[FIC] #005 - I'll Stop The World
Title: I’ll Stop The World
Prompt: #112 - X-Men AU
Pairing(s): Kris / Tao
Summary: “He cheats! Every time I try and fight him I freeze. He's got to be stopping time or something," Kris whines. Jongdae snorts into his lemonade. "Pretty sure you're just getting distracted by his face."
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 5,802
Author's Notes: Dear my recipient, I hope this somewhat along the lines of what you wanted. It ended up with more plot than I anticipated, it's not in Zitao's POV like the prompt seemed to suggest, and bits of it are rushed, but I hope you enjoy it anyway!
Disclaimer: For reference this is the Xavier Institute of Higher Learning and this is Professor X, also known as Charles Xavier. If you didn't know, the Xavier institute is in America, but there's not enough time in this short fic to make that relevant.
Kris is in the cafeteria mourning another failed test to control his powers (and subsequently, another mission he's not allowed to partake in) when his two best friends come stumbling into the cafeteria. Baekhyun and Jongdae are a hard pair to miss- the air around them always crackles and blinks with electricity. Jongdae spots Kris first, tugging on Baekhyun's sleeve and pointing in his direction.
"Did you hear about the new kid?" Baekhyun asks, a teasing lilt to his voice as they plop down at Kris' table. He's got his sunglasses on today, and he's leaning on Jongdae more than he normally does. His senses must be bothering him. "I hear he's terrifying." Jongdae snickers next to him.
"Black hair, black eyes, muscles, tall..." Baekhyun continues. "Anything else, Jongdae?"
Jongdae turns toward Baekhyun rubbing his chin. "Ah, yes. There was one more thing." Baekhyun shoves him playfully. Jongdae leans forward, eyes fixed on Yifan's.
"He's devilishly handsome."
Kris rears back, eyebrows scrunching up. "Dude, what the fuck?" Jongdae and Baekhyun fall all over themselves laughing, slapping each other's backs and pointing at Yifan's horrified expression.
"C'mon, man," Baekhyun crows, "We all know you like guys!"
"Just because you two are sucking each other's dicks doesn't mean-"
"Excuse you, sir," Jongdae refutes, "I am straight. Baekhyun here though-"
"Taeyeon," Baekhyun interjects, slurping idly on his soup. Jongdae snaps his fingers in remembrance.
"But didn't she dump you?" He asks, smirking at his best friend. Baekhyun throws his empty bowl at his best friend.
"She's on a mission, asshat," he growls. "And careful where you're treading. I know you've yet to get Luna to say 'yes' to you."
Jongdae sighs dramatically, the back of his hand on his forehead in a 'woe is me' gesture.
"Someday," Jongdae sings. He then turns mocking eyes on Kris. "In the meantime, we have a certain mutant to set up with another certain mutant." Kris glares because he doesn't have a better reaction for the sharp-tongued Koreans.
"You two are teenage girls, I swear-"
Baekhyun and Jongdae cut off whatever Kris was going to say with their raucous laughter. Kris takes the moment to escape the two demons and head off to the gym. He's determined to get a handle on his powers sometime soon. Like, yesterday.
-----
Despite Baekhyun and Jongdae's best attempts to have Kris "accidentally" run into this "Zitao", he doesn't actually see him in person until about a month after the new guy's arrival. He's been annoyed that entire month with gossip about how hot Zitao is- how amazing he is at sparring- how mysterious he is about his powers. Granted, most of that gossip is teasing whispers from his friends over the lunch table, but it's still annoying (if not more so because it's Baekhyun and Jongdae). Kris doesn't care about how good the guy is at fighting until he sees it for himself, but he is a bit impressed that literally no one knows about his mutant ability. Even his two tiny demon friends haven't the faintest idea- and they know what brand of underwear Professor X likes to wear on Sundays.
Kris is wandering through the hallways on his way to the front lawn to practice levitating when he is suddenly stopped by a wall of noise and mutant bodies. His height allows him to see over the crowd of mostly females and straight to the center of the impromptu powwow. Among a gaggle of girls and boys who are all smiling brightly and clamoring over each other get closer to the small team of well-known mutants in the hallway stands a tall boy with dark hair and eyes. Kris knows without question that this is Zitao.
Of course, the girls screaming the word "Tao" may have helped to tip him off.
Kris is amused by the newcomer's lost expression at all the rapid-fire English, feeling a spark of superiority for his knowledge of both English and Mandarin (ignoring that any foreign mutant here is likely to be bilingual), until he notices his outfit.
He’s wearing a mission suit.
He's been here for a month and he's already wearing a fucking mission suit. Jealousy and anger boil in Kris' stomach, replacing the twinge of superiority in a heartbeat. It's then that Kris decides one thing for certain about this Zitao: he hates him.
He's staring hard with his eyebrows scrunched together when Zitao looks up at him and makes eye contact. He looks relieved for a second at Kris' Chinese features, but that expression fades when he notices the loathing blatantly displayed on Kris' face. He balks, ducks his head, and steps back to hide behind the other members of his team.
Cute, Kris thinks. Then he promptly reminds himself that he hates Zitao. He spins on his heal and heads back the other direction. The backyard will do just as well for levitation practice.
-----
The second time Kris sees Zitao is face to face in the gym. He's beating on a punching bag with wrapped fists when Kris walks in. He's amazed by the speed of Zitao's movements (and distracted by the slow drip of sweat down his neck) and upset that Zitao is already so prepared to fight. Kris has been here for years and still can't control his flight patterns.
So, jealous Kris does the logical thing and picks a fight with the other Chinese boy.
"Hey you," he says, like he doesn't know Zitao's name, "Wanna spar?" Zitao blinks, lips moving to repeat what Kris said so that he can understand it. Kris gloats in his head; Zitao's English is bad.
"Uh, yes?" Zitao answers, voice soft and shy, "I will spar wit' you?" His accent is adorable, and Kris mentally slaps himself for thinking that. Kris sighs.
"Do you want to spar with me?" He repeats in Mandarin, hoping to get away from that cute accent and contemplative scrunch of Zitao's nose as he thinks through his words. Zitao lights up, eyes brightening and stiffened shoulders losing a bit of tension.
"So you are Chinese," Zitao murmurs, the Mandarin rolling off his tongue with ease, his tone lowered and grumbling in the back of his throat, "Ok, let's spar. Are powers acceptable?"
Abort, abort, Kris chants to himself. The cute accented English was far better than this big-boy sexy mumbling.
"Y-yeah," Kris hears himself saying before his mind processes what was actually asked of him. Then he realizes- powers. He curses to himself. He can barely control his flight, and Zitao is already going on missions. He's still cursing as Zitao guides him to an open mat.
"Ready?" The newcomer asks. Kris doesn't answer, instead launching himself into the air by way of response. He only lets himself up about eight feet, but he's out of Zitao's reach. The other boy narrows his eyes, brings his arms up, and moves.
Zitao throws himself into the air, tucking his head and kicking his legs back. He rotates in a front flip. With his chest as his point of rotation, he's thrown farther. Before Kris can untangle his mind from the shock, Zitao has uncurled himself. His left leg is out. His calf catches on Kris' right ankle. His control on his flight wavers and collapses. He's pulled harshly to the ground by gravity and Zitao's momentum. Zitao lands hard on the right side of Kris' legs, his left leg raised with the edge of his foot poised to kick into Kris' throat and crush his windpipe.
Kris freezes.
He could kick up, but Zitao has his shoulder braced for impact and a hand back to catch his legs should he attempt that. He's lost before the match even begun.
Zitao waits another second before he backs off, hand held out to help Kris up. Kris feels his cheeks color with embarrassment.
