Prolonged Finities
Title: Prolonged Finities
Author: Anonymous until 1/30/14
For: Everyone
Pairing: Baekhyun/Chanyeol [side: Chanyeol/Kris]
Word Count: 7,100
Summary: the life may leave my lungs, but my heart will stay with you.
Warnings: mentions of character death
Rating: PG-13
One
Feeling around for his tattered and rain-spewed scroll, Baekhyun rummages through his worn-out satchel, as he hops down the stairwell that leads to the second stone of a calm river not far off from the city, an oversized trenchcoat flopping over his shoulders carelessly.
He rolls out the leather sheet, squinting to make sense of the scrawled ink that covers it from top to the bottom. If they're expecting me to collect all these before the next batch comes out, they could at least have written a much neater and legible list of names, Baekhyun grumbles and stashes the scroll back into his bag, after trying to memorise the first name on the list.
Wu Yifan.
The location of the man is in a nearby hospital, pretty famous for its miraculous medicine and lovely staff members. Baekhyun snorts and thinks about how expensive and complicated the hospital must be, considering the good reputation and the great location it was at, amongst plenty of important buildings.
His guess is pretty much on the dot, because the amount of technology present in a simple elevator seems to baffle Baekhyun with the unnecessary buttons and alert systems. He wonders what that blue button does...
Before Baekhyun does anything stupid, he pulls back his hand instinctively at the sharp, piercing sound of a chime above his head.
He waits for the doors to open, a woman in spotless turquoise scrubs stepping into the elevator. She has a styrofoam cup of coffee in one hand, a ballpoint pen in the other. She's clicking the pen almost every two seconds, and it's driving Baekhyun insane with every click.
"Funny. I don't remember pressing the button for level 8," she mutters to herself, as the elevator stops at said level, Baekhyun striding out quickly before she closes the doors on him.
He slips past busy nurses unnoticed, hands gripping his satchel's straps tightly and his pace at about a brisk-walk. Baekhyun's lack of presence doesn't worry him anymore. It used to, but after drilling the fact that he is a death god and nobody can see him into his head for a couple of years, he's quite alright with the silence. In fact, he welcomes it with open arms. Quiet is pretty hard to find in such a noisy world.
Ward 221B, intensive care unit. There you go, Baekhyun thinks, as he opens the door to the room, whistling a chippy tune and reaching for the patient's chest, his gloved hand passing through the hospital gown easily.
What he expects, is a half-dead patient to be lying in a bed, with probably one or two wilted flowers. A card or a basket of fruit, if the person is of some importance. What he doesn't expect, is for a young man with a head full of deep auburn to look straight at him, eyes wide open and eyebrows furrowing.
"What are you doing?" a gravelly croak escapes the man's thin lips. It's obvious that he's been crying.
Baekhyun freezes. His eyes are blank, and his hand stops exactly a centimetre into the medical garment of Yifan. Oh boy. This is going to be a hard situation to get out of.
But wait, did the man just acknowledge his presence?
Quite stunned and awfully surprised, Baekhyun stands in his spot, mouth agape and eyes large. It's been years since he's last had human contact, and this sudden confrontation is both nerve-wrecking and confusing.
"Wait, you can see me?" Baekhyun blurts out, eyeing the young man carefully for anything suspicious. The man chuckles and sarcastically replies, "Nah, I don't see anything, which is why I'm talking to thin air- Of course I see you."
Baekhyun juts out his bottom lip in a pout, and decides to go ahead with his assignment, hands digging deep into Yifan's chest. The young man raises his voice in panic, trying to avert Baekhyun's attention from Yifan to himself.
"I know who you are, from all the comic books I've read before! You take the bodies of those who're dead and eat them up, don't you? You sick creature," he accuses, voice loud and booming as he points a trembling finger at Baekhyun, observing the other's lips for any traces of blood or skin.
Suddenly bursting into a fit of uneasy laughter, Baekhyun finally pulls back his hand, shaking his head.
"What kind of comics do you read, kid? I'm just take people to the Gates of Mortality, where they get aged back into teeny weeny babies. And your friend here, unfortunately, has got to go. I don't know how you can see me, but usually people don't notice me, which is why I have no clue of how I'm going to easily break the news to you," he reaches over to tug on Yifan's arm lightly, and puppeteering the unconscious male's arm to wave at the young man, "Goodbye, friend."
The man instantly slaps Baekhyun's grasp off of Yifan, and he's yelling out something, but Baekhyun doesn't hear anything. He feels a sudden surge of light flash across his eyes, eyeballs rolling to the back of his head, and his vision goes completely white - he hears screaming, and he's not sure if that's him or somebody else, and he hears the man's deep, rumbling voice fade into nothing but strangled muffles in the distance.
÷
A strong breeze passes Baekhyun's ears, strumming gently through his hair, as he watches the endless plains of wildflowers and soft grass sway in the wind. He strolls through the fields, toes entangled with emerald locks, clothes fitting his petite frame snugly. Turning back, he sees a cottage. Blanketed under thick moss, the cream walls sturdily hold themselves against the current, and a woman, clad in rosy alabaster, is standing by the doorway.
"Baekhyun! Mihyun! Lunch is ready!"
Her voice is mellow, and if Baekhyun didn't pay attention, he wouldn't have heard it. The woman's face is blurry, but he's certain that she's his mother. There is nobody else but his mother who was capable of having that certain flair of grace while walking. At least nobody that he's ever known. He's walking towards her, when something, or someone, pounces onto his back.
He yelps, about to topple over, and he hears the familiar giggle of his younger sister. Baekhyun too, starts laughing, and grasps onto her slender wrists, charging towards the cottage as fast as his legs will go. She squeals happily, her thin, brown hair cascading over his shoulders, and Baekhyun smiles, leaning his face into the soft amber.
Baekhyun puts her down at the stairway of the cottage, and he takes a long, good look at her face. He makes a mental note not to forget it, and all of a sudden, she leans over and pecks him on the cheek quickly, before running into the dining room, grinning widely.
He reaches up to rub at the place she kissed, a small beam spreading across his face. He swears he heard a gentle 'thank you' murmured into his ear earlier.
÷
"Uh, Earth to Death God?"
Baekhyun suddenly snaps out of his trance, eyes unfocused and breath uneven. He stares into the young man's orbs, searching for the answers of a million questions whizzing through his head.
What was that? How did he give me a memory of my previous life?
The young man's eyebrows are raised, and Baekhyun is so very confused, but he knows for sure that he isn't touching him again, not for a while, anyway (his head is still throbbing from the flashback to the point where his vision is shaky).
"Anyway, I'm not letting you take Yifan away. Not now, not ever."
Sitting himself on a chair next to Yifan's bed, Baekhyun starts to ponder about the situation before him. This guy is the only person to have ever noticed him, and Baekhyun's a little curious about the young man, to the point where he really wants to know more about this peculiar, tall, human. He's not even sure what abilities he holds that allow him to see past the fine line of mortality, but he's definitely certain that he's going to find out, somehow. But the main reason why he's going to be around this man is the fact that Baekhyun's not human, he's a death god - and call it strange, but he wants to pretend that maybe, just maybe, he could be human too.
He observes the man closely, eyebrows furrowed. Without even thinking, he starts speaking.
"Hey, kid. Do you want your friend to stay?"
The young man's eyes light up, and he immediately agrees, palms pressed together. Sighing, Baekhyun knows he's going to regret this, but he nods.
"I won't take him. On one condition," Baekhyun sees worry fill the young man's face, spreading like blotches of ink in clear water, and he continues hesitantly, "I'll have to haunt you."
The young man twists his face into some form of displeasure, before breaking out into a grin, and snorting, "Sure."
Baekhyun feels a sense of relief, and the young man gets up, holding out his hand for a shake. "I'm Chanyeol. Thanks for saving my friend."
Smiling, the other waves back, careful not to get into contact with Chanyeol's outstretched hand (the pain from the flashback is still fresh in his memory), "Baekhyun. Thanks for being my hauntee."
÷
They reach Chanyeol's home hours after midnight, and Baekhyun learns that the taller goes to a high school around the area, and stays in a small apartment on the fifth floor. He also learns that Chanyeol is extremely forgetful.
"You left your keys inside?" Baekhyun groans, and Chanyeol sheepishly laughs, "Again."
Shaking his head, Baekhyun sighs, and passes through the door (after much concentration), opening it shortly. Chanyeol's face is absolutely in shock, and he stares dumbly at Baekhyun, stunned speechless.
"Are you getting in or not?"
Stumbling in, Chanyeol hurriedly passes Baekhyun, who only chuckles at the other's behaviour. He's probably toying with the possibility that Baekhyun'll break into his home at any time he pleases. This is, unfortunately, very, very true.
Looking around the apartment, he notices that it's pretty empty. There's only one chair at the dining table, one bed, one wardrobe, and practically no decorations, besides an electronic wall clock. He wonders if Chanyeol's into minimalism.
"Do you live alone?"
Chanyeol shrugs, returning from the kitchen with a glass of water.
"My dad passed away ages ago, and my mum's always working at weird times to pay school fees and rent," he quietly speaks as he sits down, "My brother never comes back. I'm wondering if he's even alive anymore."
Silently listening, Baekhyun stands next to the other, fidgeting uncomfortably, and feeling a sense of pity for the taller. He's never seen the smiley kid so... dull.
"Yifan's my best friend. I can't lose him too," Chanyeol suddenly says, looking up at once. His bronze eyes are wide open and determined, boring holes into Baekhyun's pupils.
