validation pt 6
Title: Validation
Chapter: 6/?
Author: notochrasy
Rating: PG
Pairing: primarily Kris/Luhan, this chapter includes Kai/Sehun, Luhan/Sehun
Genre: AU, Drama, Sci-Fi, Dystopian
Summary:
55 years after a new radioactive mineral has been discovered and used as a new nuclear energy source for Earth,
the human population has changed. Exposure to the radiation to the natural human fertilisation process is hazardous.
Potential genetic anomalies may be overcome through the use of genetic engineering to assist IVF treatment.
Your choice to conceive naturally may be the choice that brings humanity to its demise.
Disclaimer: Don't own the characters, blah blah blah.
Word count: ~2100
A/N: so much dialogue, no science.
chapters: one two three four five six seven eight nine ten eleven
“It’s human skin.”
“No, I’ve seen treated human skin, that’s not it.” Luhan insists, pulling the book out of his labcoat pocket.
“No. It’s not treated. It’s alive.”
Hearing this, Luhan drops the book and it hits the ground with a thud. Sehun bends over and picks up the book, then hands it back to Luhan, but Luhan steps back.
“It won’t hurt you. It’s pretty harmless.” Sehun passes the book over his palm as he straightens up.
“I don’t want it…”
“I think it’s too late for that now.”
“What do you mean?”
“You wanted it before right? Before you found out about it being human skin?”
Luhan feels his stomach lurch at the mention of human skin. A sudden bout of lightheadedness hits him and he squats down, covering his head with his arms.
“You took it from him. It’s yours.”
“And you just picked it up when I dropped it,” Luhan voice is muffled through the fabric of his labcoat sleeves. “It’s yours.”
Sehun sighs, “it’s not that simple. I had no intention of possessing it as I picked it up. So it’s still yours.”
Luhan looks up, eyes weary, “I… didn’t think that I was going to take it…honest, it just happened.”
Sehun doesn’t offer any response.
“I just…figured Kris would maybe… open up to me more if I did him this favor.”
The younger boy raises an eyebrow.
“I don’t even know what I was thinking. I don’t even know where all this skin comes from. I don’t… even know if…people have suffered because of him…” Luhan sighs and drops all his weight to the linoleum floor. The ground is a little cold and he can feel it through the thin fabric of his scrub pants. Sehun crouches down beside him and places the book into his lap.
Hesitating, Luhan brushes his fingers along the edges of the book before pushing it off his lap and onto the floor just in front of him. It sits there, roughly cut tanned squares of human skin, bound together.
“Wait, how do you know all this?”
Sehun rubs the back of his neck before answering, “We’re brothers.”
“…That’s no possi-”
“Not blood brothers.” Sehun corrects, “We grew up together, in the same community. We’re the same age.”
Luhan narrows his eyes, “And all this time he didn’t recognize you?”
“Oh, trust me, he has recognized me. He just stays out of my way.”
“Why? I thought that-”
“Whatever you thought, you’re wrong. Whatever you think you know, get rid of all of it. Jongin doesn’t want to look at me because I am a reminder that he is a failure, a coward. When he looks at me, it just reminds him that when he could’ve helped people…he FLED.”
“The massacre? You were a survivor?”
“Yeah.” Sehun replies offhandedly and slumps down to lean against the wall. Luhan can see Sehun’s jaw clenching and his eyes mist up.
“Why is it so bad that he fled?” Luhan asks.
“He, he was one of the youth protectors…since he got his powers super early. He was made a protector for a reason, you can’t just abandon people like that… It makes me so…”
“Angry?”
“Disgusted.” Sehun says sharply. “He disgusts me.”
There’s a sudden hammering from inside Jongin’s room, muted screaming that permeates through the walls. Sehun stands up and stands in front of Jongin’s door.
“Shut the fuck up! YOU DESERVE THIS! IT’S ALL BECAUSE OF YOU THAT THEY’RE DEAD. I HATE YOU.” Luhan watches Sehun yell and hears the pain and despair in his voice. The young boy had his forehead leaned against the door, eyes closed, lips quivering. The sheer vulnerability he expressed tore through Luhan’s heart.
“You were the only one I had left…” Sehun’s voice cracks as he kicks the doorframe and storms off towards the far east end of the hallway and into his own room.
