“So pretty,” Hakyeon muttered to himself, eyes locked onto the necklace hanging before him.

The necklace simple really. Just a small, blue rock shard inside a small glass vial on a string. But naturally it would be simple since it only cost five bucks before tax. Hakyeon could probably make the exact same thing for a few bucks cheaper.

And yet, he wanted this necklace.

“That will be six seventy five?” the clerk at the checkout said, not even bothering to look at Hakyeon while running up the item.

“Thank you,” Hakyeon still made a point of smiling, even if he was being ignored completely.

The rest of Hakyeon’s day was normal. Beyond normal, really. But that was Hakyeon’s life: normal. Sometimes, it bothered Hakyeon just how normal his life was, but normal was much better then what his life could be.

Well, at least his life was normal.

The normality of his life died the second the necklace shattered.

Hakyeon had only just gotten home when the accident happened. He’d put the necklace on the counter before starting to make dinner. Like a klutz, he knocked it off and the glass vial shattered. Cursing, he made a grab for the rock.

That was where things went wrong.

The second his skin made contact with the stone, it started to turn to stone.  Hakyeon pulled back, ending up on the other side of the room. He screamed, waving his arms about madly as he tried to stop whatever was happening. But it didn’t matter because soon his whole arm was stone and moments after that so was the rest of him.

There was silence for a long moment and stone-Hakyeon was just left there, sitting on the floor completely alone.

Then, stone-Hakyeon cracked.

The next minute, the stone shattered completely and fell away, leaving Hakyeon there gasping for breath.

“What……..” Hakyeon gasped, eyes locked on where the stone had once been only to find it had been turned to dust.

He had no idea what to do, so he just sat there in silence.

And that was how Hakyeon’s normal life as a human ended and his life as an inhuman began.

 

--

 

“Hello.”

Hakyeon looked up, eyes full of fear to find a young man with blue hair and……no eyes!

“Oh come on,” the guy sighed when Hakyeon screamed, “this is why I hate picking up newbies. They always scream. I told Taekwoon to send someone else.”

“Who are you?” Hakyeon yelled, trying to move away, “what do you want?”

“Calm down,” the guy said, trying to keep his voice calm in hopes of getting Hakyeon to calm down, “I’m not here to hurt you. I’m like you.”

“Really?” Hakyeon questioned, “you….you can make things shake?”

“No, that’s your power,” the guy said, “me? I teleport. But we’re both of the same race. We’re both inhumans.”

“I…I don’t understand,” Hakyeon scowled, “I….I’m human.”

“Look,” the guy gave him a small, understanding smile, “My name is Wonsik. I was sent here by my—by our people to bring you home.”

“I can’t go home,” Hakyeon hung his head, “I ruined it. Leveled my whole building and half the block. I….I could have killed someone.”

“Not your home,” Wonsik said, “my home. Our home. It’s a place where our kind can be safe, where we can get help for our gifts.” He held out a hand, “do you want to go there?”

“Yes,” Hakyeon nodded, trying not to cry and failing, “please, help me.”

The ground started to shake, Hakyeon’s distress affecting his gift and making it run amuck.

“Calm down,” Wonsik dropped to his knees before the other, silently hoping that he could control the situation before things got out of hand, “please don’t cry. We can help you control this gift. We can help you so that you don’t hurt anyone.”

Hakyeon just kept crying and the ground kept shaking.

And then it stopped and Hakyeon dropped to the ground, knocked out cold.

“I had things under control,” Wonsik scowled up at a young man with purple hair, “you didn’t need to knock him out, Sanghyuk.”

“You so did not have things under control, Sik,” Sanghyuk rolled his eyes, “he would have kept crying until something happened. Heck, something almost did happen,” he nodded to the left of them where a large crater had opened up in the earth, “Taekwoon was right to send me as back up.”

“I just….gah!” Wonsik through his hands up, not able to come up with anything to say to Sanghyuk, “you’re impossible.”

“Look,” Sanghyuk sighed, “I just did as I was told by the boss man. I stayed back and let you handle things, only stepping in when you lost control of the situation. Explain to me where I ed up.”

“You didn’t,” Wonsik gave in, knowing that Sanghyuk – sadly – had a point, “let’s just grab him and get out of here.”

“Done and done,” Sanghyuk nodded, grabbing Hakyeon and lifting him over his shoulder like a bag of potatoes before grabbing Wonsik’s arm, “let’s get out of here.” Sanghyuk paused before lightly smacking the other’s shoulder.

“Hey,” Wonsik huffed, “what was that for.”

“You got all prissy with me,” Sanghyuk replied, “totally disrespectful. You could have at least called me hyung.”

“Sorry, hyung,” Wonsik would have rolled his eyes. If he still had them.

There was a flash of blue and the three vanished into the night.

 

--

 

“Umm,” Hakyeon groaned, shifting slightly.

He could feel his soft sheets and blankets cocooning him and smiled softly to himself, enjoying the comfort. He’d really missed his bed.

…..wait.

Hakyeon sat up, panicking as he looked around.

The forest he’d been hiding out in was long gone, replaced with a room with plain, off-white walls. There were several plants scattered around the room and a few paintings of landscapes and ocean views hung on the walls. If Hakyeon had been thinking more clearly, he might have admired how nice the room was.

But he wasn’t in his right mind, he was freaking out.

He rushed to untangle himself from the blankets, trying to get out of the room so that he could figure out where he was. In his rush, he almost missed the young man entering the room.

“Oh,” the guy smiled brightly, “you’re awake.”

“What is going on?” Hakyeon yelled, “Who are you? Where the hell is that eyeless guy? Where did he take me?”

“Calm down,” the guy said, making his way over to the bedside table so that he could put down the tray of food in his hands, “one question at a time, ok?”

“Who are you?” Hakyeon decided to ask first.

“I’m Hongbin,” the guy, Hongbin, replied, “it’s nice to meet you…..”

“Hakyeon,” Hakyeon bowed his head slightly in greeting, “where…..where are we?”

“Didn’t Wonsik tell you?” Hongbin said, “this is a safe place for our kind.”

“Our kind?” Hakyeon recalled what Wonsik had said about being able to teleport, “what do you do?”

“I multiply,” Hongbin answered.

Hakyeon watched, eyes and mouth wide, as Hongbin’s eyes glowed white and another him just seemed to step out of him. It……..it was very weird.

“It’s always funny seeing people’s reaction,” Hongbin Two laughed before merging with the original Hongbin.

“That’s….” Hakyeon had no words.

“Do you think you can walk?” Hongbin asked, “I want to show you around. I mean, I’m your guide so guiding you around this place would be a good first move, right?”

“I can stand,” Hakyeon nodded, getting up.

He still wasn’t sure about everything, but Hongbin seemed nice. He was willing to trust him. For now anyway. If Hongbin started acting weird, Hakyeon was making a run for it, no questions asked.

 

--

 

Hakyeon looked around, finding nothing but log cabins and trees for as far as the eye could see. In the distance, he could also see mountains, lots of them. Honestly, everything was beautiful, downright stunning.

“What is this place?” Hakyeon asked, looking around at all the buildings surrounding him before turning to his........guide.

“This is our home,” Hongbin smiled brightly, “a safe place for our kind.”

