S48: I’m Only Happy When It Rains
Title: I’m Only Happy When It Rains
For: S45
Pairing(s): Implied future Sehun/Xiumin/Lu Han (SeXiuHan)
Rating: PG-13
Length: 4755
Summary: Minseok just wants to be able to touch Sehun, to have him stay forever and not only when it rains. Lu Han can help them both do just that.
Warnings: people being encased in ice
Author's note: I’m not sure what this is but you can consider it a prequel of sorts to a bigger AU. Thanks to my sprinting angels ~ <3
Minseok isn't like Sehun.
He doesn't need his element to be conscious, to breathe and live and fly. He creates it himself, shards of ice embedded in his skin, working their way up his arms like blue veins and crackling onto the street, the walls. He keeps himself safe, cold, alive this way.
Sehun isn't like Minseok.
He needs it to rain, needs the droplets to fall around him so he can weave in and around them, a shimmering spirit that becomes solid, dripping warm water. Sehun can touch Minseok without a consequence to himself, can place his hands on the ice fairies shoulders, can brush his warm lips across cooler ones, can trace his fingers over wings that sparkle with hanging icicles.
Minseok can't touch him back, at least not with his fingers. They tried once, Sehun crouching down during a storm, the flash of lightning fairies illuminating his beauty, his deep blue eyes and hair that reminds Minseok of underwater plants.
Minseok had been awestruck by the sight of a water spirit, at finally being close to him after weeks of watching from afar. He'd tried to reach out, fingers splaying across Sehun's cheek, but had pulled back immediately when Sehun had shrieked at his touch, cheek now bearing a scar from where the ice had shot from Minseok's fingers.
The problem is that Sehun's skin, organs, what makes him solid, alive is 90% water, blood frozen solid by Minseok's own magic, and so Minseok is unable to touch Sehun back.
But they make it work for the most part, Minseok wandering out from his frozen cave by the river and into the back alleys of the city, freezing drops of rain in the air here and there, letting the ice fall from his fingertips as he walks.
It never takes Sehun long to find him now, warm wetness wrapping it's way around his waist, and lips finding his, drops of water falling from Sehun's eyelashes and freezing on Minseok's cheeks. It's a miracle maybe, that Sehun can touch, and that Minseok doesn't have to keep his mouth to himself, kissing Sehun to stop his stories of the other world, the place he goes when the rain stops.
These stories depress Minseok, remind him that Sehun isn't always around, that Sehun belongs to a completely different dimension, a completely different world with those of his own kin, water spirits and rain ghosts that could probably touch him with their fingers.
He does bring it up, shaken from an accidental brush of his fingers across Sehun's skin, a new scar, ugly and terrible to match the one on his face, all Minseok's fault.
"But I love you." Sehun says in surprise, looking at Minseok as if it's the simplest thing in both their worlds, as if Minseok should just know that this reason is enough for anyone to keep a weird long distance relationship, to risk injury constantly.
He does bring it up, shaken from an accidental brush of his fingers across Sehun's skin, a new scar, ugly and terrible to match the one on his face, all Minseok's fault.
"But I love you." Sehun says in surprise, looking at Minseok as if it's the simplest thing in both their worlds, as if Minseok should just know that this reason is enough for anyone to keep a weird long distance relationship, to risk injury constantly.
"Is that enough in such a dark world as this?" Minseok mutters, and the look on Sehun's face, the thin line his mouth becomes, makes him want to reach out and touch, but he can't. It frustrates Minseok, and he turns away, frowning at the ground.
"I love you too." Minseok says, making sure that Sehun knows this, even with the rocky gravel turning to ice below his feet and the rain slowly starting to let up, traitorous sun peeking out from behind the clouds. "Sorry I ruined our time together."
Sehun doesn't have the time to answer him, solid form already wavering and becoming transparent, dragged away through the droplets and back to his own world, back where he belongs.
If there's one thing Minseok wants more than to touch Sehun, it's for him to stay.
---
The next time it rains -- a rather violent thunderstorm that nearly has Minseok huddled up inside his cave -- Minseok freezes the rain.
He sits in the middle of a field, the river bank visible behind him and the tall and decaying buildings of the city in front of him. Energy flows through his veins and ice shoots from his fingers, the grass turning dead, frozen, icy blue around him.
Minseok sees Sehun materialize from the drops, watching his form become solid, eyes shining with concern. Minseok is an untouchable block of ice, eyes glazed over and eyelashes shattering under the pressure of the cold he's producing.
But it's working, the very drops around them turning to ice shards and falling to the ground, some suspended mid-air. Sehun drops to the ground and crouches before Minseok, voice muffled and eyes a darker blue than usual.
"What are you doing?" He asks in a panic, unable to touch any part of Minseok right now, afraid of disappearing, of being encased with him.
"I'm freezing the storm." Minseok says calmly, and his breath is frosty, nearly cold enough to freeze in the air. "So that you'll stay."
"That won't-" Sehun starts to say, but he stops, reaching his hands out and grabbing Minseok's shoulders. Minseok notices the jolt of pain that shoots through him and flinches, pushing Sehun away.
"I can't touch you, but I want you around all the time." Minseok says desperately. "I want you to stay when it's not raining, so I'm freezing the rain."
"Minseok." Sehun stutters, and his eyes are full of pain, full of worry. "If you freeze the rain you'll freeze me. I won't be staying I'll be a dead shell."
Minseok stops what he's doing, trying to catch the momentum of his powers, but they're brimming, falling over the edges and catching in the air, ice like lightning as it crackles through the air and across the ground, crawling up an abandoned building.
"I can't stop this now." Minseok says, looking up at Sehun with wide eyes. "I can't stop it. I don't want to freeze you, i just though, if the rain was stuck you would be able to stay here all the time."
"It doesn't work like that." Sehun whispers, and Minseok barely hears it, barely sees the tears in his eyes as his arms begin to turn a metallic blue, fingers going limp and body sagging.
