It was a familiar standstill. Underneath the moonlight Nichkhun’s pale hair reflected the light casting a halo over his head and creating the illusion of a fallen angel. Gusts of dry wind zoomed behind and under him, flapping his shirt over his chest and arms and lifting his hair above his scalp. With his feet planted firmly on the ground, not even the wind, no matter how hard it drove against him would move him. His steel eyes bore straight into Wooyoung’s dark ones, searching for the determination to finish this fight once and for all.

Shadows loomed over them as several storm clouds, the first for the summer, drifted across the moon and created slits of alternating light and dark across the concrete floor of the roof deck. Lightning flashed between the two men’s eyes and one could hear it crackle with the intensity of their gazes.

The atmosphere was suffocatingly thick, and Nichkhun could hear every gush and whisper of the wind as it wormed it’s way through the heavy air between them. Two years of unresolved tension, two year’s worth of issues that needed to be confronted. It was only a matter of time until one of them cracked.

Nichkhun refused to be the one that moved first. His eyes remained focused on the younger man, and a ghost of a smirk played on his lips. It was too much like the day that started it all for the two of them.

Nichkhun stood steadfast on his side of the cliff. Hard rain pelted in heavy sheets blurring his vision, but Nichkhun knew that at that moment, he could see better than ever. Droplets drummed hard like lead bullets on the ground, and Nichkhun’s ears strained to keep himself from falling apart. Stress was never good for this ability of his- the more erratic his heartbeat was, the more adrenaline rushed through him, the more he heard and in greater intensity.

“Hyung, don’t do this to yourself!” Wooyoung’s voice was pleading, begging him to stop his madness.

“Wooyoung, I have no choice.” Nichkhun’s voice was firm, unrelenting. There was no turning back for him, and he was dead set on a goal. “I have to kill him myself. I will bring them down with my own two hands. You can’t stop me.”

“Hyung,” Wooyoung took one step closer, “Hyung, listen to me! We can help you! Just wait and they’ll find noona’s killer. You don’t have to sell your soul to the devil for this!”

Nichkhun shook the water that obstructed his vision from his hair. “If I have to I will. I don’t care Wooyoung, they can’t help me, they won’t find June’s killer, not when these people consider themselves above the law.”

“Hyung,” Wooyoung’s voice broke with every word. “Hyung, you don’t have to! You can do everything from where we are right now. You’re going against everything you believe in, everything we believe in! Noona wouldn’t want you to waste everything just to avenge her!”

“You don’t understand Wooyoung, when I said I would kill for her, I meant it. June is the only one I believe in, and if exacting my revenge means crossing over to everything we vowed to fight against then so be it.”

Wooyoung shook his head, unable to grasp the fact that Nichkhun had turned 180-degrees. He was willing to taint himself and go against the inherent good in him- Wooyoung couldn’t allow that. Not when June had so explicitly told him to watch over his hyung. “Hyung, I won’t let you.”

Nichkhun drew his Krabi without hesitation. “Not even you can stop me Wooyoung.”

“I have to try, hyung.” He promised June he would make sure Nichkhun didn’t lose his senses. He meant to keep that promise.

Wooyoung slid one foot back and dug his heels into the ground. His hand hovered over the hilt of his sword and a kind of fear rushed over him. He didn’t want Nichkhun to fall into the dark side, and if he stood in the way of Nichkhun’s revenge, then Wooyoung knew he would have to stop him. His cold fingers slowly wrapped around the handle of his shinken- it too was cold, almost as if to reflect what lay ahead of them.

Nichkhun brought up his arm, the engravings on his sword now more visible as actual lightning struck. He regulated his breathing as he waited for Wooyoung to strike, but it was a standstill.

“Do you really think you can beat me?” Nichkhun taunted. Wooyoung was determined to beat him, but the blonde had no more intentions of going back. Not when he knew that there was no way for him to avenge June as long as he was under their rule. Her notes said everything, and while he had difficulty accepting the claims, he never doubted the woman he loved.

Thunder rumbled over head, and Wooyoung took one deep breath.

Static crackled in the atmosphere as Wooyoung leaped towards Nichkhun. He drew his sword midway, the sharp whizzing sound slicing through the silence between them. Steel on steel, metal on metal, piercing clangs echoed across the night as the two men battled each other in an attempt for closure.

