Unlock Arc II - Chapter Fifteen
Title: Unlock Arc II
Authors:
renichifreak and
yeonah
Chapter: 15/?
Fandom: SS501, cameos by KARA, U-KISS, Super Junior and BEAST
Pairings: KyuSaeng, HyunMin, SooBum (may be other pairings in the future)
Rating: PG-16
Warning: Angst, AU, Fluff
Summary: Not everything is as it seems, and for those who are as far from normal as you can get, life is a bleak existence. The only ones who can truly understand what these individuals go through are those...just like them.
A/N: YoungSaeng and HyunJoong are played by
renichifreak and KyuJong and JungMin are played by me.
"Watch out!"
JungMin burst out laughing as one of the new kids blasted right past JongWoon, sending the older man sprawling, before face-planting into the wall. RyeoWook gave a long-suffering sigh and padded over to see if the kid was okay, stepping over JongWoon's legs.
The new Gifted were getting bolder when it came to practicing, and though that was fantastic (especially now that they could go outside again), some of them were a little...over-enthusiastic. There wasn't enough room in the training room for them all sometimes, especially when you stuck a kid with super-speed and someone who could explode things in the same room. DongHae had happily taken to the ceiling and stayed there, for his own health he explained.
"Oh," KyuJong blinked as he and YoungSaeng paused in the doorway and saw there were quite a few new kids hanging around with the usuals. "Maybe we should...come back later." JongWoon was still groaning pitifully from where he'd been knocked over until RyeoWook kicked his foot on the way by, helping the kid with super-speed get to a chair.
Jumping as he heard the yell and JungMin's hysterical laughter, YoungSaeng peeked into the room to see a lot more people than the few that were usually in there. It looked like some of the patients who had healed were testing out their powers in order to gain control, HyunJoong watching them with an observant expression, throwing out advice when it was needed. JungMin was secure in his boyfriend's lap, pointing and laughing.
Taking a deep breath and deciding to do as he had planned to do the previous day, YoungSaeng shook his head. "N-no, I'm okay, Kyu yah. We can go in," he said, wincing at the small stutter. "I mean, I'll never get over it if I keep leaving, right?"
That said, he looked at KyuJong with a reassuring smile. He had in fact, practiced that smile for an hour before he was able to actually do it convincingly without wincing.
Blinking, KyuJong looked at YoungSaeng, uncertain. "Are you sure?" he asked, expression worried. "We can come back." He didn't want YoungSaeng to be uncomfortable, and while the room was big enough for it not to be too crowded, you never knew with Gifted still trying to get a grasp on their abilities. It was all too easy for someone to mess up, as made evident by JongWoon sprawled across the floor.
JungMin brightened when he saw YoungSaeng and KyuJong at the door, waving to them. "Hey guys!"
Nodding, YoungSaeng waved at JungMin before tugging KyuJong into the room with him. It was taking everything he had not to tighten the hold he had on KyuJong's hand, but he somehow managed to get to the couch where JungMin was, HyunJoong having moved to help a young girl when she had accidentally given herself cat ears and a tail when she was trying to fully shift into a kitten.
"Hey, how's it going?" JungMin grinned widely at the two of them. He was in a good mood, shuffling around a little on the couch although he couldn't really go anywhere. "We're debating grabbing all the new kids and bringing them down to get to know each other, I don't even remember half of their names."
"Don't you mean that you're considering doing it, JungMin hyung?" KiBum chuckled as he sat in SooHyun's lap as always, sticking out a foot to trip his brother as he ran past, the elder brother falling with a yelp.
Taking a seat beside JungMin, YoungSaeng nodded, thankful that he didn't show the hesitation he felt. "Sounds like a good idea."
"I'm sorry if I can't go find them all and ask them to repeat their names over and over," JungMin pouted, then snorted as HyungJoon went down.
"Why are you all like this to me," HyungJoon whined, rolling himself over to pout at them.
"Because it's fun," JungMin smirked. "I adore your brother, your brother thinks it's fun too." He laughed as HyungJoon crawled away from them all.
"How many are we now, anyways?" KyuJong blinked, one arm around YoungSaeng lightly once the older boy had sat down.
"I...have no clue." JungMin blinked before calling. "Hyun, how many people are we here again?"
Blinking at the question, and patting the girl on the head affectionately when she managed to call back the ears and tail, HyunJoong tilted his head in thought. "About seventeen or eighteen now, I think," he finally responded.
"Quite a bit more than before," KyuJong mused. It was less than the numbers that had come out of the mental hospital, so these must be the ones who decided to stay with this cell. Seven or eight new additions was quite a lot for a small cell like theirs.
"We're going to need more rooms," HyungJoon mused, smiling from his chosen corner away from his brother. "But we can't dig out much more room to the sides without either hitting tree roots from the forest, or people's basements."
"So we keep going down then, if we need to," RyeoWook said softly, sitting with a small group of people whose gifts had backfired enough to need some healing.
"I was actually counting the people who haven't decided if they want to leave or not, as well as the few from the other floor who haven't fully recovered yet," HyunJoong replied. "So far, I've only gotten requests from maybe four or five people to stay here."
"That's still a good amount," JungMin grinned, shuffling a little. He looked at YoungSaeng beside him. "What are you guys planning on doing later? Going outside again?"
"Possibly," YoungSaeng explained. "I think Umma said something about eating there, but I might be wrong." Once he'd spoken, he looked over at KyuJong for confirmation.
"Yeah, she did," KyuJong nodded, looking back at YoungSaeng before glancing to the others. "She said if anyone wants to tag along, let her know before it gets too close to dinner so she can make more food."
JungMin perked up at that, looking to HyunJoong.
HyunJoong snickered at the look on JungMin's face. Unable to say no to the redhead normally, the puppy dog eyes just made it all worse.
"Who am I to say no to that?" he chuckled, returning to JungMin's side and kissing his neck, shifting to lay his head down in JungMin's lap.
"You can't say no," JungMin grinned, looking down at HyunJoong and playing with a strand of the older man's long hair. Looking at them, KyuJong could see they were more relaxed than they had been lately. He'd expected for HyunJoong at least to be still angry about yesterday's meeting, but the older man seemed entirely distracted by JungMin.
"Are you going to practice today, KyuJong ah?" DongHae asked, bouncing over on the ceiling. "You haven't practiced in a while."
