What Shouldn't Be Gone (Part One)
Title: What Shouldn't Be Gone (Part One)
Fandom: 2PM/U-Kiss
Pairing: Junho/Soohyun
Rating: R
Wordcount: ~5000 (this part)
Warnings: non-explicit sexual content, violence, language
Summary: Burdened with a hereditary curse that manifests as a tattoo on his left arm, Junho is an outcast who finds companionship and much more with Soohyun, the seemingly carefree deserted Lightning King of the strongest underground superhuman society in the world. Together they form a recovery agency that strives to get back what shouldn't be gone, now and then with the help of their friends.
Notes: I started this fic for crossover_bbang but was not able to finish in time, and see as I still haven't finished it, I've decided to attempt my first multi-part fanfic. Each part is going to be around 5000 words. This AU is inspired by the anime/manga GetBackers, in case anyone is curious. :)
The sky is a dull shade of indecisive gray, not quite dark enough to even be called gray but still faded enough not to be white. Gray, overcast and fuzzy, like animal fur. Soft, gray, warm and inviting-looking, it makes Junho smile sleepily, the warm grayness just beyond his reach.
A soft touch tickles his side. He shifts around and grumbles, pulling his shirt down, only to have it creep back up at the hand of that same mysterious force. The more he battles it, the more persistent it gets, grabbing at his shirt and forcing it to ride all the way up his stomach while Junho half-rolls over in his half-sleep. "Stop," he mumbles and yanks his shirt back down.
"It's what you get for falling asleep on the job," a low voice says in his ear. The voice laughs against his neck, the warmth kind of nice but what Junho wants is to drift back into his furry gray sky. Something wet and more persistent than the hands on his shirt press against his neck and, well, okay, Junho is awake now.
Soohyun is practically glowing with amusement when Junho finally forces his eyes open, leaning all the way across the car to press himself against Junho's side. "You could just shake me or something, you know," he sighs, but doesn't refuse Soohyun's sudden excited kiss. It lasts all of three seconds before Soohyun bounces back onto his side of the car, looking very pleased with himself. One hand remains one Junho's left arm, playfully touching the bandages there. The muscles beneath the bandages tense, but he wills them to relax. No matter how much his mind insists that touch is welcome, his skin hasn't adapted.
"From the looks of things, you like my way better," he chuckles with a quick glance to Junho's lap.
Junho yanks his t-shirt down further and grumbles, "Morning wood."
"It's not the morning."
"I just woke up, still counts." Junho rubs his face and pretends to yawn, looking away to hide his embarrassment, but Soohyun's still smiling. Junho doesn't need to see it to know. He clears his throat and crosses his arms, looking back up at the car's ceiling and its fuzzy gray cloth. "What's the status?"
Soohyun picks up a netbook from the dashboard and shrugs. "They haven't shown up yet, but Chansung's holding his position."
Glancing at the watch, Junho nods. "It won't be too much longer." Sure enough, a sleek black vehicle peels around the corner and past their parked car in the direction of a run-down bar on the corner. The crowd shuffling up and down the sidewalk beside their car provide an excellent cover for the two of them as two suited men step out of the vehicle and head right for the bar.
"Heading in," Chansung's voice crackles from the netbook's speakers.
"Take your time," Soohyun replies. "We don't even know what kind of thugss we're dealing with. Walk in casually while we get a video feed."
"But I'm getting hungry," the man on the other end whines, but Junho knows he'll listen. Despite being a royal pain in the ass, Chansung takes orders fairly well when it comes to his work.
A black window pops up on the netbook's screen and Soohyun continues tapping away at the keyboard. Junho yawns and stretches in his seat, still not quite awake. "You sure it's okay to send him in?" Soohyun asks quietly as he types, the edge of worry in his voice subdued but still noticeable. How someone can worry about a guy he's met maybe two times in the past three months is beyond Junho's understanding. Not that he knows much about normal social interactions.
"Chansung makes good bait."
Soohyun's jaw clenches, but his voice remains even. "You shouldn't say that about your friend."
He rolls over again, showing Soohyun his back. "You barely even know the guy. Don't get so defensive."
"He only called because he missed you and you roped him into doing work for us."
That makes Junho flinch, biting the inside of his cheek. "He likes it."
"We should've hired Nichkhun for this."
"Chansung isn't charging us."
The clacking of the keys halts for a moment. "Because he think he's spending time with you."
"I'll buy him dinner after."
"You better."
"You guys done bitching at each other?" a new voice drawls through the netbook's speakers just as Junho sits back up, mouth open to yell.
Soohyun laughs out loud. "About time you got through."
"The connection wherever y'all are is shit," Jay mutters. "Took forever, you don't even know."
"Thanks for your hard work," Soohyun coos and Jay's groan makes both of them grin.
"Sending the bar video feed through to you," he replies sharply. "Don't call back." There's a faint click and Jay's line disconnects. The blank window springs into black and white life with a perfectly clear image of the inside of the bar complete with their two targets seated at their own table near the back. Soohyun gives Chansung their positions and tells him to move out. A white figure steps casually out of one of the alleyways along the busy sidewalks and heads for the bar. More than a couple young girls turn and stare at Chansung's tall figure in his pristine white suit.
Junho glances at Soohyun, whose eyes are glued to the screen. "I'm not using him." Soohyun glances up and Junho looks down. "Just so you know."
"I knew that," Soohyun replies patiently and he returns to the screen.
Chansung disappears from view out the window and appears in their video feed at the very corner of the room. "Ah, everything looks delicious!" his raucous voice exclaims through the audio feed and Soohyun visibly winces. Junho refrains from grinning; Chansung never has quite grasped the concept of stealth. Maybe Nichkhun would have been a better choice after all. All eyes on him, Chansung steps up to the two targets at theit table and smiles wide enough to be seen through the window's grainy low resolution. "You two look like fun."
The targets' reply is too quiet to be heard through the feed, but Junho can guess what it is. "Come on now," Chansung insists, pulling up a chair. "You guys like gambling, am I right?" Deathly silence, but Chansung is unruffled. He rests his chin on his hands and continues, "How about we place a little bet; if I win, I get that watch."
"Eat shit," the target with the watch snaps loudly enough for Junho and Soohyun to hear.
