I Always Love You Like This [4/5]
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Music swirled through the air, echoing off of strategically placed columns that amplified sound, a design that made this particular hall perfect for parties with light music. This was the twenty third year since the Academy had begun using this hall to host its annual party and things were going well as they always did. Baekhyun slumped into the wall and drained the last of the fruit juice in his cup before tossing it into a nearby trash bin. He’d figured he’d spend the party with Jongin, Tao, and Chanyeol but the three of them were busy. He didn’t begrudge Jongin his time in the limelight; the younger boy seemed uncomfortable but he deserved the attention. He was standing up near the podium while his father gave a speech and his mother waited on standby for her turn to speak. Jongin was joining a legacy of great diplomats to lead the Empire to success at an incredibly young age. After all the turmoil his life had been through, turmoil he didn’t even remember, it was good for him to celebrate a little.
Tao, on the other hand, he was miffed with. Tao had abandoned him nearly immediately, dragging Chanyeol to meet the professor he worked on his clothing anthropology with. Baekhyun never was very interested in Tao’s line of work, he always made an effort to listen because that’s what friends do, but he knew Tao could feel his lack of enthusiasm. So of course he was going to go crazy for a new friend who was actually invested in the work he did; that didn’t change that Baekhyun was left alone with no one to talk to. He chose to follow his friends around the room with his eyes instead. It didn’t take him long to notice that something was bothering Chanyeol. For the past ten minutes he’d been jerking his head around suspiciously. Tao wouldn’t let Chanyeol alone long enough for him to focus on the speech, but that didn’t seem to bother the taller man since he kept trying stare down certain waiters as they got in position for the speech. Baekhyun narrowed his eyes as Chanyeol stilled completely, and then yanked Tao down and shoved him under the table just as the waiters he’d been eyeing pulled out pulse guns. Baekhyun dove under a table and peered out from the table cloth just in time to see Jongin’s father shove him aside and then jump in front of his wife, taking a pulse straight to the heart.
He felt like there was cotton packed into his ears, into his brain; he saw Jongin’s mom lean over her husband’s stiff body with tears streaming down her face. Her mouth gaped open, and even across the room he could see her shaking but it was as if he couldn’t hear anything at all. A flash caught his attention from the corner of his eye, and he looked over to see Chanyeol flying through the air. He moved swiftly, disarming and taking down the assailants. He moved too fast for them to catch him, sliding around as if he had full control over space and how he occupied it, pushing other party guests to safety and snapping necks of attackers. For the first time since he’d met Chanyeol, Baekhyun wondered who he really was.
An agonizing wail pierced through the muffled layers of his brain. Baekhyun and Chanyeol both snapped their gaze in the direction of the stage to see Mrs. Kim fall over her husband, eyes blank. Her killer stood over her, smoking pulse gun still aimed at the back of her head. Jongin was still screaming, teleporting erratically around the room until he landed on the stage and rushed at the murderer. Baekhyun scrabbled forward, desperate to reach his friend before he died too, and then Chanyeol was there. He disarmed the man and shot him down, and turned in time to catch a sobbing Jongin. The last thing Baekhyun saw before he passed out was the stricken look on Chanyeol’s face and then the two disappeared in a snatch of light to wherever Jongin’s emotions felt like dumping them.
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When Chanyeol opened his eyes again, he was on the floor hugging Jongin in an unfamiliar room. He could feel Jongin’s shallow breath against his cheek, but other than that the boy was out cold. Untangling their limbs, the prince stood up and took in their surroundings. There was a bed and a desk, the walls sparsely decorated. On the ceiling was a painting of familiar city view. Chanyeol couldn’t help but inhale sharply when he recognized it as the view from Jongin’s bedroom window on Vangel. He shook his head and continued out the door and down the hall. The only new information that gave him was that Jongin could paint. In the past three weeks he’d spent on Earth he’d realized that while Jongin had no conscious recollection of his early life, the memories weren’t all lost either and occasionally rose to the surface with the right colors or smells or sounds. Or with strong emotions.
Chanyeol didn’t get far before he was wheeling back around to Jongin’s bedroom. He grabbed the first bag he saw and shoved random clothes into it, grabbing things he thought Jongin would need. The Marksman could feel a faint buzzing along the edges of his mind, a potential Moment growing. For the first time in years he had no desire to meet it head on, more concerned with getting his friend somewhere safe. He wasn’t oblivious to the difference in his behavior, but told himself it was just taking care of a friend. If it’s just platonic, then why aren’t you this worried about Tao or Baekhyun?
Chanyeol cursed under his breath, “Starblasted smug inner voice conscious,” and closed his eyes and knelt down, fingers pressed to the floor. Heat raced through his veins before pushing out down through the house, giving him a mental floor plan of the house. He tossed the bag over his shoulder and gathered Jongin into his arms to head to a hidden room in the basement. Once secure he sat in the corner and let his mind reach around town until he Knew where Tao and Baekhyun were. The two were still at the remains of the Academy party, standing outside while healers rushed around.
Hey guys. It’s me, Chanyeol. I need your help.
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Tao sank down on the stairs next to wear Baekhyun sat. His smaller friend pulled his coat tighter around him. It wasn’t that cold out, but Tao understood the chill that seemed to permeate their very bones. Baekhyun leaned into his shoulder, each of them supporting each other when a deep voice seemed to echo inside their skulls.
Hey guys. It’s me, Chanyeol. I need your help.
Tao and Baekhyun sprang apart and stared at each other.
“Baekhyun, did you just say…”
“No, no I heard it too!”
Alright you two, I know this is weird but I need you to focus. It really is me and Jongin and I are in danger.
Tao shifted uncomfortably and glanced at Baekhyun out of the corner of his eyes before closing them.
Chanyeol, can you hear my thoughts?
Yes, Tao, but Baekhyun can’t. And yes, he just tried the same thing and I told him what I told you.
“Well then,” Baekhyun whispered, “what’s going on?”
I think I’m at Jongin’s house. We’re in the basement, and people are looking for us. We’ll be safe for a while but we can’t stay here. Can you tell me where another safe house would be?
“Why don’t Baek and I just come pick you guys up and take you there ourselves?” Tao felt strange talking to a disembodied voice in his head, but not weird enough that the fact that Chanyeol was trying to disappear on them with Jongin got past him. “We want to help you.”
That would be beyond helpful, but if you come with us you’d have to stay with us. You couldn’t go back home; you’d be easy targets these guys would use to get to Jongin.
“We’re already targets to anyone who knows Jongin well enough to know his family and friends.”
Baekhyun scoffed at Chanyeol’s worries but Tao could see his hands shaking. Tao extended his hand to his friend, not commenting when cold fingers wrapped around his own.
“Alright, Chanyeol, Baekhyun and I will swing by our own homes as fast as we can to grab a small bag. We’ll be outside Jongin’s in fifteen minutes, and then ghost out of here.”
Sounds like a plan. And… thanks you guys. I know I owe you a lot of explanations. It means a lot that you’re trusting me.
“Don’t thank us yet, pretty boy,” Baekhyun grunted as he stood, “I’m still pissed. As soon as I see you and I’m sure we’re all safe I’m going to kick your mysterious ass.”
Tao raced towards where Baekhyun’s car and thought hard at Chanyeol.
I can’t wait for Baekhyun to finish fighting you so I can have a turn. Stay safe, you starblasted shit.”
