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ohmygirlexchange2016-12-25 01:11 pm
omgexchangemod) wrote in ohmygirlexchange2016-12-25 01:11 pm
Entry tags:
[jiho/yooa] Give Me Power, Give Me the World (for @rapyeoshin)
Title: Give Me Power, Give Me the World (for @rapyeoshin/ribambelles)
Rating: PG-13
Characters/Pairings: OMG, Yooa/Jiho
Warnings (if applicable): //
Word-Count: 7k
Summary: In a cold world, Shiah found warmth.
Author Notes:
* This is based on your (post-apocalypse au) prompt.
* I hope there is something you might like in this fic, it was a great joy to write a fic this worldbuild-y for OMG.
* The fic isn't beta-ed. I apologize for any typos and mistakes.
When the world was humans' world, vivid with the promise of a future, Shiah had never thought that she would miss it this much if it was taken from her. And when that world did slip out of humans' grasp and became the machines' world, what began after that was nothing that resembled a life or offered a dream. A present.
But people survived, and people fought their own creation to reclaim what was theirs.
,
Shiah had never imagined herself standing at the frontlines and aiming a gun at the metallic figures. She couldn't hold a gun, let alone use it, but when the remaining commands around the world had asked for volunteers to take an experimental drug that could give humans unique powers, Shiah found the will in her heart to take her world back strong enough to dive into the unknown.
,
It was cold on the other side, with snow and sharp winds and hail, and Shiah had control over all of it, but there was a catch. A consequence that Shiah and many of the volunteers couldn't escape. Side effects, which varied for each one of them, and the one Shiah had was being stuck in her own artificial cold. Her own lasting winter.
,
Shiah wasn't one to regret her decisions, but when the volunteers who got the result everyone was hoping for were training in the east building of the destroyed school so they could join the resistance, Shiah couldn't prevent the sadness from weighing her down. Especially when the cold made her teeth chatter non-stop.
But Shiah wasn't alone in that pit, and there was solace in that.
True, maybe she was the only one who no longer felt enough warmth, but the others weren't quite lucky. Yewon could no longer be seen, making the clothes she wore the only indication of her presence with them, and Yoobin, whose body became fragile in exchange for an unmatched strength, had to live in fear of broken bones and painful bruises. Well, actually, Yoobin wasn't the one afraid, she still wanted to fight, but the scientists had refused to let her train.
Of course, there were a few who all they got were powers that wouldn't scratch an enemy made of metal and wires. Mihyun still loved her lights, though, so it wasn't all that bad for her, Shiah supposed.
But it could get better. At least, that was what the scientists had promised. Shiah hadn't paid much attention to their words at that time, she was shivering and they had no idea how to restore her body's temperature to its normal level, but one night, Dr. Kim came to her with someone tall and shy, someone who had the solution to her endless cold.
"Jiho can intensify what already exists. Increase it, bloom something or someone to their fullest until there was nothing more left," Dr. Kim explained with enthusiasm despite her obvious drowsiness. Not to mention that it was a little late in the night for that.
It was a great power, a dangerous power that required Jiho to touch her target in order to work.
"I know it sounds awkward, but Jiho can't join the resistance yet, so she agreed to help you," Dr. Kim told Shiah, tiredness clear on her features. "It is all up to you, Shiah. Until we find a way to fix your temperature, this is the only option we have."
It was already awkward, Shiah couldn't meet Jiho's eyes for more than a second, and though she wanted anything but to make Jiho feel rejected, it was the notion of feeling warmth again that made her agree. She nodded her head when silence lingered, and Dr. Kim smiled before she left the two of them standing in the hallway.
Jiho smiled, too. A soft and nervous smile that made Shiah's heart pace. Her cheeks were painted with a hint of red, and she could see how tired she was.
"Thank you," Shiah finally managed to say. "You didn't have to."
Jiho's smile only widened. "I don't mind," she answered, her eyes shimmering as if calling for Shiah to fall deeply into their depths.
,
As expected, it was awkward. But back in the crowded survivors' camp, everyone slept too close to one another, so Shiah tried to pretend it was the same as she lay next to Jiho, her hand cradled in Jiho's hands. And when warmth, noticeable warmth, burst from within her and washed away all the cold and shivers with gentle waves, Shiah was too engulfed in the relief to care about any awkwardness.
Still, when tears gathered in her eyes because she had thought she could never feel warmth again, Shiah wanted to fill the silence that the others' snoring couldn't disturb. "Why can't you join the resistance yet?"
Jiho was still awake, staring at the ceiling. "I can't use my power without touching, but Dr. Kim thinks I should be able to," she spoke in a low voice, a sweet voice. "I really hope she is right, I don't want to even get near those things," she finished with a chuckle that drew a similar one from Shiah.
"Then why did you volunteer? They literally said we will fight them in battle."
"Yeah, but they didn't say we would have to touch them." Jiho turned to her, still laughing. "I volunteered because I couldn't use weapons, not because I wanted to see machines up close." She extended one hand to Shiah's cheek, her eyes wide. "Oh, excuse me, evil machine, can I touch your cheek for just one second?"
Shiah burst in laughter before she could muffle the sound, and though her tears did fall, they brought relief and not sorrow. And it seemed that Jiho wasn't oblivious to them, she squeezed Shiah's hand once, twice, and didn't stop until sleep weighed on her senses with ease.
,
Having powers was still new to them, and while Shiah dread using hers as the shivers took a hold of her body, Mihyun and Seunghee were enjoying experimenting with their powers.
The trees surrounding them swayed with the winds, giving the girls a calming, whispering melody that soothed Shiah's heart. The memory of last night did the same, too, for reasons that Shiah had yet to define.
Jiho was in the other side of the camp, training with the other superhumans.
"What's wrong?" Hyojung asked softly, drawing her attention.
Shiah inhaled deeply and shook her head. "Just thinking about life."
"And how it is unfair?" Yoobin said, her voice still grumpy.
Shiah chuckled. "Kind of."
"You know," Mihyun joined in, still trying to craft her lights into all the shapes Yewon could think of. "If the machines weren't killing every human they spot as we speak, the scientists would have cared to see what we can do with our powers."
"What can you do with your lights, though? Not all machines need eyes to see us," Yoobin asked, her voice lacking any judgement. She still had her arm in Hyojung's hands, the younger girl had hit the door's knob by mistake and almost broke her hand. Thankfully, she only ended up with an awful-looking bruise.
"Light doesn't seem to do much, right?" Mihyun spoke with excitement as if she had been waiting for anyone to ask. "I thought the same, too, but light have energy, and Dr. Kim told me if I can find that energy in the existing lights, I can use it."
Mihyun's smile was wide and proud and enough to make Shiah think about her own power's possibilities.
"What about the energy in the lights you make?"
Seunghee finally turned away from the pitch black bubble she had been toying with ever since they got there, its surface looked mellow. Enchanting enough that Shiah didn't want to look away.
"Well, Dr. Kim said the lights I make are part of me, so what I actually do is turning my own energy into light then when it disappears, it returns to me," Mihyun explained with a bright smile. "Amazing, right?"
It was amazing, even if the glowing WOW and other cheers Mihyun had created over her head to decorate her words had brought laughter and jokes.
"Oh my God, you are being silly!" Yewon commented, cringing from the looks of her sleeves.
Mihyun was about to reply her when Seunghee's bubble turned into a huge tree. A real tree with leaves as green as the ones around them, and a resemblance that would have matched any tree if its trunk wasn't lively, still keeping its wavy movement. It stood on the ground right in front of Seunghee, whose shock had only echoed theirs.
"Woah, I didn't know you can do that!" Hyojung said as some of the other superhumans neared their spot, mouth opened in surprise.
"I didn't know I can do that."
"It looks so real," Yewon let out, inching closer to poke at it. "Jelly tree!" The amazement was clear in her voice.
Mihyun neared the tree, too, albet hesitantly. "See? This just proves my point, our powers aren't useless."
"We can't fight machines with trees, Mihyun," Seunghee points out.
"No, but we can use them to hide or get to cover, and look, it is like rubber or something," she replied, struggling to push her hand through the trunk. "What is it made of?"
"I don't know," Seunghee was gazing at her tree with fondness. "The scientists didn't know, either," she sounded disappointed when she spoke again, "like you said, there isn't enough time for them to learn about our powers." And when she touched the trunk, her hand went through smoothly.
"Oh!"
Shiah watched with anticipation, all of them seeming to hold their breaths.
"It is... hollow!" Seunghee let out, and the glimmer of excitement in her eyes when she gazed at them was almost telling of what crossed her mind.
They shout their disbelief in union when Seunghee entered the tree, and when their shock lasted and the silence filled the place, Mihyun spoke. "I swear I didn't mean hiding like that!"
,
Shiah stood with the others in the hallway leading to the east building. It turned out that Seunghee's power wasn't ineffectual after all, and so she had yet to return with Hyojung from their meeting with the scientists.
