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[personal profile] lotus_beauty
Title: Same Kind of Different
Author: LotusBeauty
Type: multi-chapter
Rating: R
Pairings: Yoochun/Jaejoong
Genre: AU, drama, fantasy, steampunk-ish, humor, angst, action, kitchen sink
Summary: In a world where a power called an attribute gives a person certain abilities, those with attributes are equally loved, hated and, well, normal. And just because people have attributes, doesn’t mean there isn’t crime, so Micky joins a bounty hunting team and finds while this is exactly what he was looking for, he might have found something else he didn’t know he needed. (previous chapters can be found HERE.)
Notes: contains world creation, fantasy elements, and just might have a bit of fun~ Profiles of characters can be found HERE :)
Disclaimer: Not mine, never were, but a girl can dream through fiction.



10: if I had to choose, I would do it all over again


Although Jaejoong didn’t think he had a choice, Micky found it hard to get him to follow his advice. For a few days following their short discussion on the roof, Jaejoong kept to himself, still afraid of exactly what he’d done with his powers, but at least he was straying outside his room, and not keeping the door entirely shut. Micky was pleased to note that when he was alone in his room, Jaejoong was reading or meditating. Or staring off into space—er, thinking.

Micky finally got Jaejoong away from his room on Saturday, when he invited Changmin over, since he didn’t have any classes. Jaejoong was pleased to see the young man, and Micky used the distraction to drag both of them outside and into Sunny’s experiment area, which was thankfully clear for the moment.

“So, what’s going on? Micky told me you wanted to experiment with your powers,” Changmin said and rubbed his hands together. “I’m game for helping.”

“How can he help?” Jaejoong asked in confusion.

“Changmin is a channel. I’m hoping that by linking your power to him, he can naturally keep you stable, and show you how to do it on your own as well. He can also help you find power you might need, I believe. I haven’t worked a lot with channels, and I’m not sure I remember every little thing they can do.” He looked at the younger man. “Actually, you don’t really do much but just stand there, unless he handles a lot of power for something and needs you to help him stabilize it. Then, you’ll need to concentrate on that.”

Changmin shrugged. “This will be a learning exercise for me, since I’ve never done it before either.”

“Are you sure this is safe?” Jaejoong suddenly looked pale.

“Are you feeling okay?” Changmin asked concerned. “You seem really nervous about this.”

Jaejoong glanced at Changmin before his gaze centered on Micky, who pushed off of the wall he’d been leaning on with a sigh. “We’ve discovered Jaejoong has a new facet of his power that he needs to train, and he’s a bit worried that he might hurt other people with it.” Micky then calmly explained to Changmin what had happened at Ayumi’s party, and how dangerous it could be for Jaejoong to handle pure power, like he had at that time, without more experience.

And then it came to him. “I should have called on Hyukjae to come too!” Micky smacked his forehead. “Well, no matter. We can at least get you two used to working together.”

“Watcha doin’?” Yoseob asked as he wandered outside. Luck was on their side.

Micky figured it couldn’t hurt. “Hey, ‘seob, wanna do me a favor? We need Hyuk to help us with something, and it might be dangerous.”

Yoseob straightened and saluted. “Aye aye, cap’n,” he replied before taking off, leaving a cloud of dust in his wake.

“That was easy,” Changmin commented, amused.

“It’s best when you make it sound like he’s important,” Micky replied with a wave of his hand. “In any case, Hyukjae should be able to sense the power flows and tell you how you’re doing, much better than I could.”

“You sure do know a lot,” Changmin said with a shrug. “If you say it’ll work…” He looked to Jaejoong, who was just staring at Micky, his eyes seemed to calculate what Changmin had said.

“Of course it will!” Micky assured them with a grin. “It’ll just take some time. You won’t be able to do everything in one day.”

“Just what are we going to be doing?” Jaejoong asked curiously. “You still haven’t explained anything clearly.”

“Let’s wait until Hyuk gets here and then I can…” he trailed off as Yoseob appeared with Hyukjae on his back. “Or I can tell you now.”

Hyukjae thanked Yoseob as he was let down and joined the group, questioning what exactly he was there for. Micky quickly brought him up to speed about what happened at the party before the other two tried to discuss their own opinions and Micky had to cut in.