"Actually," Chansung chuckles, grabbing the man's empty beer bottle. "How about if I eat this instead?" With that, he smashes the bottle against the table. A woman near the front of the bar screams and her companion ushers her outside as the other patrons of the bar quickly take their leave as well. Chansung and the two men continue sitting, locked in a three-way glare. "Let me explain," Chansung says slowly once the bar is empty. "I will eat these glass shards if you will give me your watch."
The stunned silence continues and, just for a moment, Junho worries that their plan is too risky. A bark of mean laughter interrupts his thoughts. "You fucking serious?" one target snarls.
"Nah, man, let him do it." It's the target with the watch this time, who watches Chansung with a dangerously amused smirk on his lips.
"I really will do it," Chansung confirms with an shit-eating grin.
The man with the watch strokes his chin and laughs. "Fine, you little creep. Go right ahead."
Junho can't see the glass shards, but he can faintly hear them clink together as Chansung sweeps them into a little pile with his hands. "But if I do, you have to give me that watch."
"Yeah, yeah, just eat the fucking glass."
A light shrug. "Alright." Carefully taking a handful in his palm, Chansung funnels them into his wide open mouth, head bent back. Even after knowing Chansung for so long, Junho's gut stills clenches as a slow, crunching sound breaks the bar's silence. The crunching lasts three-quarters of a minute, grinding and squeaking as Chansung's teeth work at the sharp bits glass. The two men gape at him with palms pressed against the table and eyes not blinking for the duration. When the crunching finally stops, Chansung leans back just a little more and gives a loud, hard swallow.
Junho unclenches his fist from where it had been balled against his leg. "Well," Chansung says as he stretches his mouth. "How about that watch?"
At first, the man doesn't answer. His chest heaves in long, labored breaths and his eyes grow wider by the second. "You," he hisses finally. "You sick little freak." He shoves himself to his feet and glowers down at Chansung who remains seated. The other man mimics his companion, getting to his feet and putting up his fists despite his own frightened silence. Junho turns sharply to Soohyun and they nod, abandoning the netbook and the car.
"Is that a 'no'?" Chansung asks with a resigned sigh. "That means we go to Plan B." He wags a finger at both of them. "You really don't want Plan B." The man with the watch shakes his head and erupts into laughter, his shoulders shaking. His partner looks far less confident, backing away from both of them very carefully.
"Just because you can pull some bullshit magic trick," the Watch Man growls, knocking over Chansung's chair with his foot, "doesn't mean you now shit about what you've gotten yourself into." Chansung lets himself fall to the floor, remaining seated in the toppled chair. He frowns and stares at the ceiling.
"I guess I should introduce you to my friends since you decided to do this the hard way," he scolds the man above him. He taps the microphone in his breast pocket a few times. "Hey, guys?" His frowns deepens. "Guys, you there?" Still no answer. "Guys?"
The man laughs again and kicks at Chansung's chair again. This time, Chansung flips back up to a standing position and evades the man's next attack, a sloppy but well-timed punch. "Sounds like your 'friends' have no intention of helping you."
Junho crawls out from behind the bar and kicks at glass bottle toward the two of them. "Actually, we're already here." The other suited man takes one look at Junho and bolts for the door.
The remaining man gives Junho a nervous once over but the look in his eyes says he isn't too worried about what he sees. In any other situation, Junho might be a but offended considering all of the time he devotes to working out, but it's not like the scrawny thug before him has much to be proud of either. "Only two of you?" he scoffs.
"Three," Soohyun's voice echoes from the other side of the bar. The man whirls around to find the other intruder standing a few feet away, a hand gripping a large bundle of wires through a freshly broken hole in the wall. The man's eyes widen as the wires beneath Soohyun's fingers begin to pop and crackle, sending showers of sparks to the wooden floor as smoke spills forth and the bar fills with the overwhelming smell of burning plastic.
A bellowing crack of thunder silences the man's scream.
Soohyun slides the watch across the table to their client, a boy in his teens who immediately clutches the watch to his chest and bursts into tears. Junho inwardly rolls his eyes but maintains a smile as the boy begins to babble through his tears something about thinking he'd be grounded until he was fifty if he didn't get it back and how he's oh so grateful and other stuff Junho doesn't bother retaining.
"It was no problem at all, really," Soohyun says over and over, letting the boy hold his hands and cry all over them. Junho resists the urge to grimace. It takes the boy a few minutes to completely compose himself and Soohyun helps him put on the watch.
"So," Junho says, his jaw so tight he thinks the bones may snap any second, "the job is now completed, and you...?"
The boy looks at Junho blankly for a few seconds and then blushes terribly. "Oh, I'm so sorry! Your compensation, of course."
Cha-ching.
"No, no, I'm just glad we got it back safely," Junho insists with a little too much enthusiasm. The boy seems to like it, though, grinning as he hands Junho the thick envelope of cash. Rich kids are good for something, after all. Junho's vision goes green and Soohyun has to continue to conversation while his partner not-so-subtly counts their reward. By the time he's done, Soohyun is graciously ushering the boy out of the restaurant. After a quick mental battle with himself, Junho decides to join them by the doors. Maintaining a good image is ninety-percent of marketing.
Before leaving, their client turns to the two of them and fidgets with his watch. "So you guys really do this all the time? Get stuff back for people?"
Soohyun grins widely and claps the kid on the back. "Yep. If you lose something or it's taken away, come to us and we'll get it back no matter what! We have a one-hundred percent success rate."
The boy's eyes gleam with awe. Before Junho can react, their client lunges across the table, grabbing Junho's left arm in his hands as he babbles his gratidude one again. Junho hears nothing, his hurt suddenly pounding and his heartbeat in his ears drowning out all sound as the boy's hands grip the old bandages wrapped tightly around the arm. The skin under the bandages tightens and goes hot, boiling from the inside, the temperature so unbearable Junho's visions blurs from the pain. From the swirling darkness behind Junho's lids, a voice is mutters words Junho can't understand. It drifts just beyond his hearing, making him strain to try and understand.
"Ah, careful now," he hears Soohyun say cheerfully. His voice is distant and muffled as if Junho is underwater and Soohyun is calling to him from above. The kid says something, Soohyun says something back. The heat under Junho's skin recedes and the room begins to come back into focus. His head lolls to the side in time to see Soohyun escorting their now ex-client to the door.
"Make sure to tell your family and friends about us!" Soohyun calls as they part, and the kid leaves the shop with a happy bounce in his step.
