!Fic: The Power to Get Up Again (It's in You) (Part I)

[jungwhee]

Author: sogogibaby
Prompt #: 17
Title: The Power to Get Up Again (It’s In You)
Pairing(s): Baekhyun/Chanyeol
Side pairing(s): none
Rating: pg15
Summary: Chanyeol’s powers hate him and it doesn’t help that there’s this cute boy at every crime scene.
Word Count: 18,090
Tags: mama powers!au, superhero!au
Warning(s): violence, swearing, minor character death
Disclaimer: The is a work of fiction. The names and images of the celebrities mentioned are borrowed and is not meant to represent the celebrities themselves. All original characters and plot belong to the author and is not to be reproduced and/or shared without written permission from the author. No copyright infringement is intended.
Author's Note: this was written for a fest but the format was fucked up and no one liked it so… i’m reposting here i guess.

Ages:

baekhyun - 25
kyungsoo - 27
chanyeol - 27
sehun - 27

part2>> ☀ part 3>>



The Phoenix stood tall upon a skyscraper in the district of Myeongdong. Looking down upon the citizens of Seoul, he smiled to himself thinking about how he had single handedly brought Seoul to safety. Now that crime was at an all time low, kids were out on the streets hanging out with their friends, and the elderly were out buying groceries at local marts without having to worry about what evil may lurk around them.

He frowned once he spotted a giant screen across the street projecting a news story on his possible identity. He didn’t understand why people were so adamant on finding out his identity. He took off the mask that hid the top half of his face and stared down at it. Without this mask, he was reduced to just Park Chanyeol. Flipping the mask over, he stared at its details, the face of The Phoenix staring back at him. He shook his head and placed the mask back on his face.

As he continued to survey the land before him, he noticed a small child walking out of the main market street in Myeongdong. The kid didn’t look a day over twelve and yet he was all alone. He frowned; his superhero senses tingling. He leapt from his perch on the roof onto the fire escape of the building, and climbed down two bars at a time. Once he reached the second floor, he started to leap from roof to roof after the small boy. After about fifteen minutes of walking, or leaping for The Phoenix, the small boy came to a complete stop. The Phoenix watched from the roof of a 7/11.

Under the harsh light coming from the 7/11, the small boy looked around the corner into a dark alley. The Phoenix furrowed his brows. What on earth was this kid doing alone in a dark alley? Although he had done a good job of cleaning up the city, citizens were still warned not to be stupid and wander off into dangerous parts of town. The Phoenix hopped down from the 7/11 and followed the little boy, only to find him being held at knifepoint. He cursed and ran into the alley.

“Let him go!” The Phoenix boomed. The crook holding the boy looked up in surprise to see none other than The Phoenix before him. He was shaking, but continued to hold the knife to the boy’s throat.

“No way in hell! We’re five to one. You’re outnumbered, Phoenix.” The crook looked crazed and held the knife closer to the boy’s neck. The Phoenix had to act fast. He concentrated on the heat forming in the middle of his chest and tried to calm down the attackers, knowing it will take time for his powers to come to the surface.

“Let’s not be hasty here. If you guys let him go, I’ll let you all live, how does that sound?” He looked towards the boy who seemed to be trembling as he was looking back and forth between his captors. The gangster closest to The Phoenix was getting antsy, his eyes were twitching and it looked like he was getting ready to lunge forward. The Phoenix’s body wasn’t yet producing the fire he needed, but it was hot enough that when the man finally burst forward, he would be ready.

“C’mon… you guys should be picking on someone your own size! A twelve year old boy, really? Don’t you guys have any dignity? What are you trying to take from him, lunch money?” he continued, and as if on cue, the man lunged for The Phoenix with a lead pipe in hand. The Phoenix blocked the attacker by lifting his right hand, causing the pipe to land directly onto his forearm with a bone-cracking sound. However, following that was the distinct sound of sizzling; the attacker’s eyes widened as the lead pipe in his grip melted against The Phoenix’s arm. He stumbled forward with all his weight falling right on top of the superhero. The Phoenix held the captor with his hand twisted and stuck behind his back.

The man began to scream in agony as all the areas where The Phoenix’s skin was touching his own were burning and blistering. The Phoenix mentally smirked as his chest began to glow with power, and the other gangsters began to back away in shock. As they were planning their next move, The Phoenix began to feel heat travelling to the palms of his hands.

“Finally.”