He falls to the ground, a being encased in ice, eyelids frozen open and limbs stuck as they were, a picture of desperation and sadness on the ground. It's sudden, and Minseok just sits there staring, own body freeing itself of ice and arms falling into his lap.
Sehun isn't the only thing frozen. Minseok has succeeded in freezing the rain, a single lightning bolt stuck against the sky, a dead city looming ahead of him, windows cracked from ice and a frosty chill over the area.
Minseok glances behind him to see the river completely frozen over, his little cave destroyed from the glacier like ice that has crashed into it. Tears leap to his eyes when he realizes what he's done, panic settling into the pit of his stomach and breath coming out in rapid, short gasps.
He's drained, having used up almost all of his energy, all of his determination, all for the selfish act of just wanting Sehun to stay, wanting to touch him and see him all the time, his overgrown water spirit lover.
Now Minseok is stuck with a frozen city and the same water spirit a half dead block of ice in front of him. And he doesn't know how to fix it.
--
Minseok sits in the field for three days, hungry, scared, watching to see if anything unfreezes, if the sheet of ice over Sehun's eyes melts away, but nothing happens.
He's fucked everything up, and the city lies barren before him, wind howling past skyscrapers and across the river, giving even him the smallest chill, as he sits curled into himself.
Minseok doesn't leave Sehun's side, a kind of deep, empty panic overtaking him. He thinks of selfish he's been, thinks of how the other world is probably missing Sehun, is probably scared for their son, their friend, their sibling.
He manages to break through the ice that's formed around Sehun like a prison, but Sehun's body remains cold, the very blood in his veins and the very layers of skin that protect him icy, dead. Minseok holds his hand, traces his fingers across Sehun's body in a kind of sad ritual, tears springing to his eyes more than once.
He can touch him right now, because there's nothing left to harm, nothing left to destroy with the tips of his frozen, cursed fingers, and Minseok hates it. He hates every bit of it, and has no idea what to do.
He's just an ice faerie, living by himself by the river and venturing out to see Sehun, to buy himself faerie vodka from the underground market.
He's not a flame spirit, not someone who can melt an entire city down and return it to what it once was.
And it hurts, the realization that he's destroyed so much in his want, his desire to have Sehun with him, as his own.
---
"Wake up."
Minseok stirs, shivering slightly from his own body temperature, cold from lack of food, from too much crying. He's certain he's heard a voice, but it must just be his mind playing tricks on him. There's no one left and it's all his fault.
"Hey, wake up."
But it's not in his head, and it doesn't sound like a voice he's heard before, soft and accented, words flowing like warm honey and encasing him in something that isn't ice.
Minseok sits up, blinking in confusion, mind a jumble of confusion and pain. He glances at the high rise building directly off the river. Still frozen.
"You're awake." The voice says again, and this time Minseok finds the source, turning his head to see large eyes, the colour of orange flame, flickering blue from the reflection of Minseok's own ice filled gaze. "Good."
"Who are you?" Minseok croaks out, voice hoarse from sleep and from stress. He can feel the energy of this creature strongly; warmth, security, layers of ice on the grass melting away and becoming warm pools of water under his bare feet.
"My name is Lu Han." The voice tells him, resting a hand on Minseok's shoulder and staring intensely at him, irises like the flame of a candle. "I'm a flame spirit."
"A flame spirit." Minseok echoes, before his eyes widen and he leaps to his feet, stumbling over to where Sehun is still lying in the grass, immobile.
"You, are you here to fix everything?" Minseok says, words stuttered as he lifts the lifeless water spirit from the ground and cradles him in his arms, wind blowing his hair back and wings flicking away shards of ice. "Can you fix the rain, and the city, and my Sehun?"
"I was sent here to do that." Lu Han murmurs, and he trails fingers across Sehun's face, something that strikes Minseok as strangely intimate in this moment. "He's gotten the full brunt of your explosion of power and will take the longest to heal. But I can help."
"I assume you're here to help the city first?" Minseok asks, though it's more like a statement, shoulders sagging with the relief that Sehun will be okay, that the rains will once more fall, and the city will once more thrive in its corrupt state.
Lu Han hums, but he takes Sehun from Minseok's arms and settles him down into the grass, now warm, though yellowed, dead. Minseok can feel his energy, dizzying and hot, and soon Sehun looks like Sehun, skin glowing with a dark blue tint and eyes fluttering shut, breathing normal.
"Stay with him." Lu Han instructs, and he looks over Minseok carefully as if unsure of what to think of him. The guilt tears through Minseok and he looks at his feet, away from the intense eyes of the spirit. He has no way of knowing that Minseok is not a criminal, is not malicious.
"It'll take a little bit, but soon the city will awaken." Lu Han tells him, a kind of sting to his words, though his voice remains soft and melodious, like candle wax dripping onto Minseok's skin and crawling into his ears. "He will wake up soon, and the rain will start to fall. I'll be back to talk to you."
His promise leaves a kind of fear in Minseok. He's going to be arrested, transported to the other world and locked up, punished for trying to destroy something that is not his to destroy.
Minseok sits besides Sehun, breathing harshly and waiting for his fate to return to him. Sehun is no longer frozen, just himself, flickering in and out of transparency. Minseok cannot touch him right now.
---
Minseok watches Lu Han's handiwork from afar, chills running through his body as he adjusts to the changes in temperature, the strange feel of searing heat running through the air and licking up the sides of building like a forest fire.
He watches the ice of the river crack and break into pieces, floating here and there and melting slowly. He watches his tiny nook home cave from the pressure of the melting ice and crumble, dirt and branches tumbling into the now flowing water.
Minseok watches Sehun next to him, kisses his forehead and waits for him to wake up, watches his eyelids twitch and his toes curl, good signs, all good signs.
