From the Soul to the Song - Verse Twenty Seven
From the Soul to the Song
Verse Twenty Seven
It was dark when Heechul awoke. He could tell by the dip in the bed that Hankyung was beside him and, if the man’s even breathing was any indication, he was still fast asleep. Heechul lay there, staring at the dark ceiling while he rolled Yesung's words around in his head. It didn’t matter what the man had told him only hours before, Heechul wasn’t any less angry with himself no matter how groundless Yesung had said anger was.
To make matters worse, he knew the moment Hankyung woke up he would likely begin apologizing again and continue to swim in his guilt. Heechul would make sure the guilt wouldn't drown Hankyung, but there was a very good chance that he would become very irritated during the process. Hankyung needed someone who could be kind and comforting and help him through his guilt not someone who would beat him over the head with a stick in hopes to beat it out of him. It was time to call in backup.
Heechul slipped from the bed and took a moment to change out of his jeans and into his pajamas. Apparently the members that had brought them here hadn't seen fit to put them into sleeping clothes, not that he really had wanted them to.
Quietly he slipped from the room and strode with purpose across the hall to Siwon’s door. He didn't bother with knocking, it would very likely take too long for the man inside to wake up and he wasn’t willing to wait. "Siwon," he hissed as he poked his head in the door. He wasn't sure why he as whispering it just seemed like the normal thing to do. After a moment he called the other man’s name again.
"Heechul?" Siwon's voice sounded groggy with sleep but it cleared quickly. "Is everything alright? Is Hankyung-"
Heechul could hear shuffling from inside the room and he cut Siwon off before he could work himself into a true panic. "Hankyung is fine. I just have some inside information that he is going to be increasingly guilty when he wakes up and I thought you might want to be there to keep me from strangling him."
"I, uh, sure," Siwon replied. Heechul could just imagine him sitting on his bed naked from the waist up with the blankets pooling in his lap and a look of confusion on his face. He heard more movement and the sound of feet walking across the floor.
Heechul waited until Siwon had joined him in the hallway before turning to lead the way back across it. "Besides," he said flippantly, "I want a warm body to curl around and Hankyung is too busy being guilty to let me."
Siwon laughed and followed him into their room. He didn't resist when Heechul flopped down on his bed and pulled him down as well. He let himself be arranged and positioned to Heechul's satisfaction before the older man snuggled into his arms. Siwon smiled and pulled the blanket up over all three of them. On Heechul's other side, Hankyung continued to sleep.
~♪~♪♫♪~♪~
Kyuhyun was restless. It was well after what had become his typical time for sleeping, yet he found he couldn’t. Sungmin's words from earlier that day haunted him and he couldn't deny that the older man was right. This wasn't what he had signed up for when he had decided to be a singer. The car accident that could have taken his life from him was one thing. Accidents happened to normal people all the time. This however, this was as far from normal as they could get.
What was worse was what Kyuhyun had a feeling no one here in Sanctuary was telling them the whole truth about just how bad things could get. Vidyagauri had had her Singers and nothing else by her side. Their friends had, what he was certain was a full elemental team. They had that and more. They had a Player and judging by the reaction he had received, those were very rare. More than that, they seemed to have abilities that no other Ensouled had ever had.
From his experience that could only mean one thing, that what they were supposed to face was going to be harder than anything the Ensouled had faced this far. Worse Keiran had outsmarted them at every turn and they had just barely come out of the entire thing alive. Kyuhyun was learning from each encounter with him, but if he was learning, it was certain that Keiran was learning just as much. Their biggest weapon, the element of surprise with the extent of their power, would be useless now. Keiran knew their every ability. Kyuhyun was willing to bet that the piece that was within Hankyung was in constant contact with the original, relaying all of their secrets. With any luck the work Yesung had done had cut that contact. He sighed and glared at the ceiling as if it could tell him the answers.
When a knock sounded at his door, he wasn't sure if he was relived at the interruption or apprehensive at whom it could be. Sungmin stepped in wearing nothing but a pair of boxers and Kyuhyun promptly decided that apprehensive wasn't a strong enough word.
"My answer hasn't changed," he said flatly probably harsher then he meant to.
"Just hear me out," Sungmin requested.
"It won't change anything," Kyuhyun responded firmly.
"Kyuhyun shut up and listen to me," Sungmin ordered. In near shock Kyuhyun's mouth snapped closed. "I wanted to sleep with you because I wanted you to be able to fuse with me if you needed to." He held up his hand as Kyuhyun opened his mouth to speak and Kyuhyun snapped it shut again with a look of irritation.
"I knew it was the strategic thing to do and it still is. I thought everyone else had seen that and that is why they had all started sleeping together. It turns out that isn't true. The truth is that they started sleeping together because they just felt like it."
"Sungmin you know I don't," Kyuhyun paused trying to organize his thoughts, "I don't want you like that," he said quietly.
"I know. But the truth is I'm terrified something will happen and I won't be fast enough or strong enough to protect you. Kyuhyun I remember what you looked like when you were laying in that hospital bed. I have never been so scared in my life. I don't ever want to be there again and I know this time it won't be a hospital it will be a morgue."
"Sungmin I don't plan on dying anytime soon and Kangin can heal almost anything," Kyuhyun replied.
Sungmin shook his head. "We both know that doing what he did for Hankyung was dangerous and exhausted him. He needed all of our help for that and if he is trying to heal you he won't have the power of our team at all. I don't think he would be able to do it."
"Sungmin I will not have sex with you for some twisted battle strategy," Kyuhyun said firmly.
Sungmin sighed and flopped back on to the bed on his back. "I'm not asking you to, not any more. I just wanted to make sure you thought about the strategic value that we are saying no to."
