{exo; suho/chen} just like starlight
Title: just like starlight
Fandom: exo
Pairing: suho/chen
Word Count: ~1400
Rating: pg
Summary: howl's moving castle!au: jongdae is sophie, joonmyun is howl, and jongdae doesn't believe he is beautiful.
A/N: um. im not too sure whether this is a very long drabble or a very, very short one-shot, but its something, at least! im trying to get into the feeling of writing in preparation for all that fic ill be writing in february, especially since ive been working on one thing for so long i dont know if i can do shorter things anymore.
this fanart is to blame, isnt he gorgeous? several lines are lifted directly from hayao miyazaki's movie (and hence dont belong to me, etc etc), which is probably my favorite movie of all time. if you havent seen it, i have a very large tv screen and the disc ready for the watching! also, i recommend you listen to this cover of the movie's main theme song, seeing as the official audio isnt available for copyright issues~
just like starlight
Jongdae leans against the cold wood of the banister, rubbing his hands together and wincing at the residue of soap still clinging to his fingers. While he's no stranger to hard work, the toll of the Witch's curse on his body was more than he could've ever predicted. Across the dimly-lit room, Joonmyun is bent over the fireplace where the fire demon rests; the white, billowing shirt he wears hangs loosely off his frame, long coat tucked away upstairs, and he looks small and surreal in Calcifer's light. His hair is a rich, soft red today, strands of hair threaded with the demon's glow like little trails of stars, and Jongdae closes his eyes.
"Are you cold?" Joonmyun asks. "You shivered."
"I'm fine," Jongdae answers without opening his eyes to look at him.
Still, Joonmyun murmurs a soft command to Calcifer; and the inside of the castle immediately heats by a few degrees, just enough so Jongdae is comfortable. Jongdae's thanks hangs in the air between them, lingering for far too long like they're both holding their breaths.
"You know that day in the city, during the parade?" Jongdae says at last. That was the first time they'd met, Jongdae dodging celebrating civilians and running into the burly soldiers who had caught sight of his slighter body, delicate face, and pounced. Joonmyun had edged between them out of nowhere, curling an arm around Jongdae's shoulders so assertively Jongdae hadn't even had a moment to wonder at his presence when the soldiers were turning, walking jerkily away at a flick of Joonmyun's slender finger. Where to? Joonmyun had asked, leading Jongdae through the city and through the skies. (Jongdae chooses not to think too hard about what Joonmyun had said once the shadows started appearing, the Don't be alarmed, but I'm being followed. Act normal.)
"Yes," Joonmyun says quietly.
Jongdae sighs. The warmth seems to be helping a little, and he relaxes. The words come more easily, now. "I always wondered why you helped me. Aren't you Howl? Aren't you supposed to charm the hearts out of beautiful girls and eat them?"
"Beautiful girls?"
"Yes. Not a boy like me," Jongdae says. There's no accusation in his voice, just calm, almost sleepy acceptance, with a dash of curiosity. When Joonmyun looks at him, he realizes the Witch of the Waste's curse has slipped a little, all of the lines of age gone and Jongdae's face left startlingly smooth, like the first day they'd met. Joonmyun admires his high, sharp cheekbones and pursed lips, the column of his throat, and shrugs.
"But you are beautiful," he says, and watches sadly as Jongdae's body fast-forwards through seventy years of life, shrinking him back down to the old, wizened man that stumbled into the castle and pushed Calcifer around like he had done it all his life.
Jongdae doesn't say anything, just opens his eyes and gazes evenly at Joonmyun's face. He doesn't say anything like Well, the nice thing about being old is you've got nothing much to lose. He doesn't refuse the compliment, even though Joonmyun knows he doesn't believe it, and doesn't thank him either.
That night, Jongdae is sleeping when Joonmyun can't quite find the energy to draw the talons back into his body to form feet, wings dripping with hot blood. War always makes him so terribly tired and Calcifer's warning doesn't help soothe his worries much, but he lingers at the makeshift bed Jongdae has found for himself in the castle; there are no rooms to spare, with his apprentice Zitao living upstairs and how they've been picking up stragglers lately, but Joonmyun has been wanting to remodel these days, anyways. The covers are pulled up around Jongdae's chin but aren't high enough to shroud the boy's face, and his young face is peaceful in sleep. He really is beautiful.