Luhan grabs the hem off his labcoat and folds it over the book in front of him. He pulls himself up and walks back through the hallway towards the sterilized holding bay. There’s an unnatural warmth that seeps through the layer of labcoat that separated his fingers and the book, and Luhan fights the urge to drop the book and kick it the rest of the way.
Turning fast around the corner, he almost stumbles into Kris, who is just exiting the holding bay. Startled, Luhan drops the book.
Kris’ eyes immediately follow the book from the moment it drops out of Luhan’s hand.
“Is that Kai’s book?”
Luhan nods weakly, leaves the book on the floor and hobbles past Kris.
In the holding bay he pulls off his labcoat and scrubs, then absently throws them into the laundry basket.
“Hey what happened?”
“What do you mean? Nothing.” Luhan answers a bit too quickly, without turning around to face Kris.
“What are those marks around your wrists?”
Luhan takes a quick glance down at his wrists and is taken aback at the dark red marks forming as a ring around his wrists.
“Did the new case do something to you again?”
Luhan doesn’t say anything, but rubs his wrists gingerly before moving into the decontamination booth. He goes to slide the door closed but is stopped by Kris.
The eerie green light of the decontamination booth is unflattering on Kris’ face and Luhan stares at him for a few seconds before realizing that Kris was hopping into the booth as well.
“Wait…you can’t have two people decontaminating at once…it’s against protocol!” Luhan protests loudly.
“Screw protocol.” Kris pushes Luhan to sit down.
Sitting down, Luhan feels the pull of emotions linger in the base of his skull, creating a tingling sensation that runs up and down his spine.
“Hey, you okay?” Kris’ deep voice echoes through the booth, it’s sound waves oscillating in his ear canal.
“I’m not sure.” Luhan replies honestly.
“What’s got you so caught up?”
Luhan gets up from the plastic stool and shifts awkwardly away from Kris who is also half naked standing in decontamination.
“Jongin’s book… it’s…”
“It’s what?” Kris presses.
“It’s… made of human skin.”
Kris frowns but he remains silent.
“Say something.” Luhan pleads. “Tell me that it’s absolutely not possible…”
“Luhan…”
“Why just my name?” Luhan’s voice sounds high pitched and shaky above the whir of the decontamination booth.
Kris folds his arms, “I think… I think it’s made of Kai’s skin.”
Luhan winces, “What makes you say that?”
“Lay…has been spending time with Kai. Healing. I didn’t think of anything at first but…”
“Healing? Healing him?”
Kris unfolds his arms and cracks the joints in his knuckles, “Lay had Kai’s blood on him earlier this morning when I was with Chanyeol.”
Luhan raised a brow, “Excuse me?”
“Kai’s blood…”
Luhan raises his voice, “Yixing had Jongin’s blood on him and you didn’t tell me?!”
“Look, Luhan, there’s a reason why I couldn’t sa-”
“How can you just say it like it’s a normal thing? What is wrong with you?”
Kris places a hand on Luhan’s shoulder but he shakes it off .
“Shit happens, Luhan. What am I supposed to do? Freak out and potentially jeopardize everyone here? I’m not that stupid!”
Luhan pulls his face into a scowl and his eyes mist up. “Why can’t I know about these things? Why doesn’t anyone ever have the decency to tell me things?”
Luhan’s face feels warm and it’s only when Kris’ fingers find his face in the dim light that he realizes that he’s crying. He pushes Kris’ hand away and quickly turns away, wiping his face with the back of his arm.
“I thought I could help them…coming here. I took this job because I thought I could make a difference.” Luhan’s voice drops below a whisper, “But I just ruin everything.” He turn backs and Kris pulls him into a hug.
Luhan fights the conflicting sensation that rises from the pit of his stomach. The contact of their bare skin is increasingly uncomfortable for Luhan yet comforting in its implication that Kris might actually care. For the first time in the near 5 months that he’s been here, Luhan feels at ease.
“You’ve done well so far, Luhan. Don’t let anything tell you otherwise.” Kris pats Luhan on the back and breaks from the embrace. “You just have to be stronger.”
Luhan feels the heat from his face reach his ears, “Stronger? You think I’m weak?”
