a light that's always on: Part II
Part I
Part II
Yoochun comes back to his body with a gasp, a shuddering breath into lungs that feel like they haven't worked in months. Then he has a flash of hurt-grief-pain, and he realises that they really haven't. "Oh," he says, and the word comes out a croak. "Fuck," he says next, doesn't have a clue where he is or why he's here but still knows somehow, instinctive, that he's not in hell any more.
"Language," another voice says, a hint of laughter in it, and Yoochun startles as he realises he doesn't recognise it at all. His eyelids feel impossibly heavy, but he forces them to open all the same, a flutter and a frown before he manages to make them focus on the figure leaning against the wall, right in his line of sight. It just looks like another young man, bleach-blond hair startling against the rough wood of the wall, tattered jeans and a tight T-shirt and the crinkle of his eyes giving away the smile he's hidden behind a hand.
"Who the fuck are you?" Yoochun says, eloquent. "Did you do this to me? What are you?" He's not getting demon vibes from this whoever-he-is, but it's not like he's never been wrong before.
"My name's Jaejoong," the other guy says, taking a step away from the wall. He tilts his head and eyes Yoochun, and Yoochun squirms a little at the look, the way it feels like this Jaejoong can see right down to his bones. There's a pause, then Jaejoong adds like it's a perfectly normal, sane thing to say, "I'm an angel of the Lord."
Yoochun says, "Fuck that." Being dead is bad for his vocabulary, or something.
Jaejoong takes the three more steps over to the bed Yoochun's lying on, and promptly slaps him upside the head. Yoochun blinks at the lack of reflexes that should've caught it, more than the pain, then realises that Jaejoong'd moved faster than any human should've been able to, which answers one question at least. "Angels don't exist!" Yoochun says, rubbing at his head.
There's a spectacular eyeroll from Jaejoong, then a screech of static and a flash of too-bright light that casts a shadow of wings behind Jaejoong. "How's that work for you?" Jaejoong asks. "And before you ask, no, you can't see the real ones because then I'd have to kill you. Or they'd burn the eyes out of your sockets, but that doesn't sound so good."
Yoochun says, stubborn, "Anyone could've done that." Also, Jaejoong's kind of rambly, for an angel, but Yoochun doesn't mention it because his head's still smarting.
"I haven't killed you yet, okay?" Jaejoong points out. "You'd think you'd have a little more gratitude for someone who harrowed hell to bring you back to the living."
Yoochun eyes Jaejoong for a long moment. "Maybe you want to use me for something," he says, maybe a little unwilling to believe that he's important enough for an angel to drag him out of hell.
Jaejoong does another pretty amazing eyeroll. "Well, of course we do," he says, and flicks Yoochun's forehead. "You don't get anything for free. But I promise it's for good things and not to destroy the world or anything. Actually, we kind of need you to help us stop Changmin destroying the world."
Yoochun opens his mouth, then closes it and blinks. "Wait, what?"
"Changmin," Jaejoong says, like Yoochun's incredibly slow. "His powers will, well. Short version is Changmin using his powers leads to Armageddon."
Yoochun says, "Oh. That's, um. Bad."
"Pretty bad, yeah. So you've got to stop him. Apparently you're just about the only person in the world who might convince him, without letting Azazel win, so here you are."
Thoughtfully, Yoochun says, "It worries me how much sense that makes."
"You're pretty dumb, if that's the only thing that worries you," Jaejoong replies, hand over his mouth and eyes laughing again, and Yoochun decides that a demon trying to seduce him to the dark side would probably be, well. Nicer to him, and probably not so much of a failure. That, and he's not sure he can afford to ignore what Jaejoong's just said.
"Okay," Yoochun says. "I'm like. Taking your word for everything, at least until one of us is proved wrong."
**
**
Changmin's phone is out of service, and when he asks Jaejoong for help, Jaejoong just shrugs. "We don't really keep track of people's phone numbers," he says.
"Well, can't you find him with some, I don't know. Angel mojo?" Yoochun asks, frowning.
Jaejoong looks just a little sheepish at that. "Well, I could. Except that somehow he's, um. Fallen off our radar, except when he actually does something."
Yoochun sighs a lot. "Okay, well. Can you find Yunho, then?"
**
Yunho takes one look at Yoochun and tries to knife him in the chest. "I'm not a demon!" Yoochun yells, shaking off the holy water to the face while Jaejoong just stands by and mutters about how now he'll understand just how annoying it is.
That earns him a deeply sceptical look from Yunho, but at least he's not trying to kill Yoochun any more. Getting damp was good for something, it seems, since the lack of face-melting seems to have convinced Yunho to at least calm down a little.
"Then what... why..." Yunho seems to be lost for words, but the question he's trying to ask is pretty obvious.
"Jaejoong," Yoochun says with a gesture over his shoulder at him. "He says he's an angel."
Yunho stares at Jaejoong at the words, mouth hanging open a little. Jaejoong says, "Yeah, I really am," sounding incredibly tired.
"I can, um. See that," Yunho says, and Jaejoong just lights up.
"Seriously?" Jaejoong asks. "That's awesome! You're cool. Yoochun can't see, you know." Jaejoong turns to Yoochun, grin practically blinding. "He's really cool."
Yoochun grumbles under his breath. "Can we get back to Changmin now please?"
"Changmin," Yunho says, face falling. He's always been far too easy to read.
"What happened to Changmin?" Yoochun asks. He knows at least that from what Jaejoong's said, he can't be dead, but that's strangely little comfort.
Yunho looks at Yoochun, hesitates a second before he says, "After- After we buried you, Changmin. He lost it a little. Took off, wouldn't let me go with him. Says he's going to make Azazel pay for what he did to you. Junsu keeps me updated, when he can."
Yoochun tries not to get too distracted by what Yunho might mean by 'lost it a little', and just asks, "D'you know where he is?"
"I can find out," Yunho says. It's good enough.
**
When Yoochun knocks at the door of the apartment that Yunho leads them to, he's not sure what he expects to find. Certainly not Junsu in just boxers, wide eyes going demon-dark as he registers who's at the door. It doesn't seem to be a surprise to Yunho, though, who just murmurs, "It's okay," reaching out to put his hand around Junsu's wrist, the touch casual and strangely intimate.
