[EXO] [PD2] No Time Like the Present
Title: No Time Like the Present
Fandom: EXO (sort of fused with Final Fantasy VII)
Series: Phoenix Down (#2)
Pairing: Lu Han/Kai
Rating: R
Genre: AU, crossover (sort of)
Word count: 6,320
Disclaimer: Not mine, damnit
Warnings: Contains unorthodox use of video game status ailments, also past references to prostitution
Summary: Kai tries to learn more about Lu Han but ends up revealing more about himself instead.
A/N: Sequel to Sweet as Honey, Sharp as a Sword, so please see that fic for explanations. Jongin's stage name is being used here because he still doesn't know who he is.
Crossposted to AO3
No Time Like the Present
There's not much call for dancers in Junon. Not the kind of dancing Kai does, anyway. He's been out of ballet too long to make a career out of it now and for anything less formal he's lucky if he even gets an audition, being a strange face in a new place. In the two months he's been here all he's managed to add to his resumé is one chorus spot in a stage show, and only then because one of the dancers broke his leg.
The other things he's done since coming to Junon? He's not sure if he should put those on his resumé or not. Nothing as disreputable as his stint at Midgar's Honey Bee Inn, but acquiring a reputation for being handy in a fight isn't going to mean much to people who are more interested in the state of his legs than his fists.
Both, incidentally, are in prime condition and getting regular workouts. He's still picking up ad hoc work at the port, but as the result of a timely intervention in a barroom brawl, he's frequently tapped to assist the unofficial crew of dockhands, bouncers, former soldiers and other assorted toughs in disposing of the monsters that creep in from the grasslands.
It's irregular work, though decent company, and it means he's making a name for himself around the city, even if it's not in the way he'd like. None of the others use materia; Kai tries to call upon Lu Han as little as possible so he can't be accused of being nothing without his Summon. For the most part, that works out for him.They don't usually do jobs solo - whenever one comes up, Kai gets a message left at the front desk of his hotel, telling him where and when to join the others. He hasn't missed one yet and they like that, that he's diligent and hardworking.
They also like that he's at least ten years younger than the youngest of them, so when there's anything to be done that requires a certain amount of flexibility and dexterity, he's automatically volunteered.
Which is why he's up on the roof of City Hall, alone, because the ladder's been torn away from the wall and no one else was willing to risk climbing out the window and up the drainpipes.
"You'll be all right, lad," they'd said as they'd patted him on the shoulder and sent him out. "There's only one of 'em up there - looks like a sunburned Zemzelett. You'll be down in time for supper."
Kai thinks they're right about him being down, but possibly not for supper unless there's enough left of him to eat hospital food. That's not a Zemzelett, sunburned or otherwise.
The Dark Dragon takes a swipe at him with its tail, forcing him to jump backwards to keep it from slicing his legs to ribbons. That puts him perilously near to the edge of the roof. There's no railing. He throws himself to the side to avoid another shot with the tail, trying to edge close enough to move around behind it. Claws, fangs and the tail are all dangerous, but if Kai can manoeuvre himself behind the Dark Dragon, he'll limit their effectiveness and have a better chance of taking it down with physical attacks.
He shouldn't be doing this alone. He shouldn't be doing this at all; Dark Dragons don't dwell anywhere near Junon. Kai can't understand what one's doing this far south.
Another lash of the dragon's tail and a crack begins to form in the roof, too close to Kai for comfort. Lu Han hasn't appeared yet, and he normally does when he thinks Kai's in over his head, which means the situation can't be that bad...he hopes. He drops to the ground and rolls to avoid being blasted with Ultima, angling himself to spring to his feet nearer to his quarry.
Aiming for the Dark Dragon's soft brown underbelly is a good way to get himself killed; instead, Kai opts to focus on the tougher yet still vulnerable portion of its back between its purple-black wings, where mythril-studded gauntlets can make a significant dent. He gives it his best shot...and the dragon takes off, rising just beyond his reach.
It shows no signs of abandoning the roof, however. Kai curses softly to himself. This could take some time. He turns with the dragon, careful to keep behind it as it strives to reach him with its claws. Not careful enough; one catches him high in the shoulder, sending flares of agony down his arm and across his neck and rocking him back on his heels. He stumbles back, and there's the edge of the roof again, coming up to greet him.
He can keep dodging, but the fire in his right arm suggests he's not going to be able to make much use of it and he's going to be straining to reach as it is. Time to call in reinforcements.
"Lu Han!"
Kai waits for the usual crash of armour, but none comes. The Summon materia in his left gauntlet flashes a brilliant red, blinking urgently, but there's no other response. He can't still need to rest, can he? Lu Han hasn't been out for forty-eight hours, which is more than sufficient for him to recharge from the last time.
The Dark Dragon drops down low enough for Kai to kick its right haunch once. They both howl in pain - dragons are tough, and the impact reverberates back up Kai's leg. He grits his teeth and steels himself for another blow. It looks like Lu Han's not coming for him this time.
They trade attacks again, Kai evading the whip of the dragon's tail while getting in another kick, this time at the base of its wings. Maybe he should be putting money aside for a blade after all. No way is he going to snap its neck like this. He manages to keep it up another minute, every second making his injured arm scream. Then there's a crack from behind, and pain, and next thing Kai knows he's on the floor, looking up at the beast who's just lashed him around the waist.
He has to get up. Has to move. If he stays there, it'll destroy him. He'll never get back down the drainpipe like this but he has to try. There's a dragon between him and the right side of the roof. It's looking down at him...
"Zantetsuken!"
The Dark Dragon's head goes sailing over the edge of the roof, separated from its neck by Lu Han's sword. The Summon's arrived at last: a little breathless, a little pale, but there, and Kai's relieved to see him.
"I thought you weren't coming!" It comes out as a shaky whine, and Kai hates how desperate he sounds. He tries to push himself up on his elbows, but the pain in his waist forces him to stop. "What kept you?"
Lu Han's armour morphs into loose slacks and a shirt; he kneels down beside Kai to examine his wounds, nudging aside torn clothing with now-bare fingers. The cool, gentle touch feels good against his skin - but then, Lu Han's touch always feels good. "You're on a roof." His smile's the same warm, kind smile he gives Kai when they're not in the middle of a battle, but there's something new there now. Discomfort, perhaps. An awkwardness Lu Han explains when he admits, "I don't like heights. At all. And there's no guardrail up here."
The ground's a long way off and Kai's lying too near the edge of the roof as it is. No wonder Lu Han looks so uncomfortable. It's the first time Kai's seen his normally upbeat Summon like this. "But you still came for me."
"I get stuck up here for the rest of my existence if you die," Lu Han says cheerfully. "It makes me extra motivated."
Kai starts laughing, even though it hurts to move and the constant shaking only makes it worse. Lu Han pats him on the back and leaves him for a moment, looking only at the floor as he walks over to the dragon. Kai can't see what he's doing with his sword, but there's a flash and both the sword and something darker vanish before he returns.
"Taking a trophy?"
"Kind of. You'll see later." Lu Han's smile fades when he looks around for an exit route. "You can't climb back down the drainpipe with that arm, can you?"
"Better than I could without it?" Kai jokes weakly, but he knows it's probably not a workable plan.