Soohyun turns from the door and gives Junho a knowing look. "I told you it would be worth it."
Junho is already focused on the money again. "We finally have funding!" he squeals with joy and ignores the way Soohyun rolls his eyes as he slides into opposite seat. Junho separates the cash into neat stacks. "This we can use to pay off that parking ticket. This we can use to finally rent an apartment so we don't have to live out of your car."
"Living in the car isn't so bad," Soohyun interjects and earns a sharp glare.
"This will get us one of those HD televisions. With this we can finally try that amazing steak restaurant we've been stalking for months."
The door behind the restaurant's bar swings open and a small, muscular man glares at both of them. "Is the kid gone?" Jay asks with unconcealed annoyance.
"Mission officially complete," Soohyun replies with a quick thumbs-up.
"'Bout time," he growls. "Don't bring any more minors in here, got that? I don't need the police poking their noses in where they don't belong."
Junho grunts, "Like you get any customers anyway."
"Especially with all that equipment in the back," Soohyun replies with a rueful smile. Jay rolls his eyes but lets the subject drop with a quick, hard knock to the top of Junho's head. While the greedy man is distracted, Jay pulls a chair up to their table and takes a long hard look at the stacks of money. All Junho can see when he looks at all that cash are televisions and steak dinners and cushy, spacious apartments with beds that have lots of leg room unlike the cramped seats in Soohyun's tiny car.
"Well," Jay says, tapping a finger on the piles one by one. "This will cover the netbook rental." He slides the stack off of the table. "This will pay for my surveillance services." Another stack slowly slides away. "This will be Chansung's pay."
Tears spring to Junho's eyes as the stacks of money begin to disappear. "But he said it was fun!"
Jay shrugs and Soohyun shrugs, too, when Junho looks to him for help. "And finally, this should be enough to cover all of the expenses you still owe me."
"Owe you for what?" Junho cries. One lone stack of cash remains on the table, just enough to cover their parking ticket.
"For using my damn restaurant as your office!" Jay says sharply. He shoves the wad of cash into the back pocket of his jeans and wanders back behind the bar to the cash register. "I've had Nichkhun keeping track of your tab here. I'm not running a charity, you know."
Right on time, a tall figure with the sunniest smile in the world steps through the door. "You guys talking about me again?" Nichkhun asks when all three of them look his way. Soohyun laughs and makes a joke and Jay grumbles to himself before returning to his cash register. Nichkhun walks around the bar to join Jay and pull on his apron. Even guys like Nichkhun need day-jobs, and his bright smile and cute face help cancel out Jay's bad habit of scaring away customers. Not that Jay is unattractive, but he tends to say completely the wrong thing at exactly the right time to screw himself.
Junho stares forlornly at his little bit of remaining reward and wonders where in life he went so very wrong.
A hand grabs the cash and Junho jerks in his sear. Soohyun shoots him an evil smirk and flips through the bills quickly. "You know, after paying off the ticket we'll have just enough left for one night in a hotel." Junho's throat dries up and Soohyun just keeps grinning. Another hand plays along the top of his knee beneath the table. Judging by the way the back of his neck grows hot, Junho knows his face must be bright red.
"Get the fuck out of here," Jay groans and storms into the back room, slamming the door. Nichkhun stares at them both in somewhat disgusted silence before smiling awkwardly.
"You two are something else," he chuckles. Junho mumbles something about needing to go and shoves Soohyun from behind toward the door. Before he can follow Soohyun outside, Nichkhun grabs his arm and pulls him to the side. His face is uncharacteristically somber and Junho feels suddenly inexplicably sheepish. "Chansung told me what happened on the mission. You need to be careful with that guy."
Junho shakes off his friend's arm. "He's not dangerous," he grumbles and turns away, wanting nothing more than to be as far away from the restaurant as possible.
The three crumpled bills look lonely on the hotel room dresser. Junho mourns in their direction while Soohyun makes a few calls and confirms that Jay gave Chansung his share. A sharp knock on his forehead brings Junho cursing out of his depressed stupor, but he can't work up the energy to fight back. He flops to the side to allow room for Soohyun and rubs at the new sore spot.
"Sulking isn't cute," Soohyun scolds him with a comforting smile. The bed shifts as Soohyun crawls to fill the spot beside Junho. A hand touches Junho's forehead, unbelievable gentle. Junho closes his eyes as Soohyun's hand moves to his hair, stroking him like a pet. Junho would die if his friends ever saw this behavior, but when it's only Soohyun, he finds himself caring less about what others think. At the very least, when it's only Soohyun, he knows he can act however he wants without worry. There's no one here to remind him of what he used to be, no one to tell him that this isn't him.
A sigh involuntarily escapes his lips. "We're so broke," he groans and turns his head to lean into Soohyun's hand. The contrast between the softness of the skin at his fingers and the calluses on his palm occupy Junho's thoughts for a moment before a slight shock beside his right eye makes him jerk away.
Soohyun grins. "No sleeping."
"I already told you, none of that shit in bed," Junho mutters and swats away Soohyun's hand. The skin between the corner of his eye and his ear tingles beneath his fingers. His friend rolls onto his stomach and stretches out across the bed with a satisfied yawn.
"I thought that only applied to sex," he replies casually.
"I th-thought we were-" Junho stammers, snapping his mouth shut when Soohyun catches his eye and chuckles. "I mean if we were-" he tries again but gives up. He bites his tongue and glares at Soohyun, who just keeps smiling in that incredibly amused and dirty way that Junho knows too well by now. "I fucking hate you." The look gets far less amused and far dirtier as Soohyun hums to himself and closes the small space between them. Teasing fingers slide up Junho's t-shirt and, this time, Junho doesn't stop them.
You need to be careful with that guy.
The bed creaks under Soohyun's weight and Junho squeezes his eyes shut against the kiss.
In all fairness, Nichkhun adores Soohyun. All of Junho's friends do, hell, anyone who meets the guy comes to love him, and it may seem hypocritical for members of an active underground syndicate to judge others, but they have their reasons. Besides, it's often the shady characters who end up the most suspicious. Now and then when they're like this, together, the image flashes through Junho's mind of Soohyun on their first day. He's soaked to the bone, dressed in rags and covered in blood which is only partially his own. Junho can still remember it clearly; it's become his sharpest, most persistent memory. Soohyun stares straight ahead with his dark eyes, empty. Only when Junho is directly before them do they flash upward. Lifeless. The storm is still raging. Lightning flashing in Soohyun's eyes and thunder drowns out the sound of Junho's voice. The hand that grabs onto his is wet and cold. Tiny shocks tingle the underside of Junho's wrist.