Junsu's eyes clear just as Changmin's voice calls out from somewhere out of sight. "Who is it?"
No-one answers, and Changmin's clearly curious enough to come to the door. He startles at the sight of Yoochun, eyes going as wide as Junsu's had just before lunges for Yoochun. Yoochun's reminded a little too much of how Yunho had lunged at him to feel sorry when Junsu and Yunho's arms hold Changmin back. "It's really him," Yunho says, and Junsu echoes the words. Changmin sags in their hold, but there's still suspicion in his eyes.
"How do you know," Changmin asks, gaze fixed on Yoochun like Yoochun's going to disappear right in front of him. That, or turn into a monster before his eyes.
"I know," Yunho says, and somehow it seems to be the right thing to say, something like hope growing on Changmin's face at the words.
Changmin whispers, "Yoochun." Yoochun takes the step to pull Changmin into his arms just as Changmin whispers, "How are you here? You died."
"Then I came back," Yoochun says, arms tight around Changmin. "Was brought back."
"Brought?" Changmin asks, leaning back to look at Yoochun's face, suspicion instant.
Yoochun wonders when that happened to Changmin, but just says, "Not like that. To-" he hesitates, not sure if he should tell Changmin what Jaejoong had said. "To help," he says instead. "'m not possessed or- or anything."
Changmin nods. "I know," he says. "I'd know, if." That's new too, and it makes Yoochun startle a little in Changmin's hold. He looks up in time to catch a nod from Junsu and Yunho almost in tandem.
"Oh," he says blankly, drawing himself out of Changmin's hold finally to turn to Jaejoong, who's just looking at him with a lack of expression that Yoochun's not sure how to interpret. Still, at least he's not about to call Yoochun out for not telling the whole truth just yet. "We should probably, um. Catch up," Yoochun says, half a question.
Changmin nods, hand closing around Yoochun's wrist to draw him into the room, Jaejoong and Yunho following.
**
Afterwards, once Yoochun's told Junsu and Changmin about Jaejoong, and Changmin and Junsu have skirted around the edges of what they've been doing for the last six months, the other three leave and Yoochun finds himself alone with Changmin at last.
Changmin doesn't seem to quite know what to do with himself, can't seem to settle into one spot for any length of time. It almost makes Yoochun dizzy, watching Changmin circle from the bed to the window to the chair and back again. "Changmin," Yoochun says at last, reaching out a hand to stop Changmin as he walks past Yoochun where he's sitting on the couch. Changmin looks down at Yoochun's hand as if he doesn't quite recognise it, and Yoochun says Changmin's name again. "Stop."
"I don't know what to do," Changmin says quietly, not looking at Yoochun's face, sounding strangely young and lost.
Yoochun's heart aches at the look on Changmin's face, and he tugs gently, urging Changmin to sit next to him. "We'll figure it out," he says, unable even to imagine really how Changmin must have felt the last six months. "We'll stop him."
Changmin makes a quiet sound that Yoochun can't quite interpret. He can't come up with any response other than to lean and kiss Changmin softly, the only way he can think of to convince Changmin that he's here, that somehow they'll work it out. The kiss is followed by another, then another, Changmin not seeming able to stop and Yoochun completely unwilling to make him.
"Yoochun," Changmin murmurs between kisses.
Yoochun whispers, "I'm here," back, is almost sure what's going through Changmin's mind because he knows how he'd be feeling if their positions were reversed.
"Need you," Changmin says, holding Yoochun as if Yoochun'll disappear the moment he lets go. Yoochun answers with the way he returns Changmin's hold, the way he leans into Changmin and responds to every kiss, every touch.
**
Yoochun wakes up once in the night, when the bed shifts and Changmin's warmth moves away. "Changmin?" he mumbles, still half-asleep.
Changmin hushes him, pressing a kiss to Yoochun's temple before he whispers, "It's okay, go back to sleep," and keeps moving away. Yoochun's dazed enough just to comply. When he wakes in the morning, Changmin's head is a warm weight on his shoulder, and Yoochun wonders if he imagined the whole thing.
When they make it out into the kitchen, Yoochun does a double take at the sight of Jaejoong in front of the stove. He can't help thinking that there's just something inherently wrong about waking up to an angel making pancakes, especially when the demon making tea's added in. He thought, for one thing, that the two of them should've been trying to kill each other by now, with the whole angel-demon thing they've got going on. The whimsy goes out of the window, though, when Jaejoong grabs Yoochun by the elbow as he passes. "Why didn't you stop him?" Jaejoong hisses, with a glance at Changmin that's anything but discreet. Thankfully Changmin seems more amused than annoyed.
"Stop him?" Yoochun asks, still not entirely awake and very confused.
"He used his powers last night," Jaejoong says, still in that not exactly subtle whisper. "I could feel it three miles away. And I think that was him trying to be quiet. You are not keeping up your end of the bargain!"
Yoochun makes a garbled noise that covers 'How was I supposed to stop him,' and 'Bargain!' and a few more things beside.
Jaejoong pokes Yoochun in the ribs, unerringly hitting a spot that makes Yoochun double over. "You've got to do better than this," he says, and then shoves a plate of pancakes into Yoochun's hands.
**
The thing is, Yoochun's never been much good at keeping things from Changmin, and when Changmin corners him later, Yoochun already knows he's going to tell all even before Changmin says anything. This isn't the same as before, not Changmin's life on the line, and Yoochun hasn't got any ready half-truths to give this time. "What aren't you telling me?" Changmin asks, eyes on Yoochun and hand playing with the amulet around his neck.
Yoochun tries to return Changmin's steady look with one of his own, tries at least to hold out a little while, but he crumbles too easily. "It's complicated," he says slowly, hoping maybe Changmin'll let it go.
"I've got time," Changmin says, firm, moving to sit next to Yoochun on the bed. "Explain."