Wooyoung had gone home bleeding then, it only took one swing from Nichkhun’s blade and he had almost lost an eye. Since then Wooyoung vowed to surpass Nichkhun. Outdo him in every way possible. Wooyoung threw his body into the attacks, grunts and groans accompanied every strike, but Nichkhun’s precision was superior. With one easy blow, Nichkhun turned the tables around, and he was now leading the dance of the blades. He lunged at Wooyoung, arm fully extended as he drove right into the other’s torso. There was no hesitation in his strikes and the younger man knew that one mistake, regardless of how minor, would cost him his life. Nichkhun may have spared him his life back then, but that didn’t mean he would extend the same consideration now.

Wooyoung fell to his knees as Nichkhun forced the sharp edge of his Krabi against his shinken. The scraping of the two swords squeaked loudly in Nichkhun’s ears- it was painful to hear, almost like someone stabbing his brain a million times.

Wooyoung held his ground as Nichkhun pressed down further. They were face to face again, and Wooyoung could look clearly into the other’s eyes unobscured by the rain. The same mercurial irises penetrated into his dark eyes, and a maniacal glow sent fingers of terror up his spine.

“I let you live last time, Woodongie. Can you fight me properly this time?”

A man who knows the meaning of a flower is incapable of harm. I need you to remember that Wooyoung. If Nichkhun ever does anything incongruous to his self, know that deep within him, the Nichkhun I love still exists. No matter what happens, I need you to forever believe in the inherent good all people possess, the good that Nichkhun possesses. Wooyoung, please promise me that no matter what happens, never let Nichkhun be consumed by the darkness within him. Never let the flames of pain burn the good in him.

Wooyoung never understood what June had meant until that incident occurred. Now everything fell into place. June knew that she was being pursued by the enemy, she knew her life was in danger, she knew and yet she worried more about Nichkhun than she did her own life. With a loud scream Wooyoung gathered all the energy within him and forced Nichkhun off him. The blonde staggered back disarmed of his weapon, surprised at Wooyoung’s sudden show of strength.

The young inspector rammed himself into his former friend, his sword now forgotten. He threw punches at Nichkhun, punches and cries- he threw everything at him.

“Don’t do this to yourself! Grab a hold of yourself! This isn’t you! I know you hyung! You’re not like this! I know it’s hard, I know you’re hurt! Noona wouldn’t want this! Stop hurting yourself!”

Punches flew here and there, and Nichkhun didn’t just sit back and let himself be hit. He fought back with what was left of him. Wooyoung’s lips moved as he spoke, but it was June’s voice that he heard. He heard her crystal clear, telling him to stop hurting, to stop trying so hard to do it alone because he wasn’t alone.

Both men dropped down to the floor, exhausted from their brawl. Both were bruised and bleeding, eyes puffy and violet from the punches exchanged. Beads of sweat mixed with blood trickled down their faces as they panted on the concrete floor.

“You’re getting better,” Nichkhun breathed. Acknowledging Wooyoung was the one thing he had meant to do, it was well-deserved. His eyes rolled to the back of his head as he coughed up more blood. He turned to his side, Wooyoung was in the same state as he was.

“I hoped you’d get worse.”

A dry chuckle coupled with another cough emanated from the blonde’s chest. “Hardly. But I still win.”

Wooyoung smiled at his hyung, it was sincere and warm, everything he remembered smiling at his hyung felt like. “Looks like we’re on the same side.”

“Looks like it. She told you, didn’t she. About Fortuna.”

“She did. She told me to make sure you don’t do anything stupid.”

“Smart girl.”

“You pick them right. I just don’t know what she saw in you. You’re an idiot, hyung.”

Nichkhun laughed, a slow warmth blooming within his chest. “I know, must have done something right.”

“Lucky bastard.”

“Since when do you use that word.”

Wooyoung laughed as he forced himself to sit up. “I learned a few things while you were away.” he said, coughing in between. “You’re not getting rid of me this time.”

“I don’t think I ever did.” Nichkhun mirrored Wooyoung’s position and looked up at the burning dawn rising ahead.

