From the Soul to the Song - Verse Twenty Six
From the Soul to the Song
Verse Twenty Six
At the exact moment that Yesung slipped into unconsciousness, Heechul’s eyes also fluttered closed and his body collapsed. Only Kangin’s quick reflexes kept the man from getting a rather nasty bruise on his head.
In seconds Ryeowook was at Yesung’s side. He carefully pulled the other man off Hankyung and arranged him on the floor so he wouldn’t be hurt by the position he was in. Ryeowook smoothed the hair off the other man’s forehead as he used his lap as a pillow for him. Kangin grunted and shifted Heechul’s limp form more fully into his arms. “What do we do now?” he asked.
“I think,” Henry said hesitantly. “That maybe we should put their hands back together so that they are mixing blood again.”
Leeteuk nodded. “It’s as good an idea as any. Bring him over here.” He knelt beside Ryeowook and Yesung and gently lifted the unconscious man’s hand. Kangin moved to them and laid Heechul on the floor as carefully as he could. Once Heechul was settled, Leeteuk picked up his hand as well and fit their hands together. “Make sure they are still bleeding,” he mumbled to Kangin, as he continued to hold their hands pressed together. Kangin nodded.
“Now what?” Kangin asked.
“Now I think we wait,” Leeteuk told him softly.
“I’m so tired of this shit!” Sungmin exclaimed suddenly, startling many of the members.
“Sungmin,” Eunhyuk said softly, trying to calm him down.
“Don’t Sungmin me!” the other man snapped. “How many more times do we have to watch the people we care about almost die or get their Songs destroyed, or whatever the hell is happening?! It was bad enough that we almost lost Leeteuk and Kyuhyun in the accident but now we are suddenly signed up for something that is going to get us killed!”
“Sungmin,” Leeteuk said gently, “We are only human. Even if we are just normal guys at home, we could die at any moment.”
“Yeah but being a normal guy doesn’t come equipped with soul stealing monsters,” Sungmin replied dangerously.
“Sungmin-“ Leeteuk began again.
“No! I won’t listen to whatever you have to say. Not this time,” with that he turned and stormed from the room.
Silence fell on the remaining members. Shindong cleared his throat. “Maybe he is right. I mean we’ve almost lost Hankyung how many times now? And Heechul? And Leeteuk? And Yesung? And we haven’t even left Sanctuary.”
Ryeowook glanced up, his expression strong despite the tears in his eyes. “If we can save just one Song,” he said softly, steadily. “Just one. That will be enough. That will be worth it.”
No one had anything to say in reply to that. Ryeowook leaned over Yesung’s body, as if shielding him from the world, and very softly began to sing.
~♪~♪♫♪~♪~
Heechul lifted his hand and was pleased to watch it rise obediently. He wiggled his fingers and they danced in his vision as well. It seemed like his body was his again, or at least sort of. Now if he could only figure out where he was.
Where ever it was, it was plain and reddish - it clearly wasn’t real red or he would have felt like he was swimming in blood - or possibly a pink color. Heechul had never been really great at the distinction in color tones. What he did know was the color went on forever and it didn’t seem to ever stop. What was more was that he wasn’t standing on any ground, or at least he didn’t think he was. There was red or pink or some strange combination, below him as well and when he bent to touch the ground his fingers reached down beyond his foot as if they were sinking into the floor itself. That was a bit unsettling and he only just managed to keep from jumping backwards in surprise. Moving would be a very bad plan if he was standing on the only feet sized ground available.
“Are you amused?” Heechul jerked upright at the sound of Yesung’s voice. The man was standing a few feet in front of him with a strangely peaceful smile on his face and little else on his body. More unsettling then that was the silver dragon wings sprouting from his shoulders. As if they knew he was staring at them they extended to their full span, which was very impressive and nearly twice the size of Yesung for just one wing, before folding again. Yesung’s smile morphed into a satisfied smirk.
“You have them too you know,” he said nodding his head in Heechul’s general direction.
Startled Heechul spun, and then panicked since he may have left his only standing space. When he didn’t fall straight through the nonexistent ground he was able to focus on other things again. Spinning had clearly not shown him anything since if his wings were really attached to him they would have moved with him. Instead he concentrated and attempted to twitch appendages that he wasn’t sure he really had. Immediately there was the sound of something moving, something soft.
A bit more concentration allowed him to fold one so that it curled forward and he could actually see it. Yesung was right. He did have wings. They were a bright ruby red and feathered. The feathers, he found a minute later, were incredibly soft. He amused himself for a minute before moving his wing into what felt like a more natural position and turning back to face Yesung.
“I won’t ask the obvious,” Heechul crossed his arms over his chest that he had just realized was also missing clothing.
Yesung laughed and let his arms fall down to his sides. “We’re in your head still. I think, if I understood the books right, this is the true form of our Songs, a form we can only take on when we’re being joined by another form and somewhat unconscious.”
“So we’re in my head,” Heechul mused as he tried to wrap his mind around the concept. “You’re in my mind,” he scowled at that thought. “Hankyung!” he exclaimed, suddenly remembering why Yesung was there in the first place.
Yesung laughed again. “He’s fine. Exhausted, but fine. Keiran is in a box that I don’t think he will be able to break out of any time soon, but I’ll keep an eye on it anyway.”