The heat burnt through the crook’s clothes and began to burn his flesh. The Phoenix let go of the man, and he dropped to the floor. The Phoenix then extended his hands out towards the rest of the gangsters and unleashed a wave of heat that surrounded them in flames. The gangsters were shouting in panic; the one holding the boy captive threw him to the floor to find a way to escape the wall of flames. The Phoenix effortlessly entered the flames and channeled the heat from his arms to create a pair of huge fiery wings. He scooped the boy into his arms and lifted off the ground. As he flew up, the gangsters attempted to hold onto his legs to try and escape, but they were burnt as soon as they touched The Phoenix’s ankles.

The Phoenix touched down on the roof of the 7/11 once again and put the boy down, who was currently shaking and coughing from the smoke. He bent down and patted the boy’s back.

Admittedly, it was an awfully normal thing to do after he had just burnt the skin off some gangsters. Chanyeol just hoped that the boy wasn’t too traumatized. He turned away from the boy and switched on a disposable light signal, setting it to project a fire symbol against the wall of the building across the 7/11. The boy couldn’t seem to cease his coughing so Chanyeol scooped him up and lifted off, knowing that there was no way he could leave the boy to die due to smoke inhalation. He flew across the district of Myeongdong highly concerned for the boy in his hands. Taking a closer look at him, he could tell that he wasn’t just a boy. From afar he was short and cute looking, but upon further inspection he had defined arms, and he was wearing some sort of working uniform. Another thing that Chanyeol hadn’t noticed amongst the chaos was the wine red color of the man’s hair. He was actually shockingly handsome now that Chanyeol had the time to admire his face.

“W-where are we going?” The boy croaked out, finally cracking his eyes open.

Chanyeol stared at the boy, caught off guard. His voice was also deeper than he expected, although that could just be due to the smoke inhalation. Chanyeol then considered taking him to the hospital, but he couldn’t risk the exposure and he needed time to reel his powers back in. As Chanyeol was lost in his thoughts of where to take them, he began to sway from side to side has he flew, a bad habit he had picked up when he spaced out.

The boy in his arms was confused at the sudden jerky movements for a solid minute before he started to laugh. The Phoenix was basically dissociating as he was carrying him, swinging them both from left to right above the city. It must have painted an odd picture from down below, people watching a huge pair of fiery wings just lazily flapping from side to side like its owner was on an evening stroll (stroll? Do birds stroll?). The boy scrunched up his nose in thought.

Though as soon as the fit of giggles passed, he was back to coughing. Chanyeol stopped mid-air and looked down at the boy in surprise.

“Why were you laughing?” Chanyeol furrowed his brows and thought that they needed to get somewhere fast because it looked like the smoke was getting to the boy (man’s?) brain.

“N-nothing. Just, can we get to a hospital or something? I feel like I’m ‘gonna cough up blood any moment now.” Chanyeol nodded uncertainly and steered them towards a small park in the middle of a residential neighborhood.

“I’m sorry, but we can’t go to a hospital-it’s too dangerous. Just hold on, I’ll help you get the smoke out of your lungs.” It was approaching 11 PM so Chanyeol was hoping that all the residents were actually asleep. He lowered the boy onto a bench and painstakingly bent down with his large fiery wings pulling on his back. He got on his knees by the bench and put his palms against the boy’s chest. Chanyeol felt around the boy’s (rock hard) chest and when his fingers sensed the ashes, he started to push them out of the boy’s system via his nose. “Now, some black stuff is probably going to snort out of your nose so you just have to be patient with me.”

“Wait-what-“ The boy barely had enough time to process before he was sneezing and coughing black gunk out of his system. Once his coughing fit was over, he tossed his head back and groaned loudly. “I feel like I’m dying-“

“Sorry. Do you feel okay? I’m afraid this is a side effect of the smoke… Fortunately though, my powers extend to ash wielding so I was able to get it alllll out of your system!” Chanyeol beamed happily from behind his Phoenix mask and clapped his hands.

The boy pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed, starting to sit up on the bench. “Yeah, I think I’m okay. I just need a minute. By the way, I should have said this earlier but, thank you for saving me. I get into these kinds of situations a lot, so I learned Hapkido to defend myself, but I couldn’t have possibly defended myself against five men… I’m Baekhyun, by the way. Also! I’m not twelve years old. I’m actually twenty-five, but I see why you’d think that. It runs in the family, my mom’s short, my dad’s short, my brother’s short, too. But you’re tall so what would you know anyways, your parents are probably giants or something, which I mean literally like, you have superpowers, like how rad is that-“

“Okay, okay calm down and let me see.” Chanyeol suddenly put his fingers on Baekhyun’s head but felt nothing.