"I might," KyuJong shrugged. "There's not much to practice with down here, and I don't feel like knocking myself out by teleporting," he chuckled. That and he didn't want to leave YoungSaeng's side.
HyunJoong nearly purred when JungMin began playing with his hair. He had never been more grateful for another person than he was for JungMin. There was just something about the redhead that instantly calmed him in every sense of the word. "Why would I say no? You smiling like that saves on lighting this place," he teased, reaching up to poke JungMin's cheek.
"Hae Hyung, I'm sure you can come down from there now," HyunSeung chuckled from his spot beside JunHyung, who was just testing out his powers here and there.
"But it's nice and roomy up here," DongHae grinned at him. "You know if I had my control a little better, I could bring half of you up here and the new kids can run around and smash into things all they want on the ceiling." The kid who'd bowled JongWoon over flushed in embarrassment.
JungMin snorted at that, swatting at HyunJoong's finger with a grin. "Speaking of lighting up rooms, do you think I'd be able to practice eventually too?" he asked, looking at his boyfriend. His electricity was slowly returning to its former levels. No one knew if it was from the practice before being taken, or having his power constantly activated and drained for nearly two years, but JungMin had less of a hard time keeping himself from zapping things. Though HyunJoong still helped him out if he was too tired to try.
Looking at JungMin, HyunJoong smiled and nodded. "I want to make sure that your stamina gets a little better before trying, but we can see what happens in a few days. Is that okay?" HyunJoong asked.
"Okay," JungMin nodded, lips curled upwards as he kept running his fingers through HyunJoong's hair.
Things were quiet again for another few minutes before DongHae decided to try out his idea of doubling the room's capacity, starting by bringing JongWoon, the super-speed kid, the shapeshifting girl, HyunSeung and JunHyung to the ceiling. JungMin snorted and started laughing again as JongWoon flailed and freaked out, slowly floating upwards. "DongHae, put me down!"
HyunSeung let out a surprised squeal as he was tugged into the air, grabbing hold of JunHyung, who happened to be the closest to him. Not that it did a bit of good, of course, since the younger boy was floating as well.
Snickering along with JungMin, HyunJoong shot DongHae a look. "Maybe a bit of warning would be a good idea, Hae Hyung," he pointed out, shaking his head without disrupting JungMin's actions.
YoungSaeng watched the group freak out, JongWoon trying to swim his way back down. He couldn't stop the laugh from bubbling up, even though it came out quiet.
Blinking, KyuJong smiled a little wider at YoungSaeng's laugh, lips quivering slightly. Even so quiet, it was a relief to hear again.
"But that takes all the fun out of it!" DongHae chirped. He brought the new kids and RyeoWook up to the ceiling gently; the new kids because they were new and not used to him floating people around, and RyeoWook because the tiny boy was scary when he was mad, and you couldn't injure the healer. HyunSeung was brought up a little less properly, because DongHae's attention was focused on the others.
JongWoon's ascend to the ceiling was basically falling in reverse.
HyunJoong had to laugh in amusement at the look on the others' faces. He also hadn't missed the quiet laugh. "One of these days, JongWoon is going to get revenge for all the stuff you do to him, Hae."
"Nah, he loves me," DongHae grinned, and rolled out of the way of JongWoon's swipe.
"HyunSeung?" JunHyung's lips quivered in amusement, looking at the older man attached to his arm. "We can't go much higher up than this."
"Yeah, well that doesn't mean that I plan to let go any time soon," HyunSeung stated. "I'm not a fan of heights when I'm actually in something. How do you think I feel floating?" He paused to glare at DongHae. "If you drop me like you enjoy doing to Woonie Hyung, I swear to God that I will get revenge in the worst possible way," he threatened.
If it weren't for the fact that he had ended up practically wrapping himself around the other boy, it might have been somewhat intimidating, but as it was, it was just adorable.
"I don't think you'd complain with JunHyung ah to make it better," DongHae blew kissy-fish faces at them, still avoiding being attacked by JongWoon. "Be nice hyung, or I'll drop you!"
"You do that anyways!"
JungMin just kept laughing, needing to remember to breathe before he could start another fit.
"You know, Hae Hyung," HyunJoong began with a chuckle of amusement. "You have to come down from there sometime, and if you keep messing with HyunSeung ah, you're gonna regret it."
"Seungie wouldn't hurt me, right Seungie?" DongHae grinned. "I haven't dropped him, I'm being good."
"Don't push your luck, hyung," KyuJong chuckled, watching with much amusement. DongHae pouted before concentrating, slowly lowering HyunSeung (and by extension JunHyung) off the ceiling.
YoungSaeng watched with some amusement as HyunSeung refused to let go of JunHyung until both feet were firmly on the ground. The only problem with that was that he was so disoriented that he fell over with a yelp, dragging the other boy down with him.
Continuing to watch, he noticed that DongHae was breathing much heavier than normal and seemed to be shifting down. "DongHae hyung?" he asked, worry in his voice.
DongHae didn't reply, seeming to be focusing on lowering JongWoon and RyeoWook from the ceiling as well.
JongWoon continued to flail until he landed on the floor. "Your control's much better when you're not pitching me around like a basketball," he commented, looking up at the boy still on the ceiling.
That was before DongHae suddenly dropped, landing right on top of JongWoon who fell onto his back with an indignant squawk. "YAH! What are you trying to...Hae?!"
The note of panic in the older man's voice snapped the attention of those still in the room. RyeoWook ran over on unsteady feet as JongWoon sat up quickly, DongHae sprawled out over his lap and an ashen gray.
Moving from JungMin's lap, HyunJoong jumped to his feet and was at DongHae's side in a second. He locked the elder's powers to save him the extra stress of controlling them while overworked.
"What'll I ever do with you, Hyung?" he teased lightly, worry clear in his eyes.
"B-been a while since I've done that," DongHae mumbled, KyuJong's eyes widening. The young man that had just been laughing his head off on the ceiling a minute ago sounded far too weak. He leaned forward a little, reluctant to leave YoungSaeng's side but worried about the older man.
"You know the backlash sneaks up on you like this, you should have been more careful hyung," RyeoWook scolded, but there was no heat to his worried voice as he placed one hand lightly on DongHae's forehead. "He needs rest, we need to bring him to the infirmary as quickly as we can...you know what happened last time, hyung."
"What happened?" KyuJong asked quietly.