Heechul nodded satisfied before taking the time to look around his surrounding again. “You know,” he said with a lopsided smirk. “You really do have a birthmark on your stomach. That would be kinda hot if I were into you.”
Yesung glared. “You have your own boyfriend. Don’t even think about it.”
“We aren’t boyfriends,” Heechul defended instantly. “We’re,” he paused. “We’re...”
“Don’t hurt yourself, I get it. Look Heechul there is two things you should know,” Yesung held up two fingers to illustrate his point.
“The first is that Keiran was feeding Hankyung some nasty things. I didn’t see much of them but I got the general feeling they were nothing anyone would want to see. He has been whispering to Hankyung a long time. I’m sure he has told him that for Hankyung to do what he did, he would have had to want to in some way shape or form,” Yesung explained. Heechul nodded and glanced away.
“He is right but he is wrong at the same time. Hankyung would have had to want to do everything he did but not even remotely to that extent. He probably wanted to come close to actually hitting Eunhyuk so that the other man would see how serious this is. He probably wanted to get a little more passionate with you because he could tell you would enjoy it. He has probably thought of strangling you when you are at you worst. All real things that he has felt and Keiran took and exploited them. He needs to know that. You have to tell him that.”
Heechul nodded and glanced to the side. There was something slightly shinny off in the distanced. He wondered what it was. Yesung stepped forward and grasped Heechul’s chin firmly.
“The second thing is that not noticing Hankyung’s Song being changed is not your fault,” Yesung declared.
That brought Heechul back into focus and he was filled with anger, mostly at himself. “How is it not my fault? I’m his Weaver. I should know what his Song sounds like. I do know what his Song sounds like. How could I have missed it?”
“This is why,” Yesung said. He reached up to the base of one of his wings and grabbed something. The other man gave a sharp tug and Heechul cried out at the sharp point of pain that shot up his wing. Heechul jerked backwards, away from Yesung and lifted his hand to rub at the spot the man had touched. He didn’t feel any missing feathers.
“What’s the big idea?” Heechul accused.
“These,” Yesung held up two wiggling colored strings. He grabbed one between his thumb and finger and held it up. “This one is to take your guilt and multiply it beyond reasonable explanation and this one,” he held up the other. “Is to distract you when you think about or anyone talked to you about what was happening with Hankyung.”
“I couldn’t have realized even if I wanted to,” Heechul said in disbelief. He could tell Yesung was correct though. Now that the Weavings were gone he could think about all that had happened much clearer. “How did those get there? I was never cut,” Heechul said with narrowed eyes.
Yesung shrugged, “Probably when you had sex.” Heechul looked appalled and Yesung rolled his eyes. “Oh it’s not like they are worms that crawled out of him and into you during your special moment. You couldn’t have seen them even if you had the best microscope. Don’t look so violated.”
“I,” Heechul swallowed forcefully. “That is gross,” he said finally.
Yesung nodded and then concentrated on the one in his left hand. It wiggled more violently for a moment before it dissolved away into nothing. He repeated the process with the second. “How do you feel?” Yesung asked when he was finished.
“Besides violated and incredibly pissed, fine. Does Hankyung have any of these nasty suggestions on him?” Heechul asked glaring.
“He did,” Yesung confirmed. “But they are safely put away. He is just him again, but he is going to need you Heechul.”
“He always needs me,” Heechul replied flippantly.
“Heechul I’m serious.”
“I know,” he replied quietly, his face falling. “I just have to,” he let the sentence trail off.
“Your defense mechanism. I know,” Yesung replied. He patted Heechul on the arm. Briefly Heechul wondered if he could justify breaking the fingers of the man who had just removed two parasites from him. He decided he had better not. He wouldn’t want to have to deal with Ryeowook if he did that.
Suddenly something light blue and shimmering streaked through the red expanse and stopped at Yesung’s feet. It stretched off into the distance behind him until it faded into nothing. Yesung smiled. “Ryeowook is calling me. I better go.”
“Oh he has you whipped,” Heechul said with a smirk. Yesung laughed. “Yesung,” Heechul asked slowly. “Can I ask you something personal?”
“You’re asking permission?” Yesung questioned.
“Well you did just save my mind. That makes a man pretty grateful and slightly more polite. Don’t get used to it though,” Heechul retorted. Yesung laughed and then nodded. “What is Ryeowook to you?”
Yesung paused for a moment and then smiled. The smile was a real and true one, one that Heechul could count on one hand how many times he had seen and still have fingers left over to continue counting with. “Let’s just say,” Yesung began truthfully, “that I feel bad for any woman who wants to build a home with me. I will never be able to give her what she wants. Ryeowook already has it.”
Heechul studied him for a minute, trying to decide if the other man really was telling the truth or not. He had to be, Heechul realized a moment later. Yesung couldn’t lie to him. Not here in his mind. He nodded satisfied. “We’ll speak of this to no one,” Heechul declared.
Yesung laughed. “Agreed,” he turned and took a few steps down the path before Heechul’s voice called out and stopped him.
“And Yesung, I never want to see you naked again,” Heechul told him, a half warning carried in his voice.
Yesung laughed and continued walking, “The feeling is mutual,” he called.
A moment later he had vanished and the path with him. Heechul sighed. Now that he had nothing better to do he was feeling a little bit sleepy, maybe it was time to take a nap. He snorted lightly at the thought of laying down on the nonexistent ground. The worst that could happen, he figured, was that he would fall through the ground that didn’t exist and just keep falling. That could be interesting. With a smirk on his face he laid his body down and let his eyes drift shut.
