i'll save you;;

a home in you | chankai

2016-07-11T15:51:23Z

title: a home in you
characters: chanyeol/jongin
rating: g
wordcount: 1,800
hybrid!au chanyeol meets a kitten at the shelter and refuses to go home without him.

“Have you put your socks on, Chanyeol?” Joonmyun calls out as he hurries from room to room, picking up all the items they need to go out.

Chanyeol lies on Joonmyun’s bed and hangs his head over the end of the bed, watching Joonmyun scuttle around upside-down. The world looks loopy and funny like this, enough to make Chanyeol forget about how hot the socks on his feet make him feel, even if he’s wearing his favourite pink socks.

“Hurry up, Chanyeol,” Joonmyun pokes his head into the bedroom again and urges.
Chanyeol sniffs the air and shoots upright, moving so fast his head gets a little dizzy. “Are we going to Jongdae’s?”

“Yes, didn’t I tell you over breakfast?”

He might have, but this morning Joonmyun made bear shaped waffles using the Rilakkuma waffle maker and Chanyeol was too busy digging into his breakfast to hear anything Joonmyun said.

Chanyeol knows they’re going to Jongdae’s though because Joonmyun is wearing his cologne, and he only ever puts on his cologne when he goes to meet Jongdae. Chanyeol doesn’t even understand why he does it, because how would Jongdae know Joonmyun is interested in him if he drowns his pheromones in a stronger smelling scent?

He asked Joonmyun that once and Joonmyun had turned all red before explaining that it’s polite to smell nice for people you like.

Chanyeol really likes Jongdae, so he gets his own strawberry perfume out of the closet and spritzes it into the air, leaping into the cloud of perfume with a spin.

Pressing the underside of his wrist to his nose, Chanyeol breathes in and beams. Now he smells good and polite too.

“Ready to go?” Joonmyun offers out a hand and cocks his head expectantly at Chanyeol.
Chanyeol nods eagerly and takes Joonmyun’s hand.

Chanyeol wriggles all the way in the car once he finds out that they aren’t going to Jongdae’s home, but to his workplace at the shelter. He’s really glad he put on perfume now and Joonmyun good naturedly entertains Chanyeol's excited questions about the new hybrids at the shelter.

“Jongdae mentioned that a new litter of kittens came in a few weeks ago, so maybe you can play with them.”

Chanyeol is so overjoyed that he leaps in his seat and bumps his head on the ceiling of the car.

Chanyeol is still pouting and rubbing at the slowly forming bruise on his head when they arrive at the shelter. He forgets about the pain once he sees Jongdae and prances forward to run circles around Jongdae's legs, drawing a laugh from Jongdae. Chanyeol presses his cheek against Jongdae's thigh and happily lets Jongdae pet his ears, tail wagging up a storm.

"Hi, Joonmyun." Jongdae looks more feline than the kittens Chanyeol sees sometimes, especially when Jongdae quirks his mouth in that lopsided smile that makes Joonmyun's face pinch up like he ate something sour.

"H-hey." Joonmyun starts smelling all funny, even over the strength of his cologne, and this is Chanyeol’s cue to scamper away to check out the new hybrids.

He doesn't find any new hybrids in the play pens out back, only Sehun the persian hybrid, who is stretched out lazily on the couch.

"Where are the new kittens!" Chanyeol's ears flick back and forth and he runs around the room, sniffing to find the new friends.

Sehun opens one eye and looks at Chanyeol, deciding whether it's worth his energy to answer Chanyeol. "Minseok brought them out to play."

Chanyeol flops down next to Sehun and pushes his nose into Sehun's nape. "I missed the kittens?"

"You have me," Sehun says dryly, but they both know Sehun doesn't like to tumble around and play fight like Chanyeol likes to. He points to the corner of the room where the beanbags are. "And Jongin. Good luck getting him to play with you."

"Jongin?" Chanyeol perks up and heads towards the beanbags, gasping when he finds a kitten he's never seen before curled into a ball. He can't see much of Jongin's face since the kitten has it partially hidden under a thick tuff of black hair, but Jongin smells so nice, like baby powder and cinammon, and Chanyeol immediately wants to leap on him to introduce himself.

Joonmyun always tells him to play nice though and Chanyeol scrunches his nose up, trying to remember what Joonmyun taught him. He stands on his tip toes to see Jongin better, marvelling at how cute the kitten looks.

"I'm Chanyeol!" he says perhaps too loudly.

Jongin lifts his head up and unfurls himself, stretching his arms and lying on his back. He’s even cuter than Chanyeol imagined, all droopy eyes and pouty lips. He's smaller than Chanyeol, probably by at least a whole head, but from the looks of it, Jongin must be younger than Chanyeol too.

"Play with me," Chanyeol whispers at Jongin, but Jongin only yawns sleepily and shakes his head. His sleek black tail swishes out and brushes past Chanyeol's cheek as a hello, and Jongin blinks up curiously at Chanyeol.

Sehun snorts. "Told you. Jongin is a quiet cat, not like you."

He's okay with quiet. Chanyeol may not be good at being quiet, but he can try. "Can I lie next to you then? Quietly," he adds quickly.

Jongin doesn't say anything but he does roll over on his side, enough to leave a Chanyeol-shaped space. It's as good as an invitation as any and Chanyeol takes the chance to climb into the beanbag, legs kicking out to push himself onto the beanbag.

He settles down next to the kitten and lies facing Jongin, grin breaking out on his face when he sees Jongin watching him too.

Chanyeol is almost vibrating in his joy of meeting a new friend but he holds his breath until he can will his butterfly tummy tingles away and calm down. The urge to lick Jongin's nose rises, because he knows the Jongin will do something cute like scrunch up his nose or pull back in surprise, but something tells him that he needs to take it slow with the kitten.

They stare at each other for a beat, Jongin carefully calculating whether this loud puppy can be trusted. Bit by bit, Chanyeol can see the tension leave Jongin in the way Jongin's tail softens, until finally Jongin darts his hand out to hold the edge of Chanyeol's shirt, a silent way of opening up.

"Hi," Chanyeol says softly, letting out a small sigh of relief.

To his surprise, Jongin giggles, a short burst of melodic laughter that has the wariness melting from his face. Jongin's eyes curve into little half moons and Chanyeol can't help but laugh along.

Jongin immediately stops laughing, holding his hands up to cover his mouth, eyes wide.

"I like you," Chanyeol decides. He scoots closer to Jongin and presses their foreheads together, looking straight into Jongin's saucer eyes. Jongin makes no move to pull away, just grips Chanyeol's shirt tighter.

"You can't just say things like that, dumb dog," Sehun scolds from where he has been watching the two.

"I like you, Jongin," Chanyeol repeats and feels a new burst of happiness in his tummy when Jongin blushes a pretty pink and hides his face with his tail.

When Joonmyun calls for him, Chanyeol patters outside, leading Jongin by the hand. "Look Joonmyun, this is Jongin."

Joonmyun barely spares them a glance and pets Chanyeol on the head. "Cute."

"So, 7 o'clock tomorrow?" Jongdae says with a little wave as he leans against the door frame.

Joonmyun pulls out finger guns and points them at Jongdae, seeming to falter halfway through the gesture. He stuffs his hands back into his pockets and Jongdae is staring at him so fondly that Chanyeol watches them curiously. "I'll pick you up. At 7."

"I'll meet you in the car!" Chanyeol says and runs off, but both humans barely notice.

Chanyeol waits in the car for a good 10 minutes for Joonmyun to come. Joonmyun smells like Jongdae when he returns, but Jongdae smells nice anyway and Chanyeol thinks that he likes the way they both smell like each other.

“I wanted to sit in the back,” Chanyeol tells Joonmyun, voice a little muffled and Joonmyun nods, distracted by the way Jongdae is blowing a flying kiss in their direction.

“Wear your seatbelt, Chanyeol,” Joonmyun says, glancing briefly at the backseat. “Help Jongin wear his seatbelt too.”

“Okay!”

Joonmyun nods and returns his attention to the roads. It takes a full 5 minutes of unusual silence before Joonmyun almost slams on the brakes. He pulls to the side of the road with a screech, startling a hiccup out of Chanyeol's new friend.

“Did you smuggle the kitten out?”

“Snuggle?” Chanyeol asks, blinking up at Joonmyun. He can do that. He’s already holding Jongin in his arms, tucking the kitten’s head under his chin. Jongin clings to him just as tightly, pressing his face into Chanyeol's neck.

“No, I meant-“ Joonmyun cuts himself off and sighs, pressing his fingers to his forehead.

Most days, he finds Chanyeol’s antics absolutely adorable. Other days, Joonmyun has to breathe and remember that taking care of a hybrid is like taking care of a small child.

"You're not supposed to bring Jongin out!" He chids, pulling his phone and looking up Jongdae's contact.

"But," Chanyeol's voice wavers as he hugs the kitten closer. "But Jongin."

"Stay with Chanyeol," Jongin murmurs, refusing to look at Joonmyun. He's practically koala hugging Chanyeol by now, Chanyeol throwing both arms around him protectively like a hovery older brother.

Joonmyun's lips press into a thin line. "I'll speak to Jongdae and see what we'll do." With a deep sigh, he climbs out of the car and starts talking into his phone.

"Are you okay?" Chanyeol says urgently as soon as Joonmyun is out of the car. Jongin leans back and stares down at his hands, nodding his head.

"Am I going back?" Jongin asks softly. "Sorry."

"Not your fault!" Chanyeol yelps. He frowns and pulls at Jongin's hands to lace their fingers together. "Mine, for not telling Jongdae and Joonmyun. And I won't let you go back."

Joonmyun comes back to find the two hybrids whispering to each other. They spring apart when they notice Joonmyun and Joonmyun has to fight the smile that threatens to burst from his lips at how cute they are.

"Tomorrow we're bringing Jongin right back, okay?" Joonmyun says sternly.

Chanyeol grips Jongin's hand tighter and nods. Jongin glances worriedly at him and Chanyeol gently rubs Jongin’s ears to reassure him.

A whole night is plenty of time to convince Joonmyun that Jongin can stay.

"Now let's go home, little ones."

But somehow, it seems like the battle is already half won.

end.

this is my? 5th? hybrid au so far i'm so sorry i love kittens and puppies and tiny non-humans.

every angel has wings

2016-06-24T13:54:14Z

title: every angel has wings
characters: gen fic, kim jongbros, chanyeol
rating: g
wordcount: 1,700
warnings: kid!jongin, teen!jongdae and teen!chanyeol
monster!au the first of a series of ficlets where kim jongbros and their friends are all monsters.
summary: jongin goes for his first Halloween and meets chanyeol

“Remember to bring him back-“

“-by nine o’clock. I know, Joonmyun. Were you this hovery when it was my first Halloween?” Jongdae rolls his eyes at Joonmyun and bounces on the balls of his feet, eager to dive into the night and drink in the energy in the air.

“He was worse,” Minseok says. “We had to turn back almost ten times because he was convinced you were safer off at home.” Even as he calls Joonmyun out for overreacting, he bends down and takes what must be the hundredth picture of Jongin in his pumpkin outfit.

Jongdae understands why Minseok and Joonmyun are so excited though. A monster’s first Halloween is a big deal and Jongin looks adorable in his orange hat and fluffy body suit. Halloween is the only night when the portals between the worlds open and monsters can seamlessly blend in among the human race. Still, the night is calling for Jongdae and they’re wasting moonlight.

“Can I go now?” Jongdae asks impatiently. Jongin is starting to fidget in his wagon too and Jongdae jiggles the handle, making Jongin burst out in a small giggle. He doesn’t wait for his brothers to answer and starts tugging the wagon forward and out the door. “Hold on tight, lil bro, because we’re going to meet some humans!”

Jongin grabs onto the sides of the wagon and laughs as it flies bumpily down the porch stairs, almost giving Joonmyun a heart attack.

“Do you think they’ll be okay?” Joonmyun asks, clutching the doorway and anxiously following Jongdae and Jongin’s slowly diminishing figures.

“All babies grow up,” Minseok says soothingly. “Now come back in and help me to sort out the candy. The human kids will be coming by soon.”

“You went all out, Kim!” Someone calls and Jongdae feels a grin taking over his face. He spent a lot of time hand-making his Captain America shield and goaded Joonmyun for weeks before he helped him to sew up a cape, so he’s pretty proud of his costume.

“Aw, cute. You brought a little pumpkin.” Chanyeol leans against the wall of convenience store, where they had promised to meet up. He gives a one finger salute and saunters over, almost too much confidence for a monster who is fascinated with collecting human toys.

“It’s Jongin’s first Halloween. I said I would bring him around the neighbourhood a bit and bring him back.” Jongin doesn’t make much of a fuss usually so he’s easy to take care of. So far, he’s been obediently sitting put in his wagon, laughing at Jongdae’s exaggerated narration of each monster they come across.

“He’s small for his size, isn’t he?” Chanyeol crouches down to wiggle his fingers at Jongin to say hi and Jongin playfully tries to bite his fingers. Chanyeol pretends to let Jongin go for another bite and quickly pulls back at the last moment, reaching out to pinch Jongin’s cheek inside.

“It’s not exactly like height runs in our family, Jongdae says dryly. “Jongin’s been teething lately though, so it’s only a matter of time before his growth spurt hits.”

He looks Chanyeol up and down. Aside from the fake blood and bruises smudged across Chanyeol’s face (is that… monster written across his eyebrows?), Chanyeol looks the same as he usually does. “What are you?”

Chanyeol smirks and flexes his arms. “Myself. It’s been a while since I let my wings out so I decided to give them a breather.” His wings shine almost metallic silver in the moonlight and the tips of the wings clench, a telltale sign that he’s about to unfurl his wings to their full length.

“Hey, don’t startle-”

Jongin lets out a shriek, almost falling off his wagon at his surprise of seeing Chanyeol’s wings suddenly shoot out. Spanned out, Chanyeol’s wings are magnificent, 6 feet wide and a beautiful web of dark red and silver.

Immediately, Jongdae has Jongin wrapped up against his chest and he glares at Chanyeol. “Don’t scare my little brother.”

Chanyeol sheepishly pulls in his wings. “Sorry. But I don’t think he’s scared?”

Jongin stares in wide eyed wonder. In a small, breathy voice, he says, “Angel.”

“He’s not an angel,” Jongdae laughs and knocks Jongin lightly on his head. “Have Joonmyun been poisoning you with human fairytales? This guy is as far as you can get from an angel.”

“Angel,” Jongin says stubbornly, reaching out to grab at Chanyeol’s wings. He stands up and starts climbing at Chanyeol’s legs, trying to touch the shiny wings.

“Gentle there, kid, these are my real- Ow! That hurt?”

Jongin startles at the loud tone and he falls back down onto his wagon, landing on his bum. His bottom lip starts to quiver. “Nini hurt? Angel?”

“No, no,” Chanyeol backtracks quickly. “I’m not hurt.” He flaps his wings softly a few times to show Jongin, careful to keep his movements small enough to not startle Jongin again.

“Nini didn’t-” Jongin hiccups, eyes filling up with tears. “want hurt angel. Sowwy, Nini sowwy!”

“You made him cry!” Jongdae yells, shoving Chanyeol’s shoulder.

Chanyeol blinks back at Jongdae, hands shooting in the air in surrender. “What do I do now?”

“What? I don’t know. Comfort him!”

Chanyeol has seen his cousins pacify his nieces before, so he mimics whatever they did. He gently lifts Jongin up and holds him against his chest, gently rocking the baby monster until his sobs quiet down. “Shh, I’m not hurt.” Under Jongdae’s careful watch, Chanyeol brings his wings forward and wraps them around Jongin, creating a makeshift blanket to cocoon Jongin.

“Angel,” Jongin murmurs sleepily into Chanyeol’s shoulder, clutching his shirt and slowly falling asleep.

Chanyeol ends up carrying Jongin around the neighbourhood twice before bringing him back home, a full hour before Jongin’s supposed bedtime. Jongin refuses to let Chanyeol go so Chanyeol sits by Jongin’s bedside, waiting until Jongin’s grip around his thumb lightens and Jongin drifts off into sleep before he quietly slips out and rejoins Jongdae for the rest of Halloween night.

A week later, Jongdae barges into Chanyeol’s room with Jongin in tow and thrusts the baby monster towards Chanyeol. “You created this mess. You fix it.”

“How did you get in?” Chanyeol asks, bewildered. Jongin eagerly climbs onto the bed and tries to crawl under the blankets to join Chanyeol.

“Angel,” Jongin coos happily, pulling Chanyeol’s left wing around himself and petting the leathery scales.

Jongdae flops onto the foot of the bed and lies down on his side, scowling. His forked tail flicks with agitation the more Jongin snuggles into Chanyeol’s warmth. “Your mom let me in. For the past week, Jongin has been blabbering about his ‘angel’ and now he wants to grow wings. Joonmyun is devastated because of all the nice role models he could pick, he picked you.”

“Hey,” Chanyeol says, insulted. He’s not sure himself why Jongin suddenly developed a fascination with his wings, but he has to admit it pleases him a little.

“Anyway, I’m here to tell you that I have basketball practice and my brothers are at work, so you’re on babysitter duty for today.”

"What?!"

“He loves you. Just feed him grapes if he gets hungry.“ Jongdae hops up, looking far too mischievous now. “Well, don’t want coach to chew me up for being late. Don’t kill my brother, Chanyeol.”

He whistles on his way out, leaving Chanyeol with a lapful of adoring monster.

“My name is Chanyeol,” he tells Jongin hesitantly, not sure whether he should hold out a hand for Jongin to shake and finally deciding against it. “Can you say that?”

Jongin stops chewing on the ends of Chanyeol’s hoodie and blinks up at him. “Chanweol?”

“Chanyeol,” he repeats, putting emphasis on the second syllabus.

Jongin scrunches up his nose in hesitation and tries again, “Chanweol.”

He’s so cute that Chanyeol can’t keep the smile from bursting out. “Close enough. Now what do you want to do?”

“I want wings,” Jongin declares loudly. He clambers to his feet and tugs at Chanyeol’s arm, trying to get him to stand up too. “Like Chanweol!”

“You have a nice tail though. And pretty ears.” Chanyeol pets the furry ears on Jongin’s head softly and Jongin can’t help but

“Wings. I want wings!”

Hours later, Jongdae lets himself into Chanyeol’s house again, expecting a frazzled Chanyeol and a grumpy Jongin. Jongin doesn’t take to strangers well and Jongdae is already regretting leaving Jongin with Chanyeol, especially since Chanyeol has no experience with kids.

What he doesn’t expect is the sound of Jongin’s laughter to ring through the house, loud enough that Jongdae can hear them from the front door.

“Jongdae, I have wings!” Jongin laughs and runs around Jongdae’s feet when Jongdae gets to Chanyeol’s room, flapping his construction paper wings behind him. The pair seem to have been busy in the few hours and there is a mess of paper on the floor, next to some wire and too much glitter.

“That’s nice. Those are really nice wings,” Jongdae says to Jongin and pinches his cheek. The smile drops off his face when he pretends to frown at Chanyeol. “Don’t encourage him.”

Chanyeol shrugs and hides a smile. “You left him with me.”

“Thanks,” Jongdae grins, letting the act fall. He holds his hand out to Jongin. “Jongin, it’s dinnertime. Let’s go home”

“Don’t want to leave,” Jongin pouts, shaking his head and running back to Chanyeol’s side. His voice is starting to sound a bit strained, the threat of a tantrum just hanging off each word.

Chanyeol crouches down to be at Jongin’s eye level and takes both his fists in his hands, unfurling his clenched fists. “Hey kid, even if you go back, I’ll be watching over you.” He ignores Jongdae pretending to dry retch in the background and links their pinkies together, his large finger almost engulfing Jongin’s tiny one. “Just keep these wings and I’ll always be your guardian angel. Pinky promise.”

“Chanyeol is Nini’s angel?” Jongin asks hopefully, holding their linked pinkies high in the air.

“Chanyeol is Jongin’s angel,” Chanyeol nods.

Chanyeol doesn’t make promises, but he thinks this is one he’ll keep for a very long time.

end.

laughs did i ever mention that i love the childhood friends to lovers trope

vocal colour | baeksoo

2016-06-16T16:19:58Z

title: vocal colour
pairing: baekhyun/kyungsoo
rating: g
wordcount: 2,000
synesthesia!au kyungsoo sees colours in voices and notes.
a/n: i asked tlist to choose prompts from tweetfic masterlist. this was prompt 13/4. for @kaixsst ♡

Everyone believes Kyungsoo has perfect pitch. To some degree, it's true.

Kyungsoo only needs to listen to a song once to be able to recreate it perfectly and can name even the most muffled of notes.

What he can't quite explain is that instead of relying on his hearing, he sees scales in shades of colours, sees the colours darken or lighten with the rise and fall of the pitch.

Of all the notes, G is his favourite because it's a calming sky blue that reminds him of wide open oceans and floating clouds.

D is an unsettling burgundy, like spilled wine and dried blood. A is a sticky orange, blurred at the edges.

He found out of his strange ability when he went to the orchestra as a child and saw a burst of rainbow in front of his eyes, so vibrant that he started weeping. Startled, his mother dragged him to a series of optometrists, all who hesitantly named it as a form of synesthesia, but none who could explain the science behind it.

From years of experience, Kyungsoo knows that people tend to react to his condition in an almost negative manner, treating him as a curious case to be studied. He keeps it to himself now.

Once upon a time, Kyungsoo dreamed of becoming a singer. There was something magical in imagining himself on stage, sharing his voice and soul with a sea of audience. It was when he was 15 that he started seeing colours in not just music, but voices too and suddenly it was too much, too bright. A large screaming crowd would mean an assault of colours and Kyungsoo wasn't sure if he could mentally handle that sensory overload.

He became a song producer instead.

Kyungsoo works with a fairly famous agency and helps to record vocal guides, tries his hand at sound mixing, and oversees general production.

Music is his solace; colours are his secret.

It’s not ideal but it works.

He sees Baekhyun before he hears Baekhyun.

He's heard of Baekhyun, of course. How could he not when the entire company has been whispering about the mysterious trainee who was picked from the streets and ready for a solo debut within four months of training? Jongdae the vocal coach has been gushing about Baekhyun for weeks and the debut is big enough that they invited the hottest song writing duo in Korea to write Baekhyun's debut song.

(Don't mess up, Kyungsoo is told by the CEO, his words dripping with a neon red.

Kyungsoo fights the urge to close his eyes and nods.)

When he gets to the studio that day, he's alarmed to see bright bright bright electric pink leaking out from underneath the door as little zig zagging shocks. The room is sound proof so he really shouldn't be hearing, much less seeing, any sounds and it's odd enough that Kyungsoo quickens his footsteps to push the door open.

The man in the room doesn't even notice and keeps on spinning on his chair, belting out one of the newest girl group hits that Kyungsoo produced months ago. Even while his entire body spins, his voice remains steady and the colours that bounce around him are bright and preppy. Finally thoroughly dizzy, he jams the chair to a stop and props his filthy feet up on the precious soundboard.

Kyungsoo screams.

The man falls off his chair in shock but quickly recovers. He wipes his hand on his thigh and sticks it out cheerfully. "You must be Kyungsoo! Hi, I'm Baekhyun!"

And Kyungsoo finds himself staring star struck at Baekhyun, drinking in his wide smile, curved eyes and the way he seems to radiate a pink glow.

Pink is not a colour he sees often in voices. His mother was a warm apricot that sometimes bled into a lighter shade of pink when she sang her bedtime lullabies for him, and very rarely when his old vocal teacher liked the way he shaped a note, his praises were tinged with the softest of pinks.

Kyungsoo has learned to associate pink with happiness and warmth.

Baekhyun's pink though, grates on Kyungsoo's nerves for some reason.

Working with Baekhyun is a challenge for someone as quiet as Kyungsoo. Sure, he has to admit that Baekhyun is one talented kid. He has amazing control of his voice and the kind of rare, unpolished sound that makes Kyungsoo immediately understand why the sm reps were so eager to push him out without training. Voices like this are meant to be listened to raw and with minimal tweaks.

Baekhyun in the recording room is a joy to work with because he takes directions well and even dares to voice out his opinions on what would sound better, more often than not, hitting it on the nail.

The problem is when Baekhyun leaves the small enclosed space and joins the studio with Kyungsoo. He's so loud, loud enough to drown out the noise Jongdae makes, loud enough that when Kyungsoo opens his eyes, all he sees is a cloud of pink.

“You give me a headache,” Kyungsoo growls at Baekhyun when Baekhyun is particularly obnoxious one day, bouncing around the room and singing random snippets of songs. Kyungsoo’s vision has been flashing pink all day.

Baekhyun takes it upon himself to burrow his way under Kyungsoo’s arm and peeks up at him with those crescent eyes. “But you love it.”

Kyungsoo is so taken back, he can’t even refute it.

The strangest part is how even Baekhyun’s text messages seem to glow pink. Ever since they exchanged numbers, Kyungsoo’s phone has been pinging at random times of the day with a good morning text or a picture of a puppy Baekhyun saw on the streets.

Sometimes he sends a selfie of himself and Kyungsoo makes sure to save all those down to use as pre-debut blackmail material when Baekhyun makes it big one day.

Baekhyun:
Kyungsoo ah

Baekhyun:
Kyungsoo ahhhhhh

Kyungsoo:
What.

Baekhyun:
Sleep well 'ㅅ'

Perhaps it’s a new form of synesthesia that he developed recently, but he doesn’t give it too much thought.

Kyungsoo sleeps well that night.

Kyungsoo becomes obsessed with Baekhyun’s song. He’s always been a perfectionist but the degree at which he tires over the song is something that attracts even Jongdae’s attention.

Baekhyun’s voice has a certain quality to it that Kyungsoo can’t stop listening to. He brings the demo recording of Baekhyun’s voice with him wherever he goes, turning it on the minute he has a moment of silence.

It gets to the point where every time he closes his eyes, he sees Baekhyun’s face, wrapped in a blanket of peachy pink. Pink becomes the colour palette of his life, the other colours only a muted secondary shade.

Baekhyun for the most part is happy to go along with Kyungsoo’s strict instructions, spending night after night together with Kyungsoo to record that one perfect take.

Sometimes he ends up falling asleep next to Kyungsoo and Kyungsoo notices he makes tiny yips in his sleep, little pink tendrils that fade into the airs.

(Secretly, he records that too and saves it deep in his hard drive, too ashamed to ever listen to it again.)

“Another take!” Kyungsoo says for the umpteenth and Baekhyun’s shoulders slump, though to his credit, he nods with a determined look in his eyes and puts the headphones on back again.

“At this point, we’ll never stop recording,” Jongdae says grumpily. He side eyes Kyungsoo. “Are you sure you’re not dragging it out so you can spend more time with Baekhyun?”

Kyungsoo chooses to ignore Jongdae but he decides to call for a break. It’s already 2am and Baekhyun’s smiles are a little wilted. His voice is starting to be tinged a darker rogue among the electric pinks, and it concerns Kyungsoo enough that he presses a flask of warm honey into Baekhyun’s hands. “Take care of your throat.”

Baekhyun accepts it and throws his arms around Kyungsoo, almost throwing them off balance.

“You’re so mean,” he whimpers, right into Kyungsoo shoulder and Kyungsoo can feel alarm rising up in his throat.

It’s all over a moment too soon when Jongdae pries Baekhyun away. “Now, now, lover boy. Kyungsoo here is allergic to human contact. Talk softly, avoid touch and no sudden movements.

“Ha ha,” Kyungsoo deadpans. “We still have a few lines to go. If you can joke, you can get back to recording.”

“Meanie,” Baekhyun pouts, and tugs at Kyungsoo’s sleeve.

Kyungsoo makes Baekhyun do four takes without rest as revenge.

The day Baekhyun’s single drops can’t come soon enough. Kyungsoo shuts himself in his studio and watches Baekhyun’s song rise to number one on the real time charts.

He usually doesn’t track the songs he produces but Baekhyun is special- Baekhyun is a special case in SM Entertainment. A lot is riding on Baekhyun’s debut and Kyungsoo’s own raise is on the line.

He was sure he locked the door so the turning of the doorknob startles him.

"Are you avoiding me?" Baekhyun peeks in, hair down and fluffy like an overgrown puppy.

"Yes," Kyungsoo says dryly. He wants to congratulate Baekhyun and let him know his song has charted on every single music playing service, but Baekhyun beams at him and the words are stuck in his throat. “I locked the door. How did you get in?”

“Picked it,” Baekhyun shrugs and Kyungsoo opens his mouth to start scolding him but Baekhyun cuts him off. "I have a gift for you."

“I wanted to thank you. For everything.” He shuffles in and for a moment, almost comes off as shy, which confuses Kyungsoo until he notices that Baekhyun is holding a small pot of flowers. Of course, they're pink and Kyungsoo is suddenly, inexplicitly furious.

In a split second, he puts the pot of flowers on the table and advances on Baekhyun until they’re a breath apart, Baekhyun’s furrow of his eyebrows infuriating him even more. "I was comfortable here and then you come in-" Kyungsoo stabs a finger into Baekhyun's chest. "with your god damned explosion of pink and taint my entire world."

The uncertainty fades quickly and Baekhyun seems delighted. "Are you saying you think of me a lot?"

"How can I not," Kyungsoo spits, seeing red now. "You're everywhere."

"Did you know," Baekhyun says, grabbing Kyungsoo and suddenly spinning him around so that Kyungsoo is the one being cornered. "that pink is the colour of love?" He’s still smiling, but now it seems a bit feral, and the zig zags of pink around him are vibrating intensely, dazzling Kyungsoo into silence.

Another step and Baekhyun has Kyungsoo pressed against the counter, back digging into the soundboard. He waves a hand at the pot of flowers. "These are gloxinias. Do you know what this flower means?"

Pink is the colour of love, Kyungsoo thinks in a daze and remembers the soft way his mother carressed his hair, and the desperate need to impress his vocal teacher, right around the time when Kyungsoo was realising that maybe he was more attracted to wide shoulders and rough hands than slim wrists and curved hips.

"Pink gloxinias. It's love at first sight, silly," Baekhyun says brightly.

Suddenly, it’s all so blindingly obvious that Kyungsoo wants to stab himself. But first, he's going to angrily kiss his feelings out on Baekhyun.

Kyungsoo will be seeing pink for a very long time.

end.

in with the tide

2016-03-14T15:08:59Z

title: in with the tide
rating: g
wordcount: 2,665
merpuppy!au based on keuroket's merpuppy jongin.
a/n: a continuation of the merpuppy drabble i wrote exactly one month ago for valentines day, fish are friends, not food. jongin is a puppy who turns into a merpuppy when he touches water.

for jumpix ♡

happy white day!

joonmyun is the person chanyeol looks up to the most in the world.

not only is joonmyun sweet and kind and the best owner ever, joonmyun works at the local shelter, rescuing animals in need and placing them in good homes. that, in chanyeol's eyes, makes him sort of a superhero.

sometimes joonmyun brings back furry quivering balls of fur wrapped up in his arms and chanyeol can smell the fear bouncing off the hybrids.

chanyeol makes sure to take care of those hybrids more, trying to forge friendships with an eager determination that is difficult to resist. joonmyun often says he's lucky to have a puppy with so much love in his heart, but chanyeol just thinks he's lucky to have so many people to love in his life.

there was jongdae, the first cat hybrid that joined them after his previous owner went missing. chanyeol had a lot of trial and error learning how to interact with cats then. jongdae was good natured and patient enough, but wouldn't hesitate to give chanyeol a strong nip if chanyeol got too rowdy.

then there was yixing the bunny, with his soft voice and softer eyes. they liked to curl up together on the couch, sleeping the afternoon away. sometimes yixing would hum songs and tell stories from his motherland, this mystical place where everyone spoke a language chanyeol doesn't know. yixing promised to show chanyeol around in china one day and chanyeol is still eagerly waiting for that day to arrive.

most recently came kyungsoo, a prickly kitten who disliked chanyeol almost as much as chanyeol liked him, but by the time kyungsoo ended up being adopted by someone else, chanyeol thinks the kitten had warmed up to him. somewhat. the scratch marks kyungsoo left have long healed anyway.

many hybrids come and go, but in the end, it's always chanyeol looking at a closing door with a drooping tail and a drooping heart, with joonmyun reassuring him they'll see them again on a play date one day.

in the end, it's always chanyeol trying to fill up the gaps of loneliness with ways to amuse himself while he waits alone for joonmyun to come back from work.

the day jongin arrives, chanyeol is alone at home waiting for joonmyun to return as usual. he's become very good at distracting himself as he counts down the hours but the day is fast fading and joonmyun is still nowhere in sight.

joonmyun doesn't come back until much letter, when the moon is bright in the sky and chanyeol has been lulled into sleep, head more comfortably rested against a cushion.

it's not the sound of the door opening nor joonmyun's muttered curse as he trips over a shoe that finally wakes chanyeol up. chanyeol is pulled suddenly out of his dream where he was floating in a chocolate river by a strange new smell, one that has his nose leading him to the door before his mind even fully wakes up.

he smells something tangy first, like the seaweed soup joonmyun makes him for the birthday, and then a sweet sticky scent, like the bubblegum jongdae likes to chew. then he smells an earthy taste from the mud joonmyun's boots are tracking in, before he gets distracted by a whiff of something he can't place, a mixture of salt and flowers and damp fur.

all these new smells at once is making chanyeol's head spin but he's so excited, unable to stop his tail from whipping up a storm behind him.

"calm down, chanyeol," joonmyun warns when chanyeol starts jumping up and down, trying to see what joonmyun is holding. he lifts the blanket in his arms up and smiles down at an emerging tuff of fur. "shh, jongin, it's okay. chanyeol just wants to know you better."

ooh boy, it's a new puppy! a new puppy who is peering curiously over joonmyun's arms, a smattering of pink cotton candy dusting his cheeks.

heeey, joonmyun bought the new puppy cotton candy. why doesn't chanyeol get cand- but the new puppy doesn't smell like a puppy?

he must investigate! chanyeol leaps too enthusiastically and slams into joonmyun's legs, throwing him off balance and almost making him drop the puppy.

the puppy in joonmyun's arms yelps and starts frantically climbing up joonmyun's neck, clawing at his hair and ears in an effort to get further away from chanyeol.

joonmyun holds the puppy close to his chest, the pup's sobs muffled into the fabric. "chanyeol!"

chanyeol falls onto his bum and looks up, crestfallen and properly chastised. he didn't mean to make the puppy cry. he knows all the rules joonmyun has set and he usually remembers them, but all these smells.

luckily joonmyun doesn't seem to angry, just tired. "jongin is," joonmyun looks down at the bundle clinging to his chest. "jongin is special. be nice."

"do you need water?" joonmyun asks later when they've all settled down in the kitchen. jongin is nestled in joonmyun's lap, one hand clinging to joonmyun's sleeve and warily watching chanyeol who is trying his best to sit quietly in the chair and not bound up to sniff jongin. "for your... legs."

jongin shakes his head.

"would you like water?"

jongin hesitates for a moment, eyes darting to the tap on the sink. he nods.

"sit tight on this chair okay?" jongin's grip on joonmyun's sleeve tightens and joonmyun gently smooths his knuckles open. "chanyeol is a nice puppy and he likes puppies that are brave the most. can you show chanyeol how brave you are?"

jongin's face pinches up like he's about to cry, but he nods determinedly and lets joonmyun seat him on the chair next to chanyeol.

joonmyun sets a plastic wash basin on the floor and fills it up with warm water. jongin's tail starts wagging immediately and chanyeol beams happily at him, his own tail thumping in unison.

"i like water too," chanyeol informs him and jongin spares him the briefest of smiles. it's enough to make chanyeol's grin widen.

joonmyun picks both puppies up and cradles one in each arm. "chanyeol, i need you to stay put and no matter what happens, please behave."

chanyeol thinks he always behaves, and he's just overjoyed to be so close to jongin that he doesn't pay attention to joonmyun, choosing instead to try to reach out to touch jongin's soft looking ears.

already familiar with chanyeol's thought processes, joonmyun places jongin in the makeshift tub before chanyeol can manage to tug on jongin's ears and make him cry again.

what happens next is magical. jongin is magical. because the minute jongin touches the water, his wriggling legs disappear and turn into a sleek tail, waving around and catching the light in the glimmering scales and chanyeol instantly has his breath stolen from him.

jongin the puppy turns into a fish.

chanyeol almost nose dives into the wash basin in his joy.

it takes a lot of yelling and reassurance for everyone to calm down again. jongin cries himself to sleep and nuzzles his way half into the pouch in the hoodie joonmyun threw on, leaving only his lower half, now legs and tail again peeking out.

joonmyun explains that jongin is a sensitive puppy and needs a lot of love and care. can chanyeol be gentle with jongin?

chanyeol nods eagerly. he's prepared to do all it takes to be jongin's friend.

later, he hears snippets of joonmyun talking to minseok, yixing's master, on the phone - jongin is a new breed, undiscovered origins. it's something complicated and they can't figure out how jongin can transform from his legs to his tail at the touch of water, or if there are there other merpuppies in the world.

but chanyeol doesn't understand any of that.

all he knows is that there's no one in the world like jongin, no one as special as jongin. chanyeol doesn't need the tail to see to see that jongin deserves to be treated like the most precious puppy in the world.

chanyeol wants to be jongin's bestest friend ever but he quickly understands that it's a slow process. jongin is shy and startles at loud noises, and chanyeol is always being told off for being too loud.

he learns to adjust the way he plays with jongin, no longer trying to rough house him the way he might with jongdae. jongin too grows to become accustomed to chanyeol's unique brand of friendliness, allowing the older pup into his life bit by bit.

jongin likes it when chanyeol carries all the pillows and blankets in the house to the living room to build a blanket fort so they can huddle under the fluffy down and pretend to be polar bears in an igloo.

and when chanyeol dragged out the huge chalkboard with joonmyun's help and they spent the day drawing dragons and princesses, jongin liked that too.

jongin doesn't mind it either if chanyeol shows him all the books he collected and tries to teach him how to read, even if chanyeol trips over his pronunciation sometimes and joonmyun has to patiently correct him.

day by day, chanyeol stops waiting forlornly at the door for joonmyun to return from work, because now he has someone to play with and take care of.

one day he even forgets that joonmyun is coming back until joonmyun goes to search for them and finds them sleeping in the laundry basket.

"there was a thunderstorm so i tried to make jongin feel safe," chanyeol whispers, putting his finger over his lips to avoid waking jongin up.

joonmyun watches them with fond eyes and almost has to blink away sudden tears. "you're a big boy now. when did my chanyeollie grow up?"

"i'm going to protect jongin," chanyeol promises, keeping a hand over jongin's back. "i'll keep him safe forever."

chanyeol never stops being fascinated by jongin's merpuppy tail, not even months after jongin has come to live with them. it's a good thing because jongin hates being left alone and joonmyun isn't around all day to watch after them.

still, joonmyun trusts chanyeol with the task of taking care of jongin and chanyeol puffs with pride at the new responsibility.

one of the things he needs do every day is fill up the tub for jongin's bath. at 1pm, he makes sure the bubbles are all frothy enough and sits cross legged by the tub, propping his chin with his arms on the porcelain sides to watch over jongin.

jongin splashes around quietly in his tub, making the tugboats and rubber duckies crash into each other. his tail lifts out of the water enough to catch chanyeol's attention and once again, chanyeol marvels at how beautiful jongin can be.

"do you miss the sea?" chanyeol asks, a sudden thought that comes to him.

jongin scrunches his nose. "maybe." he doesn't remember much, but sometimes he catches a faint whiff of salt water in the air and can feel his scales itching to burst out.

"are you happier in the sea?"

"no," jongin says carefully. he stops pushing the foam around and stares down at his hands, refusing to meet chanyeol's eyes. "i'm just happier- i'm just glad you're here."

"okay," chanyeol says, feeling pleased. "i'm glad you're here too."

the first time they go to the beach together, jongin is more excited than chanyeol has ever seen him be. instead of sleeping until late noon, he's tugging at joonmyun's arm and nosing his way into chanyeol's neck just past dawn, urging them all to get up.

joonmyun sits up and catches jongin, lifting him up as he kicks his short legs in the air and shrieks in delight. "are you that excited, jongin?"

jongin nods and his hair flies into his eyes, which are already scrunched shut in a burst of giddy laughter. chanyeol wants to sleep in a little more but allows jongin to pull him out of bed and into the bathroom to freshen up.

jongin beelines for the ocean once they walk close enough to feel the sand between their bare toes. joonmyun lays out a picnic mat and an umbrella and reads a book while keeping an eye on the two restless pups.

"don't wade too far, jongin!" chanyeol calls out, testing the water with his toe and snatching his tail up in surprise when he forgets to lift it up high enough to avoid the waves.

it takes a while for him to get used to the waves crashing at his feet and one particularly strong wave almost topples him over. the wave subsides to reveal a starfish at his toes and he snatches it up to show jongin. "jongin!"

there is no answer.

"jongin?"

he spots a scaly tail far away, way further away from where jongin should be. it disappears into the water before chanyeol can yell again, and panic seizes up chanyeol's throat.

tripping over his feet, chanyeol runs to joonmyun, bulldozing straight into joonmyun's book. "joonmyun, joonmyun! jongin!" he babbles, pulling at joonmyun, who jumps to his feet.

but when joonmyun rushes over, pulled by a frantic chanyeol, jongin pops out of the ocean unharmed, wading over to sniff at chanyeol. "why does chanyeol look so scared?"

chanyeol's face crumples, half from relief and because the exhilaration has caught up to him. "oh, chanyeol," joonmyun crouches down to cup chanyeol's cheek. "jongin is a sea monkey at heart," he says gently, "he can swim a bit further than you can and still be safe."