"S-sorry," Zitao says slowly, "I didn't realize-"
Kris slaps the offered hand away and cuts Zitao's sentence off with a glare. Zitao didn't realize what? That he's weak? That he can't control his power properly? His embarrassment is replaced with anger, and he stands, allowing his height to give him an advantage over Zitao.
"That was a fluke," he bites out before spinning on his heel and storming out of the gym. He doesn't look back at the hurt expression on Zitao's face.
-----
Kris continues his endeavors of picking fights with Zitao every time he sees him in the gym. Unfortunately, the result is the same: Kris loses embarrassingly quick. He laments his losses at lunch, straightening up his act in front of his friends, but it's been three months since he started pestering Zitao to spar with him. He can't keep his woes silent anymore.
"Are you telling me you haven't beaten him yet?" Baekhyun says, shining a bit of light on his face. Kris blinks repeatedly, trying to clear the spots in his vision. Baekhyun flashes more light in his eyes. Kris growls a bit.
"He's a cheater, ok?" He mutters. "Every time I go up with an attack I just-" He cuts himself off, trying to comprehend for himself what it is that happens when he's in a fight with Zitao.
"Just what?" Baekhyun asks, stuffing a few candies in his mouth.
"I don't know! I freeze, I guess," Kris tries to explain. He blinks as a sudden epiphany hits him. "I bet he's stopping time. He's stopping something, that's for sure." He grinds a fist into his open palm. Beside Baekhyun, Jongdae busts out laughing. "Stopping time? That's rich. That's real power. Professor X wouldn't let him mingle with the likes of you if he were really that strong."
"I'm serious!" Kris nearly shouts. He feels an inexplicable urge to stamp his foot, but he refuses to lower himself to the level of a petulant child. "I'll be a second away from landing a punch and then I don't. I turn around and he's already standing behind me. I swear he's freezing me in place or something. Steeling my mobility? Fuck if I know."
Jongdae snorts into his lemonade. "I'm pretty sure you're just getting distracted by his face, Kris."
"I don't like him, Jongdae," Kris insists. But he can't even deny to himself that Zitao is attractive. He's just not attracted to him. Baekhyun and Jongdae wear twin incredulous expressions. They're not fooled either.
-----
Kris takes a break from sparring (or, more accurately, getting his ass handed to him politely) with Zitao to work himself to exhaustion everyday in the gym. He practices with other mutants, and trains with those who share his power of flight, but the progress is slow. He gets so caught up in his vendetta to beat Zitao just once in a sparring match that he nearly forgets about Zitao himself.
He's reminded of the boy's existence as a person and not just an obstacle when he sees him sprinting down the hall, a look of worry plastered on his face and mission suit zipped up to his chin. Kris admits that he's made a lot of really dumb decisions in his life, and this next one probably takes the cake, but he takes a deep breath and turns toward the hangar. He's following them on this mission- consequences be damned.
-----
Getting into the hangar is surprisingly easy for the so-called high security around the doors. Then again, the hangar can be flown out of and Kris is a mutant of flight. The particular craft that the mission team is going to take is already, the hangar doors opened and the engines whirring. Kris creeps up underneath the belly of the plane; when the security guard turns for a moment, he dashes up the stairs and to the back of the plane to hide. He sits down behind the last seat and waits.
It's not long until he hears the team members getting on the plane. He hears Amber Liu, an old friend who had long surpassed him with her own ability to fly (he resents that), two voices he doesn't know, Jongdae's loud laughter at something someone behind him said (Kris has to suppress himself from leaping up in shock. He had no idea Jongdae had already been accepted onto the mission roster.), and the soft voice of the person Jongdae is laughing at.
Zitao.
Kris instantly wonders if Jongdae knows Zitao's power. He brightens from his jealousy when he thinks he might get confirmation of the boy's abilities today.
The plane jolts forward. Excitement, anxiety, and fear buzz around the cabin. The team members shift as one, their hands twitching to come up to their ears where transmitters rest. He can't see Zitao nod, but he listens to his quiet murmur of yes and watches him stand. He listens to him breathe out.
"It's done," he says. The others nod, Amber giving Zitao an encouraging pat on the shoulder and murmuring to him softly in Mandarin.
"If it becomes too much, you can stop," she says. Stop what? Kris wonders. Zitao turns to Amber and shrugs.
"It's not a specific stop," Zitao says, "I'll be ok." Amber relents, settling back in her seat. The others, even Jongdae, remain silent.
Kris looks at the faces of the other two voices he had heard earlier by craning his neck around the back of the seat he's hidden behind. He recognizes them as Kai and Krystal, a pair of best friends with complimentary powers. An hour and a few odd minutes later, the team members shift. Kris can't feel his legs anymore- his legs protesting when he tries to stretch them out. The mutants in uniform are all standing, stretching out their limbs as the captain's voice comes into the cabin.
"We're over the drop zone in 30 seconds," his voice drones, "opening the door in ten, nine, eight..." Kris is amazed at the calmness with which the team of mutants approaches the side of the plane. He watches Kai grab on to Krystal. The girl grips Kai's forearm.
"Four."
Kris waits impatiently, counting in his head. The other mutants bounce on the balls of their feet.
"One."
The door opens. Jongdae cackles madly before running out of the plane, his body sparking and bursting into purple lightning. The rest calmly step out after him; Amber leaps into a swan dive.
The door is nearly shut when Kris throws himself forward and dives out the door. The captain lets out a surprised shout at Kris' sudden appearance, but Kris is already out into the open air, the wind whistling in his ears. He stares below him, amazed at the other mutants making their way down.
Amber's wings are out, the twelve foot span a stark white behind her. She glides down gracefully, hands out to gather the power of the air into her hands. Drawing shadows around himself, Kai blinks in an out of existence, making his way down to the drop zone with Krystal safely in his arms.
Teleportation, Kris thinks, amazed but not willing to admit it. A cackling laugh sounds above him, and Kris glances up in his free-fall just in time to see a burst of purple light, energy in the air making his hair stand on end. Jongdae, his entire being transformed into the lightning he wields. He zips down to the drop zone with his laughter trailing behind him.
Kris closes his eyes for a second, feeling the wind whipping past him, and exhales slowly. The prick of his power rising up under his skin comes to him quickly, and Kris feels relief bubble in his chest. He's descending far faster than he would like to, even with his flight activated. He can't deny gravity yet, and it's apparent as he slips past Kai and Krystal. He makes the mistake of looking down. The ground is coming towards him too fast.
He's close to landing, but his ability to hold himself up is slowly trickling away. with his panic of landing too hard to recover rising within him, the control slips away even faster. He wants to squeeze his eyes shut and block out the distraction of the ground rushing up to meet him, but closing his eyes won't allow him to catch himself when he inevitably crashes.
Over the rush of wind in his ears, Kris faintly hears a voice shouting in Mandarin.
"Amber, catch him!" There's a signature whistle of wind through feathers before strong hands catch Kris around the chest. He gasps at the sudden change in the speed of his descent.
"How?" He questions Amber. Her wings beat strongly behind them.
"Tao knew the whole time," she tells him. Kris wants to ask "how?" again, but his feet are scraping the ground, and he runs to catch his balance. He stumbles a little, but manages to stop before he falls from the ledge created by a shattered floor in the abandoned building where the mission is to take place. The drop zone is many floor below them. Amber lands behind him, her wings still out. With the white feather fanned around her, she looks ethereal and most intimidating.
"I don't know what stupid idea made you follow us, but i'm only going to warn you once," Amber threatens, "Stay here and stay out of our way."