"Hae hyung has probably one of the worst backlashes we've seen, he can go from bad to worse in seconds." RyeoWook brushed DongHae's hair away from his forehead, working to sooth some of the backlash with his healing.
Biting his lip in indecision, HyunJoong finally sighed and looked at KyuJong. "Kyu, would it be possible for you to teleport him to the infirmary? SooHyun's still recovering from the earlier trip to Japan."
He knew he was asking a lot for KyuJong to leave YoungSaeng alone, but DongHae's safety took priority in this case.
Paling slightly at the idea that KyuJong would be leaving, YoungSaeng took a breath and smiled as best he could. "It's fine, Kyu yah. Min's here and DongHae hyung needs help."
KyuJong bit his lower lip, looking at YoungSaeng at that. He didn't want to leave YoungSaeng here, even if there were others to keep him company, JungMin included. The incident yesterday was still fresh on his mind, knowing that YoungSaeng couldn't handle something like that, even for the time it took to teleport DongHae up there and head back down if he wasn't needed.
But he knew HyunJoong wouldn't be asking if there was a better alternative, which meant whatever backlash effects DongHae was prone to, it was very hazardous to his health. Drawing in a breath, he nodded and squeezed YoungSaeng's hand gently. "I'll be right back," he whispered, eyes slightly pained as he got up and hurried to DongHae's side.
"I'm not sure if I'll be able to take more than him with me," he said, looking at RyeoWook.
"That's fine," the younger boy was already standing. "Time it to get up there in five minutes if you can, and I'll be set up." The healer hurried out of the room.
KyuJong motioned the others to move back, JongWoon carefully moving DongHae's upper body to lean on the time traveler. Looking at YoungSaeng again, KyuJong breathed in and shut his eyes tightly before disappearing, taking DongHae with him.
The second KyuJong disappeared, YoungSaeng felt his breath catch. Not wanting anyone to see, he focused in his lap where he was discreetly wringing his hands. He needed to get over this and he needed to do it quickly.
HyunJoong smiled and leaned over to kiss JungMin. "I'll be right back, okay?" With another kiss, he turned around and headed out.
Several of the others followed him out, worried about DongHae. Several of the newer kids had never seen a bad reaction happen to one of those who'd been here the longest, and needed to be comforted.
Watching them with pursed lips, JungMin looked at YoungSaeng beside him. He blinked at the expression on YoungSaeng's face. "Hey, you okay?" he murmured, watching the older man wring his hands.
Blinking, YoungSaeng realized what he was doing and stopped, looking up at JungMin and nodding his head. "I'm fine, Min," he assured, but even to himself, it sounded forced.
"...Uh huh." JungMin didn't sound convinced at all. "Saengie, we're best friends, you can tell me if something's up." He wasn't stupid, he knew YoungSaeng wasn't used to being away from KyuJong at all. He wanted to move closer to comfort his friend, hug him or something, but there were still negative reactions whenever anyone other than KyuJong got close.
"..." YoungSaeng could hear the worry in JungMin's voice and sighed yet again. Someone else worried about him...
Hesitating, YoungSaeng finally leaned back and looked over at JungMin. "...he cried..." he finally murmured, voice sad.
JungMin blinked at the older man. "Who...KyuJong?" He kept his voice low for once, getting that this was a conversation private for them and not wanting anyone else in the room to hear. "Why?"
Pulling his legs up to his chest, he rested his chin against his knees. "Because of me," he told him. "Because I'm like this. He wasn't even gone for two hours, Min, and I could barely deal with it. It's not fair to him."
He refused to cry, though, despite the tears burning the back of his eyes.
Watching YoungSaeng, JungMin frowned. This must have been from yesterday. "Kyu's pretty understanding, he wouldn't hold it against you, Saeng. And you want to get better, right? You're trying to get better?"
"Wanting and trying are completely different," YoungSaeng explained. "I want to, but I feel like I'm going to have a heart attack when people come too close to me. And I don't know if I can stand to see the disappointment in KyuJong's eyes anymore."
JungMin sighed. "I don't think he's disappointed, Saeng. He's worried." They all were. "If you want to get better, you're going to have to try. There's no way to go around it. Kyu might be helping the most he can, but no one can help you if you won't try."
"I am trying, though," YoungSaeng urged. "No one understands that all I want to do is curl up in bed and never leave. It takes so much effort to even get up some days. I'm trying so hard but no one seems to see that..." Closing his eyes, YoungSaeng finally muttered, "Maybe they should have just left me there..."
JungMin's eyes widened slightly at that, barely catching the muttered words. He scowled lightly, and before YoungSaeng could say anything else, the redhead reached across the space between them and flicked the older man off the forehead.
"See, that's the kind of attitude that isn't going to get you anywhere. You don't think the rest of us that were pulled out of there have it hard? Some of us didn't even make it out, remember? You want to stay in bed, and that's literally all I can do some days." His expression twisted in pain, but he kept on going. "But I'm out here every day, walking and walking until I can barely move, why? Because I want to be me again."
He pointed at YoungSaeng. "That's why KyuJong was crying. You're not you, you're letting what happened and the depression tell you what to be instead of fighting back. Are you happy like this, YoungSaeng?"
Eyes wide as JungMin spoke, YoungSaeng felt himself choke up, finally unable to hold the tears back any longer. Reaching up to wipe his eyes, he shook his head and felt himself fall to the side, head falling on JungMin's shoulder. "I wanna be me again, Min..." he mumbled.
JungMin looked at YoungSaeng resting against him, the first real solid contact between them in over two years. He reached up, putting one arm loosely around the older man's shoulders. "Then fight back," he whispered.
Burying his face into JungMin's shoulder, YoungSaeng just let the tears fall, not crying, per se, but purging himself somewhat. He knew that he was shaking at the contact, but he tried to remember that it was JungMin, which made him relax a bit, albeit slowly. "You'll get better, Min...I know it."
He had missed this feeling, being held like this by JungMin and his other friends.
"Of course I will, even if I have to fall on my ass five hundred times," JungMin replied. But his lips curled upwards a little more, appreciating the words. "You and I are going to practice every day, and you're not getting out of it," he informed his friend. "And a month from now I'll be running circles around everyone, and you'll be beating up on JongWoon like the rest of them do."
"I would never beat up on anyone," YoungSaeng said, slight chuckle in his voice. Turning his head to the side and closing his eyes, YoungSaeng smiled a bit. "How are things going with you and HyunJoong?" he asked, wanting to remain like this a bit longer.
