a wish for fire, a hope for snow → for exothermc
Title: a wish for fire, a hope for snow
Recipient: exothermc
Pairing(s): Minseok/Joonmyun, side!Kyungsoo/Jongdae
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: violence towards animals (described very, very briefly and vaguely)
Word count: 6459
Summary: Junmyeon is the water to Minseok's ice, the only one who can make him thaw.
Minseok does not spend a lot of time with people in other divisions of the power hierarchy the government has developed. There are few chances to in the first place since they are generally kept busy honing their own skills to fit the perfect mold for the regime's purposes. He has one general session twice a week where he sees some of his friends who don't specialize in ice, the mandatory "history" lecture in which the Generals preach about the government's ideals and how the changes it has made since the Cold Age have brought the nation more glory and power. The rest of the time, Minseok is icy cold, confined to shaping ice daggers with his mind and freezing large pools of water on command.
As he walks into the general session of the day, Minseok spots Chanyeol standing with the fire users and gives him a brisk nod when they make eye contact. Chanyeol, emotions always clear on his face, flashes him a grin in return. He has known Chanyeol for years now due to their fathers' friendship and has spent many days a month either at Chanyeol's home or with Chanyeol's family at his house for meals together. Despite their contrasting powers, or maybe even because of them, the two became quick friends.
He moves to join the group of ice users already congregated near the front of the hall. Spotting Hakyeon hanging by the edge, he bumps into the other's shoulder lightly in greeting. Hakyeon's head snaps up, looking around in alarm, but relaxes when he sees that it is only Minseok.
"I should stop being surprised by now," he sighs.
Minseok grins. "It has only been four years. You've always been a bit slow."
Hakyeon smacks him in the arm indignantly. "I've been here longer than you have even though I'm younger. Shouldn't I be calling you the slow one?"
"You came here a couple days before me," Minseok says, rolling his eyes.
Before Hakyeon can protest again, a loud boom comes from the front of the room, calling everyone to attention. Minseok shuffles up to stand in his place in the second row, three from the right.
With another clear of his throat, General Lee orders the commander of each division to take roll. Minseok snaps his arm up in a salute and shouts, "Present!" when he hears his name on roll call.
Once he has received report from all the commanders, the general begins the way he does every day with the government mantra.
That is to say, Minseok does not spend much time with non-ice users within the government's ever-watching eye. As much control as the government claims to have, there are holes in the system, and in these holes, Minseok meets with his friends from the other divisions without anyone regulating what they are doing or the amount of time they spend together. The group has grown over the years through careful filtering and quiet invitation to create a tight-knit gathering of people Minseok considers family as much as he does his sister and parents.
After the general session in the morning, Minseok has an hour until the first training session of the day. He parts ways with Hakyeon at the entrance to the hall as per usual and heads in the direction of his home, supposedly to greet his parents and tell them he won't be joining them for dinner. Halfway there, he slows outside a nondescript antique store and checks discreetly to see whether anyone is paying attention before pushing the door open, the bell jingling a cheerful welcome. Kyungsoo has not returned from the general session yet, but Minseok goes straight to the back and takes the stairs down to the basement where he and his friends have met for the past few years. The store had been left to Kyungsoo by his grandparents after they retired, and Kyungsoo had decided to keep it and manage it while he wasn't training.
Minseok had met the younger boy a few years back while he had gone on a walk through the city on a whim, wandering around aimlessly on a rare day off. The unique plaque on the door had drawn Minseok in to look around, and since Kyungsoo's personality had clicked easily with his, the antique store became a frequent stop in his life.
He is the first to arrive, as usual, and sinks into his favorite seat, which is also the most comfortable and faces the stairway. Not long after he settles in, the door opens, and Kyungsoo makes his way down.
"Here already? One of these days I'll get here first," Kyungsoo says when he sees Minseok already seated. He has brought pots of coffee and tea and some snacks down as refreshments for eleven hungry and tired young men. Minseok accepts the cup of coffee that he pours for him with a nod of thanks.
"One day you'll learn my secrets to getting out of there that fast, you mean," Minseok teases.
"Minseok's magic, of course. Didn't you know?" Another voice echoes from the top of the staircase as he takes the steps down two at a time.
Kyungsoo snorts. "Too bad he knows more tricks than you ever will, Jongdae."
Jongdae flops on the couch and grins. "Too bad I have more charm than you ever will." He doesn't have enough time to flinch away before Kyungsoo's fist hits his stomach, and Minseok laughs as Jongdae squeals and whines about how violent Kyungsoo is.
Eventually, everyone trickles into the basement and settles themselves on Kyungsoo's assorted couches and chairs, and the noise level increases into minor chaos. The basement is soundproof anyways. Minseok relaxes into a light conversation with Lu Han and Kyungsoo about the scrawniness of the new batch of power users.
"Seriously, I think they get smaller every year!" Lu Han says.
"Or maybe you're tricking yourself into thinking you've grown taller," Kyungsoo replies dryly.
"You're even shorter than I am!" Lu Han protests.
"I'm sure your extra height makes up for what you lack in other places."
"Excuse me?!" The outrage is clear in his wide eyes and the rising color in his cheeks. Minseok doesn't know why Lu Han still lets Kyungsoo's snark get to him, especially when he's almost never serious about it. He does know, however, that Lu Han would never dare to lay a hand on Kyungsoo in fear of his punches that hurt more than his slight frame suggests.
Lu Han settles for glaring intensely and muttering outraged comments to himself. Kyungsoo just continues sipping his coffee, ignoring Lu Han's typical antics.
"How have you been, Minseok?" he asks.
"You talked to me yesterday," Minseok says, amused.
"Well yes, but how are you?"
Fine, he thinks, an automatic answer that everyone gives regardless of their actual condition. It's a question Minseok rarely answers honestly, mostly because he doesn't know himself. He just is, with not much more emotion to attach with it.
Minseok settles with the easy answer. "I'm all right." Just all right.
At age seven, Minseok's power had emerged and surprised everyone. The sun had beaten down mercilessly that day, and Minseok's father had invited Chanyeol's family over for lunch. Afterwards, Chanyeol dragged Minseok outside to play, rolling around in the grass. They sprawled out once they had tired of running around, and he thought absently how nice it would be for it to be winter already; then he wouldn’t have to put up with the heat anymore.
When a drop of cold water hit his forehead, Minseok didn’t thought anything of it, figuring it was a stray drop of condensation, but the temperature was dropping abruptly and quickly and more iciness falling on him. He opened his eyes when he heard Chanyeol gasp beside him to see a miniature cluster of clouds above them, snow drifting down from it and beginning to pile up around him. His breath was visible when he exhaled, and goosebumps had begun to form on his bare skin.
Minseok's eyes widened in astonishment, while Chanyeol just looked up in awe. He reached his hand out to catch a snowflake, and it floated gently in his hand instead of melting. It expanded the more he looked at it until it was larger than his hand and dissipated when he closed his fist.
“Minseok!” He heard a shout from the window. His parents stared out at him, looking back and forth between him and the snow cloud, just as shocked if not more than Minseok himself. No one had expected Minseok to control ice, an element which required toughness and a sharper demeanor that he had not appeared to have. Minseok had always been small and quiet and seemed soft around the edges like his mother, who controlled water. His parents had regarded him with a bit of wariness for a while after, and even now they didn't seem completely comfortable around him.
Despite the original the characteristics of his powers showed more as he grew up, and he found that it suited him. Although still not particularly tall, Minseok had grown to be solid, strong, and compact. His personality also melded around the ice he wielded as easily as his own limbs.
Hakyeon had laughed when he heard the story. "You're the strongest person I know, both physically and mentally. Your handling of ice is like an art. I couldn't see you having any other power." Minseok had disagreed in his head, but his friend's words had settled a bit of the uncertainty he held in his heart.