“What are you doing?” Baekhyun asked, taken aback.

“I’m checking if any of the ash went into your brain, but I’m getting nothing-“

“Hey! I’m not crazy! Or stupid.” Baekhyun gasped. “Nothing? Are you insinuating that I don’t have a brain? I thought superheroes are supposed to be nice! What the heck, man!”

Chanyeol stared down, frozen, at the man for what felt like a whole minute. His face was just inches away from Baekhyun’s and his fingers were still resting on Baekhyun’s temple. Baekhyun was looking up at him with a ‘furious’ face, but honestly? It looked like a Chihuahua was yapping at him. His button nose was slightly scrunched up and he had these beautiful, wild sparkles in his droopy eyes. Was this guy a whack job? Maybe… A pretty whack job? Definitely. Were whack jobs usually this pretty?

Chanyeol swallowed slowly and removed his fingers from the boy’s head. He looked down at his black and red super suit and then to the boy’s dark blue scrubs. Too bad Chanyeol wasn’t a normal boy. If he was, he could just reach over, kiss his cheek and maybe ask for his number… But…

Chanyeol cleared his throat. “Uhm… I’m sorry? Where do you live? I’ll… I’ll drop you home.” He tried awkwardly, remembering that he still had his wings proudly standing at his back (they were probably melting the playground but if it meant dropping a cute boy home… Collateral damage, right?)

“Oh, okay! Thank you, Mr. Phoenix!” Baekhyun seemed to have completely forgotten about his previous complaints and he obviously hadn’t sensed the superhero’s sudden mood swing. Chanyeol cracked a half smile and lifted the boy up bridal style once again. Baekhyun yelped in his arms and held on tight onto Chanyeol’s neck as he flew higher and higher into the night sky.

“I Uh… Didn’t really realize how high we were when we were flying earlier…” Baekhyun laughed nervously. He snuggled closer in Chanyeol’s embrace and failed to notice Chanyeol’s slightly pained expression.

☀ ☀ ☀

When Chanyeol got back home that night after dropping Baekhyun off, he was unable to shed the thought of what his life could have been if he wasn’t born as the previous Phoenix’s son, but as a normal boy.

☀ ☀ ☀

“So it took us a while to clean up Saturday’s mess, but you caught some valuable guys. They’re part of a new gang that has been trying to take over the streets since you practically destroyed the previous Seoul mafia. They believe that they have a chance at taking over in the mafia’s place, but…”

Police captain Oh Sehun continued to ramble on about mafia this and gangs that, as Chanyeol, now stripped of his fireproof super suit and Phoenix mask, was clad in pastel pink shorts and a pastel blue button up.

Captain Sehun was Chanyeol’s one and only real friend. The Phoenix was known by all, but as to not compromise his location and his origin, very few people knew about his true identity. Sehun and Chanyeol had originally met when the government had captured Chanyeol for arson. Upon finding out about Chanyeol’s powers and how he could be of use to the government, he was kept in the custody of the previous Head of Seoul Police, Oh Jungho, Sehun’s father. Chanyeol was kept as a foster son under Oh Jungho and trained with the most difficult and most classified military techniques. He studied to become an official policeman alongside Sehun who was around his age. The two were inseparable; Sehun being the only person Chanyeol was truly comfortable showing his powers to. Later on, Sehun climbed the ranks to become a police captain and ran the special units division of the Seoul Police, of which Chanyeol was the main focus.

Although Sehun was a very dear friend to Chanyeol, he was spacing out once again. Noticing that Chanyeol wasn’t listening to what he was saying, Sehun paused, switching from boss mode to best friend mode.

“Hey, what’s wrong? You’re usually so excited when I tell you about crime.” Chanyeol snorted and looked up at Sehun. Chanyeol, usually not one to hide his feelings, spilled immediately.

“I don’t know… I was just wondering what it’s like to be normal for once, you know? Like, without having to keep a low profile all the time and have no friends except for the few people who can know my identity. I’ve been feeling so restricted recently. Usually, I feel a sense of freedom while flying and helping the people but…”

Sehun furrowed his brows. “This is the first time I’ve heard something like this from you. Did something bring this on?” Sehun scooted closer to Chanyeol and he could see the visible blush on the superhero’s cheeks.

“Uh-N-no, I mean-“ Chanyeol stuttered, avoiding Sehun’s watchful eyes. Sehun bent down to look into his downcasted eyes and smirked.

“You have a crush don’t you!” Sehun guffawed and Chanyeol’s blush spread to the tips of his huge ears. “Who is it? What do they look like?”

