Chapter Text
When it happened Jiho thought he was dumb for not picking up on the signs. Albeit it was a weird thing, something they didn’t really expect…but even so.
Three days prior, Jaehyo was complaining about a fever. He whined and moaned in bed while Jihoon fetched him a damp cool towel. Jiho leaned against the doorframe that led to his bedroom, watching Jihoon clumsily make his way to a ‘sick’ Jaehyo, tenderly placing the damp towel on Jaehyo's head. Jiho scoffed at the sight. “You’re faking it,” he said and all Jaehyo could do was turn his head, looking at Jiho with lidded, tired eyes. “You’re faking,” Jiho repeated, "I can see right through you."
Jaehyo closed his eyes and turned his head to face the ceiling again, so the cloth wouldn’t fall off his head. Jihoon sat by his bedside, throwing a disappointed and sad look at Jiho, “He isn’t faking, he’s really burning up,"
Jiho scoffed again and leaved the room, heading to his own so he could get ready for the day. Their schedule for that day was optional for the other members, though it would’ve been nice if they accompanied him. He felt a little bitter while slipping onto his shoes and leaving the dorm; they made plans to eat out after the schedule ended the day before, maybe hit up a club afterwards, something small, but it was still something. And they pulled this little stunt to get out of it.
The next day Jaehyo still complained about his fever. There was no schedule to weasel out of that day, and after feeling his forehead and checking the thermometer they had given him, Jiho felt a little bad for not believing him the other day. He spent the day going to and from the kitchen with soup and a replacement towel to replace the flimsy one Jihoon had placed on his head the day before. Despite having a fever, Jaehyo’s appetite was normal. The soup was not enough to keep him and, with Jiho not knowing how to cook a full and heavy meal, he ordered fried chicken for them and the rest of the group. With a gallon of sweet tea—thats healthy right?
Jiho found himself at Jaehyo's bedside as the day played out. The other group members checking in from time to time, sitting down for a while and feeding him fruits before leaving to let him rest. He had a hand in Jaehyo’s hair, combing through it while they spoke, pulling whenever Jaehyo said something snarky.
“A sick dog can still bite I guess,” Jiho said, he reclined against the wall and Jaehyo shifted his position to look him in the eye.
“Thats the thing,” He said, blinking big tired-tired eyes at him,"I don’t think Im sick—well I am—but at the same time Im not?"
Jiho stared at him for a while before giving his head a small shove. “That makes no sense, man.” He stood up, pulled up the covers Jaehyo had pushed down earlier and tucked him in, “Well maybe it means you’re getting better but—whatever—just rest up, m’kay?"
Jaehyo looked at him then closed his eyes, “Yeah…yeah, I guess."
The kiss to his forehead was quick and light enough that Jiho could push it back into the farthest corner of his mind and not dwell too much on the action. but his lips still burned a bit. A little more than a bit, and he could swear he heard a small sizzling sound…but he pushed that back also.
Jaehyo felt better upon waking up the next day. Taeil felt his forehead and slapped him on the back, “You’re all good!”
They had a quick breakfast before heading to the studio to record a new track; it wasn’t something that was going on the album but a new sound Jiho had been playing around with. Kyung was in the booth when it happened. Jaehyo was on the couch, arms around a pillow while everyone bickered and discussed whether Kyungs line should be revised or kept. While Kyung sneered at the rest of them Jaehyo snapped his fingers, to garner attention as he had an idea that would probably work.
And he screamed.
Everyone turned. All eyes were wide and on Jaehyo, Taeil was stuttering, trying to find his words while the rest of them looked on with stunned silence. Kyung however, whose now unflattering face was pressed up against the window, was yelling at Jiho to unlock the door (which they had locked earlier as a tiny prank, to get everyones spirits up) so he could get a better look at whats up.
A flame. A small flickering flame sat atop the fingers Jaehyo had just snapped. Jiho pulled his eyes from the flame and Jaehyos slender fingers that were surprisingly un-harmed, to Jaehyos face. He was sweating and breathing haphazardly.
“WHAT is this wh—what’s—oh my god what do I—“ He took in a deep breathe and licked his lips, “Im—I—"
“HOW ARE YOU DOING THAT?” Jihoon finally found his voice, causing minhyuk and Taeil to jump in their seats.
“I dont—I-I-I’m not…how am I—?” Jaehyo stuttered. Jiho reached out to the flame and recoiled quickly. He burnt the tips of his fingers…so the flame was definitely real, and not some mass hallucination.
“Im sorry!” Jaehyo yelped, still trying to catch his breath. He shook his hand furiously and the flame went out.
Jihoon got up from where he was sitting and sat next to Jaehyo, picking up and examining his hands muttering under his breath, “...That was some cool trick…how…and with nothing up your sleeves…"
Jaehyo looked worse than he had the day he claimed to be sick. He was flushed and still breathing hard, asking for a water bottle and downing three bottles in a row before saying, “I think…I think I need to see a doctor."
“Yeah, ya think?” Minhyuk scoffed. He was up now, unlocking the door to the recording room saying something about Kyungs banging giving him a headache. Kyung shoved the door open as soon as he could, trapping Minhyuk behind it, “WHAT THE HELL YOU GUYS."
That night, after a failed trip to the doctor (who looked at Jaehyo like he was speaking 6 different languages at once), Jiho found his bed invaded by his long-limbed over heating friend. He kissed Jaehyos' forehead soon as it was pressed against his cheek, ‘friend' was a loose term.
“Did you touch anything weird the past week?” Jiho whispered. He hadn’t any reason to whisper, Kyung was sound asleep and snoring in his bunk, the others were wide awake and fighting about something in the other room. He didn’t need to tiptoe, but with the room being near-pitch black (save the moonlight that trickled in from the one window) he felt like he needed to.