It's an incredible sight really, watching his beloved city go up in flames, smelling the charred streets and seeing a glimpse of Lu Han every once in a while, lithe and quick as he jumps from rooftop to rooftop, melting long sheets of ice when he slides down them.
Minseok watches the city return to normal, hears the roar of sirens and the screech of vehicles, the noise of the rain returning suddenly, lightning flashing and large fat drops hitting his arms and turning to ice on contact.
Sehun wakes up suddenly, eyes snapping open and arms weak, pushing himself up with effort and staring at Minseok with something Minseok can't quite read.
"You're alive." Minseok chokes out, crawling towards him but keeping his distance, afraid to even touch him with things that are not his fingers, with things that are safe. He's scared, scanning Sehun's face for any signs of fear, of betrayed anger.
But Sehun is just Sehun, pulling Minseok into an embrace and burying his face into his shoulder, hands gripping Minseok's arms in a way that is practised, as they'd always done to keep Minseok's hands away.
"I'm sorry." Minseok says, and he knows it's not enough of a word, not strong enough to fix what he's done, but it's all he really can say. "I'm sorry I ruined everything."
Sehun is about to answer, pulling back from Minseok and tugging a hand through his matted and half frozen hair, when Lu Han returns to them, a beacon of heat and flame, blurred fire through torrential rain.
The flame spirit looks weak, eyelids drooping and energy signatures low, a burnt out candle and not an inferno, walking over to where they stand, eyes on both of them.
"Sehun." Lu Han says, ignoring Minseok for a fraction of time to focus on Sehun, reaching for his hand and holding it close. "You're alive."
Minseok is confused, but then it hits him. No normal flame spirit would show up to save an entire human city if there wasn't something else involved, some kind of knowledge of someone or other.
"You two know each other." Minseok says quietly, glancing between them and frowning, the fear of abandonment, of Sehun returning to the other world and never seeing him again strong.
"Yes." Sehun says, turning to Minseok and smiling a kind of goofy smile, one that looks strange on his face. "We've known each other since we were just wisps of energy floating in the air."
Minseok nods, and he's chewing his bottom lip, nervous bits of snow falling from fingers to rest in the grass before melting under the warm glow that comes from Lu Han. He hesitates, flinching in the awkward atmosphere that's come over him, but voices his fear.
"Are you going to arrest me and lock me up?" He asks, blinking rapidly. It's a confusing change of pace, from panicked to relieved to panicked again, and Minseok gulps nervously when Lu Han raises a single eyebrow at him, releasing Sehun to walk over to him.
He doesn't answer right away, just stops, tilts his head, turns back and grabs Sehun's wrist. Minseok's eyes widen slightly upon notices the water of Sehun's skin bubble and distort slightly, though no pain or discomfort shows on his face.
"I'm not going to arrest you." Lu Han says with a small laugh, one that blows heat onto Minseok and makes him shiver again, this time in a slightly different way. "I want to show you two something."
The rain is starting to let up, and Minseok glances towards the sky, familiar pain echoing in his heart and curling around his throat. Sehun is going to float away into the other world soon and he may not come back, he may have hugged him, may have seemed to love him, but he might stay there, and not here, not here like Minseok wants.
Lu Han gently tugs on Minseok's wrist, a deadly kind of grin on his lips, one that's strangely attractive, drawing Minseok in. It confuses Minseok, but a lot seems to be lately, this sudden change in gears. Lu Han's grip makes Lu Han feels warm, as if fiery liquid is running through his veins, the ice melting slightly in his hair.
It's not uncomfortable though, just different, and he follows Lu Han's lead and stands with them, drops of rain still hitting them. Minseok has no idea what's going on, but Sehun seems to understand, grinning in a childish way at Lu Han.
"I've heard about you." Lu Han says conversationally, directing his words and attention at Minseok. "I trust Sehun's judgement, and I've also heard of your problems. So I want to show you something."
Lu Han pushes them together, until they're standing just inches part, Sehun breathing down at Minseok. He doesn't seem to care about being the odd one out in an intimate kind of situation, keeping his grip on both of them, warmth making Minseok feel a strange kind of drowsy, safe.
"Minseok, reach out and touch Sehun." Lu Han tells him, and his voice is close, spoken quietly into Minseok's ear, a hot puff of breath that's also weirdly attractive, confusing Minseok further.
"What?" Minseok asks, incredulous. "I don't want to hurt-"
"Trust me." Lu Han says with a grin, this one not that attractive, face twisting and eyes glittering fire,
"I know what he's doing." Sehun says suddenly, looking Minseok right in the eye and grinning widely. "Minseok touch me."
Minseok hesitates again, but does, reaches out and places a hand on Sehun's face, running his fingers across the scar and flinching, shaking as he waits for something to happen.
But nothing does. No ice shoots from Minseok's fingers and sears across Sehun's watery complexion. There's just a warmth, seeping through both of them and it feels like heaven, Minseok nearly forgetting Lu Han's there as a gasp escapes Sehun's lips.
"How are you doing this?" Minseok asks awkwardly, awed by the fact that he's touching Sehun, his fingers are touching warm skin and not causing damage, and it's amazing.
"I'm a flame spirit." Lu Han says simply, teeth showing with his grin and fingers splayed gently across both their necks. "I'm evening your internal body temperature and holding back your powers natural reaction to water."
There's something smug in the way Lu Han says, and Minseok gets a feeling that if he wasn't attached to both of them he would be flipping his hair, or something equally as ridiculous.
Lu Han sighs happily, looking back and forth between them. He turns to Sehun finally and addresses him, tone serious.
"Sehun. Why didn't you just bring Minseok back to our world?" Lu Han asks, frowning and shifting his grip on the back of Minseok's neck slightly, sending a shock of heat through his spine. He twitches, and doesn't miss the smirk that glides quickly across Lu Han's lips before the frown returns.
"I thought about it." Sehun mutters sheepishly, looking at Lu Han but not Minseok. "But I didn't want to kidnap him from this world and force him into another."