Shiah had a lingering thought about the same thing happening to her, to tell the truth. One second she would be still freezing from the cold only she could feel and the next she would be okay again, warm and strong with a power that could help them win the war. It was a nice thought, Shiah felt, and she would have kept musing it if it wasn't for the sudden appearance of four people in the quiet hallway.
Their shrieks scattered the calmness as Hyojung lost her balance, prompting the unfamiliar girl to hold her. She was giggling softly, and Shiah couldn't help but to smile.
"This happens a lot for first timers," the girl said as Mihyun neared them, her arms extended to keep Hyojung steady on her feet.
"It still happens to me!" Jiho spoke, and blushd when her eyes met Shiah's. She whispered a Hi, causing heat to rush through her and settle in her cheeks. Shiah's heart beat fast at the unexpected sensation, and she only wondered if Jiho had succeed in using her power remotely?
"Wah, how did you guys get her?" Yewon asked in an adorable voice that almost made Shiah stop looking at Jiho. She smiled to her, strange happiness washing over her just from seeing her again. She knew Jiho would stay with her that night, and though it wouldn't be surprising to relate that happiness to her yearning for warmth, somehow, Shiah found herself sure that she was simply happy to see Jiho. No reasons behind it.
"Hyejin can travel through space in an instant!" Seunghee replied with excitement. "I'm still shaking, look," she said, looking at Hyejin. "It happened so fast!"
Shiah didn't realize that she was still staring at Jiho until Yoobin nudged her. Shiah lowered her head, embarrassed, she tried to follow what the girls were talking about but all that she managed to do was stealing glances at Jiho, whose cheeks were still red and laughter was the sweetest Shiah had ever heard.
,
Seunghee was going to join the frontlines, and she had only a short while to master her power.
They were happy for her, and worried about her, but her enthusiasm to make a change hadn't wavered not even a little, so Shiah supposed the younger girl knew what she was capable of.
Mihyun liked Hyejin, or at least that was what Yoobin told her as they prepared for sleep. "She stayed quiet the whole time, didn't you notice? Oh, wait, of course you didn't notice."
"Hey!" Shiah whisper-shouted at her, trying to catch her but the short-haired girl had already escaped, laughing.
Shiah had noticed, actually, despite how short the time the eight of them spent in the hallway before Hyejin and Seunghee returned to practice. The absence of Mihyun's antics was simply evident. Even for her, who kept realizing little details about Jiho. Beautiful details that made it hard for Shiah to relax when the two of them settled in bed and lights were out for the night.
Like the night before, Jiho hugged her hand tenderly until Shiah's own warmth captured her senses and she fell asleep. And in that moment, with Jiho sleeping soundly next to her, and warmth lasting for a little more, Shiah felt that nothing was wrong, not the warmth or the cold, not even the cruel world they lived in.
,
Shiah couldn't remember the last time she had a nice morning, but as a kind surprise, morning came like a gentle caress on her soul. It came with news of progress and a solid hope of victory.
Except Shiah couldn't fully enjoy that because she had woken up in Jiho's arms only to find two pairs of eyes gazing at her with a smile.
The teasing was inevitable, Shiah supposed, but as the day went by, all that she could focus on was how firm Jiho's embrace was, how safe she felt in her arms. How warm she was... Jiho wasn't using her power, Shiah had realized, it was Jiho's own warmth that protected Shiah from her winter.
Shiah had never thought that such a serene day could happen while the machines ruled their world, but it did, and part of it was Jiho's doing.
,
"Would you have liked your power? If it didn't affect your body?"
Jiho asked one night as they watched the little stars Mihyun was creating in the darkness. The ceiling was nothing like the night sky outside, but their youngest loved space, and Mihyun could give her something that might resemble a starry night.
Shiah had been enchanted by the little lights that Jiho's question sounded sudden. So sudden that she instantly realized she had never thought about her power that way. She didn't have the chance to admire or hate the storms she could create. The snowflakes she could create, the whiteness and the winds, she hadn't had the chance to marvel at her work, at the gift that she had been given.
Shiah shuddered, her cold overpowering Jiho's efforts for a fleeting moment.
"Oh," Jiho let out, chuckling and caressing her hand. "Sorry."
"No, no, it was me," Shiah sighed then answered. "Yes. I--I think I would have loved it."
She didn't know why exactly, and because her thoughts were too loud to know why she didn't hate her power even after it hurt her, she asked Jiho the same question.
Jiho wasn't smiling when she spoke (Mihyun's stars had given them enough light to see each other), and what Shiah had thought to be hesitation clear in her voice was actually regret. fear. "I almost made Doctor Kim an elderly when I woke up," She said, her voice lower than before. "I didn't even realize I was using my power, it felt like nothing had changed."
It hurt, hearing the ache in Jiho's voice, it hurt deep enough that Shiah intertwined their fingers and squeezed Jiho's hand to comfort her. "You didn't know."
None of them knew if the drug had worked or not until it was too late, none of them was blamed, either, not even when lives had been put at risk.
"I just can't imagine what would have happened if I didn't notice it, it was just--" Jiho paused, seeming lost of words. "It was scary, not knowing how to use it or if I was using it when I wasn't paying attention."
Jiho sighed, and in the blink of an eye, her smile returned. "But I don't hate it any more. I already get to help with it."
Shiah couldn't resist a smile of her own, even if Jiho's smile had seemed sad rather than cheerful, so she snuggled into Jiho more. "I'm glad you feel that way."
To Shiah's surprise, Jiho reached her arm around her shoulders and hugged her closer. "Is this okay?" She asked, nervously.
Shiah was nervous, too, she whispered a Yes, wanting to melt into the tender embrace, wanting to be even closer to Jiho.
,
Seunghee visited them everyday with Hyejin, whom she was paired with, and sometimes, Jiho came with them as well. They never stayed for long, but just enough to fill them in about the plan to attack the machines. It was a good plan, but they were leaving soon, and that made Shiah fully aware of what's awaiting them in the battle.
She was worried, and perhaps she shouldn't be, Seunghee was confident in her power and the shapes she could create, and Hyejin didn't seem any less excited about fighting off the machines. But Shiah couldn't help it, they might have met a couple of months ago, but her love for the girls who took that scary leap with her had already equalled years of good friendship.
Shiah shared her feelings with Hyojung one day. The older girl had been smiling, a bright smile, the most vivid thing Shiah had seen in a long while, but it faded away that Shiah regretted saying anything.
"They are strong, but I want them here. Safe," Hyojung said, sadness evident in her eyes. "Well, as safe as anywhere can be any more, but I know they still want to fight, and that makes me want to be there with them just to protect them."
Shiah turned to her, surprised that she had mentioned the possibility of using her power again.
"I know, I know," Hyojung replied to her obvious shock, sighing. She leaned back on the trunk of one of Seunghee's squishy trees. "But I can't ignore it forever, can I?" Hyojung finished, and when their eyes met, it felt as if Hyojung had voiced a thought that Shiah hadn't realized she was ignoring.
Shiah leaned back as well, adjusting her heavy coat tightly around her. It was getting dark, but the others were still sparring. As far as sparring could go with softhearted Mihyun, at least.
"Do you regret volunteering?" Shiah asked in a low voice.
Hyojung replied after a moment. "I don't want to. I wanted to help, I still do, but it is hard sometimes. It feels like It will slip out of my control, and that scares me. It scares me."
Shiah knew what she meant, she could never forget the roars Hyojung's creature had made, or the damage it caused.
"Do you?" Hyojung asked her.
Shiah thought she knew the answer, but the lingering affection she had for Jiho that only grew more every time she saw Jiho, every time thought about her, told her a different thing. "No," she answered. "Not any more."
Hyojung chuckled at her answer. "I wonder what made you chang your mind."
Shiah realized what Hyojung meant and all that she could do was whining and hiding her face in her arms. Was she that obvious?
"It's okay, you two already have our blessings," she said, patting Shiah's hair.
Shiah felt flutters wash her with warmth, she felt joy swelling her heart at what Hyojung said, and when the girls' cheers filled the quiet, Hyojung spoke again. "I guess it could have been worse."
It took Shiah a moment, but she realized that she had believed that the worse had already happened the day she was trapped in an everlasting winter, but knowing that Hyojung would rather use her power, her fierce power that made her weep at night out of fear, to protect them warmed her heart. So she tried not to worry, taking comfort in the promise that Hyejin had made. She said she won't leave Seunghee's side, and Shiah only felt sincerity in her words.
"I guess so," Shiah finally replied, her thoughts centering around Jiho. She couldn't regret volunteering, not when she got the chance to know Jiho, not when the sweet longing capturing her whole being had started to become for Jiho herself and not the warmth that she could bring back.
"Don't be afraid," Shiah said all of a sudden, looking at Hyojung. "You won't lost control over It."
"What makes you so sure?"
"You."
Hyojung's cheeks were reddened in an instant, she smiled awkwardly, but that only drew giggles from Shiah's lips.