~♪~♪♫♪~♪~
His eyelashes fluttered and it took a moment for him to readjust to only be able to see out of his own eyes and hear his own thoughts. There was a strange feeling of wetness on his face and he looked up, forcing his eyes to focus. Above him was Ryeowook with tears leaking slowly from his clenched eyes. His lips moved slowly with the sound of a soft song, a song that Yesung had never heard before. A song, he realized as he listened to the words, about needing and love and something so much deeper then both.
Yesung lifted his free hand and brushed his fingers along Ryeowook’s cheek. At his touch the man’s eyes snapped open. “Jongwoon,” Ryeowook breathed as if it was the best thing he would ever say. “I was afraid that… I thought that…”
Smiling, Yesung gathered what little energy was left in his body and used it to lift himself into a sitting position. He pulled his hand free from Heechul’s and then turned to face Ryeowook. He was nearly to Ryeowook when his energy ran out and he feel limply forward. The other man caught him and the motion of it sent him falling unbalanced onto his back. Yesung landed on top of him, his head on Ryeowook’s shoulder and he laughed before sighing in contentment.
He reached, and Ryeowook’s Song filled him in response. It was one of the best feelings that he had felt all day. He had been able to use Hankyung’s Song, through Heechul, but it had felt wrong is so many ways. This feeling however, was perfect. Yesung hummed in contentment and let himself relax.
“Jongwoon?” Ryeowook asked, worried.
“Fine,” he mumbled. “Tired,” his letters were beginning to slur and he was positive he would be falling asleep soon, but there was something he needed first. “Kiss?” The word was all he could manage. He hopped Ryeowook got the message because he couldn’t even lift his hand to move it out of the awkward position it was in, let alone lift his head.
Ryeowook smiled and wiggled a bit to get Yesung to a position where it would be a little easier, before he move in and pressed their lips together. Yesung didn’t have the energy to respond but just the feel of their lips meeting was more than enough.
“Jongwoon?” Ryeowook asked, a moment later as the position of his neck became too uncomfortable. “Is that what you needed? Do you need something else?” he asked softly.
“No needed,” Yesung responded. “Wanted” He realized, belatedly, that the choppy speech made him sound somewhat like a caveman, but at the moment that was all he had energy for.
Ryeowook blushed and ran a hand up Yesung’s back then down again. The affection in the gesture made Yesung smile softly, another real one, and moments later he was fast asleep, still laying on the other man.
Beside them Leeteuk smiled, and laid Heechul’s arm down gently once Kangin was finished healing the cut in his palm. His eyes met Kangin’s and they exchanged a smile. Every member in the room was too relieved to begrudge the pair their moment. Even Kyuhyun was smiling softly at it.
Then the moment passed and Leeteuk took on his role as leader again. “Siwon,” he said softly so as not to disturb the sleeping Yesung. “Will you carry Hankyung to Heechul’s room? Youngwoon, you take Heechul. Shindong come help me move Yesung to his room. Eunhyuk go see if Sungmin is alright. Someone clean up this blood and put the living room right again. The rest of you go make some food.”
If the members thought they could have gotten away with saluting him they would have. Instead they exchanged smiles and hurried off to complete their separate tasks.
A satisfied smile filled Leeteuk’s face as he helped move Yesung off Ryeowook and into Shindong’s arms. Kangin laughed softly as he carefully gathered Heechul in his arms. “You just love doing that don’t you?” Leeteuk’s smile was an answer in itself.
~♪~♪♫♪~♪~
It took a good deal of time and a bit of luck before Eunhyuk found Sungmin at the beach with blue sand. The other man was standing with his feet in the water and throwing stones out into the waves. Sungmin didn’t look at him when he approached but he had to know he was there. Eunhyuk had made sure that he would be heard on approach. He figured it was probably a bad idea to sneak up on Sungmin, especially when he was mad.
Eunhyuk didn’t say anything as he kicked off his shoes, and pulled off his socks. Barefoot, he waded into the water beside Sungmin. He bent down and grabbed a few flat stones. After careful inspection of them he rose again and gave one a side arm throw in attempts to skim it along the top to the water. It bounced once before sinking beneath the surface. His second try bounced twice before it too disappeared. His third try didn’t even manage to bounce, it simply splooshed and sank straight to the bottom.
“I don’t get it,” Sungmin said suddenly. His voice, despite the time he had had to burn off steam, still held a great deal of irritation. “Wouldn’t someone who was such an expert at strategy and concerned with it, want to do the strategic thing?”
“Uh yes?” Eunhyuk replied. He was a bit clueless as to what Sungmin was even talking about.
His answer must have been the correct one because Sungmin just continued on. “Then I don’t have any idea why he isn’t. I know it’s not like we really could have stopped what happened to Hankyung, but damn it maybe he would’ve had the power to keep his Weaving from being shattered by Keiran.”
Eunhyuk blinked. Now he was completely lost on what they were talking about. Wisely he remained silent and allowed Sungmin to continue. “I mean all it will take is twenty, maybe thirty minutes and he can have unlimited access to my power. I would just give it to him if I could, but I can’t, not like we might need it.”