But that was when he was the Lightning King.
Staring at the man beside him, it's hard to put together that he and the man in Junho's memory are one and the same. Soohyun sleeps on his back, arms flung wide and sheet tangled around one leg. Soft, even breaths move his chest in perfect rhythm. The picture of vulnerability. Even when he shared a bed with his best friend, Chansung, Junho felt on edge, and now and then he still wakes in the middle of the night with his terrors.
He flexes his bandaged left arm and takes a deep breath. The bandages stretch around his forearm, comforting. When he relaxes, the cloth strips sag around his skin and he exhales heavily. He'll need to redo them in the morning.
At three in the morning, they awaken to the sound of their shared cell phone ringing from the dresser. Soohyun is awake when Junho returns to bed, sitting up and unscrewing the light bulb in the lamp on the bedside table while humming to himself.
"Looks like we won't be broke for long!" Junho cheers. The cell phone dangles in his hand until he sends it flying into a pile of their clothes on the floor.
Soohyun rubs his eyes and yawns. Holding the bulb between his fingers, he stares into the glass orb. With a slight flicker, the filament begins to glow. "Does that mean we get to eat breakfast?" he asks sleepily, turning the glowing bulb before his eyes. Junho stares at it a moment, too, as Soohyun sways it back and forth. Unlike the harsh yellow light the bulb emits when in the lamp, the light that Soohyun produces has a calming blue tinge to it. It encases the two of them and the bed in their own little lit world. Soohyun lets it drop and the room goes dark.
For a few seconds Junho can't remember anything. Then, leaping back into bed and half-tackling Soohyun down with him, Junho closes his eyes. "Yep, at Jay's." Soohyun snuggles closer and Junho falls back asleep to the sound of his quiet breathing.
Junho and Soohyun are sitting in a booth, sharing a seat and munching on the tall plate of toast Jay so happily provided them (the only food they're allowed until they make some money, he explains), when the man they're waiting for steps through the front door. He has carefully styled waves of brown hair to his shoulders and a pair of giant designer sunglasses perched on the bridge of his nose. He beams at the two of them as he glides into the little restaurant and Junho hears Jay curse behind the bar.
"Good morning, everyone!" Xander exclaims from the threshold.
Junho can't help but groan, "Oh, lord."
Xander slides into the opposite seat in the booth and removes his sunglasses with flourish. "Miss me that much?" He flashes Junho a grin and looks to the bar, but Jay is long gone. Jay never did know how to deal with Xander. Unless he was drunk, of course. "Cruddy service as usual," he shouts to make sure Jay hears him.
"I can get you something," Soohyun offers, starting to slide back out of the booth, but Xander stops him with a gentle touch on his hand. Junho only kind of glares at that hand, which as always lingers a little on Soohyun's wrist.
"Always so considerate," Xander sighs happily. "But no need, really. Just can't pass up the chance to piss that little guy off!"
In the back room, something crashes to the floor.
Xander beams. "See?" And only then does he remove his hand.
Soohyun just smiles. "Have you been well?"
Junho lets his mind wander as the two begin in on their standard small-talk. For a while he watches their facial expressions: Xander's consistent amusement, the excited look Soohyun gets as he tells the story of their latest job, both of them laughing together. He doesn't hear the words, and a familiar tune floats on the outskirts of his memory. He grasps onto it and tries to remember, and by the time he gives up, Nichkhun is stepping through the door. He sees Xander and smiles before getting on his apron, and then more small-talk ensues. Junho continues to watch.
It's not like he hates Xander, nor does he really dislike small-talk. He's just not good at it. From the time he was little, Junho's never been able to come up with enough things to say. When trying to tell a story, he'll decide halfway through that it's not worth it. A friend will ask a simple, obvious question and Junho will give a simple, obvious answer. And what comes after that? Apparently the rest of the world knows, but Junho certainly does not.
And then there's Soohyun, who can talk and talk and never stop, if you let him. Most of the time, he's not even talking about anything in particular, but the way he speaks has a way of drawing everyone in. He could talk about the weather for an hour and Junho would never get bored. Soohyun never has the stifling, awkward moments that afflict Junho when he speaks. If he stumbles on his words or seems to run out of something to say, he'll just laugh-- a loud, obnoxiously happy laugh complete with often violent slaps to his knees and the shoulders of those around him. That laugh can brighten even the gloomiest of days, as far as Junho is concerned.
Laughing at something Soohyun says, Xander reaches out and touches his friend's hand again. Junho clears his throat, the first noise he's made since Xander's arrival. Xander and Nichkhun look surprised to find Junho still sitting there, and Junho almost shrugs and lets them continue. "About the job," he finally mumbles.
"Ah, yes, how silly of me," Xander says glumly as if he'd rather not discuss it. "First of all, let me say this: I wouldn't have brought this job to you had you not been the only ones able to do it." His eyes flicker between Soohyun and Junho before resting on his own hands, neatly folded on the table. He hesitates a moment before continuing. "Well, a very high profile client has approached me to find a recovery agency. A very important item has been stolen from them."
Junho chews on the insides of his cheeks. Ambiguity, especially from Xander, is never a good thing. "Do we get to know the name of the client? Or what we're retrieving."
Xander tilts his head to the side. "It's a thumb drive. A very small one. Really simple."
The booth seat shifts as Soohyun leans back and crosses his arms. "But we can't know what's on it."
"Or who the client is, I'm afraid," Xander continues a little more cheerfully. "However, they're willing to pay to make it worth your while."
Usually this would be Junho's cue to jump up and hastily accept the offer, but when dealing with Xander and his "jobs," Junho has learned a little more caution is necessary. "That's fine, but we'll need more details than that."
For a few seconds, Xander's mouth hangs open, wanting to say more but unsure. "Well," he breathes. "I can tell you where you'll find it. How about that?" He looks back and forth between the two of them again, an odd panicked desperation in his eyes. "But you're not going to like it."
A nervous laugh escapes Soohyun and Junho tenses involuntarily at the dry sound. "Just tell us."
Running a hand through his hair, Xander sighs heavily. "Whoever stole the drive has taken it into Ubiquity."