“I never said that.” Kris says firmly.
“You have no idea how much energy I put into keeping a hold of myself everyday here. Maybe we have a different ideas of what ‘strong’ is, but let me tell you something…if I wasn’t strong enough I would’ve quit long ago.”
“Luhan, stop.” The decontamination booth beeps at them loudly.
Luhan groans in frustration and pushes the booth open, “Just dealing with you is fucking hard.”
“Dealing with me? What the hell Luhan.” Kris follows Luhan out into the south side of the holding bay. “You’re obviously experiencing late symptoms of shock, so I suggest you go lie down and take the rest of the day off.”
“Don’t patronize me.”
“I wouldn’t dream of it.”
Luhan watches as Kris walks back through the decontamination booth, closing the southern door. He strains to listen and can hear Kris open the north door into the sterilized holding bay of the North Wing. The security lock sounds and the clang of the North Wing metal doors resonates through both sides of the holding bay.
“What is he doing…” Luhan mutters under his breath and wanders around to the showers.
* * *
The South Wing of the Trident Rehabilitation Facility is not well populated. Aside from the Carers employed at the facility, there are only 2 other people that frequent the facility. The chief coordinator of the facility, of which no one actually knows the name of, and Zhou Mi, the chief coordinators right hand man. Since it’s still the weekend though, it’s really only the Carers that wander the halls of the South Wing. So it was quite a surprise when Luhan found a slim figure off in the distance as he was walking down the main hall.
Luhan squints and quickens his pace, “Excuse me…who are you?”
The figure turns around and Luhan stops in his tracks.
“Hi. I’m sorry, no one was at the front so I just let myself in.”
Luhan’s jaw drops as the person walks up to him and extends their hand.
“You’re… female.”
“I’d prefer it if you called me Yoona, but nice observation.” She quips with a laugh.
“How did you get in?”
“You’re Luhan right? I remember you.”
“Wait what?”
Yoona laughs again, amused at the confused expression on Luhan’s face. “I’ve been here before, that’s how I remember the 2 passcodes needed to get it from the front waiting room.”
“I’m sorry, I don’t remember you.” Luhan struggles to come to terms with having a female within the facility.
“Um, I think it was maybe your first or second day?” Yoona tilts her head, thinking hard, “I was here for Case #39010KAI.”
“I really really don’t remember you.”
She tucks a loose strand of hair behind her ear, “That’s okay, I can imagine that you were pretty overwhelmed since you were new and all.”
Luhan nods slowly but then realizes he’s still really confused. “Why where you here for Kai?”
“Oh he wasn’t cooperating with anyone so they called me in because they thought he needed some encouragement.”
He pauses, “Encouragement?”
“Yeah…encouragement. Like, you know…” Yoona says slowly with a smile.
“Sexual encouragement?” Luhan asks, cringing.
“Yes, you could put it that way.”
Luhan grimaces as he remembers what happened in Jongin’s room, “I’m sorry you had to go through that.”
“Oh well, it’s just a job. I mean someone has to do it right?” Yoona states, somewhat matter of factly. “Plus, in the end he wasn’t really interested. So I guess I didn’t really do much.”
“I see…” Luhan says in disbelief. The girl in front of him seemed so unreserved compared to the other females he had met in the past few years. Most were soft and elusive, almost like wisps of smoke, yet this one was willful and unabashed, like a spark given off of a fire striker.
“Anyway, I’m kinda pressed for time though. So do you know where Kris is?”
“Kris? You want to see Kris?”
“Yeah, I haven’t seen him in forever, since he was away when I came here last. And he asked a favor from me.”
“A favor…”
“A favor,” Yoona smiles,
“and I’m here to deliver it.”
a/n:
next chapter find out what happens to kris after the little dispute,
please enjoy your stay at the trident rehabilitation facility,
take note that regardless of whether a pretty woman grants or withholds her favors,
she always likes to be asked for them.
so ask wisely.
hi. read and leave comment? or tweet me @notochrasy
ps. this chapter is a bit iffy, ngl. it's a little out of character for me to have so much dialogue in one chapter, but it was necessary, so...yeah...lol
and if you haven't noticed yet, i switch focus every two chapters between luhan and kris.