,
Her power had felt like a sixth sense that she wasn't aware of by the fourth time she had created a snowstorm. It had taken Shiah a moment, but she understood it, despite the shudders that the warm layers of clothes she had been wearing couldn't defeat, she had understood how the cold flowed through her veins and how it seeped through her fingertips in the form of snow and winds and ice. Ice that would consume anything she aimed for.
At least, that was what Shiah remembered when she unleashed her cold upon the Sky Fighter machine that rose out of the remains and rubble scattered across the ground.
The sun had yet to reach the middle of the sky when Shiah found her third metallic arm, and the gentle breeze of an approaching fall shouldn't make her shudder like that, like she was right in the middle of a snowstorm, but she was and there was no escape from that unseen storm.
Well, actually, there was, but Jiho was busy practicing her power, so Shiah had to go through her own cold. Just like everyday.
They were asked to sweep the woods near the school for any metal they could find, any metal that could be the subject of the superhumans' tests. They remained close to each other, just in case.
There were aircrafts' parts, destroyed by the fight. There were damaged cars, weapons and machines and all sort of things a battle could leave behind, but they were long forgotten under the sand, the dust and fallen trees, and Shiah made sure not to dig too deep.
She could see some of her friends and the other volunteers on both of her sides, although far and busy searching in the ruins. That gave her a little of comfort, the whole place they were hiding at was a grave, and Shiah was only thankful that she wasn't alone.
She carried the machine's part with care, afraid and shaken by the mere touch, but when two figures suddenly appeared in front of her, drawing a shriek from her mouth, she dropped the arm she was holding.
"Sorry, Shiah," Hyejin said with a calm smile before teleporting again, leaving her with one giggling Jiho, who quickly stepped forward to help her pick up the heavy arm.
"You scared me," Shiah told her, folding her arms. "And what are you doing here? You should be practicing."
Jiho looked at her, her eyes wide, and her smile is the reason Shiah's heart was still pacing. "You aren't happy to see me? Okay," she said, turning to walk away.
"Hey!"
Shiah quickly held her arm, laughing at her fake sadness. She was happy to see her, she was already engulfed in warmth caused by her presence, by her tender smile and cheerful voice. "I'm serious, what are you doing here?" She asked again.
It was the first time Jiho came to see her at this hour. Usually, she would come with Seunghee and Hyejin at meal time.
Jiho avoided her eyes, and focused on getting the machine's arm into the carriage, but when she finally answered, Shiah couldn't decide if the look in her eyes was of disappointment or fear. "Dr. Kim ended my training today," Jiho spoke in a low voice, her smile hesitant. "She said she was wrong about my power, it won't work without contact."
Shiah felt a pang in her heart, knowing exactly what that meant. "They're sending you close to the machines?" She whispered, and when Jiho nodded, she neared her, wanting to hold her in her arms yet lacking the courage to do so that all she could do was tucking her hair behind her ear.
"But you don't have to worry about cold!" Jiho let out with an empty excitement, "we aren't leaving until everyone is ready, so it should take a few more days."
Her excitement was empty, a cover that would have hidden the tremble of her voice if Shiah didn't know better, and yet... and yet her words unexpectedly cut deep.
"I-- I don't care about that," Shiah replied, shocked that Jiho thought of her like that. Like warmth was what mattered to her. "Is that why you think I'd be sad? I'm worried about you. I care about you."
Shiah couldn't remember the last time she had cared about someone this much, or liked them, it felt like the machines had stolen their world many years ago, but when those words formed in her mind, they felt real. Like she had finally figured out how they sounded and how to match them with feelings. Her feelings for Jiho.
"I like you," Shiah let out, unable to stop the tears from gathering in her eyes or the searing anger of being seen like that by the person she liked, greatly, from hurting her heart.
Upon seeing Jiho's confused look, Shiah realized what she had said, so she walked away in a hurry, wanting to escape Jiho and the feelings settling in her heart with clarity.
Jiho called for her, but Shiah couldn't face her. She headed into the woods and hugged herself for warmth, thoughts of Jiho hating her storming through her mind.
For a second, her whole life felt like it was crashing down on her, fear, regrets. Love and hope, they all felt so heavy, and she had been carrying them for a long time, but the sudden vibration travelling through her feet made her stop with a flinch.
She looked around, Jiho was still there, nearing her, but Shiah's eyes caught the reason to why the world felt still for a fleeting moment.
It rose with a loud squeak that shattered the calm, a huge figure that was buried under the wing of an aircraft. It was twice her size, shining under the faint sun rays piercing the clouds. A Sky Fighter, Shiah remembered its type, her eyes fixed at the metallic limbs stretching and bending until the figure stood straight, giving her its back.
In a moment, or less than that by far, Shiah realized Jiho being frozen at her spot, her ears were deafened by the pounding of her heart. There was fear on Jiho's features, fear that Shiah could feel evidently, it took her only that to realize how much she wanted to protect her, it took her only that to will her winter to freeze the whole world.
The place turned to white in the blink of an eye, the cold coated her completely, making every inhale she took feel like knives cutting her lungs. The snow was being carried by her howling winds, and the ice touched the machine aiming its weapon at Jiho until it sank through its surface and interrupted its motion to the point where it froze.
Shiah could feel her cold bite at her toes and bones and soul. it was harsh, but Jiho was safe and therefore she could close her eyes, if only for a moment.
Shiah would have surrendered to the numbing darkness if it wasn't for the sudden warmth pulling her into a firm embrace. "You fool!" Jiho let out in a whisper as warmth washed over her slowly, steadily until it felt like there was no longer cold, but when she opened her eyes, the machine was being shattered by her cold and it fell to the ground.
Her winter was still there, painting as far as Shiah could see, but she wasn't being hurt by it, she was protected by Jiho, whose tears wet Shiah's neck.
Shiah hugged her back, her own tears streaming down her cheeks as she drew her cold away from the world.
,
It was one of the herd that chased the resistance's aircrafts months ago, the Sky Fighter machine, it malfunctioned and fell into a dormant state, and their movement had awakened it, but everyone was safe. Well, they were still shivering from the lingering cold, but at least now they knew what danger might be awaiting them in the ruins.
Dr. Kim was impressed with her heroic action, so impressed that Shiah was now among the superhumans preparing to attack one of the machines' main power sources.
But Shiah didn't have the time to be afraid or worried, whether from the machines or her cold, she had Jiho by her side.
It was a perfect combination, Dr. Kim had said, Jiho didn't want to be close to the machines and Shiah wouldn't survive her winter without Jiho's help, so it was a final decision and the only thing Shiah was worried about was the fact that she might have made things awkward between them.
Jiho had stayed silent as they were informed about their part in the battle, and by the time the sky showed its stars in a blanket of black, exhaustion was more prominent than hunger that Shiah skipped her meal.
,
Shiah didn't expect to fall asleep so quickly, not with how loud her thoughts were, but one second she was just resting her eyes and the next there was something shaking her foot.
Shiah flinched into wakefulness, startling the person holding a candle at the same time. Her heart beat hard when big eyes met hers, shimmering with hesitation under the swaying light.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," Jiho said. Jiho, Shiah stared at her, heat rushing to her cheeks. Soft and real heat.
"It's okay," Shiah replied, sitting upright.
"You haven't eaten anything," Jiho told her, extending her arm, which Shiah only now noticed that she was holding a pot. Vegetable soup again, minus the vegetable, Shiah guessed, but steam was still waving upward from it so she didn't care. She accepted it, relishing the heat flowing through her palms.
"Th-- thank you."
Jiho sat next to her. "Thank you." She looked at her, "you saved my life."
"you saved mine, too," Shiah said, lowering her head. "I don't think I'd have made it this far if you didn't help me with the cold."
The silence lingered after her words, and it was nerve-wracking.
Shiah had no courage to bring up what happened earlier, but as Jiho sat next to her, quiet and staring at the floor, Shiah's fears and doubts stormed wildly.
She hadn't intended to like Jiho, but she had been too consumed by Jiho's warmth to notice that the affection she had for Jiho was no longer hesitant or tiny, so she gathered her strength and courage, knowing that letting the obvious silence drag out wouldn't be a good choice.
"About what I said," Shiah started off, putting the pot asie. "I di--" she tried to find something to say when she met Jiho's eyes again. An excuse, an explanation. I didn't mean it like how it sounded, I care about you as a friend, that was I meant, yes. Anything, but Jiho was looking at her with that familiar glimmer that Shiah loved.
She lost her stream of thoughts, aware only of one thing. How much she loved those eyes, and their owner.
"Let's just forget about it," Shiah said, looking away. "We have a lot to worry about right now and I don't want things to be awkward between us," she finished, her heart trembling at the thought that she ruined whatever thing she had with Jiho.
"What if I don't want to forget about it?" Jiho asked in a shaky voice that tugged at Shiah's heart. "What if I like you, too?" Jiho said, eyes wide and... tearful.
Jiho's words sounded vague to her for a moment, like she was hearing them from far away. "You like me?" She managed to say, "like... a friend?"
Jiho shook her head.
"Oh."
