CHINGUX 2014: light a match, stand back, watch 'em explode (1/3) for kryaoi

[chinguline]

Title: light a match, stand back, watch 'em explode
Author: onyu
Recipient: kryaoi
Pairing/Focus: Baekhyun/Kyungsoo, past! Baekhyun/Chanyeol, Chanyeol/Chen
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Age gap, mentions of violence
Length: 26000 words
Summary: Byun "Starburst" Baekhyun's words of wisdom: 1) fear The Cold, 2) even the most powerful supers also need help, and 3) there's no way to fight falling in love. (Superheroes AU)



"Breaking News: Super Squad member 'Starburst' almost killed in a heated battle against Pegasus!

"Super Squad member 'Starburst' comes close to taking down and capturing supervillain Pegasus in a fight to the death in Hongdae, Seoul, South Korea. Nearly ten civilians are severely injured, and several establishments have been wrecked in the heat of the battle. Fan favorite 'Starburst' has been found amidst the rubble, unconscious, and has been taken to the Super Squad's headquarters for observation. Our prayers go to Starburst and the rest of Super Squad. Our sincerest thanks, as well, for keeping Seoul safe and sound from the evils of the supervillains.

"We will miss you, Starburst. We wish for your speedy recovery.

"And that's it for the KBS Breaking News. Thank you for watching."

☄

"Maybe they really should've retained your 'Miracle Boy' hero name."

Baekhyun laughs, sounds coming out in choked wheezes. His body feels oddly heavy, limbs sore, the tips of his fingers numb, but otherwise everything is fine. It's just that being comatose for at least a year and a half takes its toll on your vocal chords, makes your voice box produce choked sounds instead of intelligible words. Baekhyun understands all of these - having to adjust, take it easy and ease his body back into normal superhero activities - but still can't get past his body only aging a few months instead of the same period of time that he'd spent half-dead on his hospital bed.

The wonders of superbodies, Joonmyun had told him then, five minutes after he woke up. And our new technology that was developed by Fissure. Hey, Baekhyun, do you want to hear about- Then Joonmyun went on about how one of SM's top doctors took care of his almost dead body all those months, the amount of research they'd done on superbodies, et cetera et cetera. He simply stared at the empty space just beyond Joonmyun's shoulder, nodding like he understood half of the dorky science things Joonmyun rattled on about. It's fairly easy to explain - SM flushed the human out of the superbody and pumped Baekhyun with enough super things to bring him back to life. Pegasus almost killed him back there, two years ago, raising him to a great height and then dropping him. Psycho took control of Baekhyun's body, made the fall faster, harder. And that was how Starburst had turned into Stardust, far more tragic than the misspelling 'Starbutts'.

With his senses only half awake, though, he feels as if he's more human than hero. Maybe he'll feel the effects of the sabbatical soon.

"I still like Starburst better," Baekhyun says after a while. He groans when he tries to get up, and Joonmyun gestures at Sunyoung to get a wheelchair for Baekhyun. "Seriously, Miracle Boy sounds like a bad parody of Miracle Whip."

"You like mayo, though," Joonmyun counters. He pauses for a while, then asks, "Do you want me to call your friends?"

Baekhyun looks up, nods, and tries to smile. His cheeks feel too heavy. "Yeah, sure. That would be great. Thanks, hyung."

☄

SM hasn't changed much. There's still the same high-rise condominium up front, and the same steel-guarded headquarters underground. From the coffee shop across the building, Baekhyun watches people coming in through the front door and get sucked into a vortex. He twirls a coffee stirrer in his hand as he chews on nothing in particular. He'd managed to convince Joonmyun to not babysit him and let him spend some time alone. Two hours, Joonmyun had said then, tapping his watch, then reminded him that there were still tests to be done to make sure that he was ready to get back into the superhero saving spree. Fifteen minutes after and he's still alone in a table for three, without any trace of his super friends.

A crackle in the background, and Baekhyun laughs. Speak of the devil.

"Byun 'Starbutts' Baekhyun, in the flesh!" comes Chanyeol's greeting, followed by a warm hug. His skin is still sort of aflame, but Chanyeol's touch rarely ever stung or burned. At best, it was a comfortable warmth; at worst, it was impossibly cold.

"Five years and your spelling still sucks. Need to upgrade your MS Word or something?" Baekhyun retorts, but still swivels in his position for a better fit. Chanyeol's face falls forward, into the crook of his neck. "Have they named you Microwave yet?"

"Seven years," Chanyeol clarifies. "I can set you on fire right now, make you wish you didn't see the light of the day again after being out for two years."

Chanyeol's breath is warm on Baekhyun's skin. Then again, everything about Chanyeol is warm. "I'll make sure you don't see another sunrise," he replies. To Jongdae, he says, "Hey Crackle. Glad you could spare some time for li'l old me."

Jongdae plops on his seat and reaches over, fluffing Baekhyun's hair. "The Rice Krispies have been reunited!" Jongdae looks at Baekhyun's cup of coffee, worrying his bottom lip as if he's reconsidering something, then says, "Okay, cake's on Chanyeol!"

Baekhyun meets Jongdae's hand in a high-five. Chanyeol snorts and mumbles, "I hate you two," then disappears to buy food.

Two years sounds longer than it should be when it's Jongdae who's taking Baekhyun through every important event that happened while he was gone - Joonmyun was promoted to being the chief doctor of the supers, and the cute trainee who once walked in dancing naked in the training rooms finally graduated and had been put in a group with Joonmyun and Sehun. Chanyeol still had that photographer job of his in the daily paper, still part-time, while Jongdae no longer waited tables because almost everybody needs Kaminari to save their day. Turns out Seoul Weather Station employed him and made them their chief weather forecaster. In the evening, he and Chanyeol still went out to save lives and cats and dogs, and still ordered four servings of tteokbokki - "Just in case you decided to drop by," Jongdae says now, grinning. Chanyeol chokes on his coffee and flashes a v-sign in Baekhyun's direction.

"Aww, you bunch of saps," Baekhyun croons, and Jongdae laughs through his nose. Chanyeol rubs slow circles on Jongdae's back, rests his hand on the slope just inches shy of Jongdae's ass. Baekhyun scrunches his nose. "You really missed me that much?"

"Sort of," Chanyeol replies. "Peggy definitely did. Kept coming back to the SM building for weeks. I think he was heartbroken when he found out he almost killed you."

"Ah, the things we do for love…"

Jongdae nods solemnly. "I wonder what he'll do when he finds out," he begins, pausing to take a sip of his coffee. "When he finds out that you're-"

Baekhyun leans back and cranes his neck. There's a gust of wind a couple of blocks away. "Well, news travels fast."

Chanyeol and Jongdae exchange glances, and Baekhyun cracks his neck. He goes back to two years ago and focuses all of his energy on his hands. Heat rushes to the tips of his fingers, and the pads have now turned translucent.

"Don't slow us down!" Chanyeol says over his shoulder. Baekhyun shoots him a wink. Chanyeol grins.