Shops have mostly closed for the evening, the streets quiet in the dim light of the sinking sun. Minseok walks into the antique shop expecting it to be empty save for the owner, but Kyungsoo is nowhere in sight. Instead, he sees a slim man around his height examining the small section of clocks. He looks up when the bell on the door rings as Minseok enters and offers a friendly smile.
Minseok approaches the front counter, wondering why this man is here this late. He has never run into anyone at this time before, mainly because it was cutting curfew a little too close for most people.
"If you're looking for Kyungsoo, he stepped out to get something," the man says, walking over to stand beside Minseok.
Kyungsoo has never left the shop unattended in Minseok's experience. Minseok looks the late customer up and down curiously, wondering just how well he knows Kyungsoo for him to trust him this much. He runs through the people he thinks Kyungsoo might trust enough, who are few and far between in the first place, but comes up blank. This man is a mystery. Quite a handsome one though, Minseok notes, with bright eyes, a strong jaw, and a charming smile.
They hear the tinkling of the bell, and Kyungsoo enters. He smiles upon seeing Minseok and nods to the man beside him.
"I see you've met Junmyeon. He's been around a lot lately," Kyungsoo says. To Junmyeon, he says, "This is Minseok, one of my best friends."
"I've been in this shop almost every day, yet I've never seen him," Minseok muses.
"I like coming at strange times," Junmyeon comments with a light chuckle. "But I've got be off now. See you later, Kyungsoo, Minseok."
Once Kyungsoo has closed the shop, they sit together in comfortable silence. He is Minseok's closest friend and had brought him into his own friend group. Until then, Minseok had mostly been a loner aside from his friendship with Chanyeol. It was a self-chosen isolation that became a habit, and Kyungsoo reaching out had given him a lifeline. Kyungsoo was similar to him in personality, choosing to spend more time alone and keep a few people close, but Baekhyun had bothered him into being friends, and the rest was history.
"He's friends with Jongdae," Kyungsoo says. "In case you're wondering."
Minseok hums. Jongdae has an enormous web of friends and acquaintances despite the government regulations and gets away with it. Figures he would know someone who randomly turned up in Kyungsoo's shop.
"He likes old stuff. Says it reminds him of his grandmother," Kyungsoo continues. "You'll like him."
"Will I?" Minseok raises an eyebrow at the certainty. He didn't even know if he would see Junmyeon again, and something about him brings up an emotion Minseok doesn’t know how to identify.
"You will," Kyungsoo says firmly. "Jongdae asked him to come meet everyone next week."
The last person adopted into their group was Zitao, and that had happened a year ago. He supposes that maybe it's about time for a change.
The next time Minseok sees Junmyeon is a few days later at a late hour again. He spots him sitting on a bench in front of a fountain, clearly concentrating from the furrow in his brow. The water in the fountain twists and twirls as if dancing, and Minseok finds himself mesmerized by its freedom and elegance, so different from the tight, contained frigidness he’s used to. He sees Junmyeon smile as the water climbs higher, forming a single column that then separates into countless different streams that rain back down into the basin. The calmness and grace of it all is beautiful, he thinks. Ice has a dangerous beauty, but water has a different, even more stunning aesthetic. Minseok stays even after Junmyeon has disappeared, and, on a whim, freezes the fountain mid-spray.
Everyone takes to Junmyeon like ducks to water. Lu Han and Chanyeol coo over how cute he is, and Jongin, Sehun, and Zitao, while hesitant at first, attach themselves to him after he cracks some terrible jokes and brings them into the conversation with practiced subtlety, slowly washing away their hesitation. The boxes of chicken he brings with him don’t hurt either. The attention flusters him a bit, but Junmyeon is laughing at Baekhyun's jokes and mussing Jongin's hair affectionately by the end of the day. Junmyeon's easy-going and silly personality fits into them perfectly. Jongdae grins with pride at succeeding in introducing a new friend to everyone and proceeds to whine that "Junmyeon was mine first!"
Minseok sits off to the side with Kyungsoo and Yixing, watching the chaos that surrounds their new friend. "He fits in quite well, doesn't he?" Yixing says serenely. Minseok nods, and Kyungsoo replies, "I knew he would."
Junmyeon glances over at the only three not in the middle of the action. Minseok doesn't look away when they make eye contact, staring straight back into his eyes. Cocking his head slightly, Junmyeon smiles and beckons him over. Minseok tilts his head in turn. The feeling from when he first met him is there again, strolling through his mind but hiding itself away every time he comes close to figuring it out. Junmyeon has cracked through even his youngest friends’ crippling shyness; he’s easy to like and has a friendly air about him that has made everyone comfortable fairly quickly. Minseok doesn’t know how to approach him, someone so quick to smile and adapt to a new environment, because it seems almost too easy. It would be rude to refuse though, so he walks over and squeezes himself between Lu Han and Chanyeol, who immediately throw their arms over his shoulders.
"You said you met Minseok already? Don't be fooled by this cute face, he's actually the oldest, and he could crush all of us. Except maybe Kyungsoo," Lu Han teases, pinching Minseok's cheeks. Minseok swats his hands away and slaps him on the thigh, but the action doesn’t faze Lu Han at all, only causing him to squeeze Minseok's thigh affectionately. Chanyeol lays a hand on Minseok's other thigh, and both of them grin maniacally at him. Junmyeon laughs at Minseok's hopeless expression.
Minseok shoves both of them off and moves to sit on the solo chair across from them. Lu Han and Chanyeol cackle and high five at their success, ignoring his glares.
"They're very energetic," Junmyeon says.
"You don't even know the half of it," Minseok groans.
Outside of training, Minseok finds himself spending a lot of time with Junmyeon. At first they run into each other by chance on the streets or in Kyungsoo's shop, but it segues without much thought into planned meetings. His disarming smile wears away the box Minseok has built around himself, coaxing him to open himself up. In the beginning, Minseok measures his words carefully, hesitating to let too much out at once. It starts with the small things like his obsession with neatness and tendency to collect trinkets with not much visible meaning but plenty of stories to tell. He’s still not sure how Junmyeon works because he doesn’t know what lies behind the easy smiles and light words.
Maybe he’s overanalyzing, but he feels that more thought goes into the person that Junmyeon shows than anyone would expect because from what Minseok has seen, they have a lot in common. He observes people and their actions the way Minseok does and uses it to make them comfortable. They both enjoy walks by themselves, which is what had led Junmyeon to the antique shop as well, drawn in by an appreciation for the small things. Junmyeon shares Minseok’s quiet patience to let his friends poke at him and shrug it off with an easy smile. He has come to present himself in a different way from Minseok’s quiet personality though, and it makes it hard to determine what’s the raw, real Junmyeon.
Minseok learns Junmyeon, piece by piece. The person he shows to the world isn’t all of him, but it’s not a ruse either. Junmyeon is good with people, and he has learned how to make himself easy to approach. His words are always sincere, even if his actions say more. Jongin grows fond of Junmyeon, and Junmyeon is just as affectionate towards him even when Jongin gets embarrassed and shies away from his touch. Minseok watches him from the sidelines, observing the way he takes care of everyone else with actions as small as a touch on the arm, voice soft and smooth as water as he murmurs in their ears. When they are by alone together, Junmyeon always seems tired, as if he has the entire world on his shoulders because he spends so much energy on others that he doesn’t take care of himself.
As they become closer, Minseok tells Junmyeon bigger things that he has only shared with Kyungsoo - the insecurities he has about his powers, the distance his father has set from him, the fear of losing everyone. Junmyeon makes an excellent listener, staying quiet until he is done and waiting when he takes long pauses to collect his thoughts. He understands the words and emotions that Minseok expresses in his silences and offers support with just a strong, warm gaze and a gentle hand on the small of his back.