"i thought you were going-" chanyeol wails and now that he's started, big fat tears pool up in his eyes and roll down his rapidly reddening cheeks. "i thought-"

he's worried that jongin will leave like all his other friends, and chanyeol likes jongin so much, he never wants jongin to leave ever. because jongin is family to him, an important part of his life and he never wants to imagine being alone again.

"chanyeol, i want to go home," jongin says, slipping his hand into chanyeol's and squeezing it lightly.

chanyeol yips, feeling alarmed. "don't leave me, jongin, please. i'll be better to you, i promise. i'll give all the green skittles to you and share my blueberries. just-"

jongin shuffles closer to him, wrapping his tail around chanyeol's ankle. it's a move that always calms chanyeol down. "i'm going home with you. our home. home is where you are."

chanyeol turns to jongin with his wide eyes and jongin reaches for joonmyun, knowing that he's one breath away from being hugged by chanyeol.

"joonmyun," jongin whines and tries to climb onto joonmyun's lap. "stop chanyeol."

joonmyun only laughs and lets chanyeol tackle jongin over to give him messy kisses on his cheeks.

(jongin doesn't remember anything from before.

he woke up in the arms of a worried looking man who kept asking questions he couldn't answer, like are you lost? do you remember what happened? where are your parents? are you hurt anywhere?

he can taste the sand in his mouth and his head hurts a little so he whimpers and squeezes his eyes close, hoping the man would leave him alone.

but not alone. because jongin doesn't think he likes being alone, so his fingers curl around the man's collar.

"hey, you're alright," the man says soothingly, gentle in the way he cradles jongin. "we'll bring you somewhere safe now."

jongin desperately wants to believe him.

when the smiling man who smelled nice asked him if he wanted to follow him home instead, jongin nodded.

jongin doesn't remember anything before joonmyun found him, so chanyeol is in every part of his memories. the clumsy pup was there from the start, always sticking his nose into jongin's business, upturning every rock jongin has put up as defense and burrowing his way into jongin's heart.

chanyeol is a sticky barnacle, unable to be shaken off and so, so stubborn.

maybe jongin wants to keep it that way forever.)

end.

fish are friends not food

2016-02-14T07:05:00Z

chankai hybrid merpuppy au. happy valentines day.

so this is sorta based off @keuroket’s merpuppy jongin thing. jongin is a puppy hybrid that turns into a merpuppy if you add water. so + water and poof gone is the fluffy waggy tail and human legs and hello, sushi

(please don’t eat jongin, chanyeol, he is not very tasty)

ฅ^•ﻌ•^ฅ

joonmyun always asks chanyeol not to tease jongin because jongin is easily startled and it takes hours of cuddling and petting for jongin to calm down again after he gets teary but chanyeol simply can’t help it.

because- because jongin is just so cute and chanyeol has never seen a merpuppy hybrid before, never even heard of one until jongin washed up ashore and joonmyun took him in.

it’s like jongin took all the characteristics about what chanyeol likes about being a puppy hybrid and intensified it because chanyeol loves fish too, loves the pretty scales and shiny fins and jongin’s tail is so pretty chanyeol just wants to chew on it constantly.

chanyeol also wants to chew on jongin’s soft looking ears but master joonmyun told him no and chanyeol really, really wants to make joonmyun happy.

so he just settles for following jongin around and trying to scare jongin into changing his mermaid tail into his puppy tail because he likes it when jongin has a fluffy tail too. he likes being able to tell when jongin is happy and if chanyeol tells a good joke or does a tumble or falls over his own tail, jongin tries to hide his smile but can’t hide the way his tail starts flop, flopping slightly.

it makes chanyeol happy to see jongin wagging his tail and chanyeol can’t help but to wag his tail too and more often than not, joonmyun has to swoop in and reprimand chanyeol about not knowing his own tail strength and knocking expensive breakable things over.

chanyeol likes puppy jongin almost as much as he likes merpuppy jongin.

except jongin can run away when he has his human legs back but it’s okay chanyeol doesn’t mind that much because jongin only makes a half-hearted attempt to escape anyway.

ฅ^•ﻌ•^ฅ)))>< ~ ~

today jongin is sleepy and isn’t trying to run away and chanyeol is so happy. so happy because jongin is letting chanyeol curl up against him and chanyeol gets to spoon small, small jongin and it’s so warm and jongin makes these little puppy yipping noises in his sleep.

chanyeol is so happy he wags his tail and knocks over a glass of water onto jongin and oh, jongin is merpuppy again and on the verge of tears and chanyeol never wants to make jongin cry so he just-

he just leans forward to press a kiss on jongin’s forehead because his mommy used to kiss him on the cheek and it always makes chanyeol feel better.

jongin’s half sobs die off immediately.

when chanyeol dares to look down, jongin is staring at him with these wide watery eyes and oh- oh- his cheeks are so pink. why are his cheeks so pink and cute it reminds chanyeol of peaches and chanyeol LOVES peaches so he leans down to lick jongin’s cheek.

and jongin yips loudly, breaking free to run away with his human legs again and hides under the couch and chanyeol is distressed. did he do something wrong again??? when all he wanted was to show jongin he loves him.

so he says this to jongin, crouching down on all fours so he can peer at jongin. “come out jongin i love you play with me,” he says over and over again until jongin is so red and trembly and joonmyun takes pity on him enough to scoop chanyeol up and give him a talk about giving jongin space.

>゜)))><

that night chanyeol is moping at the foot of joonmyun’s bed, chewing on his tail anxiously as he tries to figure out why jongin is mad and suddenly there’s a tentative lick against his cheek, a body curled against him that he didn’t notice earlier.

jongin murmurs something soft against chanyeol’s neck and chanyeol can’t hear properly but it sounds like “i love you too” and that’s enough, enough to make chanyeol thrum with happiness and he wants to howl loudly into the moon but joonmyun is sleeping and he needs to be quiet when master sleeps and-

jongin wraps his tail around chanyeol’s ankle and mumbles, “go to sleep, silly.”

curled up together with jongin and feeling loved, chanyeol does.

will work for hugs

2016-01-26T14:37:50Z

title: will work for hugs
pairing: chanyeol/jongin
rating: G
length: 1,415
summary: basically one punch man: employment edition. jongin is destined for greatness but all he wants to be is average.
A/N: gdi ang idek

jongin is stuck in a rut.

his previous job in aerospace engineering paid well but the routine grew to be tedious, especially when he was working five times faster than his colleagues and still getting bored. last he heard, NASA had tried to recruit him as head of chief engineer but he had tendered his resignation by then.

now he sits in the cosy café three blocks from his apartment, going through the classifieds.

on his way to the café, someone had stopped him in the streets and offered him a million dollar modelling contract. jongin was almost tempted until he remembered his stint as a armani runway model. he still holds the record as the asian model with the most magazine covers, but three modelling agencies almost closed down when they fought to sign him as their main model. he only placated all of them by promising them he would never step foot in the fashion industry again.

some say the armani code fragance was created as a symbol of loss once jongin exited the fashion industry.

suddenly, he hears a lady yell and looks up to see a very pregnant woman holding her belly and standing in a rapidly expanding pool of water.

"is there a doctor in the house?" someone shrieks. “her water broke!”

jongin looks down at his hot chocolate and clenches his fist so hard the papers in his hand wrinkle.

"someone!" the mother-to-be wails.

sighing, jongin rolls up his sleeves and stands up.

15 literally bloody minutes later, the ambulance finally arrives, but the scene of an exhausted mother holding a newborn greets them.

the new mother offers to name the baby after jongin, or let jongin father her next child. "please," she says pleadingly, "your genes are too good not to be passed down to the next generation."

the baby starts wailing and jongin gently pats the matted wisps of hair. the baby calms down immediately, blinking her wide eyes at him in quiet awe like she's just discovered sight. which she had. (next to them, all the onlookers sigh at the baby's luck. to have the first thing you see be that male adonis, imagine that!)

jongin's job here is done. now he has to get back to looking for a real job.

he finally settles on a janitorial position at a boutique law firm. park and park has been racking up an impressive reputation as one of the best firms for financial and corporate guidance, but that matters little to jongin when all he's looking for is to mop floors.

needless to say, he's a little surprised when he walks into the building and is immediately guided to what looks like the biggest office room.

"mr. park is ready to see you now," the smiling secretary says.

"as in the partner at this firm?" jongin asks, already doubting his own question because why would someone so important interview a mere-

jongin's questions die in his throat when the door swings open and he catches a glimpse of this mr. park. he's young, a lot younger than jongin had expected, and definitely more handsome with his coiffed hair and perfectly tailored suit. mr. park chanyeol looks like he just stepped out of a perfume ad and is ready to close important business deals just by flashing the world a smile.

park chanyeol is also staring at jongin with his mouth hanging open.

he leaps up to his feet and points excitedly at jongin, "you're hired."

"sir?" jongin says uncertainly.

"please, call me chanyeol."

okay, so a very casual culture. that's good. "chanyeol," jongin tries the name out. "you haven't even asked me any questions, though i can assure you that i will try my best at any job given to me."

"yes, you have very strong, defined arms. definitely good for cleaning. i mean, look at those arms. boy..." chanyeol cocks his head and knits his eyebrows in concentration.

jongin's eyes flick over to the Workplace Harassment code of conduct displayed on chanyeol's walls.

chanyeol clears his throat. "you start tomorrow."

the next morning, jongin shows up with his dish washing gloves, which are promptly thrown away by chanyeol.

“good morning!” chanyeol greets brightly. he tugs jongin along and proudly shows him off to the whole office. “hello office, meet jongin, our new intern!”

“excuse me? i applied to be a janitor.”

chanyeol waves his hand dismissively. “janitor. intern. so what if you don’t have a law degree. your face- uh, skills are too important to be wasted on cleaning mugs.”

“well actually, i did complete law school one summer when i was very bored,” jongin admits.

“in one summer? most impressive! you’ll make a perfect intern and will report directly to me from now on.”

and that’s how kim jongin accidentally becomes chanyeol’s right hand man.

life as chanyeol’s intern is interesting, to say the least.

in his first week, jongin sits in on a meeting and blurts out a suggestion that ends up resolving a long standing family feud that was splitting a company apart.

the next week, he identifies a trade secret risk in a merger while idly printing out the documents chanyeol requested for.

by the third week, a client comes up to park and park and personally requests for jongin’s services.

when jongin does a good job, no one seems happier than chanyeol, who showers jongin with compliments and freshly baked cookies. normally, jongin would have been restless by now. he seeks a challenge and usually hates it when people fall over their feet trying to praise his achievements.

the difference with this job is that jongin has been praised to the ends of the earth in every job he’s held before, but never has he wanted to impress someone before.

it's an odd and unfamiliar feeling, to yearn for approval. he finds thrills in the secret glances he can sneak at chanyeol when he thinks no one is looking and feels compelled to stay a bit later at work just to be next to chanyeol, to learn from him.

if jongin were to give a reason for his budding respect, maybe borderline adoration, it could just be that he's never had an employer so good looking or so confident. chanyeol is incredibly skilled at what he does and navigates both business and client relationships with ease. he holds his principles to his heart and never accepts cases which he suspects involves foul play or unscrupulous gains. in his free time, chanyeol works pro bono for a homeless youth service.

but if jongin thinks a bit deeper, he knows that it's because chanyeol went all the way across town to buy him an apple strudel when jongin made an offhand comment while watching a commercial on their office television, and because chanyeol taught him how to knot a tie without laughing at him, and possibly because chanyeol knelt down to tie jongin's undone shoelaces in the middle of the office and laughed off all the teasing he received about a boss serving the intern.

"hey," chanyeol nudges jongin out of his thoughts by flicking his forehead. "don't fall asleep at your desk again, you silly bub. did you sleep well last night?"

jongin notes the slight concern among chanyeol's dancing eyes and returns a shaky smile.

because chanyeol cared, when all the other people idolised. that's the difference.

chanyeol almost trips over the ball of fur when he enters the room. "where did the kitten come from?"

"rescued it from a tree and it followed me here," jongin says apologetically. "hope you don't mind."

"i'm highly allergic, but i'll get over it," chanyeol says, even as he starts looking a bit green. "anyway, jongin, you're following me to this new court case."

"am i supposed to?"

"no," chanyeol says brightly. "actually i'm not even supposed to sit in on this because i have an important client to meet today. but teaching you the basics of the world is more important."

jongin is glad he followed chanyeol to this case because it’s fascinating to watch courtroom proceedings up close. it’s not a huge case, just a common embezzlement case involving a few hundred thousand dollars, a mere dent in the company involved. chanyeol patiently scribbles explanations for jongin as the case goes on, from the case background to each defense argument.

jongin only half pays attention because chanyeol is sitting very, very close despite the two chairs separating them. it gets worse when chanyeol leans over to whisper a quick “listen to his defense” or “that’s a weak argument” and all jongin can think of is the breath tickling his ear.

"what do you think, young man?" the judge booms suddenly and jongin plays with his pencil until chanyeol elbows him in the ribs. the judge, and everyone else in the room, is looking at jongin. jongin realises with a start that the question was directed at him.

"me?" jongin squeaks in surprise. he looks at chanyeol, who is as wide eyed as he is.

“I think- uh-“ jongin catches the eye of the accused financial director, not knowing what to say at the sudden and out-of-place question.

"i confess!" the accused man bolts up and shouts. he looks straight at jongin and says earnestly, "don't judge me, you beautiful soul. your pure brilliance has made me realise my wrong ways."

the courtroom explodes into chaos and the financial director starts shouting where he kept the money over the din.

“what just happened?” jongin asks, a bit dazed.

chanyeol doesn’t seem to be able to give an answer, so he quietly laces their hands in an oddly intimate display of reassurance for a boss and his intern but jongin just squeezes back as tightly.

“great job today, jongin.” chanyeol reaches out to ruffle jongin’s hair and jongin is too confused to stop him. they’re still holding hands, even if they’ve long left the courtroom and jongin tells himself it’s only because it’s chilly out and they both don’t have gloves. “keep doing what you’re doing and by the end of the internship you’ll be my partner.”

his eyes drop down to where jongin is worrying his lips and jongin swears chanyeol’s eyes glaze over for a moment. “i’ll be the best partner you ever had…”

jongin blinks. “i’m not so sure that’s how internships work.”

“i meant law firm partner,” chanyeol corrects and smiles to himself when he catches the way jongin's shoulder droops slightly. he bumps their shoulders together until they're pressed side to side, jongin slotting perfectly against chanyeol. “but also the other one.”

maybe jongin has finally found a job to look forward to after all.

the next morning, jongin spots a misplaced decimal point that could have cost one of their client's firm millions of dollars.

chanyeol is so pleased, he swoops jongin up into a crushing hug and jongin struggles to break loose. but only for a few seconds.

end.

collar me surprised

2015-12-08T14:43:11Z

Title: collar me surprised
Pairing: chanyeol/jongdae
Rating: PG
Length: 2,373
Summary: it's pretty ruff to have your best friend suddenly grow distant from you, so jongdae gets to the bottom of the tail.
A/N: written for the kabedon challenge hoho

Jongdae likes to think of Chanyeol as the human personification of a puppy. Not even a cute puppy, like a fluffy Pomeranian or a majestic husky. Chanyeol is one of those huge St Bernards who doesn’t know how big he is and trips over everything.

Chanyeol doesn’t just look like an overgrown shaggy dog, especially with his bangs growing into his eyes, he fully embraces the role like a truly dedicated method actor. Chanyeol’s constant need for validation means that he’s often a bit too eager and loud, always ready to be in the centre of attention with another unfunny joke and admittedly lame prank.

“Chanyeol is needy,” is what Kyungsoo says, eyeing Chanyeol with distaste.

“Chanyeol is friendly,” Jongdae corrects, feeling some displaced need to stand up for his friend, but only because Chanyeol gave him a sugar doughnut for breakfast this morning.

“Chanyeol is right here,” Chanyeol grumps. He lets his head slump to the table face down and stretches out his unfairly long arms, almost sweeping Jongdae and Kyungsoo’s food trays off the table.

Jongdae pats Chanyeol comfortingly on the back of his head and Kyungsoo snorts. “Take your pet play away from where the normal humans eat.”

Baekhyun suddenly pops up at the table as if summoned by his creepily attuned kink radar. “Did someone say pet play?”

“I need to get to my next class so I can graduate with honours, get a great job in law and move away from all of you,” Kyungsoo tells them. He pushes his chair back and stands up huffily, lingering around just long enough to listen to their goodbyes.

He gets none. Baekhyun plops his head down next to Chanyeol and asks, “Would you like to buy a collar? Because I know this guy-”

"Park!” Jongdae yells as he kicks the door closed behind him. Chanyeol comes up to greet him like he always does and Jongdae lets Chanyeol unravel his scarf and fuss over the snow in his hair.

"I picked out the trashiest movie I could find,” Jongdae says, craning his neck to allow Chanyeol to pull the scarf off. “We're watching The Ugly Truth."

"Sorry, Jongdae," Chanyeol says. "I was just about to leave."

Jongdae stills. "But it's Friday."

"Yeah." Chanyeol rubs the back of his neck and stares at Jongdae until the silence stretches into uncomfortable territory. Jongdae raises an eyebrow and Chanyeol finally says, "I have to run some errands."

"On Dick Flick Friday?" Dick Flick Friday has been their tradition ever since they met in freshman year through Sehun. Sehun owned an old television that he rummaged from the side of the road and one night, the only channel that worked was showing The Notebook. Two hours of muffled crying later, Chick Flick Friday was born, except Sehun insisted that they changed the name to something more manly because fragile masculinity and what not. Sehun has since gotten a girlfriend because he’s a betrayer who doesn’t know the bro code, leaving Chanyeol and Jongdae to continue their weekly bonding session. If anything, Dick Flick Friday has become even more fun, so hah, Sehun.

"Yeah, so. I'm just going to go." Chanyeol wraps Jongdae's scarf around his own neck and gestures awkwardly at the door.

"Don't get anything on my scarf," Jongdae calls out but the door has already closed in his face.

On Saturday morning, Jongdae wakes up to silence.

Silence is rare around their household because Jongdae makes up for his tiny size with a loud voice and Chanyeol matches his big size with a big voice. Luckily, their neighbour is a nice near deaf old lady who makes them kimchi in return for the occasional handyman job.

There's a banana peel on the table and a still hot pot of coffee on the kitchen table, evidence that Chanyeol had come home last night, and Jongdae lets out the breath he hadn't known he was holding.

Jongdae has never really realised how touchy Chanyeol is until Chanyeol suddenly isn't there anymore.

Over the past week, Chanyeol has barely been home. When he does get home, he heads straight to his room and stays in there all day. It should be hard to miss each other when they live in a tiny shoebox apartment with thin walls, but Jongdae has been eating dinner alone for three days straight now.

Usually Jongdae gets to catch him in between lectures so Chanyeol can whine about another silly journalism assignment while Jongdae chimes in about his overdramatic theatre course mates, but Chanyeol texted him that he had something to attend to today, so Jongdae is forced to endure the company of two of his least favourite people.

Kyungsoo carefully sets his coffee down on the table. He’s one of those people that orders cappuccinos in a Starbucks and doesn’t even have the excuse of liking sugary complicated drinks to justify paying that much for a cup of coffee. "Where's your oversized twin?"

"Don’t you have law lectures to attend, people to sue?” Jongdae asks, but he pulls the chair out for Kyungsoo to sit anyway.

Baekhyun slips into the seat opposite them, the beginnings of a milk moustache on his upper lip. "Weird, you two are usually the most disgusting couple ever."

Jongdae concentrates on his peppermint toffee latte and reminds himself to ignore them to the best of his ability.

"Yeah, you steal these disgustingly sweet looks at each other,” Kyungsoo says, flicking an unopened packet of sugar in Jongdae’s face to emphasise his point.

“And complete each other's sentences," Baekhyun continues.

“You mean like what you’re doing now?” Jongdae asks just to spite them both. His mind wanders off as their protests patter off into yet another spat and wonders what Chanyeol is doing at that moment.

Jongdae manages to corner Chanyeol five days in by barging into Chanyeol’s room unapologetically and throwing himself onto the bed.

Chanyeol slams his laptop shut and whirls around with his eyes wild, but he relaxes into his chair when he sees it’s just Jongdae.

Jongdae tries to sound nonchalant as he plays with the Pikachu plushie Chanyeol keeps on his bed. “Was that porn? Because the walls really are thin. I know what you do, it doesn’t matter.”

“Porn? Yeah, sure. That was what it was.” Chanyeol has no qualms climbing into bed next to Jongdae while discussing porn and Jongdae feels oddly comforted by that. He pulls his blanket over Jongdae and starts rolling him into a blanket burrito, but Jongdae stubbornly resists, pushing his palms into Chanyeol’s stomach.

Chanyeol relents and flops down on his side so that he’s facing Jongdae. “What’s wrong?”

“Are you keeping secrets from me?” Jongdae blurts out, tone only slightly demanding. He sounds like a hysterical girlfriend, even feels like one, but more than anything, he hates the idea of his best friend drawing away.

They’ve been Jongdae-Chanyeol, Chanyeol-Jongdae since the first year of university, and Jongdae doesn’t want that to change ever. He doesn’t mind if Chanyeol has a social circle outside of Jongdae, but Chanyeol being so distant frankly… frightens him.

Chanyeol worries his lower lip and shifts himself closer until their toes touch, like an unspoken apology. “I tell you everything.”

“Are you dating someone?"

“What, no-"

"Did you meet a new friend?"

At this, Chanyeol’s face contorts into the same lopsided eye laugh that made Jongdae notice him all those years ago. His laugh shakes the bed, sending rumbles through Jongdae that shoot straight into his stomach. “Kim Jongdae, are you jealous?”

It’s just what they need to break the ice and Jongdae finds himself smiling along with Chanyeol’s teasing grin. “Okay, I trust you.” Jongdae curls his toes back against Chanyeol’s and hooks their big toes together for good measure. “If you’re seeing someone, you’ll let me know first right?”

He doesn’t miss how Chanyeol avoids his eyes when he mumbles his agreement.

It says a lot about their friendship when Chanyeol walks into their living room to find a pink tent set up and barely even blinks an eye.

He merely crouches in front of the entrance flaps and asks Jongdae, “Are you nesting?”

Jongdae stops fluffing up the pillows he dragged into the tent and cocks his head. “Get in here.”

Chanyeol looks sceptically at the tiny tent. “Jongdae, it says here ages 6 to 12.”

“Hunch, you doofus,” Jongdae barks, patting the pillows next to him.

“You’re always so mean to me,” Chanyeol complains, but he obediently climbs into the tent and settles himself next to Jongdae. The tip of his head touches the roof and Jongdae almost says something snarky about giraffes before Chanyeol lets out this squeaky laugh at the absurd situation, an actual giggle, and Jongdae’s words get lost in his throat.

But he is a man on a mission and he shouldn’t be side tracked. “We’re staging an intervention, Park.” Jongdae crosses his arms and tries to look as stern as possible.

“We?” Chanyeol looks around the cramp space and sees no one else.

“Me and your embarrassing collection of Beanie Babies.” The Beanie Babies were a gag gift from Jongdae many birthdays back but somehow it became a running joke. One of Jongdae’s favourite things about Chanyeol’s birthday, aside from the cake, is making him guess which Beanie Baby Jongdae got him. He's saving up for Nuts the squirrel next.

“You’re sitting on Creampuff,” Chanyeol says and saves the bunny doll from being crushed by Jongdae’s ass. Not that it’s a bad way to go.

“You’ve been acting weird lately,” Jongdae says after they’ve swept all the dolls aside and settled down.

Chanyeol busies himself with making Bananas the orangutan walk up Jongdae’s arm. “Have not.”

“I’ve seen what you’ve been doing.”

As soon as he says it, Chanyeol cements his guilt by freezing immediately. “If this is about the thing in the closet, I swear I can explain,” he says quickly. “Wait, no, I never said anything. Forget about the closet.”

Jongdae locks eyes with Chanyeol for one terse moment.

“Jongdae,” Chanyeol warns.

Jongdae smiles serenely. “Chanyeol.”

“Jongdae!”

Jongdae bolts, shooting out from the tent so fast he almost dislodges the pegs. The tent falls on Chanyeol, trapping him pitifully inside. It takes Chanyeol a few seconds to escape from the mess of nylon but Jongdae has already bee-lined for the closet.

Jongdae throws the doors open and starts scanning the space, throwing aside winter jackets and basketballs to search for whatever Chanyeol is hiding. He finally spots a small box tucked behind the vacuum cleaner and lets out a triumph shriek.

“Stop!” Chanyeol yells. This is the first time Jongdae has ever heard Chanyeol raise his voice. This is the first time Chanyeol has raised his voice against Jongdae. It startles Jongdae enough that he freezes, box unopened in his hand.

In the blink of an eye, Chanyeol has spun Jongdae around and pinned him against the wall, his long arm blocking his escape and effectively trapping Jongdae in the small closet. The closet is barely more than a hole in the wall and combined with Chanyeol's tendency to hoard useless memorabilia, there's barely enough space for both of them to fit, even pressed chest to chest.

Chanyeol’s gaze flickers down to the box Jongdae’s hands. “You found it.”

This close, Chanyeol’s voice automatically drops in volume. Jongdae should feel cornered but he’s acutely aware of how Chanyeol is tall enough that if Jongdae just leans forward, he would fit perfectly in Chanyeol’s arms, face snug in Chanyeol’s broad, broad chest. He doesn’t want to think about it, but he’s seen Chanyeol without a shirt enough times to know that he’s been bulking up from too many hours in the gym.

This close, Jongdae only has to crane his neck up slightly to-

“I guess the gig is up.” Chanyeol huffs and Jongdae jerks his head down to avoid Chanyeol’s searching gaze. He doesn’t sound angry, more amused, and somehow it adds to Jongdae’s confusion. “I got you for Secret Santa and I wanted your present to be absolutely perfect. I spent the last week looking for the best thing for you.”

“O- oh,” Jongdae stammers. “So all the time away and hiding in your room?”

“I think I went through every store in a 5 mile radius trying to find something that’s well, you.”

Jongdae has nothing to say to that, feeling a rush of conflicting emotions washing over him. Now that the truth is out, Jongdae feels like the worst friend in the world for having doubted sweet, trusting Chanyeol. Chanyeol isn’t even mad at him even though Jongdae ruined the surprise he so painstakingly planned. “Since I discovered it, can I open it?”

He doesn’t wait for Chanyeol’s reply and yanks the box open to distract himself from their close proximity and his racing heart. Despite its size, in it lies only two pieces of paper, but it’s enough to knock Jongdae’s breath away.

Jongdae’s been saving and saving for ages just to go to this musical, and Chanyeol has just given him two VIP seats to the premiere night of Les Misérables.

"Surprise,” Chanyeol says softly. “There’s two tickets, because I thought you would like to go with someone. You can give them to someone else, I guess, but if you can’t find anyone, I would be happy to go with you.”

Jongdae keeps his head down, staring silently at the open box. Chanyeol drops his hand and backs off with alarm, “Hey, Jongdae, did I do something wrong? Did I scare you? Sorry I ruined the surprise. It’s my fa-”

“Park, shut up,” Jongdae commands. Chanyeol stops talking immediately, unblinking eyes wide with astonishment. When Jongdae speaks, his voice is steady again. “Pay attention Chanyeol, because I’m going to give you a gift you’ll never forget.”

Jongdae may be tiny, but he still has enough strength to yank Chanyeol down to give him the best kiss of his life.

Sometimes Park Chanyeol reminds Jongdae of a puppy, not even a cute puppy like a teacup Maltese or a sleek Dalmatian. But hey, Jongdae loves all sorts of puppies, big or small, especially puppies that are his.

("So Baekhyun, about that friend of yours-")

end.

apartment 520

2015-08-05T14:14:05Z

Title: apartment 520
Pairing: chanyeol/jongin
Rating: G
Length: 5,080
Summary: every thursday, a love letter arrives in the mailbox of apartment 520. too bad the intended receiver has long moved away.
A/N: if this seems familiar, it's because this was a tweet fic from a long time ago (march 2014?).

Thursday are special for Jongin. Thursday is lazy day, the one day that Jongin is free from commitments. He carefully planned his class schedule to leave one day free and arranged his day off from his work at the florist to be on thursday. Sehun, his best friend, has already learned to avoid calling Jongin on Thursdays because more often than not, Jongin will be nose deep in the newest volume of one piece or curled up in bed with his laptop balanced on his lap, phone lying forgotten under the pile of pillows Jongin keeps on his bed.

But more than that, Thursdays are special because of the small envelope that is slotted through his mailbox.

He knows the steps by heart now- first, the neighbour’s dog will howl and start yipping, the tiny chihuahua trying her best to scare the intruder away, never really understanding her true size. Then, he’ll hear a male voice hushing the dog to no avail, before his mailbox slams shut with a clink.

Only when the dog stops barking does Jongin move, letting out the breath he never knows he’s holding.

To: My love

I know you’re gone but I miss you. I have no right to say this, not when I was the one who let you go. Should I have been selfish and held on? You begged me not to go, said that we could work it out, but how could I have kept you by my side when your heart searched for stars beyond what I could’ve given you?

I wanted to be the spark that lights you but I felt like the ashtray that snuffed out your fire. You might be angry with me now, but stay strong, my love. You are destined for fireworks in your name. Prove that this is worth it.

Your noble idiot.

The letters come every Thursday, and sometimes Tuesday, always slotted through the mailbox sometime between 12pm and 1pm.

Jongin knows that if he stands around, eventually he’ll see the person dropping these letters. It’s common courtesy to at least inform the writer that his confessions of love are being sent to a complete stranger, but somehow Jongin clings to the notion of romance.

When the first letter came, a dark blue envelope marked to My love, Jongin was confused and called his landlord, asking if the previous tenant of apartment #520 left an address for his mail to be forwarded to. Apparently, the previous tenant had moved out of the country and left strict orders for all letters to be disposed of.

Jongin held off for as long as he could, allowing the letters to pile up in a box tucked away behind his couch. He thought of leaving a note for the person leaving these letters but he always was a hopeless romantic and he thought that if he were in the sender’s shoes, he would rather not know. It seemed like the sender was well aware that his love had moved away and the letters were more of a way of saying goodbye.

By letter number 5, Jongin couldn’t stamp down the temptation anymore. He carefully peeled the seal off and starting reading.

To: My love

Some nights are harder than the rest. It would’ve been easier if I threw away your things like you told me to but you are what gave my house some character. The orange lampshade you chose, the one I said was ugly, really does brighten up the hallway.

Kyungsoo picked up a new boyfriend along the way, a nice man named Joonmyun. Did you already know? The boys insist they don’t keep in contact with you, and I think they’re just trying to protect me but I wish they wouldn’t leave you. It’s too hard to have so many people ripped away at once. I’d like to think that we were all friends, at least, even if the both of us aren’t lovers anymore.

I lost you, the best friend I’ll ever have, so I know how much it hurts.

One of Jongin’s sisters had an allergy to fur so the only pets Jongin grew up having were a tankful of fish and a few turtles. Still, Jongin has always dreamed of cuddly puppies waiting for him at home and curling up next to him, patiently waiting until he moved out on his own and could get a pet without sending his sister onto a hospital bed.

“A puppy?” Sehun asks, peering at him over his lens-less frames.

“A puppy,” Jongin confirms. “I’m getting one.”

“Are you sure?” Sehun asks in the tone that Jongin seems to hear a lot. He’s probably thinking about the thing with the plant and the time with the hamster and that poor cat but Jongin isn’t about to get sassed by someone who thinks it’s a good idea to wear decorative frames.

“I AM GETTING A PUPPY,” Jongin says-shouts, loud enough that Minseok the barista peers at them over his glasses -real ones- and Sehun slinks down in his seat out of secondhand embarrassment.

“Please don’t buy your puppy booties,” Sehun whispers. Sehun’s just being stupid because he has a major crush on one of the waitresses, this pretty girl named Naeun or something, and wants to pretend he’s a normal human being. Jongin thinks Sehun’s reputation is way beyond saving anyway.

Jongin guiltily makes a mental reminder to keep the bowties he bought his future puppy out of sight when Sehun goes over to his house.

To: My love

I called you last night but I went straight to voice mail. I might have left you a message.
It was stupid.
I’m stupid.
I’m sorry, it was a mistake.
I’m not even sure what I’m referring to now.

Jongin can smell the dogs before he even enters the shelter and he loves it. Despite never having a furry friend, this is a scent he associates with home and comfort, laced through his many fantasies and dreams. He used to spend his weekends at his childhood bestfriend, Taemin's house rolling around with his golden retriever until Taemin had joked that the pup liked Jongin more instead. It left Jongin feeling very pleased.

Over the weekend, he looked up every shelter in Seoul for volunteering options, wanting to familiarise himself with taking care of dogs. He’s not sure if extended exposure to furry animals could spike the same allergies his sister had and he doesn’t want to take any chances. It's this thought that has him hesitating at the doorway of the shelter, the excitement and nervousness of finally getting a new family member rushing over him in waves.

"You can come in, you know?" A voice breaks him out of his thoughts.

Jongin startles out of his thoughts and finally notices the man crouched by the cages where the cats are kept, refilling the water bottles. The man's smile is kind. It looks good on his features, young and youthful with a hint of cheekiness. "Are you here to play with the dogs? Or bring one home?"

"I'm," Jongin pauses to consider his options. He's been puppy proofing his apartment for months but still has no either what kind of dog he wants. Does he want a larger dog like the golden retriever Taemin had, or a tiny pomeranian, much more suited for his apartment? "Today I'm just here to play. I can help out? If you want?"

"We always need more help. Alright soldier," the man closes the latch on the cage and claps his hands together once, "are you prepared to get a little wet?"

Jongin nods quickly and follows him into the shelter.

"I thought you said a little wet," Jongin complains, using the back of his hand to wipe a stray droplet of water sneaked its way down the side of his forehead.

The man, who had introduced himself as Chanyeol, grins. "The kids must have been over excited at a new face."

Chanyeol calls all the dogs his kids. Jongin finds that oddly adorable. It seems like something he would do himself. "Did you give me the rowdiest dogs on purpose?" he asks with narrowed eyes.

Chanyeol shrugs and turns away to towel dry a mongrel but Jongin still manages to catch the smirk that slips from his lips.

To: My love

The weather’s turning cold. I hear we’re expecting snow next week. I hope you’re keeping warm because I know how you tend to dress all wrong for the weather. Fashion means nothing when you’re sick.
I hope you don’t mind that I lost the scarf you gave me, either.
Sorry.

From then on, it becomes a new addition to his routine.

His job at the flower shop doesn't take up that much of his time and his classes are sporadic at most, so Jongin finds himself being drawn to the shelter more and more.

Chanyeol is the only permanent staff that the shelter has, with an official title of resident vet, but more caretaker-poop-cleaning than anything else. The shelter has a regular roster of volunteers, mostly other veterinary students getting their required volunteering hours in before their degrees, but with that many animals under one roof, Jongin's help is welcomed eagerly.

“Come help me with this poodle, Jongin,” Chanyeol coaxes, drawing Jongin’s attention from where he is playing with the cats.

The poodle is a newcomer, abandoned in a box and left on the shelter’s door. Its fur is matted with mud and twigs and they have the painstaking task of slowly snipping away all the tangles until the thin malnourished body of the poodle shows. Jongin helps to hold the poodle still while Chanyeol tries his best to cut off the knots.

For the most part, the poodle behaves but quivers every time Chanyeol holds up the scissors, watching him carefully with mournful eyes. Jongin’s heart breaks with each snip.

"You pegged me as a dog person the first time," Jongin says, the memory coming to him suddenly. Chanyeol asked if he wanted to play with the dogs, when the shelter houses cats, rabbits and even a ferret.

"You just looked like one, all lost and cute," Chanyeol says absentmindedly. He smooths what’s left of the poodle’s fur down to check for any remaining knots.

Jongin’s hands stills. “What?”

“Hmm? You were standing there a long time.”

“Oh,” Jongin swallows. The poodle seems to sense his hesitation and tentatively licks the back of his palm. “Yeah, lost.”

“And cute,” Chanyeol teases, looking up from beneath his lashes. He straightens up his back and blows over his upper lip to get his bangs out of his eyes but the hair only falls back down, leaving Chanyeol pouting and with a tuff of hair in his vision.

“Who’s the cute one now?” Jongin shoots back, hoping that his face doesn’t betray the weird delight he feels at being called cute. How degrading, and he’s pleased?

“This little one. We’re all done, little guy.” Chanyeol sets the scissors down and bends down to coo at the poodle, his voice becoming more high pitched, “Who’s been a good boy? Good boy.”

The poodle starts wagging his tail for the first time since he was brought in and Jongin is charmed, his attention completely shifts to praising the poodle, mind already running with options to name their newest arrival.

Chanyeol watches them fondly until he reaches out to quickly pinch Jongin’s cheek.

Immediately, Jongin sucks in his breath and flinches away out of surprise. “Hey?”

Chanyeol grins at him. “You’re cute, too.”

To: My love

I can’t forget you now but I’m working on it.

Still your idiot

One of Jongin's favourite places in the shelter is the puppy room, despite its unoriginal name. He loves the rowdy dogs that fill up his weekly quota of exercise with their running walks and the old souls who prefer to cuddle up on the raggedy couch with Jongin, but nothing compares to the energy of young puppies.

He's also on puppy duty every Thursday, which makes everything all the more sweeter.

When Jongin walks into the puppy room that day, he sees chaos. The shelter is what the other volunteer, Joonmyun would call "comfortably lived in" at the best of times but today the puppy room is a hazard zone. Torn rags are strewn across the floor and there is kibble spilled around.

He spots a pair of familiar red and white converses lying half under the couch. "Uh, Chanyeol, is that your shoe?"

Apparently not anymore, because the next thing Jongin sees is a blur of white and then the shoes are snatched away by the jaws of a beautiful malamute.

"We have a new pup," Chanyeol explains needlessly. He chases it down and manages to pull his shoes from its grasp but it nips back playfully, tugging on the shoelaces. “Wow there, pup, I just lost my scarf. I don’t want to replace my shoes too.”

"How old is he?"

"She," Chanyeol corrects. "Four months." He tries his best to wrestle the wriggling puppy down but it's a lost cause, his human strength no match for puppy enthusiasm.

"Only four months?" Jongin hasn't had a chance to check the malamute out but she must almost reach Jongin's shoulders at her full height.

"Have you ever had little siblings? Puppies grow just as fast, if not faster, as babies." Chanyeol's face melts into something strange- the corners of his lips curl up as usual but his eyes, his eyes soften as he pets the puppy's head. His touch is eagerly returned and the puppy nudges her nose into Chanyeol's collar, drawing a burst of laughter from Chanyeol.

The last thing Jongin expects is for his emotions to spike along with Chanyeol's loud barks and the intensity of feelings that hits Jongin surprises him. It's not something he's unfamiliar with, especially with six years in boarding school and a long suffering crush on the head prefect of his graduating year, but it's not unwelcome either. It's just... unexpected.

Quietly, he tucks those feelings away, notes the heightened heartbeat and the weird clenching of his stomach and thinks this is what it means to want to be someone's light.

Nothing really changes with Jongin's new discovery. That's just the way Jongin is, quiet and subdued even if his insides are burning with a newfound desire. Years of living in a conservative society and grappling with the turmoil of coming out has taught Jongin to hide his feelings well. He still laughs too loudly at Chanyeol's bad jokes and they still keep up the cheeky water fights whenever they bathe the dogs.

So little has changed that Jongin almost forgets sometimes, until he's painfully reminded by the jolt he feels when their fingers accidentally brush when Chanyeol hands him a towel, or when Chanyeol affectionately knocks him on the head when Jongin says goodbye.

Maybe he just doesn't want to think about it.

In return he throws himself into his projects. There's no time for distractions when the final assessment is coming up. Professor Kwon is known to be strict in her grading and Jongin has never been good at following direction. His nights are spent going over different dance techniques in the practice rooms and memorizing every theoretical and historical aspect of dance covered in his lectures.

It takes him three more weeks before he finally makes it back into the shelter, and he’s delighted to find out that his favourite puppy, Peanut the beagle and cocker spaniel mix, has grown a few inches.

“Little buddy!” Jongin greets happily as Peanut nips eagerly at his feet, trying to get Jongin to hug him. Jongin crouches down to let Peanut squirm onto his lap and coos at the puppy, “You’ve grown so much, haven’t you?”

He plays catch with the puppy for a while longer, tossing Peanut’s raggedy chew toy over and over again and getting Peanut’s slobber all over himself. It’s an instant stress reliever after so many nights of trudging home past midnight. Dogs are magic.

"Hey."

Jongin jumps a little, but luckily Peanut just shifts and continues to snore on his lap.

“Chanyeol,” Jongin greets and puts a finger to his lips. "Shh, Peanut just fell asleep."

In response, Chanyeol settles himself down onto the carpet next to Jongin, their shoulders almost touching, and allows a mongrel puppy named Mandu to climb onto his lap. “You’ve been away a while,” Chanyeol whispers.

“Why, miss me?” Jongin keeps his gaze trained on the puppy snoozing on him.

Mandu lets out a sleepy yawn, flopping backwards onto Chanyeol’s chest and sliding down until he fits perfectly in the crook formed in Chanyeol’s crossed legs.

Chanyeol laughs lowly. It sends a shiver down Jongin’s spine. “How could I not miss my favourite volunteer?”

“Joonmyun would be sad to hear that.”

“Joonmyun’s not here.” Chanyeol says, obviously enjoying the way Jongin is squirming. “And it’s true. Joonmyun’s too uptight to be my favourite.”

This prompts a chortle out of Jongin before he remembers that Peanut is asleep and he quickly cuts off his laugh into a choking cough. Peanut whines a little in protest and peeks one eye at Jongin, her paws pushing into Jongin’s thighs. “Sorry,” he says to her.

