head as he looks Baekhyun in the eye. He hasn't seen this in a while, a look of complete shock - eyes wide, lips slightly parted, a question in the curve of his mouth. Kyungsoo almost always has his shields up, impenetrable. The only time he doesn't have at least a thin barrier shielding him from the world is when he asks, in his sweetest possible voice, can I please have more yellow radish? "You're asking for permission?"
"What do you think am I doing, kid? I mean-" Baekhyun frowns. Kyungsoo brings up a finger, taps Baekhyun's top lip thrice. "Can I? Not as a pretend boyfriend but just as- Yeah."
Kyungsoo shrugs and leans back against the pillows. His hair is disheveled and his threadbare shirt sort of slips off his narrow shoulders and damn. Still sleep sticky and contagious, he shouldn't be this sexy. "Go ahead," he says, though, voice low and soft. Sunlight filters through the curtains, casts Kyungsoo a warm glow.
Baekhyun reaches out, cups Kyungsoo's cheeks in his hands. Kyungsoo hiccups. There goes wall number one.
Wall number two is their weakened limbs, but Baekhyun leans in, anyway, until their noses touch. Kyungsoo giggles, voice weak and scratchy. He doesn't push Baekhyun away.
Wall number three is Kyungsoo snaking his hands around Baekhyun's waist, pulling him close until Baekhyun is sitting on his legs. Baekhyun hovers, lips brushing against Kyungsoo's lightly. Kyungsoo's cold hands slip beneath Baekhyun's shirt, one of Kyungsoo's not-black ones. "This one's my favorite," Kyungsoo whispers. He means the Mickey Mouse shirt, not Baekhyun, but Baekhyun sure feels fit to play the part when Kyungsoo parts his lips, too willing.
Baekhyun presses closer, meeting Kyungsoo's lips.
It feels nothing like their first kiss where they pulled off a great show in front of Chanyeol and Jongdae. This one's more gentle, unsure, like they're both testing the waters even if they're supposed to be familiar with each other's mouths already. Then Baekhyun takes the leap, takes Kyungsoo's bottom lip between his teeth and sucks hard. Kyungsoo groans but fights back, sucking on Baekhyun's top lip, then the corners of his mouth. Baekhyun goes deeper, licking where Kyungsoo's teeth meet the roof of his mouth, and Kyungsoo's breath hitches. He memorizes these things, tiny details about Kyungsoo - the way his back arches when Baekhyun dips his head to suck on the underside of his jaw, the way he digs his nails into Baekhyun's skin in an attempt to choke down his noises. He can feel his thighs trembling and the dull ache in his jaw, but he presses on, licks and sucks and kisses Kyungsoo until there's nothing left on his tongue but Kyungsoo, Kyungsoo, Kyungsoo.
He pulls away, lips swollen but tugged up at the corners. It hurts a little, but Kyungsoo makes it bearable, pressing staccato kisses on his lips, its corners, his cheeks and his chin.
"Was that a 'get well soon' kiss or a 'thank you for saving my life' kiss?" Kyungsoo asks later, once they've broken off completely.
Baekhyun's lips feel too heavy for speaking. He laughs a little. "A boyfriend kiss. A real kiss," he answers, curt. Kyungsoo's small smile blooms into a grin. He's just won the battle. "As simple as that."
☄
Baekhyun gets a wake up call from Pegasus at nine in the morning.
It happens in a flash - one minute, he's talking to Joonmyun about wanting to master transforming his light energy into a tangible weapon, and the next minute Pegasus is scooping him from the ground, lifting him a few good feet from Joonmyun. "Is this your interpretation of sweeping me off my feet? Because lemme tell you, it's not the best," Baekhyun grumbles, and Pegasus chuckles in his ear and circles Joonmyun.
The air thins around them. Behind the clouds, the sun shines brightly. Baekhyun cranes his neck, tries to hit Pegasus with his elbow but misses. His aim's always been shit pre-coffee.
