Fic: Bullet Biter

Title: Bullet Biter
Fandom: Exo
Focus: Chanyeol-centric, Implied Chanyeol/Lay
Genre: Crack
Rating: PG
Length: Drabble, 505 words
Summary: There's something Chanyeol hasn't been telling his superpowered crime-fighting squad. 

"What the hell was that?"

 

Chanyeol is still wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, ignoring the way Yixing insists on hovering over him with an anxious expression and his palms facing forward, twinkling lights gathering at the tips of his fingers. Minseok is still standing frozen in place, his eyes darting back and forth between Chanyeol and the corpse Jongdae is poking at with his staff.

 

"Whatever it was, he's dead," Jongdae says cheerfully enough, pressing the base of the rod against the man's cheek. There's a few sparks with each tap as he attempts to shock their guy, but despite each spasm the man remains dead. "Good job, Chanyeol."

 

"Good job," Minseok echoes faintly, "what are we even congratulating him on?"

 

No one answers him, because to be honest, aside from Chanyeol, they're not exactly sure what happened. One moment, the culprit had materialized a machine gun out of fucking nowhere, right as they had cornered him in a dark alley. The next, he was pulling the trigger, the nozzle aimed at Chanyeol. The tallest member of their squad should've been riddled with bullets, or at least had had some sort of damage for Yixing to clean up as usual. 

 

But instead, Chanyeol had opened his freakishly large mouth and sucked each and every speeding bullet down his throat. 

 

In the time it took for their guy to get over the shock of some guy eating his ammunition, Minseok had frozen the blood in his veins, and Jongdae had ended it with an electrocution. Simple and clean and the usual, barring Chanyeol's little show. 

 

"So is this an extra power?" Yixing asks curiously, pulling his hands back, but leaning his face forward. Uncomfortably so, as he attempts to stare down Chanyeol's throat like it holds the answers to life itself. "Because I'm not sure I'm comfortable with knowing you could do what you just did to those bullets to my dick during our--"

 

""It only works on metal--" Chanyeol interrupts before the others are given too much information about their 'private training sessions'. Minseok already looks like he's about to have another aneurysm or something, Jongdae on the verge of his squeals of debauchery usually reserved for their clubbing nights. "I. I have something to confess."

 

Jongdae stops playing with the dead body and scrambles over, pulling their team leader along. "Do you really want to tell us," he asks seriously, clutching Minseok's arm tightly, "do we even really want to hear it? Some secrets aren't so bad, Yeol. Some things are meant to stay behind locked doors."

 

"No, I really have to tell you," Chanyeol barrels on. He needs to get this off his chest. The other three gaze intently at him as he finally opens his mouth to continue. "I. I can eat metal. Before I landed this job..."

 

The others' eyes are all on him. He feels so small, despite being the tallest of them all.

 

"I used to be a sword-eater. For the circus."

 

Oh, the shame.

Original Post: Here.
Prompt: This gunplay gif lol
Author's Note: Written for a free kick from Round 2 of WCAU. Most of my Round 2 works featured Xiumin, Chen, Chanyeol, and Lay due to the four of them being randomly assigned to Team A in the second round, and bonus points being offered for the inclusion of all members in a work. Anyway, this was the result of already being me permanently being in a superpower AU mood and the fact that I really didn't want to write anything sexual for the gunplay prompt, yet none of the other prompts were working for me, unfortunately. I found the idea really interesting, but you can see where I ran out of time lol. Also, disclaimer: there is nothing shameful about sword-eating for a circus. Haha.

Fic: Basking

Title: Basking
Fandom: Exo
Focus: Xiumin-centric
Genre: Gen
Rating: G
Length: Drabble, 555 words
Summary: Minseok takes a breath and a moment after their latest TLP concert. 

The crowd is still roaring in the stadium, loud enough that the sound travels through the hallways of the building and echoes into their dressing room. Minseok slumps against the back of the couch, soaking in the sight of Jongdae and Chanyeol pressing their ears to the door as if that would help make the words more distinct for them. Saranghaja, he expects. We are one. Words so familiar that they escape from his lips more from muscle memory rather than due to any conscious thought, words so grossly cheesy and sincere that they make his heart swell up in his chest. 