“Our kind huh?” Hakyeon whispered, still looking around in wonder.

“Taekwoon didn’t tell me,” Hongbin asked, “what’s your gift?”

“It’s not a gift,” Hakyeon scowled, “it’s a curse.”

“Our gifts are never a curse.”

Hakyeon and Hongbin both startled at the sudden declaration, nether having noticed anyone walking over to them. Both turned to find a young man standing before them with purple hair.

“Sanghyuk hyung!” Hongbin smiled brightly, rushing to hug the other, “you’re back! When did you arrive?” He led Sanghyuk over to Hakyeon, hugging the other’s arm tightly to his chest the whole time.

“A few moments ago,” Sanghyuk replied, smiling softly and moving his arm Hongbin had been hugging around the young man’s shoulders, “Wonsik dropped me off before going to pick up Jaehwan. I’d offer to help him, but........”

“Jaehwan is still mad at you for shocking him last time,” Hongbin laughed and Sanghyuk muttered something about it not being his fault before turning to Hakyeon.

“So who’s this?” Sanghyuk asked, returning attention to Hakyeon who tried very hard to make it look like he hadn’t just been staring at Sanghyuk. It wouldn’t do to openly eye someone else’s boyfriend, especially when that someone was his guide through all of this power stuff.

“This is Hakyeon,” Hongbin explained, “Hakyeon, this is my big brother, Sanghyuk.” Hakyeon nodded, trying to crush the little cheer his brain gave over such news.

“Nice to meet you,” Hakyeon bowed slightly, averting his eyes from Sanghyuk’s intense gaze.

“Why don’t you go find Wonsik?” Sanghyuk suggested to Hongbin after returning Hakyeon’s greeting, “I’ll take over here.”

“You sure?” Hongbin questioned.

“Yeah,” Sanghyuk grinned, waving his brother off, “it’s been ages since you last saw Wonsik, right? So go and see him.” Hongbin nodded before rushing off.

“Um,” Hakyeon suddenly wasn’t sure if being alone with Sanghyuk was a good thing.

For starters, Sanghyuk was gorgeous. Hakyeon had never been good around gorgeous men he was attracted to, getting fired more than once because of it. Secondly, Sanghyuk’s gaze was incredibly unnerving. When you paired that with his ‘gift not curse’ comment from before……..

Maybe Sanghyuk taking over for his brother wasn’t a good thing.

“What is your.......curse?” Sanghyuk asked after a moment, spitting out the last word like it was some kind of horrible word that should never be spoken.

“I....I make things shake,” Hakyeon admitted, “like.....I can make earthquakes happen.” His mind quickly recalled the last time he’d used this ‘gift’ and the destruction he’d caused.

“You’re very powerful,” Sanghyuk nodded in understanding, recalling what he’d seen before he knocked Hakyeon out, “and because you don’t know how to use that power, you’re dangerous.”

“I don’t want to learn how to use it,” Hakyeon scowled, “I want to get rid of it.”

“Too late for that,” Sanghyuk scoffed, “you touch the terrigen crystal, you pay the price.”

“I didn’t know what that was,” Hakyeon defended himself, “I still don’t, so how was I supposed to know any of this would happen?”

“You couldn’t have known,” Sanghyuk sighed, “most have no idea that there’s a whole nation of inhumans living on earth. Most of the inhuman population of the earth doesn’t even know what they are.”

“I just want to go back to how things were,” Hakyeon said, looking down at his feet sadly.

“Thing can never go back to how they were,” Sanghyuk told him, “but I can help you learn to control your power enough that things can be close to how they were.”

“Alright,” Hakyeon nodded.

“Go back to your room and rest,” Sanghyuk said, turning to walk away, “I need to tell Taekwoon that I’m taking over as your guide. We’ll start training you tomorrow.”

“Ok,” Hakyeon nodded, doing as told. He kind of wanted to ask if they could start right then, but the idea of doing anything with his powers scared him so he was grateful for the delay.

 

--

 

“First off,” Sanghyuk said, leading Hakyeon towards the mountains, “I should probably show you my power.”

“Show?” Hakyeon frowned, “why not just tell me? Wonsik told me.”

“Because he and I are different people,” Sanghyuk rolled his eyes and held out his hands.

Hakyeon watched as his hand started to spark. No sooner had they started sparking then bolts of electricity started zapping back and forth between Sanghyuk’s hands. Some even ran up his arms and down his legs into the ground.

“Wow,” Hakyeon gasped as the bolts stopped and the spark lost their charge.

“My power is dangerous, too,” Sanghyuk said, “if I’m not careful, I could kill a lot of people. Just like you.”

“That’s why you’re teaching me, right?” Hakyeon questioned, a small part of him feeling kind of disheartened to know that was the only reason Sanghyuk was going to help him, “Because you get my problem more than Hongbin does?”

“Exactly,” Sanghyuk nodded and Hakyeon felt beyond foolish for thinking anything different for even a second.

Of course that was it.

“Where do we start?” Hakyeon asked, following after Sanghyuk like a puppy when the other started to walk once more.

“We start with our kinds past,” Sanghyuk said, “Taekwoon says that to learn about our gifts, knowing where they come from is important.”

“Do you believe that?” Hakyeon asked.

“Not really,” Sanghyuk shrugged, “but if Taekwoon think it’s important, then it probably is.”

“So tell me,” Hakyeon said, “where do we come from?”

“Ages ago,” Sanghyuk said, “a race of aliens called the Kree came to earth to run experiments on the people here. They wanted warriors to fight their battles and were going around to all the planets that had life looking for what they needed.”

“Wait,” Hakyeon held up his hands, “aliens? You…you’re joking, right?”

“No,” Sanghyuk told him, “I’m not.” He turned to look at Hakyeon, pausing in his walk, “you know that city that was wiped off the face of the earth last year? It made headlines worldwide because of those pictures with what looked like a giant suit of armor.”

“I remember it,” Hakyeon nodded, recalling the pictures and news stories very well.

Everyone had thought it was some kind of terrorist attack, but no one had stepped up to take the credit. The opposite in fact, everyone denied having anything to do with it. Eventually, the story faded from the headlines and people started to forget.

“That was alien tech,” Sanghyuk said, “specifically, asgardian tech.”

“I….I don’t understand,” Hakyeon frowned, “isn’t Asgard a myth from norse mythology?”

“All those myths came from somewhere,” Sanghyuk shrugged, “we’re on good terms with Oden and his people. Thor even stops by from time to time. He’s a cool guy, even trained me a little bit when I was younger. Next time he does, you’ll see the proof that all this alien stuff is real.”

“Ok,” Hakyeon nodded after a pause, “so, um, we’re alien experiments?”

“Pretty much,” Sanghyuk nodded, resuming his walk and Hakyeon rushed to catch up, “we’re experiments that our makers decided they wanted to destroy.”

“What?” Hakyeon froze, horrified.

“The Kree felt that we were too dangerous,” Sanghyuk sighed, “I guess some of their other experiments had them, but since we had the most power, been the most successful of all the expariments.……..they didn’t want to risk us turning on them as well.”

“So how are we still here?” Hakyeon asked, glancing around despite himself. He knew that Sanghyuk wouldn’t have taken him his far from the buildings if it was dangerous – he hoped – but he still felt scared.