“I mean look at you,” he turned his head finally to look at Eunhyuk. “You are giving yourself to Donghae because he needs that grounding for his empathy. Leeteuk gives himself to Kangin so he has enough power to do all the healing he needs to. Ryeowook gives himself to Yesung so he can stay grounded. Hankyung, well I don’t even really want to know with that one.”
Now Eunhyuk was starting to feel like he was getting an idea of what Sungmin was talking about. “I mean,” Sungmin continued, “I know you all are affectionate now almost like you are all dating, but that is bound to happen when you have sex with someone over and over again. The point is that you all started because you wanted to help each other with something or another.”
“Uh actually,” Eunhyuk said quietly. “Not really.”
“What?” Sungmin looked at him curiously.
Eunhyuk blushed and couldn’t meet his eyes. “I didn’t even know about his empathy until we had already been making out for a week.”
Sungmin blinked. “Then why?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know. It felt nice to be wanted like that, and it’s Donghae,” he replied, as if the name was an explanation in itself.
“But what about your dreams of a woman with pretty elbows?” Sungmin asked confused.
“Have you seen Donghae’s elbows?” Eunhyuk said with a smile. “I mean they aren’t girly or anything but they are nice.” He shrugged. “The point is that none of us really did what we did because we wanted or needed more power. We did it because it felt good and we trust each other,” he paused. “Well maybe with the exception of Ryeowook and Yesung. I’m pretty sure Ryeowook had to do it to save Yesung’s mind at first but now they are like soul mates or something. You should have seen the kiss they shared when Yesung woke up. It was sweet.” He stared at the rock in his hand before throwing it and watching it bounce once before sinking.
“What’s happening to all of us?” Sungmin asked quietly. “I didn’t think any of us would ever turn gay for each other like the fans think we are, but now over half of us are.”
Eunhyuk shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess it’s kinda like this place has brought us closer together. I mean we were a family before but now I feel like we are something more. I don’t know.”
“I wonder if it has anything to do with this thing with our Songs,” Sungmin said quietly.
“It could,” Eunhyuk replied thoughtful. “I mean our Songs are supposed to be like our Soul right. Well, we give our Weavers a part of that as power and even though it doesn’t bother us, it’s like we are giving them a piece of ourselves that is more than just being friends or even lovers. Maybe that is why none of us mind the sex thing. It’s kinda like we have been there and past there.”
Sungmin sighed thoughtful and walked back a little ways so he could sit down on semi dry sand. He sat with his knees drawn up and his chin on them, wiggling his toes in the water every time it came up. Eunhyuk threw his last rock and watched it sink with the others before he shuffled back and sat down beside Sungmin.
They sat there, side by side, for countless minutes watching the sunlight play off the water and thinking. “Do you think,” Sungmin said finally, “that you will ever have a girlfriend?”
“Probably not,” Eunhyuk answered honestly. “I think Donghae needs us in more than just a physical way. I think that stopping what we are doing would hurt him way more than just a simple breakup and I could never destroy him like that. Besides, I like things the way they are.”
Sungmin nodded. “What about fans? We aren’t going to be stars forever. They will expect us to settle down since we talk about it so much.”
Eunhyuk shrugged. “I can always date someone, someone that I can trust with our secret. We can date for a long time and then pretend that something happened so that we had to break it off. I’ll be heartbroken and never want to date again. By the time fans realize that I am old and still single, I’ll be long out of the public eye and it won’t matter anymore.”
Sungmin laughed. “And here I thought you were going to be an MC when you were sixty.”
“If it comes between that and Donghae, Donghae wins every time.” Eunhyuk grinned. “Besides, at the rate we are going I don’t expect to live to see thirty.”
Sungmin nodded. “I hear you there.” He was silent for a minute. “How are we even managing to deal with all of this, everything that has happened? It’s crazy.”
“We are just that good,” Eunhyuk said with a smirk as he flopped onto his back and stared up at the few slowly drifting clouds. “It takes a lot to beat us.”
“Good thing too,” Sungmin laughed. “Although we may have to be committed when we are done with this.”
“Can you imagine Heechul in a padded room?” Eunhyuk asked with a snicker.
“Oh yeah, he would be,” Sungmin cleared his throat and attempted to do his best imitation of their elder. “‘These walls are plain and white. I have a problem with that. And would you hurry up and get me my medication. I have to teach the guy in room 105 and the one in room 208 how to dance Gee in ten minutes. And while you are at it see if you can’t find that darn Chinaman to make me some fried rice.’”
Eunhyuk exploded into laughter and moments later Sungmin joined him. The sound of their laughter carried across the beach conveying their amusement. Behind a tree at the far edge of the beach, a fish giggled happily as she watched the pair. Then she turned and with a flick of her tail disappeared.
Verse Twenty Seven"
Masterlist
Character Information
AN: You guys would not believe how excited I still am about writing this thing. It makes me sad to see authors that have brunt themselves out of their writing and I look at my baby and promise to love it forever (or within reason of forever...) Thanks so much, yet again, for all the comments. I am always so humbled by all the complements you give me and very thankful to any suggestions for improvements you might make (I discovered contraction issues thanks to one helpful commenter).
If you are looking for something that will make you crack up, I stole it from saanrio journal. I put in Sungmin and what the 'Top Ten Triva Tips about Sungmin' popped out. Here is a little preview: A female ferret will die if it goes into heat and cannot find Sungmin. Total fun crack. You can veiw it here and try your own too!