Chanyeol looked up at Sehun finally after a long moment. “What does it matter what he looks like, I’ll never be able to date him.” He said solemnly.

“What do you mean you can’t date him? Come on, Chanyeol, I’m your boss, and even I’m telling you to go for it. Maybe we should run a background check first though…” Chanyeol cocked his brow at Sehun as if to say are you serious?

“Chanyeol, seriously. If you tell one or two… Trustworthy people about who you are it’s not going to kill you. I know you have some serious trust issues after your mom… But, man. The city loves you. This guy’s not going to push you away because of a few fire powers. Plus, you’ve learned to control them since the incidents way back then.” Sehun reasoned. “Just give it a try! Although, I’m ‘gonna need his name so I can at least stalk him on Facebook.”

☀ ☀ ☀

A week later, Chanyeol found himself in the comfort of his home having another lonely night. He considered calling Sehun, but as the police captain, the poor guy was always busy, and Chanyeol didn’t want to disturb him. He had opened a bottle of wine and booted up his laptop to play a pirated version of Deadpool that he had downloaded.

Chanyeol’s week had been pretty bad since his run in with Baekhyun. He had been sulking around the penthouse, hardly going out, and his wine supply was dangerously low at this point. Chanyeol had brought out his last Merlot to savor with the movie, which he was probably watching for the tenth time. You can’t really blame him though, the humor just got better each time you watched it.

As soon he sat down and was about to take his first sip of wine, his walkie-talkie went off and none other than Oh Sehun was on the line, asking for his help.

“Hey man, sorry to bother you on a Saturday night but, we’ve got a situation.”

Chanyeol leaned over the coffee table to retrieve the gadget. “Copy that. What’s the situation?”

“We have a 211 in Myeongdong.” A robbery in Myeongdong again? He sighed.

“I’ll be there.”

Chanyeol went to his room on the second floor of the penthouse where in a locked closet, hung his super suit. His super suit stuck to him like a second skin when he slipped it on, and the weight was familiar and comforting. He put on his mask and walked out of his room to the second floor lounge, where there was a ladder to the roof of the penthouse. The landlord had allowed (more like had been forced to by the government and sworn to secrecy) Chanyeol to use the flat top of the building as a landing pad and a place to practice his powers. He climbed onto the roof and looked out to the city. He stood up straight and started to garner his powers in the middle of his chest.

The Fire lived inside of Chanyeol and had to be coerced out of his body, since it was like a being of its own. The Fire had its own will and it took time for it to gather from Chanyeol’s edges to the very core of his being so it could be manifested and used as a weapon.

Chanyeol took deep breaths and let the heat wash over his body. He channeled his powers to his back and after a few minutes, large wings sprouted from him. The wings were gigantic, spanning maybe two or three Chanyeols, and he was a tall man. As soon as the wings were at their full potential, he took off from the rooftop into the sky towards his destination.

Upon reaching though, it was utter chaos. The main market street was in a total state of panic as people were gathered around the police tape surrounding the bank that was currently being robbed. Chanyeol looked down at the scene from above and dropped to the roof of the bank. He reached for his walkie-talkie and spoke.

“The Phoenix responding to Myeongdong 211. Copy.”

“Captain Oh responding to The Phoenix. There is a hostage situation. As far as we know, there are seven hostages and four unsubs. According to the bank manager, there is an entrance to the building from the roof; it’s a metal hatch that you should be able to locate. The door will lead you straight into the main hall of the bank where the unsubs are holding the hostages. Negotiation has failed. You are our only hope, so proceed with caution.”

“Copy that. Phoenix is entering the building.” Chanyeol shut the gadget off and attached it to his belt. He retracted his wings and walked over to an off-blue metal hatch and tried to lift it. Of course, it was locked. Damn it. Chanyeol sighed and placed his palms against the lock and waited for the heat to melt it. As soon as the lock was out of the way, he slowly opened the hatch as to not make a sound and keep the element of surprise on his side.

When he looked down into the bank, as expected, there were four armed men wearing clown masks. Seven civilians were sitting in the circle in the middle of the four men who now seemed to be arguing. Chanyeol descended into the building and climbed onto one of the pipes that were on the high ceiling of the bank. He climbed from pipe to pipe until he reached the anterior wall. Chanyeol descended the wall slowly, using the suction that was ingrained in the palms of his super suit. When he reached the ground, he hopped down and sat in a crouching position, surveying the area and the state of the hostages. Chanyeol spotted two women, two children, and three men. Upon further inspection, he almost let out a gasp.

