Ship/Member: wonwoo/soonyoung/chan, soonyoung/chan Major Tags: N/A Additional Tags: au - heroes, magical realism (kinda), it's all very vague, logistically, sacrifices have to be made, chan the martyr, chan the lovely and terribly brave, what happens after you save the world together but not all of you returns whole, moving on but never forgetting, a sort of homecoming - except home isn't a place but two very important people, a happy ending i promise Permission to remix: please ask! wc: 920
> going for rarest pair (4 works in the tag!)
bells i love you very much <3 happy new year
***
Chan doesn’t even think twice about what decision he has to make. Wonwoo is frowning the entire time Chan explains the plan, eyes glassy and far away as he runs the calculations. When Chan finishes, Soonyoung looks at Wonwoo, who lets out a discontented huff.
“He’s right. It’s the only way,” Wonwoo heaves a sigh. Soonyoung wants to break something.
“This is for the good of the world,” Chan offers determinedly, with the air of someone who has already made amends with their fate. It’s not fair. It’s not. Soonyoung hasn’t made his peace yet. Doesn't he get a say in this too?
There is a cut running along the edge of Chan’s cheek, a gentle reminder of his ― their ― mortality. He’s not yet eighteen but there’s something in the way that his shoulders straighten as his eyebrows draw themselves together, chin set so stubbornly and headstrong that makes Soonyoung want to throw everything away to cradle him closer to his chest. To protect him for just a bit longer.
Chan’s bottom lip is quivering the entire time. It’s the only thing that betrays how scared he is.
Soonyoung wants to shake him silly. It’s okay to be afraid. You don’t have to do this. We can figure something else. Together. You don’t have to go. It doesn't have to be you.
Instead, he says, “Our lives are gonna suck so much without you in it,” and wraps his arms around Chan for the hug of a lifetime. Soonyoung squeezes him extra hard, just so Chan knows how much Soonyoung hates this, but also so that Chan knows that he is so incredibly loved.
“You’ll have Wonwoo,” Chan reminds Soonyoung gently. He turns to Wonwoo. “And you’ll have Soonyoung. You guys will be alright.”
Soonyoung tries to smile back, but his heart hurts too much to fake it. But you’ll be all alone, he thinks. Who’s going to look after you?
It’s futile, Soonyoung knows. Lee Chan, the unsung hero, ever so self-sacrificing. Willing to put the weight of the world on his back so everyone else can breathe just a little easier.
Chan takes Soonyoung and Wonwoo’s hands, joining them together. His breath is shaky but the smile he gives them isn’t. It’s still so brilliant.
“Ready?” Chan asks.
“Nope,” Wonwoo quips one last time, mouth curling upwards into his trademark grin. The light in his eyes is soft, though. Fond, even.
“I’ll come find you,” Chan promises, voice breaking. “When it’s all done and over, I’ll come find you guys. Don’t think I’d let you guys go that easily. Alright?”
“Alright,” Soonyoung says softly, even though he knows the chances of that happening are a zillion to one. He agrees anyway, because hope is what keeps them going.
There’s a glittering tear on Chan’s cheek. It leaves a trail of water in its wake as it quietly falls, shining and shimmering.
It’s the last thing Soonyoung remembers before everything fades to black.
Soonyoung wakes up to nine missed phone calls from Jeon Wonwoo.
“Hello?” Soonyoung croaks, throat bruised like he’d been screaming. His body feels like it is filled with grief, all twisted and bent with its mourning. There’s a heavy weight on his shoulders, an incessant feeling of something being wrong. When Soonyoung tries to reach inside his mind, to figure out what it is, he comes up strangely empty. Something else occupied this space, his brain tries to say. Someone else was here. They mattered to you, a lot. They existed. They took up space.
Remember. Remember. Remember?
Soonyoung doesn't. Can't. Isn't able to. There's nothing there. It's gone. A whole expanse of darkness stares back at him when he tries to conjure up a face, to pin a name to this ghost haunting him. An immense wave of guilt rises up, threatening to swallow him whole.
Wonwoo sounds equally wrecked. His voice is tinny and a little bit lost. Distant. “Hi. Do you feel … different, too?”
Soonyoung nods, beginning to cry.
There is some part of them missing. He can feel it.
But here’s the beautiful thing about life: it goes on. Soonyoung and Wonwoo get swept up in all of it. They exchange kisses, hugs, then rings, and then vows, in front of some of their closest friends. They leave a chair in the front row empty, because Soonyoung had insisted and Wonwoo would have never disagreed. Besides, it just felt right. Wonwoo buys them a home, a real one to always return to, one where Soonyoung can hang all the silly pictures he’s taken of Wonwoo throughout their time together. Even if his thumb is on the lens in almost all of them, Soonyoung wants them up anyways. It makes it a little bit more real. Their life together always feels like a dream.
The ocean breeze is nice on Soonyoung’s face. Wonwoo sits on the edge of the pier, shoulder to shoulder with Soonyoung, their legs dangling over the water, explaining some niche topic that he’d just learnt about. Soonyoung is content to listen.
“See,” a voice says. It’s wry and a little bit sharp but oh so familiar. Soonyoung turns around to find a boy staring back at them. There’s a lovely grin on his face. “I told you guys that I’d make my way back. What did I miss?”
Soonyoung sees him and suddenly, all the puzzle pieces slot back into place. It feels like he’s finally woken up. Wonwoo is already up and running, bare feet pounding against the planks.
“A lot,” Soonyoung says as he barrels into the bodies of two boys he truly really loves. “You have so much to catch up on.”
Chan laughs. The sound is bright and sharp and free. “Good. I’ve got all the time in the world now.”