"But-" Kris tries to object. He doesn't know what to say though. He wants to help, but it's apparent that he won't be of any use when he can't even land by himself. Amber doesn't wait for him to finish his sentence and throws herself over the ledge, her wings whistling as she glides down to the drop zone. Kris is tempted to jump after her, but his recent memory of nearly falling to his death puts a stop to his actions.
He hears the soft tapping of boot-clad footsteps behind him. He turns, and his eyes meet Zitao's.
"Why did you come, Kris?" The boy asks, shaking his head slightly. He looks worried, biting his lips. "I don't want you to get hurt." The soft intonations of his voice, even with him speaking English, calm Kris.
"I- just, wanted to know," he says. It's a ridiculous answer that doesn't answer anything at all, but Zitao seems to understand anyway.
"Why are you here?" Kris says, instead. "I- the mission?"
Zitao walks over to the edge, peering over it. His eyes flick from side to side as he takes in his team in the drop zone.
"A group of mutants who we've talked to before, offered places at the institute, have finally gone rogue," he explains quickly, "It's not unexpected. We've been keeping an eye on them. So when they broke into that first bank, we were alerted. So, here we are."
"How many?" Kris asks, his curiosity overriding the practicality of talking casually to Zitao in the middle of a mission. He looks over the edge, watching as mutants seem to come from the framework of the building. All of them wear ragged clothes and mean smiles.
"About thirty, all with marginally well-formed abilities," Zitao answers. He looks up at Kris. "Just wait here for us, alright?" Kris nods.
"Do you promise?" Zitao presses, starting to lean back. Kris whispers his promise back to the boy, and watches his lips smile before pulling into a smirk.
"This won't take too long," he says in response to Kris' words. He winks and says, "I promise." And then he falls, an excited whoop leaving his mouth as the exhilaration of free-falling speeds the beat of his heart.
Kris watches his descent. He races towards the ground, and for a moment Kris fears he's going to crash hard into the cement, but at the last moment, it looks like Zitao raises up a bit into the air and then lands in a roll, dropping his shoulder and coming up with a heel already digging into the gut of one of the rogue mutants. He punches hard across the guy's jaw, and doesn't even stop to watch him drop as his head slams into a pillar.
Kris is amazed at Zitao. Every time an attack, be it fire, some sort of acid, or energy, comes at him, he's suddenly in another place, his arms lashing out at pressure points to drop his opponents quickly. As intently as he is watching, Kris still can't figure out what exactly it is that Zitao is doing.
There's an indignant scream to his left. Kris whips his head in that direction to watch Amber wrap her arms around a girl with batwings, crushing the black appendages into her back and then letting go. The girl drops like a stone to land in a mass of black and pink.
Standing just outside of that dome of shadows are Kai and Krystal.
"Are you ready to go in?" Kai asks his partner. Krystal nods.
"Go ahead," she tells him, "I've got their minds secured." Kris blinks. What? But Kai has already disappeared inside the dome. Soon after that, he pops out, grabs Krystal, and teleports in again. In his eagerness to understand, Kris leans even further over the ledge. A stray bolt of lightning nearly clips him in the chin. He leans back quickly, looking down to make eye contact with Jongdae who is smirking. His friends is literally standing in a patch of burnt ground, the smell of ozone around him. He's soaked through from what Kris assumes was a water mutant, but all around him are electrocuted opponents, their clothes charred.
Kris turns back to Zitao's fight in time to see the back of his fist smash across his opponent's temple, the boy's blue-flaming hands stuttering out as he collapses to the ground. Zitao steps over him, already spinning on his left leg to catch another mutant's kick with his own.
A bright flash of pink and black distract Kris, and he watches the dome of shadow that Kai and Krystal had built fall away. The group of ten or so mutants that they had captured lie prone on the floor.
He sees Zitao lay waste to yet another opponent, the last of the rogue mutants standing in his corner of the drop zone. Jongdae's lightning calms, the resulting crashes of thunder suddenly quieting. He heads over to where Kai is standing.
There's an indignant shout from Krystal as suddenly one of their comatose mutants stands up, shakes himself off and runs to the center of the drop zone. He pulls something out of his jacket, presses a button on it, and sprints off.
Zitao doesn't see the lone mutant run away from the package he placed in the middle of the floor. Kris sees him leaving though, and he sees the other mutants gather around Kai and grab onto him. Zitao glances back. His eyes widen as he takes in the package in the middle of the drop zone, the lone mutant cackling over it, and the rest of his team mates clear on the other side of the drop zone. The package beeps its countdown, closing in on five seconds before Zitao even has a chance to move.
"Go!" He screams at Kai. "Go now!" And Kai does, his shadows wrapping up around the group of people around him and taking them out of the abandoned building. Another beep sounds: two seconds.
Kris swoops forward, his body in motion before he realizes- he's flying. He speeds toward Zitao, wrapping his arms around the other boy's waist. Zitao gasps in surprise as his feet leave the ground, but he twists automatically in Kris' hold. Kris is amazed at how easy it is to fly with Zitao in his arms. Not a second after Kris has pulled them out of the drop zone, the bomb detonates. He strains to fly faster to avoid the aftershocks, but Zitao has wriggled an arm free. He throws his hand out and exhales against Kris' neck.
The noise stops.
Everything stops.
"Kris, it's ok," Zitao's voice comes soft over the blood rushing in Kris' ears. "Don't strain yourself, we can land." Kris wobbles in flight, feeling the control of his power slipping away as he fights to hold onto it.
"Kris." Zitao repeats. Kris slows, leaning his head back to stare into Zitao's eyes. The boy nods. "Land," he adds, voice laced with encouragement.
Kris does, his feet touching down and letting Zitao's feet down but not releasing his hold on the younger boy. He's shaking all over, the adrenaline rush in his veins fading out with a sensation like pins and needles. He can't let Zitao go for fear he might fall over. The other mutant lets him hold on, his own arm strong around Kris' waist to hold him up.
"Look," Zitao says, motioning back towards the drop zone. Kris turns slowly, moving at Zitao's encouragement. Behind him, a mere 50 yards back, fire and shrapnel are stopped. He can almost see the air being thrown out of the way of the blast.
"You-" Kris starts, blinking rapidly, "How-?"
"Time control," Zitao answers simply, "That's my power. I can stop time, move myself through time, and speed and slow time." Kris gapes. Zitao smiles.
"You- weren't ever in danger then," Kris says, the words coming slowly and haltingly, his thoughts jumbled by the revelation. Zitao nods.
"No," he says, "But I am happy you saved me anyway." He closes his open palm, and the fire and debris rages backwards. Kris watches it disappear and become the bomb again. Clapping then sounds behind him. He turns, Zitao holding his waist, to face the other members of the team.
"Jongdae," Amber says, "Take care of that." She gestures towards the bomb. It's with a single bolt of lightning of the end of Jongdae's finger that the package fries- the fuses gluing together and the wires mangled beyond repair. Even Jongdae's power amazes Kris; he wobbles.
Kris is so glad for Zitao's arm around him when his own limbs give out, relief and exhaustion crashing into him with the force of a freight train.
"Alright," Jongdae cheers, "Mission complete!" He gets a high-five from Amber on his way over to Kris and Zitao. He motions for Kai to step forward with him too. He slips his arm around Kris' waist and throws Kris' arm over his shoulders. Kris can feel Jongdae's energy sparking into his body, helping his muscles to hold himself up.
"Zitao," Jongdae murmurs, "Let Kai take Kris." Zitao hesitates for a moment, his eyes a bit too wide as his fingers curl tighter into Kris' shirt.