Chapter: 6/?
Author: notochrasy
Rating: PG
Pairing: primarily Kris/Luhan, this chapter includes Kai/Sehun, Luhan/Sehun
Genre: AU, Drama, Sci-Fi, Dystopian
Summary:
55 years after a new radioactive mineral has been discovered and used as a new nuclear energy source for Earth,
the human population has changed. Exposure to the radiation to the natural human fertilisation process is hazardous.
Potential genetic anomalies may be overcome through the use of genetic engineering to assist IVF treatment.
Your choice to conceive naturally may be the choice that brings humanity to its demise.
Disclaimer: Don't own the characters, blah blah blah.
Word count: ~2100
A/N: so much dialogue, no science.
chapters: one two three four five six seven eight nine ten eleven
“It’s human skin.”
“No, I’ve seen treated human skin, that’s not it.” Luhan insists, pulling the book out of his labcoat pocket.
“No. It’s not treated. It’s alive.”
Hearing this, Luhan drops the book and it hits the ground with a thud. Sehun bends over and picks up the book, then hands it back to Luhan, but Luhan steps back.
“It won’t hurt you. It’s pretty harmless.” Sehun passes the book over his palm as he straightens up.
“I don’t want it…”
“I think it’s too late for that now.”
“What do you mean?”
“You wanted it before right? Before you found out about it being human skin?”
Luhan feels his stomach lurch at the mention of human skin. A sudden bout of lightheadedness hits him and he squats down, covering his head with his arms.
“You took it from him. It’s yours.”
“And you just picked it up when I dropped it,” Luhan voice is muffled through the fabric of his labcoat sleeves. “It’s yours.”
Sehun sighs, “it’s not that simple. I had no intention of possessing it as I picked it up. So it’s still yours.”
Luhan looks up, eyes weary, “I… didn’t think that I was going to take it…honest, it just happened.”
Sehun doesn’t offer any response.
“I just…figured Kris would maybe… open up to me more if I did him this favor.”
The younger boy raises an eyebrow.
“I don’t even know what I was thinking. I don’t even know where all this skin comes from. I don’t… even know if…people have suffered because of him…” Luhan sighs and drops all his weight to the linoleum floor. The ground is a little cold and he can feel it through the thin fabric of his scrub pants. Sehun crouches down beside him and places the book into his lap.
Hesitating, Luhan brushes his fingers along the edges of the book before pushing it off his lap and onto the floor just in front of him. It sits there, roughly cut tanned squares of human skin, bound together.
“Wait, how do you know all this?”
Sehun rubs the back of his neck before answering, “We’re brothers.”
“…That’s no possi-”
“Not blood brothers.” Sehun corrects, “We grew up together, in the same community. We’re the same age.”
Luhan narrows his eyes, “And all this time he didn’t recognize you?”
“Oh, trust me, he has recognized me. He just stays out of my way.”
“Why? I thought that-”
“Whatever you thought, you’re wrong. Whatever you think you know, get rid of all of it. Jongin doesn’t want to look at me because I am a reminder that he is a failure, a coward. When he looks at me, it just reminds him that when he could’ve helped people…he FLED.”
“The massacre? You were a survivor?”
“Yeah.” Sehun replies offhandedly and slumps down to lean against the wall. Luhan can see Sehun’s jaw clenching and his eyes mist up.
“Why is it so bad that he fled?” Luhan asks.
“He, he was one of the youth protectors…since he got his powers super early. He was made a protector for a reason, you can’t just abandon people like that… It makes me so…”
“Angry?”
“Disgusted.” Sehun says sharply. “He disgusts me.”
There’s a sudden hammering from inside Jongin’s room, muted screaming that permeates through the walls. Sehun stands up and stands in front of Jongin’s door.
“Shut the fuck up! YOU DESERVE THIS! IT’S ALL BECAUSE OF YOU THAT THEY’RE DEAD. I HATE YOU.” Luhan watches Sehun yell and hears the pain and despair in his voice. The young boy had his forehead leaned against the door, eyes closed, lips quivering. The sheer vulnerability he expressed tore through Luhan’s heart.
“You were the only one I had left…” Sehun’s voice cracks as he kicks the doorframe and storms off towards the far east end of the hallway and into his own room.
