A tall and slender young man crouched low on the floor, one leg straight out with his foot flat on the ground, the other bent carefully beneath him in a stance that would allow him to jump into movement at any second. His body was in a perfect form of Fu Hu Bu, and he stayed balanced as he tapped a long white wax wood staff against the wood panel floor to the rhythm of the raindrops that could be heard landing on the shingled roof of the small training hall.

Directly in the martial artist's line of vision were two of his friends, the small, dark-haired Kim Jun Myeon, known to him as Suho, and the much larger, light-haired Wu Yi Fan, called Kris. They stared at him cautiously with their lips pressed tight and their shoulders pulled in.

"This is cool and all, Tao," Suho addressed the crouching blond in a slightly squeaky voice, "but it might be better if you weren't looking at us like we were actually about to fight." The blocky blond beside him slowly nodded his head, never taking his eyes off of the dangerous man across the room.

"The face comes with the pose." Tao said those silly words with a serious face as he began to stand. "But watch this," he told them, straightening up smoothly and moving his hands close together on the staff. As he began to spin it, his fingers glinted. He built up speed and soon the stick looked like a light brown blur in the air. Then it started slowing down, and Tao began to bend his legs again as he turned to spin his whole body, and for a moment his friends thought only he was moving slowly.

When Tao raised up into the air and Suho and Kris had time to see each bone in his body straighten out, and to see each little piece of dust rise up as Tao's feet left the floor, they realized that Tao hadn't just started acting like he was in slow-mo, but time itself had slowed down. The sitting pair turned excitedly to each other, laughing and cheering, their voices distorted by the change in time.

By the time they turned back, Tao was making turns in the air, one leg straight up in a way that could have been a ballerina's arabesque penché were he still standing. As he came to a landing, time returned to its normal speed and Kris and Suho began to clap.

"Yay! Go Tao!" Suho yelled with a big smile on his face. Kris kept nodding his head, clapping slowly with his hands curved to make sure he was making a lot of noise. The stoic expression on Tao's face faded into blush and a tight lipped smile.

"Thank you!" he said, leaning and bouncing on his feet, cupping his face and giggling in a bashful way. Tao's friends laughed with him as Suho got to his feet. Kris stayed on the ground, leaning back and keeping himself up with his elbows as he watched the other two. Tao felt his stomach flutter when Suho stepped over to him, smiling brightly with only good words to say.

"It's so cool that you can do that," Suho breathed, his eyes filled with awe. Everyone he knew sort of treated him like an accessory, or like he wasn't worth much, but he really did have some good things to offer as a friend. Genuine compliments were a plus of knowing little old Suho.

As well as being a generally nice boy, Suho was good at picking up skills. He learned things like dance moves and fighting stances rather easily, and that came in handy when Tao offered to teach him and Kris a bit of Wushu. The fighting style served as both a showcase of Tao's athletic and supernatural abilities, and a way to defend himself from anyone who might try to harm him.

It was a useful thing for the others to learn, but Kris was having none of it. He was still on his on the floor.

"Hey, Kris," Suho called, turning half-way around, "Are you going to get up anytime soon?"

Though no one would force him to do anything, Kris could tell that was a hypothetical question and his friends expected him to join the activities. With a sigh that would have been more fitting of someone Tao's age, the eldest of the group stood up and sauntered over.

"What do you want me to do?" he asked in a voice that sounded deeper than usual. With his eyes half-closed and his lips slightly pursed, it was obvious that Kris was sleepy, so Tao and Suho understood that they weren't going to get him to do anything really intense. They looked him over and Suho brightened up.

"Just stand there and let Tao practice on you." he said, beaming at the taller man. Kris shrugged at first, and then felt something click in his head, but when he finally got the thought through his head to protest, Suho and Tao had already backed away to the other side of the room and Tao had pointed his staff outward.

"Wait-" cried Kris, swinging his hands up in front of himself.

"Don't move!" ordered Tao, getting the staff spinning for the second time. He began to take quick steps toward the other blond, swinging the long stick from side to side and letting his mind become focused. He rushed over to the freaked-looking Kris. As soon as he was close enough to reach Kris with the wood, Tao swung the staff down above his head. Kris closed his eyes to the incoming blow and flinched, waiting for the pain.

It never came.

He opened his eyes to see Tao's once again cutesy face across from him, the staff blocking his view somewhat.

"Did you... did you think I was going to hit you?" Tao asked slowly, almost as if he were speaking to a child. Kris scoffed like he was going to object to that question, but he said "Yes! Yes I did." Tao dissolved into laughter.

"It's not funny," Kris snapped, stuffing his hands in his pockets and smacking the end of the staff out of his way. "What was I supposed to think? He said practice on you- what's funny about that?" He huffed and and stuck out his lips in annoyance. His mouth was already the most distinct part of his face, and poking his lips out in a pout made him look even weirder than usual. Across the room, Suho started chuckling as well.