In the end, Lu Han has to climb down - looking rather green - and collect a rope, which he uses to lower Kai as far as the window where the others are waiting for him. Kai's mostly out of it by this point, lying in a daze on the stretcher while he's carried to the lift and off to see a doctor. He gets his injuries patched up and they feed him a Potion that takes care of most of the damage, so by the time he wakes up in his hotel room, his shoulder and waist are bruised and tender but no longer in excruciating agony.
"You turned some interesting colours."
It no longer surprises Kai when Lu Han materialises without being summoned - he doesn't even spill his tea. Which is just as well, since he's only wearing shorts and the last thing he needs today is to scald himself.
"So did you," he shoots back. "That shade of green really doesn't go with your hair."
Lu Han looks down and laughs, shaking his head. "If my master says so." He settles on the chair next to the bed.
"Do you have to call me that?"
"It's what you are. That's how this world works - Summons have masters."
"This world." Kai takes a sip of tea. "Are there others?"
"There's my world, where I live when I'm not out here."
"You don't live in..." Kai feels somewhat silly pointing to the materia orb in his gauntlet, but truth be told, he's never given too much thought as to where Lu Han goes. They can still talk when Lu Han's not physically there, so...
"I don't need to be here to talk to you."
"You really are reading my mind, aren't you?"
"Don't look so upset." Lu Han reaches over to ruffle his hair. "I pick up the surface thoughts sometimes; I don't go rummaging. You're very easy to read, especially when I can see your face."
That's better than Lu Han knowing every thought he's ever had, Kai supposes. Although he hasn't said that he can't go rummaging, only that he doesn't, which is hardly a guarantee that he won't. "So tell me some of yours in return."
"My thoughts?" Lu Han feigns surprise with a gasp, turning wide, seemingly innocent eyes on him. "Right now I'm thinking that...I need to go. I just came to check that you're okay."
"I am, thanks to you."
Lu Han leaves him with a smile and a kiss; Kai resolves to ask him next time about his world. Lu Han's so open and honest in some ways, yet so cagey and mysterious in others, and it's difficult to get a handle on what he really thinks. Kai knows what Lu Han thinks of him, at least, and that's good enough for now.
-----
Kai sees other Summon materia around the city - sometimes in shop windows, sometimes equipped in weapons or armour - and wonders if Lu Han talks to them. Are they other Lu Hans? Maybe they're all Minseoks or Kyungsoos. He can't tell without peering deep inside to see their names. That's one of the first things he learned about materia, right after learning how powerful they could be.
"Your thoughts are very loud today," Lu Han says inside his head when he's standing inside a materia shop, examining their wares. "It's distracting."
"Distracting you from what?" Kai speaks aloud, though quietly, lest the proprietor think he's too unstable to keep in the shop.
"I'm solving a puzzle game." Lu Han sends him an image of a brightly coloured cube, with each face divided into small squares that rotate between his fingers.
That's not the answer Kai's expecting and he hides his giggles behind his hands. The shopkeeper's shooting him strange looks and pulling covers down over the more expensive cases, so it's time to leave. Conversations that take place half inside his head don't go over well in public.
Dark, dingy alleys are a vast improvement.
"Why are you doing puzzles?" Kai mutters, now he's alone. Well, aside from the cat sleeping on top of the dumpster, but he's not bothered if the cat wakes up and thinks he's insane.
"Because the others are too busy right now to play football with me."
Of course they are. Because there's probably an entire team of them out there, who go around playing sports together when they're not being summoned to fight monsters. It might even be training, or something. Maybe there's a league.
"Are there...many of you?" Kai's trying to be cautious because Lu Han's liable to steer the conversation onto another topic if he decides he doesn't like it.
Or he'll simply give a non-answer like "Enough", which is exactly what he does.
"Enough for what?"
"Enough to keep people like you safe, and people like me busy until..."
"Until?"
"Until..." Kai can practically hear Lu Han grinning at him. "Until you wake up and remember yourself."
There's a click inside Kai's head and he knows Lu Han has, frustratingly, walked away from the subject, leaving him only more teasing hints about what he's supposed to do. They don't help. Kai wakes up every day - some days, with more difficulty than others - and there's never any secret knowledge that's planted itself in his head while he's been asleep. He doesn't get out of bed knowing that yes, this is who he's supposed to be, this is what he's supposed to do with his life. He never has. All he can do for the time being is get on with it, try to build a life for himself, to do the things he wants, and hope that he's not straying too far from whatever path destiny's got in mind for him.
Life's not supposed to be all about killing time until it ends, or so he likes to think. He's yet to see or hear anything that tells him different, though, and Lu Han's cryptic hints are all he's got to suggest that there's something more out there.
-----
After his escapade with the Dark Dragon, Kai's motley crew of bruisers start inviting him to more than just fights. He's earned his stripes, they say, and they mean more than the set the dragon left on his lower back. He's in, as much as he's ever been in anywhere, which means he can walk into a restaurant and get a discount because he helped keep it from getting torn apart, or sit down on a barstool and see a friendly face on the next stool along. They're not friends, exactly, but they're company, and sometimes Kai needs to talk to people who have no idea what he's thinking.
Until, of course, they get him drunk, and he blurts it all out anyway. It doesn't take them long to find out he's not used to alcohol - can't watch your back in the slums if you're so soused you're seeing double - and it entertains them to ply him with the stuff. Someone always helps him home when he's had enough, because they're more into quelling trouble than starting it and nobody likes tipsy dancers doing pirouettes in the middle of the street. It's never Lu Han whose arm supports him up the stairs to his room - but it's always Lu Han who wakes him up the next morning with a cup of tea and a resigned smile.
"You weren't there," Kai says on one such morning, bleary and vowing to turn down all future invitations to bars. "I called you last night, and you weren't there."
"I was the first time," Lu Han says, "but you won't remember. You get very touchy-feely when you've had too much to drink, and I didn't want to be here when you were in no shape to understand what you were asking for."
Kai can feel his face gradually turning Summon materia-red. "I was asking for it?"
"You were pretty specific."
That's it: Kai's life is officially over. Dying from embarrassment is such a pathetic way to go. He buries his face in his hands, willing Lu Han not to look at him because he'd prefer not to have any witnesses when his head explodes all over the sheets.
"It's okay to want things," Lu Han says gently. "Especially from me."
"I didn't before. Um. I mean..."
"You were being paid for it before," Lu Han points out, referring to Kai's three-month stint at Midgar's Honey Bee Inn. "I was never your customer, but you probably wouldn't have wanted me then, if I had been."
Kai peeks out from behind his hands, managing a strained laugh. "If you'd been a customer, I wouldn't remember your name now. I didn't remember anyone's."
"What about before you worked there? If I'd met you back then?"
This is still embarrassing to talk about, but it's easier, somehow, because it's a person Kai used to be - someone he doesn't have to be anymore, even if he's not entirely sure who he's become.
"Then you'd still have been paying me." Kai shrugs. "I grew up in the Sector 7 slums. My family didn't have much money and I didn't want to run with the gangs, so when there were things I wanted, sometimes the only thing I had to pay with was my body. Dance lessons, mostly. I had this one ballet teacher..." He leaves it at that. He doesn't expect Lu Han to understand, because being a teenager in the slums and knowing your life is going nowhere unless you're willing to put yourself on the line to make it otherwise is likely a world apart from whatever Lu Han's experiences of growing up were like - if Lu Han even grew up. Perhaps he's always been like this.
"I couldn't have given you dance lessons," Lu Han says. "But maybe I could've done something about you having to pay for them like that."
