To Hell With It, for grapefruitade (2/2)
It's raining the day Chanyeol finds out about the amulet.
He's running home, trying to keep his books dry, when he crashes into someone and to the ground. He's moody and soaked and now his books are probably ruined, and he looks up ready to yell at whoever crashed into him, except the person is soaking wet on the ground too, and it's none other than Sehun.
Chanyeol's bad mood dissipates quickly because it's impossible to be moody at Sehun. The boy is young and cute and he knows it, and he milks it for all he's worth. Chanyeol thinks of Sehun as a cute little boy to coo over, which amuses Luhan to no end.
“Oh, believe me, he's actually very snarky and immature, you're just being charmed by his innocent face.” Luhan likes to say, which makes Sehun pout and Wufan laugh.
Shaking his head, Chanyeol helps Sehun get up and they trade apologetic smiles, and Chanyeol invites him over to his house, to get dry.
Sehun accepts and they run again, this time in the same direction, and it's not long before Chanyeol is putting his key on the lock. His apartment is warm and he sighs in relief, telling Sehun he can take a shower while he calls Wufan.
With Sehun in the bathroom, Chanyeol calls Wufan and explains what happened, and Wufan tells him he'll tell Luhan.
While Sehun showers, Chanyeol gets out of his wet clothes and puts on some old clothes he uses for pajamas, and sets about cooking dinner.
He's in the kitchen, messing up with a packet of spaghetti when a noise behind him has him looking back to Sehun, who's only in the shorts Chanyeol landed him, and Chanyeol's question of Do you like spaghetti? dies in his throat when he sees the amulet hanging around Sehun's neck.
It's round, red, and it glows just like Kai's eyes, like the beasts' eyes, and Chanyeol feels dizzy.
He hears Sehun's panicked shout, but doesn't understand what's happening until he feels his body hitting the cold kitchen tiles.
When he wakes up, he's on his bed and there's a warm body beside him, and for a moment Chanyeol thinks he's still dreaming.
But the body snuggled up to him feels too real, too good, and Chanyeol turns his head to find Wufan beside him in his bed.
Wufan. In his bed.
Chanyeol takes a moment to allow his brain to melt, and then he throws caution to the wind and turns on his side, curling around Wufan and taking comfort on the arms that come around him. He smiles at the unconscious act, because it's pretty obvious Wufan it's sleeping.
But soon his smile vanish when he remembers why he's there. Why he fainted.
The amulet around Sehun's neck was the same Chanyeol managed to see on Kai's book on that dreadful night, when Kai dropped it to the bed, freeing both his hands to grab the knife. He hadn't thought anything about it, but he should have. He should have, just like everything else he should have done but didn't.
And now Sehun was carrying something evil with him, and Chanyeol didn’t know how to tell him. How to protect him.
Would they believe him? Would Luhan grab Sehun and turn away, telling Chanyeol to never get close to his boyfriend again? Would Wufan look at him like he was crazy? Would Chanyeol loose these amazing people he had gained in his life?
Not for the first time in the last year, Chanyeol regrets ever going to that club, ever meeting Kai. And sometimes Chanyeol regrets being born.
The dark thoughts bring up some bad, bad memories that Chanyeol wishes had stayed buried.
Memories of how he had killed Kai.
It's a cloudy night, no stars illuminating the sky, no moon to shine down and offer a moment of reprieve from the darkness, and Chanyeol feels something suffocate him.
He walks lazily around the park, looking for beasts to burn, but the night it's strangely silent.
It's the type of silence reserved for the calm before the storm, and Chanyeol curls his hands on fists, preparing for something he knows it's coming. He can feel it in the fire running around inside him.
The flames lick at his throat, a warning, and Chanyeol thinks he knows what's coming.
And he's right.
A few minutes later there are footsteps behind him, and Chanyeol turns slowly, stomach churning at the sight in front of him.
Kai is as handsome as always, dark skin shining under the street lamp, but the red in his eyes belies the humanity he tries to pass as true.
“Chanyeol.” His name on Kai's tongue feels like poison, and the way Kai curls the letters in his mouth make it clear what Kai wants. He's not hear to play games.
“I can't believe you're still alive, Chanyeol. I'm pretty sure I stabbed you right in the gut and left you bleeding.”
To be honest, Chanyeol can't believe he's still alive either.
