Fire me up, I can take the heat
title: fire me up, i can take the heat
pairing: chanyeol/lay
rating: pg-13
word count: 6,957 words
warnings: shamelessly flirtatious yixing. mama!au
summary: chanyeol thinks that yixing has been requesting to be the one to treat his injuries whenever he goes to the healing practice.
notes: written for exoments
Hoverboards were one of the last great things that the men created and one of the few to survive the war. Chanyeol thinks they were invented some place between 2050 and 2070, he’s not sure, but his grandfather keeps retelling the story of how he woke up very early to get in line and be one of the first kids to ever put his hands on a hoverboard. It was the heat of the moment for a long time. Hoverboards. Every human being wanted one and people known by the society even bought a few for their pets. Now they’re still rare, but not as much as the hype that was back in the day.
Chanyeol always wanted to ride a hoverboard when he was a kid. Sometimes scavengers, the people who rummage through what’s left of the old cities in search for useful things, would find a hoverboard gathering dust, buried under several layers of fallen concrete and ancient furniture. These pieces were fixed and put to auction among other things found by scavengers. It was one of the laws of the new world, that every item -- useful or not -- found by scavengers was put to auction instead of sold in the regular market. Chanyeol knew his family could never make a bid for a hoverboard. They had need of more important things, like a coffee maker or plastic. People bidding for hoverboards were the kind of people who had much more than the regular currency to exchange -- anything as valuable as what’s being auctioned. His family could only bid with clothes -- his mom was always a great seamstress -- and leather, which was never enough to get him such an expensive toy.
After daydreaming and wanting so much, he never thought he would regret the first time he put his feet on a hoverboard. Maybe he overestimated the thing, but maybe this one is on Jongdae. He wasn’t even supposed to be Jongdae’s friend to begin with, but somehow the Lightning Carrier slipped through the cracks and Chanyeol just settled. He shouldn’t have settled. If he hadn’t, maybe he wouldn’t be fidgeting in pain, waiting in a healing practice with his arm broken in two different places. It was (of course it was) Jongdae’s idea that Chanyeol tried riding his newly acquired hoverboard. Jongdae’s been working at the energy facility and the bonus he gets for working the nights was enough to allow him to place a fat bid on the toy.
He knows Jongdae was trying to be a good friend, knowing that Chanyeol’s childhood dream was to ride a hoverboard, and he also knows he didn’t intend for Chanyeol to break his arm. Still, if not for him Chanyeol’s arm would be good. At least the bastard is waiting with him, and every now and again he sends pitiful looks Chanyeol’s way and knits his ridiculously cute eyebrows together, mouthing endless apologies.
“I’m sorry,” Jongdae says two minutes later from his previous apology. Chanyeol sighs.
“It’s okay, Jongdae. You didn’t push me off the hoverboard.” Actually it’s not ok. Chanyeol is missing work and today is the day the whole company is supposed to scavenge Rear Forest. The last company who scavenged there said to have found important medicinal herbs. He should be there helping his fellows.
“But I convinced you to give it a try. Of course you would fall and nearly get yourself killed, you have the balance of a newborn goat.” The other scratches his head and slaps his own leg.
“Give me some credit, I only managed to hurt my arm, didn’t I?” he figures there’s no need to beat a dead horse. Chanyeol places his hand on Jongdae’s shoulder and offers him a weak smile. That seems to soothe his friend’s feelings, and Jongdae smiles back. So much for getting rid of him.
An assistant calls Chanyeol’s name and he follows her to the patching room where a healer is most probably waiting. Chanyeol enters the room and there is, indeed, a healer waiting for him. He winces. In his Jongdae-induced pain, Chanyeol didn’t even think about what healing practice it was safe to run to, he just allowed his friend to carry him. He should have voiced his worries -- he should have at least remembered there were things to be concerned about. He should have warned Jongdae not to take him to the practice where Zhang Yixing works. Now there he is, standing by the door as Healer Zhang arches both eyebrows at him from his spot on the bed, looking very professional in his green healer attire. Yixing is clearly trying to refrain from laughing, biting on his lower lip, but Chanyeol feels like he’s being laughed at anyway. Of course, that sort of thing would happen.
“Hey Chanyeol,” Yixing says and there’s no surprise in his tone. It’s almost like he knew Chanyeol would show up. Maybe he did. It wouldn’t be the first time Yixing had requested to be the one treating Chanyeol, which is creepy and worrisome because Chanyeol tries really hard to dislike Zhang Yixing.
They’ve met at the celebration party for Yixing's seminar class graduation. Baekhyun dragged him there under the expectation of finding someone interesting, easily succeeding moments after their arrival. Chanyeol, on the other hand, was discovered by Yixing. A very drunk Yixing with green, healing light oozing from his left hand while the right carried a beer cup. Yixing staggered toward him, hooded eyes and parted mouth.
"Look, I'm allowed to do this now," he said, smiling dazedly at Chanyeol as the green light intensified in his hand. "I'm a certified healer. Are you hurt anywhere? I could heal you right now."
He tried to step closer to Chanyeol with that glowing hand held high; Chanyeol retreated. "I'm not hurt," he startled, shaking his head.
He did not expect Yixing to give him a once over and make what he probably thought was a sexy face. "And would you like to be?"
What was that supposed to mean? Was that drunk healer guy trying to hit on him? Chanyeol frowned because he really did not want to get hurt.
"No?" he tried.
"If you get hurt I'll heal you, don't worry," the healer lifts his green hand. "I'm a certified healer now."
"Yeah, you mentioned." Chanyeol positioned strategically to grab the wobbly guy if he lost balance.
"What's your name? I'm Yixing. Zhang Yixing." he said, tripping on his own feet and falling right into Chanyeol's arms, beer cup splashed on the floor. "Nice catch," Yixing smiled groggily, his hands sliding across Chanyeol's arms. "Nice arms. Good thing I fell on you."
Chanyeol snorted a laugh and was getting ready to drag Yixing somewhere he could sit when someone approached them.
"Yixing!" a blonde Water Carrier he's seen around exclaims worriedly, quickly fetching the stunned healer. He knew that dude had graduated the year before, but couldn't remember his name. "Are you ok?"
"Yes, I'm chatting with this guy." Yixing pointed a thumb at Chanyeol. "I don't know his name just yet, but I think he's an Earth Carrier. He's strong and warm, would make a good scavenger," a hiccup. Yixing's hand fled to his mouth and he giggled.
Chanyeol stood quiet and watched Yixing's friend (that later he found out to be Kim Joonmyun) manhandle him out of there as Yixing squirmed and waved at Chanyeol with promises of meeting him again. And meet again they did, although Chanyeol is pretty sure it wasn't by chance.
Zhang Yixing was everywhere. In Baekhyun's birthday party, in Kyungsoo's initiation as a guardian, at the bookstore -- literally everywhere. And contrary to what Chanyeol first thought, Zhang Yixing is highly menacing. He kept on eyefucking Chanyeol at any given opportunity, and smirking, and winking and making lewd comments about such things as Chanyeol's feet. Zhang Yixing is persisting to say the least, but the bad part is that he's actually good looking, and Chanyeol wouldn't hesitate in going out with him if not for his behavior.
He won't, though, and Yixing is probably aware of that. Maybe that's why he keeps insisting on grabbing Chanyeol's forms and appointment applications in the healing practice. Chanyeol went as far as attending another practice to escape him, and his tactics have been working so well until… Until Jongdae… Jongdae must be unfriended.
"Yixing," Chanyeol greets back after inhaling deeply and gathering enough courage to step into the room. The healer scoots to the side to give Chanyeol space to sit on the bed. That is not proper conduct, the healer is supposed to stand, yet Yixing is always sitting. Chanyeol's been suspecting he does it to get the chance to come closer.
It's been a few weeks since he last saw Yixing (they met in Baekhyun's apartment for a PES tournament), and since then, Chanyeol hasn't received a single text or facebook message. Yixing must have been busy.
"What brings you here?" he asks, rubbing his hands together.
For a moment, Chanyeol forgot he was in pain.
"I, um, I injured my arm," he says, handling his arm with care as Yixing waves him over. Chanyeol sits next to him and allows the healer to inspect his arm.
"How did you manage to crack it in two different places? Was it a scavenge job?"
"Jongdae wanted me to give the hoverboard a try."
Yixing snorts, both hands already glowing green. It tickles when he touches Chanyeol's arm, but it's bearable (and so soothing), so Chanyeol just closes his eyes.
"Never trust a Lightning Carrier. How is he doing, by the way? I heard he got a job at the energy site?"
"Yes, he's in charge of nightly patrol or something... He needs to care so no one trespasses."
"So he's a guardian?"
"Kinda," Chanyeol shrugs. "He's fine with it though. Jongdae belongs to the most socially useless Carrier class - The Lightning. He's grateful for any job that takes him."
Yixing chuckles. It's a nice sound - his laughter is always calming. Oddly enough.