"W-What happened to Yifan?" Baekhyun stutters, hoping it's not some sensitive topic that'll lead to more awkward silences, but Chanyeol only smiles sadly. He doesn't answer, finishing the glass of water in a long gulp.
"I'm going to bed. Night, ghostie."
His voice is suddenly smoky and thick, and Baekhyun tries not to notice the difference, but he's so awfully attracted to the deep, low pitch of sleepy Chanyeol. Trudging towards a mass of orange and white sheets, Chanyeol turns back towards Baekhyun.
"This," Chanyeol gestures to the wooden-framed bed, "Is where you sleep." He yanks off a layer of orange, and lays it out on the carpet, patting the duvet down nicely. As he spreads himself on the floor, Baekhyun realises that Chanyeol's giving up his bed for him, and he's about to protest against the choice, but what's the use of protesting to a person who's already asleep?
Amazing, Baekhyun thinks to himself, as he watches Chanyeol lose consciousness in the blink of an eye. He always did envy those who could sleep practically two seconds after lying down - he remembers having to recount the week's events before finally feeling a little tired.
Making himself comfortable on the snug bed, he gathers bunches of the fleecy comforter in between his fingers, and tilts his head a little to breathe in the musky, citrus essence that was undoubtedly Chanyeol.
He honestly feels horrible that he's using Chanyeol to get his life, well, shards of his life back, and the kid is way too nice for his conscience. Letting out a sigh, Baekhyun turns onto his side, feeling the cotton against his skin, the occasional snagged thread ticklish to the touch.
He doesn't sleep that night. He doesn't sleep, any night. But he enjoys pretending that he does. Perhaps it's just some routine his brain wasn't able to let go of, or the constant need to feel like he's not just some spirit that reaps out souls from corpses.
Baekhyun slowly reaches down, and he gently kneads tufts of Chanyeol's hair, playing with the locks as a way to keep himself busy. He surprises himself with the slight lowering of eyelids, and he immediately sits straight up, a little shaken. It's been years since he's been able to catch a mere wink of sleep, or even feel the urge to.
Looking back down at Chanyeol, the other decides that it's truly unfair that he gets the bed when he doesn't even sleep, and he carefully drags the taller up, his fingertips protected by the thick blankets. Gazing over the younger's toned yet terribly skinny limbs, he thinks about how lovely it'll be like to be held in those arms, how strong the scent of laundry detergent and shampoo will be, how human the sleeping male actually is.
He then decides that heck it, he can blame sleepwalking, and sneaks his way in between those arms, thin polyester separating the two. Grinning to himself, Baekhyun knows that this probably isn't what he's meant to do, but he really just wants to give in to the devil on his shoulders, just once.
He finds himself wandering between tides of consciousness later on that night.
÷
Baekhyun finds himself following Chanyeol on his way to school.
He really shouldn't be tailing a kid when he should be doing his job, but his feet just won't listen to him - they prefer the adventurous trail of curiosity in high school to the gutted route of the dead, and Baekhyun slowly decides that perhaps it's not so bad to follow your heart every once in a while.
"So, you're haunting me at school, too?" the taller chortles, as he tightens his grip on the straps of his haversack. Shrugging, Baekhyun only smiles, and walks behind the other, observing the loose hair that curls around his nape.
Contemplating brushing them off, Baekhyun is on his tiptoes and about to reach for the russet strands, when Chanyeol raises his voice.
"Jongin! Kyungsoo!" he calls, and frightened, Baekhyun immediately pulls back his hand as if he was scalded; peeking over the taller's shoulders timidly.
He sees two boys, probably around Chanyeol's age, head towards them, one the complete polar opposite of the other.
The one on the left has an olive glow on his skin, eyes dark and heavy-lidded, lips a shade of pastel tan, uniform loose and untidy, hanging off his frame - the sleeves stained with all the colours of the horizon, some splotches larger than others - messy, but somehow suitable for this image he's going for.
The one on the right was fair, almost deathly pale, his eyes wide and lively, thick and full lips flourishing with vibrant coral, his uniform absolutely prim and proper - neither a single stain nor crease visible, and to top it off, a prefect's tie hanging nicely from his neck.
Baekhyun glances back at Chanyeol, and he seems to really know these two quite fondly, because his eyes are gleaming and almost blindingly cheerful, and he watches them begin to chatter on about the newest Pokémon videogame, and other news that certainly doesn't concern Baekhyun in the least bit.
Seeing Chanyeol mingle with his friends makes Baekhyun rather glad that he had such great friends, but the moment the duo excuse themselves from the lunch table with an awfully suspicious look, Baekhyun senses something awry, and he too exits the cafeteria, leaving Chanyeol to quietly chew on his food by himself.
Trailing the two from a small distance, Baekhyun overhears the one named Kyungsoo begin speaking in a hushed tone.
"Don't you feel that Chanyeol's more soulless as of lately?"
"Yeah, but he's always been like this since Yifan got into a coma, hasn't he?"
"No, something must've happened. I don't blame him, though. Chanyeol's always been with Yifan since preschool, everyone believed that they were dating," Kyungsoo mutters, looking downwards.
Jongin sighs, and pats Kyungsoo's shoulder with pity-glistened eyes, "Poor Chanyeol. Yifan's probably never going to wake up again. We should leave him before he becomes an emotional wreck. Who knows what he's capable of?"
Surprised, Baekhyun presses himself against the wall, alarmed at the situation Chanyeol's in. He's just about to return to the lonesome kid in panic when he feels fingers strongly wrapped around his forearm.
Turning back, Baekhyun's eyes enlarge when he sees Tao, the god of life. He's the one who brings the reborned souls back down to Earth, and also one of Baekhyun's not-so-acquainted colleagues in the sky.
"Baekhyun. What are you doing? You need to bring the souls up to the gates, Sehun's going insane! You're so irresponsible," Tao chastises, eyes squinted and glinting with annoyance.
He recalls Sehun's inability to stay calm, especially when it concerns his job, and Baekhyun immediately flees the school, Tao disappearing into thin air after huffing something about Baekhyun's lack of diligence.
If nobody passes through the gates, then the ruler of the sky will be alerted. And as far as everyone knows, Luhan is definitely not somebody you can piss off and get away scot-free. Especially since the schedule's been so tight as of lately, Luhan's probably one slacker away from losing it.
Dashing through names and souls and houses and doors, Baekhyun's easily breathless, but he doesn't stop for even a second to hesitate, knowing that if Luhan was to be informed of him not doing his job, not even a hair on Baekhyun's pretty little head will be touched. Sehun's entire limb, however, might be in danger. (Luhan always did favour torturing the frail to weakening the strong, that sadist)
÷
Clutching his satchel in habit, Baekhyun nervously enters a hospital, and he skips up the flights of stairs, worry clouding his mind. He opens the door of a ward, and sincerely hopes that no other people like Chanyeol will be sitting beside those bleached-white bed sheets.
Slightly relieved that the patient was alone, Baekhyun reaches through the hospital gown, and pulls out the soul of the man in one slick move.
"W-What's happening?" the soul stutters, hand trembling furiously, and eyes darting around aimlessly.
Baekhyun's a little shocked that the soul could speak, unlike many others, but he's pretty strapped for time, so he yanks the arm of the soul along on his journey back to the river beside the city, sprinting with all his might (Luhan's evil eyes are a splendid motivation for him to run faster).
"You can talk?" Baekhyun mumbles, and the soul blinks, dazed and a little confused. Nodding, he feels himself flow in the breeze, his feet not even touching the ground. He's pulled beside Baekhyun, wrist still in the other's grip and he stares at the death god, puzzled, "Yeah. Guess I can."
Juggling all the questions inside his head, Baekhyun speaks, and he notes for himself to shove his nose out of everyone's business, because it can get him into deep trouble someday, "Can you tell me about your past life?"
The soul is silent for a while, and Baekhyun instantly apologises, "You don't have to if you don't want to." Beaming, the soul shakes his head and continues sprinting, "I remember it. I'm just thinking as to where I should start."
"The beginning? That's always the best place to start," Baekhyun chuckles, continuing to dodge cars as he runs along the highways and bridges, the soul clinging onto the death god like a balloon.
The soul clears his throat, before starting, "I'm Yixing. Dancing is practically my entire life. Well, used to be my entire life. Haha. I perform at different places, you know, whatever gig I can get, I grab it."
"Well... How did you end up in the immobile section of the hospital?" Baekhyun questions, and Yixing painfully forces out a grin.
"I got into a car crash on the way home from a performance. My brother was driving, and it was snowing, so I think we skidded. Been paralysed ever since," Yixing hums, eyes drooping, "I'm glad to relieve my family from their burden. My life support bills were way too high for them to afford, so I'm happy that they don't have to spend that much money anymore."
Feeling a pull on his heartstrings, Baekhyun squeezes Yixing's hand, turning to face the soul.
"Don't say that. I'm sure your family isn't happy to see you go," he assures, as they skip off the gleaming stone, and pursue their way up the stairway to the Gates of Mortality.
Shrugging and smiling half-heartedly, Yixing is brought to the gates, and at the sight of Sehun, Baekhyun sheepishly turns his head away, releasing Yixing's hand from his hold, the soul passing through the gates, and flooding down the hill that leads back down to Earth.
"Hey, Baekhyun," Sehun's entire face is filled with anxiety, and Baekhyun already feels the guilt hitting him hard.