"Come on," Jongdae coaxes, "You're tired. Let Amber take you back up." Krystal comes forward and takes Zitao's hand. She smiles prettily.
"Come on," she whispers, echoing Jongdae, "Let's go home."
-----
Kris is the gym, training again, when he next meets Zitao.
"Hey," he hears in that accented English, "I thought you would visit me in the sick bay."
Kris turns to see Zitao standing only a few feet behind him.
"It's only been a week," he says, "That's not that long."
"It would be more," Zitao says, "But I insisted. I've got thirty stitches along my side still, but my ribs are healed."
"Ah, that's good," Kris says, the end of his phrase lilting up almost like a question.
"So let's spar," Zitao continues. Kris balks.
"Spar?" He repeats, incredulous. "But you're injured! We can't!" Zitao fixes Kris with a look.
"Please," he says, "You can't beat me if I'm in top shape. You should take this opportunity I'm giving you." Kris sighs, but can't deny the competitive urge rising up within himself.
"No, Zitao, we shouldn't," he tries. Zitao scoffs. Kris takes a step back, and not a moment too soon. Zitao swings a half-hearted punch at him.
"Come on, Kris," he says, "Let's spar." He swings again, the punch a little faster, a little more of Zitao's real strength behind his fist. Kris blocks it. Zitao smiles.
"You won't break me," he teases, "so let's spar." And Kris can't resist anymore, so he kicks out as hard as he can. Zitao blocks it on his forearms, and smirks. "Just like that." Kris dances back two steps before lifting himself into the air the slightest bit. Zitao moves to jump after him again like their first spar, but Kris drops low to the ground, rolling underneath Zitao's jump. He pops up behind the boy, throwing a punch into the center of his back.
Zitao spins just in time. He catches Kris' fist in his palm. Kris grabs Zitao's wrist with his other hand. Zitao drops Kris' fist. Kris throws the released fist into Zitao's shoulder. Zitao tries to twist away, but his stitched side protests and he takes the punch, stumbling from the force. Zitao lifts up a leg to send his knee into Kris' side, but the movement is too slow and careful. Kris drops to the ground again. He sweeps his leg out. It catches Zitao's ankle and he falls. He catches himself in a cartwheel, but Kris has already barreled forward. He hits Zitao, and the man's already weakened state allows them to tumble back and crash.
They hit the ground hard, Kris hovering over Zitao. He has his wrists in his hands, his ankles hooked over Zitao's thighs. The mutant with the power to control time blinks, and then smiles. Kris knows that Zitao is stronger, that he could move time back just a little and stop Kris from throwing himself at Zitao, but the other mutant makes no move to activate his ability.
Instead, he leans up and presses his mouth against Kris' lips. Kris can't help himself, nor does he want to- he kisses back, falling into the sensation of Zitao's kiss. He licks along the seam of Zitao's mouth. The boy gasps, his mouth opening only slightly, but it's enough for Kris get his teeth on Zitao's bottom lip and tug playfully. It's Zitao's tongue that slips out to taste Kris first, and it's Zitao who pulls away first, but it's Kris who listens to the most beautiful words from the younger boy first.
"I like you, Kris," Zitao says. His expression turns coy, "How close is your room?" A jolt of arousal floods Kris' system.
"Not close enough," he growls, grabbing onto Zitao's arm and hauling him with him. Together, Zitao laughing, they race through the halls.
-----
It's after, Zitao's come drying on the sheets beside them, that Kris reciprocates Zitao's earlier words.
"I like you too," he murmurs against Zitao's neck. He then stands, moving to throw the condom into the wastebasket.
"Kris," Zitao says from the bed, rolling over to face him where he stands. "Do you want to know what I think?" Kris nods, still standing.
"I think you'll be able to go on a mission soon, Kris," Zitao murmurs, snuggling into the pillow under his head. "You just have a great power that is hard to control. No one blames you for it or thinks any less of you." His eyes are sincere, but they shine with something Kris can't quite place. As happy as he should feel, having this powerful, beautiful mutant in his bed, he can't stop the rage that builds up in him. Does Zitao feel sorry for him?
"Stop it!" Kris shouts. "I don't want your pity!" Zitao stands quickly, throwing his hands up. Kris wants to hit him. How dare Zitao insinuate that he can't handle himself?
"And you don't have it!" Zitao shouts back, defending his opinions immediately. "I don't pity you!" Kris freezes, fist pulled back to strike.
"What?" He demands. Zitao steps forward, and Kris finds himself unable to move as the younger boy wraps his hand around Kris' wrist. He slowly pulls Kris' hand down, uncurling his fingers slowly before sliding his hand into the other's grip.
"I want to stand beside you," Zitao says softly, switching to Mandarin. The soft syllables flow over Kris like a gentle breeze, the fast words with a gentle lilt calm him. "I want to be strong next to you, and I want to be your strength."
Kris stumbles from the force of the younger boy's words
"I will be your strength, Kris," Zitao insists. He presses his lips to the palm of Kris' hand. "I will be your strength until you are strong enough to fly by yourself." Kris laughs. He falls back, pulling Zitao with him as he collapses on the covers.
"Then wouldn't that be too much strength for two people?" He asks. Zitao props himself up on Kris' chest. He smirks.
"I imagine it will take you awhile to get there," he says, a cheeky smile on his face. "So I'll be tired by then."
Kris shoves Zitao, flipping him off the bed. The dark-haired boy lands with bang and an indignant yelp on the floor. Yifan glares down at him.
"You brat." But his smile is affectionate and his laugh is deep.
-----
"So," Baekhyun says with a smirk when he sits down at their table the next morning, "A little birdie told me something extremely interesting yesterday." Kris stiffens immediately, spoon halfway to his mouth.
"Oh, yeah?" Zitao asks, peeling his banana calmly. Kris nudges him, shooting an 'are you serious?' look at the younger boy. He nudges the taller man back, giving his own look that reads 'what the heck?'. Baekhyun catches the mutual nudging.
"Wait," he says, a slow grin spreading across his face, "Wait, what was that?" Zitao laughs, covering his mouth with the back of his hand.
Kris glares at his friend, "As if you don't already know." Baekhyun blinks innocently a few times.
"Better set me straight before I start spreading rumors," he warns with a wag of one his long fingers.
"Zitao and I are together?" Yifan tries. Baekhyun's grin is positively snake-like.
"And?" he presses.
"We slept together?" The grin drops from Baekhyun's face, and his chin hits the floor. His shock is apparent and the only cue that lets Yifan knows the short joker had just conned him out of information he had no idea about - again.
Baekhyun gathers himself and cackles. "I was just going to say that Wolverine is coming back and Professor X is making him spar with some of us, but this is so much better." He whips his phone out immediately, dialing a number Yifan knows to be the light controller's best friend.
"Hey!" Baekhyun shouts into the receiver, "Jongdae, guess what!?"
Yifan closes his eyes and groans. When he opens them, Baekhyun's phone is shattered on the ground and his lunch is all over his shirt while he curses loudly. Yifan glances at Tao who shrugs casually but can't quite hide the wicked smirk ghosting over his lips.
"Oops."
----------------------------
Additional Notes from the Author:
+ Krystal's power is to make dreams an external reality. Kai's shadows are the darkness of the mind. Together they can enter into a person's subconscious and attack them mentally while their bodies physically fight. It's very tiring, especially on the person being attacked.
++ Kris' inability to control his power of flight and levitation is due to his lack of motivation. In his mind, he wants to become great, but his heart isn't in it. When he sees Zitao being attacked, the rush of protectiveness and adrenaline gives him the control he needs. Obviously, he's still unable to control it fully, but now he has an actual starting point.
