With that in his mind, Jongin leant in and brought their lips together once more.

Kyungsoo’s fingers trailed along Jongin’s as the younger moved in him, slow and sensual. It wasn’t as awkward as he’d expected it to be, Jongin seemed to be a fast learner and pick up on what he liked and what he wasn’t too keen on. It was nice, and he was glad to be with someone that was aware of him. Not just as a person, but aware of his feelings, his wants, his needs. Everything that was him.

Jongin’s lips quivered against his neck, a sure sign that the younger was close to his end, close to becoming undone above Kyungsoo.

“It’s okay” Kyungsoo breathed, pressing airy kissing along Jongin’s shoulder, “Let go, baby. Let go”

Jongin moaned lowly, falling out of rhythm as he moved in the elder. “Kyungsoo” he choked out as he reached his peak, filling Kyungsoo and sending the elder into his blissful end.

Jongin Kyungsoo until he was empty, then he found himself collapsing, sweaty and slick, on top of the elder, too tired to even think about not crushing the other boy.

“You’re squashing me” Kyungsoo whined, but his legs were still wrapped around Jongin’s waist, since the younger hadn’t even pulled out yet. His hands roamed over Jongin’s back, his fingers drawing random patterns on his warm skin.

“D’you want me to move?” Jongin asked, burying his face in Kyungsoo’s neck, only to have Kyungsoo tighten his legs around him.

“No,” Kyungsoo sighed contently, “Stay there, I like it”

Jongin smiled, “I like this side of you,” he murmured, “It’s far more cute than I’m used to. My cute little Soo”

“Don’t get used to it” Kyungsoo laughed softly, tugging at Jongin’s hair gently to bring the younger’s face back up.

Jongin seemed to get the message, and pulled up so that he could kiss Kyungsoo, slow and easy, just because they could, “As much as I don’t want to move… they’ll be back soon, and I don’t fancy them catching a glance of my arse, if I’m honest”

Kyungsoo couldn’t help but laugh at that, “Alright, alright” he relented, dropping his legs back down to the bed and allowed Jongin to pull out and lay down beside him.

They each turned to lay on their sides, facing one another with soft smiles on their faces.

“It’s sad that we can’t just be like this all the time” Kyungsoo commented after a moment or two, “I mean, we’re supposed to be out getting drunk and making twats of ourselves. Yet, here we are, in the middle of a war, grasping at straws”

Jongin shook his head softly, “No, I wouldn’t say it’s like that. It’s just… Smaller moments. Ones that we’re going to remember forever. Ones that, once this is all over, we’ll look back on and be thankful for. I’m not ever going to regret sharing this with you, war or no war, you know that, yeah?”

“Ditto” Kyungsoo smiled sweetly, leaning in and pressing a barely there kiss to Jongin’s lips.

Jongin made sure to scoot closer, despite his earlier point of them having to get up, his knees knocking against Kyungsoo’s, and his hand coming to rest on the elder’s waist.

Kyungsoo couldn’t help the soft smile that came to his lips as he carded his fingers through Jongin’s hair, it was matted and full of dust, but somehow it still remained soft.

“What?” Jongin asked, his voice soft and warm, drowning Kyungsoo in the comfort he hadn’t even known he was craving.

Kyungsoo shook his head, “Nothing, I just… I’m glad I’m with you in this. I’m glad that you didn’t give up on me no matter how much I tried to push you away. I… sorry” he laughed awkwardly, “I’m not very good at this, I’m just trying to say thank you, I guess. For being here with me”

Jongin smiled sweetly back at the elder as he leant into his touch, “Yeah. It’s nice not to go through this alone. I mean, I know I have Sehun, and you have Baekhyun, but it’s…” he trailed off, not really sure how to word it.

Kyungsoo seemed to understand though, “It’s not the same” he finished for the younger, “It’s like… Special”

“Special,” Jongin hummed in agreement, “Yeah. Exactly”

“Shall we just lay here forever and just… forget the world?” Kyungsoo breathed lightly, his free hand running over Jongin’s chest, just so he could feel the younger beneath his fingertips.