His eyes are still closed, but Chanyeol can tell that the green glow from Yixing's hands intensified by the way his arm feels. In five minutes, the pain is gone. The weird thing is that whenever the pain disappears, the session is over. But Yixing is still touching him, worse, his hands are traveling up. Chanyeol's eyes pop open and he catches sight of a mildly amused Yixing brushing his palms on Chanyeol's shoulder, hands going down to his chest. He widens his eyes and jumps out of the bed.
"Were you trying to feel me up?" he questions.
Yixing snorts but doesn't deny. "You like when I touch you."
Chanyeol chokes in his own saliva. This sort of comment shouldn't even surprise him anymore, but his cheeks still redden and he can't manage to stand up for himself. He could be a man and punch the living daylights out of Yixing for his insolence, or he could threaten to use his Fire Carrier abilities and deep fry the healer to his last hair strand. But no. Not Park Chanyeol. Park Chanyeol settles for lamely disliking the guy. And he can’t even succeed at that.
"Excuse you," he coughs, "It has nothing to do with you if the glowy green that comes out of your hands feels good."
Why the fuck would you say that?, Chanyeol asks himself.
Yixing just stares at him, a knowing look and the hint of a smile. Chanyeol's seen that look before, that's dangerous. It's a look that doesn't mean 'I'd eat you up in one giant bite', as the looks Yixing sends Chanyeol's way usually do, and that's intriguing. But he just shrugs it aside.
"Come see me if it hurts," Yixing says as his eyes follow Chanyeol out of the room. "Come if it doesn't as well!"
{x}
Chanyeol doesn't know why he thought he would be safe from Zhang Yixing at Sehun's birthday party. It was mentioned before (although he’s not sure when and why) that Yixing healed Sehun when he fell from a tree trying to impress a girl and they’ve been close friends ever since. This was probably one of those things the brain thinks it’s convenient to just wipe. It wasn’t.
Sehun set up a huge bonfire close to the left end of Rear Forest and had several gallons and barrels of booze brought along with the most various meats. It was supposed to be a hell of a party and Chanyeol intended to get his ass drunk very early in it. He wasn't counting on Zhang Yixing.
Sitting on a bench near one of the wine barrels, Chanyeol watches Sehun drunkenly dancing while swirling a finger up above his head. A small twister of leaves and rocks circles his feet before darting to pursue a girl wearing purple pants. Everyone laughs. Chanyeol snorts. Sehun has been using the twister trick to get girls for almost a decade now, Chanyeol just thinks that maybe an Air Carrier would use his abilities for something more straightforward. Like floating girls' skirts and blouses.
"He would be a lot more successful if he just worked his way under some girl's skirt."
The voice startles him -- not because he wasn't expecting anyone, but because he knows that voice. Sighing deeply, Chanyeol looks up to face a serious-looking Yixing. The healer has his gaze fixed on Sehun, a cup in hand as if he's not there to ruin Chanyeol's evening.
"What are you doing here?" the Fire Carrier snaps.
"Chatting," Yixing looks down at him and smiles around his cup. "how is your arm doing?"
"It was fine before you showed up."
"So this means you need care now?" the other asks, arched eyebrows and hands already glowing green.
Chanyeol gulps all the content of his cup and tosses it on the ground, crossing his arms on his chest. "You're not touching me, pervert."
The healer chuckles, light and easy. "Sure."
They remain silent for a while, the wild noise of people hollering and chanting and getting drunk surrounding them.
"Do you mind if I sit with you?" Yixing suddenly asks. "I promise I won't try anything. None of my friends came, you're the only one I know here."
Chanyeol knows that saying no is useless, Yixing is already sitting next to him. The healer sighs contently and sips his drink.
"Nice party, huh?" he points his head to a group of people carrying a skinny man into the woods. "Crazy party."
Chanyeol frowns, "Where are they taking him?"
"Deep into the forest probably," the healer shrugs, leaning into Chanyeol's space, "to an orgy." He smirks after Chanyeol elbows him away with a scowl. "Should we join them?"
It's a rhetorical question, Chanyeol notices. Yixing's eyes twinkle with mischief, rapt by the scene unfolding in front of them. He wears a black beanie, his wavy fringe framing one side of his face, and a gray coat over his work attire.
"You came straight from work?" Chanyeol questions.
"Yeah, I've been working double shifts to get rid of a training thingy some of us need to do in the city," he glances at Chanyeol. "I hate to go to the city."
"Why?"
"Because it's loud and messy. All those half-buildings and dust. Everything there is more complicated." Yixing slowly shakes his head and drinks from his cup.
"What do you mean more complicated?"
"Well, you know how things work. Scavengers look and hunt and find things that might be useful for the whole community. Guardians protect the community. Scientists do their research...y science shit. Healers, well, heal. Officers do what no one else wants to do. Aside from farmers and some merchants, in the city everything is corrupt."
Chanyeol frowns, eyeing him judgmentally. "Hey, scavengers are never corrupt."
Yixing snorts, looking away, "I've done a lot of training in the city and it's very common to find scavengers selling their finds on the market instead of handing them to the department of Auctions. I've seen scavengers auction items by themselves," emptying his cup in one gulp, Yixing leans forward, forearms on his legs as he looks at Chanyeol from behind his fringe. "Just because the company in our village isn't corrupt it doesn't mean there aren't corrupt scavengers."
It's weird to sit next to Yixing and hear him talk politics and form phrases that are not going to make Chanyeol feel uncomfortable. The truth is they've never talked -- really talked, and this conversation is the closest to something personal he's ever heard from the healer. Curiously, it stirs some kind of interest in him. Chanyeol wants to know more.
"Have you ever thought about being a scavenger?" he asks. "Instead of taking your seminar in the academy for practical healing you could have gone for field healing."
The question doesn't surprise Yixing, but it forces him to work on an answer. Brows furrowed, the healer squints at the dirt beneath their feet, twisting his fingers. "I thought about field healing, but I never wanted to be a guardian, I felt that my level of power could grant me more," he shrugs, "we're at peace, so the empire isn't in need of any soldiers. So going for field healing meant only one thing."
"Be a scavenger." when Chanyeol completes, Yixing nods, the hint of a smile stretching his lips.
"It's not that I didn't want to be a scavenger. It's just... Too much legwork and I'm a couch potato." chuckling, Yixing adjusts his beanie and sighs, eyes never leaving Chanyeol's.
Weird. Something really weird is going on. It's been nearly ten minutes and the healer didn't pop an inappropriate question. Chanyeol frowns.
"Practical healing suits me a lot more. We have some hardcore cases sometimes, but it's nothing crazy like a giant bug bite inside an unknown forest three villages from here."
"Hey, our healer handles those like a champ!" Chanyeol protests and Yixing smiles.
After a few minutes in silence, Yixing turns to him, eyes full of promise. "Ok, I have something to ask you."
"What is it?"
"I've never seen you use your Carrier powers," the other announces. "I'd like to see it."
Chanyeol snorts, "What, do you want me to set something on fire?"
"I mean, you don't have to. Only if you want," mischief sparkles in the healer's eyes and Chanyeol feels hot - like he's melting.
Without really thinking about what he's doing, Chanyeol lifts his palm up, allowing flames to surge out, the usual soothing prickle blazing across his hand. It never ceases to amaze him. Fire.
"Does it burn?" Yixing's question startles him out of his trance. "You? Does it burn you?"
Chanyeol shakes his head, connecting his fingers to watch the flames get thinner and thinner until it's only a single flare coming from his index finger.
"Will it burn me?" the healer asks again. This time, Chanyeol scowls at him.
"What kind of question is that? Of course it will burn you, it's freaking fire."
Yixing laughs, loud and carefree as he always does. "Don't underestimate me. I can take heat very well."
That was the first time Chanyeol’s ever seen Yixing shoot him a line without smirking. Makes him feel strangely good.
{x}
Half of the officers Chanyeol knows hate their jobs. The other half claims that they’ll soon get a hold of their lives, find something else to do even if it means work in the market. The thing is no one is an officer by choice. Sitting behind a desk all day or running errands and dealing with legislations from Ages ago; Chanyeol always thought about officers as uninteresting people. The kind of people that settle for the minimum. Or the ones that have no choice because were born out of a Carrier class.
He knows that Kim Joonmyun graduated from his seminar top of his class. Kim Joonmyun could have pursued scavenging and done awesome at it, he could have applied to be a guardian, maybe even joined the army or gone for science. Joonmyun’s level of ability could have taken him anywhere. Yet the man chose to be an officer.
Such a waste.
The Auctions department takes care of all items the scavenging company retrieves, putting it on the market for any interested buyer. Cataloging items and initiating daily auctions is the most boring job in the world. It shouldn’t be a surprise that’s Kim Joonmyun’s job.
It’s not always that Chanyeol is the one in charge of taking their load to Auctions at the end of the day, so he’s not used to the blank walls and blank people in general working in an office. Dozens of tables all huddled together and phones ringing simultaneously. Makes his mind goes numb. At least they get to use computers, he thinks. Joonmyun is hooked on a phone when Chanyeol gets to his table.
The man gives him a glance and sighs into the phone, “Let me get back to you later.” and hangs up, looking up. “You’re late.”
Chanyeol points his head at the phone, “Can’t tell you when was the last time I spoke into one of those things.”