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Tao finished stocking the kitchen with the dried foods Chanyeol had passed him. The house they were in had the automated food preparation technology that had been standard for generations but none of it worked at the moment; somehow Chanyeol had managed to take the whole building offline and off any service grid. They had no lights, no electricity, no access to the computer network. There was still running water though, and strange floating wisps of light followed them around the house from room to room, courtesy of Chanyeol. If Chanyeol is even his real name Tao thought bitterly. The wisps looked like little tongues of fire but didn’t give off heat as they pressed closer to him, almost as if they were comforting him in his irritation.
Tao got back to the main room just as Baekhyun came from the back, three wisps trailing behind him.
“Jongin is in bed. He’ll be fine I think, he just needs to rest. He’s emotionally exhausted, and teleporting himself and Chanyeol all the way from the Academy to his house took a lot out of him.”
Chanyeol nodded and rose from where he sat to stand in the room’s center. He gestured at the couch.
“Well, uh, have a seat. Would you two prefer to ask me questions, or should I just start talking?”
Tao sat next to Baekhyun, perched at the edge of the cushion like he was ready to rush the tall man in front of them.
“I’d like to know the real name of the man who lived in my house for nearly a month, if that’s alright with you.”
Chanyeol flinched back at the bitter tone but he didn’t say anything about it, just stood there with his shoulders hunched in.
“I really am Chanyeol. When I first told you my name, you asked if I was named after the prince. In all honesty,” he stood up straight, his posture seeming to fill out until he was larger in stature than Baekhyun or Tao had ever seen, his head held high and his eyes hard and bright, “it’s not that I’m named for the Marksman so much as I am the Marksman.
Tao, Baekhyun, I am the son of the late General Supreme Shin Sungwoo and the late Queen Eunhye. I was born and raised on the capital planet, Vangel, and ran away to avoid the political machinations of the King. I felt that he was planning something heinous and left before he could do any harm, and came to Earth on a whim.”
Tao wasn’t sure if Baekhyun would ever pick his jaw up off the ground, and he was sure he looked much the same.
“So the fighting at the party… and all this magic… and how good you are with tech?”
“All part of my training, really.”
Tao sank back into the couch, entirely overwhelmed. Chanyeol suddenly crouched down in front of the couch, looking more like the goofy boy Tao had lived with than a member of the royal family, but he could still see it. That strange look Chanyeol occasionally got in his eyes had a name now, nobility, and once seen there was no way Tao could unsee it.
“Really though, I am sorry I lied to you both. I know you probably wouldn’t have believed me if I told you the truth, but I still could have tried.”
“Uh, no. It’s, uh, fine. I mean, thanks for breaking cover to save Jongin, your, uh, Your Majesty,” Baekhyun babbled, words slow and unsure.
Any awe Tao felt abandoned him suddenly with a snort at the face Chanyeol pulled, sitting back on his haunches. His whole face scrunched up like some sort of archaic troll doll and he let out a long whine far too high pitched for a man with a voice as deep as his. Baekhyun’s quiet giggle off to the side let Tao know his companion felt much the same.
“I understand if you’re all freaked out and think you need to title me now but firstly, it’s really not necessary and secondly, I kinda hate being referred to as a Prince. Marksman is cool, Phoenix born is cool. Chanyeol is best. Your Highness and Majesty and Grace all kinda make me feel stuffy and remind me of long days with stuck up tutors, so if you could not that’d be great.”
Tao couldn’t help the bubbly laugh he felt welling up from his gut. The evening had been an emotional roller coaster, and with all things considered, finding out that his friend was the Prince and rightful Head Marksman of the entire Empire was far better than him being a cheap conman or a murderer. The Kims were dead, Jongin was unconscious, and he and his best friends were on the run but the most magically, diplomatically, militarily skilled person in the entire galaxy was on his side. Tao slid off the couch to hug Chanyeol.
“Alright, I forgive you.”
Baekhyun dropped down on the other side and joined in the hugging. Soon all three of them were laughing through tears. They had all calmed down and were sharing their stories of what had happened after Chanyeol and Jongin disappeared when a low voice spoke up.
“Where are we? What’re you guys doing?”
All three men looked up to see Jongin shuffling into the room, fists rubbing the sleep from his eyes. Chanyeol was standing before Tao or Baekhyun could say anything.
“Jongin, you’re awake. How do you feel?”
Jongin froze midstep and looked up at Chanyeol. He stumbled backwards slowly, eyes darting around until he saw Tao’s concerned gaze and Baekhyun cautiously walking towards him.
“Hey, Jongin, you’re safe here,” the smaller of his two friends said.
“Safe here? What does that mean? Where are we, and,” Jongin gestured at Chanyeol, “who is this guy? How does he know my name?”
“Celestials above, not again.”
Tao looked up at the low comment in time to see Chanyeol’s face shutter closed.
“Jongin, my name is Chanyeol. I’m a friend of Baekhyun’s and Tao’s. I need you to think for me: when is the Academy graduation party?”
Jongin stared warily at the people around him, all leaning forward like his answer was the most important thing in the world.
“It’s in a month or so, why?”
Chanyeol turned away immediately, long strides headed for the door. He halted, one hand on the door handle. “Tao, Baekhyun, you two handle this. He knows you.” The temperature in the room spiked as Chanyeol’s hand glowed, drawing the shape of two pulse guns in the air. When the room cooled again he had two actual weapons in each hand. Setting them on the table by the door, Chanyeol looked up at the three other boys. “I can’t be here right now. I’m going out to secure the perimeter. Don’t worry Jongin, these two will explain everything. Open the door for no one; I can get in on my own.” And then he was gone.
“Nini, you need to sit.”
Baekhyun watched as Tao guided the confused boy to the couch before he started again. Tao sat with one arm around Jongin’s shoulders, face pinched.
“Jongin, the party was tonight. Or, last night, since it’s probably early morning by now.”
Baekhyun scanned the walls, just now noticing the lack of clocks.
“Wait, what?”
“Look,” Tao began, “the party was tonight. There was an ambush and your family was attacked. You really don’t remember anything?”
“What?! No! Where are my parents, are they okay?” Jongin was up and moving around frantically before Baekhyun caught hold of his wrist and guided him back to where Tao sat.
“Hey, hey, calm down okay. I think one of the reasons you lost your memory is because you accidentally teleported while your emotions were everywhere. When you landed in your house you were out cold; you just woke up.”
Jongin took a deep breath, “Why aren’t you answering me about my parents?”
Tao pulled Jongin closer in his embrace and Baekhyun sat up on the couch, leaning to hug Jongin from the other side. Jongin looked at their wet eyes, tears slipping down their cheeks and started to tremble.
“No. No, no, this can’t be happening. Tell me. Baek?”
The smaller man looked down at the ground.
“Taozi?”
Tao opened his mouth, but no sound came out. Jongin looked back and forth between his friends, and then shook his head.
“Don’t do this to me, you guys. Don’t let me sit here making up potential scenarios in my head, I’ll go crazy I swear. Tell me. Please, I need to know, tell me what happened.”
Baekhyun broke down in sobs as Tao choked out the answer.
“They’re dead, Jongin. Shot with a pulse gun. Your dad was first, and then your mom, but it was fast, and-”
Tao’s tears cut him off, and the three friends sat together, rocking and crying. In their grief, they didn’t hear the banging outside the house and were completely caught off guard when the front door flew into the room, blown off its hinges.
“Come here, young Kim. I won’t miss you a third time.”