Kyuhyun offered him a funny look and then hit him in the face with a pillow. "Just because you are horny doesn't mean that you can weasel your way into me having sex with you," Kyuhyun teased playfully.
Sungmin laughed. "If I really wanted to have sex with you I could just seduce you."
Kyuhyun snorted and smashed the pillow onto Sungmin’s face again before leaving it there, "You are really cocky for a virgin."
"How do you know I'm a virgin?" Sungmin’s muffled voice came through the pillow. He smirked as he pulled the pillow off his face and tucked it under his head. "I could have had many lovers before."
"Oh yes. In all your free time," Kyuhyun replied.
"Hey I haven't always been a singer," Sungmin protested.
Kyuhyun laughed, "No but I know you. You may be a shameless flirt but you wouldn't sleep with a woman unless you were serious about her and there has never been a woman that you were that serious about."
"What, you think I would have told you if there had been?"
"Yes," Kyuhyun replied confidently.
Sungmin laughed. "You’re right."
"I know," Kyuhyun replied before they fell into a companionable silence.
"What are you thinking about?" Sungmin asked a few minutes later as he turned his head to look at Kyuhyun who was starring at the ceiling.
"Keiran and how we can beat him," Kyuhyun said quietly. "I think he might know everything that has happened up to this point. I hope that Yesung has sealed that portion of him away but still he knows a lot, enough that we may not be able to beat him."
"You know," Sungmin said lazily.
"If you are about to say us having sex would be something he doesn't know, I swear I'm going to stuff you in a tiny box of air, naked, and leave you in the middle of Sanctuary for everyone to see."
"So you wouldn't mind seeing me naked," Sungmin responded.
"Sungmin I see you naked all the time," Kyuhyun replied flatly. "We live in the same room back home."
"And I've kissed you before too," Sungmin leered.
Kyuhyun glared. "You have kissed Eunhyuk too. Why don't you go see if he wants to sleep with you to surprise Keiran?"
"Hm I could. I wonder how a foursome would work," Sungmin mused.
"Now you are just horny. Get out of my bed!"Kyuhyun declared shoving Sungmin.
"Never!" Sungmin screamed with mock passion. He sprawled his limbs so that Kyuhyun would have to compact him in order to shove him out.
After several failed tries at trying to capture the flailing limbs, Kyuhyun grabbed his blanket to use in his efforts to bundle the other man. Sungmin immediately knew where that was going and he flung himself at Kyuhyun in an effort to avoid capture. They rolled around like two puppies fighting over the same toy.
In the end Sungmin won and ripped the fabric from Kyuhyun’s hands. The fabric fluttered to the floor and Sungmin settled over the other man, panting. "Sungmin," Kyuhyun said nervously as a grin filled the older man’s face, "What are you doing?" his words ended in an undignified squeak as Sungmin’s fingers snuck under his shirt and began to dance along his sides.
No one was supposed to know how sensitive Kyuhyun’s sides were, and no one was ever supposed to take advantage of it. In moments he was reduced to a laughing and squirming mass. “Please! Please no!” he pleaded.
“Oh no you are in for the torture!” Sungmin declared. He slid down Kyuhyun’s legs and the younger man began to squirm in earnest. He knew what was coming next.
His wiggles proved to be futile for Sungmin was still firmly seated on him moments later and was attempting to yank his shirt up. Kyuhyun struggled to dislodge Sungmin while at the same time he tried his hardest to keep the fabric down over his skin.
It was his attempts to multitask that foiled him in the end. Kyuhyun lifted his hand to shove at Sungmin’s shoulder giving the older man just enough free fabric to get a good hold on the shirt. The next thing he knew, his shirt was bunched up near his arm pits and Sungmin’s mouth was buried in his stomach.
Moments later Kyuhyun began to screech in earnest. Sungmin was blowing big wet sloppy vibrating kisses against his stomach, that not only tickled the overly sensitive skin, but were incredibly disgusting as well. Kyuhyun squirmed and shoved, squealed and shrieked, but there was nothing he could do to get out of the other man’s hold.
A few minutes later Sungmin stopped his torture and sat up fully, smirking. Kyuhyun dropped his arms to the bed exhausted from fighting and could do nothing more than gasp for much needed air and glare. “I. Hate. You,” he said, as soon as he had enough breath to do so.
Sungmin looked entirely too proud of himself. “And to think you could have just had sex with me and saved yourself this torture.”
“Just think,” Kyuhyun responded dryly. “I could have locked my door or better yet, crashed you into a tree when we were flying and saved myself from this torture.”
Sungmin laughed. “You like it. Admit it.”
“Oh yes. Let’s do it again immediately,” Kyuhyun said with as much sarcasm as he possibly could.
“Ok!” Sungmin agreed brightly and bent his head to press his lips back to Kyuhyun’s stomach.
“Sarcasm!” Kyuhyun cried frantically, “I was joking!”
“To late,” Sungmin said and smiled at the way Kyuhyun’s stomach pulled back away from his lips. He grinned and shifted his hands to the other man’s hips to hold him still and began his new brand of torture. Slowly he pressed a line of feather light kisses down Kyuhyun’s stomach to his belly button. There he flicked out his tongue and swirled it around the edge of the small hole. Kyuhyun’s stomach trembled and his gasped in surprise.
“What are you doing?” he asked half frantic. Sungmin didn’t answer in favor of repeating the process and feeling the tremble of Kyuhyun’s stomach beneath his lips. “Sungmin don’t,” Kyuhyun pleaded. The real denial and disgust that Sungmin had been listening for wasn’t there. It sounded to him as if Kyuhyun was simply saying no on principle.