Verse Twenty Six
At the exact moment that Yesung slipped into unconsciousness, Heechul’s eyes also fluttered closed and his body collapsed. Only Kangin’s quick reflexes kept the man from getting a rather nasty bruise on his head.
In seconds Ryeowook was at Yesung’s side. He carefully pulled the other man off Hankyung and arranged him on the floor so he wouldn’t be hurt by the position he was in. Ryeowook smoothed the hair off the other man’s forehead as he used his lap as a pillow for him. Kangin grunted and shifted Heechul’s limp form more fully into his arms. “What do we do now?” he asked.
“I think,” Henry said hesitantly. “That maybe we should put their hands back together so that they are mixing blood again.”
Leeteuk nodded. “It’s as good an idea as any. Bring him over here.” He knelt beside Ryeowook and Yesung and gently lifted the unconscious man’s hand. Kangin moved to them and laid Heechul on the floor as carefully as he could. Once Heechul was settled, Leeteuk picked up his hand as well and fit their hands together. “Make sure they are still bleeding,” he mumbled to Kangin, as he continued to hold their hands pressed together. Kangin nodded.
“Now what?” Kangin asked.
“Now I think we wait,” Leeteuk told him softly.
“I’m so tired of this shit!” Sungmin exclaimed suddenly, startling many of the members.
“Sungmin,” Eunhyuk said softly, trying to calm him down.
“Don’t Sungmin me!” the other man snapped. “How many more times do we have to watch the people we care about almost die or get their Songs destroyed, or whatever the hell is happening?! It was bad enough that we almost lost Leeteuk and Kyuhyun in the accident but now we are suddenly signed up for something that is going to get us killed!”
“Sungmin,” Leeteuk said gently, “We are only human. Even if we are just normal guys at home, we could die at any moment.”
“Yeah but being a normal guy doesn’t come equipped with soul stealing monsters,” Sungmin replied dangerously.
“Sungmin-“ Leeteuk began again.
“No! I won’t listen to whatever you have to say. Not this time,” with that he turned and stormed from the room.
Silence fell on the remaining members. Shindong cleared his throat. “Maybe he is right. I mean we’ve almost lost Hankyung how many times now? And Heechul? And Leeteuk? And Yesung? And we haven’t even left Sanctuary.”
Ryeowook glanced up, his expression strong despite the tears in his eyes. “If we can save just one Song,” he said softly, steadily. “Just one. That will be enough. That will be worth it.”
No one had anything to say in reply to that. Ryeowook leaned over Yesung’s body, as if shielding him from the world, and very softly began to sing.
~♪~♪♫♪~♪~
Heechul lifted his hand and was pleased to watch it rise obediently. He wiggled his fingers and they danced in his vision as well. It seemed like his body was his again, or at least sort of. Now if he could only figure out where he was.
Where ever it was, it was plain and reddish - it clearly wasn’t real red or he would have felt like he was swimming in blood - or possibly a pink color. Heechul had never been really great at the distinction in color tones. What he did know was the color went on forever and it didn’t seem to ever stop. What was more was that he wasn’t standing on any ground, or at least he didn’t think he was. There was red or pink or some strange combination, below him as well and when he bent to touch the ground his fingers reached down beyond his foot as if they were sinking into the floor itself. That was a bit unsettling and he only just managed to keep from jumping backwards in surprise. Moving would be a very bad plan if he was standing on the only feet sized ground available.
“Are you amused?” Heechul jerked upright at the sound of Yesung’s voice. The man was standing a few feet in front of him with a strangely peaceful smile on his face and little else on his body. More unsettling then that was the silver dragon wings sprouting from his shoulders. As if they knew he was staring at them they extended to their full span, which was very impressive and nearly twice the size of Yesung for just one wing, before folding again. Yesung’s smile morphed into a satisfied smirk.
“You have them too you know,” he said nodding his head in Heechul’s general direction.
Startled Heechul spun, and then panicked since he may have left his only standing space. When he didn’t fall straight through the nonexistent ground he was able to focus on other things again. Spinning had clearly not shown him anything since if his wings were really attached to him they would have moved with him. Instead he concentrated and attempted to twitch appendages that he wasn’t sure he really had. Immediately there was the sound of something moving, something soft.
A bit more concentration allowed him to fold one so that it curled forward and he could actually see it. Yesung was right. He did have wings. They were a bright ruby red and feathered. The feathers, he found a minute later, were incredibly soft. He amused himself for a minute before moving his wing into what felt like a more natural position and turning back to face Yesung.
“I won’t ask the obvious,” Heechul crossed his arms over his chest that he had just realized was also missing clothing.
Yesung laughed and let his arms fall down to his sides. “We’re in your head still. I think, if I understood the books right, this is the true form of our Songs, a form we can only take on when we’re being joined by another form and somewhat unconscious.”
“So we’re in my head,” Heechul mused as he tried to wrap his mind around the concept. “You’re in my mind,” he scowled at that thought. “Hankyung!” he exclaimed, suddenly remembering why Yesung was there in the first place.
Yesung laughed again. “He’s fine. Exhausted, but fine. Keiran is in a box that I don’t think he will be able to break out of any time soon, but I’ll keep an eye on it anyway.”
Heechul nodded satisfied before taking the time to look around his surrounding again. “You know,” he said with a lopsided smirk. “You really do have a birthmark on your stomach. That would be kinda hot if I were into you.”
