Subtle Differences | Junhao oneshots

Elemental

Some people are luckier than others to be gifted with elemental abilities. What happens when Minghao finds himself in trouble, but his powers can't help him?

     Minghao is running. He can feel the burn building up in his thighs, working its way down to his ankles as he races down the street. Any longer, and he may just have to succumb to his fate. "I will fucking kill you!" A threatening shout reaches his ears. Minghao eyes a turn that was shrouded with shadows just dark enough to hide him. His pursuer is still 30 or so meters behind. It could either work in his favour or provide the man with an even playing field. 

     Minghao takes a risk and darts swiftly into the small alley, hiding behind a couple trashcans. He hopes it is enough to keep him out of the man's line of sight. He gathers moisture in the air to form a ball of water in his palm to use against the man should there be a need. Soon enough, he can hear stomping right by his ears. To his relief, the sound passes straight by him. Minghao lets out a breath he doesn't even realise he is holding. Darting out from the hiding place, he walks shakily back to his shabby one-room apartment. His heart doesn't stop pounding. 

     "Thought you could run away from me?" A voice snarls. Minghao whips around just in time for the man to grab ahold of his shirt and push him into the nearest wall. Pain blooms in the back of his head. He doesn't even have to check to know the think liquid running down his head and neck. "I swear I didn't mean to. Let me go, please." Minghao begs the man. His hands are held firmly in place by the man with an iron chain, whose strength terrifies the Chinese male. With the iron restricting his abilities, Minghao is helpless.

     The man totally ignores his pleads. "You and I, are going to have a little fun." Minghao lets out a scream when the man gropes him through his pants. A tight slap lands on his cheek, silencing him. "Shut up!" 

     He discreetly flicks his wrist. Minghao squeezes his eyes shut and calls to the water. He lets out a whimper when his attempts lead to nowhere except greater annoyance from the man. The man pulls something out of his back pocket. Minghao sucks in a breath when a blade is held up to his neck. "Make any noise, and I will slit your throat." Minghao nods fearfully. Someone, help me.

Junhui's pov

     The scream registers in his head the second it rings out into the night. Without a moment's hesitation, Junhui turns sharply on the balls of his feet and races across the street, where he is sure the scream had come from. The closer he gets to a dark alley, the clearer he hears two male voices. One rough and raspy, growling death threats. And the other, soft and pleading. The blonde male draws in the heat from the surroundings until there was a ball of emerald green flames in the heart of his palm. 

     Orangey-red fire was elementary. The type that schools would ask you to summon for tests and experiments. Blue was for higher level prodigies. Only a handful of fire ability-wielders would move on to learning about blue flames. And even then, most of them took ages to master the control in which to properly use the flames without burning down everything within a 100m-radius. Green flames, on the other hand, was for the students who showed excellent self-control. Most people who could handle green flames would almost always move on to achieving great things. It was of an entirely different species. Green fire was also the type of flame that could really, really hurt. 

     Junhui rounds the corner, almost gagging at the sight that greets him. How in the world this monstrosity of a harassment could still take place in the 21st century was beyond him. Luckily though, the man is backfacing him, and so Junhui uses the opportunity to catch Minghao's attention. When he finally locks eyes with the younger male, he mimes a 'shushing' action so that Minghao would not alert the man of his presence. 

     "When I count to three, run." The blonde male mouths. Fear was lingering in the back of his pupils, but Minghao manages to register the words. 

     "One." Junhui draws in more heat until the flame was almost the size of his head.

     "Two..." He creeps closer to the man.

     "Three! Run!" He throws the ball of flame square in the back of the man just as Minghao slips under and stumbles away. The man lets out a guttural cry when the flame burns through his worn shirt, face contorting in the most extreme pain. Junhui takes the opportunity to haul the younger male up and tugging at his arm to run. The older male runs ahead, frowning when he feels Minghao lagging behind. He turns around to see Minghao hesitating, glancing at the man who was rolling on the floor in agony. "What's wrong? Are you hurt?" Junhui asks, concerned. 

     "No, I... we can't leave him like that..." Minghao whispers. Junhui swears his heart does something. Not the time idiot. 

     "Why not? He deserves it!" Junhui says. 

     "But he's dying." Minghao protests. He hesitates a little longer, then finally decides to run back and extinguish the flames. Yet, no matter how much water he dumps on the burning man, the flames seem to burn just as strongly. Minghao whimpers again, using all his might to draw in the last bit of water. He feels a hand resting comfortingly on his lower back, and then a voice beside him. 

     "That's eternal green flames. Water won't do. You need special powder." Junhui informs him. He reaches into a small pouch dangling from his hip and sprinkles a pinch of grey powder that looked suspiciously like ashes. Once Minghao was sure that the man was no longer suffering, he turns to walk out into the streets. 

      The younger male lets out a breath he doesn't realise he is holding. Junhui follows closely. 

     "I never got your name." 

     Minghao takes a long second to register the question. "Huh? Oh uh... my name's Minghao. Xu Minghao." 

     "Cute name, Minghao. I'm Junhui." The younger male feels a blush making its way up his face. He mutters a soft 'thank you for saving me' that Junhui probably couldn't even hear. Then, Minghao starts to walk away in the direction of his apartment, quickening his footsteps.

     A hand grips his upper arm. "Woah wait, I'm not about to let you walk home alone with those asses running around town. Why don't you crash at mine for tonight? I'll help you clean up that cut." Minghao whips around, reaching up to feel his neck. It is only when his fingers come into contact with the cut does he realise that he is injured and bleeding. The younger male looks down shyly and pulls his arm away. 

     "That's okay. I'll be fine." Minghao replies. 

     "My apartment's really not that far. I'm not kidnapping you or anything..." Junhui is quick to interject. He facepalms internally. Way to be obvious.

     Minghao stays silent. It'd be too much to burden Junhui by staying at his place, but he really doesn't want to be alone that night. "If... if that's okay with you-"

     "Of course! My car's just down the street. I'll stop by the convenience store for a little while to pick up some meds." Junhui nearly jumps in excitement. He reaches out to grab the younger's hand, intertwining them and pulling him to his car. Maybe he was just a little too excited. 

     Minghao can't push back the thumping in his heart as they hold hands. The feeling of Junhui's bigger hands enveloping his small ones leaves a tingle in his chest. It was unexplainable, yet felt so warm. 

      For christ's sake, don't be obvious.

Honestly just needed a bit of fluff 

~lilyl<3vely