Sungmin ignored him and kissed his way back up the other man’s stomach and then followed the line up the center of his chest. When his nose hit fabric he lifted one hand to shift the shirt out of the way. If Kyuhyun’s stomach and sides were sensitive, Sungmin was curious just how far that sensitivity went. He didn’t give the younger man any warning before he leaned in and swirled his tongue around one of Kyuhyun’s nipples.
Kyuhyun released a sharp gasp and there was a small full body shudder. His hands instantly rose to grab at Sungmin’s bare shoulders. The older man waited to be pushed away but when he wasn’t, he repeated the action. By the third lick Kyuhyun’s gasps had changed to breathy noises and Sungmin was almost positive that the younger man was pulling him closer. He knew that he could probably get away with doing just about anything at the moment, but that didn’t seem fair to either of them.
When he pulled his head up to look at Kyuhyun’s face, the younger man looked completely and utterly confused. Sungmin could honestly say that he had never seen Kyuhyun with that expression on his face and he didn’t know what to make of it. He did however know one thing. “I want to kiss you,” he murmured softly.
Kyuhyun blinked as if trying to focus and then nodded, once. Sungmin took that as permission and leaned in to seal their lips together. Kyuhyun hardly responded to the contact but when Sungmin’s tongue traced the seam of his lips, he opened them willingly. A few seconds later he surged up to meet Sungmin and forced him to fight for what he was taking from the younger man.
When Sungmin pulled away he was certain the confused look had transferred from Kyuhyun’s face to his own. Kyuhyun ran a hand lightly, experimentally, down Sungmin’s back and Sungmin shuddered at the touch. “If we are going to do this,” Kyuhyun said a moment later, “we aren’t doing it for any stupid strategy. We are doing this because we want to and because it feels good.”
Sungmin blinked. “Alright.”
Kyuhyun nodded his satisfaction before leaning up and whispering in Sungmin’s ear, “Make me yours Lee Sungmin.”
Sungmin’s eyes widened as Kyuhyun dropped back and relaxed against the mattress in clear offer. It was an opportunity that Sungmin couldn’t, in good conscience, pass up. So he didn’t.
~♪~♪♫♪~♪~
Heechul wasn’t sure if the sound of Hankyung’s breathing changing or the stiffing of his body against his back woke him. Either way he did not appreciate the interruption to his slumber. He poked Siwon, who he was still half on top of, sharply in the ribs startling the other man awake.
“Heechul what?” he asked groggily.
“You are trying to squeeze me to death,” Heechul grumbled irritably, “and I have to pee.”
The arms around his body immediately loosened and fell away. “Sorry,” Siwon said quickly. Heechul snorted and dug an elbow into his chest as he lifted himself up and crawled from between the two men. Siwon rubbed the spot on his chest lightly and then sighed as the bathroom door slammed closed.
“Siwon?” Hankyung asked softly. “Why are you here?”
Siwon turned onto his side so that he could somewhat make out Hankyung’s face in the darkness. “Heechul said he wanted me to make sure that he didn’t try to kill you for acting so guilty and that he wanted something to cuddle with.”
“He’d kill you if he heard you say that,” Hankyung replied.
“I’ll live. He won’t kill me until he is through with me at least,” Siwon shrugged.
Hankyung nodded and they were silent for a moment. “Hey Siwon, I’m sorry for everything that I said. I’m sorry for fighting you. I’m sorry for threatening you.”
“Hankyung,” Siwon said gently. “I forgive you. All of us forgive you. It wasn’t you that did those things, even if you think it was a part of you that got twisted it still wasn’t you. We all forgive you, but now you have to forgive yourself.”
Hankyung made a small noise at his words and Siwon could tell he was choking back a sob. “Oh Geng,” Siwon said softly. He shifted and pulled Hankyung into his arms. The man stiffened for a moment before he released himself into Siwon’s embrace and let sobs take him. “Hangeng it wasn’t you. We know that.”
“You almost died because of me. Leeteuk was almost lost because of me. Heechul had to give his mind, the most important thing in the world to him, to Yesung because of me. I almost killed Heechul, and worse I raped him,” Hankyung sobbed into his chest.
“Hangeng, I know Heechul and if there is one thing I know, it is that he would never allow someone to do anything without his consent. Even if you are bigger than him, he would still fight you off and win. You remember the one time he wrestled the remote, the bag of chips, and the couch from Kangin? There is no way you could have done anything without his permission,” Siwon said gently.
“But I-“
“No,” he corrected. “That was a lie fabricated by Keiran to break you. Heechul was willing Hangeng. You didn’t do anything against his will. Don’t let Keiran win. Not now.”
Hangeng nodded and wrapped his arms tightly around Siwon as if the man was his last lifeline. “I forgive you. We forgive you,” Siwon whispered to him over and over.
From the bathroom Heechul watched through the crack in the door that he had reopened. He pulled away slowly, stifling a sob of his own. It was killing him to see his lover and best friend this broken, and killing him even worse that he could do nothing about it. He quietly shut the door once more.
Blindly he stumbled to the shower stall and climbed inside it. Against the smooth porcelain he knelt, bent over and clutching his stomach. A tear splashed onto its cold surface, followed by another and then another until tears were streaming down his face. Tears for what had happened. Tears for what could have happened. Tears for what might happen still. Heechul stifled a pain filled noise as he curled into a small ball in the corner of the shower and wept.
By the time he had gotten that out of his system, washed his face, and composed himself enough that they wouldn’t be able to tell in the darkness, it had been nearly a half an hour. He opened the door and found that Hankyung’s sobs had quieted to a few sniffles every now and again, but he could still hear Siwon’s hand moving over the fabric covering the man’s back.