Yesung glared. “You have your own boyfriend. Don’t even think about it.”
“We aren’t boyfriends,” Heechul defended instantly. “We’re,” he paused. “We’re...”
“Don’t hurt yourself, I get it. Look Heechul there is two things you should know,” Yesung held up two fingers to illustrate his point.
“The first is that Keiran was feeding Hankyung some nasty things. I didn’t see much of them but I got the general feeling they were nothing anyone would want to see. He has been whispering to Hankyung a long time. I’m sure he has told him that for Hankyung to do what he did, he would have had to want to in some way shape or form,” Yesung explained. Heechul nodded and glanced away.
“He is right but he is wrong at the same time. Hankyung would have had to want to do everything he did but not even remotely to that extent. He probably wanted to come close to actually hitting Eunhyuk so that the other man would see how serious this is. He probably wanted to get a little more passionate with you because he could tell you would enjoy it. He has probably thought of strangling you when you are at you worst. All real things that he has felt and Keiran took and exploited them. He needs to know that. You have to tell him that.”
Heechul nodded and glanced to the side. There was something slightly shinny off in the distanced. He wondered what it was. Yesung stepped forward and grasped Heechul’s chin firmly.
“The second thing is that not noticing Hankyung’s Song being changed is not your fault,” Yesung declared.
That brought Heechul back into focus and he was filled with anger, mostly at himself. “How is it not my fault? I’m his Weaver. I should know what his Song sounds like. I do know what his Song sounds like. How could I have missed it?”
“This is why,” Yesung said. He reached up to the base of one of his wings and grabbed something. The other man gave a sharp tug and Heechul cried out at the sharp point of pain that shot up his wing. Heechul jerked backwards, away from Yesung and lifted his hand to rub at the spot the man had touched. He didn’t feel any missing feathers.
“What’s the big idea?” Heechul accused.
“These,” Yesung held up two wiggling colored strings. He grabbed one between his thumb and finger and held it up. “This one is to take your guilt and multiply it beyond reasonable explanation and this one,” he held up the other. “Is to distract you when you think about or anyone talked to you about what was happening with Hankyung.”
“I couldn’t have realized even if I wanted to,” Heechul said in disbelief. He could tell Yesung was correct though. Now that the Weavings were gone he could think about all that had happened much clearer. “How did those get there? I was never cut,” Heechul said with narrowed eyes.
Yesung shrugged, “Probably when you had sex.” Heechul looked appalled and Yesung rolled his eyes. “Oh it’s not like they are worms that crawled out of him and into you during your special moment. You couldn’t have seen them even if you had the best microscope. Don’t look so violated.”
“I,” Heechul swallowed forcefully. “That is gross,” he said finally.
Yesung nodded and then concentrated on the one in his left hand. It wiggled more violently for a moment before it dissolved away into nothing. He repeated the process with the second. “How do you feel?” Yesung asked when he was finished.
“Besides violated and incredibly pissed, fine. Does Hankyung have any of these nasty suggestions on him?” Heechul asked glaring.
“He did,” Yesung confirmed. “But they are safely put away. He is just him again, but he is going to need you Heechul.”
“He always needs me,” Heechul replied flippantly.
“Heechul I’m serious.”
“I know,” he replied quietly, his face falling. “I just have to,” he let the sentence trail off.
“Your defense mechanism. I know,” Yesung replied. He patted Heechul on the arm. Briefly Heechul wondered if he could justify breaking the fingers of the man who had just removed two parasites from him. He decided he had better not. He wouldn’t want to have to deal with Ryeowook if he did that.
Suddenly something light blue and shimmering streaked through the red expanse and stopped at Yesung’s feet. It stretched off into the distance behind him until it faded into nothing. Yesung smiled. “Ryeowook is calling me. I better go.”
“Oh he has you whipped,” Heechul said with a smirk. Yesung laughed. “Yesung,” Heechul asked slowly. “Can I ask you something personal?”
“You’re asking permission?” Yesung questioned.
“Well you did just save my mind. That makes a man pretty grateful and slightly more polite. Don’t get used to it though,” Heechul retorted. Yesung laughed and then nodded. “What is Ryeowook to you?”
Yesung paused for a moment and then smiled. The smile was a real and true one, one that Heechul could count on one hand how many times he had seen and still have fingers left over to continue counting with. “Let’s just say,” Yesung began truthfully, “that I feel bad for any woman who wants to build a home with me. I will never be able to give her what she wants. Ryeowook already has it.”
Heechul studied him for a minute, trying to decide if the other man really was telling the truth or not. He had to be, Heechul realized a moment later. Yesung couldn’t lie to him. Not here in his mind. He nodded satisfied. “We’ll speak of this to no one,” Heechul declared.
Yesung laughed. “Agreed,” he turned and took a few steps down the path before Heechul’s voice called out and stopped him.
“And Yesung, I never want to see you naked again,” Heechul told him, a half warning carried in his voice.
Yesung laughed and continued walking, “The feeling is mutual,” he called.
A moment later he had vanished and the path with him. Heechul sighed. Now that he had nothing better to do he was feeling a little bit sleepy, maybe it was time to take a nap. He snorted lightly at the thought of laying down on the nonexistent ground. The worst that could happen, he figured, was that he would fall through the ground that didn’t exist and just keep falling. That could be interesting. With a smirk on his face he laid his body down and let his eyes drift shut.