The voice was dark and menacing. Tao and Baekhyun both lunged for the pulse guns while Jongin’s panic folded over into rage. He’d lost his parents, and a month of his life thanks to whoever these goons were. He wouldn’t let them get his best friends too. Jongin had never teleported other people without going along himself before, but he was angry. He just wanted his friends away and safe, mind fixed on the mountain lodge they’d visited together one long ago summer when everything was happier. The next thing he knew, the familiar crackle of energy was sparking through the room, but instead of feeling it pulling him apart from within he felt it beside him. He’d created a portal. His next moves were automatic, no thoughts at all as he grabbed Baekhyun first and then Tao, shoving them through the dark hole and shutting it behind them just as a long haired man with an angular nose burst into the room, gun up.
“Hello again, young Kim. I am afraid this is going to be the final time you and I are going to meet.”
The man aimed the gun at Jongin’s chest. A loud crack echoed through the room as a solid brick of light came down on the back of the intruder’s head. The man slumped forward, and Jongin saw the third guy from earlier (was it Chanyeol?) step through the door, eyes glowing.
“Damn straight, it’s the last time you’ll ever see him.” Chanyeol looked up. “We need to go, now. I promise I’m not evil and I’ll answer all your questions later but this location’s been made. We need to move before this develops into a full-fledged Moment because if it does, we’”
Jongin followed Chanyeol’s lead, grabbing at various still-packed bags and picking up one of the pulse guns on the table. The two rushed out the back door and into the woods. Chanyeol stayed three steps ahead of Jongin until they came out on the other side in an abandoned field. He came to a stop near a large clump of grasses; a wave of his hand pushed a large breeze by and cleared the brush away to reveal a small starcruiser. The doors opened and Jongin headed inside to lay down his things.
He had no guarantee the tall man guiding him wasn’t one of the ones who wanted him dead, except that Tao and Baekhyun had seemed to know him; in any case he’d end up dead for sure if he stayed put so he went along. Chanyeol worked quickly, reconnecting wires and plugging things in until the machine was up and running. He rushed inside and jumped in the pilot’s seat and lifted the starcruiser off the ground. Jongin watched, amazed, as Chanyeol navigated the craft manually, something he’d never seen done before. It didn’t hurt that he looked even more attractive than he did before working the machine. It wasn’t long before they’d cleared Earth’s atmosphere. Chanyeol thought of Baekhyun and Tao; with a chuckle he steered towards the nearest outpost planet. At least after this part of his cover story would be truer.
╔╗
Jongin sat on the floor of the small one room building Chanyeol had bought, eyeing the man seated opposite him warily. There was no light in the room other than Chanyeol’s fire wisps because the room was below ground.
“Chanyeol, right?”
“Yeah, that’s me.”
“So, you just carry around enough cash money to buy real estate all the time, or is this a special occasion?”
Chanyeol gave a humorless laugh.
“Everything about this trip has been a special occasion.”
Jongin stared. “There’s so much I want, need to know. I have no idea where to even start asking questions.”
“I- I can help with that. But, first, can you tell me where Taozi and Baek are?”
Chanyeol was genuinely concerned and it showed in his face and his voice and his posture as he slumped on the floor. Who this man is a mystery to Jongin, but he could tell he’s been around for a while.
“I teleported them to a safer place, somewhere we went once as kids.”
“You could have gone with them.”
“I could have. But I didn’t, and I’m not sure why,” Jongin stills, looking at his companion intently, “Would you rather I wasn’t here?”
“If I were less selfish, I’d say I want you to be far out of harm’s way and with your friends, recovering. But I’m not going to lie, I am glad you’re here with me so I can protect you.”
The sincerity of the answer seemed to surprise both Jongin and Chanyeol, the two staring at each other awkwardly in silence. For the first time since he woke up, Jongin wished he knew everything he was supposed to just so he could appreciate Chanyeol’s care for him fully. Chanyeol shifted under the weight of Jongin’s constant gaze and cleared his throat before continuing.
“What you don’t know, right. You, uh, it seems you’ve lost about four weeks of memory. You’ve graduated. The party already happened.”
“Stop.” Jongin pulled his legs into his chest and clenched his eyes shut. His head dropped to his knees. “Baekhyun and Tao told me what happened at the party.”
Chanyeol nodded, even though Jongin wasn’t looking. He didn’t want to hear about his parents again.
“That’s fine. Well. I’m a prince of the Empire, and rightfully head Marksman. I ran away from Vangel because King Gongyoo was trying to get rid of me and I only leave on my own terms.”
Jongin stares wide-eyed, his limbs going slack as all of the tension slides out of his body. Afraid that Jongin would melt into a puddle and cease to exist if he loosened any further, Chanyeol rushed to continue.
“But! None of that matters really because when I got here Tao assumed I was a student and I didn’t correct him. You, Taozi, Baek, and I have been hanging out for the past three weeks or so. You and I are friends. You just don’t remember it yet.”
Chanyeol continued to explain, telling Jongin all the major events of the past month. There was no telling how much time passed as he talked, but Jongin remained an attentive audience all the way up to the conclusion.
“And now we’re here, basically.”
Jongin stood up and stared down at Chanyeol.
“Ok. To be honest, this would have gone better if Tao or Baekhyun had explained, but I can’t bring them here. I don’t know you. I have no reason to think you’re lying to me, but I have no reason to believe you’re telling the truth either. Your story explains why my friends were hugging you when I woke up and where the starcruiser came from, but you’ve got to admit, this sounds pretty far-fetched.” Jongin planted a fist on one hip and cocked an eyebrow at his companion incredulously.
“The favored prince of the entire Empire snuck all the way across the galaxy in a tiny starcruiser without inciting massive manhunts and panic? And just plopped in the midst of my life and I went along with it? In the 17 years I’ve been alive I’ve only let two friends get close to me, but I jumped in with you from the start.”
Jongin started to pace through the small room.
“Even if this is all true, then that means you only told Tao and Baekhyun the truth after we got to that safe house. You lied about who you were and what you wanted for nearly a month. How long did you plan on staying on Earth? Were you ever going to tell the truth? At best, you’re a well-meaning liar of a politician who ran away from his home problems and allowed my friends to get caught up in the mix and at worst you’re a manipulating, scheming, lying conman who could be in cahoots with the people who killed my- who want to hurt me.”
Every word Jongin had said had tumbled out, piling on top of each other and building into a crescendo. He stopped to breath, and flopped back to the ground.
“Thank you for saving me. And for now, I will go along with whatever plans you have. But you will teach me to fight, you will let me have my own weapon, and the moment I feel it’s safe you and I are parting ways.”
The amount of calm in Chanyeol’s face was a testament to hours he’d spent in front of a mirror growing up, tutor poking him in the back until he could mold his expression to mask whatever he was feeling inside. At the moment he was heart-broken, but his face stayed serene as he nodded, agreeing to Jongin’s requests- no, demands.
“I’ll train you. You can keep the pulse gun you already have, and at some point I’ll give you a sword.”
Jongin’s brow pulled in, “Doesn’t it take years to learn how to sword fight?”
Images of a much smaller Jongin trying to balance a wooden sword in one hand, grinning at Chanyeol and waiting to be complimented, flashed in Chanyeol’s mind.
“I think-” Chanyeol’s voice cracked, the only betrayal of how he really felt before he cleared his throat and continued, “I think you’ll take to it just fine. Who knows, maybe you learned to fight in a past life and you just need a nudge to get it to all come back to you.”
╔╗
Weeks passed. The two switched locations every few days; by day twelve Chanyeol was teaching Jongin the signs he looked for before he decided they need to move, little clues that showed that the long haired man was after them. Every day Jongin made a little progress with the pulse gun and leaps of progress with the sword; no progress was made in rebuilding their relationship. Jongin stayed closed off and distant, only speaking when absolutely necessary.