In return, Junmyeon also reveals himself. His grandmother passed away last year, and his parents have always favored his older brother. He met Jongdae through a class on combining lightning with water, and he's friends with lot of people older than him. Minseok would probably cringe if he saw his room because he liked to dump his clothes on the floor. He had discovered his power on a summer day just as Minseok had when it was hot and he had wanted a shower. He had pulled water out of the air by will to pour over himself. Such a so-called weak power had disappointed his parents a bit, but that wasn't anything new.
Junmyeon expresses his reluctance to use his power as a weapon, which is why he likes playing with fountains as Minseok saw the other day rather than practice battle strategies. "Our powers are a gift," he says. Something beautiful to use to better the world instead of destroying each other.
Minseok had never thought about it that way. Ice was his friend, something he always had at his calling. He had never particularly enjoyed training, although what his powers were capable of intrigued him. The only rebellion he conducts against the government is spending time with friends in other divisions instead of concentrating on honing his abilities and maintaining loyalty to his division. Where many of his fellow division members scorn the other divisions for having "lesser powers," he has always appreciated what others could do. They are born with only one power out of the many that exist, and in theory, to accomplish what the government wanted, the divisions could not work on their own. Minseok notices the hypocrisy in his daily life but never bothers to deliberate over it until Junmyeon’s opinions make him rethink the system.
As he thinks about Junmyeon’s words, his thoughts stray to his face, the passion in his eyes and his voice as he spoke of the injustice and lack of reason in the government’s philosophy. This subconsciously leads to thinking about his lips, how nice it would be to kiss Junmyeon until all he could think about was Minseok. He shakes this thought away as soon as it comes, ignoring the little voice in his head that sounds suspiciously similar to Kyungsoo's.
The government cracks down on training, claiming that the generals had been too lax lately and were not preparing the power users enough for their purpose, to defend the country and serve their leaders' whims. Minseok's training time doubles, and he does not see anyone aside from the people in his division for over a week. He stumbles out of the bed in the morning, goes to assembly, soldiers through training, and goes back to the barracks to collapse in bed, barely taking time to wash up. Hakyeon grumbles in the bunk above him that he hasn't eaten a proper meal in too long or seen Taekwoon because the generals had decided hell was better than life.
Exhaustion runs deep in Minseok's bones as he trudges out to see his friends in a small pocket of time that they've found in their schedules. For once, he is not the first to arrive, and Chanyeol is sprawled on a couch with Jongdae and Baekhyun all but lying on top of him. Jongin, Sehun, and Zitao have done the same on the other couch. The bags under everyone's eyes tell him that they have all been going through routines just as vigorous as his. Kyungsoo is too tired to snipe at Baekhyun when he spills coffee on the couch, instead just handing him a towel and sinking back into his plush chair beside Yixing. Junmyeon does not show up.
"Why," Sehun groans. "I'm dying. I can't serve my country when I'm dying. I can barely conjure a puff of air these days."
"I don't think I want to see fire again in my life," Chanyeol agrees.
Junmyeon's absence worries him. Minseok's probably being overly dramatic, but what if something had happened to him? They would never know because they were locked away by division for most of the day. He shakes off the thought and commiserates with his friends. This may very well be the only moment they would have together for a while again.
Training the next day is something new. The general is late, and when he arrives, he leads them to a place Minseok has never seen before. Cages of animals stand before them. Dread floods through him as he stares at them.
"Your task today is to freeze these animals. From the inside out." The deafening silence that follows gives him shivers. The general fixes his steely gaze on each and every one of them, expression unchanging. Minseok knows then that he is not joking.
That day leaves Minseok scarred. The fact that he is stuck in a system that forces him to do terrible things makes fire flare up in him. He again regrets that he had been fated with this power; he expects the other divisions are doing similar tasks in testing the limits of their emotions and morals, but Minseok can’t imagine what could be much worse than killing dogs, cats, squirrels, and rabbits in cold blood for no other reason than to train. There are sacrifices that have to be made for the greater good, but he doesn’t think this one is necessary. The aftermath of the experience dampens his energy and motivation for the exercises that follow, but he forces himself out of bed every morning, telling himself that the punishment he could endure would be worse. Then he berates himself for caring more about staying alive than keeping his humanity intact. By the end of this, he wouldn't even deserve to be called human anymore.
After another two weeks of pushing through extra training, it finally ends. The higher ups decide they have been whipped into shape enough for the time being. Minseok thanks the gods as they are released before dinnertime, and he heads to Kyungsoo's shop. When he enters, Junmyeon stands in the same place he had been when they first met as if waiting for him. His smile is brilliant, and he has not seen Junmyeon in far too long. Minseok can’t stop himself from grinning just as wide, heart skipping a beat, and he really wants to kiss him but reins himself in enough to stride up to him to pull him into a tight hug, which Junmyeon returns with a pat on the back.
"I’ve missed you," Minseok says when he releases him. Junmyeon laughs, and he's never known how much he could appreciate something as simple as a laugh until now.
"I can tell. I missed you too,” Junmyeon replies. “How are you?”
This time, he has an honest answer. “I’ve been better, but right now I’m happy.” Excessive training has ended, he is seeing Junmyeon for the first time in a month, and he’s about to see the rest of the people he values most in his life.
Junmyeon grins, eyes curling into pretty crescents. “Let’s go down, shall we?” Minseok lets Junmyeon take the lead downstairs where the rest of his closest friends are waiting.
Hakyeon had told him that his ice made art, but Minseok thinks that Junmyeon's water is the real art. Junmyeon himself is art, and Minseok yearns to be able to trace every contour of his body with both his hands and his lips. Since they had been freed of the harsh training, Minseok has spent so much time with Junmyeon that Kyungsoo throws snarky comments at him about it, but sometimes he just looks at him thoughtfully. He hasn't asked any questions yet, so Minseok refrains from explaining without prompting. Not like there is anything to explain anyway.
Somewhere along the way, he had fallen for Junmyeon. His heart had stuttered at their first meeting, and Minseok couldn’t have stopped himself even if he had tried to. It isn’t a hard fact to admit to himself anymore because if anything, he wants to be honest with himself. Before, he’d tried to push it away, but after the hell both his mind and boyd had been through, there is no way he could tell himself he doesn’t want Junmyeon as more than a friend. Junmyeon understands him on a level that no one else ever has. He isn’t afraid to push, but he knows where the limits are, and Minseok finds comfort in his very presence.
Junmyeon touches with less hesitation now, a hand on his thigh or an arm on his shoulders. He makes water into sculptures that dissolve in a blink of an eye but also meld with little effort into different shapes. Water loves Junmyeon even more than he loves it, bending to his will in a way that ice never does for Minseok. Ice is always a fight, a struggle to dominate and control. He and Junmyeon fit together like their powers do, two sides of the same coin, so similar yet so different.
The day when they talk about their training is the day he realizes. Minseok is explaining the various tasks they had been forced to do during the month of extra training, and when he reaches the day that they froze the animals, he stops abruptly.
Minseok inhales shakily. "That day..." he falters. The memories surge back to the front of his mind, the images replaying and sickening him again.
“Go on,” Junmyeon encourages.
He opens his mouth again, but nausea hits him before he can speak, forcing him to swallow down the churning in his stomach. Junmyeon places his hand over his with a light squeeze and looks at him with concern.
Minseok waits for his breathing to even out and his stomach to settle. He fights the horror of the memory away to get the words out. "They made us do something so horrible that I don't want to think about it. It was so awful, oh my god. They put animals in front of us, dogs, cats...and they…” He shakes his head, shudders running through his body. “..they made us freeze them. Innocent, harmless animals, for whatever purpose I can’t imagine. But you know what the worst part was? I couldn’t not do it because I was afraid. I was more afraid of what they’d do to me than I was horrified by what they were forcing me to do." His voice trembles, and he has to force himself to breathe.
