Sorry for the belated repost. Everything was going all wrong for me in the past week, so I had no motivation nor the patience to work on my fics. Wow, it's Christmas. Dang, already? Happy holidays, everyone! Hope you're doing well!

Reminder: No stealing or copying or translating or plagiarizing my fic! I will make your life miserable if you do...

Repost: 12/25/15

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Fear Aroused

Whether there were delays or not, time did not consider anything worth slowing down for, thus, life went on.

And as time and life moved forward together with their hands interlocked, with every morning, every minute, every breath you had to take, you cherished them like they were your last. Surely, a number counter was hovering above your head, consistently shedding its numbers, decreasing and decreasing without a stop button as it was customary for every life that ever lived.

It haunted you, scared you, but you pretended that there was no such counter.

Every day, you would disregard your declining health and wake up, give yourself a pep talk, compose yourself into the mold of your façade, and sincerely cherish every single waking moment you had with your brothers—your princes. You allowed them to hug you more, drive you around, and take care of you. You wanted them to be happy—your ultimate wish.

It was great and inviting that you showered them with love and attention, but they couldn’t ignore the fact that something was intrinsically wrong with you.

Even a blind person could see that you were sickly and listless, if not by your appearance, than by your waned vitality. When you assumed no one was looking, your act would falter, and the boys would notice.

At one point during the week, just before dinner started, Suho hesitantly contemplated whether or not to ask you if you needed any medical attention. In the end, he succumbed to his disquieted feelings and did so.

Sidling up to your side where you were scooping steaming food onto plates by the counter, Suho lightly laid an imploring hand on your arm and mustered the urge to worriedly ask, “Noona...do you need to go to the hospital?”

At first, you had given him a puzzled look when he’d touched you, having caused you to cease your motions, but then you barked out a tart huff of laughter upon hearing his question. “Me? Why?” You sounded incredulous. “I’m not sick, Suho. Besides, I don’t think hospitals can help me anyways.”

How true it was as it was disheartening. Nothing could help you at this stage.

A deep crease lined Suho’s forehead as he became more troubled than before. “Noona...I think you should at least have a check-up,” he advised, trying not to sound overly desperate or bothersome. “You look worse than you did earlier this week. That fever...”

“Joonmyun, I thought I specifically stated that hospitals won’t help me,” you reminded him thinly. He was taken aback, not expecting such an acerbic bite to your tone. Unable to be fully mad at him, you softened and reached up to rub your thumb soothingly against his cheekbone. “Sorry for snapping at you,” you apologized. “But what I say is true.”

“You’re not...ill, are you?” he asked, the volume of his voice painfully low as it was filled with fear. He was scared, thinking that you were hiding a terrible disease or a severe symptom from him. He squarely met your gaze with his.

“I’m not,” you promised lightly. “Just needed some rest and downtime, that’s all.” You shrugged offhandedly to emphasize your point.

There you go again, Suho lamented with an injured frown, acting like nothing’s wrong. Why won’t you tell me—us?

Lately, you’ve been persistently avoiding Kai. He was one person who could trick the truth out of you—by force or by persuasion. Sometimes his tenaciousness could come in handy, but when it was utilized against you, you unwelcomed it, along with the person who wielded it as a weapon. The more you distanced yourself, the more Kai grew frustrated, causing him to seriously consider the idea of just straight-up confronting you and coercing you to fess up.

Rather than just Kai, the others had their different approaches or lack of approaches. Luhan and Yifan would stare at you like keen hawks, trying to drive you insane so that you would break and spill out your secrets. To counteract them, you would avert yourself from their pressing, accusing gazes and would simply walk off when they wanted to honestly talk to you in private. You were aware of how Xiumin, Yixing, and Chen were agonized to do something to help you, but it was hopeless because they were clueless as to what could be helpful in the first place. Hence why they acted like skittish horses in your presence, unsure of what to do.

A cooking pot of restlessness, impatience, and angst became increasingly poisonous as more negative feelings were thrown in and left alone to boil.

After all, you refused to let them witness the sight of you crumpling and falling into despair.

...