Chanyeol bends forward and places a quick kiss on Mandu’s head. "Aren't they wonderful?"

Jongin never moves his gaze away from Chanyeol, but Chanyeol is too busy scratching the back of Mandu's ears to notice. "Yeah. Yeah, he is."

To: My love

I realised that I was getting over you. And it’s exactly what you would have wanted, right? Jongdae says it’s a good thing because i won’t hurt as much anymore. I can look at fruit loops and not think of you now. I guess the pain is subsiding. It’s not as comforting as it is lonely.

He’s running late. Sehun asked him for help in choreographing a new routine for the summer festival and Jongin stayed at the studio all night going over the moves. He ended up crashing at Sehun’s house because his university is too far from home but now it’s already past lunchtime and he’s not home.

He sees someone stepping into the elevator next to his just as he steps out onto his floor but he doesn’t stop to say hello to the shadow that was probably his neighbour because today is Thursday. He needs- should- wants? to go home.

It only occurs to him that the person in the next elevator could be the Noble Idiot when his fingers close along the envelope with the now familiar scrawl.

This time, the letter speaks of hesitation in the crossed out words and ink blots in places where the pen has lingered too long.

To: My love

Quite honestly I don't know what to do with him. Is it too soon to let myself fall? If I ever get into another relationship, I want it to be like ours. I don't want to be just another grain of sand. I want to be his ocean.

This letter is so raw that Jongin almost drops it. This letter is when he resolves to never read another letter.

He sits with the creased paper cradled in his lap for a long, long while.

Monday brings a new dog to the shelter, though Jongin can barely recognise what breed it is, because its ribs are clearly visible and its fur remains in patches.

The dog, a mixed breed of indeterminable origin, is a happy pup despite the horrors that it must have been through. It bounds up to Jongin and starts attacking his laces, growling playfully as Jongin swipes his foot around to let it give chase.

Jongin lifts it up for a quick check and frowns at how light it is. She’s a female. “What’s her story?”

“She was brought back.” Chanyeol wrinkles his nose. “The owner was a jackass.”

“Poor baby,” Jongin murmurs, cuddling the puppy to his chest. He kisses the top of her head as she wriggles and she tilts her head up to sniff curiously at Jongin’s chin. “You just wanted to be their ocean.”

Chanyeol freezes and yanks Jongin’s arm so hard he almost drops the puppy. “What did you say?”

“I-” The puppy yelps in surprises and tries to struggle out of Jongin’s grip and Jongin quickly pets the puppy soothingly. He shakes his head, trying to hide his bewilderment, “it’s just something I heard somewhere?”

“Sorry,” Chanyeol apologizes immediately, holding up his palm in surrender. He runs a hand through his hair and takes a step back, “Sorry, I just- sorry, I was overreacting.”

Jongin cuddles the puppy to his chest and focuses his attention on her, trying not to look up at Chanyeol.

After a moment, Chanyeol speaks up, his back still turned to Jongin. “I had a bad break up once.” It's a sudden offering, seemingly uncalled for, catching Jongin by surprise.

He doesn’t seem to anticipate a reply so Jongin lets them fall to silence but Jongin wonders.

It nags at him all week, his suspicion building and ballooning until it’s a knot in his throat, hard to swallow and harder to forget.

He watches Chanyeol contemplatively as Chanyeol busies around the place with the usual checkups. Someone is coming to look at the dogs later and the dogs must be presentable for someone to want to bring them home.

“Jongin, can you help bring Maya out for a walk first?” Maya gets so excited when strangers come that she tends to scare them away.

“You’re never this fussy,” Jongin comments, looping a leash around Maya’s neck. Already she is jumping around happily, her tail thumping against Jongin’s thigh.

Chanyeol shrugs a shoulder sheepishly. “It’s my friend coming later. It took me so long to convince Jongdae that he’s capable of a dog. It’s obvious how much he wants a furry companion of his own and-“

“Jongdae?” Jongin cuts him off.

“Yeah, we were high school mates. They called us the terror duo,” Chanyeol says proudly, puffing up his chest.

Jongdae… Jongin rolls the name on his tongue, and the final puzzle piece falls into place.

Jongdae ends up bringing, of all dogs, Maya home.

From the minute Jongdae stepped into the shelter, Maya had honed in for the kill, being extra affectionate and gentler than she has ever been with anyone else. She lay by his side quietly as Jongdae introduced himself to Jongin and even tried to crawl underneath Jongdae’s ugly yellow sweater.

Jongdae stood no chance.

Chanyeol is so overwhelmed with emotions when he waves goodbye to them, he sniffs back actual tears. Jongin’s not sure who Chanyeol is prouder of- Jongdae or Maya.

“You see me every week,” Jongdae says, looking far too amused at Chanyeol’s red nose.

“Yes, but.” Chanyeol trails off and looks like he’s about to burst into tears again, so Jongin gently places his hands on Chanyeol’s shoulders and guides him back into the shelter after reluctant goodbyes.

“Maya went to a good home,” Jongin says.

Chanyeol sniffs loudly and nods. “Jongdae will be a great owner.” He smiles and makes a visible effort to brighten up. “Well then, let’s close up for the day.”

While Chanyeol checks all the food bowls, Jongin sweeps the floor. It’s a fast job and within ten minutes, Chanyeol is locking up the door, yelling his farewells to the pitiful howls of the dogs.

“Maybe you can bring Kyungsoo next time,” Jongin says casually.

“Kyungsoo would do well with a cat,” Chanyeol agrees. He pauses, “Wait, did I mention kyungsoo to you before?”

“He’s dating Joonmyun?”

“Oh, yeah, did Joonmyun introduce you guys?”

Jongin doesn’t answer that question, but instead he asks, “Chanyeol, do you want to come to my place for coffee?”

Chanyeol looks startled, but it melts into a smug smirk. “Well, Jongin, I thought you’ll never ask.”

“Chanyeol, please, at least walk me home.” He must’ve sounded more serious than he expected because the grin slips off Chanyeol’s face.

Jongin keeps up light banter on the way home but he keeps his hand in his pocket, jiggling his keys. Chanyeol must sense his nervousness because he laughs twice as loudly and puts extra effort into reacting to jokes that Jongin himself thinks aren’t funny.

They stop in front of the building and Chanyeol's head tilts. “You live here?”

“Yes, do you want to come up?” Jongin studies Chanyeol’s face but Chanyeol is impassive. He merely follows Jongin in, nodding at the doorman like a habit long ingrained.

“Which floor?” He asks, a challenge in his voice. His hand is already hovering near the bottom numbers and Jongin quietly says, “fifth.”

It’s silent in the elevator, the distance filled up by the soft whirs of the machinery. Jongin lives in an old building that requires more maintenance than is given.

The doors creak open and Chanyeol glances at Jongin, “which way?”

It’s a struggle keeping his tone casual. Jongin attempts a smile and shrugs. “You know the way.”

It feels like a dream, following Chanyeol back to the apartment. How many times has Chanyeol been here, enough that he can navigate the tricky hallways and even know to duck his head where the ceiling falls low? There’s a step that Jongin sometimes trips over, but Chanyeol steps over it without looking.

Jongin slots the key into his apartment door shakily, only successful after two tries and the door creaks like it always does. It's not just the elevator that's old; every part of this building needs some regular care.

“How long have you been here?” Chanyeol surveys the interior and Jongin feels oddly self-conscious. Maybe he should have cleaned up before he left, or hung up the painting to cover the hole in the wall- but no, the hole was already here when he moved in. Who knows if Chanyeol caused that?

“Five months.”

It’s too easy to imagine Chanyeol fitting in here, Chanyeol leaning against the sink as he gets in the way of where his lover is washing dishes or Chanyeol stretching his lanky feet across the sofa and avoiding the lump with the broken springs.

Chanyeol walks over to the sofa and runs his hand across the spot right behind the cushions where there's a tear in the fabric. “Have you ever-”

“I’m sorry, I tried not to. I kept them all, in case your love ever came back.” Chanyeol flinches at the mention of love and Jongin tries not to mirror him.

Jongin removes the box from its hiding place behind the couch and places it on the living room table, 28 letters, proof of Chanyeol’s undying love. He pushes it into Chanyeol’s arms, not wanting to meet his eyes.

Chanyeol takes the stack of letters and leafs through them, hands lingering on the very first letter. His fingers brush across the seal that has been carefully stuck back in place until it almost seems unopened. “How many did you read?”

“I stopped reading them after a while.” Jongin says apologetically, folding his hands on his lap. “After I figured out who you were, I couldn’t do it anymore. I couldn’t invade your privacy.”

“How long ago was that?” Chanyeol sounds so distant and yet his tone is even. His face too is schooled into something Jongin can't place, maybe a hint of nostalgia as he flips through the envelopes. Jongin can’t figure out if he’s angry or not, and that’s even scarier than anything he imagined.

“7, 8 letters?” Jongin reaches out and thumbs at the envelopes until he finds the untampered one.

Chanyeol stares down at the envelope in his hand, recognition flitting across his face. “Maybe you should read them,” he says quietly, standing up and placing the box back on the table. “I’ll have coffee another time, Jongin. See you.”

Jongin is too stunned at the sudden dismissal to stop Chanyeol from letting himself out the door. After the door falls shut, he sinks into the couch and buries his face in his hands. He fucked up. He fucked up so hard. Of course Chanyeol would be mad, who wouldn't with such a blatant invasion of privacy. But Chanyeol asked him to read-

In his haste to find the letters, he knocks the entire box on the ground and he drops to his knees to gather them, pushing the opened letters aside. This time, he isn’t careful with the seal and rips the envelopes open. With each letter, the pounding in his ears get louder, until it’s all he hears is Chanyeol’s voice ringing in his head. Another time. Another time. Another time.

Jongin sets down the letter and runs.

He catches up to Chanyeol around the corner of the apartment block. Chanyeol is walking slowly, like he’s been waiting, and whirls around upon hearing the hurried footsteps.

“Hey.”

Chanyeol flicks his eyes down to the envelope still clutched in Jongin’s hand and smiles. “His name was Baekhyun. We met the final year of university and it was like I met my soulmate.”

“Where is he now?” Jongin takes a step closer, careful to keep some distance between them. He spent the past five months obsessing over this mysterious lover and he wants to know what it is about him that made Chanyeol fall so deeply in love. How was Baekhyun like for Chanyeol to have called him a soulmate and a best friend? But at the same time, he doesn’t want to know, because he’s afraid that he can’t live up to the shadow of someone who has held Chanyeol’s deepest memories and affections. There are too many questions on the tip of his tongue that won’t form.

Chanyeol walks another step forward and lets his breath out in a laugh. The weather is cold enough that his laugh comes out in a puff. “Does it matter?”

Chanyeol’s reply is all it takes for the anxiety to leave Jongin, disappearing with the slump of his shoulders. Jongin closes the distance until they’re a breath apart. He has to tilt his head to meet Chanyeol’s gaze but he’s sure that whatever it is burning in Chanyeol’s eyes, both a challenge and a question, is reflected in his own. “Are you still looking for him?”

Chanyeol lets the touch of his lips answer.

To: My love

I have been searching for you, and I think I found you. Jongin.

end.

take the helm

2015-07-22T14:20:18Z

Title: take the helm
Pairing: chanyeol/kyungsoo
Rating: G
Length: 3,050
Summary: it goes like this: chanyeol writes a song and brings it to kyungsoo. kyungsoo critiques it and together, they make it better.
A/N: for nad.

chanyeol's first mixtape is soft and light, filled with songs about hopes and dreams. it's perfectly fitting for someone fresh out of high school and just testing out his wings in university.

chanyeol lets kyungsoo listen to it a month into their friendship. they hit it off quickly after becoming roommates, fitting together surprisingly well with their different personalities. kyungsoo just wants someone who is clean, quiet and respects personal space. chanyeol is well... one of those, but at least dorm life has been better than kyungsoo expected so far.

"remember that time you talked to me about majors?" chanyeol says, his voice blending in with the acoustic strums of the guitar in the background.

"hmm?" kyungsoo vaguely does. chanyeol is an undecided major, torn between pursuing music or engineering like his family wants him to do. kyungsoo had bluntly asked how many lifetimes chanyeol planned to live and if he was fine dedicating it to someone else.

"i thought about it, and i decided on sound engineering, a mix between both worlds," chanyeol pauses to nod his head to a crescendo in the bridge, fingers rapidly tapping out a rhythm on his inner thigh.

kyungsoo finds himself nodding along. it's oddly catchy, even if the song needs some work, maybe cut back on the drums on some parts. he wants to say something like congratulations, man, but it seems strangely intimate, like kyungsoo played a part in deciding chanyeol's future. "are you submitting this to any record labels?"

chanyeol looks surprised, fingers freezing for a split second and resuming their tapping again, slower and more measured. "well, i wasn't planning to. i just wanted you to listen to it."

now the moment really does feel intimate. kyungsoo rolls his chair away from the desk until it hits his bed and he flops onto his mattress facing up. "you should. just clean it up a little here and there. and chanyeol why did you even try to hit those notes?"

chanyeol shrugs sheepishly just as his cracking voice tries to hit a particularly high voice in the track. "hey, you're a vocal major, yeah?"

from then on, it becomes a tradition.

chanyeol writes a song and brings it to kyungsoo.

kyungsoo critiques it and together, they make it better, rerecording the sections kyungsoo thinks can be improved. his favourites are the duets because chanyeol leaves spaces for kyungsoo to fill, and their voices blend together well, deep timbres bleeding into each other.

at kyungsoo's encouragement, chanyeol starts submitting his demo tracks to many companies. some reply, most don't.

nothing ever gets picked up, but it thrills kyungsoo to know that music producers and sound executives are listening to his voice, even if they're listening for the lyrics and melody instead.

kyungsoo's favourite day is sundays. on saturdays, they hang out with their other friends or get their chores done, but sundays are just him and chanyeol, running through songs together or just lazing around in sweats.

it's never boring because chanyeol is always excited, like a child who never grew up, and it's contagious, even for a solemn guy like kyungsoo.

today is a unusually chilly sunday for mid-april, temperature in the low 10s when it should be moving into spring. kyungsoo wears his ridiculous penguin socks around the house because it's cold, and not because chanyeol once compared kyungsoo to a penguin.

kyungsoo huddles on the couch with his blanket, trying to read through the book he's been putting off lately. it doesn't work, because chanyeol pokes his head into the living room every 5 minutes to ask kyungsoo something.

kyungsoo is largely unresponsive (he doesn't know the exact velocity that a dolphin can swim at anyway; silly questions like these don't deserve answers) so chanyeol finally gives up and flops on kyungsoo.

"get off!" kyungsoo kicks but chanyeol is so heavy and he's a clingy guy, more teenage girl than the cool college kid he tries to pull off.

"you're so warm," chanyeol marvels and relents to kyungsoo's struggles, rolling off him to allow kyungsoo to breathe.

"don't touch me, you big doofus," kyungsoo grumps, trying not to show how pleased he is. he shifts on the couch to allow chanyeol to stretch out his legs and chanyeol settles his head on kyungsoo's lap, his long body taking up most of the space.

"i know your heart is warm too," chanyeol teases. he sounds so fond kyungsoo has to close his eyes for a second to wave away all unbidden thoughts and the intense urge to curl into chanyeol's arms rises urgently to his throat. he smashes a pillow into chanyeol's face instead.

chanyeol is just easy to lo- like.

chanyeol must've pulled an all nighter last night because he quickly falls asleep like that, breath coming out in slow, measured puffs. kyungsoo ignores his steadily numbing thighs and goes back to concentrating on his book.

there are loose beats of moments when kyungsoo turns his palm face up by his side, a breath's hair away from chanyeol's hand, and almost expects chanyeol to sleepily grab it, but then the urge, the yearning, subsides, and kyungsoo schools his face into something more manageable, tucking months and months of feelings into a dusty corner.

in their third year of university, kyungsoo gets a cold.

kyungsoo toughs it out, as he usually does. with an important musical coming up, he simply can't afford to let a sore throat get in his way or practices.

except it doesn't go away. kyungsoo wakes up one morning with his throat swollen almost shut and a fever that rages into the 40s.

"will it affect my singing?" he asks the doctor desperately, pain shooting down his throat with his syllable.

the way the doctor frowns at the x-ray speaks volumes. the doctor explains something about acute laryngitis and possible damaged vocal cords, and he clucks his tongue a few times, making it clear that if kyungsoo sought treatment earlier- "it's not the first time, is it?"

remembering all the time he brushed off the tightness in his throat as nervousness, kyungsoo swallows and shakes his head.

kyungsoo's mind is a blank when the doctor patiently explains that maybe kyungsoo should consider giving his throat a break for a few months. he doesn't think anything at all as kyungsoo conveys the instructions to his vocal coach and watches her face crumple, her hand shooting up to rub at his shoulder.

"you can take a semester's leave but chronic laryngitis," she says worriedly. "it's a recurring disease, right? would it return when stress is put on the throat?" she's thinking about the inevitable months where they practice for weeks on the end, rehearsal after rehearsal.

and kyungsoo screams, screams so loud she steps back, startled, and the other instructors start running into the studio.

by the time chanyeol rushes into the nurse's office and wraps kyungsoo up into blankets, kyungsoo's screams have died down into quiet sobs, and chanyeol holds him close to his chest for the longest time.

they stop their tradition.

he knows hasn't been a good friend lately, emotions stretched too thin to keep up a facade of caring for anyone else. chanyeol has been giving him space but still sticks around to make sure kyungsoo eats and functions.

sundays are suddenly terse, a sudden emptiness that would otherwise be filled with singing and recording. luckily, chanyeol is there to smooth out the tension, keeping kyungsoo busy with trips to museums and outings to the beach.

it doesn't always work, and chanyeol finds kyungsoo toying with an old recording one day, playing a section over and over.

"it could be better if this was half a beat slower," kyungsoo says. he hits space bar again and it replays, the same 12 seconds. "if only i could sing this again-"

"stop it, kyungsoo!" chanyeol slams the laptop lid down so abruptly kyungsoo winces. kyungsoo almost reaches to check for cracks, but he's too taken back by how sharp and loud chanyeol's voice is. chanyeol has never raised his voice against kyungsoo. kyungsoo doesn't even remember chanyeol raising his voice or being angry at anyone, for that matter.

thinking of chanyeol being angry at him makes kyungsoo feel stricken and anxious, but more than that, he just feels scared. chanyeol is a saint but there are limits to everyone's patience. he doesn't want to lose chanyeol ever.

it must show on his face because chanyeol softens immediately, forehead knitting up in concern. "d- don't cry, kyungsoo. i didn't mean to sound so terse, i'm sorry."

chanyeol isn't the one who needs to apologise, so it just makes kyungsoo feel worse. "singing is my life," kyungsoo whispers, looking down at his clenched fists.

"you just have to hold out for a little while longer," chanyeol says, placing his hands on kyungsoo's shoulders and tightening his grip. his eyes search kyungsoo's and kyungsoo helplessly stares back, tears starting to blur his vision. "your throat will heal. you'll get your voice back."

kyungsoo thinks of how crucial this year is, how his classmates are starting to get internships and work placements already. "but will i get my year back?"

it takes almost a quarter of a year before chanyeol brings him a new song, casually bringing it up during one of their monthly soju and grilled squid sessions. kyungsoo stopped drinking alcohol to accelerate his recovery, so he drinks warm yuzu tea instead. his efforts seems to be working because kyungsoo has been testing out his voice slowly and it's coming back, sounding almost like it was before.

"i have a song, do you want to sing it?"

dandelion wishes is about a father watching his daughter grow up from a tiny toddler to a beautiful young lady. it talks about him wishing the world for his daughter and wanting to protect her but still hoping that she will be happy and free. it's a song about an unseen and unspoken love.

this is the first time kyungsoo has cried singing a song.

he doesn't even want to change or fine tune the song after they listen the finished recording, letting the raw file go out to record labels.

not a week later, a cube calls. they want the song for huhgak.

chanyeol is ecstatic but nothing can compare to how kyungsoo feels when he hears the feedback.

"your singer is talented," says the music executive they meet up with to sign the contract. "is he signed?"

chanyeol grins and nudges kyungsoo at his side with his elbow. "you can ask him yourself."

they leave with a promise from the exec to call them, and kyungsoo is hit with a dizzying rush of hope.

kyungsoo submits his application to change from a musical major to a music production and recording major that day itself.

the same vocal coach flutters around him when he goes to the university to submit his application, gushing about how it'll be so much better for his health and that kyungsoo is a talented producer.

"i know you have it in you," she says, brimming with pride, and chanyeol shoots him a tiny, barely there smile that makes kyungsoo think he has it in himself too.

dandelion wishes is a sleeper hit and slowly spreads through online communities after a video of huhgak's adorable daughter chewing on strawberries goes viral. by the time summer rolls around, huhgak has a spot on superman returns, charming his daughter and the whole of south korea every sunday afternoon.

they watch one of the episodes together one weekend and even during the commercials, huhgak pops out with his daughter, adoringly feeding her in a happy commercial. a baby food company bought the rights to a line in the chorus and adapted it to insert their brand name. chanyeol and kyungsoo are drowning in royalties from the baby fever.

"you did that," kyungsoo says in awe, the full impact of how huge the song finally hitting him.

chanyeol stares at kyungsoo strangely before reaching out to hook an arm around kyungsoo's neck, tugging him closer. chanyeol rests his chin easily on the top of kyungsoo's head, resisting kyungsoo's half hearted attempts to break away. "no, we did that."

chanyeol has a song that he won't let kyungsoo listen to and it's driving kyungsoo insane.

"once it's done, you'll be the first one to listen to it," chanyeol promises, pouring kyungsoo a shot as a consolation. kyungsoo whines more, but chanyeol placates him with perfectly grilled pieces of pork belly until kyungsoo is sleepily satiated with good food and alcohol.

that day doesn't come until almost a month later, when chanyeol sends him a melon streaming link. it's a chen song, an up-and-coming solo male singer from loen entertainment who has been singing a string of osts lately.

"ah," a small gasp falls from kyungsoo when his eyes automatically search out the credits to the song and sees composer: park chanyeol, writer: park chanyeol.

what he doesn't expect is for the song to be a sappy love song, talking about puppy crushes and innocent almost-dates. it's an odd choice for chen, who is famous for his three octave high notes, but this is a summer release so his agency must be angling for a more approachable image.

"how is it?"

two years past university and they're still living together. kyungsoo is too used to chanyeol popping up unannounced at his door to his room now. kyungsoo doesn't even close the door anymore.

"aww, park, you've gone soft."

chanyeol quirks a corner of his lips. "i was inspired."

kyungsoo falls silent to listen properly to the lyrics. the second verse turns abruptly from cute cotton candy lyrics to sadder and softer strings, suddenly talking about mending his crush's heart when she breaks up with her boyfriend and wondering when it'll be his turn. it ends on a note of longing, jongdae whispering that he'll wait until the day she's ready.

"joonmyun calls jongin his muse," chanyeol says suddenly, and kyungsoo takes it as an explanation for this love song. he glances at chanyeol to make a joke about joonmyun's embarrassing crush on jongin but chanyeol is looking down at his fraying jeans, playing with the loose threads.

kyungsoo finds a bit of chanyeol in each of his songs, a hint of his story etched out among the bridges and refrains. he thinks of sweet, shy jongin and how indulgent joonmyun can be, and this song, about a slow, long love, doesn't fit. "muses are silly," kyungsoo decides.

chanyeol raises an eyebrow in surprise. "you don't believe in romance?"

"i don't believe in muses," kyungsoo corrects. "sounds too idealistically romantic."

"well, i believe in muses," chanyeol says lightly. he pauses, a too saccharine smile stretched across his lips. "because i have one."

kyungsoo is frozen in place, a rush of emotions -confusion, jealousy, hope- zipping through him so fast he has to hold his breath.

chanyeol balances the laptop on his lap and pulls up the folder where he keeps his tracks.

"remember this song?"

it's the first track chanyeol let kyungsoo listen too. a wave of nostalgia washes over kyungsoo and he suddenly remembers the old days when chanyeol used to wake kyungsoo up where he fell asleep on his books and carry him off to bed.

"i wrote it the day we had the talk about changing my major," chanyeol says. his hand slips as he scrolls through the folder, fingers missing the right key once before finding their way. "something you said really resounded with me so i went back itching with an urge to carve it into melody."

the next song is an upbeat summer track about beach days, never released, but made sometime during their second year of university.

"when we went to jeju island on that trip with the guys. you almost fell off your pony," chanyeol chuckles. kyungsoo absentmindedly touches his waist at the memory, remembering how he managed to stay upright but almost threw his back instead.

chanyeol clicks again and this time, it's the silliest song chanyeol ever made, an ode to breakfast items and the simple joys of breakfast in bed.

the memory comes to kyungsoo before chanyeol even speaks.

"remember the time i tried to make you breakfast for your birthday and you had to take over?"

"you ruined my pan," kyungsoo says accusingly. "your toast crumbs fell all over my sheets." his toes curl when he thinks of how chanyeol insisted on going on with the original plan and dragging them both into kyungsoo's bed, the single bed barely fitting two almost-men. kyungsoo may be small, but chanyeol's legs go on forever.

"best breakfast we ever had," chanyeol says smugly, like he's expecting kyungsoo to agree.

and finally, the huhgak song, the one about wanting to protect the one you love. it came out, kyungsoo realises, during the time he had problems with his vocal cords.

all this time, all these years- kyungsoo doesn't even dare to believe it, because if it's true, there's all this lost time, all the could have beens floating around his mind. "your muse-"

chanyeol lets out a deep breath and he cocks his head, showing that weird jagged smile that jongdae calls the kyungsoo smile, because according to jongdae, chanyeol only smiles like that around babies or kyungsoo. "don't you see, silly, it's you."

and he's leaning down, hands cupping kyungsoo's face to gently pull them closer together. kyungsoo's roller chair is tugged forward and bumps into chanyeol's own chair, stopping their paths, so chanyeol drops his left hand to wrap it loosely around kyungsoo's waist, maneuvering him until he's practically on chanyeol's lap with their chests against each other.

kyungsoo's eyes flutter shut out of instinct. pressed together like this, he can feel his heart thundering wildly in rhythm with the steady tempo of chanyeol's heart. he's acutely aware of how close chanyeol is, can feel chanyeol soft breath against his cheek.

chanyeol places a soft kiss on the corner of kyungsoo's lips, the softest of touch, but kyungsoo's mind surges all the same with unsung melodies and pieces of phrases- slow dances in the rain, your palm against mine, mistletoe kisses, chanyeol- and he understands.

"it has always been you."

kyungsoo does believe in muses after all.

end.

happy (belated) birthday nadface. you know i'm just the most tsundere person in the world right? i looooooooooooove you. and if we were closer, i would pad after you like chanyeol pads after kyungsoo. i hope your days get better and brighter! you're in one of the most beautiful regions in the world, so explore it all! (i'm not plotting anything i swear)

just rite

2015-07-06T13:51:27Z

Title: just rite
Pairing: chanyeol/jongin
Rating: G
Length: 1,710
Summary: jongin goes to the wrong wedding hall and is too mortified to move. chanyeol adopts him as his +1
A/N: prompt #4 here. but this is chankaiprompts's fault even if it isn't chankaiprompts's fault. part ii of my pagan sacrifice.

this is possibly the worst day in jongin's life. maybe that time in high school when jongin's pants ripped while he was performing on stage comes close, but jongin is no longer in high school, so he can’t use his youthful naivety to explain away a lot of things anymore.

he can't even explain how he ended up here, glumly blinking at his glass of white wine in the midst of a celebrating hall.

jongin hadn’t wanted to go to the wedding in the first place but his mom had an emergency at work and sent him in her stead, saying that the groom’s mother was a very good friend of hers. it made no sense to jongin then and it makes no sense to him now, especially since 15 minutes into the ceremony, jongin looks around the room and properly registers that he recognises no one.

literally, actually, no one.

he thought it was strange when he didn’t recognise the usher or the parents greeting him at the door, or even the bride and groom, but he chalked it up as bad memory. only now does he remember that the wedding invitation was for a groom with the surname kwon, and the wedding banners that hung all over the room clearly state the happy union of the lee and park family.

jongin battles his inner panic as the blushing bride leans on her tip toes for her first symbolic kiss as a married woman, and his little gasp as the realisation sinks in is drowned by the deafening cheering of well wishers around him.

but okay. he just has to keep calm and keep eating his lunch. the food is good, the salmon seared almost perfectly so. the ceremony is almost over and if he lies low, keeps inconspicuous for long enough, he can just slip out of the room unnoticed.

just then, a man slides into the previously unoccupied seat next to him. his eyes are fixed on the happy couple who are now bowing their thanks and stepping down from the stage to start making their rounds around the hall.

jongin wants to tell him there’s a kimchi stain on the cufflinks of his fitted suit. instead, he whispers, just to make sure, “hey, is this hall three?”

the man glances at him and jongin is momentarily attacked by images of sakura petals and manhwa ink blot flourishes. “no, this is hall four.”

the manhwa flourishes intensifies because now jongin is subject to the full visual of mr kimchi stain with his coifed hair, doe eyes and the softest looking mouth and now is really not a good time for jongin’s secret obsession with his sister’s manhwas to bite him in the ass. mr kimchi stain even sounds like the manhwa protagonists jongin may or may not have fantasized about when he was in high school.

“oh.” jongin sinks lower into his seat in mortification, half from the realisation that he’s staring at this stranger, and that he’s in the wrong hall. he’s in the wrong hall.

luckily mr kimchi stain doesn’t notice jongin’s internal turmoil and just sighs fondly at the couple now making their way through the crowd. “look at them.”

"she's pretty," jongin says mildly, trying to keep his comments as vague as possible so no one will realise he shouldn't be here. he starts mentally calculating the distance between the nearest exit and his seat, but there’s a scary looking lady standing by the door and she looks like the kind that would aggressively usher any leavers to their next destination with too many questions.

mr kimchi stain chuckles, "yeah, hyung will have his work cut out for him trying to fight all of yoora noona's admirers off."

"hah," jongin offers, because he's a brilliant conversationalist. he scoots his chair closer to the table and busies himself with spooning pudding into his mouth, hoping that this beauti- uh, gor- this strange man will take the cue and leave him alone.

"what's your name?"

damn it.

jongin chokes on the pudding but manages to recover soon enough after a short coughing fit. mr kimchi stain hands him his glass of water and jongin accepts it quickly, "uh? jo- kim jongin."

"hey ya, kim jongin, i'm chanyeol. are you alone here today?" chanyeol’s smile shows too many teeth and who even uses hey ya, but he’s so so attractive and jongin feels all clammy again.

"um," jongin says and lets the slowly ticking silence answer for him.

to his credit, chanyeol is incredibly gracious and takes it all in stride. "it's my sister up there and it's the family's duty to make sure all the guests are well taken of."

jongin finally note the uncanny resemblance between the bride, yoora, and chanyeol. no wonder yoora is so pretty. of course, because jongin is jongin, it takes him a second too late to realise that he’s said it out loud.

chanyeol’s grin widens. “we do have good genes.”

okay, now is really the time to leave before he manages to say something that would embarrass him more.

"i wasn't even invited," jongin confesses. "i'm in the wrong hall and sorry- sorry i should go and-" jongin pushes his chair back and stands up frantically to leave, but chanyeol catches his arm lightly, long fingers wrapping easily around jongin's wrist.

chanyeol pouts, and oh, it really shouldn’t look so cute on a grown man. "you're my guest now. are you going to turn down my invitation?"

jongin has always been weak to pretty smiles.

an hour later, jongin has held more babies than he has in his entire life. all the middle age ladies flutter around him and he might have misunderstood the thick busan accent, but he’s pretty sure one of chanyeol’s relatives asked him to marry her youngest daughter.

chanyeol preens at his side and keeps a possessive hand on his elbow, guiding him from guest to guest like jongin was his plus one in the first place.

“handsome boy,” chanyeol’s uncle clucks approvingly. “are you single?” from the strong busan accent, jongin has a feeling he’s the husband of the same woman who tried to marry her daughter to jongin.

“I hope he is,” chanyeol chirps, fingers tap, tapping against jongin’s elbow, and jongin gets so flustered he lets himself be tugged away to meet the infamous daughter.

somehow, jongin ends up squished between chanyeol and a whooping yoora, on their way to the afterparty.

"special friend of the bride," chanyeol says to the bartender, tugging on jongin's wrist. jongin is starting to get used to the pressure around his wrist, like a really warm bracelet. "remember his face, because free drinks to this one all night."

"special friend of yours, chanyeol?" a lady coos to their left, looking three shots too far gone to be appropriate for a wedding. she had been introduced to him earlier as a cousin of some sort, maybe on the groom's side? but jongin isn't too fussed with names and she obviously doesn't remember him either.

"no no no no-" jongins stutters immediately, backing away from chanyeol.

too bad chanyeol's having none of that. he seems to have no sense of personal space with a few drinks in him and in one swoop, he whirls jongin around and cups jongin's cheeks with both his large hands, laughing when jongin lets out a hiccup of surprise.

"not yet," he winks at jongin and it takes another beat before jongin shakes his head and escapes from the grip, chanyeol’s touch burning against his flushed ears. it’s hard not to notice how easily chanyeol manhandles him and even harder to ignore the way adrenaline soars in his head, pulsing louder with each soft brush of chanyeol’s fingers against his bare skin.

“where’s my baby brother?” yoora roars from the dance floor. she flings one of her sparkly heels to the far end of the room and her new husband scurries off to pick it up. somehow jongin thinks this is a good indicator of the rest of their married life.

“baby brother duties,” chanyeol smiles apologetically. “mind if I slip away a bit?”

jongin's hand darts out before he can stop himself, grabbing onto the coat tails of chanyeol's suit.

“um, i know no one else,” jongin says lamely, acutely aware of how close they’re standing now that the crowd is pushing them in.

“we introduced you to plenty of people tonight,” chanyeol laughs, but he laces their hands together, not caring that they’ve met each other only hours before. “hold on tight and you won’t get lost, puppy.”

puppy.

jongin has only had one drink tonight but he’s never felt more lightheaded.

the music is still ringing in jongin’s ears when they wait at the taxi stand.

“want me to walk you home?” chanyeol asks. “i’m a good date.”

“no,” jongin says, and his voice comes out louder than he expected, so he tries again, “no thanks, i’m good.”

chanyeol flags down a taxi. “well, i guess this is it.” he stands with his hands tucked in his pockets and jongin strangely itches to lace their hands together again but there’s no excuse of being swept away by a crowd now that it’s just the two of them.

“i had fun,” jongin says and he wants to say so much more, dangerous things like don’t go and when can i see you again. things he shouldn’t be telling a half stranger who adopts lost guests and charms them with too many sweet words. he has many things to say, but his voice is still stuck in his throat as he climbs into the taxi, chanyeol helping him hold the door open.

“hey jongin,” chanyeol calls, eyes bright and smile brighter in the dark. “check your pockets.” and he shuts the door, waving as the taxi pulls away.

jongin’s hand trembles in his haste to flip his pockets inside out. his search unearths a crumpled napkin and he squints at it with the help of the flashing streetlights.

call me anytime you need a plus one.

but there’s nothing else, no contact details, so jongin flips it over and almost drops the napkin.

above a line of scrawled numbers,

call me even if you don’t need a plus one.

this might just be the best day of jongin's life.

end.

imagine Dad's /dinkleberg/, but with ang.

for goodness cakes

2015-06-06T15:16:09Z

Title: for goodness cakes
Pairing: chanyeol/jongin
Rating: G
Length: 2,730
Summary: jongin orders a welcome cupcake to be delivered to his new roommate, chanyeol, but the store mixes up the orders and sends this cupcake instead.
A/N: i wrote this in half an hour while waiting for the bangtan concert to start because i am trash and all thoughts lead back to jongin.

picture credit to onyu

"stop judging me," jongin whines.

"i'm not," baekhyun says calmly as he pulls on jongin's hair to tighten the braid. it's one of those things they do, jongin letting baekhyun experiment on his hair for new ideas on how to deck up the models baekhyun styles on a daily basis. jongin holds up a spoon and from the reflection he sees, this bird nest braid thing jongin has going on in his hair will not feature in any of baekhyun's runways any time soon.

but they are not talking about hair issues now. they settled that conversation in freshman year when jongin stumbled upon baekhyun sitting in the middle of the hallway of their dorm, surrounded by wigs and glitter.

no, this time their conversation is about jongin being "socially hopeless".

in jongin's defense, it is perfectly normal to feel worried about having to live with a complete stranger for the next 6 months, or a year if the lease is extended.

it's not his fault that he spent his entire student life holed up in the practice room with no room to breathe. in k-arts, ballerinos don't mingle with each other; there aren't enough of them to begin with.

jongin was constantly surrounded by pretty, dainty ballerinas but to them, he was merely a platform to success, a shadow next to their spotlight. he doesn't really mind anyway. his tastes are less delicate swan, and a little more... wolf.

it doesn't matter now. one bad landing has made that all history.

"jongin, you're one missed payment away from living on the streets." baekhyun moves on to ribbons and quickly weaves a bow through jongin's short hair.

"i know," jongin wails, and drops his head onto his outstretched head on the table. he pouts when baekhyun hits him on the shoulder for messing up the flowers attached to the left side of his hair.

baekhyun says softly, "if anything goes wrong, my couch unfolds into a lumpy bed."

"thank you," jongin sniffs. he picks up one of the fallen flowers and tucks it behind his ear.

"hey, shouldn't the person who answered your ad be coming soon?"

jongin checks his phone quickly. "yeah, jongdae just sent a text. he's bringing him up-"

they both freeze as the realisation hits them.

just in time for jongdae to swing the door open and gesture to the room in jazz hands, "tadah, the apartment!"

jongin's possible future roommate walks into jongin with a tangle of pink ribbons and flowers in his hair. "what on earth."

"i can explain-"

chanyeol, as the potential housemate introduced himself as, is surprisingly gracious about everything.

"i completely understand," he says, using way too many hand gestures for a simple sentence. "sometimes my sister ties these ribbons on her puppy-"

"you like puppies?" jongin brightens and asks immediately, completely ignoring the well-meaning comparison of jongin being a groomed puppy.

from the corner of his eyes, jongin can see both jongdae and baekhyun rolling their eyes, but it's too late, jongin is inexplicably charmed. dog people cannot be bad people.

"i do," chanyeol agrees, nodding enthusiastically. "do you have puppies?"

"oh no," baekhyun whispers.

jongin sucks in a quick breath. "i have three."

"he's a goner," jongdae agrees.

chanyeol only takes a cursory glance at the apartment before he signs the lease, but it could be due to jongin all but forcing his hand.

"stop judging me." jongin refuses to look at baekhyun.

"i won't," baekhyun says, his tone is even but his side eye is as sharp as they can come.

so jongin signed on his new housemate solely based on whether he liked puppies, but that is absolutely fine, because chanyeol's face kind of went soft when jongin whipped out the photo album of monggu's first birthday party, and even jongdae grudgingly agrees that chanyeol is probably as harmful as a fly.

jongdae is much more optimistic about this whole housemate thing too. "you could throw a welcoming party!" he brings out the jazz hands again, a habit left over from too many years of show choir. "nothing says bonding experience than cleaning up dried puke together the morning after!"

"i don't have the time or money for that!" jongin begins and the reality of everything finally sinks in. after months of working back to back on three jobs, he's getting a housemate, which means finances are loosened now. maybe he can afford a welcome party, if this chanyeol guy doesn't turn out to be a serial killer.

jongin feels like he's in college again the day chanyeol arrives, nervously sitting on starched bed sheets waiting to see who will share the bed next to him.

jongdae turned out to be simultaneously the worst and best friend he's ever met, so he can't really complain, but at least then jongdae had sent an emoticon filled email weeks before they moved in so they were well acquainted by the time orientation rolled around.

he soon finds out it's not really that different with chanyeol.

the first thing chanyeol does upon entering the room is trip over the little fold of carpet that jongin has been meaning to tape down and fall face first, narrowly missing smashing his head against the coffee table.

their first afternoon together is spent with jongin fussing over the growing bruise on chanyeol's forehead and chanyeol laughing off all of jongin's attempts to stick a pikachu sticker on his forehead.

it's all very endearing, really.

somewhere along the way, jongin discovers chanyeol is ticklish and relishes in the fact, pulling unnaturally high pitched squeals out of chanyeol until chanyeol overpowers him in a pillow fight. jongin doesn't even think about how much physical contact he's having with this almost stranger, because it really is college again with the easy friendships bought using piles of pizza and strengthened with the beer chanyeol brought over.

"i'm glad i moved in," chanyeol says with a goofy smile, and jongin grins in happy agreement.

"stop judging me," jongin says defiantly. he has no reason to feel ashamed, no.

"you got him a cupcake," baekhyun deadpans.

"yeah, like a welcome mat, but edible?"

chanyeol has lived with him for a week now and they've fallen into an easy routine, even settling into a cooking and cleaning routine. it surprises jongin how much they fit together, almost like a pair who have been cohabiting for months and years. they get along well and chanyeol laughs at all of jongin's jokes, even the ones jongin knows are silly, and always with enough vigor for his eyes to go unbalanced in size.

jongin really wants to make this housemate thing work with chanyeol so he thought of properly welcoming chanyeol, and what better way than with baked goods? he even ordered for the store to write "welcome" on it in frosting and arranged for the box to be delivered to chanyeol's workplace at the gym.

