Silver eyes,
hoping for paradise.
I’ve seen it a million times.
Cry.

“Do you ever wonder why we’re here?”

Sehun glanced at Tao and raised an eyebrow. It was dawn, or some semblance of it. The world they were on seemed to not have noticed that the sun was beginning to rise. And how cold it was, the sun. Its fires burned blue and hot, but it was nowhere near close enough to the planet to provide the heat and light most races needed. Thus, the people that lived on that world were dark and full of mystery. 

Most called the planet Lunar, for they thrived under their moon and slept under a cerulean sun. 

“I don’t think about it much,” Sehun said after a moment.

“Hm.”

Tao was staring off into the distance, his feet swinging absently over the side of the cliff they sat upon. From there, they could see a small town not far away, its streets glowing with the soft silver of their lunar-powered lamps. The two had watched as the town dwindled down into the steady rhythm of sleep, as people put away their things and climbed into bed, and now there was only silence.

Silence, and a cold, blue sun.

Finally, Sehun had to know. “Why’d you ask?”

Tao glanced over at him. His hair was dark, so very dark, like the negative space they inhabited. His attire often matched that color, mirroring the blackness of his eyes. When they’d first met, Sehun had thought that Tao was empty, nothing but darkness. Now, however, he could see the truth, the spark of passion and fire within his gaze.

It excited him.

They were such opposites. Sehun was air, soft and strong all at once, unbending and unyielding and free. His hair was white as snow, his clothes the same, but Tao—

Tao was time.

He was endless and inevitable, cursed with watching eternity pass him by. He could slow its passage, could speed it up, could distort it, but he could never stop it. Not fully, at least. Sehun had watched him try, had watched the sweat bead on his forehead as he pushed against the current, but it never worked. No matter how much Tao bent time to his will, the seconds continued to pass him by.

“Because I heard about the ones who left,” Tao said.

Sehun frowned. 

Within the negative space, their kind were joined together. Their thoughts were one and yet separate, just as they were all one and separate, just as Sehun was an invisible wisp of air and Tao was a cloud of shimmering dust. Sometimes—most of the time—they could hide their thoughts. Other times, they spread them out on purpose, desperate to have their knowledge reach everyone else.

That was why Sehun knew what Tao spoke of. The ones who left. Two of their kind, a few weeks back, gone in an instant. They’d disobeyed the Collective and disappeared into thin air.

Sehun had no idea why.

“So did I,” he said after a time, his voice far too calm.

Tao was silent for a moment. Then, “It is said that one of the two could shift dimensions.”

Sehun stiffened. “That’s impossible.”

“It’s actually plausible, in theory.”

“Care to explain how?”

“I’ve seen time at its most basic of forms,” Tao said, his tone very matter-of-fact, “When it is nothing but strings of reality. Strings can be manipulated, they can be re-sewn. It makes sense that one of our own kind would eventually figure out how to move them and shift into another dimension.”

“But ...” Sehun didn’t like the road their conversation was taking. It was too open. Too free. It felt like blasphemy. “Wasn’t the one who supposedly shifted dimensions ... water?”

“Water and time are more alike than you think.”

Sehun gave Tao a look. There was an odd weight to the taller male’s words, an implication that had Sehun’s stomach clenching with anxiety. He didn’t like it. “What are you planning?”

“I’m not planning anything.”

“Bull.”

“I’m not.”

“If you are, I want in.” Sehun didn’t like the idea of going against the Collective, didn’t like the idea of being thrown out of his comfort zone, but if it was for Tao, he’d do it.

If it was for Tao, he’d do anything.

“Do you really?” Tao prodded.

“Of course I do. I’d be nothing without you.”

Tao’s expression softened into a smile. “You know that’s not true.”

“Isn’t it, though?”

“No. You’re much more than that.”

Sehun shrugged. “I’m just air.”

Tao leaned closer, his breath fanning across Sehun’s cheek. “Then without you, I couldn’t breathe.”

“Without you, nothing would exist, including me.”

Tao laughed. “You’re not going to let this go, are you?”

“No.” Sehun hesitated. He knew what Tao was planning; he really didn’t even have to ask. “ … You want to leave too, don’t you?” he said finally. “You want to disobey the Collective.”

“Maybe.”

“Why?”

The sun had finished its ascent and now hung just over the horizon, spilling distorted, ethereal light across the planet and drenching it in blue. Tao’s skin and hair had taken on the tint, and Sehun wondered whether or not the color would stain his fingertips if he dragged them across Tao’s throat.

“Because I think I understand why the other two left,” Tao said, his gaze far-away again. “They finally realized that we are the dominant race here, not the humans and their silly Collective. Why are we following them? Because we always have?” He shook his head. “That’s a bull reason to take orders without question.”

Sehun frowned, furrowing his brow. “I … guess so.”

Tao smiled. “It just makes sense to me, is all.”

“Are you going to leave, then? Are you going to run?”

“Yeah.” Tao paused. “Will you come with me?”

Sehun tilted his head back and laughed. “I told you already, didn’t I? I’m nothing without you. I need you.”

“Good.” Tao put a finger under Sehun’s chin, turning it so they could press their lips together in a short, gentle kiss. “I need you, too.”

Sehun smiled and figured it was the closest they’d get to love.

Shifting felt good.

Tao was more skilled at it than Sehun was. He could shift in an instant—could stand in one world one moment, and be in another the next. He stepped between them as easily as he walked across the grass, and Sehun knew he’d never be able to achieve that level of talent; his shifting was a lot clunkier, a lot less graceful, but it got the job done and that was the whole point. So Sehun followed Tao as they ran across worlds, shifting almost at the same instant.

There was a smile on Tao’s face—a reckless, rebellious smile. It was contagious. Sehun found himself smiling too as he held tight to Tao’s hand and ran with all he had.

When they finally stopped, he had no idea where they were. It was a world encased in darkness, cold and quiet, with no moon or sun Sehun could see. And yet, the world thrived. What was visible of it beneath the light of the distant stars was lush and beautiful, overflowing with life. Sehun was sure he could hear a stream bubbling a little ways off.

“What is this place?” he gasped, doubled-over as he attempted to catch his breath.

Tao smiled. “I don’t know.”

“Can the Collective find us here?”

“No.”

“But we can’t go back to the Negative Space, can we?”

The answer was obvious, but Sehun had felt compelled to ask anyway. 

“The Collective will be able to track us if we go back,” Tao said.

“So … now what?”

“We need to find the other two. The ones that left before us.” Tao looked determined now, passionate and fiery in his belief. Sehun wanted to kiss him until he couldn’t remember his own name. “Then together, we can convince the others of our kind that they are free, that the Collective cannot control them. Once we do that, we can go back. But … I don’t know how long that will take.”

Sehun took Tao’s hand, squeezing it comfortingly. “No matter how long it takes, I’ll always be by your side.”

“Thank you.”

 

a/n: this is super short, and I apologize for that.
But it's okay, because at this point, I'm quite sure there will be more of this AU. 
I love it too much to just leave it there.