"C'mon, Pop, I'm doing us a favor. It's just you and me here, just like old times," Pegasus croons.
Pegasus takes them higher, passing through the clouds. Baekhyun shivers. "You don't have the license to call me that." He kicks Pegasus' legs. "And we were never a thing, man. You're like a crazy, delusional girlfriend."
Pegasus scoffs. "I'm really hurt."
"Doesn't matter," Baekhyun mumbles. He looks down, catches Joonmyun's gaze and winks. "I don't care."
He snakes his hands up, grabbing Pegasus by the neck, and presses his thumb on the base of Pegasus' throat. Pegasus' body gives a light shake, and he uses this opening to flush more light into Pegasus' system. He can feel the villain's muscles relaxing, shoulders falling forward. He goes deeper into Pegasus' system now - his nerves, his brain, memories of the battle they had a couple of days ago. The battle in Gangnam where Starburst turned into dust. Their first encounter where Pegasus tried to fly past the border and was captured by the Rice Krispies trio.
Pegasus running, flying away from home and finding himself in an adoption center. Baekhyun's parents visiting them every so often. The visits coming to an abrupt halt because they had to chase after Baekhyun who'd gone to Seoul for superhero training.
Pegasus' entire body shakes and his eyes fly wide open. "You motherfucker-" And then Pegasus pushes him away, kicks him to the ground, lets gravity work its magic on Baekhyun as Pegasus flies away from the scene.
A whoosh of the wind, and then he's back on solid ground. "Thanks, Sehun," he mumbles without even looking over his shoulder.
Joonmyun walks over, holds him by his arm and turns him around. "What happened up there?"
He takes a deep breath, then looks up at Joonmyun. He can still feel the trembling of Pegasus' fingers on his skin, the sting of Pegasus' words. "Two things: first, I think I just graduated from being an illusionist to a telepath."
Joonmyun furrows his eyebrows. Baekhyun gulps hard. "And I think I know how we can take down Pegasus once and for all."
☄
"Can you take me through the plan again? C'mon, Pop, one last time-"
Baekhyun elbows Jongdae in his side but makes a loud kissing sound right after. "Ask your partner there, at least he knows how to listen," Baekhyun replies, but repeats the plan, anyway. Once Sehun and Jongin get back with intel on Pegasus' location, they surround the place. Chanyeol pairs off with Sehun in the event that Frost decides to show up, and Joonmyun and Jongdae take care of Psycho. "But remember, we don't have much time. Ten minutes, tops. And Jongdae, don't forget to charge the atmosphere. That'll limit his flight ability," Baekhyun reminds Jongdae. Jongdae winks in response.
Kyungsoo slides right next to him and bumps their shoulders together. "You need me to do anything, hyung?"
"Cheer for me. Pray hard. Maybe sometime between today and tomorrow, I'll develop flight as part of my power roster." A moment of hesitation, then, "How about a good luck kiss?"
Kyungsoo rolls his eyes. "You want to kiss my fist?"
Baekhyun doesn't reply, keeps making kissy faces at Kyungsoo until Kyungsoo does introduce his fist to Baekhyun's lips. For a second, Baekhyun forgets that he's with the rest of the super team, and says in a voice too loud, "Thanks, kid. I thought I was your favorite?"
The light flickers. The air turns abnormally cold. Joonmyun offers to buy dinner for everyone in preparation for the big fight and Kyungsoo looks around for an audience. Then he brings his fist to his lips, making a sloppy kissing sound. "Does that count?
Baekhyun feels his cheeks heat up. If Kyungsoo ever notices, he doesn't call Baekhyun out on it. Instead, he pushes Baekhyun forward so they can catch up with the rest of the group. "Seriously, though, what do you want me to do?"
Baekhyun hums for a while, then thinks back on all the months they've spent in the training rooms, Kyungsoo with his thinning patience and Baekhyun with pressing need to get back in the business. He thinks of finding himself again as he regains control of his power, thinks of discovering something new after that encounter with Pegasus. He thinks of Kyungsoo and his unwavering trust and loyalty, of bright eyes and his pretty lips.