JungMin blinked then bit his lower lip to hide the silly grin that was trying to appear. "We've been good," he said vaguely, thoughts quickly going elsewhere.
Looking up at JungMin, YoungSaeng straightened and faced his friend, interested look on his face. "You're never vague unless you're hiding something..."
"I have no idea what you're talking about." JungMin tried to look at YoungSaeng with a straight face, and utterly failed. "You probably don't want to hear about it anyways."
YoungSaeng looked at JungMin before his eyes widened in shock. "Oh my God, you slept together, didn't you?" he asked, voice low but gaze knowing.
"..." The redhead's lips quivered. "Maybe?" But the grin that appeared after a moment nearly split his face in two. "Okay, we did."
Grinning back, YoungSaeng hesitated a second before leaning in to hug JungMin. "Was it everything you hoped for?" he asked. He remembered conversations with the redhead about being close to people and hoped that he was happy now that he could.
"And then some," JungMin chuckled, returning the hug happily. "I wasn't able to do much, but still. I'm through with letting rubber legs and coughing fits stop me from doing what I want to do." He beamed at the older man.
"That apparently being HyunJoong," YoungSaeng teased lightly. "I'm glad that you and he finally got to experience that, Min ah. I don't know if I've ever seen another couple as head over heels with each other as the two of you."
JungMin grinned more at that, before looking down a little shyly. "He also said that he loves me," he admitted after a moment, smile becoming gentler and gaze softening.
"And he's never once lied to you, has he?" YoungSaeng pointed out before sobering a bit. "Kyu's mentioned how miserable HyunJoong was without you, so I know that he wouldn't just throw that around. He really means it, JungMin ah," he said, smiling softly.
"I know," JungMin smiled in return, a slight pink in his cheeks. This was all like a dream come true for him.
Footsteps came back down the stairs, and KyuJong reappeared, looking exhausted from the strain of teleporting someone else. "He'll be fine, RyeoWook and HaRa are both with him," he informed the people still in the room before crossing it towards them. JungMin could see the slight surprise in his eyes at YoungSaeng being closer to JungMin than he had been before.
Looking up, YoungSaeng didn't miss the look of surprise in KyuJong's eyes. Getting to his feet, he met KyuJong half way and wrapped his arms around him. He had missed him and was still nervous when he left his side, but the reaction was nowhere near as intense as it had been the day before.
KyuJong immediately wrapped his arms around YoungSaeng lightly in return, blinking down at him. "You okay Saeng?" he asked softly, running gentle fingers through his boyfriend's hair.
Curling into the hold, YoungSaeng nodded his head. "JungMin ah kept me company and we talked over a few things," he explained. He still didn't plan on letting go of KyuJong anytime soon, though.
Nodding slowly, KyuJong placed a soft kiss on top of YoungSaeng's head. "Did you want to get some fresh air once HyunJoong gets back?" he murmured.
Resting his cheek against KyuJong's shoulder, YoungSaeng nodded his head. "I'd like that," he replied.
Smiling softly, KyuJong led YoungSaeng back to the couch, looking at JungMin. "HyunJoong will be back down soon, he's just making sure everything's okay with DongHae."
The redhead nodded, scooting himself over more so they could both sit down again.
About five minutes later, HyunJoong returned, running a hand through his hair before walking over toward JungMin and taking a seat on the other side of the redhead. He draped his arms over the back of the couch and dropped his head back as well. "I swear, that guy is trying to give me a heart attack," he whined.
JungMin snorted. "He seems to live for that." He tipped himself over sideways to drape happily across HyunJoong's lap. "He'll be okay though?"
"He'll be fine," HyunJoong assured, lifting a hand to run his fingers through JungMin's shaggy hair. "So what's on everyone's agendas for the day?"
"We're going to head out and walk around for a bit," KyuJong replied, running his hand along YoungSaeng's arm lightly. "You both?"
"No idea," JungMin blinked, looking up at HyunJoong.
"There's supposed to be a meeting later tonight, but I'm still pissed at them, so I'll just make sure I make an appearance at some point to shut them up," HyunJoong replied. "But until then, I'm all yours, Min."
JungMin grinned widely at that. "Good," he reached up, fingers curling into HyunJoong's collar. "Are we going to follow them, or hide somewhere?" he grinned, eyes dancing.
HyunJoong snickered, rolling his eyes affectionately. "Snoop," he teased. "But as I said, I'm all yours for the day, so if you wanna snoop, then we'll snoop." Leaning down, HyunJoong kissed him before whispering against his lips, "but hiding somewhere does seem like a good idea to me."
"Then we'll hide somewhere they'll never find us," JungMin smiled, kissing him back enthusiastically.
"I think that's our cue to go," KyuJong chuckled, turning from them to YoungSaeng.
Nodding his head, YoungSaeng smiled thankfully at JungMin before getting to his feet, tugging KyuJong up as well.
"See you both around," JungMin waved, meeting YoungSaeng's eyes and grinning before returning to kissing his boyfriend. KyuJong smiled as he headed out of the room with YoungSaeng, skirting around a small group of new kids still practicing.
As they walked through the hall, YoungSaeng tried to fight the urge to move closer to KyuJong. JungMin had been right, and he was going to try to do better.
Heading up towards the trap door, KyuJong kept a careful eye on YoungSaeng beside him whenever they passed by people. Finally they reached the surface, KyuJong pushing the trap door open and climbing out first, turning around to help YoungSaeng out. "It's a nice day."
Accepting the help, YoungSaeng climbed out and closed the door, smiling as he looked around. "It is," he said quietly, taking in the weather.
KyuJong closed and secured the trap door, looking up at the blue sky with a soft smile. He watched the white clouds drift by for a moment before turning to YoungSaeng, offering a hand. "Let's walk around?"
Looking away from the sky, YoungSaeng nodded his head and took hold of KyuJong's hand. "Sure," he replied with a small smile, tightening his hold.
Lips curling into a gentle smile, KyuJong's fingers wrapped around YoungSaeng's as they started to walk across the field at a leisurely pace. Out here, there was nothing to worry about. It was just them, just like nothing had changed.
YoungSaeng walked beside KyuJong just enjoying the weather and the company he was with. It was rare for him to feel completely at ease, but there was something about the area and KyuJong that managed to accomplish that. He had always felt most calm in this area, something he always treasured.