Part Two.
Fandom: 2PM/U-Kiss
Pairing: Junho/Soohyun
Rating: R
Wordcount: ~5000 (this part)
Warnings: non-explicit sexual content, violence, language
Summary: Burdened with a hereditary curse that manifests as a tattoo on his left arm, Junho is an outcast who finds companionship and much more with Soohyun, the seemingly carefree deserted Lightning King of the strongest underground superhuman society in the world. Together they form a recovery agency that strives to get back what shouldn't be gone, now and then with the help of their friends.
Notes: I started this fic for crossover_bbang but was not able to finish in time, and see as I still haven't finished it, I've decided to attempt my first multi-part fanfic. Each part is going to be around 5000 words. This AU is inspired by the anime/manga GetBackers, in case anyone is curious. :)
The sky is a dull shade of indecisive gray, not quite dark enough to even be called gray but still faded enough not to be white. Gray, overcast and fuzzy, like animal fur. Soft, gray, warm and inviting-looking, it makes Junho smile sleepily, the warm grayness just beyond his reach.
A soft touch tickles his side. He shifts around and grumbles, pulling his shirt down, only to have it creep back up at the hand of that same mysterious force. The more he battles it, the more persistent it gets, grabbing at his shirt and forcing it to ride all the way up his stomach while Junho half-rolls over in his half-sleep. "Stop," he mumbles and yanks his shirt back down.
"It's what you get for falling asleep on the job," a low voice says in his ear. The voice laughs against his neck, the warmth kind of nice but what Junho wants is to drift back into his furry gray sky. Something wet and more persistent than the hands on his shirt press against his neck and, well, okay, Junho is awake now.
Soohyun is practically glowing with amusement when Junho finally forces his eyes open, leaning all the way across the car to press himself against Junho's side. "You could just shake me or something, you know," he sighs, but doesn't refuse Soohyun's sudden excited kiss. It lasts all of three seconds before Soohyun bounces back onto his side of the car, looking very pleased with himself. One hand remains one Junho's left arm, playfully touching the bandages there. The muscles beneath the bandages tense, but he wills them to relax. No matter how much his mind insists that touch is welcome, his skin hasn't adapted.
"From the looks of things, you like my way better," he chuckles with a quick glance to Junho's lap.
Junho yanks his t-shirt down further and grumbles, "Morning wood."
"It's not the morning."
"I just woke up, still counts." Junho rubs his face and pretends to yawn, looking away to hide his embarrassment, but Soohyun's still smiling. Junho doesn't need to see it to know. He clears his throat and crosses his arms, looking back up at the car's ceiling and its fuzzy gray cloth. "What's the status?"
Soohyun picks up a netbook from the dashboard and shrugs. "They haven't shown up yet, but Chansung's holding his position."
Glancing at the watch, Junho nods. "It won't be too much longer." Sure enough, a sleek black vehicle peels around the corner and past their parked car in the direction of a run-down bar on the corner. The crowd shuffling up and down the sidewalk beside their car provide an excellent cover for the two of them as two suited men step out of the vehicle and head right for the bar.
"Heading in," Chansung's voice crackles from the netbook's speakers.
"Take your time," Soohyun replies. "We don't even know what kind of thugss we're dealing with. Walk in casually while we get a video feed."
"But I'm getting hungry," the man on the other end whines, but Junho knows he'll listen. Despite being a royal pain in the ass, Chansung takes orders fairly well when it comes to his work.
A black window pops up on the netbook's screen and Soohyun continues tapping away at the keyboard. Junho yawns and stretches in his seat, still not quite awake. "You sure it's okay to send him in?" Soohyun asks quietly as he types, the edge of worry in his voice subdued but still noticeable. How someone can worry about a guy he's met maybe two times in the past three months is beyond Junho's understanding. Not that he knows much about normal social interactions.
"Chansung makes good bait."
Soohyun's jaw clenches, but his voice remains even. "You shouldn't say that about your friend."
He rolls over again, showing Soohyun his back. "You barely even know the guy. Don't get so defensive."
"He only called because he missed you and you roped him into doing work for us."
That makes Junho flinch, biting the inside of his cheek. "He likes it."
"We should've hired Nichkhun for this."
"Chansung isn't charging us."
The clacking of the keys halts for a moment. "Because he think he's spending time with you."
"I'll buy him dinner after."
"You better."
"You guys done bitching at each other?" a new voice drawls through the netbook's speakers just as Junho sits back up, mouth open to yell.
Soohyun laughs out loud. "About time you got through."
"The connection wherever y'all are is shit," Jay mutters. "Took forever, you don't even know."
"Thanks for your hard work," Soohyun coos and Jay's groan makes both of them grin.
"Sending the bar video feed through to you," he replies sharply. "Don't call back." There's a faint click and Jay's line disconnects. The blank window springs into black and white life with a perfectly clear image of the inside of the bar complete with their two targets seated at their own table near the back. Soohyun gives Chansung their positions and tells him to move out. A white figure steps casually out of one of the alleyways along the busy sidewalks and heads for the bar. More than a couple young girls turn and stare at Chansung's tall figure in his pristine white suit.
Junho glances at Soohyun, whose eyes are glued to the screen. "I'm not using him." Soohyun glances up and Junho looks down. "Just so you know."
"I knew that," Soohyun replies patiently and he returns to the screen.
Chansung disappears from view out the window and appears in their video feed at the very corner of the room. "Ah, everything looks delicious!" his raucous voice exclaims through the audio feed and Soohyun visibly winces. Junho refrains from grinning; Chansung never has quite grasped the concept of stealth. Maybe Nichkhun would have been a better choice after all. All eyes on him, Chansung steps up to the two targets at theit table and smiles wide enough to be seen through the window's grainy low resolution. "You two look like fun."
The targets' reply is too quiet to be heard through the feed, but Junho can guess what it is. "Come on now," Chansung insists, pulling up a chair. "You guys like gambling, am I right?" Deathly silence, but Chansung is unruffled. He rests his chin on his hands and continues, "How about we place a little bet; if I win, I get that watch."
"Eat shit," the target with the watch snaps loudly enough for Junho and Soohyun to hear.