Junmyeon's eyes widen and his brows furrow with a sharp inhale of horror. "That's inhumane. What are they playing at?"
"No, but what if I did that to another person? If they can get me to freeze innocent animals, who knows what they could make me do to enemies? They’re pushing our limits now so that later we won’t blink at eye at what they tell us to do.” The words tumble out as Minseok realizes the implications more and more. Then the thought hits him.
“What if I froze you? If I freeze you, you would lose your powers. Without your powers, the government would kill you. They can’t let someone who knows so much already live." Minseok feels even more horrified now and berating himself for never thinking of it before. He freezes water in the blink of an eye every day, so of course he could freeze Junmyeon and his powers.
"Minseok, stop. You would never hurt me. The only reason you would hurt anyone is under duress," Junmyeon says firmly.
It terrifies him so much that he can't even look at him anymore. "But what if I did? By accident? It could be a slip of the hand, and you'd be gone."
Junmyeon places his hands on his shoulders and turns Minseok to face him. "Look at me. You will never, ever hurt me."
"I care a lot about you," Minseok says. "I can't bear to think that I could kill you."
"But I believe in you. You're freaking yourself out. Don't let what they do to you get to you. That's what they want," Junmyeon persists, but the thought is already planted and can’t be ignored. Minseok’s stomach is in knots again and his mind in overdrive imagining worse and worse possibilities.
Minseok needs time to think and calm himself down. "I’m sorry. Please, let me go. I can’t face you right now.”
Junmyeon lets his hands slip down to wrap around Minseok’s and looks at him pleadingly, but he lets him go.
No matter how he looks at it, Minseok can't see a way out. He loves Junmyeon, but he could kill him. He can't take the risk.
Kyungsoo tells him he's an idiot. "Junmyeon's so upset right now, and you're a mess. If you just got your head out of your ass, then you would both be happy. Just kiss and make up already."
"You don’t understand," Minseok states in a flat, emotionless tone, staring at the wall blankly.
"Yes, I do. Is Jongdae running away from me because his lightning could split me apart? No." Kyungsoo stands in front of him, arms crossed and giving him the most judgmental look he has ever received.
"...you're dating Jongdae?" He didn't realize he had been so wrapped in Junmyeon that he had totally missed out on his best friend's love life.
Pressing a hand to his temple, Kyungsoo closes his eyes and looks away. "Is that all you got out of that? You're being so stupid I don't even want to look at you. Get a hold of yourself and talk to Junmyeon."
Minseok spends a week holing up in the basement of Kyungsoo's shop when he isn't training. He's surprised Kyungsoo hasn't kicked him out yet.
In the end, Chanyeol forces him out. "You can't hide in the basement forever. You need some fresh air," he says, and Chanyeol's too tall for Minseok to keep from getting pushed up the stairs. Minseok sits on the bench by the fountain where he had seen Junmyeon for the second time, images of the frozen animals flashing through his mind, and then he sees Junmyeon dead, eyes still open, dark and lifeless, because Minseok had destroyed his powers. He freezes the fountain again and manipulates the ice mindlessly. When he looks up, he realizes he's created an ice statue of Junmyeon. The ice cannot capture the colors that make him so vibrant, but Minseok doesn't have the heart to destroy it. He leaves it standing in the fountain, a smile frozen in place on his face. Even if he can’t stay by his side, Junmyeon should still be happy.
Junmyeon comes to find him first and stops him before he can turn around and walk away. "I saw the statue," he says.
Minseok remains silent. The statue had been the product of his internal conflict and his subconscious thoughts, and the further he had walked from it, the more he had hated it. It made him sick that he had been thinking about freezing Junmyeon because that just proved that he could do it. The ice sculpture represented everything that stood between him and happiness. A part of him is angry with himself for not being selfish enough, yelling at him to take the chance and stop pitying himself. He’s been arguing with his heart and his mind, that he loves Junmyeon too much to put him in danger, or maybe he doesn’t love Junmyeon enough to risk everything for him.
"It doesn't have to be like this. We can get past this. You can get past this," continues Junmyeon. His expression is determined, but Minseok is completely defeated. He doesn't trust himself, and if he can't even put faith in himself, no one else should either.
"You know, if you froze me, couldn't Chanyeol just melt me?" Junmyeon is almost smiling, the thought almost simple enough to be silly.
"I can't take the risk. Not with you." He stares the ground, resolutely not looking into Junmyeon's eyes because if he does, he is afraid he will relent.
Junmyeon’s gaze sharpens. "I'm not made of glass," he snaps.
Minseok lets out a hollow laugh. "It might be easier if you were."
Junmyeon takes Minseok's hand and holds it over his heart. "Do you hear this? Nothing you do will make my heart stop beating for you. I will always be waiting for you however long it takes." He links their fingers together and lightly presses his lips to the back of his hand, and when he releases his hand, he steps back and looks at him, communicating every single one of his emotions through his eyes. Minseok watches him go with a heavy heart, mind in even more turmoil that it had been before.
"You look like shit," Hakyeon tells him.
Minseok grumbles into his pillow. "Thanks for the ego boost."
Hakyeon whacks him with his own pillow. "I don't know what's wrong with you, but you're making me feel depressed with all your woe-is-me crap."
"How do you deal with the fact that you could freeze Taekwoon at any moment?" Minseok asks. Taekwoon was also a water user, and Hakyeon had been seeing him for a few months now
"What?" Hakyeon says, eyes wide in disbelief. "You know your powers will never do anything that you don't set yourself to right? Unless you have some secret desire to kill him, it's not going to happen."
He stares. "What if they do though?"
Sighing, Hakyeon sits on the edge of Minseok's bed. "I know they won't, and Taekwoon knows they won't. That's enough for me. How can you give up your whole life for one tiny possibility?"
Hakyeon's words roll over in his head for days afterwards. Minseok knows he's depriving himself, but he's trying to tell himself it's worth it to keep Junmyeon safe.
But when he runs into Junmyeon outside Kyungsoo's shop, he hears Hakyeon’s voice again, and he tells himself he can't. He can’t be that selfless, not like this. Before he can change his mind, Minseok grabs Junmyeon's hand and pulls him to the place where he had left him those few weeks ago.
"I love you. I'm so in love with you that I'm going insane. I'm afraid, but do you trust me enough to stay with me?" Minseok watches Junmyeon's expression go from confused to surprised and finally to understanding. Junmyeon smiles, lighting up Minseok’s world brighter than the sun ever could as always, and takes a step towards him.
"I've trusted you from the day I met you. I was probably destined to loved you from that moment as well,” he says. “Yesterday, now, tomorrow, one hundred years from now, my answer will always be yes.”
When he finally kisses Junmyeon, Minseok feels warmth flood through him. He is completely in love with Junmyeon, and no part of him is in the way of that. He wraps his arms around Junmyeon's slim waist and pulls him closer. Junmyeon kisses him back harder, and Minseok doesn't know how he thought he could deny himself this.
"Humans can't live without water, and I can't live without you," Minseok whispers against his lips. Junmyeon hums and kisses down his jaw and neck before pressing his mouth to Minseok's again.
They sneak into the basement later and cuddle on the loveseat. Kyungsoo will probably kill them if he finds out, but Minseok's willing to take that risk.
"You're awfully warm for an ice user," Junmyeon murmurs, snuggling into Minseok's side.
"And you're awfully fiery for a water user," he teases. Junmyeon shushes him and places a kiss on his collarbone.
They fall asleep in each other's arms, warmth surrounding them without the slightest hint of cold.
Author’s note: a huge thanks to e for beta-ing and trudging through this! also, of course, thank you to exothermc for the fantastic prompts!