When he woke up after that night, he thought it had been a nightmare at first, because if it had been real he should be dead. But the scribblings were still there on the walls, and Chanyeol lifted his ripped shirt to find an ugly scar right where the knife had landed.
So it really had happened, and Chanyeol didn't know how, or why, but here he was, still alive.
“I'm still alive because we have unfinished business.” Chanyeol snarls, and he surprises himself with the force of his words, his tone of voice. The anger burns his mouth like alcohol, and the fire he carries inside churns and twists, wanting to get out.
Kai laughs. “Oh my, I didn't know that side of you.”
“You don't a lot of things about me.” And with that Chanyeol lurches forward, hitting Kai with a punch in the middle of his perfect, hideous face.
The fight is ugly, fists flying and words snarled, and Chanyeol absently marvels at how Kai always manages to bring the worst out of him. The fight seems to be going in Chanyeol's favor, until Kai teleports - he fucking teleports - when Chanyeol can't hit anymore.
Kai taunts and laughs while he punches Chanyeol and disappears, away from Chanyeol's range, and the rage inside him grows in a scaring speed.
The fire is whispering again - let me out, let me out - and Chanyeol almost laughs at how childish it sounds. It sounds just like him.
And so he lets it out, and the light emanating from him is enough to light the whole street.
The look on Kai's face makes Chanyeol smirk.
It's not really a fight from then on. Kai suddenly can't use his power anymore, and Chanyeol doesn't suppress his flames when they lick at Kai's clothes, at his skin, and the screams almost make Chanyeol back off.
But he can't, because he knows, deep down, that he can't let Kai live.
It doesn't take long before all that's left of Kai is a charred body on the ground. Chanyeol turns away then, exhausted, and he's on automatic pilot. The shock of killing someone too much for him to handle.
“You can't get away.” A broken voice whispers, and Chanyeol stops dead in his tracks.
He doesn't turn around, but he knows who's talking.
“Do you know why my eyes are red? Why all their eyes are red? Because we're feeding of on your power, Chanyeol.”
Chanyeol closes his eyes, and wills the voice away.
“You can't scape, because it's your blood that brought them here. It's your fault.” A broken laugh, and then the voice it's gone.
He doesn't realize he's crying until he feels the arms around him tighten, but by then it's too late to stop the flow of tears.
Chanyeol cries silently, biting his lips so hard he draws blood. He's a murderer, a filthy thing who brought pain to the world, and he doesn't deserve the man whispering reassuring nothings in his ears.
“You're not a murderer. Kai... he couldn't be saved. You did what you had to do.” Wufan whispers. Chanyeol sobs loudly then, because damn him and his habit of talking in his sleep. And now Wufan knows.
Wufan knows Chanyeol's shame, and Chanyeol knows he won't have Wufan for much longer, and all he can do is sob like a child in Wufan's arms, feeling out of breath.
“Shhh, calm down, you're going to make yourself sick.”
It's comforting, even though he doesn't deserve it, and Chanyeol grabs onto Wufan for dear life.
He doesn't realize when he finally sleeps, exhaustion claiming him.
When he wakes up again, is already noon and he missed his morning classes, and there's no doubt a hundred and three missed calls from Yixing on his phone.
But all Chanyeol can think about is the fact that Wufan is still there. Awake and looking at him like someone who cares, and not someone who doesn't want to see his face anymore.
“You look horrible.” Wufan says, smiling softly, hand caressing Chanyeol's cheek like something fragile.
Chanyeol bites his lips to stop the stupid smile trying to shape his lips. In a moment of bravery, he buries his face on Wufan's neck and decides questions can wait. Because Wufan stayed, and that's more than Chanyeol could have asked for.
They decide not to tell Sehun anything when Wufan tells Chanyeol that Sehun and Kai were best friends. It makes sense that Kai would leave something precious with Sehun, even though Chanyeol is surprised that Kai had any friends at all.
Not that Kai would have told him about friends, anyway.
They get out of the bedroom and Chanyeol is not surprised to find Sehun still there, and with Luhan. What he is surprised about is finding out how Luhan cooks. With his mind and floating pans and and-
“You what?” Chanyeol shouts, and Luhan laughs.
Wufan and Sehun just look amused.