☄

The good news is that Baekhyun still hasn't lost his touch. He can still create mirror images of himself and control each and every single one of them, all while summoning crystals from the palm of his hand. The bad news is that the slightest distraction sets his abilities skyrocketing. The result: his duplicates running all over the place, taking longer than a minute to dissipate. Also, the tips of his fingers chipping off from when he'd wrapped crystals around his right hand. The duplicates didn't knock anything down, though, and his fingers had regenerated in five minutes. At his prime, his best record was a second; the worst, two minutes.

"Considerably fast, but still - you need focus practice again," Joonmyun says as he examines Baekhyun's fingers. "And you need to control the current at the tips of your fingers. You nearly blinded people out there."

"There should be a directive for humans to wear shades all the time," Baekhyun replies. He seethes when Joonmyun presses two fingers on his pulse, a cold sensation shooting up his arm. "Fuck- Hyung, warning please?"

Joonmyun gives him a weak smile. "Sorry. Force of habit."

Chanyeol and Jongdae join him again at the back of the ambulance, wounds bandaged and scar-stained cheeks fully recovered. "Your darling Pegsus says he'll come back for you," Chanyeol says, then rests a hand on Baekhyun's shoulder. Baekhyun winces at the tug of war between hot and cold and Chanyeol does him a favor, lets his hand fall to his side. "I said you're under strict parental patrol. Umma and appa don't want you dating strange men."

Baekhyun laughs a little. The cold wave that had shot up his arm is more tolerable now. "Who's who, then?"

Chanyeol wiggles his eyebrows at Jongdae, and Jongdae points an accusing finger at Chanyeol, shooting out some electricity in the process. Joonmyun groans. "I'm trying to heal someone here!"

The tirade lasts a few more minutes, until an alarm sounds off, the display of Jongdae's wrist watch lighting up. "Hey Baek, we'll have to go. Duty calls," he says, frowning. He checks his watch again. "Sorry we had to cut this short."

Baekhyun waves him off, but says, "Catch up soon?"

Chanyeol bends his knees, gives him a quick hug before assuming his place beside Jongdae. "We'll let you know."

Flame wings burst from Chanyeol's back and he extends his hand in Jongdae's direction, smiling. The look is familiar, and suddenly Baekhyun sees glimpses of a mission back in Japan. Chanyeol didn't have those flame wings then, but he could use the energy from his flame to run as fast as he could. So he reached for Baekhyun's hand, set himself aflame, and whispered, don't be afraid. Baekhyun wasn't, never was and never will be, and he simply nodded at Chanyeol as if in a go signal. To date, it was still the most dramatic end to a mission, the way they'd run from the outskirts of Tokyo all the way to Osaka. The sun was setting behind them, and the spring breeze tousled Chanyeol's hopeless hair. They were SM's most successful superhero duo. Chanyeol had kissed Baekhyun after they took down the time traveler hiding in Japan, and he kissed them again just before they reached the Japan headquarters.

"I'll be waiting," Baekhyun calls out, but he's talking to air now and flame feathers falling to the ground.

Joonmyun finally eases the pressure on his pulse and squeezes his arm. "Wanna grab something to eat? It's almost dinnertime."

Baekhyun takes a deep breath and smiles. "As long as you're buying," he says, then pushes himself off his seat. Every part of him that Chanyeol had touched still stings.

☄

It's a take-out kind of night, the petri dishes and other medical tools that had once littered Joonmyun's desk now shuffled to the side in favor of good food. Three rolls of kimbap, some mandu, a serving of japchae and jjigae, and a platter heaping with kimchi - "For two?" Baekhyun remembers the lady at the cashier asking, and Joonmyun politely stepped in, saying, "Three."

"Expecting someone?" Baekhyun asks through a mouthful of kimbap and kimchi. Joonmyun looks up from checking his phone and flashes a thumbs-up. "Girlfriend?" Joonmyun shakes his head. "Boyfriend, then?"

Joonmyun cackles. "Don't be silly. You know the rules."

"That's only for the supers wearing capes, hyung." Baekhyun nudges Joonmyun in his side. "C'mon, don't tell me you haven't gone out in the two years that I was half-dead. You're the most handsome person here next to me-"

"Don't let Chanyeol hear you say that."

"-and you're not going out on dates? Hyung, you can't be in a relationship with your doctor things forever."

Joonmyun exhales loudly. "What if I love the skeletons so much?"

"They won't love you back." Baekhyun motions for Joonmyun to part his lips, and Joonmyun follows in accord. "Sunyoung seems to fancy you."

"Okay, that's enough kimchi for you," Joonmyun declares, then snatches the tiny plate away. "And yes, I am expecting a friend so leave some for him."

"Ah, so it is a boyfriend," Baekhyun teases. He winks, then grins at Joonmyun. "Don't worry, hyung. I won't tell anyone."

Baekhyun is well aware of rule #32 - caped crusaders must never get into a relationship with anyone, big or small, man or woman, human or hero. This is to spare the academy from having to deal with supervillains who exploit the supers' loved ones and use them to lure the supers into a sticky situation. The unspoken rule #32.1, though, is to never let anyone know that you're a relationship with anyone if you are a man with the cape. Act like you're single, flirt as much as you want. Never get jealous, and never date a fellow super. Emotions are always ten times more difficult to deal with when you're charged with super abilities.

He likes to think he'd become a veteran at observing 32.1 when he was still actively fighting evil alongside Chanyeol. Who would've though that the dynamic duo "Starburst and Heatmore" were ever more than bros? Even Jongdae was surprised (mindfucked) when he walked in on them kissing in their flat. "Realistically speaking, though, who wouldn't want to get inside my pants," Baekhyun had said then, and Chanyeol simply wrapped his arms around Baekhyun's waist. Jongdae rolled his eyes and walked past them, setting the alcohol down on the table, and demanded pepperoni pizza. Chanyeol relented and ordered two. Somehow, the lack of secrets between Baekhyun and Chanyeol and Jongdae made their friendship even stronger. Thus, the Rice Krispies trio was born - Chanyeol as Snap, Jongdae as Crackle, and Baekhyun as Pop.

"He's not my boyfriend," Joonmyun reiterates. "And don't you even think of teasing me in front of him. He will kill you."

Baekhyun snorts. "You think that scares me, hyung?"

Joonmyun seethes. "Fuck you."

There's a light tremor for a while, coupled with a thick blanket of darkness. Baekhyun's breath hitches, but he senses no fear in Joonmyun. "I thought you weren't a fan of theatrics?" Joonmyun calls out to no one in particular, and then the light is back, the shaking is gone, and the door is slightly ajar.

"Colds," comes a low voice. "I haven't taken my meds yet. Sorry for being late."

The newcomer isn't anyone Baekhyun would mistake for a super. His bangs fall over his eyes, and his steps are small, almost as if they're measured and calculated. His black overalls are a complete contrast to his white coat that only reaches his thighs. Definitely not a doctor, Baekhyun muses. Probably one of those people who train supers, what with the slightly burnt sleeves. There's a small smile tugging the corners of his lips up and Jesus, those lips-

"Starburst?" the newcomer says. He blinks at Baekhyun, then tosses his bangs to the side. To Joonmyun, he says, "Does the academy know?"

"Everybody does," Joonmyun says, laughing a little. "News travels fast. Were you locked up in your cave again??