"goodbye, jongin," baekhyun says while putting the finishes touches on jongin's new experimental hairstyle, "you truly are hopeless." then he pushes jongin out of his apartment, spiked hair and all.

tonight is jongin's night to make dinner and he's preparing his special, the elusive omurice. he's never been that good at cooking and he's oddly nervous, even if chanyeol completely burned the fried rice he made on his turn the previous night. in his haste to break the eggs, jongin accidentally knocks an egg over and it shatters on the floor, reminiscent to jongin's drooping hopes that dinner will turn out okay.

the yolk is seeping dangerously close to the wooden cupboard door now so he quickly starts to clean up, only distantly noting the click and turn of the main door.

"jongin!" chanyeol cheers as he always does when he returns home, like an eager puppy awaiting his- jongin doesn't want to go down that line of thought.

"hey," jongin says absentmindedly, not turning around because he's reaching for the new roll of paper towels in the top cabinet.

he doesn't expect to feel arms slide around his waist and a warm chest against his back. jongin freezes, hand still in mid-air and chanyeol takes advantage of the pause to shuffle closer, wrapping jongin tighter into a back hug.

"chanyeol?"

chanyeol is tip toeing a little so he can rest his head on jongin's head and not that this isn't nice or anything, but jongin is very confused.

"thanks for the cupcake," chanyeol says, and oh, when he speaks, jongin can feel the vibrations of his chest through his back. jongin's imagination is definitely not going wild right now.

"um, kay'," jongin says awkwardly, not knowing where to put his hands. "but chanyeol-"

and as soon as he hugs jongin, chanyeol backs off casually, acting as if nothing unusual just happened.

"want to grab dinner outside tonight?" chanyeol asks, surveying the mess of egg shells and uncooked rice.

jongin can only nod.

over the next few weeks, chanyeol gets distinctly more touchy.

jongin wouldn't notice it normally but somehow he feels chanyeol's presence more acutely now and it's not as if chanyeol is particularly subtle in his touches. he's taken to welcome home hugs, violating every red card jongin has about personal space, but jongin likes the idea of having someone waiting at him at home or someone to go home to. the thought is so disgustingly domestic, he shudders when he catches himself thinking it sometimes, but he always ends up forgetting the next time chanyeol shoots him that quirked smile.

eventually, jongin just gets used to chanyeol's affectionate tendencies. when chanyeol holds out his arm, jongin simply folds himself in for a quick snuggle. chanyeol's hugs are like liquid honey, warm and rich, and it makes him feel content. it reminds jongin of naps at home with his three dogs and chanyeol, chanyeol just feels like home.

even when they watch game of thrones together, they squeeze together on the couch and lie with their toes touching, chanyeol shit talking all the characters to jongin's scandalised gasps. other days, jongin's erratic hours means that he barely gets to see chanyeol, but chanyeol is still always waiting with a warm mug of chocolate milk at night to ask jongin about his day.

it's just a little social cuddling, he reasons. nothing unusual about that.

they finally have the welcoming party almost two months after chanyeol moves in. it's not really a party when it's just baekhyun and jongdae, but jongin was too embarrassed to admit that he doesn't have any more friends he would want to invite, and chanyeol must have picked up on it because he declared that he just wanted an intimate gathering to meet jongin's friends.

jongin had worried all week but so far, baekhyun and jongdae have been on their best behavior. jongdae even let chanyeol choose the movie and held his tongue when chanyeol chose world war z.

chanyeol can't be blamed for the bad choice of movie though, because he doesn't know jongin is a jumpy person. jongin winces at every flash of blood and rotting flesh on the screen and almost bites a hole in his cheek when a zombie jumps at them.

chanyeol cups the back of jongin's neck and gently strokes downwards with his thumb. he shifts close enough to whisper, "okay?"

jongin gets an uncomfortably unwanted flashback of the fault in our stars, but no one's dying, there's no reason to imagine a future with chanyeol. as good friends, he means. "okay," he mouths back, already calming down at chanyeol's soft rubs.

chanyeol nods reassuringly and raises his voice to ask the room, "you want some popcorn?"

jongin cranes his neck to both smile at chanyeol and lean further into the touch, "with a bit of sriracha to give it a kick?"

"you're weird," chanyeol says fondly. he pinches jongin's cheek and laughs when jongin pouts. "be right back."

"you're judging me!" jongin yelps once chanyeol is out of hearing distance, pointing at baekhyun. "i can feel it." he doesn't know why baekhyun judges him half the time. baekhyun also wears fur-lined boots, so.

baekhyun cocks his head and eyes him curiously. "when did you two start dating?"

now jongin is double confused. "we're not?"

jongdae sighs and reaches out to pat jongin's cheek. "oh, jongin."

"maybe he's american style?" jongin says feebly, finally picking up on the reason why jongdae and baekhyun have been shooting him looks all night.

"i chatted with chanyeol earlier," jongdae pipes up, "he grew up in apgujeong."

"apgujeong rodeo has a lot of foreigners..." thankfully jongin is saved from having to defend himself any further when chanyeol comes in to ask about how to operate the microwave.

jongin spends the next hour trying to kick baekhyun and jongdae out.

"i know what you're doing," baekhyun hisses as he finally grabs his jacket on the way out.

"look at the time!" jongin says brightly. "i wouldn't want you to miss the last bus!" he cuts off baekhyun's retort by slamming the door in both their faces. jongin hears a loud kick to his door and the sound of jongdae shushing baekhyun, then all is quiet again.

jongin slumps against the door. "phew, i'm glad that's over with. let's clean up?"

chanyeol helps him up and eyes him carefully, "what was that for?"

jongin shrugs and busies himself with moving to stack the used plates together so he won't have to look at chanyeol. "they thought we were dating. what an absurb-"

"but you want us to be right?" chanyeol cuts him off. his voice is so low and serious, jongin immediately puts down the plates to stare at chanyeol.

chanyeol takes it as his cue to move closer and hovers his hand near jongin’s face. jongin finds himself almost closing his eyes in anticipation of the touch to his cheek, but chanyeol’s hand lands on his shoulder instead, moving slightly down to rest on his arm.

“well, you're my housemate and we just met a while ago,” jongin forces himself to say, trying to sound nonchalant, " so i'm not sure if..." he has to trail off, because chanyeol's face crumples, the usual bright grin on his face giving way to a furrowed brow. chanyeol has always been so open with his emotions, it's part of why jongin started trusting him so soon into their acquaintance.

jongin's eyes dart to where chanyeol’s grip on his bicep has been increasingly tightening and chanyeol jerks his hand away as if he was burned. jongin has to fight the urge to chase the touch. "but your gift, i thought it was a green light?"

jongin frowns. "what gift?"

chanyeol's eyes widen and he backs off, shaking his head, "i am so sorry if i misread your signals."

"no, NO!" jongin yells and almost startles himself at how loud he is. chanyeol looks just as bewildered as he feels so jongin decides to throw caution into the wind and bulldozes into chanyeol's arms, knocking them both onto the lumpy couch.

"i like... your hugs," he mumbles, just loud enough for chanyeol's pretty lips to break into a blinding grin.

"so this is fine?" chanyeol's arms comes around to hesitantly wrap around him and jongin confirms it by hugging chanyeol's hips tighter, words failing him due to his embarrassment.

"okay," chanyeol says and pats jongin rhythmically like a mother soothes her child. it works nevertheless, and jongin's shoulders relax to melt into chanyeol's chest. "okay."

maybe okay can be their always.

later, chanyeol shows jongin a picture of the cupcake jongin first sent as a welcome gift. "i thought you were coming on to me," chanyeol says, tapping on the clearly written HUG ME on the cupcake.

"i'm going to kill the store," jongin seethes in mortification and buries his face in chanyeol's shoulder.

"we should send them a thank you cupcake," chanyeol says brightly and smothers jongin's groans with a crushing hug.

(“you can judge me all you want,” jongin tells baekhyun graciously when they get together for another movie session. the minute they flopped onto the couch, jongin had climbed onto chanyeol’s lap, no longer shy with showing off their displays of affection.

baekhyun grips jongdae’s arm and wails, “bring back my socially hopeless jongin!”

jongdae looks down thoughtfully at baekhyun’s hands wrapped around his arm. only jongin notices the split second pleased smile.)

end.

uh, one day i will clean this up. and idk, actually give chanyeol character development? but today is not that day!

tweet fic masterlist pt. 3

2015-06-02T10:07:52Z

life and times of a sexually frustrated fangirl

now condensed in 140 character helpings!

01. hmm?
i tweetfic a lot over at @cocoonedsoul and decided to compile everything here.

02. warnings
directly c/p from twitter (what is grammar?), often inappropriate, LOTS OF CHANKAI

03. all plot bunnies up for adoption
as long as permission is asked (i might be working on it already!)

04. previous masterlists
january - august 2013.; september 2013 - may 2015

→1/5

i said i could turn any photo into a chankai prompt. tlist took me up on the challenge. all photos courtesy of onyu.

1. i have found your pooooorn

chanyeol accidentally stumbling onto jongin's porn and being like, its cool man i get it we're all normal hormonal men and jongin's all nono

those videos of chicks with ripped leggings were from when jongdae borrowed his laptop. jongin's more into baseball- pitching and receiving.

jongin thinks chanyeol doesn't pay him enough attention and starts leaving hints in the lunches he packs for him

jongin asks cy the barista for the wifi password except the computer keeps generating innuendo laden passwords

cy apologises profusely all embarrassed, but jongin blurts out, can i have the password to your heart and they stare at each other awkwardly

4.

jongin names his chiropractor clinic "bone and joint" but shortens it to save space. cy's not looking for back relief

5.

written here

jongin orders a welcome cupcake to be delivered to his new roommate, chanyeol, but the store mixes up the orders

OK THIS PROMPT IS REALLY CUTE, CAN SOMEONE?? cy shuffles in after work and awkwardly backhugs a confused jongin, "um, thanks."

→15/5

the first time they bring her home jongin hides under his covers for an hour and refuses to come out. chanyeol sits outside patiently with

their baby cradled in his arms and waits for jongin to let it all sink in. "hey," he says, using her tiny arm to tap on the lump of blanket.

"heejin wants to see her daddy." "no," says the lump, voice a little choked. "daddy," chanyeol mimics a kid's voice, even if she's too young

"hey, it's okay," chanyeol says soothingly, and let lifts the blanket so he can crawl next to jongin, carefully placing heejin between them

she lets out a yawn and jongin immediately melts, reaching out to softly brush her pudgy little cheek. "she's ours," he says full of wonder

"our daughter," chanyeol confirms, watching them both fondly as heejin gurgles and wraps a tiny hand around jongin's little finger.

→16/5

think about xiukaichen. in the mornings minseok prepares breakfast while jongdae jumps on the bed to wake a sleep jongin up.

jongin drags jongdae into bed with him because "hyung, too loud" and jongdae starts chattering about what they'll do that day

and minseok finds them both cuddled up in bed and he usually never allows breakfast in bed because CRUMBS but he's so weak to pouts

→9/7

imagine an au where your wrist tattoo lights up when you meet your soulmate.

chankaisoo are in the same room when all three wrists light up. but the computer only registers one matched pair.

imagine chansoo getting married because they think they love each other too much to wait for dumb light up tattoos

but chanyeol bumps into jongin the waiter at his wedding and suddenly their wrists light up simultaneously

→11/7

i want the thing where minseok cancels on joonmyun for their maldives trip last minute and joonmyun doesn't feel like going alone

so minseok suggests his cousin, jongin, who has always taken to beaches like a sea monkey and joonmyun's wary because ! stranger !

but he can't afford the beach chalet by himself and minseok agrees to pay for jongin so joonmyun lets a very shy jongin tag along

or stereotypical rich businessman joonmyun is sent to scope out a seaside village hoping to turn it into a resort but local jongin protests

"every family in this village has lived here for decades. you might want to buy the land but we will /never/ sell our memories."

→12/7

chanyeol falls in bed with this cute friend of baekhyun's that he meets at a party but they're too drunk to do anything but cuddle all night

he wakes up feeling refreshed, no sign of a hangover, and alone in bed. there's a jacket left behind but no contact nor name

for a few weeks, chanyeol can't sleep and his mind drifts back to that one cuddly night, except baekhyun refuses to tell him who it is

"how do i know you're not going to like, corrupt his innocence??"

jongin is mortified that he got drunk enough to fall into bed with a stranger and maybe it was nice and the guy is hot but ! stranger !

jongin remembers clearly who it was so when chanyeol shows up at the pet store with his sister's puppy jongin half panics

but? chanyeol doesn't seem to remember ? and he's so NICE so smiley and he loves dogs but baekhyun keeps telling him no don't do dumb things

jongin frets and complains to all the new puppies in the store

→15/7

baekhyun asks chanyeol to help pick up a friend at the airport but forgets to give a name, so it's just "tall and handsome"

jongin's sister tells him she sent her assistant to pick him up at the airport, "he's really tall and awkward you can't miss him"

so jongin ends up in chanyeol's car, while sehun waits at the airport all ?? and yixing frantically texts jongin's sister

/casually drives by/ hey remember that thing where chanyeol promises to marry jongin when they grow up and jongin comes back 10 yrs later

i do i think about it ALL THE TIME cy holding out a soda pop ring and being like i'll marry you when this fits you and baby jongin like *^*

cy's in the local cafe doodling dicks on paper napkins when this tall! dark! handsome! sits next to him with a soda pop ring and soft smile

→20/8

i want a thing where chanyeol is studying for an important final and jongin feels ignored, whines, "play with me hyung"

and chanyeol has to close his eyes because play- but jongin doesn't mean it, doesn't want him like that so he tells jongin to go away

jongin tries his best to get cy's attention and sings loudly, dances around the room, even pulls out aegyo at some point but cy is a rock

then 3 chapters later chanyeol finds it oddly quietly so he looks up and sees jongin snoozing opposite him, with a now cold cup of coffee

jongin doesn't drink coffee. chanyeol cups the coffee in his hands and wishes he could cup jongin's cheeks instead.

all of his cheeks 8)

→23/8

i really really want an aquarium date :( otp on an aquarium date?

chankai comparing each other to puffer fish, chanyeol pretending to bop around like a jellyfish while jongin pretends he doesn't know him

jongin is fascinated by the sharks in the tunnel and chanyeol takes the moment to steal a kiss, steal jongin's breath away

chanyeol pretending to protect jongin from all the sharks and jongin somehow is charmed despite chanyeol being SO EMBARRASSING

→2/10

joonmyun asks chanyeol to help him house sit, apartment no 3I. unfortunately the guy in 3L also keeps his keys under the door mat.

aka jongin returns home to find a stranger sitting on his couch in boxers, petting his dogs.

jongin helps him find the right apartment but it turns out the key isn't under the doormat and oops chanyeol has no place to go

→14/12

pcy admiring the pretty dancer whose silhouette he always sees from his office window until one day he realises it's the freedom he likes

he admires the grace and fluidity of the shadow, the symbol of freedom that chanyeol, shackled to his desk job, will never get

in a week, chanyeol has handed in his resignation letter and picked up his camera again. his girlfriend breaks up with him because-

"oppa, i need some more... stable, you know?" and he finds he doesn't even mind. he does miss the silhouette that changed his life though

so he approaches the studio and asks for the dancer under the guise of a photo project and this man, jongin, comes out to meet him, all wary

he reluctantly agrees to let chanyeol shoot him but chanyeol never expected his silhouette to be so full of life or so /beautiful/

chanyeol wouldn't have dared to imagined the little pouts jongin gives when things don't go his way, or the quiet laughs he lets out

when he thinks chanyeol isn't listening. jongin has gone from his silhouette to his spotlight, and chanyeol grapples to process it all

→19/12

streetracer au where jongin gets himself into too many scratchups & baekhyun warns him he'll start using barbie bandaids if he doesn't stop

"kiss my booboos better,dr byun," is what baekhyun hears one morning when the clinic is quiet and baekhyun almost knocks over a row of book

and when he looks up, jongin is standing there, shoulder horribly dislocated and face a mess of grime and blood, but still so, so handsom

he has to keep his voice steady as he directs jongin inside, trying to hide the worry in his nags for jongin to please take care of himself

and jongin stops him short by tilting baekhyun's chin up with his good hand, so tender and soft. "but i only get to see you when i'm hurt."

and maybe baekhyun mumbles something embarrassing like "seeing you hurt makes ME hurt." and jongin is /delighted/

something something i'll quit streetracing if you go out with me something

→22/12

i want baeksoo proposal fic that starts with an argument as usual and ends with an accidental proposal

soo: god, you're so infuriating i can't believe i thought about marrying you.
baek: you're no better yours- you thought about marrying me?

"my judgement was impaired," kyungsoo insists. baekhyun just smiles at him and links their pinkies together, "i hope it stays impaired."

→31/12

frick i want chanyeol and joonmyun to make a silly "if we're still single by age 25, we'll date each other pact"

chanyeol forgets about it until joonmyun steps up to claim the pact and suddenly cy's looping a confused jongin in as a pretend boyfriend

this could go three ways - chanho end game, chankai end game or the obviously superior option, chankaiho end game

→4/1

post breakup au

jongin is playing with his puppy when pup starts howling and that's when he realises the voice on the radio is familiar

he stills when chanyeol's deep chuckle comes on air, in response to the host's questions about song inspirations.

cue flashbacks abt a younger time filled w/ silly arguments abt tripping over the guitar left on the floor & dog hair on the bed

walking pup one day when pup goes wild and starts pulling at her leash, breaking free and dashing away

eventually finds pup and her leash tangled around the legs of an oddly familiar tall lanky guy in a mask and sunnies

later in a cafe, jongin stares down at the folded hands on his lap and tries not to blush under the heat of chanyeol's warm gaze

thinks abt how he searched up lyrics to That Song about familiar places and familiar memories and familiar kisses under the rain

→31/1

they say a monster lives in the woods. sometimes people smell smoke and see sparks of fire when the weather is cold

the farm is running out of firewood and jongin is sent to collect more.

jongin's mind gets the best of him. he sees shapes in the shadows, hears growls in silence. finally trips over a log and knocks himself out

jongin wakes up warm and snuggled in bed. he sees a man swaddled in layers and layers of clothing, gloves on his hands, mask over his face

"leave," the man says gruffly, but there's no malice in his voice, and even with his face covered jongin can see how exquisite his eyes are

firebender chanyeol is known as the monster in the woods but jongin finds out the real monsters are the ones who forced chanyeol into hiding

jongin leaves food at chanyeol's door despite chanyeol's best efforts to drive him away. visits every day even if cy keeps his door shut

cy finally snaps and pushes jongin against the wall, palm placed again jongin's chest and growing uncomfortably warm. "leave or get hurt."

jongin looks him in the eye. "you wouldn't hurt me, not when i'm your only friend." and chanyeol... chanyeol breaks.

jongin slowly reaches up and removes chanyeol's mask, the one last barrier from the world and gasps. "you're so beautiful, so perfect."

"how could anyone keep you hidden away?" he asks softly and before chanyeol can stop him, he's swooping in for a light kiss, a mere brush.

later, chanyeol looks guiltily at his hands. "i didn't mean to start a forest fire, sorry."

jongin only laughs, his eyes twinkling, "well, i guess we'll just have to practice until you don't burn down the world whenever i touch you"

whispers there's nothing else to burn when you've already melted the walls in my heart

→23/2

so more on human jongin and his werewolf boyfriend chanyeol - what if pets aren't allowed in the apartment and jongin's landlord drops by

because someone reported seeing a large dog on the balcony. jongin denies it but the landlord hears scuffling in the bedroom and rushes in

but all she finds is chanyeol lounging naked in bed and she leaves real quick, spluttering mortified warnings about keeping quiet

"luckily you changed in time," jongin laughs.

"i didn't turn into a wolf today," chanyeol says. "i just wanted her to know, you're mine"

→6/4

super spy chanyeol who is in danger and undercover and needs a fake story voila chanyeol meet your new husband jongin

"jongdae, you set me up with your cousin???"
"ok but jongin's lease just ended and one time he was drunk and hisidealtypefitsyou"

shy shy jongin and turns out chanyeol's suave on the job but a shy bumbling idiot when it comes to real life romance

NEVER DATED BEFORE CHANYEOL thinks that normal couples declare their love for each other in public every 5 seconds

learns romance from movies so jongin wakes up with a breakfast spread on his lap and chanyeol all bright bushy eyed "is this how it works?"

→13/4

written here

kyungsoo has synesthesia and sees notes and pitch as colours

that's why he's irritated all time, because he sees colours in sounds and baekhyun is so loud, so vibrant

the au where kyungsoo is at peace in the recording studio with his soft pastel blues until baekhyun barges in and suddenly pink pink pink

and it's weird because pink has always been a comforting colour for him, of his mother's lullaby and his vocal teacher's soft praises

he's just never seen anyone sound as electric pink as baekhyun, so loud and flashy and yet kyungsoo is drawn in despite himself

→14/4

the i always wanted a puppy ... i guess you're close enough prompt BAeKsoOOOooOOooooooOOooOoooooooOOo

absentmindedly starts leaving food out for baekhyun catches himself doing it HATES IT gets angry at baekhyun forgives baekhyun

hey baekhyun wear a scarf it's cold out
are you worried for me? 'ㅅ'
NO

→15/4

professional cuddler au like architecture student chanyeol who cant sleep and jongdae's like haha lemme introduce this guy to you call him

LIKE PROFESSIONAL CUDDLER TAEMIN BUT THAT PHOTO IS BLURRY HEY THIS DUDE LOOKS LIKE TAEMIN (no its jongin) FML

who's actually doing the cuddling??snuffly jongin who squeezes his eyes closed against chanyeol's chest or chanyeol who lightly pets jongin?

baekhyun laughs like "yo park you look so refreshed. been getting laid lately? new boyfriend???" chanyeol shakes his head,

but his eyes are drawn to the lean sulky boy currently trying to push his skinny pale friend into a tree, "i don't have a boyfriend."

meanwhile jongin is trying to kill sehun because sehun's is yelling "when are you going to tell him that you loooov- MMPH HEY!"

→11/5

jongin has a pic of him as a 5 year old with the boy from next door kissing his cheek. they had a fight and the boy kissed him to apologise

he doesn't even remember chanyeol, the boy in the pic but he keeps it because he still dreams of this boy who took his first kiss

it's helped comfort him during his struggles with his sexuality and jongin daydreams about an older chanyeol, broad and tall, still handsome

one day he bumps into his ex neighbour and after she finds out he's moving to the city, she tells him chanyeol is looking for a roommate

jongin's mom is ecstatic. "you idolised him as a child! pattering after him like a puppy." jongin secretly worries he might still do it now

he worries all the way until a month later when he stands in front of chanyeol's apartment and holds his breath when the door opens

chanyeol is. chanyeol is- all his fantasies could never have lived up to the real chanyeol, even more handsome than jongin has imagined

jongin suddenly realises he'll be /living/ with the man of his dreams, except now chanyeol's no longer faceless and is smiling warmly at him

he hides in his room later and shakily unearths the photo, trying to see traces of the adult chanyeol in the slightly chubby child

chanyeol walks through the open door carrying a box and jongin can't hide the photo in time, the photo slipping to the floor by his feet

jongin can only freeze as chanyeol leans down to pick the picture up. "hey," chanyeol chuckles. "you still keep this."

before jongin can explain, chanyeol continues, "you were so cute then. it made me want to protect you." jongin's heart lodges in his throat.

chanyeol looks at jongin, giving him a once over that leaves jongin burning. "i guess nothing has changed. i'm glad we met again, jongin."

(much later, chanyeol takes his 2nd kiss and his 3rd and his 304th as they snuggle in bed on sunday mornings and jongin's glad they met too)

→25/5

arranged marriage au!

angry chanyeol who hates having his freedom stolen from him and scared jongin who is sent to live in a strange land

jongin wanders around and gets lost, ending up in the stables, late to his own engagement party where he was supposed to meet his husband

chanyeol runs away from his engagement party as 1 final act of rebellion and heads to the stables because his horses always calmed him down

chanyeol spots a beautiful man petting his favourite horse and while she is usually wary of strangers,she seems to like him. cy is entranced

chanyeol thinks jongin is the new stablehand. jongin thinks cy is a guest at the party (because grooms won't run away from their own party?)

the whole castle erupts in chaos to find the missing princes while chankai fall in love unknowingly, on a horse ride under the starry sky

(jongin admires the way chanyeol looks strong and regal on his horse, drinks in his smile and thinks, "why can't my future husband be him?")

→2/6

demons chankai who actually wish they were angels but everyone keeps telling evil is in their blood. chankai set off to prove them wrong!!!

chankai sneak into heaven just to see how angels live. "i think our cover is working!!" jongin whispers and chanyeol laces their hands together.

(all the angels passing by smile at them pityingly and pretend not to notice jongin's forked tail peeking out beneath his white frock)

guardian angel kim jongdae is assigned to watch over the two curious devils and is instructed not to blow their cover, and befriends them

→3/6

chanyeol skips church and tattoos his lips to win the friendship (respect? love?) of the blond boy he sees loitering around in the alleys

jongin presses him against the brick wall of the alleys behind church and chanyeol is torn between this is sin and this is oh- sin

i want it. jongin corrupting chanyeol. chanyeol eager to please, eager to hang out with jongin,tries to prove himself and jongin only laughs

you think that with a few tats, you're proving somethin'?well then pretty boy,after i'm done with you i hope you don't mind a few more scars

omg so this was when they were Young. 8 years later, chanyeol is a successful Genius CEO and they cross paths again

maybe jongin tries to pick chanyeol's pocket and gets caught, and chanyeol recognises him. what he doesn't expect is the rush of. emotions.

jongin is homeless and stubborn. he has his PRIDE. but chanyeol's house has a jacuzzi. and he's so? attractive? BUT A REVENGEFUL JACKASS

chanyeol: you think that with a few tats, i should be wary of you? well then pretty boy, after i'm done with you we'll see who's scared now.

→20/6

courtesan au chanyeol is threatened by the arrival of the new sultry dancer who is stealing his #1 spot (and heart)

jongin never allows anyone to touch him. he seduces using the heat of his gaze and the graceful movements of his hips and chanyeol HATES him

hates the way his eyes are automatically drawn to the curve of jongin's hips, his slender waist, the soft quirk of his lips

hates the way jongin makes him feel like just for once, he wishes he could be one of the disgusting nobles showering riches on jongin

he worst is the discovery of how quiet jongin is away from the glittery outfits and stage. he's intelligent, makes chanyeol feel inadequate

chanyeol tries drawing jongin into petty competitions but jongin never bites the bait, until one day jongin pulls him aside

"don't worry. i'm just here until i can buy my freedom." chanyeol is horrified,never even thought that jongin isnt here of his own free will

but chanyeol isn't the #1 courtesan for anything, and his years at the house means he has enough for jongin to leave, to see him free

"a swan does not belong in a cage," chanyeol says when jongin protests. jongin lowers his lashes, "did you know, that swans mate for life?"

"GO, BOTH OF YOU YOU'RE SO SICKENINGLY SWEET ALL THE CLIENTS NOTICE," shrieks the head gisaeng and chankai are ~set free~ to ~frolic~

→8/7

has there been masters sun chankai au yet i don't /want/ to hold your hand but you stop me from seeing ghosts

jongin who grows up timid (because he's been plagued with these visions of seeing horrible mauled disfigured things)

accidentally grabs chanyeol's hand one day instead of the subway handles when he gets startled by a ghost and immediately poof! ghost gone!

the rest of the trip is spent trying to discreetly poke chanyeol until chanyeol offers up his palm,"if you want to hold my hand just say so"

ok that ghost is REALLY scary so jongin goes "listen i can explain im going to just." and holds chanyeol's hand and it's so warm and safe

but he doesn't know how to explain and chanyeol doesn't push, just rubs circles into the back of his hand with a thumb while jongin reddens

eventually just being around chanyeol is enough to scare ghosts away. chanyeol has extra strong yang energy in his blood.

it doesn't stop jongin from using ghosts as an excuse to cuddle up to chanyeol and cling to him all day

(jongin tries to figure out if he's crossing the boundaries if he asks chanyeol to kiss him once. yknow, to try to transfer the yang energy)

→11/7

au where jongin loses his toy teddy as a kid and for years after, gets pictures and letters of his teddy from all over the world

even sets up a forwarding service at his original address (because it was what was written on the teddy's nametag) to keep getting letters

the letters never come with a return address and jongin's collection of squiggly handwriting and pretty postcards grows and grows

one day jongin bumps into a man on the street just as the man is holding up a very familiar raggedy teddy to the sky and taking a picture

"monggu?" jongin can't help but gasp, the man whips around to stare at him wide eyed. jongin finally sees the man and forgets about the toy.

turns out the man, chanyeol, found the teddy as a kid and sent the first postcard for fun. it became a hobby and habit along the way.

"sorry for kidnapping your teddy," chanyeol says sheepishly.
jongin shakes his head. "instead you gave me ten years of fairytale memories."

(much later, many many kisses later, they adopt another teddy and together, the teddies have dates that span all over the world.)

jongin goes on a camping trip and finds a beautiful man asleep? passed out? in the middle of the woods

the man must have hit his head, keeps yelling about falling stars,broken wings and doesn't calm down until jongin hesitantly holds him close

jongin goes camping alone to clear his thoughts and ends up bringing home a lost man named chanyeol who claims he's a guardian of the stars

baekhyun's grin is feral. "so. you went to find yourself-" jongin can hear the quotation marks in his voice "and bring home a crazy man?"

"guardian of the stars," jongin mumbles at the same time that chanyeol huffs, "i'm not crazy! i was stripped of my wings!"

→13/8

dont @ me or anything but i have this long extended headcanon of chanyeol as a puppy hybrid

chanyeol the puppy likes feeling protected even if he's all lanky legs and cocoons himself in blankets and pillows and so much snuggles

"master joonmyun-"
"just call me joonmyun"
"okay mast-"
"JOONMYUN"
"joonmyun :c"
"yes good boy"
:D !!!!!
"YOUR TAIL KNOCKED OVER MY CUP"

chanyeol the pup goes pokemon hunting with joonmyun's lil bro jongin and declares he'll "sniff all the pokemon out" while jongin laughs

so chanyeol runs around sniffing the air and pointing out pokemon to jongin (that's a real cat, chanyeol) and jongin indulges fondly

also chanyeol gets huffy because why do you want to find pokemon when you have ME? :c im CUDDLIER

→6/9

aha fun idea puppy hybrid chanyeol looking for his forever human haha ahahaah HAHA. HA.

chanyeol's a therapy dog and visits hospitals, orphanages and old folks home making everyone smile but he just Wants to Be Loved

hopes that if he makes someone laugh enough, they'll bring him home? chanyeol has so much love in his heart to give

one day he gets sent not to a hospital but to an actual home :0 joonmyun tells him this is a special case, chanyeol has to be extra nice

there's this boy, the one who chanyeol sometimes sees dancing under the moonlight in the park, who had an accident and cannot dance again

so chanyeol, with so much love in your heart, can you make jongin smile again?

DID I ACCIDENTALLY RIP OFF ME BEFORE YOU

and it's okay if jongin frowns and pushes chanyeol away, because chanyeol can laugh enough for the both of them, can love enough for two

(the first time jongin laughs, unbridled and open, chanyeol knows this is his forever human, even if chanyeol isn't jongin's forever pup)

→24/9

ex boyfriends chankai meet after years, and when saying goodbye jongin absentmindedly, out of habit, leans forward and kisses chanyeol

what if chanyeol kisses back, each taking a second to realise they're not together, haven't spoken in years but it still seems right

jongin remembers chanyeol's preferred coffee order, chanyeol offers his scarf because jongin still doesn't dress right for the weather

when they break apart it's an awkward laugh and quiet apologies and they don't pursue whatever that spark is, continue just hanging out

they fall back into a comfortable routine where half of their mutual friends watch them with disgust, the other half assume they're dating.

and it's so easy, for chanyeol to brush the hair out of jongin's eyes, or jongin to automatically pick carrots out of the soup for chanyeol

→26/10

do you ever think about jongin helping chanyeol to fix his tie and chanyeol fixes him with a stare, "i'm going to marry the heck out of you"

chanyeol KEEPS saying it, for months and months (they're not even dating yet) and jongin gets kinda used to it but his heart always flutters

until one day he has a movie night at chanyeol's place and falls asleep on the couch and chanyeol has to carry him to bed

jongin slips in and out of sleep, feels chanyeol tucking him in and hears a whisper, "i mean it. i'm really going to marry you one day."

→25/11

financially independent and highly successful hybrid jongin taking in chanyeol, the shivering human he finds on the streets.. . . .

swaddles chanyeol in blankets and watches him sleep and best friend cat sehun is like "you're going to KEEP a human??"

jongin hasn't wagged his tail since he was a wee pup (he's DIGNIFIED) but when chanyeol sleepily smiles at him maybe his tail twitches

chanyeol the useless human with no skills but plays guitar and cooks well and all of jongin's friends are curious about his pet human

chanyeol overhears them one day and laughs, "i'm your pet human?"
"no-"
"i like the sound of that," chanyeol says with a grin. "yours."

"i can be your," chanyeol allows, "housekeeper."
housekeeper. jongin can work with that. it sounds better than-
"that makes you, my master?"

not long before sehun starts calling chanyeol "jongin's pet boyfriend" and not long before jongin stops protesting the nickname

2017!

→10/3

jongin chooses to photograph a wolf for his final assignment. chanyeol is a werewolf who can't shift because a human keeps following him.

slowly jongin gains wolf chanyeol's trust, enough for chanyeol to let jongin touch him once but oh, jongin gives fantastic pets and backrubs

okay jongin calls him "puppy" which chanyeol should really do something about and stop it tail! don't wag! being called puppy is INSULTING

it doesn't help that chanyeol is a total narcissist who loves being watched and he strikes up the most ridiculous majestic poses for jongin

one day chanyeol sees jongin on campus and force of habit has him happily pouncing into jongin's arms except.. chanyeol is human this time

jongin is talking to friends when this tall lanky hunk of a man enthusiastically envelops him in a warm hug and are you going to LICK me?

they chalk it up as a case of mistaken identity. chanyeol is still weird in jongin's eyes but he's so HOT- uh. friendly. he's friendly.

chanyeol is a mischievous troublemaker and one day jongin jokes "bad dog" and chanyeol just. chanyeol curls him on himself and ? whines ?

there are other odd things like when chanyeol lies his head on jongin's lap and cards jongin's fingers thru his hair even tho they just met

→15/3

not to start anything but rich estate owner is enamoured with his stable boy (who turns out to be a runaway from a prestigious family)

chanyeol flips through his endless paperwork and is distracted by the sound of laughter. from his foyer he can see a boy- a man gallop past

the man looks sunkissed and happy, his top buttons undone and wind in his hair and chanyeol is seized with an unexplainable rush of JEALOUSY

while chanyeol's stuck indoors tending to boring matters and stuffy business partners this man gets to frolic on chanyeol's favourite horse?

chanyeol stalks outside, determined to scold the man, admonish him about his unpresentable fashion sense, ANYTHING, but his words fail

because the man draws to a stop, a question in his eyes and a defiant smirk on his lips, and chanyeol has never seen a more gorgeous man

kim jongin is but a stablehand but he acts like a noble and dares to speak back to chanyeol. (jongin used Confusion. it's super effective)

and so chanyeol personally takes on the task of giving this impossible jongin etiquette lessons

don't need the universe

2015-05-09T14:53:39Z

Title: don't need the universe (when i have you)
Pairing: chanyeol/jongin
Rating: PG-13
Length: 2,700
Summary: a whirlwind fic for a whirlwind romance. inspired by this prompt by @chankaibot.

you're enough. i don't need the universe - 150422 blonote

Jongin vaguely remembers Chanyeol suggesting such a thing one night over soju and fried squid. It must have been a month ago, or maybe three weeks, and they were celebrating. What they were celebrating escapes Jongin, because Chanyeol is prone to do things like that, wants to enjoy each and every moment to the fullest. They might've been celebrating Chanyeol breaking his score in Super Mario, or something equally as trivial. Chanyeol's ability to make every day seem like a blessing is what made Jongin fall in love with Chanyeol in the first place.

"Get up, bitch, we're going shopping."

Jongin blinks blearily and makes his body go limp so it's harder for Chanyeol to pull him up. Chanyeol looks way too cheerful for- Jongin glances at the clock, oh, he slept through lunch again.

"Come on, let's go," Chanyeol says, tugging at Jongin's arm, and Jongin waves his Saturday goodbye.

"Are we hitting the duty free shops?" Jongin asks, stubbornly ignoring the luggage Chanyeol is happily tugging along. "Chanyeol, we can get better deals in the city."

Jongin had fallen back asleep the moment he settled into Chanyeol's car, after Chanyeol sleep walked him through washing up and spoon fed him a few bites of cereal. Somehow, he hadn't noticed the luggage in the backseat. Or realised that his passport has been missing from its hiding place under his socks.

"Relax, it's just Japan. Easy two day trip."

Jongin stops in his tracks, back going rigid as the situation finally sinks in. "Japan?" He didn't even pack or exchange currency. God knows if Chanyeol has the sense to pack right for the weather. What if he packed all HBA shirts like the last time they went to Jeonju. What if he forgets to bring along the allergy medicines because Chanyeol can't keep away from fluffy animals but Chanyeol is also highly allergic to fluffy animals.

"We have time," Chanyeol says soothingly and he's gently rubbing circles into the back of Jongin's hand while lowering his voice on purpose so Jongin lets himself be led to the boarding gates.

And they do have time. Jongin is stuck in that period of time after grad school, with the slow realisation that he's overqualified for entry level jobs and underqualified for a proper managerial position.

Chanyeol has flexible work hours and he's in between projects after completing the album of some hot shot teenage idol.

Jongin had many weeks of fun pretending to be jealous over all the time Chanyeol was spending with the eager songstress, because he enjoys the attention Chanyeol lavishes on him when he's riled up.

When the plane is going down the runway, Chanyeol laces their fingers together and brings their locked hands up to his lips for a reassuring kiss. "Hey, don't worry, I've got you."

"Thank you," Jongin says sincerely. "I love this."

From the Tokyo Skytree observation deck, they can see past the glittering city below as the city readies itself for a busy night. All those lighted buildings are symbols of someone pulling an all-nighter, and Jongin has never been more grateful to be unemployed.

They spent the day fooling around in Harajuku and Shibuya, taking far too many silly purikuras and hitting up Alcatraz ER, the prison themed restaurant. "Just to check it out," Jongin claimed but everyone saw the way he lit up when they found out they could stir their drinks with dildos. The vagina shaped cakes were a bonus.

"Come on, we should take a picture to commemorate," Chanyeol urges as he watches Jongin press himself against the skydeck’s glass windows to drink in the darkening skyline. He fumbles in his bag to pull out his phone and tugs Jongin closer.

Jongin obediently strikes a quick V, giggling when Chanyeol leans forward to nip at his fingers and then steal a quick kiss at the corner of his mouth. The photo comes out funny, with Jongin's face half distorted because he's turning his face away to avoid Chanyeol's kiss. They're in public, after all.

"I almost don't want to go home," Jongin sighs, leaning into Chanyeol's chest and ignoring the tittering tourists around them.

"Good, because tomorrow we're going to Taiwan."

Luckily, the windows of the observation deck are fortified, but if you squint closely enough, one might see the soft imprints of where Jongin pushed Chanyeol's face into the glass.

Taiwan is dizzying. If Jongin was comfortable in the bustling streets of Hongdae, Shi Lin night market catches him off guard with the sheer number of young people pushing around the place.

"Dick waffles." Chanyeol points out the stall, having a keen eye for these sort of things.

"We're stumbling upon a lot of phallic objects in our travels," Jongin muses but they stand in line anyway. It's penis shaped waffles and they never claimed to be the most mature.

They join everyone else in taking inappropriate selcas and Chanyeol chokes while pretending to deep throat the waffle.

"Come on, you can take it. I'm bigger anyway," Jongin laughs and the camera in his hand slips, almost crashing to the ground before Jongin dives to save it.

Chanyeol hums non-committedly and shuffles off to check out a bubble tea place, leaving Jongin standing there and wondering if he was just insulted.

"Hey!" he cries a minute too late, pulling his lips into a pout and stamping his right foot for good measure. He bumps Chanyeol's hip with his own and snipes back huffily, "You're nothing to yell about either."

"You're cute," Chanyeol laughs and sweeps Jongin's bangs aside to brush his lips against Jongin's forehead, an unspoken apology.

Jongin lets out a tiny contented murmur and they both know Chanyeol's forgiven.

They land in Hong Kong at noon and Jongin is far too sleepy for anything that requires him to move. They decide to skip Disneyland and Disney Sea and just spend the day lounging around in the hotel room watching b-flick movies on the TV.

Jongin takes everything he said about Shi Lin market in Taiwan back. The night market was crowded but nothing compares to their destination for dinner, Mongkok, where their senses are bombarded with so much stimuli Jongin has to cling to Chanyeol to find his ground and not be swept away by the moving crowd. Chanyeol is very pleased at this new development.

Chanyeol nudges Jongin in the side and cocks his head to draw Jongin's attention. The street is lined with photographers offering to capture instant memories in film, promising great shots for a low price.

To their left, a young couple wearing matching baseball jackets lies on the ground with their chins propped up, smiling at each other. The photographer crouches on one knee and with a few shouted directions that Jongin and Chanyeol can't understand, the flash goes off, and the photo is instantly printed on the spot. Even from so far away, Jongin can see that the photo came out well, and the happy couple walks away with bright smiles.

They're actually so adorable Jongin feels his jaw hurt.

He turns to Chanyeol to complain about the sheer amount of cute and finds Chanyeol grinning at him expectantly.

"No," Jongin says, so horrified he lets go of Chanyeol's hand.

"Why not?" Chanyeol widens his eyes and blinks rapidly in an attempt at being cute. It's really not appealing but Jongin has to stamp down the little curl of adoration anyway.

"Closer," the photographer directs in hesitant English, gesturing for them to cut out the awkward posing.