Recipient: exothermc
Pairing(s): Minseok/Joonmyun, side!Kyungsoo/Jongdae
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: violence towards animals (described very, very briefly and vaguely)
Word count: 6459
Summary: Junmyeon is the water to Minseok's ice, the only one who can make him thaw.
Minseok does not spend a lot of time with people in other divisions of the power hierarchy the government has developed. There are few chances to in the first place since they are generally kept busy honing their own skills to fit the perfect mold for the regime's purposes. He has one general session twice a week where he sees some of his friends who don't specialize in ice, the mandatory "history" lecture in which the Generals preach about the government's ideals and how the changes it has made since the Cold Age have brought the nation more glory and power. The rest of the time, Minseok is icy cold, confined to shaping ice daggers with his mind and freezing large pools of water on command.
As he walks into the general session of the day, Minseok spots Chanyeol standing with the fire users and gives him a brisk nod when they make eye contact. Chanyeol, emotions always clear on his face, flashes him a grin in return. He has known Chanyeol for years now due to their fathers' friendship and has spent many days a month either at Chanyeol's home or with Chanyeol's family at his house for meals together. Despite their contrasting powers, or maybe even because of them, the two became quick friends.
He moves to join the group of ice users already congregated near the front of the hall. Spotting Hakyeon hanging by the edge, he bumps into the other's shoulder lightly in greeting. Hakyeon's head snaps up, looking around in alarm, but relaxes when he sees that it is only Minseok.
"I should stop being surprised by now," he sighs.
Minseok grins. "It has only been four years. You've always been a bit slow."
Hakyeon smacks him in the arm indignantly. "I've been here longer than you have even though I'm younger. Shouldn't I be calling you the slow one?"
"You came here a couple days before me," Minseok says, rolling his eyes.
Before Hakyeon can protest again, a loud boom comes from the front of the room, calling everyone to attention. Minseok shuffles up to stand in his place in the second row, three from the right.
With another clear of his throat, General Lee orders the commander of each division to take roll. Minseok snaps his arm up in a salute and shouts, "Present!" when he hears his name on roll call.
Once he has received report from all the commanders, the general begins the way he does every day with the government mantra.
That is to say, Minseok does not spend much time with non-ice users within the government's ever-watching eye. As much control as the government claims to have, there are holes in the system, and in these holes, Minseok meets with his friends from the other divisions without anyone regulating what they are doing or the amount of time they spend together. The group has grown over the years through careful filtering and quiet invitation to create a tight-knit gathering of people Minseok considers family as much as he does his sister and parents.
After the general session in the morning, Minseok has an hour until the first training session of the day. He parts ways with Hakyeon at the entrance to the hall as per usual and heads in the direction of his home, supposedly to greet his parents and tell them he won't be joining them for dinner. Halfway there, he slows outside a nondescript antique store and checks discreetly to see whether anyone is paying attention before pushing the door open, the bell jingling a cheerful welcome. Kyungsoo has not returned from the general session yet, but Minseok goes straight to the back and takes the stairs down to the basement where he and his friends have met for the past few years. The store had been left to Kyungsoo by his grandparents after they retired, and Kyungsoo had decided to keep it and manage it while he wasn't training.
Minseok had met the younger boy a few years back while he had gone on a walk through the city on a whim, wandering around aimlessly on a rare day off. The unique plaque on the door had drawn Minseok in to look around, and since Kyungsoo's personality had clicked easily with his, the antique store became a frequent stop in his life.
He is the first to arrive, as usual, and sinks into his favorite seat, which is also the most comfortable and faces the stairway. Not long after he settles in, the door opens, and Kyungsoo makes his way down.
"Here already? One of these days I'll get here first," Kyungsoo says when he sees Minseok already seated. He has brought pots of coffee and tea and some snacks down as refreshments for eleven hungry and tired young men. Minseok accepts the cup of coffee that he pours for him with a nod of thanks.
"One day you'll learn my secrets to getting out of there that fast, you mean," Minseok teases.
"Minseok's magic, of course. Didn't you know?" Another voice echoes from the top of the staircase as he takes the steps down two at a time.
Kyungsoo snorts. "Too bad he knows more tricks than you ever will, Jongdae."
Jongdae flops on the couch and grins. "Too bad I have more charm than you ever will." He doesn't have enough time to flinch away before Kyungsoo's fist hits his stomach, and Minseok laughs as Jongdae squeals and whines about how violent Kyungsoo is.
Eventually, everyone trickles into the basement and settles themselves on Kyungsoo's assorted couches and chairs, and the noise level increases into minor chaos. The basement is soundproof anyways. Minseok relaxes into a light conversation with Lu Han and Kyungsoo about the scrawniness of the new batch of power users.
"Seriously, I think they get smaller every year!" Lu Han says.
"Or maybe you're tricking yourself into thinking you've grown taller," Kyungsoo replies dryly.
"You're even shorter than I am!" Lu Han protests.
"I'm sure your extra height makes up for what you lack in other places."
"Excuse me?!" The outrage is clear in his wide eyes and the rising color in his cheeks. Minseok doesn't know why Lu Han still lets Kyungsoo's snark get to him, especially when he's almost never serious about it. He does know, however, that Lu Han would never dare to lay a hand on Kyungsoo in fear of his punches that hurt more than his slight frame suggests.
Lu Han settles for glaring intensely and muttering outraged comments to himself. Kyungsoo just continues sipping his coffee, ignoring Lu Han's typical antics.
"How have you been, Minseok?" he asks.
"You talked to me yesterday," Minseok says, amused.
"Well yes, but how are you?"
Fine, he thinks, an automatic answer that everyone gives regardless of their actual condition. It's a question Minseok rarely answers honestly, mostly because he doesn't know himself. He just is, with not much more emotion to attach with it.
Minseok settles with the easy answer. "I'm all right." Just all right.
At age seven, Minseok's power had emerged and surprised everyone. The sun had beaten down mercilessly that day, and Minseok's father had invited Chanyeol's family over for lunch. Afterwards, Chanyeol dragged Minseok outside to play, rolling around in the grass. They sprawled out once they had tired of running around, and he thought absently how nice it would be for it to be winter already; then he wouldn’t have to put up with the heat anymore.
When a drop of cold water hit his forehead, Minseok didn’t thought anything of it, figuring it was a stray drop of condensation, but the temperature was dropping abruptly and quickly and more iciness falling on him. He opened his eyes when he heard Chanyeol gasp beside him to see a miniature cluster of clouds above them, snow drifting down from it and beginning to pile up around him. His breath was visible when he exhaled, and goosebumps had begun to form on his bare skin.
Minseok's eyes widened in astonishment, while Chanyeol just looked up in awe. He reached his hand out to catch a snowflake, and it floated gently in his hand instead of melting. It expanded the more he looked at it until it was larger than his hand and dissipated when he closed his fist.
“Minseok!” He heard a shout from the window. His parents stared out at him, looking back and forth between him and the snow cloud, just as shocked if not more than Minseok himself. No one had expected Minseok to control ice, an element which required toughness and a sharper demeanor that he had not appeared to have. Minseok had always been small and quiet and seemed soft around the edges like his mother, who controlled water. His parents had regarded him with a bit of wariness for a while after, and even now they didn't seem completely comfortable around him.
Despite the original the characteristics of his powers showed more as he grew up, and he found that it suited him. Although still not particularly tall, Minseok had grown to be solid, strong, and compact. His personality also melded around the ice he wielded as easily as his own limbs.
Hakyeon had laughed when he heard the story. "You're the strongest person I know, both physically and mentally. Your handling of ice is like an art. I couldn't see you having any other power." Minseok had disagreed in his head, but his friend's words had settled a bit of the uncertainty he held in his heart.