Joonmyun smiles, “Well, this is not 2015, phones are not made for public usage.” He sits down. “Please tell me you have copper. The electric facility is in need of copper, has been in need of copper for weeks now. They keep sending us pictures to remind us what copper looks like so we don’t miss it.”
“No copper,” Chanyeol lifts the sack he brought, “but we have carbon fiber. Boss told us science people use this shit for your computer stuff.”
The officer hums, calling someone over to take the sack from Chanyeol’s hands. “How was Sehun’s party?”
“Huh?”
“The party. I didn’t get to attend because of work obviously,” Joonmyun chuckles. “but I heard it was pretty wild. An Ice Carrier built an igloo in the woods and held an orgy.”
“Oh, yeah. Pretty wild. It’s Sehun, I mean, what to expect.”
“I also heard Yixing was there. With you.”
There’s something in Joonmyun’s eyes that resemble amusement, but Joonmyun rarely amuses so Chanyeol is confused. He squints at the elder and scratches his neck.
“Um. Yeah, we were there. Talking. Very far from the woods.” he assures. “Listen, I gotta roll.”
“Well, isn’t that delightful?”
Like a deja-vu, the voice comes from nowhere and floods Chanyeol’s mind. He watches Joonmyun’s eyes shift to a point behind him and slowly turns around to face Zhang Yixing himself, dressed in a purple button-down shirt and cotton pants. What the hell is he doing in the department of Auctions?
“Didn’t think I’d be seeing you so soon,” Yixing says, a palm coming to comfortably press against Chanyeol’s chest. “are you following me, Mr. Park?”
Gently removing Yixing’s hand, Chanyeol clears his throat. “It’s you who has no business being here.”
“Aw,” Yixing pouts, eyeing Chanyeol from head to toe before biting on his lower lip. “You know that being rude to me doesn’t shake me off. Especially when you look like this.”
Chanyeol looks down to his own muddied clothes and dirty shoes from a whole day of scavenging. He coughs and eyes the healer, “What are you doing here?”
“I’m here for Joonmyun, you know, my friend,” he leisurely points a finger towards the officer, who simply waves a hand. “but that can easily change.”
Yixing smiles at Chanyeol like he expects something. Clearly back in his game. The weird part is that Yixing’s flirting doesn’t bother him how it usually does, and weirder than that is that Chanyeol doesn’t think of it as something strange to happen. Snorting, he folds his arms on his chest and stares down at the healer. He knows he doesn't look intimidating, but maybe it will send a message.
“As much as I'd love to watch you glare at me the whole night, Joonmyun and I have plans." Yixing announces after checking him out one last time. "But I could stop by your place when we're done."
Joonmyun snorts and Yixing just chuckles. Chanyeol, on the other hand, sighs, "I need to go," and walks away from the duo before any of them could say another word.
He's not really expecting Yixing to stop by his place. Chanyeol is ready to climb into his sleeping clothes and read something when someone knocks at his door. He could have expected a priest to have knocked, but not Yixing in the same clothes he was earlier today.
"Hey there, sexy." Yixing leans against Chanyeol's door frame, fingers loosely picking on the buttons of his purple shirt.
Chanyeol blinks. "Are you lost?"
Naturally Yixing welcomes himself, pushing past Chanyeol and into his small house. Yixing's been there before, but they weren't alone and Chanyeol knows by experience that being alone with Yixing can lead to... Situations.
"Is that new?" The healer points at the armchair and flops on the couch. "Wow, I've missed this place."
"What are you doing here?" Chanyeol surprises.
"Relax, I'm not here to molest you." toeing his shoes off, Yixing crosses his legs under his body.
"Why are you here, then?"
"Didn’t I say I would come? You didn’t tell me not to, so I just assumed it would be ok.” he shrugs, facing Chanyeol innocently. “Besides, we had a nice time at Sehun's party and I liked talking to you."
For the a moment, there’s a flash of sincerity in Yixing’s face. That can’t be denied. Sehun’s party was the first time Chanyeol actually talked to Yixing without constantly watching out for inappropriate touches or examinations. He was light and carefree. It was nice. Maybe it’s ok to allow himself to sit with Yixing like that again.
“How was your day?” Yixing offers.
Sighing, he meets the healer’s eyes. “Tough. We found a boar in the woods. It tried to kill Kris.”
The healer snorts a laugh, grinning widely. “I thought boars were extinct.”
Chanyeol hums, taking a seat at the armchair. “I thought Kris wouldn’t scream like a little girl, but what do we know?”
“We used to hook up,” Yixing reveals after a while, eyebrows furrowed and lips pursed in thought. Chanyeol’s eyes widen slightly. “Kris and I.”
“Oh?”
“When we were taking the seminar. He wanted to move into something serious and I just wasn’t ready for it.”
Chanyeol swallows, blinking down at his hands while his brain processes the information. Yixing and Kris. Not something that he would have considered on his own, but again, he doesn’t know much about Yixing and Kris tries very hard to be mysterious. However, as memories return to him, Chanyeol makes sense of all the comments and questions Kris would throw his way whenever he caught sight of Chanyeol and Yixing hanging with the same group. He should have known.
“Are you surprised?” the healer calls his attention and he looks up, shaking off with a smile.
“No, I just hadn’t considered this before,” he shrugs, trying his best to sound nonchalant. It’s unpredictably hard. “And I don’t think of the two of you as a match.”
Yixing arches his eyebrows, face slowly falling into mischief. “Would the two of us make a better match, then?”
Snorting, Chanyeol thinks of brushing the question aside, but his mind is already working on the idea. Of course, they would make a better match. It’s strange since he spent the whole time they’ve known each other running away from Yixing, but he’s been thinking… Differently. Yixing is not a bad person. Flirtatious, perhaps nosy and snarky. But not bad. He’s pleasant when he wants to be.
“Maybe.” he answers.
Yixing clearly wasn’t expecting that answer. His eyebrows shoot up and his lips part, a look of incredulity lighting his features. “Um,” he hums. “Are you sure? I mean… I was doing… That thing that I do and you hate.”
“What, hitting on me?” Chanyeol crosses his arms on his chest. “I don’t know, Yixing. Maybe it’s time for two to play this game.”
Yixing eyes him as if he’s crazy, “Are you serious?”
“Dead serious.”
“So you’re saying you’re gonna flirt with me?”
“No, I’m saying I’m gonna deal with you.” Chanyeol shrugs, standing up and moving towards the kitchen. He thinks there’s coffee here somewhere…
Yixing follows him, “By dealing with me you mean putting use to a fierce personality no one knew about?”
Narrowing his eyes at the other, Chanyeol says, “I’m a Fire Carrier. I’ve always been fierce.”
“Not when I touch you, you haven’t.” Yixing smirks, leaning onto Chanyeol’s fridge and watching him heat water for the coffee.
“That’s because you touch me with bad intentions.”
“And you’re saying you’re going to deal with that,” he takes a few steps on Chanyeol’s direction, stopping when he’s only a few inches from reach. “I’m looking forward to how you’re doing it.”
It’s natural that whenever Yixing gets too close, Chanyeol puts some space between them. Yixing is now running his index finger up and down on his chest and that would be Chanyeol’s cue to move away. He remains rooted to the ground.
The healer huffs in annoyance, arms dropping to his sides, “It’s not fun if you’re not gonna fight me.”
Chanyeol chuckles, pouring coffee in a cup and handing it to Yixing, who grabs it, pouts, and walks back to the couch. That’s not the usual exchange between them. What usually happens is: Yixing flirts, Chanyeol scoffs at him and both of them move on with their lives, but this. This whole thing is different. Yixing showed up at his door unexpectedly and Chanyeol could have sent him away. Chanyeol could have made up some weird excuse about having to do chores and not being able to hang out (which is even weirder, because they definitely don’t hang out by themselves) -- most importantly, he could have fought off the finger running up his chest but he didn’t, and what bugs him the most is that he really didn’t want to.
{x}
The elders often tell stories about light in the cities. Before all the war and conflict, there was so much light that the world would sparkle at night. You could actually see it from space. Some cities would come to life at night - bars and parties and concerts and people coming together and celebrating. It hasn’t been like that for years and years, but people can’t be denied their right to party. Friday nights are ‘booze nights’ in the village Chanyeol lives. It isn’t as bright as the pictures they see from before, but they can dance, drink and have as much fun as it’s possible.
Tonight, Jongdae is embarrassing himself again. The Lightning Carrier is putting up a show in the dance floor of Taeyeon’s Hut after drinking several rounds of beer. Chanyeol almost feels bad for him, but then remembers the episode with the hoverboard.
“People are making room for him,” Baekhyun mentions, disgust all over his face. “his pants are dragging down, I can see his butt--”
“Should we stop him?” Sehun asks.
“Are you kidding me? This is payback. Let him be.” Chanyeol gulps his beer down and gestures for the waiter to bring another. “Movement is weak today.”
“Movement of interesting people is weak,” Baekhyun points out while looking around. “Is that Yixing?”
Chanyeol’s head jerks up and he inspects the perimeter, eyes attentive to the familiar mop of brown hair or any other indication that Zhang Yixing could really be around. “Where?”