Jongin peeks up at Chanyeol just when he hears the click of the shutter and that turns out to be Chanyeol's favourite shot- Jongin staring up at Chanyeol like Chanyeol is his the anchor while Chanyeol's smile is so soft and indulgent.

Secretly, Jongin likes last two shots the most. In a fit of playful impulse, Chanyeol had lifted Jongin off his feet and the first shot shows Jongin's arms wrapped around Chanyeol's neck, head thrown back in gleeful joy. In the second, Jongin improvised by planting a playful kiss on Chanyeol's nose and Chanyeol's eyes are scrunched shut mid-laugh.

They may have drawn a fairly large crowd of curious onlookers, but as they go through the photographs again later in the hotel room, Jongin thinks it's all worth it.

"Isn't this fun?" Chanyeol yells. His voice sounds distant, even if they're strapped together, Jongin against Chanyeol's chest.

Yeah, Jongin wants to reply, but his answer is swallowed up by a scream as they go hurtling down the Macau tower together.

Chanyeol covers Jongin screams with kisses so fleeting it feels like the wind whipping up their hair. It's entirely unromantic because Jongin can acutely sense the rapidly approaching ground and the safety harness is digging painfully into his thigh, but if Jongin ignores the fight with vertigo, kissing Chanyeol always did feel a little like falling off a cliff, all racing heartbeats and breathless gasps.

The bungee jump attendant smiles knowingly at them when they've safely planted both feet on the ground and Chanyeol cheerfully says, "I hope that was caught on camera!"

Vietnam proves to be a welcome retreat after days of rushing through crowds and concrete jungles.

They wanted to head to Halong Bay but the date they were arriving in Vietnam happened to coincide with the 14th day of the lunar month, so they ended up in Hoi An instead.

Jongin buys his first suit in a tiny tailor shop for a fraction of the price in Korea, a graduation present for himself and a symbol of his awaiting working life. It takes only one day for the suit to be ready for the first fitting and it fits Jongin like a glove, the workmanship outstanding for the price. Jongin cannot thank the seamstress enough and she beams, mulled with jongin's attempts at broken Vietnamese.

"Well?" Jongin steps out from the fitting room in his newly bought suit and asks, giving a small twirl for Chanyeol.

Chanyeol doesn't answer but merely stares, drinking in the sight of Jongin until Jongin feels oddly self-conscious. "Is it... too small?"

"You look amazing." When Chanyeol finally speaks, Jongin feels his stomach swoop with desire. Chanyeol's voice is but a throaty whisper, low and dark with promise.

It only takes two steps into their chalet before Chanyeol has Jongin pushed against the wall in a rough and searing kiss, mouthing hungrily down the side of Jongin's neck and across his collarbones.

They christen the suit in a very different way, and with all the memories clinging to the suit, jongin definitely won't be wearing it to work any time soon.

At night, after they've tired themselves out and ordered dinner in bed, they take a stroll in town and finally see the hype of the lantern town for themselves.

It's a breath taking experience sipping on beer among hundreds of lanterns and their soft reflections in the calm river. Jongin is reminded of Hangang river and the many dates they shared when they first started dating in university and somehow the memories bleed into each other when he closes his eyes, the city lights of Hangang blurring into the lanterns of Hoi An.

For kicks, Chanyeol orders a cocktail with a shot of iced Vietnamese coffee despite Jongin's protests and lets Jongin take the honour of first sip.

"This tastes like poison," Jongin blanches, pushing the glass away from him.

"Baby," Chanyeol says fondly, tapping Jongin's nose and laughing when Jongin tries to bite his finger. He brings the glass up for a sip and immediately starts coughing, the strong alcohol and bitter coffee taking him by surprise.

Chanyeol is generous enough to let Jongin bask in the satisfaction of the unspoken 'I told you'.

They spend another two nights relaxing in Hoi An and Danang before they fly to their last destination, Koh Samui, Thailand.

The island is thronging with too many tourists but it doesn't stop Koh Samui from being absolutely beautiful. They splurge on a villa with a stretch of private beach and it's there that they take their dinner, simple sandwiches on a picnic mat taken from their room.

Jongin has never seen a sunset by beach and he watches the dip of the horizon quietly, too enthralled to look away. He doesn't even notice that Chanyeol has disappeared until he feels the mat move.

Chanyeol offers him his hand and smiles, "I have something to show you."

"Close your eyes," Chanyeol tells him and Jongin plays along, amused by his boyfriend's antics. Jongin concentrates instead on the soft slip of the sand beneath his toes and the steady warmth of Chanyeol's palm.

It doesn't take long before Chanyeol stops them both and asks Jongin to open his eyes.

The first thing Jongin sees is a sandcastle, a small fort with carved in doors and even a moat.

Then he notices it. A simple ring peeks on the top of the castle and Jongin's breath hitches in his throat, suddenly hearing nothing but the rhythmic crashing of the waves.

Only now does he pick up on how nervous Chanyeol looks, or how he's dressed too finely for the beach in his collared shirt and pressed slacks. Chanyeol's palms are sweaty as he holds Jongin's hand again, this time cradled carefully with both hands. "The sandcastle may crumble, but my love for you won't."

It almost draws a laugh from Jongin but as soon as the urge comes, it's replaced with a heady rush, and Jongin manages to choke out, "I can't believe you said that."

Chanyeol drops Jongin's hands to pull out his phone, already set to a video and he holds it out shakily, pressing play.

The video is a slideshow of pictures, all taken by Chanyeol along their three week long getaway- on Victoria Peak in Hong Kong, outside a ramen store in Xi Men Ding, Taiwan, on the elephant in Hoi An, but all of them share something in common.

While Jongin is admiring the scenery or caught up in an interesting souvenir at the stores, Chanyeol is watching Jongin intensely in all of the pictures. Jongin immediately understands what romantic comedy heroines mean when they say to find someone who treats you like you're their world, because Chanyeol's gaze is so raw and open there is no mistaking the emotion burning in his eyes.

The slideshow stops on the final shot of them on the beach. Chanyeol's hand is long enough that the camera captures half of their bodies and Jongin has his head thrown back in a laugh. This time, Chanyeol is not looking at Jongin but staring straight into the camera with a bright grin, his other arm stretched by his side to hold out a card hidden in his palm.

"When did you do this?" Jongin gasps, eyes starting to feel a little wet. He was right next to Chanyeol and he didn't even notice-

Because the card reads in Chanyeol's signature scrawl, will you marry me?

"Kim Jongin," Chanyeol says, voice sounding stronger and more confident now. He plucks the ring from the sandcastle and drops to one knee, head turned up at with this goofy smile. "You've made the past five years of my life the most blissful years I've ever had. You cry when watching dramas and leave snot on my clothes, and you keep sneaking stray cats into our home even when you know it means we have to sleep apart that night. You burn everything you cook and sometimes you even leave your socks everywhere in the house, but I hope I can have these treasured moments for the rest of my life.” He takes a deep breath and continues, voice dropping low, “Will you marry me?"

Jongin sniffs, tears spilling over now. "You're stupid."

Chanyeol is off his knees in a flash, reaching out to embrace Jongin and fitting him snugly in his arms. He rests his chin on the crown of Jongin's head and closes his eyes. "I love you."

Jongin buries his nose into Chanyeol's collar and grips the back of Chanyeol's shirt, clinging on tight. "So stupid."

Yes.

end.

this is part of my offerings to satan aka the mods of twitter bot chankaiprompts

what's for dinner (i hope it's me)

2015-01-20T12:30:08Z

Title: what’s for dinner (i hope it’s me)
Pairing: kyungsoo/baekhyun
Rating: PG-13
Length: 2,600
Summary: vampire!au. baekhyun wants kyungsoo to eat him. no seriously, why won’t kyungsoo eat him.

It was a mistake from the beginning, letting Baekhyun find out his real identity.

That fateful night, Kyungsoo had gone an entire week without feeding and while he usually preferred to sip on a nice, classy glass of red blood (especially A positive because that’s how his life is, A plus), he was running short on supplies. There was a multi-car pileup at the intersection and the hospital was running low on blood bags, so a trip to the hospital had resulted in an apologetic Yixing and empty hands.

With no options on hand, Kyungsoo was forced to do what he absolutely hated– hunt. It's hard being a vampire in 21st century Seoul, and yet in some ways, it's easier than ever. Seoul is full of nooks and crannies and dark alleys just waiting for young, unsuspecting prey to wander into. But those are options for truly desperate times. Kyungsoo just had to do what any other modern day vampire did and hit the clubs.

Gangnam is a haven for vampires but Kyungsoo much prefers the nitty gritty, laidback scene of Hongdae. In the Gangnam clubs, the smell of expensive perfume is always cloying and the eyes of the people frequenting the clubs often flick down to the limited edition watch on his wrist before looking up to meet his own gaze. Kyungsoo can lose himself in NB2 easily, confident that everyone there is just there to dance, or hook up if one got lucky. For a creature that survives by feeding on prey, staying inconspicuous is exactly what he needs.

Besides, the flecks of gold were starting to appear in his eyes from the thirst and the dimly lit dance floors of Hongdae were much more welcoming than flashy Gangnam.

He had cornered a pretty young vixen who moved her hips like sin and had the sultriest gaze. Kyungsoo licked his lips and gently pushed the girl’s hair behind her ear and had just unleashed his fangs when a short man cut in abruptly and bumped the disgruntled girl away.

“Mind if I cut in? I’m Baekhyun.”

In the dark light, Kyungsoo could only make out thick eyeliner and a bright grin. He was completely caught off guard and couldn’t shield his fangs in time and he knew he was in trouble when Baekhyun gasped.

“You’re-”

Kyungsoo slapped a hand over Baekhyun’s mouth, but not quick enough to muffle the next words, “-vampire.”

Completely panicked, Kyungsoo did the only thing he could think of and pierced Baekyun’s neck with his fangs. Over the years, vampires have evolved so that the act of sucking blood was pleasurable for both the victim and the vampire. If the victim was willing, having their blood sucked was an act more intimate than sex itself, but if the victim was caught unaware, all their memories of having met the vampires would vanish, keeping the vampire’s identity safe.

The minute his fangs broke skin, Baekhyun let out a moan so loud, it was almost heard over the thumping music. A heavy scent invaded Kyungsoo’s sense, so intense and alluring that Kyungsoo’s knees almost buckled. He didn’t know whether it was the long period without feeding or if it was just Baekhyun, but Kyungsoo’s usual self-restraint snapped. He dug his fangs deeper into Baekhyun, lapping at the wound eagerly as Baekhyun writhed in his arms. Never had he felt such heat coursing through his veins, Baekhyun’s blood sweet and bursting on his tongue. He lost control, not stopping until Baekhyun cried out one last time and went limped in his arm. The front of his pants was slick. Baekhyun had come in his pants and promptly passed out.

He left the boy lying limp on the sidewalk and was racked with guilt the minute he got home but when he went back to look for Baekhyun, he was gone.

For days after, Kyungsoo checked the newspapers religiously but there was no news of a boy found drained of his blood.

Contrary to common belief, vampires are not allergic to sun. Well, maybe Chanyeol is, but Chanyeol is allergic to everything, including O-positive blood.

Kyungsoo leads a rather normal life as the head barista of the famed EXO cafe. In fact, Kyungsoo is quite a (and Kyungsoo snorts appreciatively to himself) bloody genius with coffee. He has a nose for sniffing out the best beans and a natural talent at making pretty swirls and art with foam.

Kyungsoo is adding the fourth shot to the customer’s coffee when he spots the little tuff of hair popping around outside the window. Kyungsoo feels an increasing sense of doom as he prays fervently for his eyes to be playing tricks on him.

Hi, Baekhyun mouths, waving his hands excitedly.

Crap. On the bright side, Baekhyun is alive. On the other hand, holy shit. But maybe it’s okay, Kyungsoo reassures himself. Victims have their memories erased after a feeding.

“I would like a mocha with two sugars and whipped cream to go,” Baekhyun says brightly once he has bounced up to the counter. “Oh, and please eat me.”

Kyungsoo’s hand slips from where he was setting the coffee cup onto the machine, the thankfully paper cup falling soundlessly to the floor. “Excuse me?” Also, that much sugar can’t be good for such a small person, not that Kyungsoo can judge height-wise.

Baekhyun stares straight into Kyungsoo’s eyes. “Do Kyungsoo-” Kyungsoo covers his name tag too late. “Eat me.”

“Are you insane?” Kyungsoo looks around and sees no one else around them, the cafe empty in the slump between lunch hour and tea. He lowers his voice all the same, “ I’m a monster.”

“Yes, you are the most amazing creature I have ever seen,” Baekhyun breathes out, stars practically lighting up his eyes.

Kyungsoo preens a little at that but he remembers that oops, he has a problem on his hands. “No. Go away and if you mention this to anyone I will murder you and drain your blood.”

Baekhyun sucks in his breath shakily, like he’s almost anticipating it. “O-okay.”

For the next two hours until the end of his shift, Kyungsoo can't explain to his boss why Baekhyun follows him around whispering, "Eat me. Please."

Minseok raises his eyebrow when Baekhyun whispers particularly loudly, "Kyungsoo, I'm DELECTABLE. EAT ME."

"You'd uh, better eat him," Minseok says with thinly veiled amusement. "He seems to really want it."

If Kyungsoo had a functioning bloodstream, he would've blushed.

Things are quiet for a bit, and by a bit, Kyungsoo means a day, because Baekhyun thankfully stays away for the next shift and Kyungsoo gets to peacefully drown in the smell of coffee and nibble on red velvet cupcakes (injected with a shot of blood).

All is good.

Until Baekhyun shows up with a banner and bad poetry.

HE GOES BY THE NAME OF KYUNGSOO
SO CUTE I JUST WANT TO SUE
I’M YOURS FOR TAKING
SO EAT ME PLEASE EAT ME

“That’s an interesting… giraffe,” Minseok comments, fingers brushing over the yellow thing on Baekhyun’s poster.

“It’s a bat,” Baekhyun corrects cheerfully. “Cause’ you know, Kyungsoo is-”

“Batshit insane!” Kyungsoo cuts in quickly. His laugh must sound hysterical because Minseok nods like this explains everything.

He leans in close and lowers his voice so that only Baekhyun can hear, “Baekhyun, I’m not sure if you’re aware, but I’m equipped with superhuman strength and can easily snap your neck.”

“That’s so-” Baekhyun widens his eyes.

Kyungsoo smiles smugly. Finally, he has gotten through Baekhyun’s thick little skull.

“Cool!”

Minseok flutters over, mop in one hand and two cups in another. “Kyungsoo, please don’t bang your head against the coffee machine. We need it for our business.”

"RAVISH ME O FEARFUL ONE" Baekhyun shouts loudly the next day as he runs into the cafe, spreading his arms akimbo. Kyungsoo wrinkles his nose in distaste.

Minseok mutters something about young people and their uncontrollable hormones but takes it all in stride. He walks behind the counter and bumps into something. Looking down, he finds Kyungsoo hunched pitifully out of view.

“Hey!” Baekhyun beams. “Where’s Kyungsoo!”

“I’m not here,” Kyungsoo whispers desperately, tugging at Minseok’s apron.

“Kyungsoo will be out in a bit,” Minseok says soothingly to Baekhyun, “Why don’t you take a seat and Kyungsoo will attend to you in a moment?”

“Don’t encourage him,” Kyungsoo hisses.

Too bad Baekhyun is encouraged. He's relentless and like a dog with a bone, turning up day after day in tshirts and cardboard signs screaming EAT ME. Instead of attracting a lawsuit for public indecency like Kyungsoo feared he would, the customers somehow find him adorable and start supporting his cause.

When Kyungsoo takes the order of a friendly granny, his favourite regular, she pats his arm and tells him kindly, "You make that nice young man your dinner. Not many boys go for such traditional methods of courtship these days."

Kyungsoo looks at where Baekhyun is spraying the finishing touches of edible glitter onto his three tier cake with a figurine that looks suspiciously like Baekhyun covered in lollipops and wonders what the granny means by traditional.

"No outside food aloud," Minseok says to Baekhyun, pointing at the sign on the wall.

"I'm food too and I'm allowed here," Baekhyun argues.

Minseok does not understand but he still turns down Kyungsoo's desperate pleas to "Yes, kick Baekhyun out! File a restraining order!"

Minseok is a saint but even an angel has his limits.

On the second week, Baekhyun blows bubbles into his iced chocolate and giggles at barista Minseok. "Does this count as annoying?"

"Kyungsoo," Minseok grits out. "I don't know what's happening but if you don't eat him I will personally strangle the kid."

"I'll hold him down and you grab his neck," Kyungsoo says seriously, cracking his knuckles.

"Is it because my blinding youth makes you sad about your immortality?" Baekhyun asks earnestly. "Or are you afraid of ruining my good looks?"

Minseok shakes his head. "Kyungsoo, please don't kill him in my cafe. It is bad for business."

The truth is, it's not that Kyungsoo doesn't want to ah, eat Baekhyun. When Kyungsoo closes his eyes, all he sees is Baekhyun’s smile and the span of Baekhyun’s neck. He's woken up a few nights in a row gasping about the little whirlwind of enthusiasm. It's just that Baekhyun smells so strongly of want that it drives Kyungsoo insane. He remembers the taste of Baekhyun all too clearly and he’s afraid he’ll lose control again.

It’s vampire legend, how some vampires will find a soul bond and chance upon a human with blood so delicious that they can’t think straight. Some speculate that it’s a way of allowing vampires a chance at love and expand their clan with conversion while others say it’s the ultimate punishment, for a vampire to fall in love with his food.

He's only seen it happen to his friend, Sehun, before, a nice chap who might have been on the pasty side. Sehun, the poor man, was changed when he was 17, dooming him in an eternity in high school, which was an idea worse than hell. Their love story has since spawned a bestselling trilogy, although Jongin always complains about himself being unfairly represented because the werewolf community is actually ferocious and scary. What do you mean Zita- uh, the girl uses him as a heater to survive the cold. And how could Jon- I mean, the werewolf imprint on an infant? The sparkles were Zitao’s idea, though.

There are rumours among the cafe staff about how Minseok was the three year defending champion of a highly illegal underground fighting ring before he decided to make a more honest form of living. Kyungsoo never believed it because he's never even seen the smile so much as drop off Minseok's face. Minseok is the most pleasant person he's ever met, the kind that would use a piece of scrap paper to move an ant from the counter to the pavement outside.

It’s testament to how annoying Baekhyun actually is when Kyungsoo shows up at work and is promptly shoved into the food storeroom. Baekhyun is already sitting by the sack of flour, mouth full with cookies.

"You know what, knock yourself out." Minseok looks awfully menacing for a guy so small.

"Sir, I'm sure this is a violation of the health code-" Kyungsoo attempts to argue.

"He is a violation to my mental health," Minseok half screams, to which Baekhyun flashes a happy V sign with his fingers. This time, Minseok actually screams and then the door is slammed shut in their faces.

"So," Baekhyun chirps, brushing cookie crumbs off his mouth and chest. Kyungsoo tries really hard not to look at his long fingers.

“Do you even understand what you’re doing?” Kyungsoo growls, taking a step closer to Baekhyun. If he can’t shake Baekhyun off, maybe he can intimidate him, make Baekhyun see what a truly despicable creature is. He crouches down until he’s hovering over Baekhyun’s sitting form, encasing Baekhyun in a shadow of darkness. With the light so low, Baekhyun can surely see the specks of gold in Kyungsoo’s eyes and the sharp, deadly fangs. Any normal person would have been peeing their pants in horror by now so Kyungsoo waits for the inevitable scream. Monster.

“You’re beautiful,” Baekhyun says instead, echoing what he said a few days back. He leans back against the shelf and smiles at Kyungsoo, not his signature toothpaste worthy smile, but a soft barely there quirk, like he’s taking Kyungsoo in and appreciating his everything. It's so unlike any other reaction Kyungsoo has ever gotten that he's mesmerised.

Kyungsoo is at the top of the food chain. His kind listens to no one. But when Baekhyun cocks his head and says, “hey, come here,” Kyungsoo does.

At the first touch of their lips, Kyungsoo swears he hears the roar of blood in his ears, paired with the rapid beating of their- of Baekhyun’s heart. He imagines the swirling of blood through Baekhyun’s veins, through his own veins, and he feels so alive. Baekhyun is sin, desire; he’s a drug, sweet, delicious, and so tempting.

This is a faint shadow of any feeding he has before because he isn’t even puncturing Baekhyun’s neck this time, but he’s tasting more of Baekhyun than he can handle. Baekhyun returns his kiss with equal fervour, mouthing hungrily at Kyungsoo until their mouths are slick and lips swollen.

“Wow,” Kyungsoo breathes out when they finally break apart for air, Baekhyun’s little gasps no longer bearable for Kyungsoo to hear.

Baekhyun’s hands are fisted in Kyungsoo’s collar like he’s grabbing onto a lifeline. He’s the perfect position to crane his head up to press a small kiss to Kyungsoo’s nose, grinning when the vampire pulls away in embarrassment. “You can actually eat me,” Baekhyun says cheekily, baring his neck for Kyungsoo.

It takes all of Kyungsoo’s self-restraint not to bite Baekhyun’s head off. He settles for painting Baekhyun’s neck with purple bruises instead.

"Are you decent? I'm coming in!"

Minseok bursts in, hands over his eyes. "Okay there, cowboys. I didn't actually mean for you to eat him. Should I replace the bag of potatoes? Give this whole storeroom a bleaching?"

Kyungsoo snarls, showing just enough teeth for a fang to glisten menacingly. “Go away, boss.”

Minseok widens his eyes and takes a step back slowly. “Uh, I’ll just leave you to it.”

Kyungsoo doesn’t have a heart, but when he looks at Baekhyun cradled in his arms, he thinks he might feel his heart skip a beat.

end.

ha.... /laughs weakly

time flies (but you keep breaking its wings)

2014-10-12T17:06:01Z

Title: time flies (but you keep breaking its wings)
Pairing: luhan/minseok, luhan/kai
Rating: PG-13
Length: 7,500
Summary: future!au - ten years later, luhan is still going in circles, but no one anchors him down as well as that one group mate.
A/N: i started writing this before kris's lawsuit but abandoned it after he left. started it again recently but then luhan's news came out. i was prepared to abandon it for good but epik high announced their comeback tonight and somehow i decided to finish it. so, this future au still has luhan in it and will briefly mention kris leaving.

It still slips from his tongue sometimes, a cheerful ne! instead of the murmur of agreement he used to give to his classmates in Beijing. It's hard to erase habits drilled in after 14 hard years in a foreign land. Lu Han spoke nothing but Korean in the year they promoted Growl, desperate to pick up a language that will never be his. His Korean was decent after two years at Yonsei but he’s the first to admit that he spent more time in Hongdae than in his classes.

For a long 6 months, Zitao implemented a no mandarin rule in the dorm and Yifan tried to exploit the loopholes by joking around in Cantonese. No one in the house could speak dialects anyway and the joke fell flat but Yifan kept at it with his unique brand of humour. Only Chanyeol humoured Yifan but that was what Chanyeol always did, gravitate around Yifan with an idolizing respect that could be mistaken as a crush. Maybe they did try. It doesn't matter now- Chanyeol's first child is on the way, the result of two years of sneaking out of the dorm and a million nights of him gushing about Chaeyeon until the rest of the members knew her as well as he did. Chanyeol glows when he talks about his wife and future daughter, keeping the ultrasound tucked away in his wallet like a gun in its holster, ready to shoot when there’s anyone with a listening ear. The path from nation’s son-in-law upgraded to nation’s young daddy was shaky and filled with tears (mostly from the fangirls) but anyone can tell from Chanyeol’s smile that he wouldn’t have it any other way.

Eight years together of active promotion is a good run. They were productive, racking up a total of 6 full length albums, 21 mini albums, 175 music show wins and more than enough near death injuries. Collectively, they've broken enough bones and strained enough muscles to be an aspiring surgeon's wet dream. They were lucky to come this far while suffering minimal damage in member count. One-twelfth isn't bad from a company that has lost more, and Lu Han is surprised they didn't lose more. After the messy lawsuit, no one was eager to go through it again and it was just easier to breathe slower and relearn patience and perseverance.

It's easier to burn out when the rise to the top was so fast. Technically, their fame was neither fast nor sudden. Exo was manufactured for money, more so than any other groups. After their disappointing and cringe worthy debut was one whole year of silence. No one said the same when CN Blue won two weeks after their debut, no one said anything when 2NE1 won in a month. Then again, Yonghwa never lipsynced and 2NE1 never howled. (Except for that one time Chaerin burst into a wolf in their MV as a metaphor for letting out your inner confidence, igniting fanwars among Exo fans and Blackjacks.)

But when the members started shuttling off to the army, there was no Exo left to salvage. Exo K's ages were too similar and Jongin and Sehun had some notion of misplaced loyalty, insisting that they all went in at once. Baekhyun was understandably hesitant, because two years of solo work is always tempting, but it took little cajoling for him to agree. Only Minseok went in early, the age gap too large to ignore. Their 7th album was with a formation of 10, with Sehun out of the picture for a recurring waist injury and weekend calls to Minseok who looked too frail with a bald head.

The public was tired of Exo, always have been since their first win, and two years of quiet was exactly what everyone needed.

Except now it seems like two years is turning into an eternity, what with Chanyeol’s daughter and their own individual careers taking off. You can’t walk through Beijing these days without seeing Yixing or Zitao’s face smiling down at you. There’s a place for Lu Han somewhere around there, his fame lukewarm but never really waning. Once the face, always the face.

The Korean members are heading places too, albeit at a slower pace due to their military stint. Their fans were always more loyal though, so their release was welcomed with much fanfare, the public’s animosity towards them seemingly forgotten. Netizens are more ready to forgive if they played their cards right with military service, and the decision to enlist together as normal soldiers won them public favour.

“You look like an ahjumma,” is the first thing Lu Han says when he enters Minseok's apartment, carelessly toeing off his shoes and kicking them aside. His neon green sneakers stand out among Minseok’s carefully lined shoes in boring dark and pastel colours.

Minseok smiles and says hesitantly, words pronounced and careful. “How have you been?” He closes the door carefully and slips down three locks- they aren't in their prime anymore but sasaengs are relentless all the same. Once Baekhyun suggested turning it into a drinking game, a shot for every unknown phone call received during the night and they had gotten smashed far earlier than they should have.

Mandarin is rusty on Minseok's tongue but Lu Han understands. Two years in Beijing has shaved the Korean fluency off Lu Han's tongue but kept him from forgetting completely.

"Cut your hair," Lu Han snipes, pushing at his own shock of blond. The stylist had made this skeptical expression when Lu Han asked for platinum blond but that only made Lu Han all the more determined to bleach his hair. She was right; yellow might have worked when he was younger but just manages to wash out his tired complexion now.

Minseok's hair is tied into a small ponytail, his bangs pushed up with a headband. He looks like he could be just at home in one of those 90s dance fitness videos. He’s even dressed like an extra in a fitness class with his loose fitting tee and sweats.

If only the fans could see how homely Minseok is now, would they still wait outside his house all night, waiting for a small glimpse? Then again, Minseok's fans were always the calmest. Minseok has built up a domestic image and he’s a mother-in-law’s dream, the antithesis to Lu Han’s troubled prince image.

Minseok was always one of the more popular ones, and he never even tried to fight for it, his humble nature preferring to push the spotlight off himself and onto the other members. For the longest time, Lu Han thought it was because of a lack of self-confidence but as the years stretched on and Minseok seemed happier being second fiddle (he never was, everyone kept telling him), it became clear that Minseok was the only one who knew how to be content.

He might be the happiest one among them now, even if he goes weeks without making a television appearance. Maybe only Chanyeol is happier, but they'll have to see how long the grin lasts when late night diaper changes and endless crying catches up to him. They've all seen how neurotic sleep-deprived Chanyeol can be and Lu Han prays for everyone's sake that Chaeyeon is a patient lady.

Where radio recordings might have been, there are now trips to the grocery store and walks in the park. Minseok still appears as a weekly guest on Baekhyun's radio show and frequently pops up on whatever talk show that Jongdae is hosting but he does it more as a favour than anything else. When any of the members are short of a guest, they'll call Minseok up apologetically and he'll agree goodnaturedly, saying that his cupcake baking adventure could wait.

It's odd being on the other side of the screen, watching the shows rather than being on it, and not as a guest at a movie premier either. Minseok is reliving the years of normal life that he has missed and sometimes Lu Han wishes he could do the same.

"This is so much fun! It's like we're roomies again." Lu Han drags his suitcase into the guest bedroom and plops down on the bed, arms akimbo. The bedroom is like the rest of the apartment, sparse and very white. It fits Minseok’s personality, clean and compact, everything compartmentalised and in place. Lu Han personally would never be able to stay in a room as devoid of soul as this, preferring warm and loud colours, but a guest is a guest.

"Yes, I enjoyed the joys of sweaty boys crammed into one room so much," Minseok deadpans. “But once you’ve settled in, come to the kitchen. I made cake last night.”

Okay, Lu Han takes back the comment about the room. “I’m staying here forever,” Lu Han says seriously and Minseok laughs on his way out, shutting the door behind him. Back in silence, the smile slips from Lu Han's face as he looks around the room that he'll call his own for an indefinite period of time. Lu Han starts to unpack.

They started living separately by their fifth album, Lu Han shuttling off to live with Yixing because he never could live alone and Minseok choosing to move into the apartment he stays in now.

Lu Han had spent a full year and a half in China working on a film and a handful of commercials, slowly both rebuilding and building on the fame that waned with the long years in Korea. China was familiar and warm, but somehow the whole experience had felt temporary to him. Maybe the years in Korea had conditioned him into thinking that the dorm in Seoul was the home base and China a new market to be explored. Exo M never spent enough time in one city for them to get a dorm in China so China was always a blur of hotel rooms, all too similar for him to know where they were. Even before he became Exo's Lu Han, China was never really home. Home meant warmth and fond memories.

By the time film promotions wrapped up, he had made a decision. "I'm going to Korea," he told Minseok on one of their weekly, maybe monthly, skype calls.

"Oh? For how long?"

Lu Han hummed. "Months? Longer? I need to look into renting an apartment."

"Why can't you live at mine?"

And as easy as that, it was settled.

On the weekends, Lu Han explores Seoul with Minseok. The mountains of Seoul is the last place anyone would expect Asia's most handsome face (faces, Lu Han corrects when Minseok jokes about this and marvels at the way Minseok shrinks at the compliment) to roam but there they go with gaudy backpacks and visors pulled down low.

Minseok must not have gone to the gym much in the time they rested because they’re barely halfway up the slope before he gestures for them to take a rest.

Lu Han is happy to oblige since he’s still feeling the effect of too much wine last night. Minseok has a decent wine collection, having taken an interest in wine after hanging out with Kyuhyun a few times. Lu Han is still chasing down soju shots at the pojangmacha tents.

"I heard from Seojoon that Song Qian is getting married in a few months," Lu Han says, plopping down onto a bench and pulling Minseok down with him.

"Seojoon," Minseok repeats, "That Sportsseoul reporter? Why do you even hang out with them?"

"Keep your friends close but your enemies closer," Lu Han winks. "Besides, they're nice company. I hear about things long before it hits the stands."

"That's rich, coming from you," Minseok snorts. “You didn't even turn up for Yunho sunbaenim's wedding. The internet was ablaze with rumours about a falling out between the both of you."

"I was in Brazil." Or Spain, maybe. That was during the time when Lu Han reveled in his new found freedom and travelled everywhere he could with all the sudden time he had in his hands. He sent a congratulatory postcard. "I didn't know you read comments."

“It’s nice to be in the know. I need to see whether Exo is relevant at least.”

"Oh?" Lu Han takes a sip of his water bottle. They have some way up and an even longer hike down but he’s already starting to feel pangs of hunger. A warm bowl of pork ribs soup right now, some fried intestines to nibble on, that's what he craves. "What else do they say about me?"

"Remember that supermodel blind item, the one about a fiery night in the backseat of a Maserati? Say, you own a Maserati, don't you?"

"Me and half of Exo, so what," Lu Han retorts, refusing to be baited. She was a headache for the company to deal with, even more of a pain for himself.

It's always like this now when they get together. No matter what anyone brings up, the topic of conversation falls back to their past. Lu Han has spent too many nights by himself reminiscing the glory days and somehow time has made the sweat and tears seem almost romantic. They worked hard to get here. Injuries are battle scars to be shown off. When Sehun whines about the lingering pain on the knee that never healed properly, Zitao tries to one up him by commenting about his sore back.

But there’s no point anymore. Lu Han looks up at the long trail awaiting them. The only thing they can do is move forward.

“Come on, let’s go.”

Jongin has a habit of mistaking respect for infatuation and falling fast for the people around him. Every single one of the Exo members has received an awkward pseudo confession at some point and it has long become one of their inside jokes.

"That line back on stage was slick. Careful, Jongin might fall for you!" Someone would joke and Jongin would squawk that he would never, but he would look carefully at another member, revealing his true feelings.

When Lu Han receives the text message that simply says "Woobin hates me", he knows that Jongin has done it again.

He just doesn't know how to deal with brats, Lu Han sends back. Where r u. Be there in 10.

“Jongin-shaped emergency,” Lu Han tells Minseok, grabbing his jacket off where he threw it on the couch.

Minseok dutifully stands up and returns with a six-pack of beer. Jongin hasn’t moved on from his little boy tastes and can only handle the softer tones of beer, not the soju that Lu Han has grown to love. Lu Han receives the six-pack from Minseok gratefully and salutes him. “Damage control, go!”

Kim Jongin is still so devastatingly handsome even after these years. They say a man is in his prime at the age of thirty and if that is true, kim Jongin is magnificent at the age of 28 and can only become more lethal.

Lu Han called it ever since he first set his eyes on Jongin because Jongin had the looks and just needed to age into it well.

The project album with Taemin had been insanely popular and pushed Jongin's to new heights. His rap was more than decent now and his vocals were strong enough to hold his own, the improvement reminiscent to Taemin's own growth.

Lu Han is just wondering about whether he was the only one that Jongin texted when he lets himself into Jongin’s fancy apartment, keying in the passcode that hasn’t changed since he was last here on his last visit to Seoul six months ago. From the way there is only one figure sprawled across the couch, it seems so.

Jongin looks up when the door opens, tossing out a customary "you came?" He half-heartedly rights himself and perches on the couch with his knees cradled to his chin.

Lu Han can smell the alcohol radiating off Jongin from a few feet away and he crinkles his nose as he slides next to Jongin, knowing that Jongin craves touch. Jongin leans in instinctively, letting Lu Han envelope him in his arms for a quick hug.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

Jongin shakes his head, only gesturing to the beer on the table for Lu Han to grab a can.

"Everyone want different things," Lu Han ventures and looks away immediately, not wanting to see the way Jongin's face will fall. Almost ten years in the industry and Jongin still hasn't figured out a way to not wear his heart on his sleeve. Almost ten years later, the stage name Kai is almost never used but the Kai persona unshakable. Jongin can never drop kai, Lu Han thinks, because that simply isn't who Jongin is.

Jongin tugs on Lu Han’s sleeve, looking at Lu Han with his emotions so open and raw that Lu Han reaches up to cup Jongin’s face, thumbs tugging at the corners of Jongin’s lips to force him into smile.

Almost ten years on, and Jongin has never gotten over his little infatuation, but that's partially Lu Han's fault for never truly nipping it in the bud. He feels almost responsible.

“Hyung.” Jongin whines, sounding impossibly small, and Lu Han can’t even stop what happens next.

Jongin mouths at him hungrily without any finesse, the alcohol sucking all technique out of him. Lu Han doesn’t think and moves on instinct to accommodate him, slowly sliding their lips together until the kiss is less desperate. This feels familiar, having a pliant Jongin in his arms and drinking him in, drowning in his whimpers and moans.

Drunk Jongin is easy and soft, and the kisses die down slowly, pattering off into nips and later just Jongin nuzzling his nose into Lu Han's neck as Lu Han pats his hair.

They don’t bother moving off the couch but Jongin looks so content to be curled awkwardly together on the too-small couch. “Good night, hyung,” he whispers, and his fingers reach out to curl around Lu Han's hem, like he's afraid Lu Han would be gone by morning. He’s right to be afraid.

Baekhyun used to joke of Jongin being a tiny leech because he latches on too fast.

Fuck.

Lu Han's been living by himself for almost two years so he's almost surprised when Minseok calls him. "You coming home tonight? Should I wait up for you?"

The Han river is cold at night, the wind strong in his hair. He left Jongin's apartment after Jongin had fallen asleep, leaving two aspirins on the bedside table. He worries his lip, tongue swiping over where Jongin had bit him softly. "I kissed Jongin."

"So what? We all have."

"I kissed Jongin two hours ago."

There's silence on the line, then Minseok breathes out slowly. "Go pick up the pieces now. And stay away from Kyungsoo. He'll murder you."

Once in Japan, probably sometime between their fourth and fifth album, Lu Han dragged Jongin out to a bar tucked into quiet alleys of Shimokitazawa. It was the one place they could count on never running into a fan. There, they were the shadows, not the star.

Jongin never was much of a drinker, a dancer's mindset drilled so deep into him that he dipped the gyoza into the miso soup to wash off the oil before carefully biting into the softened skin.

"You're a fucking outrage to culinary enthusiasts!" Lu Han crowed, stuffing his own gyoza into his mouth hungrily.

"Not everyone was born with an angel face and a killer metabolism. I have to work to get this face."

"I like that face," Lu Han said simply. He always was much more honest with a few shots in him, the false quiet demeanor fading away and the straightforward Chinese in him rearing its head. "Besides, my face is a curse. I was supposed to have a kiss scene for my new film but the director said it looked like she was a cradle robber. I can't even be kissed properly!" he wailed loudly, earning him a few curious looks from the bar owner.

"I would kiss you," Jongin mumbled, small and shy, like the Jongin Lu Han knew from when they were trainees.

If he remembers correctly, that was the first time Jongin had ever shown any indication of being interested in the same sex.

For a drunk Lu Han, it was as good an invitation as any. He barely thought it through before he grabbed Jongin non-too-gently and mashed their lips together. He could feel Jongin gasp into the kiss and then relax into the kiss, but he didn't feel resistance.

Huh, Lu Han thought. Well then.

And then he was pulling away, leaving Jongin looking too fragile and confused, his pupils blown and chest heaving.

"That wasn't like your first kiss or something right?" Lu Han asked, wiping the edge of his lips and replacing it with an amused smirk.

Jongin shook his head so hard his earrings swayed dangerously against his neck. "What, no!"

"Good."

They never really talked about that kiss until much later, when Jongin had kissed his way through half the group to varying reactions. Zitao gleefully brought up the question during a particularly vicious round of I Never and even Jongin himself looked alarmed at the numbers of hands in the air.

Lu Han had, at that moment, busied himself with fetching more soju from the fridge and missed the question. He came back to Jongdae looking distinctly traumatized and rubbing at his lips. "What did I miss?"

Joonmyun kicked at Jongin's ankle, trying to get him to crawl out from where he was suffocating himself with a pillow. "Did you ever kiss Jongin?"

"Yeah," Lu Han said nonchalantly, like it didn't really matter. He laughed it off as something Jongin did, the serial drunk kisser. Silly Jongin.

But it meant something, Lu Han knew, eyeing the way Jongin's fists tightened and loosened like a fish gasping for air. That kiss, it was monumental.

And now if Lu Han thinks about it properly, maybe it was all his fault. A lot of things are.

Lu Han has made a lot of bad decisions in his life. For example, trusting Zitao with their cash during their China line (+Sehun) Europe trip. For example, signing on the dotted line when lured with the promise of gold and fame.

If he made a list, this would almost top it.

"You fucked up, man." Minseok doesn't sound pitying in the least. He sounds like he's wondering why Lu Han is lying here on the couch in his living room instead of picking up the pieces of Kim Jongin's heart. Lu Han has no answer to that.

"He's not picking up my calls," Lu Han whines.

“I would imagine,” Minseok says dryly. “You know how fragile Jongin is.”

“Can we watch little mermaid again?” Lu Han tries to make himself look as pitiful as possible. He doesn’t have to try hard.

“Your obsession with Disney princesses is embarassing.”

Minseok is a good friend, he even imitates Sebastian as he sings along. Lu Han falls asleep to the soft hum of Minseok's voice and fingers running through his hair.

If Lu Han had to catalogue the memories of his career, carefully press them out and tuck them between the pages of a book, among the flashiness of first stages and comebacks, one memory stands out the most.

Telekinesis, that's a pretty useful power, he remembers thinking.

After the initial three seconds of shocked silence and five minutes of hysterical laughter, the serious looks on the management’s face alerted them to the fact that they weren’t kidding. Cue the next two hours of jokes, hysterical panicking and shrieking as they slowly digested their new concept. Lu Han stood in front of the mirror and levitated his right hand like he was juggling an imaginary ball and caught Minseok's eye in the reflection, who was watching him with an amused smile.

"What did you get?"

"Ice. Now i'll never have to drink warm beer again,"

That's a shitty power died on his lips and they laughed good naturedly to the soundtrack of Baekhyun whining in the background about being a glorified disco light and Zitao trying to shut him up by "stopping time".

For two weeks straight, they wouldn't give it up. Chanyeol woke up everyone by flickering a lighter way too close to their faces and whispering kaboom until Sehun threatened to call the police about a pyromaniac. Jongdae dubbed himself the King of Electricity and flicked the lights on and off. Baekhyun shrieked about that being his power, stop stealing it. Jongin was found sleeping in the closet twice- but ah, that had nothing to do with his powers; that was just Jongin.

And Minseok just quietly suffered through it all with Yixing, tucked away in a corner as they went over Korean and Chinese verbs together, learning the right things to say to win a girl in any language.