Heechul took a deep breath and then walked lazily from the bathroom to his bed. He crawled in on the other side of Hankyung and pressed up against his back while swatting Siwon’s hand out of the way. His arm snaked around Hankyung’s waist and the man stiffened for a moment before relaxing again.
“My mind is not the most important thing in the world to me. The people I love are. You are,” Heechul murmured softly and he kissed the back of Hankyung’s neck.
Hankyung released a sob. “Heechul,” he said mournfully. He shifted so he could see the man behind him and Heechul immediately took advantage of the position by leaning in for a quick kiss. Siwon gently urged Hankyung to turn and face Heechul fully and Hankyung gave into the other man’s prompting. “Heechul I’m so sorry.”
“I know you idiot,” Heechul replied as he wiggled as close as he could possibly get. He kissed Hankyung’s lips quickly before whispering, “I forgive you.” Hankyung sobbed anew at his words and Siwon pressed strong and solid against his back holding him firm while Heechul, warm and loving, pressed against his front.
~♪~♪♫♪~♪~
“I am truly scarred for life!” Donghae lamented the moment the last person joined the breakfast table.
“Oh what happened now? Did Kibum try some new kinky position with the two of you?” Zhou mi asked lightly. Kibum smirked while Donghae gapped like a fish for a moment.
“No,” Kibum answered for him. “That only happens on twisted Tuesday’s, yesterday was a Monkey Monday. Donghae was referring to what occurred in the room bordering ours.”
“Kyuhyun’s room?” Shindong asked, curious.
“Yes,” Kibum answered, slicing himself a piece of fruit. “We found out that Kyuhyun can apparently shriek and giggle like a mad man and then later we found out that he moans and eventually screams.” Kyuhyun blushed and focused on his breakfast while Sungmin looked slightly pleased with himself.
“So,” Heechul asked from his spot half in Hankyung’s lap with his feet in Siwon’s. Everyone was pleased to see that Hankyung looked much more together today, even if he still looked exhausted. “You two finally took the final step.”
“Yep,” Sungmin said brightly as he ate a spoon full of fruit.
“You don’t have to shout it to the world,” Kyuhyun muttered.
Sungmin rolled his eyes. “They are our group Kyu. We would never be able to keep it from them for long.”
“Especially not when Kyuhyun moans like that,” Eunhyuk said with a smirk. There were several laughs around the table.
“You think he moans loudly you should see what he looks like when he gets worked up. He is like a wild animal then,” Sungmin declared, receiving a sharp elbow in the side for his trouble.
Henry sighed heavily. “Well it always is the quiet gamers that are the loudest and craziest in bed.”
The entire room fell silent for a moment while they processed what it was that had just come out of the youngest person in the room. Then, suddenly, the room exploded into laugher.
~♪~♪♫♪~♪~
The garden in which he walked, looked as though it was personally crafted to resemble a magnificent meadow. His bare feet moved slowly and confidently over moist soil as he drifted through the plants. Long black hair hung unbound down his back. Every so often it would flutter as a breeze caught it. He wore no shirt, choosing instead to display his well toned upper body. Loose pants hung low on his waist and descended to his ankles where they stopped. His face was one that would be pleasing to any person that came across it, deep blue eyes, set into handsome features.
The breeze caught his hair and shifted it off his back for a moment, revealing the black lines that began at his shoulders and snaked over the surface of his skin in the exact representation of wings. Around his bicep on his right arm were more black lines. They appeared to nearly resemble the marks of the five elements but each was distorted in some way and chained to the others.
His hands drifted over the plants as he moved through them and his eyes looked beyond his garden. Beyond it were rolling hills of dirt and rock. Occasionally a patch of green broke the horizon but they were few and far between now. His garden was one of the most lavish for hundreds of miles and all knew to keep their distance from it.
This world wasn’t so different from its sister. The sun still rose and set here as it did there. The season remained constant, much like there. Vegetation would grow. There were rivers, lakes, pounds, other creatures and people. It wasn’t so very different, or at least it hadn’t been in the beginning.
He laughed as he turned back to his plants and found one blossom in particular that was exquisite in its beauty. His fingers traced a petal tenderly as he felt for the sweet Song within it. It bubbled up easily to him, almost inquisitive to his touch. He wrapped his mental fingers around the Song and gave a sharp tug. With little effort the Song broke free from the plant and flowed into him. He savored it as it curled within him, winding with the other Songs there, pooling as power for future use. Only a small trickle in the flow of Song he possessed, more like a sugary treat at the end of a large meal, but a tasty one nevertheless.
The flower itself looked the same but it seemed almost as if it had lost a bit of its vibrancy. It would, he knew, wither with death and be gone shortly since it was essentially dead now without its Song. It didn’t matter to him. He would simply have to plant another in its place. Slowly he picked his way to the center of his garden where a giant tree stood.
He climbed high into its branches and settled there. “They think they have won, these silly children,” he said with a smile. He ran his fingers along the tree as if it were an old friend that he was greeting once again. “Perhaps it is time to go to Earth. It has been a long time. I am curious to see how its creatures have changed.” He smiled as he reached for the strength of the tree’s Song. Carefully, he siphoned off a small bit of Song, enough to give him more power but not enough to damage the tree.
“This should be quite the adventure,” he smirked for a moment and took one last look around his garden. Then Keiran blurred and disappeared, headed for Earth.