Apologising continuously, the death god hangs his head in embarrassment, and Sehun reaches out to ruffle Baekhyun's cinnamon bangs, laughing quietly.
"I'm not mad, just concerned," he continues, "You're always punctual and good with soul collecting... Did something happen?"
Pausing for a while, Baekhyun shakes his head, instantaneously denying that anything was amiss.
"You know you can tell me anythin-"
Sehun's about to press on about the subject, when suddenly, an icy hand wraps around his waist - slender fingers delicately placing themselves by Sehun's hips, and a bony chin resting on the gatekeeper's shoulder.
"What's the hold-up, my love?"
Almost immediately, all the colour flushes from his face, and Baekhyun's frozen solid in his spot, watching as Luhan continues to purr and mewl in amusement, Sehun struggling to even speak. "I-I'm sorry, sir!" is all he's able to choke up, Baekhyun sensing the situation to be rather uncomfortable to watch.
"I've told you countless times, call me Lu-ge," Luhan curls his lips into a sweet and loving beam, but Baekhyun notices his fingers digging into Sehun's hip, the expression on the younger's face nothing but pure agony - but he's silent, and endures the pain. Luhan turns his attention towards the death god, eyes peering and sharp, "Haven't you got something to do, Baekhyun?"
Taking this opportunity to flee, the death god turns on his heels and is about to leave, when he hears Luhan's voice coming from directly beside his ear, "I know who you're hiding, sweetheart, give him up. I know everything, Baekhyun!"
Eyes widening, Baekhyun darts away from the gates in fear, hearing the hollow cackle of the ruler echoing behind him. He needs to return him. He needs to go to Chanyeol. He needs to give back Yifan.
÷
When he does reach Chanyeol, though, all his thoughts dissipate. The taller is visibly upset, sitting by the balcony of his apartment, scratching at the wooden floor quietly.
"Chanyeol, what's wrong?"
Looking up, the doe-eyed male replies, his voice laced with emotion, "Yifan's brother, Yixing passed away earlier on this afternoon."
Baekhyun can't say that he's not surprised, and he feels his eyebrows raise, along with the enlarging of his eyes.
"He danced so well, he had all the talent anyone could ever wish for," Chanyeol's voice is trembling, and he tries to cover it up with a smile, that even Baekhyun can tell is a forced one, "He taught me how to play the guitar, he'd laugh when I failed at dancing, but he still had the patience to teach me again and again. He was like an angel, you know? Always blaming himself for everything even when it's not his fault. Why did this have to happen, Baekhyun? Why did he have to fucking die?"
At this point, tears are already streaming down his face, and he's shaking, heaving, sniffing, his chin leaned towards his chest, fringe hanging over his forehead and hiding his face because Chanyeol always thinks that he's ugliest when he cries. "Why does everyone I befriend leave me?" he barely whispers, but Baekhyun hears it, a warm bead trickling from the corner of his eye, and he instinctively pulls the taller into a comforting hug.
"I won't ever leave, Chanyeol-"
That's all he managed to say, before everything went black.
÷
He's lying down.
He feels the familiar, starched sheets of a hospital bed beneath him. His body feels immensely burdensome, and the fluorescent lights above him only strengthened his throbbing headache.
"B-Baekhyun..."
His ears perk up at the sound of his mother weeping, and he hears Mihyun's voice amongst the sobbing. He opens his eyes, and he sees that he's being pushed by people in hospital scrubs and masks, his mother and sister trailing after his bed on wheels. He wants to speak, but he feels terribly dizzy, and his eyelids threatened to close, but his sister's scream of pain jolts him wide awake, and he finds himself in a surgical theatre, a needle flushing his system with anaesthetic so strong, that Baekhyun immediately relaxes, feeling himself drift off as a scalpel appears before his very eyes...
÷
Baekhyun returns from his flashback, and he sees that Chanyeol's fast asleep in his arms, his trenchcoat moist from the human's tears. Carefully shrugging the taller off of himself, Baekhyun carries him to the couch (the gangly limbs a bit of a hassle), setting him down to sleep his sorrow away. He swallows the lump in his throat when he feels the headache from his flashback come alive, pinching his nosebridge harshly as he faintly remembers the helpless look on Sehun's face and the sharp fingernails in waist.
÷
Baekhyun only joins Chanyeol at school after finishing the list the next day, careful not to run into Zitao or Luhan on the way, and he sees the taller eating his lunch alone. He's not surprised that Jongin and Kyungsoo aren't here, and decides to hunt them down - only to see the human get up from his seat, a different look in his eyes as he starts walking to the classrooms. Looking for his friends, probably, Baekhyun assumes, and he follows him, yet again.
Classroom after classroom, door after door, Baekhyun's a little confused as to where the duo could possibly be. After all, the school isn't that huge.
"Did you hear? Yifan's life support's going to be cut off soon."
"Yeah. Because his brother died, his family wants to end Yifan's misery."
Baekhyun suddenly sees Chanyeol head towards the room where the voices are coming from, and the death god knows how hurt Chanyeol's going to be, so he yanks the taller's arm towards him, pulling him back from the entrance of the music room - only to feel the ground slip before him, and collapse on the tiled floor.
÷
He's lying down, again.
But this time, there are no sheets under him, only blankets of cold dust - snow, he infers. His head feels like its cracked open, and his vision is practically flooded with crimson. The air around him is deathly freezing, but Baekhyun feels like his entire skin is adorned with burning flames, melting him at the very touch.
Craning his neck to look around, Baekhyun sees a barely recognisable, silver car smashed against a lamp post, and the ground's covered with grey snow... Until he sees the area around him. There's literally blood anywhere and everywhere around him, and his eyes widen in horror.
Is that... my blood?!
It doesn't take a genius to realise that they've been hit by a car, and he crashes back onto the ground, weak and frail. His vision's getting blurry, and his lips are chapped and dry to the core. As his eyes flutter shut, he feels the latex gloves of a paramedic against his scalp, raising him onto a rubbery texture, a stretcher, he supposes.
÷
His eyes roll back to the front of his head, and he returns to the real world, but it's too late.
Chanyeol's heard everything his "friends" had to say about him. His entire face looks broken, and Baekhyun can't do anything to fix it. Baekhyun feels absolutely terrible. He's the god here, why didn't he stop Chanyeol earlier? Why didn't he protect him? He doesn't say anything, because Chanyeol waves for him to follow him out of the music room corridor, and follows the taller without a word.
÷
The day of Yixing's funeral is a solemn one.
There's hardly anyone who doesn't look like they've been crushed by tonnes of deadweight, or had a bit of their soul taken away with them, with Yixing. If Baekhyun had taken a video of the funeral and shown it to Yixing, would he have been as grateful to Baekhyun for letting him leave?
Chanyeol's as quiet as he's been the day before, but then again, who isn't, at a funeral? The death god pulls his trenchcoat closer to his torso, stuffing his hands into the deep pockets.
"Poor Yixing. If only his brother hadn't smashed into that lamp post..."
Slightly interested, Baekhyun moves a little closer to the two women gossiping, eavesdropping cautiously.
"Was his brother drunk? They skid three metres off the road, and even killed an innocent man!"
Suddenly, Baekhyun feels a hand clasp his shoulder, and he's forced into darkness.
÷
He's not lying down anymore. In fact, he's walking.
With hands in his pockets, and a cheerful grin, he turns to look at his younger sister, who's speaking animatedly about how amazing the snow in the city looks, and how it never snows back home. They're strolling down the streets, thick layers of glittering white folded along the pavements.
Mihyun's eyes challenge the sparkling snow, the deep brown orbs shining brighter than any other star Baekhyun's seen in his lifetime. He knew how much his little sister loved the silver crystals, and took her to the city, where the weather forecast promised a blizzard of frost later on that morning. He laughs at her excitement, patting her head with a mittened hand lightly.
"Look Baekhyun," she gasps, a fog escaping her lips, only to evaporate as quickly as it appeared. She points to a lamp post, rusty and a little worn-out, but what catches their attention is the tiny ginger kitten, buried under a pile of snow, trapped by a strong rope that attached its tail to the post. "Humans are definitely the cruellest things in the world," she sighs, and digs up the cat underneath the snow.
Baekhyun feels a gush of pride, as he watches her untie the kitten from the rope, the orange cat instantly scampering into the distance, gleeful for its freedom. It doesn't last long, because from the alleyway behind Mihyun, Baekhyun sees the flashing lights of a vehicle, and without hesitation, he hustles her out of the way, the ashen car coming towards him without a second thought.
It's moments like these when everything happens in slow motion.
The car's windows are misty, but Baekhyun sees the shadows of two passengers behind the windscreen. He hears the car attempt to halt, the screeching of tyres piercing to his ears. The car comes closer, and closer, and closer, and-
Baekhyun flies backwards, landing on the ground about five feet from the car, ramming onto the concrete head-first. His eyes scramble to see which way is up, and he warm trickles of liquid run down the back of his neck. He feels vertigo, and his arms limply lie beside his body. He hears the unmistakable smashing sound of glass shattering and metal bashing together, and the car alarm goes off, yelling and screaming muted by his ears, because all he can hear is his mother, his sister, and the wind breezing past his hair, and he almost deludes it all to be just a dream... It's all just a dream...
÷
Baekhyun feels horribly numb, when he comes back to the real world.
Chanyeol is beside him, and his mouth is moving, he's speaking, his eyes are anxious and wide, but Baekhyun doesn't hear a word.