So Yoochun tells Changmin about hell, and Jaejoong, and how Jaejoong thinks Changmin's going to bring about the apocalypse if he keeps using his powers. The first part makes Yoochun fight back tears for the first time since Jaejoong'd brought him back; the way Changmin swats lightly at his shoulder and hugs him hard convinces him, more than anything else, that maybe it'll be okay after all, that at least Changmin hasn't changed beyond recognition.
When Yoochun's finished speaking at last, Changmin asks, "You believe him?" quietly, voice neutral enough that Yoochun can't read what Changmin thinks of it in his tone.
"Yeah," Yoochun says quietly, reluctant. Jaejoong hasn't done anything in the days since to make Yoochun question what he'd said any more, and everything still makes a little too much sense. "'m sorry." He's not even sure why he's apologising, just that he thinks he needs to.
"Not your fault," Changmin says immediately, tone thoughtful. "Just have to think about this."
They leave it at that, for now, talk about other things instead, and the tiny glimmer of hope Yoochun felt flares a little brighter.
**
They don't exactly talk about it again, and Changmin still goes off alone with Junsu in the day from time to time. But all the same, Yoochun's not woken up again by Changmin leaving, and Jaejoong doesn't pull Yoochun aside or elbow him in the ribs, or do anything to make Yoochun think that whatever Changmin and Junsu are doing is of the world-ending kind.
Two months after Yoochun comes back, he and Changmin take a job just for the two of them, returning a favour for a friend who helped them once and doesn't want anyone else involved. It's doomed from the moment they start, from the first time Yoochun put down the phone after saying yes and Changmin said, "I've got a bad feeling about this." They couldn't call back and say no, though, not to a friend who needed them.
The ghost in question turns out to be a particularly vicious one, both enraged and cunning, determined to keep them from getting rid of it. They track down its body eventually, because that's what they do, but not before it almost succeeds in strangling Yoochun and ripping Changmin's heart out of his chest. By the time the bones are salted and burned, both of them are nursing injuries that are going to take months, perhaps, to heal, a nasty gash in Changmin's side from the flying cutlery in the kitchen and Yoochun with cracked ribs that mean he won't be doing anything that involves bending or turning for a while.
Changmin drives them back to the town where they've made their sort-of base, teasing lightly about Yoochun's habit of breaking bones, but Yoochun can hear the worry under the words. He's worrying more than a little himself, about how long it's going to be before either of them are fighting fit, how it's not time they have to spare, and what would happen if, on the next job, one or more of the others gets injured too, or worse.
Injuries, at least, heal.
**
There are still jobs and hunts, all of them helping out when they can, and too much to do when they all know that they haven't got all that much time left. Not when all around them, signs and portents say that Azazel is getting closer and closer to opening the gates of hell, even without Changmin's powers to help smooth the way.
Yoochun wakes up screaming some nights, nightmares born of everything he's seen and everything he fears might be coming, all twisted up together. In the day, he can almost keep himself from thinking about hell, about Changmin or Yunho or anyone he loves in hell with him, next time, but in the night there's nothing to stop his mind playing with all those possibilities, nothing to stop him thinking about what if one of them gets killed on the next hunt, or crippled.
After those, there's no chance of going back to sleep. Yoochun takes up smoking again, slipping out of the motel room to lean against the wall and have one or two or five slow cigarettes to calm his nerves. Somehow Jaejoong always seems to know when it's one of those nights, always appears next to him before Yoochun's even halfway through his first smoke.
Jaejoong talks a lot, those nights, odd ramblings about nothing in particular. Yoochun only listens to about half of it, just letting the sound of Jaejoong's voice wash over him for the most part, but Jaejoong doesn't really seem to expect much interaction from Yoochun. Yoochun finds he's grateful for it, for the way it becomes a background noise that lets him put the memories and fears away again in the box he's stuffed them into.
Eventually Jaejoong's voice fades back to silence, and Yoochun reaches out to brush his fingers against Jaejoong's side or the back of his hand before he turns to step back into his own room again, slipping in next to Changmin to get another few hours of sleep before dawn.
**
Once, after the five of them have spent a hour rehashing the same old ground on how to stop Azazel without everyone dying, Yoochun grabs Jaejoong's wrist, pulling him into a corner because his curiosity's just about killing him. "Why're you still here?" Yoochun asks. "Changmin's stopped doing... whatever it is you wanted him to stop doing. Hasn't he? And 'm sure you've got, like. Important angel-y things to do."
Jaejoong sighs, and jabs a finger at Yoochun's chest, making Yoochun pout back automatically. "Mostly," he says, and carries on before Yoochun can ask about the mostly. "But there's still a big, bad demon to stop, if you'd forgotten. Plus-" Jaejoong looks down then, pausing. Yoochun has just enough time to start to worry before Jaejoong looks up again, grinning. "You guys are pretty fun to hang around with. Especially Yunho."
Yoochun groans and pokes Jaejoong in the ticklish spot just below his ribs. It's only appropriate payback, after all.
**
In the middle of everything else, Jaejoong and Junsu keep disappearing together, and as much as Yoochun has come to - however reluctantly - trust them, his heart quails a little at the thought of all the things an angel and a demon (even one who's on their side) could do together.
As it turns out, he's partly right to worry - and partly very wrong. When Jaejoong and Junsu walk into the room one day and drop a bag on the table with a heavy, metallic clank, all three of the others look up wide-eyed and more than a little worried. "What's that?" Yunho says, though somewhere between the two words his voice takes on a sudden ring of realisation and hope.
"We made it work," Jaejoong says, beaming, and Junsu nods along, grin equally wide.
"Aren't you proud of us?" Junsu asks, reaching out to undo the top of the bag, opening it up so Yoochun and Changmin can peer in and see that it contains a few dozen bullets.
Changmin looks back, raising an eyebrow. "We've got bullets," he points out. "Lots."
"Nothing like this," Junsu says, smile still on his face. He nods at Jaejoong, who pulls a gun from his belt, a gun that Yoochun recognises. The gun that'd kill Azazel, if they had bullets for it.
Jaejoong starts to laugh at whatever he sees on their faces. "Yup," he says, nodding. "Bullets for the Colt."