"Ok!" the brunette's voice carried through the training hall, "How about he really practices on you this time?" Tao was shaking with laughter, covering the bottom of his face with one hand, and Kris was glaring at him, but they both said ok. Tao went back to the other side of the room and fought off his laughs, his shoulders shaking a little as he pointed the staff at Kris.

"I won't hit you hard," Tao told his friend. "So don't make that ugly face again," he added more quietly. Although Kris didn't hear him, he stood tall on the other side. In seconds, Tao was repeating the movements he had just done before, and there ought to have been some videogame battle music playing in the background. Tao bounded closer and closer, waving the staff about until the very last second when, whap!, he hit Kris in the chest.

Kris was barely moved. He rocked a bit on his feet, and blinked down at the wood touching his shirt. He grinned and got ready to boast about how he hadn't even felt it.

"Did you think you were going to knock me over? Like this?" He wobbled and leaned back as if he'd taken a stronger blow. Then he laughed...

And was instantly blown backwards and upwards into the corner where the wall met the ceiling.

Suho and Tao's eyes were the widest he had ever seen them, and their faces were frozen with gaping smiles as their eyes followed his body to the floor.

"Um..." Suho mumbled in time with the thunk of Kris falling. His mouth was open while he turned to Tao and pointed with both hands at the and groaning Kris. "Whaaat?" he finished, dragging the word out and doing a weird little hand dance. Tao looked at him, then at Kris, and back to him. Then he began to laugh again.

"I thought you said you didn't have any powers," Tao said, walking with Suho over to their grumpy friend. Suho stooped to help Kris up, Kris swung at Tao from the ground, and Tao bounced away on his tiptoes, cupping his face like he had earlier. Suho succeeded in helping Kris stand, and the tall man curled his lips back.

"Well I guess I do," Kris said in a sassy puff of breath.

"Then this practice session wasn't useless!" Tao was all smirks. Suho let go of the now-aching Kris (he could walk it off) and stretched.

"So I guess that's it?" he inquired, his curious eyes adding to his boyish charm. Kris and Tao both seemed to think yes. At that, Tao went to put the staff he'd been using where it belonged, and then they all headed out the door.

They were greeted with one of the worst climates: cold humidity.

"Ah, it feels awful out here," Tao hissed with a cringe.

"I can help!" Suho piped from the other side of Kris. With a wave of his hand, the wetness in the air condensed and fell in sheets a small distance away from him. "You know, with all our powers, we could make a good team!"

Kris, who was usually a pretty nice guy, was still a little out of it after sending himself flying through the air. "That's never going to happen," he said, walking ahead of them and disappearing into the darkness. Tao put forth almost no effort into resisting clicking his teeth, and Suho bounced his shoulders up once. The two thought it wise not to bother their friend at the moment.

Closed within the walls of an expensive condo, a different pair of young men were not making use of their wisdom, happily having a staring contest in the middle of a storm that seemed to be sending their mind-based superpowers out of control. Zhang Yixing, or Lay's, healing wasn't something to be all too worried about, but the older yet more playful Lu Han was both telepathic and telekinetic, therefore more dangerous.

Staring into the mischievous, glittering eyes of his senior, Lay worried every now and then that he might suddenly be prompted to smack himself in the face. Luckily, that moment never came, but Lu Han's tiny smile beneath his wide, unblinking eyes was still unnerving. After almost a minute of silent staring, Lay's ears picked up a new noise apart from the rain washing the house.

Luhan, whose name was often shortened into one word for friendliness and ease in writing and speaking, pressed his lips together and began to let his eyes flick this way and that, his snickering laughter easily perceived by the other concentrated male.

Lay slowly let his head tilt to the side, his wide smile growing with each degree turned. "It's alright, Luhan, just give up." he said, the sardonic nature of his tone rather unexpected of him. Luhan gave a short squeal of laughter and bit his lip to hold in the tears gathering in his eyes. Lay continued to stare, his eyes faring better than his friend's, and even tossed his side-parted hair as if he were entirely relaxed and not at all wishing to stop before his eyes popped. Luhan, however, knew differently.

"That's some colorful language you're using there!" Luhan commented on his silent friend's thoughts. Lay responded with a reserved nod of his head, calmly trying to blank out his mind. Luhan observed the change in Lay's thoughts from curse words to a series of hums and "no's" and he couldn't stop himself from laughing.

"Pfaha!" the small boy burst, closing his eyes tight and covering his face with his thin hands. If someone had been able to see him through a window at that moment, they might have mistaken him for a child or a petite woman. But no, he was a grown man rocking with laughter after reading the mind of another grown man who had just beaten him in a staring contest.

Lay closed his eyes and laughed as well, sighing in relief as he sat back in his wooden chair. Luhan groaned in a humorous way and wiped and fanned at his eyes. In that moment, a warm, tingling sensation washed over him and remedied the ache in his head. Furthermore, the dull tightness that had been in his shoulder for the past week and the pain from his leg falling asleep were gone, too. A grateful grin spread across his baby face and he clapped his hands.