The newcomer scratches the tip of his nose. "Sort of," he mumbles. He turns to face Baekhyun, the small upward tug of his lips blooming into a smile. "It's an honor to meet you, Starburst."

Baekhyun blinks a few times, tries to keep his eyes locked on the newcomer's eyes or maybe the outstretched hand, but the newcomer's lips take on an interesting shape when they part, revealing white teeth. "Just call me Baekhyun, please," he says, then, and takes the newcomer's hand, shaking it lightly. "The hero name is only for missions."

"Baekhyun-hyung, then?"

"Yeah, sure. Rub the age in."

"I'm sorry," the newcomer says, laughing a little. "Do Kyungsoo. I control the earth. I used to do real missions but I've already stopped accepting field work."

Hence the white coat and the cave thing Joonmyun mentioned. With a sickness side effect like that - wiping out light and making the ground shake with a sneeze - though, the academy's making a huge mistake by not letting his take the field. Or forcing him to get back on the field, at least; SM's pretty good at conning supers into doing things they don't want to do. Baekhyun shrugs. "You're not missing a lot. Just obsessive supervillains who don't know how to let go."

"I ran into Psycho earlier," Kyungsoo says, then takes his place beside Joonmyun. "He was looking for you."

Baekhyun snorts, then sinks his teeth in a piece of kimbap. Kyungsoo's lips are already red after three pieces of kimchi, it's ridiculous. "It's tough being amazing."

☄

Joonmyun enlists him in focus training the following day. "Three hours everyday, for three months," Joonmyun says - no, imposes. Baekhyun calls him out for power-tripping and Joonmyun simply pushes Baekhyun back in his seat with a small stream of water. Baekhyun groans, then, and says, "Abuse of superpowers! I'm suing!"

"You can't even file your reimbursements," Joonmyun reminds him. He keys in a code and the steel doors slide to the sides, revealing an expanse of darkness in front of them. "Kyungsoo, turn on the lights."

"I'm sick, hyung. Go away."

"You didn't file a leave," Joonmyun says. Baekhyun snaps his fingers, trying to spark light in the area, but to no avail - his ability is of no use here if he has to keep the light he can produce to a bare minimum. "And you're not running a fever. Come on, I have coffee for you."

The darkness lifts just a little, then, "Stop exploiting that knowledge."

The light flickers for a moment, and Baekhyun looks up at the ceiling and sets the bulb to maximum brightness. Soon, the ground beneath him is sinking, until Kyungsoo extends a hand and pulls him out of the quicksand. "Don't do that again," comes Kyungsoo's greeting-cum-warning. There's none of the small smile Baekhyun had seen the night before, only tightness in the corners of Kyungsoo's lips and bloodshot eyes. To Joonmyun, Kyungsoo says, "No sugar?"

"Just a tiny bit," Joonmyun says, grinning. Kyungsoo cocks an eyebrow at him, and Joonmyun takes it back, saying, "I mean there's an extra shot in there. Come on, why would I want to dig my own grave?"

"I don't know, hyung. You're weird."

Joonmyun turns to Baekhyun, frowning, then says, "Fair warning: he's not the nicest kid in the block. He bites."

Kyungsoo gives Joonmyun a wry smile and, the next thing Baekhyun knows, Joonmyun's sinking into the ground. "I bite really hard."

Ant bites, so it seems, because Kyungsoo is patient enough a focus trainer that Baekhyun is almost reminded of when he was still starting out in the academy. They go back to level 1 aura focusing, where Baekhyun summons a speck of light at the tip of his index finger, then transfers the light to each of his fingers. Kyungsoo doesn't even wince when Baekhyun accidentally shoots up light and has it bounce off the four walls of Kyungsoo's lab. Instead, Kyungsoo remains with his back against the wall, arms crossed over his shoulders.

"Try using twenty percent of your power and transfer a ball of light from one hand to another," Kyungsoo instructs.

Easy enough, Baekhyun thinks to himself, but then Kyungsoo is unfolding his crossed arms and has his palms facing the floor. Sharp pieces of rocks begin to float up in the air and surround Baekhyun, and Baekhyun feels his breath hitch and the ball of light collapse on his palm. Soon, he's shooting out crystal shards, taking down one rock after the other, until there's a big brown wall in front of him - towering, intimidating. "Jesus- Fuck- Don't do that!" he exclaims, falling to the floor on his butt. The crystals shatter into smaller pieces, falling to the now neatly-pressed ground. "I was trying to focus!"

"And distracting you is part of the focus training," Kyungsoo says. He's flexing his fingers. There are a couple of small cuts on his hands, but his eyes are focused and his lips are drawn to a thin line. "This is only the beginning, hyung. You can't let your guard down."

"That's why I summoned those crystals," Baekhyun says through gritted teeth.

"And what did I tell you to again? Play with the ball of light, right?"

Baekhyun blows at his bangs. He walks over, reaching for Kyungsoo's bruised hand, then runs a finger over each cut. "I can't believe I'm letting a kid order me around."

Kyungsoo's hand goes rigid, the pads of his fingers turning a bit cold. He clears his throat, then says, "Age isn't recognized in this facility, Starburst. There's only the trainer and the trainee." He unclenches his hand and runs this thumb where the biggest wound used to be. He smiles a little. "Thanks, hyung. But next time, just do as I say."

Baekhyun sticks a tongue out at him, and Kyungsoo shakes up the ground a bit. Maybe not an ant bite, then; a dog bite would be more like it.

Before the session ends, Baekhyun manages to play ball with Kyungsoo using a ten-inch light ball and not have it explode when Kyungsoo starts to summon rocks again. He loses it when the ground starts shaking, the intensity greater than before, and soon the ball of light explodes, donning the air with flecks. "Nice save," Kyungsoo mumbles, then offers a tiny smile. A small puff of light catches on the tip of his nose, paints Kyungsoo's cheeks a peculiar glow. Baekhyun just laughs.

☄

Kyungsoo stays seated for most part of the levels two and three training, bundled up as he summons one stone wall after another. This time, he tells Baekhyun to try to create a sculpture out of the stone wall. "Bricks are unacceptable. I'm not looking for too many details on the sculpture, though," Kyungsoo adds. He taps the wall twice and it takes on a darker color, one that Baekhyun only hopes doesn't make the wall more difficult to take down. "Nothing microscopic, either."

"I'll make a bust for you, how does that sound?" Baekhyun asks, grinning, and Kyungsoo only rolls his eyes as he takes a sip of his coffee. "You can't move, though. Even the Renaissance sculptors had a hard time working on moving objects."

Kyungsoo sneezes, and the ground shakes for a while. "Sorry," he mumbles. "And I'm as still as a rock."

"Three hours, Do Kyungsoo," Baekhyun says, pointing at Kyungsoo, squinting at him. "You'll be proud of me at the end of the session."

The reality is that Baekhyun is shit at art and that Kyungsoo is a complete asshole. Not even the full force of Baekhyun's light blast can take down the wall. He hears Kyungsoo's chuckles from a few feet away, albeit croaked, and huffs. This can't be impossible - there's still level 5, after all - but it's pretty damn close. Taking a deep breath, he holds up his index finger, focusing all of his energy on it. Soon, crystal wraps around the finger and the rest of his hand turns completely transparent. He can see his knees shaking through his clear arm.