There was nothing ual about the touching, nor was there in the way that Jongin touched him back, but it was the most intimate, the most vulnerable that Kyungsoo had ever felt whilst he’d been with the younger boy.

Jongin hummed, “If I could be like this with you forever, I would. Kyungsoo, I lo-”

“Don’t” Kyungsoo cut him off, pressing a finger to Jongin’s lips, “Please don’t say that. Just… wait for this to be over okay?”

Jongin’s lips turned down slightly beneath Kyungsoo’s finger, “But…”

“Please, Jongin. I just… I can’t right now, alright. I can’t” Kyungsoo closed his eyes for a moment before opening them to look at Jongin pleadingly, “Please”

Jongin nodded, “Okay” he replied. Though he was confused by the request, he wasn’t about to make Kyungsoo feel uncomfortable, especially not since the elder had opened up so much lately. He wasn’t going to risk having to take two steps back when they’d only just taken a step forward.

“I’m sorry. I’ve ruined the moment, haven’t I?” Kyungsoo sighed, “I’m really not good at this, Jongin. I’m sorry”

“Shut up” Jongin rolled his eyes, kissing Kyungsoo firmly on the mouth, “We’re both new at this, Soo. It’s not going to be a ‘magically know the answer’ kind of deal. It’s a ‘take it one step at a time’ thing. And I think we just took a pretty big step, don’t you?” he smiled against the elder’s lips.

Kyungsoo breathed out a small laugh, pressing himself closer to Jongin, so that their chests were pressed together, “Alright, fine, shut up. I’m being stupid, I know” he said, one of his hands still playing with Jongin’s hair whilst the other moved to run over the younger’s muscular back, feeling every curve and bump as Jongin purposely tensed and un-tensed beneath his hand.

Jongin smiled, pressing his lips against Kyungsoo’s forehead, “Maybe a little” he admitted with a cheeky lilt to his voice, his hand moving around to massage the back of Kyungsoo’s neck.

“You’re not supposed to agree!” Kyungsoo laughed, his tongue darting out and teasing against Jongin’s jaw.

Jongin let out a laugh to match Kyungsoo’s, “Sorry” he said, though it was more than obvious that he didn’t mean it.

“I’m sure” Kyungsoo rolled his eyes with a small chuckle and a shake of his head.

The door opened quickly, not giving either of them a chance to cover themselves as Yixing walked in, “Hey guys, just wanted to let you know that we’re ba-ah! Jesus, that’s Kyungsoo’s . Holy fuu- Okay. I’ll be… out… there” he trailed off, giving the two a final sly once over before leaving again, closing the door gently behind him.

It was as soon as the door was closed that they heard Yixing’s high pitched laughter ring out as he called for Junmyeon to tell him what he’d just witnessed.

“Brilliant,” Kyungsoo deadpanned, “Just brilliant”

Jongin gaped, “Did he… did he just check you out before he left?” he asked bewilderedly.

“You get used to it” Kyungsoo snorted, “Yixing just… likes to look. It’s… a quirk of his” he shrugged easily before sighing, “Come on, we’d better get a move on, then. The longer we stay in here, the worse they’ll be when we go out there”

Jongin sighed as he rolled onto his back and watched Kyungsoo get up, quietly and quickly putting on his clothes before he shot a pointed look at Jongin, who groaned but followed suit nonetheless.

“Can’t do anything in peace living with that lot” the younger boy grumbled, getting dressed in a rather aggressive manner.

Kyungsoo hummed, “Yeah. But then again, I’ve walked in on Jongdae getting himself off more times than I can count, so I suppose we’re all pretty used to it” he shrugged before laughing at the look of disgust on Jongin’s face.

“I didn’t need that visual, thanks” Jongin shuddered, pulling on his boots.

Kyungsoo hummed again, “It’s not that bad. It was actually pretty hot to watch,” he said, a playful smirk on his lips.

“You watched?” Jongin spluttered in disbelief.

Kyungsoo smirked, “Yup”

“And he just… let you?”

