Over the next few weeks, watching the pilots fly has become something of a relaxation thing for Kyungsoo. Every spare moment he has, he spends it outside the medical center, stretched out on an open patch of grass in the shade as he keeps his eyes trained on the sky, watching the planes zoom overhead.

He thinks he’ll never, ever get over how often he gets to see them, now, after spending his childhood in the exact same position, except only catching a glimpse of a jet every few days, or even weeks.   

Chanyeol and Baekhyun think he seems like a stalker, but he’s not, really. He only tries to get outside as often as possible when it’s Suho doing his training, simply because his style of flying is the most intriguing to Kyungsoo. That’s really all it is, really. Neither of his friends seem that convinced, though.

Today, it’s Suho and Kai, a special lesson, since it’s only them and the instructor. They seem to be working on testing a new move, and it’s a new side of their flying Kyungsoo has yet to see. They’ve both lost their confidence, both starting in the same spot—at the beginning. It’s a complicated trick filled with sudden drops and twists and Kyungsoo is surprised Suho, at least, manages to stay in the air through all of it. Kai’s told to give up after he almost fails to eject his wheels in time for the plane to skid along the runway during a messy, impromptu landing.

Chanyeol and Baekhyun are sitting with him, leaning slightly against each other.  They make the perfect audience, gasping and clapping in excitement when Suho manages to pull off the move for the very first time. It gets the attention of Kai and the instructor, and Kai lifts his arm to wave at Kyungsoo, who returns it, but not without feeling a little confused as to why.

“Wow, I didn’t know you were friends with Kai.” Baekhyun looks surprised as he nudges Kyungsoo in the ribs. “When’d you even talk to him?”

Kyungsoo looks over in annoyance, because Suho’s still flying and he doesn’t want to miss a single second of it. “A few weeks ago.” He says shortly. “He ran out of a prescription and I was the only one around. It’s not like we’re friends. Just...” A familiar face? He wonders. Kai always makes a point to stop and say hi whenever he can, and it not only confuses Kyungsoo, but makes him feel a little bit uncomfortable, as well. He’s not entirely sure how he’s supposed to act around someone like Kai, so it probably makes him seem a little socially awkward. At best.

“Man. You know. I had him as a patient once, but I had to request he transfers to one of the older medics.” Baekhyun makes a face, obviously the memory isn’t such a good one for him. “He’s not very... cooperative, so I had to pass him off to someone more experienced than me. He took it way personally. He takes everything personally.”

Kyungsoo shrugs. Kai seems nice enough, to him, at least. A skewed sense of what personal space is, but nice.

“Even Suho’s flying skills,” Chanyeol sniggers into the water bottle he’s taking slow sips from. Baekhyun makes a noise of distaste but his lips curve up ever so slightly.

“Yeah. Especially Suho’s flying abilities.”

This perks Kyungsoo’s interest, suddenly. He tears his gaze away from the sky and leans closer to their conversation, much too curious for his own good. “What do you mean?”

“What do you mean, what do we mean?” Baekhyun asks with a laugh. “Isn’t it obvious? Kai’s intense jealousy that he’ll never be as good as Suho at flying?”

“Aren’t they good friends?” Kyungsoo ponders out loud. He sees them more often than not, together, walking through the hallways of the center, discussing flying tactics and movies and pretty much everything under the sun.

“Well yeah. Because Suho’s a super nice guy, remember? He’ll put up with anything. Pretty sure if he was a dog he’d let you ride him all over the place.”

Kyungsoo’s not sure he can imagine either Kai or Suho being so submissive that they’d put up with a friendship filled with such negative feelings. But it’s not like he’s been around for a long time—it’s not like he knows either of them really at all.

“So it’s like a one-sided rivalry...” It’s a little sad, really. He turns to look at Kai, who has his eyes trained on Suho’s plane, his lips pressed together, frown lines creasing up his forehead. Well, now that he thinks about it, it does seem a little obvious...

-

Kyungsoo really likes the scheduled appointment days. Sure, they’re super busy—nonstop work from early morning to late evening, and with all the reschedules and late shows, he’s barely even graced with any time to breathe, let alone time to rest.

But they’re the one day of the week that he’s guaranteed a chance to talk face to face with Suho, who, while he’s a complete pleasure to watch in the air, always has something fun and interesting to talk about which has Kyungsoo liking their one on one time almost as much as he likes watching him fly.

He’s never tried to reschedule an appointment, he always shows up, right on time, with a bright smile, and he shakes Kyungsoo’s hands like they’re old friends, jumping right into a story of something fun that happened to him that week. Kyungsoo always just listens. He loves listening. Suho talks much like he flies, a beautiful, steady voice, speaking the words confidently with natural ease. He’s a leader, Kyungsoo observes, a born leader who is capable of taking the world into his grasp and running it well. It seems like being part of the specialized forces is just a stepping stone for him.