"Here goes," he mutters. He takes a step forward, raises his crystallized hand, and motions to chop the wall in half.

But it doesn't get cut into two slabs. There's a dent, though, just big enough for Baekhyun to exploit. He wriggles his fingers and begins to run a thin line down the slab, again and again until he finally sees the other end of the room through the parting. "Are you watching?" he calls out, doesn't look over his shoulder. Kyungsoo's footsteps are too heavy to go unnoticed, though. "How do you feel about abstract art?"

"The same way you feel about this training."

"A pain in the ass?"

Kyungsoo snorts. "Well, that also works."

Kyungsoo is lenient when he's terribly sick, doesn't call Baekhyun out on using his power to glue chips of stone to the big slab Baekhyun is working on. Baekhyun cuts it close, finishing the bust three minutes before the end of the session. The result isn't exactly the most award-winning of busts, but it's okay - it's got eyes and a nose, a pair of ears and plump lips. It can pass off as Kyungsoo after taking a punch to the cheek too many times, but Kyungsoo's smiling now, not that tiny smile of his where only a corner of his lips tugs up and he has an eyebrow cocked but an open smile, teeth flashing, gums peeking.

Baekhyun lets his eyes fall to the dip of Kyungsoo's upper lip. He gulps hard.

"Do you have background in art, hyung?" Kyungsoo asks, tentative, bottom lip caught between his teeth.

Kyungsoo's hood is pulled down now, and with the headband pulling his bangs back Baekhyun can see the dark circles under his eyes even clearer. His eyes haven't lost their focus, though, wide open, assessing, and Baekhyun slinks away a little, wrapping his arms around his body. "Nah, not really. I love finger painting though," Baekhyun answers, short and earnest. Kyungsoo laughs a little, but laughter turns into a low wheeze and the ground starts shaking again.

"Knew it," Kyungsoo says after a while. He walks closer to where Baekhyun is, gives his shoulder a light pat, then walks past him. "This won't even pass off as Picasso."

"Hey!" Baekhyun calls out, but soon the ground trembles again and it's Kyungsoo's rough laughter that fills the room. He doesn't know this room well enough yet, but if he follows that sound he won't have trouble finding his way out. So he closes his eyes, silences the light inside of him and walks straight ahead, careful steps in tandem with Kyungsoo's laughter.

When the sound dies down, he hears the soft 'thud' of the door behind him. "Good job, Starburst," comes Kyungsoo's voice from beside him, soft and smooth. His grip on Baekhyun's wrist is light. "Welcome back to the academy."

☄

Joonmyun comes back from a meeting with the SM management and says to both Kyungsoo and Baekhyun, "We're out of supers. I'll need you two to come with me."

Psycho and Frost were spotted in Lotte World just a few minutes ago, cutting the line for Pharaoh's Fury and running by taking control of the person operating it. "Well, it wasn't confirmed to be the two yet, but come on, who else would do that?" Joonmyun says. He's driving at the speed of light and Baekhyun sort of fears for his life, but at least they're transparent right now. If they do run into any vehicle, they won't have to worry about casualties. No one reports ghost-related car accidents, after all.

"I don't have a plan yet, but what's important is that we make sure they don't hurt anyone."

Baekhyun clenches his fists. "I'll make sure they'll regret it if they do."

Kyungsoo snorts, but lays a palm flat on his shoulder. "Don't overdo it, hyung. Remember, there are kids there."

"Relax, kid." Baekhyun winks. "Hyung's an expert at this."

An expert at making sure civilians are safe even with a battle going on around them, yes. An expert at finding villains in a crowd? Not so much. Frost's ice blue hair is almost always a giveaway, but Psycho might have made him change his do or made him wear a beanie. Supervillains, they need time to unwind, too. It's just villains like Pegasus who don't know the concept of rest. Baekhyun weaves through the crowd, adjusting his fake mustache. Joonmyun's turned his hair blond instead of its usual brown and keeps the collar of his trench coat up.

"Hyung, who wears trench coats in this heat?"

"Shut up," Joonmyun grumbles, then apologizes to a little girl he bumps into. "This was the only thing I had in my car."

"Hyung, look at the ground," Kyungsoo says now, pointing at the thin sheet of ice leading to the other side of Lotte World. "Want to split up when we get to the other side?"

"I wouldn't risk it. Those two are inseparable, anyway."

Baekhyun traces the path with his eyes, then furrows his eyebrows when he spots two familiar figures. "And apparently, Jongdae and Chanyeol as well?"

The concept of free time isn't foreign to superheroes, but to go out on a weekday and with a supervillain warning up is just crazy. The crowd has thinned considerably, and from where Baekhyun is he can see things clearer now. Chanyeol's red hair has been tamed a bit, and Jongdae is wearing a beanie over his bright yellow hair. They're wearing horrible floral shirts, though, and their hands are linked lightly, like they mean to hold hands but not really.

"Well, they did file a vacation leave," Joonmyun mutters. Baekhyun's stomach lurches forward, tumbles. He shakes his head, then starts to walk in their direction until the entire ground freezes.

"Shit-" Baekhyun slips, and purely on instinct he presses his fingers on the sheet of ice, palms glowing.

Chanyeol looks over his shoulder and drops Jongdae's hand. "Baek… hyun?"

The temperature drops. Psycho clears the crowd. Chanyeol and Jongdae pull their shirts over their head, revealing super suits. Kyungsoo keeps his grip on Baekhyun's wrist tight.

"Hyung, don't forget, you can't over do it."

Baekhyun gulps hard. His knees are shaking. It's probably from the cold. "I know what I'm doing, trust me," he mumbles, then tries to get up on his feet. "Trust Starburst. He won't let you down."

☄

Jongin manages to get them out of the blast just in time. Teleporting four people at the same time can be a chore, but Jongin pulls it off somehow. They stumble into the SM headquarters, wisps of white smoke disappearing around them. Joonmyun's mostly unharmed. It's Jongdae and Chanyeol who took the brunt of Psycho and Frost's attack. "Let's take them to my lab," Kyungsoo says, looking at Joonmyun. Joonmyun nods, swings one of Jongdae's arms over his shoulder, and Kyungsoo does the same. Jongin and Baekhyun take care of Chanyeol.

Baekhyun looks over his shoulder, at the traces of blood they leave on the floor. This part of being a hero, he doesn't miss.

In the lab, Kyungsoo and Joonmyun move like clockwork - haul Jongdae and Chanyeol over a hospital bed, rip their super suits open. Jongin excuses himself, saying he'll call Yixing and Sunyoung for help. Baekhyun keeps his hands in his back pocket, worries his bottom lip in an effort to keep all his thoughts to himself. He's got a few cuts and wounds, but nothing as serious as the ones on Jongdae and Chanyeol's bodies. His self-healing will kick in in a few minutes, give or take. If he could only stop fidgeting.

Taking a deep breath, he finally gives in, asking, "Anything I can do to help?"