"Well looks like he arrived at the decision to do just that a lot quicker didn't he?" Lu Han says slyly, as if Minseok isn't even there. The tone is teasing, but Minseok feels a stab of guilt, stepping out of Lu Han's grip and away from Sehun, bowing slightly.
"Sorry."
"No." Sehun says quickly, and he places his hands on Minseok's shoulder, careful not to brush against his fingers now that Lu Han is no longer helping. "Hyung. It's fine. I wanted to stay too. Every time the rain stops I get so sad. You haven't seen me sulking around the caves back home."
Sehun pauses, and he looks at Minseok's little home, destroyed by Minseok's own hands, glancing back at Lu Han and swiping a tongue across his lips nervously.
"You have no home now." Sehun says, and he sighs. "It's my fault for leaving too much. Come back with us."
"Do you think I should?" Minseok asks solemnly, staring at the city; at his home and at the river, everything he's ever known.
"Lu Han can help us." Sehun says, referring to the temperature thing probably. "He can help us in more ways than one, and he's interested in both of us."
"Interested?" Minseok echoes, throwing a suspicious glance at Lu Han, who grins back innocently from where he's standing a bit away now.
"Well." Sehun begins, and stops, and begins again. "It felt nice, didn't? The contrast between icy and warm. If you come back I won't disappear with the sun, and you can touch me all the time."
"Can I-" Minseok frowns, breath leaving him in a heavy whoosh. "Can I think about it? I'm still in shock, I'm still scared. I nearly killed you, and a city and this is so sudden and I don't-"
"The rain is letting up." Sehun interrupts, but he smiles gently, kisses Minseok on the lips, quick and discreet, drops scarce as his figure begins to waver, a usual thing. "Decide by the next time it rains."
Minseok opens his mouth to say okay, but the sun is fully out, the clouds moving away in the distance and Sehun is gone, back to his other world. Lu Han is still here though, walking over to Minseok and sitting down with him in the grass, gleefully setting fire to blades here and there.
He isn't speaking, and Minseok isn't sure why he's still around, why he's still in this world when Sehun has left. Minseok is looking around, thinking of sneaking to the alley way hotels, the capsules in which faeries can safely stay for the night.
He need somewhere to sleep, but it's been a long time since he's ventured fully into the gritty, raw urban life of the city fae, living so many years by the riverside, clean and alone with the exception of Sehun's scattered visits.
Minseok hates the capsules, the unnatural chill that settles in them, cold even for someone like him who is made almost entirely of frozen matter. But he has no choice, and he glances quizzically at Lu Han.
"You're still here." He says, and he's surprised at how hesitant and soft his voice comes out, not used to being nervous around someone; Minseok does only really know Sehun after all.
"Yes I am." Lu Han says, and he's cheerful now, different from the serious Lu Han that had woken Minseok up to melt the city, or the helpful but devious Lu Han that had showed them a whole new world to their relationship, to the desperation that was clashing species.
"Why?"
"I thought I'd stay here for a while." Lu Han hums, leaning back on his palms and glowing in the after rain sunlight, golden skin seeming to glisten. He turns and grins at Minseok. "Plus Sehun was right when he said you were cute. Thought I'd take care of your confused soul for a bit while you wait for the next rainstorm."
"I'm not a confused soul." Minseok grumbles, though his body temperatures plummets slightly, energy going wonky with a kind of nervous embarrassment. "And you shouldn't be calling me cute."
"Why not?" Lu Han laughs, and he places a hand on Minseok's shoulder, hot fingers brushing against the skin, warming Minseok up. "I'll be spending a lot of time with you two if I'm going to help you both, you never know when all of us might catch feelings."
Minseok blushes, ears turning red and glare fixed on Lu Han, but Lu Han waves him off, laughing. Minseok can't tell if he's joking or not, but he has a point, and he wonders if Sehun had been hinting at something earlier.
He can help us in more ways than one.
"If you're staying here." Minseok says slowly, an idea coming to mind. "You're coming with me to the faerie hotel."
"A hotel." Lu Han repeats, amazement seeping through his tone. "I've always wanted to see where faeries live."
"They're freezing cold." Minseok says with a smirk. "I could use your heat to my advantage."
"You could." Lu Han agrees, tapping his chin and shaking his head at Minseok. "I could help couldn't I."
Minseok just nods, and reaches out to grab Lu Han's hand, dragging him towards the city and towards where they'll spend the night.
It's nice, spending time with another spirit, and an amiable one at that. And it's even nicer when it rains overnight, a building shaking thunderstorm, and Sehun crawls into the faerie capsules to join them, curling up with Minseok, thanks to the help of Lu Han.
"I'll come back with you." Minseok whispers when they're nearly asleep, hands around Sehun's waist, and warmth enveloping them both with the way the strange flame spirit is wrapped around them.
"Thank you." Sehun whispers back, long body wiggling happily. He kisses Minseok's nose, once, twice. "The rain is going to end soon."
"How do I come back with you?" Minseok asks quietly, brain not quite catching up with how to do, body too warm, suffocated by Lu Han's embrace,
"Just hold onto my hands and see what happens." Is all Sehun says. Minseok just nods, smiling.
There's no sadness in him as he wonders what the other world will look like, as he thinks that they should have done this sooner, but at the same time, he thinks of Sehun's friend, the flame spirit that's selflessly offered to help them.
There's a new future on Minseok's horizon, making him grin as the rain outside stops and he grips Sehun's hands tightly, world spinning and vision going fuzzy.
Minseok isn't like Sehun, and Sehun isn't like Minseok, and Lu Han isn't like either of them, and such is the way of opposite.
It's a lesson learned in the worst possible way, with the best possible results, and Minseok breathes in a gasp as they materialize in the spirit world, caves dripping water and flames erupting from glass chandeliers on the walls. Lu Han is with them, half asleep and warm, oh so warm.