Your shift at the bookstore was soon, so Chanyeol claimed his chance to drive you to work, Sehun and Baekhyun tagging along as extra company. Obviously, their true motive of joining along the ride was to ensure your safety and health, wanting to be close by if you suddenly fainted or something. Being around to provide some type of assistance lessened their worries by a fraction, an attempt to dispel the tragic nightmares of you collapsing, vulnerable as you laid there fallen and all alone without help, slipping closer and closer to death.

In the car, the three of them talked animatedly, emanating the lively, happy mood that you achingly yearned for. You greedily soaked up their excess energy, utterly grateful that they made the effort to be normal in front of you, unlike their other brothers. You cozied down and wholeheartedly embraced the comfort that saturated the air. You listened to the enchanting sounds that were their voices.

I’ll miss their smiles, you suddenly grieved, regret eating at your crumbling willpower. Like when Chanyeol beams at me, showing me his perfect rows of white teeth and the peculiar way his eye twitches. Like Baekhyun’s eye-smiles, how it’s incredibly bright as his eyes curve up into crescents. Like Sehun’s, whose smile is cute and modest and sometimes accompanied by a delicate blush that dusts his milky cheeks.

They were so...so...precious. No possession in the known universe could be more priceless than them, the twelve EXO princes.

“Here we are, noona!” announced Chanyeol in a chipper exclamation, idling the SUV on the side of the street.

Where they were seated in the back of the SUV, Sehun and Baekhyun exchanged uneasy, wistful glances, not wanting to let you go.

Too blissful and relaxed to move just yet, you stayed put a tad longer than necessary and carved an imprint of their presences in this beautiful, heartwrenching moment on the stone plate that was your soul. You smiled at them angelically, dazing them.

“Thanks, guys,” you said genially, thanking them more for what they originally perceived. “I appreciate it. Drive back home safely, okay?”

“Yes!” they chorused like the good boys they were.

You hesitated over something as you unbuckled your seatbelt, then, with a dismissing shake of your head, decisively went along with your thought. You leaned forward to peck all of their unsuspecting cheeks. Their eyes immediately widened with shock, a blush overcoming the palettes of their faces.

“Bye!” you chimed as you hurried out the vehicle and ran across the street. Although it wasn’t your original intention, your sudden farewell kiss followed up by your hasty escape made it an exceptionally easy task to distract them of their worries and to also avoid their nosy questions.

Sehun wondrously touched his cheek, feeling the fading sensation of your lips still fluttering there. It was magic—the good kind, in his opinion—that reduced him to a dreamy, bumbling fool.

“I’m in heaven,” he sighed contently, eyes faraway as he began to helplessly daydream.

Baekhyun, appearing dumbstruck and frantic, stuttered, “D-d-did s-she really k-k-k-kiss us?!” His thin, angular face deepened into a darker shade of red when uttering the K-word. “I-I mean, she—she hasn’t done that in a while.”

“I don’t know about you, but I don’t care,” Chanyeol said, donning a blissful expression. He was on cloud nine. “I’m just happy that she did.”

Baekhyun directed an unimpressed frown at his brother. “Yeollie, let me drive. I’m afraid you’ll crash us into a pole with that face.”

...

The eight hours you were stipulated to work for today ticked by at a turtle’s pace. You were seated at the front counter by the cashier machine, partially hunched over as you endlessly waited for the clock to strike six o’ clock. Occasionally, it was a blessing to be distracted by a customer who wanted to purchase something or needed your assistance, but there hadn’t been one for the past half hour—probably because most people were getting ready for dinner.

So there you were, bottom planted on a stool, tapping a pen impatiently on the countertop. Your bored gaze wandered around, moving to the bookshelves, to the front entrance, and beyond the display window.

Maybe it was fate deciding to intrude into your life again, because what you saw made your blood run cold.

For once, time seemed to slow down, then it completely paused, only to abruptly play again. During that process, you had quickly double-checked the source of your sudden turmoil and realized what its presence most likely meant. Your eyes were wide with disbelief, gaze glued to the figure walking past the front of the bookstore on the sidewalk.

Although they were just passing glimpses within a span of a few seconds, the obvious yanking and nudging of fate told you that you weren’t hallucinating, that you weren’t mistaken with your assumptions, that this wasn’t a nightmare.

Reality was once again a nightmare.