He feels hot tears streak his cheeks, but he's not sad, no, he's not. He's angry. He's awfully, completely furious.
He got killed, because of Yifan.
Yixing got injured, because of Yifan.
Chanyeol is so hurt and heartbroken, because Yifan won't fucking wake up.
The flame of hatred thrives throughout Baekhyun's veins, and he shrugs off Chanyeol gently, muttering something about being right back. When he stands up, he thinks about how this'll probably be the last time he'll ever see the human, and he embraces the taller, arms wrapped around him tightly, before leaning up to peck Chanyeol on the cheek. "I'm sorry," he whispers, and Chanyeol instantly replies, nervous and on edge, "What for?"
Baekhyun doesn't answer, leaving the human by himself, as he starts running out of the church.
÷
Slamming open the ward door, Baekhyun heaves short growls of rage, and the first thing he sees is an innocent table, sitting by the foot of Yifan's bed.
Crying out loud, Baekhyun flips the wooden table in vexation, the jug of water crashing onto the ground, and cups shattering follow it. The tablecloth's strewn across the floor, and Baekhyun continues, jerking the wires from yifan's heart rate monitor out with one rip, tearing out the IV-drip from Yifan's wrist along with it.
He yells again, this time, stamping on the bag of blood, plasma gurgling out from the plastic like a sewage, and it's been such a long time since Baekhyun felt like he could act without inhibitions.
"You ruined everything!" his voice echoes, and it cracks a little at the end, because he's so god damned distressed.
He's becoming so... human.
Death gods can't feel anything.
They can't feel anger.
He smashes the vase Chanyeol set up for Yifan against the wall.
They can't feel sympathy.
He remembers the look of pure affliction Yixing tries to hide behind his blissful smile.
They can't feel... love.
He thinks of Chanyeol grinning, the corners of his lips trembling as he utters the words, "Why does everyone I befriend leave me?"
He glares at the lifeless body, and without another thought, wrenches Yifan's soul out from his body, a look of disgust written all over Baekhyun's face. Yifan's soul is quiet. He knows what he's done wrong, but he looks into Baekhyun's eyes with a confused glance.
"What grudge do you hold against me?" he asks, scanning the death god closely.
With a terrifying beam and a falsely dulcet tone, Baekhyun replies, "I got slammed into a lamp post on the day my little sister turned 15. Whose fault do you think that is?"
Yifan widens his eyes in recognition, and Baekhyun takes a deep breath, composing himself after wrecking the other's ward room.
"Let's go. People are waiting for you," he quietly says, leading the way to the Gates of Mortality, and nobody breaks the silence after that.
÷
Sehun's waiting for them, when Baekhyun and Yifan get there.
The death god notices rings of red and blue and purple surrounding the gatekeeper's neck, and asks about it, but Sehun only smiles weakly, ignoring the question. As Yifan is about to walk through the gates, he turns back, and tries not to cry, "Take good care of Chanyeol, for me. I owe him that much."
Baekhyun pauses. He knows that Chanyeol's going to be extremely upset at him for breaking his promise, but hesitation flickers across his face as he remembers the bright grins the taller always wore when he was around Yifan.
Reaching out to grab Yifan's hand, Baekhyun stops the soul from entering the gates.
Sehun's interest piques, and he glances at the death god, a little taken aback at his actions, but he sees the guilt flood Baekhyun's face, and he instantaneously cries out, "N-No, please! Luhan's in a terrible mood, and I.. I can't deal with him! Please don't leave with Yifa-"
That's all it takes for Baekhyun to take off, dashing down the stairs with the soul's wrist amongst his fingers, his heart hammering in his ears, and he knows he's making a bad decision, and Sehun's most likely never going to see the light again, but he goes on anyway. He feels like he's going to throw up.
Sehun reaches out to grab Baekhyun by the coat, but he's a little too slow, because the death god escapes his clutch at the very last second. He collapses on the ground, knees buckling and fingers shaking. He doesn't even want to think about how Luhan's going to react to him letting another soul slip past his-
"How's work, darling?" Sehun's eyes shoot open when he hears the smooth voice, but his blood turns cold when a pair of lips latch onto his sensitive nape, canines digging into his neck.
÷
They're running, and Baekhyun almost doesn't hear the hushed whisper beside him.
"Where are we going?" Yifan timidly asks, and Baekhyun asks himself that too - he honestly doesn't know where to bring the latter, his body's most likely already dead, and unable to be revived, but he doesn't want to hand over Yifan, because the guilt will kill himself, sooner or later. He needs to put Yifan somewhere before he -
A pained yell comes from the soul, and Baekhyun covers his mouth, eyes frightened and body frozen.
He watches Yifan glow brightly, then fade translucent countless times, the soul's hands burrowing through his skin to search for this unscratchable, irresistible itch, and his lungs deflate, leaving him very, very breathless.
"W-What's happening to me?" he groans, and he looks over towards Baekhyun, horrified to his wits.
The death god is very silent, and only stares dumbly at Yifan.
"I said, what happened to me?" Yifan demands, as his desire to rip off his outer layer disappears, but his translucent glow still dancing across his skin. Baekhyun slowly speaks, "You.. have become a lost soul."
"A what?"
"A lost soul," Baekhyun explains, a little comforted by the fact that Yifan didn't full-on explode on him, "is someone who doesn't have a body, and cannot be reborn into a new one. You became a lost soul because you were out of a body for more than two hours. Lost souls usually return to Earth as wretched souls that haunt people, or they become part of the sky's workers... like me."
He lamely finishes the introduction to the afterlife, and Yifan only watches the death god carefully.
"Are you... A lost soul?"
He nods, his lips pursed into a thin smile, "And nobody sees the sky workers, unless they're a soul. They'll be alone for a eternity. And eternity's an awful long time to spend alone." He ends the warning with a slight chuckle, and Yifan breaks into a small beam, reaching over to ruffle Baekhyun's hair softly.
"I do deserve the solitude. After what I've done to you," his voice is firm, and Baekhyun wonders if the other even thought twice about it, but he agrees, taking Yifan back to the gates, where he expects a solid slap on the face from an extremely angry Sehun, but he only sees Luhan, curled up against the golden gates, eyes dark and unpleasant, but lips loving and friendly.
"You're so cute, Baekhyun. Where did you think you could escape with Yifan?" he chortles, twirling the ends of his sleeves around his fingers.
"Where's Sehun?" the death god urges, a little concerned, because Sehun never leaves his spot, and-
"In my room, waiting for me. And I was waiting for you. What do you want?"
Trying his best to push away that terribly disturbing image from his head, Baekhyun pushes Yifan towards Luhan, "He wants to be a sky worker."
Eyeing the lost soul up and down, Luhan snorts, rolling his eyes, "Don't waste my time, kid. You know very well that there're no spots left."
Leaning towards the ruler, Baekhyun whispers something into Luhan's ears, away from Yifan's hearing distance.
Slowly grinning, Luhan clicks his tongue, getting up onto his feet, "That can be arranged."
÷
Hopping down the stairwell that leads to the second stone of a calm river not far off from the city, Baekhyun smiles, no longer weighed down by his satchel.
He wonders if Yifan can take the duties of the Death God seriously, but brushes it off his mind. He's got problems of his own he has to handle now.
Gathering up his courage, Baekhyun slips through the wooden door, searching high and low in the apartment for a familiar head of auburn. He finds Chanyeol sitting in his room, quietly, but somehow, at peace. He honestly doesn't look as distraught as Baekhyun expected him to be, and is handling Yifan's death pretty well.
Without a second thought, Baekhyun strides towards the taller, fondly caressing Chanyeol's face from behind. His hands don't slip through like he thought it would, and Chanyeol turns, surprised and taken aback.
"Baekhyun?" he calls out, and his eyes glisten as they scan the lost soul in disbelief. Said spirit laughs soundlessly, sitting on Chanyeol's table, his feet hanging a few centimetres off the ground. He hears a sigh, and a bitter chuckle.
"Did you take Yifan?" Hesitantly, Baekhyun nods, "And I lost my job because he was there so late."
Chanyeol sits back, and thinks for a moment, before continuing, "Perhaps it wasn't that bad of an idea after all. I mean, I feel like I'm actually getting over him. Like his death is some fucked up form of closure for me."
Baekhyun mumbles, eyes darted towards the floor, "I'm sorry."
Shaking his head, Chanyeol holds Baekhyun's fingers tightly in his own, "No, I'm sorry. You lost your job because of me, didn't you? Besides, I knew it was a stupid plan from the start. I wanted Yifan to stay because I had nobody else, but really, I can't wish for eternity. Nobody can. There's bound to be a day when everyone leaves, and you've given me that bittersweet sip of reality. Thanks."
His lips gradually curve into a smile, and replies, "You've given me the answer to all the questions that's been gnawing at my brain for forever. Thank you."
Heaving a great sigh, Chanyeol leans against his desk, beaming at Baekhyun.
Baekhyun thinks that although they're separated by the fine line of mortality, he'll be alright. They'll be alright.
Because Baekhyun's not leaving Chanyeol. Not like everyone else.
A/N:
wow okay. i definitely didn't expect the word count to be this high, ahaha. i hope you liked it, and i hope you agree with me saying that it fits your prompt rather nicely! thanks for the lovely prompts, they were truly inspiring, and i had plenty of fun writing this for you! (although i had to redo this countless times because I kept accidentally deleting my work in my sleep. gah.)