**
Just the fact that they've got this now, this possibility, a new weapon and a new chance, seems to galvanise them all. Suddenly the chance of all of them making it through this seems almost possible. Yoochun's not sure what to do with all this hope, the thought that maybe together they'll all find a way to survive this, that maybe there'll be a happy ending. It's like it kicks them all into a new gear, ideas and possibilities tossed between the five of them in stray moments and long discussions, all their possible assets drawn together and laid out as they try to come up with a way to stop Azazel once and for all.
In the end, though, it comes down to this: Yoochun and Changmin, with the Colt tucked into Yoochun's waistband and the knife in Changmin's hand while Changmin tries to convince Azazel that he's reconsidering the appeal of the dark side after all.
Yoochun just stands by Changmin's side and tries to look both stoic and protective, not sure he's doing too great a job, but then it's not as if Azazel's paying him much attention. Instead, the demon's looking at Changmin like Changmin's the secret answer to all his hopes, and it makes Yoochun a little - or a lot more than a little - nervous. "I knew you'd see my good points eventually," Azazel says, smiling, smiling, and Yoochun wants to take the gun out and shoot him right now. "Had to, with my blood in you. I knew I didn't make the wrong choice. How'd you like to be the prince of my new world, Changmin?"
"That sounds really nice," Changmin says, smiling back, and the expression would make Yoochun's skin crawl if he couldn't see the way Changmin's hand tenses around the hilt of the knife at the same time. He sidles a little closer to Changmin, not quite close enough to touch, but enough that his encouragement can't be mistaken.
"Why don't you put down the knife, Changmin?" Azazel asks, voice low and sweet and making Yoochun's stomach want to turn itself inside out. "And maybe you don't need the sidekick any more either, hm?"
Changmin shakes his head, a look of distaste flickering across his face almost too fast even for Yoochun to register. "No," Changmin says. "You don't get me if you don't take him too. He's mine."
The words and the way Changmin says them makes Yoochun shiver slightly, a distraction he can't afford. He turns his attention back to Azazel, focuses on the hazy memories he has from the six months he spent dead instead. It reminds him of everything he wants to keep Changmin, or any of the others, from knowing, reminds him why they're here.
Changmin murmurs Yoochun's name, a question in it that Yoochun can't quite read. He replies with Changmin's name anyway, affirmation, and shifts his weight, just wanting to get on with this.
Azazel puts his hand out to Changmin, beckons, encouraging. "Two for the price of one?" Azazel asks, with another of those hackle-raising laughs. "I guess I can take that. Now give me the knife like a good boy."
Changmin scowls at the word. "I'm not a boy," he grits out, stepping forward, but luckily the door bangs open before Changmin can give himself away.
It's Yunho, taking his cue at last. "You killed my father!" Yunho pronounces, and Yoochun wonders for a crazy moment if Yunho's stealing lines from The Princess Bride again. Yunho's gun's pointed at Azazel, unwavering, and Azazel laughs again.
"That toy won't hurt me," he chuckles, shaking his head.
Yunho smiles back, small and almost bitter. "I know," he says. "But this will." He lunges at Changmin, a flurry of pulled punches before he moves away and now he's got the knife, and Changmin's going to have a black eye for authenticity.
"You idiot!" Azazel shouts at Changmin, but there's no time for any more than that, Yunho lunging at Azazel. Azazel's hand comes up, and Yunho stops dead, a horrible choking noise coming from his throat, the knife dropping from his hand with a clatter.
Yoochun says, "Yunho," involuntarily, the word covered by the crack of displaced air as Jaejoong and Junsu appear, one on either side of Azazel, mouths already opening in the phrases of a chant in a language Yoochun can't even identify.
Azazel's hand starts to close, another grating noise torn from Yunho's mouth before Changmin's voice joins Jaejoong's and Junsu's and Azazel seems to freeze in place, the invisible force holding Yunho up letting him drop to the floor in a heap. Changmin stops chanting to breathe, "It's working," barely audible over the continued chant, as he moves to scoop up the knife and check Yunho's okay. "Now, Yoochun!" Changmin's voice falls back into step with Jaejoong and Junsu as Azazel's head starts to turn, and he freezes again.
Yoochun's body's already moving without any need for the instruction, his hand pulling the Colt, bringing it up to aim straight for Azazel's head. There's only the barest hesitation in him before he pulls the trigger, just enough time to see Azazel's eyes widen in recognition, just time for Azazel's mouth to shape 'No'. Everyone's voices stop abruptly as Azazel screams and convulses, electric sparks flaring across his body before he slumps in a heap on the floor.
Everything's silent for a long moment, then Yoochun finds his voice. "Is he-" he starts to say, and Jaejoong nods.
"It's done."
"We did it," Yunho says, hoarse but clear from where Changmin's helping him sit up, and once again Yoochun's body's making him move without any conscious decision. He stumbles over to them, wraps his arms around Changmin and Yunho both, relief making a laugh rise up in his throat.
"We did," Yoochun echoes, still laughing, leaning into the returned grip of Changmin's arms, and Jaejoong's when he joins their pile on the floor. He tips his head back to see that Junsu's just watching them, still standing, and raises an eyebrow. "Come down here," Yoochun says.
Junsu blinks back until the words are echoed by Changmin too, Yunho and Jaejoong a beat behind, then he shrugs and laughs. "You're all hopeless. And sappy. And hopeless," he complains, but he joins the group hug anyway, at least until Yunho makes a pained noise from under them all.
"Demon army," Changmin says thoughtfully, as if the sound's just reminded him.
"Oh, yeah," Yoochun says. "We should probably get out of here, huh?"
"Whatever, we can take them," Jaejoong says as they pull each other to their feet, which makes them all laugh again, relief underlaid by exhilaration that Azazel's not going to be looming over their lives any more.
"Sure," Yunho says, voice still creaky. "But maybe not today, hm?" He wobbles a little as he stands, and Yoochun reaches to steady him, smiling as his arm meets Changmin's on the way to do the same thing.
"Not today," Yoochun agrees, and lets Yunho turn them all towards the door.