“Yup” Kyungsoo’s smirk widened, “You should have seen him. On his bed, all flushed and as he touched himself. Looked me right in the eye as he came all over himself”

Jongin whined, “Okay, I don’t wanna hear anymore”

Kyungsoo snickered as he finished lacing his boots and moved to stand in front of Jongin, who’d just finished lacing up his own, though he was still sat on the bed, giving Kyungsoo the chance to push between his legs and stand close to him, “Big baby,” he teased, playing with Jongin’s hair again.

Jongin rolled his eyes as his hands came to rest on Kyungsoo’s hips, “Looks like it’s time to get back to reality” he said, reluctantly getting to his feet and pressing himself against Kyungsoo.

Kyungsoo gave him a small nod before pressing a kiss to Jongin’s jaw then took a step back, “Let’s go face the cavalry, then” he sighed.

With that, the two of them made their way out to the living room where Yixing and Junmyeon were sat on the sofa, both of them caked in what looked like soot. How they’d not noticed it on Yixing when he’d walked into the bedroom, they didn’t know.

“Huge fight in the old coal factory” Junmyeon supplied at seeing the looks of confusion on the younger two’s faces, “Nest of Rogues. We did manage to grab one before they could scram. He’s tied up in the kitchen, but don’t worry, we blindfolded him. Doesn’t have a clue where the hell we are. Poor kid. Anyways, luckily we handled it, it got a bit messy though,” he smirked at the pair of them, “Looks like we weren’t the only ones that got a bit messy though, eh”

Kyungsoo rolled his eyes, “I’m going to shower, or just… wash, I guess. We need hot water”

“Just be thankful we’re still able to brush our teeth” Yixing said, “And cold water is better than smelling like , to be fair”

Kyungsoo hummed, “Yeah. I guess” he relented as he made his way to the bathroom to wash up, “And we should really interrogate that poor sap soon. But no force, got it?” he said to the other three that were following suit.

Junmyeon nodded, “You’re the boss” he rolled his eyes slightly, but didn’t fight the younger boy on it. It would have been pointless to anyways.

“I’m not trying to be difficult, you know” Kyungsoo said softly, glancing over his shoulder at Junmyeon.

Junmyeon smiled gently back at him as they reached the bathroom, “I know”

Baekhyun groaned as he fell to the floor. A Rogue had landed a pretty good punch to his face, and he knew that his nose was bleeding a fair bit.

The girl that hit him must have been no older than eighteen, but she was skilled, that was for certain.

She was cute, and even y in the way she held herself. As though she was only ever going to be the person she was. She was dressed in black combat gear, her long hair was tied back from her face, and her pretty eyes were zoned in on Baekhyun.

She knelt down so that she was hovering over Baekhyun and gripped the front of his t-shirt, yanking him up harshly.

“You know, you’re kind of pretty” She mused aloud, “I really wish I didn’t have to kill you… Honestly I do”

Baekhyun raised a brow, “What makes you think you’ll be able to kill me?” he asked.

The girl smirked and raised one of her hands so that Baekhyun could watch the dark green vines appear over her skin like tattoos. Ah, she was poisonous, “Take a wild guess” she taunted lightly.

“What are you?” Baekhyun scoffed, “Poison Ivy. This isn’t a Batman comic. We’re on a level playing field” he smiled slightly, “Say, have you ever heard that too much light is bad for plants?”

“What?” the girl’s brows furrowed in confusion.

“I mean,” Baekhyun continued, “I suppose it makes sense. Over feeding something and all that… Shall we test it?” he smirked at the dumbfounded look on the girl’s face. He didn’t give her a chance to respond though, as he began to glow until he was giving off a scolding white light that had the girl screaming in pain. He felt her let go of him and scrambled backwards.

He waited for a moment before reining it in, it almost felt too dark once he had, but it didn’t matter. His insides curled with guilt as he looked at the girl, though to her credit, she wasn’t crying, only cursing like a sailor. Baekhyun would have cried had he been in her position. He’d burnt her arms and hands pretty badly, the tattoos were all singed and cracked. But that wasn’t the part that made him feel guilty.

No, the part that made him feel awful was the fact that the girl’s eyes had been burnt away and all that was left were two black, smoking craters where they used to be.