Adrenaline and purpose commanded your body, kicking it into gear. You furiously ignored how weak and tired your body was as you slung your bag over your shoulder and hastily informed your bewildered manager that you needed to leave for a family emergency. Her questions of concern fell to deaf ears as you impetuously plunged out the store. There, your head snapped down the street—in the direction where that figure from earlier had disappeared off to.

Abruptly, you pursed your lips upon remembering that the boys were waiting for you, that you were supposed to be home soon. It caused you to hesitant, wasting crucial time. They regularly came to pick you up so that you would be there with everyone for dinner...

You shook your head. No, I can’t involve them, especially on this planet in their powerless states.

Mind going crazy with thoughts and ideas and implications, you darted down the street in a swift, agile manner, brushing past people and scanning your surroundings with your sharp, studious eyes. Without breaking pace, you fished out your phone and texted Kyungsoo—someone who was too polite to pry into your matters.

 

To: Kyungsoo

From: Aris

Kyungsoo, I might be held back at work because it’s extra busy. Don’t have anyone pick me up until I say it’s needed. If I’m late for dinner, just start without me.

 

To: Aris

From: Kyungsoo

Oh, okay. I’ll tell hyungs/dongsaengs that. Be careful and don’t stress yourself.

 

You softened helplessly at his earnest, well-mannered concern. So sweet...

 

To: Kyungsoo

From: Aris

Thanks. Love you all. Sorry.

 

You prohibited any further communication as you silenced your phone and slipped it into your pocket. Now you could afford to direct your full, undivided attention to the task at hand here. The street you were on was a blur of faceless passerbyes, of noisy cars that rushed by, of blinking traffic lights—

And that.

Your target was further down the sidewalk, near the crossing. It wasn’t hard to spot, with its large and bulky build, like a walking human boulder, and yet no one paid extra attention to it, not a single peculiar quirk of a brow or a bewildered frown thrown its way. It was dressed in a muddy brown trench coat, which was tucked over an unobservable shirt with the collar popped up and was practically concealing a pair of dark trousers with its length. Under a wide hat was a pair of thick black sunglasses to hide a squared-off face. Because of the accessories and long garments, no skin was discernible.

Accompanying the figure was a sense of dread and detest, and you could recognize its familiarity anywhere. It’d been ingrained into your skin and produced as nightmares ever since you lived through such a traumatic past with it—and its species. All your nerves were alive and sparking with static, fueling your urge to summon your magic to attack and defend, ordering you to fight with your absolute everything.

But one disturbing thought caused you to idle. You were thinking, Why in the hell is there a Techa here on Earth? Surely our whereabouts, of coming here, were kept secret. So why?

Past memories stirred as they resurfaced, dizzying you. Nostalgia clenched at your stomach. Buried feelings stabbed at your heart. Rushing recollections muddled your mind.

Snap out of it! you scolded yourself harshly. It’s no time to be reminiscing about the past and crying over it. You need to focus!

And focus is what you did. All of your senses heightened, your mind keen and nerves attentive. The acute, vigilant shine in your eyes was clearer than water. Nothing—and you meant absolutely nothing—would stop you from eliminating the alien that belonged to a despicable race that destroyed your second home.

Based on from what you remembered, you observed that this Techa must be a new model. It didn’t appear hostile to humans, apparent by the way it didn’t outright kill them. Also, it didn’t seem that it had identified your presence yet, despite the distance from which you could spy on it clearly. Even so, you mindfully hid your magic and presence, just in case.

It might be a scout, judging by its behavior, you deducted, digging through all the possibilities. It’s certainly going somewhere, but it has no definite direction. From here, if it keeps going in this direction, it would end up...over there would be...

You nearly had a heart attack then and there.

Then fury burned through your veins as you gnashed your teeth together angrily in realization. The Techa was tracking the princes’ location! Whether accurate or not, it was heading towards the house. It’d be a long walk, but the alien undoubtedly possessed a sense where to go. It was searching thoroughly, probably using a computerized map or scanner.

“I have to stop it,” you muttered under your breath, crossing the street when the alien did. “I can’t let the princes be discovered. Not now. Not ever.”

Frustration and chagrin knotted the muscles in your neck as you silently tailed the alien and soundlessly snuck closer with each step. No one spared a glance at you for your slightly suspicious behavior nor at the large, mysterious figure that you were following.