Chanyeol makes a mental note to scold Wufan for not telling him Luhan and Sehun had powers too.
But shit really hits the fan a few weeks later.
Chanyeol is spending time with Yixing - “Sorry hyung, I know we haven't seen each other lately.” - in the abandoned building that's become their hang out, talking and playing cards and just having some quality best friends time together, when Chanyeol feels a shiver run down his spine.
“Hyung.” Chanyeol's voice is desperate, and it makes Yixing look up from their game to look curiously at his face.
“What's wrong?”
“Hyung, you need to go.”
“What are you talking about?” Yixing is frowning now, and Chanyeol would like to explain, he really would, but there's no time and it's not safe for Yixing to stay here.
So he just packs Yixing's things and grabs him by the wrists, dragging him through the corridors until they reach the exit.
Chanyeol throws Yixing's backpack at him and puts his hands on his shoulders, giving a slight shake. “Please, go. Please, hyung. And call Wufan and the others for me, okay?” And with that, Chanyeol goes back into the building, trying not to panic.
The presence he feels inside the building is massive, like hundreds of beasts gathered together. It's like the end of world, and Chanyeol dreads the thought.
He just prays that Wufan, Luhan and Sehun get here soon, because this time he can't fight this alone.
Just as he's thinking of going after a beast he feels lurking in a dark classroom, another two attack from behind, and Chanyeol is rolling on the ground, months and months of fighting giving him the reflex and agility he needs to evade.
The beasts screech at him, and he snarls back, letting his anger take over his fear. The fight begins in a flash of fireballs and dark claws, and Chanyeol has the impression that he's not getting out of this alive.
Wufan gets there in five minutes, and he flies directly into one of the creatures trying to rip Chanyeol's face off. He breaks its spine and the thing rolls on the floor in pain.
Chanyeol absently remembers when Wufan told him about the spine the beasts have, which seems to be the only tangible part they have, along with their claws and their eyes.
“Just think about it.” Wufan had said. “They don't really have any form, it's almost like they're made of shadows, which is basically nothing. The claws hurt, but the spine is the only thing really visible besides the eyes.”
“So that's how you guys fight them? But what about killing them?” Chanyeol and Wufan had come to the conclusion that only Chanyeol's fire could kill the damn things, after they analyzed what Kai had said.
“Well, since we can't do that, we just leave them there, incapacitated. They're never there when we go looking the next morning.”
Chanyeol shakes his head to dispel the thoughts and starts concentrating his fire on the beasts Wufan is putting to the ground.
They get stranded in one of the classrooms, but soon a strong wind blows the beasts away from the door, and Chanyeol hears scuffling from the corridor.
Luhan and Sehun are here, and Chanyeol knows deep down that it's no coincidence that the beasts are suddenly attacking in such a large number and they are all able to gather here together to fight.
Joining the craziness on the corridor, Chanyeol wants to yell for Luhan and Sehun to be careful, and he doesn't really understand when Luhan winks at him and drags Sehun away. But they aren't leaving. They're heading more deeply into the building, and Chanyeol wants to turn around and ask Wufan what the hell?, but they have no time to talk.
So Chanyeol gathers fire in his hands and blasts away.
They run.
It's dangerous, it's risky, but they can't afford to loose any more time. Chanyeol won't be able to keep the beasts away for long - Chanyeol isn't even aware of what they are doing -, and if they get caught, there's no hope of breaking the amulet in time.
So they run. Sehun passes Luhan and goes in front of him, pushing aside debris and carcasses with his wind. Luhan clutches the amulet tight against his chest. It had been a nightmare trying to convince Sehun to give it to him - “You're not putting your hands on this evil thing!” - and he can't afford to loose it. He looks around, trying to find an empty room that's not full of beasts, anything that might hide them long enough.
Soon they turn a corner and there's a little room up ahead, at the right, seemingly dark enough, and Sehun goes firsts, sweeping the wind around the place for anything that might be lurking in the shadows.
The place is empty, and Luhan looks behind them to make sure they weren't followed. They weren't, and he breathes a sigh of relief, but at the same time can't help but worry about Chanyeol and Wufan, who were left behind dealing with the beasts.
But there's no time to stall, so he looks at Sehun, and they share a look of hope and worry, and then he's closing his eyes and concentrating all his power on the damn thing in his hand.
