The Halo Effect

[TW: Dubcon kissing]

The ambient hum in the room is almost loud enough to mask the sound of the door closing. It reverberates off the walls and thrums through Noel's bones like a bassline through a subwoofer. His earpiece lets out a piercing whine and Noel rips it out, letting it fall to the floor, emitting smoke. Dots dance in front of his eyes and he takes a moment to steady himself, breathing deep. Ozone drips down his throat.

The sheer breadth of Jade's power is staggering. Noel can feel the little animal alarm bells in the back of his mind clanging frantically. Danger! Get away!

But they'll all be in danger if he doesn't do this.

Jade has stopped thrashing against his restraints, but even from here, Noel can see the tension in his muscles. On shaky legs, he approaches the slab, and Jade jerks his head around, pinning him with wide, luminous red eyes.

"It's just me," Noel says mindlessly, creeping closer, one hand outstretched as though meeting an unfriendly dog. "It's Noel. I'm not going to hurt you—"

Jade lets out a bestial snarl and slams his eyes shut, arms flexing as he pulls at the metal cuffs. An arc of red lightning dazzles through the room, momentarily blinding Noel and making him freeze, heart hammering. As the sunspots fade from Noel's eyes, Jade grits his teeth and clenches his fists, every muscle pulled taut as though fighting against something other than the restraints.

When Noel manages to force himself close enough, he can make out blood smeared on the metal table around Jade's hands.

"I'm going to help," Noel mumbles, more to himself than to Jade, finally reaching the side of the slab. At this distance, the heat emanating from Jade's frame is obvious, a fever leaching into the surrounding air. Swallowing hard, Noel lifts a trembling hand. "I'm going to help, I'm—" he feels his mouth curve into a grim smile. "I'm going to be useful for once."

This is for the best, he thinks, cupping Jade's burning cheek to hold him steady. Jade is a hero who uses his strength to save people; by saving him, Noel is helping countless others in the future. How could he possibly put his own individual life over the entire company, or even the entire city?

Jade is more important than he is. And dying to save him is probably the best Noel could hope for after twenty-five years of mediocrity and disappointment. He finally has the chance to live up to his mother's legacy.

Leaning over Jade's prone form, Noel pauses, their noses barely touching. Jade's eyes are still cinched tightly shut, his brow furrowed with strain. The hum in the room pitches up, crawling beneath Noel's skin, and the loose ends of his hair drift in the electric breeze, waving in his periphery.

"Sorry about this," Noel murmurs, placing his other hand on Jade's face as well. "I wish things were different too."

Then he tilts his head and brushes their lips together.

The connection is instant; Noel doesn't even have time to consciously activate guiding before something reaches out of Jade's core and into his own, dragging his energy into circulation. He feels himself gasp against Jade's mouth, and then he's on that frozen lake again, black ice stretching in all directions.

A shiver courses through his real body.

In contrast to the chaos outside, Jade's core is utterly still, dark and frozen, even more frigid than last time. Noel looks down to see ice creeping around his feet, up his legs, trying to make him part of the endless frozen landscape.

If he was to guide normally, it would be akin to breathing warm air on the surface of the lake: completely futile.

Steeling himself, Noel focuses on the chill, on the biting wind, on Jade's mouth opening desperately against his, and he pulls.

The ice beneath his feet sizzles, steam rising into the air, and he feels himself sinking.

Jade moans, trying to push closer, but Noel holds him still, brows pinched with effort.

Waist deep in the ice, he puts his hands out to stop himself, and everywhere he touches, the ice burns away. Looking out over the expanse, he can see the steam spreading, eating away at the surface in a growing circle. Every breath brings the steam into his lungs, where it settles and begins to condense.

A pitiful noise escapes Noel's mouth. Distantly, he hears a metallic thunk, and suddenly there are hands gripping his shoulders. Startled, he tries to back away, but Jade follows, sitting up and deepening the kiss with single-minded determination. Noel's legs buckle, and instead of propping him up or dropping him, Jade slides off the table and falls to the floor with him. They land hard, Noel's head banging into the tile, and Jade immediately surges over him, forcing himself between Noel's legs and grabbing Noel by the jaw.

The ice continues to melt, the constant hiss joining the low tone singing in the air, and every breath Noel takes gets shallower and shorter as the ice frosts the inside of his lungs. His head spins, rendering him helpless against Jade's invading tongue. He can only take it, clutching weakly at Jade's messy hair.

He has no idea if he's actually helping, or if it's just a drop in the ocean of Jade's corruption, but all he can do is keep pulling, letting the cold fill him up, and hopefully ease some of the agonized panic infecting Jade's core.

Jade ruts against him, and despite the chill, warmth blooms on Noel's cheeks. Coital guiding is certainly the most efficient, but Noel has never done it, and he hopes that his first time doesn't end up being here, on a basement floor, with an esper who can't even recognize him.

Fortunately, Jade doesn't seem coherent enough to do anything but press against Noel's body, muscles rippling as he devours Noel's mouth. Strong hands pull Noel's arms down and pin his wrists to the floor, trapping him even more firmly. Light-headed, Noel blinks his eyes open, but his vision is all flickering shadow and dark curls, so he lets them fall shut again.

Jade snarls, biting at Noel's bottom lip, and Noel jolts, heart rabbiting in his ears. The constant stream of corrupted energy seems to have no end, pouring into him until his veins are solid ice and he can barely inflate his chest to breathe. The mouth on his is unbearably hot, practically scorching against his own rapidly cooling skin.

Something warm drips from one nostril, and Noel feels it run down his cheek. Pain stabs at the base of his skull. But Jade shows no signs of stopping, panting like an animal on top of him, and Noel is so tired. The ice is so heavy, dragging him into the floor, and the darkness encroaching on his mind is starting to look very tempting.

Distantly, he feels Jade pause, but the layer of ice is too thick. He's beneath the surface, sinking into the blackness. When he breathes in, he tastes copper and ozone, and he barely has enough awareness to realize his mouth is unobstructed before the darkness closes over him.

The last thing he knows is a large, searing hand cupping his cheek. Then everything is gone.