“There. Chatting with that guy.”
Oh. Yeah. That is definitely Zhang Yixing, but he’s not just chatting with that guy.
“By chatting you mean swallowing his whole face?” Sehun squints. “Wow, that’s a lot of tongue.”
“They escalated really quickly,” Baekhyun hums, tapping his chin. “I knew Yixing was a hunter, but that one is not impressive.”
“That’s a 5.”
“Tops. You remember that Ice Carrier he dated for a while?”
“Ooooohhhh that man was a 10+”
Chanyeol tunes his friends out to focus on Yixing and his companion. It’s none of his business to be honest and he shouldn’t be watching, but the truth is he doesn’t like what he’s seeing.
“Chanyeol?” Baekhyun’s voice brings him back to his friends. “What’s with your face?”
Before he even registers what he’s doing, Chanyeol is walking up to the two of them, folding his arms on his chest and waiting to be noticed. The man sees him first, frowning at him and parting from Yixing.
“What do you want?” he asks.
Ignoring him, Chanyeol turns to Yixing, who’s looking at him in sheer surprise, eyebrows arched and mouth slowly curling in a knowing smile.
“Hey there,” he says.
“Need to talk to you,” Chanyeol says, hoping that it will be enough.The man is almost saying something - probably refusing Chanyeol’s request -, but Yixing is quicker, showing the man his palm. Quite rude if Chanyeol were to be considerate about it but he’s not really, and he couldn’t care less about this fucker.
Yixing’s eyes never leave him as he tells the man, “Excuse me, I have to attend this,” and without looking back, he allows to be dragged away. The man looks positively baffled as Chanyeol pulls Yixing across the dancefloor, past his friends’ table, and out of the hut.
They’re the only ones there, the outside of Taeyeon's Hut is dimly lit, a single light bulb brightening the place, but it’s enough. Yixing eyes him with the usual amusement.
“So. Can you tell me what was that about?” he asks.
Chanyeol doesn’t have an answer. He just frowns, blinking down at the healer. Strange. Everything has been strange regarding Yixing for a while. Ever since Sehun’s party to be exact. What would trigger this kind of reaction? Chanyeol knows he’s been dealing with the healer differently, but this? Dragging him out of someone else’s arms? This seems like jealousy.
Just like he’s following Chanyeol’s thoughts, Yixing pinches the sleeve of his shirt. “Do you wanna go for a walk?” And before he even gets an answer, he’s pulling Chanyeol with him. Taeyeon’s Hut is at the outskirts of the village, so they follow the path back, a few people going the same direction and a few coming the opposite.
“Who was that guy?” Chanyeol can’t help asking.
Yixing shrugs, burying his hands into his pockets. “I don’t know.”
“You just kiss people you don’t know?”
“When the ones that I want keep rejecting me, yes, I do.” he gives Chanyeol a small smile, quickly looking ahead. “I’m the kind of person who likes human contact. The kind of contact you can’t get from your family or friends.”
Kicking a small rock on his way, Chanyeol huffs. “And you can get it from that guy?”
Yixing suddenly stops, turning to face the other with an inquisitive glint in his eyes. “Are you jealous?”
Yes, is at the tip of Chanyeol’s tongue, but he’s fearful of this answer. It’s like giving it to Yixing would solidify the cloud of smoky thoughts he’s been having regarding the healer lately. He can’t pretend he hasn’t been thinking about Yixing. About how good it felt to pull his guard down and finally letting him come closer.
The other speaks, interrupting Chanyeol’s musing. “You know, I’ve been going after you since we’ve met and you always turn me down. Sometimes I think I get some signals that you might want, but they’re gone the moment after. Make up your mind, Chanyeol.”
Yixing looks up at him, his expectant eyes searching Chanyeol’s for something more. It’s like a snap. There’s no reason left to deny himself what he’s been wanting for a while a now. He wants Yixing.
Chanyeol nods just the slightest, more to himself, and smiles. “Do you wanna come to my place?”
In his most secret deviations, Chanyeol’s always thought that making out with Yixing would be frantic, quick and desperate. He would never have imagined the soft pink coloring the healer’s cheeks, the timid tug of his lips whenever the tips of Chanyeol’s fingers slide from his shoulder to his wrist. He wouldn’t have accounted for how soft his skin feels, how warm.
Gently holding the healer’s wrist, Chanyeol soothes his thumb over it, lifting his eyes to meet with Yixing’s curious ones. They’re too close now, Chanyeol can see all the shadows in and around Yixing’s dimple. Out of instinct, he lifts his hand to the other’s face, brushing a finger on his cheek.
“I feel like I need to warn you...” Yixing whispers, eyes shifting between Chanyeol’s mouth and eyes. It’s pleasant. Somehow, he feels like he’s gotten past all the playful part, and the prospect he gets isn’t bad at all. Chanyeol wants this. “Once you start this there’s no turning back.”
“Oh yeah?” His hand brushes past Yixing’s throat and onto his nape. The healer shudders; Chanyeol can’t contain the smile. He likes this. It’s like he managed to strip Yixing down to a vulnerable point and he likes it.
“Don’t tease me.” Yixing licks his lips, letting them fall slightly open.
“Or what?”
It happens faster than Chanyeol could predict. Suddenly, he gets a lap full of Yixing, the healer’s hands cradling his face as his mouth finds Chanyeol’s jaw. It sends a shudder down his spine. Circling Yixing’s waist with one arm to hold him in place, Chanyeol buries a hand into his hair, pulling him back so their eyes can meet.
“You’re so freaking warm,” Yixing says, bringing his lips down to Chanyeol’s -- just a quick press, but enough to let him taste sweet. Humming, Chanyeol ceases the distance between them and Yixing greets him with an open mouth. The kiss starts fast, almost desperate, but eventually it falls into a comfortable rhythm. Chanyeol runs his hands over Yixing’s thighs before settling on his hips, and as the healer presses wet, tingling kisses down his neck, he wonders why the fuck he didn’t give in sooner.
Chanyeol’s hands slide back to Yixing’s ass, lifting him just the bit that would bring them impossibly closer. Yixing stands on his knees, hands threading into Chanyeol’s hair and tilting his head up. It’s a regular thing for a Fire Carrier to be warm, but as Yixing licks at Chanyeol’s lips, his thumb coming to brush the sides of his mouth, he thinks he’s never been hotter. And it’s all because of Yixing.
He tightens his arms around the healer’s waist, earning a yelp when Yixing surges forward, giggling against Chanyeol’s mouth. With hands on the Fire Carrier’s shoulders, Yixing seats himself back on Chanyeol’s lap, parting from him and studying him with glowing eyes as his two hands caress Chanyeol’s neck. There’s affection in the way Yixing looks at him, and it makes him wonder if this is what was buried beneath all those layers of flirtation and friskiness.
“Do you really want this, Chanyeol?” the healer asks him, fingers drawing soothing patterns on Chanyeol’s skin.
Taking a deep breath, Chanyeol runs his hands over Yixing’s thighs before wrapping them around his wrists, bringing one of the other’s palms to his lips, then the other. Yixing tries to bite back a smile, but it escapes anyway. It’s the most beautiful he’s ever seen the healer, bare and blunt, unable to cover his primal instincts.
“I really want this.” he answers.
An hour (or two, he’s not sure) later Chanyeol’s coffee pot is empty and Yixing has work in the morning, but it feels good to lie next to him, their noses brushing and lips meeting like two ends of a magnet. They moved to the bed because making out in the couch was certainly leading them to an all-nighter and the bed could compel them into falling asleep. It’s not working so far. Chanyeol has an arm loosely draped over Yixing’s waist and the healer’s hand caresses his neck and it’s so comfy.
“Weren’t we supposed to be sleeping?” Yixing asks between soft kisses.
“We drank a whole coffee pot, I don’t think we’re sleeping anytime soon.” Chanyeol chuckles.
Yixing hums, hands easily finding their way under Chanyeol’s shirt. “Can I ask you a question?”
“Yeah,” he answers on automatic, but Chanyeol doesn’t really want them to start talking. Kissing is way better.
“Why now?” Yixing moves slightly away, just so he’s out of the reach of Chanyeol’s eager mouth. “I’ve been trying to get into your pants since we met. Sometimes you would even leave if I was near.”
This time, the answer doesn’t stop at the tip of his tongue. “I guess I saw more than a hookup.”
Mouth jerking open in mock surprise, Yixing stares at him. “Was I just a hookup?” he playfully shoves Chanyeol away. “I’m hurt.”
“Shut up, you know what I mean.” he pulls Yixing into him, mouth finding its way to the other’s neck and jaw. “It took me a while, but I saw something I liked.”
“And what was that?”
“You.”
Silence. Yixing moves away to meet his eyes with a frown. Suddenly, the both of them burst in laughter.
“That was awful.”
“So cheesy.”