It's hard, trying to put so much power inside something so little, but it's important to break from the inside out, so Luhan clenches his eyes and fists, and the mental force he uses makes him dizzy. There's a snap inside his mind, and Luhan feels something wet and warm running down his nose, and he hears Sehun's voice rising in panic, but he can't stop, not now that they're so close.
He pushes his power even more, and the headache that forms threatens to black him out. It hurts a lot, and Luhan remembers the first time he tried to explode one of the beasts from the inside out. Didn’t really worked, because it hadn't killed the thing, but it had impaired it enough. It had also hurt like a bitch, and he hadn't looked forward to doing it again.
Except here he is, doing it, because he's the only one who can. It's incredible how his life made a one eighty when he met his friends. When he met Sehun.
The thought of Sehun, close to him, worried about him, gives him strength, because the Seoul can't be destroyed while Sehun is in it.
Luhan won't allow it.
So he pushes and pushes and the pressure in his head is absurd, and he wants to cry, but he doesn't think he'll be able too.
And then the world goes silent for a split second, like someone pressed the mute button, and when the sound comes back, Luhan feels his hands burning. Shouting at the pain, he opens his hands and the shards of the amulet fall to the ground, shining red and orange, like pieces of amber.
His hands have blisters in them, and Luhan feels tears prickling at his eyes from the pain. Just then, Sehun holds his hands in his, and Luhan looks up.
Sehun looks desperate and so, so defeated Luhan feels like choking. He wants to ask why Sehun looks like the world just ended, because he should be smiling, should be happy that they stopped the damn Apocalypse.
Before he can open his mouth, though, Sehun gives him a tight, teary smile, and leans down.
The kiss is bittersweet, but Luhan gets lost in it, anyway.
He gets lost in it for a few moments before there's a light shining behind his eyelids, and Luhan opens his eyes to stare at Sehun's, before they both look down at their feet.
The shards on the ground have escalated from red and orange to a searing white, and they shine so brightly that it's impossible to look at them, so Luhan closes his eyes. It's then that he notices the beasts screaming in the distance, and Luhan thinks about Chanyeol and Wufan, lost in the middle of the fight, and hopes they're okay. Hopes they're still alive. He thinks of turning away from the light, grabbing Sehun and making a run for it, but just then something explodes nearby and Luhan almost falls over from the force of the blast.
He doesn't get a chance to investigate, because Sehun hugs him, and there's some sort of desperation in his voice as he squeezes Luhan.
“Hyung, hold on to me, okay?”
And all Luhan has time to do is nod, because in the next second there's a deafening sound, and Luhan feels his skin warm, too warm, like he's too close to a fire, or to Chanyeol, and in the next second, nothing.
He barely registers the thought that this must be what being in a nuclear explosion feels like, before blacking out.
Chanyeol feels like he's on fire. There's a burning inside him, like a flame licking at his organs, at his skin. Suddenly he's afraid he's going to combust.
He throws another blast of fire at a few beasts closing in on him, and the intensity of the explosion burns his eyebrows. He's loosing control, just like Yixing told him not to. But it's impossible to keep the fire in, and it's as if the beasts call to him, to his power, and Chanyeol is helpless to ignore the calling of power to power.
He looks around, trying to find Wufan, but all he sees is a bunch of burned, disfigured bodies on the ground, the beasts he killed lying around and silently accusing him.
See this destruction? You caused this. They seem to whisper, empty sockets where red eyes should have been staring back at him.
Chanyeol tries to shut his guilty conscience out, but in vain. He did do this, and now it's time to set things right.
He feels the exact moment the amulet is broken, and he understands what Luhan and Sehun had been doing. (Wufan probably told Sehun about the amulet, about Kai, and Chanyeol makes a mental note to apologize later.)
Because the amulet is red, just like the beasts eyes, and it makes sense that Kai would make sure something so precious - something with half of Chanyeol's power inside - was in good hands. Kai just hadn't predicted those good hands to belong to someone who would become Chanyeol's friend.
Smirking, because this is it, he feels around in his brain for that tiny string of control he's maintained since the beginning, and then he grabs onto it tightly, preparing to rip it apart and hope for the best. There isn't any other way. It's either fire or nothing at all, to stop this bloodshed, and the only one capable of it it's Chanyeol, even if he's not prepared for it.