“Gees, you kiss your mother with that mouth?” Baekhyun found himself saying.

Had she been able, he thought the girl would have rolled her eyes, “I think I’m entitled to talk how the I want to, right now” she hissed instead, “! , , !”

“This is the life you chose” Baekhyun pointed out, “These are the consequences”

The girl laughed scathingly, “Life I chose? How ing naïve are you? I was born into it. I didn’t have a choice! I killed, or they’d have killed me. You think I like hurting people?!”

Baekhyun frowned, “Why didn’t you leave? Or… Run away? Or something?”

“Fat load of good that would have done me. I’ve been under constant surveillance my entire life. There’s no out for me other than death. So just… just kill me. I don’t give a anymore” she said, she didn’t even sound angry or scared, just… fed up.

Baekhyun shuffled over to side in front of her, “What’s your name?” he asked.

“Hani” the girl said, finding no reason to lie or even put up a fight anymore.

“Hani, that’s a nice name” Baekhyun said calmly, “I’m Baekhyun. I’m twenty, how old are you?”

Hani sighed, it was obvious she was in a lot of pain, but she wasn’t going to let it break her if she could help it, “Eighteen. Just. I always wanted my eyes burnt out my skull by the way, so thanks for that” she jeered pointedly.

“You were going to kill me” Baekhyun pointed out, “I had to do something!”

“Should have killed me. It would have been kinder” Hani shot back.

Baekhyun hummed, looking out over the dark forest. The guys were still sleeping as far as Baekhyun was aware, despite all the ruckus there had been. And Hani had been alone, had she not been, Baekhyun would have known by now. “It could be worse” he tried.

“Could be better” she countered, “Baekhyun, just… I don’t know what you’re playing at, but please. Just put me out of my misery”

Baekhyun sighed, “I’m not playing any game. I just… maybe this isn’t as black and white as I thought it was. I thought all Rogues were so by choice”

“Most are” Hani told him, “But there’re black sheep in every family. You probably think I’m just saying this so you’ll let me go, right?”

Baekhyun laughed a little, “No. I actually believe you. So I have a proposition for you. You’re free to go… Live your life and whatever if you want to. Or… Stay with me. And I’ll make sure you’re protected. I’ll get you set straight after we win this war. Me and my friends will keep you alive” he said honestly.

Hani paused for a moment, expectedly reluctant, “I… You would really do that?”

Baekhyun hummed, “Yeah. Seems only fair” he shrugged, despite her not being able to see. “I’ll even get my friend to heal you when I next see him. I don’t know if he’d be able to fix the eyes, but the vines and burns on your arms he can clean right up”

Hani smiled slightly, “Okay. Okay, what have I got to lose, right?”

“That’s the spirit buddy!” Baekhyun smiled.

Hani shook her head, “We’re not there yet” she said, holding up a scorching hand to shush him.

“Right, sorry” Baekhyun got out awkwardly before shifting to his feet, “D’you need help getting up?” he asked.

Hani sighed, “Yes, unfortunately. Also, d’you have like… a pair of sunglasses or something?”

“Um…”

“I know I can’t see” Hani snapped, “But I’d prefer it if other people didn’t know that, okay”

Baekhyun nodded, “Right. Um, I think I have some back at camp. You can have them” he told her as he helped her to her feet.

“So chivalrous” she snorted, holding out her hand for Baekhyun to take. Sensing his hesitancy, she tutted, “You need to lead the way, bucko. I’m at a bit of a loss here”

Baekhyun took Hani’s hand in his own, “Okay, let’s go” he said, more to himself than her before he carefully began to lead the way.

They made it back to camp fairly quickly, given their setback, only to find Chanyeol sitting by the entrance looking extremely worried.

“Baek!” Chanyeol jumped to his feet as he saw them approach, his worry morphing into confusion, “Who’s this?”

“Hani” Baekhyun said by means of explanation, leading her over to sit and lean against the tree by tent’s entrance, “Where’s Min and Dae?”

“Looking for food” Chanyeol said, eyeing the girl cautiously, “We got attacked not long after we noticed you’d disappeared. Where were you?!”