"It doesn't matter now. I didn't even know about materia back then. All the fighters I knew...they were either in gangs, or they were dancers, and just as tough because they weren't afraid of the pain."
"That's why you're a dancer?"
"My first ballet teacher ran a kickboxing class on the side, because she'd lost her sister to the gangs and wanted the kids she taught to have a chance of holding their own. I'd grown up a lot by the time I met the second. He taught me...things that were useful at the Honey Bee Inn. But he also taught me how to protect myself from anyone else who wanted that from me."
"Good." Lu Han plumps himself down next to Kai on the mattress, pulling him into a half-hug. "I don't want you getting snatched away by someone else."
Kai leans into the hug and closes his eyes; he's still muzzy from last night and Lu Han's extremely comfortable to sleep on. "You could've picked all that up from my head."
"I told you: I won't. No matter how cute you look when you get all flustered, I'm not about to go digging into your mind for pieces of your past. It's what comes before that interests me, anyway."
"The stuff you tell me I don't remember," Kai mumbles, words slurring against the fabric of Lu Han's light blue shirt. "Why can't you just tell me?"
"Because there are other people you have to meet first. One of them's going to be in Junon next week. Don't worry, you'll like him. He's...uh, he's a very special unicorn."
So much for answers. Kai gives up on the idea of getting out of bed and pushes Lu Han down against the pillows so he can sleep on him properly. Lu Han will be gone by the time he wakes, of course, but he's enjoying the moment while he can.
-----
Three days later, Kai finally discovers why Lu Han sliced off a piece of the Dark Dragon's hide before leaving the rooftop. It's not for a souvenir.
"It's a present." Lu Han has both hands behind his back, and is beaming in a most self-satisfied way. "I made it myself, so you're not allowed to make fun of the workmanship, okay?"
Kai promises, so Lu Han has him stand facing the mirror. They're both dressed - Lu Han tends to morph his armour into casual clothes when they're in the hotel so he doesn't take up too much space, and when he wants to be naked, he dismisses it completely - yet Kai feels exposed, staring at himself in the glass with Lu Han mostly hidden behind him. Looking at his face seems like vanity; looking anywhere else seems awkward.
"Hold still." There's a thin, dark strip dangling from Lu Han's hand. "I'm going to put this on you."
Something cold and hard presses against Kai's neck and he automatically reaches up to grab it with both hands.
"It's just the buckles," Lu Han says. "Sorry if they tickle."
They do, and it's irritating, but Kai drops his arms to his side to let Lu Han get on with it. Buckles? He's not sure he wants to know.
They're silver, the buckles - two of them, quite small, fastening what turns out to be a purple-black leather collar around his neck. He turns his head to see as much as he can. It's mostly plain, save the silver outline of a deer along the side, and despite Lu Han having made it himself, it's a nice piece of work, if not the sort of accessory Kai generally wears.
"Too tight?"
"No, it's..." It's not tight. Lu Han's fastened it so it doesn't bite, even when Kai swallows, though he definitely can't forget it's there. It's heavier at the side, where the buckles sit, but mostly the weight's not from the collar at all. It's from the fact that...well...it's a collar. From Lu Han. Which means there's nothing simple about this gift. "It...feels okay." Physically.
Lu Han, peering out from behind Kai in the mirror, looks relieved. "It's the first time I've tried making anything like this. Baekhyun had to teach me how. Looks pretty good, don't you think?"
"The deer's very cute."
"I mean," Lu Han runs his fingers along the edge of the collar, drawing a line along Kai's throat, "it looks pretty good on you."
It's not that Kai disagrees. Dark colours suit him, and for such an offensive beast, the Dark Dragon is a surprisingly lovely shade. "It does, but..."
"Is it because it tried to kill you?"
"No!" Kai attempts to reassure Lu Han, who looks like he's considering retracting his gift in favour of something from a less dangerous source. It's a present; he doesn't want to appear ungrateful, because he's not. He's just confused. "It's not that, I promise. It's beautiful. What about the deer?"
"I told you, there are people you have to meet, and the first of them will be here next week. I think they'll all have too many problems of their own to spare the time to think about you, but in case they do," and now Lu Han's cheerful again, "you're wearing my symbol."
"And they're going to know that's yours, are they?"
"The Summons will. The others can learn."
Kai feels like Lu Han's setting him up on a blind date, only not, because if he's marking him to keep other people from getting ideas, that means...that means...
"I can't be here all the time," Lu Han murmurs, stretching to brush his lips against Kai's ear. "But even when I'm not, I want everyone to know you're my master."
Lu Han might as well have said "mine", which is what Kai's convinced he means. He's no one's master, no matter how Summon convention works, and being able to summon Lu Han does not, in any way, equate to being able to control him. Especially when he keeps turning up without being summoned. Not that Kai has any objection to having his life saved, mind you, and Lu Han keeps a close enough eye on him to know when it's warranted. They have an agreement, that Lu Han will only show up during a fight without being called if he feels Kai is in mortal peril - his strength isn't unlimited, after all, and he always has to rest afterwards - but that agreement is restricted to times of danger.
Lying alone in his hotel room is not likely to prove fatal to Kai, but it suits Lu Han to materialise anyway, and Kai has no control over that. Lu Han will leave, if asked, though so far he's shown an uncanny knack for keeping clear on nights when Kai's not interested in having company. Perhaps having a Summon who can skim his thoughts is worth the embarrassment factor.
It's worth a great deal else, certainly. Lu Han's warm against his back, one hand snaking around his waist to hold him close while the other traces the collar's path, and Kai melts into the comfortable, familiar embrace.
"You don't have to wear it if you don't like it," Lu Han says, "but please keep it?"
"Of course I like it." Kai smiles shyly at Lu Han's reflection. They don't talk about this thing, this arrangement they have between them. They don't put it into words, because they don't know what to say. They define their relationship by the protective shine in Lu Han's eyes as he cuts down anything that comes too close to killing his master, and by the invitation in Kai's now that he's found someone who might have a claim on his heart, not just his body. "Because you made it for me."
"So you'll wear it?"
There's something ever-so-slightly weird about Lu Han looking and acting like an excited little kid when he's spilled more blood than any of the monsters he's killed, but Kai finds it adorable. Because Lu Han's not around all the time, whenever Kai catches a glimpse of another facet of his personality it's like being handed another key, one of many to unlock boxes within boxes until there's nothing left inside and everything's out in the open. Kai has a good many of those boxes himself. Unfortunately, some of his keys appear to be missing.
"I'll wear it. But-" Kai starts as Lu Han places a kiss on his neck, just below the collar. "I don't think you have to worry about me with anyone else."
"Even on cold, lonely nights when I'm not around," the arm encircling Kai's waist draws back slightly; fingers begin to work their way under his shirt, "and there's someone right there to keep you warm? Someone who can be with you all day and all night?"
"You're jealous," Kai says, amused. "It's sweet. I didn't know you had that side to you."
"I have lots of sides," Lu Han says. "Let me show you another one."
The last time Kai had sex in front of a mirror, he was wearing the remains of a black and yellow Bee costume and might as well not even have been there, because the customer was too enraptured by his own reflection to notice the body he'd paid for. Lu Han doesn't look at himself but he makes Kai look, makes him watch the slow flush of red along his skin, the way the colour deepens as embarrassment kicks in. It's...weird. Dizzying. Kai wants to close his eyes so he doesn't have to watch his own reactions as Lu Han touches him. He could. He could walk away, or drag Lu Han over to the bed, or dismiss him altogether.