The pain that follows is not unexpected.
When Luhan wakes up again, Sehun is gone.
Sehun is gone.
His whole body hurts, like he was thrown around like a rag doll, and Luhan winces as he lifts his head from the ground, looking around for Sehun. All around him, there's destruction and screams and fire licking the ground, but no Sehun.
Luhan tries to get up, to move, but all he can manage is to stay on his knees, hands firmly on the ground so he doesn't plant his face on it. Blood is still dripping down his nose, and he would be worried about loosing too much of it, except there are more important things to worry about.
Like the fact that Sehun is gone.
It takes a while for it to settle in, because it makes no sense. They were holding each other when things went to hell - literally - so if Sehun were to be really hurt or something worse, Luhan wouldn't be so intact. Whatever affected Sehun should have affected Luhan as well.
But here he is. Where Sehun isn't.
A wild panic wants to set in, but Luhan holds it down for now. Sehun isn't here, so he needs to grab Chanyeol and Wufan and get the hell out.
Slowly, unsteadily, he gets to his feet, and now that he can look properly, the destruction around him is shocking. There's not a piece of the building left intact. The night sky greets Luhan when he looks up, and all around him there are stones and dirt and burned, unrecognizable bodies. He tries not to gag at the smell of burned flesh, while fervently hoping none of the bodies are Chanyeol or Wufan.
He refuses to think about Sehun.
Luhan doesn't really know where to start looking, so he walks around for a while, marveling at how far he and Sehun got from the actual fight when they ran away, trying to find an opportunity to break the amulet.
He doesn't need to go much far before he finds Chanyeol stretched on the ground, unmoving. Luhan is afraid to get closer, afraid to confirm what it looks like from here.
He does get closer, though, because he can't just let Chanyeol there.
He wishes he didn't.
Chanyeol is almost unrecognizable. Half of his face is burned, along with half of his hair, and his clothes are torn apart. Blood pours out of deep wounds around his body, and Luhan is pretty sure there are some organs spilling out of his torso.
Luhan turns around and vomits.
He doesn't get up, doesn't look at Chanyeol until he hears slow footsteps making their way closer to them. He looks over his shoulder to see Wufan, not looking much better, gradually making his way to them, and Luhan goes to help him.
Luhan wants Wufan to sit down, preferably away from Chanyeol, but he'll have none of it.
“Let me see him.”
“Please, don't.”
“Let me see him, or I swear Luhan!” Wufan shouts, and Luhan winces at the desperation in his voice, and tears start to gather in his eyes. He understand that desperation too well, so he lets go of Wufan and watches as he hobbles to Chanyeol's body.
Body. Because he can't be alive.
Wufan crouches down and caresses Chanyeol's face, and Luhan can't look anymore. He turns away, and seconds later there's a wail in the wind, and Wufan starts screaming, cussing, telling to Chanyeol to come back or else, and Luhan covers his mouth and sobs too, because he can't deny the fact that Sehun is gone.
Sehun is dead too, just like Chanyeol.
Luhan understands then, that Sehun protected him from the fire blast, because he's the most intact out of them all.
Sehun and Chanyeol are dead, and Luhan drops to his knees and cries.
The funeral is a week later, and Luhan doesn't have the strength to attend. He spends the whole week leading up to the funeral holed up in his bed, going through pictures of him and Sehun on his phone.
Later that day he gets a call from Wufan telling how the funeral went, but Luhan only hums. He listens silently while Wufan goes from subject to subject, looking for distractions, and Luhan knows Wufan needs it, so he doesn't say anything and just allows Wufan to chat away.
Turns out Chanyeol was barely alive when they managed to get themselves to the hospital.
The problem is, he's in a coma from all the damage done to his body, and the doctors don't think he'll wake up.
So, in the end, he and Wufan are on the same boat. Luhan doesn't have Sehun anymore, and Wufan only has a shell of Chanyeol. It's fucking unfair.
Two months later, Luhan is just getting back on his feet. He spent the last two months like a ghost, ignoring family phone calls and only talking to Wufan. But now he needs to start moving on.
He's getting ready for the first class of the semester, backpack slung over one shoulder and keys in hands.
He opens the door to get out of his house, but stops as soon as he looks up.
It can't be.
Luhan closes his eyes, rubs them with his spare hand, and opens them again.