Holy shit. Chanyeol’s eyes widened when he spotted a familiar figure sitting amongst the hostages. Red hair, droopy eyes-it was all there. Baekhyun. Chanyeol was suddenly in red alert mode and the heat inside him began to surge erratically. He tried to contain his power, but The Fire was already licking at the tips of his fingers, hotter than ever. As if on autopilot, The Fire shot from his hands and burnt the feet of the nearest of the four robbers. The robber screamed and dropped his gun as the flames consumed the flesh on his legs. Two of the other robbers ran to the man to try and put the fire out, but the fourth looked up in Chanyeol’s direction.

“Ah, it’s The Phoenix here to save the day!” He called out, and without missing a beat, started to shoot wildly in Chanyeol’s direction. Chanyeol quickly stood up from his crouching position and lunged to the side, but the bullets were coming at him too fast. One nicked him in the arm and another sunk directly into his lower abdomen. Chanyeol hissed out in pain, and the hostages gasped at seeing the hero get hurt.

Once the robber had to reload, Chanyeol swung his arm forward and shot a blast of fire towards him, melting any bullets that were in its path. The fire reached the robber’s chest and he screamed in agony at the burning sensation. Chanyeol was too distracted to realize that one of the other robbers who was previously aiding his comrade had gotten up and reached for a pistol. He strode towards Chanyeol, but before he could raise his gun up to shoot, a leg came in between him and floor, and soon the robber fell head first onto the ground.

“Mr. Phoenix! Be careful!”

The sound came from Chanyeol’s right, and he saw the robber on the floor still reaching for the gun. Chanyeol smiled briefly at Baekhyun in thanks and left the other burning robber to throb on the ground. He ran towards the pistol and picked it up before the other could. He aimed it right at his head and fired. The final robber was crying on the ground with his hands up, begging for mercy. Chanyeol lowered the weapon and signaled for the police to come handle the mess. Once it was all over, Chanyeol escaped out the back door of the bank.

☀ ☀ ☀

Baekhyun was worried. The Phoenix had been shot and he was bleeding out. He could’ve sworn he had seen The Phoenix disappear from the back of the bank, but as he looked from alley to alley, he was nowhere to be found. It was possible that he had already been helped but Baekhyun had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach. He continued searching until he did a double take, having spotted the superhero leaning against a wall in a random alley, clearly bleeding out.

“Holy shit.” Baekhyun approached the man who was still half conscious. Baekhyun helped The Phoenix get up and had him lean on his shoulder so they could walk to safety.

“N-no hospitals.” The Phoenix whispered in Baekhyun’s ear and the redhead nodded.

“Alright. No hospitals.” Baekhyun already knew the drill. Plus, he wanted this man to be as comfortable as possible.

Instead of a regular hospital, Baekhyun brought the superhero to his very own veterinary clinic right in Myeongdong. They were lucky that it was in the area, so Baekhyun was able to use back roads to reach their destination. He was proud to say that he owned this small clinic and was its head veterinarian. However, he knew that was not what was important right now. He laid The Phoenix down on a gurney used for bigger dogs, although The Phoenix’s legs were still hanging off the end.

Baekhyun struggled to remove the hero’s suit, so he had to cut it open with a scalpel. Once the suit was open, he assessed the damage, and figured that the bullet was still lodged in his lower abdomen.

“I’m not technically licensed to give you anesthesia so you’re just going to have to bear with me, I’m sorry.” Baekhyun put a towel in The Phoenix’s mouth and located the area where the bullet had lodged. He cleaned the area and set to work.

The Phoenix was screaming and biting on the towel, and Baekhyun tried his best to soothe him throughout the entire process. When he was done removing the bullet, he closed the wound by burning the skin, which unsurprisingly had no effect on the superhero. Baekhyun watched as The Phoenix panted with fresh tears on his face. The man looked like he was still in immense pain and Baekhyun frowned. He wasn’t sure if it was appropriate, but he tangled his fingers in The Phoenix’s hair and stroked it lightly. The superhero before him closed his eyes and seemed to be more at peace, so Baekhyun took that as a signal to continue.

While the hero was asleep, he continued to pant and sweat out. Baekhyun looked at his still mask-clad face and frowned. Should I take it off? No, Baekhyun… he needs to keep his identity safe. But… I have to check his face for damage, right? Baekhyun continued to battle with himself for the next fifteen minutes. See, the thing about Baekhyun was that he had an abundant curiosity. It often got him into bad situations, but there was never a way to shut that switch off. Once something was on his mind, he’d ask and ask and ask until he had an answer. This time, like all the others, his curiosity got the best of him.