 

Half of the other members are dawdling in the hallway, talking to staff and coordi-noonas or taking celebratory selcas. Junmyeon is probably off talking to a manager about where they should pick up food and arguing over who should pay for it. Aside from Minseok, Jongdae, and Chanyeol, only Yixing had decided to linger in the dressing room, catching his breath. 

 

Even with just a third of the members, he doesn't feel lonely. 

 

Good show, Minseok wants to say to someone, to anyone, to all of them. They'd sung more songs live this time, and it had been thrilling even though he knew his voice had cracked on more songs than he'd like. The adrenaline is still pumping through his system, the flush still on his cheeks. Sweat is oozing out of every pore on his body, and he had run out of tissues an hour or so ago as they ran around on stage like they were kings of the world. 

 

His voice catches in his throat though, worn ragged from all the screaming. Instead, his mouth hangs open and he takes another heavy breath.

 

It's because he's tilting his head back against the couch and staring up at the tiles of the ceiling that he doesn't see who plops down beside him. Short hair prickles against the skin of his neck as someone rests their head on his shoulders, a sticky, sweaty hand covering his own in his lap. 

 

"You hear them, hyung?" Jongdae asks. His voice sounds worse than Minseok thinks his own does, but then again, one of them had an almost screaming rock solo while the other had just swiveled his hips for the nth time. 

 

Chanyeol's laugh echoes from the other side of the room. "How could he not, Chenchen? Hyung's not so old he's lost his hearing yet." There's only the slightest hint of mockery in his voice, overpowered by the downright mirth instead, and Minseok lets it pass like he usually does. 

 

Yixing finally gets up from his corner of the room and settles down on Minseok's other side. He's not as touchy as Jongdae -- his teasing is a different sort, verbal barbs that barely tickle, a bit more high-brow than whatever their dongsaengs tend to come up with when he bothers to try -- but he's still close enough that Minseok still feels the heat radiating from his body. 

 

"Shh," Yixing says, almost as if trying to soothe them. Slow their hearts that are pounding away so strongly in their chests, it's almost painful. Like he thinks his superpower's real. "Shh."

 

But the others quiet, and Minseok basks in the silence of the room, in the echoes of the cheers, in the company he keeps.

Original Post: Here.
Prompt: Ted: In a moment like that, when what's really happening is too intense to deal with, sometimes it's best...
              The Mother: To leave it unspoken, and just enjoy each other's company instead.
               - How I Met Your Mother
Author's Note: Written for another free kick from Round 2 of WCAU, again featuring Team A. This is set after one of Exo's The Lost Planet concerts, probably one of the later ones. Despite all of the drama of last year, they had so much to be proud of. It's not a well written piece, but it is a bit more serious than the others I think. I meant it a little more than the others, lol. One more thing I want to say is that as much as everyone makes fun of "Saranghaja/Let's love" and "We are one", I really do think that those words are special. It's silly but my heart hurts when I hear Exo say them, when they say those phrases together. 

Fic: Upset

Title: Upset
Fandom: Exo
Focus: Chanyeol-centric
Genre: Gen
Rating: G
Length: Drabble, 642 words
Summary: Chanyeol had honestly, really, truly expected to find Jinho's name on the final line-up for SM's newest boy band. 

"I really thought he'd make it," Chanyeol sighs, resting his chin in his palm. His elbow is propped up on the booth table, the sleeve of his favorite hoodie in a sticky puddle of spilled cider. He can't bring himself to care. "I had twenty thousand won riding on him." 

 

"I had fifty," Minseok commiserates. He downs the shot of soju in one drop, Chanyeol notices enviously. Maybe when he's drunk enough, Minseok will let him take a shot as well. He definitely needed it.

 

The next list of names for the upcoming -- upcoming, Chanyeol laughs bitterly, like most of the company's trainees hadn't been waiting since 2008 -- boyband had been posted in one of the front hallways of the company building. Far enough away that the sasaengs stalking the front doors would never see it, but in broad enough view that every trainee and staff member entering the building could come across it. 

 

Jinho's name hadn't made the list.