“Oden happened,” Sanghyuk smiled slightly, “he’d caught wind of what the Kree where doing and sent Thor here to help us. With Thor, Lady Sif, and the Warriors Three guiding our people, the Kree were chased off and we were placed under their protection. Just to be safe, though, Thor found us this place. He said that we’d be safe here, hidden, so that no one could harm us.”

“So we’re being protected by aliens, from aliens,” Hakyeon summarized, “um, are the Kree……are they still after us?”

“Maybe,” Sanghyuk shrugged, “but so long as Oden calls us friends of his people, they aren’t going to do . Oden and his people……they aren’t someone you want to engage in battle with.”

“Good,” Hakyeon smiled slightly, feeling very safe.

“That’s not all of our history,” Sanghyuk said, “the Kree had these devices that they would use to unlock our powers.”

“The terrigen crystals?” Hakyeon asked, earning himself a nod.

“Not originally,” the other said, “originally, we had these obelisks with the Kree language on them. When taken to these temples the Kree had built, they would activate, awakening the sealed power in all the inhumans within the temple. The whole thing ended up destroying the obelisks, so the Kree had to keep bringing more each time they came to earth from their home world.”

“But the Kree left,” Hakyeon guessed, “and the obelisks started to run out.”

“Exactly,” Sanghyuk nodded, “Taekwoon was the one who decided that we needed to extract the terrigen crystals from inside the remaining obelisks. He’s also the one who was in charge of creating new crystals. It worked, clearly, or we wouldn’t both be standing here.”

“Wait,” Hakyeon frowned, “Taekwoon……..when did this all happen?”

“Ages ago,” Sanghyuk turned slightly so that Hakyeon could see his slight smirk, “Taekwoon is really old. Thousands of years old.”

“How?”

“It’s his gift,” Sanghyuk’s smirk dropped, “well, his gift is more like curse. His power…….his power is the only one anyone would ever call a curse.”

“What is his power?”

“Taekwoon can drain the life of anyone he touches,” Sanghyuk frowned, “and take that life for himself. The elders…..they’ve been forcing him to do it for ages so that he can be around to help the next generation of inhumans.”

Hakyeon didn’t know what to say, how to react, to this bit of information.

“He hates it,” Sanghyuk said, sighing sadly, “He doesn’t like taking lives in order to keep going.” There was a pause before Sanghyuk said anything else, “when I’m an elder, I’m going to let him do as he wants. Even if what he wants is to finally rest.” This last sentence was whispered and Hakyeon almost missed it. He kind of wished that he had since it were clearly Sanghyuk’s private thoughts. A small part of him wondered…..just what kind of relationship did Sanghyuk have with Taekwoon.

“So,” Hakyeon finally found his words, “how did the crystals end up someplace where I could find one. Well, a fragment of one.”

“Don’t know,” Sanghyuk shrugged, but something told Hakyeon that he did know.

“You sure?”

“Look,” Sanghyuk sighed, “something like that isn’t your problem, not if you’re going to leave once you’ve gotten control of your power.”

“Oh,” Hakyeon nodded, realizing that Sanghyuk had a point.

Clearly, whatever had happened to get that crystal into Hakyeon’s hands was a problem only for those who called this place home. Hakyeon didn’t call it home, he planned to leave and never return. Thus, it wasn’t his problem.

“We’re here,” Sanghyuk said as the pair came upon a cliff with benches and flowers that over looked the mountains Hakyeon had seen before.

“Why are we here?” he asked, looking around.

“Show me what you can do,” Sanghyuk waved Hakyeon towards the mountain before them, “go crazy. There isn’t anyone around to get hurt.”

“No,” Hakyeon said, backing away, “I don’t want to.”

“Hakyeon,” Sanghyuk sighed, “I need to see what you can do if I’m going to help you. I swear to you, there is no one around here who could get hurt.”

“I can’t,” Hakyeon hung his head, “I- I’ve never been able to control it. It….it just happens.”

“Come here,” Sanghyuk grabbed his hand and pulled him closer to the cliff edge, “stand here.” He lifted up Hakyeon’s head so that he was facing the mountains, “Taekwoon said that you can feel the vibrations that everything is giving off, that you can use them and manipulate them however you want. So feel those vibrations, feel the ones coming from the mountains, and do with them whatever you want.”

“A-Alright,” Hakyeon nodded, trying to focus on anything but the feel of Sanghyuk’s hands on him.

The feel of Sanghyuk’s skin against his…….it felt amazing. He could swear that he could feel electricity sparking wherever they touched.

“Breath,” Sanghyuk said, pulling away slightly and Hakyeon immediately missed the contact, “and make the mountain shake.”

Hakyeon did as told.

At least, he tried to.

Instead of the mountain shaking a little like he wanted, it shook a lot. Hakyeon watched in horror as an obvious crack appeared in the mountain and that only made things worse.

“Calm down,” Sanghyuk told him, pulling Hakyeon against his chest, “just calm down. Everything is alright, nothing bad is going to happen.”

The contact with Sanghyuk just made Hakyeon’s control slip even more.

“Dang it,” Sanghyuk hissed, “sorry about this.”

Hakyeon heard a zap, felt a bit of pain, and then was out cold.

 

--

 

“Ummm,” Hakyeon groaned, slowly opening his eyes to find himself back in his room.

“Finally,” he heard someone say in a soft voice, “I was starting to worry that Sanghyuk had done some serious damage like he feared.” Hakyeon looked over to find a man with dark hair that fell to his shoulders.

“Sanghyuk,” Hakyeon tried to piece everything together, “he…….knocked me out.”

“Yes,” the man nodded, “he felt it was the only way to stop the destruction your gift was causing.”

“I’m sorry,” Hakyeon hung his head, recalling the large crack in the mountain.

“It isn’t your fault,” the man assured him, “you haven’t yet learned to control the vast amount of power within you. The power you hold….it’s natural that you would become scared of it and lose control.”

“Still,” Hakyeon recalled the control everyone else he’d met seemed to have when it came to their gifts.

Especially Sanghyuk.

“No,” the man frowned, “there is no ‘still.’ You will learn to control your gift in time, Hakyeon. Don’t get discouraged because you can’t control it from the start.” The man paused, “and don’t compare yourself to the others you’ve met. They’ve had years to train and practice, naturally they will be more in control of their gifts then you.”

“Right,” Hakyeon nodded, unable to picture Sanghyuk having problems controlling his gift. He had no trouble imagining two year old Sanghyuk being just in control of his power as he was now.

“Wonsik had to be kept in a special room for the first year or so after his change,” the man said, “he kept teleporting around randomly so much that we all feared he would end up stuck in a wall. Hongbin kept multiplying himself at random. At one point, I counted at least a hundred of him.”

“And Sanghyuk?”

“Sanghyuk shorted out half of his home city,” the man sighed, “that was a large part of why his parents sent him here, why they didn’t want Hongbin to go through the change.” The man stopped then as if realizing he said something he shouldn’t.

Hakyeon filed the information away for another time, but acted like he hadn’t heard anything.

“So,” he asked, “what’s your name?”

“I’m Taekwoon,” Taekwoon nodded, “I’m sure Sanghyuk mentioned me.”

“He did,” Hakyeon nodded.