They're a budding flower, growing slowly over months, years to come, and this is only the beginning.
For: S45
Pairing(s): Implied future Sehun/Xiumin/Lu Han (SeXiuHan)
Rating: PG-13
Length: 4755
Summary: Minseok just wants to be able to touch Sehun, to have him stay forever and not only when it rains. Lu Han can help them both do just that.
Warnings: people being encased in ice
Author's note: I’m not sure what this is but you can consider it a prequel of sorts to a bigger AU. Thanks to my sprinting angels ~ <3
Minseok isn't like Sehun.
He doesn't need his element to be conscious, to breathe and live and fly. He creates it himself, shards of ice embedded in his skin, working their way up his arms like blue veins and crackling onto the street, the walls. He keeps himself safe, cold, alive this way.
Sehun isn't like Minseok.
He needs it to rain, needs the droplets to fall around him so he can weave in and around them, a shimmering spirit that becomes solid, dripping warm water. Sehun can touch Minseok without a consequence to himself, can place his hands on the ice fairies shoulders, can brush his warm lips across cooler ones, can trace his fingers over wings that sparkle with hanging icicles.
Minseok can't touch him back, at least not with his fingers. They tried once, Sehun crouching down during a storm, the flash of lightning fairies illuminating his beauty, his deep blue eyes and hair that reminds Minseok of underwater plants.
Minseok had been awestruck by the sight of a water spirit, at finally being close to him after weeks of watching from afar. He'd tried to reach out, fingers splaying across Sehun's cheek, but had pulled back immediately when Sehun had shrieked at his touch, cheek now bearing a scar from where the ice had shot from Minseok's fingers.
The problem is that Sehun's skin, organs, what makes him solid, alive is 90% water, blood frozen solid by Minseok's own magic, and so Minseok is unable to touch Sehun back.
But they make it work for the most part, Minseok wandering out from his frozen cave by the river and into the back alleys of the city, freezing drops of rain in the air here and there, letting the ice fall from his fingertips as he walks.
It never takes Sehun long to find him now, warm wetness wrapping it's way around his waist, and lips finding his, drops of water falling from Sehun's eyelashes and freezing on Minseok's cheeks. It's a miracle maybe, that Sehun can touch, and that Minseok doesn't have to keep his mouth to himself, kissing Sehun to stop his stories of the other world, the place he goes when the rain stops.
These stories depress Minseok, remind him that Sehun isn't always around, that Sehun belongs to a completely different dimension, a completely different world with those of his own kin, water spirits and rain ghosts that could probably touch him with their fingers.
He does bring it up, shaken from an accidental brush of his fingers across Sehun's skin, a new scar, ugly and terrible to match the one on his face, all Minseok's fault.
"But I love you." Sehun says in surprise, looking at Minseok as if it's the simplest thing in both their worlds, as if Minseok should just know that this reason is enough for anyone to keep a weird long distance relationship, to risk injury constantly.
He does bring it up, shaken from an accidental brush of his fingers across Sehun's skin, a new scar, ugly and terrible to match the one on his face, all Minseok's fault.
"But I love you." Sehun says in surprise, looking at Minseok as if it's the simplest thing in both their worlds, as if Minseok should just know that this reason is enough for anyone to keep a weird long distance relationship, to risk injury constantly.
"Is that enough in such a dark world as this?" Minseok mutters, and the look on Sehun's face, the thin line his mouth becomes, makes him want to reach out and touch, but he can't. It frustrates Minseok, and he turns away, frowning at the ground.
"I love you too." Minseok says, making sure that Sehun knows this, even with the rocky gravel turning to ice below his feet and the rain slowly starting to let up, traitorous sun peeking out from behind the clouds. "Sorry I ruined our time together."
Sehun doesn't have the time to answer him, solid form already wavering and becoming transparent, dragged away through the droplets and back to his own world, back where he belongs.
If there's one thing Minseok wants more than to touch Sehun, it's for him to stay.
---
The next time it rains -- a rather violent thunderstorm that nearly has Minseok huddled up inside his cave -- Minseok freezes the rain.
He sits in the middle of a field, the river bank visible behind him and the tall and decaying buildings of the city in front of him. Energy flows through his veins and ice shoots from his fingers, the grass turning dead, frozen, icy blue around him.
Minseok sees Sehun materialize from the drops, watching his form become solid, eyes shining with concern. Minseok is an untouchable block of ice, eyes glazed over and eyelashes shattering under the pressure of the cold he's producing.
But it's working, the very drops around them turning to ice shards and falling to the ground, some suspended mid-air. Sehun drops to the ground and crouches before Minseok, voice muffled and eyes a darker blue than usual.
"What are you doing?" He asks in a panic, unable to touch any part of Minseok right now, afraid of disappearing, of being encased with him.
"I'm freezing the storm." Minseok says calmly, and his breath is frosty, nearly cold enough to freeze in the air. "So that you'll stay."
"That won't-" Sehun starts to say, but he stops, reaching his hands out and grabbing Minseok's shoulders. Minseok notices the jolt of pain that shoots through him and flinches, pushing Sehun away.
"I can't touch you, but I want you around all the time." Minseok says desperately. "I want you to stay when it's not raining, so I'm freezing the rain."
"Minseok." Sehun stutters, and his eyes are full of pain, full of worry. "If you freeze the rain you'll freeze me. I won't be staying I'll be a dead shell."
Minseok stops what he's doing, trying to catch the momentum of his powers, but they're brimming, falling over the edges and catching in the air, ice like lightning as it crackles through the air and across the ground, crawling up an abandoned building.
"I can't stop this now." Minseok says, looking up at Sehun with wide eyes. "I can't stop it. I don't want to freeze you, i just though, if the rain was stuck you would be able to stay here all the time."
"It doesn't work like that." Sehun whispers, and Minseok barely hears it, barely sees the tears in his eyes as his arms begin to turn a metallic blue, fingers going limp and body sagging.