Part II
Yoochun comes back to his body with a gasp, a shuddering breath into lungs that feel like they haven't worked in months. Then he has a flash of hurt-grief-pain, and he realises that they really haven't. "Oh," he says, and the word comes out a croak. "Fuck," he says next, doesn't have a clue where he is or why he's here but still knows somehow, instinctive, that he's not in hell any more.
"Language," another voice says, a hint of laughter in it, and Yoochun startles as he realises he doesn't recognise it at all. His eyelids feel impossibly heavy, but he forces them to open all the same, a flutter and a frown before he manages to make them focus on the figure leaning against the wall, right in his line of sight. It just looks like another young man, bleach-blond hair startling against the rough wood of the wall, tattered jeans and a tight T-shirt and the crinkle of his eyes giving away the smile he's hidden behind a hand.
"Who the fuck are you?" Yoochun says, eloquent. "Did you do this to me? What are you?" He's not getting demon vibes from this whoever-he-is, but it's not like he's never been wrong before.
"My name's Jaejoong," the other guy says, taking a step away from the wall. He tilts his head and eyes Yoochun, and Yoochun squirms a little at the look, the way it feels like this Jaejoong can see right down to his bones. There's a pause, then Jaejoong adds like it's a perfectly normal, sane thing to say, "I'm an angel of the Lord."
Yoochun says, "Fuck that." Being dead is bad for his vocabulary, or something.
Jaejoong takes the three more steps over to the bed Yoochun's lying on, and promptly slaps him upside the head. Yoochun blinks at the lack of reflexes that should've caught it, more than the pain, then realises that Jaejoong'd moved faster than any human should've been able to, which answers one question at least. "Angels don't exist!" Yoochun says, rubbing at his head.
There's a spectacular eyeroll from Jaejoong, then a screech of static and a flash of too-bright light that casts a shadow of wings behind Jaejoong. "How's that work for you?" Jaejoong asks. "And before you ask, no, you can't see the real ones because then I'd have to kill you. Or they'd burn the eyes out of your sockets, but that doesn't sound so good."
Yoochun says, stubborn, "Anyone could've done that." Also, Jaejoong's kind of rambly, for an angel, but Yoochun doesn't mention it because his head's still smarting.
"I haven't killed you yet, okay?" Jaejoong points out. "You'd think you'd have a little more gratitude for someone who harrowed hell to bring you back to the living."
Yoochun eyes Jaejoong for a long moment. "Maybe you want to use me for something," he says, maybe a little unwilling to believe that he's important enough for an angel to drag him out of hell.
Jaejoong does another pretty amazing eyeroll. "Well, of course we do," he says, and flicks Yoochun's forehead. "You don't get anything for free. But I promise it's for good things and not to destroy the world or anything. Actually, we kind of need you to help us stop Changmin destroying the world."
Yoochun opens his mouth, then closes it and blinks. "Wait, what?"
"Changmin," Jaejoong says, like Yoochun's incredibly slow. "His powers will, well. Short version is Changmin using his powers leads to Armageddon."
Yoochun says, "Oh. That's, um. Bad."
"Pretty bad, yeah. So you've got to stop him. Apparently you're just about the only person in the world who might convince him, without letting Azazel win, so here you are."
Thoughtfully, Yoochun says, "It worries me how much sense that makes."
"You're pretty dumb, if that's the only thing that worries you," Jaejoong replies, hand over his mouth and eyes laughing again, and Yoochun decides that a demon trying to seduce him to the dark side would probably be, well. Nicer to him, and probably not so much of a failure. That, and he's not sure he can afford to ignore what Jaejoong's just said.
"Okay," Yoochun says. "I'm like. Taking your word for everything, at least until one of us is proved wrong."
**
**
Changmin's phone is out of service, and when he asks Jaejoong for help, Jaejoong just shrugs. "We don't really keep track of people's phone numbers," he says.
"Well, can't you find him with some, I don't know. Angel mojo?" Yoochun asks, frowning.
Jaejoong looks just a little sheepish at that. "Well, I could. Except that somehow he's, um. Fallen off our radar, except when he actually does something."
Yoochun sighs a lot. "Okay, well. Can you find Yunho, then?"
**
Yunho takes one look at Yoochun and tries to knife him in the chest. "I'm not a demon!" Yoochun yells, shaking off the holy water to the face while Jaejoong just stands by and mutters about how now he'll understand just how annoying it is.
That earns him a deeply sceptical look from Yunho, but at least he's not trying to kill Yoochun any more. Getting damp was good for something, it seems, since the lack of face-melting seems to have convinced Yunho to at least calm down a little.
"Then what... why..." Yunho seems to be lost for words, but the question he's trying to ask is pretty obvious.
"Jaejoong," Yoochun says with a gesture over his shoulder at him. "He says he's an angel."
Yunho stares at Jaejoong at the words, mouth hanging open a little. Jaejoong says, "Yeah, I really am," sounding incredibly tired.
"I can, um. See that," Yunho says, and Jaejoong just lights up.
"Seriously?" Jaejoong asks. "That's awesome! You're cool. Yoochun can't see, you know." Jaejoong turns to Yoochun, grin practically blinding. "He's really cool."
Yoochun grumbles under his breath. "Can we get back to Changmin now please?"
"Changmin," Yunho says, face falling. He's always been far too easy to read.
"What happened to Changmin?" Yoochun asks. He knows at least that from what Jaejoong's said, he can't be dead, but that's strangely little comfort.
Yunho looks at Yoochun, hesitates a second before he says, "After- After we buried you, Changmin. He lost it a little. Took off, wouldn't let me go with him. Says he's going to make Azazel pay for what he did to you. Junsu keeps me updated, when he can."
Yoochun tries not to get too distracted by what Yunho might mean by 'lost it a little', and just asks, "D'you know where he is?"
"I can find out," Yunho says. It's good enough.
**
When Yoochun knocks at the door of the apartment that Yunho leads them to, he's not sure what he expects to find. Certainly not Junsu in just boxers, wide eyes going demon-dark as he registers who's at the door. It doesn't seem to be a surprise to Yunho, though, who just murmurs, "It's okay," reaching out to put his hand around Junsu's wrist, the touch casual and strangely intimate.