~♪~♪♫♪~♪~
His eyelashes fluttered and it took a moment for him to readjust to only be able to see out of his own eyes and hear his own thoughts. There was a strange feeling of wetness on his face and he looked up, forcing his eyes to focus. Above him was Ryeowook with tears leaking slowly from his clenched eyes. His lips moved slowly with the sound of a soft song, a song that Yesung had never heard before. A song, he realized as he listened to the words, about needing and love and something so much deeper then both.
Yesung lifted his free hand and brushed his fingers along Ryeowook’s cheek. At his touch the man’s eyes snapped open. “Jongwoon,” Ryeowook breathed as if it was the best thing he would ever say. “I was afraid that… I thought that…”
Smiling, Yesung gathered what little energy was left in his body and used it to lift himself into a sitting position. He pulled his hand free from Heechul’s and then turned to face Ryeowook. He was nearly to Ryeowook when his energy ran out and he feel limply forward. The other man caught him and the motion of it sent him falling unbalanced onto his back. Yesung landed on top of him, his head on Ryeowook’s shoulder and he laughed before sighing in contentment.
He reached, and Ryeowook’s Song filled him in response. It was one of the best feelings that he had felt all day. He had been able to use Hankyung’s Song, through Heechul, but it had felt wrong is so many ways. This feeling however, was perfect. Yesung hummed in contentment and let himself relax.
“Jongwoon?” Ryeowook asked, worried.
“Fine,” he mumbled. “Tired,” his letters were beginning to slur and he was positive he would be falling asleep soon, but there was something he needed first. “Kiss?” The word was all he could manage. He hopped Ryeowook got the message because he couldn’t even lift his hand to move it out of the awkward position it was in, let alone lift his head.
Ryeowook smiled and wiggled a bit to get Yesung to a position where it would be a little easier, before he move in and pressed their lips together. Yesung didn’t have the energy to respond but just the feel of their lips meeting was more than enough.
“Jongwoon?” Ryeowook asked, a moment later as the position of his neck became too uncomfortable. “Is that what you needed? Do you need something else?” he asked softly.
“No needed,” Yesung responded. “Wanted” He realized, belatedly, that the choppy speech made him sound somewhat like a caveman, but at the moment that was all he had energy for.
Ryeowook blushed and ran a hand up Yesung’s back then down again. The affection in the gesture made Yesung smile softly, another real one, and moments later he was fast asleep, still laying on the other man.
Beside them Leeteuk smiled, and laid Heechul’s arm down gently once Kangin was finished healing the cut in his palm. His eyes met Kangin’s and they exchanged a smile. Every member in the room was too relieved to begrudge the pair their moment. Even Kyuhyun was smiling softly at it.
Then the moment passed and Leeteuk took on his role as leader again. “Siwon,” he said softly so as not to disturb the sleeping Yesung. “Will you carry Hankyung to Heechul’s room? Youngwoon, you take Heechul. Shindong come help me move Yesung to his room. Eunhyuk go see if Sungmin is alright. Someone clean up this blood and put the living room right again. The rest of you go make some food.”
If the members thought they could have gotten away with saluting him they would have. Instead they exchanged smiles and hurried off to complete their separate tasks.
A satisfied smile filled Leeteuk’s face as he helped move Yesung off Ryeowook and into Shindong’s arms. Kangin laughed softly as he carefully gathered Heechul in his arms. “You just love doing that don’t you?” Leeteuk’s smile was an answer in itself.
~♪~♪♫♪~♪~
It took a good deal of time and a bit of luck before Eunhyuk found Sungmin at the beach with blue sand. The other man was standing with his feet in the water and throwing stones out into the waves. Sungmin didn’t look at him when he approached but he had to know he was there. Eunhyuk had made sure that he would be heard on approach. He figured it was probably a bad idea to sneak up on Sungmin, especially when he was mad.
Eunhyuk didn’t say anything as he kicked off his shoes, and pulled off his socks. Barefoot, he waded into the water beside Sungmin. He bent down and grabbed a few flat stones. After careful inspection of them he rose again and gave one a side arm throw in attempts to skim it along the top to the water. It bounced once before sinking beneath the surface. His second try bounced twice before it too disappeared. His third try didn’t even manage to bounce, it simply splooshed and sank straight to the bottom.
“I don’t get it,” Sungmin said suddenly. His voice, despite the time he had had to burn off steam, still held a great deal of irritation. “Wouldn’t someone who was such an expert at strategy and concerned with it, want to do the strategic thing?”
“Uh yes?” Eunhyuk replied. He was a bit clueless as to what Sungmin was even talking about.
His answer must have been the correct one because Sungmin just continued on. “Then I don’t have any idea why he isn’t. I know it’s not like we really could have stopped what happened to Hankyung, but damn it maybe he would’ve had the power to keep his Weaving from being shattered by Keiran.”
Eunhyuk blinked. Now he was completely lost on what they were talking about. Wisely he remained silent and allowed Sungmin to continue. “I mean all it will take is twenty, maybe thirty minutes and he can have unlimited access to my power. I would just give it to him if I could, but I can’t, not like we might need it.”