Baekhyun slowly lifted the mask to see the sweat drenched face of The Phoenix himself. He was shocked to see that The Phoenix’s eyes were half open. Baekhyun jumped.

“Oh my god, I’m so, so sorry, I knew I shouldn’t have lifted it but I thought you might be hurt under there so I had to check to make sure! I’m really, really sorry-“

Suddenly, Baekhyun’s rambling apology was interrupted by a snore. Baekhyun lifted his head to peek at the Phoenix again only to find that he was asleep! Baekhyun’s heart was beating at a hundred miles an hour as he bent forward to check that The Phoenix was indeed sleeping.

“You sleep with your eyes half open?! Oh my god, you scared me half to death!” Baekhyun scolded the sleeping hero. He pouted at the hero for a minute, and then he started to giggle. “That’s just rich!” Baekhyun laughed until his eyes began to tear up.

“Oh-Oh my god-Okay Baekhyun calm down. Phew.” Baekhyun’s giggles started to recede as he decided to do what he had set out to do in the first place. Baekhyun leaned in closer and examined every little detail of the man’s face, and was stunned by what he saw. The Phoenix had a small face, pretty, plump lips, a tall nose and long lashes. In other words: he was totally Baekhyun’s type. The hero was surprisingly boyish and, well, young. Baekhyun had been expecting someone slightly older and more brutish. He rested his chin in the palm of his hand and admired the man until he noticed the hero’s eyebrows furrowing in what Baekhyun made out as pain. He resumed stroking the hero’s hair until his brows went back to normal.

Baekhyun stayed by The Phoenix’s side throughout the night, constantly checking his temperature and trying to help him rest.

The next morning, Baekhyun’s business partner, Kyungsoo, entered the building at 8 AM sharp, only to see Baekhyun sleeping next to an unknown man. His eyes widened, and he approached the pair slowly. He shook his partner’s arm and Baekhyun woke up almost immediately, completely disoriented.

“Wha-What…? Kyungsoo? Oh! You’re here!” Baekhyun smiled groggily.

“You bet your ass I am. What the hell is going on here, Baek?” Kyungsoo asked, still in shock at the situation. Baekhyun looked back at The Phoenix still lying on the table and sighed.

“I’ll explain everything later. Just, for now, can you help me get him upstairs? I couldn’t lift him by myself so we both slept down here.” Baekhyun looked quite tired so Kyungsoo just nodded. Baekhyun didn’t know where The Phoenix lived so he decided to house the man in his own apartment that was situated above the veterinary clinic.

When the two had safely put Chanyeol in Baekhyun’s double bed, they sat at his dining table and Baekhyun spilled exactly what had happened the night before.

Kyungsoo looked down, trying to articulate his words. “Baekhyun… I think that… you should probably stay out of this. Whenever you come here injured or hurt it always worries me to death. Getting involved with a superhero of all things is bound to get you even more hurt. I think it’s best if we hand him over to the police.” Kyungsoo looked extremely troubled as he said this, and when he looked into Baekhyun’s eyes, he knew he had all the reason to. Baekhyun had a fiery look in his eyes, like he was determined to do something. He looked determined to keep the superhero here and nurse him back to health.

“Kyung… I can’t. He said that he can’t risk exposure, and we don’t know if he’s even working with the police! Plus, he’s in no state to go anywhere. I’m going to let him stay here until he wakes up and we hear what he needs. Please, try to understand. He saved my life twice already.” Baekhyun pleaded. Kyungsoo had heard about the previous time too, and sighed. It was the least they could do.

☀ ☀ ☀

“What-the hell…” Chanyeol finally woke up and he found himself in a bed he had never seen before. He thought maybe he was in Sehun’s house, but he didn’t remember it being anything like this. It physically pained him to try and sit up so he just continued to lie there, hoping someone would come for him soon.

As he lay there, he took in the room. It was definitely a male’s room; men’s clothes were strewn left and right on the floor, and there was cologne on the nightstand. Upon closer inspection, Chanyeol could make out picture frames on the desk but they were too far away to see who was in them. As he continued to squint at the frames, someone entered the room.

When Baekhyun entered his room, The Phoenix was finally awake. He approached the bed slowly. “Hi… How are you feeling?”

Chanyeol’s eyes widened, his cheeks reddening as he began to recall yesterday’s events. “I’m fine, a-are you okay? You were literally taken hostage in a bank heist!” He tried to lift his arms, to emphasize his point but his muscles were still tense from shock, and he hissed from the pain.