It felt unreal, unexpected that Shiah realized she had never thought about the possibility that Jiho might like her. But it was real, and Jiho's eyes shimmered under the candle's light, making Shiah's heart swell with joy... and love.
Shiah wanted to hug her, to wipe her tears and kiss their traces on her cheeks, and she would have. Maybe. She would have if it wasn't for the laughter that suddenly filled the room, and then faded right in the same second.
Silence lingered yet again, but this time it wasn't heavy and there were six pairs of eyes staring at them.
"You guys weren't about to kiss or anything, right?"
Shiah whined when the teasing began again, hiding her face in Jiho's shoulder, and despite the younger's girl clear shyness, she put an arm around her and Shiah felt that was enough.
,
Preparing for battle was strange, like Shiah had never stopped doing just that and only now she had realized it. So when she started using her power again, she wasn't held back by the uncertainties or the cold. They were still there, lurking where she couldn't freeze them. They were still whispering with her winds and falling with each one of her snowflake. But she couldn't care, not when Jiho protected her from them.
,
Shiah was ticklish, she herself wasn't aware of that until Jiho held her waist as they tried different attacks and tactics.
"I swear if you two don't stop flirting and show us the vortex, I'm gonna keep the lights on around the two of you for the whole night," Mihyun said. It hadn't even been days since she discovered a new ability to her lights and she was already using it against them.
"You know I can still break metal, right? Solid metal?" Yoobin spoke almost right away. "You might want to say goodbye to your bed."
"Jiho can turn yours to dust!" Shiah replied, challenging, to which Yoobin only answered with a meaningful tone. "Oh, so we are already bragging about each other?"
Shiah blushed when she realized what she had done and Yoobin high-fived with Mihyun, and it would have been less embarrassing if Jiho wasn't smiling from cheek to cheek.
"Come on, it'll be dark soon," Hyojung saved them before Yoobin and Mihyun could tease them more. Shiah shot a thankful look to her and Yewon, who only seemed to be still interested to see what Shiah had planned for.
Actually, Shiah was still amazed at how they could know what their youngest was feeling. Well, sometimes at least, but for an invisible person, Yewon had always managed to make them see her.
Shiah ignored her friends' whispered teasing and faced the field. She was nervous, not only because Jiho was right behind her, her warmth wrapping around Shiah and her touch causing flutters to burst in her stomach, but because this was the first time she would try to create an ice vortex and she wasn't confident that she would succeed.
"You'll do well," Jiho whispered in her ear, only prompting their two friends to tease them again.
Jiho's words gave her strength, Jiho gave her strength when she caressed her skin and pulled her closer with extra care to not tickle her. It was everything she needed, Shiah let her winter escape her existence and touch just a small spot in the field.
It was so easy, to move her fingers slowly and direct her winds and snow, it felt so natural like the cold was part of her. And it was. It was, Shiah knew, that's why when she willed her cold to shape as she wanted it she knew exactly what she should do.
As the ice started to appear and circle an unseen center, Shiah relished the amazement showing in Jiho's voice. She felt proud, but a sudden, familiar sound stole her attention. It shook her heart and draped her with fear. She lowered her hand, turning to Jiho. "Do you hear that?"
Jiho looked at her, confused. "Hear what?"
The sound wasn't loud enough to be close, but Shiah could never mistake the engine's sound of the machines that could soar through the sky. The sound was discontinuous, as if it was being carried by the winds, Shiah realized, her winter winds.
"Sky Fighters..."
She answered, and at the same time, she heard Yewon's worried voice directed at Hyojung. What's wrong?
She exchanged a look with Jiho and quickly went to the girls' side.
"Something feels off," Hyojung was saying. "It... is agitated."
Because Hyojung rarely talked about her power, about the creature that was under control by a thread, invisible and unmatched in strength, Shiah knew that the approaching sound was real.
"Sky Fighters," Shiah told them. "I can hear the--"
Shiah didn't get to finish her words as thundering sounds shot above them.
The three burning lights heading toward the school behind them couldn't be mistaken. They were bright in the cloudy sky, they pierced through the air with a single purpose that made Shiah's feet stuck to the ground.
They were leaving soon, they were marching to fight the machines, but the machines found them first and they came with an end clear in their metallic figures that now appeared from the clouds.
The world felt quiet as the rockets pointed down at them, nearing them in a pace that matched the shuddering rhythm of her heart. The whole world felt still, dismal and hopeless, but a deafening roar broke that weakening hopelessness. The ground shook beneath Shiah's feet, each tremble was caused by the strong thumps of Hyojung's creature as it galloped toward the school building and climbed it.
It all happened so fast, it all happened before Shiah could comprehend that she had power within her hands, but one second there were three rockets heading their way and then one rocket exploded in the air with a loud roar. None of the shreds would harm them, not when Hyejin and Seunghee appeared all of a sudden, with the younger girl already creating a dome over them.
Shiah held Jiho's hand as the dome expanded above them, it had the faint shade of black and Shiah had no doubt that it would block all the danger.
Jiho intertwined their fingers, holding her tightly that Shiah turned to her. She didn't seem afraid, or at least she was trying to hide her fear and stay still, and when Shiah spotted the other superhumans aiming their fires and lightning and everything that could defeat a machine, she squeezed Jiho's hand and kept her winter at the tip of her fingers.
,
They were scouting the area, the three Sky Fighters that knew nothing about what's awaiting them in the abandon school. They were prompted by the activation of the fallen Sky Fighter Shiah had destroyed the other day.
But they defeated them, it was a small victory that they couldn't celebrate because not only their camp had been exposed, but they have lost the element of surprise and now their battle had already begun.
Shiah couldn't stop thinking about that, as she stood in the field with the others, it was still chaotic. And though Hyojung's creature was invisible, its presence beside her friend was evident. It stood there like a guard, a firm protector that sounded at ease when Hyojung caressed its head instead of drawing it back to where spirits existed.
Shiah felt happy for her friend, despite it all, despite the fear that still made her heart shudder like a leaf. Despite the cold and the fact that the end had started, she was happy that Hyojung wasn't afraid of her power.
And she was ready, too. Shiah herself was surprised to feel the will and the determination flowing within her when the last Sky Fighter shredded in the air. They flowed like a current through her whole being, steadily and with hope that reminded her of why she had volunteered.
Jiho's hand in hers had something to do with that, Shiah knew. Jiho was shielding her with warmth, but Shiah couldn't focus on anything beyond their first win and Jiho's strong hold that made her feel brave. That's why when only a few minutes left before they would leave, she pulled Jiho aside and let her feelings speak for her.
"Promise me you will be careful," Shiah said, thankful that Mihyun's lights reached the empty classroom. "I know we'll be by each other's side when we fight, but when we aren't fighting, and-- and even then," she wanted to tell Jiho every feeling she had for her, every little feeling that clashed into her like a tide, yet warmed her heart with ease and happiness. "Just be careful, okay?"
Jiho gazed at her in silence then took something out of her pocket.
Shiah couldn't recognize it in the dim light right away, but when she realized it was a tiny flower that had yet to bloom, she furrowed her brows.
Jiho first answered her with a smile, then she held the flower carefully in her palms and let it grow.
"I found a bunch of them in field, they weren't harmed," Jiho explained with a sweet voice that captured Shiah's heart anew.
Shiah was marvelled by the slow, delicate process that she couldn't take her eyes off the growing plant. It was beautiful, both the flower and Jiho's power.
"It is so beautiful," she whispered when the little flower fully blossomed.
"It is for you," Jiho told her, handing it over to her with a wide smile on her face. "I promise I'll be careful."
Shiah couldn't help the upturn of her lips, very delighted by Jiho's words, by Jiho's gift and by Jiho herself. She accepted the flower and before she could think better of it, she took Jiho's lips with hers.
It was a soft kiss, weakening Shiah's knees that when Jiho kissed her back, she held on to her. Jiho surrounded her with her arms, clearly hesitant, and clearly eager to keep kissing her.
It was their first kiss, far more amazing than Shiah had thought it could be, it was also too much for a second that Shiah nipped Jiho's lip by accident, making the two of them shudder and Jiho faintly gasp.
Jiho held her tightly, her skin warm and easing Shiah's cold away without even using her power. "Promise me we'll get our lives back," she said with trembling lips, opening her eyes.
Shiah gazed at those eyes and remembered the first time she saw them closely. She hadn't realized how deep she would fall for them at that time, she hadn't even known, but now... now she desperately wanted to take the world back if only to make those eyes brighten with happiness.
It might not be the reason that made Shiah volunteer, but it would help her stand steady on the ground as the world turned to gray and white, as the machines shattered under her cold.
Shiah nodded, hugging Jiho, her fingers holding the flower tenderly. "We will. We will."
Rating: PG-13
Characters/Pairings: OMG, Yooa/Jiho
Warnings (if applicable): //
Word-Count: 7k
Summary: In a cold world, Shiah found warmth.
Author Notes:
* This is based on your (post-apocalypse au) prompt.