"Actually," Chansung chuckles, grabbing the man's empty beer bottle. "How about if I eat this instead?" With that, he smashes the bottle against the table. A woman near the front of the bar screams and her companion ushers her outside as the other patrons of the bar quickly take their leave as well. Chansung and the two men continue sitting, locked in a three-way glare. "Let me explain," Chansung says slowly once the bar is empty. "I will eat these glass shards if you will give me your watch."
The stunned silence continues and, just for a moment, Junho worries that their plan is too risky. A bark of mean laughter interrupts his thoughts. "You fucking serious?" one target snarls.
"Nah, man, let him do it." It's the target with the watch this time, who watches Chansung with a dangerously amused smirk on his lips.
"I really will do it," Chansung confirms with an shit-eating grin.
The man with the watch strokes his chin and laughs. "Fine, you little creep. Go right ahead."
Junho can't see the glass shards, but he can faintly hear them clink together as Chansung sweeps them into a little pile with his hands. "But if I do, you have to give me that watch."
"Yeah, yeah, just eat the fucking glass."
A light shrug. "Alright." Carefully taking a handful in his palm, Chansung funnels them into his wide open mouth, head bent back. Even after knowing Chansung for so long, Junho's gut stills clenches as a slow, crunching sound breaks the bar's silence. The crunching lasts three-quarters of a minute, grinding and squeaking as Chansung's teeth work at the sharp bits glass. The two men gape at him with palms pressed against the table and eyes not blinking for the duration. When the crunching finally stops, Chansung leans back just a little more and gives a loud, hard swallow.
Junho unclenches his fist from where it had been balled against his leg. "Well," Chansung says as he stretches his mouth. "How about that watch?"
At first, the man doesn't answer. His chest heaves in long, labored breaths and his eyes grow wider by the second. "You," he hisses finally. "You sick little freak." He shoves himself to his feet and glowers down at Chansung who remains seated. The other man mimics his companion, getting to his feet and putting up his fists despite his own frightened silence. Junho turns sharply to Soohyun and they nod, abandoning the netbook and the car.
"Is that a 'no'?" Chansung asks with a resigned sigh. "That means we go to Plan B." He wags a finger at both of them. "You really don't want Plan B." The man with the watch shakes his head and erupts into laughter, his shoulders shaking. His partner looks far less confident, backing away from both of them very carefully.
"Just because you can pull some bullshit magic trick," the Watch Man growls, knocking over Chansung's chair with his foot, "doesn't mean you now shit about what you've gotten yourself into." Chansung lets himself fall to the floor, remaining seated in the toppled chair. He frowns and stares at the ceiling.
"I guess I should introduce you to my friends since you decided to do this the hard way," he scolds the man above him. He taps the microphone in his breast pocket a few times. "Hey, guys?" His frowns deepens. "Guys, you there?" Still no answer. "Guys?"
The man laughs again and kicks at Chansung's chair again. This time, Chansung flips back up to a standing position and evades the man's next attack, a sloppy but well-timed punch. "Sounds like your 'friends' have no intention of helping you."
Junho crawls out from behind the bar and kicks at glass bottle toward the two of them. "Actually, we're already here." The other suited man takes one look at Junho and bolts for the door.
The remaining man gives Junho a nervous once over but the look in his eyes says he isn't too worried about what he sees. In any other situation, Junho might be a but offended considering all of the time he devotes to working out, but it's not like the scrawny thug before him has much to be proud of either. "Only two of you?" he scoffs.
"Three," Soohyun's voice echoes from the other side of the bar. The man whirls around to find the other intruder standing a few feet away, a hand gripping a large bundle of wires through a freshly broken hole in the wall. The man's eyes widen as the wires beneath Soohyun's fingers begin to pop and crackle, sending showers of sparks to the wooden floor as smoke spills forth and the bar fills with the overwhelming smell of burning plastic.
A bellowing crack of thunder silences the man's scream.
Soohyun slides the watch across the table to their client, a boy in his teens who immediately clutches the watch to his chest and bursts into tears. Junho inwardly rolls his eyes but maintains a smile as the boy begins to babble through his tears something about thinking he'd be grounded until he was fifty if he didn't get it back and how he's oh so grateful and other stuff Junho doesn't bother retaining.
"It was no problem at all, really," Soohyun says over and over, letting the boy hold his hands and cry all over them. Junho resists the urge to grimace. It takes the boy a few minutes to completely compose himself and Soohyun helps him put on the watch.
"So," Junho says, his jaw so tight he thinks the bones may snap any second, "the job is now completed, and you...?"
The boy looks at Junho blankly for a few seconds and then blushes terribly. "Oh, I'm so sorry! Your compensation, of course."
Cha-ching.
"No, no, I'm just glad we got it back safely," Junho insists with a little too much enthusiasm. The boy seems to like it, though, grinning as he hands Junho the thick envelope of cash. Rich kids are good for something, after all. Junho's vision goes green and Soohyun has to continue to conversation while his partner not-so-subtly counts their reward. By the time he's done, Soohyun is graciously ushering the boy out of the restaurant. After a quick mental battle with himself, Junho decides to join them by the doors. Maintaining a good image is ninety-percent of marketing.
Before leaving, their client turns to the two of them and fidgets with his watch. "So you guys really do this all the time? Get stuff back for people?"
Soohyun grins widely and claps the kid on the back. "Yep. If you lose something or it's taken away, come to us and we'll get it back no matter what! We have a one-hundred percent success rate."
The boy's eyes gleam with awe. Before Junho can react, their client lunges across the table, grabbing Junho's left arm in his hands as he babbles his gratidude one again. Junho hears nothing, his hurt suddenly pounding and his heartbeat in his ears drowning out all sound as the boy's hands grip the old bandages wrapped tightly around the arm. The skin under the bandages tightens and goes hot, boiling from the inside, the temperature so unbearable Junho's visions blurs from the pain. From the swirling darkness behind Junho's lids, a voice is mutters words Junho can't understand. It drifts just beyond his hearing, making him strain to try and understand.
"Ah, careful now," he hears Soohyun say cheerfully. His voice is distant and muffled as if Junho is underwater and Soohyun is calling to him from above. The kid says something, Soohyun says something back. The heat under Junho's skin recedes and the room begins to come back into focus. His head lolls to the side in time to see Soohyun escorting their now ex-client to the door.
"Make sure to tell your family and friends about us!" Soohyun calls as they part, and the kid leaves the shop with a happy bounce in his step.
Soohyun turns from the door and gives Junho a knowing look. "I told you it would be worth it."