He falls to the ground, a being encased in ice, eyelids frozen open and limbs stuck as they were, a picture of desperation and sadness on the ground. It's sudden, and Minseok just sits there staring, own body freeing itself of ice and arms falling into his lap.
Sehun isn't the only thing frozen. Minseok has succeeded in freezing the rain, a single lightning bolt stuck against the sky, a dead city looming ahead of him, windows cracked from ice and a frosty chill over the area.
Minseok glances behind him to see the river completely frozen over, his little cave destroyed from the glacier like ice that has crashed into it. Tears leap to his eyes when he realizes what he's done, panic settling into the pit of his stomach and breath coming out in rapid, short gasps.
He's drained, having used up almost all of his energy, all of his determination, all for the selfish act of just wanting Sehun to stay, wanting to touch him and see him all the time, his overgrown water spirit lover.
Now Minseok is stuck with a frozen city and the same water spirit a half dead block of ice in front of him. And he doesn't know how to fix it.
--
Minseok sits in the field for three days, hungry, scared, watching to see if anything unfreezes, if the sheet of ice over Sehun's eyes melts away, but nothing happens.
He's fucked everything up, and the city lies barren before him, wind howling past skyscrapers and across the river, giving even him the smallest chill, as he sits curled into himself.
Minseok doesn't leave Sehun's side, a kind of deep, empty panic overtaking him. He thinks of selfish he's been, thinks of how the other world is probably missing Sehun, is probably scared for their son, their friend, their sibling.
He manages to break through the ice that's formed around Sehun like a prison, but Sehun's body remains cold, the very blood in his veins and the very layers of skin that protect him icy, dead. Minseok holds his hand, traces his fingers across Sehun's body in a kind of sad ritual, tears springing to his eyes more than once.
He can touch him right now, because there's nothing left to harm, nothing left to destroy with the tips of his frozen, cursed fingers, and Minseok hates it. He hates every bit of it, and has no idea what to do.
He's just an ice faerie, living by himself by the river and venturing out to see Sehun, to buy himself faerie vodka from the underground market.
He's not a flame spirit, not someone who can melt an entire city down and return it to what it once was.
And it hurts, the realization that he's destroyed so much in his want, his desire to have Sehun with him, as his own.
---
"Wake up."
Minseok stirs, shivering slightly from his own body temperature, cold from lack of food, from too much crying. He's certain he's heard a voice, but it must just be his mind playing tricks on him. There's no one left and it's all his fault.
"Hey, wake up."
But it's not in his head, and it doesn't sound like a voice he's heard before, soft and accented, words flowing like warm honey and encasing him in something that isn't ice.
Minseok sits up, blinking in confusion, mind a jumble of confusion and pain. He glances at the high rise building directly off the river. Still frozen.
"You're awake." The voice says again, and this time Minseok finds the source, turning his head to see large eyes, the colour of orange flame, flickering blue from the reflection of Minseok's own ice filled gaze. "Good."
"Who are you?" Minseok croaks out, voice hoarse from sleep and from stress. He can feel the energy of this creature strongly; warmth, security, layers of ice on the grass melting away and becoming warm pools of water under his bare feet.
"My name is Lu Han." The voice tells him, resting a hand on Minseok's shoulder and staring intensely at him, irises like the flame of a candle. "I'm a flame spirit."
"A flame spirit." Minseok echoes, before his eyes widen and he leaps to his feet, stumbling over to where Sehun is still lying in the grass, immobile.
"You, are you here to fix everything?" Minseok says, words stuttered as he lifts the lifeless water spirit from the ground and cradles him in his arms, wind blowing his hair back and wings flicking away shards of ice. "Can you fix the rain, and the city, and my Sehun?"
"I was sent here to do that." Lu Han murmurs, and he trails fingers across Sehun's face, something that strikes Minseok as strangely intimate in this moment. "He's gotten the full brunt of your explosion of power and will take the longest to heal. But I can help."
"I assume you're here to help the city first?" Minseok asks, though it's more like a statement, shoulders sagging with the relief that Sehun will be okay, that the rains will once more fall, and the city will once more thrive in its corrupt state.
Lu Han hums, but he takes Sehun from Minseok's arms and settles him down into the grass, now warm, though yellowed, dead. Minseok can feel his energy, dizzying and hot, and soon Sehun looks like Sehun, skin glowing with a dark blue tint and eyes fluttering shut, breathing normal.
"Stay with him." Lu Han instructs, and he looks over Minseok carefully as if unsure of what to think of him. The guilt tears through Minseok and he looks at his feet, away from the intense eyes of the spirit. He has no way of knowing that Minseok is not a criminal, is not malicious.
"It'll take a little bit, but soon the city will awaken." Lu Han tells him, a kind of sting to his words, though his voice remains soft and melodious, like candle wax dripping onto Minseok's skin and crawling into his ears. "He will wake up soon, and the rain will start to fall. I'll be back to talk to you."
His promise leaves a kind of fear in Minseok. He's going to be arrested, transported to the other world and locked up, punished for trying to destroy something that is not his to destroy.
Minseok sits besides Sehun, breathing harshly and waiting for his fate to return to him. Sehun is no longer frozen, just himself, flickering in and out of transparency. Minseok cannot touch him right now.
---
Minseok watches Lu Han's handiwork from afar, chills running through his body as he adjusts to the changes in temperature, the strange feel of searing heat running through the air and licking up the sides of building like a forest fire.
He watches the ice of the river crack and break into pieces, floating here and there and melting slowly. He watches his tiny nook home cave from the pressure of the melting ice and crumble, dirt and branches tumbling into the now flowing water.
Minseok watches Sehun next to him, kisses his forehead and waits for him to wake up, watches his eyelids twitch and his toes curl, good signs, all good signs.
It's an incredible sight really, watching his beloved city go up in flames, smelling the charred streets and seeing a glimpse of Lu Han every once in a while, lithe and quick as he jumps from rooftop to rooftop, melting long sheets of ice when he slides down them.