* I hope there is something you might like in this fic, it was a great joy to write a fic this worldbuild-y for OMG.
* The fic isn't beta-ed. I apologize for any typos and mistakes.
When the world was humans' world, vivid with the promise of a future, Shiah had never thought that she would miss it this much if it was taken from her. And when that world did slip out of humans' grasp and became the machines' world, what began after that was nothing that resembled a life or offered a dream. A present.
But people survived, and people fought their own creation to reclaim what was theirs.
,
Shiah had never imagined herself standing at the frontlines and aiming a gun at the metallic figures. She couldn't hold a gun, let alone use it, but when the remaining commands around the world had asked for volunteers to take an experimental drug that could give humans unique powers, Shiah found the will in her heart to take her world back strong enough to dive into the unknown.
,
It was cold on the other side, with snow and sharp winds and hail, and Shiah had control over all of it, but there was a catch. A consequence that Shiah and many of the volunteers couldn't escape. Side effects, which varied for each one of them, and the one Shiah had was being stuck in her own artificial cold. Her own lasting winter.
,
Shiah wasn't one to regret her decisions, but when the volunteers who got the result everyone was hoping for were training in the east building of the destroyed school so they could join the resistance, Shiah couldn't prevent the sadness from weighing her down. Especially when the cold made her teeth chatter non-stop.
But Shiah wasn't alone in that pit, and there was solace in that.
True, maybe she was the only one who no longer felt enough warmth, but the others weren't quite lucky. Yewon could no longer be seen, making the clothes she wore the only indication of her presence with them, and Yoobin, whose body became fragile in exchange for an unmatched strength, had to live in fear of broken bones and painful bruises. Well, actually, Yoobin wasn't the one afraid, she still wanted to fight, but the scientists had refused to let her train.
Of course, there were a few who all they got were powers that wouldn't scratch an enemy made of metal and wires. Mihyun still loved her lights, though, so it wasn't all that bad for her, Shiah supposed.
But it could get better. At least, that was what the scientists had promised. Shiah hadn't paid much attention to their words at that time, she was shivering and they had no idea how to restore her body's temperature to its normal level, but one night, Dr. Kim came to her with someone tall and shy, someone who had the solution to her endless cold.
"Jiho can intensify what already exists. Increase it, bloom something or someone to their fullest until there was nothing more left," Dr. Kim explained with enthusiasm despite her obvious drowsiness. Not to mention that it was a little late in the night for that.
It was a great power, a dangerous power that required Jiho to touch her target in order to work.
"I know it sounds awkward, but Jiho can't join the resistance yet, so she agreed to help you," Dr. Kim told Shiah, tiredness clear on her features. "It is all up to you, Shiah. Until we find a way to fix your temperature, this is the only option we have."
It was already awkward, Shiah couldn't meet Jiho's eyes for more than a second, and though she wanted anything but to make Jiho feel rejected, it was the notion of feeling warmth again that made her agree. She nodded her head when silence lingered, and Dr. Kim smiled before she left the two of them standing in the hallway.
Jiho smiled, too. A soft and nervous smile that made Shiah's heart pace. Her cheeks were painted with a hint of red, and she could see how tired she was.
"Thank you," Shiah finally managed to say. "You didn't have to."
Jiho's smile only widened. "I don't mind," she answered, her eyes shimmering as if calling for Shiah to fall deeply into their depths.
,
As expected, it was awkward. But back in the crowded survivors' camp, everyone slept too close to one another, so Shiah tried to pretend it was the same as she lay next to Jiho, her hand cradled in Jiho's hands. And when warmth, noticeable warmth, burst from within her and washed away all the cold and shivers with gentle waves, Shiah was too engulfed in the relief to care about any awkwardness.
Still, when tears gathered in her eyes because she had thought she could never feel warmth again, Shiah wanted to fill the silence that the others' snoring couldn't disturb. "Why can't you join the resistance yet?"
Jiho was still awake, staring at the ceiling. "I can't use my power without touching, but Dr. Kim thinks I should be able to," she spoke in a low voice, a sweet voice. "I really hope she is right, I don't want to even get near those things," she finished with a chuckle that drew a similar one from Shiah.
"Then why did you volunteer? They literally said we will fight them in battle."
"Yeah, but they didn't say we would have to touch them." Jiho turned to her, still laughing. "I volunteered because I couldn't use weapons, not because I wanted to see machines up close." She extended one hand to Shiah's cheek, her eyes wide. "Oh, excuse me, evil machine, can I touch your cheek for just one second?"
Shiah burst in laughter before she could muffle the sound, and though her tears did fall, they brought relief and not sorrow. And it seemed that Jiho wasn't oblivious to them, she squeezed Shiah's hand once, twice, and didn't stop until sleep weighed on her senses with ease.
,
Having powers was still new to them, and while Shiah dread using hers as the shivers took a hold of her body, Mihyun and Seunghee were enjoying experimenting with their powers.
The trees surrounding them swayed with the winds, giving the girls a calming, whispering melody that soothed Shiah's heart. The memory of last night did the same, too, for reasons that Shiah had yet to define.
Jiho was in the other side of the camp, training with the other superhumans.
"What's wrong?" Hyojung asked softly, drawing her attention.
Shiah inhaled deeply and shook her head. "Just thinking about life."
"And how it is unfair?" Yoobin said, her voice still grumpy.
Shiah chuckled. "Kind of."
"You know," Mihyun joined in, still trying to craft her lights into all the shapes Yewon could think of. "If the machines weren't killing every human they spot as we speak, the scientists would have cared to see what we can do with our powers."
"What can you do with your lights, though? Not all machines need eyes to see us," Yoobin asked, her voice lacking any judgement. She still had her arm in Hyojung's hands, the younger girl had hit the door's knob by mistake and almost broke her hand. Thankfully, she only ended up with an awful-looking bruise.
"Light doesn't seem to do much, right?" Mihyun spoke with excitement as if she had been waiting for anyone to ask. "I thought the same, too, but light have energy, and Dr. Kim told me if I can find that energy in the existing lights, I can use it."
Mihyun's smile was wide and proud and enough to make Shiah think about her own power's possibilities.
"What about the energy in the lights you make?"
Seunghee finally turned away from the pitch black bubble she had been toying with ever since they got there, its surface looked mellow. Enchanting enough that Shiah didn't want to look away.
"Well, Dr. Kim said the lights I make are part of me, so what I actually do is turning my own energy into light then when it disappears, it returns to me," Mihyun explained with a bright smile. "Amazing, right?"
It was amazing, even if the glowing WOW and other cheers Mihyun had created over her head to decorate her words had brought laughter and jokes.
"Oh my God, you are being silly!" Yewon commented, cringing from the looks of her sleeves.
Mihyun was about to reply her when Seunghee's bubble turned into a huge tree. A real tree with leaves as green as the ones around them, and a resemblance that would have matched any tree if its trunk wasn't lively, still keeping its wavy movement. It stood on the ground right in front of Seunghee, whose shock had only echoed theirs.
"Woah, I didn't know you can do that!" Hyojung said as some of the other superhumans neared their spot, mouth opened in surprise.
"I didn't know I can do that."
"It looks so real," Yewon let out, inching closer to poke at it. "Jelly tree!" The amazement was clear in her voice.
Mihyun neared the tree, too, albet hesitantly. "See? This just proves my point, our powers aren't useless."
"We can't fight machines with trees, Mihyun," Seunghee points out.
"No, but we can use them to hide or get to cover, and look, it is like rubber or something," she replied, struggling to push her hand through the trunk. "What is it made of?"
"I don't know," Seunghee was gazing at her tree with fondness. "The scientists didn't know, either," she sounded disappointed when she spoke again, "like you said, there isn't enough time for them to learn about our powers." And when she touched the trunk, her hand went through smoothly.
"Oh!"
Shiah watched with anticipation, all of them seeming to hold their breaths.
"It is... hollow!" Seunghee let out, and the glimmer of excitement in her eyes when she gazed at them was almost telling of what crossed her mind.
They shout their disbelief in union when Seunghee entered the tree, and when their shock lasted and the silence filled the place, Mihyun spoke. "I swear I didn't mean hiding like that!"
,
Shiah stood with the others in the hallway leading to the east building. It turned out that Seunghee's power wasn't ineffectual after all, and so she had yet to return with Hyojung from their meeting with the scientists.
Shiah had a lingering thought about the same thing happening to her, to tell the truth. One second she would be still freezing from the cold only she could feel and the next she would be okay again, warm and strong with a power that could help them win the war. It was a nice thought, Shiah felt, and she would have kept musing it if it wasn't for the sudden appearance of four people in the quiet hallway.
Their shrieks scattered the calmness as Hyojung lost her balance, prompting the unfamiliar girl to hold her. She was giggling softly, and Shiah couldn't help but to smile.
"This happens a lot for first timers," the girl said as Mihyun neared them, her arms extended to keep Hyojung steady on her feet.