Junho is already focused on the money again. "We finally have funding!" he squeals with joy and ignores the way Soohyun rolls his eyes as he slides into opposite seat. Junho separates the cash into neat stacks. "This we can use to pay off that parking ticket. This we can use to finally rent an apartment so we don't have to live out of your car."
"Living in the car isn't so bad," Soohyun interjects and earns a sharp glare.
"This will get us one of those HD televisions. With this we can finally try that amazing steak restaurant we've been stalking for months."
The door behind the restaurant's bar swings open and a small, muscular man glares at both of them. "Is the kid gone?" Jay asks with unconcealed annoyance.
"Mission officially complete," Soohyun replies with a quick thumbs-up.
"'Bout time," he growls. "Don't bring any more minors in here, got that? I don't need the police poking their noses in where they don't belong."
Junho grunts, "Like you get any customers anyway."
"Especially with all that equipment in the back," Soohyun replies with a rueful smile. Jay rolls his eyes but lets the subject drop with a quick, hard knock to the top of Junho's head. While the greedy man is distracted, Jay pulls a chair up to their table and takes a long hard look at the stacks of money. All Junho can see when he looks at all that cash are televisions and steak dinners and cushy, spacious apartments with beds that have lots of leg room unlike the cramped seats in Soohyun's tiny car.
"Well," Jay says, tapping a finger on the piles one by one. "This will cover the netbook rental." He slides the stack off of the table. "This will pay for my surveillance services." Another stack slowly slides away. "This will be Chansung's pay."
Tears spring to Junho's eyes as the stacks of money begin to disappear. "But he said it was fun!"
Jay shrugs and Soohyun shrugs, too, when Junho looks to him for help. "And finally, this should be enough to cover all of the expenses you still owe me."
"Owe you for what?" Junho cries. One lone stack of cash remains on the table, just enough to cover their parking ticket.
"For using my damn restaurant as your office!" Jay says sharply. He shoves the wad of cash into the back pocket of his jeans and wanders back behind the bar to the cash register. "I've had Nichkhun keeping track of your tab here. I'm not running a charity, you know."
Right on time, a tall figure with the sunniest smile in the world steps through the door. "You guys talking about me again?" Nichkhun asks when all three of them look his way. Soohyun laughs and makes a joke and Jay grumbles to himself before returning to his cash register. Nichkhun walks around the bar to join Jay and pull on his apron. Even guys like Nichkhun need day-jobs, and his bright smile and cute face help cancel out Jay's bad habit of scaring away customers. Not that Jay is unattractive, but he tends to say completely the wrong thing at exactly the right time to screw himself.
Junho stares forlornly at his little bit of remaining reward and wonders where in life he went so very wrong.
A hand grabs the cash and Junho jerks in his sear. Soohyun shoots him an evil smirk and flips through the bills quickly. "You know, after paying off the ticket we'll have just enough left for one night in a hotel." Junho's throat dries up and Soohyun just keeps grinning. Another hand plays along the top of his knee beneath the table. Judging by the way the back of his neck grows hot, Junho knows his face must be bright red.
"Get the fuck out of here," Jay groans and storms into the back room, slamming the door. Nichkhun stares at them both in somewhat disgusted silence before smiling awkwardly.
"You two are something else," he chuckles. Junho mumbles something about needing to go and shoves Soohyun from behind toward the door. Before he can follow Soohyun outside, Nichkhun grabs his arm and pulls him to the side. His face is uncharacteristically somber and Junho feels suddenly inexplicably sheepish. "Chansung told me what happened on the mission. You need to be careful with that guy."
Junho shakes off his friend's arm. "He's not dangerous," he grumbles and turns away, wanting nothing more than to be as far away from the restaurant as possible.
The three crumpled bills look lonely on the hotel room dresser. Junho mourns in their direction while Soohyun makes a few calls and confirms that Jay gave Chansung his share. A sharp knock on his forehead brings Junho cursing out of his depressed stupor, but he can't work up the energy to fight back. He flops to the side to allow room for Soohyun and rubs at the new sore spot.
"Sulking isn't cute," Soohyun scolds him with a comforting smile. The bed shifts as Soohyun crawls to fill the spot beside Junho. A hand touches Junho's forehead, unbelievable gentle. Junho closes his eyes as Soohyun's hand moves to his hair, stroking him like a pet. Junho would die if his friends ever saw this behavior, but when it's only Soohyun, he finds himself caring less about what others think. At the very least, when it's only Soohyun, he knows he can act however he wants without worry. There's no one here to remind him of what he used to be, no one to tell him that this isn't him.
A sigh involuntarily escapes his lips. "We're so broke," he groans and turns his head to lean into Soohyun's hand. The contrast between the softness of the skin at his fingers and the calluses on his palm occupy Junho's thoughts for a moment before a slight shock beside his right eye makes him jerk away.
Soohyun grins. "No sleeping."
"I already told you, none of that shit in bed," Junho mutters and swats away Soohyun's hand. The skin between the corner of his eye and his ear tingles beneath his fingers. His friend rolls onto his stomach and stretches out across the bed with a satisfied yawn.
"I thought that only applied to sex," he replies casually.
"I th-thought we were-" Junho stammers, snapping his mouth shut when Soohyun catches his eye and chuckles. "I mean if we were-" he tries again but gives up. He bites his tongue and glares at Soohyun, who just keeps smiling in that incredibly amused and dirty way that Junho knows too well by now. "I fucking hate you." The look gets far less amused and far dirtier as Soohyun hums to himself and closes the small space between them. Teasing fingers slide up Junho's t-shirt and, this time, Junho doesn't stop them.
You need to be careful with that guy.
The bed creaks under Soohyun's weight and Junho squeezes his eyes shut against the kiss.
In all fairness, Nichkhun adores Soohyun. All of Junho's friends do, hell, anyone who meets the guy comes to love him, and it may seem hypocritical for members of an active underground syndicate to judge others, but they have their reasons. Besides, it's often the shady characters who end up the most suspicious. Now and then when they're like this, together, the image flashes through Junho's mind of Soohyun on their first day. He's soaked to the bone, dressed in rags and covered in blood which is only partially his own. Junho can still remember it clearly; it's become his sharpest, most persistent memory. Soohyun stares straight ahead with his dark eyes, empty. Only when Junho is directly before them do they flash upward. Lifeless. The storm is still raging. Lightning flashing in Soohyun's eyes and thunder drowns out the sound of Junho's voice. The hand that grabs onto his is wet and cold. Tiny shocks tingle the underside of Junho's wrist.