He threads their fingers together and thinks, maybe this part of the plan will work. They could work.
"Remember the thing you did back in the restaurant? The pillars thing?"
Kyungsoo cocks an eyebrow. "Yeah. What about it?"
"I… need you to do something like that. Except with a few tweaks."
Baekhyun grins. "I need you to give me a boost."
☄
Pegasus, strangely nice as always, finds them instead of letting them seek him out. It's pretty convenient since Jongin and Sehun won't have to exhaust themselves just trying to track a supervillain down, but it's also rude when Pegasus attacks the whole establishment with a flurry of feathers. "Can't a hero eat in peace!" Jongin groans, then pops two more pieces of meat in his mouth before teleporting out of the restaurant. Sehun forgoes the samgyupsal but eats a few more pieces of kimchi. Joonmyun downs a glass of water in one big gulp.
"Just like old times?" Chanyeol says, bumping his hip into Baekhyun's.
Baekhyun looks to his side, reaching for Kyungsoo's hand. He looks back at Chanyeol and Jongdae, then says, "Yeah, but better."
The reunion gets interrupted when the walls turn into ice, then explode all around them. Chanyeol's first instinct is to spread his wings; his second, to stretch his arms wide, trying to scoop up the three. "Okay, hang on tight!" And then they're lifting off the ground, heading to the ceiling. Lighting strikes from above and creates an opening for them. Outside, the sky is a thick blanket of darkness. It's the perfect time to take Pegasus down.
"I brought my friends," Pegasus begins. "I was feeling lonely." His voice booms from feet away. Psycho's carrying Frost bridal style, it's almost funny, but then ice starts to tower over the little town.
Chanyeol lets loose a stream of flame. Without the proper signal boost, he'll only be able to take down a section of it, maybe leave a nasty burn on Frost. He tries, anyway. Frost shivers a little.
Baekhyun cracks his neck, opens his palms and shoots a stream of light down to the floor, the barrier slowly crawling up. There's a dull glow all around them. Step one. "This is like one of those club wars in high school, huh?"
"I was one of the quiet kids, though."
"Ah, it's always the unassuming kid who plans to destroy the world," Baekhyun groans. Beside him, Kyungsoo snorts. "You're really bad at moving on, aren't you?"
Sehun walks over to where Chanyeol is, while Jongdae takes the spot beside Joonmyun. Jongin cracks his knuckles. Frost gets back to his feet, but his knees shake when he realizes they're too many feet off the ground. Step two.
Pegasus shrugs. "I guess I just really want to finish what we started. You and me, Pop, just like the old days."
"I told you, stop calling me 'Pop'. The Rice Krispies trio isn't taking new members."
A few feet away, Chanyeol raises a thumbs-up, produces a tongue of flame at the tip of his finger. The skies begin to rumble.
"Oh really?" Pegasus says. "I'll just have to force you guys to take me in, then."
Psycho lifts a foot, and Frost leaps from where he is to the thin sheet of ice. Kyungsoo stomps and gives the ground a good shake.
Baekhyun laughs a little. "I'd like to see you try."
The first flash of light comes from Chanyeol who sets himself aflame. Sehun runs to where Frost is, circling him, and Chanyeol jumps then tackles Frost to the ground. The impact makes the ice crack all around them, and Kyungsoo quickly turns around to summon a stone wall, shielding them from the blast. Chanyeol grins at the intervention. Baekhyun almost misses the shelter as he shoots out beams at Pegasus. The cleanest shot he'd made is a light ball to Pegasus' face. It only makes him even more handsome than he should be.
On the other side, Psycho takes a splash to the face and Jongin fastens him to the ground. "Move away!" Jongdae yells before pinning Psycho down, palms flat on Psycho's wrists. He's cloaked in lightning and his hair is a shocking shade of yellow. The next thing Baekhyun hears is the crackle of thunder and Chanyeol's flames. After that, a loud thud that feels a lot like Pegasus slamming him to the ground, then pulling him up to the sky.