"It still happens to me!" Jiho spoke, and blushd when her eyes met Shiah's. She whispered a Hi, causing heat to rush through her and settle in her cheeks. Shiah's heart beat fast at the unexpected sensation, and she only wondered if Jiho had succeed in using her power remotely?
"Wah, how did you guys get her?" Yewon asked in an adorable voice that almost made Shiah stop looking at Jiho. She smiled to her, strange happiness washing over her just from seeing her again. She knew Jiho would stay with her that night, and though it wouldn't be surprising to relate that happiness to her yearning for warmth, somehow, Shiah found herself sure that she was simply happy to see Jiho. No reasons behind it.
"Hyejin can travel through space in an instant!" Seunghee replied with excitement. "I'm still shaking, look," she said, looking at Hyejin. "It happened so fast!"
Shiah didn't realize that she was still staring at Jiho until Yoobin nudged her. Shiah lowered her head, embarrassed, she tried to follow what the girls were talking about but all that she managed to do was stealing glances at Jiho, whose cheeks were still red and laughter was the sweetest Shiah had ever heard.
,
Seunghee was going to join the frontlines, and she had only a short while to master her power.
They were happy for her, and worried about her, but her enthusiasm to make a change hadn't wavered not even a little, so Shiah supposed the younger girl knew what she was capable of.
Mihyun liked Hyejin, or at least that was what Yoobin told her as they prepared for sleep. "She stayed quiet the whole time, didn't you notice? Oh, wait, of course you didn't notice."
"Hey!" Shiah whisper-shouted at her, trying to catch her but the short-haired girl had already escaped, laughing.
Shiah had noticed, actually, despite how short the time the eight of them spent in the hallway before Hyejin and Seunghee returned to practice. The absence of Mihyun's antics was simply evident. Even for her, who kept realizing little details about Jiho. Beautiful details that made it hard for Shiah to relax when the two of them settled in bed and lights were out for the night.
Like the night before, Jiho hugged her hand tenderly until Shiah's own warmth captured her senses and she fell asleep. And in that moment, with Jiho sleeping soundly next to her, and warmth lasting for a little more, Shiah felt that nothing was wrong, not the warmth or the cold, not even the cruel world they lived in.
,
Shiah couldn't remember the last time she had a nice morning, but as a kind surprise, morning came like a gentle caress on her soul. It came with news of progress and a solid hope of victory.
Except Shiah couldn't fully enjoy that because she had woken up in Jiho's arms only to find two pairs of eyes gazing at her with a smile.
The teasing was inevitable, Shiah supposed, but as the day went by, all that she could focus on was how firm Jiho's embrace was, how safe she felt in her arms. How warm she was... Jiho wasn't using her power, Shiah had realized, it was Jiho's own warmth that protected Shiah from her winter.
Shiah had never thought that such a serene day could happen while the machines ruled their world, but it did, and part of it was Jiho's doing.
,
"Would you have liked your power? If it didn't affect your body?"
Jiho asked one night as they watched the little stars Mihyun was creating in the darkness. The ceiling was nothing like the night sky outside, but their youngest loved space, and Mihyun could give her something that might resemble a starry night.
Shiah had been enchanted by the little lights that Jiho's question sounded sudden. So sudden that she instantly realized she had never thought about her power that way. She didn't have the chance to admire or hate the storms she could create. The snowflakes she could create, the whiteness and the winds, she hadn't had the chance to marvel at her work, at the gift that she had been given.
Shiah shuddered, her cold overpowering Jiho's efforts for a fleeting moment.
"Oh," Jiho let out, chuckling and caressing her hand. "Sorry."
"No, no, it was me," Shiah sighed then answered. "Yes. I--I think I would have loved it."
She didn't know why exactly, and because her thoughts were too loud to know why she didn't hate her power even after it hurt her, she asked Jiho the same question.
Jiho wasn't smiling when she spoke (Mihyun's stars had given them enough light to see each other), and what Shiah had thought to be hesitation clear in her voice was actually regret. fear. "I almost made Doctor Kim an elderly when I woke up," She said, her voice lower than before. "I didn't even realize I was using my power, it felt like nothing had changed."
It hurt, hearing the ache in Jiho's voice, it hurt deep enough that Shiah intertwined their fingers and squeezed Jiho's hand to comfort her. "You didn't know."
None of them knew if the drug had worked or not until it was too late, none of them was blamed, either, not even when lives had been put at risk.
"I just can't imagine what would have happened if I didn't notice it, it was just--" Jiho paused, seeming lost of words. "It was scary, not knowing how to use it or if I was using it when I wasn't paying attention."
Jiho sighed, and in the blink of an eye, her smile returned. "But I don't hate it any more. I already get to help with it."
Shiah couldn't resist a smile of her own, even if Jiho's smile had seemed sad rather than cheerful, so she snuggled into Jiho more. "I'm glad you feel that way."
To Shiah's surprise, Jiho reached her arm around her shoulders and hugged her closer. "Is this okay?" She asked, nervously.
Shiah was nervous, too, she whispered a Yes, wanting to melt into the tender embrace, wanting to be even closer to Jiho.
,
Seunghee visited them everyday with Hyejin, whom she was paired with, and sometimes, Jiho came with them as well. They never stayed for long, but just enough to fill them in about the plan to attack the machines. It was a good plan, but they were leaving soon, and that made Shiah fully aware of what's awaiting them in the battle.
She was worried, and perhaps she shouldn't be, Seunghee was confident in her power and the shapes she could create, and Hyejin didn't seem any less excited about fighting off the machines. But Shiah couldn't help it, they might have met a couple of months ago, but her love for the girls who took that scary leap with her had already equalled years of good friendship.
Shiah shared her feelings with Hyojung one day. The older girl had been smiling, a bright smile, the most vivid thing Shiah had seen in a long while, but it faded away that Shiah regretted saying anything.
"They are strong, but I want them here. Safe," Hyojung said, sadness evident in her eyes. "Well, as safe as anywhere can be any more, but I know they still want to fight, and that makes me want to be there with them just to protect them."
Shiah turned to her, surprised that she had mentioned the possibility of using her power again.
"I know, I know," Hyojung replied to her obvious shock, sighing. She leaned back on the trunk of one of Seunghee's squishy trees. "But I can't ignore it forever, can I?" Hyojung finished, and when their eyes met, it felt as if Hyojung had voiced a thought that Shiah hadn't realized she was ignoring.
Shiah leaned back as well, adjusting her heavy coat tightly around her. It was getting dark, but the others were still sparring. As far as sparring could go with softhearted Mihyun, at least.
"Do you regret volunteering?" Shiah asked in a low voice.
Hyojung replied after a moment. "I don't want to. I wanted to help, I still do, but it is hard sometimes. It feels like It will slip out of my control, and that scares me. It scares me."
Shiah knew what she meant, she could never forget the roars Hyojung's creature had made, or the damage it caused.
"Do you?" Hyojung asked her.
Shiah thought she knew the answer, but the lingering affection she had for Jiho that only grew more every time she saw Jiho, every time thought about her, told her a different thing. "No," she answered. "Not any more."
Hyojung chuckled at her answer. "I wonder what made you chang your mind."
Shiah realized what Hyojung meant and all that she could do was whining and hiding her face in her arms. Was she that obvious?
"It's okay, you two already have our blessings," she said, patting Shiah's hair.
Shiah felt flutters wash her with warmth, she felt joy swelling her heart at what Hyojung said, and when the girls' cheers filled the quiet, Hyojung spoke again. "I guess it could have been worse."
It took Shiah a moment, but she realized that she had believed that the worse had already happened the day she was trapped in an everlasting winter, but knowing that Hyojung would rather use her power, her fierce power that made her weep at night out of fear, to protect them warmed her heart. So she tried not to worry, taking comfort in the promise that Hyejin had made. She said she won't leave Seunghee's side, and Shiah only felt sincerity in her words.
"I guess so," Shiah finally replied, her thoughts centering around Jiho. She couldn't regret volunteering, not when she got the chance to know Jiho, not when the sweet longing capturing her whole being had started to become for Jiho herself and not the warmth that she could bring back.
"Don't be afraid," Shiah said all of a sudden, looking at Hyojung. "You won't lost control over It."
"What makes you so sure?"
"You."
Hyojung's cheeks were reddened in an instant, she smiled awkwardly, but that only drew giggles from Shiah's lips.
,
Her power had felt like a sixth sense that she wasn't aware of by the fourth time she had created a snowstorm. It had taken Shiah a moment, but she understood it, despite the shudders that the warm layers of clothes she had been wearing couldn't defeat, she had understood how the cold flowed through her veins and how it seeped through her fingertips in the form of snow and winds and ice. Ice that would consume anything she aimed for.
At least, that was what Shiah remembered when she unleashed her cold upon the Sky Fighter machine that rose out of the remains and rubble scattered across the ground.
The sun had yet to reach the middle of the sky when Shiah found her third metallic arm, and the gentle breeze of an approaching fall shouldn't make her shudder like that, like she was right in the middle of a snowstorm, but she was and there was no escape from that unseen storm.