Authors:
renichifreak and
yeonah
Chapter: 15/?
Fandom: SS501, cameos by KARA, U-KISS, Super Junior and BEAST
Pairings: KyuSaeng, HyunMin, SooBum (may be other pairings in the future)
Rating: PG-16
Warning: Angst, AU, Fluff
Summary: Not everything is as it seems, and for those who are as far from normal as you can get, life is a bleak existence. The only ones who can truly understand what these individuals go through are those...just like them.
A/N: YoungSaeng and HyunJoong are played by
renichifreak and KyuJong and JungMin are played by me.
"Watch out!"
JungMin burst out laughing as one of the new kids blasted right past JongWoon, sending the older man sprawling, before face-planting into the wall. RyeoWook gave a long-suffering sigh and padded over to see if the kid was okay, stepping over JongWoon's legs.
The new Gifted were getting bolder when it came to practicing, and though that was fantastic (especially now that they could go outside again), some of them were a little...over-enthusiastic. There wasn't enough room in the training room for them all sometimes, especially when you stuck a kid with super-speed and someone who could explode things in the same room. DongHae had happily taken to the ceiling and stayed there, for his own health he explained.
"Oh," KyuJong blinked as he and YoungSaeng paused in the doorway and saw there were quite a few new kids hanging around with the usuals. "Maybe we should...come back later." JongWoon was still groaning pitifully from where he'd been knocked over until RyeoWook kicked his foot on the way by, helping the kid with super-speed get to a chair.
Jumping as he heard the yell and JungMin's hysterical laughter, YoungSaeng peeked into the room to see a lot more people than the few that were usually in there. It looked like some of the patients who had healed were testing out their powers in order to gain control, HyunJoong watching them with an observant expression, throwing out advice when it was needed. JungMin was secure in his boyfriend's lap, pointing and laughing.
Taking a deep breath and deciding to do as he had planned to do the previous day, YoungSaeng shook his head. "N-no, I'm okay, Kyu yah. We can go in," he said, wincing at the small stutter. "I mean, I'll never get over it if I keep leaving, right?"
That said, he looked at KyuJong with a reassuring smile. He had in fact, practiced that smile for an hour before he was able to actually do it convincingly without wincing.
Blinking, KyuJong looked at YoungSaeng, uncertain. "Are you sure?" he asked, expression worried. "We can come back." He didn't want YoungSaeng to be uncomfortable, and while the room was big enough for it not to be too crowded, you never knew with Gifted still trying to get a grasp on their abilities. It was all too easy for someone to mess up, as made evident by JongWoon sprawled across the floor.
JungMin brightened when he saw YoungSaeng and KyuJong at the door, waving to them. "Hey guys!"
Nodding, YoungSaeng waved at JungMin before tugging KyuJong into the room with him. It was taking everything he had not to tighten the hold he had on KyuJong's hand, but he somehow managed to get to the couch where JungMin was, HyunJoong having moved to help a young girl when she had accidentally given herself cat ears and a tail when she was trying to fully shift into a kitten.
"Hey, how's it going?" JungMin grinned widely at the two of them. He was in a good mood, shuffling around a little on the couch although he couldn't really go anywhere. "We're debating grabbing all the new kids and bringing them down to get to know each other, I don't even remember half of their names."
"Don't you mean that you're considering doing it, JungMin hyung?" KiBum chuckled as he sat in SooHyun's lap as always, sticking out a foot to trip his brother as he ran past, the elder brother falling with a yelp.
Taking a seat beside JungMin, YoungSaeng nodded, thankful that he didn't show the hesitation he felt. "Sounds like a good idea."
"I'm sorry if I can't go find them all and ask them to repeat their names over and over," JungMin pouted, then snorted as HyungJoon went down.
"Why are you all like this to me," HyungJoon whined, rolling himself over to pout at them.
"Because it's fun," JungMin smirked. "I adore your brother, your brother thinks it's fun too." He laughed as HyungJoon crawled away from them all.
"How many are we now, anyways?" KyuJong blinked, one arm around YoungSaeng lightly once the older boy had sat down.
"I...have no clue." JungMin blinked before calling. "Hyun, how many people are we here again?"
Blinking at the question, and patting the girl on the head affectionately when she managed to call back the ears and tail, HyunJoong tilted his head in thought. "About seventeen or eighteen now, I think," he finally responded.
"Quite a bit more than before," KyuJong mused. It was less than the numbers that had come out of the mental hospital, so these must be the ones who decided to stay with this cell. Seven or eight new additions was quite a lot for a small cell like theirs.
"We're going to need more rooms," HyungJoon mused, smiling from his chosen corner away from his brother. "But we can't dig out much more room to the sides without either hitting tree roots from the forest, or people's basements."
"So we keep going down then, if we need to," RyeoWook said softly, sitting with a small group of people whose gifts had backfired enough to need some healing.
"I was actually counting the people who haven't decided if they want to leave or not, as well as the few from the other floor who haven't fully recovered yet," HyunJoong replied. "So far, I've only gotten requests from maybe four or five people to stay here."
"That's still a good amount," JungMin grinned, shuffling a little. He looked at YoungSaeng beside him. "What are you guys planning on doing later? Going outside again?"
"Possibly," YoungSaeng explained. "I think Umma said something about eating there, but I might be wrong." Once he'd spoken, he looked over at KyuJong for confirmation.
"Yeah, she did," KyuJong nodded, looking back at YoungSaeng before glancing to the others. "She said if anyone wants to tag along, let her know before it gets too close to dinner so she can make more food."
JungMin perked up at that, looking to HyunJoong.
HyunJoong snickered at the look on JungMin's face. Unable to say no to the redhead normally, the puppy dog eyes just made it all worse.
"Who am I to say no to that?" he chuckled, returning to JungMin's side and kissing his neck, shifting to lay his head down in JungMin's lap.
"You can't say no," JungMin grinned, looking down at HyunJoong and playing with a strand of the older man's long hair. Looking at them, KyuJong could see they were more relaxed than they had been lately. He'd expected for HyunJoong at least to be still angry about yesterday's meeting, but the older man seemed entirely distracted by JungMin.
"Are you going to practice today, KyuJong ah?" DongHae asked, bouncing over on the ceiling. "You haven't practiced in a while."