So this was Taekwoon. Hakyeon could defiantly understand why Sanghyuk seemed to hold him in such high regard. And if they were dating……..Hakyeon could understand that too. Taekwoon was handsome, as was Sanghyuk. Two attractive people together……..wasn’t that how things normally worked or something?

Hakyeon frowned internally, silently wishing that wasn’t true because he would love a chance to go out with Sanghyuk just once.

“Taekwoon,” Sanghyuk shouted, suddenly bursting through the door, “Jaehwan got pissed at Wonsik again.”

“What did he destroy this time?” Taekwoon scowled, clearly upset by the news.

“You should probably go see for yourself,” Sanghyuk sighed, moving to the side so that Taekwoon could walk past him.

“Stay here with Hakyeon,” Taekwoon instructed, “I’m going to see what that fool ruined this time.”

“Um,” Hakyeon asked once alone with Sanghyuk, “what….what happened?”

“Jaehwan happened,” Sanghyuk sighed, “he’s not so great on control when his emotions get out of control. Since his gift is air control…….he can do a lot of damage when his control slips.”

“Ah,” Hakyeon nodded and the pair fell into silence.

“Sorry for knocking you out,” Sanghyuk finally said, stepping inside the room instead of in the door like he had been, “I couldn’t think of another way to help.”

“It’s fine,” Hakyeon assured him, “you stopped things from getting worse so….it’s fine.”

Sanghyuk nodded.

“Did you and Taekwoon talk about your powers?” he asked, pulling a chair over to the side of Hakyeon’s bed.

“Yeah,” Hakyeon said, “he assured me that my lack of control is normal.”

“It is,” Sanghyuk nodded, “no one has perfect control when they first go through the change.”

“He said that you shorted out a city,” Hakyeon said, unsure if he should mention it to the other, “is….is that true?”

“Yeah,” Sanghyuk nodded, expression hard, “but it was only half a city.”

“How old were you?” Hakyeon asked, “And how did you find a crystal?” He wondered if maybe he should drop the subject, but he couldn’t help it. He just kept asking.

“I was six,” Sanghyuk said and Hakyeon was sure that the other was trying not to bolt (A/N: no pun intended), “and I didn’t find a crystal, I was chosen to go through the change by the elders.”

“Huh?” Hakyeon frowned, “chosen…….I…I don’t understand?”

“Most of us,” Sanghyuk explained, “were chosen by the elders to go through the change. You are one of the rare cases.”

Hakyeon was about to ask something else, but then he recalled what Sanghyuk had told him earlier about how the crystal that changed him had gotten unto his hands. Unless he was going to stick around, it wasn’t any of his business. So he decided to ask another question.

“And they picked you at six?” Hakyeon frowned, trying to understand why giving a six year old Sanghyuk’s power sounded like a good idea to someone.

“No idea why,” Sanghyuk managed to crack a small, bitter smile, “but they decided I was mentally stable enough to handle whatever gift the crystal gave me.”

“And were you?” Hakyeon asked.

“Taekwoon assures me that I was stable,” Sanghyuk replied, “it’s just that my power wasn’t.”

“What about Wonsik, Hongbin, and Jaehwan?” Hakyeon questioned, “When were they picked?”

“Wonsik was about thirteen,” Sanghyuk said, “Jaehwan only went through the change three years ago when he turned nineteen. Hongbin…….was only three. And….he wasn’t chosen. He just…...was looking for me.”

Hakyeon wasn’t sure what to say, so he remained silent. He also recalled Taekwoon’s words about Sanghyuk and Hongbin’s parents not wanting the younger to go through the change, how they had sent Sanghyuk way when he couldn’t control his powers.

He didn’t ask.

 

--

 

“I think training is over for the day,” Sanghyuk said, looking towards the sky, “let’s head back.”

“You sure?” Hakyeon asked, trying to figure out why Sanghyuk was ending their training so soon.

Sanghyuk never ended training early. Never once in the five weeks since training started had he done that. Meaning that something had to be happening. Something important.

“Yeah,” Sanghyuk nodded, scowling, “we have company.”

“Who?” Hakyeon asked, wondering just who would be coming here.

“S.H.E.I.L.D,” Sanghyuk scowled.

“Are they bad guys?” Hakyeon asked, feeling more than a little worried now.

“No,” Sanghyuk explained, realizing that he needed to calm the other’s fears, “I just don’t trust them. Not completely anyway. I don’t like outsiders knowing about us, about what we can do and where they can find us. It……..it’s dangerous.”

Hakyeon nodded before following Sanghyuk who promised to take him back to his room. Hongbin was waiting there for them when they arrived and Sanghyuk ordered the pair to stay there, out of sight and mind, before leaving.

“Don’t worry,” Hongbin assured Hakyeon, “Sanghyuk’s just being careful.” He paused, “and distrustful.”

“He isn’t big on trust, is he?” Hakyeon sighed, recalling his hundreds of failed attempts to learn more about the twenty six year old electricity manipulator.

“Sanghyuk didn’t use to be that way,” Hongbin replied, flopping down on the bed, “but now…….now he’s been through some stuff.”

“What kind of stuff?” Hakyeon questioned, not really expecting an answer.

Hakyeon was used to not getting answers. Well, when he asked about Sanghyuk anyway. It didn’t matter what he was asking about, Sanghyuk always brushed him off. So asking Hongbin about Sanghyuk’s past probably wasn’t going to produce anything.

And yet he got an answer.

“Our parents,” Hongbin frowned, “they were so excited for him to go through the change, bragged about how he was so young, only six, and still got picked by Taekwoon himself. And then……..then he got his gift.”

“Your parents didn’t like it?” Hakyeon frowned.

“Not really,” Hongbin sighed, “they……I don’t know what they expected, but they sure didn’t get it. Sanghyukkie was so powerful and couldn’t control it. Like at all. So they sent him here, told Taekwoon to keep him here until he was in control of his gift.”

“But Sanghyuk never went back to them, did he?” Hakyeon questioned, “And after Sanghyuk, why would they have allowed for you to go through the change?”

“Sanghyuk chose not to go back,” Hongbin explained, “he….he hates our parents. I can’t blame him, not with some of the things they’ve said to him. The things they’ve said about his power.”

Hakyeon recalled when he’d first met Sanghyuk, when he called his gift a curse. Sanghyuk had clearly hated that word, clearly hated Hakyeon for using it. Now Hakyeon had an idea as to why. That was what Sanghyuk’s parents had called his gift.

“So how did you end up with your gift?” Hakyeon questioned.

“He was three,” Wonsik smirked, suddenly appearing in the middle of the room and surprising the two inside, “and his family had come to visit Sanghyuk after Taekwoon requested it. Sanghyuk had been having trouble settling in, Taekwoon thought seeing his family would help. Hongbin here snuck off by himself and stumbled upon the storage room where the crystals were kept.”

“What?” Hakyeon turned to the embarrassed Hongbin, “you did that?”

“I was three,” Hongbin huffed, “and my parents were too distracted talking to Taekwoon to pay attention to me. So I went off to find Sanghyuk.”

“Instead you found pretty rocks and touched them,” Wonsik laughed, pulling a chair over to the bed and sitting down.

“What did your parents say?” Hakyeon asked, careful in case it upset Hongbin.