At one point halfway through their third week, in their fifth tiny shared room, Chanyeol woke up alone. He set about making two cups of coffee, uncharacteristically drinking his black and animating the cheap wooden utensils to mix one spoon of sugar and two spoons of milk into the other. He took a shower, careful to stand with his face in the spray so he could pretend to himself later that he hadn’t cried after being abandoned. When he came out of the small bathroom, fully dressed, he found Jongin sitting at the table drinking his coffee.
“You’re back.”
“I am.”
Chanyeol sat on the bed and lounged, weight supported on his elbows, opposite the rickety table where Jongin sat.
“I thought you’d finally left.”
“I did. I went to see Tao and Baekhyun. They’ve left the mountain lodge. I don’t know where they are; they only left a note saying that everyone who ever had close contact with me is being hunted and they had to run but they’re safe.”
“They left all that in a note for anyone to find.”
“It was coded for me.”
Jongin set his handle-less mug on the table top and proceeded to drum his fingers across the rough wood. He looked up at Chanyeol to find the older man staring back.
“I decided to come back so you could explain to me why you said “not again” the first time I woke up and asked who you were.”
Chanyeol immediately sat up straight, face blank and tone even as he spoke.
“Jongin, it meant nothing-”
“Nothing my ass, Chanyeol. Don’t go all princely distant-and-cut-off from me now, you don’t have the right to be irritated with me.”
“Why can’t you just let me protect you, Jongin? Why do you have to question everything?”
“Why can’t you just be honest?! Chanyeol I don’t remember you and I’m sorry, okay. I am so fucking sorry that I don’t remember what it was like to be with you, but I do remember being with my parents. They never told me about my life as a child, never let me ask questions. There are no pictures, no documents. Nine whole years of my life are a mystery and now they’re dead and I’ll never know why. There is a crazy man chasing me from planet to planet and system to system and any moment you or I could end up dead and I’ll be damned if another person dies and takes part of my history to their graves.”
“If you don’t like how I operate, then why do you keep coming back?” Chanyeol stands up as he continues speaking, “I promised I’d never kick you out but I wouldn’t make you stay either. You can leave.”
He’s headed for the front door when Jongin body checks him into the wall.
“No, I can’t! I can’t leave you. My family is gone, my friends are gone. Important events that probably shaped my personality are missing, and I’ve got so many random holes in my memory that I’m not sure who I really I am. All I do know is that for some reason, you knew that I could wield a sword.”
Jongin’s breathing heavy as he storms around in a circle, fists clenched and eyes glassy; Chanyeol could slip out now but he’s never been able to walk away from a distressed Jongin.
“I can’t remember if I told my mother I loved her before she died, if I was a mature enough kid to even say that out loud, but you know how to predict my emotions and my mood swings, things you shouldn’t know.” Jongin wheels around to snatch the mug off the table and hold it aloft towards Chanyeol before pitching it against a different wall. “I only drink coffee once every few months; how the fuck did you know exactly how to prepare it!”
He sobs, sinking to his knees and Chanyeol crouches beside him to pull him into a careful hug. Once he felt sure Jongin wasn’t going to shove him away he pulled the hug closer, one hand curling around Jongin’s neck to scratch the hairs at his nape. The gesture had always soothed a crying Jongin. The younger boy shuddered in his embrace, laughing through his tears.
“Celestials above, Chanyeol. No one has ever seen me cry before, but of course you would know exactly how to comfort me. It’s because of this, because of things exactly like this. How can I leave you when my head is full of holes and you know me better than I know me?”
Chanyeol didn’t answer, choosing to close his eyes instead and rock the two of them slowly. When Jongin finally stopped crying Chanyeol pulled him into the bathroom. He took a small towel scrap from the pile they’d accumulated traveling and wet it with warm water. Chanyeol washed Jongin’s face with slow swipes, erasing the tear tracks and thumbing the lashes of closed eyes, one hand holding his fringe aside. He took his time, memorizing the dips and curves of Jongin’s lips, nose, cheeks, eyes. He’d grown up a lot. Chanyeol contemplated the long held affection he had for the younger man; it had grown and changed over the years, especially since he’d met Jongin again. It wasn’t fair that he got to evolve while Jongin seemed to be taking more steps backwards than he could move forward. He set the towel in the sink, pulled his right sleeve down over his hand, and used it to pat Jongin’s face dry. Jongin opened his eyes just as Chanyeol stepped out of the bathroom and shut the door behind him. He slid to the ground, sitting when Jongin called out to him.
“Chanyeol?”
“Just, wait. This is going to be hard enough as it is; I really never expected to see you again, or have this conversation.”
“Okay.” Jongin’s voice sounded a lot closer, as if he was sitting on the floor of the bathroom, leaned against the door.
“Jongin, I knew you when you were little.”
Only silence answered. Of course, that’s why Chanyeol had asked for.
“You were born on Earth, but your parents were amazing diplomats. Earth headquarters sent them on a double mission to check progress and conditions on some colonies Earth humans had established decades before. You were probably around a year old, and they must not have wanted to leave you so they took you along. Things went well for about two years, until they got to one of the further out colonies. The provisional government there had turned to anarchy. All transmissions were jammed, and your parents ran to keep you safe. Their flight craft was tampered with though; they weren’t going to make it back to Earth, so they crash landed on Vangel.
We grew up together, Nini. When you were eight, your family returned to Earth. That’s why I know how to comfort you; it’s why you prefer loose bright clothing like traditional Vangelion wear, and why I knew you could use a sword. We wrote each other letters that first year you spent back on Earth, but then an anarchist plot exploded out of nowhere. My mother and father were killed trying to investigate the rogue colony and light years away on Earth a small cell attacked you and your family. You lost your memory, and your parents figured it was for the best, to spare you the trauma. Your mother wrote me, told me to stop sending you letters and let you live in peace, that she wouldn’t give you anything of mine.
You guys eventually moved, and I couldn’t get your new address. I was so sure I’d never see you again. And then I moved into Tao’s house. The next day you were right there, and even though I knew it would blow my cover, I hoped you’d remember me after seeing my face. You didn’t, but that was alright because I was busy getting to know grown-up Jongin. That’s how I knew about your coffee and why understand your mood swings. I loved my best friend, a sweet little boy, and years later I had the opportunity to re-meet and fall in love with my best friend. And then someone took me from his memory for a second time. I bet it’s those damned anarchist again. They can’t let me have my parents or you, huh?”
Chanyeol didn’t often cry. He’d cried when Jongin first left Vangel, and he cried when the news his parents were dead finally processed two days after the funeral. And there, on the floor of a cramped hideout that smelled of spilled coffee, Chanyeol cried for the third time. This time, however, warm thumbs smoothed away the tears that spilled from his eyes. He jerked backwards against the door, looking up into Jongin’s lopsided smile.
“But, you- in the bathroom…”
“I teleport.”
“Oh, yeah. I forgot.” Chanyeol huffed a small laugh. Jongin cradled his face in his hands and Chanyeol’s drifted shut as the younger boy leaned in. They didn’t kiss, but Jongin brushed the tears from Chanyeol’s eyelashes and cheeks with warm and tender lips. Foreheads rested together, Jongin sighed.
“That would actually explain why I feel so drawn to you, like I’m supposed to know you. On some level, deep in my head, I do. Every time we get together we end up joined at the hip, don’t we?”
“It’s happened twice.”
“Three times, if you count this. I told you, I’m not going to leave you.”