Baekhyun resurfaces, shaking his head. In the evening, his power isn't at its prime, but that doesn't mean he can't try. "You'll want to put me down, honey," he whispers, then slams his palm on Pegasus' face.
His palm glows and every inch of him feels lighter than it should be. He tries doing it again, the memory digging thing, tries to reach Pegasus' mind. C'mon, buddy, there's gotta be something in here somewhere- Pegasus preparing for the fight, meeting up with Psycho and Frost to ask for their help. Pegasus staying the night in Psycho's place and Psycho fixing his trench coat. Anything useful, anything at all-
Pegasus' face flashes right in front of him. The memories stop pouring in, and everything turns into white. "Stop fucking around with my mind!"
Pegasus lets him go, then, and it's like 2012 all over again - the rush of wind against his cheeks, tousling his hair, the feeling of falling and the fear of hitting the ground. His first thought is shit, I can't die like this, not when I've almost defeated him; his second, I haven't tried hard enough yet.
He opens his eyes and meets Kyungsoo's gaze. His throat tightens, but he still screams as loud as he can. "Now!"
Thunder roars in the skies. Baekhyun can feel it now, the warm blanket of electricity around him, Jongdae's power coming into play. Pegasus slows down considerably, stuck between trying to flap his wings harder and looking over his shoulder to see if Baekhyun has caught up. Another peal of thunder, then pillars shoot out from the ground up. He lands on a pillar on one knee, then pushes himself up. Kyungsoo summons another pillar, and then another, and Baekhyun tries to keep up, jumping off each solid rock, inching closer to Pegasus. He's got just one shot at this, just one window of opportunity to take Pegasus down without Pegasus shutting himself off and turning his memories into dust.
He kicks his feet in the air and grabs onto the edge of a pillar. The friction of his nails against the stone is painful enough to kick his senses into overdrive. He pushes himself up as quickly as possible, then jumps again - three more pillars if his calculations are correct. Three pillars until Kyungsoo reaches his limit. Three pillars until the gift of flight magically comes to him, if that's even possible.
"Hey Peggy, membership's temporarily open!" Baekhyun yells. He makes his way to another pillar and Pegasus stops to look over his shoulder.
The last pillar shoots up and he lands just inches shy of the edge. He takes a deep breath and jumps, takes a leap of faith, claws at air until he's able to latch onto Pegasus.
"What do you think about joining SM?" he asks, breathing ragged. Pegasus tenses, and he presses one palm flat on the back of Pegasus' head.
He summons every bit of power in him and focuses it on the palm of his hand, releases all of it until he feels Pegasus' body go limp. And then everything goes blessedly white, light, airy. Pegasus' memories start to fade. He can see Pegasus' childhood, running in the field with little Psycho and Frost. He feels the rush of air against his skin again, except he's falling faster. His entire body is numb.
He closes his eyes and thinks of hitting the ground, closer to home.
☄
Chanyeol's laughter is the first thing he hears when he wakes up. The second, Chanyeol's strangled groan. It takes a few minutes before everything else clicks - the white walls, the steady beeping, four bodies hovering him, one of them being forcibly pushed back. "Get out, Chanyeol. You're taking up the entire room," a familiar voice says, and then everything comes to focus. Jongdae's hair is a deep shade of brown, and Chanyeol's flashing all ten million of his teeth again. Beside him, Joonmyun mumbles, "Finally."
"Your best record so far," Kyungsoo whispers, then rests his hand on Baekhyun's. "3 hours, hyung. Not bad."
"I did an hour before," Baekhyun complains. He chuckles, then winces when he feels a heavy pain in his ribs. The fall couldn't have been that bad, but it's not as if his body has been the same since his two-year-long coma. "Cut me some slack."
"Is that some code for 'Go away, Chanyeol?'" Jongdae asks. Chanyeol tries to frown but fails at it miserably.
"Yeah, I guess you could say that."