 

"I don't understand. Minseok hyung said that you said that he was doing fine in Mandarin classes?" Chanyeol asks Yixing. They're not particularly close, in fact they barely know each other at all. Why would they when Yixing spends half his time in dance lessons and the other half surrounded by other Chinese trainees (and Minseok, he guesses) only speaking Mandarin. But Minseok had just come out of practice with the guy and invited him along and Chanyeol couldn't exactly ask his hyung who the fuck is this without sounding more disrespectful than usual. 

 

Yixing is a dull looking guy, who already looks sleepy enough even without the liquor, but at least he's nice and his eyes are too blank to hold any sort of judgement, Chanyeol guesses. Could be worse. Could be Junmyeon nagging him about how he shouldn't drink until he came of age or else it wouldn't be special anymore.

 

"Jinho sshi," Yixing says. His eyes turn towards the ceiling, and Chanyeol would bet the rest of the meat on his plate that he's trying to remember just who Jinho is. "Ah, Jinho sshi," Yixing finally picks up after thirty-something seconds of silent contemplation and Chanyeol eyeing him uncertainly, "actually his Mandarin made me cry. And Zitao. Zitao cried too, Jinho sshi may have accidentally insulted his mother."

 

Chanyeol groans into his hand, reaching out for Minseok's shot-glass with the other one. Unfortunately for him, Minseok is still sober enough to hold it out of his reach and warn him with a sharp glare. Maybe later.

 

"The guy they picked instead is nice," Minseok says, passing over the glass bottle of cider instead. Chanyeol takes it grudgingly, "and his Mandarin is better than mine at least." From beside him, Yixing nods so enthusiastically, Minseok almost looks insulted.

 

"I heard it was another Kim," Chanyeol grumbles, "why so many Kims?"

 

"Kims are awesome," Minseok says sternly as he takes another shot, "you have two Kims who are your hyungs, you better watch that mouth." 

 

Yixing laughs, his attention darting between them like he's watching a ping-pong match. "I think you'll get along with Kim Jongdae sshi," he tells Chanyeol, reaching out to pat him on the wrist. Chanyeol isn't sure he's ready for that level of intimacy yet.

 

Chanyeol resists the urge to faceplant into the table, even with all the sticky leftovers covering it. It's late enough that no one cares that the gunk on his face isn't BB cream. "What makes you think that?" he asks skeptically.

 

Yixing pauses, tapping a finger against his cheek as he starts thinking again. Minseok shoots Chanyeol another warning glare before he can even think to say anything. "He's a good singer, likes music," Yixing says, ignoring the way Chanyeol snorts because they're all in a music company, "also he's your age. So many 92-liners."

 

Oh. Oh. That, Chanyeol can work with.

Original Post: Here.
Prompt: “I know a thing or two about liking people, and in time, after much chocolate and cream cake, 'like' turns into 'what was his name again?'” — Hatter, Alice
Author's Note: Written for a free kick from Round 2 of WCAU, though it didn't stick so closely to the prompt. The original idea was for the "what was his name again" was for it to refer to Cho Jinho, a.k.a the trainee who was included in SM's 2009 iteration of SM the Ballad as Jino. As a refresher, during Exo's 100 days of predebut teasers, he was highly anticipated as a member of Exo, only he kinda disappeared (and has since left SM, last I heard). Since then, it's been a long-running joke in some circles to imagine other Exo members edging him out of the group. But this fill was basically going for the idea that where once Jinho had been so anticipated by even members of the group, eventually time would pass and the selection of the actual members of the group would bury that disappointment. And while Chanyeol's expectations of Jinho's inclusion were dashed, he gets new ones from the revelation that Chen is a 92-liner (and thus, a future co-conspirator; another running joke). 

Fic: Two for Coffee

Title: Two for Coffee
Fandom: Exo
Focus: Chen-centric, Chen/Xiumin
Genre: Gen
Rating: G
Length: Drabble, 507 words
Summary: Jongdae shares a morning and coffee with Minseok, before he has to share his hyung too.

Minseok slides the mug in front of him, the warm steam still rising into the air and into Jongdae's face. It smells delicious and rich, and Jongdae's hands wrap around the ceramic before he even comprehends what he's doing.

 

"For me?" 