Luhan grabs the hem off his labcoat and folds it over the book in front of him. He pulls himself up and walks back through the hallway towards the sterilized holding bay. There’s an unnatural warmth that seeps through the layer of labcoat that separated his fingers and the book, and Luhan fights the urge to drop the book and kick it the rest of the way.
Turning fast around the corner, he almost stumbles into Kris, who is just exiting the holding bay. Startled, Luhan drops the book.
Kris’ eyes immediately follow the book from the moment it drops out of Luhan’s hand.
“Is that Kai’s book?”
Luhan nods weakly, leaves the book on the floor and hobbles past Kris.
In the holding bay he pulls off his labcoat and scrubs, then absently throws them into the laundry basket.
“Hey what happened?”
“What do you mean? Nothing.” Luhan answers a bit too quickly, without turning around to face Kris.
“What are those marks around your wrists?”
Luhan takes a quick glance down at his wrists and is taken aback at the dark red marks forming as a ring around his wrists.
“Did the new case do something to you again?”
Luhan doesn’t say anything, but rubs his wrists gingerly before moving into the decontamination booth. He goes to slide the door closed but is stopped by Kris.
The eerie green light of the decontamination booth is unflattering on Kris’ face and Luhan stares at him for a few seconds before realizing that Kris was hopping into the booth as well.
“Wait…you can’t have two people decontaminating at once…it’s against protocol!” Luhan protests loudly.
“Screw protocol.” Kris pushes Luhan to sit down.
Sitting down, Luhan feels the pull of emotions linger in the base of his skull, creating a tingling sensation that runs up and down his spine.
“Hey, you okay?” Kris’ deep voice echoes through the booth, it’s sound waves oscillating in his ear canal.
“I’m not sure.” Luhan replies honestly.
“What’s got you so caught up?”
Luhan gets up from the plastic stool and shifts awkwardly away from Kris who is also half naked standing in decontamination.
“Jongin’s book… it’s…”
“It’s what?” Kris presses.
“It’s… made of human skin.”
Kris frowns but he remains silent.
“Say something.” Luhan pleads. “Tell me that it’s absolutely not possible…”
“Luhan…”
“Why just my name?” Luhan’s voice sounds high pitched and shaky above the whir of the decontamination booth.
Kris folds his arms, “I think… I think it’s made of Kai’s skin.”
Luhan winces, “What makes you say that?”
“Lay…has been spending time with Kai. Healing. I didn’t think of anything at first but…”
“Healing? Healing him?”
Kris unfolds his arms and cracks the joints in his knuckles, “Lay had Kai’s blood on him earlier this morning when I was with Chanyeol.”
Luhan raised a brow, “Excuse me?”
“Kai’s blood…”
Luhan raises his voice, “Yixing had Jongin’s blood on him and you didn’t tell me?!”
“Look, Luhan, there’s a reason why I couldn’t sa-”
“How can you just say it like it’s a normal thing? What is wrong with you?”
Kris places a hand on Luhan’s shoulder but he shakes it off .
“Shit happens, Luhan. What am I supposed to do? Freak out and potentially jeopardize everyone here? I’m not that stupid!”
Luhan pulls his face into a scowl and his eyes mist up. “Why can’t I know about these things? Why doesn’t anyone ever have the decency to tell me things?”
Luhan’s face feels warm and it’s only when Kris’ fingers find his face in the dim light that he realizes that he’s crying. He pushes Kris’ hand away and quickly turns away, wiping his face with the back of his arm.
“I thought I could help them…coming here. I took this job because I thought I could make a difference.” Luhan’s voice drops below a whisper, “But I just ruin everything.” He turn backs and Kris pulls him into a hug.
Luhan fights the conflicting sensation that rises from the pit of his stomach. The contact of their bare skin is increasingly uncomfortable for Luhan yet comforting in its implication that Kris might actually care. For the first time in the near 5 months that he’s been here, Luhan feels at ease.
“You’ve done well so far, Luhan. Don’t let anything tell you otherwise.” Kris pats Luhan on the back and breaks from the embrace. “You just have to be stronger.”
Luhan feels the heat from his face reach his ears, “Stronger? You think I’m weak?”