Minseok watches the city return to normal, hears the roar of sirens and the screech of vehicles, the noise of the rain returning suddenly, lightning flashing and large fat drops hitting his arms and turning to ice on contact.
Sehun wakes up suddenly, eyes snapping open and arms weak, pushing himself up with effort and staring at Minseok with something Minseok can't quite read.
"You're alive." Minseok chokes out, crawling towards him but keeping his distance, afraid to even touch him with things that are not his fingers, with things that are safe. He's scared, scanning Sehun's face for any signs of fear, of betrayed anger.
But Sehun is just Sehun, pulling Minseok into an embrace and burying his face into his shoulder, hands gripping Minseok's arms in a way that is practised, as they'd always done to keep Minseok's hands away.
"I'm sorry." Minseok says, and he knows it's not enough of a word, not strong enough to fix what he's done, but it's all he really can say. "I'm sorry I ruined everything."
Sehun is about to answer, pulling back from Minseok and tugging a hand through his matted and half frozen hair, when Lu Han returns to them, a beacon of heat and flame, blurred fire through torrential rain.
The flame spirit looks weak, eyelids drooping and energy signatures low, a burnt out candle and not an inferno, walking over to where they stand, eyes on both of them.
"Sehun." Lu Han says, ignoring Minseok for a fraction of time to focus on Sehun, reaching for his hand and holding it close. "You're alive."
Minseok is confused, but then it hits him. No normal flame spirit would show up to save an entire human city if there wasn't something else involved, some kind of knowledge of someone or other.
"You two know each other." Minseok says quietly, glancing between them and frowning, the fear of abandonment, of Sehun returning to the other world and never seeing him again strong.
"Yes." Sehun says, turning to Minseok and smiling a kind of goofy smile, one that looks strange on his face. "We've known each other since we were just wisps of energy floating in the air."
Minseok nods, and he's chewing his bottom lip, nervous bits of snow falling from fingers to rest in the grass before melting under the warm glow that comes from Lu Han. He hesitates, flinching in the awkward atmosphere that's come over him, but voices his fear.
"Are you going to arrest me and lock me up?" He asks, blinking rapidly. It's a confusing change of pace, from panicked to relieved to panicked again, and Minseok gulps nervously when Lu Han raises a single eyebrow at him, releasing Sehun to walk over to him.
He doesn't answer right away, just stops, tilts his head, turns back and grabs Sehun's wrist. Minseok's eyes widen slightly upon notices the water of Sehun's skin bubble and distort slightly, though no pain or discomfort shows on his face.
"I'm not going to arrest you." Lu Han says with a small laugh, one that blows heat onto Minseok and makes him shiver again, this time in a slightly different way. "I want to show you two something."
The rain is starting to let up, and Minseok glances towards the sky, familiar pain echoing in his heart and curling around his throat. Sehun is going to float away into the other world soon and he may not come back, he may have hugged him, may have seemed to love him, but he might stay there, and not here, not here like Minseok wants.
Lu Han gently tugs on Minseok's wrist, a deadly kind of grin on his lips, one that's strangely attractive, drawing Minseok in. It confuses Minseok, but a lot seems to be lately, this sudden change in gears. Lu Han's grip makes Lu Han feels warm, as if fiery liquid is running through his veins, the ice melting slightly in his hair.
It's not uncomfortable though, just different, and he follows Lu Han's lead and stands with them, drops of rain still hitting them. Minseok has no idea what's going on, but Sehun seems to understand, grinning in a childish way at Lu Han.
"I've heard about you." Lu Han says conversationally, directing his words and attention at Minseok. "I trust Sehun's judgement, and I've also heard of your problems. So I want to show you something."
Lu Han pushes them together, until they're standing just inches part, Sehun breathing down at Minseok. He doesn't seem to care about being the odd one out in an intimate kind of situation, keeping his grip on both of them, warmth making Minseok feel a strange kind of drowsy, safe.
"Minseok, reach out and touch Sehun." Lu Han tells him, and his voice is close, spoken quietly into Minseok's ear, a hot puff of breath that's also weirdly attractive, confusing Minseok further.
"What?" Minseok asks, incredulous. "I don't want to hurt-"
"Trust me." Lu Han says with a grin, this one not that attractive, face twisting and eyes glittering fire,
"I know what he's doing." Sehun says suddenly, looking Minseok right in the eye and grinning widely. "Minseok touch me."
Minseok hesitates again, but does, reaches out and places a hand on Sehun's face, running his fingers across the scar and flinching, shaking as he waits for something to happen.
But nothing does. No ice shoots from Minseok's fingers and sears across Sehun's watery complexion. There's just a warmth, seeping through both of them and it feels like heaven, Minseok nearly forgetting Lu Han's there as a gasp escapes Sehun's lips.
"How are you doing this?" Minseok asks awkwardly, awed by the fact that he's touching Sehun, his fingers are touching warm skin and not causing damage, and it's amazing.
"I'm a flame spirit." Lu Han says simply, teeth showing with his grin and fingers splayed gently across both their necks. "I'm evening your internal body temperature and holding back your powers natural reaction to water."
There's something smug in the way Lu Han says, and Minseok gets a feeling that if he wasn't attached to both of them he would be flipping his hair, or something equally as ridiculous.
Lu Han sighs happily, looking back and forth between them. He turns to Sehun finally and addresses him, tone serious.
"Sehun. Why didn't you just bring Minseok back to our world?" Lu Han asks, frowning and shifting his grip on the back of Minseok's neck slightly, sending a shock of heat through his spine. He twitches, and doesn't miss the smirk that glides quickly across Lu Han's lips before the frown returns.
"I thought about it." Sehun mutters sheepishly, looking at Lu Han but not Minseok. "But I didn't want to kidnap him from this world and force him into another."