The two sat together for a few more minutes before they cleaned up the coffee and cup shards, and then fell into bed for a nap. It was about time for them to move hideouts, and they agreed that the idea of the anarchist attacking again was worth looking into but before any of that, they only wanted to hold each other and sleep.
previous/ next
Music swirled through the air, echoing off of strategically placed columns that amplified sound, a design that made this particular hall perfect for parties with light music. This was the twenty third year since the Academy had begun using this hall to host its annual party and things were going well as they always did. Baekhyun slumped into the wall and drained the last of the fruit juice in his cup before tossing it into a nearby trash bin. He’d figured he’d spend the party with Jongin, Tao, and Chanyeol but the three of them were busy. He didn’t begrudge Jongin his time in the limelight; the younger boy seemed uncomfortable but he deserved the attention. He was standing up near the podium while his father gave a speech and his mother waited on standby for her turn to speak. Jongin was joining a legacy of great diplomats to lead the Empire to success at an incredibly young age. After all the turmoil his life had been through, turmoil he didn’t even remember, it was good for him to celebrate a little.
Tao, on the other hand, he was miffed with. Tao had abandoned him nearly immediately, dragging Chanyeol to meet the professor he worked on his clothing anthropology with. Baekhyun never was very interested in Tao’s line of work, he always made an effort to listen because that’s what friends do, but he knew Tao could feel his lack of enthusiasm. So of course he was going to go crazy for a new friend who was actually invested in the work he did; that didn’t change that Baekhyun was left alone with no one to talk to. He chose to follow his friends around the room with his eyes instead. It didn’t take him long to notice that something was bothering Chanyeol. For the past ten minutes he’d been jerking his head around suspiciously. Tao wouldn’t let Chanyeol alone long enough for him to focus on the speech, but that didn’t seem to bother the taller man since he kept trying stare down certain waiters as they got in position for the speech. Baekhyun narrowed his eyes as Chanyeol stilled completely, and then yanked Tao down and shoved him under the table just as the waiters he’d been eyeing pulled out pulse guns. Baekhyun dove under a table and peered out from the table cloth just in time to see Jongin’s father shove him aside and then jump in front of his wife, taking a pulse straight to the heart.
He felt like there was cotton packed into his ears, into his brain; he saw Jongin’s mom lean over her husband’s stiff body with tears streaming down her face. Her mouth gaped open, and even across the room he could see her shaking but it was as if he couldn’t hear anything at all. A flash caught his attention from the corner of his eye, and he looked over to see Chanyeol flying through the air. He moved swiftly, disarming and taking down the assailants. He moved too fast for them to catch him, sliding around as if he had full control over space and how he occupied it, pushing other party guests to safety and snapping necks of attackers. For the first time since he’d met Chanyeol, Baekhyun wondered who he really was.
An agonizing wail pierced through the muffled layers of his brain. Baekhyun and Chanyeol both snapped their gaze in the direction of the stage to see Mrs. Kim fall over her husband, eyes blank. Her killer stood over her, smoking pulse gun still aimed at the back of her head. Jongin was still screaming, teleporting erratically around the room until he landed on the stage and rushed at the murderer. Baekhyun scrabbled forward, desperate to reach his friend before he died too, and then Chanyeol was there. He disarmed the man and shot him down, and turned in time to catch a sobbing Jongin. The last thing Baekhyun saw before he passed out was the stricken look on Chanyeol’s face and then the two disappeared in a snatch of light to wherever Jongin’s emotions felt like dumping them.
╔╗
When Chanyeol opened his eyes again, he was on the floor hugging Jongin in an unfamiliar room. He could feel Jongin’s shallow breath against his cheek, but other than that the boy was out cold. Untangling their limbs, the prince stood up and took in their surroundings. There was a bed and a desk, the walls sparsely decorated. On the ceiling was a painting of familiar city view. Chanyeol couldn’t help but inhale sharply when he recognized it as the view from Jongin’s bedroom window on Vangel. He shook his head and continued out the door and down the hall. The only new information that gave him was that Jongin could paint. In the past three weeks he’d spent on Earth he’d realized that while Jongin had no conscious recollection of his early life, the memories weren’t all lost either and occasionally rose to the surface with the right colors or smells or sounds. Or with strong emotions.
Chanyeol didn’t get far before he was wheeling back around to Jongin’s bedroom. He grabbed the first bag he saw and shoved random clothes into it, grabbing things he thought Jongin would need. The Marksman could feel a faint buzzing along the edges of his mind, a potential Moment growing. For the first time in years he had no desire to meet it head on, more concerned with getting his friend somewhere safe. He wasn’t oblivious to the difference in his behavior, but told himself it was just taking care of a friend. If it’s just platonic, then why aren’t you this worried about Tao or Baekhyun?
Chanyeol cursed under his breath, “Starblasted smug inner voice conscious,” and closed his eyes and knelt down, fingers pressed to the floor. Heat raced through his veins before pushing out down through the house, giving him a mental floor plan of the house. He tossed the bag over his shoulder and gathered Jongin into his arms to head to a hidden room in the basement. Once secure he sat in the corner and let his mind reach around town until he Knew where Tao and Baekhyun were. The two were still at the remains of the Academy party, standing outside while healers rushed around.
Hey guys. It’s me, Chanyeol. I need your help.
╔╗
Tao sank down on the stairs next to wear Baekhyun sat. His smaller friend pulled his coat tighter around him. It wasn’t that cold out, but Tao understood the chill that seemed to permeate their very bones. Baekhyun leaned into his shoulder, each of them supporting each other when a deep voice seemed to echo inside their skulls.
Hey guys. It’s me, Chanyeol. I need your help.
Tao and Baekhyun sprang apart and stared at each other.
“Baekhyun, did you just say…”
“No, no I heard it too!”
Alright you two, I know this is weird but I need you to focus. It really is me and Jongin and I are in danger.
Tao shifted uncomfortably and glanced at Baekhyun out of the corner of his eyes before closing them.
Chanyeol, can you hear my thoughts?
Yes, Tao, but Baekhyun can’t. And yes, he just tried the same thing and I told him what I told you.
“Well then,” Baekhyun whispered, “what’s going on?”
I think I’m at Jongin’s house. We’re in the basement, and people are looking for us. We’ll be safe for a while but we can’t stay here. Can you tell me where another safe house would be?
“Why don’t Baek and I just come pick you guys up and take you there ourselves?” Tao felt strange talking to a disembodied voice in his head, but not weird enough that the fact that Chanyeol was trying to disappear on them with Jongin got past him. “We want to help you.”
That would be beyond helpful, but if you come with us you’d have to stay with us. You couldn’t go back home; you’d be easy targets these guys would use to get to Jongin.
“We’re already targets to anyone who knows Jongin well enough to know his family and friends.”
Baekhyun scoffed at Chanyeol’s worries but Tao could see his hands shaking. Tao extended his hand to his friend, not commenting when cold fingers wrapped around his own.
“Alright, Chanyeol, Baekhyun and I will swing by our own homes as fast as we can to grab a small bag. We’ll be outside Jongin’s in fifteen minutes, and then ghost out of here.”
Sounds like a plan. And… thanks you guys. I know I owe you a lot of explanations. It means a lot that you’re trusting me.
“Don’t thank us yet, pretty boy,” Baekhyun grunted as he stood, “I’m still pissed. As soon as I see you and I’m sure we’re all safe I’m going to kick your mysterious ass.”
Tao raced towards where Baekhyun’s car and thought hard at Chanyeol.
I can’t wait for Baekhyun to finish fighting you so I can have a turn. Stay safe, you starblasted shit.”