 

Despite the question, he wastes no time in pulling the drink towards himself. Lowering his head and taking the tiniest of sips, just enough to give himself a foam mustache. It's obviously not as good as the professional stuff they get whenever they go out on coffee shop visits during their free time, but it's the best in the dorms and Jongdae can't complain. Can never really complain actually, because Minseok makes it just right for him. 

 

"Yes, Jongdae. I brewed myself two cups," Minseok chuckles into his own mug, "heaven knows I need it to deal with all of you kids." 

 

Minseok drinks more delicately than Jongdae does, mature as his age would suggest and somewhat refined in spite of his childish face. There's never a trace of foam on his upper lip, though that doesn't keep Jongdae from peering up from underneath his eyelashes and hoping to catch sight of it one day. Hoping to have the opportunity to reach over and wipe it away -- with his thumb or his lips, he doesn't really know which he'd prefer. 

 

"We're not that bad," Jongdae whines, just as Chanyeol comes thundering through the front door of the M dorm. They both wince at the racket, but when they see Yixing leave his bedroom to go handle the situation, the grimaces melt into small, shared smiles. 

 

"You were saying?" Minseok asks as they listen to Chanyeol babble loudly about a new composition he's come up with, as they hear Yixing offer to listen to whatever he has recorded on his phone. It's too early in the morning for anything other than their cups of coffee, but the warmth of the liquid spreads throughout their bodies and Jongdae knows Minseok is just as unwilling as him to get up from the comfortable little bubble they've made for themselves at the kitchen counter. 

 

Sipping at his coffee again, Jongdae resists the urge to pout. "Park Chanyeol is an outlier and should not be counted," he insists. 

 

"Excuse you," Chanyeol interrupts, stopping Yixing from dragging him into his room, "I always count." Yixing doesn't even seem to be trying to pull him away anymore, although he does shoot Jongdae a sleepy-eyed, apologetic glance. 

 

Minseok laughs softly, getting up from his chair and abandoning his mug and Jongdae. "Alright, alright, Chanyeol-ah. How about you sit and have some coffee with us so Yixing can actually wake up before you have him look over your song?"

 

Chanyeol strokes his chin, as if mulling it over, before planting himself in Minseok's chair and dragging Yixing down with him. "Okay. Hyung knows best, after all."

 

Jongdae sees Minseok's tiny smile as he turns away and walks back to the coffee-maker, how carefully he handles the new pair of mugs. 

 

He can't say he disagrees.

Original Post: Here.
Prompt: "People say I love you all the time—when they say, ‘take an umbrella, it’s raining,’ or ‘hurry back,’ or even ‘watch out, you’ll break your neck.’ There are hundreds of ways of wording it - you just have to listen for it, my dear.” - John Patrick, The Curious Savage
Author's Note: My last free kick written for WCAU's Round 2. I misinterpreted the prompt so that the idea of Xiumin and Chen sharing coffee is the act of love, rather than going for an alternative verbalized way to say "I love you". It's a pity, but I still managed to write a sweet moment of my OTP. This was written before it was revealed by Suho, Kai, and Chanyeol that no one in the dorm really listens to Chanyeol's compositions when he asks them to lol. There's also a Spiders Georg reference, heh.

Fic: What's Up, Pussycat?

Title: What's Up, Pussycat?
Fandom: Exo
Focus: Xiumin-centric, platonic Chanyeol/Xiumin, mentioned Kai/Suho
Genre: Gen
Rating: G
Length: Oneshot (incomplete), 1564 words
Summary: Minseok turns into a cat. Chanyeol takes it better than he does. 

It is literally the worst thing that could have happened to him. Barring the fact that his roommate is now allergic to him, Minseok is terrified shitless every time he accidentally trots in front of the wall mirror only Chanyeol is really tall enough to make efficient use of and catches sight of fur and whiskers, his newly acquired tail puffing up as a kneejerk reaction. 

 

"Aw, don't be like that, hyung," Chanyeol says in-between sneezes from the other side of the room. He sounds miserable, but Minseok can't tell whether his watering eyes are because of his stuffed up nose and the cat fur or due to the overwhelming need to clutch Minseok in all his fluffiness to his chest and the painful inability to do so. 