They spent an hour lying together without feeling the need to pull each other’s clothes off. Yixing revealed himself to be a great cuddler. Surprising for someone who would constantly drop comments about one’s crotch or his arms, or even how sexy one looks in his scavenger clothes. It’s not like Chanyeol minds, though. Right here, with Yixing in his arms, he feels peculiarly and remarkably at home.
pairing: chanyeol/lay
rating: pg-13
word count: 6,957 words
warnings: shamelessly flirtatious yixing. mama!au
summary: chanyeol thinks that yixing has been requesting to be the one to treat his injuries whenever he goes to the healing practice.
notes: written for exoments
Hoverboards were one of the last great things that the men created and one of the few to survive the war. Chanyeol thinks they were invented some place between 2050 and 2070, he’s not sure, but his grandfather keeps retelling the story of how he woke up very early to get in line and be one of the first kids to ever put his hands on a hoverboard. It was the heat of the moment for a long time. Hoverboards. Every human being wanted one and people known by the society even bought a few for their pets. Now they’re still rare, but not as much as the hype that was back in the day.
Chanyeol always wanted to ride a hoverboard when he was a kid. Sometimes scavengers, the people who rummage through what’s left of the old cities in search for useful things, would find a hoverboard gathering dust, buried under several layers of fallen concrete and ancient furniture. These pieces were fixed and put to auction among other things found by scavengers. It was one of the laws of the new world, that every item -- useful or not -- found by scavengers was put to auction instead of sold in the regular market. Chanyeol knew his family could never make a bid for a hoverboard. They had need of more important things, like a coffee maker or plastic. People bidding for hoverboards were the kind of people who had much more than the regular currency to exchange -- anything as valuable as what’s being auctioned. His family could only bid with clothes -- his mom was always a great seamstress -- and leather, which was never enough to get him such an expensive toy.
After daydreaming and wanting so much, he never thought he would regret the first time he put his feet on a hoverboard. Maybe he overestimated the thing, but maybe this one is on Jongdae. He wasn’t even supposed to be Jongdae’s friend to begin with, but somehow the Lightning Carrier slipped through the cracks and Chanyeol just settled. He shouldn’t have settled. If he hadn’t, maybe he wouldn’t be fidgeting in pain, waiting in a healing practice with his arm broken in two different places. It was (of course it was) Jongdae’s idea that Chanyeol tried riding his newly acquired hoverboard. Jongdae’s been working at the energy facility and the bonus he gets for working the nights was enough to allow him to place a fat bid on the toy.
He knows Jongdae was trying to be a good friend, knowing that Chanyeol’s childhood dream was to ride a hoverboard, and he also knows he didn’t intend for Chanyeol to break his arm. Still, if not for him Chanyeol’s arm would be good. At least the bastard is waiting with him, and every now and again he sends pitiful looks Chanyeol’s way and knits his ridiculously cute eyebrows together, mouthing endless apologies.
“I’m sorry,” Jongdae says two minutes later from his previous apology. Chanyeol sighs.
“It’s okay, Jongdae. You didn’t push me off the hoverboard.” Actually it’s not ok. Chanyeol is missing work and today is the day the whole company is supposed to scavenge Rear Forest. The last company who scavenged there said to have found important medicinal herbs. He should be there helping his fellows.
“But I convinced you to give it a try. Of course you would fall and nearly get yourself killed, you have the balance of a newborn goat.” The other scratches his head and slaps his own leg.
“Give me some credit, I only managed to hurt my arm, didn’t I?” he figures there’s no need to beat a dead horse. Chanyeol places his hand on Jongdae’s shoulder and offers him a weak smile. That seems to soothe his friend’s feelings, and Jongdae smiles back. So much for getting rid of him.
An assistant calls Chanyeol’s name and he follows her to the patching room where a healer is most probably waiting. Chanyeol enters the room and there is, indeed, a healer waiting for him. He winces. In his Jongdae-induced pain, Chanyeol didn’t even think about what healing practice it was safe to run to, he just allowed his friend to carry him. He should have voiced his worries -- he should have at least remembered there were things to be concerned about. He should have warned Jongdae not to take him to the practice where Zhang Yixing works. Now there he is, standing by the door as Healer Zhang arches both eyebrows at him from his spot on the bed, looking very professional in his green healer attire. Yixing is clearly trying to refrain from laughing, biting on his lower lip, but Chanyeol feels like he’s being laughed at anyway. Of course, that sort of thing would happen.
“Hey Chanyeol,” Yixing says and there’s no surprise in his tone. It’s almost like he knew Chanyeol would show up. Maybe he did. It wouldn’t be the first time Yixing had requested to be the one treating Chanyeol, which is creepy and worrisome because Chanyeol tries really hard to dislike Zhang Yixing.
They’ve met at the celebration party for Yixing's seminar class graduation. Baekhyun dragged him there under the expectation of finding someone interesting, easily succeeding moments after their arrival. Chanyeol, on the other hand, was discovered by Yixing. A very drunk Yixing with green, healing light oozing from his left hand while the right carried a beer cup. Yixing staggered toward him, hooded eyes and parted mouth.
"Look, I'm allowed to do this now," he said, smiling dazedly at Chanyeol as the green light intensified in his hand. "I'm a certified healer. Are you hurt anywhere? I could heal you right now."
He tried to step closer to Chanyeol with that glowing hand held high; Chanyeol retreated. "I'm not hurt," he startled, shaking his head.
He did not expect Yixing to give him a once over and make what he probably thought was a sexy face. "And would you like to be?"
What was that supposed to mean? Was that drunk healer guy trying to hit on him? Chanyeol frowned because he really did not want to get hurt.
"No?" he tried.
"If you get hurt I'll heal you, don't worry," the healer lifts his green hand. "I'm a certified healer now."
"Yeah, you mentioned." Chanyeol positioned strategically to grab the wobbly guy if he lost balance.
"What's your name? I'm Yixing. Zhang Yixing." he said, tripping on his own feet and falling right into Chanyeol's arms, beer cup splashed on the floor. "Nice catch," Yixing smiled groggily, his hands sliding across Chanyeol's arms. "Nice arms. Good thing I fell on you."
Chanyeol snorted a laugh and was getting ready to drag Yixing somewhere he could sit when someone approached them.
"Yixing!" a blonde Water Carrier he's seen around exclaims worriedly, quickly fetching the stunned healer. He knew that dude had graduated the year before, but couldn't remember his name. "Are you ok?"
"Yes, I'm chatting with this guy." Yixing pointed a thumb at Chanyeol. "I don't know his name just yet, but I think he's an Earth Carrier. He's strong and warm, would make a good scavenger," a hiccup. Yixing's hand fled to his mouth and he giggled.
Chanyeol stood quiet and watched Yixing's friend (that later he found out to be Kim Joonmyun) manhandle him out of there as Yixing squirmed and waved at Chanyeol with promises of meeting him again. And meet again they did, although Chanyeol is pretty sure it wasn't by chance.
Zhang Yixing was everywhere. In Baekhyun's birthday party, in Kyungsoo's initiation as a guardian, at the bookstore -- literally everywhere. And contrary to what Chanyeol first thought, Zhang Yixing is highly menacing. He kept on eyefucking Chanyeol at any given opportunity, and smirking, and winking and making lewd comments about such things as Chanyeol's feet. Zhang Yixing is persisting to say the least, but the bad part is that he's actually good looking, and Chanyeol wouldn't hesitate in going out with him if not for his behavior.
He won't, though, and Yixing is probably aware of that. Maybe that's why he keeps insisting on grabbing Chanyeol's forms and appointment applications in the healing practice. Chanyeol went as far as attending another practice to escape him, and his tactics have been working so well until… Until Jongdae… Jongdae must be unfriended.
"Yixing," Chanyeol greets back after inhaling deeply and gathering enough courage to step into the room. The healer scoots to the side to give Chanyeol space to sit on the bed. That is not proper conduct, the healer is supposed to stand, yet Yixing is always sitting. Chanyeol's been suspecting he does it to get the chance to come closer.
It's been a few weeks since he last saw Yixing (they met in Baekhyun's apartment for a PES tournament), and since then, Chanyeol hasn't received a single text or facebook message. Yixing must have been busy.
"What brings you here?" he asks, rubbing his hands together.
For a moment, Chanyeol forgot he was in pain.
"I, um, I injured my arm," he says, handling his arm with care as Yixing waves him over. Chanyeol sits next to him and allows the healer to inspect his arm.
"How did you manage to crack it in two different places? Was it a scavenge job?"
"Jongdae wanted me to give the hoverboard a try."
Yixing snorts, both hands already glowing green. It tickles when he touches Chanyeol's arm, but it's bearable (and so soothing), so Chanyeol just closes his eyes.
"Never trust a Lightning Carrier. How is he doing, by the way? I heard he got a job at the energy site?"
"Yes, he's in charge of nightly patrol or something... He needs to care so no one trespasses."
"So he's a guardian?"
"Kinda," Chanyeol shrugs. "He's fine with it though. Jongdae belongs to the most socially useless Carrier class - The Lightning. He's grateful for any job that takes him."
Yixing chuckles. It's a nice sound - his laughter is always calming. Oddly enough.
His eyes are still closed, but Chanyeol can tell that the green glow from Yixing's hands intensified by the way his arm feels. In five minutes, the pain is gone. The weird thing is that whenever the pain disappears, the session is over. But Yixing is still touching him, worse, his hands are traveling up. Chanyeol's eyes pop open and he catches sight of a mildly amused Yixing brushing his palms on Chanyeol's shoulder, hands going down to his chest. He widens his eyes and jumps out of the bed.