╔╗
Tao finished stocking the kitchen with the dried foods Chanyeol had passed him. The house they were in had the automated food preparation technology that had been standard for generations but none of it worked at the moment; somehow Chanyeol had managed to take the whole building offline and off any service grid. They had no lights, no electricity, no access to the computer network. There was still running water though, and strange floating wisps of light followed them around the house from room to room, courtesy of Chanyeol. If Chanyeol is even his real name Tao thought bitterly. The wisps looked like little tongues of fire but didn’t give off heat as they pressed closer to him, almost as if they were comforting him in his irritation.
Tao got back to the main room just as Baekhyun came from the back, three wisps trailing behind him.
“Jongin is in bed. He’ll be fine I think, he just needs to rest. He’s emotionally exhausted, and teleporting himself and Chanyeol all the way from the Academy to his house took a lot out of him.”
Chanyeol nodded and rose from where he sat to stand in the room’s center. He gestured at the couch.
“Well, uh, have a seat. Would you two prefer to ask me questions, or should I just start talking?”
Tao sat next to Baekhyun, perched at the edge of the cushion like he was ready to rush the tall man in front of them.
“I’d like to know the real name of the man who lived in my house for nearly a month, if that’s alright with you.”
Chanyeol flinched back at the bitter tone but he didn’t say anything about it, just stood there with his shoulders hunched in.
“I really am Chanyeol. When I first told you my name, you asked if I was named after the prince. In all honesty,” he stood up straight, his posture seeming to fill out until he was larger in stature than Baekhyun or Tao had ever seen, his head held high and his eyes hard and bright, “it’s not that I’m named for the Marksman so much as I am the Marksman.
Tao, Baekhyun, I am the son of the late General Supreme Shin Sungwoo and the late Queen Eunhye. I was born and raised on the capital planet, Vangel, and ran away to avoid the political machinations of the King. I felt that he was planning something heinous and left before he could do any harm, and came to Earth on a whim.”
Tao wasn’t sure if Baekhyun would ever pick his jaw up off the ground, and he was sure he looked much the same.
“So the fighting at the party… and all this magic… and how good you are with tech?”
“All part of my training, really.”
Tao sank back into the couch, entirely overwhelmed. Chanyeol suddenly crouched down in front of the couch, looking more like the goofy boy Tao had lived with than a member of the royal family, but he could still see it. That strange look Chanyeol occasionally got in his eyes had a name now, nobility, and once seen there was no way Tao could unsee it.
“Really though, I am sorry I lied to you both. I know you probably wouldn’t have believed me if I told you the truth, but I still could have tried.”
“Uh, no. It’s, uh, fine. I mean, thanks for breaking cover to save Jongin, your, uh, Your Majesty,” Baekhyun babbled, words slow and unsure.
Any awe Tao felt abandoned him suddenly with a snort at the face Chanyeol pulled, sitting back on his haunches. His whole face scrunched up like some sort of archaic troll doll and he let out a long whine far too high pitched for a man with a voice as deep as his. Baekhyun’s quiet giggle off to the side let Tao know his companion felt much the same.
“I understand if you’re all freaked out and think you need to title me now but firstly, it’s really not necessary and secondly, I kinda hate being referred to as a Prince. Marksman is cool, Phoenix born is cool. Chanyeol is best. Your Highness and Majesty and Grace all kinda make me feel stuffy and remind me of long days with stuck up tutors, so if you could not that’d be great.”
Tao couldn’t help the bubbly laugh he felt welling up from his gut. The evening had been an emotional roller coaster, and with all things considered, finding out that his friend was the Prince and rightful Head Marksman of the entire Empire was far better than him being a cheap conman or a murderer. The Kims were dead, Jongin was unconscious, and he and his best friends were on the run but the most magically, diplomatically, militarily skilled person in the entire galaxy was on his side. Tao slid off the couch to hug Chanyeol.
“Alright, I forgive you.”
Baekhyun dropped down on the other side and joined in the hugging. Soon all three of them were laughing through tears. They had all calmed down and were sharing their stories of what had happened after Chanyeol and Jongin disappeared when a low voice spoke up.
“Where are we? What’re you guys doing?”
All three men looked up to see Jongin shuffling into the room, fists rubbing the sleep from his eyes. Chanyeol was standing before Tao or Baekhyun could say anything.
“Jongin, you’re awake. How do you feel?”
Jongin froze midstep and looked up at Chanyeol. He stumbled backwards slowly, eyes darting around until he saw Tao’s concerned gaze and Baekhyun cautiously walking towards him.
“Hey, Jongin, you’re safe here,” the smaller of his two friends said.
“Safe here? What does that mean? Where are we, and,” Jongin gestured at Chanyeol, “who is this guy? How does he know my name?”
“Celestials above, not again.”
Tao looked up at the low comment in time to see Chanyeol’s face shutter closed.
“Jongin, my name is Chanyeol. I’m a friend of Baekhyun’s and Tao’s. I need you to think for me: when is the Academy graduation party?”
Jongin stared warily at the people around him, all leaning forward like his answer was the most important thing in the world.
“It’s in a month or so, why?”
Chanyeol turned away immediately, long strides headed for the door. He halted, one hand on the door handle. “Tao, Baekhyun, you two handle this. He knows you.” The temperature in the room spiked as Chanyeol’s hand glowed, drawing the shape of two pulse guns in the air. When the room cooled again he had two actual weapons in each hand. Setting them on the table by the door, Chanyeol looked up at the three other boys. “I can’t be here right now. I’m going out to secure the perimeter. Don’t worry Jongin, these two will explain everything. Open the door for no one; I can get in on my own.” And then he was gone.
“Nini, you need to sit.”
Baekhyun watched as Tao guided the confused boy to the couch before he started again. Tao sat with one arm around Jongin’s shoulders, face pinched.
“Jongin, the party was tonight. Or, last night, since it’s probably early morning by now.”
Baekhyun scanned the walls, just now noticing the lack of clocks.
“Wait, what?”
“Look,” Tao began, “the party was tonight. There was an ambush and your family was attacked. You really don’t remember anything?”
“What?! No! Where are my parents, are they okay?” Jongin was up and moving around frantically before Baekhyun caught hold of his wrist and guided him back to where Tao sat.
“Hey, hey, calm down okay. I think one of the reasons you lost your memory is because you accidentally teleported while your emotions were everywhere. When you landed in your house you were out cold; you just woke up.”
Jongin took a deep breath, “Why aren’t you answering me about my parents?”
Tao pulled Jongin closer in his embrace and Baekhyun sat up on the couch, leaning to hug Jongin from the other side. Jongin looked at their wet eyes, tears slipping down their cheeks and started to tremble.
“No. No, no, this can’t be happening. Tell me. Baek?”
The smaller man looked down at the ground.
“Taozi?”
Tao opened his mouth, but no sound came out. Jongin looked back and forth between his friends, and then shook his head.
“Don’t do this to me, you guys. Don’t let me sit here making up potential scenarios in my head, I’ll go crazy I swear. Tell me. Please, I need to know, tell me what happened.”
Baekhyun broke down in sobs as Tao choked out the answer.
“They’re dead, Jongin. Shot with a pulse gun. Your dad was first, and then your mom, but it was fast, and-”
Tao’s tears cut him off, and the three friends sat together, rocking and crying. In their grief, they didn’t hear the banging outside the house and were completely caught off guard when the front door flew into the room, blown off its hinges.
“Come here, young Kim. I won’t miss you a third time.”