Verse Twenty Eight
Masterlist
Character Information
AN: Tada! The last couple is together! (or at least the last currently planned couple. ^_^ I don't really have to much else to say at the moment except for thank you to everyone who commented and thank you also to those who read this as well. I appreciate every one of you. ^_^
Verse Twenty Seven
It was dark when Heechul awoke. He could tell by the dip in the bed that Hankyung was beside him and, if the man’s even breathing was any indication, he was still fast asleep. Heechul lay there, staring at the dark ceiling while he rolled Yesung's words around in his head. It didn’t matter what the man had told him only hours before, Heechul wasn’t any less angry with himself no matter how groundless Yesung had said anger was.
To make matters worse, he knew the moment Hankyung woke up he would likely begin apologizing again and continue to swim in his guilt. Heechul would make sure the guilt wouldn't drown Hankyung, but there was a very good chance that he would become very irritated during the process. Hankyung needed someone who could be kind and comforting and help him through his guilt not someone who would beat him over the head with a stick in hopes to beat it out of him. It was time to call in backup.
Heechul slipped from the bed and took a moment to change out of his jeans and into his pajamas. Apparently the members that had brought them here hadn't seen fit to put them into sleeping clothes, not that he really had wanted them to.
Quietly he slipped from the room and strode with purpose across the hall to Siwon’s door. He didn't bother with knocking, it would very likely take too long for the man inside to wake up and he wasn’t willing to wait. "Siwon," he hissed as he poked his head in the door. He wasn't sure why he as whispering it just seemed like the normal thing to do. After a moment he called the other man’s name again.
"Heechul?" Siwon's voice sounded groggy with sleep but it cleared quickly. "Is everything alright? Is Hankyung-"
Heechul could hear shuffling from inside the room and he cut Siwon off before he could work himself into a true panic. "Hankyung is fine. I just have some inside information that he is going to be increasingly guilty when he wakes up and I thought you might want to be there to keep me from strangling him."
"I, uh, sure," Siwon replied. Heechul could just imagine him sitting on his bed naked from the waist up with the blankets pooling in his lap and a look of confusion on his face. He heard more movement and the sound of feet walking across the floor.
Heechul waited until Siwon had joined him in the hallway before turning to lead the way back across it. "Besides," he said flippantly, "I want a warm body to curl around and Hankyung is too busy being guilty to let me."
Siwon laughed and followed him into their room. He didn't resist when Heechul flopped down on his bed and pulled him down as well. He let himself be arranged and positioned to Heechul's satisfaction before the older man snuggled into his arms. Siwon smiled and pulled the blanket up over all three of them. On Heechul's other side, Hankyung continued to sleep.
~♪~♪♫♪~♪~
Kyuhyun was restless. It was well after what had become his typical time for sleeping, yet he found he couldn’t. Sungmin's words from earlier that day haunted him and he couldn't deny that the older man was right. This wasn't what he had signed up for when he had decided to be a singer. The car accident that could have taken his life from him was one thing. Accidents happened to normal people all the time. This however, this was as far from normal as they could get.
What was worse was what Kyuhyun had a feeling no one here in Sanctuary was telling them the whole truth about just how bad things could get. Vidyagauri had had her Singers and nothing else by her side. Their friends had, what he was certain was a full elemental team. They had that and more. They had a Player and judging by the reaction he had received, those were very rare. More than that, they seemed to have abilities that no other Ensouled had ever had.
From his experience that could only mean one thing, that what they were supposed to face was going to be harder than anything the Ensouled had faced this far. Worse Keiran had outsmarted them at every turn and they had just barely come out of the entire thing alive. Kyuhyun was learning from each encounter with him, but if he was learning, it was certain that Keiran was learning just as much. Their biggest weapon, the element of surprise with the extent of their power, would be useless now. Keiran knew their every ability. Kyuhyun was willing to bet that the piece that was within Hankyung was in constant contact with the original, relaying all of their secrets. With any luck the work Yesung had done had cut that contact. He sighed and glared at the ceiling as if it could tell him the answers.
When a knock sounded at his door, he wasn't sure if he was relived at the interruption or apprehensive at whom it could be. Sungmin stepped in wearing nothing but a pair of boxers and Kyuhyun promptly decided that apprehensive wasn't a strong enough word.
"My answer hasn't changed," he said flatly probably harsher then he meant to.
"Just hear me out," Sungmin requested.
"It won't change anything," Kyuhyun responded firmly.
"Kyuhyun shut up and listen to me," Sungmin ordered. In near shock Kyuhyun's mouth snapped closed. "I wanted to sleep with you because I wanted you to be able to fuse with me if you needed to." He held up his hand as Kyuhyun opened his mouth to speak and Kyuhyun snapped it shut again with a look of irritation.
"I knew it was the strategic thing to do and it still is. I thought everyone else had seen that and that is why they had all started sleeping together. It turns out that isn't true. The truth is that they started sleeping together because they just felt like it."
"Sungmin you know I don't," Kyuhyun paused trying to organize his thoughts, "I don't want you like that," he said quietly.
"I know. But the truth is I'm terrified something will happen and I won't be fast enough or strong enough to protect you. Kyuhyun I remember what you looked like when you were laying in that hospital bed. I have never been so scared in my life. I don't ever want to be there again and I know this time it won't be a hospital it will be a morgue."
"Sungmin I don't plan on dying anytime soon and Kangin can heal almost anything," Kyuhyun replied.
Sungmin shook his head. "We both know that doing what he did for Hankyung was dangerous and exhausted him. He needed all of our help for that and if he is trying to heal you he won't have the power of our team at all. I don't think he would be able to do it."
"Sungmin I will not have sex with you for some twisted battle strategy," Kyuhyun said firmly.
Sungmin sighed and flopped back on to the bed on his back. "I'm not asking you to, not any more. I just wanted to make sure you thought about the strategic value that we are saying no to."