Red sunlight flared from the horizon and both men cupped their hands on their foreheads to shield their eyes. It was a new day for the both of them. A new beginning that marked a new rise of a power. Wooyoung had been right about him, and Nichkhun now understood that he didn’t have to fight his battles alone- he didn’t have to avenge June on his own, that his implicit trust in his comrades- people he would now acknowledge as comrades, would not be taken lightly by them.

Wooyoung ran a bloody hand over his hair, plastering the wet strands on top of his head and revealing both his eyes for the first time. He saw clearly now as if he was finally awake from the longest dream. “Hyung, noona entrusted her battle with us, I could only go so far alone, but I think we can do it this time.”

Nichkhun laughed, in just one night the Wooyoung he knew was back. “Yeah, shouldn’t be too hard having to go against human/exosuit hybrids.”

“We have to try-”

“No, we’ll destroy every one of them Wooyoung. They’ve hurt a lot of people.” His honesty lifted a great burden off his shoulders. Wooyoung was the only person, apart from June, that Nichkhun could be completely honest with. “We have to destroy them.”

…

~ ♔ | ♕ ~

White Flames

June quickly stuffed her journal into her satchel as Nichkhun came running across the field and towards her. Her smile was different this time, it wasn’t bright and cheery as it often was seeing the man who held claims to her heart. It was worrisome this time, melancholic.

“What’s wrong?” Nichkhun asked, tucking a stray tendril of hair behind her ear.

“I’m just tired,” she lied. “Changmin’s been extra-workaholic lately, he just won’t stop talking about this new project he was drafted into.”

“Wait,” Nichkhun wrapped both his arms around her waist and enveloped her in a tight embrace. “My Changmin or yours?”

A soft chuckle burst from her chest. “Mine, lab rat Changmin. He says I’m next in line for the interviews, and I don’t know. I’m not feeling the whole top secret military experiment logo on my files.”

“It’s an honor, you should take the job and blow their minds away.”

“I don’t want to, I just want to, I don’t know, do something more meaningful I guess.”

“Since when were you concerned with mankind?” he joked, pinching her sides until tears sprung from her eyes.

“I am concerned, always have been. Just...in a different way.”

Nichkhun was not dense, he could tell something was bothering her, but he also knew that if she wanted to talk about it she would tell him outright. He held on to her tighter, afraid that she would vanish at any minute and he wouldn’t even be able to put up any fight at all. He murmured words of love and reassurance into her hair, cradling her now as if she were the most fragile thing in the world.

“Excuse me, but I need to speak with June,”

Nichkhun craned his neck to look behind him. Changmin stood waiting- tall and lanky, hair unkempt and glasses askew. June wrenched her way out of Nichkhun’s grasp and smiled at him before taking her lab partner aside.

“You shouldn’t be going out with guys like that,” Changmin said, it was a warning he never failed to give almost on a regular basis.

“A man who knows the meaning of a flower is incapable of harm. What do you want Changmin?” All June felt was an amused exasperation with the way Changmin was so antagonistic to Nichkhun.

“I wanted to convince you to take the interview. You’re perfect for it.”

“Perfect doesn’t exist Changmin,” she said, her tone soft and whimsical, “it’s imperfections that make things interesting, don’t you think?”

“We could build a perfect world you know, you and me.”

She laughed again, pure and crystalline. “From what? An army of stem cells and exosuits? No Changmin, that’s taking the fun away from making babies. There’s nothing wrong with humanity-”

“But the war!”

“Is pointless and selfish, but that’s why we have people like Nichkhun.”

“He’s selfish. He wouldn’t know how to properly care for you.”

“One, I don’t need taking care of. I’m well capable on my own. Now, I told you, I’m still thinking about the offer.” She glanced at her watch and sighed. “And I’m late for that meeting with Jay.”

“You’re spending too much time with useless people. They’re all brawn and no brain.”

“Hey, these are my friends.”

“They’re not your kind, they’re not our kind.”

June shook her head and extended her arms, drawing Changmin into a hug. “Did no one hug you as a kid?” She smiled at him as she let him go. “I will see you at the lab, okay? I told you don’t bother me when it’s my day off.”

Changmin watched her skip away and back into that man’s incapable arms. Her flowery scent clung to his lab coat, and the warmth of her skin left tingling beds of sensation lingering on his skin. June was not meant to be associated with people like Nichkhun Horvejkul.

Perfect June deserved a perfect world.