He doesn't do any of that.
"I told you it's okay to want things." Lu Han's breath is hot, coming out quick and shaky against Kai's back. Summons breathe, even if they don't seem to require food or drink, and their breathing patterns change like any other person. "You're allowed to feel good. What we're doing isn't something bad."
"I know." Kai's breath is no steadier. "And I told you that I don't. I mean, I didn't before I met you." Lu Han's hand stills on him; Kai barely bites back a whine. "It was always just...business. Nobody I cared about. I'd...kind of given up thinking I could."
"It's not a problem to not be attracted to people who were renting your body by the hour," Lu Han points out. "Who would be?"
"I only worked there three months. I didn't want anything before that, either."
"So?" Lu Han's not moving at all now, simply holding him close, all sweat-slick skin and rumpled clothes where their bodies meet. "And now you've found me, what do you want from me?" He sounds willing to offer up the world.
Kai's never been articulate under pressure, and his current position certainly doesn't help put words in his mouth. Whatever he's done with Lu Han, he's done because they both wanted it, with not that many words involved in reaching a shared understanding. Kai's at a loss for them now. Everything's warm, and soft, and somewhat muddled; no clarity in sight. He needs time to figure himself out.
And for more time, he has just the thing.
He wriggles out of Lu Han's grasp so he can reach the box he keeps in the bottom drawer, where he stashes all the supplies he might need. He doesn't have any more materia but he has some items that produce similar effects, though he hoards those carefully - they can only be used once each. Casting 'Slow' on monsters isn't something he's likely to want to do often, however, so he thinks he can spare a Spider Web this time. He removes it carefully from the box and holds it out by the safety loop to Lu Han.
"You want me to use this on you?"
Kai nods, then brings out a bottle of Remedy for them to use afterwards. He doesn't want to be stuck that way for the rest of his life, and Lu Han has no magic to cure him.
"Sure?"
Kai nods again, finally meeting Lu Han's eyes. There's no mocking there, no criticism, no judgement, and he's grateful for that. "I...tried it once before."
That's all he needs to say, much to his relief. Lu Han hooks a finger into the safety loop, holding it a cautious distance away from his own body - Kai has no idea if it would even affect a Summon, but it's best to play it safe - and steering Kai over to the bed with his other hand.
"It'll be less tiring for you if you don't have to stand," Lu Han says. "I don't know how well I'll be able to understand anything you say once you use this, so if you have to say something urgently, think it loud and hard, okay?"
"Okay."
Kai kicks off the last of his clothing, then lies back on the bed wearing nothing but the collar. Doing anything while Slow is a challenge; he wants as few obstacles between them as possible. Lu Han stands over him until he's settled, then slowly drapes the Spider Web over his chest. The thin strands of silken magic gleam bright against his skin for a moment before sinking inside.
It hits him almost immediately. Lu Han makes no move to touch him yet, giving him the time he needs to adjust to the changes. First his heart slows, beats becoming sluggish, muffled thumps beneath his ribs, pumping rivers of blood that slacken from gushes to trickles. His breath echoes in his ears, each one a solid, gravelly rasp. He tries to wiggle his little finger. It takes a minute for the thought to work its way through his body; by the time it gets to its destination, the movement is so slight as to be nearly invisible. If he wants to sit up, he has to plan it five minutes in advance. If he wants to stand up, he might as well forget it. Too many limbs involved, and too much coordination for a body that's practically numb.
Except that it isn't numb at all, not where it counts, and Kai attempts a tiny smile when Lu Han runs a hand over his arm. He can see Lu Han's fingers skimming over his skin, but he doesn't feel it until a minute later, and then...
And then the feeling stretches out, each prickle of sensation magnified a million times as a fleeting touch lingers on, and on, and on...
You're the first person I ever wanted to be with, Kai thinks, hoping real hard that Lu Han picks up on it. So I want to make the feeling last.
Lu Han evidently gets it: his smile, though fast, is as bright as Kai's ever seen it. It's a curiously silent night in the hotel room. They can't speak aloud without difficulty comprehending each other and Kai can't hear Lu Han in his mind when he's not wearing his gauntlets. Every sound Lu Han makes is a lightning flash, over too soon; every sound Kai makes is long, drawn-out, desperate in a way that makes him cringe inside, even though he knows he's the only one who can hear himself like that.
Lu Han swallows the sounds with his mouth, kissing away the embarrassment with warm, eager lips whose presence Kai can feel long after they've moved southward, down to the collar, and then lower still, tracing the patterns of the Spider Web over his chest. He can't move much - everything he does is so sluggish, the effort is exhausting - but Lu Han doesn't seem to mind, if the way he delights in stringing out every sensation is any indication. With the lag it's like there are multiple Lu Hans in the room, all touching Kai at once; one begins to fade as another comes to life, one neverending cycle that they can spin out to infinity.
Even if he wanted to, Kai can't stop. All he can do is hold on for the ride, trusting in Lu Han to return him to normal with the Remedy when the time comes. He does. Trust Lu Han, that is. Maybe not to always tell him the truth - at least, not all of it - but when it comes to keeping him alive and well, Lu Han's definitely got his best interests at heart.
Right now, their interests are the same. Every movement of Lu Han's slick fingers inside him sends more than simple shivers up Kai's spine; a tidal wave of sensation crashes over him with each minute twitch, echoes layering over echoes, ghosts chasing ghosts down every single nerve ending. The pleasure's overwhelming, almost painful in magnitude, and Kai clings to it because after years of empty business transactions, he finally feels something.
Even when Lu Han withdraws and isn't touching him at all, Kai can still feel where he's been. Then he returns, kneeling between Kai's bent legs to press himself inside; it feels slow, which means Lu Han must be barely moving, holding himself back. It's hardly the first time they've done this but Kai appreciates the gesture anyway. He's in no rush. Every second counts for a lifetime when time itself is turned inside out. He wants this to last as long as possible.
And last it does, though Lu Han eventually runs out of patience and picks up speed. Their time together is finite, after all. Kai barely notices, everything blurring into one burning rush of pleasure that has him straining against the bonds of the Slow spell to reach out for Lu Han. Lu Han notices, catching his outstretched hand, and the tingle of their twining fingers is enough to have Kai spilling across his belly.
It's not long before Lu Han follows, leaving them both sweat-soaked and sticky, and Kai knows he's probably going to get another lecture from housekeeping about the state of his sheets. At least nothing got torn this time.
The Remedy has to be drunk; Lu Han helps him sit up against the pillows, then holds the bottle with him while he drains it. Time immediately speeds up, shocking Kai's internal organs into working at their regular pace again. He's still shaking from the changes in his body when he swipes a tissue over himself, surprised by how quickly the sensation passes.
"You seemed to be enjoying yourself," Lu Han says, once he's established that Kai is suffering no ill-effects from the use of the two magical items. "You've tried that before? Was it better with me?"
Summons. Kai would love to know where they get all their energy from, because Lu Han, despite being thoroughly dishevelled, looks like he's ready to take on an entire army in combat. Personally, Kai would settle for taking a shower and getting a long, long night's sleep. "Yeah." He licks his lips. Lu Han's still being playful, but there's a genuine question there too. "Everything's better with you. And if you make me say that again I'm selling you to the first materia shop I pass."
Lu Han's gleeful cackles see him off to sleep - minus that shower, but he'll worry about it in the morning. He's got time.