Shops have mostly closed for the evening, the streets quiet in the dim light of the sinking sun. Minseok walks into the antique shop expecting it to be empty save for the owner, but Kyungsoo is nowhere in sight. Instead, he sees a slim man around his height examining the small section of clocks. He looks up when the bell on the door rings as Minseok enters and offers a friendly smile.
Minseok approaches the front counter, wondering why this man is here this late. He has never run into anyone at this time before, mainly because it was cutting curfew a little too close for most people.
"If you're looking for Kyungsoo, he stepped out to get something," the man says, walking over to stand beside Minseok.
Kyungsoo has never left the shop unattended in Minseok's experience. Minseok looks the late customer up and down curiously, wondering just how well he knows Kyungsoo for him to trust him this much. He runs through the people he thinks Kyungsoo might trust enough, who are few and far between in the first place, but comes up blank. This man is a mystery. Quite a handsome one though, Minseok notes, with bright eyes, a strong jaw, and a charming smile.
They hear the tinkling of the bell, and Kyungsoo enters. He smiles upon seeing Minseok and nods to the man beside him.
"I see you've met Junmyeon. He's been around a lot lately," Kyungsoo says. To Junmyeon, he says, "This is Minseok, one of my best friends."
"I've been in this shop almost every day, yet I've never seen him," Minseok muses.
"I like coming at strange times," Junmyeon comments with a light chuckle. "But I've got be off now. See you later, Kyungsoo, Minseok."
Once Kyungsoo has closed the shop, they sit together in comfortable silence. He is Minseok's closest friend and had brought him into his own friend group. Until then, Minseok had mostly been a loner aside from his friendship with Chanyeol. It was a self-chosen isolation that became a habit, and Kyungsoo reaching out had given him a lifeline. Kyungsoo was similar to him in personality, choosing to spend more time alone and keep a few people close, but Baekhyun had bothered him into being friends, and the rest was history.
"He's friends with Jongdae," Kyungsoo says. "In case you're wondering."
Minseok hums. Jongdae has an enormous web of friends and acquaintances despite the government regulations and gets away with it. Figures he would know someone who randomly turned up in Kyungsoo's shop.
"He likes old stuff. Says it reminds him of his grandmother," Kyungsoo continues. "You'll like him."
"Will I?" Minseok raises an eyebrow at the certainty. He didn't even know if he would see Junmyeon again, and something about him brings up an emotion Minseok doesn’t know how to identify.
"You will," Kyungsoo says firmly. "Jongdae asked him to come meet everyone next week."
The last person adopted into their group was Zitao, and that had happened a year ago. He supposes that maybe it's about time for a change.
The next time Minseok sees Junmyeon is a few days later at a late hour again. He spots him sitting on a bench in front of a fountain, clearly concentrating from the furrow in his brow. The water in the fountain twists and twirls as if dancing, and Minseok finds himself mesmerized by its freedom and elegance, so different from the tight, contained frigidness he’s used to. He sees Junmyeon smile as the water climbs higher, forming a single column that then separates into countless different streams that rain back down into the basin. The calmness and grace of it all is beautiful, he thinks. Ice has a dangerous beauty, but water has a different, even more stunning aesthetic. Minseok stays even after Junmyeon has disappeared, and, on a whim, freezes the fountain mid-spray.
Everyone takes to Junmyeon like ducks to water. Lu Han and Chanyeol coo over how cute he is, and Jongin, Sehun, and Zitao, while hesitant at first, attach themselves to him after he cracks some terrible jokes and brings them into the conversation with practiced subtlety, slowly washing away their hesitation. The boxes of chicken he brings with him don’t hurt either. The attention flusters him a bit, but Junmyeon is laughing at Baekhyun's jokes and mussing Jongin's hair affectionately by the end of the day. Junmyeon's easy-going and silly personality fits into them perfectly. Jongdae grins with pride at succeeding in introducing a new friend to everyone and proceeds to whine that "Junmyeon was mine first!"
Minseok sits off to the side with Kyungsoo and Yixing, watching the chaos that surrounds their new friend. "He fits in quite well, doesn't he?" Yixing says serenely. Minseok nods, and Kyungsoo replies, "I knew he would."
Junmyeon glances over at the only three not in the middle of the action. Minseok doesn't look away when they make eye contact, staring straight back into his eyes. Cocking his head slightly, Junmyeon smiles and beckons him over. Minseok tilts his head in turn. The feeling from when he first met him is there again, strolling through his mind but hiding itself away every time he comes close to figuring it out. Junmyeon has cracked through even his youngest friends’ crippling shyness; he’s easy to like and has a friendly air about him that has made everyone comfortable fairly quickly. Minseok doesn’t know how to approach him, someone so quick to smile and adapt to a new environment, because it seems almost too easy. It would be rude to refuse though, so he walks over and squeezes himself between Lu Han and Chanyeol, who immediately throw their arms over his shoulders.
"You said you met Minseok already? Don't be fooled by this cute face, he's actually the oldest, and he could crush all of us. Except maybe Kyungsoo," Lu Han teases, pinching Minseok's cheeks. Minseok swats his hands away and slaps him on the thigh, but the action doesn’t faze Lu Han at all, only causing him to squeeze Minseok's thigh affectionately. Chanyeol lays a hand on Minseok's other thigh, and both of them grin maniacally at him. Junmyeon laughs at Minseok's hopeless expression.
Minseok shoves both of them off and moves to sit on the solo chair across from them. Lu Han and Chanyeol cackle and high five at their success, ignoring his glares.
"They're very energetic," Junmyeon says.
"You don't even know the half of it," Minseok groans.
Outside of training, Minseok finds himself spending a lot of time with Junmyeon. At first they run into each other by chance on the streets or in Kyungsoo's shop, but it segues without much thought into planned meetings. His disarming smile wears away the box Minseok has built around himself, coaxing him to open himself up. In the beginning, Minseok measures his words carefully, hesitating to let too much out at once. It starts with the small things like his obsession with neatness and tendency to collect trinkets with not much visible meaning but plenty of stories to tell. He’s still not sure how Junmyeon works because he doesn’t know what lies behind the easy smiles and light words.
Maybe he’s overanalyzing, but he feels that more thought goes into the person that Junmyeon shows than anyone would expect because from what Minseok has seen, they have a lot in common. He observes people and their actions the way Minseok does and uses it to make them comfortable. They both enjoy walks by themselves, which is what had led Junmyeon to the antique shop as well, drawn in by an appreciation for the small things. Junmyeon shares Minseok’s quiet patience to let his friends poke at him and shrug it off with an easy smile. He has come to present himself in a different way from Minseok’s quiet personality though, and it makes it hard to determine what’s the raw, real Junmyeon.
Minseok learns Junmyeon, piece by piece. The person he shows to the world isn’t all of him, but it’s not a ruse either. Junmyeon is good with people, and he has learned how to make himself easy to approach. His words are always sincere, even if his actions say more. Jongin grows fond of Junmyeon, and Junmyeon is just as affectionate towards him even when Jongin gets embarrassed and shies away from his touch. Minseok watches him from the sidelines, observing the way he takes care of everyone else with actions as small as a touch on the arm, voice soft and smooth as water as he murmurs in their ears. When they are by alone together, Junmyeon always seems tired, as if he has the entire world on his shoulders because he spends so much energy on others that he doesn’t take care of himself.
As they become closer, Minseok tells Junmyeon bigger things that he has only shared with Kyungsoo - the insecurities he has about his powers, the distance his father has set from him, the fear of losing everyone. Junmyeon makes an excellent listener, staying quiet until he is done and waiting when he takes long pauses to collect his thoughts. He understands the words and emotions that Minseok expresses in his silences and offers support with just a strong, warm gaze and a gentle hand on the small of his back.