Baekhyun sighed, “Got jumped by Hani. But she, um, she’s good”

“Sounds it” Chanyeol deadpanned, “How’d you know she won’t kill us when we have our backs turned?”

Hani scoffed, “Un-bunch your knickers, will you? I can’t do all because of that bellend” she gestured vaguely to where she assumed Baekhyun was stood.

“Watch yourself, princess” Chanyeol snapped at her, “I’ve got no problem shooting you right between the eyes if you put so much as a hair out of line”

Hani snorted, “How will I know, though? I can’t see what I’m putting where” she said bemusedly, raising a singed brow at Chanyeol before cursing under her breath at the pain that followed the action.

“Yeol, leave her alone” Baekhyun sighed.

Chanyeol turned to look at him incredulously, “She attacked you!” he protested, “And you think she’s a good guy?”

“Not a good guy,” Hani piped up, “Always a good girl though, baby” she purred, making Baekhyun laugh lightly. A pointed look from Chanyeol had him shutting up.

Baekhyun sighed, “Look, she’s just a kid. she was raised into that life. We can at least give her a chance, okay? I promised I’d keep her safe”

“Fine” Chanyeol snapped, “But the first sign that she’s trouble, she’s dead. Got it?”

Baekhyun gave a reluctant nod before walking off to sit beside Hani and tend to het wounds as best he could with the little first aid kit they’d kept with them. He wanted to at least make sure they wouldn’t get infected whilst they were in the woods.

“He’s a charmer” Hani commented, “Your boyfriend, or something?”

Baekhyun made a sound of affirmation, “Yeah, how’d you know?”

“His tone when he speaks to you” Hani smiled slightly. Her fingers picking at the dirt either side of her whilst Baekhyun opened up the tiny first aid kit, “he talks to you like you’re the only thing that matters. It’d be sweet if it weren’t so sickening” she joked.

Baekhyun laughed softly, “Ah, so you’re one of those ‘humour is the cure for everything’ people, then?”

“No” Hani said, “I’m also a firm believer that tea can make everything better. Tea is the answer to all of life’s problems. Trust me, I’m a scientist”

Baekhyun chuckled, “Whatever you say, kid” he said, almost fondly.

Hani was very quickly becoming the sister he’d never had, it was a weird, but welcome feeling if any.

“Baekhyun, can I talk to you for a minute?” Chanyeol asked as Baekhyun finished bandaging up Hani’s arms and hands. He’d wrapped a thick bandage around her eyes too, to keep them safe from infection, before slipping the sunglasses he’d promised her over to the top. To anyone that didn’t know what was beneath them, they wouldn’t suspect a thing.

Baekhyun stood up and gave Hani a small pat on the knee before making his way over to Chanyeol, “What’s wrong?” he asked softly, peering up at Chanyeol curiously.

“I’m not sure about this Baek” Chanyeol said lowly, “What if she’s a spy… or something”

“She’s not going to see much now, is she” Baekhyun deadpanned, “Yeol, please. Just trust me on this one. She… She isn’t lying. I can feel it. And if I’m wrong, then… Then I’ll deal with it, okay? Just please, give her a chance…”

Chanyeol sighed, “I trust you Baek. I do. It’s her I don’t trust,” he said softly, “I just don’t want to see you get hurt, okay? Do you know how worried I was?”

“I’m sorry” Baekhyun said gently, moving forward and wrapping Chanyeol in a soothing hug, “I’m sorry”

“Don’t be” Chanyeol sighed, pressing his lips to the top of Baekhyun’s head.

It was quiet, a little too quiet. The enemy lines had fallen back and the field which had been roaring with fight only hours ago, was now barren.

It reminded Sehun of those old western movies, where the cowboy shows up with a hand on his hip, ready to draw as the tumble weed blows past.

There was a dreadfully ominous feeling about it, that was for sure.

He turned to look at Luhan, who was clearly as puzzled as him. Hell, the whole army was silent with confusion, because there was no way that the Rogues would just pull back like that without an ulterior motive.

Sehun felt the air turn cold around him and the skies turn grey. The wind began to blow heavily and unrelenting, then it all became clear.

