nearly 5am the night before my midterm

you sure as better believe i love you guys

          Tao ran upstairs and collapsed at the entrance to the attic when he smelled the dragon’s blood covering the genie tallow candles. “Chanyeol!” Tao screamed, “Chanyeol! Help!” he screeched. “Put these candles out.” He cried downstairs. Tao couldn’t move. He was stuck staring at Joonmyun’s lifeless face until Chanyeol got there.

           “Joonmyun?” Chanyeol rushed up to his friend.

           “Chanyeol! Candles!!! Please!!!” Tao screamed, tears blurring his vision. The gangly man did as he was told.

           “Joonmyun…” Tao whimpered as he crawled through the blood and cradled his lover. “You can’t leave me!” He cried. The tears fell onto his face and his eyes opened wide enough to see Tao and smile softly. “You can’t leave me! I love you. I know I’m selfish but that’s why you can’t leave me. He leaned down to kiss the brunet whose skin was so cold.

           Joonmyun only had enough strength to mouth the words ‘I love you, Tao’ before falling still.

           Tao let out a wail of pain that shook windows for miles.

           “We – We have to call an ambulance.” Chanyeol sobbed.

           “No! Help me bring him down, I need to bathe him.”

           “But… He needs help… What happened?”

           “Ask your boyfriend. He knows. He’s always known…” He sobbed once.

           Once they had gotten Joonmyun into the bathtub, Chanyeol ran downstairs and grabbed Baekhyun by the shirt, lifting him off of the chair so they were at eye level with each other. He had been biting his nail nervously, waiting for this, like in his nightmares. At least now he could find out how it ends.

           “What did you know?” He put the other man down, “Tao said you know something. Why didn’t you stop this?” He stopped speaking when he realized that Baekhyun was standing there, looking up at him with tears rolling down his face.

           “He would have picked some other time to do this if I tried to stop him. I can’t do anything” He kicked one of the sturdy couch legs “This power is ing worthless.”

           “You know who did this” Chanyeol’s voice went deeply serious.

           “Tao needs him for something. You can’t touch him.”

           Tao shouted for them from the bedroom. “Watch him for me. Baekhyun, make sure nothing approaches him. If you see anything, shout for me.” He nodded.

           “What about me?” Chanyeol asked.

           “Keep them safe.” Chanyeol nodded as Tao ran upstairs without looking at anything. He floated up to the tower room and smirked when he saw the fresh blood on the broken window. He flew downstairs and stabbed the broken glass into Joonmyun’s arm. He lay down next to Joonmyun and told the two men to keep both of their bodies safe. Tao closed his eyes and opened them somewhere else.

@ ~*--~~~~ (it's a rose)

           Across the street, Kris had just made a phone call.

           “I don’t know if there is anything you can do anymore but I need your help.” Kris’ voice was heavy with emotion.

           “What’s wrong?” The voice on the other end asked.

           “I need you to go to the house across the street from mine and ask to see Suho. Do what you can to see him and don’t take no for an answer. Maybe there is still time to help him.”

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           “I know you’re here!” Tao shouted into the emptiness. “I need you!” A black cloud floated toward him. It started to solidify into a humanoid shape. The features became more defined and it looked just like Joonmyun. “You know what I want from you then…” Tao said to the figure. He kept his fists balled at his sides so he wouldn’t try to touch the figure that looked so much like his mate.

           The form changed. “Luhan… please. Time is running short. I cannot bring Joonmyun back without your help.”

           “I thought you wouldn’t resurrect another human for your masters ever again. You held good on your word for a thousand years. These masters must have been very persuasive.”

           “I have no master. Joonmyun is my mate.”

           “Seriously?” He didn't look entirely convinced.

           “Yeah... in the short time I’ve known him, he’s become my world. He set me free, Luhan.” Tao smiled softly.

           “Let’s ask him if he wants to go back… Don’t be too disappointed if he can’t give up paradise.”

           Another cloud materialized and turned into Joonmyun. “Tao!” He ran toward the genie.

           “Not so fast.” The psychopomp snapped his fingers and Joonmyun froze in place. He was struggling hard and trying to get to his mate. “KimJoonmyun. You have seen paradise and all it has to offer you. All that is on the other side can be yours. Do you still choose to go back to earth to be with this genie? You can never go back if you do.”

           “Yes… With all my heart, yes.” He said softly as if he was trying not to cry. Tao twined their fingers together.

           “You know what to do.” Luhan said to Tao.

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           There was a knock on the front door and Chanyeol answered. “I was sent here to see Suho.”

           “He’s… gone.” Chanyeol said, his voice catching in his throat.

           “Let me be the judge of that. Just let me see him.” Chanyeol swore this man had a weird trick or something going on because he agreed too easily to let this stranger see his friend. Chanyeol showed him upstairs.

           Baekhyun was watching the two on the bed intently when the voice behind him startled him. “Which one is Suho?” Baekhyun blocked the view of the newcomer from the two bodies and took a defensive pose.