Kyuhyun offered him a funny look and then hit him in the face with a pillow. "Just because you are horny doesn't mean that you can weasel your way into me having sex with you," Kyuhyun teased playfully.
Sungmin laughed. "If I really wanted to have sex with you I could just seduce you."
Kyuhyun snorted and smashed the pillow onto Sungmin’s face again before leaving it there, "You are really cocky for a virgin."
"How do you know I'm a virgin?" Sungmin’s muffled voice came through the pillow. He smirked as he pulled the pillow off his face and tucked it under his head. "I could have had many lovers before."
"Oh yes. In all your free time," Kyuhyun replied.
"Hey I haven't always been a singer," Sungmin protested.
Kyuhyun laughed, "No but I know you. You may be a shameless flirt but you wouldn't sleep with a woman unless you were serious about her and there has never been a woman that you were that serious about."
"What, you think I would have told you if there had been?"
"Yes," Kyuhyun replied confidently.
Sungmin laughed. "You’re right."
"I know," Kyuhyun replied before they fell into a companionable silence.
"What are you thinking about?" Sungmin asked a few minutes later as he turned his head to look at Kyuhyun who was starring at the ceiling.
"Keiran and how we can beat him," Kyuhyun said quietly. "I think he might know everything that has happened up to this point. I hope that Yesung has sealed that portion of him away but still he knows a lot, enough that we may not be able to beat him."
"You know," Sungmin said lazily.
"If you are about to say us having sex would be something he doesn't know, I swear I'm going to stuff you in a tiny box of air, naked, and leave you in the middle of Sanctuary for everyone to see."
"So you wouldn't mind seeing me naked," Sungmin responded.
"Sungmin I see you naked all the time," Kyuhyun replied flatly. "We live in the same room back home."
"And I've kissed you before too," Sungmin leered.
Kyuhyun glared. "You have kissed Eunhyuk too. Why don't you go see if he wants to sleep with you to surprise Keiran?"
"Hm I could. I wonder how a foursome would work," Sungmin mused.
"Now you are just horny. Get out of my bed!"Kyuhyun declared shoving Sungmin.
"Never!" Sungmin screamed with mock passion. He sprawled his limbs so that Kyuhyun would have to compact him in order to shove him out.
After several failed tries at trying to capture the flailing limbs, Kyuhyun grabbed his blanket to use in his efforts to bundle the other man. Sungmin immediately knew where that was going and he flung himself at Kyuhyun in an effort to avoid capture. They rolled around like two puppies fighting over the same toy.
In the end Sungmin won and ripped the fabric from Kyuhyun’s hands. The fabric fluttered to the floor and Sungmin settled over the other man, panting. "Sungmin," Kyuhyun said nervously as a grin filled the older man’s face, "What are you doing?" his words ended in an undignified squeak as Sungmin’s fingers snuck under his shirt and began to dance along his sides.
No one was supposed to know how sensitive Kyuhyun’s sides were, and no one was ever supposed to take advantage of it. In moments he was reduced to a laughing and squirming mass. “Please! Please no!” he pleaded.
“Oh no you are in for the torture!” Sungmin declared. He slid down Kyuhyun’s legs and the younger man began to squirm in earnest. He knew what was coming next.
His wiggles proved to be futile for Sungmin was still firmly seated on him moments later and was attempting to yank his shirt up. Kyuhyun struggled to dislodge Sungmin while at the same time he tried his hardest to keep the fabric down over his skin.
It was his attempts to multitask that foiled him in the end. Kyuhyun lifted his hand to shove at Sungmin’s shoulder giving the older man just enough free fabric to get a good hold on the shirt. The next thing he knew, his shirt was bunched up near his arm pits and Sungmin’s mouth was buried in his stomach.
Moments later Kyuhyun began to screech in earnest. Sungmin was blowing big wet sloppy vibrating kisses against his stomach, that not only tickled the overly sensitive skin, but were incredibly disgusting as well. Kyuhyun squirmed and shoved, squealed and shrieked, but there was nothing he could do to get out of the other man’s hold.
A few minutes later Sungmin stopped his torture and sat up fully, smirking. Kyuhyun dropped his arms to the bed exhausted from fighting and could do nothing more than gasp for much needed air and glare. “I. Hate. You,” he said, as soon as he had enough breath to do so.
Sungmin looked entirely too proud of himself. “And to think you could have just had sex with me and saved yourself this torture.”
“Just think,” Kyuhyun responded dryly. “I could have locked my door or better yet, crashed you into a tree when we were flying and saved myself from this torture.”
Sungmin laughed. “You like it. Admit it.”
“Oh yes. Let’s do it again immediately,” Kyuhyun said with as much sarcasm as he possibly could.
“Ok!” Sungmin agreed brightly and bent his head to press his lips back to Kyuhyun’s stomach.
“Sarcasm!” Kyuhyun cried frantically, “I was joking!”
“To late,” Sungmin said and smiled at the way Kyuhyun’s stomach pulled back away from his lips. He grinned and shifted his hands to the other man’s hips to hold him still and began his new brand of torture. Slowly he pressed a line of feather light kisses down Kyuhyun’s stomach to his belly button. There he flicked out his tongue and swirled it around the edge of the small hole. Kyuhyun’s stomach trembled and his gasped in surprise.
“What are you doing?” he asked half frantic. Sungmin didn’t answer in favor of repeating the process and feeling the tremble of Kyuhyun’s stomach beneath his lips. “Sungmin don’t,” Kyuhyun pleaded. The real denial and disgust that Sungmin had been listening for wasn’t there. It sounded to him as if Kyuhyun was simply saying no on principle.