 

Maybe Chanyeol should've been the one to go through this, Minseok thinks, as sour as spoiled milk. Maybe his allergies would've been settled if he was the one who got turned into a cat. 

 

Unless he died as a result of being allergic to himself. Could that even happen? 

 

Either way, now Minseok is uncomfortably hot in his own skin, what with all the fur and how he can no longer just sweat it out as per usual. He plops down on the cool tile of the kitchen floor, legs neatly tucking underneath him. It's horrible. The last thing he hears before he falls into a fitful sleep is the sound of Chanyeol cooing.

 

 

 

 

He wakes up to soft, less hairy flesh and opposable thumbs, legs that stretch a comfortable, familiar distance and toes that wiggle. It's considerably more cramp underneath the kitchen table, but at least he doesn't have the urge to stay on all fours and arch his back. The apartment is the slightest bit darker, their digital clock reading an hour later than he last remembers, and in the background, the sounds of a football match playing on their television are more muted than the music show Chanyeol had been watching earlier.

 

"Please tell me that was a dream," he says, his voice hoarse from disuse. 

 

Chanyeol's head whips up from the other side of the couch, where he had obviously been sprawled. "Hyung!" he greets happily, "You don't make me break out into a rash anymore!"

 

Minseok stares at him for a moment, Chanyeol meeting his gaze with a wide, creepy smile, before curling back into a ball under the table. 

 

"You're not gonna get out?" he hears Chanyeol ask, registering his roommate's worried tone. It's touching, but Chanyeol has always been a nice kid. "You missed lunch. I even bought cat food just in case, not that we'll need it now. Unless you wanna try it?" 

 

"Pass." 

 

 

 

 

On a rainy day, when Chanyeol is held up at his band's practice and he has the apartment to himself, Minseok calls his mother about the cat thing. It's been happening once a week, and he thought he could handle it, really. But waking up to a storm outside his window, ears too sensitive to handle the constant thunder and eyes too sensitive to deal with the random bursts of lightning, and -- worst of all -- unable to soothe his empty stomach and get his own food until he transformed back because paws had been the wake-up call he needed. 

 

"Oh, yes, that happens," his mother says. He hears meowing in the background and hopes it's a passing stray and not his little sister. He wouldn't wish this on anyone. "Although yours started a bit late."

 

He straightens, holding his phone as close to his ear as he possibly can. "Is this a second puberty thing?" If there's the slightest hint of hope in his voice, it's only because it would be nice to gain a few extra centimeters after all these years. Not so tall as to hit 180 -- Minseok's not ambitious enough for that, would probably end up banging his forehead against high shelves and low doorways -- but it'd be nice to at least be tall enough that Chanyeol stops using his head as an elbow rest during elevator rides. 

 

"I suppose you could say this makes you an adult," his mother laughs, "though it's more of a deadline finally being set."

 

Well, that's mildly alarming. "A deadline?! For what?!"

 

He expects a death omen, or even worse, the possibility of becoming a cat forever. A shorter life span, a shorter reach, complete and total dependency upon Chanyeol as his primary caregiver. He can already taste the mushy salmon-flavored cat food Chanyeol has stocked up in their pantry.

 

"Meeting your soulmate!" 

 

Minseok is almost tempted to hang up on his own mother, but of course, knows better. 

 

 

 

 

"So you turn into a cat so you can meet your soulmate," Chanyeol repeats slowly, "does this mean you're gonna hook up with a lady cat?"

 

A strangled noise rises from Minseok's throat. Better that than the bile churning in his stomach. 

 

"No," he says emphatically, his arms crossing in front of him. "There is no lady cat. There may even possibly not be a lady involved." He tries not to blush, but with each ridiculous word coming out of his mouth, he feels himself growing more and more flustered. "There's me, and there's the cat, and then whoever is with the cat. That's it."

 

Chanyeol leans back against their couch, wrapping a friendly arm around Minseok's shoulder. It's a heavy but warm weight, holding him down when everything else seems to be spiraling out of control. Minseok leans into his hold with a deep sigh. 