Joonmyun motions for the other two to leave the room. Chanyeol looks over his shoulder one last time and says, "Hey Pop, get out of bed soon. You still owe us dinner."
The room falls silent when Joonmyun closes the door behind them. Kyungsoo moves closer, runs his thumb along the side of Baekhyun's hand. "That was really risky," Kyungsoo begins, voice croaked and rough. "You could've died."
"Worst case scenario, I'd have slipped into another coma."
Kyungsoo raises his fist, but drops it soon after. Baekhyun laughs a little. "Sorry. Bad joke. Wouldn't want to put you through that again."
"Just… try to get some rest. We'll get you back in tip top shape soon." Kyungsoo gives his hand a light squeeze. "Shouldn't be too hard."
Baekhyun smiles a little. He can feel warmth creeping back to his arms. It's a pleasant feeling.
"D'you think I'll ever be good to take real field mission again?" he asks Kyungsoo after a while.
His head feels heavy again, and he sinks deeper into the pillow. Kyungsoo cocks his head, gives him that lazy smile where only one of the corners of his lips is tugged up. Kyungsoo chuckles. "Maybe."
Baekhyun threads their hands together in a last-ditch effort to keep himself awake. "Maybe?"
"Probably," Kyungsoo answers after a while. The other corner of his lips tugs up. Baekhyun hangs on for a second longer. "Definitely."
☄
SM's an asshole for gathering them at seven in the morning for a mission deployment. The brief was that they had five different countries to cover, and Jongin had already volunteered to go solo. Joonmyun agreed to be involved again, taking Pegasus under his wing. "You're the only one who can handle him," someone from the management had said. Chanyeol laughed and Jongdae cackled then. Everybody knew Baekhyun was lying about the elite membership being open. Pegasus doesn't seem to remember anything, though, so Baekhyun breathes easily.
"Pegasus and I are taking China, and Sehun will be working alone on the Malaysia case," Joonmyun says. "Any takers for Japan?"
"We'll take it," Chanyeol offers, raising Jongdae's hand in accord. Jongdae only snorts in agreement. His hair burns a bright yellow.
Baekhyun shifts in his seat, sitting on his hands to keep himself from moving around too much. "I haven't even had coffee yet," he mumbles, and Kyungsoo nudges him in his side. Despite Kyungsoo's bloodshot eyes, he looks completely at ease, like he's the one who's had more exposure to field assignments. Baekhyun nudges right back in frustration, twists his elbow in Kyungsoo's side until he earns a scowl.
"That's it, I'm terminating this partnership," Kyungsoo declares.
Kyungsoo motions to get up his seat, but hovers for a while, glancing at Baekhyun. In front, Joonmyun calls out their names and says, "Vietnam. You guys okay with that?" Baekhyun looks up, searching Kyungsoo's eyes for a response, but all he gets is light laughter at Kyungsoo pinching the tip of his nose.
"Gonna beat you to filing the termination papers-" Baekhyun wheezes, then pinches Kyungsoo's stomach. "And you'll regret passing on this opportunity-"
"Hey, you two, I was asking if you're okay with Vietnam," Joonmyun calls out again, louder this time. He isn't irritated; it's just too early. Maybe it's too early for Baekhyun to be having second thoughts, as well.
"I'm okay with that, I guess," he says in feigned nonchalance, and then Kyungsoo's slapping him on the arm and dragging him to the front, laughter still bubbling on his lips. Baekhyun takes it all in - the sound of Kyungsoo's laughter, Kyungsoo's smile, the warm press of Kyungsoo's palm on his wrist and the steady grip that says, if you're gonna fake it then try harder, Byun. So when Joonmyun asks for the last time, Starburst and Fissure for Vietnam? he nods and takes the mission envelope from Joonmyun's hands, grinning.
"Yes," he says, finality in his tone. He looks to his side, meeting Kyungsoo's gaze. His knees are shaking. Kyungsoo's smile is too bright for his eyes.
"Starburst and Fissure, reporting for duty."