One
Author: Anonymous until 1/30/14
For: Everyone
Pairing: Baekhyun/Chanyeol [side: Chanyeol/Kris]
Word Count: 7,100
Summary: the life may leave my lungs, but my heart will stay with you.
Warnings: mentions of character death
Rating: PG-13
One
Feeling around for his tattered and rain-spewed scroll, Baekhyun rummages through his worn-out satchel, as he hops down the stairwell that leads to the second stone of a calm river not far off from the city, an oversized trenchcoat flopping over his shoulders carelessly.
He rolls out the leather sheet, squinting to make sense of the scrawled ink that covers it from top to the bottom. If they're expecting me to collect all these before the next batch comes out, they could at least have written a much neater and legible list of names, Baekhyun grumbles and stashes the scroll back into his bag, after trying to memorise the first name on the list.
Wu Yifan.
The location of the man is in a nearby hospital, pretty famous for its miraculous medicine and lovely staff members. Baekhyun snorts and thinks about how expensive and complicated the hospital must be, considering the good reputation and the great location it was at, amongst plenty of important buildings.
His guess is pretty much on the dot, because the amount of technology present in a simple elevator seems to baffle Baekhyun with the unnecessary buttons and alert systems. He wonders what that blue button does...
Before Baekhyun does anything stupid, he pulls back his hand instinctively at the sharp, piercing sound of a chime above his head.
He waits for the doors to open, a woman in spotless turquoise scrubs stepping into the elevator. She has a styrofoam cup of coffee in one hand, a ballpoint pen in the other. She's clicking the pen almost every two seconds, and it's driving Baekhyun insane with every click.
"Funny. I don't remember pressing the button for level 8," she mutters to herself, as the elevator stops at said level, Baekhyun striding out quickly before she closes the doors on him.
He slips past busy nurses unnoticed, hands gripping his satchel's straps tightly and his pace at about a brisk-walk. Baekhyun's lack of presence doesn't worry him anymore. It used to, but after drilling the fact that he is a death god and nobody can see him into his head for a couple of years, he's quite alright with the silence. In fact, he welcomes it with open arms. Quiet is pretty hard to find in such a noisy world.
Ward 221B, intensive care unit. There you go, Baekhyun thinks, as he opens the door to the room, whistling a chippy tune and reaching for the patient's chest, his gloved hand passing through the hospital gown easily.
What he expects, is a half-dead patient to be lying in a bed, with probably one or two wilted flowers. A card or a basket of fruit, if the person is of some importance. What he doesn't expect, is for a young man with a head full of deep auburn to look straight at him, eyes wide open and eyebrows furrowing.
"What are you doing?" a gravelly croak escapes the man's thin lips. It's obvious that he's been crying.
Baekhyun freezes. His eyes are blank, and his hand stops exactly a centimetre into the medical garment of Yifan. Oh boy. This is going to be a hard situation to get out of.
But wait, did the man just acknowledge his presence?
Quite stunned and awfully surprised, Baekhyun stands in his spot, mouth agape and eyes large. It's been years since he's last had human contact, and this sudden confrontation is both nerve-wrecking and confusing.
"Wait, you can see me?" Baekhyun blurts out, eyeing the young man carefully for anything suspicious. The man chuckles and sarcastically replies, "Nah, I don't see anything, which is why I'm talking to thin air- Of course I see you."
Baekhyun juts out his bottom lip in a pout, and decides to go ahead with his assignment, hands digging deep into Yifan's chest. The young man raises his voice in panic, trying to avert Baekhyun's attention from Yifan to himself.
"I know who you are, from all the comic books I've read before! You take the bodies of those who're dead and eat them up, don't you? You sick creature," he accuses, voice loud and booming as he points a trembling finger at Baekhyun, observing the other's lips for any traces of blood or skin.
Suddenly bursting into a fit of uneasy laughter, Baekhyun finally pulls back his hand, shaking his head.
"What kind of comics do you read, kid? I'm just take people to the Gates of Mortality, where they get aged back into teeny weeny babies. And your friend here, unfortunately, has got to go. I don't know how you can see me, but usually people don't notice me, which is why I have no clue of how I'm going to easily break the news to you," he reaches over to tug on Yifan's arm lightly, and puppeteering the unconscious male's arm to wave at the young man, "Goodbye, friend."
The man instantly slaps Baekhyun's grasp off of Yifan, and he's yelling out something, but Baekhyun doesn't hear anything. He feels a sudden surge of light flash across his eyes, eyeballs rolling to the back of his head, and his vision goes completely white - he hears screaming, and he's not sure if that's him or somebody else, and he hears the man's deep, rumbling voice fade into nothing but strangled muffles in the distance.
÷
A strong breeze passes Baekhyun's ears, strumming gently through his hair, as he watches the endless plains of wildflowers and soft grass sway in the wind. He strolls through the fields, toes entangled with emerald locks, clothes fitting his petite frame snugly. Turning back, he sees a cottage. Blanketed under thick moss, the cream walls sturdily hold themselves against the current, and a woman, clad in rosy alabaster, is standing by the doorway.
"Baekhyun! Mihyun! Lunch is ready!"
Her voice is mellow, and if Baekhyun didn't pay attention, he wouldn't have heard it. The woman's face is blurry, but he's certain that she's his mother. There is nobody else but his mother who was capable of having that certain flair of grace while walking. At least nobody that he's ever known. He's walking towards her, when something, or someone, pounces onto his back.
He yelps, about to topple over, and he hears the familiar giggle of his younger sister. Baekhyun too, starts laughing, and grasps onto her slender wrists, charging towards the cottage as fast as his legs will go. She squeals happily, her thin, brown hair cascading over his shoulders, and Baekhyun smiles, leaning his face into the soft amber.
Baekhyun puts her down at the stairway of the cottage, and he takes a long, good look at her face. He makes a mental note not to forget it, and all of a sudden, she leans over and pecks him on the cheek quickly, before running into the dining room, grinning widely.
He reaches up to rub at the place she kissed, a small beam spreading across his face. He swears he heard a gentle 'thank you' murmured into his ear earlier.
÷
"Uh, Earth to Death God?"
Baekhyun suddenly snaps out of his trance, eyes unfocused and breath uneven. He stares into the young man's orbs, searching for the answers of a million questions whizzing through his head.
What was that? How did he give me a memory of my previous life?
The young man's eyebrows are raised, and Baekhyun is so very confused, but he knows for sure that he isn't touching him again, not for a while, anyway (his head is still throbbing from the flashback to the point where his vision is shaky).
"Anyway, I'm not letting you take Yifan away. Not now, not ever."
Sitting himself on a chair next to Yifan's bed, Baekhyun starts to ponder about the situation before him. This guy is the only person to have ever noticed him, and Baekhyun's a little curious about the young man, to the point where he really wants to know more about this peculiar, tall, human. He's not even sure what abilities he holds that allow him to see past the fine line of mortality, but he's definitely certain that he's going to find out, somehow. But the main reason why he's going to be around this man is the fact that Baekhyun's not human, he's a death god - and call it strange, but he wants to pretend that maybe, just maybe, he could be human too.
He observes the man closely, eyebrows furrowed. Without even thinking, he starts speaking.
"Hey, kid. Do you want your friend to stay?"
The young man's eyes light up, and he immediately agrees, palms pressed together. Sighing, Baekhyun knows he's going to regret this, but he nods.
"I won't take him. On one condition," Baekhyun sees worry fill the young man's face, spreading like blotches of ink in clear water, and he continues hesitantly, "I'll have to haunt you."
The young man twists his face into some form of displeasure, before breaking out into a grin, and snorting, "Sure."
Baekhyun feels a sense of relief, and the young man gets up, holding out his hand for a shake. "I'm Chanyeol. Thanks for saving my friend."
Smiling, the other waves back, careful not to get into contact with Chanyeol's outstretched hand (the pain from the flashback is still fresh in his memory), "Baekhyun. Thanks for being my hauntee."
÷
They reach Chanyeol's home hours after midnight, and Baekhyun learns that the taller goes to a high school around the area, and stays in a small apartment on the fifth floor. He also learns that Chanyeol is extremely forgetful.
"You left your keys inside?" Baekhyun groans, and Chanyeol sheepishly laughs, "Again."
Shaking his head, Baekhyun sighs, and passes through the door (after much concentration), opening it shortly. Chanyeol's face is absolutely in shock, and he stares dumbly at Baekhyun, stunned speechless.
"Are you getting in or not?"
Stumbling in, Chanyeol hurriedly passes Baekhyun, who only chuckles at the other's behaviour. He's probably toying with the possibility that Baekhyun'll break into his home at any time he pleases. This is, unfortunately, very, very true.
Looking around the apartment, he notices that it's pretty empty. There's only one chair at the dining table, one bed, one wardrobe, and practically no decorations, besides an electronic wall clock. He wonders if Chanyeol's into minimalism.
"Do you live alone?"
Chanyeol shrugs, returning from the kitchen with a glass of water.
"My dad passed away ages ago, and my mum's always working at weird times to pay school fees and rent," he quietly speaks as he sits down, "My brother never comes back. I'm wondering if he's even alive anymore."
Silently listening, Baekhyun stands next to the other, fidgeting uncomfortably, and feeling a sense of pity for the taller. He's never seen the smiley kid so... dull.
"Yifan's my best friend. I can't lose him too," Chanyeol suddenly says, looking up at once. His bronze eyes are wide open and determined, boring holes into Baekhyun's pupils.