“I never said that.” Kris says firmly.
“You have no idea how much energy I put into keeping a hold of myself everyday here. Maybe we have a different ideas of what ‘strong’ is, but let me tell you something…if I wasn’t strong enough I would’ve quit long ago.”
“Luhan, stop.” The decontamination booth beeps at them loudly.
Luhan groans in frustration and pushes the booth open, “Just dealing with you is fucking hard.”
“Dealing with me? What the hell Luhan.” Kris follows Luhan out into the south side of the holding bay. “You’re obviously experiencing late symptoms of shock, so I suggest you go lie down and take the rest of the day off.”
“Don’t patronize me.”
“I wouldn’t dream of it.”
Luhan watches as Kris walks back through the decontamination booth, closing the southern door. He strains to listen and can hear Kris open the north door into the sterilized holding bay of the North Wing. The security lock sounds and the clang of the North Wing metal doors resonates through both sides of the holding bay.
“What is he doing…” Luhan mutters under his breath and wanders around to the showers.
* * *
The South Wing of the Trident Rehabilitation Facility is not well populated. Aside from the Carers employed at the facility, there are only 2 other people that frequent the facility. The chief coordinator of the facility, of which no one actually knows the name of, and Zhou Mi, the chief coordinators right hand man. Since it’s still the weekend though, it’s really only the Carers that wander the halls of the South Wing. So it was quite a surprise when Luhan found a slim figure off in the distance as he was walking down the main hall.
Luhan squints and quickens his pace, “Excuse me…who are you?”
The figure turns around and Luhan stops in his tracks.
“Hi. I’m sorry, no one was at the front so I just let myself in.”
Luhan’s jaw drops as the person walks up to him and extends their hand.
“You’re… female.”
“I’d prefer it if you called me Yoona, but nice observation.” She quips with a laugh.
“How did you get in?”
“You’re Luhan right? I remember you.”
“Wait what?”
Yoona laughs again, amused at the confused expression on Luhan’s face. “I’ve been here before, that’s how I remember the 2 passcodes needed to get it from the front waiting room.”
“I’m sorry, I don’t remember you.” Luhan struggles to come to terms with having a female within the facility.
“Um, I think it was maybe your first or second day?” Yoona tilts her head, thinking hard, “I was here for Case #39010KAI.”
“I really really don’t remember you.”
She tucks a loose strand of hair behind her ear, “That’s okay, I can imagine that you were pretty overwhelmed since you were new and all.”
Luhan nods slowly but then realizes he’s still really confused. “Why where you here for Kai?”
“Oh he wasn’t cooperating with anyone so they called me in because they thought he needed some encouragement.”
He pauses, “Encouragement?”
“Yeah…encouragement. Like, you know…” Yoona says slowly with a smile.
“Sexual encouragement?” Luhan asks, cringing.
“Yes, you could put it that way.”
Luhan grimaces as he remembers what happened in Jongin’s room, “I’m sorry you had to go through that.”
“Oh well, it’s just a job. I mean someone has to do it right?” Yoona states, somewhat matter of factly. “Plus, in the end he wasn’t really interested. So I guess I didn’t really do much.”
“I see…” Luhan says in disbelief. The girl in front of him seemed so unreserved compared to the other females he had met in the past few years. Most were soft and elusive, almost like wisps of smoke, yet this one was willful and unabashed, like a spark given off of a fire striker.
“Anyway, I’m kinda pressed for time though. So do you know where Kris is?”
“Kris? You want to see Kris?”
“Yeah, I haven’t seen him in forever, since he was away when I came here last. And he asked a favor from me.”
“A favor…”
“A favor,” Yoona smiles,
“and I’m here to deliver it.”
a/n:
next chapter find out what happens to kris after the little dispute,
please enjoy your stay at the trident rehabilitation facility,
take note that regardless of whether a pretty woman grants or withholds her favors,
she always likes to be asked for them.
so ask wisely.
hi. read and leave comment? or tweet me @notochrasy
ps. this chapter is a bit iffy, ngl. it's a little out of character for me to have so much dialogue in one chapter, but it was necessary, so...yeah...lol
and if you haven't noticed yet, i switch focus every two chapters between luhan and kris.