The wings are finally gone and fused back into his body, and Joonmyun pushes himself up the stairs painfully for his bath.
☀
Nausea swirls and threatens to overflow when Jongdae peers over the side of the struggling last piece of the castle, the remaining two metal legs clanking loudly as they scramble over mountain slopes. He scrambles back to the center of the wooden piece, seeing Zitao's worried expression, the wasted Witch huddled in the corner. He goes to her.
"Please," he says softly to her, helpless to the note of begging that slips into his voice. "Please, may I have that."
"His heart is mine," she moans, and Calcifer flickers weakly under her tight grasp, plump and wrinkled fingers. The last shard of the shooting star spirit he once was.
"I need it," he says, urgently, and she peers into his face with blank, tired eyes.
A moment's pause, and then she says, "Do you really?"
Jongdae doesn't hesitate. "Yes," he tells her. "Yes."
"You can have it, then," she says grudgingly, and empties the hot little demon into his cupped hands. Something settles inside of Jongdae once he takes it, knowing that he holds Joonmyun's heart in his hands; it pulses and gasps, and Jongdae wonders how he never saw that it was a heart under Calcifer's flame all this time. The skin of his palms burns, but he refuses to let go.
There is one thing left to do. "Calcifer," Jongdae says.
"Jongdae, I'm so tired," the fire demon says to him, burning so dimly Jongdae could lose him in his own hands if the heart weren't there. Joonmyun's heart. Jongdae remembers how Calcifer let him into the castle if only he promised to help release him from his own curse, how the castle moved forward so quickly and purposefully just from the words "I like your spark!"--how all Calcifer wanted was merely that, a bit of appreciation. How Joonmyun swallowed the remnants of a shooting star for a bargain and brought Calcifer out from his chest in the memory world when he was only a child.
"If I give Joonmyun back his heart, what'll happen to you?" Jongdae asks, holding the demon at eye level as the castle continues to lurch forward. He can see Zitao from where the little boy is hovering nearby with the magic advisor's dog, the quiet resignation of the Witch as they both watch apprehensively. Joonmyun's body is so still.
Calcifer flickers again, his flame dull and muted. "I'll be okay if you do it, I think," he says at last. "I mean, you dumped water on me, and we both survived."
Jongdae smiles. "I'd better try then."
Calcifer burns a little brighter in his hands as if nervous when they get closer to Joonmyun, who is lying prone across the wooden panels. As Jongdae positions his two cupped hands over Joonmyun's chest, he wonders whether he should warn him, or apologize. Or say goodbye. In the end, he does nothing, releasing the demon and watching as Joonmyun's heart returns to its proper place. A flash of starlight jets out of Joonmyun's body, Calcifer's familiar laugh ringing around them as he calls, "I'm free! I'm free!" and Jongdae takes comfort from the fact that one of them is all right, after all.
A heartbeat passes, and Joonmyun coughs roughly. Jongdae feels so light from relief that he just might float away in the passing breeze.
"Jongdae? Jongdae?" Joonmyun says immediately once he opens his eyes, searching until Jongdae is in view. He makes to sit up and lets out a gasp, groaning, "I feel terrible, like there's a weight on my chest."
"A heart's a heavy burden," Jongdae says, taking in the gorgeous face of the man who once lifted him clear off the ground with magic, who opened the door to a new portal and showed him a piece of his childhood, surrounded by endless fields of flourishing flowers. The man who was so vain he panicked enough to summon spirits of darkness just from the color of his hair, who always ran away from his problems but stayed to fight when it was Jongdae who was threatened by the war. Sorry, I've had enough of running away, Jongdae. Now I've got something I want to protect. It's you.
Joonmyun stares into Jongdae's face, and Jongdae knows that he is young again. "You look beautiful," he says, almost reverently, and Jongdae smiles. And this time, he lets himself believe.