“They weren’t happy,” Hongbin sighed, “I think they were even more angry over my gift then Sanghyuk’s since I thought it was so much fun to make copies of myself. He lacked control and wanted to fix that, I didn’t care if I could control my gift or now. They were so pissed off at Taekwoon, too. They blamed him for keeping the crystals out in the open or something.”

“Why were they out like that?” Hakyeon frowned.

“They weren’t!” Hongbin quickly said, “They were locked up in this building on the edge of the city…..wait, are we a city?”

“I’d call this a town,” Wonsik said after thinking it over for a second.

“Well,” Hongbin shrugged, “the building was still out of the way no matter what we call this place. I found it and was looking around it, trying to find Sanghyuk. I found a hole in a wall and crawled though. It wasn’t very big, just the right size for a three year old.”

“Taekwoon ordered Hongbin’s parents to leave him here,” Wonsik spoke up, cutting off Hongbin’s words, “they weren’t please about that, mostly because it was an order and not their own idea. So then the pair of them started to train under Taekwoon’s guidance. Sanghyuk was allowed to go home once. But he came back here and never left save for the yearly camping trip he and Hongbin take.”

“What happened?” Hakyeon asked, “To make him come back? And why didn’t you ever go home, Hongbin?”

“Sanghyuk….he caused a massive blackout,” Hongbin sighed sadly, “our parents were being such s about stuff and he just……snapped. He was nine, just old enough to understand what they were saying but just young enough to react like…..a child.”

“He came back here,” Wonsik added, “told Taekwoon that he was never going back to them and that was that. He didn’t tell Hongbin about what had happened, though. He only found out a few years later when their parents came to visit.”

“They didn’t want to see Sanghyuk,” Hongbin scowled, “I asked why and they……they said horrible thing about him. I just couldn’t stand it and took off running. I wanted to find Sanghyuk, but instead I found Taekwoon. I begged him to send our parents away, so he did. They were so angry about that, but orders were orders. No one was gonna back them up either, so they had no choice.”

“Have they ever tried to talk to you?” Hakyeon quickly covered his mouth, realizing that he shouldn’t be asking such things when it was clearly a painful subject.

“No,” all three turned to find Sanghyuk in the doorway, directing a sharp glare at Hongbin and Wonsik, “and some people would be wise to never bring those people up again.”

“It’s my fault,” Hakyeon said, “I asked.”

“They didn’t have to tell,” Sanghyuk scoffed, “and Wonsik? This isn’t any of your business so back the hell off.”

“Sorry, hyung,” Wonsik nodded before teleporting off.

“Hongbin,” Sanghyuk frowned at his younger brother, “you know why we don’t talk about it. Why on earth would you just……blab about it like this?”

“Hakyeon asked,” Hongbin hung his head, “and I just thought……maybe it would help him or something? I don’t know, it just felt right to tell him.”

“I know you like to follow your gut,” Sanghyuk sighed, the angry and hurt in his eyes slowly fading away, “but sometimes……sometimes your gut is wrong.”

“Yeah,” Hongbin nodded, but Hakyeon got the feeling he didn’t mean it.

“Get going,” Sanghyuk said, “the agents are gone, they just wanted to run something by Taekwoon real quick. You didn’t sleep to well last night, so you should make up for that now.”

“Ok,” Hongbin nodded before heading out.

“It’s my fault for asking,” Hakyeon said once they were alone, “please don’t get mad with them.”

“I’m not mad,” Sanghyuk told him, “just annoyed. I told him to keep it to himself and that’s defiantly not what he did.”

“I pushed for answers,” Hakyeon said.

“No,” Sanghyuk frowned, “you didn’t. Don’t try taking the blame for this because you think you deserve it, Hakyeon.”

Hakyeon nodded, deciding that he should just agree with Sanghyuk. The older inhuman wasn’t going to change his mind.

 

--

 

“You’ve been improving a lot since coming here,” Taekwoon said,  “Sanghyuk said that he’s very impressed by your growth. That you’re an amazingly fast learner and always trying to improve.”

“Thank you,” Hakyeon smiled brightly, beyond pleased to hear that Sanghyuk was impressed by him.

“Sanghyuk has made the recommendation that you can return to your normal life now,” Taekwoon continued, carefully gauging the other’s reaction.

“What?” Hakyeon blinked, not understanding exactly what Taekwoon meant.

He could......go home? As in leave this place, this safe haven for their kind? And......Sanghyuk had......had said as much? Recommended he go home?

“Sanghyuk said that you should be allowed to go home,” Taekwoon explained, “he said that was your reason to train so hard, you wished to return home. Since you’ve gotten control over your powers, I see no reason not to let you return provided you still check in every couple of weeks for a progress report.” Taekwoon paused, “unless you wish to stay here with us.”

“I’m not sure what I want to do,” Hakyeon admitted, “Could I......do you think I should talk to Sanghyuk about it?”

“I would suggest that,” Taekwoon sighed, “but.....Sanghyuk will be heading out shortly with Hongbin. They’ve got a yearly camping trip planned and they’ll be teleporting out to the camp site in,” Taekwoon looked at his clock, “five minutes ago. They won’t be back until part way through next week.”

“Oh,” Hakyeon hung his head slightly.

“Personally,” Taekwoon said after a moment’s pause, “I think you should stay. You fit in here very well and you’re well liked by all.” He paused again, considering if he should say his next words or not, “I think.....Sanghyuk would like you to stay. He’s become......very fond of you.”

Hakyeon nodded, considering his options and trying to ignore the fluttering of his heart upon hearing what Taekwoon had said about Sanghyuk being fond of him. He didn’t want to hope for something he might never get. Sanghyuk didn’t seem to like him. Not in that way. Hoping that he did, getting his hopes up over that……..it would likely end in Hakyeon being hurt and embarrassed.

There was, after all, no way Sanghyuk of all people would look at someone like him.

 

--

 

“So what are you gonna do?” Jaehwan asked, rolling himself through the air.

“I think I’m going to stay,” Hakyeon said, trying to ignore the flash of envy he felt whenever Jaehwan demonstrated his control. It was no secret to anyone that Hakyeon wished to have that same level of control one day.

“I feel like there’s a ‘but’ at the end of that,” Wonsik commented, startling Hakyeon and Jaehwan who thought he’d fallen asleep.

“I want to ask Sanghyuk for his opinion,” Hakyeon admitted, “it might not change anything, but……”

“You’d like to hear his thoughts,” Wonsik nodded, “smart.”

“Too bad Sanghyuk isn’t gonna give you unbiased feedback,” Jaehwan giggled.

“What do you mean?” Hakyeon asked, not expecting a response.

Jaehwan had been trained by Sanghyuk when he showed up with his powers out of control just like Hakyeon. However, Jaehwan hadn’t developed a massive crush on the older inhuman. Instead, he’d picked up Sanghyuk’s habit of not answering questions. If Hakyeon sometimes found it annoying when Sanghyuk did it, then it was a hundred times worse when Jaehwan did the same thing.

“Speaking of Sanghyuk,” Wonsik got up, “I’ve gotta go pick him and Hongbin up in a few minutes. See you all later.”

“Teleport safe,” Hakyeon smiled before realizing how stupid what he’d said sounded. But it made Wonsik crack a grin so Hakyeon decided it was worth it.