Prompt: #112 - X-Men AU
Pairing(s): Kris / Tao
Summary: “He cheats! Every time I try and fight him I freeze. He's got to be stopping time or something," Kris whines. Jongdae snorts into his lemonade. "Pretty sure you're just getting distracted by his face."
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 5,802
Author's Notes: Dear my recipient, I hope this somewhat along the lines of what you wanted. It ended up with more plot than I anticipated, it's not in Zitao's POV like the prompt seemed to suggest, and bits of it are rushed, but I hope you enjoy it anyway!
Disclaimer: For reference this is the Xavier Institute of Higher Learning and this is Professor X, also known as Charles Xavier. If you didn't know, the Xavier institute is in America, but there's not enough time in this short fic to make that relevant.
Kris is in the cafeteria mourning another failed test to control his powers (and subsequently, another mission he's not allowed to partake in) when his two best friends come stumbling into the cafeteria. Baekhyun and Jongdae are a hard pair to miss- the air around them always crackles and blinks with electricity. Jongdae spots Kris first, tugging on Baekhyun's sleeve and pointing in his direction.
"Did you hear about the new kid?" Baekhyun asks, a teasing lilt to his voice as they plop down at Kris' table. He's got his sunglasses on today, and he's leaning on Jongdae more than he normally does. His senses must be bothering him. "I hear he's terrifying." Jongdae snickers next to him.
"Black hair, black eyes, muscles, tall..." Baekhyun continues. "Anything else, Jongdae?"
Jongdae turns toward Baekhyun rubbing his chin. "Ah, yes. There was one more thing." Baekhyun shoves him playfully. Jongdae leans forward, eyes fixed on Yifan's.
"He's devilishly handsome."
Kris rears back, eyebrows scrunching up. "Dude, what the fuck?" Jongdae and Baekhyun fall all over themselves laughing, slapping each other's backs and pointing at Yifan's horrified expression.
"C'mon, man," Baekhyun crows, "We all know you like guys!"
"Just because you two are sucking each other's dicks doesn't mean-"
"Excuse you, sir," Jongdae refutes, "I am straight. Baekhyun here though-"
"Taeyeon," Baekhyun interjects, slurping idly on his soup. Jongdae snaps his fingers in remembrance.
"But didn't she dump you?" He asks, smirking at his best friend. Baekhyun throws his empty bowl at his best friend.
"She's on a mission, asshat," he growls. "And careful where you're treading. I know you've yet to get Luna to say 'yes' to you."
Jongdae sighs dramatically, the back of his hand on his forehead in a 'woe is me' gesture.
"Someday," Jongdae sings. He then turns mocking eyes on Kris. "In the meantime, we have a certain mutant to set up with another certain mutant." Kris glares because he doesn't have a better reaction for the sharp-tongued Koreans.
"You two are teenage girls, I swear-"
Baekhyun and Jongdae cut off whatever Kris was going to say with their raucous laughter. Kris takes the moment to escape the two demons and head off to the gym. He's determined to get a handle on his powers sometime soon. Like, yesterday.
-----
Despite Baekhyun and Jongdae's best attempts to have Kris "accidentally" run into this "Zitao", he doesn't actually see him in person until about a month after the new guy's arrival. He's been annoyed that entire month with gossip about how hot Zitao is- how amazing he is at sparring- how mysterious he is about his powers. Granted, most of that gossip is teasing whispers from his friends over the lunch table, but it's still annoying (if not more so because it's Baekhyun and Jongdae). Kris doesn't care about how good the guy is at fighting until he sees it for himself, but he is a bit impressed that literally no one knows about his mutant ability. Even his two tiny demon friends haven't the faintest idea- and they know what brand of underwear Professor X likes to wear on Sundays.
Kris is wandering through the hallways on his way to the front lawn to practice levitating when he is suddenly stopped by a wall of noise and mutant bodies. His height allows him to see over the crowd of mostly females and straight to the center of the impromptu powwow. Among a gaggle of girls and boys who are all smiling brightly and clamoring over each other get closer to the small team of well-known mutants in the hallway stands a tall boy with dark hair and eyes. Kris knows without question that this is Zitao.
Of course, the girls screaming the word "Tao" may have helped to tip him off.
Kris is amused by the newcomer's lost expression at all the rapid-fire English, feeling a spark of superiority for his knowledge of both English and Mandarin (ignoring that any foreign mutant here is likely to be bilingual), until he notices his outfit.
He’s wearing a mission suit.
He's been here for a month and he's already wearing a fucking mission suit. Jealousy and anger boil in Kris' stomach, replacing the twinge of superiority in a heartbeat. It's then that Kris decides one thing for certain about this Zitao: he hates him.
He's staring hard with his eyebrows scrunched together when Zitao looks up at him and makes eye contact. He looks relieved for a second at Kris' Chinese features, but that expression fades when he notices the loathing blatantly displayed on Kris' face. He balks, ducks his head, and steps back to hide behind the other members of his team.
Cute, Kris thinks. Then he promptly reminds himself that he hates Zitao. He spins on his heal and heads back the other direction. The backyard will do just as well for levitation practice.
-----
The second time Kris sees Zitao is face to face in the gym. He's beating on a punching bag with wrapped fists when Kris walks in. He's amazed by the speed of Zitao's movements (and distracted by the slow drip of sweat down his neck) and upset that Zitao is already so prepared to fight. Kris has been here for years and still can't control his flight patterns.
So, jealous Kris does the logical thing and picks a fight with the other Chinese boy.
"Hey you," he says, like he doesn't know Zitao's name, "Wanna spar?" Zitao blinks, lips moving to repeat what Kris said so that he can understand it. Kris gloats in his head; Zitao's English is bad.
"Uh, yes?" Zitao answers, voice soft and shy, "I will spar wit' you?" His accent is adorable, and Kris mentally slaps himself for thinking that. Kris sighs.
"Do you want to spar with me?" He repeats in Mandarin, hoping to get away from that cute accent and contemplative scrunch of Zitao's nose as he thinks through his words. Zitao lights up, eyes brightening and stiffened shoulders losing a bit of tension.
"So you are Chinese," Zitao murmurs, the Mandarin rolling off his tongue with ease, his tone lowered and grumbling in the back of his throat, "Ok, let's spar. Are powers acceptable?"
Abort, abort, Kris chants to himself. The cute accented English was far better than this big-boy sexy mumbling.
"Y-yeah," Kris hears himself saying before his mind processes what was actually asked of him. Then he realizes- powers. He curses to himself. He can barely control his flight, and Zitao is already going on missions. He's still cursing as Zitao guides him to an open mat.
"Ready?" The newcomer asks. Kris doesn't answer, instead launching himself into the air by way of response. He only lets himself up about eight feet, but he's out of Zitao's reach. The other boy narrows his eyes, brings his arms up, and moves.
Zitao throws himself into the air, tucking his head and kicking his legs back. He rotates in a front flip. With his chest as his point of rotation, he's thrown farther. Before Kris can untangle his mind from the shock, Zitao has uncurled himself. His left leg is out. His calf catches on Kris' right ankle. His control on his flight wavers and collapses. He's pulled harshly to the ground by gravity and Zitao's momentum. Zitao lands hard on the right side of Kris' legs, his left leg raised with the edge of his foot poised to kick into Kris' throat and crush his windpipe.
Kris freezes.
He could kick up, but Zitao has his shoulder braced for impact and a hand back to catch his legs should he attempt that. He's lost before the match even begun.
Zitao waits another second before he backs off, hand held out to help Kris up. Kris feels his cheeks color with embarrassment.