           “You can’t have him! What the hell are you?” Baekhyun shouted.

           “I’m a medic” He said simply.

           “Medics don’t have horns in the middle of their foreheads.” Chanyeol looked confused as he looked at the medic’s head and saw nothing.

           “You can see it?”

           “Plain as day… What do you want?”

           “I was sent by Kris to look at him.”

           Baekhyun scoffed “He’s remorseful, that’s good.” He moved out of the way of Joonmyun, “Help him.”

           The medic examined Joonmyun’s hands, then looked into Joonmyun’s eyes. They didn’t close on their own. “His eyes are going to be so dry when the genie brings him back. Lucky you, finding a genie that’s willing to resurrect people. Not too many would be willing to fulfill that wish.”

           “He did it on his own. He’s not someone we order around” Baekhyun smiled softly.

           “It’s insane how much those two love each other.” Chanyeol said matching Baekhyun’s expression.

           “Huh… let’s see what I can do from this end.” The medic cracked his knuckles then ran his fingers along Joonmyun’s wounds making them knit back together under his hands but making sure to avoid the shard of glass. “Some of these are pretty deep.”

           He healed the wounds then sat in silence, waiting with the other two.

           A few moments later, a cloud of black smoke flew out of Tao’s mouth. The medic quickly covered Joonmyun’s body with his own. “Stay away from him!”

           Chanyeol wondered what the medic was talking to. He knew it wasn’t good by the way Baekhyun hid behind him. The black smoke that Chanyeol couldn’t see solidified into a skeleton. The tall man shivered imperceptibly.

           “I spent all this time fixing him.” The medic said sternly.

           The skeleton formed skin and a mouth that Chanyeol could hear words coming from. ”Don’t be an idiot, Yixing, I’m not here to take him. I was being Zitao's guide back. I’m here to make sure the process goes smoothly.” The man with bright red hair looked at Yixing, “Why are you here?”

           “You mean aside from Zitao’s scream of pain heard 'round the world? Kris sent me.”

           “Finally realized what he did no doubt– Ah here they come.” Luhan said with a smile.

           Tao sat up abruptly and kissed Joonmyun’s body. He covered the other’s nose and mouth. Luhan started rubbing Joonmyun’s throat like one would when they try to get an animal to swallow a pill. Joonmyun gasped for air when Tao pulled the shard of glass from his arm. He never moved beyond that.

           Tao Joonmyun’s cheek and started to cry. He hovered over his lover, “Please angel, wake up. I will fade away and die without you… Please.” He sobbed. His tears fell onto Joonmyun’s face.

           “Doesn’t he need like blood or something?” Chanyeol asked.

           “Do not worry about it, ParkChanyeol, he’s currently getting a transfusion of sorts.” Luhan chuckled to himself.

           Tao continued to hover over his mate, sobbing and calling his name.

           “I think we should let them be for now.” Luhan said, “Make sure you bring his body temperature up. He can’t do it himself yet.” He said as he left the room with the others.

           Tao made a heating blanket appear and he curled up around his mate with a quiet sniffle.

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                  U               

           Across the street, Kris paced back and forth alternating between wondering what he did wrong and berating himself for listening to the voice of Carbuncle.  Occasionally he would stop pacing to look out the window.

           Shouldn’t someone come to beat him up or at least have the police take him away? He sure as deserved it.

           There was a knock at the door. Kris tried to make himself look as normal as possible considering he was covered in Joonmyun’s blood.

           “I think the interview went well– Is that your blood?” Jongdae asked with a squeak in his voice as his smile quickly faded.

           Kris gave a tear filled sob. “I’ve done something terrible…” He ran his hands through his hair again. Dry flakes of blood falling onto his forehead.

           “Yifan. Whose blood is that?”

           Kris stopped pacing and dropped onto his couch. “I think I killed Suho.” He stared at his shaking hands “… I should have never listened… It was like it wasn’t me after a while… Like I was possessed… what the did I do Jongdae?” His eyes were wider than Jongdae had ever seen them and he was trembling violently.

           “Are you sure he was dead? Wouldn’t there be any emergency vehicles outside or something?”

           “I don’t know– I sent Yixing. They should come and lock me up. You should stay away from me. I’m ing dangerous.” Kris shrieked before sobbing into his hands. Jongdae wrapped his arms around his lover and held him close.

           “It was like it was and it wasn’t me. I couldn’t control my body– I can still hear him– He begged me to snap out of it. He knew it wasn’t me. He - He...” He wailed into Jongdae’s shoulder. “, I feel sick.”

           “I hear shock like this makes people puke.” Jongdae tried to smile.

           “I don’t have anything left to puke up…” He said bitterly, “What do I do? Nobody’s come to confront me about it, nobody’s called the cops on me. Something isn’t… right.” Kris fell on the floor.

           “Yifan?” he shook his boyfriend. “…” He used a fireman’s carry to haul the taller man across the street.