Joonmyun pauses, looking over his shoulder. "You don't have full control over you powers yet. Can't risk it," he answers. There's a 'sorry' written in the way he furrows his eyebrows, in the way the tight corners of Joonmyun's mouth pull down to a frown. "And you're injured, too."

"They need the energy more than I do, hyung."

"Baekhyun," Joonmyun says, an eyebrow cocked and eyes fixed on him. "Your friends are running on 2% energy and while you have enough to at least jolt them back to life, anything over exactly 98% will send them comatose forever. Do you want that to happen?"

Do you want them to suffer the same fate that you did, Joonmyun means to say. Baekhyun exhales loudly, then rolls his eyes. "Fine."

"Course it through me, then I can regulate the transfer," Kyungsoo says. Joonmyun furrows his eyebrows at Kyungsoo. "His light can heal, hyung. I've seen it. My rocks can't."

Joonmyun parts his lips a little, reconsidering, then looks away. "Fine. But if he screws up, Kyungsoo-"

"He won't. He passed level 4 aura focus yesterday," Kyungsoo assures. He rests a hand on Baekhyun's shoulder, then says, "Do as I say."

Baekhyun takes a deep breath, then nods.

Step one: focus on the part of your body where you'll transfer all of your energy to with your eyes. Visualization always helps, after all, so Baekhyun raises both hands in front of him until he sees a wisp of white light envelop his fingers. Kyungsoo lays one palm on Jongdae's chest and the other on Chanyeol's, then turns to Baekhyun and says, "Now hold my wrists." The reach is difficult and awkward - Kyungsoo is already leaning forward, over the machines beside the beds - but Baekhyun makes it work, moves closer to Kyungsoo so that they're back to chest, and threads his fingers through Kyungsoo's own. "You never listen," Kyungsoo whispers, then lifts their hands so that only the heel of his palms touch Jongdae and Chanyeol. It's a painful ten minutes after that, with Kyungsoo's hands trembling after receiving the brunt of Baekhyun's power, but Baekhyun keeps his eyes locked onto his hands, the light at the tips of his fingers, his skin turning into a shocking white as he draws out more energy from his system and transfers it to the two.

"Close your eyes, then let go," Kyungsoo says, and Baekhyun pulls away, turns off the light, slides his hands up Kyungsoo's arm. A violent gasp, then a low what the hell just happened in Chanyeol's worried tone. Jongdae coughing and saying, Baekhyun? What are you doing?

Baekhyun rests his head on Kyungsoo's back, then grips Kyungsoo by the arms. "Never gonna do that again," Baekhyun says, and then his knees turn into jelly along with his senses. The last he feels is a pair of arms cushioning his fall and Kyungsoo's voice a bit pitchier than the usual, saying, Hyung? Hyung, don't you dare pass out again. Baekhyun-hyung-

☄

Vietnam, 2012. Baekhyun remembers it clearly - the way they'd brought down the building after trapping Psycho and Frost inside, Chanyeol circling the building while he's in flames and Jongdae giving him the extra boost. The icing on top is the light barrier Baekhyun wraps around the building, and then it's the most beautiful explosion after that - white and blue flames engulfing the villain headquarters, Jongdae's hair turning from a shocking yellow to a more golden shade. Chanyeol slipping an arm around Baekhyun's shoulder and pulling him closer, pressing his lips on Baekhyun's ears as he whispered, "We should do this again sometime, set the world on fire or something."

"You're crazy," Baekhyun had said then. From the corner of his eye, he could make out Jongdae making faces at them, barfing. "But that sounds great."

And then Jongdae summoned lightning, consuming them in the blink of an eye. Vietnam dissolved into light and Baekhyun fell back into Chanyeol's arms. The sound of thunder around them lulled Baekhyun to a peaceful slumber.

"It's pretty risky to travel via lightning," comes a different voice. A stifled yawn, then, "I thought you'd be out for another year."

Baekhyun blinks a few times and looks around, then focuses his vision on the person just beside him. Kyungsoo's bangs fall over his eyes and the rest of his hair is a mess, but his eyes are wide open, alert. He looks as if he had espresso with two bottles of energy drinks and ate three blocks of chocolates - high on energy but voice so strained and hoarse. His bottom lip is chapped and the tip of his nose is too red. He hasn't even recovered from his coughs and colds yet.

"How are you feeling?" Kyungsoo asks now, leaning closer. He smells of medicine and ramyun.

"Hungover," Baekhyun says in summary, but a more accurate answer would be 'like I've been run over by a truck thrice and kicked in the gut at least ten times while I'm hungover.' "Hungry, too," he adds after a while, then takes a look around. "How long have I been out?"

"Six hours, more or less."

"Chanyeol and Jongdae?"

"Awake," Kyungsoo answers, then cocks his head to the left.

Baekhyun follows with his eyes, stopping when he sees Chanyeol's familiar figure feet away. Jongdae's back on his feet, always the quickest to recover among the three of them, legs dangling when he gets on Chanyeol's bed and sits on the edge. Jongdae loves that, breaching private space and skinship, touching people's faces like it's the most normal thing in the world. From this distance, he can only make out the smiles and the laughter. The way Jongdae runs a hand down the length of Chanyeol's arm, too, and the way Jongdae leans in to press a soft kiss on the tip of Chanyeol's nose.

"What?" Baekhyun tries to push himself off the bed until he feels the sting of the needle in his right hand. And then he remembers - Jongdae and Chanyeol in Lotte World, fingers intertwined, the dull ache in Baekhyun's chest. Kyungsoo holds him down with a firm grip. He blinks a few more times and Jongdae does it again, one hand cupping Chanyeol's cheek, and this time Baekhyun looks away. He fixes his eyes on his hands, his feet, Kyungsoo's empty expression. "Did you-"

"You didn't see anything," Kyungsoo says. With his free hand, he pulls up a wall, and the lighting in the room dims.

"Yeah, sure, I didn't. I just saw them about to suck face or something. That-" Baekhyun laughs, strained. He chokes on his own spit. For a moment, Baekhyun considers balling his hands into fists and standing from where he is to break the wall down, but he's plugged right now. "Jongdae wasn't trying to kiss the bubu away, right? Superheroes don't do that, right?"

Kyungsoo doesn't answer, just looks down at his hand that is holding Baekhyun down. With a loud exhale, he asks, "Want anything to eat?"

"Lots of candy," Baekhyun mumbles, then shuts his eyes tight in an attempt to erase the image from his mind. To just let the darkness tame the lights setting his senses aflame. The door closes in a soft 'thud' and the darkness doesn't lift. Baekhyun makes no effort to turn on the light, either.

☄

"You're so predictable."

Baekhyun feels his arms give away and the crystals he'd summoned for target practice crash to the ground. Kyungsoo cleans up at once, though, lets the soft ground swallow the shards, but cocks an eyebrow at Baekhyun when they're face-to-face. Kyungsoo's got a bag of sweets in one hand and a container of assorted jeon in the other. His cheeks have taken on an interesting shade of pink - it must be cold outside. Weird weather. Autumn hasn't even hit yet.