[FILL] i would know you anywhere
Major Tags: N/A
Additional Tags: au - heroes, magical realism (kinda), it's all very vague, logistically, sacrifices have to be made, chan the martyr, chan the lovely and terribly brave, what happens after you save the world together but not all of you returns whole, moving on but never forgetting, a sort of homecoming - except home isn't a place but two very important people, a happy ending i promise
Permission to remix: please ask!
wc: 920
> going for rarest pair (4 works in the tag!)
bells i love you very much <3 happy new year
***
Chan doesn’t even think twice about what decision he has to make. Wonwoo is frowning the entire time Chan explains the plan, eyes glassy and far away as he runs the calculations. When Chan finishes, Soonyoung looks at Wonwoo, who lets out a discontented huff.
“He’s right. It’s the only way,” Wonwoo heaves a sigh. Soonyoung wants to break something.
“This is for the good of the world,” Chan offers determinedly, with the air of someone who has already made amends with their fate. It’s not fair. It’s not. Soonyoung hasn’t made his peace yet. Doesn't he get a say in this too?
There is a cut running along the edge of Chan’s cheek, a gentle reminder of his ― their ― mortality. He’s not yet eighteen but there’s something in the way that his shoulders straighten as his eyebrows draw themselves together, chin set so stubbornly and headstrong that makes Soonyoung want to throw everything away to cradle him closer to his chest. To protect him for just a bit longer.
Chan’s bottom lip is quivering the entire time. It’s the only thing that betrays how scared he is.
Soonyoung wants to shake him silly. It’s okay to be afraid. You don’t have to do this. We can figure something else. Together. You don’t have to go. It doesn't have to be you.
Instead, he says, “Our lives are gonna suck so much without you in it,” and wraps his arms around Chan for the hug of a lifetime. Soonyoung squeezes him extra hard, just so Chan knows how much Soonyoung hates this, but also so that Chan knows that he is so incredibly loved.
“You’ll have Wonwoo,” Chan reminds Soonyoung gently. He turns to Wonwoo. “And you’ll have Soonyoung. You guys will be alright.”
Soonyoung tries to smile back, but his heart hurts too much to fake it. But you’ll be all alone, he thinks. Who’s going to look after you?
It’s futile, Soonyoung knows. Lee Chan, the unsung hero, ever so self-sacrificing. Willing to put the weight of the world on his back so everyone else can breathe just a little easier.
Chan takes Soonyoung and Wonwoo’s hands, joining them together. His breath is shaky but the smile he gives them isn’t. It’s still so brilliant.
“Ready?” Chan asks.
“Nope,” Wonwoo quips one last time, mouth curling upwards into his trademark grin. The light in his eyes is soft, though. Fond, even.
“I’ll come find you,” Chan promises, voice breaking. “When it’s all done and over, I’ll come find you guys. Don’t think I’d let you guys go that easily. Alright?”
“Alright,” Soonyoung says softly, even though he knows the chances of that happening are a zillion to one. He agrees anyway, because hope is what keeps them going.
There’s a glittering tear on Chan’s cheek. It leaves a trail of water in its wake as it quietly falls, shining and shimmering.
It’s the last thing Soonyoung remembers before everything fades to black.
Soonyoung wakes up to nine missed phone calls from Jeon Wonwoo.
“Hello?” Soonyoung croaks, throat bruised like he’d been screaming. His body feels like it is filled with grief, all twisted and bent with its mourning. There’s a heavy weight on his shoulders, an incessant feeling of something being wrong. When Soonyoung tries to reach inside his mind, to figure out what it is, he comes up strangely empty. Something else occupied this space, his brain tries to say. Someone else was here. They mattered to you, a lot. They existed. They took up space.
Remember. Remember. Remember?
Soonyoung doesn't. Can't. Isn't able to. There's nothing there. It's gone. A whole expanse of darkness stares back at him when he tries to conjure up a face, to pin a name to this ghost haunting him. An immense wave of guilt rises up, threatening to swallow him whole.
Wonwoo sounds equally wrecked. His voice is tinny and a little bit lost. Distant. “Hi. Do you feel … different, too?”
Soonyoung nods, beginning to cry.
There is some part of them missing. He can feel it.
But here’s the beautiful thing about life: it goes on. Soonyoung and Wonwoo get swept up in all of it. They exchange kisses, hugs, then rings, and then vows, in front of some of their closest friends. They leave a chair in the front row empty, because Soonyoung had insisted and Wonwoo would have never disagreed. Besides, it just felt right. Wonwoo buys them a home, a real one to always return to, one where Soonyoung can hang all the silly pictures he’s taken of Wonwoo throughout their time together. Even if his thumb is on the lens in almost all of them, Soonyoung wants them up anyways. It makes it a little bit more real. Their life together always feels like a dream.
The ocean breeze is nice on Soonyoung’s face. Wonwoo sits on the edge of the pier, shoulder to shoulder with Soonyoung, their legs dangling over the water, explaining some niche topic that he’d just learnt about. Soonyoung is content to listen.
“See,” a voice says. It’s wry and a little bit sharp but oh so familiar. Soonyoung turns around to find a boy staring back at them. There’s a lovely grin on his face. “I told you guys that I’d make my way back. What did I miss?”
Soonyoung sees him and suddenly, all the puzzle pieces slot back into place. It feels like he’s finally woken up. Wonwoo is already up and running, bare feet pounding against the planks.
“A lot,” Soonyoung says as he barrels into the bodies of two boys he truly really loves. “You have so much to catch up on.”
Chan laughs. The sound is bright and sharp and free. “Good. I’ve got all the time in the world now.”