The voice was dark and menacing. Tao and Baekhyun both lunged for the pulse guns while Jongin’s panic folded over into rage. He’d lost his parents, and a month of his life thanks to whoever these goons were. He wouldn’t let them get his best friends too. Jongin had never teleported other people without going along himself before, but he was angry. He just wanted his friends away and safe, mind fixed on the mountain lodge they’d visited together one long ago summer when everything was happier. The next thing he knew, the familiar crackle of energy was sparking through the room, but instead of feeling it pulling him apart from within he felt it beside him. He’d created a portal. His next moves were automatic, no thoughts at all as he grabbed Baekhyun first and then Tao, shoving them through the dark hole and shutting it behind them just as a long haired man with an angular nose burst into the room, gun up.
“Hello again, young Kim. I am afraid this is going to be the final time you and I are going to meet.”
The man aimed the gun at Jongin’s chest. A loud crack echoed through the room as a solid brick of light came down on the back of the intruder’s head. The man slumped forward, and Jongin saw the third guy from earlier (was it Chanyeol?) step through the door, eyes glowing.
“Damn straight, it’s the last time you’ll ever see him.” Chanyeol looked up. “We need to go, now. I promise I’m not evil and I’ll answer all your questions later but this location’s been made. We need to move before this develops into a full-fledged Moment because if it does, we’”
Jongin followed Chanyeol’s lead, grabbing at various still-packed bags and picking up one of the pulse guns on the table. The two rushed out the back door and into the woods. Chanyeol stayed three steps ahead of Jongin until they came out on the other side in an abandoned field. He came to a stop near a large clump of grasses; a wave of his hand pushed a large breeze by and cleared the brush away to reveal a small starcruiser. The doors opened and Jongin headed inside to lay down his things.
He had no guarantee the tall man guiding him wasn’t one of the ones who wanted him dead, except that Tao and Baekhyun had seemed to know him; in any case he’d end up dead for sure if he stayed put so he went along. Chanyeol worked quickly, reconnecting wires and plugging things in until the machine was up and running. He rushed inside and jumped in the pilot’s seat and lifted the starcruiser off the ground. Jongin watched, amazed, as Chanyeol navigated the craft manually, something he’d never seen done before. It didn’t hurt that he looked even more attractive than he did before working the machine. It wasn’t long before they’d cleared Earth’s atmosphere. Chanyeol thought of Baekhyun and Tao; with a chuckle he steered towards the nearest outpost planet. At least after this part of his cover story would be truer.
╔╗
Jongin sat on the floor of the small one room building Chanyeol had bought, eyeing the man seated opposite him warily. There was no light in the room other than Chanyeol’s fire wisps because the room was below ground.
“Chanyeol, right?”
“Yeah, that’s me.”
“So, you just carry around enough cash money to buy real estate all the time, or is this a special occasion?”
Chanyeol gave a humorless laugh.
“Everything about this trip has been a special occasion.”
Jongin stared. “There’s so much I want, need to know. I have no idea where to even start asking questions.”
“I- I can help with that. But, first, can you tell me where Taozi and Baek are?”
Chanyeol was genuinely concerned and it showed in his face and his voice and his posture as he slumped on the floor. Who this man is a mystery to Jongin, but he could tell he’s been around for a while.
“I teleported them to a safer place, somewhere we went once as kids.”
“You could have gone with them.”
“I could have. But I didn’t, and I’m not sure why,” Jongin stills, looking at his companion intently, “Would you rather I wasn’t here?”
“If I were less selfish, I’d say I want you to be far out of harm’s way and with your friends, recovering. But I’m not going to lie, I am glad you’re here with me so I can protect you.”
The sincerity of the answer seemed to surprise both Jongin and Chanyeol, the two staring at each other awkwardly in silence. For the first time since he woke up, Jongin wished he knew everything he was supposed to just so he could appreciate Chanyeol’s care for him fully. Chanyeol shifted under the weight of Jongin’s constant gaze and cleared his throat before continuing.
“What you don’t know, right. You, uh, it seems you’ve lost about four weeks of memory. You’ve graduated. The party already happened.”
“Stop.” Jongin pulled his legs into his chest and clenched his eyes shut. His head dropped to his knees. “Baekhyun and Tao told me what happened at the party.”
Chanyeol nodded, even though Jongin wasn’t looking. He didn’t want to hear about his parents again.
“That’s fine. Well. I’m a prince of the Empire, and rightfully head Marksman. I ran away from Vangel because King Gongyoo was trying to get rid of me and I only leave on my own terms.”
Jongin stares wide-eyed, his limbs going slack as all of the tension slides out of his body. Afraid that Jongin would melt into a puddle and cease to exist if he loosened any further, Chanyeol rushed to continue.
“But! None of that matters really because when I got here Tao assumed I was a student and I didn’t correct him. You, Taozi, Baek, and I have been hanging out for the past three weeks or so. You and I are friends. You just don’t remember it yet.”
Chanyeol continued to explain, telling Jongin all the major events of the past month. There was no telling how much time passed as he talked, but Jongin remained an attentive audience all the way up to the conclusion.
“And now we’re here, basically.”
Jongin stood up and stared down at Chanyeol.
“Ok. To be honest, this would have gone better if Tao or Baekhyun had explained, but I can’t bring them here. I don’t know you. I have no reason to think you’re lying to me, but I have no reason to believe you’re telling the truth either. Your story explains why my friends were hugging you when I woke up and where the starcruiser came from, but you’ve got to admit, this sounds pretty far-fetched.” Jongin planted a fist on one hip and cocked an eyebrow at his companion incredulously.
“The favored prince of the entire Empire snuck all the way across the galaxy in a tiny starcruiser without inciting massive manhunts and panic? And just plopped in the midst of my life and I went along with it? In the 17 years I’ve been alive I’ve only let two friends get close to me, but I jumped in with you from the start.”
Jongin started to pace through the small room.
“Even if this is all true, then that means you only told Tao and Baekhyun the truth after we got to that safe house. You lied about who you were and what you wanted for nearly a month. How long did you plan on staying on Earth? Were you ever going to tell the truth? At best, you’re a well-meaning liar of a politician who ran away from his home problems and allowed my friends to get caught up in the mix and at worst you’re a manipulating, scheming, lying conman who could be in cahoots with the people who killed my- who want to hurt me.”
Every word Jongin had said had tumbled out, piling on top of each other and building into a crescendo. He stopped to breath, and flopped back to the ground.
“Thank you for saving me. And for now, I will go along with whatever plans you have. But you will teach me to fight, you will let me have my own weapon, and the moment I feel it’s safe you and I are parting ways.”
The amount of calm in Chanyeol’s face was a testament to hours he’d spent in front of a mirror growing up, tutor poking him in the back until he could mold his expression to mask whatever he was feeling inside. At the moment he was heart-broken, but his face stayed serene as he nodded, agreeing to Jongin’s requests- no, demands.
“I’ll train you. You can keep the pulse gun you already have, and at some point I’ll give you a sword.”
Jongin’s brow pulled in, “Doesn’t it take years to learn how to sword fight?”
Images of a much smaller Jongin trying to balance a wooden sword in one hand, grinning at Chanyeol and waiting to be complimented, flashed in Chanyeol’s mind.
“I think-” Chanyeol’s voice cracked, the only betrayal of how he really felt before he cleared his throat and continued, “I think you’ll take to it just fine. Who knows, maybe you learned to fight in a past life and you just need a nudge to get it to all come back to you.”
╔╗
Weeks passed. The two switched locations every few days; by day twelve Chanyeol was teaching Jongin the signs he looked for before he decided they need to move, little clues that showed that the long haired man was after them. Every day Jongin made a little progress with the pulse gun and leaps of progress with the sword; no progress was made in rebuilding their relationship. Jongin stayed closed off and distant, only speaking when absolutely necessary.