"Well looks like he arrived at the decision to do just that a lot quicker didn't he?" Lu Han says slyly, as if Minseok isn't even there. The tone is teasing, but Minseok feels a stab of guilt, stepping out of Lu Han's grip and away from Sehun, bowing slightly.
"Sorry."
"No." Sehun says quickly, and he places his hands on Minseok's shoulder, careful not to brush against his fingers now that Lu Han is no longer helping. "Hyung. It's fine. I wanted to stay too. Every time the rain stops I get so sad. You haven't seen me sulking around the caves back home."
Sehun pauses, and he looks at Minseok's little home, destroyed by Minseok's own hands, glancing back at Lu Han and swiping a tongue across his lips nervously.
"You have no home now." Sehun says, and he sighs. "It's my fault for leaving too much. Come back with us."
"Do you think I should?" Minseok asks solemnly, staring at the city; at his home and at the river, everything he's ever known.
"Lu Han can help us." Sehun says, referring to the temperature thing probably. "He can help us in more ways than one, and he's interested in both of us."
"Interested?" Minseok echoes, throwing a suspicious glance at Lu Han, who grins back innocently from where he's standing a bit away now.
"Well." Sehun begins, and stops, and begins again. "It felt nice, didn't? The contrast between icy and warm. If you come back I won't disappear with the sun, and you can touch me all the time."
"Can I-" Minseok frowns, breath leaving him in a heavy whoosh. "Can I think about it? I'm still in shock, I'm still scared. I nearly killed you, and a city and this is so sudden and I don't-"
"The rain is letting up." Sehun interrupts, but he smiles gently, kisses Minseok on the lips, quick and discreet, drops scarce as his figure begins to waver, a usual thing. "Decide by the next time it rains."
Minseok opens his mouth to say okay, but the sun is fully out, the clouds moving away in the distance and Sehun is gone, back to his other world. Lu Han is still here though, walking over to Minseok and sitting down with him in the grass, gleefully setting fire to blades here and there.
He isn't speaking, and Minseok isn't sure why he's still around, why he's still in this world when Sehun has left. Minseok is looking around, thinking of sneaking to the alley way hotels, the capsules in which faeries can safely stay for the night.
He need somewhere to sleep, but it's been a long time since he's ventured fully into the gritty, raw urban life of the city fae, living so many years by the riverside, clean and alone with the exception of Sehun's scattered visits.
Minseok hates the capsules, the unnatural chill that settles in them, cold even for someone like him who is made almost entirely of frozen matter. But he has no choice, and he glances quizzically at Lu Han.
"You're still here." He says, and he's surprised at how hesitant and soft his voice comes out, not used to being nervous around someone; Minseok does only really know Sehun after all.
"Yes I am." Lu Han says, and he's cheerful now, different from the serious Lu Han that had woken Minseok up to melt the city, or the helpful but devious Lu Han that had showed them a whole new world to their relationship, to the desperation that was clashing species.
"Why?"
"I thought I'd stay here for a while." Lu Han hums, leaning back on his palms and glowing in the after rain sunlight, golden skin seeming to glisten. He turns and grins at Minseok. "Plus Sehun was right when he said you were cute. Thought I'd take care of your confused soul for a bit while you wait for the next rainstorm."
"I'm not a confused soul." Minseok grumbles, though his body temperatures plummets slightly, energy going wonky with a kind of nervous embarrassment. "And you shouldn't be calling me cute."
"Why not?" Lu Han laughs, and he places a hand on Minseok's shoulder, hot fingers brushing against the skin, warming Minseok up. "I'll be spending a lot of time with you two if I'm going to help you both, you never know when all of us might catch feelings."
Minseok blushes, ears turning red and glare fixed on Lu Han, but Lu Han waves him off, laughing. Minseok can't tell if he's joking or not, but he has a point, and he wonders if Sehun had been hinting at something earlier.
He can help us in more ways than one.
"If you're staying here." Minseok says slowly, an idea coming to mind. "You're coming with me to the faerie hotel."
"A hotel." Lu Han repeats, amazement seeping through his tone. "I've always wanted to see where faeries live."
"They're freezing cold." Minseok says with a smirk. "I could use your heat to my advantage."
"You could." Lu Han agrees, tapping his chin and shaking his head at Minseok. "I could help couldn't I."
Minseok just nods, and reaches out to grab Lu Han's hand, dragging him towards the city and towards where they'll spend the night.
It's nice, spending time with another spirit, and an amiable one at that. And it's even nicer when it rains overnight, a building shaking thunderstorm, and Sehun crawls into the faerie capsules to join them, curling up with Minseok, thanks to the help of Lu Han.
"I'll come back with you." Minseok whispers when they're nearly asleep, hands around Sehun's waist, and warmth enveloping them both with the way the strange flame spirit is wrapped around them.
"Thank you." Sehun whispers back, long body wiggling happily. He kisses Minseok's nose, once, twice. "The rain is going to end soon."
"How do I come back with you?" Minseok asks quietly, brain not quite catching up with how to do, body too warm, suffocated by Lu Han's embrace,
"Just hold onto my hands and see what happens." Is all Sehun says. Minseok just nods, smiling.
There's no sadness in him as he wonders what the other world will look like, as he thinks that they should have done this sooner, but at the same time, he thinks of Sehun's friend, the flame spirit that's selflessly offered to help them.
There's a new future on Minseok's horizon, making him grin as the rain outside stops and he grips Sehun's hands tightly, world spinning and vision going fuzzy.
Minseok isn't like Sehun, and Sehun isn't like Minseok, and Lu Han isn't like either of them, and such is the way of opposite.
It's a lesson learned in the worst possible way, with the best possible results, and Minseok breathes in a gasp as they materialize in the spirit world, caves dripping water and flames erupting from glass chandeliers on the walls. Lu Han is with them, half asleep and warm, oh so warm.
They're a budding flower, growing slowly over months, years to come, and this is only the beginning.