An array of screams rang out as the Specials all turned tail and ran as fast as they could.

Sehun gasped, grabbing Luhan’s wrist and pulling him into a run along with Tao and Kris.

Following them was a Tsunami of elements from the Rogues’ side, ready to crash down on them all at any second.

It would have taken a lot of man power to create something so ingenious. It was pointless to run, but still they did, trying as they might to escape the Rogues sick play for power.

Had they been faster, they might have made it, but before they knew it they were being pulled under into a violent sea of water, fire and debris.

Sehun felt like his lungs were burning as he tried to figure out which way would lead to him being able to breath. Doing his best to search for a sign of light in the dark waters, he struggled to push away his initial panic and keep a calm head on his shoulders.

He was glad he’d managed to keep a strong hold on Luhan’s wrist, so not to be separated from him. And then, the answer came to him.

He kept his fingers locked around Luhan’s tiny wrist as he let himself go limp and let the air come to him.

And the next thing he knew, he was being dragged upwards by his own power and his head pushed through the surface of the water to see flames dancing along its surface. The battle field was flooded, that much was obvious to him as he air into his lungs in deep gasps. As did Luhan, whose eyes were reddened from having them open in the dirty water.

“Where’s Kris and Tao?” Luhan coughed, “Sehun! We need to find them!”

Sehun nodded, his teeth chattering slightly, “Stay here. I’ll be back” he said before diving back under the water in a bid to find his friends.

He found Tao first and used his power to push the Time Controller up to Luhan before he forced himself deeper into the black waters in search for The Dragon.

Whenever he came across anyone, he made sure to send them up towards the surface, but he continued further into the darkness, his lungs screaming for oxygen, though he ignored them.

Finding Kris was all that mattered in that moment.

As his head became lighter, a sudden idea hit him. Looking upwards, he twirled his finger and created a small tunnel of wind that lead to the surface before pushing his face into it and breathing deeply.

Once he’d gotten his breath back he pulled away and continued in his search for Kris.

Finally, he found him, but that didn’t ease his worry, for Kris’s body was limp and faced downwards. Even in the darkness, Sehun could see that Kris was turning blue. He had to act fast.

With everything he had, he pulled air down and created a bubble close around Kris’s head, allowing the Dragon to breath. Or so he hoped.

He grabbed the older boy as he ed them upwards as fast as he could until finally they surfaced, through Kris remained unconscious.

“He’s not breathing!” Sehun shouted, “Help! I need help!”

A few people swam over to hold Kris up as Sehun in a deep breath and pressed his lips to Kris’s before forcing the oxygen into the elder’s lings as best he could.

He was pushing air into Kris for the third time when Luhan pulled him out of the way and settled a hand on Kris’s chest.

In the next moment, a fountain of water was falling from Kris’s mouth and the Dragon was stuttering out cough upon cough and blinking his eyes open.

He was alive. Barely, but he was alive.

“Kris! Kris, can you hear me?” Luhan asked as he gently slapped Kris’s face as the other specials held him up, keeping his head above the water.

Kris voice was raw as he croaked out a quiet, “Yeah”

“We need to find dry land” Luhan said urgently, “We’ll get hypothermia if we stay in this . Or burn from the fire… ing hell”

No sooner had he said it, did the water begin to get lower and lower before all that was left was a puddle the size of the battle field, just up to their ankles.

“We need to start getting the wounded somewhere warm and dry… it looks like they contained the flood to the field. The safe house should be fine. Let’s get them to there, alright?” Sehun spoke up, sludging over to place a comforting hand on Tao’s shoulder.

Tao’s eyes remained fixated on Kris, whose lips and cheeks were still blue from the cold and the lack of oxygen to his system.

“He’s gonna be alright, Tao” Sehun said softly, “Kris is one of the strongest people I know, if anyone can make it through this, he can”

Tao nodded slightly as the two of them began to follow the other Specials as they made their way to the safe house to tend to the wounded and to get dry – they had a few Fire Specials amongst them that were able to simply touch a person and dry them right up.