"W-What happened to Yifan?" Baekhyun stutters, hoping it's not some sensitive topic that'll lead to more awkward silences, but Chanyeol only smiles sadly. He doesn't answer, finishing the glass of water in a long gulp.
"I'm going to bed. Night, ghostie."
His voice is suddenly smoky and thick, and Baekhyun tries not to notice the difference, but he's so awfully attracted to the deep, low pitch of sleepy Chanyeol. Trudging towards a mass of orange and white sheets, Chanyeol turns back towards Baekhyun.
"This," Chanyeol gestures to the wooden-framed bed, "Is where you sleep." He yanks off a layer of orange, and lays it out on the carpet, patting the duvet down nicely. As he spreads himself on the floor, Baekhyun realises that Chanyeol's giving up his bed for him, and he's about to protest against the choice, but what's the use of protesting to a person who's already asleep?
Amazing, Baekhyun thinks to himself, as he watches Chanyeol lose consciousness in the blink of an eye. He always did envy those who could sleep practically two seconds after lying down - he remembers having to recount the week's events before finally feeling a little tired.
Making himself comfortable on the snug bed, he gathers bunches of the fleecy comforter in between his fingers, and tilts his head a little to breathe in the musky, citrus essence that was undoubtedly Chanyeol.
He honestly feels horrible that he's using Chanyeol to get his life, well, shards of his life back, and the kid is way too nice for his conscience. Letting out a sigh, Baekhyun turns onto his side, feeling the cotton against his skin, the occasional snagged thread ticklish to the touch.
He doesn't sleep that night. He doesn't sleep, any night. But he enjoys pretending that he does. Perhaps it's just some routine his brain wasn't able to let go of, or the constant need to feel like he's not just some spirit that reaps out souls from corpses.
Baekhyun slowly reaches down, and he gently kneads tufts of Chanyeol's hair, playing with the locks as a way to keep himself busy. He surprises himself with the slight lowering of eyelids, and he immediately sits straight up, a little shaken. It's been years since he's been able to catch a mere wink of sleep, or even feel the urge to.
Looking back down at Chanyeol, the other decides that it's truly unfair that he gets the bed when he doesn't even sleep, and he carefully drags the taller up, his fingertips protected by the thick blankets. Gazing over the younger's toned yet terribly skinny limbs, he thinks about how lovely it'll be like to be held in those arms, how strong the scent of laundry detergent and shampoo will be, how human the sleeping male actually is.
He then decides that heck it, he can blame sleepwalking, and sneaks his way in between those arms, thin polyester separating the two. Grinning to himself, Baekhyun knows that this probably isn't what he's meant to do, but he really just wants to give in to the devil on his shoulders, just once.
He finds himself wandering between tides of consciousness later on that night.
÷
Baekhyun finds himself following Chanyeol on his way to school.
He really shouldn't be tailing a kid when he should be doing his job, but his feet just won't listen to him - they prefer the adventurous trail of curiosity in high school to the gutted route of the dead, and Baekhyun slowly decides that perhaps it's not so bad to follow your heart every once in a while.
"So, you're haunting me at school, too?" the taller chortles, as he tightens his grip on the straps of his haversack. Shrugging, Baekhyun only smiles, and walks behind the other, observing the loose hair that curls around his nape.
Contemplating brushing them off, Baekhyun is on his tiptoes and about to reach for the russet strands, when Chanyeol raises his voice.
"Jongin! Kyungsoo!" he calls, and frightened, Baekhyun immediately pulls back his hand as if he was scalded; peeking over the taller's shoulders timidly.
He sees two boys, probably around Chanyeol's age, head towards them, one the complete polar opposite of the other.
The one on the left has an olive glow on his skin, eyes dark and heavy-lidded, lips a shade of pastel tan, uniform loose and untidy, hanging off his frame - the sleeves stained with all the colours of the horizon, some splotches larger than others - messy, but somehow suitable for this image he's going for.
The one on the right was fair, almost deathly pale, his eyes wide and lively, thick and full lips flourishing with vibrant coral, his uniform absolutely prim and proper - neither a single stain nor crease visible, and to top it off, a prefect's tie hanging nicely from his neck.
Baekhyun glances back at Chanyeol, and he seems to really know these two quite fondly, because his eyes are gleaming and almost blindingly cheerful, and he watches them begin to chatter on about the newest Pokémon videogame, and other news that certainly doesn't concern Baekhyun in the least bit.
Seeing Chanyeol mingle with his friends makes Baekhyun rather glad that he had such great friends, but the moment the duo excuse themselves from the lunch table with an awfully suspicious look, Baekhyun senses something awry, and he too exits the cafeteria, leaving Chanyeol to quietly chew on his food by himself.
Trailing the two from a small distance, Baekhyun overhears the one named Kyungsoo begin speaking in a hushed tone.
"Don't you feel that Chanyeol's more soulless as of lately?"
"Yeah, but he's always been like this since Yifan got into a coma, hasn't he?"
"No, something must've happened. I don't blame him, though. Chanyeol's always been with Yifan since preschool, everyone believed that they were dating," Kyungsoo mutters, looking downwards.
Jongin sighs, and pats Kyungsoo's shoulder with pity-glistened eyes, "Poor Chanyeol. Yifan's probably never going to wake up again. We should leave him before he becomes an emotional wreck. Who knows what he's capable of?"
Surprised, Baekhyun presses himself against the wall, alarmed at the situation Chanyeol's in. He's just about to return to the lonesome kid in panic when he feels fingers strongly wrapped around his forearm.
Turning back, Baekhyun's eyes enlarge when he sees Tao, the god of life. He's the one who brings the reborned souls back down to Earth, and also one of Baekhyun's not-so-acquainted colleagues in the sky.
"Baekhyun. What are you doing? You need to bring the souls up to the gates, Sehun's going insane! You're so irresponsible," Tao chastises, eyes squinted and glinting with annoyance.
He recalls Sehun's inability to stay calm, especially when it concerns his job, and Baekhyun immediately flees the school, Tao disappearing into thin air after huffing something about Baekhyun's lack of diligence.
If nobody passes through the gates, then the ruler of the sky will be alerted. And as far as everyone knows, Luhan is definitely not somebody you can piss off and get away scot-free. Especially since the schedule's been so tight as of lately, Luhan's probably one slacker away from losing it.
Dashing through names and souls and houses and doors, Baekhyun's easily breathless, but he doesn't stop for even a second to hesitate, knowing that if Luhan was to be informed of him not doing his job, not even a hair on Baekhyun's pretty little head will be touched. Sehun's entire limb, however, might be in danger. (Luhan always did favour torturing the frail to weakening the strong, that sadist)
÷
Clutching his satchel in habit, Baekhyun nervously enters a hospital, and he skips up the flights of stairs, worry clouding his mind. He opens the door of a ward, and sincerely hopes that no other people like Chanyeol will be sitting beside those bleached-white bed sheets.
Slightly relieved that the patient was alone, Baekhyun reaches through the hospital gown, and pulls out the soul of the man in one slick move.
"W-What's happening?" the soul stutters, hand trembling furiously, and eyes darting around aimlessly.
Baekhyun's a little shocked that the soul could speak, unlike many others, but he's pretty strapped for time, so he yanks the arm of the soul along on his journey back to the river beside the city, sprinting with all his might (Luhan's evil eyes are a splendid motivation for him to run faster).
"You can talk?" Baekhyun mumbles, and the soul blinks, dazed and a little confused. Nodding, he feels himself flow in the breeze, his feet not even touching the ground. He's pulled beside Baekhyun, wrist still in the other's grip and he stares at the death god, puzzled, "Yeah. Guess I can."
Juggling all the questions inside his head, Baekhyun speaks, and he notes for himself to shove his nose out of everyone's business, because it can get him into deep trouble someday, "Can you tell me about your past life?"
The soul is silent for a while, and Baekhyun instantly apologises, "You don't have to if you don't want to." Beaming, the soul shakes his head and continues sprinting, "I remember it. I'm just thinking as to where I should start."
"The beginning? That's always the best place to start," Baekhyun chuckles, continuing to dodge cars as he runs along the highways and bridges, the soul clinging onto the death god like a balloon.
The soul clears his throat, before starting, "I'm Yixing. Dancing is practically my entire life. Well, used to be my entire life. Haha. I perform at different places, you know, whatever gig I can get, I grab it."
"Well... How did you end up in the immobile section of the hospital?" Baekhyun questions, and Yixing painfully forces out a grin.
"I got into a car crash on the way home from a performance. My brother was driving, and it was snowing, so I think we skidded. Been paralysed ever since," Yixing hums, eyes drooping, "I'm glad to relieve my family from their burden. My life support bills were way too high for them to afford, so I'm happy that they don't have to spend that much money anymore."
Feeling a pull on his heartstrings, Baekhyun squeezes Yixing's hand, turning to face the soul.
"Don't say that. I'm sure your family isn't happy to see you go," he assures, as they skip off the gleaming stone, and pursue their way up the stairway to the Gates of Mortality.
Shrugging and smiling half-heartedly, Yixing is brought to the gates, and at the sight of Sehun, Baekhyun sheepishly turns his head away, releasing Yixing's hand from his hold, the soul passing through the gates, and flooding down the hill that leads back down to Earth.
"Hey, Baekhyun," Sehun's entire face is filled with anxiety, and Baekhyun already feels the guilt hitting him hard.