He could feel Jaehyo shrug against him, “I don’t know Im—,” He sat up suddenly and panicked, “Im not burning you now am I?"
Jiho grunted and pulled him back down, “No, if you were I’d have kicked you out already"
“….right"
“Lets just sleep for now…”
For a week Jaehyo was setting accidental fires to the couch, his favorite blankets and several articles of clothing before finally, finally gaining control over his new super power. Jiho found him in the bathtub, most of his clothes burnt off and what was left dangling from his shoulders and hips, a wild smiled played on his lips, “I did it!"
Jiho paused for a second, clicking his tongue before saying, “...Did what?"
“The fire! Well I mean—“ Jaehyo held out his hands, snapping both his fingers and producing small amounts of flames from both fingers, mimicking the first flame before all this, “Alright now look at this…"
Jaehyo snapped his fingers again and the flames extinguished themselves. He then turned his hand so that his palm was facing up and flicked his wrist. A much larger flame bubbled up from the center of his hand, smaller flames licked up and around the ball of fire, dissipating into the air if they strayed too far from the center. Jiho was mesmerized. It was beautiful, like watching a large red morning glory bloom for the first time, but something in his stomach churned. He was glad (albeit his face didn’t show it) that Jaehyo managed to get everything under control, but he couldn’t get rid of the feeling that unsettled him so.
Jiho knew to trust his gut after the second incident.
Taeil was on his way to lend his voice for an upcoming show, Jiho tagged along after hearing Taeil would be working with a producer he admired. He was hoping to hear some tips and tricks being muttered under breath and smoke while sitting in on the recording session, but he got none of that. He sat in the corner of the room, his shades on while texting Jaehyo, teasing and warning him not to melt off the phone keys by accident when it happened. Again.
Taeil was singing a line, the climax of the song, and while the producers praised him, nodding their heads as Taeil belted out…a crack formed on the windows separating the recording booth from the mixing room. Multiple cracks.
Taeil kept singing, as he hadn’t hit the highest note in the song yet, and while he sung it through it before—another crack, this time through Jiho's sunglasses—he hadn’t sung it with this much power and force. He continued to sing until he had hit and finished the highest note. The window in the recording booth had completely shattered, and broken shards lay at Taeil's feet. Jiho and the producers stared at him, or what they could see through the second window, it was still intact but riddled with so many cracks all the could see was a small black-clothed figure. Taeil stepped out and looked at the producers, then at Jiho who then reclined with a groan.
“Isn’t there a superhero already with powers like yours?” Yukwon asked. Jihoon had stood up mid-sentence and clamored to his room, he ran back —almost slipping and crushing Yukwon—with a comic book in hand. The other members put food in their mouths slowly while they watched the younger man flip through the pages furiously, “Here!” he pointed at a page, shoving it into Taeil’s face in such a rude way only he could get away with, “You’re like the Black Canary!"
Taeil took the comic book and smirked, Kyung snorted, “ Except she’s actually hot, you…not so much bro."
“Who cares what you think, I can be hot if I want to.” Taeil looked at Jihoon and held up the comic book to his face, “Aren’t I just as Hot?"
Jihoon squirmed, turned different shades of pink and muttered his answer. None of the others heard it, but judging by the look on the elders face (smug and boastful), it was a good one.
Jiho looked over at Jaehyo, he was standing in the kitchen holding a popcorn pan, his hand on the bottom supposedly heating itself up as he heard popping not too long after. He was worried if he was honest, watching his bandmates laugh about these newfound powers, how Taeil and Jaehyo should throw on some spandex and start saving the world, “Though you guys would be useless super-heros.” Yukwon joked.
“Don't lump me together with Jaehyo—HEY—OW!" Jaehyo sat down on the floor next to him, pinching Taeil with heated fingers and snickering.
The night following, Jaehyo squeezed himself into Jihos bed again, hot and bothered and not in the way Jiho had wished he was. “I thought you said you had your power under control now."
Jaehyos arms were wrapped around his torso, his hands drawing pictures into his back, “I do—sometimes—but most of the time I-"
“What do you mean 'most of the time'."
“Sometimes I burn up a little, like my fever from last time, but nothing serious! So…this is fine,” His arms held Jiho tighter, his face buried into his chest, “I’ll be fine."
When Jiho woke up Jaehyo was still there, the covers all pushed off as a result of sleeping next to an actual human furnace. He looked peaceful asleep, dare he say, adorable, and he had successfully cooled down. Enough so that Jiho could lay back down and pepper light kisses onto his forehead before he woke.
For several months there hadn’t been another strange case of a superpower consuming one of the members, and the public hadn’t found out about the powers two of their members currently held. Jiho figured he could breathe for a while, Taeil knew not to sing certain notes when broadcasting with too much force and Jaehyo had been faring pretty well. Carrying an electric fan with him that spritzed water just incase he had hot flashes. “Hot flashes…god,” Jaehyo put his head in his hands, leaning against Jiho as the van made a sharp left. He kept his mouth shut the entire ride, his next comment either earning him a slap or a sleepy laugh from Kyung two seats up.
That night Jiho felt uneasy. He stayed up most of the night, walking back and forth from the kitchen to his room, then camping out in the living room while hashing out a new song. He couldn’t sleep, it bothered him that he didn’t know how exactly it was Taeil and Jaehyo got their powers, or why. He took a sip from the beer can he dug out from the fridge earlier, frankly he’d feel much better if the powers disappeared suddenly. While it wasn’t affecting him so much personally, he didn’t like the thought of the other two constantly being on their toes, and with him being leader…it was just more unnecessary trouble to look out for.
He set his can down, unaware of the frost that accumulated around where the pads of his finger had been.