 

Why couldn't things just stay like this? Minseok and the cool, too-tall dongsaeng he met in high school, living peaceful mundane lives with neither hair nor hide of weird, furry family secrets. 

 

He sighs again, resting his head on the shoulder Chanyeol has kindly lowered for him.

 

"So you're not the cat," Chanyeol continues and Minseok can see the gears turning in his head as he works it out. He can also see the pout growing on his face, as if the news is disappointing more than mystifying. "If you're walking around in its body, what do you think it does with yours?"

 

To be honest, Minseok doesn't even want to imagine what an animal could possibly in his body doing during the hour-long switches. He's seen cats, from a distance if nothing else, seen the way they chase lizards and lick their balls regardless of who's watching. His mother had told him anyway. 

 

"Mom says when it happened to her, my dad's cat just slept the whole time." 

 

He faintly remembers the cat from when he was a child. Short-haired and tiny, not unlike his mother. Just like her, she had grown more easily agitated with age and had attacked him multiple times before finally choking on a hairball and dying. He still still has nightmares sometimes, of the cat staring blank-eyed at him while sitting on his chest in the middle of the night, just like the stories of ghosts sitting on people's chests. 

 

He doesn't realize how tense he's gotten again until he feels Chanyeol's free hand reaching out for the hand Minseok has between them. Large, calloused fingers that completely cover his own. 

 

"Well, you turning into that cat. You said it stops when you finally meet... whoever, right?" Chanyeol asks, voice low and deep and soothing. 

 

Minseok nods, as much as he can with his head on Chanyeol's shoulder. "Either I find them or I wait this out until the cat dies. Which could be years." His mother had told him it'd been a blessing. An ancestor pleasing someone enough that their patron thought it'd be a good idea to gift the whole family with some convoluted mix of involuntary shapeshifting and their own red strings of fate. "It's supposed to speed up the process. It's how my cousin met his boyfriend, apparently."

 

He can see Chanyeol's nose wrinkling out of the corner of his eye. "The tiny pasty one? That lives in Apgujeong?" 

 

"Junmyeon, yeah." Junmyeon, who'd been turning into a little white Van cat for almost seven years before running into a guy whose three dogs made a habit of harassing the cat he regularly turned into on a weekly basis. Minseok's mother had complained of his own transformations starting so late, but he doesn't envy Junmyeon, even in spite of knowing about the tall, handsome boyfriend he'd ended up with at the end of that whole mess.

 

Chanyeol seems to mull over this new information, and Minseok lets the silence fall between them. He's tempted to reach out for the take-out they have on the coffee table in front of them, but honestly can't be bothered, not when Chanyeol makes such a comfortable pillow. 

 

"I'll help you, hyung." 

 

Minseok reluctantly pulls away, taking in the determined smiled on Chanyeol's face and the fist he had drawn away from Minseok's hand in favor of a fist pump. Like everything else Chanyeol does, he looks amazingly enthusiastic. Minseok already feels the energy draining from his body, though his chest warms a little at the sight.

 

"You really don't have to," he tells Chanyeol softly. 

 

But as expected, Chanyeol doesn't take the out. Instead, his smile brightens. "Nah, it'll be fun. I never get to wingman for you. We'll find them, I promise! Whether it's a guy or a girl or even a dog--"

 

"No."

Original Post: Here.
Author's Note: Actually not written for a free kick, for once lol. It is for WCAU's Round 3 though, and was actually the first work posted in that round, haha. I made it sort of a game to post first in the rounds Xiumin was still in /o\ anyway. About the title... I honestly don't remember why I titled it like this, and I couldn't think of anything better so u__u,

Anyway. While I don't remember what exactly sparked this, I do know that after I had the idea of someone turning into a cat, it had to be Xiumin lol. Not just because I like him a whooooole lot, but because he is actually scared of cats in real life lol. The inclusion of Chanyeol was mainly because he was Xiumin's teammate in Round 3, but it turned out good because he's a cat lover but allergic lol. The rules of the shapeshifting/soulmate hunt weren't really carefully thought out tbh, which was a pity. What I came up with made no sense, and my time was limited so I didn't really get to revise them :( If I had gone farther, it probably would've resulting in Chanyeol helping Xiumin find Chen as his soulmate, but alas lol