Baekhyun approached Chanyeol worriedly, and started to massage the muscles of his uninjured arm. “You’re clearly not fine. Are you sure you can’t get to a hospital? I can’t give you strong painkillers here.”

“Speaking of here, where are we? Is this your house? Who treated my wound?”

“Um, I did. I’m a veterinary surgeon so I was able to remove the bullet from your body. I’m only allowed to prescribe painkillers to animals though, so you’re out of luck there.” Baekhyun smiled softly.

“Oh-Uh, well then, thank you, Baekhyun.” Chanyeol smiled sheepishly. “I guess you really aren’t twelve after all.”

Baekhyun pressed hard on the place he was massaging in retaliation and Chanyeol hissed again. “Ah-Ah! Okay! Okay, Okay, let go! I’m sorry!” Baekhyun smirked at the superhero’s pain.

They both sat in silence as Baekhyun continued to massage Chanyeol’s muscles. The silence was more or less comfortable, with Baekhyun blushing and concentrating on massaging Chanyeol’s arms while Chanyeol admired him. Chanyeol traced the other boy’s features, from his droopy eyes to his cute button nose. He was so close that he could see the moles that ran diagonally from Baekhyun’s chin up to his cheek. After a while, the thought of how Baekhyun would react to his own face came to mind, and then he realized that he couldn’t feel the mask on his face. He had completely forgotten about it! Chanyeol jolted and brought his throbbing arm to his face to feel for the mask but it really was gone. He began to panic and forcefully recoiled away from Baekhyun.

“Where is my mask!?” Chanyeol shouted and the room started to smell of ash as the heat from Chanyeol’s body went into overdrive and began to scorch the bed. Baekhyun backed all the way to the wall on the opposite side of the room as the superhero hyperventilated and squirmed on the bed.

“I-you-it fell off?” Baekhyun tried, but Chanyeol was beyond any reasoning at this point. Baekhyun was visibly afraid, but he knew he had to do something or the superhero would burn his apartment to the ground. Baekhyun approached the seething man slowly, picking up the wet towel he had set on the bedside table to help with his fever. He set the towel on top of Chanyeol’s eyes and pushed down on the man’s temples to calm him down.

“Shh… Shh… It’s going to be fine, Mr. Phoenix. Just relax.” The water in the towel evaporated quickly, but Baekhyun was successful in helping the hero relax. “You’re safe with me, Mr. Phoenix.” The heat eventually receded and Chanyeol fell asleep.

☀ ☀ ☀

The next time Chanyeol woke up, it was the next day. Unlike the last time he had awoken, he remembered everything that had happened the previous day and felt extremely guilty about it. I’m such an idiot. He was warming up to me, too. Chanyeol wallowed in self-pity as he lay there on the bed. Frustrated tears started to fall from the corners of his eyes but he couldn’t care less at this point, he had screwed up and would have to go back to a life where his only friend was Sehun.

He lay there for a few hours until the sun rose and the door opened once again. This time though, Baekhyun only peeked into the room. Chanyeol thought he was too afraid to come in, and it was like a stab to the heart. His mood was on another downward spiral until Baekhyun finally spoke.

“Hey, you feeling better?” His voice was soft and Chanyeol closed his eyes, just savoring the sound before it was gone. After a few moments of silence Baekhyun made to close the door, but Chanyeol cut him off.

“Don’t go, please.” He had meant to be cool; to stay level headed, but all that came from his mouth was a pathetic plea for companionship. Chanyeol screwed his eyes shut, waiting for rejection.

However, in the next moment he heard the door swing open and footsteps approach him. Chanyeol opened his eyes and looked over to where Baekhyun made himself comfortable on the floor next to him. He turned his head fully towards Baekhyun so he could hopefully convey his full sincerity.

“I’m sorry.” Chanyeol stared into Baekhyun’s eyes as he apologized. To say that Baekhyun was surprised would be an understatement.

“You don’t have to be sorry for anything, Mr. Phoenix.” Baekhyun had a small smile as he said this and it was Chanyeol’s turn to be surprised. He had always imagined that although the public adored him for fighting crime, if they actually knew how dangerous he was and how volatile his powers could be, they would be repulsed and scared, just how his mother once was. Although, Baekhyun could just be an exception.

In that moment, Chanyeol knew that he couldn’t let this one go.

“You can call me Chanyeol.” He said slowly, not used to introducing himself. Hearing the superhero’s name, Baekhyun’s face lit up and his eyes formed small crescents as he smiled at the hero.