"S-sorry," Zitao says slowly, "I didn't realize-"
Kris slaps the offered hand away and cuts Zitao's sentence off with a glare. Zitao didn't realize what? That he's weak? That he can't control his power properly? His embarrassment is replaced with anger, and he stands, allowing his height to give him an advantage over Zitao.
"That was a fluke," he bites out before spinning on his heel and storming out of the gym. He doesn't look back at the hurt expression on Zitao's face.
-----
Kris continues his endeavors of picking fights with Zitao every time he sees him in the gym. Unfortunately, the result is the same: Kris loses embarrassingly quick. He laments his losses at lunch, straightening up his act in front of his friends, but it's been three months since he started pestering Zitao to spar with him. He can't keep his woes silent anymore.
"Are you telling me you haven't beaten him yet?" Baekhyun says, shining a bit of light on his face. Kris blinks repeatedly, trying to clear the spots in his vision. Baekhyun flashes more light in his eyes. Kris growls a bit.
"He's a cheater, ok?" He mutters. "Every time I go up with an attack I just-" He cuts himself off, trying to comprehend for himself what it is that happens when he's in a fight with Zitao.
"Just what?" Baekhyun asks, stuffing a few candies in his mouth.
"I don't know! I freeze, I guess," Kris tries to explain. He blinks as a sudden epiphany hits him. "I bet he's stopping time. He's stopping something, that's for sure." He grinds a fist into his open palm. Beside Baekhyun, Jongdae busts out laughing. "Stopping time? That's rich. That's real power. Professor X wouldn't let him mingle with the likes of you if he were really that strong."
"I'm serious!" Kris nearly shouts. He feels an inexplicable urge to stamp his foot, but he refuses to lower himself to the level of a petulant child. "I'll be a second away from landing a punch and then I don't. I turn around and he's already standing behind me. I swear he's freezing me in place or something. Steeling my mobility? Fuck if I know."
Jongdae snorts into his lemonade. "I'm pretty sure you're just getting distracted by his face, Kris."
"I don't like him, Jongdae," Kris insists. But he can't even deny to himself that Zitao is attractive. He's just not attracted to him. Baekhyun and Jongdae wear twin incredulous expressions. They're not fooled either.
-----
Kris takes a break from sparring (or, more accurately, getting his ass handed to him politely) with Zitao to work himself to exhaustion everyday in the gym. He practices with other mutants, and trains with those who share his power of flight, but the progress is slow. He gets so caught up in his vendetta to beat Zitao just once in a sparring match that he nearly forgets about Zitao himself.
He's reminded of the boy's existence as a person and not just an obstacle when he sees him sprinting down the hall, a look of worry plastered on his face and mission suit zipped up to his chin. Kris admits that he's made a lot of really dumb decisions in his life, and this next one probably takes the cake, but he takes a deep breath and turns toward the hangar. He's following them on this mission- consequences be damned.
-----
Getting into the hangar is surprisingly easy for the so-called high security around the doors. Then again, the hangar can be flown out of and Kris is a mutant of flight. The particular craft that the mission team is going to take is already, the hangar doors opened and the engines whirring. Kris creeps up underneath the belly of the plane; when the security guard turns for a moment, he dashes up the stairs and to the back of the plane to hide. He sits down behind the last seat and waits.
It's not long until he hears the team members getting on the plane. He hears Amber Liu, an old friend who had long surpassed him with her own ability to fly (he resents that), two voices he doesn't know, Jongdae's loud laughter at something someone behind him said (Kris has to suppress himself from leaping up in shock. He had no idea Jongdae had already been accepted onto the mission roster.), and the soft voice of the person Jongdae is laughing at.
Zitao.
Kris instantly wonders if Jongdae knows Zitao's power. He brightens from his jealousy when he thinks he might get confirmation of the boy's abilities today.
The plane jolts forward. Excitement, anxiety, and fear buzz around the cabin. The team members shift as one, their hands twitching to come up to their ears where transmitters rest. He can't see Zitao nod, but he listens to his quiet murmur of yes and watches him stand. He listens to him breathe out.
"It's done," he says. The others nod, Amber giving Zitao an encouraging pat on the shoulder and murmuring to him softly in Mandarin.
"If it becomes too much, you can stop," she says. Stop what? Kris wonders. Zitao turns to Amber and shrugs.
"It's not a specific stop," Zitao says, "I'll be ok." Amber relents, settling back in her seat. The others, even Jongdae, remain silent.
Kris looks at the faces of the other two voices he had heard earlier by craning his neck around the back of the seat he's hidden behind. He recognizes them as Kai and Krystal, a pair of best friends with complimentary powers. An hour and a few odd minutes later, the team members shift. Kris can't feel his legs anymore- his legs protesting when he tries to stretch them out. The mutants in uniform are all standing, stretching out their limbs as the captain's voice comes into the cabin.
"We're over the drop zone in 30 seconds," his voice drones, "opening the door in ten, nine, eight..." Kris is amazed at the calmness with which the team of mutants approaches the side of the plane. He watches Kai grab on to Krystal. The girl grips Kai's forearm.
"Four."
Kris waits impatiently, counting in his head. The other mutants bounce on the balls of their feet.
"One."
The door opens. Jongdae cackles madly before running out of the plane, his body sparking and bursting into purple lightning. The rest calmly step out after him; Amber leaps into a swan dive.
The door is nearly shut when Kris throws himself forward and dives out the door. The captain lets out a surprised shout at Kris' sudden appearance, but Kris is already out into the open air, the wind whistling in his ears. He stares below him, amazed at the other mutants making their way down.
Amber's wings are out, the twelve foot span a stark white behind her. She glides down gracefully, hands out to gather the power of the air into her hands. Drawing shadows around himself, Kai blinks in an out of existence, making his way down to the drop zone with Krystal safely in his arms.
Teleportation, Kris thinks, amazed but not willing to admit it. A cackling laugh sounds above him, and Kris glances up in his free-fall just in time to see a burst of purple light, energy in the air making his hair stand on end. Jongdae, his entire being transformed into the lightning he wields. He zips down to the drop zone with his laughter trailing behind him.
Kris closes his eyes for a second, feeling the wind whipping past him, and exhales slowly. The prick of his power rising up under his skin comes to him quickly, and Kris feels relief bubble in his chest. He's descending far faster than he would like to, even with his flight activated. He can't deny gravity yet, and it's apparent as he slips past Kai and Krystal. He makes the mistake of looking down. The ground is coming towards him too fast.
He's close to landing, but his ability to hold himself up is slowly trickling away. with his panic of landing too hard to recover rising within him, the control slips away even faster. He wants to squeeze his eyes shut and block out the distraction of the ground rushing up to meet him, but closing his eyes won't allow him to catch himself when he inevitably crashes.
Over the rush of wind in his ears, Kris faintly hears a voice shouting in Mandarin.
"Amber, catch him!" There's a signature whistle of wind through feathers before strong hands catch Kris around the chest. He gasps at the sudden change in the speed of his descent.
"How?" He questions Amber. Her wings beat strongly behind them.
"Tao knew the whole time," she tells him. Kris wants to ask "how?" again, but his feet are scraping the ground, and he runs to catch his balance. He stumbles a little, but manages to stop before he falls from the ledge created by a shattered floor in the abandoned building where the mission is to take place. The drop zone is many floor below them. Amber lands behind him, her wings still out. With the white feather fanned around her, she looks ethereal and most intimidating.
"I don't know what stupid idea made you follow us, but i'm only going to warn you once," Amber threatens, "Stay here and stay out of our way."