Well, actually, there was, but Jiho was busy practicing her power, so Shiah had to go through her own cold. Just like everyday.
They were asked to sweep the woods near the school for any metal they could find, any metal that could be the subject of the superhumans' tests. They remained close to each other, just in case.
There were aircrafts' parts, destroyed by the fight. There were damaged cars, weapons and machines and all sort of things a battle could leave behind, but they were long forgotten under the sand, the dust and fallen trees, and Shiah made sure not to dig too deep.
She could see some of her friends and the other volunteers on both of her sides, although far and busy searching in the ruins. That gave her a little of comfort, the whole place they were hiding at was a grave, and Shiah was only thankful that she wasn't alone.
She carried the machine's part with care, afraid and shaken by the mere touch, but when two figures suddenly appeared in front of her, drawing a shriek from her mouth, she dropped the arm she was holding.
"Sorry, Shiah," Hyejin said with a calm smile before teleporting again, leaving her with one giggling Jiho, who quickly stepped forward to help her pick up the heavy arm.
"You scared me," Shiah told her, folding her arms. "And what are you doing here? You should be practicing."
Jiho looked at her, her eyes wide, and her smile is the reason Shiah's heart was still pacing. "You aren't happy to see me? Okay," she said, turning to walk away.
"Hey!"
Shiah quickly held her arm, laughing at her fake sadness. She was happy to see her, she was already engulfed in warmth caused by her presence, by her tender smile and cheerful voice. "I'm serious, what are you doing here?" She asked again.
It was the first time Jiho came to see her at this hour. Usually, she would come with Seunghee and Hyejin at meal time.
Jiho avoided her eyes, and focused on getting the machine's arm into the carriage, but when she finally answered, Shiah couldn't decide if the look in her eyes was of disappointment or fear. "Dr. Kim ended my training today," Jiho spoke in a low voice, her smile hesitant. "She said she was wrong about my power, it won't work without contact."
Shiah felt a pang in her heart, knowing exactly what that meant. "They're sending you close to the machines?" She whispered, and when Jiho nodded, she neared her, wanting to hold her in her arms yet lacking the courage to do so that all she could do was tucking her hair behind her ear.
"But you don't have to worry about cold!" Jiho let out with an empty excitement, "we aren't leaving until everyone is ready, so it should take a few more days."
Her excitement was empty, a cover that would have hidden the tremble of her voice if Shiah didn't know better, and yet... and yet her words unexpectedly cut deep.
"I-- I don't care about that," Shiah replied, shocked that Jiho thought of her like that. Like warmth was what mattered to her. "Is that why you think I'd be sad? I'm worried about you. I care about you."
Shiah couldn't remember the last time she had cared about someone this much, or liked them, it felt like the machines had stolen their world many years ago, but when those words formed in her mind, they felt real. Like she had finally figured out how they sounded and how to match them with feelings. Her feelings for Jiho.
"I like you," Shiah let out, unable to stop the tears from gathering in her eyes or the searing anger of being seen like that by the person she liked, greatly, from hurting her heart.
Upon seeing Jiho's confused look, Shiah realized what she had said, so she walked away in a hurry, wanting to escape Jiho and the feelings settling in her heart with clarity.
Jiho called for her, but Shiah couldn't face her. She headed into the woods and hugged herself for warmth, thoughts of Jiho hating her storming through her mind.
For a second, her whole life felt like it was crashing down on her, fear, regrets. Love and hope, they all felt so heavy, and she had been carrying them for a long time, but the sudden vibration travelling through her feet made her stop with a flinch.
She looked around, Jiho was still there, nearing her, but Shiah's eyes caught the reason to why the world felt still for a fleeting moment.
It rose with a loud squeak that shattered the calm, a huge figure that was buried under the wing of an aircraft. It was twice her size, shining under the faint sun rays piercing the clouds. A Sky Fighter, Shiah remembered its type, her eyes fixed at the metallic limbs stretching and bending until the figure stood straight, giving her its back.
In a moment, or less than that by far, Shiah realized Jiho being frozen at her spot, her ears were deafened by the pounding of her heart. There was fear on Jiho's features, fear that Shiah could feel evidently, it took her only that to realize how much she wanted to protect her, it took her only that to will her winter to freeze the whole world.
The place turned to white in the blink of an eye, the cold coated her completely, making every inhale she took feel like knives cutting her lungs. The snow was being carried by her howling winds, and the ice touched the machine aiming its weapon at Jiho until it sank through its surface and interrupted its motion to the point where it froze.
Shiah could feel her cold bite at her toes and bones and soul. it was harsh, but Jiho was safe and therefore she could close her eyes, if only for a moment.
Shiah would have surrendered to the numbing darkness if it wasn't for the sudden warmth pulling her into a firm embrace. "You fool!" Jiho let out in a whisper as warmth washed over her slowly, steadily until it felt like there was no longer cold, but when she opened her eyes, the machine was being shattered by her cold and it fell to the ground.
Her winter was still there, painting as far as Shiah could see, but she wasn't being hurt by it, she was protected by Jiho, whose tears wet Shiah's neck.
Shiah hugged her back, her own tears streaming down her cheeks as she drew her cold away from the world.
,
It was one of the herd that chased the resistance's aircrafts months ago, the Sky Fighter machine, it malfunctioned and fell into a dormant state, and their movement had awakened it, but everyone was safe. Well, they were still shivering from the lingering cold, but at least now they knew what danger might be awaiting them in the ruins.
Dr. Kim was impressed with her heroic action, so impressed that Shiah was now among the superhumans preparing to attack one of the machines' main power sources.
But Shiah didn't have the time to be afraid or worried, whether from the machines or her cold, she had Jiho by her side.
It was a perfect combination, Dr. Kim had said, Jiho didn't want to be close to the machines and Shiah wouldn't survive her winter without Jiho's help, so it was a final decision and the only thing Shiah was worried about was the fact that she might have made things awkward between them.
Jiho had stayed silent as they were informed about their part in the battle, and by the time the sky showed its stars in a blanket of black, exhaustion was more prominent than hunger that Shiah skipped her meal.
,
Shiah didn't expect to fall asleep so quickly, not with how loud her thoughts were, but one second she was just resting her eyes and the next there was something shaking her foot.
Shiah flinched into wakefulness, startling the person holding a candle at the same time. Her heart beat hard when big eyes met hers, shimmering with hesitation under the swaying light.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," Jiho said. Jiho, Shiah stared at her, heat rushing to her cheeks. Soft and real heat.
"It's okay," Shiah replied, sitting upright.
"You haven't eaten anything," Jiho told her, extending her arm, which Shiah only now noticed that she was holding a pot. Vegetable soup again, minus the vegetable, Shiah guessed, but steam was still waving upward from it so she didn't care. She accepted it, relishing the heat flowing through her palms.
"Th-- thank you."
Jiho sat next to her. "Thank you." She looked at her, "you saved my life."
"you saved mine, too," Shiah said, lowering her head. "I don't think I'd have made it this far if you didn't help me with the cold."
The silence lingered after her words, and it was nerve-wracking.
Shiah had no courage to bring up what happened earlier, but as Jiho sat next to her, quiet and staring at the floor, Shiah's fears and doubts stormed wildly.
She hadn't intended to like Jiho, but she had been too consumed by Jiho's warmth to notice that the affection she had for Jiho was no longer hesitant or tiny, so she gathered her strength and courage, knowing that letting the obvious silence drag out wouldn't be a good choice.
"About what I said," Shiah started off, putting the pot asie. "I di--" she tried to find something to say when she met Jiho's eyes again. An excuse, an explanation. I didn't mean it like how it sounded, I care about you as a friend, that was I meant, yes. Anything, but Jiho was looking at her with that familiar glimmer that Shiah loved.
She lost her stream of thoughts, aware only of one thing. How much she loved those eyes, and their owner.
"Let's just forget about it," Shiah said, looking away. "We have a lot to worry about right now and I don't want things to be awkward between us," she finished, her heart trembling at the thought that she ruined whatever thing she had with Jiho.
"What if I don't want to forget about it?" Jiho asked in a shaky voice that tugged at Shiah's heart. "What if I like you, too?" Jiho said, eyes wide and... tearful.
Jiho's words sounded vague to her for a moment, like she was hearing them from far away. "You like me?" She managed to say, "like... a friend?"
Jiho shook her head.
"Oh."
It felt unreal, unexpected that Shiah realized she had never thought about the possibility that Jiho might like her. But it was real, and Jiho's eyes shimmered under the candle's light, making Shiah's heart swell with joy... and love.
Shiah wanted to hug her, to wipe her tears and kiss their traces on her cheeks, and she would have. Maybe. She would have if it wasn't for the laughter that suddenly filled the room, and then faded right in the same second.
Silence lingered yet again, but this time it wasn't heavy and there were six pairs of eyes staring at them.
"You guys weren't about to kiss or anything, right?"
Shiah whined when the teasing began again, hiding her face in Jiho's shoulder, and despite the younger's girl clear shyness, she put an arm around her and Shiah felt that was enough.