Fandom: EXO (sort of fused with Final Fantasy VII)
Series: Phoenix Down (#2)
Pairing: Lu Han/Kai
Rating: R
Genre: AU, crossover (sort of)
Word count: 6,320
Disclaimer: Not mine, damnit
Warnings: Contains unorthodox use of video game status ailments, also past references to prostitution
Summary: Kai tries to learn more about Lu Han but ends up revealing more about himself instead.
A/N: Sequel to Sweet as Honey, Sharp as a Sword, so please see that fic for explanations. Jongin's stage name is being used here because he still doesn't know who he is.
Crossposted to AO3
No Time Like the Present
There's not much call for dancers in Junon. Not the kind of dancing Kai does, anyway. He's been out of ballet too long to make a career out of it now and for anything less formal he's lucky if he even gets an audition, being a strange face in a new place. In the two months he's been here all he's managed to add to his resumé is one chorus spot in a stage show, and only then because one of the dancers broke his leg.
The other things he's done since coming to Junon? He's not sure if he should put those on his resumé or not. Nothing as disreputable as his stint at Midgar's Honey Bee Inn, but acquiring a reputation for being handy in a fight isn't going to mean much to people who are more interested in the state of his legs than his fists.
Both, incidentally, are in prime condition and getting regular workouts. He's still picking up ad hoc work at the port, but as the result of a timely intervention in a barroom brawl, he's frequently tapped to assist the unofficial crew of dockhands, bouncers, former soldiers and other assorted toughs in disposing of the monsters that creep in from the grasslands.
It's irregular work, though decent company, and it means he's making a name for himself around the city, even if it's not in the way he'd like. None of the others use materia; Kai tries to call upon Lu Han as little as possible so he can't be accused of being nothing without his Summon. For the most part, that works out for him.They don't usually do jobs solo - whenever one comes up, Kai gets a message left at the front desk of his hotel, telling him where and when to join the others. He hasn't missed one yet and they like that, that he's diligent and hardworking.
They also like that he's at least ten years younger than the youngest of them, so when there's anything to be done that requires a certain amount of flexibility and dexterity, he's automatically volunteered.
Which is why he's up on the roof of City Hall, alone, because the ladder's been torn away from the wall and no one else was willing to risk climbing out the window and up the drainpipes.
"You'll be all right, lad," they'd said as they'd patted him on the shoulder and sent him out. "There's only one of 'em up there - looks like a sunburned Zemzelett. You'll be down in time for supper."
Kai thinks they're right about him being down, but possibly not for supper unless there's enough left of him to eat hospital food. That's not a Zemzelett, sunburned or otherwise.
The Dark Dragon takes a swipe at him with its tail, forcing him to jump backwards to keep it from slicing his legs to ribbons. That puts him perilously near to the edge of the roof. There's no railing. He throws himself to the side to avoid another shot with the tail, trying to edge close enough to move around behind it. Claws, fangs and the tail are all dangerous, but if Kai can manoeuvre himself behind the Dark Dragon, he'll limit their effectiveness and have a better chance of taking it down with physical attacks.
He shouldn't be doing this alone. He shouldn't be doing this at all; Dark Dragons don't dwell anywhere near Junon. Kai can't understand what one's doing this far south.
Another lash of the dragon's tail and a crack begins to form in the roof, too close to Kai for comfort. Lu Han hasn't appeared yet, and he normally does when he thinks Kai's in over his head, which means the situation can't be that bad...he hopes. He drops to the ground and rolls to avoid being blasted with Ultima, angling himself to spring to his feet nearer to his quarry.
Aiming for the Dark Dragon's soft brown underbelly is a good way to get himself killed; instead, Kai opts to focus on the tougher yet still vulnerable portion of its back between its purple-black wings, where mythril-studded gauntlets can make a significant dent. He gives it his best shot...and the dragon takes off, rising just beyond his reach.
It shows no signs of abandoning the roof, however. Kai curses softly to himself. This could take some time. He turns with the dragon, careful to keep behind it as it strives to reach him with its claws. Not careful enough; one catches him high in the shoulder, sending flares of agony down his arm and across his neck and rocking him back on his heels. He stumbles back, and there's the edge of the roof again, coming up to greet him.
He can keep dodging, but the fire in his right arm suggests he's not going to be able to make much use of it and he's going to be straining to reach as it is. Time to call in reinforcements.
"Lu Han!"
Kai waits for the usual crash of armour, but none comes. The Summon materia in his left gauntlet flashes a brilliant red, blinking urgently, but there's no other response. He can't still need to rest, can he? Lu Han hasn't been out for forty-eight hours, which is more than sufficient for him to recharge from the last time.
The Dark Dragon drops down low enough for Kai to kick its right haunch once. They both howl in pain - dragons are tough, and the impact reverberates back up Kai's leg. He grits his teeth and steels himself for another blow. It looks like Lu Han's not coming for him this time.
They trade attacks again, Kai evading the whip of the dragon's tail while getting in another kick, this time at the base of its wings. Maybe he should be putting money aside for a blade after all. No way is he going to snap its neck like this. He manages to keep it up another minute, every second making his injured arm scream. Then there's a crack from behind, and pain, and next thing Kai knows he's on the floor, looking up at the beast who's just lashed him around the waist.
He has to get up. Has to move. If he stays there, it'll destroy him. He'll never get back down the drainpipe like this but he has to try. There's a dragon between him and the right side of the roof. It's looking down at him...
"Zantetsuken!"
The Dark Dragon's head goes sailing over the edge of the roof, separated from its neck by Lu Han's sword. The Summon's arrived at last: a little breathless, a little pale, but there, and Kai's relieved to see him.
"I thought you weren't coming!" It comes out as a shaky whine, and Kai hates how desperate he sounds. He tries to push himself up on his elbows, but the pain in his waist forces him to stop. "What kept you?"
Lu Han's armour morphs into loose slacks and a shirt; he kneels down beside Kai to examine his wounds, nudging aside torn clothing with now-bare fingers. The cool, gentle touch feels good against his skin - but then, Lu Han's touch always feels good. "You're on a roof." His smile's the same warm, kind smile he gives Kai when they're not in the middle of a battle, but there's something new there now. Discomfort, perhaps. An awkwardness Lu Han explains when he admits, "I don't like heights. At all. And there's no guardrail up here."
The ground's a long way off and Kai's lying too near the edge of the roof as it is. No wonder Lu Han looks so uncomfortable. It's the first time Kai's seen his normally upbeat Summon like this. "But you still came for me."
"I get stuck up here for the rest of my existence if you die," Lu Han says cheerfully. "It makes me extra motivated."
Kai starts laughing, even though it hurts to move and the constant shaking only makes it worse. Lu Han pats him on the back and leaves him for a moment, looking only at the floor as he walks over to the dragon. Kai can't see what he's doing with his sword, but there's a flash and both the sword and something darker vanish before he returns.
"Taking a trophy?"
"Kind of. You'll see later." Lu Han's smile fades when he looks around for an exit route. "You can't climb back down the drainpipe with that arm, can you?"
"Better than I could without it?" Kai jokes weakly, but he knows it's probably not a workable plan.
In the end, Lu Han has to climb down - looking rather green - and collect a rope, which he uses to lower Kai as far as the window where the others are waiting for him. Kai's mostly out of it by this point, lying in a daze on the stretcher while he's carried to the lift and off to see a doctor. He gets his injuries patched up and they feed him a Potion that takes care of most of the damage, so by the time he wakes up in his hotel room, his shoulder and waist are bruised and tender but no longer in excruciating agony.