“I mean look at you,” he turned his head finally to look at Eunhyuk. “You are giving yourself to Donghae because he needs that grounding for his empathy. Leeteuk gives himself to Kangin so he has enough power to do all the healing he needs to. Ryeowook gives himself to Yesung so he can stay grounded. Hankyung, well I don’t even really want to know with that one.”
Now Eunhyuk was starting to feel like he was getting an idea of what Sungmin was talking about. “I mean,” Sungmin continued, “I know you all are affectionate now almost like you are all dating, but that is bound to happen when you have sex with someone over and over again. The point is that you all started because you wanted to help each other with something or another.”
“Uh actually,” Eunhyuk said quietly. “Not really.”
“What?” Sungmin looked at him curiously.
Eunhyuk blushed and couldn’t meet his eyes. “I didn’t even know about his empathy until we had already been making out for a week.”
Sungmin blinked. “Then why?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know. It felt nice to be wanted like that, and it’s Donghae,” he replied, as if the name was an explanation in itself.
“But what about your dreams of a woman with pretty elbows?” Sungmin asked confused.
“Have you seen Donghae’s elbows?” Eunhyuk said with a smile. “I mean they aren’t girly or anything but they are nice.” He shrugged. “The point is that none of us really did what we did because we wanted or needed more power. We did it because it felt good and we trust each other,” he paused. “Well maybe with the exception of Ryeowook and Yesung. I’m pretty sure Ryeowook had to do it to save Yesung’s mind at first but now they are like soul mates or something. You should have seen the kiss they shared when Yesung woke up. It was sweet.” He stared at the rock in his hand before throwing it and watching it bounce once before sinking.
“What’s happening to all of us?” Sungmin asked quietly. “I didn’t think any of us would ever turn gay for each other like the fans think we are, but now over half of us are.”
Eunhyuk shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess it’s kinda like this place has brought us closer together. I mean we were a family before but now I feel like we are something more. I don’t know.”
“I wonder if it has anything to do with this thing with our Songs,” Sungmin said quietly.
“It could,” Eunhyuk replied thoughtful. “I mean our Songs are supposed to be like our Soul right. Well, we give our Weavers a part of that as power and even though it doesn’t bother us, it’s like we are giving them a piece of ourselves that is more than just being friends or even lovers. Maybe that is why none of us mind the sex thing. It’s kinda like we have been there and past there.”
Sungmin sighed thoughtful and walked back a little ways so he could sit down on semi dry sand. He sat with his knees drawn up and his chin on them, wiggling his toes in the water every time it came up. Eunhyuk threw his last rock and watched it sink with the others before he shuffled back and sat down beside Sungmin.
They sat there, side by side, for countless minutes watching the sunlight play off the water and thinking. “Do you think,” Sungmin said finally, “that you will ever have a girlfriend?”
“Probably not,” Eunhyuk answered honestly. “I think Donghae needs us in more than just a physical way. I think that stopping what we are doing would hurt him way more than just a simple breakup and I could never destroy him like that. Besides, I like things the way they are.”
Sungmin nodded. “What about fans? We aren’t going to be stars forever. They will expect us to settle down since we talk about it so much.”
Eunhyuk shrugged. “I can always date someone, someone that I can trust with our secret. We can date for a long time and then pretend that something happened so that we had to break it off. I’ll be heartbroken and never want to date again. By the time fans realize that I am old and still single, I’ll be long out of the public eye and it won’t matter anymore.”
Sungmin laughed. “And here I thought you were going to be an MC when you were sixty.”
“If it comes between that and Donghae, Donghae wins every time.” Eunhyuk grinned. “Besides, at the rate we are going I don’t expect to live to see thirty.”
Sungmin nodded. “I hear you there.” He was silent for a minute. “How are we even managing to deal with all of this, everything that has happened? It’s crazy.”
“We are just that good,” Eunhyuk said with a smirk as he flopped onto his back and stared up at the few slowly drifting clouds. “It takes a lot to beat us.”
“Good thing too,” Sungmin laughed. “Although we may have to be committed when we are done with this.”
“Can you imagine Heechul in a padded room?” Eunhyuk asked with a snicker.
“Oh yeah, he would be,” Sungmin cleared his throat and attempted to do his best imitation of their elder. “‘These walls are plain and white. I have a problem with that. And would you hurry up and get me my medication. I have to teach the guy in room 105 and the one in room 208 how to dance Gee in ten minutes. And while you are at it see if you can’t find that darn Chinaman to make me some fried rice.’”
Eunhyuk exploded into laughter and moments later Sungmin joined him. The sound of their laughter carried across the beach conveying their amusement. Behind a tree at the far edge of the beach, a fish giggled happily as she watched the pair. Then she turned and with a flick of her tail disappeared.
Verse Twenty Seven"
Masterlist
Character Information
AN: You guys would not believe how excited I still am about writing this thing. It makes me sad to see authors that have brunt themselves out of their writing and I look at my baby and promise to love it forever (or within reason of forever...) Thanks so much, yet again, for all the comments. I am always so humbled by all the complements you give me and very thankful to any suggestions for improvements you might make (I discovered contraction issues thanks to one helpful commenter).
If you are looking for something that will make you crack up, I stole it from saanrio journal. I put in Sungmin and what the 'Top Ten Triva Tips about Sungmin' popped out. Here is a little preview: A female ferret will die if it goes into heat and cannot find Sungmin. Total fun crack. You can veiw it here and try your own too!