Mists of Celeste - an Ateez Fanfic

act two ➻ part five

He stands in the middle of the street with two pistols out and at the ready, a body at his feet that must have fallen victim to the random gunshot that echoed through the streets. Hongjoong isn't alone though; he's surrounded by eight thugs who seem to have the same idea. All have their own weapons pointed at Hongjoong's head.

Hongjoong's whole body is rigid and straight. Both arms are extended at ninety-degree angles, and the captain is ready to fire at any second. The silence is palpable, you can taste the tension on the back of your tongue, and no one moves. You are still at a far enough distance to be out of sight and out of mind. It leaves an opportunity. San's little dot is still moving on your wristband, and there is a narrow alleyway off to your left that could grant you a shortcut if you decided to take it. Slowly, your right hand creeps down to the holster where your pistol sits. You drag two fingers over the metal with a hesitant touch.

You shouldn't even have to hesitate. It's Kim Hongjoong – The Scourge of the Black Sea. He should be more than capable of handling himself and yet. And yet. Your feet refuse to move towards the alleyway. Leaving doesn't sit right with you, especially after Seonghwa specifically asked you to make sure Hongjoong stays safe. You exhale a huff of air, nearly rolling your eyes at your internal debate, then tug the pistol out.

You slip into view, gun lining up with the head of one of the thugs in an instant. He catches sight of you with ease, and his own weapon shifts to aim at you.

"Fuck!‌ Scourge brought back up," he curses, jerking his head in your direction. It prompts a few of the other men to glance over at you, but Hongjoong remains rigid and unmoving. He's almost like a statue in his stillness. Even with so many guns pointed at him, he's stoic and unnerved. Then the dynamic shifts.

Hongjoong fires his right pistol, sending a thug cascading to the ground with a thud and quick death. In the same motion, he ducks down and sweeps his leg under the bandit next to the fallen one. As he falls, Hongjoong fires both pistols into his chest. You take the opportunity to dash forward, feet skidding across the dirt-covered road. The thug directly before you whips around and aims at you, but you drop to the ground, using your momentum to swing for his legs. He slams against the cobblestone with a grunt of pain, and you straddle his chest to put a bullet between his eyes. Your hand snaps up to fire again at the soldier above you, his gun midway to aiming for your head.

Hongjoong matches your haste, not even bothering to glance at you as you move, and the two of you dance around each other as though locked in a dangerous dance of death. Metal flashes across your vision. A blade comes close to sweeping over your chest, but you crack the flat of your hand against the owner's wrist, and the weapon falls away uselessly. Your fingers close around that wrist and yank the body forward. You don't have to turn to know that another thug is preparing to fire at you; his curses and shouts are indication enough. You duck behind the one you've got in your grasp just before the shot resounds.‌ The bullet buries itself in the chest of the thug before you, and you knock the limp body away to face the one who shot at you.

However, you don't have the chance to fire back because Hongjoong beats you to it. Two bullets find a new home in the bandit. Then a thick arm locks around Hongjoong's throat, yanking him back and causing one of his pistols to fall to the ground. You don't hesitate or wait to line up a shot. Instead, you fire with confidence that you won't hit Hongjoong, and your confidence isn't misplaced because you hit the thug in the temple.

The shot leaves one man left standing. He doesn't seem to know who to aim at first, glancing between you and Hongjoong with eyes blown in fear. The gun trembles in his hands, a grating rattling resounding from the weapon, and he settles on aiming at Hongjoong. Said man tilts his head to the side as he looks over the thug.