"You turned some interesting colours."
It no longer surprises Kai when Lu Han materialises without being summoned - he doesn't even spill his tea. Which is just as well, since he's only wearing shorts and the last thing he needs today is to scald himself.
"So did you," he shoots back. "That shade of green really doesn't go with your hair."
Lu Han looks down and laughs, shaking his head. "If my master says so." He settles on the chair next to the bed.
"Do you have to call me that?"
"It's what you are. That's how this world works - Summons have masters."
"This world." Kai takes a sip of tea. "Are there others?"
"There's my world, where I live when I'm not out here."
"You don't live in..." Kai feels somewhat silly pointing to the materia orb in his gauntlet, but truth be told, he's never given too much thought as to where Lu Han goes. They can still talk when Lu Han's not physically there, so...
"I don't need to be here to talk to you."
"You really are reading my mind, aren't you?"
"Don't look so upset." Lu Han reaches over to ruffle his hair. "I pick up the surface thoughts sometimes; I don't go rummaging. You're very easy to read, especially when I can see your face."
That's better than Lu Han knowing every thought he's ever had, Kai supposes. Although he hasn't said that he can't go rummaging, only that he doesn't, which is hardly a guarantee that he won't. "So tell me some of yours in return."
"My thoughts?" Lu Han feigns surprise with a gasp, turning wide, seemingly innocent eyes on him. "Right now I'm thinking that...I need to go. I just came to check that you're okay."
"I am, thanks to you."
Lu Han leaves him with a smile and a kiss; Kai resolves to ask him next time about his world. Lu Han's so open and honest in some ways, yet so cagey and mysterious in others, and it's difficult to get a handle on what he really thinks. Kai knows what Lu Han thinks of him, at least, and that's good enough for now.
-----
Kai sees other Summon materia around the city - sometimes in shop windows, sometimes equipped in weapons or armour - and wonders if Lu Han talks to them. Are they other Lu Hans? Maybe they're all Minseoks or Kyungsoos. He can't tell without peering deep inside to see their names. That's one of the first things he learned about materia, right after learning how powerful they could be.
"Your thoughts are very loud today," Lu Han says inside his head when he's standing inside a materia shop, examining their wares. "It's distracting."
"Distracting you from what?" Kai speaks aloud, though quietly, lest the proprietor think he's too unstable to keep in the shop.
"I'm solving a puzzle game." Lu Han sends him an image of a brightly coloured cube, with each face divided into small squares that rotate between his fingers.
That's not the answer Kai's expecting and he hides his giggles behind his hands. The shopkeeper's shooting him strange looks and pulling covers down over the more expensive cases, so it's time to leave. Conversations that take place half inside his head don't go over well in public.
Dark, dingy alleys are a vast improvement.
"Why are you doing puzzles?" Kai mutters, now he's alone. Well, aside from the cat sleeping on top of the dumpster, but he's not bothered if the cat wakes up and thinks he's insane.
"Because the others are too busy right now to play football with me."
Of course they are. Because there's probably an entire team of them out there, who go around playing sports together when they're not being summoned to fight monsters. It might even be training, or something. Maybe there's a league.
"Are there...many of you?" Kai's trying to be cautious because Lu Han's liable to steer the conversation onto another topic if he decides he doesn't like it.
Or he'll simply give a non-answer like "Enough", which is exactly what he does.
"Enough for what?"
"Enough to keep people like you safe, and people like me busy until..."
"Until?"
"Until..." Kai can practically hear Lu Han grinning at him. "Until you wake up and remember yourself."
There's a click inside Kai's head and he knows Lu Han has, frustratingly, walked away from the subject, leaving him only more teasing hints about what he's supposed to do. They don't help. Kai wakes up every day - some days, with more difficulty than others - and there's never any secret knowledge that's planted itself in his head while he's been asleep. He doesn't get out of bed knowing that yes, this is who he's supposed to be, this is what he's supposed to do with his life. He never has. All he can do for the time being is get on with it, try to build a life for himself, to do the things he wants, and hope that he's not straying too far from whatever path destiny's got in mind for him.
Life's not supposed to be all about killing time until it ends, or so he likes to think. He's yet to see or hear anything that tells him different, though, and Lu Han's cryptic hints are all he's got to suggest that there's something more out there.
-----
After his escapade with the Dark Dragon, Kai's motley crew of bruisers start inviting him to more than just fights. He's earned his stripes, they say, and they mean more than the set the dragon left on his lower back. He's in, as much as he's ever been in anywhere, which means he can walk into a restaurant and get a discount because he helped keep it from getting torn apart, or sit down on a barstool and see a friendly face on the next stool along. They're not friends, exactly, but they're company, and sometimes Kai needs to talk to people who have no idea what he's thinking.
Until, of course, they get him drunk, and he blurts it all out anyway. It doesn't take them long to find out he's not used to alcohol - can't watch your back in the slums if you're so soused you're seeing double - and it entertains them to ply him with the stuff. Someone always helps him home when he's had enough, because they're more into quelling trouble than starting it and nobody likes tipsy dancers doing pirouettes in the middle of the street. It's never Lu Han whose arm supports him up the stairs to his room - but it's always Lu Han who wakes him up the next morning with a cup of tea and a resigned smile.
"You weren't there," Kai says on one such morning, bleary and vowing to turn down all future invitations to bars. "I called you last night, and you weren't there."
"I was the first time," Lu Han says, "but you won't remember. You get very touchy-feely when you've had too much to drink, and I didn't want to be here when you were in no shape to understand what you were asking for."
Kai can feel his face gradually turning Summon materia-red. "I was asking for it?"
"You were pretty specific."
That's it: Kai's life is officially over. Dying from embarrassment is such a pathetic way to go. He buries his face in his hands, willing Lu Han not to look at him because he'd prefer not to have any witnesses when his head explodes all over the sheets.
"It's okay to want things," Lu Han says gently. "Especially from me."
"I didn't before. Um. I mean..."
"You were being paid for it before," Lu Han points out, referring to Kai's three-month stint at Midgar's Honey Bee Inn. "I was never your customer, but you probably wouldn't have wanted me then, if I had been."
Kai peeks out from behind his hands, managing a strained laugh. "If you'd been a customer, I wouldn't remember your name now. I didn't remember anyone's."
"What about before you worked there? If I'd met you back then?"
This is still embarrassing to talk about, but it's easier, somehow, because it's a person Kai used to be - someone he doesn't have to be anymore, even if he's not entirely sure who he's become.
"Then you'd still have been paying me." Kai shrugs. "I grew up in the Sector 7 slums. My family didn't have much money and I didn't want to run with the gangs, so when there were things I wanted, sometimes the only thing I had to pay with was my body. Dance lessons, mostly. I had this one ballet teacher..." He leaves it at that. He doesn't expect Lu Han to understand, because being a teenager in the slums and knowing your life is going nowhere unless you're willing to put yourself on the line to make it otherwise is likely a world apart from whatever Lu Han's experiences of growing up were like - if Lu Han even grew up. Perhaps he's always been like this.
"I couldn't have given you dance lessons," Lu Han says. "But maybe I could've done something about you having to pay for them like that."