It doesn't take that much work. All they need to do is smile.

Lu Han has spent the last ten years of his life hovering around Minseok like a giant, clingy satellite.

Unlike the others, their friendship was a post-debut thing. Minseok had been in the company almost as long as Lu Han but they ran in different circles. Making friends was hard when no one stayed long enough for proper friendships to be forged. Lu Han tended to stick to the other international trainees and to the ones that obviously would stay. No point trying to form bonds that'll be decayed by jealousy and ripped away by real life anyway.

Minseok came as a surprise. Lu Han was wary at first- older trainers were much more territorial and jaded, less likely to be genuinely welcoming to new blood and new competition. There weren't many trainees left in the company older than the two of them and they both knew that if someone were to be dropped, it wouldn't be Minseok.

Friends was not a word to describe them when Lu Han pushed the door to the meeting room open and saw Minseok sitting there among ten other trainees, nervously fiddling with his sleeve. Now, brothers is a word anyone throws out when pressed to talk about their relationship.

They quickly found kinship in each other and after a while, SM gave up and simply placed them in the same activities.

If Lu Han had to name the person he trusted most in the world, it would be Minseok hands down.

Lu Han should feel surprised when he wakes up to see Minseok smiling softly down at him, smoothing his bangs away from his forehead. Instead, he says the only thing that surfaces in his mind..

"Minseok, kiss me."

When their lips touch, they both know it isn’t a mistake.

"Hey," the voice on the phone is a familiar lull, too much like memories of the early years when they had to wake up at ass a.m. every day.

Lu Han blinks the sleep out of his eyes but can't chase the dreams from his voice. "Joonmyun?"

"Lu Han?" Joonmyun laughs softly, "I called Minseok."

"Well," Lu Han offers, not wanting to explain more.

"It's been two years."

For a moment, Lu Han thinks Joonmyun is talking about the time passed since they last saw each other. They had a drink together with Yixing at the opening night of Jongdae's musical but that must have been only months ago. Joonmyun left for New York shortly after that to meet up with a few composers. That was Joonmyun, always pushing himself to learn and improve.

"You ready to come back?"

Minseok whines in his sleep, his nose scrunching up in his dreams. Lu Han gently places a finger on Minseok's forehead to ease the frown away and strokes his thumb across Minseok's cheek. Minseok leans into the caress and settles down, a slow smile spreading on his face.

He doesn't even need to ask. "Just tell me when. Minseok and I will be back."

Minseok loves visiting the markets because it reminds him of his childhood. He used to follow his grandmother as she went to buy the ingredients for dinner and always insisted on helping her carry some bags, even if he struggled with the combined weight of the cabbage and fish.
Lu Han hates the markets for the same reasons but decides not to tell Minseok that.

It's a safe haven for them to be surrounded by so much noise, colours and the smell of food and yet not be recognised.

In a way, they stand out as the only two young men in a sea of overly friendly women but the ahjummas ply them with free food and when Lu Han stops to buy some hoddeok from a small stall, the lady throws in another one for free for "your handsome friend."

"Lady killer," Lu Han teases. He sticks out his tongue to catch the gooey syrup escaping from his hotteok and winces at the burn.

"Shut up," Minseok mumbles. "I hope you burn your face on sugar."

“Minseok, let’s go,” Lu Han whines, draping himself over Minseok’s shoulders as Minseok washes the dishes from their lunch. He tried suggesting that Lu Han help out with the chores, especially since Minseok would be living on takeout and not have dishes otherwise, but Lu Han had stared at him seriously and told him that it would kill his delicate hands. “What are the chances of anyone recognising us? It’s a jazz festival, not Dream Concert.”

“And you’re one of the prettiest- sorry,” Minseok amends upon seeing Lu Han’s glare, “most handsome guys in China. Do you honestly think that out of the thousands that attend, no one will recognise us? Our fans have moved onto more mature tastes than synchronised pop.”

“So what if they do? We’re musicians. We should go to music festivals.”

Minseok snorts.

“Musicians. Well, okay. If you really want to cause a scene, let’s go.”

“It’s part of my resolve to become more learned,” Lu Han says earnestly. “It’s the art museum next. Then the ballet.” He hasn’t even been to a play or theatre performance that didn’t star one of the members before.

Lu Han was right. They don’t cause a scene. Lu Han tries to stay inconspicuous by wearing all black and pulling a beanie over his hideous blond hair. Minseok forgoes the disguises all together, choosing instead to dress down in jeans and a sweater that has Lu Han screaming prep. Despite being the one who convinced them to come here, Lu Han is slightly on edge for the first half hour as they wander through the crowd, prepared to be ambushed by an overzealous fan. As the night drags on and it becomes more apparent that the hottest person in the crowd is the one holding the saxophone and not two almost-retired idols, he melts into the crowd, shoulders falling and laughs a little looser.

“This is nice,” Minseok says lightly. They’re lying down on the grass, a scattering of people around them. They can afford to unwind now that the night has truly enveloped them and the only light is from the stage a distance away. For once, it’s nice to have all the attention focused on the stage instead of them. Lu Han feels like he’s living in another dimension, one where he was a normal college student and had the liberty of drunken parties and blind dates. In a burst of boldness, he sneaks a hand out and entwines it with Minseok’s.

Predictably, Minseok tries to pull away, turning his startled eyes onto Lu Han. “Just because no one has recognised us doesn’t mean there aren’t eyes.”

Lu Han scoffs and untangles the scarf around his neck with his free hand and drops it onto their hands. They’re lying close enough together that it doesn’t seem like they’re holding hands and Lu Han tightens his grip until Minseok gives up.

Lu Han grins triumphly to himself. Baby steps, but it’s a new achievement unlocked, one step closer to a false sense of normalcy.

Nothing can hide it when Lu Han leans over to give Minseok a quick peck on the check.
Lu Han almost hopes someone captured that.

Another time, and the details are blurry to Lu Han now, in Singapore- was it Malaysia? Or it could’ve just been South Korea, Lu Han found Jongin sitting alone on the balcony of their hotel. There was an unopened pack of cigarettes cradled in Jongin’s hand and that’s when Lu Han knew it was bad.

Kim Jongin is self-preservation, wound tighter than even Joonmyun.

“Lu Han?” No hyung, no ge, no term of respect nor formality and yet Lu Han couldn’t bring himself to be angry against the downturned corners of Jongin’s tired, tired face.

“It’s cold out here,” Lu Han said. Ah, it must not be Singapore after all, because he distinctly remembers Jongin curling in on himself, a shiver running through his loosely clad body, none of the warm, humid caresses Singapore could give. And he remembers watching Jongin’s barefoot toes wriggle, remembers asking him to go inside, you’re not dressed right, the balcony is empty where are your shoes. Your eyes look empty where is your soul?

But he didn’t voice that last thought out. Instead, he sat down on and tweaked the toe on Jongin's left foot.

“My high school mate called. He’s getting married.”

Lu Han nodded, understanding that Jongin needed a listener and not a conversation partner

“I told him I couldn’t go this wedding if he wanted a quiet one.”

“Celebrities can still get married.”

“That’s not the problem.” Jongin shook his head. “I can’t get married, not in my country.”

"I was in New York right?" Joonmyun explains, "and this documentary came on about Korean pop. We're mentioned in it by the way, but it introduced Shinhwa and the things Eric sunbaenim said just struck a chord with me. If we never move, we never will. If I don't try to rope us together, eventually it'll be impossible for a comeback.”

"Did you gain weight?" Lu Han asks Kyungsoo when Kyungsoo walks into the studio. He never was one for tact.

"Shut up," Kyungsoo mumbles. "My girlfriend is a good cook."

“Girlfriend!" Jongdae shrieks, scrambling onto his feet and bouncing over to pull Kyungsoo into a headlock. "Did you forget rule one of bro code? Tell your bro who your ho."

"For the record, none of us agreed to that," Sehun says.

"Speaking of hoes," Lu Han begins, shooting a meaningful look at Minseok. Minseok rolls his eyes but smiles and Lu Han takes it as a cue to continue. He grabs Minseok's hand and hold it up, “we’re together now.”

Perhaps it was a bad idea to announce it the day they started to work towards the most important comeback of their career because the reaction is a lot more muted than he expected.

“Cool, congratulations,” Baekhyun says distractedly. “Hey, Kyungsoo, do you think this should be lowered one key?”

Chanyeol shoots them a confused look. “Wait, you guys weren’t already together?” At Lu Han's frown, Chanyeol changes track, "or at least slept together?"

"We've never-" Not even now.

This is ridiculous. Lu Han has slept with people for less. Stardom is lonely. Being SM's favourite song bird is lonelier, always caged up and trained to sing on command.

Minseok squeezes his hand and mercifully changes the topic. “How’s the peanut doing?”

Chanyeol brightens at the mention of his baby and starts chattering about how Chaeyeon is looking happy and beautiful.

Lu Han glances down at their clasped fingers and frowns.

It’s been on his mind for weeks, ever since Chanyeol brought it up. They kiss and explore but they don’t become fully intimate and Lu Han can tell Minseok is just holding back, waiting for permission that Lu Han didn’t know he had to give.

Still, Minseok doesn’t push and Lu Han doesn’t ask, content to let them take the relationship slow. He doesn’t have much time to think about it when practice for their comeback concert intensifies. The sudden decision to comeback means that they have less than two months to recall ten years’ worth of choreography.

It only hits him at the worst moment, when the staff are buzzing around and Lu Han is stepping onto the platform that will launch him onto stage.

Lu Han crouches down next to Jongin on cue and says urgently, "I need to tell you something."

"Now?" Jongin looks at Lu Han like he’s insane. 20 seconds to show time.

"It's important."

But there is no time.

Jongin has his Kai face on, lips pressed into a determined line. "Later."

It's only right that their ten year anniversary concert starts with their beginning. Lu Han hunches down lower, hears the loud beating of his heart in his ears mixed with the staff yelling the countdown.

Time control.

A lot can change in 10 years. Lu Han's movements aren't as fluid anymore and he needs to take a break after every third song, but his body remembers the stage. It's pure instinct washing through his veins, each pop and thrust in sync with Jongin's.

Yin and yang, Jaewon hyung always explained the concept to them. They were from different worlds, Lu Han's fragile beauty (he used to take offense to that) to Jongin's rugged darkness. But Lu Han interprets it another way. He feels more complete when Jongin is by his side on stage, safe in the knowledge that Jongin will patch over any imperfections of Lu Han's movements.

The fireworks go off, his hearing returns. The fans explode and it's like he never left the stage. The rest of the members hurry on stage to find their places and he gives Sehun a discreet low five.

Minseok's hand finds his for a quick squeeze and Lu Han nods back, wishing he never had to let go.

Tonight is a night for humble beginnings.

Chanyeol drops to the floor.

The tree blooms.

We are one.

Lu Han finally corners Jongin when the stage has long cleared. Baekhyun is yelling for everyone to gather for a drink and Kyungsoo is intently monitoring footages of their stage to see what they missed.

Lu Han manages to pull a protesting Jongin into a separate changing room. "Look, that first time we kissed, I remember it."

Of course Minseok chooses now of all moments to walk in. Of course Minseok would be too busy fiddling with his new phone to look up and take in the atmosphere. "Lu Han, let's go home."

Jongin's eyes dart between them before settling on Lu Han and his lips twist in what could be a sneer, but Lu Han would never describe Jongin's expressions with something so ugly.

"Have you two moved in together now?" Jongin's voice is light but it's also tight and controlled, enough that Minseok finally tucks his phone away and lets the situation sink in.

"See you tomorrow, hyung." They don't know who he's addressing but Jongin is already brushing past them, bowing to an incoming staff in the hallway.

Lu Han fidgets the whole way home. The mix of feelings -excitement at a concert well done, relief at the way they were well-received, nervousness for what comes next, trepidation, fear- sloshing around in his chest, just waiting to burst.

Minseok reaches over and grasps Lu Han's right hand, stopping him from drumming his fingers on his thigh. He places their entwined hands on the gearshift and without once taking his eyes off the road, "so, Jongin."

"Bad blood, tried to work it out."

"How was the concert?"

Lu Han is so grateful. He grabs at the line Minseok throws him eagerly. "It's weird. I never liked the stage and I thought I never would, but standing up there again, it felt like home. How did I even manage to love it?"

Minseok pulls up at a red light and takes the moment to smile at Lu Han. "That was your present then. This is your present now. You're in a different stage of life and you learn to appreciate different things."

"You're so smart," Lu Han breathes out in wonder. He brings his hands up to cup Minseok's face, "I love you so much."

Minseok grins and shrugs. He brushes Lu Han's hands away when they start wandering.

"Yeah."

Lu Han blinks. "That's it?"

"I drop the L word and you shrug?" Lu Han continues with a teasing tone but he can't help a little bit of hurt creep into his voice.

"Hey, I love you, man."

Lu Han immediately slaps his hands over his ears. "There's a but to that."

"I don't give my heart out as easily as you," Minseok says softly.

"Neither do I!" it's meant to be a protest, a way to guilt Minseok for breaking his heart, but it comes out as defensive to both their ears.

"You gave your heart out but not to me.” Minseok’s eyes are back on the road but his lips are pulled taunt.

"What does that mean?"

"It means when you smile at me, I think of what you're thinking. It means when you kiss me, I wonder if I'm a replacement." Minseok sounds like he’s rattling off a shopping list but he doesn’t look sad. The shadows of the street lights cast alternating flashes on his face and it’s resignation, Lu Han realises, that rests in Minseok’s face.

"You know me more than I know myself." Lu Han finally admits. Saying it out loud feels like hollowing out his chest. Lu Han is a carefully crafted image. Lu Han is the prince of China, ranked number four best looking in the world by times magazine. But when he's dressed in animal print pajamas and snuggled in another man's lap, just who is Lu Han?
Minseok is always like this, steady and dependable in life, in his career, in his feelings, in his friendship.

"I love you," Lu Han says. Somehow this time it sounds more sincere than any other time he's said it.

Minseok smiles and risks a second to press a light kiss against Lu Han's forehead. "I know."

Lu Han manages to bribe Baekhyun into tricking Jongin to come to the practice rooms.

“Baekhyun hyung, you wanted to see me?” Jongin’s fall darkens when he sees the person waiting for him. “Oh, it’s you.”

"Stop avoiding me," Lu Han says and darts up to close the door behind Jongin, trapping them both in the room. “Come, let’s sit.” He tugs at Jongin’s arm, pulling him towards the couches.

"I- hyung." Jongin looks like a cornered kitten. Ask anyone to describe Jongin and you might hear words like "powerful presence" and "classic handsomeness" but ask Lu Han and he'll always fall to baby animals. Jongin in the mornings is a kitten, stretching over tables and falling asleep into his cereal. Jongin during practice is bunny, always energetic and jumping into learning the new choreography no matter how long they’ve been dancing.

The best way to approach Jongin is like the way you approach a puppy too- slowly, let him get used to your presence. Don't startle him, give him space and love and attention and he'll respond to you in kind.

"Hyung, you're staring at me funny. It's creeping me out."

Instinctively, Lu Han presses a finger to Jongin's forehead to smooth out the tension but only manages to get his finger pushed up as Jongin frowns in confusion.

"When I was a kid, I really wanted to be a vet," Lu Han begins conversationally. He settles down on the couch and pats the space next to him, gesturing for Jongin to sit.

"Okay, good for you?" Jongin perches on the couch, body angled away from Lu Han.

“I always had a soft spot for cute things.” Lu Han pairs this with a grin that no one could mistake for anything else and he hopes fervently that Jongin, always so tuned in to emotions, can pick up on his now.

Realisation dawns on Jongin’s face, followed by a quick fleeting bit of hope, but he settles on annoyed, mouth stretched in a straight line. “I’m 28.”

“Hmm,” Lu Han leans in, close enough that he can see Jongin’s lips twitch. “Prove it to me then.”

They say a man reaches his prime when he's 30, but Jongin will always be Lu Han's little puppy-child.

(Much, much later, Jongin's eyes blaze with a challenge as he pins Lu Han down, their hair messy and clothes out of place. "Do puppies do this? How do you like it now, huh?"

Lu Han’s grin is infuriating. "Ruff.")

end.

this was a bit rushed but i decided that i needed to finish this. for closure? this will probably be my last kailu. thank you, otp, for the memories. i had so much fun shipping kailu and met so many wonderful people and i'm almost sorry that my last fic is so rushed. i hope this made sense since the situation has changed so much since i started writing this months ago.

the stars in your eyes

2014-09-01T11:50:21Z

Title: the stars in your eyes
Pairing: kai/baekhyun
Rating: PG
Length: 3900
Summary: written for perfectedart here. mama powers au! baekhyun just wants to be jongin’s friend in the most non-threatening way possible. unfortunately, jongin is easily startled and can teleport.

There’s an unspoken rule that the auditorium is off limits to anyone not in the arts department. Superpower Management University is the first of its kind, established to cater for the increasing amount of gifted humans birthed in the aftermath of the meteor explosion centuries ago. The university is steeped in both a dark and enlightening history, the marks in the hallways signs of a battle to control rookie powers and leftovers from pranks gone wrong.

All in all, SM University is just another university with a thriving social and academic life. The arts department in particular shines with students who can put on a spectacular show with the help of power enhancements. Sometimes, performers can be overzealous and accidentally bring on dangerous situations, like the time Jongdae tried to add lightning effects to his rock performance and almost burnt Joonmyun into crisp, with Joonmyun’s affinity for water making it worse. As a result, students from the other schools learned to stay far, far away from the auditorium with its stage of magic and doom.

For Baekhyun, the auditorium is a sanctuary, the one place where he can be as loud as possible and not be chastised, unless Kyungsoo is there with him. With this thought in mind, he quickens his steps, pulling a grumpy Kyungsoo along. “Come on, I pulled off that high note I was struggling with last night and I want to show you!”

When they get to the hall, the door is left ajar and loud, thumping music can be heard. “Did Sehun forget to lock the door again?” Baekhyun pushes the door open and peeks in. “When that boy dances, everything else leaves his mind, I swear.”

They find not Sehun, but a boy equally as tall. That’s where the similarities end because where Sehun is pasty and bony, the boy on stage is pleasantly filled out, especially apparent when he stretches his arms to the beat and flexes his muscles. Sehun’s moves are sharp; the boy moves like water, gliding across the stage in fluid and graceful movements. The boy is so lost in the music he doesn’t notice their presence. He’s spellbinding, down to his finishing move when the song ends, dropping to the ground on his knees and his chest heaving. He tips his heads up, eyes closed in satisfaction and pure bliss, and Baekhyun feels his heart twist in admiration and a feeling of kinship.

“Kyungsoo, wait-” Baekhyun’s hand shoots out against Kyungsoo’s chest to stop him from drawing attention to them.

Too late. Kyungsoo calls out, “Hey, unauthorised personnel aren’t supposed to be here.”

The boy freezes while getting up and almost stumbles but regains his balance quickly, turning his fall into a graceful spin. His head jerk to the door to catch them, but as soon as he sees them, he’s gone. Literally gone, nothing on stage but the remaining notes of a song long done.

Baekhyun hurries over to check out the curtains by the stage and finds no one. “Hmm, new teleporter?”

“Baekhyun, you have the look in your eyes,” Kyungsoo says warningly. The last time that happened, well, that was the reason behind the hole in the wall by the dressing rooms.

Baekhyun walks to where the boy was standing mere minutes before and traces the wood panels with his shoes, corners of his mouth twisting up in anticipation. “I want him,” he decides.

“He’s a freshman; he might be a minor. I know they always talk about new blood with each intake, but aren’t you above preying on young children?”

“Not like that. I want to take that poor child under my wing, like a mama bird.” Baekhyun mulls over the idea and nods to himself. “I’m mama B.” He flaps his arms a few times for emphasis, which lends no credibility to his constant claims of being normal and sane.

“Unless B stands for bitch, I’m not sure what you’re going for,” Kyungsoo deadpans.

“B as in the kid’s new best friend. I’m replacing you.”

“We will pray for his poor soul,” Kyungsoo puts his hand on his chest and says solemnly.

His name is Jongin, Baekhyun finds out through a carefully planned lunch with the resident gossip, Lu Han. The telepath fully uses his powers to his advantage and snoops around for the latest news. It’s why no one really wants to invite Lu Han to parties lest they want stories of their illicit make outs broadcasted to the world. It’s also why everyone wants Lu Han at their parties because any party with Lu Han at it will be the talk of the college. Plus, if anything, Lu Han raises the pretty factor, like a very intrusive vase. (Don’t let luhan hear you say that.)

“The new teleporter? His name is Jongin and he was a late bloomer, so an undeclared major for now,” Lu Han shares over his skinny vanilla latte with cinnamon sprinkles that Baekhyun bought him. “Found out he was a teleporter when he suddenly found himself in the wrong locker room. I heard that he had the imprint of a high heel on his cheek for a week. Tall, handsome and afraid of girls. Lucky you.”

Baekhyun grins, making the light glint off his teeth for effect. “Lucky me indeed.”

“Do you mean to look that predatory or is it in your blood? You sure you aren’t a feline hybrid? A lion maybe?” Lu Han cocks his head thoughtfully at Baekhyun and shakes his head, “No, actually, you’re too small for that. Kitten hybrid maybe.”

Baekhyun takes his revenge by discreetly forming an image of a zit in the middle of Lu Han’s forehead.

“His name is Jongin but you don’t need to know that because he’s mine,” Baekhyun declares to his entourage- “Friends,” Joonmyun corrects and is instantly dismissed with a wave of Baekhyun’s hand- the next day.

“You’re like a dog with a ball,” jongdae rolls his eyes and comments.

“Hey,” Jonghyun the wolf hybrid says, wounded.

“Sorry, man.” Jongdae apologizes by using static electricity to push Jonghyun’s hair into a mohawk, delighting the wolf hybrid into happy tail wags.

“The tall kid?” Sehun speaks up with a mouthful of salad, showing off the lettuce stuck between his teeth. “Yeah, he’s pretty cool.”

“Gross,” Baekhyun wrinkles and nose. “And you knew he existed and never told me?”

“He’s in my class.” Sehun shrugs. “I’m taking History of Power and Magic because I heard it was an easy elective but he’s required to take it because he just discovered his powers like 5 months ago.”

“Oh.” Baekhyun files that information away and turns to grin at the table. “Now where’s Chanyeol? I need him to heat up my burger.”

“Use a microwave,” Lu Han says. “That’s what Chanyeol tells me to tell you.” He frowns and rubs his temple. “I’m not telling you the second part of his message because I’m a civilised person but let’s just say it involves more bodily parts than I’m comfortable with.”

“You can run but you can’t hide, Park!” Baekhyun yells to the cafe, unfortunately startling Yixing from his daydreams and causing him to spill his scalding coffee on himself. Yixing merely shrugs and waves his right palm over the wound, the red fading away to reveal perfectly smooth skin.

The tell tale lump of obnoxiously red hair that suddenly disappears behind the large trash can in the middle of the cafe gives Chanyeol’s location away. “I see you, Park,” Baekhyun hollers while marching over, fork held menacingly in hand.

“Are you sure Jongin is safe around that guy?” Sehun asks.

“I’m starting a prayer circle,” Kyungsoo quips. No one knows whether he’s serious or not.

“Baekhyun.”

Baekhyun ignores the loud whispering and continues to doodle a dick on the table.

“Baekhyun, what are you doing here.”

Baekhyun lets out a long-suffering sigh and raises an eyebrow at Sehun. “What does it look like I’m doing? I’m going to class.”

“But you’re a third year. This is a first year lecture.”

“I haven’t been able to control my powers lately and developed an interest in the basics.”

“You finished top of your class last year.”

“Well, maybe i’m secretly a dunce,“ Baekhyun snaps, shooting a light ray between Sehun’s eyes to get him to knock off.

“How much does he want to get into the new kid’s pants,” Zitao whispers, perhaps too loudly but he never was good at being subtle. Or socially competent, bless his poor soul.

“Enough to suffer through two hours of math.” Sehun smirks and nudges Baekhyun. “Hey, this is Fundamentals to Physics. History is the next lesson.”

The look of horror dawning on Baekhyun’s face is priceless. “Who in their right mind would voluntarily take Physics as an elective?”

Sehun wads up a ball of paper and throws it at a head in front. “Hey Jongin, do you like physics?”

Jongin startles out of his daydreams and turn around to blink sleepily at them. Baekhyun only barely holds in a squeal because adorable. “Um, sure.”

“I love physics!” Baekhyun announces to the class, pumping his fist at the poor horrified girl sitting next to them. She not-so-subtly scoots her chair further away from them and mumbles something about how she knew powers were related to insanity.

“I hate physics,” Baekhyun moans into his hands thirty minutes later. Everything Professor Shim said literally flew over his head, what with the professor being a telekinesis who likes to illustrate his lectures with real life examples.

Sehun laughs and pats Baekhyun on the head patronisingly. “It helps us understand our powers better. I’m sure a kid like Jongin who just found out that he can literally disintegrate his particles and reform them in a different location is plenty interested in quantum physics.”

Baekhyun brightens. “Do you think I can get him to tutor me?”

“I’m not sure what answer you want. Do you think you can get him to actually talk for an extended period of time, or do you think you can sit down and listen to physics for an extended period of time?”

“Okay,” Baekhyun continues undeterred, “Plan b. First of all, I’ll approach Jongin-”

“Hey,” Zitao interrupts. “Where did Jongin go?”

Jongin’s bag is there and his notebook is there but no Jongin. A long jagged line is drawn across the open page of the notebook.

“No.”

“Please?”

“No! I’m not some filthy dog-” Baekhyun pulls out a candy bar and Jonghyun’s tail starts wagging. “-damn it.”

“Just take one sniff of this and tell me where Jongin is, and I’ll give you the candy bar,” Baekhyun bargains, holding up Jongin’s notebook in one hand and dangling the candy bar in his other hand like bait.

Jonghyun tears his gaze away from the candy bar and has the decency to look offended. “What do you take me for? You can’t command me to stalk your crushes.”

Baekhyun hums and casually pulls the wrapper off the candy bar, waving it around enough that he knows the smell will attack Jonghyun’s senses.

Jonghyun’s wolf ears pop out of his hair and his eyes glint gold, but Baekhyun only grins. Hook, line and sinker.

“Fine, fine.” Jonghyun sniffs the notebook gingerly and then the air. “He’s in the direction of the auditorium.”

“Good boy,” Baekhyun tosses out and makes his way towards the auditorium. If Jonghyun wasn’t so busy devouring the candy bar, Baekhyun would have claw marks down his cheek.

Sure enough, a crack of light filters through the open door. This time there’s no music but Jongin flies across the stage soundlessly, dancing to a song only he can hear.

He can’t help himself. Baekhyun scrunches his nose and the auditorium falls dark, leaving only a spotlight across Jongin. Jongin is beautiful, the light shining down and illuminating his sweaty skin. It’s like he was made for the stage; it’s like the stage was made for him.

Baekhyun doesn’t get to admire him long because as soon as the spotlight turns on, Jongin squeaks and falls on his behind.

Baekhyun hurriedly releases his hold on the lights, turning the auditorium fully bright again, but he makes sure that the lights around Jongin are softer to avoid startling him more.

“I didn’t mean to come here,” Jongin starts babbling, his eyes wide. “I just thought about dancing and I just appeared here. I can’t control it, I swear.”

“Hey, it’s okay. I’m not here to scold you.” Baekhyun holds his hands up in the universal sign of surrender and takes a step towards Jongin. “I’m just returning your things.”

This only causes Jongin to press himself further against the wall. “Stop go away you’re the demonic influence my mother warned me about.”

Excuse you, Baekhyun controls light, not darkness. “No, I’m Baekhyun and I’m your new best friend!” At Jongin’s increasingly terrified expression, Baekhyun quickly amends, “friend. I’m your new friend. Harmless friend.”

“You know, when people emphasize that they’re harmless, it gives off the opposite effect.”

“Shh, look.”

In an effort to calm Jongin down and impress him, Baekhyun waves his hands and the auditorium dims again. Cupping his hands, he forms little balls of light and sends them flying across the ceiling, exploding into fireworks until the whole auditorium is lit up with sparkling stars.

“Wow.” Jongin catches his eyes for the first time and he looks so amazed that Baekhyun’s breath is caught in his throat. He did this. He put that look of wonder on Jongin’s face.

For the briefest, most dizzying moment, Baekhyun pretends that the stars in Jongin’s eyes aren’t just reflection of the lights but when he blinks again, Jongin is gone, leaving the faintest taste of smoke in the air.

Jongin never has lunch in any of the four restaurant and cafes on the university grounds. Baekhyun knows because he made Amber split herself into four bodies and check each location simultaneously.

Jonghyun has become increasingly vocal about how he refuses to go along with Baekhyun’s crazy schemes to “corrupt the freshman” so Baekhyun is forced to search the old fashioned way.

He finally finds Jongin slumped against a tree in the far ends of the courtyard, nose deep in the Matter Manipulation textbook.

“Do you want to have lunch?” Baekhyun offers, holding out an extra sandwich.

Maybe he should have given a sign or warning, because Jongin predictably jumps, dropping the textbook on his lap.

“Please don’t disappear on me,” Baekhyun says, but he’s talking to thin air.

“He’s like this jumpy bunny,” Baekhyun mopes to Joonmyun when he meets up with him for song practice. “Oh no, now I’m imagining him in bunny ears and he’s just so cute.”

“If you want to be his “friend”-”

“I can hear the quotation marks in your tone, Joonmyun,”

“Okay.” Joonmyun is kind enough to give in to Baekhyun. “If you want to be his friend, approach him slowly.”

“I’m just trying to be friendly. He’s new here. I want to give him a nice welcome.”

“I don’t think he can control it. He uses teleportation as a defense mechanism. When he’s threatened, he flees.”

“This is university, not a battlefield.” Baekhyun grumbles. He kicks at the music stand and regrets it when his toes meet metal.

Joonmyun hesitates, unsure whether it’s crossing the line to bring up his next point. “You remember when you first discovered your powers? Was it a playground for you then?”

Baekhyun chews on his bottom lip and traces the lines of his music sheets with a finger. "I never thought of that."

If Jongin was going through even a fraction of what Baekhyun went through, what he needs is a listening ear and guidance, not invitations to all the university parties. Joonmyun notices Baekhyun’s glum mood and distracts him with a new song he rearranged but Jongin lingers in the back of Baekhyun’s mind all day.

Surprisingly, Baekhyun stumbles onto Jongin the next time without even trying. Sometimes, Baekhyun likes to practice singing his scales in the rooftop garden of the art building because it feels like he’s belting out his notes across the university grounds. When he’s up on the roof, he can imagine that everyone is his captured audience, everyone will hear his voice.

The rooftop is only accessible by a hidden entrance that Baekhyun found one day by accident, the door only appearing when Baekhyun shines his light in a corner behind the stairs. He sees the familiar figure lying on the bench between the daffodils and a smile pops up on his face unbidden. Of course Jongin would seek out deserted places where he can hide and take a nap.

“Jongin?” He calls out softly, having learned his lesson.

Jongin doesn’t jump or startle, just lazily opens his eyes like he expected to see Baekhyun there.

Baekhyun makes no move to approach Jongin, giving Jongin his space. His hand is still on the door, showing Jongin that he can leave if he’s not wanted. "No confetti or explosions, no surprises,” he promises. “I just want to talk."

Jongin still studies him with distrust but he sits up and moves pointedly to the side of the bench to let Baekhyun sit.

Baekhyun scrambles over before Jongin changes his mind and remembers to tone down the grin splitting his face only when he sees Jongin’s disturbed look. “You don’t hang out around people with powers much, do you?” It’s when the question leaves him that he realises it’s too heavy a question for a first conversation. “Sorry, you don’t have to answer that if you don’t want to.”

Jongin shakes his head and for the first time ever, smiles at Baekhyun. “No one in my family has powers. My parents didn’t know what to do either.”

Baekhyun recognises that this is Jongin opening up to him so he nods encouragingly, showing that he is ready to listen if Jongin is ready to share.

Jongin falls silent again, looking down at his clasped hands on his lap and Baekhyun lets him, not wanting to push the shy boy. They last another minute or two of silence before Jongin ventures, “Why are you trying so hard to be my friend?”

There are many reasons that pop up in Baekhyun’s mind but in the end he opts for the honest truth, the one secret he’s never told his friends. “Because I know how it feels.”

Jongin gapes at him, eyebrows shooting into his long bangs. “But you’re you. Byun Baekhyun, on the dean’s list and liked by everyone.”

Baekhyun fills a twinge of satisfaction that Jongin knows who he is but he pushes it aside. “No one talks about the first year i was here. I don’t think they even remembered me. You’re not the only late bloomer.”

“I came from a prestigious background of element manipulators and for the longest time, I had nothing. Everyone thought I was a dud, the black sheep of the family.” Baekhyun can’t help but let bitterness creep into his voice. He’s surprised when a hand covers his and looks up to see Jongin smiling cautiously at him. Not many people know about Baekhyun’s worries, only seeing the image that Baekhyun wants to show them, but Jongin’s touch spurs Baekhyun to continue. He doesn’t know why, but he trusts Jongin. “Anyway, I went to a normal high school until my power manifested during prom. I went with a girl but halfway through a dance, this boy near me started glowing. Then my date slapped me and told me I hadn’t taken my eyes off him all night. I guessed my crush on him was more obvious than I thought. He looked beautiful and I just-”

“You made him glow because you thought he was beautiful?” Jongin’s voice is hushed and the fingers on Baekhyun’s hand flutter, almost pulling away.

“Yeah, well, I couldn’t control it. When I see someone special, they just shine.”

Jongin takes his hand back and Baekhyun instinctively turns his palm up, chasing after the disappearing warmth.

“Hey, I didn’t freak you out or anything, did I?” Baekhyun says anxiously, searching Jongin's face for any cues that he might have done something wrong.

“The spotlight,” Jongin blurts out and immediately slaps a palm across his mouth.

“The spotlight,” Baekhyun echoes, the implications of his words dawning on him. In a sudden burst of bravery, he says as softly as he can, “I meant it then. You’re beautiful, you know?”

Jongin mumbles something, his words muffled by the hands hiding his face.

“Sorry?”

“You’re beautiful too. I’m,” Jongin yelps, obviously feeling cornered again. “Sorry!” He starts to flicker so Baekhyun darts his hand to catch Jongin’s arm, stopping him before he can fully disappear.

“Teleportation isn’t meant for running away,” Baekhyun says, reaching out for Jongin’s hand and entwining their fingers together. “It’s meant for running to what matters.”

Jongin is still channeling a deer caught in headlights so Baekhyun doesn’t think and just moves. He carefully fits his other hand on Jongin’s nape and slots their lips together in a chaste kiss. Jongin stiffens and Baekhyun is about to pull away to apologise profusely because is this too soon? Is he forcing himself on Jongin?

Then Jongin kisses back. He’s shy at first, hands clenched at his side, but he grows bolder with each second, until his hands start wandering and he gently coaxes Baekhyun’s mouth open. Jongin kisses like he dances, fleeting touches alternating with intense pressure and Baekhyun licks it all up, an eager audience. Baekhyun is the one who has to pull apart to gasp for air.

“Wow there, cowboy. I would’ve never expected that from you,” Baekhyun exclaims, taken back but absolutely delighted.

“Can I-?” Jongin looks like he’s about to burst from mortification, a steady red creeping up his neck and onto the tips of his ears. It matches the nice swollen red of his lips.

“Yeah, I’ll let you go just this once.”

And Jongin is gone.

That night, Baekhyun lies in his bed with his fingers against his lips, feeling the way his mouth pushes up into a smile. He knows that a kiss doesn’t mean that Jongin completely trusts him and he has a long way to go before fully winning Jongin’s friendship, but he’s willing to try, if only just to see Jongin’s face light up again.

He turns over and looks up…

Right into the wide eyes of Jongin.

The bed dips under the weight of another body and Jongin springs up, almost kicking Baekhyun off the bed in his haste to get away. ”Sorry, I was just thinking…” Jongin trails off, too embarrassed to continue. He looks like he wishes he could melt into Baekhyun’s headboard. “I didn’t know that I could teleport to places I’ve never seen. I just.”

“I told you, teleport to what matters.” Baekhyun bites on his bottom lip to stamp down his grin and pulls a rigid Jongin closer to him. He strokes the back of Jongin’s hair until the younger boy relaxes against him, too lanky to fit into his arms but still comfortable. “Now sleep, Jongin. We can talk about this tomorrow.”

They have plenty of time.

paw at your heart

2014-06-25T06:24:08Z

Title: Paw at your heart
Rating: G
Pairing: Lu Han/Chanyeol
Length: 3,860 words
Summary: College bros Chanlu find an abandoned puppy boy named Jongin. Jongin is needy and clingy and wants lots of group hugs. Lu Han does not want to hug Chanyeol. Well then.

Lu Han has always known that Chanyeol had a soft spot for cute, cuddly things. When they pass by pet stores, Chanyeol always lingers much too long and it only takes a pair of baby booties in the window of the department stores to send Chanyeol into a gooey mess who has to be coaxed back to reality by a firm Lu Han and twenty pushups.

Back when they were in college, Lu Han would often come back to their shared dorm to find Chanyeol hunched over a scared looking freshman, trying his best to tutor the kid in whatever subject they needed tutoring in. Chanyeol’s brand of enthusiasm and kindness was a bit hard to swallow but Lu Han has never seen anyone not come around to embrace Chanyeol’s loudness. Once, Joonmyun the dorm manager had pulled one of the particularly scrawny tutees aside to ask if Chanyeol was blackmailing him into doing Scary Unmentionable Things. This resulted in a long night of movie marathons and pizza party with all 6 of Chanyeol’s tutees as they gathered around to comfort a weepy Chanyeol and assure him that they all enjoyed being tutored by him.

So yeah, given Chanyeol’s track record of adopting poor, hapless things under his wing, Lu Han should not be as surprised as he is right now.

Lu Han stares at Chanyeol’s back as Chanyeol very decidedly ignores him. He waits a few more seconds to no response and says warily, "hey."

"Hey," is what Chanyeol offers quickly before turning back to the wriggling... thing on the couch.

“Chanyeol,” Lu Han says and Chanyeol instinctively flinches. They’ve lived together for 5 years now, from freshman year until after graduation and Lu Han is proud to think that he has finally broken Chanyeol in. Lu Han has long stopped finding dirty socks in the dishwasher and has trained Chanyeol well enough that Chanyeol understands what he means with minimal words.

Chanyeol wraps his arms around the lump of boy on the couch defensively and they both turn their watery eyes with full force on Lu Han. "I found this puppy shivering outside in the rain." As if on cue -Chanyeol must’ve briefed the puppy boy what to do, that traitor- the puppy boy curls in on himself, his floppy ears drooping even more and looking like a sorry sight.

Lu Han can feel a tic forming in his right eye. Breathe. Count to ten! Recite the colours of the rainbow backwards. Lu Han’s patience has been severely tested ever since he started living with Chanyeol and he’s been getting better but every day is still a struggle. "And you let him wet our couch?"

The still damp puppy boy cowers under Lu Han’s glare and Chanyeol’s protective hug tightens, not caring about the wetness that is seeping through his shirt. The clothes that the puppy boy is wearing is in tatters, could almost be called a rag really, with how worn down it is. Even from where Lu Han stands by the door, he can see the sunken collarbones and the way the clothes hang too loose on the puppy boy. The puppy is covered in enough mud that Lu Han can’t make out his features other than his deep, mournful eyes. The puppy has been on the street for a while.

“What’s his name?”

Chanyeol shrugs. “I don’t-

“Jongin,” the puppy boy pipes up and oh, his voice is really much deeper than they expected. He must be older than what he looks like.

Chanyeol claps in delight, startling the puppy- Jongin until he winces and melts further into the pillows. (They’re going to have hell washing the mud stains off those velvet covers) “He likes you!”

“R-really?” He’s not melting. Lu Han is a manly man and he is immune to Jongin’s little pouts and droopy ears and- damn it.

“Yeah, he hasn’t said a word until you came in.” Chanyeol pets Jongin on the head in approval and Jongin’s tail starts thumping, unfortunately sending more droplets of water spraying all over the living room.

Then Chanyeol turns to grin at Lu Han and Lu Han braces himself for the inevitable. “Can we keep him?”

“Keep?” Jongin visibly brightens at the word and his ears perk up.

No keep, no. “Chanyeol, our apartment is small and-”

Jongin’s tail stops wagging.

“- Uh, we’ll need to see if he has a previous owner-”

Jongin’s face crumples.

“- I guess he could stay for a night.”

Fuck, what happened to his resolve??

Chanyeol cheers, “Bath time!”

Bath time is apparently a group activity because Lu Han has to tag along to make sure that the Unflappable Duo, as he has quickly dubbed them in his mind, does not ruin his pristine clean bathroom.

“How long since you’ve had a bath, little guy?” Chanyeol asks Jongin as they pad to the bathroom, Jongin holding Chanyeol’s shirt and trailing along like a chain of cute. Lu Han is surprise to find that Jongin is almost as tall as he is, making it even clearer that this is more a puppy teenager than a puppy boy.

Jongin scrunches his nose and Chanyeol changes tracks, “have you ever had a bath?”

“Wet,” Jongin replies plainly. “I don’t like wet.”

This proves to be a problem when Lu Han has the bath running and Jongin’s eyes widen to the size of balloons at all that water. Jongin yelps and falls a few steps back but Chanyeol had enough foresight to lock the door and in two seconds, Chanyeol has Jongin clamped in a headlock.

“Woah, don’t scare the poor guy-” Lu Han begins, alarmed, but Chanyeol yells at him to “rip off his clothes!” And Lu Han ignores every alarm bell in his head and starts tearing at Jongin’s pathetic clothes.