“Thank you,” Suho says to him one day, part way through their fourth appointment together. Kyungsoo shivers, because he’s been leaning perhaps a little too close to remove the blood pressure monitor and so he can feel Suho’s breath tickling the skin at his collar as he speaks.

“For what?” He backs away slightly, makes a note on the clipboard.

“For everything.”

Kyungsoo’s a little confused. He can’t exactly recall what he’s done, what Suho has to be thanking him for. He blinks and reaches to flatten invisible wrinkles on his medic’s uniform, not so sure what to do with his free hand now. It feels awkward just hanging at his side.

“What’s with that face?”

The question startles him a little bit and he might be blushing as he averts his gaze. “What do you mean?” He asks, voice shaking slightly.

“You have an interesting expression on your face a lot of the time. Your eyes open really wide. It’s cute.”

Okay, he’s definitely blushing now. Suho’s pulling his sleeve back down to cover the spot on his upper arm where a red mark was forming from the sphygmomanometer. “That’s... something I have been trying to work on my whole life, but I...”

“It’s your face, Kyungsoo-ah.” Kyungsoo has mixed feelings about Suho’s incessant need to poke him. He lets out a rather unmanly squeak as a sharp finger presses into his abdomen and he stumbles back even further, well out of reaching distance. Suho’s entire body is shaking as if he’s trying to suppress his laughter. “No one should ask you to change your face. It’s fine the way it is. Like I said, it’s cute.”

Kyungsoo can’t really form any words at this point, he’s too busy trying to pretend to do his job as an excuse to hide his blush and the fact that he’ll sound like a prepubescent boy if he tries to speak. He can’t really help but notice that Baekhyun and his patient have gone incredibly silent on their side of the room, probably trying to listen to their conversation through the curtains.

“Anyway.” Suho slides off the bed and takes two big steps towards Kyungsoo, who chokes on air when he feels himself being pulled into a quick, tight hug. “Thank you. Again. For everything. Giving Sehun the meal coupons.”

Oh. Oh. He shakes his head quickly to show it’s not a big deal at all. “He’s gaining weight...” He mumbles. Screw patient to doctor confidentiality, Suho seems like he genuinely cares about this kid’s wellbeing, so he deserves to know. 

“I can tell. Slowly but surely.” Suho says. His smile is always so charming that it never fails to render Kyungsoo speechless for a few moments. “So thank you. And, um. Thank you.” He releases his grip on Kyungsoo’s arm, which Kyungsoo didn’t even notice until then, and takes a step back. “For coming to watch me fly every day. I mean. Us. The pilots. Thank you.”

Kyungsoo half wants to clarify that it really is just Suho that he goes for, but he can’t form the words and it’s probably better that he doesn’t. Suho gives his shoulder one last squeeze before he makes his exit.

Kyungsoo takes his time calling in the next patient, because he really needs some time to breathe. Catch up with his thoughts. Try to get over the tingling feeling on his skin that Suho’s touch left behind.

-

When the war first started, many assumed it was the end of the world. It's not like Kyungsoo blames anyone for that kind of thinking; things like aliens and other dimensions were nothing but myths once upon a time. But he thinks, if he had been alive at the time, that he'd have been level headed and realized that the world has been through so much worse, like ice ages, nuclear warfare, global warming, and they've always emerged strong. All this one takes is alliance, all the continents of the world joining hands to create an unbeatable force. 20 years later, and they still haven't crumbled. 

Sometimes Kyungsoo wishes that it will all end, that the world could go back to the way that it was before so that he can begin to dream about things like becoming a chef, traveling the world and maybe even starting a family, but his mother once told him that it's better to ignore the what ifs and instead focus on making the life he has no choice but to live a fulfilling one. Fall in love, she told him. Find someone that you know you'll want to hold on to right until the end of the world and beyond. Be happy, because happiness is the one thing left to strive for. 

At the time, Kyungsoo didn't really take her words to heart. He thought that he'snever really had a hard time finding happiness—it didn't need to be with another person;he found it in simple things like when they had enough money to purchase more ration coupons or when he saw elderly couples holding hands. It took him until he moved to the baseto find outthat true happiness is much deeper and much more complex than that. 

He's never felt anything like he does in those moments where Baekhyun and Chanyeol go out of their way to invite him along with their crazy schemes, when Kaistop by to say hello just because, or when Sehun’s smile brightens just that little bit because he’s put on another two pounds for the week. But nothing, nothing at all, can even come close to the short moments he spends with Suho, every smile, every touch, every beautiful utter of Kyungsoo’s own name stored away in his memory for good because he knows they're the happiest times of his life. And that's when it hits him, like a big, heavy relentless rock, that this might be what his mother was talking about. 

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I love you guys <3 seriously. Thanks for the support. Your comments make me smile~ <3 

I'm curious, which pair is everyone here rooting for? :D which one pulled you in?