Sungmin ignored him and kissed his way back up the other man’s stomach and then followed the line up the center of his chest. When his nose hit fabric he lifted one hand to shift the shirt out of the way. If Kyuhyun’s stomach and sides were sensitive, Sungmin was curious just how far that sensitivity went. He didn’t give the younger man any warning before he leaned in and swirled his tongue around one of Kyuhyun’s nipples.
Kyuhyun released a sharp gasp and there was a small full body shudder. His hands instantly rose to grab at Sungmin’s bare shoulders. The older man waited to be pushed away but when he wasn’t, he repeated the action. By the third lick Kyuhyun’s gasps had changed to breathy noises and Sungmin was almost positive that the younger man was pulling him closer. He knew that he could probably get away with doing just about anything at the moment, but that didn’t seem fair to either of them.
When he pulled his head up to look at Kyuhyun’s face, the younger man looked completely and utterly confused. Sungmin could honestly say that he had never seen Kyuhyun with that expression on his face and he didn’t know what to make of it. He did however know one thing. “I want to kiss you,” he murmured softly.
Kyuhyun blinked as if trying to focus and then nodded, once. Sungmin took that as permission and leaned in to seal their lips together. Kyuhyun hardly responded to the contact but when Sungmin’s tongue traced the seam of his lips, he opened them willingly. A few seconds later he surged up to meet Sungmin and forced him to fight for what he was taking from the younger man.
When Sungmin pulled away he was certain the confused look had transferred from Kyuhyun’s face to his own. Kyuhyun ran a hand lightly, experimentally, down Sungmin’s back and Sungmin shuddered at the touch. “If we are going to do this,” Kyuhyun said a moment later, “we aren’t doing it for any stupid strategy. We are doing this because we want to and because it feels good.”
Sungmin blinked. “Alright.”
Kyuhyun nodded his satisfaction before leaning up and whispering in Sungmin’s ear, “Make me yours Lee Sungmin.”
Sungmin’s eyes widened as Kyuhyun dropped back and relaxed against the mattress in clear offer. It was an opportunity that Sungmin couldn’t, in good conscience, pass up. So he didn’t.
~♪~♪♫♪~♪~
Heechul wasn’t sure if the sound of Hankyung’s breathing changing or the stiffing of his body against his back woke him. Either way he did not appreciate the interruption to his slumber. He poked Siwon, who he was still half on top of, sharply in the ribs startling the other man awake.
“Heechul what?” he asked groggily.
“You are trying to squeeze me to death,” Heechul grumbled irritably, “and I have to pee.”
The arms around his body immediately loosened and fell away. “Sorry,” Siwon said quickly. Heechul snorted and dug an elbow into his chest as he lifted himself up and crawled from between the two men. Siwon rubbed the spot on his chest lightly and then sighed as the bathroom door slammed closed.
“Siwon?” Hankyung asked softly. “Why are you here?”
Siwon turned onto his side so that he could somewhat make out Hankyung’s face in the darkness. “Heechul said he wanted me to make sure that he didn’t try to kill you for acting so guilty and that he wanted something to cuddle with.”
“He’d kill you if he heard you say that,” Hankyung replied.
“I’ll live. He won’t kill me until he is through with me at least,” Siwon shrugged.
Hankyung nodded and they were silent for a moment. “Hey Siwon, I’m sorry for everything that I said. I’m sorry for fighting you. I’m sorry for threatening you.”
“Hankyung,” Siwon said gently. “I forgive you. All of us forgive you. It wasn’t you that did those things, even if you think it was a part of you that got twisted it still wasn’t you. We all forgive you, but now you have to forgive yourself.”
Hankyung made a small noise at his words and Siwon could tell he was choking back a sob. “Oh Geng,” Siwon said softly. He shifted and pulled Hankyung into his arms. The man stiffened for a moment before he released himself into Siwon’s embrace and let sobs take him. “Hangeng it wasn’t you. We know that.”
“You almost died because of me. Leeteuk was almost lost because of me. Heechul had to give his mind, the most important thing in the world to him, to Yesung because of me. I almost killed Heechul, and worse I raped him,” Hankyung sobbed into his chest.
“Hangeng, I know Heechul and if there is one thing I know, it is that he would never allow someone to do anything without his consent. Even if you are bigger than him, he would still fight you off and win. You remember the one time he wrestled the remote, the bag of chips, and the couch from Kangin? There is no way you could have done anything without his permission,” Siwon said gently.
“But I-“
“No,” he corrected. “That was a lie fabricated by Keiran to break you. Heechul was willing Hangeng. You didn’t do anything against his will. Don’t let Keiran win. Not now.”
Hangeng nodded and wrapped his arms tightly around Siwon as if the man was his last lifeline. “I forgive you. We forgive you,” Siwon whispered to him over and over.
From the bathroom Heechul watched through the crack in the door that he had reopened. He pulled away slowly, stifling a sob of his own. It was killing him to see his lover and best friend this broken, and killing him even worse that he could do nothing about it. He quietly shut the door once more.
Blindly he stumbled to the shower stall and climbed inside it. Against the smooth porcelain he knelt, bent over and clutching his stomach. A tear splashed onto its cold surface, followed by another and then another until tears were streaming down his face. Tears for what had happened. Tears for what could have happened. Tears for what might happen still. Heechul stifled a pain filled noise as he curled into a small ball in the corner of the shower and wept.
By the time he had gotten that out of his system, washed his face, and composed himself enough that they wouldn’t be able to tell in the darkness, it had been nearly a half an hour. He opened the door and found that Hankyung’s sobs had quieted to a few sniffles every now and again, but he could still hear Siwon’s hand moving over the fabric covering the man’s back.