With their combined effort, they dunk Jongin into the bath and by then, Jongin is a weepy mess but he quickly calms down when Chanyeol pets his tangled hair again. Puppy boys are apparently easy to please.

“Hey, Jongin look, bubbles.” Lu Han says in a last ditch effort to distract Jongin and scoops up some of the bubbles in the tub and flicks them at Jongin.

Bingo. Jongin’s expression turns to one of obvious fascination and he tries to catch one of the bubbles but it pops before he can. He blinks at Chanyeol and Lu Han in confusion and Lu Han does not melt. He does not.

Jongin is a good boy and sits quietly as they scrub at his skin and untangle his hair. He occupies himself with making shapes out of the bubbles and giggles when he blows them into Lu Han’s face. Lu Han forces himself to smile even through the pain in his eyes and he can feel Chanyeol’s satisfied grin at him. What has his life come to? He’s never imagined that in all the years of friendship with Chanyeol, he would find himself kneeling beside a tub scrubbing down a puppy but here they are. Lu Han demands a refund.

“So like-” Chanyeol stops when they’ve covered every inch they can without violating the puppy’s modesty. “Can you wash yourself, uh, there?”

Lu Han’s hands fly away from where he was massaging Jongin’s scalp and Jongin opens his eyes, blinking slowly at them.

“Yeah we’re just going to… Let you wash yourself?” Lu Han stutters and gestures at the towel hanging by the tub. “You just dry yourself up and we’ll meet you outside.” He grabs Chanyeol’s arm and tugs him outside, leaving a confused Jongin in the tub.

“What’s up with you?” Chanyeol laughs, following Lu Han out. “He’s just a puppy.”

Famous last words.

They dress Jongin in Chanyeol’s old sweats because Lu Han refuses to lend his expensive brand name clothes and Jongin swims in all the excess fabric. Jongin is happy enough to plop around in the too-long pants even if he almost trips over them once or twice and settles on the couch with the other two watching him carefully.

Now that he’s clean, they finally can get a good look at Jongin and there’s a beautiful boy under all that dirt, all carved lines and defined features, a fact that Lu Han knows all too well when Chanyeol quips, “hey, he’s your type.”

“No type,” Lu Han insists, watching Jongin gnaw on his own sleeve. “I have no type.”

“No, but yo,” Chanyeol cocks his head. “I swear, he looks like that dancer kid you had a crush on. Taemyun- Taemin?”

Oh my God, he does, Lu Han thinks, but pushes away those thoughts quickly. He’s just about to inform Chanyeol about the 101 ways that Jongin is not his type when a loud rumble interrupts them.

“Hungry,” Jongin stops chewing his sleeve and says miserably.

Chanyeol looks at Lu Han expectantly.

“... Anyone up for ramyun?”

“Ramyun is the best!” Jongin cheers, slurping up one single noodle so fast it hits him on the nose. He sits there for a moment, stunned, and Lu Han finds himself discreetly giving his own portion to Jongin just to see him smile.

A full Jongin is a sleepy Jongin, they find out. Jongin sits quietly and watches Chanyeol and Lu Han busy themselves with washing the dishes but they both notice how Jongin’s eyelids are drooping.

Chanyeol scoops Jongin up easily, the puppy boy holding his hands out and allowing himself to be carried to the couch that unfolds into a sofa bed. “We’ll get you some pillows and a blanket and you can sleep warm tonight alright?”

Lu Han comes in with the pillows and gently slots them under Jongin’s head, smiling at the way Jongin tries to hold in a yawn.

They’re just about to turn off the lights and return back to their own rooms when they hear a tiny voice, “You’re- leaving me?” Jongin sits up, somehow tangled in his blankets.

“No, no, no, of course not?” Chanyeol immediately hurries over and climbs in beside Jongin. Jongin whimpers and buries his head in Chanyeol’s chest, seemingly attached even though they just met barely a few hours ago.

Lu Han is so busy marveling at how cute Jongin looks that he almost misses the expectant look Chanyeol is sending him. “what?”

Chanyeol lifts up one edge of the blanket. “Come on, there’s space.”

“Lu- Lu Han is joining us?” Jongin asks, hopefulness written all over his face.

“Lu Han is not joining you,” Lu Han tells Jongin firmly but Jongin is starting to pout again and Lu Han’s legs move of his own accord. Bad legs, Lu Han mumbles to himself as he slides under the covers on the other side of Jongin, tucking the puppy between them.

Jongin makes these little happy noises and snuggles against Lu Han, his breath tickling Lu Han’s shoulder.

“Are we going to talk about this?” Lu Han asks but Chanyeol shushes him, throwing an arm over Jongin that lands on Lu Han’s stomach.

I haven’t even brushed my teeth, is the last thing Lu Han thinks before sleep welcomes him easily.

They never end up talking about it. Lu Han wakes up feeling content and with this warmness in this chest and remembers that they somehow took in a puppy last night. Jongin is still asleep between them, his tail twitching against Lu Han’s toes and Lu Han curls his toes to feel the soft fur. Chanyeol is already awake and Lu Han catches his eyes and sees his own emotions reflected in them.

They’re not letting Jongin go now.

They visit the police the next day hand-in-hand and checks Jongin’s ID. All hybrids come with a data chip embedded in their wrists and the police inform them that there are no missing pet ids corresponding with Jongin’s. If no one claims Jongin in three months, then they are free to adopt him as his own.

Jongin is so excited to hear that, he trips over himself and plunges face first into the policeman’s desk.

They must have had the stupidest smiles on their faces because the policeman grins at them and hands them some brochures on pet care.

One night turns to two nights turns to two weeks.

They find out that Jongin has never had a family. He was abandoned as a pup and had lived his whole life in shelters and on the streets. It was only after a week that Jongin trusted them enough to quietly tell his life story while hidden under the sheets and they had resolved to work harder to become the family Jongin never had.

Maybe though, Jongin had taken this family thing too seriously.

They were watching Mulan and Lu Han was having the time of his life shrieking along to the songs until Chanyeol had stuffed a pillow in his face and ignited a pillow fight.

Lu Han is winning, naturally, because he is often described as the devil with a baby face. “And take that, Chanyeol,“ he crows, turning around to attack Jongin. The unreadable expression on Jongin’s face makes him stop.

Jongin bites his lip. “D- daddy?”

Lu Han drops the pillow. “What?”

“That’s what families do right?” Jongin says softly. “Call … Each other? Daddy?”

Lu Han looks at Chanyeol. “That’s weird.”

“He’s a baby.” Our baby goes unspoken.

“He’s 18,” Lu Han hisses. They were surprised to find out his age, the real reason why shelters no longer accepted Jongin and he had to live on the streets.

“Ohana means family,” Jongin starts to recite and Lu Han pushes the pillow into his face.

Lu Han groans. “We should never have introduced him to Disney movies.”

“Daddy Lu Han?” Jongin says brightly, hands reaching out to hold Lu Han and Chanyeol’s. “Daddy Chanyeol?”

“Are we going to let him do this?” Lu Han asks, bewildered. Jongin’s grip around his hand tightens.

“Daddy Chanyeol,” Chanyeol agrees for the both of them. “We’re a family now.”

Having a family is weird.

See, Lu Han never really had this whole family thing himself. He grew up as a poster child for a dysfunctional family and hightailed out of China the minute he could, calling home only out of necessity.

But Jongin seems to relish calling them “daddy”, saying it as often as possible like it can convince himself that this isn’t a dream. At first, he says it hesitantly and his entire face will brighten when either of them respond. After that, he just follows them around the house and mumbles it until one of them tackles him onto the couch in a tickle fight. It takes only a day for Lu Han to grow used to the name with how often Jongin utters it.

“... And Jongin calls us daddies, I guess,” Lu Han concludes his story to an increasingly incredulous Jongdae and Sehun over their catch up session at the usual bubble tea place.

“So you’re like, married now?” Jongdae asks, chewing obnoxiously on the bubbles in his bubble tea.

“No? We just sleep together? Platonically?” It sounds off to Lu Han’s ears but he dismisses it. “And snuggle. Jongin likes it when we snuggle, especially when I hold his hand while he sleeps and when Chanyeol blows raspberries into his tummy and-” he catches himself rambling and just finishes lamely, embarrassed, “yeah.”

“That’s so cute,” sehun coos teasingly. “Do you do the other stuff that married couples do?”

“What other stuff?” Lu Han asks innocently, genuinely confused. It dawns on him a split second too late. ‘Oh, gross.”

“Poor Chanyeol,” Sehun sighs.

“What?” Lu Han says.

“Poor Chanyeol,” Jongdae agrees and he glances at Sehun with a look that Lu Han can’t decipher.

“What?” Lu Han repeats.

“Hopeless,” Sehun mutters.

They must really be annoyed with Lu Han because they let him off with limited teasing for the rest of the day.

Jongin takes turns sleeping in their beds but on weekend nights, they have movie nights on the couch and end up on the sofa bed. Lu Han doesn’t want to admit it, but those nights are his favourite because his bed is kind of cold but the living room is always warm and cozy, especially with two other bodies next to him.

Tonight, they change to game night and the loser has to do whatever the winner wants. They’re playing charades because Jongin hasn’t played any games before and charades is easy enough for Jongin to learn and understand. So far, Jongin is winning by an avalanche because Lu Han and Chanyeol are softies and lose on purpose to Jongin just to see the puppy boy wag his tail in delight.

“Hmm, I don’t know, could it be a whale?” Chanyeol guesses to Lu Han’s mime of what obviously is a house.

“You’re so bad at this game,” Jongin giggles, hugging a pillow to his chest. “It’s a house!”

“Wow! I made it extra hard this time so no one would guess!” Lu Han says, exchanging a grin with Chanyeol.

Jongin responds by bouncing on the couch happily. “Can I get my prize now? Do I win? Yes? Win? Win!”

Lu Han ruffles Jongin’s hair affectionately and Jongin leans into his touch. “Of course you can, sweetheart.”

Jongin settles down on the couch cross-legged and thinks hard. “I want…” He trails off in suspense, “I want daddies to hug!”

Lu Han grimances. “Ew, no. Why?”

Chanyeol expression is more contained. “Yeah, why, Jongin?”

“Cause, cause,” Jongin pouts, “cause daddies always hug Jongin and Jongin wants everyone to love everyone but daddies don’t hug? Don’t daddies love each other and I want daddy to love each other and daddy?” Jongin ends with a hiccup, shrinking into the couch.

Lu Han rubs his temple and sits in front of Jongin to explain, “See, sometimes, daddies can be daddies without loving each other and uh- Chanyeol what are you doing?”

Chanyeol is holding out his arms with the brightest grin on his face. “Comere’ Lu Han. Come on.”

“No.”

Jongin’s forehead starts to knit.

Oh, screw it. Lu Han launches himself into Chanyeol’s arms so hard, he knocks them both over. Chanyeol gives really good hugs and he’s pinned under Lu Han but his hands rub comforting circles over Lu Han’s back and makes him feel really warm and safe.

“See, that wasn’t so hard?” Chanyeol’s voice is deep and he’s close enough to Lu Han’s ear that his breath tickles him and Lu Han knows that Chanyeol can feel the shiver running through him by the way Chanyeol tightens the hug.

Jongin beams happily and sits on top of Lu Han’s back, effectively squashing both his daddies. While Lu Han tries not to die under the combined pressure of being sandwiched between two people, Jongin babbles on about their new little family and how much he loves his daddies and Lu Han just wants to stab himself.

See, the Chinese have a habit, a custom almost.

It’s impolite to call your partner by name, so some of the more cutesy couples call each other by pet names. If they have kids, then the wife calls her husband “dad” and the husband calls his wife “mom”.

The Koreans do it too, referring to each other as Seungho's mom instead of Mrs Yoo.

So it just slips out one day when they're grocery shopping.

Jongin wandered off to the candy section as usual and will no doubt come back with an armful of sugar that Lu Han will say no to and Chanyeol will convince them to have.

Lu Han holds up two boxes of cereal in his hands and turns to Chanyeol, “Daddy, do you think we should get Fruit Loops or corn flakes?”

“Fruit Loops are more colourful- did you just call me daddy?”

“What?” Lu Han stares at Chanyeol.

“What?” Chanyeol stares back.

Awkward.

There’s a little hint of a smile tugging at Chanyeol’s lips and this is not what Lu Han wants to happen. "You're acknowledging us as parents?”

“Well, we take care of Jongin,” Lu Han immediately backpedals, trying to look interested in the nutrition labels of Fruit Loops. 12 grams of sugar per serving? Wow, they’re never buying this again.

“Isn’t that what couples call each other?” Chanyeol continues. There’s this stupid smirk on Chanyeol’s face that Lu Han just wants to wipe off by maybe smashing that squash into Chanyeol’s stupid face.

“Daddies!” Jongin yells too loudly, coming back with three bags of Mars Bars. They’ll need to talk to him about his inside voice again.

“Let’s not talk about this now,” Lu Han says quietly, replacing the Fruit Loops in the cart with corn flakes.

Jongin is usually a pretty oblivious kid and can happily whirlwind his way through the house without picking up on Lu Han or Chanyeol’s bad moods but of course, he picks now to be perceptive.

He goes strangely quiet and starts nibbling his bottom lip. “Are daddies fighting?”

Couples, huh. They are kind of raising a kid together but Lu Han doesn’t think of Chanyeol that way at all. And it’s like yeah? Chanyeol makes him feel safe and when Lu Han looks at him, he feels full and fuzzy like when he looks at Jongin and Chanyeol has been so incredibly supportive through everything and he was there when Lu Han cried after a bad phone call to his parents and bought him ice cream when that bastard Taemin broke his heart and he is still here, holding his hand in an attempt to make Jongin see that they’re not fighting and hey, Lu Han really likes how Chanyeol’s palm feels against his own and maybe he likes how their shoulders brush now and he can hear Chanyeol’s low soothing tone talking Jongin through a potential tantrum.

“I don’t like it when daddies fight because fights are scary and i don’t like it,” Jongin whines, his tail tucked between his legs and his eyes suspiciously wet.

“We aren’t fighting, Jongin.” Chanyeol looks over and smiles at Lu Han, squeezing his hand. “Right, Lu Han?”

Yeah, Lu Han really likes how their hands fit together and Jongin is still fretting at the thought of his daddies not getting along so Lu Han leans over and kisses Chanyeol right there to quiet him.

Jongin’s half-sobs die down immediately.

Lu Han stops breathing, brain finally caught up, but he can’t bring himself to pull away. Their lips are still pressed together chastely, but he can feel Chanyeol smile against his lips and then Chanyeol is gently nudging his lips open and this is nice but wow, Jongin is still here. He pushes Chanyeol away, wide eyed.

Jongin looks torn between absolutely amazed and traumatized.

“So, Jongin! We’re not fighting.” Lu Han clears his throat and rubs his arm sheepishly. “Daddy loves Chanyeol.”

The way Chanyeol returns his smile is so soft and it makes Lu Han’s toes curl. “Chanyeol loves daddy too.”

Having a family is really, really nice.

end.

i really love puppy nini. hurls.

fate and fade

2014-02-26T11:23:31Z

Title: Fate and Fade
Rating: PG
Pairing: Kai/Luhan
Length: 5,870 words
Summary: Jongin finds first loves. Lu Han wants to find his first love. Inspired by/partly based on the 2010 K-movie Finding Mr. Destiny.

Everyone remembers their first love.

Jongin's first love was the noona next door.

They grew up together, sharing popsicles on hot summer nights and later, when she had been old enough and him much too young, stolen beer and cigarettes. She pushed him against the wall and gave him his first kiss. It was messy- the smell of her cherry lipstick made him gag, their teeth clacked against each other and the way she tugged his hair hurt. She broke off halfway laughing and at loss at what to do, Jongin laughed with her. It was perfect.

He might have been a little too much in what he thought was love.

Then she moved away to America to become a doctor. The first case he took when he opened his agency was for himself, and he found that she has since married another doctor, with one young child. Her family is cute, one of those happy wholesome poster families that go to the beach on Sundays and have ice cream after. He still misses her sometimes.

Why does he do what he does?

He sells a promise.

The name cards stacked up on his desk read like this:

First love agency
We find first loves and repair dreams

There is no 'we', because Jongin is a one man team, but it sounds more assuring than 'I'. After all, there's a lot of money and hope on the line.

In short, he deals in memories.

The abandoned newspaper on the table announces that it's the first day of spring but it’s still unnaturally cold. A robin is perched on the windowsill, pecking away at unseen insects. Jongin pushes the window open and sticks his head out, scaring the bird away. The sun is bright and the blue sky is unmarred by clouds. If he breathes in, he can smell the croissants from the bakery on the corner of the street, tinged with the exhaust from the cars of Seoul.

It's on this day that Jongin meets Lu Han.

A knock on the door catches Jongin's attention and he shuts the window. "Come in!"

A blonde haired head pops in, followed by a lanky body, like the unfolding of a jack-in-the-box. "Hello, is this where I can find my first love?"

Jongin puts on his best smile. It’s always good to maintain a nice first impression, especially since most people come in thinking that is services are a joke. "You've come to the right place."

"Oh." The man looks lost for a moment, hovering near the exit with one foot pointed towards the door. His body posture shows that he’s ready to bolt any second now, so Jongin folds himself into the armchair behind his desk and gestures for the man to sit. After a quick glance at the door, the man relents, perching himself stiffly on the edge of the chair opposite Jongin. "I'm Lu Han."

Lu Han is pretty. Even though his muscles are prominent enough to hint at long hours in the gym, there's something about the soft edges of his face that makes him look fragile. This is the face of heartbreak, both for Lu Han himself and for the countless girls that willingly give their hearts to him, only to be rejected because there is only room for one. This is the face of a man who gives his all to a girl who is only interested in his face and will flit to another when she feels bored. These are the faces that bring him the most money.

Jongin smiles to himself. This should be an easy case.

"I want to find my first love," Lu Han says, Korean soft and carefully pronounced. There's the slightest hint of a Chinese accent in there, less prominent than when the yoga instructor from the gym across the road, Zitao, tries to speak it, but enough for Jongin to know that he isn't Korean.

"Not from around here, are you?" Jongin asks, even as he opens a cupboard and pulls out a can of tea leaves. He busies himself with pouring out the tea, a nice rich Pu Er. He's always liked Chinese tea, and maybe Lu Han would ease up at the taste of home. Clients seem to like it when he does little things like these. It makes him seem attentive and it reassures clients enough for them to place an exorbitant amount of money in Jongin to find what they lost.

Lu Han shakes his head and stares down at his hands. They are pretty hands with long, thin fingers. "I'm from Beijing, but I went to university here."

One of those Korean majors, probably. Jongin's seen enough of those when he worked at the pork hocks place near Korea University. "Korean fine?" Jongin asks, just out of courtesy, because he doesn't speak Mandarin anyway.

Lu Han nods. "I work as a translator."

Jongin hums and sets a steaming cup of tea in front of Lu Han. Lu Han mirrors Jongin when he brings his own cup up for a whiff, nodding approvingly at his actions.

It's proper tea etiquette- smell, savour, sip, taste. It's an art as much as wine tasting is. "Pu Er," Lu Han says appreciatively. "This is good tea."

"Aged 20 years. My father bought it from Yunnan last spring." Small talk effectively done, it's time to get down to business. He opens the folder already set on the table and gestures for Lu Han to read the lines and lines of fine print. Automatically, his body folds into the business stance, the one he's perfected over the years of convincing customers- right shoulder slightly inclined towards the customer, finger tips pressed lightly together, eyes searching and genuine. It gives off the effect that he cares as much as the customer does, that he's invested in knowing more. Jongin isn't helping the customer; he is working together with the customer to chase what should've been the customer's in the first place. In reality, Jongin could just be thinking about tonight's dinner. No one has been able to tell so far.

"You understand what we do?" A nod from Lu Han. "We charge a basic fee on an hourly basis. The customer pays for all additional expenses- travel, accommodation, if necessary, and other miscellaneous fees outlined here." Jongin uncaps a highlighter and draws it across the line in question. "If you pull out halfway through, or if we can't find your first love within 6 months, you only get half your money back. But don’t worry, our success rate is 97%."

Explanation done, Jongin looks straight into Lu Han's eyes and hopes he conveys what his lips don't say, trust in us, and we'll find your first love.

Lu Han nods again. "Let me think about it."

Jongin bows and sees Lu Han out the door, sending him off with a cheery, "Have a nice day!" After the door swings shut, Jongin pencils in an appointment on Friday for Lu Han. He'll come back.

They always do.

They meet in a cafe in Cheongdamdong, because he's learned from experience that clients liked it when they sit in a cosy cafe with brick wall and jazz music closing them in. The atmosphere is cosy and lulls clients into a false sense of security, makes them relax enough to spill out their love stories to an almost stranger. Around them, young couples flirt openly with each other over tea and little cakes. Jongin and Lu Han are jarringly out of place in a sea full of lovebirds, but Lu Han seems so relaxed, Jongin suspects he comes to places like these often. He does look like the type of man who sits in cafes all day, reading philosophical novels while sipping on an espresso, oblivious to the admiring stares of the female customers around him.

"Mind if I record this?" Jongin asks, setting the pen shaped recorder on the table.

Lu Han eyes the recorder warily and shakes his head. "No, go ahead."

Jongin jumps straight to the point. Lu Han is paying him by the hour; might as well use it wisely. First consultations are at a discounted rate though. "How long did you date her?"

"Him," Lu Han corrects. He frowns down at his fruit tart, poking the strawberry tart with his fork.

Jongin doesn't miss a beat. "How long did you date him?" He needs to stop generalizing. It's a mental note he files away.

"I didn't."

Jongin cocks his head and exhales loud enough that Lu Han looks up, startled. "Ah, but unrequited first loves ... usually don't turn out well even if I find them."

"I'm not asking for much," Lu Han admits, fingers playing with the rim of his cup. "I don't even know if he's gay."

Okay, so maybe Jongin severely underestimated this client. He runs his finger across the rim of his coffee cup, smearing the leftover foam from where he had a sip.

"How did you meet him then?"

Kris Wu is the reason why Lu Han is in Korea. Lu Han came to Yonsei University as an exchange student, an International Business major with no intentions to stay longer than a semester. Beijing was starting to be stifling and he needed to escape.

"If I've had my fill of exploring," Lu Han explains, his eyes bright and earnest, "then I would have no regrets when I start working."

Jongin nods and sets his cup down. Once, Jongin too had entertained a different life from the drones of mindless graduates flooding the working field. His teenaged life was marred with endless failed auditions and a choking love of dance that led him on a chase for disillusioned dreams. Now these dreams are nothing but what ifs, but he's content with what he's doing, even if he barely gets by.

Lu Han and Kris met at a party thrown by Kim Jongdae, a friend that Lu Han shares his Marketing classes with. Lu Han was celebrating the end of his exams, and Kris was just celebrating.

"Our eyes met over the keg," Lu Han giggles in the present, the most comfortable he's been since Jongin has met him. "It was one of those romance novel moments."

Conversation flowed easily between the two after Lu Han hiccupped out a hi in Mandarin in his tipsiness, and Kris had jumped upon the slip like an enthusiastic puppy, quickly offering the fact that he was Chinese as well. It turned out that Kris was roommates with the same Yixing that Lu Han was tutoring.

One hour turned into two, and between shots of vodka and the humid summer weather, he found himself telling Kris more than he wanted to. He confessed that studying abroad was harder than he thought and he was considering cutting his semester short.

"Do you know what he told me, that bastard?"

Jongin shakes his head as prompted, and Lu Han continues with a quirk of his lips and his eyes far away, his voice taking on a wistful tone, "He looked me in the eye, and I swear to God, told me it was because I hadn't met him yet. It was the cheesiest thing I've ever heard, but under the moonlight, Kris looked beautiful."

Kris tried his best to make Lu Han fit in, bringing him around to Seoul's nook and crannies and showing him the beauty of Korea. It was a no brainer why Lu Han would be drawn to him, the first person to actively reach out and try to bring Lu Han out of his shell.

The week after, Kris disappeared.

Yixing mumbled a vague excuse about family and refused to tell more despite Lu Han's insistent questions. He told him not to wait anymore, because Kris probably wouldn't be coming back.

"But he promised me that we would see the cherry blossoms together," Lu Han says to Jongin now, the slight waver in his voice betraying his emotions. Jongin pretends not to see the sudden glossiness of Lu Han's eyes and busies himself with his cake to allow Lu Han a few moments to compose himself.

Nevertheless, Lu Han extended his visa for another semester, and another, and soon he was graduating from Yonsei with a degree in International Business and a minor in Korean.

Kris Wu is the reason why Lu Han is in Korea, and Lu Han wants to find his reason back.

Jongin starts off with his usual procedures and does a routine search on the internet. He doesn’t tell his clients that half the time, their long-lost first love can easily be tracked via an old Cyworld account or through the trendier Facebook accounts. Everyone leave behind a trail on the internet like virtual cookie crumbs, and it’s almost impossible to wipe the internet of traces of yourself.

Almost impossible. Aside from a short except in an article from Kris’s Yonsei days quoting him on the treatment of international students (“My life in Korea is fantastic, but I’ve had my downs.”) and a notice including him in the list of honour roll students, he draws a blank. He does however manage to get a full name, Wu YiFan, which is more than enough for Jongin to go on to plan B.

“You’re going to get me fired one day,” Minseok mumbles into his coffee, all the while keeping an eye out for any supervisors that might drop by. As a rookie paralegal, he’s allowed to have visitors, but Jongin tends to come with the most prickly of proposals. “What you’re doing is illegal in Korea.”

“Aww, come on, Minseok,” Jongin says good-naturedly, bumping Minseok’s shoulder with an elbow and almost causing him to spit out his coffee. “You’re a romantic guy!”

He draws up a chair and plops down into it, resting his chin on his hands. “You’ll like this story. Pretty exchange student comes to Korea and falls in love, except lover boy disappears.”

“The classic jilted female lover?” Minseoks asks with a raised brow. “Isn’t that 99% of your clients?”

The jilted male lover,” Jongin corrects. “And they never dated.” He bites his grin in at Minseok’s pinched face, knowing that the older man is fighting his own curiosity. It’s only a matter of time and-

“Alright, what’s his name,” Minseok says with an air of resignation. Most of the information that Jongin requests are from public records fully accessible to anyone with the right identification, but it doesn’t make what he’s doing any less unethical and illegal. Still, he can never say no to a good love story. Jongin kicks back his feet and waits as Minseok hunches over his computer, keying in the characters. “There’s no record of there ever being a Wu YiFan in the immigration lists, unless your man is a balding 60 year old or a 3 year old child.”

“Cross-check the university records with anyone that has travelled to Korea on a student visa in the past 5 years?“ At Minseok’s increasing frown, Jongin pulls out his best smile, the one that gets him extra shots and free muffins in cafes staffed with teenaged girls. “Pretty please?”

Minseok hesitates. “I’ve got a hit, but… you’d better see for yourself.”

Jongin leans over to peer at the screen and what he sees makes him raise his eyebrows.

Jongin calls Lu Han out on a particularly sunny day and they arrange to meet at the park near Jongin’s office, because Lu Han insisted that it was too nice a day to stay inside. They bump into each other right outside Jongin’s office and walk to the park together, stopping by an ice cream stall because Lu Han is distracted by the sweets and Jongin can’t say no.

Texts with Lu Han have quickly evolved from simple, clipped updates to replies littered with emoticons (Lu Han seems to have a preference for smiley faces), but he’s still surprised to find that Lu Han in a good mood is completely different from the subdued man he saw sitting in his office during their first meeting.

"Your man's a bit dodgy," Jongin begins once they’ve settled down on a bench, Lu Han’s surprisingly childish needs satisfied.

Lu Han is focusing on the drop of ice-cream currently escaping from his cone and he darts out his tongue to catch it, eyes crossing in the effort. It’s a rainbow flavoured cone, which Jongin teased him relentlessly about, even if Jongin likes it every once in a while. “You found him?”

“We’re working on it.” Jongin stares down at his own boring chocolate cone. This all feels a bit familiar, like he’s hanging out with a friend, and not being paid a hundred bucks per “consultation”. When he’s having fun like this, swinging his feet and laughing at the rainbow mess splattered across Lu Han’s jeans to Lu Han’s pouts, he’s not even sure where to draw the line between casual hang outs and business meetings.

“Oh. Then why call me out?”

For once, Jongin is at a loss of words. He chooses to brush it aside, ignoring the smirk Lu Han is hiding in his cone. “I’ll get in touch with you later.”

“Hey,” Lu Han cocks his head. “Wanna watch a movie?”

Jongin has a client penciled in at 4pm but that’s hours away. They end up watching a B-grade horror flick that has Jongin jumping at every creak and shout.

“I bet she’s going to have her throat slit here,” Lu Han whispers gleefully, prodding Jongin to remove the fingers covering his eyes. When Jongin buries his face in Lu Han’s shoulder, Jongin can feel them shaking in silent laughter.

Her throat remains intact throughout the movie. Her friend is not as lucky. When the decapitated head drops to the ground, Jongin shrieks loud enough for the high school girls next to them to titter. Jongin grabs a bunch of popcorn and discreetly throws it at Lu Han to get him to stop laughing.

“You look so old right now,” he says spitefully, pointing out the laugh lines that etch across Lu Han’s face.

“Yeah well,” Lu Han shrugs with this shit-eating grin that Jongin just wants to kis- wipe off.

“I can’t believe I thought you were quiet,” Jongin grumbles.

Someone behind them shushes them and Jongin winces under the shower of popcorn thrown their way. He gladly hunches down his seat, pressing his lips firmly together.

Lu Han’s fingers close around his elbow as an apology and remain there until the credits roll, rubbing lightly during the scarier parts. When they walk out of the theatre, Jongin can’t even remember how the rest of the movie went.

Later comes in barely a week.

It's 2AM but the phone goes through after only two rings. The voice that comes through the phone is clear, not muffled with sleep like Jongin expects it to be.

"Hello?"

"Lu Han?"

"Yes?"

"You're coming with me to Japan."

"Okay."

It's colder in Nagoya than Seoul, spring a little late for this part of the country. Jongin has been to Nagoya only once before but even he knows that the weather now is abnormally cold, even for winter.

"You understand that this trip could turn up fruitless? And you've just wasted a whole lot of money on finding a John Doe?" Jongin asks around a mouthful of ramen.

He's been in this business for a while, and he still doesn't understand why people fork out obscene amounts of money to chase after a ghost figure. Half the time, clients find out that the person they're finding has changed, and that they themselves have changed.

"It's just..." Lu Han struggles for the word. "Closure?"

That is a word Jongin hears his clients use a lot. He figures it's why some people try to recreate a distant memory- we could have been happy then, maybe we can be happy still?

"So you're willing to run around the world chasing him, without knowing his sexual preference?"

Lu Han hesitates, his chopsticks high in the air. "I just need to know."

Jongin understands, but he says, only half-jokingly, "In some cultures, that would be considered stalking."

It's an awfully serious conversation to be had in a neighbourhood ramen place. Lu Han places a gyoza on Jongin's ramen and Jongin snatches it up immediately, not wanting the fried ends to soften from the soup. "I'm putting my trust in you, Kim Jongin."

Trust. Jongin watches Lu Han tackle a gyoza of his own and swallows down the guilt.

"His name isn't Kris Wu." he breaks the news only now, having held this crucial information in for a week. He planned to tell him before they flew here but somehow he couldn't. Jongin tries to tell himself that it's purely because Lu Han might decline an overseas trip to find a man that faked his name, lost revenue and what not, but Jongin has been around enough lovesick people to have a hint of what he's really feeling. It's not something he wants to dwell on.

He could have told Lu Han on the plane, when it was too late to back out, but Lu Han's face had flushed with delight at the clouds and Jongin lost the heart to tell him, settling on trying to make Lu Han laugh as many times as possible on the hour-long journey instead.

Lu Han's face is impassive now, but Jongin has learned to read his eyes. The thought comes to him so quickly that it surprises him. He doesn't know Lu Han. They are investigator and client, only acquainted barely a month ago, and yet Jongin knows when Lu Han is wearing his mask.

“I’m sorry, I should have told you earlier,” Jongin says. “Do you still want to find him?"

"Yeah."

Jongin can't explain the little curl of dissatisfaction in his throat. "I'm just ironing out the details with my informant. He'll have the details over by tomorrow."

"Okay."

The walk back to the hotel is quiet.

Jongin is not used to conversations. He deals with people, yes, but he’s a puffed up version of himself in front of his clients. He just needs to put on a magical front, promise them all their dreams like he's a genie in a high school play.

He doesn't do social interaction. But with Lu Han it's easy. Lu Han is the kind of person who blooms the more he knows him, letting him in with each smile that they share. Lu Han has become comfortable enough to poke Jongin in the cheek when Jongin swings around to check for luggage.

Lu Han, Jongin acknowledges with a lump in his throat as he watches Lu Han toss and turn in the bed adjacent to his, has ceased being just another client.

Jongin wakes up the next morning to an email with the million dollar attachment.

By the time Lu Han is up, Jongin is waiting for him, hotel breakfast ordered and set out.

"We found him."

"Yeah?" For someone who has spent thousands of dollars looking for his lost love, Lu Han doesn't look all that happy to have found him.

"His name is Kevin Li. He ran away from home when he was twenty to escape his familial obligations but was pulled back to Guangzhou when his family threatened to cut him out of the will." He slides a photo across the table at Lu Han. "Is this him?"

"I will recognise that face anywhere," Lu Han breathes, holding the photograph gently with two hands.

“Good, because I got us invites to the party he’s throwing tonight.”

Lu Han sounds startled, “I will need a suit.”

The party is thrown at one of the grandest hotels in Nagoya. “Yes, you will.” Jongin almost comments on how Lu Han’s first reaction to finding his first love is his choice of attire, but instead he pulls his phone out to look for clothing stores around their area.

Kevin Li is a handsome man. It's easy to see how Lu Han could have fallen in love with him, because Kevin radiates charm as he flits around the room, greeting his guests and welcoming them to the party with a sincerity that would be hard to fake.

Zhang Yixing laughs and snakes his arms around Kevin's waist. They are obviously very much in love, from the way Kevin's fingers curl protectively around Yixing's shoulder to the way Yixing leans automatically into Kevin's embrace. When Yixing reaches up to wipe some crumbs from the side of Kevin's mouth, the glimmer of the diamond on his finger is much too obnoxious to miss.

"Let's go," Lu Han says quietly, tugging at Jongin's arm, and Jongin puts up no resistance. They slip out unnoticed, two shadows lost among a crowd of cheerful partygoers.

"I'm sorry," Jongin offers, not knowing what to say. He's usually never around for this part of the job. Usually his job ends when he hands the client an envelope of information, and he ushers them out before he sees their reactions.

Lu Han holds his head up, his eyes suspiciously wet. Still, a determined smile stretches across his face. "We have three days left in japan. Let's not waste it."

He's not obligated to play tour guide to his client. It's more economically viable to change their plane tickets and go home, but somehow it's easier to follow Lu Han's whims, especially when he looks so lost and fragile.

They end up in a small neighbourhood bar, the only customers in the store that seats no more than five tables.

Jongin tips his glass down and lets out a guttural sound at the burn. "Soju is still better."

Lu Han laughs, hiding his grin in his own sip. "You and your silly Korean patriotism. Should I start talking about how rice wine originated from China?"

Jongin points at Lu Han in mock anger. "You don't know that."

They settle down into a comfortable rhythm, refilling each other's sake glasses and toasting nothing at all.

"What were you expecting?"

"Nothing," Lu Han admits. "I needed to see the end. That's the only way I can start over.¹”

"I don't get it," Jongin pushes on, alcohol loosening his lips. "If you never saw it to the end, you would have retained the good memories.²"

"Closure," Lu Han reminds him softly.

"Closure." Jongin tilts his glass and watches the clear liquid slosh onto the bar top. Soju is better anyway.

Jongin looks up at the tall structure. He didn’t plan on heading here, but somehow they did. Kevin is the only thing holding them together and Jongin is grasping at straws, not knowing why he has to cling to a shattered dream, but doing it anyway. Lu Han tilts his head, bringing a hand up to shield his eyes from the sun. The glass walls of the building reflect the strong noon sunlight and draws attention to it even among a mess of buildings in the busiest parts of Nagoya.

“So, Kris- Kevin owns this, huh.”

“One day he will,” Jongin confirms. “Part of it anyway.”

Kevin’s family is the largest shareholder in the massive conglomerate that owns a good number of factories across Asia. They’re in everything from food products to real estate but are best known for clothing and footwear.

It took some convincing on Jongin’s part to nudge Lu Han into coming here. “You paid for it,” he reminded Lu Han and Lu Han had laughed bitterly.

“I paid for a pipe dream.”

“You paid for an illusion and I will complete it.”

They stand in silence until Lu Han bumps Jongin’s shoulder, impatience lining his voice. “So where to next?”

Jongin has no plans beyond the fancy building. “The port?”

They make it to the port just past lunch, just as the stream of office workers trickle back to work with their stiff ties and weary smiles.

Jongin looks at the identical brown brief bags that all the businessmen hold and exchanges a look of understanding with Lu Han. Perhaps Lu Han is imagining Kevin in the exact same suit, barking quick orders into his blackberry.

Tourist is as tourist do, so they head to the Port of Nagoya Public Aquarium. Neither of them have been to an aquarium since they were children and Jongin admits that he feels a bit silly queuing up for tickets among a sea of excited children and couples. He averts his eyes when he catches a young woman tiptoe to peck her boyfriend on his lips and feels oddly relieved to see that Lu Han has his attention directed elsewhere.

“I don’t know Japanese.” Lu Han points to the plastic sign with a cartoon apologetic dolphin. All shows in Japanese only! Sorry!

“Neither do I,” Jongin shrugs but they purchase tickets anyway.

It turns out that language is restrictive but the joy of watching adorable dolphins wave is universal.

“A Chinese and a Korean watching sea lions clap their hands in Japanese,” Lu Han muses and Jongin would reply but when he opens his mouth, all that comes out is a shriek.

“I’ll get you,” Jongin yells at the sea lion, who looks much too human with the mischievous twitch of its whiskers. It waddles off and slips into the water, satisfied with attracting the attention of the two distracted audience members.

They really shouldn’t have chosen the front few rows when it’s so cold out, especially now that their clothes are drenched. But it’s okay. Lu Han is laughing openly, flicking his hair left and right to rain more water droplets on Jongin.

It’s all part of the Nagoya experience.

On the last day, Jongin takes Lu Han out without telling him where he’s bringing him.

"It's a surprise," he says mysteriously, ushering Lu Han into the train and ignoring Lu Han’s yelp of indignance.

Yamazakigawa riverside is mainly still bare, too early for the cherry blossoms to bloom. Small buds decorate the trees, with a few early bloomers defying the seasons and popping out, too eager to wait for a warmer spring. Jongin had hoped for more flowers but as he watches Lu Han staring in wonder at the trees stretching along the river, Jongin doesn’t think he minds that much.

"The flowers don't bloom until April, so we're early. I'm sorry, I wanted to show you the cherry blossoms. We'll come here again next time-" Jongin catches himself in time and stops, mortified at how far ahead he's getting. Next time?

Thankfully, Lu Han doesn’t notice his slip up. "Thank you." he tilts his head up, eyes falling shut blissfully.

It's a scene ripped from every anime Jongin has ever seen. The pretty boy under a shower of cherry blossom petals, silhouette perfectly framed in the sunlight. Jongin is spellbound, just a shade shy of heart shaped eyes and Shoujo sparkles. Some petals settle on Lu Han’s cheek, the soft pink as smooth as Lu Han’s fair skin.

"You've-" Jongin gestures at Lu Han's face and before he can stop himself, he leans forward to blow softly at Lu Han's cheek. Lu Han's eyes flutter open and when their eyes meet, Jongin finally understands why people travel the world to recapture that one memory.

They stand there, locked into place by a sizzling current of energy, Lu Han with his face upturned to match Jongin's taller build.

It's almost magnetic, the way they fall together. They close the gap together, not knowing who makes the first move. Lu Han's fingers reach up to curl into Jongin's shoulder blades like it's the most natural thing in the world and Jongin registers the warmth up his back before he feels the touch on his lips. Maybe it's been too long since he's had a human touch but everything feels unfamiliar and yet he's drawn in.

They kiss sweet and slow, not wanting to rush. It seems only right to savour the moment, spend time memorizing the contours of each other’s lips in this romantic setting. Scene one, end. The credits roll, the cheery music plays. And they lived happily ever after. Jongin has never been more happy to be a cliché anime.

“I’m sorry for taking advantage of you so soon after your heartbreak,” Jongin says solemnly, later as they sit curled up under a cherry blossom tree. Jongin lies on Lu Han’s lap and lets Lu Han card his fingers through his hair, softly messing up and smoothing down his bangs.

“You bad, resourceful man,” Lu Han says but it’s hard to keep up the poker face when giggles keep bubbling to the surface.

“Only the worst,” Jongin agrees and turns his head to breathe into Lu Han’s stomach, breath tickling Lu Han and making him laugh more.

"You mentioned that your first case was for yourself. Did you ever find your first love?" Lu Han asks, curiosity shining bright in his eyes.

Jongin shuts his eyes and thinks about her, how happy she seemed with her son and the way she smiled at her husband. Then he opens his eyes to see Lu Han smiling down at him, beautiful and exquisite. There is only one answer. "I’m working on finding my next one, but I don't think I'll have to look far."

The blossoms of love don’t need seasons to bloom.

"Are you sure this is the place?" Kyungsoo whispers, staring warily up at the dimly lit staircase.

Chanyeol chews on a hang nail nervously, a habit left over from his time spent quitting smoking. "I'm sure. If anyone can find Baekhyun, this agency will be the one."