In return, Junmyeon also reveals himself. His grandmother passed away last year, and his parents have always favored his older brother. He met Jongdae through a class on combining lightning with water, and he's friends with lot of people older than him. Minseok would probably cringe if he saw his room because he liked to dump his clothes on the floor. He had discovered his power on a summer day just as Minseok had when it was hot and he had wanted a shower. He had pulled water out of the air by will to pour over himself. Such a so-called weak power had disappointed his parents a bit, but that wasn't anything new.
Junmyeon expresses his reluctance to use his power as a weapon, which is why he likes playing with fountains as Minseok saw the other day rather than practice battle strategies. "Our powers are a gift," he says. Something beautiful to use to better the world instead of destroying each other.
Minseok had never thought about it that way. Ice was his friend, something he always had at his calling. He had never particularly enjoyed training, although what his powers were capable of intrigued him. The only rebellion he conducts against the government is spending time with friends in other divisions instead of concentrating on honing his abilities and maintaining loyalty to his division. Where many of his fellow division members scorn the other divisions for having "lesser powers," he has always appreciated what others could do. They are born with only one power out of the many that exist, and in theory, to accomplish what the government wanted, the divisions could not work on their own. Minseok notices the hypocrisy in his daily life but never bothers to deliberate over it until Junmyeon’s opinions make him rethink the system.
As he thinks about Junmyeon’s words, his thoughts stray to his face, the passion in his eyes and his voice as he spoke of the injustice and lack of reason in the government’s philosophy. This subconsciously leads to thinking about his lips, how nice it would be to kiss Junmyeon until all he could think about was Minseok. He shakes this thought away as soon as it comes, ignoring the little voice in his head that sounds suspiciously similar to Kyungsoo's.
The government cracks down on training, claiming that the generals had been too lax lately and were not preparing the power users enough for their purpose, to defend the country and serve their leaders' whims. Minseok's training time doubles, and he does not see anyone aside from the people in his division for over a week. He stumbles out of the bed in the morning, goes to assembly, soldiers through training, and goes back to the barracks to collapse in bed, barely taking time to wash up. Hakyeon grumbles in the bunk above him that he hasn't eaten a proper meal in too long or seen Taekwoon because the generals had decided hell was better than life.
Exhaustion runs deep in Minseok's bones as he trudges out to see his friends in a small pocket of time that they've found in their schedules. For once, he is not the first to arrive, and Chanyeol is sprawled on a couch with Jongdae and Baekhyun all but lying on top of him. Jongin, Sehun, and Zitao have done the same on the other couch. The bags under everyone's eyes tell him that they have all been going through routines just as vigorous as his. Kyungsoo is too tired to snipe at Baekhyun when he spills coffee on the couch, instead just handing him a towel and sinking back into his plush chair beside Yixing. Junmyeon does not show up.
"Why," Sehun groans. "I'm dying. I can't serve my country when I'm dying. I can barely conjure a puff of air these days."
"I don't think I want to see fire again in my life," Chanyeol agrees.
Junmyeon's absence worries him. Minseok's probably being overly dramatic, but what if something had happened to him? They would never know because they were locked away by division for most of the day. He shakes off the thought and commiserates with his friends. This may very well be the only moment they would have together for a while again.
Training the next day is something new. The general is late, and when he arrives, he leads them to a place Minseok has never seen before. Cages of animals stand before them. Dread floods through him as he stares at them.
"Your task today is to freeze these animals. From the inside out." The deafening silence that follows gives him shivers. The general fixes his steely gaze on each and every one of them, expression unchanging. Minseok knows then that he is not joking.
That day leaves Minseok scarred. The fact that he is stuck in a system that forces him to do terrible things makes fire flare up in him. He again regrets that he had been fated with this power; he expects the other divisions are doing similar tasks in testing the limits of their emotions and morals, but Minseok can’t imagine what could be much worse than killing dogs, cats, squirrels, and rabbits in cold blood for no other reason than to train. There are sacrifices that have to be made for the greater good, but he doesn’t think this one is necessary. The aftermath of the experience dampens his energy and motivation for the exercises that follow, but he forces himself out of bed every morning, telling himself that the punishment he could endure would be worse. Then he berates himself for caring more about staying alive than keeping his humanity intact. By the end of this, he wouldn't even deserve to be called human anymore.
After another two weeks of pushing through extra training, it finally ends. The higher ups decide they have been whipped into shape enough for the time being. Minseok thanks the gods as they are released before dinnertime, and he heads to Kyungsoo's shop. When he enters, Junmyeon stands in the same place he had been when they first met as if waiting for him. His smile is brilliant, and he has not seen Junmyeon in far too long. Minseok can’t stop himself from grinning just as wide, heart skipping a beat, and he really wants to kiss him but reins himself in enough to stride up to him to pull him into a tight hug, which Junmyeon returns with a pat on the back.
"I’ve missed you," Minseok says when he releases him. Junmyeon laughs, and he's never known how much he could appreciate something as simple as a laugh until now.
"I can tell. I missed you too,” Junmyeon replies. “How are you?”
This time, he has an honest answer. “I’ve been better, but right now I’m happy.” Excessive training has ended, he is seeing Junmyeon for the first time in a month, and he’s about to see the rest of the people he values most in his life.
Junmyeon grins, eyes curling into pretty crescents. “Let’s go down, shall we?” Minseok lets Junmyeon take the lead downstairs where the rest of his closest friends are waiting.
Hakyeon had told him that his ice made art, but Minseok thinks that Junmyeon's water is the real art. Junmyeon himself is art, and Minseok yearns to be able to trace every contour of his body with both his hands and his lips. Since they had been freed of the harsh training, Minseok has spent so much time with Junmyeon that Kyungsoo throws snarky comments at him about it, but sometimes he just looks at him thoughtfully. He hasn't asked any questions yet, so Minseok refrains from explaining without prompting. Not like there is anything to explain anyway.
Somewhere along the way, he had fallen for Junmyeon. His heart had stuttered at their first meeting, and Minseok couldn’t have stopped himself even if he had tried to. It isn’t a hard fact to admit to himself anymore because if anything, he wants to be honest with himself. Before, he’d tried to push it away, but after the hell both his mind and boyd had been through, there is no way he could tell himself he doesn’t want Junmyeon as more than a friend. Junmyeon understands him on a level that no one else ever has. He isn’t afraid to push, but he knows where the limits are, and Minseok finds comfort in his very presence.
Junmyeon touches with less hesitation now, a hand on his thigh or an arm on his shoulders. He makes water into sculptures that dissolve in a blink of an eye but also meld with little effort into different shapes. Water loves Junmyeon even more than he loves it, bending to his will in a way that ice never does for Minseok. Ice is always a fight, a struggle to dominate and control. He and Junmyeon fit together like their powers do, two sides of the same coin, so similar yet so different.
The day when they talk about their training is the day he realizes. Minseok is explaining the various tasks they had been forced to do during the month of extra training, and when he reaches the day that they froze the animals, he stops abruptly.
Minseok inhales shakily. "That day..." he falters. The memories surge back to the front of his mind, the images replaying and sickening him again.
“Go on,” Junmyeon encourages.
He opens his mouth again, but nausea hits him before he can speak, forcing him to swallow down the churning in his stomach. Junmyeon places his hand over his with a light squeeze and looks at him with concern.
Minseok waits for his breathing to even out and his stomach to settle. He fights the horror of the memory away to get the words out. "They made us do something so horrible that I don't want to think about it. It was so awful, oh my god. They put animals in front of us, dogs, cats...and they…” He shakes his head, shudders running through his body. “..they made us freeze them. Innocent, harmless animals, for whatever purpose I can’t imagine. But you know what the worst part was? I couldn’t not do it because I was afraid. I was more afraid of what they’d do to me than I was horrified by what they were forcing me to do." His voice trembles, and he has to force himself to breathe.