“Whoa whoa!” He waved his arms to get their attention. “Let’s take this step by step, because if we don’t, Jaejoong might actually hurt someone.” Micky ignored the scowl on Jaejoong’s brow and went on. “What we’re going to do first of all, is see if Changmin and Jaejoong can link together. You should be able to feel when that happens. I’ll show you first, Changmin, with my own attribute. Once you’ve completed that, Jaejoong, I want you to use Changmin to stabilize your energy and use it to do a complicated transmutation. Just do whatever you want. While he does that, I want Hyukjae to watch your power flows to see how well you’re managing the flow of your energy.”

Hyukjae nodded in approval as the other two stared at him. “Why does he need me to do it?” Changmin asked.

“Because you’ll help stabilize his energy for the transmutation, and it gets him used to working with another person’s power, correct?” Hyukjae suggested.

Micky nodded. “The point of the exercise is for Hyukjae to help streamline how you get your energy, and the outcome of this is I want you, Jaejoong, to eventually learn how to pull energy from outside yourself instead of burning yourself out using your attribute. Changmin is the precaution that will keep your energy as stable as possible. As you get better at it, you won’t need him unless you feel you’re handling more energy than you yourself can keep stable.”

“Will he pull energy from me?” Changmin asked.

“Not unless you let him. To be honest Changmin, it’s hard to explain your abilities, but I guess you could say you have the attribute to stabilize attributes. Be cautious though. Linking to someone can be dangerous and if he pulls too much power from outside himself, he could burn you out,” Micky warned.

“But we won’t be doing that for a while,” Jaejoong supplied, sounding worried himself.

“No, today we’ll be just practicing you linking together and Hyuk will be giving you pointers on your energy usage, since I don’t have sight like him.” Micky smiled. “Everyone ready? Fantastic,” he said when he saw them all nod. “Changmin, let’s see how you do linking to me?”

Changmin moved closer to him and Micky held out his hands to grip Changmin’s in his own. “Just relax and think about yourself as a pillar, the backbone of a structure that needs support.”

“Nice metaphor.” He grinned.

“Shut up and concentrate.” Micky closed his eyes and went into himself. It had taken him only a few days to link to his brother, since they were family and had the same power, but the time he’d started practicing with a channel, it’d taken him quite a bit longer. He was used to linking now, but he had a feeling it might take a little while to get his energy to mesh with Changmin.

And as expected, he would get about halfway there before one or the other would lose concentration and their almost link would break. It took quite a few tries as the clock ticked, but finally, Micky felt everything slide into place and Changmin’s surprise made him drop the link. Micky couldn’t help but laugh when it happened.

“That was… interesting.” Changmin’s thoughtful frown made Hyukjae chuckle.

“Neat, isn’t it?” Micky grinned. “It’s like you’re in sync with the other person.”

“Can we try it again?” Changmin asked.

Micky nodded and the two joined hands again and this time, it took them a much shorter time to link, and once established, Changmin didn’t drop it in shock. Micky made sure it was stable and opened his eyes. “Now, I’m going to explain a few things.”

“Nicely done,” Hyukjae put in. “Very clean.”

Micky grinned and turned his attention back to Changmin. “You should be able to feel the flow of energy very well.”

Changmin nodded. “I do. It’s…”

“Interesting?” Micky guessed to get a nod. “Don’t let it distract you too much. All you need to do is be the pillar that keeps it from falling apart. Eventually, if you practice enough, you should be able to link without touching. People with extremely powerful attributes sometimes partner with channels to help work complicated …I guess you would say spells—shifts for Jaejoong. I’m just powerful enough to be able to pull power from outside myself, but I can only do it through a channel. With practice, Jaejoong should be able to do it without you, but you should still be around in case he needs someone to help him stabilize the energy.”

“Got it.” Changmin nodded again.