“It’s just… This isn’t what I signed up for” Tao said quietly, “I know that Onew said it could come to war… But this, Sehun, I know I might sound selfish, but I don’t want to do this. I don’t want to be here fighting… I… I don’t want to die. To see my friends die. I didn’t sign up for any of this”

Sehun sighed, “None of us did, Tao. But think about what we could achieve with this” he pressed importantly, “If we win this, we could change the world, Zitao…”

“Is it worth it if we have to go through this for month and months?” Tao asked, “I… This is scary, and I… I don’t know how to handle it anymore… It’s too much”

Sehun shook his head, “Tao… just, we have to do this, okay”

“I know… doesn’t mean I have to like it though” Tao sighed, coming to a stop as one of the Special with the control of heat and fire placed a hand on his and Sehun’s shoulders and a wave of heat flooded over them and dried them of the freezing wetness.

Sehun sighed in relief, “, that’s one handy power you’ve got there” he said gratefully.

The girl laughed in amusement, “Tell me about it. I’m just happy that I get to dry people. There’s four more out on the field trying to do away with that nasty water they set on us.”

“What do you think made it drain?” Tao asked.

The girl shrugged, “Most reckon it was because the Rogues pulled back. Probably thought they’d killed most of us” she said, “If it’s true, it’s a good job they left when they did”

“You’re telling me” Sehun sighed, “Anyways, we better go check on Kris, so um, have fun with your drying”

The girl nodded, “Yeah, I hope your friend’s alright. He didn’t look so hot when you pulled him up. See you later” and with that she went on her way, and Sehun and Tao made their way over to where Luhan was sitting beside Kris.

Kris had more colour to him now, thanks to whoever had warmed him up. “Hey fellas” he croaked out with a smile, “Why the long faces”

“You ing prick” Sehun grinned, swooping in and pulling Kris into a hug, which the elder returned just as enthusiastically, “You about gave me a heart attack!”

Kris laughed, “Yeah well, I have to keep you on your toes, Air Head”

“Keep talking, Flappy and I’ll dunk you again” Sehun joked, pressing a kiss to Kris’s cheek, “You’re a complete idiot, you could have flown away, anything”

Kris shook his head, “Nah, not when you guys were in the firing line, too” he said, “I’m a team player”

“An idiot is more like it” Luhan scoffed, “Seriously, what were you thinking! You can’t even swim!”

“I can so!”

“Not well”

“Well, that, I…” Kris frowned, “That just isn’t the point”

Luhan rolled his eyes, “Uh, yeah. It kind of is”

Kris sighed softly, “Honestly, I didn’t even think about flying out. My only thought was ‘, I need my friends to get out of this okay and alive’ so flying away was the last thing on my mind… I know it was stupid or whatever, but you know” he shrugged, “But we’re all here, we’re all okay and that’s what matters, right?”

“Are you though?” Tao asked quietly, “Okay, I mean?”

Kris smiled up at him and gestured for the boy to sit with him, “I’m fine, Taozi. I didn’t mean to make you worry”

“Still…” Tao sighed as he sat beside the Dragon, “You just… You looked dead, Kris.”

“Hey” Kris said softly, wrapping his arms around Tao, “I know it was a pretty scary situation, but I’m here, okay. I’m fine, I’m alive. It’s alright, Tao”

Tao shook his head before hiding his face in Kris’s shoulder, “I just don’t know what I’d do if you were gone, you know? You’re the person that knows me the best and I… I don’t know how’d I’d be able to… if you’d have…”

“Well let’s not think of that. I’m not dead and I don’t plan to be any time soon” Kris said as he held Tao tighter, “We’re gonna power through and win this, alright?”

“Yeah” Luhan added, “None of us are in a good place with all of this, but we need to keep our spirits high and power through, because if we don’t then we’ll end up letting it get the best of us. We can do this if we want to”

Sehun frowned slightly, “But you have to want to get through it” he said to Tao, “No turning back. Sticking it out until the end and until we win this”

Tao looked around at the three concerned faces peering at him. As much as he wished he could give up and run away, head back to where his mother and father were waiting for him, he knew that he’d made his bed and now it was his time to lie in it, “No turning back” he nodded, “We’ll win this together and we’ll show them how it’s ing done!”