“Think, Aris,” you mumbled to yourself sternly. “Think! How should you eliminate it?” Glancing around, you noted the innocent and unsuspecting populace. “Okay, first I need to steer it away from the direction of the house and away from these people...”

A plan quickly formulated in your head and your body ready to handle anything, you proceeded to set everything into motion. Ditching the street, you ducked into an alley, darting down the narrow cavity situated between two large buildings, then boosted your speed by casting a spell to enhance your physical attributes. You strategically took helpful shortcuts and hid in the safety of the shadows as you continued to move.

Just like you had estimated, you had intercepted the path of the Techa. It was evenly ambling down the street to where you were lurking in the alley that was perpendicular to it. You concealed your head by pulling up your hood and waited with bated breath.

When it finally came into view—just a few meters before you—you held out your hands, your blue-white magic emanating at your behest.

The second it sensed your magic and slowly turned its massive head, your magic had grabbed it in a claw-like grasp, and following the movement of your hands, hurled the alien over and behind you, letting its heavy body slam onto the hard ground on the opposite side of the alley. Cracks appeared on the ground, and you were sure that you heard a metal-hard thud and the whir of mechanisms.

Definitely a Techa.

Before humans could rush in to see what the commotion was about, the Techa had gotten back up on its booted-feet, and then it had been knocked into the air when you had flared out a shock wave of your magic. It crashed onto the road, but you didn’t dare stop your assault. You wouldn’t. Whipping out your hand, a wave of your magic blasted the alien back further. Nearby windows shattered. Cars screeched to a halt. Humans shouted out in alarm. What in the world was going on?

It was an answer a human would’ve never fathomed to receive.

...

Kai was deathly agitated, mainly because you hadn’t been close to him since that one morning when an argument broke out between you two. He was slouched on the living room couch, seething how you’ve been staunchly avoiding him and sulking how it was essentially his fault that you were doing so. Unsettled as he was, he’s been thinking about you all day, every day.

He wasn’t the only one.

Yifan’s stoic disposition had intensified; he was currently conformed into a rigid stance that screamed don’t bother me, with his arms crossed against his chest. Yixing was more absentminded than ever, often lapsing in and out of reveries, and in consequence, his tendency to bump into things became a rapidly recurring problem. With his appetite gone and exercise out of the question, Xiumin would vent by grumbling about irrelevant topics. As if he was powered up by a generator instead of a supply of batteries, Suho busily fussed over anything and everything. Similarly, Kyungsoo would clean and then clean some more, overly picky about the tidy condition of the house. The frequency at which Chen would sigh soberly had increased, and it was uncertain for how long Chanyeol had maintained that pouty, grumpy expression. Baekhyun’s forehead would repeatedly knit together with lines of disconcertment that would permanently be sewed there if he kept thinking too hard and too much. Instead of enjoying his favorite pastime of watching dramas on TV, Tao found himself disappointingly unentertained. Seated by a window, Sehun stared out of it forlornly, sorely wishing that he was with you.

Unlike his brothers, Luhan was outside of the house, in the backyard as a matter-of-fact. But for once, playing soccer had failed to channel out his frustrations and anxieties. Defeated and depressed, Luhan had plunked down on a lawn chair and turned the soccer ball over and over with his foot. He was indifferent as he debated whether or not he should head back inside the house. The despondency that hung heavily in the household had initially driven him insane, inciting him to retreat out here, for none of his brothers could talk normally to each other without broaching the sensitive topic of you. It hurt to talk about you more than it did when thinking about you, especially with a giant rift that separated you from them. All the while, where you were detached from their plane of existence, you were gradually vanishing from sight.

Luhan had...a vastly uneasy feeling. It churned in his stomach, pestering him that he had to do something. But what? What was he supposed to do?

“Ugh,” he groaned and thumped his hands against his head. “I’m losing my mind.” The agony was eating him, so he burst back into the house to search for a different source of distraction. All of his brothers were home since it was nearing dinnertime, and today’s dinner had been planned to be more of a family one. Eunsun had granted everyone a few extra hours off of work to allow them time to relax.

But they weren’t relaxing. They were fidgeting, pacing, stressing—anything but relaxing.

“When’s jiejie going to call?” wondered Tao, turning off the TV and looking impatiently at the clock. It was a quarter past seven o’ clock now. Usually you would arrive home by six-twenty on the dot.