"I might," KyuJong shrugged. "There's not much to practice with down here, and I don't feel like knocking myself out by teleporting," he chuckled. That and he didn't want to leave YoungSaeng's side.
HyunJoong nearly purred when JungMin began playing with his hair. He had never been more grateful for another person than he was for JungMin. There was just something about the redhead that instantly calmed him in every sense of the word. "Why would I say no? You smiling like that saves on lighting this place," he teased, reaching up to poke JungMin's cheek.
"Hae Hyung, I'm sure you can come down from there now," HyunSeung chuckled from his spot beside JunHyung, who was just testing out his powers here and there.
"But it's nice and roomy up here," DongHae grinned at him. "You know if I had my control a little better, I could bring half of you up here and the new kids can run around and smash into things all they want on the ceiling." The kid who'd bowled JongWoon over flushed in embarrassment.
JungMin snorted at that, swatting at HyunJoong's finger with a grin. "Speaking of lighting up rooms, do you think I'd be able to practice eventually too?" he asked, looking at his boyfriend. His electricity was slowly returning to its former levels. No one knew if it was from the practice before being taken, or having his power constantly activated and drained for nearly two years, but JungMin had less of a hard time keeping himself from zapping things. Though HyunJoong still helped him out if he was too tired to try.
Looking at JungMin, HyunJoong smiled and nodded. "I want to make sure that your stamina gets a little better before trying, but we can see what happens in a few days. Is that okay?" HyunJoong asked.
"Okay," JungMin nodded, lips curled upwards as he kept running his fingers through HyunJoong's hair.
Things were quiet again for another few minutes before DongHae decided to try out his idea of doubling the room's capacity, starting by bringing JongWoon, the super-speed kid, the shapeshifting girl, HyunSeung and JunHyung to the ceiling. JungMin snorted and started laughing again as JongWoon flailed and freaked out, slowly floating upwards. "DongHae, put me down!"
HyunSeung let out a surprised squeal as he was tugged into the air, grabbing hold of JunHyung, who happened to be the closest to him. Not that it did a bit of good, of course, since the younger boy was floating as well.
Snickering along with JungMin, HyunJoong shot DongHae a look. "Maybe a bit of warning would be a good idea, Hae Hyung," he pointed out, shaking his head without disrupting JungMin's actions.
YoungSaeng watched the group freak out, JongWoon trying to swim his way back down. He couldn't stop the laugh from bubbling up, even though it came out quiet.
Blinking, KyuJong smiled a little wider at YoungSaeng's laugh, lips quivering slightly. Even so quiet, it was a relief to hear again.
"But that takes all the fun out of it!" DongHae chirped. He brought the new kids and RyeoWook up to the ceiling gently; the new kids because they were new and not used to him floating people around, and RyeoWook because the tiny boy was scary when he was mad, and you couldn't injure the healer. HyunSeung was brought up a little less properly, because DongHae's attention was focused on the others.
JongWoon's ascend to the ceiling was basically falling in reverse.
HyunJoong had to laugh in amusement at the look on the others' faces. He also hadn't missed the quiet laugh. "One of these days, JongWoon is going to get revenge for all the stuff you do to him, Hae."
"Nah, he loves me," DongHae grinned, and rolled out of the way of JongWoon's swipe.
"HyunSeung?" JunHyung's lips quivered in amusement, looking at the older man attached to his arm. "We can't go much higher up than this."
"Yeah, well that doesn't mean that I plan to let go any time soon," HyunSeung stated. "I'm not a fan of heights when I'm actually in something. How do you think I feel floating?" He paused to glare at DongHae. "If you drop me like you enjoy doing to Woonie Hyung, I swear to God that I will get revenge in the worst possible way," he threatened.
If it weren't for the fact that he had ended up practically wrapping himself around the other boy, it might have been somewhat intimidating, but as it was, it was just adorable.
"I don't think you'd complain with JunHyung ah to make it better," DongHae blew kissy-fish faces at them, still avoiding being attacked by JongWoon. "Be nice hyung, or I'll drop you!"
"You do that anyways!"
JungMin just kept laughing, needing to remember to breathe before he could start another fit.
"You know, Hae Hyung," HyunJoong began with a chuckle of amusement. "You have to come down from there sometime, and if you keep messing with HyunSeung ah, you're gonna regret it."
"Seungie wouldn't hurt me, right Seungie?" DongHae grinned. "I haven't dropped him, I'm being good."
"Don't push your luck, hyung," KyuJong chuckled, watching with much amusement. DongHae pouted before concentrating, slowly lowering HyunSeung (and by extension JunHyung) off the ceiling.
YoungSaeng watched with some amusement as HyunSeung refused to let go of JunHyung until both feet were firmly on the ground. The only problem with that was that he was so disoriented that he fell over with a yelp, dragging the other boy down with him.
Continuing to watch, he noticed that DongHae was breathing much heavier than normal and seemed to be shifting down. "DongHae hyung?" he asked, worry in his voice.
DongHae didn't reply, seeming to be focusing on lowering JongWoon and RyeoWook from the ceiling as well.
JongWoon continued to flail until he landed on the floor. "Your control's much better when you're not pitching me around like a basketball," he commented, looking up at the boy still on the ceiling.
That was before DongHae suddenly dropped, landing right on top of JongWoon who fell onto his back with an indignant squawk. "YAH! What are you trying to...Hae?!"
The note of panic in the older man's voice snapped the attention of those still in the room. RyeoWook ran over on unsteady feet as JongWoon sat up quickly, DongHae sprawled out over his lap and an ashen gray.
Moving from JungMin's lap, HyunJoong jumped to his feet and was at DongHae's side in a second. He locked the elder's powers to save him the extra stress of controlling them while overworked.
"What'll I ever do with you, Hyung?" he teased lightly, worry clear in his eyes.
"B-been a while since I've done that," DongHae mumbled, KyuJong's eyes widening. The young man that had just been laughing his head off on the ceiling a minute ago sounded far too weak. He leaned forward a little, reluctant to leave YoungSaeng's side but worried about the older man.
"You know the backlash sneaks up on you like this, you should have been more careful hyung," RyeoWook scolded, but there was no heat to his worried voice as he placed one hand lightly on DongHae's forehead. "He needs rest, we need to bring him to the infirmary as quickly as we can...you know what happened last time, hyung."
"What happened?" KyuJong asked quietly.