"But-" Kris tries to object. He doesn't know what to say though. He wants to help, but it's apparent that he won't be of any use when he can't even land by himself. Amber doesn't wait for him to finish his sentence and throws herself over the ledge, her wings whistling as she glides down to the drop zone. Kris is tempted to jump after her, but his recent memory of nearly falling to his death puts a stop to his actions.
He hears the soft tapping of boot-clad footsteps behind him. He turns, and his eyes meet Zitao's.
"Why did you come, Kris?" The boy asks, shaking his head slightly. He looks worried, biting his lips. "I don't want you to get hurt." The soft intonations of his voice, even with him speaking English, calm Kris.
"I- just, wanted to know," he says. It's a ridiculous answer that doesn't answer anything at all, but Zitao seems to understand anyway.
"Why are you here?" Kris says, instead. "I- the mission?"
Zitao walks over to the edge, peering over it. His eyes flick from side to side as he takes in his team in the drop zone.
"A group of mutants who we've talked to before, offered places at the institute, have finally gone rogue," he explains quickly, "It's not unexpected. We've been keeping an eye on them. So when they broke into that first bank, we were alerted. So, here we are."
"How many?" Kris asks, his curiosity overriding the practicality of talking casually to Zitao in the middle of a mission. He looks over the edge, watching as mutants seem to come from the framework of the building. All of them wear ragged clothes and mean smiles.
"About thirty, all with marginally well-formed abilities," Zitao answers. He looks up at Kris. "Just wait here for us, alright?" Kris nods.
"Do you promise?" Zitao presses, starting to lean back. Kris whispers his promise back to the boy, and watches his lips smile before pulling into a smirk.
"This won't take too long," he says in response to Kris' words. He winks and says, "I promise." And then he falls, an excited whoop leaving his mouth as the exhilaration of free-falling speeds the beat of his heart.
Kris watches his descent. He races towards the ground, and for a moment Kris fears he's going to crash hard into the cement, but at the last moment, it looks like Zitao raises up a bit into the air and then lands in a roll, dropping his shoulder and coming up with a heel already digging into the gut of one of the rogue mutants. He punches hard across the guy's jaw, and doesn't even stop to watch him drop as his head slams into a pillar.
Kris is amazed at Zitao. Every time an attack, be it fire, some sort of acid, or energy, comes at him, he's suddenly in another place, his arms lashing out at pressure points to drop his opponents quickly. As intently as he is watching, Kris still can't figure out what exactly it is that Zitao is doing.
There's an indignant scream to his left. Kris whips his head in that direction to watch Amber wrap her arms around a girl with batwings, crushing the black appendages into her back and then letting go. The girl drops like a stone to land in a mass of black and pink.
Standing just outside of that dome of shadows are Kai and Krystal.
"Are you ready to go in?" Kai asks his partner. Krystal nods.
"Go ahead," she tells him, "I've got their minds secured." Kris blinks. What? But Kai has already disappeared inside the dome. Soon after that, he pops out, grabs Krystal, and teleports in again. In his eagerness to understand, Kris leans even further over the ledge. A stray bolt of lightning nearly clips him in the chin. He leans back quickly, looking down to make eye contact with Jongdae who is smirking. His friends is literally standing in a patch of burnt ground, the smell of ozone around him. He's soaked through from what Kris assumes was a water mutant, but all around him are electrocuted opponents, their clothes charred.
Kris turns back to Zitao's fight in time to see the back of his fist smash across his opponent's temple, the boy's blue-flaming hands stuttering out as he collapses to the ground. Zitao steps over him, already spinning on his left leg to catch another mutant's kick with his own.
A bright flash of pink and black distract Kris, and he watches the dome of shadow that Kai and Krystal had built fall away. The group of ten or so mutants that they had captured lie prone on the floor.
He sees Zitao lay waste to yet another opponent, the last of the rogue mutants standing in his corner of the drop zone. Jongdae's lightning calms, the resulting crashes of thunder suddenly quieting. He heads over to where Kai is standing.
There's an indignant shout from Krystal as suddenly one of their comatose mutants stands up, shakes himself off and runs to the center of the drop zone. He pulls something out of his jacket, presses a button on it, and sprints off.
Zitao doesn't see the lone mutant run away from the package he placed in the middle of the floor. Kris sees him leaving though, and he sees the other mutants gather around Kai and grab onto him. Zitao glances back. His eyes widen as he takes in the package in the middle of the drop zone, the lone mutant cackling over it, and the rest of his team mates clear on the other side of the drop zone. The package beeps its countdown, closing in on five seconds before Zitao even has a chance to move.
"Go!" He screams at Kai. "Go now!" And Kai does, his shadows wrapping up around the group of people around him and taking them out of the abandoned building. Another beep sounds: two seconds.
Kris swoops forward, his body in motion before he realizes- he's flying. He speeds toward Zitao, wrapping his arms around the other boy's waist. Zitao gasps in surprise as his feet leave the ground, but he twists automatically in Kris' hold. Kris is amazed at how easy it is to fly with Zitao in his arms. Not a second after Kris has pulled them out of the drop zone, the bomb detonates. He strains to fly faster to avoid the aftershocks, but Zitao has wriggled an arm free. He throws his hand out and exhales against Kris' neck.
The noise stops.
Everything stops.
"Kris, it's ok," Zitao's voice comes soft over the blood rushing in Kris' ears. "Don't strain yourself, we can land." Kris wobbles in flight, feeling the control of his power slipping away as he fights to hold onto it.
"Kris." Zitao repeats. Kris slows, leaning his head back to stare into Zitao's eyes. The boy nods. "Land," he adds, voice laced with encouragement.
Kris does, his feet touching down and letting Zitao's feet down but not releasing his hold on the younger boy. He's shaking all over, the adrenaline rush in his veins fading out with a sensation like pins and needles. He can't let Zitao go for fear he might fall over. The other mutant lets him hold on, his own arm strong around Kris' waist to hold him up.
"Look," Zitao says, motioning back towards the drop zone. Kris turns slowly, moving at Zitao's encouragement. Behind him, a mere 50 yards back, fire and shrapnel are stopped. He can almost see the air being thrown out of the way of the blast.
"You-" Kris starts, blinking rapidly, "How-?"
"Time control," Zitao answers simply, "That's my power. I can stop time, move myself through time, and speed and slow time." Kris gapes. Zitao smiles.
"You- weren't ever in danger then," Kris says, the words coming slowly and haltingly, his thoughts jumbled by the revelation. Zitao nods.
"No," he says, "But I am happy you saved me anyway." He closes his open palm, and the fire and debris rages backwards. Kris watches it disappear and become the bomb again. Clapping then sounds behind him. He turns, Zitao holding his waist, to face the other members of the team.
"Jongdae," Amber says, "Take care of that." She gestures towards the bomb. It's with a single bolt of lightning of the end of Jongdae's finger that the package fries- the fuses gluing together and the wires mangled beyond repair. Even Jongdae's power amazes Kris; he wobbles.
Kris is so glad for Zitao's arm around him when his own limbs give out, relief and exhaustion crashing into him with the force of a freight train.
"Alright," Jongdae cheers, "Mission complete!" He gets a high-five from Amber on his way over to Kris and Zitao. He motions for Kai to step forward with him too. He slips his arm around Kris' waist and throws Kris' arm over his shoulders. Kris can feel Jongdae's energy sparking into his body, helping his muscles to hold himself up.
"Zitao," Jongdae murmurs, "Let Kai take Kris." Zitao hesitates for a moment, his eyes a bit too wide as his fingers curl tighter into Kris' shirt.