"It doesn't matter now. I didn't even know about materia back then. All the fighters I knew...they were either in gangs, or they were dancers, and just as tough because they weren't afraid of the pain."
"That's why you're a dancer?"
"My first ballet teacher ran a kickboxing class on the side, because she'd lost her sister to the gangs and wanted the kids she taught to have a chance of holding their own. I'd grown up a lot by the time I met the second. He taught me...things that were useful at the Honey Bee Inn. But he also taught me how to protect myself from anyone else who wanted that from me."
"Good." Lu Han plumps himself down next to Kai on the mattress, pulling him into a half-hug. "I don't want you getting snatched away by someone else."
Kai leans into the hug and closes his eyes; he's still muzzy from last night and Lu Han's extremely comfortable to sleep on. "You could've picked all that up from my head."
"I told you: I won't. No matter how cute you look when you get all flustered, I'm not about to go digging into your mind for pieces of your past. It's what comes before that interests me, anyway."
"The stuff you tell me I don't remember," Kai mumbles, words slurring against the fabric of Lu Han's light blue shirt. "Why can't you just tell me?"
"Because there are other people you have to meet first. One of them's going to be in Junon next week. Don't worry, you'll like him. He's...uh, he's a very special unicorn."
So much for answers. Kai gives up on the idea of getting out of bed and pushes Lu Han down against the pillows so he can sleep on him properly. Lu Han will be gone by the time he wakes, of course, but he's enjoying the moment while he can.
-----
Three days later, Kai finally discovers why Lu Han sliced off a piece of the Dark Dragon's hide before leaving the rooftop. It's not for a souvenir.
"It's a present." Lu Han has both hands behind his back, and is beaming in a most self-satisfied way. "I made it myself, so you're not allowed to make fun of the workmanship, okay?"
Kai promises, so Lu Han has him stand facing the mirror. They're both dressed - Lu Han tends to morph his armour into casual clothes when they're in the hotel so he doesn't take up too much space, and when he wants to be naked, he dismisses it completely - yet Kai feels exposed, staring at himself in the glass with Lu Han mostly hidden behind him. Looking at his face seems like vanity; looking anywhere else seems awkward.
"Hold still." There's a thin, dark strip dangling from Lu Han's hand. "I'm going to put this on you."
Something cold and hard presses against Kai's neck and he automatically reaches up to grab it with both hands.
"It's just the buckles," Lu Han says. "Sorry if they tickle."
They do, and it's irritating, but Kai drops his arms to his side to let Lu Han get on with it. Buckles? He's not sure he wants to know.
They're silver, the buckles - two of them, quite small, fastening what turns out to be a purple-black leather collar around his neck. He turns his head to see as much as he can. It's mostly plain, save the silver outline of a deer along the side, and despite Lu Han having made it himself, it's a nice piece of work, if not the sort of accessory Kai generally wears.
"Too tight?"
"No, it's..." It's not tight. Lu Han's fastened it so it doesn't bite, even when Kai swallows, though he definitely can't forget it's there. It's heavier at the side, where the buckles sit, but mostly the weight's not from the collar at all. It's from the fact that...well...it's a collar. From Lu Han. Which means there's nothing simple about this gift. "It...feels okay." Physically.
Lu Han, peering out from behind Kai in the mirror, looks relieved. "It's the first time I've tried making anything like this. Baekhyun had to teach me how. Looks pretty good, don't you think?"
"The deer's very cute."
"I mean," Lu Han runs his fingers along the edge of the collar, drawing a line along Kai's throat, "it looks pretty good on you."
It's not that Kai disagrees. Dark colours suit him, and for such an offensive beast, the Dark Dragon is a surprisingly lovely shade. "It does, but..."
"Is it because it tried to kill you?"
"No!" Kai attempts to reassure Lu Han, who looks like he's considering retracting his gift in favour of something from a less dangerous source. It's a present; he doesn't want to appear ungrateful, because he's not. He's just confused. "It's not that, I promise. It's beautiful. What about the deer?"
"I told you, there are people you have to meet, and the first of them will be here next week. I think they'll all have too many problems of their own to spare the time to think about you, but in case they do," and now Lu Han's cheerful again, "you're wearing my symbol."
"And they're going to know that's yours, are they?"
"The Summons will. The others can learn."
Kai feels like Lu Han's setting him up on a blind date, only not, because if he's marking him to keep other people from getting ideas, that means...that means...
"I can't be here all the time," Lu Han murmurs, stretching to brush his lips against Kai's ear. "But even when I'm not, I want everyone to know you're my master."
Lu Han might as well have said "mine", which is what Kai's convinced he means. He's no one's master, no matter how Summon convention works, and being able to summon Lu Han does not, in any way, equate to being able to control him. Especially when he keeps turning up without being summoned. Not that Kai has any objection to having his life saved, mind you, and Lu Han keeps a close enough eye on him to know when it's warranted. They have an agreement, that Lu Han will only show up during a fight without being called if he feels Kai is in mortal peril - his strength isn't unlimited, after all, and he always has to rest afterwards - but that agreement is restricted to times of danger.
Lying alone in his hotel room is not likely to prove fatal to Kai, but it suits Lu Han to materialise anyway, and Kai has no control over that. Lu Han will leave, if asked, though so far he's shown an uncanny knack for keeping clear on nights when Kai's not interested in having company. Perhaps having a Summon who can skim his thoughts is worth the embarrassment factor.
It's worth a great deal else, certainly. Lu Han's warm against his back, one hand snaking around his waist to hold him close while the other traces the collar's path, and Kai melts into the comfortable, familiar embrace.
"You don't have to wear it if you don't like it," Lu Han says, "but please keep it?"
"Of course I like it." Kai smiles shyly at Lu Han's reflection. They don't talk about this thing, this arrangement they have between them. They don't put it into words, because they don't know what to say. They define their relationship by the protective shine in Lu Han's eyes as he cuts down anything that comes too close to killing his master, and by the invitation in Kai's now that he's found someone who might have a claim on his heart, not just his body. "Because you made it for me."
"So you'll wear it?"
There's something ever-so-slightly weird about Lu Han looking and acting like an excited little kid when he's spilled more blood than any of the monsters he's killed, but Kai finds it adorable. Because Lu Han's not around all the time, whenever Kai catches a glimpse of another facet of his personality it's like being handed another key, one of many to unlock boxes within boxes until there's nothing left inside and everything's out in the open. Kai has a good many of those boxes himself. Unfortunately, some of his keys appear to be missing.
"I'll wear it. But-" Kai starts as Lu Han places a kiss on his neck, just below the collar. "I don't think you have to worry about me with anyone else."
"Even on cold, lonely nights when I'm not around," the arm encircling Kai's waist draws back slightly; fingers begin to work their way under his shirt, "and there's someone right there to keep you warm? Someone who can be with you all day and all night?"
"You're jealous," Kai says, amused. "It's sweet. I didn't know you had that side to you."
"I have lots of sides," Lu Han says. "Let me show you another one."
The last time Kai had sex in front of a mirror, he was wearing the remains of a black and yellow Bee costume and might as well not even have been there, because the customer was too enraptured by his own reflection to notice the body he'd paid for. Lu Han doesn't look at himself but he makes Kai look, makes him watch the slow flush of red along his skin, the way the colour deepens as embarrassment kicks in. It's...weird. Dizzying. Kai wants to close his eyes so he doesn't have to watch his own reactions as Lu Han touches him. He could. He could walk away, or drag Lu Han over to the bed, or dismiss him altogether.