"Were you trying to feel me up?" he questions.
Yixing snorts but doesn't deny. "You like when I touch you."
Chanyeol chokes in his own saliva. This sort of comment shouldn't even surprise him anymore, but his cheeks still redden and he can't manage to stand up for himself. He could be a man and punch the living daylights out of Yixing for his insolence, or he could threaten to use his Fire Carrier abilities and deep fry the healer to his last hair strand. But no. Not Park Chanyeol. Park Chanyeol settles for lamely disliking the guy. And he can’t even succeed at that.
"Excuse you," he coughs, "It has nothing to do with you if the glowy green that comes out of your hands feels good."
Why the fuck would you say that?, Chanyeol asks himself.
Yixing just stares at him, a knowing look and the hint of a smile. Chanyeol's seen that look before, that's dangerous. It's a look that doesn't mean 'I'd eat you up in one giant bite', as the looks Yixing sends Chanyeol's way usually do, and that's intriguing. But he just shrugs it aside.
"Come see me if it hurts," Yixing says as his eyes follow Chanyeol out of the room. "Come if it doesn't as well!"
{x}
Chanyeol doesn't know why he thought he would be safe from Zhang Yixing at Sehun's birthday party. It was mentioned before (although he’s not sure when and why) that Yixing healed Sehun when he fell from a tree trying to impress a girl and they’ve been close friends ever since. This was probably one of those things the brain thinks it’s convenient to just wipe. It wasn’t.
Sehun set up a huge bonfire close to the left end of Rear Forest and had several gallons and barrels of booze brought along with the most various meats. It was supposed to be a hell of a party and Chanyeol intended to get his ass drunk very early in it. He wasn't counting on Zhang Yixing.
Sitting on a bench near one of the wine barrels, Chanyeol watches Sehun drunkenly dancing while swirling a finger up above his head. A small twister of leaves and rocks circles his feet before darting to pursue a girl wearing purple pants. Everyone laughs. Chanyeol snorts. Sehun has been using the twister trick to get girls for almost a decade now, Chanyeol just thinks that maybe an Air Carrier would use his abilities for something more straightforward. Like floating girls' skirts and blouses.
"He would be a lot more successful if he just worked his way under some girl's skirt."
The voice startles him -- not because he wasn't expecting anyone, but because he knows that voice. Sighing deeply, Chanyeol looks up to face a serious-looking Yixing. The healer has his gaze fixed on Sehun, a cup in hand as if he's not there to ruin Chanyeol's evening.
"What are you doing here?" the Fire Carrier snaps.
"Chatting," Yixing looks down at him and smiles around his cup. "how is your arm doing?"
"It was fine before you showed up."
"So this means you need care now?" the other asks, arched eyebrows and hands already glowing green.
Chanyeol gulps all the content of his cup and tosses it on the ground, crossing his arms on his chest. "You're not touching me, pervert."
The healer chuckles, light and easy. "Sure."
They remain silent for a while, the wild noise of people hollering and chanting and getting drunk surrounding them.
"Do you mind if I sit with you?" Yixing suddenly asks. "I promise I won't try anything. None of my friends came, you're the only one I know here."
Chanyeol knows that saying no is useless, Yixing is already sitting next to him. The healer sighs contently and sips his drink.
"Nice party, huh?" he points his head to a group of people carrying a skinny man into the woods. "Crazy party."
Chanyeol frowns, "Where are they taking him?"
"Deep into the forest probably," the healer shrugs, leaning into Chanyeol's space, "to an orgy." He smirks after Chanyeol elbows him away with a scowl. "Should we join them?"
It's a rhetorical question, Chanyeol notices. Yixing's eyes twinkle with mischief, rapt by the scene unfolding in front of them. He wears a black beanie, his wavy fringe framing one side of his face, and a gray coat over his work attire.
"You came straight from work?" Chanyeol questions.
"Yeah, I've been working double shifts to get rid of a training thingy some of us need to do in the city," he glances at Chanyeol. "I hate to go to the city."
"Why?"
"Because it's loud and messy. All those half-buildings and dust. Everything there is more complicated." Yixing slowly shakes his head and drinks from his cup.
"What do you mean more complicated?"
"Well, you know how things work. Scavengers look and hunt and find things that might be useful for the whole community. Guardians protect the community. Scientists do their research...y science shit. Healers, well, heal. Officers do what no one else wants to do. Aside from farmers and some merchants, in the city everything is corrupt."
Chanyeol frowns, eyeing him judgmentally. "Hey, scavengers are never corrupt."
Yixing snorts, looking away, "I've done a lot of training in the city and it's very common to find scavengers selling their finds on the market instead of handing them to the department of Auctions. I've seen scavengers auction items by themselves," emptying his cup in one gulp, Yixing leans forward, forearms on his legs as he looks at Chanyeol from behind his fringe. "Just because the company in our village isn't corrupt it doesn't mean there aren't corrupt scavengers."
It's weird to sit next to Yixing and hear him talk politics and form phrases that are not going to make Chanyeol feel uncomfortable. The truth is they've never talked -- really talked, and this conversation is the closest to something personal he's ever heard from the healer. Curiously, it stirs some kind of interest in him. Chanyeol wants to know more.
"Have you ever thought about being a scavenger?" he asks. "Instead of taking your seminar in the academy for practical healing you could have gone for field healing."
The question doesn't surprise Yixing, but it forces him to work on an answer. Brows furrowed, the healer squints at the dirt beneath their feet, twisting his fingers. "I thought about field healing, but I never wanted to be a guardian, I felt that my level of power could grant me more," he shrugs, "we're at peace, so the empire isn't in need of any soldiers. So going for field healing meant only one thing."
"Be a scavenger." when Chanyeol completes, Yixing nods, the hint of a smile stretching his lips.
"It's not that I didn't want to be a scavenger. It's just... Too much legwork and I'm a couch potato." chuckling, Yixing adjusts his beanie and sighs, eyes never leaving Chanyeol's.
Weird. Something really weird is going on. It's been nearly ten minutes and the healer didn't pop an inappropriate question. Chanyeol frowns.
"Practical healing suits me a lot more. We have some hardcore cases sometimes, but it's nothing crazy like a giant bug bite inside an unknown forest three villages from here."
"Hey, our healer handles those like a champ!" Chanyeol protests and Yixing smiles.
After a few minutes in silence, Yixing turns to him, eyes full of promise. "Ok, I have something to ask you."
"What is it?"
"I've never seen you use your Carrier powers," the other announces. "I'd like to see it."
Chanyeol snorts, "What, do you want me to set something on fire?"
"I mean, you don't have to. Only if you want," mischief sparkles in the healer's eyes and Chanyeol feels hot - like he's melting.
Without really thinking about what he's doing, Chanyeol lifts his palm up, allowing flames to surge out, the usual soothing prickle blazing across his hand. It never ceases to amaze him. Fire.
"Does it burn?" Yixing's question startles him out of his trance. "You? Does it burn you?"
Chanyeol shakes his head, connecting his fingers to watch the flames get thinner and thinner until it's only a single flare coming from his index finger.
"Will it burn me?" the healer asks again. This time, Chanyeol scowls at him.
"What kind of question is that? Of course it will burn you, it's freaking fire."
Yixing laughs, loud and carefree as he always does. "Don't underestimate me. I can take heat very well."
That was the first time Chanyeol’s ever seen Yixing shoot him a line without smirking. Makes him feel strangely good.
{x}
Half of the officers Chanyeol knows hate their jobs. The other half claims that they’ll soon get a hold of their lives, find something else to do even if it means work in the market. The thing is no one is an officer by choice. Sitting behind a desk all day or running errands and dealing with legislations from Ages ago; Chanyeol always thought about officers as uninteresting people. The kind of people that settle for the minimum. Or the ones that have no choice because were born out of a Carrier class.
He knows that Kim Joonmyun graduated from his seminar top of his class. Kim Joonmyun could have pursued scavenging and done awesome at it, he could have applied to be a guardian, maybe even joined the army or gone for science. Joonmyun’s level of ability could have taken him anywhere. Yet the man chose to be an officer.
Such a waste.
The Auctions department takes care of all items the scavenging company retrieves, putting it on the market for any interested buyer. Cataloging items and initiating daily auctions is the most boring job in the world. It shouldn’t be a surprise that’s Kim Joonmyun’s job.
It’s not always that Chanyeol is the one in charge of taking their load to Auctions at the end of the day, so he’s not used to the blank walls and blank people in general working in an office. Dozens of tables all huddled together and phones ringing simultaneously. Makes his mind goes numb. At least they get to use computers, he thinks. Joonmyun is hooked on a phone when Chanyeol gets to his table.
The man gives him a glance and sighs into the phone, “Let me get back to you later.” and hangs up, looking up. “You’re late.”
Chanyeol points his head at the phone, “Can’t tell you when was the last time I spoke into one of those things.”