"Come on," Jongdae coaxes, "You're tired. Let Amber take you back up." Krystal comes forward and takes Zitao's hand. She smiles prettily.
"Come on," she whispers, echoing Jongdae, "Let's go home."
-----
Kris is the gym, training again, when he next meets Zitao.
"Hey," he hears in that accented English, "I thought you would visit me in the sick bay."
Kris turns to see Zitao standing only a few feet behind him.
"It's only been a week," he says, "That's not that long."
"It would be more," Zitao says, "But I insisted. I've got thirty stitches along my side still, but my ribs are healed."
"Ah, that's good," Kris says, the end of his phrase lilting up almost like a question.
"So let's spar," Zitao continues. Kris balks.
"Spar?" He repeats, incredulous. "But you're injured! We can't!" Zitao fixes Kris with a look.
"Please," he says, "You can't beat me if I'm in top shape. You should take this opportunity I'm giving you." Kris sighs, but can't deny the competitive urge rising up within himself.
"No, Zitao, we shouldn't," he tries. Zitao scoffs. Kris takes a step back, and not a moment too soon. Zitao swings a half-hearted punch at him.
"Come on, Kris," he says, "Let's spar." He swings again, the punch a little faster, a little more of Zitao's real strength behind his fist. Kris blocks it. Zitao smiles.
"You won't break me," he teases, "so let's spar." And Kris can't resist anymore, so he kicks out as hard as he can. Zitao blocks it on his forearms, and smirks. "Just like that." Kris dances back two steps before lifting himself into the air the slightest bit. Zitao moves to jump after him again like their first spar, but Kris drops low to the ground, rolling underneath Zitao's jump. He pops up behind the boy, throwing a punch into the center of his back.
Zitao spins just in time. He catches Kris' fist in his palm. Kris grabs Zitao's wrist with his other hand. Zitao drops Kris' fist. Kris throws the released fist into Zitao's shoulder. Zitao tries to twist away, but his stitched side protests and he takes the punch, stumbling from the force. Zitao lifts up a leg to send his knee into Kris' side, but the movement is too slow and careful. Kris drops to the ground again. He sweeps his leg out. It catches Zitao's ankle and he falls. He catches himself in a cartwheel, but Kris has already barreled forward. He hits Zitao, and the man's already weakened state allows them to tumble back and crash.
They hit the ground hard, Kris hovering over Zitao. He has his wrists in his hands, his ankles hooked over Zitao's thighs. The mutant with the power to control time blinks, and then smiles. Kris knows that Zitao is stronger, that he could move time back just a little and stop Kris from throwing himself at Zitao, but the other mutant makes no move to activate his ability.
Instead, he leans up and presses his mouth against Kris' lips. Kris can't help himself, nor does he want to- he kisses back, falling into the sensation of Zitao's kiss. He licks along the seam of Zitao's mouth. The boy gasps, his mouth opening only slightly, but it's enough for Kris get his teeth on Zitao's bottom lip and tug playfully. It's Zitao's tongue that slips out to taste Kris first, and it's Zitao who pulls away first, but it's Kris who listens to the most beautiful words from the younger boy first.
"I like you, Kris," Zitao says. His expression turns coy, "How close is your room?" A jolt of arousal floods Kris' system.
"Not close enough," he growls, grabbing onto Zitao's arm and hauling him with him. Together, Zitao laughing, they race through the halls.
-----
It's after, Zitao's come drying on the sheets beside them, that Kris reciprocates Zitao's earlier words.
"I like you too," he murmurs against Zitao's neck. He then stands, moving to throw the condom into the wastebasket.
"Kris," Zitao says from the bed, rolling over to face him where he stands. "Do you want to know what I think?" Kris nods, still standing.
"I think you'll be able to go on a mission soon, Kris," Zitao murmurs, snuggling into the pillow under his head. "You just have a great power that is hard to control. No one blames you for it or thinks any less of you." His eyes are sincere, but they shine with something Kris can't quite place. As happy as he should feel, having this powerful, beautiful mutant in his bed, he can't stop the rage that builds up in him. Does Zitao feel sorry for him?
"Stop it!" Kris shouts. "I don't want your pity!" Zitao stands quickly, throwing his hands up. Kris wants to hit him. How dare Zitao insinuate that he can't handle himself?
"And you don't have it!" Zitao shouts back, defending his opinions immediately. "I don't pity you!" Kris freezes, fist pulled back to strike.
"What?" He demands. Zitao steps forward, and Kris finds himself unable to move as the younger boy wraps his hand around Kris' wrist. He slowly pulls Kris' hand down, uncurling his fingers slowly before sliding his hand into the other's grip.
"I want to stand beside you," Zitao says softly, switching to Mandarin. The soft syllables flow over Kris like a gentle breeze, the fast words with a gentle lilt calm him. "I want to be strong next to you, and I want to be your strength."
Kris stumbles from the force of the younger boy's words
"I will be your strength, Kris," Zitao insists. He presses his lips to the palm of Kris' hand. "I will be your strength until you are strong enough to fly by yourself." Kris laughs. He falls back, pulling Zitao with him as he collapses on the covers.
"Then wouldn't that be too much strength for two people?" He asks. Zitao props himself up on Kris' chest. He smirks.
"I imagine it will take you awhile to get there," he says, a cheeky smile on his face. "So I'll be tired by then."
Kris shoves Zitao, flipping him off the bed. The dark-haired boy lands with bang and an indignant yelp on the floor. Yifan glares down at him.
"You brat." But his smile is affectionate and his laugh is deep.
-----
"So," Baekhyun says with a smirk when he sits down at their table the next morning, "A little birdie told me something extremely interesting yesterday." Kris stiffens immediately, spoon halfway to his mouth.
"Oh, yeah?" Zitao asks, peeling his banana calmly. Kris nudges him, shooting an 'are you serious?' look at the younger boy. He nudges the taller man back, giving his own look that reads 'what the heck?'. Baekhyun catches the mutual nudging.
"Wait," he says, a slow grin spreading across his face, "Wait, what was that?" Zitao laughs, covering his mouth with the back of his hand.
Kris glares at his friend, "As if you don't already know." Baekhyun blinks innocently a few times.
"Better set me straight before I start spreading rumors," he warns with a wag of one his long fingers.
"Zitao and I are together?" Yifan tries. Baekhyun's grin is positively snake-like.
"And?" he presses.
"We slept together?" The grin drops from Baekhyun's face, and his chin hits the floor. His shock is apparent and the only cue that lets Yifan knows the short joker had just conned him out of information he had no idea about - again.
Baekhyun gathers himself and cackles. "I was just going to say that Wolverine is coming back and Professor X is making him spar with some of us, but this is so much better." He whips his phone out immediately, dialing a number Yifan knows to be the light controller's best friend.
"Hey!" Baekhyun shouts into the receiver, "Jongdae, guess what!?"
Yifan closes his eyes and groans. When he opens them, Baekhyun's phone is shattered on the ground and his lunch is all over his shirt while he curses loudly. Yifan glances at Tao who shrugs casually but can't quite hide the wicked smirk ghosting over his lips.
"Oops."
----------------------------
Additional Notes from the Author:
+ Krystal's power is to make dreams an external reality. Kai's shadows are the darkness of the mind. Together they can enter into a person's subconscious and attack them mentally while their bodies physically fight. It's very tiring, especially on the person being attacked.
++ Kris' inability to control his power of flight and levitation is due to his lack of motivation. In his mind, he wants to become great, but his heart isn't in it. When he sees Zitao being attacked, the rush of protectiveness and adrenaline gives him the control he needs. Obviously, he's still unable to control it fully, but now he has an actual starting point.