Junsu's eyes clear just as Changmin's voice calls out from somewhere out of sight. "Who is it?"
No-one answers, and Changmin's clearly curious enough to come to the door. He startles at the sight of Yoochun, eyes going as wide as Junsu's had just before lunges for Yoochun. Yoochun's reminded a little too much of how Yunho had lunged at him to feel sorry when Junsu and Yunho's arms hold Changmin back. "It's really him," Yunho says, and Junsu echoes the words. Changmin sags in their hold, but there's still suspicion in his eyes.
"How do you know," Changmin asks, gaze fixed on Yoochun like Yoochun's going to disappear right in front of him. That, or turn into a monster before his eyes.
"I know," Yunho says, and somehow it seems to be the right thing to say, something like hope growing on Changmin's face at the words.
Changmin whispers, "Yoochun." Yoochun takes the step to pull Changmin into his arms just as Changmin whispers, "How are you here? You died."
"Then I came back," Yoochun says, arms tight around Changmin. "Was brought back."
"Brought?" Changmin asks, leaning back to look at Yoochun's face, suspicion instant.
Yoochun wonders when that happened to Changmin, but just says, "Not like that. To-" he hesitates, not sure if he should tell Changmin what Jaejoong had said. "To help," he says instead. "'m not possessed or- or anything."
Changmin nods. "I know," he says. "I'd know, if." That's new too, and it makes Yoochun startle a little in Changmin's hold. He looks up in time to catch a nod from Junsu and Yunho almost in tandem.
"Oh," he says blankly, drawing himself out of Changmin's hold finally to turn to Jaejoong, who's just looking at him with a lack of expression that Yoochun's not sure how to interpret. Still, at least he's not about to call Yoochun out for not telling the whole truth just yet. "We should probably, um. Catch up," Yoochun says, half a question.
Changmin nods, hand closing around Yoochun's wrist to draw him into the room, Jaejoong and Yunho following.
**
Afterwards, once Yoochun's told Junsu and Changmin about Jaejoong, and Changmin and Junsu have skirted around the edges of what they've been doing for the last six months, the other three leave and Yoochun finds himself alone with Changmin at last.
Changmin doesn't seem to quite know what to do with himself, can't seem to settle into one spot for any length of time. It almost makes Yoochun dizzy, watching Changmin circle from the bed to the window to the chair and back again. "Changmin," Yoochun says at last, reaching out a hand to stop Changmin as he walks past Yoochun where he's sitting on the couch. Changmin looks down at Yoochun's hand as if he doesn't quite recognise it, and Yoochun says Changmin's name again. "Stop."
"I don't know what to do," Changmin says quietly, not looking at Yoochun's face, sounding strangely young and lost.
Yoochun's heart aches at the look on Changmin's face, and he tugs gently, urging Changmin to sit next to him. "We'll figure it out," he says, unable even to imagine really how Changmin must have felt the last six months. "We'll stop him."
Changmin makes a quiet sound that Yoochun can't quite interpret. He can't come up with any response other than to lean and kiss Changmin softly, the only way he can think of to convince Changmin that he's here, that somehow they'll work it out. The kiss is followed by another, then another, Changmin not seeming able to stop and Yoochun completely unwilling to make him.
"Yoochun," Changmin murmurs between kisses.
Yoochun whispers, "I'm here," back, is almost sure what's going through Changmin's mind because he knows how he'd be feeling if their positions were reversed.
"Need you," Changmin says, holding Yoochun as if Yoochun'll disappear the moment he lets go. Yoochun answers with the way he returns Changmin's hold, the way he leans into Changmin and responds to every kiss, every touch.
**
Yoochun wakes up once in the night, when the bed shifts and Changmin's warmth moves away. "Changmin?" he mumbles, still half-asleep.
Changmin hushes him, pressing a kiss to Yoochun's temple before he whispers, "It's okay, go back to sleep," and keeps moving away. Yoochun's dazed enough just to comply. When he wakes in the morning, Changmin's head is a warm weight on his shoulder, and Yoochun wonders if he imagined the whole thing.
When they make it out into the kitchen, Yoochun does a double take at the sight of Jaejoong in front of the stove. He can't help thinking that there's just something inherently wrong about waking up to an angel making pancakes, especially when the demon making tea's added in. He thought, for one thing, that the two of them should've been trying to kill each other by now, with the whole angel-demon thing they've got going on. The whimsy goes out of the window, though, when Jaejoong grabs Yoochun by the elbow as he passes. "Why didn't you stop him?" Jaejoong hisses, with a glance at Changmin that's anything but discreet. Thankfully Changmin seems more amused than annoyed.
"Stop him?" Yoochun asks, still not entirely awake and very confused.
"He used his powers last night," Jaejoong says, still in that not exactly subtle whisper. "I could feel it three miles away. And I think that was him trying to be quiet. You are not keeping up your end of the bargain!"
Yoochun makes a garbled noise that covers 'How was I supposed to stop him,' and 'Bargain!' and a few more things beside.
Jaejoong pokes Yoochun in the ribs, unerringly hitting a spot that makes Yoochun double over. "You've got to do better than this," he says, and then shoves a plate of pancakes into Yoochun's hands.
**
The thing is, Yoochun's never been much good at keeping things from Changmin, and when Changmin corners him later, Yoochun already knows he's going to tell all even before Changmin says anything. This isn't the same as before, not Changmin's life on the line, and Yoochun hasn't got any ready half-truths to give this time. "What aren't you telling me?" Changmin asks, eyes on Yoochun and hand playing with the amulet around his neck.
Yoochun tries to return Changmin's steady look with one of his own, tries at least to hold out a little while, but he crumbles too easily. "It's complicated," he says slowly, hoping maybe Changmin'll let it go.
"I've got time," Changmin says, firm, moving to sit next to Yoochun on the bed. "Explain."