The teleporter waved at the pair before vanishing.

About an hour later, Wonsik returned and all hell broke loose.

 

--

 

“Do they know what happened?” Hakyeon asked Taekwoon as he watched the older pace about his office.

“No,” Taekwoon sighed, “Hongbin hasn’t woke up since they arrived. Wonsik said that Hongbin told him he had a copy out. That copy……..”

“It died,” Hakyeon finished, “and Hongbin felt it. He felt it as if it happened to him.”

“Yes,” Taekwoon sighed, “Hongbin’s never had a copy die. He’s never felt a part of himself die. I can’t imagine how…..how hard that is. To feel what’s basically you die.”

“Hmm,” Hakyeon nodded, “what…….what about Sanghyuk?”

“I don’t know,” Taekwoon sighed sadly, “I wish I did, but I don’t.”

“Do you…..?” Hakyeon couldn’t help trying to ask.

“I hope not,” Taekwoon finally got up from his desk, “go find Wonsik and Jaehwan. I need to call S.H.E.I.L.D. and see if they can help us. Sanghyuk didn’t want them to know about you, so I’d like it if you’re not here when I call.”

“Right,” Hakyeon nodded before leaving.

He hoped that S.H.E.I.L.D. would be able to help. That they could find and save Sanghyuk. And when they brought Sanghyuk back, Hakyeon was going to hug him and kiss him and confess. Because the thought that he might have lost Sanghyuk before he’d gotten him was beyond horrible and he didn’t want it to ever become a truth.

 

--

 

“I’ve called S.H.E.I.L.D.,” Taekwoon told the group of inhumans that had gathered, “and they’ve given me some……rather troubling information.”

“Troubling,” Hakyeon whispered, a feeling of dread building in his stomach.

“I’m afraid that,” Taekwoon said, clearly struggling for words, “that Hydra was spotted in the area that….that Sanghyuk and Hongbin were in. It’s very likely that Sanghyuk has been captured and is being…..experimented on as we speak.”

Hakyeon looked around, confused. Clearly, whoever this ‘Hydra’ was, they were bad. Why else would everyone look so scared? And Taekwoon thought……that Sanghyuk was being experimented on? That made Hakyeon’s blood run cold as his mind filled up with ideas of what kind of ‘experiments’ Hydra could be running on Sanghyuk.

“I have decided,” Taekwoon pressed on, “that we will not be mounting a rescue attempt for Sanghyuk. The risk…..it’s too much.”

“What?” Hakyeon gasped and Jaehwan covered his mouth before he could say anything else. Wonsik was already leaving, glaring at the ground.

“We’ll talk later,” Jaehwan whispered as Taekwoon started fielding questions from the other inhumans, “we’ll explain about Hydra. But right now? Please don’t say anything else.”

Hakyeon nodded before stalking off.

He couldn’t understand why Taekwoon would just…..condemn Sanghyuk to death like this. Sanghyuk……he cared so much for everyone and he seems to really care about Taekwoon. But Taekwoon was just going to let Hydra have him? Without even trying to get him back?

Hakyeon just….he couldn’t just let this happen.

 

--

 

“Hydra is a group of people who, well, are evil,” Jaehwan explained, “Taekwoon said that they’re, like, just as old as he is.”

“And he’s…….” Hakyeon trailed off.

“Really old,” Wonsik managed a very small smile, “like, you have no idea just how old he is.”

“Anyway,” Jaehwan sighed, “for ages, they’ve had an interest in powered people. In other words, they have in interest in us. In experimenting on us and doing who knows what else. And that is why Taekwoon isn’t going to go after Sanghyuk. It’s exactly what they want, a chance to capture a few more of us.”

“But Sanghyuk,” Hakyeon started to say.

“Isn’t enough for Taekwoon to put everyone at risk,” Jaehwan said, “I’m sorry, but……”

“He’s our leader,” Wonsik sighed, “and he has to think of what’s best for all of us. Not going after the people who have Sanghyuk…..who hurt Hongbin…….it’s what’s best for everyone.”

“Well,” Hakyeon growled, “I’m not the leader. I don’t have to do what’s best for everyone else. I’ll go get him.”

“How?” Jaehwan scowled, “you’re just one person. And you don’t even have full control, so things could go really wrong. You could hurt yourself or Sanghyuk or innocent people.”

“I don’t care!” Hakyeon snapped, “I can’t just leave him to die.”

“Dang it,” Wonsik sighed, “I’m gonna regret this but……I’ll go with you.”

“Wonsik!” Jaehwan snapped, looking horrified.

“They hurt Hongbin,” Wonsik said, “you’ve seen him. They…..they killed one of his copies. I can’t just let that slide, Jaehwan. And Sanghyuk…..he’s been there for both of us. He’s like a big brother for us. I can’t just let this happen to him.”

“You’re both idiots,” Jaehwan sighed, hanging his head, “and I guess I am too because I’m going to come.”

“You don’t have to,” Hakyeon assured him, “I know the risks. I know we might very well die. You don’t have to come.”

“You’re friends,” Jaehwan sighed again, “I can’t just watch you go to your possible death and do nothing to help you. And Hongbin’s a friend. I can’t let this attack on him go. Sanghyuk’s a friend and big brother, so I really can’t let this go.”

“Then we leave tonight,” Wonsik smiled slightly, trying to lighten the mood a little, “dress in dark cloths and bring only things we’ll really need. Like medical supplies.”

 

--

 

“I kind of expected this,” Jaehwan sighed as he tried to get more comfortable in his cell, “but…..I kind of wish they’d just killed us.”

“Taekwoon’s gonna kill us,” Wonsik sighed, “When he finds out.”

“Gotta find us first,” Hakyeon tried to smile, but the other all situation was just too ty to make light of.

Within only a few short minutes of arriving at what Wonsik claimed was Sanghyuk and Hongbin’s camping spot, the three were ambushed by several people in full combat gear. Before any of them could do anything, bags were over their heads and some kind of handcuffs were on their wrists. Hakyeon had tried to use his powers after that, but nothing happened. His powers felt…..blocked. If Jaehwan and Wonsik’s cries of frustration were anything to go by, they were going through similar problems.

They were knocked out after that and woke up in the dirty cell that they now found themselves in.

“I knew I shouldn’t have let this happen,” Jaehwan sighed.

“What time do you think it is?” Wonsik wondered, “think Taekwoon will have noticed us being gone?”

“Not sure what time,” Jaehwan sighed, “but he should know something’s up when we don’t show up to breakfast. Then he’ll go to our room and find us gone. If that doesn’t tip him off, then the note I left should.”

“he’s gonna be mad,” Wonsik sighed, “and…..and really sad.” The other two nodded.

The group fell silent and Hakyeon found himself playing with his hair. Wasn’t like he could do much else, not with his feet chained to the floor and his hands cuffed together. He wished that he had, like, a hairpin or something in his hair. He wished that he could find one that he’d forgotten about. But life wasn’t nearly so nice and he had nothing.

“Out him in the cell with the others,” they heard a Hydra member call out as moments later something was being tossed into their cell.

For a moment, Hakyeon thought it was a dead body. After all, the thing was human sized and not moving. And then he realized that this wasn’t just any old body, it was Sanghyuk. And Sanghyuk wasn’t moving.