Fandom: exo
Pairing: suho/chen
Word Count: ~1400
Rating: pg
Summary: howl's moving castle!au: jongdae is sophie, joonmyun is howl, and jongdae doesn't believe he is beautiful.
A/N: um. im not too sure whether this is a very long drabble or a very, very short one-shot, but its something, at least! im trying to get into the feeling of writing in preparation for all that fic ill be writing in february, especially since ive been working on one thing for so long i dont know if i can do shorter things anymore.
this fanart is to blame, isnt he gorgeous? several lines are lifted directly from hayao miyazaki's movie (and hence dont belong to me, etc etc), which is probably my favorite movie of all time. if you havent seen it, i have a very large tv screen and the disc ready for the watching! also, i recommend you listen to this cover of the movie's main theme song, seeing as the official audio isnt available for copyright issues~
just like starlight
Jongdae leans against the cold wood of the banister, rubbing his hands together and wincing at the residue of soap still clinging to his fingers. While he's no stranger to hard work, the toll of the Witch's curse on his body was more than he could've ever predicted. Across the dimly-lit room, Joonmyun is bent over the fireplace where the fire demon rests; the white, billowing shirt he wears hangs loosely off his frame, long coat tucked away upstairs, and he looks small and surreal in Calcifer's light. His hair is a rich, soft red today, strands of hair threaded with the demon's glow like little trails of stars, and Jongdae closes his eyes.
"Are you cold?" Joonmyun asks. "You shivered."
"I'm fine," Jongdae answers without opening his eyes to look at him.
Still, Joonmyun murmurs a soft command to Calcifer; and the inside of the castle immediately heats by a few degrees, just enough so Jongdae is comfortable. Jongdae's thanks hangs in the air between them, lingering for far too long like they're both holding their breaths.
"You know that day in the city, during the parade?" Jongdae says at last. That was the first time they'd met, Jongdae dodging celebrating civilians and running into the burly soldiers who had caught sight of his slighter body, delicate face, and pounced. Joonmyun had edged between them out of nowhere, curling an arm around Jongdae's shoulders so assertively Jongdae hadn't even had a moment to wonder at his presence when the soldiers were turning, walking jerkily away at a flick of Joonmyun's slender finger. Where to? Joonmyun had asked, leading Jongdae through the city and through the skies. (Jongdae chooses not to think too hard about what Joonmyun had said once the shadows started appearing, the Don't be alarmed, but I'm being followed. Act normal.)
"Yes," Joonmyun says quietly.
Jongdae sighs. The warmth seems to be helping a little, and he relaxes. The words come more easily, now. "I always wondered why you helped me. Aren't you Howl? Aren't you supposed to charm the hearts out of beautiful girls and eat them?"
"Beautiful girls?"
"Yes. Not a boy like me," Jongdae says. There's no accusation in his voice, just calm, almost sleepy acceptance, with a dash of curiosity. When Joonmyun looks at him, he realizes the Witch of the Waste's curse has slipped a little, all of the lines of age gone and Jongdae's face left startlingly smooth, like the first day they'd met. Joonmyun admires his high, sharp cheekbones and pursed lips, the column of his throat, and shrugs.
"But you are beautiful," he says, and watches sadly as Jongdae's body fast-forwards through seventy years of life, shrinking him back down to the old, wizened man that stumbled into the castle and pushed Calcifer around like he had done it all his life.
Jongdae doesn't say anything, just opens his eyes and gazes evenly at Joonmyun's face. He doesn't say anything like Well, the nice thing about being old is you've got nothing much to lose. He doesn't refuse the compliment, even though Joonmyun knows he doesn't believe it, and doesn't thank him either.
That night, Jongdae is sleeping when Joonmyun can't quite find the energy to draw the talons back into his body to form feet, wings dripping with hot blood. War always makes him so terribly tired and Calcifer's warning doesn't help soothe his worries much, but he lingers at the makeshift bed Jongdae has found for himself in the castle; there are no rooms to spare, with his apprentice Zitao living upstairs and how they've been picking up stragglers lately, but Joonmyun has been wanting to remodel these days, anyways. The covers are pulled up around Jongdae's chin but aren't high enough to shroud the boy's face, and his young face is peaceful in sleep. He really is beautiful.