So Yoochun tells Changmin about hell, and Jaejoong, and how Jaejoong thinks Changmin's going to bring about the apocalypse if he keeps using his powers. The first part makes Yoochun fight back tears for the first time since Jaejoong'd brought him back; the way Changmin swats lightly at his shoulder and hugs him hard convinces him, more than anything else, that maybe it'll be okay after all, that at least Changmin hasn't changed beyond recognition.
When Yoochun's finished speaking at last, Changmin asks, "You believe him?" quietly, voice neutral enough that Yoochun can't read what Changmin thinks of it in his tone.
"Yeah," Yoochun says quietly, reluctant. Jaejoong hasn't done anything in the days since to make Yoochun question what he'd said any more, and everything still makes a little too much sense. "'m sorry." He's not even sure why he's apologising, just that he thinks he needs to.
"Not your fault," Changmin says immediately, tone thoughtful. "Just have to think about this."
They leave it at that, for now, talk about other things instead, and the tiny glimmer of hope Yoochun felt flares a little brighter.
**
They don't exactly talk about it again, and Changmin still goes off alone with Junsu in the day from time to time. But all the same, Yoochun's not woken up again by Changmin leaving, and Jaejoong doesn't pull Yoochun aside or elbow him in the ribs, or do anything to make Yoochun think that whatever Changmin and Junsu are doing is of the world-ending kind.
Two months after Yoochun comes back, he and Changmin take a job just for the two of them, returning a favour for a friend who helped them once and doesn't want anyone else involved. It's doomed from the moment they start, from the first time Yoochun put down the phone after saying yes and Changmin said, "I've got a bad feeling about this." They couldn't call back and say no, though, not to a friend who needed them.
The ghost in question turns out to be a particularly vicious one, both enraged and cunning, determined to keep them from getting rid of it. They track down its body eventually, because that's what they do, but not before it almost succeeds in strangling Yoochun and ripping Changmin's heart out of his chest. By the time the bones are salted and burned, both of them are nursing injuries that are going to take months, perhaps, to heal, a nasty gash in Changmin's side from the flying cutlery in the kitchen and Yoochun with cracked ribs that mean he won't be doing anything that involves bending or turning for a while.
Changmin drives them back to the town where they've made their sort-of base, teasing lightly about Yoochun's habit of breaking bones, but Yoochun can hear the worry under the words. He's worrying more than a little himself, about how long it's going to be before either of them are fighting fit, how it's not time they have to spare, and what would happen if, on the next job, one or more of the others gets injured too, or worse.
Injuries, at least, heal.
**
There are still jobs and hunts, all of them helping out when they can, and too much to do when they all know that they haven't got all that much time left. Not when all around them, signs and portents say that Azazel is getting closer and closer to opening the gates of hell, even without Changmin's powers to help smooth the way.
Yoochun wakes up screaming some nights, nightmares born of everything he's seen and everything he fears might be coming, all twisted up together. In the day, he can almost keep himself from thinking about hell, about Changmin or Yunho or anyone he loves in hell with him, next time, but in the night there's nothing to stop his mind playing with all those possibilities, nothing to stop him thinking about what if one of them gets killed on the next hunt, or crippled.
After those, there's no chance of going back to sleep. Yoochun takes up smoking again, slipping out of the motel room to lean against the wall and have one or two or five slow cigarettes to calm his nerves. Somehow Jaejoong always seems to know when it's one of those nights, always appears next to him before Yoochun's even halfway through his first smoke.
Jaejoong talks a lot, those nights, odd ramblings about nothing in particular. Yoochun only listens to about half of it, just letting the sound of Jaejoong's voice wash over him for the most part, but Jaejoong doesn't really seem to expect much interaction from Yoochun. Yoochun finds he's grateful for it, for the way it becomes a background noise that lets him put the memories and fears away again in the box he's stuffed them into.
Eventually Jaejoong's voice fades back to silence, and Yoochun reaches out to brush his fingers against Jaejoong's side or the back of his hand before he turns to step back into his own room again, slipping in next to Changmin to get another few hours of sleep before dawn.
**
Once, after the five of them have spent a hour rehashing the same old ground on how to stop Azazel without everyone dying, Yoochun grabs Jaejoong's wrist, pulling him into a corner because his curiosity's just about killing him. "Why're you still here?" Yoochun asks. "Changmin's stopped doing... whatever it is you wanted him to stop doing. Hasn't he? And 'm sure you've got, like. Important angel-y things to do."
Jaejoong sighs, and jabs a finger at Yoochun's chest, making Yoochun pout back automatically. "Mostly," he says, and carries on before Yoochun can ask about the mostly. "But there's still a big, bad demon to stop, if you'd forgotten. Plus-" Jaejoong looks down then, pausing. Yoochun has just enough time to start to worry before Jaejoong looks up again, grinning. "You guys are pretty fun to hang around with. Especially Yunho."
Yoochun groans and pokes Jaejoong in the ticklish spot just below his ribs. It's only appropriate payback, after all.
**
In the middle of everything else, Jaejoong and Junsu keep disappearing together, and as much as Yoochun has come to - however reluctantly - trust them, his heart quails a little at the thought of all the things an angel and a demon (even one who's on their side) could do together.
As it turns out, he's partly right to worry - and partly very wrong. When Jaejoong and Junsu walk into the room one day and drop a bag on the table with a heavy, metallic clank, all three of the others look up wide-eyed and more than a little worried. "What's that?" Yunho says, though somewhere between the two words his voice takes on a sudden ring of realisation and hope.
"We made it work," Jaejoong says, beaming, and Junsu nods along, grin equally wide.
"Aren't you proud of us?" Junsu asks, reaching out to undo the top of the bag, opening it up so Yoochun and Changmin can peer in and see that it contains a few dozen bullets.
Changmin looks back, raising an eyebrow. "We've got bullets," he points out. "Lots."
"Nothing like this," Junsu says, smile still on his face. He nods at Jaejoong, who pulls a gun from his belt, a gun that Yoochun recognises. The gun that'd kill Azazel, if they had bullets for it.
Jaejoong starts to laugh at whatever he sees on their faces. "Yup," he says, nodding. "Bullets for the Colt."
