nagi_schwarz: (Astro)
nagi_schwarz ([personal profile] nagi_schwarz) wrote in [community profile] comment_fic 2024-06-21 03:40 am (UTC)

Fill: Astro, FFVIII AU, Dongmin/Minhyuk + Sanha

Dongmin, Sanha, and Minhyuk stood several meters away from the entrance to the cave, considering their options.

“As long as we’re out in under fifteen minutes, we pass,” Sanha said. “Right?”

He glanced over at Minhyuk, who was limbering up, stretching and shaking himself out.

“We won’t need the full fifteen minutes,” Minhyuk said, perfectly confident.

Too confident.

Sanha considered. “How long, then?”

“Ten minutes,” Minhyuk said, and Sanha nodded.

Dongmin cleared his throat. “If you want good marks for the mission, you can’t get knocked out.” He had several vials of Phoenix Down in his pockets, but the thought of trying to revive both of them while also fending off those little fireball bombs, hideous three-winged buels, and the annoying little red bats.

Not to mention the fact that there was a full-blown Guardian Force in the deepest depths of the Fire Cavern. If they subdued Ifrit, they could junction him and access his power in battle. But they’d have to fight him first — after fighting their way through the cave.

Instructor Kang hadn’t been available that day, leaving Dongmin to supervise Minhyuk and Sanha’s mission even though he was only a couple of grades above them.

“We won’t get knocked out,” Minhyuk assured Dongmin, gaze solemn.

And then Sanha said, “Hey, I have both Shiva and Quezacotl. It’d be better if you junctioned one of them so we can use both in battle.”

Dongmin cleared his throat again. “Shiva has ice magic, and this is the Fire Cave, so Shiva is more useful.”

“In that case, I’ll take Quezacotl, so you can have Shiva to protect you,” Minhyuk said.

Sanha grinned. “You just want to ride the cyclone, don’t you?”

Dongmin resisted the urge to point out that just because Quezcotl had lightning and thunder and storm magic didn’t mean that being junctioned to him would feel like — like riding the cyclone or whatever else the younger students liked to gossip about when it came to Guardian Forces. Even though summoning a Guardian Force looked the same no matter who was junctioned to a given Guardian, the actual experience differed from person to person, given that the Guardian attached itself to a person’s consciousness, melding with their memory and personality.

“It might not feel like a cycle to me,” Minhyuk pointed out.

He’d studied the literature on Guardian Forces carefully, then. Dongmin made a mental note to tell Instructor Kang.

“I’ll keep Shiva, then,” Sanha said. “Ready?”

Minhyuk nodded. Sanha leaned in, lips parted — and Minhyuk leaned in to meet him.

Dongmin started. He reached out and caught Minhyuk’s shoulder, jerking him back from Sanha. Yes, mingling breath was the fastest and most efficient way to transfer a Guardian, but —

“Here, I have Siren,” Dongmin said quickly. “She doesn’t have a lot of offensive magic, but she has useful defensive and countermeasure magic.”

Minhyuk blinked. “Sunbae?”

“Take her.” Dongmin leaned in and pressed his mouth to Minhyuk’s.

For a moment, Minhyuk didn’t respond, but then he parted his lips and — oh.

Dongmin shivered all the way down to his toes when Minhyuk’s tongue curled against his — and then Dongmin remembered what he was actually supposed to be doing, and he let Siren disengage from his consciousness, let Minhyuk draw her in.

When Dongmin and Minhyuk finally parted, they were both breathing hard. Dongmin’s heart was racing, and not just from letting his consciousness mingle closely with a fallen god’s.

Minhyuk’s eyes were bright, and he grinned. “Awesome! We’re ready for battle.”

“Yeah.” Dongmin’s voice came out hoarse. “Ready for battle.”

Sanha put a hand on Dongmin’s arm. “Sunbae, do you want a Guardian Force? Just in case. Since I have two and now you have none.”

Dongmin blinked at Sanha. “Oh. Right. That’s a good idea. The most efficient distribution of resources is if each of us has one Guardian, so all can be deployed in battle as needed.”

He was aware that he sounded like he was reciting from a textbook.

He probably was reciting from a textbook. He’d read all of them so many times —

Sanha stepped close, and Dongmin instinctively pressed his lips into a thin line. He saw amusement spark in Sanha’s eyes, but then Sanha just pressed his forehead to Dongmin’s, the way instructors usually did with students who were acquiring a Guardian Force for the first time.

Dongmin saw the flash of lightning and felt the roll of thunder in his bones as he drew Quezacotle out of Sanha — and then he was riding the cyclone, tumbling through the air and flying on the wind and dancing on the clouds —

“ — Sunbae? Dongmin-sunbae? Are you all right?”