Apologising continuously, the death god hangs his head in embarrassment, and Sehun reaches out to ruffle Baekhyun's cinnamon bangs, laughing quietly.
"I'm not mad, just concerned," he continues, "You're always punctual and good with soul collecting... Did something happen?"
Pausing for a while, Baekhyun shakes his head, instantaneously denying that anything was amiss.
"You know you can tell me anythin-"
Sehun's about to press on about the subject, when suddenly, an icy hand wraps around his waist - slender fingers delicately placing themselves by Sehun's hips, and a bony chin resting on the gatekeeper's shoulder.
"What's the hold-up, my love?"
Almost immediately, all the colour flushes from his face, and Baekhyun's frozen solid in his spot, watching as Luhan continues to purr and mewl in amusement, Sehun struggling to even speak. "I-I'm sorry, sir!" is all he's able to choke up, Baekhyun sensing the situation to be rather uncomfortable to watch.
"I've told you countless times, call me Lu-ge," Luhan curls his lips into a sweet and loving beam, but Baekhyun notices his fingers digging into Sehun's hip, the expression on the younger's face nothing but pure agony - but he's silent, and endures the pain. Luhan turns his attention towards the death god, eyes peering and sharp, "Haven't you got something to do, Baekhyun?"
Taking this opportunity to flee, the death god turns on his heels and is about to leave, when he hears Luhan's voice coming from directly beside his ear, "I know who you're hiding, sweetheart, give him up. I know everything, Baekhyun!"
Eyes widening, Baekhyun darts away from the gates in fear, hearing the hollow cackle of the ruler echoing behind him. He needs to return him. He needs to go to Chanyeol. He needs to give back Yifan.
÷
When he does reach Chanyeol, though, all his thoughts dissipate. The taller is visibly upset, sitting by the balcony of his apartment, scratching at the wooden floor quietly.
"Chanyeol, what's wrong?"
Looking up, the doe-eyed male replies, his voice laced with emotion, "Yifan's brother, Yixing passed away earlier on this afternoon."
Baekhyun can't say that he's not surprised, and he feels his eyebrows raise, along with the enlarging of his eyes.
"He danced so well, he had all the talent anyone could ever wish for," Chanyeol's voice is trembling, and he tries to cover it up with a smile, that even Baekhyun can tell is a forced one, "He taught me how to play the guitar, he'd laugh when I failed at dancing, but he still had the patience to teach me again and again. He was like an angel, you know? Always blaming himself for everything even when it's not his fault. Why did this have to happen, Baekhyun? Why did he have to fucking die?"
At this point, tears are already streaming down his face, and he's shaking, heaving, sniffing, his chin leaned towards his chest, fringe hanging over his forehead and hiding his face because Chanyeol always thinks that he's ugliest when he cries. "Why does everyone I befriend leave me?" he barely whispers, but Baekhyun hears it, a warm bead trickling from the corner of his eye, and he instinctively pulls the taller into a comforting hug.
"I won't ever leave, Chanyeol-"
That's all he managed to say, before everything went black.
÷
He's lying down.
He feels the familiar, starched sheets of a hospital bed beneath him. His body feels immensely burdensome, and the fluorescent lights above him only strengthened his throbbing headache.
"B-Baekhyun..."
His ears perk up at the sound of his mother weeping, and he hears Mihyun's voice amongst the sobbing. He opens his eyes, and he sees that he's being pushed by people in hospital scrubs and masks, his mother and sister trailing after his bed on wheels. He wants to speak, but he feels terribly dizzy, and his eyelids threatened to close, but his sister's scream of pain jolts him wide awake, and he finds himself in a surgical theatre, a needle flushing his system with anaesthetic so strong, that Baekhyun immediately relaxes, feeling himself drift off as a scalpel appears before his very eyes...
÷
Baekhyun returns from his flashback, and he sees that Chanyeol's fast asleep in his arms, his trenchcoat moist from the human's tears. Carefully shrugging the taller off of himself, Baekhyun carries him to the couch (the gangly limbs a bit of a hassle), setting him down to sleep his sorrow away. He swallows the lump in his throat when he feels the headache from his flashback come alive, pinching his nosebridge harshly as he faintly remembers the helpless look on Sehun's face and the sharp fingernails in waist.
÷
Baekhyun only joins Chanyeol at school after finishing the list the next day, careful not to run into Zitao or Luhan on the way, and he sees the taller eating his lunch alone. He's not surprised that Jongin and Kyungsoo aren't here, and decides to hunt them down - only to see the human get up from his seat, a different look in his eyes as he starts walking to the classrooms. Looking for his friends, probably, Baekhyun assumes, and he follows him, yet again.
Classroom after classroom, door after door, Baekhyun's a little confused as to where the duo could possibly be. After all, the school isn't that huge.
"Did you hear? Yifan's life support's going to be cut off soon."
"Yeah. Because his brother died, his family wants to end Yifan's misery."
Baekhyun suddenly sees Chanyeol head towards the room where the voices are coming from, and the death god knows how hurt Chanyeol's going to be, so he yanks the taller's arm towards him, pulling him back from the entrance of the music room - only to feel the ground slip before him, and collapse on the tiled floor.
÷
He's lying down, again.
But this time, there are no sheets under him, only blankets of cold dust - snow, he infers. His head feels like its cracked open, and his vision is practically flooded with crimson. The air around him is deathly freezing, but Baekhyun feels like his entire skin is adorned with burning flames, melting him at the very touch.
Craning his neck to look around, Baekhyun sees a barely recognisable, silver car smashed against a lamp post, and the ground's covered with grey snow... Until he sees the area around him. There's literally blood anywhere and everywhere around him, and his eyes widen in horror.
Is that... my blood?!
It doesn't take a genius to realise that they've been hit by a car, and he crashes back onto the ground, weak and frail. His vision's getting blurry, and his lips are chapped and dry to the core. As his eyes flutter shut, he feels the latex gloves of a paramedic against his scalp, raising him onto a rubbery texture, a stretcher, he supposes.
÷
His eyes roll back to the front of his head, and he returns to the real world, but it's too late.
Chanyeol's heard everything his "friends" had to say about him. His entire face looks broken, and Baekhyun can't do anything to fix it. Baekhyun feels absolutely terrible. He's the god here, why didn't he stop Chanyeol earlier? Why didn't he protect him? He doesn't say anything, because Chanyeol waves for him to follow him out of the music room corridor, and follows the taller without a word.
÷
The day of Yixing's funeral is a solemn one.
There's hardly anyone who doesn't look like they've been crushed by tonnes of deadweight, or had a bit of their soul taken away with them, with Yixing. If Baekhyun had taken a video of the funeral and shown it to Yixing, would he have been as grateful to Baekhyun for letting him leave?
Chanyeol's as quiet as he's been the day before, but then again, who isn't, at a funeral? The death god pulls his trenchcoat closer to his torso, stuffing his hands into the deep pockets.
"Poor Yixing. If only his brother hadn't smashed into that lamp post..."
Slightly interested, Baekhyun moves a little closer to the two women gossiping, eavesdropping cautiously.
"Was his brother drunk? They skid three metres off the road, and even killed an innocent man!"
Suddenly, Baekhyun feels a hand clasp his shoulder, and he's forced into darkness.
÷
He's not lying down anymore. In fact, he's walking.
With hands in his pockets, and a cheerful grin, he turns to look at his younger sister, who's speaking animatedly about how amazing the snow in the city looks, and how it never snows back home. They're strolling down the streets, thick layers of glittering white folded along the pavements.
Mihyun's eyes challenge the sparkling snow, the deep brown orbs shining brighter than any other star Baekhyun's seen in his lifetime. He knew how much his little sister loved the silver crystals, and took her to the city, where the weather forecast promised a blizzard of frost later on that morning. He laughs at her excitement, patting her head with a mittened hand lightly.
"Look Baekhyun," she gasps, a fog escaping her lips, only to evaporate as quickly as it appeared. She points to a lamp post, rusty and a little worn-out, but what catches their attention is the tiny ginger kitten, buried under a pile of snow, trapped by a strong rope that attached its tail to the post. "Humans are definitely the cruellest things in the world," she sighs, and digs up the cat underneath the snow.
Baekhyun feels a gush of pride, as he watches her untie the kitten from the rope, the orange cat instantly scampering into the distance, gleeful for its freedom. It doesn't last long, because from the alleyway behind Mihyun, Baekhyun sees the flashing lights of a vehicle, and without hesitation, he hustles her out of the way, the ashen car coming towards him without a second thought.
It's moments like these when everything happens in slow motion.
The car's windows are misty, but Baekhyun sees the shadows of two passengers behind the windscreen. He hears the car attempt to halt, the screeching of tyres piercing to his ears. The car comes closer, and closer, and closer, and-
Baekhyun flies backwards, landing on the ground about five feet from the car, ramming onto the concrete head-first. His eyes scramble to see which way is up, and he warm trickles of liquid run down the back of his neck. He feels vertigo, and his arms limply lie beside his body. He hears the unmistakable smashing sound of glass shattering and metal bashing together, and the car alarm goes off, yelling and screaming muted by his ears, because all he can hear is his mother, his sister, and the wind breezing past his hair, and he almost deludes it all to be just a dream... It's all just a dream...
÷
Baekhyun feels horribly numb, when he comes back to the real world.
Chanyeol is beside him, and his mouth is moving, he's speaking, his eyes are anxious and wide, but Baekhyun doesn't hear a word.