Heechul took a deep breath and then walked lazily from the bathroom to his bed. He crawled in on the other side of Hankyung and pressed up against his back while swatting Siwon’s hand out of the way. His arm snaked around Hankyung’s waist and the man stiffened for a moment before relaxing again.
“My mind is not the most important thing in the world to me. The people I love are. You are,” Heechul murmured softly and he kissed the back of Hankyung’s neck.
Hankyung released a sob. “Heechul,” he said mournfully. He shifted so he could see the man behind him and Heechul immediately took advantage of the position by leaning in for a quick kiss. Siwon gently urged Hankyung to turn and face Heechul fully and Hankyung gave into the other man’s prompting. “Heechul I’m so sorry.”
“I know you idiot,” Heechul replied as he wiggled as close as he could possibly get. He kissed Hankyung’s lips quickly before whispering, “I forgive you.” Hankyung sobbed anew at his words and Siwon pressed strong and solid against his back holding him firm while Heechul, warm and loving, pressed against his front.
~♪~♪♫♪~♪~
“I am truly scarred for life!” Donghae lamented the moment the last person joined the breakfast table.
“Oh what happened now? Did Kibum try some new kinky position with the two of you?” Zhou mi asked lightly. Kibum smirked while Donghae gapped like a fish for a moment.
“No,” Kibum answered for him. “That only happens on twisted Tuesday’s, yesterday was a Monkey Monday. Donghae was referring to what occurred in the room bordering ours.”
“Kyuhyun’s room?” Shindong asked, curious.
“Yes,” Kibum answered, slicing himself a piece of fruit. “We found out that Kyuhyun can apparently shriek and giggle like a mad man and then later we found out that he moans and eventually screams.” Kyuhyun blushed and focused on his breakfast while Sungmin looked slightly pleased with himself.
“So,” Heechul asked from his spot half in Hankyung’s lap with his feet in Siwon’s. Everyone was pleased to see that Hankyung looked much more together today, even if he still looked exhausted. “You two finally took the final step.”
“Yep,” Sungmin said brightly as he ate a spoon full of fruit.
“You don’t have to shout it to the world,” Kyuhyun muttered.
Sungmin rolled his eyes. “They are our group Kyu. We would never be able to keep it from them for long.”
“Especially not when Kyuhyun moans like that,” Eunhyuk said with a smirk. There were several laughs around the table.
“You think he moans loudly you should see what he looks like when he gets worked up. He is like a wild animal then,” Sungmin declared, receiving a sharp elbow in the side for his trouble.
Henry sighed heavily. “Well it always is the quiet gamers that are the loudest and craziest in bed.”
The entire room fell silent for a moment while they processed what it was that had just come out of the youngest person in the room. Then, suddenly, the room exploded into laugher.
~♪~♪♫♪~♪~
The garden in which he walked, looked as though it was personally crafted to resemble a magnificent meadow. His bare feet moved slowly and confidently over moist soil as he drifted through the plants. Long black hair hung unbound down his back. Every so often it would flutter as a breeze caught it. He wore no shirt, choosing instead to display his well toned upper body. Loose pants hung low on his waist and descended to his ankles where they stopped. His face was one that would be pleasing to any person that came across it, deep blue eyes, set into handsome features.
The breeze caught his hair and shifted it off his back for a moment, revealing the black lines that began at his shoulders and snaked over the surface of his skin in the exact representation of wings. Around his bicep on his right arm were more black lines. They appeared to nearly resemble the marks of the five elements but each was distorted in some way and chained to the others.
His hands drifted over the plants as he moved through them and his eyes looked beyond his garden. Beyond it were rolling hills of dirt and rock. Occasionally a patch of green broke the horizon but they were few and far between now. His garden was one of the most lavish for hundreds of miles and all knew to keep their distance from it.
This world wasn’t so different from its sister. The sun still rose and set here as it did there. The season remained constant, much like there. Vegetation would grow. There were rivers, lakes, pounds, other creatures and people. It wasn’t so very different, or at least it hadn’t been in the beginning.
He laughed as he turned back to his plants and found one blossom in particular that was exquisite in its beauty. His fingers traced a petal tenderly as he felt for the sweet Song within it. It bubbled up easily to him, almost inquisitive to his touch. He wrapped his mental fingers around the Song and gave a sharp tug. With little effort the Song broke free from the plant and flowed into him. He savored it as it curled within him, winding with the other Songs there, pooling as power for future use. Only a small trickle in the flow of Song he possessed, more like a sugary treat at the end of a large meal, but a tasty one nevertheless.
The flower itself looked the same but it seemed almost as if it had lost a bit of its vibrancy. It would, he knew, wither with death and be gone shortly since it was essentially dead now without its Song. It didn’t matter to him. He would simply have to plant another in its place. Slowly he picked his way to the center of his garden where a giant tree stood.
He climbed high into its branches and settled there. “They think they have won, these silly children,” he said with a smile. He ran his fingers along the tree as if it were an old friend that he was greeting once again. “Perhaps it is time to go to Earth. It has been a long time. I am curious to see how its creatures have changed.” He smiled as he reached for the strength of the tree’s Song. Carefully, he siphoned off a small bit of Song, enough to give him more power but not enough to damage the tree.
“This should be quite the adventure,” he smirked for a moment and took one last look around his garden. Then Keiran blurred and disappeared, headed for Earth.
Verse Twenty Eight
Masterlist
Character Information
AN: Tada! The last couple is together! (or at least the last currently planned couple. ^_^ I don't really have to much else to say at the moment except for thank you to everyone who commented and thank you also to those who read this as well. I appreciate every one of you. ^_^