Blue Flame/ Txt

born alive

"I'm back, let's hit the road!" Yeonjun slammed the door behind him, hands filled with grocery bags.

"Did you buy the whole ramen section Hyung?" Soobin looked at the packed bags, he scrunched his nose in disapproval.

Yeonjun in response bopped the cranky bunny in an endearing manner.

"Soobinnie you're so cute when you scrunch your nose" the older cooed at him, pinching and stretching his cheeks. "Even when you're complaining you are still damn adorable. Soobinniee so cutiee" Yeonjun sang to himself, leaving the poor man's cheeks alone and getting comfortable in his seat. Ignoring the death stare from Soobin.

"Oh... ah Kai?" Yeonjun turned around to see the younger still in his daze, he seemed as if he's completely disconnected from the others.

"Kai?" Taehyun nudged the younger's shoulder softly.

Kai hummed in response, not taking his eyes off the window.

"I got you something, ah.. I don't know if you will like it but I thought it might cheer you up"

Kai's eyes brightened as the older's words, as if he didn't expect them to notice his misery, he definitely didn't expect them to try cheer him up.

Yeonjun reached to one of the bags, digging a soft blue stuffed animal in his hand, dropping it into Kai's slander ones.

"It's so.. soft" the younger spoke quietly, something in his voice broke. A warm unfamiliar feeling flooded his heart. Comforting yet strange. Why was the feeling so overwhelming? As if it took every concern he had, every ounce of sadness and washed it away.

His hands hugged the plushie, trailing the soft blue fur.

"T-thank you" his voice came out strained as his eyes started watering.

"Ah, don't cry baby. What's wrong? Do you not like it?" Yeonjun's eyes filled with worry.

Baby, how can one word make the younger cry even more. No one ever called him that with so much concern and love. Something in his heart moved, did Yeonjun really care for him?

Kai hugged the stuffed doll tightly in response, afraid that it'll be taken away. His tears fell down, slightly staining his new present.

Taehyun took notice to the younger's change of emotions. "Kai-ah... are you okay?" Taehyun reached the tip of his fingers to pad away the younger tears oh so gently, feeling like Kai deserves nothing other than delicate care. Taehyun cupped the younger's face in his palm, making kai look directly at him. His tear filled eyes paining Taehyun in a way that he didn't think was possible.

Taehyun caressed the younger's soft cheek with his palm. "Don't cry, it's okay.."

"I can return it if you don't like it" Yeonjun suggested. Feeling guilty that maybe the younger is crying because of him.

"No!" Kai looked startled. "I mean...n-no Hyung.. I l-love it" he sniffeled his tears, trying to calm down. "I love it s-so much, I just, my heart feels weird" the younger pouted subconsciously, holding the doll closer to his chest.

Cuteee yeonjun couldn't contain his excitement, the younger loved his present so much that he cried. Can Kai be any more damn adorable? Yeonjun looked at the younger with adoration and and a tad bit of sadness as well.

"Weird how?" Yeonjun asked softly, his tone letting the younger know that he doesn't have to answer if he doesn't want to.

The younger lifted his glossy eyes from the plushie to Yeonjun's direction.

"It feels warm"

.....................

"We can settle here for breakfast, get some sleep as well" Soobin led them to a small balm part in the woods. Where they can sit and lay their sleeping bags.

"I need to pee! I need to pee" Beomgyu chirped as he skipped deeper into the woods to release his bladder.

"Don't go too far!" Soobin yelled.

"Kay' Hyung!!"

"Oh hyuka?" Yeonjun approached the boy who was too hesitant to lay on his new sleeping bag. "I got you a few new clothes, you can go change if you want to." He handed the younger over 5 filled to the brim shopping bags.

"T-thank you Hyung... you didn't need to do that"

"Can I hug you Kai?" Yeonjun said suddenly, got closer, opening his arms in front of the boy. Offering some comfort. "You don't have to.. I'm just suggesting" Yeonjun said after a few seconds of kai not responding, he lowered his arms slightly in defeat before the younger entered softly and slowly into his arms, waiting to be embraced. Yeonjun hugged his hands behind Kai's back, a bit surprised to discover that the younger was even taller than him.

"Are you okay..?" Yeonjun whispered.

"I'm fine Hyung, thank you for everything"

Yeonjun rested his hand on Kai's nape, searching his brain for words that'll reassure the younger.

"Every single one of us has been either abounded or forced to run away, we don't know exactly what you're going through but I can promise one thing. We know what it's like not to have someone care for us. Which is why we would never leave each other, and that's a grantee. I know you're wondering why we took you in, and I can't tell you the reason either. You needed a home, we needed a home, it just fits sometimes" Yeonjun didn't know if he made any sense, even after years of being in Soobin's group he couldn't tell why they were doing what they did.

"I'm afraid"

"I know you are baby... we're all afraid. I'm terrified because I have a lots to lose. I'm afraid because I don't know if we're the bad guys or the good guys. I'm scared because you won't talk to us... maybe it's due to the fact that we did nothing to indicate that you can trust us. Point is... we're all scared but as long as we stay close together, as long as we talk to each other, and share our concerns we will be alright." He caressed the younger's back, rubbing it softly as he poured his heart, hoping it would change something in Kai's hesitant behavior, hoping to reach him.

"My powers...." the younger trailed off

"What about them.. are you worried?"

"I hurt people..."

Yeonjun looked at the bruised boy, skinny frame, his skin pale and his eyes filled with years of pain. Yeonjun pulled from the hug but kept Kai close to him, patting his heah with a sad expression.

"Seems like people hurt you more than you hurt them" Yeonjun's voice was heavy at the thought of kai's former captures.

"Hyung..."

"Can you control it?"

"Huh?"

"Your powers, can you control them?"

"Sometimes....." the younger admitted after a few seconds of thinking. "Sometimes I get too overwhelmed, my heartbeats get faster and I have to release otherwise it hurts."

"Do your eyes have something to do with your power?" Yeonjun tried easing on the questions, going at it with baby steps to not alarm the younger.

"I can't summon my flames if my eyes are closed, I can't do anything if they are closed actually"

"Do they hurt? The scars?"

"When I try to resist.... they umm... they burn"

"How bad is it?"

Kai looked Yeonjun deep in his warm brown eyes.

"It feels like I'm being burnt alive"

..............
Author's note

Anyone else soft for Yeonjun's character, yeonkai supremacy.