"I was getting bored," Baekhyun says now, then forms a ball of light at the tip of his index finger. He shoots a ray at the huge stone slab a few feet away and drags his finger up until he's drawn a square on the slab. The chunk falls over to the other side, creates a hole where Baekhyun had fired a ray of light. Kyungsoo winces at the crashing sound. "Please don't tell Joonmyun-hyung?"

"He saw you sneaking out. Said you were, yeah, probably bored out of your wits." Kyungsoo sets the food down on his desk and throws a pack of Skittles at Baekhyun. "Or would you want to eat like normal people usually do?"

"I can have candy for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, Baekhyun says, grinning. He takes another pack to his face, this time M&M's. "And dessert."

Kyungsoo looks at him for a while, then sinks in his seat and opens the contained filled with jeon. "Suit yourself."

Kyungsoo sets aside one of each kind of jeon in the container for Baekhyun, though, and Baekhyun returns the favor, motions for Kyungsoo to open up so he can pop a few pieces of M&M's in his mouth. "Chanyeol and I used to do this after missions," he begins, then cracks a piece of chocolate between his teeth. "We'd buy as much candies as we could and eat 'em all in our dorm."

"You never got accused of shoplifting?"

Baekhyun snorts. "We buy out the whole candies section, not steal from the shop." He throws a few pieces of Skittles at Kyungsoo, and Kyungsoo manages to catch them with his mouth. "Then Jongdae would barge in our flat and eat the candies we can't finish."

Another take on the story would be Jongdae buying candies for them after a successful mission, then feeding both Baekhyun and Chanyeol while playing Skittles basketball. It's a three! Jongdae would say whenever he made a ringless shot, and sometimes Baekhyun open and close his mouth or press his teeth together at the same time that Jongdae releases a Skittle. Chanyeol would be kinder, feed Jongdae a couple of pieces then eat the rest, and Jongdae would just laugh, tongue and lips painted in rainbow. He'd never fight back whenever Chanyeol stole from his candy stash, but he'd spend a few good seconds jabbing Baekhyun's arm when Baekhyun broke a piece of his chocolate bar. Favoritism, Baekhyun would normally say whenever Jongdae let Chanyeol off the hook.

Turns out he's been right all along. He tosses a Skittle in the air and shoots it down with a line of light, laughing. Maybe he was also given the gift of foresight. He should take that Supers Ability Test again.

"Can't believe he wanted that candy, too."

"There were rumors," Kyungsoo begins. "People saying they saw Heatmore and Kaminari-"

"Chanyeol and Jongdae," Baekhyun corrects. "Their superpowers don't have anything to do with this."

"That they saw them together late at night, after missions. Flying from one rooftop to another. Sometimes even dancing in air."

Baekhyun spits out a red Skittle. They did that before, all three of them, but they fell back into a trampoline ten seconds in.

"I didn't believe it until I saw it with my own eyes earlier. I-" Kyungsoo takes a deep breath, then looks up at Baekhyun. "I'm sorry, hyung."

Baekhyun looks up at the ceiling, at the bulb casting them a soft glow, and turns the light out. He hears Kyungsoo's light gasp, the sound of Skittles falling to the floor, the current inside his body crackling at the loss of light around him. None of it takes more than a few seconds, but it feels like it has stretched on forever - the silence, the darkness, Baekhyun allowing himself a moment of respite. It's Kyungsoo who turns the light back on, Kyungsoo who lets the stone walls all around them crumble.

"So, were the stone walls meant to give me a hard time?" Baekhyun asks, grinning at Kyungsoo. Kyungsoo balls his hand into a fist but keeps it there, pressed close to his chest instead of making contact with Baekhyun's arm. Baekhyun feels cold.

"It's part of the training," Kyungsoo answers, then shakes up the ground. "It's all a test."

☄

It's Baekhyun's clever idea to seek Kyungsoo's help on exacting revenge on the two. "Well, it's not revenge revenge," Baekhyun argues, then pops three M&M's in his mouth. He's slowed down on the Skittles consumption after opening the Peanut M&M's, but there's still too much left from last night. For a moment, he considers flooding Chanyeol's dorm with Skittles or drawing on Chanyeol's superhero costume with chocolate, but it requires too much effort. That, and he has zero skill in art as proven by the abstract art bust of Kyungsoo in his laboratory. "Just… y'know, trying to teach them a lesson. For forgetting I exist. Mostly Chanyeol, actually, because he's an asshole and he made a promise. Jongdae never promised anything but good food."

"Did he promise you forever?"

Baekhyun scrunches his nose. "Sort of. While teleporting back to the HQ."

"Did you actually believe it?"

"Why wouldn't I?"

"Sucker," Kyungsoo mumbles. He snatches the Peanut M&M's pack from Baekhyun and helps himself to a few pieces. "I'm not playing pretend boyfriend. Go find someone else."

"But you're my only friend!" Baekhyun groans, hooking an arm Kyungsoo's own. That's not true, though - there's Jongin but he'll probably ask for payment before saying yes. Sehun would probably just laugh at him then walk away. He tightens his hold even more when Kyungsoo starts waving his arm around. "What if I lose focus because I'm wallowing in pain and despair? What if I accidentally set your lab on fire or something because I can't control my emotions, much like the overwhelming sadness in my heart?"

"Shut up," Kyungsoo says, frowning. Baekhyun cocks an eyebrow at him as if challenging, you're really going to tell someone older to 'shut up'? The corners of Kyungsoo's lips tug down even harder. "Please shut up, hyung."

"Come on, you don't even have to exert much effort! You just have to, well, actually stick with me the whole day and try not to flinch when I touch you. Easy, yeah?"

Kyungsoo holds up the pack of M&M's and pours a generous amount into his mouth. The sound of crunching fills the silence for a while, and Baekhyun watches with morbid fascination as Kyungsoo licks his teeth. "That's much easier to do," Kyungsoo finishes, then stands from his seat, the pack of M&M's tucked safely in his pocket.

"You'll let me die unhappy here?"

"Don't be silly, hyung. You're Starburst. You won't die easily."

"I heard heartache makes up 90% of deaths in the superhuman world."

Kyungsoo laughs a little. Without coughs and colds straining his body, his laughter sounds bright, tugs at the corners of Baekhyun's lips and coaxes a smile out of him. "And you came back from the dead. You'll live, hyung. They've already moved on and you should follow their example."

Baekhyun heaves a sigh. "I failed the 'Moving On' class, just so you know. Got stuck in level 3 moving on."

"Between life and death?"

Baekhyun thinks of Chanyeol running a hand down Jongdae's back, of Jondgae leaning close to press a kiss to the tip of Chanyeol's nose. "Close enough," he answers. After a while, he repeats, "Please, Kyungsoo?"

It must be the M&M's, Baekhyun thinks, because the next thing he knows Kyungsoo is rolling his eyes and whispering, "Fine, fine. As long as I don't have to do anything weird." So he walks over to where Kyungsoo is, wraps his arms around Kyungsoo in a hug, and twirls him around. Never mind that Kyungsoo's whole body has gone rigid and rock-heavy, or if Kyungsoo's mumbling hyung, put me down like a mantra - Do Kyungsoo whose heart is as tough as stone actually agreed to play pretend boyfriend just so he could get back at Chanyeol, and all it took was a bag of chocolates.