Sanghyuk was……

“He’s breathing,” Jaehwan gasped, “I can see his chest moving. Wonsik, can you get close enough to check his pulse?” Hakyeon felt himself calming slightly at the idea of Sanghyuk still being alive, but he could feel his power bubbling up inside him, trying to break past whatever spell the cuffs had cast on him.

“He’s heart beat is strong enough,” Wonsik replied once he found Sanghyuk’s pulse, “but….he’s hurt really bad.”

Hakyeon could feel himself shaking in anger, his powers desperate to destroy everyone who dared cause his Sanghyuk so much pain, especially when Wonsik pulled up Sanghyuk’s shirt to reveal the poorly stitched wounds across his chest and stomach.

“,” Jaehwan suddenly cursed as the whole room started to shake, “what the hell?”

“Hakyeon?” Wonsik questioned, “what….how….?”

“We can worry about how he’s getting past the power limiters later,” Jaehwan cried, trying to free himself, “right now we need to get out of here. He’s gonna bring down the whole freaking building!”

“Got a pin or something?” Wonsik asked, trying to get his cuffs off.

“If I did,” Jaehwan snapped, don’t ya think I would have used it already?”

“Dang it,” Wonsik hissed, “even if it’s just my cuffs……”

“Wait,” Jaehwan grabbed a rock, “come here, I’ll try to bash ‘em off.”

“Right,” Wonsik grinned, “right. That should work. Why didn’t I think of it sooner!”

Luck seems to finally be on their side because the cuffs came off rather quickly when bashed with a rock. And not a moment too soon either. Only second after Wonsik teleported the four inhumans outside the building crumbled to the ground.

“Got everyone?” Jaehwan asked, doing a quick headcount.

“Yeah,” Wonsik nodded, “you, me, Hakyeon, and Sanghyuk.”

“How on earth did he manage to overload those cuffs?” Jaehwan wondered.

“Well,” Wonsik sighed, “whatever he did knocked him out. He’s totally drained of energy. Probably gonna be out cold for a few days until he’s recovered.”

“I wonder,” Jaehwan frowned as he looked at the cuff still on his person, “if these things aren’t as much of a total seal as we thought.”

“You think they have a limit?” Wonsik wondered as he carefully picked Sanghyuk up, “hey, worry about all this later. Right now, you need to pick up Hakyeon so we can go home.”

“Right,” Jaehwan sighed, doing as he was told, “maybe Taekwoon will have a better idea.”

“Maybe,” Wonsik nodded.

There was a flash and then the four were gone.

 

--

 

“Taekwoon,” the agent sighed for the tenth time, “we know that it was an inhuman who brought down that Hydra base.”

“No you don’t,” Taekwoon replied, “you’re assuming.”

“You have to admit,” the agent said, “the timing is rather perfect. Hydra attacks two of your people, taking one prisoner. Then their base is destroyed and S.H.E.I.L.D just can’t seem to find any inhuman bodies. Just a broken set of cuffs. And when we arrive here, we see the inhuman you said had been taken.”

Taekwoon silently cursed the people in the medical building for not doing as he ordered and keeping the doors shut tight.

“You aren’t getting anything out of us,” Sanghyuk said as he stepped into the room. He was trying his best to look just as important and imposing as he normally did, but the after effects of his experience made that rather hard.

“We just want to register whoever did this in the database,” the agent assured Sanghyuk, “that’s it. Just a name and photo. Bit of info on their powers. Maybe even a blood sample.”

“His name is Cha Hakyeon,” Taekwoon gave in, “you can find the rest out for yourselves.” Taekwoon chose to ignore the sharp glare Sanghyuk gave him for giving in to the agent’s demands.

“Fine,” the agent sighed after a moment, “we’ll leave it at that for today. But I will be back. Someone with his power level needs to be looked at. I mean, he did this with limiters on, right?” the agent gestured to the pictures on Taekwoon’s desk detailing the remains of the base. Sanghyuk had to admit, it made him feel rather proud of Hakyeon.

“Then we’ll see you another day,” was all Taekwoon said.

The agent sighed before leaving and for several minutes after, the room was silent. Taekwoon just glared down at his desk, going over all the trouble he had to deal with now. Sanghyuk carefully dropped into a seat, gathering up the pictures and flipping through them.

“Hakyeon,” Taekwoon finally said, “you can come out.”

Hakyeon slipped out of the closet, taking a seat beside Sanghyuk who glanced up from the photos just long enough to give the other a small smile.

Taekwoon wasn’t smiling though.

“Do you have any idea how foolish you are?” Taekwoon hissed, glaring at Hakyeon, “do you have any idea what you’ve done?”

“I,” Hakyeon struggled for words.

“You put all of us at risk!” Taekwoon yelled, “Do you think Hydra is going to let what go happened? You took down their base, took Sanghyuk, and killed their people. They will be hunting you now. They will hunting all of us, wanting revenge. You’ve taken the target on our backs and made it bigger. You’ve added a bright, neon arrow.”

“He hasn’t done anything,” Sanghyuk voiced, still not looking up from the photos, “nothing that wasn’t going to happen anyway.”

“Sanghyuk,” Taekwoon hissed, “stay out of it.”

“How can I?” Sanghyuk huffed, “this kind of concerns me, don’t ya think?”

“But you’re also biased,” Taekwoon huffed, “your judgment on this matter is biased in favor of Hakyeon.”

“So what if it is?” Sanghyuk challenged.

“Because I want him gone,” Taekwoon snapped and the younger inhumans froze.

“What?” Hakyeon whimpered.

“You hear me,” Taekwoon replied, “I want you to leave. You’re too much of a target to stay here and I will not put my people at risk.”

“He’s staying here,” Sanghyuk hissed, “and he is not too much of a target. Heck, I’m more of a target after all those tests they ran. They know how powerful I am and they’ll try to take me again.”

“That isn’t the point,” Taekwoon snapped.

“Yes it is.”

“He could have gotten Wonsik and Jaehwan killed,” Taekwoon yelled, “and he almost did.”

“They wanted to go,” Sanghyuk yelled right back, “he didn’t make them come. Wonsik was more than willing because of what happened to Hongbin. Jaehwan wasn’t going to let them go alone, couldn’t let them go knowing that he could help. Hakyeon didn’t make them do anything so don’t make it sound like he did.”

“Do you really think I’m going to be the only one wanting him gone?” Taekwoon challenged, “because I can promise you that I’m not.”

“Then I’ll go with him.”

That caused Taekwoon to pause, going over Sanghyuk’s words to make sure that he’d heard them right.

“You’ll what?”

“I’ll go with him,” Sanghyuk repeated, “if you’re going to send Hakyeon away, then I’ll go with him. After all, you want targets like us gone.”

“Sanghyuk,” Taekwoon tried to reason with the other, but Sanghyuk wouldn’t hear it.

“Talk to me when you’ve made up your mind about what you’re going to do,” Sanghyuk said, grabbing Hakyeon’s arm and leading him out, “you know where I stand. And all those who’ll want Hakyeon gone? They’ll change their mind if you say the word, so keep that in mind too.” Sanghyuk lightly pushed Hakyeon out before turning back to say one last thing, “and if I go, I’m pretty sure Hongbin will too. And Wonsik will go wherever he does.”