“So, let me give you an example…” Micky concentrated and felt Changmin seem to follow him. He found some energy pooling nearby, running in line with the river. “I don’t do this often, since I hardly ever need to, but mother nature gives up energy if we need it.” He tapped into the energy and pulled, feeling Changmin immediately tense as he kept the energy flow stable. He was a natural. Micky used it to build a shield of sound going straight upward to keep from bothering the city and then let out a blast of sound, keeping it inside the shield so that only they could hear what he’d done. Finished, Micky made sure he showed Changmin the proper way to let go of the energy so it would stay where it had been originally, and then broke down their link before letting go of Changmin’s hands.

“That was pretty cool!” he said with a grin. “Felt my hair stand up when you grabbed the energy.”

“I saw and felt it when you built the shield, and I bet Jaejoong felt it too,” Hyukjae told them as Jaejoong nodded, though probably wouldn’t have known that was what he was feeling.

“Now, it’s Jaejoong’s turn.” Micky said as they turned toward Jaejoong. “Keep in mind that I’ve actually done this before, and Jaejoong hasn’t, so it will probably take him a few days to link properly with you.”

Jaejoong moved closer and held his hands out to Changmin, who took them. “This will keep me from grabbing stray energy, like at the party?” he asked quietly.

“It will take some time, but you’ll be able to decide when to pull the energy, and you’ll probably be able to disperse it without even using it. Heck, you might even be able to steal energy from Sunny’s fire if done correctly,” Micky told him confidently.

Jaejoong nodded, taking it all very seriously, which wasn’t a bad thing at all. “Alright. What first?”

Micky moved to stand behind Jaejoong and put his hands on Jaejoong’s shoulders. It wasn’t necessary, but this was how his teacher had done it, probably to make him comfortable. “Start out like when you’re meditating.” The suggestion kept Jaejoong relaxed, even if he could tell the young man was nervous. He began to describe what he should do, feeling out Changmin’s energy and how to link to it, but it was much easier said than done. Jaejoong was frustrated when he was unable to do it the first couple of times, so Micky reminded him that it took him over two days to link with his own brother, and Jaejoong didn’t feel so bad.

By the end of the day, they’d gotten quite close a couple of times, and everyone felt all around accomplished. Hyukjae gave Jaejoong pointers on how to use his energy as they went, and at the end asked Jaejoong to transmute something so he could watch the power flow again. Tired from the session, but willing, Jaejoong turned a small, empty wooden crate into a stack of paper.

“Well done,” Hyukjae said with a nod. “Almost as clean as Micky. You’ll be better than him in no time!”

Jaejoong gave him a tired smile, but it was clear he was done for the day. With congratulations to everyone, Micky offered a dinner out on him, for all their efforts, and they accepted. He knew they would need the food after using up so much energy trying to link.

The evening passed quietly, and the next day, Micky was pleased to see Changmin show up once again to help Jaejoong. This time, a curious Sunny sat in on the session and told them how rigorously she trained and how Yunho encouraged her to train hard after they met.

“How much does it take you to deplete your energy?” she asked at one point.

Jaejoong shrugged. “Depends on how difficult the shift is,” he replied, referring to shifting an item into another. The conversation became more involved as they discussed methods of practice and energy consumption as Micky sat back, a small smile playing on his lips. He’d seen Jaejoong and Sunny discuss building her machines before, and it often sounded quite like this, but it was new to have Jaejoong openly discussing things about his attribute and how to improve it. Micky liked this and wondered just how far it would go.

It took Jaejoong and Changmin over a week, between a few hunts, to properly link to one another. Micky figured with more practice, Jaejoong might be able to link to him or Sunny in the future, though why they ever would was hard to tell. Linking two vastly different powers like theirs was rather useless. In any case, Micky was quite proud of Jaejoong’s progress, and it seemed Jaejoong was as well. Changmin found the sessions rather fun, because he got to feel what was going on with the power, but didn’t have to do much else. Micky called him lazy. So Changmin called him something when Jaejoong wasn’t listening. Micky refused to admit he was green and Changmin just grinned. Jerk.

Once they perfected linking, Micky invited Hyuk back to help him teach Jaejoong how to look for energy outside of himself to use with his attribute instead of his own. That hadn’t been too difficult since he’d had Changmin to ground him keep the energy in check. Though, a few days later, Changmin admitted he found the sessions tiring, because Jaejoong could manipulate so much power that he found himself having to really work to keep it in control. So, Jaejoong decided to start out with small amounts of energy and work up incrementally, so they could both work up to the same level. Changmin appreciated the consideration.