Joonmyun smiles, “Well, this is not 2015, phones are not made for public usage.” He sits down. “Please tell me you have copper. The electric facility is in need of copper, has been in need of copper for weeks now. They keep sending us pictures to remind us what copper looks like so we don’t miss it.”
“No copper,” Chanyeol lifts the sack he brought, “but we have carbon fiber. Boss told us science people use this shit for your computer stuff.”
The officer hums, calling someone over to take the sack from Chanyeol’s hands. “How was Sehun’s party?”
“Huh?”
“The party. I didn’t get to attend because of work obviously,” Joonmyun chuckles. “but I heard it was pretty wild. An Ice Carrier built an igloo in the woods and held an orgy.”
“Oh, yeah. Pretty wild. It’s Sehun, I mean, what to expect.”
“I also heard Yixing was there. With you.”
There’s something in Joonmyun’s eyes that resemble amusement, but Joonmyun rarely amuses so Chanyeol is confused. He squints at the elder and scratches his neck.
“Um. Yeah, we were there. Talking. Very far from the woods.” he assures. “Listen, I gotta roll.”
“Well, isn’t that delightful?”
Like a deja-vu, the voice comes from nowhere and floods Chanyeol’s mind. He watches Joonmyun’s eyes shift to a point behind him and slowly turns around to face Zhang Yixing himself, dressed in a purple button-down shirt and cotton pants. What the hell is he doing in the department of Auctions?
“Didn’t think I’d be seeing you so soon,” Yixing says, a palm coming to comfortably press against Chanyeol’s chest. “are you following me, Mr. Park?”
Gently removing Yixing’s hand, Chanyeol clears his throat. “It’s you who has no business being here.”
“Aw,” Yixing pouts, eyeing Chanyeol from head to toe before biting on his lower lip. “You know that being rude to me doesn’t shake me off. Especially when you look like this.”
Chanyeol looks down to his own muddied clothes and dirty shoes from a whole day of scavenging. He coughs and eyes the healer, “What are you doing here?”
“I’m here for Joonmyun, you know, my friend,” he leisurely points a finger towards the officer, who simply waves a hand. “but that can easily change.”
Yixing smiles at Chanyeol like he expects something. Clearly back in his game. The weird part is that Yixing’s flirting doesn’t bother him how it usually does, and weirder than that is that Chanyeol doesn’t think of it as something strange to happen. Snorting, he folds his arms on his chest and stares down at the healer. He knows he doesn't look intimidating, but maybe it will send a message.
“As much as I'd love to watch you glare at me the whole night, Joonmyun and I have plans." Yixing announces after checking him out one last time. "But I could stop by your place when we're done."
Joonmyun snorts and Yixing just chuckles. Chanyeol, on the other hand, sighs, "I need to go," and walks away from the duo before any of them could say another word.
He's not really expecting Yixing to stop by his place. Chanyeol is ready to climb into his sleeping clothes and read something when someone knocks at his door. He could have expected a priest to have knocked, but not Yixing in the same clothes he was earlier today.
"Hey there, sexy." Yixing leans against Chanyeol's door frame, fingers loosely picking on the buttons of his purple shirt.
Chanyeol blinks. "Are you lost?"
Naturally Yixing welcomes himself, pushing past Chanyeol and into his small house. Yixing's been there before, but they weren't alone and Chanyeol knows by experience that being alone with Yixing can lead to... Situations.
"Is that new?" The healer points at the armchair and flops on the couch. "Wow, I've missed this place."
"What are you doing here?" Chanyeol surprises.
"Relax, I'm not here to molest you." toeing his shoes off, Yixing crosses his legs under his body.
"Why are you here, then?"
"Didn’t I say I would come? You didn’t tell me not to, so I just assumed it would be ok.” he shrugs, facing Chanyeol innocently. “Besides, we had a nice time at Sehun's party and I liked talking to you."
For the a moment, there’s a flash of sincerity in Yixing’s face. That can’t be denied. Sehun’s party was the first time Chanyeol actually talked to Yixing without constantly watching out for inappropriate touches or examinations. He was light and carefree. It was nice. Maybe it’s ok to allow himself to sit with Yixing like that again.
“How was your day?” Yixing offers.
Sighing, he meets the healer’s eyes. “Tough. We found a boar in the woods. It tried to kill Kris.”
The healer snorts a laugh, grinning widely. “I thought boars were extinct.”
Chanyeol hums, taking a seat at the armchair. “I thought Kris wouldn’t scream like a little girl, but what do we know?”
“We used to hook up,” Yixing reveals after a while, eyebrows furrowed and lips pursed in thought. Chanyeol’s eyes widen slightly. “Kris and I.”
“Oh?”
“When we were taking the seminar. He wanted to move into something serious and I just wasn’t ready for it.”
Chanyeol swallows, blinking down at his hands while his brain processes the information. Yixing and Kris. Not something that he would have considered on his own, but again, he doesn’t know much about Yixing and Kris tries very hard to be mysterious. However, as memories return to him, Chanyeol makes sense of all the comments and questions Kris would throw his way whenever he caught sight of Chanyeol and Yixing hanging with the same group. He should have known.
“Are you surprised?” the healer calls his attention and he looks up, shaking off with a smile.
“No, I just hadn’t considered this before,” he shrugs, trying his best to sound nonchalant. It’s unpredictably hard. “And I don’t think of the two of you as a match.”
Yixing arches his eyebrows, face slowly falling into mischief. “Would the two of us make a better match, then?”
Snorting, Chanyeol thinks of brushing the question aside, but his mind is already working on the idea. Of course, they would make a better match. It’s strange since he spent the whole time they’ve known each other running away from Yixing, but he’s been thinking… Differently. Yixing is not a bad person. Flirtatious, perhaps nosy and snarky. But not bad. He’s pleasant when he wants to be.
“Maybe.” he answers.
Yixing clearly wasn’t expecting that answer. His eyebrows shoot up and his lips part, a look of incredulity lighting his features. “Um,” he hums. “Are you sure? I mean… I was doing… That thing that I do and you hate.”
“What, hitting on me?” Chanyeol crosses his arms on his chest. “I don’t know, Yixing. Maybe it’s time for two to play this game.”
Yixing eyes him as if he’s crazy, “Are you serious?”
“Dead serious.”
“So you’re saying you’re gonna flirt with me?”
“No, I’m saying I’m gonna deal with you.” Chanyeol shrugs, standing up and moving towards the kitchen. He thinks there’s coffee here somewhere…
Yixing follows him, “By dealing with me you mean putting use to a fierce personality no one knew about?”
Narrowing his eyes at the other, Chanyeol says, “I’m a Fire Carrier. I’ve always been fierce.”
“Not when I touch you, you haven’t.” Yixing smirks, leaning onto Chanyeol’s fridge and watching him heat water for the coffee.
“That’s because you touch me with bad intentions.”
“And you’re saying you’re going to deal with that,” he takes a few steps on Chanyeol’s direction, stopping when he’s only a few inches from reach. “I’m looking forward to how you’re doing it.”
It’s natural that whenever Yixing gets too close, Chanyeol puts some space between them. Yixing is now running his index finger up and down on his chest and that would be Chanyeol’s cue to move away. He remains rooted to the ground.
The healer huffs in annoyance, arms dropping to his sides, “It’s not fun if you’re not gonna fight me.”
Chanyeol chuckles, pouring coffee in a cup and handing it to Yixing, who grabs it, pouts, and walks back to the couch. That’s not the usual exchange between them. What usually happens is: Yixing flirts, Chanyeol scoffs at him and both of them move on with their lives, but this. This whole thing is different. Yixing showed up at his door unexpectedly and Chanyeol could have sent him away. Chanyeol could have made up some weird excuse about having to do chores and not being able to hang out (which is even weirder, because they definitely don’t hang out by themselves) -- most importantly, he could have fought off the finger running up his chest but he didn’t, and what bugs him the most is that he really didn’t want to.
{x}
The elders often tell stories about light in the cities. Before all the war and conflict, there was so much light that the world would sparkle at night. You could actually see it from space. Some cities would come to life at night - bars and parties and concerts and people coming together and celebrating. It hasn’t been like that for years and years, but people can’t be denied their right to party. Friday nights are ‘booze nights’ in the village Chanyeol lives. It isn’t as bright as the pictures they see from before, but they can dance, drink and have as much fun as it’s possible.
Tonight, Jongdae is embarrassing himself again. The Lightning Carrier is putting up a show in the dance floor of Taeyeon’s Hut after drinking several rounds of beer. Chanyeol almost feels bad for him, but then remembers the episode with the hoverboard.
“People are making room for him,” Baekhyun mentions, disgust all over his face. “his pants are dragging down, I can see his butt--”
“Should we stop him?” Sehun asks.
“Are you kidding me? This is payback. Let him be.” Chanyeol gulps his beer down and gestures for the waiter to bring another. “Movement is weak today.”
“Movement of interesting people is weak,” Baekhyun points out while looking around. “Is that Yixing?”
Chanyeol’s head jerks up and he inspects the perimeter, eyes attentive to the familiar mop of brown hair or any other indication that Zhang Yixing could really be around. “Where?”
“There. Chatting with that guy.”