He feels hot tears streak his cheeks, but he's not sad, no, he's not. He's angry. He's awfully, completely furious.
He got killed, because of Yifan.
Yixing got injured, because of Yifan.
Chanyeol is so hurt and heartbroken, because Yifan won't fucking wake up.
The flame of hatred thrives throughout Baekhyun's veins, and he shrugs off Chanyeol gently, muttering something about being right back. When he stands up, he thinks about how this'll probably be the last time he'll ever see the human, and he embraces the taller, arms wrapped around him tightly, before leaning up to peck Chanyeol on the cheek. "I'm sorry," he whispers, and Chanyeol instantly replies, nervous and on edge, "What for?"
Baekhyun doesn't answer, leaving the human by himself, as he starts running out of the church.
÷
Slamming open the ward door, Baekhyun heaves short growls of rage, and the first thing he sees is an innocent table, sitting by the foot of Yifan's bed.
Crying out loud, Baekhyun flips the wooden table in vexation, the jug of water crashing onto the ground, and cups shattering follow it. The tablecloth's strewn across the floor, and Baekhyun continues, jerking the wires from yifan's heart rate monitor out with one rip, tearing out the IV-drip from Yifan's wrist along with it.
He yells again, this time, stamping on the bag of blood, plasma gurgling out from the plastic like a sewage, and it's been such a long time since Baekhyun felt like he could act without inhibitions.
"You ruined everything!" his voice echoes, and it cracks a little at the end, because he's so god damned distressed.
He's becoming so... human.
Death gods can't feel anything.
They can't feel anger.
He smashes the vase Chanyeol set up for Yifan against the wall.
They can't feel sympathy.
He remembers the look of pure affliction Yixing tries to hide behind his blissful smile.
They can't feel... love.
He thinks of Chanyeol grinning, the corners of his lips trembling as he utters the words, "Why does everyone I befriend leave me?"
He glares at the lifeless body, and without another thought, wrenches Yifan's soul out from his body, a look of disgust written all over Baekhyun's face. Yifan's soul is quiet. He knows what he's done wrong, but he looks into Baekhyun's eyes with a confused glance.
"What grudge do you hold against me?" he asks, scanning the death god closely.
With a terrifying beam and a falsely dulcet tone, Baekhyun replies, "I got slammed into a lamp post on the day my little sister turned 15. Whose fault do you think that is?"
Yifan widens his eyes in recognition, and Baekhyun takes a deep breath, composing himself after wrecking the other's ward room.
"Let's go. People are waiting for you," he quietly says, leading the way to the Gates of Mortality, and nobody breaks the silence after that.
÷
Sehun's waiting for them, when Baekhyun and Yifan get there.
The death god notices rings of red and blue and purple surrounding the gatekeeper's neck, and asks about it, but Sehun only smiles weakly, ignoring the question. As Yifan is about to walk through the gates, he turns back, and tries not to cry, "Take good care of Chanyeol, for me. I owe him that much."
Baekhyun pauses. He knows that Chanyeol's going to be extremely upset at him for breaking his promise, but hesitation flickers across his face as he remembers the bright grins the taller always wore when he was around Yifan.
Reaching out to grab Yifan's hand, Baekhyun stops the soul from entering the gates.
Sehun's interest piques, and he glances at the death god, a little taken aback at his actions, but he sees the guilt flood Baekhyun's face, and he instantaneously cries out, "N-No, please! Luhan's in a terrible mood, and I.. I can't deal with him! Please don't leave with Yifa-"
That's all it takes for Baekhyun to take off, dashing down the stairs with the soul's wrist amongst his fingers, his heart hammering in his ears, and he knows he's making a bad decision, and Sehun's most likely never going to see the light again, but he goes on anyway. He feels like he's going to throw up.
Sehun reaches out to grab Baekhyun by the coat, but he's a little too slow, because the death god escapes his clutch at the very last second. He collapses on the ground, knees buckling and fingers shaking. He doesn't even want to think about how Luhan's going to react to him letting another soul slip past his-
"How's work, darling?" Sehun's eyes shoot open when he hears the smooth voice, but his blood turns cold when a pair of lips latch onto his sensitive nape, canines digging into his neck.
÷
They're running, and Baekhyun almost doesn't hear the hushed whisper beside him.
"Where are we going?" Yifan timidly asks, and Baekhyun asks himself that too - he honestly doesn't know where to bring the latter, his body's most likely already dead, and unable to be revived, but he doesn't want to hand over Yifan, because the guilt will kill himself, sooner or later. He needs to put Yifan somewhere before he -
A pained yell comes from the soul, and Baekhyun covers his mouth, eyes frightened and body frozen.
He watches Yifan glow brightly, then fade translucent countless times, the soul's hands burrowing through his skin to search for this unscratchable, irresistible itch, and his lungs deflate, leaving him very, very breathless.
"W-What's happening to me?" he groans, and he looks over towards Baekhyun, horrified to his wits.
The death god is very silent, and only stares dumbly at Yifan.
"I said, what happened to me?" Yifan demands, as his desire to rip off his outer layer disappears, but his translucent glow still dancing across his skin. Baekhyun slowly speaks, "You.. have become a lost soul."
"A what?"
"A lost soul," Baekhyun explains, a little comforted by the fact that Yifan didn't full-on explode on him, "is someone who doesn't have a body, and cannot be reborn into a new one. You became a lost soul because you were out of a body for more than two hours. Lost souls usually return to Earth as wretched souls that haunt people, or they become part of the sky's workers... like me."
He lamely finishes the introduction to the afterlife, and Yifan only watches the death god carefully.
"Are you... A lost soul?"
He nods, his lips pursed into a thin smile, "And nobody sees the sky workers, unless they're a soul. They'll be alone for a eternity. And eternity's an awful long time to spend alone." He ends the warning with a slight chuckle, and Yifan breaks into a small beam, reaching over to ruffle Baekhyun's hair softly.
"I do deserve the solitude. After what I've done to you," his voice is firm, and Baekhyun wonders if the other even thought twice about it, but he agrees, taking Yifan back to the gates, where he expects a solid slap on the face from an extremely angry Sehun, but he only sees Luhan, curled up against the golden gates, eyes dark and unpleasant, but lips loving and friendly.
"You're so cute, Baekhyun. Where did you think you could escape with Yifan?" he chortles, twirling the ends of his sleeves around his fingers.
"Where's Sehun?" the death god urges, a little concerned, because Sehun never leaves his spot, and-
"In my room, waiting for me. And I was waiting for you. What do you want?"
Trying his best to push away that terribly disturbing image from his head, Baekhyun pushes Yifan towards Luhan, "He wants to be a sky worker."
Eyeing the lost soul up and down, Luhan snorts, rolling his eyes, "Don't waste my time, kid. You know very well that there're no spots left."
Leaning towards the ruler, Baekhyun whispers something into Luhan's ears, away from Yifan's hearing distance.
Slowly grinning, Luhan clicks his tongue, getting up onto his feet, "That can be arranged."
÷
Hopping down the stairwell that leads to the second stone of a calm river not far off from the city, Baekhyun smiles, no longer weighed down by his satchel.
He wonders if Yifan can take the duties of the Death God seriously, but brushes it off his mind. He's got problems of his own he has to handle now.
Gathering up his courage, Baekhyun slips through the wooden door, searching high and low in the apartment for a familiar head of auburn. He finds Chanyeol sitting in his room, quietly, but somehow, at peace. He honestly doesn't look as distraught as Baekhyun expected him to be, and is handling Yifan's death pretty well.
Without a second thought, Baekhyun strides towards the taller, fondly caressing Chanyeol's face from behind. His hands don't slip through like he thought it would, and Chanyeol turns, surprised and taken aback.
"Baekhyun?" he calls out, and his eyes glisten as they scan the lost soul in disbelief. Said spirit laughs soundlessly, sitting on Chanyeol's table, his feet hanging a few centimetres off the ground. He hears a sigh, and a bitter chuckle.
"Did you take Yifan?" Hesitantly, Baekhyun nods, "And I lost my job because he was there so late."
Chanyeol sits back, and thinks for a moment, before continuing, "Perhaps it wasn't that bad of an idea after all. I mean, I feel like I'm actually getting over him. Like his death is some fucked up form of closure for me."
Baekhyun mumbles, eyes darted towards the floor, "I'm sorry."
Shaking his head, Chanyeol holds Baekhyun's fingers tightly in his own, "No, I'm sorry. You lost your job because of me, didn't you? Besides, I knew it was a stupid plan from the start. I wanted Yifan to stay because I had nobody else, but really, I can't wish for eternity. Nobody can. There's bound to be a day when everyone leaves, and you've given me that bittersweet sip of reality. Thanks."
His lips gradually curve into a smile, and replies, "You've given me the answer to all the questions that's been gnawing at my brain for forever. Thank you."
Heaving a great sigh, Chanyeol leans against his desk, beaming at Baekhyun.
Baekhyun thinks that although they're separated by the fine line of mortality, he'll be alright. They'll be alright.
Because Baekhyun's not leaving Chanyeol. Not like everyone else.
A/N:
wow okay. i definitely didn't expect the word count to be this high, ahaha. i hope you liked it, and i hope you agree with me saying that it fits your prompt rather nicely! thanks for the lovely prompts, they were truly inspiring, and i had plenty of fun writing this for you! (although i had to redo this countless times because I kept accidentally deleting my work in my sleep. gah.)
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