,
Preparing for battle was strange, like Shiah had never stopped doing just that and only now she had realized it. So when she started using her power again, she wasn't held back by the uncertainties or the cold. They were still there, lurking where she couldn't freeze them. They were still whispering with her winds and falling with each one of her snowflake. But she couldn't care, not when Jiho protected her from them.
,
Shiah was ticklish, she herself wasn't aware of that until Jiho held her waist as they tried different attacks and tactics.
"I swear if you two don't stop flirting and show us the vortex, I'm gonna keep the lights on around the two of you for the whole night," Mihyun said. It hadn't even been days since she discovered a new ability to her lights and she was already using it against them.
"You know I can still break metal, right? Solid metal?" Yoobin spoke almost right away. "You might want to say goodbye to your bed."
"Jiho can turn yours to dust!" Shiah replied, challenging, to which Yoobin only answered with a meaningful tone. "Oh, so we are already bragging about each other?"
Shiah blushed when she realized what she had done and Yoobin high-fived with Mihyun, and it would have been less embarrassing if Jiho wasn't smiling from cheek to cheek.
"Come on, it'll be dark soon," Hyojung saved them before Yoobin and Mihyun could tease them more. Shiah shot a thankful look to her and Yewon, who only seemed to be still interested to see what Shiah had planned for.
Actually, Shiah was still amazed at how they could know what their youngest was feeling. Well, sometimes at least, but for an invisible person, Yewon had always managed to make them see her.
Shiah ignored her friends' whispered teasing and faced the field. She was nervous, not only because Jiho was right behind her, her warmth wrapping around Shiah and her touch causing flutters to burst in her stomach, but because this was the first time she would try to create an ice vortex and she wasn't confident that she would succeed.
"You'll do well," Jiho whispered in her ear, only prompting their two friends to tease them again.
Jiho's words gave her strength, Jiho gave her strength when she caressed her skin and pulled her closer with extra care to not tickle her. It was everything she needed, Shiah let her winter escape her existence and touch just a small spot in the field.
It was so easy, to move her fingers slowly and direct her winds and snow, it felt so natural like the cold was part of her. And it was. It was, Shiah knew, that's why when she willed her cold to shape as she wanted it she knew exactly what she should do.
As the ice started to appear and circle an unseen center, Shiah relished the amazement showing in Jiho's voice. She felt proud, but a sudden, familiar sound stole her attention. It shook her heart and draped her with fear. She lowered her hand, turning to Jiho. "Do you hear that?"
Jiho looked at her, confused. "Hear what?"
The sound wasn't loud enough to be close, but Shiah could never mistake the engine's sound of the machines that could soar through the sky. The sound was discontinuous, as if it was being carried by the winds, Shiah realized, her winter winds.
"Sky Fighters..."
She answered, and at the same time, she heard Yewon's worried voice directed at Hyojung. What's wrong?
She exchanged a look with Jiho and quickly went to the girls' side.
"Something feels off," Hyojung was saying. "It... is agitated."
Because Hyojung rarely talked about her power, about the creature that was under control by a thread, invisible and unmatched in strength, Shiah knew that the approaching sound was real.
"Sky Fighters," Shiah told them. "I can hear the--"
Shiah didn't get to finish her words as thundering sounds shot above them.
The three burning lights heading toward the school behind them couldn't be mistaken. They were bright in the cloudy sky, they pierced through the air with a single purpose that made Shiah's feet stuck to the ground.
They were leaving soon, they were marching to fight the machines, but the machines found them first and they came with an end clear in their metallic figures that now appeared from the clouds.
The world felt quiet as the rockets pointed down at them, nearing them in a pace that matched the shuddering rhythm of her heart. The whole world felt still, dismal and hopeless, but a deafening roar broke that weakening hopelessness. The ground shook beneath Shiah's feet, each tremble was caused by the strong thumps of Hyojung's creature as it galloped toward the school building and climbed it.
It all happened so fast, it all happened before Shiah could comprehend that she had power within her hands, but one second there were three rockets heading their way and then one rocket exploded in the air with a loud roar. None of the shreds would harm them, not when Hyejin and Seunghee appeared all of a sudden, with the younger girl already creating a dome over them.
Shiah held Jiho's hand as the dome expanded above them, it had the faint shade of black and Shiah had no doubt that it would block all the danger.
Jiho intertwined their fingers, holding her tightly that Shiah turned to her. She didn't seem afraid, or at least she was trying to hide her fear and stay still, and when Shiah spotted the other superhumans aiming their fires and lightning and everything that could defeat a machine, she squeezed Jiho's hand and kept her winter at the tip of her fingers.
,
They were scouting the area, the three Sky Fighters that knew nothing about what's awaiting them in the abandon school. They were prompted by the activation of the fallen Sky Fighter Shiah had destroyed the other day.
But they defeated them, it was a small victory that they couldn't celebrate because not only their camp had been exposed, but they have lost the element of surprise and now their battle had already begun.
Shiah couldn't stop thinking about that, as she stood in the field with the others, it was still chaotic. And though Hyojung's creature was invisible, its presence beside her friend was evident. It stood there like a guard, a firm protector that sounded at ease when Hyojung caressed its head instead of drawing it back to where spirits existed.
Shiah felt happy for her friend, despite it all, despite the fear that still made her heart shudder like a leaf. Despite the cold and the fact that the end had started, she was happy that Hyojung wasn't afraid of her power.
And she was ready, too. Shiah herself was surprised to feel the will and the determination flowing within her when the last Sky Fighter shredded in the air. They flowed like a current through her whole being, steadily and with hope that reminded her of why she had volunteered.
Jiho's hand in hers had something to do with that, Shiah knew. Jiho was shielding her with warmth, but Shiah couldn't focus on anything beyond their first win and Jiho's strong hold that made her feel brave. That's why when only a few minutes left before they would leave, she pulled Jiho aside and let her feelings speak for her.
"Promise me you will be careful," Shiah said, thankful that Mihyun's lights reached the empty classroom. "I know we'll be by each other's side when we fight, but when we aren't fighting, and-- and even then," she wanted to tell Jiho every feeling she had for her, every little feeling that clashed into her like a tide, yet warmed her heart with ease and happiness. "Just be careful, okay?"
Jiho gazed at her in silence then took something out of her pocket.
Shiah couldn't recognize it in the dim light right away, but when she realized it was a tiny flower that had yet to bloom, she furrowed her brows.
Jiho first answered her with a smile, then she held the flower carefully in her palms and let it grow.
"I found a bunch of them in field, they weren't harmed," Jiho explained with a sweet voice that captured Shiah's heart anew.
Shiah was marvelled by the slow, delicate process that she couldn't take her eyes off the growing plant. It was beautiful, both the flower and Jiho's power.
"It is so beautiful," she whispered when the little flower fully blossomed.
"It is for you," Jiho told her, handing it over to her with a wide smile on her face. "I promise I'll be careful."
Shiah couldn't help the upturn of her lips, very delighted by Jiho's words, by Jiho's gift and by Jiho herself. She accepted the flower and before she could think better of it, she took Jiho's lips with hers.
It was a soft kiss, weakening Shiah's knees that when Jiho kissed her back, she held on to her. Jiho surrounded her with her arms, clearly hesitant, and clearly eager to keep kissing her.
It was their first kiss, far more amazing than Shiah had thought it could be, it was also too much for a second that Shiah nipped Jiho's lip by accident, making the two of them shudder and Jiho faintly gasp.
Jiho held her tightly, her skin warm and easing Shiah's cold away without even using her power. "Promise me we'll get our lives back," she said with trembling lips, opening her eyes.
Shiah gazed at those eyes and remembered the first time she saw them closely. She hadn't realized how deep she would fall for them at that time, she hadn't even known, but now... now she desperately wanted to take the world back if only to make those eyes brighten with happiness.
It might not be the reason that made Shiah volunteer, but it would help her stand steady on the ground as the world turned to gray and white, as the machines shattered under her cold.
Shiah nodded, hugging Jiho, her fingers holding the flower tenderly. "We will. We will."
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i didn't expect to receive this particular combination of prompt/pairing but wow i'm so glad i did. thank you so much for writing jiho/yooa, we need more of them ;o; i enjoyed this fic immensely, the pace was good and so was the world-building and i really like the powers you gave to everyone! and of course, jiho and yooa's relationship was so so so nice and sweet and the last scene made my heart hurt in a very good way ;u; thank you so much for this fic <3
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(Anonymous) 2016-12-29 01:16 am (UTC)(link)making yooa’s side effect her being cold was a really good choice, it sounds like such a miserable thing and it intertwined beautifully with her developing feelings for jiho. you did a good job nurturing their abilities and feelings and sense of security in each other.
ah it is hard to think of what to say given the sheer magnitude of this story. but really, this is just so well-crafted and wonderful, thank you so much for sharing it with us!!
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Nope, just a huge love for post-apocalypse aus and all the possibilities to them <3