They’d just finished a training session a few weeks later and were walking inside when two men approached the door. Jaejoong was the one behind everyone and greeted the men who asked for Micky. Curious, Micky came up to the door and stared in shock.

“Yoohwan… Zhoumi?” Micky gaped in surprise and confusion. “What on earth are you doing… here…” His stomach dropped like a rock as the realization hit him. It was mid-October. He’d arrived mid-April—it had been six months. How could he have forgotten? He dated every letter, every report…

“What’s going on?” Sunny asked from behind.

Micky cleared his throat and invited the two young men in as Jaejoong and Sunny stepped back, waiting. “Everyone, this is Zhoumi, and my brother Yoohwan. We, uh, we all work for the same organization.”

“Brother? Organization?” Changmin asked, eyebrows raised in surprise. In contrast, Jaejoong was completely unreadable. Micky wanted to crawl into a hole.

“Yes,” Yoohwan replied and cleared his throat. “We’re from the Action Order, the AO, and we’re here to test Jaejoong Kim’s abilities as an attribute user,” he told them politely as he tapped the insignia on his shoulder.

“My attribute?” Jaejoong breathed in surprise. “Why…?”

“It came to our attention some months ago that your attribute was extremely powerful. Once informed, the organizations that train attributes in this country and the surrounding countries have the obligation to find those with powerful attributes and offer training and assistance.” Yoohwan smiled and glanced to his brother. “Since you were already an adult, we sent Micky here to observe how well you controlled your attribute and to report on it from time to time. His assigned time was six months, and now we’re here to test and see if your attribute is safe and in control. But I’m sure we’ll have no problem with that, as Micky’s reports have been surely confident that you’re in perfect control of your attribute and know exactly how it works.”

Jaejoong just stared. It was a lot to take in so suddenly, and Micky was worried about what everyone would say. He glanced around at their awe-struck faces and saw Yunho standing to the back of the group, having entered when he heard voices. He didn’t seem surprised at all. No, he wouldn’t. He knew.

“Does that mean you’ve been working this whole time?” Sunny asked, rather curious than angry.

Micky coughed. “Yes.”

“That’s kinda cool,” Changmin piped up. “No wonder you knew how to train us so well. It was a good thing then, huh?” He looked to Jaejoong, who was staring at Micky. It seemed the pieces were coming together for him now.

“You’ve been watching over him this whole time?” Sunny smiled a little—she knew it wasn’t all work.

Jaejoong turned, but Micky caught his arm before he could leave. “You can’t leave.”

“Why not?” He scowled.

“Because I want to explain myself,” Micky replied, trying to keep his voice neutral. He was in front of his fellow organization associates, not to mention one being his brother.

“I think you’ve explained yourself quite well,” Jaejoong replied coolly. “I’m going to need to practice if they want to test me though, so please excuse me.” He waited for Micky to finally let go of his arm before he brushed past and out the door. Micky stared after him, wondering just how much he’d screwed up. Jaejoong didn’t go far though. From what Micky heard, he stopped just outside the door.

“So,” Jessica broke the silence from the stairway. “Why do you test people?”

“We usually get a tip from people who see children using attributes, or someone who has the sensing attribute that notices someone doesn’t have a complete hold on their abilities. I believe the tip for Jaejoong said that they overheard him commenting about not being fully confident in his abilities to control his attribute,” Zhoumi said as he opened his side bag, digging through it to find the original report. He made a sound of success and pulled the page out. “Yes, and the person who reported it, looks like it was Hyukjae, suggested that the young man be monitored to make sure he was in control. So, we sent Micky to monitor him, because he tends to get along well with people.” He smiled at the end and adjusted his glasses as everyone seemed to accept this new information. Even Micky was surprised, because even he’d forgotten who had sent in the report.

“You weren’t faking, were you?” Yoseob suddenly asked Micky from the side.