"You won't regret this," Baekhyun says, beaming. Kyungsoo shakes his head but doesn't let the smile on his lips falter.

☄

Baekhyun starts the mission by asking Joonmyun what Kyungsoo's favorite coffee is. Joonmyun doesn't ask why, bless him, but does reiterate that, "Remember, no sugar, not even a granule of it. He will find out, I'm telling you." Baekhyun shrugs but takes note of the reminder, anyway. If past experience with Kyungsoo is anything to go by, he knows very well that Kyungsoo actually has the ability to bury him alive.

"As you like it," Baekhyun says as he places a cup of coffee in front of Kyungsoo. He removes the lid, holding Kyungsoo's gaze as Kyungsoo furrows his eyebrows at him, and grins when he lays the cover down a few inches away. "Americano, no sugar, no anything. I watched the barista make the coffee so I'm 100% sure."

"You do know that threatening anyone is against the superhero code of conduct, right?" Kyungsoo asks, but takes a whiff of his coffee anyway. A corner of his lips tugs up in response.

"Are you accusing your hyung of threatening the barista?" Baekhyun fakes a gasp, and Kyungsoo kicks him in the ankle. "As far as I know, what I did is called 'observing'!"

"Doesn't sound like it," Kyungsoo counters, laughing a little. He takes a sip, and the other corner tugs up. Now there's the smile that Baekhyun has come to earn whenever he completes a level of focus training.

The day unfolds as it normally would, except Baekhyun eats breakfast on Kyungsoo's desk and almost gets kicked out of Kyungsoo's lab for making a mess out of his table. Joonmyun drops by, asking for a detailed report of Baekhyun's progress, and Baekhyun offers to demonstrate it, instead. "Do as I say," Kyungsoo begins, a palm flat on Baekhyun's shoulder, and Baekhyun sneers. He earns a jab on the arm, then, and accidentally releases a ball of light to the ceiling.

"That's going on the record," Joonmyun teases. The log sheet remains untouched, though.

But Baekhyun has never been the type to be tied down by rules, never the type to stick to the instructions. He follows steps one to three and improvises comes step four, enveloping the stone wall with a thick sheet of crystal. Holding his hand in front of him, he fastens his free hand on his wrist and focuses all of his energy on his palm. His fingers begin to glow, tiny balls of light hovering his nails. He looks to his side, waiting for Kyungsoo's go signal, and what greets him is an amused grin and slow nodding from Kyungsoo.

"Now," Kyungsoo says, voice barely above a whisper. Baekhyun takes a deep breath and releases light with a flick of the wrist.

Then the bulb in the room breaks and they hear light screaming outside. "I told you, the extra 1% will make all the difference," Kyungsoo reminds him, an eyebrow raised. Baekhyun flashes a v-sign in an attempt to apologize for the damage.

They run into Chanyeol and Jongdae when they finally leave the lab, on their way to the cafeteria. "Hey there, lovebirds," Baekhyun says as a greeting, then hooks an arm around Kyungsoo's own. Joonmyun's immediate reaction is a cock of the eyebrow, then a faint what does that mean?, but Kyungsoo doesn't give him time to repeat his question. Instead, Kyungsoo drags them down the hall and to their seats, a table far from the buffet line but quiet enough for talking.

Kyungsoo excuses himself for a while, saying he has to rub off Baekhyun's cooties, and Joonmyun slips right beside Baekhyun. "Wait, you're saying-" He looks over his shoulder, then continues, "Chanyeol and Jongdae are a thing? I mean, it's already confirmed?"

Baekhyun snorts. "Am I really the only one who doesn't know?"

"You were sorta dead for two years, hyung," comes a different voice this time. Jongin steps out of a cloud of smoke and squeezes himself between Joonmyun and Baekhyun. "Jealous now-"

"No," Baekhyun interrupts. "Why would I be? It's not as if Chanyeol and I ever-"

"Everyone knows," Jongin says, adding emphasis on the last syllable like it's taking too much effort to talk to Baekhyun.

Baekhyun leers at Jongin, then yanks Kyungsoo by the arm when he comes back. To Jongin, he says, "I am not talking to you. We are not friends. I won't fix your bulbs at home."

"Sure. I can buy new bulbs everyday, if I wanted to." Jongin quickly stands from his seat, using Joonmyun as a shield when Baekhyun raises a fist in his direction. "Abuse of power! I'm telling the management!"

The truth is, Jongin's another one of those people who doesn't recognize rules, only uses them when the need arises. On a normal day, he probably wouldn't think of any other rule than the fifth - 'always wear a mask' - but his memory is impeccable. Ask him about the code of conduct ten years back and he'd be able to take you through the whole thing without even breaking a sweat. Ask him for directions, though, and he'll just offer to take you there instead.

"Buy me lunch," Kyungsoo mumbles, but if the lilt in his voice is anything to go by then Baekhyun is sure he's teasing.

"Hyung didn't bring money," he says right back. "Sorry, hun. You'll have to pay for our lunch today."

"What good are you for if you won't buy me food?" Kyungsoo laughs a little, then stands up. Baekhyun keeps a firm grip on his arm, though. "What? I'm hungry."

"They're walking in our direction," Baekhyun answers. Kyungsoo looks at him, just looks at him for a few seconds, then sinks back in his seat. "Help me out."

"What do you want me to do?"

Baekhyun snakes an arm around Kyungsoo and leans his head on Kyungsoo's shoulder. "Don't flinch," he says, looking up at Kyungsoo. From this angle, the dip of Kyungsoo's bottom lip looks uneven. "Look at me. Try to smile."

From a corner of his eyes, he sees the two approaching. Kyungsoo turns his head to his side, then, leans close enough until his bottom lip touches Baekhyun's forehead. The contact isn't warm or electric, but it does send a funny feeling to the pit of Baekhyun's stomach. He takes a sharp breath when his insides turn, and his grip loosens just a little. Then Kyungsoo's leaning back, contact breaking, lips parting slightly as he swipes his tongue on his bottom lip.

His cheeks are no longer numb, but they're too warm. It must be the excess energy in his system.

"Like that?" Kyungsoo asks, like he's asking Baekhyun if he understood the aura focusing lesson or if Baekhyun is listening at all. The smug smile on Kyungsoo's lips doesn't help, only makes Baekhyun want to punch Kyungsoo in the face all the more or push him away. He nods in response, though, gulps hard when Kyungsoo hums. "It's a literal pain in the neck, though."

Baekhyun straightens up and gives in to the urge to nudge Kyungsoo in the side with his elbow. Kyungsoo groans at the same time that Chanyeol takes a step closer to greet Joonmyun. He finds himself laughing just a little, the tension in his cheeks easing as he whispers, "Well fuck you, too, Do Kyungsoo."

"That's not part of the agreement, hyung."

Baekhyun rolls his eyes, then bumps his hips into Kyungsoo's. "Get up, kid. I'm buying you lunch. You're really cute."