"Hae hyung has probably one of the worst backlashes we've seen, he can go from bad to worse in seconds." RyeoWook brushed DongHae's hair away from his forehead, working to sooth some of the backlash with his healing.
Biting his lip in indecision, HyunJoong finally sighed and looked at KyuJong. "Kyu, would it be possible for you to teleport him to the infirmary? SooHyun's still recovering from the earlier trip to Japan."
He knew he was asking a lot for KyuJong to leave YoungSaeng alone, but DongHae's safety took priority in this case.
Paling slightly at the idea that KyuJong would be leaving, YoungSaeng took a breath and smiled as best he could. "It's fine, Kyu yah. Min's here and DongHae hyung needs help."
KyuJong bit his lower lip, looking at YoungSaeng at that. He didn't want to leave YoungSaeng here, even if there were others to keep him company, JungMin included. The incident yesterday was still fresh on his mind, knowing that YoungSaeng couldn't handle something like that, even for the time it took to teleport DongHae up there and head back down if he wasn't needed.
But he knew HyunJoong wouldn't be asking if there was a better alternative, which meant whatever backlash effects DongHae was prone to, it was very hazardous to his health. Drawing in a breath, he nodded and squeezed YoungSaeng's hand gently. "I'll be right back," he whispered, eyes slightly pained as he got up and hurried to DongHae's side.
"I'm not sure if I'll be able to take more than him with me," he said, looking at RyeoWook.
"That's fine," the younger boy was already standing. "Time it to get up there in five minutes if you can, and I'll be set up." The healer hurried out of the room.
KyuJong motioned the others to move back, JongWoon carefully moving DongHae's upper body to lean on the time traveler. Looking at YoungSaeng again, KyuJong breathed in and shut his eyes tightly before disappearing, taking DongHae with him.
The second KyuJong disappeared, YoungSaeng felt his breath catch. Not wanting anyone to see, he focused in his lap where he was discreetly wringing his hands. He needed to get over this and he needed to do it quickly.
HyunJoong smiled and leaned over to kiss JungMin. "I'll be right back, okay?" With another kiss, he turned around and headed out.
Several of the others followed him out, worried about DongHae. Several of the newer kids had never seen a bad reaction happen to one of those who'd been here the longest, and needed to be comforted.
Watching them with pursed lips, JungMin looked at YoungSaeng beside him. He blinked at the expression on YoungSaeng's face. "Hey, you okay?" he murmured, watching the older man wring his hands.
Blinking, YoungSaeng realized what he was doing and stopped, looking up at JungMin and nodding his head. "I'm fine, Min," he assured, but even to himself, it sounded forced.
"...Uh huh." JungMin didn't sound convinced at all. "Saengie, we're best friends, you can tell me if something's up." He wasn't stupid, he knew YoungSaeng wasn't used to being away from KyuJong at all. He wanted to move closer to comfort his friend, hug him or something, but there were still negative reactions whenever anyone other than KyuJong got close.
"..." YoungSaeng could hear the worry in JungMin's voice and sighed yet again. Someone else worried about him...
Hesitating, YoungSaeng finally leaned back and looked over at JungMin. "...he cried..." he finally murmured, voice sad.
JungMin blinked at the older man. "Who...KyuJong?" He kept his voice low for once, getting that this was a conversation private for them and not wanting anyone else in the room to hear. "Why?"
Pulling his legs up to his chest, he rested his chin against his knees. "Because of me," he told him. "Because I'm like this. He wasn't even gone for two hours, Min, and I could barely deal with it. It's not fair to him."
He refused to cry, though, despite the tears burning the back of his eyes.
Watching YoungSaeng, JungMin frowned. This must have been from yesterday. "Kyu's pretty understanding, he wouldn't hold it against you, Saeng. And you want to get better, right? You're trying to get better?"
"Wanting and trying are completely different," YoungSaeng explained. "I want to, but I feel like I'm going to have a heart attack when people come too close to me. And I don't know if I can stand to see the disappointment in KyuJong's eyes anymore."
JungMin sighed. "I don't think he's disappointed, Saeng. He's worried." They all were. "If you want to get better, you're going to have to try. There's no way to go around it. Kyu might be helping the most he can, but no one can help you if you won't try."
"I am trying, though," YoungSaeng urged. "No one understands that all I want to do is curl up in bed and never leave. It takes so much effort to even get up some days. I'm trying so hard but no one seems to see that..." Closing his eyes, YoungSaeng finally muttered, "Maybe they should have just left me there..."
JungMin's eyes widened slightly at that, barely catching the muttered words. He scowled lightly, and before YoungSaeng could say anything else, the redhead reached across the space between them and flicked the older man off the forehead.
"See, that's the kind of attitude that isn't going to get you anywhere. You don't think the rest of us that were pulled out of there have it hard? Some of us didn't even make it out, remember? You want to stay in bed, and that's literally all I can do some days." His expression twisted in pain, but he kept on going. "But I'm out here every day, walking and walking until I can barely move, why? Because I want to be me again."
He pointed at YoungSaeng. "That's why KyuJong was crying. You're not you, you're letting what happened and the depression tell you what to be instead of fighting back. Are you happy like this, YoungSaeng?"
Eyes wide as JungMin spoke, YoungSaeng felt himself choke up, finally unable to hold the tears back any longer. Reaching up to wipe his eyes, he shook his head and felt himself fall to the side, head falling on JungMin's shoulder. "I wanna be me again, Min..." he mumbled.
JungMin looked at YoungSaeng resting against him, the first real solid contact between them in over two years. He reached up, putting one arm loosely around the older man's shoulders. "Then fight back," he whispered.
Burying his face into JungMin's shoulder, YoungSaeng just let the tears fall, not crying, per se, but purging himself somewhat. He knew that he was shaking at the contact, but he tried to remember that it was JungMin, which made him relax a bit, albeit slowly. "You'll get better, Min...I know it."
He had missed this feeling, being held like this by JungMin and his other friends.
"Of course I will, even if I have to fall on my ass five hundred times," JungMin replied. But his lips curled upwards a little more, appreciating the words. "You and I are going to practice every day, and you're not getting out of it," he informed his friend. "And a month from now I'll be running circles around everyone, and you'll be beating up on JongWoon like the rest of them do."
"I would never beat up on anyone," YoungSaeng said, slight chuckle in his voice. Turning his head to the side and closing his eyes, YoungSaeng smiled a bit. "How are things going with you and HyunJoong?" he asked, wanting to remain like this a bit longer.