“Faking? Yoseob, why would I fake becoming friends and enjoying bounty hunting with you?” Micky replied honestly with a smile. “I knew my mission was to make sure Jaejoong’s power was safe, but I’ve never enjoyed work so much as when on a mission with everyone here. Sure, I like working for the AO because we get to help people who otherwise aren’t able to get it, but I like it here. I like working here and being able to be around one of the best teams I’ve ever been a part of.”

Yunho smiled. “We’ve been glad to have you.”

“Yeah, I mean, this is quite a shock to hear, but I’m glad you’re not suddenly a completely different person now that we know,” Rain admitted. “I’m kinda mad you didn’t tell us, but I’m sure you couldn’t. Not without Jaejoong finding out.”

“You’re right, I couldn’t.” Micky nodded.

“Wait, does this mean you have to leave?” Sunny asked anxiously. “I really like having you here…” she murmured, her eyes suddenly sad, a pout threatening to appear.

“Unfortunately, it does,” Zhoumi said with a sad smile. “Which reminds me, Micky. You took the job so you could earn a promotion, and it’s been agreed that you’ll receive it. Congratulations,” he said as he and Yoohwan smiled.

“Ah, about that,” he stepped forward nervously. “I’d like to turn down the promotion in exchange for service payment.”

Both of the young men blinked at him and then looked at one another. “Are you sure?” his brother asked. “I thought you wanted this position.”

“So did I, but, I really like it here,” Micky admitted with a half smile. “I actually took the time to calculate how much time I had left, taking into account my job here and not taking the promotion, and I’ll have one year left once I leave here. I’d really like to quit and come back to the team once I’m finished paying off my debt. That is, if you guys will have me.”

Everyone looked to Yunho, who smiled. “I’m sure everyone here will be happy to accept.”

“You guys are way too forgiving,” Micky told them, almost frustrated with their acceptance.

“Jaejoong is angry enough for all of us,” Jessica told him with a pat on his shoulder and Micky was reminded how much he dreaded trying to explain this to Jaejoong, who was still listening just outside the door.

“True enough,” he muttered in reply and walked toward the door. He poked his head out with a scowl to see Jaejoong jump in surprise. “Get in here.”

Jaejoong scowled right back, clearly unhappy with being found. “Why the hell—augh!” he cut off as Micky grabbed his arm and dragged him back inside. A little embarrassment was good for the soul. Everyone shifted uncomfortably under Jaejoong’s dark expression, but thankfully, he didn’t try to escape from Micky’s grip. Maybe he knew he would look childish trying to throw Micky’s hand off.

“Calm down,” Micky murmured only for him as he felt the hair on his arms standing up. “Your energy is leaking out.”

There was a slight gasp and Micky felt the tenseness fade. Much better.

“Now, when will you be testing him?” Micky asked as he looked at his two counterparts.

“Tomorrow morning,” Zhoumi confirmed with a nod.

“Well, until then, we should let Jaejoong practice, or meditate, whichever, and I’ll take you two out for dinner,” he said as he finally let go of Jaejoong, who stood silent. “How does that sound?”

“Perfect,” Yoohwan admitted and the two made their way outside to wait for Micky, who left upstairs to grab his wallet and jacket. It was getting pretty chilly on nights now. When he returned, everyone was still in the kitchen area, talking quietly to one another, and Jaejoong still stood apart by himself.

“I’ll come with you,” Yunho said as he approached. He paused when Jaejoong tossed him a pleading look. “We won’t be out for long. Just dinner, right?”

“Correct,” Micky replied with a nod and turned to Jaejoong. “Practice the energy flow within yourself and meditate. You’ll be fine.”

Jaejoong caught his gaze, the anger from before smoldering halfheartedly behind fear. “Right,” he replied hesitantly.

Micky had a moment of uncertainty, but pushed it away as he convinced himself not to let Jaejoong lean on him. “Just be yourself. No more, no less.”

“I always have been,” Jaejoong replied, his tone more confident.

And Micky let himself speak openly, “So have I.”


~***~


augh, i havent had a creative writing moment for a while. every time i try to think about plot, my mind wanders completely away. but, i shall get to it! >:| also, the profiles were updated and Ayu is now on there too :)

Part 11
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