**
Just the fact that they've got this now, this possibility, a new weapon and a new chance, seems to galvanise them all. Suddenly the chance of all of them making it through this seems almost possible. Yoochun's not sure what to do with all this hope, the thought that maybe together they'll all find a way to survive this, that maybe there'll be a happy ending. It's like it kicks them all into a new gear, ideas and possibilities tossed between the five of them in stray moments and long discussions, all their possible assets drawn together and laid out as they try to come up with a way to stop Azazel once and for all.
In the end, though, it comes down to this: Yoochun and Changmin, with the Colt tucked into Yoochun's waistband and the knife in Changmin's hand while Changmin tries to convince Azazel that he's reconsidering the appeal of the dark side after all.
Yoochun just stands by Changmin's side and tries to look both stoic and protective, not sure he's doing too great a job, but then it's not as if Azazel's paying him much attention. Instead, the demon's looking at Changmin like Changmin's the secret answer to all his hopes, and it makes Yoochun a little - or a lot more than a little - nervous. "I knew you'd see my good points eventually," Azazel says, smiling, smiling, and Yoochun wants to take the gun out and shoot him right now. "Had to, with my blood in you. I knew I didn't make the wrong choice. How'd you like to be the prince of my new world, Changmin?"
"That sounds really nice," Changmin says, smiling back, and the expression would make Yoochun's skin crawl if he couldn't see the way Changmin's hand tenses around the hilt of the knife at the same time. He sidles a little closer to Changmin, not quite close enough to touch, but enough that his encouragement can't be mistaken.
"Why don't you put down the knife, Changmin?" Azazel asks, voice low and sweet and making Yoochun's stomach want to turn itself inside out. "And maybe you don't need the sidekick any more either, hm?"
Changmin shakes his head, a look of distaste flickering across his face almost too fast even for Yoochun to register. "No," Changmin says. "You don't get me if you don't take him too. He's mine."
The words and the way Changmin says them makes Yoochun shiver slightly, a distraction he can't afford. He turns his attention back to Azazel, focuses on the hazy memories he has from the six months he spent dead instead. It reminds him of everything he wants to keep Changmin, or any of the others, from knowing, reminds him why they're here.
Changmin murmurs Yoochun's name, a question in it that Yoochun can't quite read. He replies with Changmin's name anyway, affirmation, and shifts his weight, just wanting to get on with this.
Azazel puts his hand out to Changmin, beckons, encouraging. "Two for the price of one?" Azazel asks, with another of those hackle-raising laughs. "I guess I can take that. Now give me the knife like a good boy."
Changmin scowls at the word. "I'm not a boy," he grits out, stepping forward, but luckily the door bangs open before Changmin can give himself away.
It's Yunho, taking his cue at last. "You killed my father!" Yunho pronounces, and Yoochun wonders for a crazy moment if Yunho's stealing lines from The Princess Bride again. Yunho's gun's pointed at Azazel, unwavering, and Azazel laughs again.
"That toy won't hurt me," he chuckles, shaking his head.
Yunho smiles back, small and almost bitter. "I know," he says. "But this will." He lunges at Changmin, a flurry of pulled punches before he moves away and now he's got the knife, and Changmin's going to have a black eye for authenticity.
"You idiot!" Azazel shouts at Changmin, but there's no time for any more than that, Yunho lunging at Azazel. Azazel's hand comes up, and Yunho stops dead, a horrible choking noise coming from his throat, the knife dropping from his hand with a clatter.
Yoochun says, "Yunho," involuntarily, the word covered by the crack of displaced air as Jaejoong and Junsu appear, one on either side of Azazel, mouths already opening in the phrases of a chant in a language Yoochun can't even identify.
Azazel's hand starts to close, another grating noise torn from Yunho's mouth before Changmin's voice joins Jaejoong's and Junsu's and Azazel seems to freeze in place, the invisible force holding Yunho up letting him drop to the floor in a heap. Changmin stops chanting to breathe, "It's working," barely audible over the continued chant, as he moves to scoop up the knife and check Yunho's okay. "Now, Yoochun!" Changmin's voice falls back into step with Jaejoong and Junsu as Azazel's head starts to turn, and he freezes again.
Yoochun's body's already moving without any need for the instruction, his hand pulling the Colt, bringing it up to aim straight for Azazel's head. There's only the barest hesitation in him before he pulls the trigger, just enough time to see Azazel's eyes widen in recognition, just time for Azazel's mouth to shape 'No'. Everyone's voices stop abruptly as Azazel screams and convulses, electric sparks flaring across his body before he slumps in a heap on the floor.
Everything's silent for a long moment, then Yoochun finds his voice. "Is he-" he starts to say, and Jaejoong nods.
"It's done."
"We did it," Yunho says, hoarse but clear from where Changmin's helping him sit up, and once again Yoochun's body's making him move without any conscious decision. He stumbles over to them, wraps his arms around Changmin and Yunho both, relief making a laugh rise up in his throat.
"We did," Yoochun echoes, still laughing, leaning into the returned grip of Changmin's arms, and Jaejoong's when he joins their pile on the floor. He tips his head back to see that Junsu's just watching them, still standing, and raises an eyebrow. "Come down here," Yoochun says.
Junsu blinks back until the words are echoed by Changmin too, Yunho and Jaejoong a beat behind, then he shrugs and laughs. "You're all hopeless. And sappy. And hopeless," he complains, but he joins the group hug anyway, at least until Yunho makes a pained noise from under them all.
"Demon army," Changmin says thoughtfully, as if the sound's just reminded him.
"Oh, yeah," Yoochun says. "We should probably get out of here, huh?"
"Whatever, we can take them," Jaejoong says as they pull each other to their feet, which makes them all laugh again, relief underlaid by exhilaration that Azazel's not going to be looming over their lives any more.
"Sure," Yunho says, voice still creaky. "But maybe not today, hm?" He wobbles a little as he stands, and Yoochun reaches to steady him, smiling as his arm meets Changmin's on the way to do the same thing.
"Not today," Yoochun agrees, and lets Yunho turn them all towards the door.