Kai disheveled his hair in savage exasperation, and his words came out as a violent snarl of, “I can’t wait here knowing that’s she’s alone and sick and—”

A hand touched his shoulder. “Jongin, calm down,” Suho urged softly, but his voice held a firm warning. Kai huffed petulantly and turned his nose the other way.

Sehun tore his occupied gaze from the window to stare quizzically at his older brothers. “Can’t we just go check up on noona now?” he asked plaintively. “What happened if she changed her mind and took the bus home?”

Yifan frowned at that notion. “I hope not. Not in her condition, at least. She looks so frail that anyone can overpower her.”

Oh, how wrong he was.

“Why did you have to say that?” Xiumin moaned despairingly and, as if giving up, flopped over the table like a sagging bag of rice. “You just made me a hundred times worried, you jerk.”

“I’m going to pick up, Ari—jiejie,” Luhan announced, finally caving into all of the mounting worry and helplessness and angst. He didn’t care that Yifan and Yixing perked up his way questioningly when he almost said your name. “Who’s going with me?”

Kai immediately stood up. “Me.”

“Me, too!” Chanyeol hollered.

Luhan nodded curtly. “Good, let’s—”                                                                                         

And that’s when they all froze, still as marble statues and nailed in place. All of the sudden they were caught in a mystifying trance, their eyes unfocused and fogged over as vivid images flickered in their minds. What they saw seemed so surreal, but their bodies and hearts knew otherwise, crying out in jubilation and bursting with warmth as they welcomed back the memories with open arms, of missing pieces reuniting with the present pieces that have long since been incomplete. The twelve boys relatively saw the same thing, just in variously different perspectives, and could feel old feelings that were once buried, even recalling familiar scents and sounds that they instinctively knew didn’t belong to Earth. All of it came down on them like a massive, relentless tidal wave, one that they couldn’t brace themselves against due to their frozen states.

Then, a voice.

Princes! The velvety voice was pure and angelic, of which it was marvelous music to their ears. They heard it before, yet haven’t at the same time. Afterward was the sweet peal of a giggle, the beautiful sound of it making them feel all warm and loved. Princes!

Control returned to them again, allowing them to feel the weight and form of their bodies. Those who were standing nearly stumbled over after being abruptly released from the trance. The mental onslaught caused Chanyeol and Sehun to break into ragged pants, while Luhan felt like he was stricken with a super bad hangover. Yixing and Kai were stiff because their bodies had instantly tensed up in paranoia. Freed from the fantastical spell, Kyungsoo rubbed at his eyes vigorously and then blinked at everyone in confusion.

“Wh-what was that?” Chen finally asked, disoriented as he swayed in place.

“Ugh, I don’t feel so good,” Tao moaned, clutching at his throbbing head.

“D-did you guys hear something?” Baekhyun asked, gaping like a fish. “A voice?”

Everyone nodded dully, and Suho confirmed it further: “A little girl’s voice.” Then he frowned, perplexed. “It sounded so familiar...”

“I feel homesick all of the sudden,” mumbled Xiumin. “Which is weird because I am home.”

Luhan was standing unsteadily on his feet, on the verge of toppling over and planting his face on the floor if Sehun and Yifan hadn’t rushed forward to prevent his unceremonious fall.

“Hyung?!” Sehun cried out in alarm. He clung tightly to Luhan, supporting him half-upright.

“I-I—” Luhan stammered breathlessly, eyes swimming between sharp reality and foggy memories. “I need to find Aris.”

Yifan worriedly peered down at his bleary brother. He didn’t like that strange light in the other’s eyes. “Luhan, you don’t look so—”

Luhan shoved Sehun and Yifan away roughly. “I need to find her!” he shouted, anger and irrationality blazing.

Kyungsoo and Tao yelped when household items flew across the room and smacked against the wall harshly. Shocked gasps escaped Chanyeol and Chen, who both saw the bizarre phenomenon clearly happen from their spots. What just happened? How did that happen?

Gargling out a distressed groan, Luhan pressed the heels of his palms against his pounding forehead. “Aris...” he whimpered before crumpling to his knees on the floor, his brothers watching him dumbfoundedly. He didn’t know exactly what was wrong with him or anything else for that matter, but there was one thing he was positively sure on.

He needed to be by your side.

Aris, where are you?

...