The wings are finally gone and fused back into his body, and Joonmyun pushes himself up the stairs painfully for his bath.
☀
Nausea swirls and threatens to overflow when Jongdae peers over the side of the struggling last piece of the castle, the remaining two metal legs clanking loudly as they scramble over mountain slopes. He scrambles back to the center of the wooden piece, seeing Zitao's worried expression, the wasted Witch huddled in the corner. He goes to her.
"Please," he says softly to her, helpless to the note of begging that slips into his voice. "Please, may I have that."
"His heart is mine," she moans, and Calcifer flickers weakly under her tight grasp, plump and wrinkled fingers. The last shard of the shooting star spirit he once was.
"I need it," he says, urgently, and she peers into his face with blank, tired eyes.
A moment's pause, and then she says, "Do you really?"
Jongdae doesn't hesitate. "Yes," he tells her. "Yes."
"You can have it, then," she says grudgingly, and empties the hot little demon into his cupped hands. Something settles inside of Jongdae once he takes it, knowing that he holds Joonmyun's heart in his hands; it pulses and gasps, and Jongdae wonders how he never saw that it was a heart under Calcifer's flame all this time. The skin of his palms burns, but he refuses to let go.
There is one thing left to do. "Calcifer," Jongdae says.
"Jongdae, I'm so tired," the fire demon says to him, burning so dimly Jongdae could lose him in his own hands if the heart weren't there. Joonmyun's heart. Jongdae remembers how Calcifer let him into the castle if only he promised to help release him from his own curse, how the castle moved forward so quickly and purposefully just from the words "I like your spark!"--how all Calcifer wanted was merely that, a bit of appreciation. How Joonmyun swallowed the remnants of a shooting star for a bargain and brought Calcifer out from his chest in the memory world when he was only a child.
"If I give Joonmyun back his heart, what'll happen to you?" Jongdae asks, holding the demon at eye level as the castle continues to lurch forward. He can see Zitao from where the little boy is hovering nearby with the magic advisor's dog, the quiet resignation of the Witch as they both watch apprehensively. Joonmyun's body is so still.
Calcifer flickers again, his flame dull and muted. "I'll be okay if you do it, I think," he says at last. "I mean, you dumped water on me, and we both survived."
Jongdae smiles. "I'd better try then."
Calcifer burns a little brighter in his hands as if nervous when they get closer to Joonmyun, who is lying prone across the wooden panels. As Jongdae positions his two cupped hands over Joonmyun's chest, he wonders whether he should warn him, or apologize. Or say goodbye. In the end, he does nothing, releasing the demon and watching as Joonmyun's heart returns to its proper place. A flash of starlight jets out of Joonmyun's body, Calcifer's familiar laugh ringing around them as he calls, "I'm free! I'm free!" and Jongdae takes comfort from the fact that one of them is all right, after all.
A heartbeat passes, and Joonmyun coughs roughly. Jongdae feels so light from relief that he just might float away in the passing breeze.
"Jongdae? Jongdae?" Joonmyun says immediately once he opens his eyes, searching until Jongdae is in view. He makes to sit up and lets out a gasp, groaning, "I feel terrible, like there's a weight on my chest."
"A heart's a heavy burden," Jongdae says, taking in the gorgeous face of the man who once lifted him clear off the ground with magic, who opened the door to a new portal and showed him a piece of his childhood, surrounded by endless fields of flourishing flowers. The man who was so vain he panicked enough to summon spirits of darkness just from the color of his hair, who always ran away from his problems but stayed to fight when it was Jongdae who was threatened by the war. Sorry, I've had enough of running away, Jongdae. Now I've got something I want to protect. It's you.
Joonmyun stares into Jongdae's face, and Jongdae knows that he is young again. "You look beautiful," he says, almost reverently, and Jongdae smiles. And this time, he lets himself believe.