“You’re threatening me now?” Taekwoon said, voice cold as he tried to figure out how he felt and thought.

“No,” Sanghyuk said before shutting the door, “I’m just telling you where thing stand. Hakyeon leaves, I leave, Hongbin leaves, Wonsik leaves. Hakyeon stays, we all stay.”

The door slammed shut, leaving Taekwoon alone in his office.

“I’m just trying to protect our people,” Taekwoon sighed, hanging his head, “I don’t want to send Hakyeon away, but I have to do what’s best for all of us. You know that.”

 

--

 

“Hey,” Sanghyuk said, dropping down beside Hakyeon. The other didn’t turn away from the view before him, but Sanghyuk knew he was listening.

“This is where you brought me when you first started to train me,” Hakyeon finally said, sending a small smile at Sanghyuk, “it’s so nice here……it’s become my favorite place in the world.”

“It’s always been my favorite place, too,” Sanghyuk replied, “it’s so calm. And it’s also far enough away from everyone else that you can be…..totally alone.”

The pair fell silent for a moment before Hakyeon decided to ask a question that had been bugging him for a while.

“Sanghyuk?”

“Yeah?”

“What…..what is your relationship with Taekwoon?” Hakyeon finally managed to ask. He was so very scared of the answer, but he had to know. Was Sanghyuk……..was he interested in Taekwoon in a…..romantic way? Or were they together and hiding it because of Taekwoon’s position? And after that fight…….had Hakyeon messed up their relationship?

“Taekwoon’s my great, great grandfather,” Sanghyuk laughed, “with a few more greats thrown in there. But he’s always served as more of a father figure or me and Hongbin.”

“Oh,” Hakyeon felt himself blushing bright red in embarrassment.

“We are pretty close,” Sanghyuk laughed, “so I get why you’d think that way. Don’t worry about it, Jaehwan asked the same thing when he first came here.”

“He did?” Hakyeon questioned, feeling way less foolish knowing that he wasn’t the only one who’d thought that way about Sanghyuk and Taekwoon.

“Were you worried you’d messed up a relationship?” Sanghyuk smiled slightly, “or just wanted to make sure I was available?”

“What?” Hakyeon sputtered, “n-no way. How-what gave you that--? You’re crazy.”

“Bit of both,” Sanghyuk smirked, before turning serious, “you know, what I said back there about you staying…….you can leave if you want.”

“Huh?”

“I said that you were staying,” Sanghyuk explained, “I guess…….I don’t know what you want and I should have asked before that and……if you want to leave, go back to your normal life, don’t feel like you can’t. Pretend that whole fight never happened. Alright?”

“Right,” Hakyeon nodded.

“Good.”

“I want to stay.”

“You already decided that, huh?” Sanghyuk smiled slightly, “before all this mess started?”

“Yeah,” Hakyeon nodded, “I decided about……a day after you and Hongbin left. How is he by the way? Has he at least woken up yet?”

“He was up for a little bit,” Sanghyuk nodded, “he’s……he’s nowhere near ok, but I think me and Wonsik being there helped. He knows he’s in a safe place with people who love him.”

“He felt himself die,” Hakyeon sighed, “it’s…..it’s going to be hard to get over something like that.”

“But he will with time,” Sanghyuk said confidently, “time and support. He’s got both in spades.”

“Not just you and Wonsik,” Hakyeon smiled, “he’s got me here too.” Sanghyuk smiled, pulling the other into a quick hug.

“You know,” Sanghyuk said, tone turning serious once more, “Hydra……Taekwoon is right about them being after you. They aren’t going to take what happened sitting down.”

“I figured,” Hakyeon sighed, “Taekwoon sure didn’t sound like he was kidding.”

“Don’t worry,” Sanghyuk was quick to assure him, “I’ll have your back no matter what. I’m sure Wonsik, Jaehwan, and Hongbin feel the same.”

“Why do they want us?” Hakyeon asked, “what do they gain from us being…..being us?”

“Our powers,” Sanghyuk sighed, “they want our powers. Hell if I know why. Hell if I know how they think they could take our powers away. But they want our powers, the rest of us……that’s another story.”

“They’re done what they did to you before?” Hakyeon asked, “To others?”

“Yeah,” Sanghyuk nodded, “they have. They’ve done worse a lot.”

“Hmmm,” Hakyeon hummed, “I think…..I think I want to fight them.”

“Hakyeon?” Sanghyuk blinked, beyond surprised to hear that from Hakyeon of all people.

“What they did to you,” Hakyeon explained, “and what they’ve done to others…….it needs to stop.”

“And you think you’re the one to do it?” Sanghyuk questioned, “S.H.E.I.L.D has been fighting them for ages and…….well…..hasn’t worked out too good.”

“I want to at least try,” Hakyeon argued, “I can’t just stand by and watch them keep doing this to inhumans like us.”

“You’re right,” Sanghyuk smiled, “but you can’t do it alone. Which is why I’m going to help you.”

“What?” Hakyeon blinked, trying to process what Sanghyuk had just said.

 “It could be a dating activity,” Sanghyuk laughed, “kill the crazy Nazis.”

“Wait,” Hakyeon frowned, “what?”

“What part confuses you?” Sanghyuk asked.

“Both.”

“Well, most people thing Hydra was founded in WWII by Nazis,” Sanghyuk shrugged, “so most just think them a bunch of crazy Nazis. And dating……well, I just figured that after everything you might be interested in that. But if I was wrong then--.”

“You aren’t wrong,” Hakyeon was quick to cut him off, “I’m interested.”

“Good to hear,” Sanghyuk laughed, “but in all seriousness, taking down Hydra probably isn’t the best idea for a first date. Or second. Or just a good dating idea in general.”

“Yeah,” Hakyeon nodded, “defiantly not.”

“Dinner and a movie sound better?”

“Much better.”

“Hey!” Wonsik’s voice called out and the pair turned to find him making his way over, “Taekwoon wants to talk to you two.”

“What about?” Sanghyuk asked, but he already knew exactly what Taekwoon wanted to talk about.

“He said that you can do whatever you want,” Wonsik shrugged, “whatever that means. He said he just wants to work out some details. Guidelines.”

“Alright then,” Sanghyuk smiled, “let’s go work out some guidelines.”

“Guidelines?” Hakyeon frowned, “About what?”

“He’s letting you stay,” Sanghyuk replied, ignoring Wonsik’s surprise, “the guidelines are probably stuff like ‘don’t leave without supervision’ and ‘don’t go looking for Hydra.’ Stuff like that.”

Ah,” Hakyeon nodded, “that second one is gonna be tricky with what we wanna do.”

“Yeah,” Sanghyuk smirked, “but…..what Taekwoon doesn’t know isn’t gonna hurt him.”

Wonsik followed, shaking his head at the new couple. Trouble magnets. The pair of them.

A/N: first thought: I seems to have a bit of a thing for age revered Chasang. At least as of late. I mean, last Chasang I posted had Hyukkie being older, and now I’m doing it again? Second thought: This story is another of those “been working on it since, like, October” stories and I finally finished. Not……100% ok with the end result since I pictured it going better in my head when I started, but……I’m still pretty happy with this mini-monster of a story.