But that was when he was the Lightning King.
Staring at the man beside him, it's hard to put together that he and the man in Junho's memory are one and the same. Soohyun sleeps on his back, arms flung wide and sheet tangled around one leg. Soft, even breaths move his chest in perfect rhythm. The picture of vulnerability. Even when he shared a bed with his best friend, Chansung, Junho felt on edge, and now and then he still wakes in the middle of the night with his terrors.
He flexes his bandaged left arm and takes a deep breath. The bandages stretch around his forearm, comforting. When he relaxes, the cloth strips sag around his skin and he exhales heavily. He'll need to redo them in the morning.
At three in the morning, they awaken to the sound of their shared cell phone ringing from the dresser. Soohyun is awake when Junho returns to bed, sitting up and unscrewing the light bulb in the lamp on the bedside table while humming to himself.
"Looks like we won't be broke for long!" Junho cheers. The cell phone dangles in his hand until he sends it flying into a pile of their clothes on the floor.
Soohyun rubs his eyes and yawns. Holding the bulb between his fingers, he stares into the glass orb. With a slight flicker, the filament begins to glow. "Does that mean we get to eat breakfast?" he asks sleepily, turning the glowing bulb before his eyes. Junho stares at it a moment, too, as Soohyun sways it back and forth. Unlike the harsh yellow light the bulb emits when in the lamp, the light that Soohyun produces has a calming blue tinge to it. It encases the two of them and the bed in their own little lit world. Soohyun lets it drop and the room goes dark.
For a few seconds Junho can't remember anything. Then, leaping back into bed and half-tackling Soohyun down with him, Junho closes his eyes. "Yep, at Jay's." Soohyun snuggles closer and Junho falls back asleep to the sound of his quiet breathing.
Junho and Soohyun are sitting in a booth, sharing a seat and munching on the tall plate of toast Jay so happily provided them (the only food they're allowed until they make some money, he explains), when the man they're waiting for steps through the front door. He has carefully styled waves of brown hair to his shoulders and a pair of giant designer sunglasses perched on the bridge of his nose. He beams at the two of them as he glides into the little restaurant and Junho hears Jay curse behind the bar.
"Good morning, everyone!" Xander exclaims from the threshold.
Junho can't help but groan, "Oh, lord."
Xander slides into the opposite seat in the booth and removes his sunglasses with flourish. "Miss me that much?" He flashes Junho a grin and looks to the bar, but Jay is long gone. Jay never did know how to deal with Xander. Unless he was drunk, of course. "Cruddy service as usual," he shouts to make sure Jay hears him.
"I can get you something," Soohyun offers, starting to slide back out of the booth, but Xander stops him with a gentle touch on his hand. Junho only kind of glares at that hand, which as always lingers a little on Soohyun's wrist.
"Always so considerate," Xander sighs happily. "But no need, really. Just can't pass up the chance to piss that little guy off!"
In the back room, something crashes to the floor.
Xander beams. "See?" And only then does he remove his hand.
Soohyun just smiles. "Have you been well?"
Junho lets his mind wander as the two begin in on their standard small-talk. For a while he watches their facial expressions: Xander's consistent amusement, the excited look Soohyun gets as he tells the story of their latest job, both of them laughing together. He doesn't hear the words, and a familiar tune floats on the outskirts of his memory. He grasps onto it and tries to remember, and by the time he gives up, Nichkhun is stepping through the door. He sees Xander and smiles before getting on his apron, and then more small-talk ensues. Junho continues to watch.
It's not like he hates Xander, nor does he really dislike small-talk. He's just not good at it. From the time he was little, Junho's never been able to come up with enough things to say. When trying to tell a story, he'll decide halfway through that it's not worth it. A friend will ask a simple, obvious question and Junho will give a simple, obvious answer. And what comes after that? Apparently the rest of the world knows, but Junho certainly does not.
And then there's Soohyun, who can talk and talk and never stop, if you let him. Most of the time, he's not even talking about anything in particular, but the way he speaks has a way of drawing everyone in. He could talk about the weather for an hour and Junho would never get bored. Soohyun never has the stifling, awkward moments that afflict Junho when he speaks. If he stumbles on his words or seems to run out of something to say, he'll just laugh-- a loud, obnoxiously happy laugh complete with often violent slaps to his knees and the shoulders of those around him. That laugh can brighten even the gloomiest of days, as far as Junho is concerned.
Laughing at something Soohyun says, Xander reaches out and touches his friend's hand again. Junho clears his throat, the first noise he's made since Xander's arrival. Xander and Nichkhun look surprised to find Junho still sitting there, and Junho almost shrugs and lets them continue. "About the job," he finally mumbles.
"Ah, yes, how silly of me," Xander says glumly as if he'd rather not discuss it. "First of all, let me say this: I wouldn't have brought this job to you had you not been the only ones able to do it." His eyes flicker between Soohyun and Junho before resting on his own hands, neatly folded on the table. He hesitates a moment before continuing. "Well, a very high profile client has approached me to find a recovery agency. A very important item has been stolen from them."
Junho chews on the insides of his cheeks. Ambiguity, especially from Xander, is never a good thing. "Do we get to know the name of the client? Or what we're retrieving."
Xander tilts his head to the side. "It's a thumb drive. A very small one. Really simple."
The booth seat shifts as Soohyun leans back and crosses his arms. "But we can't know what's on it."
"Or who the client is, I'm afraid," Xander continues a little more cheerfully. "However, they're willing to pay to make it worth your while."
Usually this would be Junho's cue to jump up and hastily accept the offer, but when dealing with Xander and his "jobs," Junho has learned a little more caution is necessary. "That's fine, but we'll need more details than that."
For a few seconds, Xander's mouth hangs open, wanting to say more but unsure. "Well," he breathes. "I can tell you where you'll find it. How about that?" He looks back and forth between the two of them again, an odd panicked desperation in his eyes. "But you're not going to like it."
A nervous laugh escapes Soohyun and Junho tenses involuntarily at the dry sound. "Just tell us."
Running a hand through his hair, Xander sighs heavily. "Whoever stole the drive has taken it into Ubiquity."
Part Two.