At one point halfway through their third week, in their fifth tiny shared room, Chanyeol woke up alone. He set about making two cups of coffee, uncharacteristically drinking his black and animating the cheap wooden utensils to mix one spoon of sugar and two spoons of milk into the other. He took a shower, careful to stand with his face in the spray so he could pretend to himself later that he hadn’t cried after being abandoned. When he came out of the small bathroom, fully dressed, he found Jongin sitting at the table drinking his coffee.
“You’re back.”
“I am.”
Chanyeol sat on the bed and lounged, weight supported on his elbows, opposite the rickety table where Jongin sat.
“I thought you’d finally left.”
“I did. I went to see Tao and Baekhyun. They’ve left the mountain lodge. I don’t know where they are; they only left a note saying that everyone who ever had close contact with me is being hunted and they had to run but they’re safe.”
“They left all that in a note for anyone to find.”
“It was coded for me.”
Jongin set his handle-less mug on the table top and proceeded to drum his fingers across the rough wood. He looked up at Chanyeol to find the older man staring back.
“I decided to come back so you could explain to me why you said “not again” the first time I woke up and asked who you were.”
Chanyeol immediately sat up straight, face blank and tone even as he spoke.
“Jongin, it meant nothing-”
“Nothing my ass, Chanyeol. Don’t go all princely distant-and-cut-off from me now, you don’t have the right to be irritated with me.”
“Why can’t you just let me protect you, Jongin? Why do you have to question everything?”
“Why can’t you just be honest?! Chanyeol I don’t remember you and I’m sorry, okay. I am so fucking sorry that I don’t remember what it was like to be with you, but I do remember being with my parents. They never told me about my life as a child, never let me ask questions. There are no pictures, no documents. Nine whole years of my life are a mystery and now they’re dead and I’ll never know why. There is a crazy man chasing me from planet to planet and system to system and any moment you or I could end up dead and I’ll be damned if another person dies and takes part of my history to their graves.”
“If you don’t like how I operate, then why do you keep coming back?” Chanyeol stands up as he continues speaking, “I promised I’d never kick you out but I wouldn’t make you stay either. You can leave.”
He’s headed for the front door when Jongin body checks him into the wall.
“No, I can’t! I can’t leave you. My family is gone, my friends are gone. Important events that probably shaped my personality are missing, and I’ve got so many random holes in my memory that I’m not sure who I really I am. All I do know is that for some reason, you knew that I could wield a sword.”
Jongin’s breathing heavy as he storms around in a circle, fists clenched and eyes glassy; Chanyeol could slip out now but he’s never been able to walk away from a distressed Jongin.
“I can’t remember if I told my mother I loved her before she died, if I was a mature enough kid to even say that out loud, but you know how to predict my emotions and my mood swings, things you shouldn’t know.” Jongin wheels around to snatch the mug off the table and hold it aloft towards Chanyeol before pitching it against a different wall. “I only drink coffee once every few months; how the fuck did you know exactly how to prepare it!”
He sobs, sinking to his knees and Chanyeol crouches beside him to pull him into a careful hug. Once he felt sure Jongin wasn’t going to shove him away he pulled the hug closer, one hand curling around Jongin’s neck to scratch the hairs at his nape. The gesture had always soothed a crying Jongin. The younger boy shuddered in his embrace, laughing through his tears.
“Celestials above, Chanyeol. No one has ever seen me cry before, but of course you would know exactly how to comfort me. It’s because of this, because of things exactly like this. How can I leave you when my head is full of holes and you know me better than I know me?”
Chanyeol didn’t answer, choosing to close his eyes instead and rock the two of them slowly. When Jongin finally stopped crying Chanyeol pulled him into the bathroom. He took a small towel scrap from the pile they’d accumulated traveling and wet it with warm water. Chanyeol washed Jongin’s face with slow swipes, erasing the tear tracks and thumbing the lashes of closed eyes, one hand holding his fringe aside. He took his time, memorizing the dips and curves of Jongin’s lips, nose, cheeks, eyes. He’d grown up a lot. Chanyeol contemplated the long held affection he had for the younger man; it had grown and changed over the years, especially since he’d met Jongin again. It wasn’t fair that he got to evolve while Jongin seemed to be taking more steps backwards than he could move forward. He set the towel in the sink, pulled his right sleeve down over his hand, and used it to pat Jongin’s face dry. Jongin opened his eyes just as Chanyeol stepped out of the bathroom and shut the door behind him. He slid to the ground, sitting when Jongin called out to him.
“Chanyeol?”
“Just, wait. This is going to be hard enough as it is; I really never expected to see you again, or have this conversation.”
“Okay.” Jongin’s voice sounded a lot closer, as if he was sitting on the floor of the bathroom, leaned against the door.
“Jongin, I knew you when you were little.”
Only silence answered. Of course, that’s why Chanyeol had asked for.
“You were born on Earth, but your parents were amazing diplomats. Earth headquarters sent them on a double mission to check progress and conditions on some colonies Earth humans had established decades before. You were probably around a year old, and they must not have wanted to leave you so they took you along. Things went well for about two years, until they got to one of the further out colonies. The provisional government there had turned to anarchy. All transmissions were jammed, and your parents ran to keep you safe. Their flight craft was tampered with though; they weren’t going to make it back to Earth, so they crash landed on Vangel.
We grew up together, Nini. When you were eight, your family returned to Earth. That’s why I know how to comfort you; it’s why you prefer loose bright clothing like traditional Vangelion wear, and why I knew you could use a sword. We wrote each other letters that first year you spent back on Earth, but then an anarchist plot exploded out of nowhere. My mother and father were killed trying to investigate the rogue colony and light years away on Earth a small cell attacked you and your family. You lost your memory, and your parents figured it was for the best, to spare you the trauma. Your mother wrote me, told me to stop sending you letters and let you live in peace, that she wouldn’t give you anything of mine.
You guys eventually moved, and I couldn’t get your new address. I was so sure I’d never see you again. And then I moved into Tao’s house. The next day you were right there, and even though I knew it would blow my cover, I hoped you’d remember me after seeing my face. You didn’t, but that was alright because I was busy getting to know grown-up Jongin. That’s how I knew about your coffee and why understand your mood swings. I loved my best friend, a sweet little boy, and years later I had the opportunity to re-meet and fall in love with my best friend. And then someone took me from his memory for a second time. I bet it’s those damned anarchist again. They can’t let me have my parents or you, huh?”
Chanyeol didn’t often cry. He’d cried when Jongin first left Vangel, and he cried when the news his parents were dead finally processed two days after the funeral. And there, on the floor of a cramped hideout that smelled of spilled coffee, Chanyeol cried for the third time. This time, however, warm thumbs smoothed away the tears that spilled from his eyes. He jerked backwards against the door, looking up into Jongin’s lopsided smile.
“But, you- in the bathroom…”
“I teleport.”
“Oh, yeah. I forgot.” Chanyeol huffed a small laugh. Jongin cradled his face in his hands and Chanyeol’s drifted shut as the younger boy leaned in. They didn’t kiss, but Jongin brushed the tears from Chanyeol’s eyelashes and cheeks with warm and tender lips. Foreheads rested together, Jongin sighed.
“That would actually explain why I feel so drawn to you, like I’m supposed to know you. On some level, deep in my head, I do. Every time we get together we end up joined at the hip, don’t we?”
“It’s happened twice.”
“Three times, if you count this. I told you, I’m not going to leave you.”
The two sat together for a few more minutes before they cleaned up the coffee and cup shards, and then fell into bed for a nap. It was about time for them to move hideouts, and they agreed that the idea of the anarchist attacking again was worth looking into but before any of that, they only wanted to hold each other and sleep.
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