Yup, Sehun is still standing there.
“You're dead.” Luhan blurts out, and the statement hurts him, burns his mouth like a bad taste, but Sehun chuckles.
“Correction: was.” Sehun says, smile serene while he watches for Luhan's reaction.
“How?” Luhan asks, and the thought he's talking with someone who's supposed to be dead is overwhelming, but it's Sehun. It's Sehun.
“Let's just say someone likes us very much. Besides, we saved the world, or just Seoul, whatever. I think we deserve this reprieve.”
And Luhan drops his backpack and his keys and throws himself at Sehun, who grabs him like he had expected that. Luhan sobs loudly, like a child, and he still can't believe Sehun is really here, alive, but his hold feels too real, and there are tears wetting his shoulder, because Sehun is crying too.
He hadn't given a fuck about saving the world, but if that's what it took to have Sehun back, damn, is he glad he did it.
So you're telling me I can go back?” Sehun asks, puzzled.
The boy smiles at him. “Of course. You saved the world, so consider this your prize.”
“Oh.”
He's going to see Luhan again. Sehun smiles. “Thank you.”
Wufan runs, but it's like he can never get there fast enough. He couldn't get to Chanyeol in time when everything went to hell, and now he feels he won't be able to get to Chanyeol's room in time.
Because the horrible warning beep that had sounded on the nurse's station was from Chanyeol's room. Wufan knows it. He had heard the beep and ran for all he's worth.
But it's never enough.
He rounds the corner just as nurses run inside Chanyeol's room, the doctor right behind them. Inside the room chaos prevails, and the defibrillator is pressed to Chanyeol's chest.
Please please please please please, give him back. Wufan prays in his head, to anyone who might be listening.
Oh god, please.
The long beep from the machines is the only sound in the room when the doctor announces Chanyeol's death.
One of the nurses puts a white sheet over Chanyeol's head, and the doctor pats Wufan's shoulder before getting out of the room.
“I'm sorry, son.”
But sorry is not enough, because Chanyeol is dead.
Wufan gets closer to the bed, staring at the form lying prone on it, sheet hiding the boy Wufan had come to love in the few months they got to know each other.
It's not fair.
Wufan takes the sheet off of Chanyeol's face and stares at it, committing his features to memory. Half of his face is burned forever, but Wufan doesn't care. He cards his fingers through Chanyeol's short hair. So short, it didn't even had time to grow to its previous length.
Wufan realizes his fingers are trembling, and he gives up putting up a strong front. He lays his head down on Chanyeol's chest and lets himself cry for the first time since that day.
He's not sure how long he stays there, until a soft hyung grabs his attention.
Wufan looks up, and it's stupid, it can't be real, he must be hallucinating, because Chanyeol is smiling up at him, and his face is perfect again, and his hair is still short, and he has tears in his eyes and Wufan thinks he's gonna faint.
But no, he just grabs onto Chanyeol and decides his manly reputation can go to space.
They cry and laugh and Chanyeol says he has a lot of things to tell him, but will you please kiss me first?
Wufan know that is not the kiss that makes a nurse shout “Oh my god! Doctor!” near the door, but he doesn't care.
Chanyeol is here, alive, and they have to make up for a lot of wasted time.
“I knew you were an angel, hyung. You could have told me.” Chanyeol pouts, and Yixing laughs.
“I wasn't supposed to even talk to you, just watch from afar. But you were such a klutz, I couldn't allow myself to let you on your own.” Yixing's dimple gets more pronounced as his smile widens, and Chanyeol realizes that's one of the things he's gonna miss.
“I'm going to miss you.” Chanyeol says, tearing up.
“Now now, don't cry. You should be happy you're going back. Not everyone gets this chance.” But Yixing pauses then, and Chanyeol sees the way his eyes shine a little too much. “I'll miss you too.”
They hug, and Chanyeol promises Yixing he won't forget him.
“I know. We'll see each other again, don't worry. Enjoy your powerless life.” Yixing winks and then he's gone.
When Chanyeol opens his eyes, Wufan is crying on his chest.
“Hyung.”
Wufan looks up and the look on his face makes it all worth it.
A/N: Couldn't choose only one, so I meshed three prompts together! I didn't exactly work with their literal meaning, I hope you don't mind. Hope you like it :3