Oh. Yeah. That is definitely Zhang Yixing, but he’s not just chatting with that guy.
“By chatting you mean swallowing his whole face?” Sehun squints. “Wow, that’s a lot of tongue.”
“They escalated really quickly,” Baekhyun hums, tapping his chin. “I knew Yixing was a hunter, but that one is not impressive.”
“That’s a 5.”
“Tops. You remember that Ice Carrier he dated for a while?”
“Ooooohhhh that man was a 10+”
Chanyeol tunes his friends out to focus on Yixing and his companion. It’s none of his business to be honest and he shouldn’t be watching, but the truth is he doesn’t like what he’s seeing.
“Chanyeol?” Baekhyun’s voice brings him back to his friends. “What’s with your face?”
Before he even registers what he’s doing, Chanyeol is walking up to the two of them, folding his arms on his chest and waiting to be noticed. The man sees him first, frowning at him and parting from Yixing.
“What do you want?” he asks.
Ignoring him, Chanyeol turns to Yixing, who’s looking at him in sheer surprise, eyebrows arched and mouth slowly curling in a knowing smile.
“Hey there,” he says.
“Need to talk to you,” Chanyeol says, hoping that it will be enough.The man is almost saying something - probably refusing Chanyeol’s request -, but Yixing is quicker, showing the man his palm. Quite rude if Chanyeol were to be considerate about it but he’s not really, and he couldn’t care less about this fucker.
Yixing’s eyes never leave him as he tells the man, “Excuse me, I have to attend this,” and without looking back, he allows to be dragged away. The man looks positively baffled as Chanyeol pulls Yixing across the dancefloor, past his friends’ table, and out of the hut.
They’re the only ones there, the outside of Taeyeon's Hut is dimly lit, a single light bulb brightening the place, but it’s enough. Yixing eyes him with the usual amusement.
“So. Can you tell me what was that about?” he asks.
Chanyeol doesn’t have an answer. He just frowns, blinking down at the healer. Strange. Everything has been strange regarding Yixing for a while. Ever since Sehun’s party to be exact. What would trigger this kind of reaction? Chanyeol knows he’s been dealing with the healer differently, but this? Dragging him out of someone else’s arms? This seems like jealousy.
Just like he’s following Chanyeol’s thoughts, Yixing pinches the sleeve of his shirt. “Do you wanna go for a walk?” And before he even gets an answer, he’s pulling Chanyeol with him. Taeyeon’s Hut is at the outskirts of the village, so they follow the path back, a few people going the same direction and a few coming the opposite.
“Who was that guy?” Chanyeol can’t help asking.
Yixing shrugs, burying his hands into his pockets. “I don’t know.”
“You just kiss people you don’t know?”
“When the ones that I want keep rejecting me, yes, I do.” he gives Chanyeol a small smile, quickly looking ahead. “I’m the kind of person who likes human contact. The kind of contact you can’t get from your family or friends.”
Kicking a small rock on his way, Chanyeol huffs. “And you can get it from that guy?”
Yixing suddenly stops, turning to face the other with an inquisitive glint in his eyes. “Are you jealous?”
Yes, is at the tip of Chanyeol’s tongue, but he’s fearful of this answer. It’s like giving it to Yixing would solidify the cloud of smoky thoughts he’s been having regarding the healer lately. He can’t pretend he hasn’t been thinking about Yixing. About how good it felt to pull his guard down and finally letting him come closer.
The other speaks, interrupting Chanyeol’s musing. “You know, I’ve been going after you since we’ve met and you always turn me down. Sometimes I think I get some signals that you might want, but they’re gone the moment after. Make up your mind, Chanyeol.”
Yixing looks up at him, his expectant eyes searching Chanyeol’s for something more. It’s like a snap. There’s no reason left to deny himself what he’s been wanting for a while a now. He wants Yixing.
Chanyeol nods just the slightest, more to himself, and smiles. “Do you wanna come to my place?”
In his most secret deviations, Chanyeol’s always thought that making out with Yixing would be frantic, quick and desperate. He would never have imagined the soft pink coloring the healer’s cheeks, the timid tug of his lips whenever the tips of Chanyeol’s fingers slide from his shoulder to his wrist. He wouldn’t have accounted for how soft his skin feels, how warm.
Gently holding the healer’s wrist, Chanyeol soothes his thumb over it, lifting his eyes to meet with Yixing’s curious ones. They’re too close now, Chanyeol can see all the shadows in and around Yixing’s dimple. Out of instinct, he lifts his hand to the other’s face, brushing a finger on his cheek.
“I feel like I need to warn you...” Yixing whispers, eyes shifting between Chanyeol’s mouth and eyes. It’s pleasant. Somehow, he feels like he’s gotten past all the playful part, and the prospect he gets isn’t bad at all. Chanyeol wants this. “Once you start this there’s no turning back.”
“Oh yeah?” His hand brushes past Yixing’s throat and onto his nape. The healer shudders; Chanyeol can’t contain the smile. He likes this. It’s like he managed to strip Yixing down to a vulnerable point and he likes it.
“Don’t tease me.” Yixing licks his lips, letting them fall slightly open.
“Or what?”
It happens faster than Chanyeol could predict. Suddenly, he gets a lap full of Yixing, the healer’s hands cradling his face as his mouth finds Chanyeol’s jaw. It sends a shudder down his spine. Circling Yixing’s waist with one arm to hold him in place, Chanyeol buries a hand into his hair, pulling him back so their eyes can meet.
“You’re so freaking warm,” Yixing says, bringing his lips down to Chanyeol’s -- just a quick press, but enough to let him taste sweet. Humming, Chanyeol ceases the distance between them and Yixing greets him with an open mouth. The kiss starts fast, almost desperate, but eventually it falls into a comfortable rhythm. Chanyeol runs his hands over Yixing’s thighs before settling on his hips, and as the healer presses wet, tingling kisses down his neck, he wonders why the fuck he didn’t give in sooner.
Chanyeol’s hands slide back to Yixing’s ass, lifting him just the bit that would bring them impossibly closer. Yixing stands on his knees, hands threading into Chanyeol’s hair and tilting his head up. It’s a regular thing for a Fire Carrier to be warm, but as Yixing licks at Chanyeol’s lips, his thumb coming to brush the sides of his mouth, he thinks he’s never been hotter. And it’s all because of Yixing.
He tightens his arms around the healer’s waist, earning a yelp when Yixing surges forward, giggling against Chanyeol’s mouth. With hands on the Fire Carrier’s shoulders, Yixing seats himself back on Chanyeol’s lap, parting from him and studying him with glowing eyes as his two hands caress Chanyeol’s neck. There’s affection in the way Yixing looks at him, and it makes him wonder if this is what was buried beneath all those layers of flirtation and friskiness.
“Do you really want this, Chanyeol?” the healer asks him, fingers drawing soothing patterns on Chanyeol’s skin.
Taking a deep breath, Chanyeol runs his hands over Yixing’s thighs before wrapping them around his wrists, bringing one of the other’s palms to his lips, then the other. Yixing tries to bite back a smile, but it escapes anyway. It’s the most beautiful he’s ever seen the healer, bare and blunt, unable to cover his primal instincts.
“I really want this.” he answers.
An hour (or two, he’s not sure) later Chanyeol’s coffee pot is empty and Yixing has work in the morning, but it feels good to lie next to him, their noses brushing and lips meeting like two ends of a magnet. They moved to the bed because making out in the couch was certainly leading them to an all-nighter and the bed could compel them into falling asleep. It’s not working so far. Chanyeol has an arm loosely draped over Yixing’s waist and the healer’s hand caresses his neck and it’s so comfy.
“Weren’t we supposed to be sleeping?” Yixing asks between soft kisses.
“We drank a whole coffee pot, I don’t think we’re sleeping anytime soon.” Chanyeol chuckles.
Yixing hums, hands easily finding their way under Chanyeol’s shirt. “Can I ask you a question?”
“Yeah,” he answers on automatic, but Chanyeol doesn’t really want them to start talking. Kissing is way better.
“Why now?” Yixing moves slightly away, just so he’s out of the reach of Chanyeol’s eager mouth. “I’ve been trying to get into your pants since we met. Sometimes you would even leave if I was near.”
This time, the answer doesn’t stop at the tip of his tongue. “I guess I saw more than a hookup.”
Mouth jerking open in mock surprise, Yixing stares at him. “Was I just a hookup?” he playfully shoves Chanyeol away. “I’m hurt.”
“Shut up, you know what I mean.” he pulls Yixing into him, mouth finding its way to the other’s neck and jaw. “It took me a while, but I saw something I liked.”
“And what was that?”
“You.”
Silence. Yixing moves away to meet his eyes with a frown. Suddenly, the both of them burst in laughter.
“That was awful.”
“So cheesy.”
They spent an hour lying together without feeling the need to pull each other’s clothes off. Yixing revealed himself to be a great cuddler. Surprising for someone who would constantly drop comments about one’s crotch or his arms, or even how sexy one looks in his scavenger clothes. It’s not like Chanyeol minds, though. Right here, with Yixing in his arms, he feels peculiarly and remarkably at home.