JungMin blinked then bit his lower lip to hide the silly grin that was trying to appear. "We've been good," he said vaguely, thoughts quickly going elsewhere.
Looking up at JungMin, YoungSaeng straightened and faced his friend, interested look on his face. "You're never vague unless you're hiding something..."
"I have no idea what you're talking about." JungMin tried to look at YoungSaeng with a straight face, and utterly failed. "You probably don't want to hear about it anyways."
YoungSaeng looked at JungMin before his eyes widened in shock. "Oh my God, you slept together, didn't you?" he asked, voice low but gaze knowing.
"..." The redhead's lips quivered. "Maybe?" But the grin that appeared after a moment nearly split his face in two. "Okay, we did."
Grinning back, YoungSaeng hesitated a second before leaning in to hug JungMin. "Was it everything you hoped for?" he asked. He remembered conversations with the redhead about being close to people and hoped that he was happy now that he could.
"And then some," JungMin chuckled, returning the hug happily. "I wasn't able to do much, but still. I'm through with letting rubber legs and coughing fits stop me from doing what I want to do." He beamed at the older man.
"That apparently being HyunJoong," YoungSaeng teased lightly. "I'm glad that you and he finally got to experience that, Min ah. I don't know if I've ever seen another couple as head over heels with each other as the two of you."
JungMin grinned more at that, before looking down a little shyly. "He also said that he loves me," he admitted after a moment, smile becoming gentler and gaze softening.
"And he's never once lied to you, has he?" YoungSaeng pointed out before sobering a bit. "Kyu's mentioned how miserable HyunJoong was without you, so I know that he wouldn't just throw that around. He really means it, JungMin ah," he said, smiling softly.
"I know," JungMin smiled in return, a slight pink in his cheeks. This was all like a dream come true for him.
Footsteps came back down the stairs, and KyuJong reappeared, looking exhausted from the strain of teleporting someone else. "He'll be fine, RyeoWook and HaRa are both with him," he informed the people still in the room before crossing it towards them. JungMin could see the slight surprise in his eyes at YoungSaeng being closer to JungMin than he had been before.
Looking up, YoungSaeng didn't miss the look of surprise in KyuJong's eyes. Getting to his feet, he met KyuJong half way and wrapped his arms around him. He had missed him and was still nervous when he left his side, but the reaction was nowhere near as intense as it had been the day before.
KyuJong immediately wrapped his arms around YoungSaeng lightly in return, blinking down at him. "You okay Saeng?" he asked softly, running gentle fingers through his boyfriend's hair.
Curling into the hold, YoungSaeng nodded his head. "JungMin ah kept me company and we talked over a few things," he explained. He still didn't plan on letting go of KyuJong anytime soon, though.
Nodding slowly, KyuJong placed a soft kiss on top of YoungSaeng's head. "Did you want to get some fresh air once HyunJoong gets back?" he murmured.
Resting his cheek against KyuJong's shoulder, YoungSaeng nodded his head. "I'd like that," he replied.
Smiling softly, KyuJong led YoungSaeng back to the couch, looking at JungMin. "HyunJoong will be back down soon, he's just making sure everything's okay with DongHae."
The redhead nodded, scooting himself over more so they could both sit down again.
About five minutes later, HyunJoong returned, running a hand through his hair before walking over toward JungMin and taking a seat on the other side of the redhead. He draped his arms over the back of the couch and dropped his head back as well. "I swear, that guy is trying to give me a heart attack," he whined.
JungMin snorted. "He seems to live for that." He tipped himself over sideways to drape happily across HyunJoong's lap. "He'll be okay though?"
"He'll be fine," HyunJoong assured, lifting a hand to run his fingers through JungMin's shaggy hair. "So what's on everyone's agendas for the day?"
"We're going to head out and walk around for a bit," KyuJong replied, running his hand along YoungSaeng's arm lightly. "You both?"
"No idea," JungMin blinked, looking up at HyunJoong.
"There's supposed to be a meeting later tonight, but I'm still pissed at them, so I'll just make sure I make an appearance at some point to shut them up," HyunJoong replied. "But until then, I'm all yours, Min."
JungMin grinned widely at that. "Good," he reached up, fingers curling into HyunJoong's collar. "Are we going to follow them, or hide somewhere?" he grinned, eyes dancing.
HyunJoong snickered, rolling his eyes affectionately. "Snoop," he teased. "But as I said, I'm all yours for the day, so if you wanna snoop, then we'll snoop." Leaning down, HyunJoong kissed him before whispering against his lips, "but hiding somewhere does seem like a good idea to me."
"Then we'll hide somewhere they'll never find us," JungMin smiled, kissing him back enthusiastically.
"I think that's our cue to go," KyuJong chuckled, turning from them to YoungSaeng.
Nodding his head, YoungSaeng smiled thankfully at JungMin before getting to his feet, tugging KyuJong up as well.
"See you both around," JungMin waved, meeting YoungSaeng's eyes and grinning before returning to kissing his boyfriend. KyuJong smiled as he headed out of the room with YoungSaeng, skirting around a small group of new kids still practicing.
As they walked through the hall, YoungSaeng tried to fight the urge to move closer to KyuJong. JungMin had been right, and he was going to try to do better.
Heading up towards the trap door, KyuJong kept a careful eye on YoungSaeng beside him whenever they passed by people. Finally they reached the surface, KyuJong pushing the trap door open and climbing out first, turning around to help YoungSaeng out. "It's a nice day."
Accepting the help, YoungSaeng climbed out and closed the door, smiling as he looked around. "It is," he said quietly, taking in the weather.
KyuJong closed and secured the trap door, looking up at the blue sky with a soft smile. He watched the white clouds drift by for a moment before turning to YoungSaeng, offering a hand. "Let's walk around?"
Looking away from the sky, YoungSaeng nodded his head and took hold of KyuJong's hand. "Sure," he replied with a small smile, tightening his hold.
Lips curling into a gentle smile, KyuJong's fingers wrapped around YoungSaeng's as they started to walk across the field at a leisurely pace. Out here, there was nothing to worry about. It was just them, just like nothing had changed.
YoungSaeng walked beside KyuJong just enjoying the weather and the company he was with. It was rare for him to feel completely at ease, but there was something about the area and KyuJong that managed to accomplish that. He had always felt most calm in this area, something he always treasured.