"Good game!" Luhan cheered, "And thanks!"

"Right back at you," was Lay's reply. He clapped his hands against his thighs, pushed gently against the table to ease his movement out of his seat, and stood up. Luhan was still sitting up straight in his seat, smiling up at the other man. Lay trailed away in the direction of the kitchen area of his studio apartment, clearly intent on finding or making something to eat.

As Lay opened a cabinet and grabbed some sort of powder to brew, his friend's voice came cheerily from behind him: "I'm actually not in the mood for that root flavor. That green tea there doesn't seem half bad, though." Lay, whose body was fully blocking the view of the cabinet from the table, smiled and huffed through his nose and then took his hand off of the taro tea to instead grab the box of green tea near it.

"Was it really necessary to read my mind to find out which drinks I was looking at? You could have requested something, or come up to see for yourself..." Lay spoke loudly and clearly, looking down at the cup he was working on with a small smile on his face.

"Didn't want to breathe down your neck."

Just by hearing those chirped words, Lay could imagine the cheeky eyelash fluttering and cutesy smirking going on behind him. The thought of Luhan acting out his pun made the friendly man absentmindedly reach a hand up to rub the nape of his neck. Luhan chuckled at the table. Settling on glancing back at Luhan every now and then with an exaggerated look of suspicion, Lay didn't reply to Luhan with words.

For a few moments, they both just did a bunch of silly movements- Luhan becoming deathly still with a caught-in-the-act expression on his face every time Lay glanced over his shoulder, Lay grabbing random ingredients and acting like he was adding them to the tea, and Luhan wiggling his fingers beside his temples to remind his friend of his oh-so-dangerous mind powers. They went back and forth like that in the time that it took the tea to brew, and Lay brought it to the table in mugs rather than teacups.

Once Luhan got his hands on the warm ceramic, his self-amused laughter died down and his impish smile became an endearing one.

"Thanks again," he said, looking down into his cup, still smiling faintly. The warmth from the tea and from Luhan's behavior gave Lay a pleasant feeling in his chest and he could only smile back.

"You're welcome," Lay smoothly replied. He didn't need to ask for what, though there was a chance Luhan may not have been talking about the steamy beverage. Whether it was serving drinks, sharing an apartment, or just giving him a shoulder to lean on, Lay was happy to help Luhan. While Lay wasn't a mind reader, he could tell something was weighing on his friend under the jokes and sass.

"I'm worried." Luhan's voice was serious. The man in front of him straightened up to get ready for what might be a long talk. Again he asked no questions, but Luhan continued. "I'm worried about us. This storm has me feeling really odd and..." as he spoke, he bit his lips and tapped his fingers against one another. He trailed off and his eyes dropped. "I don't know," he rushed, "I just don't know." Lay raised an eyebrow but stayed silent for Luhan to gather his thoughts. After a bit of staring into the cooling tea, Luhan started up again.

"Do you feel it, too?" he asked, meeting Lay's eyes and speaking quietly under the noise of the slowing rain. "The impression that something is happening, or is going to happen. Something big. I know we've been doing okay with our powers up till now, and it's been fun, but everything still seems unsafe. We've never done anything huge, never caused any accidents or pain, but lately I've been having trouble controlling it and I know you have, too."

The grim look in Luhan's eyes was out of place in his soft face as he asked, "What do we do if things get worse?"

Lay almost flinched at that question. He didn't have a definite response. "I'm sure everything will be ok," he said at first, nodding to reinforce his words. "We'll just have to think about what we're going to do. Don't worry about it. What trouble are we really going to cause with mind reading and healing, anyway?" Luhan smiled and gave a small shrug of his shoulders.

"Wait," Lay said once he'd gotten a cheerful look from Luhan, "You weren't planning to destroy my reputation by gossiping about my thoughts, were you?" Luhan giggled this time. "Well," he continued as he stood up to go rinse his mug, "if you thought you were going to embarrass me with that one memory of drinking the water from a goldfish bowl, you're out of luck!"

"I know you made that up," Luhan said, urged to stick his tongue out. Lay looked over his shoulder and mouthed Luhan's words with a silly look on his face. Luhan scoffed and got out of his chair only to plop down on the nearby couch and send glares at the other's back. When Lay finished drying his hands and his cup, he sat next to the sleepy-looking Luhan.

"It's late, huh?" he asked, looking for the living room clock. "You can go to sleep if you want to, you know." Luhan nodded his head, his hair flopping about.

"I think I will," he said, falling sideways into Lay's lap. Lay laughed and moved them both to a more comfortable position and Luhan grumbled jokingly.

"Do you think if I read your mind while we're falling asleep, we'll have the same dream?" he questioned without looking up.

"I don't know. I doubt it." Lay replied.

"Whatever. You'll probably dream about me anyway."

Lay could hear the drowsy smile in Luhan's voice as they drifted off.