Junmyeon's eyes widen and his brows furrow with a sharp inhale of horror. "That's inhumane. What are they playing at?"
"No, but what if I did that to another person? If they can get me to freeze innocent animals, who knows what they could make me do to enemies? They’re pushing our limits now so that later we won’t blink at eye at what they tell us to do.” The words tumble out as Minseok realizes the implications more and more. Then the thought hits him.
“What if I froze you? If I freeze you, you would lose your powers. Without your powers, the government would kill you. They can’t let someone who knows so much already live." Minseok feels even more horrified now and berating himself for never thinking of it before. He freezes water in the blink of an eye every day, so of course he could freeze Junmyeon and his powers.
"Minseok, stop. You would never hurt me. The only reason you would hurt anyone is under duress," Junmyeon says firmly.
It terrifies him so much that he can't even look at him anymore. "But what if I did? By accident? It could be a slip of the hand, and you'd be gone."
Junmyeon places his hands on his shoulders and turns Minseok to face him. "Look at me. You will never, ever hurt me."
"I care a lot about you," Minseok says. "I can't bear to think that I could kill you."
"But I believe in you. You're freaking yourself out. Don't let what they do to you get to you. That's what they want," Junmyeon persists, but the thought is already planted and can’t be ignored. Minseok’s stomach is in knots again and his mind in overdrive imagining worse and worse possibilities.
Minseok needs time to think and calm himself down. "I’m sorry. Please, let me go. I can’t face you right now.”
Junmyeon lets his hands slip down to wrap around Minseok’s and looks at him pleadingly, but he lets him go.
No matter how he looks at it, Minseok can't see a way out. He loves Junmyeon, but he could kill him. He can't take the risk.
Kyungsoo tells him he's an idiot. "Junmyeon's so upset right now, and you're a mess. If you just got your head out of your ass, then you would both be happy. Just kiss and make up already."
"You don’t understand," Minseok states in a flat, emotionless tone, staring at the wall blankly.
"Yes, I do. Is Jongdae running away from me because his lightning could split me apart? No." Kyungsoo stands in front of him, arms crossed and giving him the most judgmental look he has ever received.
"...you're dating Jongdae?" He didn't realize he had been so wrapped in Junmyeon that he had totally missed out on his best friend's love life.
Pressing a hand to his temple, Kyungsoo closes his eyes and looks away. "Is that all you got out of that? You're being so stupid I don't even want to look at you. Get a hold of yourself and talk to Junmyeon."
Minseok spends a week holing up in the basement of Kyungsoo's shop when he isn't training. He's surprised Kyungsoo hasn't kicked him out yet.
In the end, Chanyeol forces him out. "You can't hide in the basement forever. You need some fresh air," he says, and Chanyeol's too tall for Minseok to keep from getting pushed up the stairs. Minseok sits on the bench by the fountain where he had seen Junmyeon for the second time, images of the frozen animals flashing through his mind, and then he sees Junmyeon dead, eyes still open, dark and lifeless, because Minseok had destroyed his powers. He freezes the fountain again and manipulates the ice mindlessly. When he looks up, he realizes he's created an ice statue of Junmyeon. The ice cannot capture the colors that make him so vibrant, but Minseok doesn't have the heart to destroy it. He leaves it standing in the fountain, a smile frozen in place on his face. Even if he can’t stay by his side, Junmyeon should still be happy.
Junmyeon comes to find him first and stops him before he can turn around and walk away. "I saw the statue," he says.
Minseok remains silent. The statue had been the product of his internal conflict and his subconscious thoughts, and the further he had walked from it, the more he had hated it. It made him sick that he had been thinking about freezing Junmyeon because that just proved that he could do it. The ice sculpture represented everything that stood between him and happiness. A part of him is angry with himself for not being selfish enough, yelling at him to take the chance and stop pitying himself. He’s been arguing with his heart and his mind, that he loves Junmyeon too much to put him in danger, or maybe he doesn’t love Junmyeon enough to risk everything for him.
"It doesn't have to be like this. We can get past this. You can get past this," continues Junmyeon. His expression is determined, but Minseok is completely defeated. He doesn't trust himself, and if he can't even put faith in himself, no one else should either.
"You know, if you froze me, couldn't Chanyeol just melt me?" Junmyeon is almost smiling, the thought almost simple enough to be silly.
"I can't take the risk. Not with you." He stares the ground, resolutely not looking into Junmyeon's eyes because if he does, he is afraid he will relent.
Junmyeon’s gaze sharpens. "I'm not made of glass," he snaps.
Minseok lets out a hollow laugh. "It might be easier if you were."
Junmyeon takes Minseok's hand and holds it over his heart. "Do you hear this? Nothing you do will make my heart stop beating for you. I will always be waiting for you however long it takes." He links their fingers together and lightly presses his lips to the back of his hand, and when he releases his hand, he steps back and looks at him, communicating every single one of his emotions through his eyes. Minseok watches him go with a heavy heart, mind in even more turmoil that it had been before.
"You look like shit," Hakyeon tells him.
Minseok grumbles into his pillow. "Thanks for the ego boost."
Hakyeon whacks him with his own pillow. "I don't know what's wrong with you, but you're making me feel depressed with all your woe-is-me crap."
"How do you deal with the fact that you could freeze Taekwoon at any moment?" Minseok asks. Taekwoon was also a water user, and Hakyeon had been seeing him for a few months now
"What?" Hakyeon says, eyes wide in disbelief. "You know your powers will never do anything that you don't set yourself to right? Unless you have some secret desire to kill him, it's not going to happen."
He stares. "What if they do though?"
Sighing, Hakyeon sits on the edge of Minseok's bed. "I know they won't, and Taekwoon knows they won't. That's enough for me. How can you give up your whole life for one tiny possibility?"
Hakyeon's words roll over in his head for days afterwards. Minseok knows he's depriving himself, but he's trying to tell himself it's worth it to keep Junmyeon safe.
But when he runs into Junmyeon outside Kyungsoo's shop, he hears Hakyeon’s voice again, and he tells himself he can't. He can’t be that selfless, not like this. Before he can change his mind, Minseok grabs Junmyeon's hand and pulls him to the place where he had left him those few weeks ago.
"I love you. I'm so in love with you that I'm going insane. I'm afraid, but do you trust me enough to stay with me?" Minseok watches Junmyeon's expression go from confused to surprised and finally to understanding. Junmyeon smiles, lighting up Minseok’s world brighter than the sun ever could as always, and takes a step towards him.
"I've trusted you from the day I met you. I was probably destined to loved you from that moment as well,” he says. “Yesterday, now, tomorrow, one hundred years from now, my answer will always be yes.”
When he finally kisses Junmyeon, Minseok feels warmth flood through him. He is completely in love with Junmyeon, and no part of him is in the way of that. He wraps his arms around Junmyeon's slim waist and pulls him closer. Junmyeon kisses him back harder, and Minseok doesn't know how he thought he could deny himself this.
"Humans can't live without water, and I can't live without you," Minseok whispers against his lips. Junmyeon hums and kisses down his jaw and neck before pressing his mouth to Minseok's again.
They sneak into the basement later and cuddle on the loveseat. Kyungsoo will probably kill them if he finds out, but Minseok's willing to take that risk.
"You're awfully warm for an ice user," Junmyeon murmurs, snuggling into Minseok's side.
"And you're awfully fiery for a water user," he teases. Junmyeon shushes him and places a kiss on his collarbone.
They fall asleep in each other's arms, warmth surrounding them without the slightest hint of cold.
Author’s note: a huge thanks to e for beta-ing and trudging through this! also, of course, thank you to exothermc for the fantastic prompts!