“Really?” Baekhyun was beyond excited. How many people got to know a superhero personally? Chanyeol nodded hesitantly and Baekhyun beamed with happiness. “This is so cool. Wait. Is that your real name? Or are you just playing with me? Oh! By the way, you look a lot better with your mask off, so, even if it’s just around me, please keep it off.” Baekhyun winked and Chanyeol laughed boisterously.

“Yeah.” He responded dumbly.

“‘Yeah’ it’s your real name or ‘yeah’ you’re playing with me?” Baekhyun scowled playfully and Chanyeol’s smile got even wider.

“I guess you’ll never know.” Chanyeol reached up with his uninjured hand and pinched Baekhyun’s cheek.

Baekhyun swatted at Chanyeol’s hand. “Anyways, it looks like your muscles are receding from the shock, huh? Just try not to move your left arm and stay lying down, we don’t want to agitate either of the gunshot wounds.” Baekhyun said seriously and Chanyeol had to admit, the way that Baekhyun switched from playful to serious was sexy.

Chanyeol stared at Baekhyun for a bit in silence and Baekhyun cocked his head. “Chanyeol?” Baekhyun waved his hands in front of Chanyeol’s face to try and get his attention. “Hello?”

When he got no response, Baekhyun huffed and stood up. “Well you’re probably hungry so I’ll get you something to eat. Be right back.” Chanyeol continued to watch him, completely awestruck.

☀ ☀ ☀

After a few days, Chanyeol had recovered enough to get up from the bed, so Baekhyun drove him home. Chanyeol was reluctant to leave him, feeling like if he left, all of their progress would go down the drain. When they pulled up in front of Chanyeol’s apartment building, Baekhyun turned to him.

“Um… Here’s my number… If you ever need anything.” Baekhyun bit his lip and held the post-it out to him. Chanyeol stared at the post-it for a good minute before his lips curled into a small smile.

“Sure. Thanks again, Baekhyun.” Chanyeol stepped out of the vehicle with the promise of texting him later that day. He was in high spirits the whole elevator ride up to his penthouse. However, as soon as he entered it, he was met with an angry Sehun.

“Where the hell have you been? I didn’t get a call or even a text from you, after the 211 you disappeared off the face of the earth! I have been camping out here for days, waiting for you to come back! And I heard you got shot, too?!” Sehun barged up to Chanyeol and checked his body. He saw the bandage on his left arm and sighed. “What the hell even happened in there, man? You’re usually not this reckless or this violent. The robbers were found violently burnt on the floor, and the last one was so horrified he was still begging for mercy when we came in.”

“What are you talking about? I did what I had to do to save the hostages. The robbers were a threat.” Chanyeol argued.

“You’re usually never this messy! Your motto has always been to fight crime with justice, not with brute violence. What the hell is going on? You’ve never gotten majorly injured at a stand off either.” Sehun demanded when he realized Chanyeol was being defensive.

“It was fine, okay? I got treatment, and I’m fine. Just… Just let this go, okay, Hun?” Chanyeol pleaded.

“What do you mean just ‘let it go’? What has gotten into you?! You never hide things from me, I thought we were open to each other about everything!” Sehun looked rightfully hurt, and Chanyeol felt a pang in his chest. It was true; they usually never fought or hid things from each other. But the truth is, Chanyeol had no idea what had happened in that bank. His powers had gone completely haywire and attacked the robbers without his permission. Yes, The Fire had a will of its own, but it usually cooperated with Chanyeol since he had trained it for years on end. He was incredibly frustrated, but how could he tell Sehun that he could be a danger to the public now that his powers weren’t cooperating? Wouldn’t they dispose of the Phoenix project? Then what would happen?

Chanyeol looked away in distress. “Sehun, I’m telling you, I’m fine… It was just an off day. I was… I was drunk.” He lied through his teeth. Chanyeol knew that he hadn’t had enough wine to actually be drunk, heck, he didn’t even remember taking that first sip that night.

Sehun looked at him incredulously. “Drunk…?” Sehun stared at him for a bit before looking away in disappointment.

“It was a Saturday night, and I had one too many, okay? I’m sorry. Please let this go. The people are safe; the criminals were brought to justice. Isn’t… can’t that be enough?” Chanyeol looked close to tears as he continued to lie to his friend.

Sehun sighed once again and shook his head. “Whatever is going on, fix it. I think you need a break. You’re on mandatory leave for the next two weeks. If I see you anywhere near any crime scenes I will have your head, Chanyeol.”

Chanyeol just nodded, and Sehun stormed out of the penthouse.

part2>> ☀ part 3>>