Dongmin blinked and shook himself out.

It was Minhyuk who was standing right in front of him, peering at him in concern.

“I’m fine,” Dongmin said. “Just — it’s been a while since I’ve had Quez. Ready to go?”

Minhyuk and Sanha both nodded. They approached the entrance to the cave, and they agreed that they only needed ten minutes.

Dongmin readied his whip while Sanha drew his gunblade and gave it a few practice swings. Minhyuk had already tugged on his leather gloves, and he flexed his hands. How Minhyuk could go into battle essentially unarmed was a mystery to Dongmin even if all cadets at the Garden mastered basic martial arts.

Minhyuk and Sanha did rock paper scissors to decide who would lead the way, since Dongmin, as their chaperone, was under instructions not to take point. Sanha won, so he stepped into the Fire Cave first, triggering the countdown. The mission was officially on.

Even if Dongmin had trained in basic hand-to-hand, he’d never have imagined just…punching a red bat in the face and ending it in a single blow. Yet Minhyuk dispatched a red bat with a single spinning jumping roundhouse, and the first battle was done.

“I’m gonna get the next one,” Sanha insisted.

Dongmin was probably the fastest out of all of them, but Minhyuk was plenty fast himself, and when an enemy sprang up in front of them, his reaction time was excellent. Wasting a surprise attack on some kind of game or competition was foolish in battle.

But Dongmin remembered being a younger, more inexperienced cadet, desperate to prove himself — and to have fun.

So when Minhyuk ceded the first attack of the next battle to Sanha despite getting a drop on the spinning buel, Dongmin didn’t correct either of them, simply pitched in when it was his turn to strike. Soon they fell into a working rhythm, striking and casting and healing as needed. As all three of them had Guardian Forces junctioned, the final battle — against yet another Guardian Force — went by fast, and when they emerged from the Fire Cave with two minutes to spare, it was with the force of fire magic at their disposal.
Dongmin and Sanha had both agreed that Minhyuk should junction Ifrit first, as he hadn’t had a Guardian Force to himself at the outset of the mission.

Outside the cave, they healed up with potions, downed some drinks and snacks, and caught their breath.

“I don’t know that I want to keep fire magic, though,” Minhyuk said. “Fire isn’t really my vibe. It’s more yours, sunbae. Since you’re hot-tempered.”

“Me?” Dongmin demanded, indignant, and immediately realized he’d just proved Minhyuk’s point.

The corner of Minhyuk’s mouth curved up in a wicked smirk.

“How about you take Ifrit, and I’ll take Quez?” he said.

Dongmin nodded. “All right.” He cleared his throat, then stepped closer to Minhyuk.

Minhyuk kissed him.

The kiss was slow and deep and thorough, and warm tingles spread through Dongmin’s entire body.

When they parted, Dongmin was dazed and breathless. Minhyuk was breathing hard and grinning.

“You like that?” he asked, with unfair boldness, because Dongmin was the sunbae here, the responsible one, the —

“Don’t forget to actual transfer the Guardians.” Sanha sounded terribly amused.

Dongmin’s face heated. “Right. Um —”

“Don’t get distracted by me, sunbae,” Minhyuk breathed.

To Dongmin’s vast disappointment, Minhyuk pressed their foreheads together — but he was gazing into Dongmin’s eyes the whole time, and the intensity of it made heat prickle under Dongmin’s skin, and his face was so hot he was afraid he was going to combust, or maybe that was the fire god in his mind talking, or —

“Let’s get back to Garden,” Sanha said.

“We should get back.” Dongmin nodded his agreement and smoothed down his uniform with nervous hands. He spun on his heel and headed back in the direction of Balamb Garden.

Sanha trotted to catch up to him, his longer legs carrying him fast.

Minhyuk fell into step beside Dongmin — and caught his hand, intertwining their fingers.

“This all right?” he asked softly.

Dongmin swallowed hard. “More than all right.”

“And that’s my cue to go on head. Later, slowpokes!” Sanha broke into a jog, and they watched him go.

“Subtle,” Minhyuk said, amused.

“But now we’re alone.”

Minhyuk slowed to a halt. “Indeed we are. What should we do with ourselves now?”

Dongmin caught the lapel of Minhyuk’s jacket and hauled him in closer. “I know you drew some fire spells from draw points in the cave, but you don’t have any ice or thunder spells yet, do you? I can give you some.”

“I’d love some,” Minhyuk breathed, and after that, there was no more words.

Spells flew between them, and their breath mingled, and together they were fire and lightning — till the rain started to fall, and they were forced to gather up their jackets and shirts and make a run back to the Garden, laughing all the while.

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