Kyungsoo's speech gets garbled somewhere between I'm not a kid and that's not a valid reason, hyung, but Kyungsoo does hold Baekhyun's outstretched hand, doesn't let go until they're already in line. "Thanks," Baekhyun says, grinning, and Kyungsoo just looks at him, eyebrows furrowed lightly as he worries his bottom lip.

"Bibimbap with extra kimchi and yellow radish on the side," Kyungsoo answers, then looks away. He slips his hand out of Baekhyun's hold and digs them in the back pockets of his pants.

"That's all?"

Kyungsoo gives him a quick look, then, "Afternoon coffee, too."

"Anything for my favorite," Baekhyun croons, and soon he's met with Kyungsoo's elbow in his side, twisting until he squirms and hits Kyungsoo right back. Kyungsoo is smiling, though, gums peeking, teeth flashing at him in a blinding white. He wages war against the light for the first time, squints until the light dims and makes it easier to study Kyungsoo's smile.

☄

They're training in the battle simulation room today, except Kyungsoo has taken control of the AI and is actually suited up for a fight. Baekhyun can't decide just yet if Kyungsoo looks taller or smaller in the blue overalls, but it's a welcome change from his usual outfit. They've chosen a rocky field for this particular session, and Kyungsoo hasn't stopped looking around just yet, grinning when he spots the details on the stone sculptures, the expanse of ground in front of them.

"Don't go easy on me!" Baekhyun calls out from the other side of the room. There are solar panels up high, and the walls of the room are reflective. It's anybody's game, really - it's just a matter of maximizing the field and keeping an eye open for flashes of weakness.

Kyungsoo taps his foot on the ground and the earth starts shaking. Baekhyun sticks up his middle finger in the air, unmindful of the feet stretched between them. "Thank you, you're such a fucking show-off!"

"I'm just warming up," Kyungsoo says, smiling. The ground shakes again when he clenches his fists.

First thing's first - Baekhyun summons a protective barrier around the field, shielding Joonmyun from the blows that might be thrown his way in the heat of the battle. SM hasn't fallen short on reminding them to keep casualties to a bare minimum, and Baekhyun's first order of business, as with any battle, is to put up a shield. He smiles when he sees both ends of the barrier meet at the top, then he turns his eyes to his hands, stretched out in front of him, palms glowing.

"What's the goal?" Baekhyun asks. Level 5 aura focusing ended a few days ago, when he successfully took down the huge stone wall Kyungsoo had pulled up from the ground. Kyungsoo groaned then, but didn't forget to shake Baekhyun's hand. Then they'd gone out for samgyupsal with Jongin and Sehun in tow, ended up paying for the two. The perks of being the youngest. "No more moving targets?"

"Knock me unconscious," Kyungsoo replies, voice flat like it's normal to issue a shoot to kill order for oneself. "Just enough to take me out for a couple hours."

"I'll sweep you off your feet."

"No flirting in the arena," Kyungsoo says. He chuckles, though, before shaking the ground another time. Baekhyun grumbles but smiles, nonetheless.

Conversation dissolves into silence when they take their positions on opposite sides of the arena. Baekhyun steps inside the blue box, hands ready to shoot out crystals or blasts of light, while Kyungsoo remains steady on the other side, standing still with his hands on his sides. The buzzer sounds off, and they both push themselves off the ground. Baekhyun aims a beam of light at the ground, and Kyungsoo jumps from one pillar to another until he's hovering Baekhyun. "Boo," Kyungsoo says, whispering in Baekhyun's ear, and the next thing Baekhyun knows he's hitting the wall, cement crumbling around him. The front of his shirt isn't stained, though.

He looks up at Kyungsoo who's clenching and unclenching his fists. "So how much of your power was that?" he asks, voice cracking as he gets up from the rubble. Kyungsoo holds up one finger, then takes a few steps back when Baekhyun shoots light balls at his feet. "You've got to be kidding me!"

"Stop talking and start attacking," Kyungsoo says, a corner of his lips tugged up. He's doing that lazy smile again, like pulling the other corner of his mouth up requires too much effort. "This isn't a playground, Starburst."

"I'm just getting started- Hey, what's your superhero name?"

"Doesn't matter." Another light shake of the ground, and Baekhyun forcefully pushes himself up. "Come on, I'm waiting."

The problem with going up against someone who can control earth is that crystals are, 50% of the time, ineffective against rock solid things. Kyungsoo can make the ground absorb the force of the crystals, too, so that's another hurdle he has to overcome. A crack is a crack, though, so Baekhyun makes full use of that - he charges the crystals that have stuck to the stone slab Kyungsoo has pulled up from the ground, makes the shards carry as much heat as possible. The explosion is loud, the smoke thick, and shit, he should know better than to create a huge explosion inside SM's facility. He wipes off the layer of smoke with light, shooting a beam up at the ceiling and letting it explode into flecks in the air.

Kyungsoo's down on one knee. His face is littered with scars, but his eyes are focused. "That's it?" Kyungsoo asks, challenging. "That's all you've got?"

"Any stronger than that blast and you'll be toast," Baekhyun replies.

"Exactly why this is focus and control training." Kyungsoo cracks his neck and brushes off the dust that has collected on his shirt. "Think you can try to knock me out in the next ten minutes?"

"Fuck-" Baekhyun groans. "I'm good with goals but don't give me a time limit!"

From the P.A. system, Joonmyun's voice echoes. "Ten minutes, Baekhyun. Any longer than that and we're holding the same session here tomorrow."

So screw holding back because the guy on the opposite side of the arena is his trainer and, maybe, his friend. Baekhyun starts off with summoning crystals, taking down the shield Kyungsoo has put up around himself. Kyungsoo runs a few feet away, jumping from one pillar to another. Beyond Kyungsoo's shoulder, a steel panel of the wall glares at Baekhyun. He releases a beam, aims straight for the panel behind Kyungsoo, and Kyungsoo's eyes widen as the light bounces off the panel.

Baekhyun leaps over to where Kyungsoo is, catches Kyungsoo in a chokehold. Kyungsoo's not unconscious, not yet, but the impact of the blast is enough to make his defenses drop. The other side of being a light lord that most people don't know - being able to create illusions. Baekhyun presses down one hand at the back of Kyungsoo's head, flushes light in his system, straight to his eyes. If he's tapped the right part of Kyungsoo's brain then Kyungsoo must be seeing stained glass right now, his bed, his cave. "Sleep," he whispers in Kyungsoo's ear, and Kyungsoo's whole body goes limp, falls forward.

He lands on one knee and a foot on the ground, Kyungsoo's lifeless figure in his arms. A few feet away, Joonmyun is clapping, an eyebrow cocked. "Haven't seen that trick in a while, Starburst," Joonmyun says, and Baekhyun lets the barrier come off, dissipating in flecks of light.

"Man, he weighs a ton," Baekhyun grumbles when he feels the brunt of Kyungsoo's weight on his shoulder. Joonmyun mentions something about Kyungsoo's subconscious kicking in, an always-on defense mechanism that he's developed over time. Baekhyun presses on, though, carries Kyungsoo all the way to his laboratory, and wonders why Kyungsoo decided to stop taking field missions with an ability as great as this. Thinks of breaking down the stone walls Kyungsoo has build around him chip by chip, one by one.

→ PART 2