He doesn't do any of that.
"I told you it's okay to want things." Lu Han's breath is hot, coming out quick and shaky against Kai's back. Summons breathe, even if they don't seem to require food or drink, and their breathing patterns change like any other person. "You're allowed to feel good. What we're doing isn't something bad."
"I know." Kai's breath is no steadier. "And I told you that I don't. I mean, I didn't before I met you." Lu Han's hand stills on him; Kai barely bites back a whine. "It was always just...business. Nobody I cared about. I'd...kind of given up thinking I could."
"It's not a problem to not be attracted to people who were renting your body by the hour," Lu Han points out. "Who would be?"
"I only worked there three months. I didn't want anything before that, either."
"So?" Lu Han's not moving at all now, simply holding him close, all sweat-slick skin and rumpled clothes where their bodies meet. "And now you've found me, what do you want from me?" He sounds willing to offer up the world.
Kai's never been articulate under pressure, and his current position certainly doesn't help put words in his mouth. Whatever he's done with Lu Han, he's done because they both wanted it, with not that many words involved in reaching a shared understanding. Kai's at a loss for them now. Everything's warm, and soft, and somewhat muddled; no clarity in sight. He needs time to figure himself out.
And for more time, he has just the thing.
He wriggles out of Lu Han's grasp so he can reach the box he keeps in the bottom drawer, where he stashes all the supplies he might need. He doesn't have any more materia but he has some items that produce similar effects, though he hoards those carefully - they can only be used once each. Casting 'Slow' on monsters isn't something he's likely to want to do often, however, so he thinks he can spare a Spider Web this time. He removes it carefully from the box and holds it out by the safety loop to Lu Han.
"You want me to use this on you?"
Kai nods, then brings out a bottle of Remedy for them to use afterwards. He doesn't want to be stuck that way for the rest of his life, and Lu Han has no magic to cure him.
"Sure?"
Kai nods again, finally meeting Lu Han's eyes. There's no mocking there, no criticism, no judgement, and he's grateful for that. "I...tried it once before."
That's all he needs to say, much to his relief. Lu Han hooks a finger into the safety loop, holding it a cautious distance away from his own body - Kai has no idea if it would even affect a Summon, but it's best to play it safe - and steering Kai over to the bed with his other hand.
"It'll be less tiring for you if you don't have to stand," Lu Han says. "I don't know how well I'll be able to understand anything you say once you use this, so if you have to say something urgently, think it loud and hard, okay?"
"Okay."
Kai kicks off the last of his clothing, then lies back on the bed wearing nothing but the collar. Doing anything while Slow is a challenge; he wants as few obstacles between them as possible. Lu Han stands over him until he's settled, then slowly drapes the Spider Web over his chest. The thin strands of silken magic gleam bright against his skin for a moment before sinking inside.
It hits him almost immediately. Lu Han makes no move to touch him yet, giving him the time he needs to adjust to the changes. First his heart slows, beats becoming sluggish, muffled thumps beneath his ribs, pumping rivers of blood that slacken from gushes to trickles. His breath echoes in his ears, each one a solid, gravelly rasp. He tries to wiggle his little finger. It takes a minute for the thought to work its way through his body; by the time it gets to its destination, the movement is so slight as to be nearly invisible. If he wants to sit up, he has to plan it five minutes in advance. If he wants to stand up, he might as well forget it. Too many limbs involved, and too much coordination for a body that's practically numb.
Except that it isn't numb at all, not where it counts, and Kai attempts a tiny smile when Lu Han runs a hand over his arm. He can see Lu Han's fingers skimming over his skin, but he doesn't feel it until a minute later, and then...
And then the feeling stretches out, each prickle of sensation magnified a million times as a fleeting touch lingers on, and on, and on...
You're the first person I ever wanted to be with, Kai thinks, hoping real hard that Lu Han picks up on it. So I want to make the feeling last.
Lu Han evidently gets it: his smile, though fast, is as bright as Kai's ever seen it. It's a curiously silent night in the hotel room. They can't speak aloud without difficulty comprehending each other and Kai can't hear Lu Han in his mind when he's not wearing his gauntlets. Every sound Lu Han makes is a lightning flash, over too soon; every sound Kai makes is long, drawn-out, desperate in a way that makes him cringe inside, even though he knows he's the only one who can hear himself like that.
Lu Han swallows the sounds with his mouth, kissing away the embarrassment with warm, eager lips whose presence Kai can feel long after they've moved southward, down to the collar, and then lower still, tracing the patterns of the Spider Web over his chest. He can't move much - everything he does is so sluggish, the effort is exhausting - but Lu Han doesn't seem to mind, if the way he delights in stringing out every sensation is any indication. With the lag it's like there are multiple Lu Hans in the room, all touching Kai at once; one begins to fade as another comes to life, one neverending cycle that they can spin out to infinity.
Even if he wanted to, Kai can't stop. All he can do is hold on for the ride, trusting in Lu Han to return him to normal with the Remedy when the time comes. He does. Trust Lu Han, that is. Maybe not to always tell him the truth - at least, not all of it - but when it comes to keeping him alive and well, Lu Han's definitely got his best interests at heart.
Right now, their interests are the same. Every movement of Lu Han's slick fingers inside him sends more than simple shivers up Kai's spine; a tidal wave of sensation crashes over him with each minute twitch, echoes layering over echoes, ghosts chasing ghosts down every single nerve ending. The pleasure's overwhelming, almost painful in magnitude, and Kai clings to it because after years of empty business transactions, he finally feels something.
Even when Lu Han withdraws and isn't touching him at all, Kai can still feel where he's been. Then he returns, kneeling between Kai's bent legs to press himself inside; it feels slow, which means Lu Han must be barely moving, holding himself back. It's hardly the first time they've done this but Kai appreciates the gesture anyway. He's in no rush. Every second counts for a lifetime when time itself is turned inside out. He wants this to last as long as possible.
And last it does, though Lu Han eventually runs out of patience and picks up speed. Their time together is finite, after all. Kai barely notices, everything blurring into one burning rush of pleasure that has him straining against the bonds of the Slow spell to reach out for Lu Han. Lu Han notices, catching his outstretched hand, and the tingle of their twining fingers is enough to have Kai spilling across his belly.
It's not long before Lu Han follows, leaving them both sweat-soaked and sticky, and Kai knows he's probably going to get another lecture from housekeeping about the state of his sheets. At least nothing got torn this time.
The Remedy has to be drunk; Lu Han helps him sit up against the pillows, then holds the bottle with him while he drains it. Time immediately speeds up, shocking Kai's internal organs into working at their regular pace again. He's still shaking from the changes in his body when he swipes a tissue over himself, surprised by how quickly the sensation passes.
"You seemed to be enjoying yourself," Lu Han says, once he's established that Kai is suffering no ill-effects from the use of the two magical items. "You've tried that before? Was it better with me?"
Summons. Kai would love to know where they get all their energy from, because Lu Han, despite being thoroughly dishevelled, looks like he's ready to take on an entire army in combat. Personally, Kai would settle for taking a shower and getting a long, long night's sleep. "Yeah." He licks his lips. Lu Han's still being playful, but there's a genuine question there too. "Everything's better with you. And if you make me say that again I'm selling you to the first materia shop I pass."
Lu Han's gleeful cackles see him off to sleep - minus that shower, but he'll worry about it in the morning. He's got time.