Kyungsoo runs a finger across the address scribbled on his dog-eared notebook and holds it up against the address printed on the metal plate by the staircase. "Third floor. I hope they can. You've pined over Baekhyun long enough."

What they find when they reach the third floor isn't the answer to their dreams, but a dusty door, with a sign plastered across.

The first love doesn't necessarily have to be the first person.³
Stop chasing pipe dreams and find your true happiness.

end.

hi! wow this took me over a year to complete. i don’t actually remember how the film this is based on goes now (there was india, lots of singing, a lot of blurred, semi-dreamy scenes) but i wanted to recreate the feel of the film. i hope i gave it justice.

i adapted some direct quotes from the film, and these are the prompts that started this whole thing. i claim no credit for the below quotes!

¹"I need to see the end. that's the only way I can start over.
² "If you don't finish something, the good feeling is still intact."
³ “The first love doesn’t necessarily have to be the first person.”

thanks for reading!

tangled dreams

2014-02-06T08:27:43Z

Title: Tangled Dreams
Rating: G
Pairing: Suho/Kai
Length: 8,000 words
Summary: Joonmyun lives a fairy tale, but all he wants to do is wake up.
Notes: Predebut au. Very loosely based on Tangled.Written for suholiday here.

Joonmyun has been training all his life. When he was younger, he was taught to bow to his elders and say his greetings properly. In school, he learned to keep a pleasant demeanour always, because people were so much more welcoming to a warm smile than to the frown that itched to burst out on some days. And when he entered the company as a wide eyed trainee, still disillusioned with the concept of fame and the taste of hope fresh on his tongue, he trained even more.

Vocals, dance, languages, acting, modelling; his days are filled with activities that promise to turn him from bland milk to smooth butter. With all the training that he’s received, he should be the perfect trainee, but somehow, something is lacking. He puts in so much effort but it comes out as mediocrity, shown in the disappointed expression of his trainers and the average marks at the monthly assessments.

“Joonmyun,” he’s been told one too many times. “If you don’t improve, debuting might be difficult.” They tsk at him and shake their heads, not noticing how Joonmyun shrinks with every comment, confidence trickling away but still clinging onto the last thread of determination.

When EXO was announced and Joonmyun named leader, Joonmyun had cried for two hours straight, greeting each person who came up to congratulate him with a tear-stained smile. He was ecstatic the whole day but the insecurities crept in during the night, an unseen devil whispering destructive thoughts into his ear. He wasn’t good enough then; how is he good enough now?

Ever since that day, he’s been living in fear.

He knows how to introduce himself in 5 different languages, but when he sees Yixing hunched over the keyboard with a tear stained song, he doesn’t understand. Yixing’s voice tends to go flat and he doesn’t know how to control his range yet, but his songs are genuine and somehow he breezes through the monthly tests easily while Joonmyun struggles. For someone who has been trained to note the difference between a sharp and a b flat, Joonmyun just doesn’t understand.

“Yixing sings like he means it,” Chanyeol explains, tucking his lanky legs under him.

Joonmyun smooths out the sheets on the piano in front of him and stares at the paper until the notes begin to dance. This month’s assessment has them in pairs and they’ve been running through the song for hours. He contemplates responding to Chanyeol but settles on a firm “Again.”

Chanyeol groans and drops his head into his hands.

After being in SM for so long, he has seen numerous trainees who were kicked out after being caught kissing another under the staircase that leads up to the practice rooms. All their dreams that they spent years honing and slowly building, gone in a passion-filled moment that they probably wouldn’t even remember three years down the road.

Love, he decides, is an option, not a necessity. Love is emotional baggage.

Perhaps that is Joonmyun’s biggest flaw.

Jongin is EXO's hope, but it’s hard to imagine that someone so frail and thin, that someone so young, is the one who will make or break the team. Joonmyun knows that Jongin is only one person, and EXO, as a team, is so much more. It’s unfair to weigh so much on the shoulders of one boy when the other ten have put in just as much effort. Baekhyun will be touted as the genius boy who debuted with less than a year’s training, but the news articles won’t talk about the countless mornings when Joonmyun walked into the practice rooms to find Baekhyun asleep on the wooden floor. The promotional materials that SM eventually sends out to various news media all over the country will gush about Lu Han’s pretty face and his angelic smile, but they won’t bring up how Lu Han came here almost penniless and worked his way up the trainee ladder to finally earn his place as a debuting member.

For now, Jongin is the one who is scheduled to appear first in a teaser. He is the one who is tasked with grabbing the public’s attention in one sultry smile and 15 seconds of a slick dance routine.

If Jongin is fine with all of this, why is panic knotting up Joonmyun’s throat, until every breath he takes and every mouthful of air he swallows tinged with worry?

Joonmyun is already 20, expiry date reaching in the idol world where the teens are celebrated and 20s a death sentence. His seven years as a trainee hasn’t turned him into the promised butter but instead into stale milk, and each passing year chips away at his self confidence until he wonders on the worst of days why he still trudges through the white arches of the company every day.

He envies Jongin’s easy confidence and undeniable talent. Dancing beside Jongin amplifies every mistake that Joonmyun does, until all he can see is how his own dancing skills are subpar compared to Jongin. His eyes stay glued to Jongin in the practice room’s wall length mirrors, watching Jongin’s changes in expressions and the subtle flicks of his wrist. He simply wants to learn from the boy, and the way Jongin throws his all into every dance makes it easy to fall into Jongin’s spell. Uneasiness settles like lead in his stomach and he can’t tell if it’s pure jealousy or something more.

They’ve barely had free time lately with the endless rounds of practice. Chanyeol swears he has heard Jongdae singing Mama in his sleep, and it comes as no surprise to everyone. Sometimes, Joonmyun jolts awake with the chants fresh in his mind and his arms mid-air, ready to execute that one move that Jaewon has been drilling into them.

Free time is a luxury hard earned. It’s only when Zitao’s ankle twists that the company lets them take a day off. Jongin decides to stay at home with a straight-to-video flick and starts working on getting members to stay in with him but none of them want to be stuck indoors after months spent in the recording studio and practice rooms. It doesn’t take much cajoling for Joonmyun to cave in because he’s just so tired, and the panic yarn ball in his throat hasn’t loosened.

His decision is made easier by the soft smile on Jongin’s face and the way he pats the pillows next to him invitingly. Jongin has made a little pillow cocoon in his bed and propped his laptop on the blankets. Joonmyun sinks down next to him, slipping under the covers and pulling the blankets up to his chin. The bed is meant for one so they fit snugly next to each other, Jongin’s warm stomach pressed up against the silver of skin exposed between Joonmyun’s pyjamas.

Just when the opening credits finish rolling and Joonmyun’s eyelids are drooping, Jongin reaches up and tangles his fingers in Joonmyun’s hair. "Your hair is so soft."

His knee-jerk reaction is to brush Jongin’s hand away but he manages to keep his hands to his side, fingers grasping at air. This is a level of intimacy that Joonmyun still struggles with getting used to, but they’re a group now. He will have many more moments with Jongin. With how closely they’re pressed together, Jongin still notices the way he stiffens and his grip loosens.

“You know they call you the rose?” Jongin presses his fingers to Joonmyun’s forehead, smoothing out the frown.

He doesn’t wait for Joonmyun to reply before he continues, “you’re so prickly.” This is rich, coming from the boy who has every new trainee quivering in their shoes with a steady glare. Jongin is a hedgehog, with spikes up and hackles raised, but absolutely defenseless when approached. He’s a softie that tends to stick his nose into matters that are none of his business, like right now. Joonmyun is willing to bet that someone, maybe Kris, has pulled him aside and whispered about how Joonmyun’s smiles seem hollow. Joonmyun winces whenever he catches a glimpse of his own reflection in the mirror, and Kris always notices. Kris notices everything.

"Joonmyun, it's okay to let loose." Jongin says quietly, moving on to pet Joonmyun’s hair now. It reminds Joonmyun of home and the way his mother used to sing him to sleep, and he feels the familiar threat of tears prickling at his eyes. “Sometimes I wonder if you even give time to be yourself.” The conversation is suddenly yanked into uncomfortably personal territory and Joonmyun has to stamp down the instinct that yells for him to deflect all raw questions.

Joonmyun has picked apart and reassembled every part of himself so many times that he doesn’t remember what he used to be like. He vaguely remembers boasting about his future debut to his classmates and making them laugh with his over-the-top imitations of the cool TVXQ seniors, but that memory blurs between the constant nagging by the SM trainers to sit straight, talk right, smile more, don’t frown Joonmyun that’s unbecoming. His personality is stained with the tears of his mother and the cracks of too many cases of broken hope. Joonmyun has spent the past 6 year painstakingly crafting a perfect mold of what the company needs. Now he only needs to carefully colour within the lines.

The movie plays on, cheesy lines one after another in a badly lit room. Joonmyun wonders if the movie was all an excuse to get Joonmyun to rest, because otherwise they all know that he would’ve spent the day hunched over his desk scribbling out lyrics. It’s nice to know that Jongin cares enough to do this but it doesn’t squash the incessant worry in his heart.

Jongin rests his head on Joonmyun’s shoulder and lets his hand slip down to softly tug at Joonmyun’s sleeve, like a child holding on to a teddy bear. "Hyung, our careers will be over by the time we hit 30. If you're not living now, when will you?"

The entertainment world is a race, all flashiness, calculation and carefully timed speed, but even with the promise of debut looming, life is slow as a trainee. Jongin has a point. Once they debut, he won’t have another chance to be himself, whoever he is.

Joonmyun falls asleep before the movie is even half over.

Joonmyun is a manly, manly man. His nickname in middle school was Suho– the guardian.

(No one ever talks about how Joonmyun was only nicknamed the Guardian because he was a strict, no nonsense hall monitor that guarded the hallways with more stubborn determination than a puppy with a bone. His other nickname was Napoleon, more due to his size than his authority.)

Because he's such a manly man, Joonmyun does not let out an embarrassing shriek that would put banshees to shame. No, instead he lets out a grunt, not a scream in any way, and tumbles out of bed.

Even if he were, hypothetically, to scream like a baby, it is perfectly understandable in this situation, because when Joonmyun opens his eyes, all he sees is dark. Then he realises that he can’t breathe.

His hands fly up to his face and his horror, close around scales. Not screaming, he flings the thing and it lands on the bed on all fours. The lizard –a chameleon he realizes– blinks at him lazily, swishing its green tail around.

“What.” Joonmyun says at the chameleon on his bed.

The chameleon rolls its eyes and twirls its tail around, as if it’s urging Joonmyun to take a look. Finally, Joonmyun realises that this is in fact not his bed, because his bed sheets are blue with a huge dark red splotch from when Jongdae got a little too happy and spilled the wine.

He’s lying in silk sheets that are more luxurious than anything his skin has ever felt. The room he is in is made of bricks piled together so closely that no gaps are left between each stone. It has only one window and Joonmyun rushes out of bed to peek outside, only to stagger back because holy shit, the drop down must be 20 storeys high at least. Curiously, all he sees is acres of forest sprawling across a rugged terrain, little cottages with smoking chimneys scattered here and there. Wherever he is, this isn’t Seoul.

The room is barely bigger than the room he shares with Jongin and Kyungsoo back in the dorms, but it is sparsely decorated and has a certain Victorian charm to it, like it was lifted straight out of the pages of the storybooks that Kris hides under his bed.

Everywhere he looks, Joonmyun could easily imagine his members fitting into the scene- Chanyeol and Baekhyun having pillow fights on the bed, Kyungsoo at the desk bent across a book, Zitao by the window admiring the view. The thought catches him off-guard, because it’s a testament to how much the boys have permeated his life, to the point where they float to his mind unbidden.

One wall has a bookshelf that spans from ceiling to the stone ground, filled with books of every kind. If this isn’t a dream, Joonmyun decides, this must be heaven. Maybe the yarn ball got revenge and choked him in his sleep. Joonmyun marvels at the bookshelves, running his finger over the spines of the well-kept books, and sounds out the book titles to himself.

He’s so busy admiring the books that it belatedly occurs to him that there is no door. Almost immediately, he feels caged in, the previously absent claustrophobia rising up to lodge in his throat.

“I need to get out of here,” he says to himself, feeling along the walls in panic, hoping to find a latch or a hidden escape.

“I’d say,” agrees the chameleon.

In his wonder, Joonmyun has forgotten about the lizard, and he flattens himself against the wall in surprise at the sudden words. He gawks at the chameleon, watching its mouth, but all the chameleon does is stare back at him.

“I must be hearing things,” Joonmyun mutters. He runs his fingers through his hair and breathes out slowly, willing himself to stay calm and figure out this odd dream.

“Are you the princess?”

This time, Joonmyun does scream. He screams so loudly that the man, who somehow snuck in when Joonmyun didn’t notice, shouts along with him.

The sunlight streaming in frames the figure by the window perfectly, and for a brief moment, all Joonmyun can see is a silhouette, a silver of light obstructing the man’s face from his view.

"Jongin?" Joonmyun asks in disbelief.

Jongin stands there dressed in a simple emerald linen tunic and pants, a thick piece of rope tied around his waist as a makeshift belt. He has a duffel bag slung casually around his neck and clutches a paper scroll in his right hand. Even in his confusion, Joonmyun finds him devastatingly handsome. This outfit is a far cry from the tees and sweat pants that Jongin usually dons, and with his hair coiffed up like this, Jongin looks beyond his years. It might be a trick of the light, but somehow Jongin’s shoulders seems broader and his jawline more pronounced, like Joonmyun is staring at a future, more mature version of Jongin.

”I came here to find a princess,” Jongin frowns. He unfurls the scroll in his hand and squints at the hastily drawn map. All Joonmyun can catch from his vantage point is a large X scribbled over a tower. “Are you just one of those tomboys?”

"Jongin, I need to wake up from this funny dream. Why are you acting so weirdly and what is that funny outfit?"

“I’m Kai,” Jongin corrects. He glances at his hands and then makes a squeezing motion in the general direction of Joonmyun’s chest. “The map says there should be a princess here, and it’s enchanted, so it can’t be wrong. Do you think I could-“

Joonmyun clasps his arms across his chest protectively. “Jongin, this isn’t funny.”

"Who is this Jongin you speak of?" Jongin barks, forehead scrunched in annoyance. "Impudent little brat, how many times must I tell you that my name is Kai?"

“Kai,” Joonmyun says carefully. If Jongin wants to play this game, so can Joonmyun. As Kyungsoo always says whenever Chanyeol and Jongdae get caught up in their far-fetched schemes, never encourage the crazy. “Where are we?”

Kai looks at Joonmyun like he has grown a third head. “We’re in Neverland, of course.”

Suddenly the world spins and Joonmyun has to grab the edge of the table to avoid toppling to the ground. “I think I need a drink.”

Kai is so not amused that it would be amusing to Joonmyun, but Joonmyun is beyond finding humour in the situation, not when he has pinched, slapped and done everything to himself in order to prove that this isn’t a dream.

By the time Joonmyun has firmly established that Kai is not Jongin and Joonmyun is not waking up anytime soon, the other boy is already looking like he regrets scaling the wall of the tallest tower in Neverland to rescue a princess rumoured to be the most beautiful girl across the land.

"Let me get this straight. In your world,” Kai points at Joonmyun and Joonmyun nods encouragingly. “Me. Dancing. Boyband. This precious body?" His voice rises with each word until he sounds almost hysterical. The chameleon (Joonmyun names it Pascal after the unit, because it only seems appropriate under the amount of stress and pressure that he is facing) waddles up to Kai and pats him with its tail.

“Yes,” Joonmyun says, all earnest and pleading. “Wherever I am, I need to get back.”

Kai bites his lip, wondering whether to entertain this mad man or just high tail out of the place. “First, we need to get out of here.”

“We’re like twenty storeys above ground,” Joonmyun says exasperatedly. He punches a pillow in frustration and throws it at the wall for good measure. “How?”

This time, Kai’s grin is so feral that Joonmyun leans away instinctively. “The same way I got in.”

Last summer, a group of trainees went to Lotte World together. Lu Han refused to get on the Gyro Drop, and Joonmyun felt so bad for him that he volunteered to miss the ride as well, spending half an hour calming Lu Han down from his height-induced freak out.

Joonmyun finds out the hard way that Lu Han was right. Twenty storeys is a long way to fall.

“Whee!” Kai yells wildly, one arm thrown around Joonmyun’s waist and the other gripping the rope tightly. The rope (“Enchanted by the best wizard in Neverland,” Kai boasts, and Joonmyun bites down the urge to point out that the map enchanted by the same wizard brought him to not a princess, but Joonmyun) swings around wildly as they hurtle towards the ground, stretching magically to send them safety down the long fall.

Joonmyun clings onto Kai’s waist for dear life and swears that he will never, ever make fun of Lu Han for his fear of heights ever again.

“Stop being a baby,” Kai says. He slams a jug of beer onto the bar counter top so roughly that the drink sloshes out and splashes into Joonmyun’s hair. The bartender glares at him and he shrugs, not caring about the mess he made.

“We almost died,” Joonmyun cries into the wooden surface where he is currently face planting. It’s actually quite comfortable and Joonmyun is happy to just stay here forever until he becomes one with the bar top. It wouldn’t be a stretch when he’s already living a nightmare.

“Death is not in your future, young one,” a familiar voice cuts in.

Joonmyun jerks his head up and gapes at the newcomer. Under the flowing black robes and what appears to be six months’ worth of facial hair lies an unmistakable person. Joonmyun leaps up and throws his arms around Yixing. “Yixing, oh thank god, Jongin just hurled us off a building and-“

"I'm a gypsy." Yixing speaks quietly and calmly, soft voice befitting his serene demeanour. Still, his voice commands enough power to stop Joonmyun mid-rant and make him step back. "You're not from around here," he observes, "You’ve lost something."

Joonmyun groans. Of course Yixing would be doing the crazy talk as well. "Excuse me?"

"No one comes here unless they've lost something." He walks a circle around Joonmyun as Joonmyun stands there awkwardly, sending pleading looks to Kai for help.

Behind them, Kai rolls his eyes and throws a couple of gold coins onto the table, not in the mood for more nonsense. He’s still a bit sore that he hasn’t found a princess, although bringing Joonmyun along promised an adventure, and he loves adventures. “We’re leaving,” he says firmly, and stalks out of the bar without waiting for Joonmyun’s reply.

“Hmm, yes,” Yixing says, rubbing his chin and nodding. "You can't leave until you find what you lost."

“Hurry up, Joonmyun, we don’t have all day!” Kai hollers, impatience dripping from his every word. He’s already saddled on the horse, looking as if he’s contemplating just leaving Joonmyun behind.

Joonmyun glances at the door hesitantly. He can choose to stay with Yixing, but his gut tells him that Yixing is not the key to escaping this world. “Can you tell me what I lost?”

“The answer will only come to those who have a pure heart,” Yixing says cryptically and sits down at the bar counter. “You will meet many that you trust, but trust not all.” To Joonmyun’s astonishment, he starts swaying and humming in his seat, not responding to Joonmyun’s frantic attempts to catch his attention.

“He won’t be moved once he’s meditating,” the bartender informs him sympathetically. “He’s recharging his chi.”

“Joonmyun, I’m giving you ten seconds!” Kai yells again and Joonmyun reluctantly backs off towards the exit, watching Yixing carefully in case the so-called gypsy decides to open his eyes and his mouth.

'Joonmyun," Yixing calls, just when Joonmyun is about to close the door behind him. Joonmyun turns his head and Yixing peeks one eye open, smiling mysteriously. "The answer lies in the notes." With that, he falls back into his hypnotic swaying, making it clear that he will offer nothing more.

“Thank you, Yixing, I’ll keep that in mind.” Joonmyun gives Yixing a quick bow and scurries after Kai.

“What took you so long?” Kai grumbles. He slips off his horse to help Joonmyun mount the stallion, and Joonmyun can’t help but note how Kai’s long legs swing effortlessly across the stallion’s back.

“Yixing said I can’t leave until I find what I lost, but I don’t know what I lost.” Joonmyun settles down on the horse and pulls Kai up to let him take his place at the reins.

Kai scratches the back of his head and flashes him that same smile that has a group of girls waiting outside the company every day for a glimpse of the infamous trainee. "I suppose I can help you find what you lost."

"What do you suppose he means?” Joonmyun lets his face turn impassive and mimics Yixing’s flat tone, “the answer lies in the notes.”

“Notes? The academy?” Kai tries with a shrug. He jerks the reins, sending the stallion into a trot. “There’ll be a Festival of Lights tomorrow night. The palace sets off a thousand floating lanterns to celebrate the kingdom’s scholars and symbolise our kingdom’s bright future. Our kingdom is known for its scholars; maybe one of the scholars will know the answer.”

At a small diner where they stop to grab lunch, they meet Sehun.

Unfortunately, they meet Sehun when Sehun has his hand in Kai’s pouch, trying to steal a bag of coins. Kai has Sehun in a headlock in a flash, easily overpowering the boy due to his larger size. Joonmyun recalls Yixing’s words about meeting more that he trusts and what Yixing really meant finally dawns on him.

“I’m sorry, I thought you were rich!” Sehun cries, rubbing his hands together.

From the feathered cap Sehun is donning and the bow strapped behind his back, Joonmyun guesses that he’s Robin Hood. He jumps in to pry Kai’s grip away, “Don’t kill the kid! He’s doing it for good!”

And that’s how they end up drinking ginger beer (because Joonmyun insists that Kai and Sehun aren’t old enough for alcohol despite alcohol restrictions not existing in this mystical world), with Sehun spilling about his exploits for a noble cause.

“No way,” Kai says in amazement, finally recognising Sehun. “You’re Booty Man!” He looks from the poster plastered on the wall to the unimpressed boy sitting in front of him. The poster depicts a caricature bearing startling likeness to Sehun and gushes over “Booty Man saving the day again!”

Sehun crosses his arms and huffs. "I stop a horse cart from crashing into the stalls and my nickname is Booty Man?"

"Maybe you shouldn't have worn those tights," Kai comments mildly. Everyone tips their head and checks out Sehun’s ass. It is a fine ass, indeed.

Sehun rips the poster off the wall and studies it closely. “At least get my nose right!” He jabs at the parchment angrily. “That’s way too big!”

As if on cue, Kyungsoo walks past holding a spatula and wearing a stained apron. If he made the pancakes that Joonmyun just ate, Joonmyun is very pleased to offer his compliments to the chef. "Did you see a talking frog?" Kyungsoo stops at their table and asks.

"I have a smart chameleon?" Joonmyun tells him, opening his messenger tote to show Kyungsoo the curled up lizard. Joonmyun had grown fond of Pascal during their brief encounter and he decided to bring the chameleon along.

Kyungsoo wrinkles his nose at Pascal. "No, no, I need to find my prince."

Joonmyun mentally runs through the list of members that he has met and tries to match the remaining boys with an amphibian. "Is it by any chance named Jongdae?"

Kyungsoo's eyes are so wide when he's surprised that Joonmyun is burdened by the weight of all that scrutiny. "How did you know?"

Joonmyun ponders this. If Jongdae was a frog that had characteristics reflecting his human self, where would he be? "You can find him looking into the nearest reflective surface," he decides. Jongdae is always near a mirror, whether to practice his expressions when he sings or to fix his hair.

"Thanks!” Kyungsoo brightens (his eyes remain wide) and hops along on his merry way.

“If I find Jongdae for Kyungsoo, will people stop calling me booty man?” Sehun asks hopefully.

“Maybe you should invest in a looser pair of pants,” Kai advises kindly.

Sehun makes an affronted little cry and gently throws the ginger beer into Kai’s face.

Joonmyun notes fondly that Sehun would’ve done the same thing in the real world.

“How did you know about the frog?” Kai asks curiously later, when they resume their journey. There was a whole situation in the bar where Joonmyun had to convince Kai that Sehun was best left alive for the sake of the villagers, but it was thankfully solved after Kai ripped Sehun’s shirt off his back and walked away with a nice, new outfit. “You were right about Sehun too.”

Joonmyun shrugs. "They were my memb- my friends back in my world." He’s been with them for years and even with the newer boys, three months of nonstop practice is enough to make anyone bond. By now, he can predict what Minseok is about to say, or tell what Chanyeol is thinking from just a twitch of the eye.

"You know them so well."

Joonmyun stares at the smooth pane of Kai’s back. The dark green shirt, loose on Sehun but tight on Kai, frames his shoulders perfectly. "Do I?"

"They must love you," Kai says so softly his voice is almost drowned out by the galloping of the horse’s hooves.

Do they? Joonmyun can’t think of an answer to that and stays silent for the rest of the trip, lost in his thoughts.

The city is a two hour ride, and Joonmyun falls asleep against Kai’s back. Kai is nice enough to not comment on the patch of drool on his back and shakes him awake when the horse trots through the city gates.

Joonmyun is immediately struck by the majestic size of the city. The castle rises over the city at the top of a small hill and watches over the hustle and bustle of the city like a guard tower. Preparations for the festival of lights are well underway with colourful banners hanging from the front of every store. The streets are packed with a stream of citizens, and Joonmyun has to hold onto Kai’s shirt to avoid getting lost.

“Let’s head to the stable to hand the horse over,” Kai suggests, and Joonmyun eagerly agrees because he wants to explore as much of the city as possible.

The stables is run by an old lady that has her hood pulled up over her face, until only a crooked nose and the hint of a smile are visible. Joonmyun is hesitant to hand over the horse but Kai assures him that the witch has been handling the stables for years.

“I’ll take care of him,” the witch lisps, revealing rotting, uneven teeth. She leans in to Joonmyun until their faces are a mere inch apart, “I will.” From her, it sounds enough like a threat that even Kai tightens his hold on the rein.

Joonmyun’s upbringing has trained him enough to not recoil, but there’s something familiar about the way the witch cackles, wide and unbridled. Those watery eyes, awfully young for someone of her age and appearance, tug at his memory, and he’s almost sure that he’s seen her somewhere.

Before he can open his mouth to ask, a commotion outside attracts their attention.

Joonmyun is not surprised to see Minseok pop up and trip into a pile of hay, but he is surprised to see him in a baby blue dress that puffs out around the hem, showing a hint of the lace bloomers underneath. It is a sight that he could have lived without.

“Hi,” Minseok says, voice breathy from the strain of struggling out of the pile of hay. “Did you see a rabbit around here? I’m late for something, but I don’t know what!”

“My, my, what big eyes you have,” the witch says, reaching her wrinkled hand out to stroke Minseok’s cheek.

Minseok smiles back at the witch without reservation. “Thanks! All the better to see the world with!”

“Little red riding wolf,” Joonmyun whispers in horror, recognising the ment. He can’t let Minseok be eaten even in this world, because he doesn’t know if it would reflect in the real world. Gritting his teeth decisively, he steps in between Minseok and the witch, cutting their conversation off. “Minseok, I think I know what you’re late for. How about you wait for me outside?”

“You’re so nice!” Minseok cheers and bows daintily, turning to skip out of the stables, leaving behind a faint floral scent.

It takes Joonmyun only two seconds to realise that he has made a mistake.

The witch reaches up to grab at his hair, yanking him back with a hiss. “What are you doing?” The change in her face is abrupt and she snarls, lips pulling back in a way that makes her look even more horrific.

If Joonmyun didn’t cling onto the door of one of the stalls in time, he would’ve knocked his head into the nearest surface. (That being Jongin- no, Kai’s chest, because his shoulders are so broad and it would be so nice to rest his head against the darned shirt Kai is wearing and-)

But when Joonmyun turns around to get Kai’s help, Kai isn’t there. “Kai?” He calls out but gets no reply.

Now he realises that the witch’s face is melting, skin peeling away like a grotesque. Her voice sounds deeper and distorted now, no longer the warm, motherly tone from before. Joonmyun is reminded of the grotesque horror movies that Kyungsoo marathons and starts backing away, too frozen with fear to make a proper getaway.

He can only watch in fascination and revulsion as the witch’s skin tears and starts to form a new face, but when the face rearranges itself into startlingly beautiful features, the fear dissipates.

"Lu Han,” Joonmyun deadpans. “You have got to be kidding me."

"I see news of my good looks has reached you, since you know my name," Lu Han says smugly. He jerks his head and flips his honey-blonde hair, the strands miraculously falling back into place. Lu Han slides the back of his hand down Joonmyun's face lovingly and sighs, petting Joonmyun’s cheek in the most patronizing way. "I'm the most handsome man in the world."

"Not with those eye wrinkles, you're not." These are the things that Joonmyun would never say to Lu Han, but has been itching to spew ever since they met. They are debuting in the same group but Joonmyun is terrified that he’ll cross the boundaries of some unspoken rule if he throws all reservations aside.

Fairy tale Lu Han, it seems, is infinitely more annoying than real life Lu Han. Real life Lu Han is annoying, a bit obnoxious at most, but this tiara– sorry, crown wearing Lu Han is insufferable.

Lu Han holds up a jewel-encrusted mirror and flashes it proudly to Joonmyun. “A work of art, is it not?”

Joonmyun isn’t sure whether Lu Han is talking about himself or the mirror, so he just nods uncertainly. The members that he has met so far are all a carbon copy of their real life personas, but with their strongest traits and characteristics magnified. Lu Han has always been a bit temperamental and unpredictable, and if this Lu Han is the same, he cannot risk angering him.

“Mirror, mirror, on the wall,” Lu Han coos at the mirror, “who’s the most handsome of them all?” He brushes some dust off the handle carefully and angles it to capture his best side.

Zitao’s face flashes in the mirror, looking bored. He rolls his eyes and blows at his suspiciously shiny nails. “I told you. It’s Kai. That jawline could cut glass.”

Lu Han swings the mirror up high, like he’s prepared to throw the mirror onto the ground and Zitao shrieks loudly. Rolling his eyes, Lu Han slowly lowers his arm and sets the mirror face-down on the desk, muffling Zitao’s protests.

“Do you understand now, Joonmyun?” Lu Han sounds so cold and unlike his usual soft-spoken self, Joonmyun is acutely reminded that he’s merely facing a person with Lu Han’s face in an alternate dimension. That smile hints at cruelty, and the beauty that has launched his journey to debut is twisted into something almost ugly. “I almost had Minseok at the festival, but you came in and meddled.”

“So it was you!” Joonmyun cries. “I knew you were familiar.”

“It’s such a coincidence that you were travelling with Kai,” Lu Han snarls. “Now I can eliminate two birds with one stone.”

Joonmyun’s hands clench at his side at the mention of Kai and the yarn ball makes a comeback, bigger than ever before. “Where is he?”

“You’re that keen on finding out where your precious Kai is?” Lu Han says with a smirk. “Well then, I’ll just throw you in with him.”

He snaps his fingers and a glowing portal opens in the middle of the room. Joonmyun can feel the aura tugging at him, trying to suck him in, but he resists, desperately scratching at the cold, stone floor. The force is too strong and it’s futile. He can only curl up on himself and be hurtled into the rip in the dimensions as Lu Han cackles.

Joonmyun hopes to never see this version of Lu Han ever again.

Joonmyun is thrown into a dungeon lighted only by a few weak candles. He falls onto his knees and the portal disappears, letting the dungeon fall into darkness once again.

A searing pain that shoots through his body forces him to clench his eyes shut. He feels like someone is ripping him apart as he feels himself being pulled in every direction. Every part of his body is sore, worse than anything he’s ever felt from the endless nights of dance practice.

All he wants to do is lie on the ground forever but a muffled cry makes him snap to attention.

The sight that greets him twists his heart, because Kai is shackled to the wall, a bundle of cloth in his mouth. His head hangs low, but when he hears Joonmyun approaching, he jerks his head up, rattling the chains desperately. Tied up like this, the boy loses all his hot headed confidence, leaving him with a beautiful vulnerability. In a flash of confusion, Joonmyun no longer sees Kai; this is Jongin.

He wills himself not to panic and rushes forward to pull the gag from Kai’s mouth.

“The shackles are locked,” Kai gasps out, tugging at the chains in vain. “You need to find a key.”

Joonmyun shakes his head. “I think these shackles are enchanted.” He inspects the shackles and finds no key hole, confirming his suspicions. “We need to break the spell.”

When he was younger, Joonmyun dreamed of being a writer. He used to come up with elaborate storylines involving princesses and dragons to act out to his adoring audience of one- his mother. It was during these plays that Joonmyun discovered his dream of being a star, so he still keeps the faded copies of the scribbles in a box under his bed. From what he sees, this universe is made out of fairy tales and pans out like the stories do. Joonmyun has to think, if this was a fairy tale, what would the hero do?

The answer lies in the notes.

Yixing’s sage advice floats up in his mind and Joonmyun forces himself to calm down and slowly think over the words. Answer lies in the notes. Notes.

Of course! Joonmyun runs his fingers over the metal and feels the faded scratches that he dismissed earlier. The lines form a pattern he knows too well, music already forming in his head. Suddenly, the meaning of Yixing’s words comes to him easily. It lies in the notes, the musical notes.

Joonmyun almost scoffs, because of all songs, it’s this one. He hasn’t heard this song for years, but the lyrics ring fresh in his mind. “I’ll save you,” he says, nodding determinedly to reassure Kai. He’s not sure whether this will work, but it’s worth a shot.

“I trust you.” Kai’s words are so earnest that Joonmyun has to close his eyes and breathe out, too overwhelmed with nerves and the pressure of saving him, “Because it’s you.”

It’s so easy to imagine Jongin saying the same, and this is all Joonmyun needs to go on. Joonmyun closes his eyes and sings.

Can it be I'm not meant to play this part? Now I see that if I were truly to be myself, I would break my family's heart.

The chains on Kai's hands turn as golden as the rays of sunset across the seas and melts into a trickling of sparkling dust, but Joonmyun has the song engraved in his heart.

When he was young, the song meant nothing to him. He just liked it for the melody, and the way the animated Mulan brushed her hair behind her ear. Now, he sees the song for what it is and it resonates in him, hitting the chords that he has tried to suppress for so long.

Why is my reflection someone I don't know?

"You're glowing." Kai's voice is tinged with awe, but nothing compares with the wonder that fills his face, transforming the hard lines into liquid warmth, making him seem more magnificent than ever. The light shines off Joonmyun, framing Kai's olive skin and caressing him like the afterglow of a million sunsets. Kai looks like a Greek god, bathed in an ethereal glow, but as beautiful as he is, he is not Jongin. Jongin has a tiny mole on the inside of his wrist. Jongin scrunches up his face when he's embarrassed and covers his face with his hands. Jongin sleepwalks through early mornings and yawns throughout the afternoon. Kai is perfect, smooth lines and sculpted beauty. Kai is not Jongin, therefore Kai is flawed.

Somehow I cannot hide who I am though I've tried.

Kai takes a step towards him and reaches out, his hand fluttering near Joonmyun’s face like he’s afraid to touch. "You have the most beautiful voice."

A beautiful voice. Joonmyun has been praised for many, many things. He grew up with middle-aged ladies cooing over his looks and pinching his cheeks. In high school, girls used to flutter around him because they knew he was a trainee. When was the last time someone actually sounded so sincere?

He feels a surge of confidence building in him, and his voice grows stronger.

When will my reflection show who I am aside?

“It’s working,” Kai yells in excitement as the brick walls of the dungeon crumble.

Joonmyun barely even notices, caught up in the song. It has been ages, maybe years, since he has felt like this. He used to enjoy performing, but somehow he has lost that joy in the past six years. He isn’t singing a song; the song is moving him. It’s a euphoria that he severely misses. Joonmyun has treaded carefully for so long but maybe he’s tired of living like he’s afraid of life.

“Bravo!” A voice calls out, cutting into Joonmyun’s performance. Taken off guard, Joonmyun stops singing and whips around, his heart in his throat and a thundering in his head.

“Are you leaving already?” Lu Han asks, surprised. He’s holding Minseok by the elbow, who looks as bewildered as Joonmyun feels. “I was about to let him go anyway.”

Minseok beams and offers an explanation without being prompted. "Luckily, Lu Han here offered to bring me to wherever I’m late to.” It seems like Lu Han has found a new target to obsess over and no longer cares for Kai. It’s eerily similar to how Lu Han and Kai used to be really close until Minseok came into the company and stole his attention away.

“If you were about to let me go,” Kai rubs at the red marks on his wrist, rubbed raw by the metal shackles. “Then what about the whips and the burning coal?”

Minseok visibly shrinks back at the mention of the whips but Lu Han is faster, reaching down to link their fingers together. He smiles kindly down at Minseok and looks a picture of innocence. “Kai is being silly. There was no such thing.”

“There was such a thing!” Kai snaps back, absolutely indignant. “You threatened to leave marks down my handsome back.”

Lu Han appears too distracted to bother coming up with a reply. He smiles at Minseok and magically procures a red apple from his coat pocket, shining it on his sleeve. "Want an apple?"

Joonmyun eyes the apple warily and holds up a palm in warning. "Minseok, please, don't eat anything that Lu Han offers you."

"You can eat me," Lu Han continues with a leer.

Minseok, for some unfathomable reason, actually seems charmed.

“Okaaaaaay, time to go.” If fairy tale universe Lu Han is anything like real life Lu Han, this would be a good cue to leave. He hurriedly tugs a spluttering Jongin out the door, but in his haste, fails to notice the trap door that was left open.

“Watch out!”

He sees Kai’s hand stretching out to catch him and then-

“Wake up, we’re going to be late for the management meeting!”

Joonmyun’s eyes fly open. Gone are the sculpted muscles and medieval clothes, this is his Jongin standing in front of him with messy bed hair and the crease of his pillow embedded into his cheek, growing more annoyed with each minute that Joonmyun isn’t getting out of bed.

"Oh, thank god," Joonmyun sits straight up and pulls Jongin down onto the bed, clinging to him and threading his fingers into Jongin's hair. He clenches around the strands so hard that Jongin's head is pulled back, drawing a cry of surprise from the other boy. "You’re you. I’m so glad you’re you. Don’t be anything but you."

Jongin is understandably bewildered at the sudden confession. He pats Joonmyun’s back awkwardly. “I’m glad you’re you too? Now get up, hyung. We’re up first.”

“You seem different this morning,” Jongin comments. He bounces on the balls of his feet as they wait outside the meeting room. From what Joonmyun understands, they are meeting the board of directors in pairs, a mere formality and a confirmation of their debut. Jongin must have expected that Joonmyun would be a bunch of nerves, but Joonmyun is surprisingly relaxed this morning. After scaling a wall and escaping from a dungeon, mere humans, no matter how high their position, don’t faze him.

Joonmyun hums nonchalantly and places a palm on the door, prepared to push it open. “Ready?”

Jongin nods, biting down on his bottom lip cutely. “I was born ready.”

Predictably, Jongin wows the management. Jongin is socially awkward and shrinks in on himself, but anyone can see the star potential just bubbling beneath the surface. His nervousness only makes him more appealing, because the most successful stars are those who are relatable.

After a long lecture about the responsibilities that lies with debut, the head executive stops to ask, “Do you have any suggestions for stage names?”

"Kai,” Joonmyun says immediately, “for Jongin.”

"Sorry?"

"Kai," Joonmyun repeats with more conviction. "It's a good name for Jongin. Sounds strong and impactful. You can't forget a name like that," he pauses and catches Jongin's curious gaze, keeping his voice steady but letting his eyes soften around the edges, "just like no one can forget you."

Jongin's reaction is almost comical in the way he wrinkles his nose and shrinks in on himself in mortification. Jongin is always so bad with receiving compliments. It's something he has to learn to deal with when they debut. Jongin is the face; he will receive many, many more compliments and an infinite amount of attention.

The executive nods approvingly and scribbles the name down, drawing three quick stars by the name to make a note. "How about yours, Joonmyun?"

"Suho," he says without hesitation.

Jongin blinks. "As in the guardian?"

"I'm the leader." Joonmyun says it with confidence and more than a hint of pride, and Jongin looks at him in surprise.

“Good, good,” the executive murmurs distractedly, already dismissing them in his mind. They are crucial to the whole plan, but what they have to say is barely relevant, even if everything falls down to their shoulders.

“Can you believe it? We’re finally debuting?” Jongin slumps against the wall as soon as they exit the room, knees weakening from the experience.

Biting down a smile, Joonmyun tugs him down the hallway. “Come on, we need to call Chanyeol and Kyungsoo in. They’re up next.”

Jongin's hand sneaks into his and he entwines their fingers together. "Hyung, our lives has just begun."

“Yeah.” Joonmyun tightens his grip and looks up at Jongin, at the boy who will stand with him on stage and feature in so many more of his memories. “And I’m glad you’re here to start it with me.”

Joonmyun has trained for all his life.

He hasn't learned to love himself, or to love others, but that's okay because it's the one thing that comes naturally.

paper_scribbles @ 2014-02-01T23:59:00

2014-02-01T15:59:39Z

Title: Quo Non Ascendam
Pairing: Bangtan gen, Suga-centric (Hinted Suga/Rapmon)
Rating: pg-13
Warnings: brief mentions of violence
Summary: Mutant!band au. Down here in the slums, 20 doesn't seem much different from 19 when simply surviving is the biggest thing to celebrate each day.
A/N: written for nugu_seyo, originally posted here.

Yoongi turns 20 on the coldest day of the winter. He knows a lot of things, like how to build a smoke bomb from scratch, or how Seokjin thinks he's being discreet when he sneaks out in the middle of the night, but he forgets his birthday. He only remembers three days too late when he fumbles for his fake ID and realises that he no longer needs one.

20 is the age the law washes its hands of you, no more careful shielding and protection. At 19, he was still a teen, forgivable no matter what he did because that's what youngsters do- fuck up and have fun. But come 20 and suddenly you're on your own now, chap. If you get in trouble, you're old enough to deal with it.

20 is the biggest birthday of a person's life because it marks their coming of age. In the richer areas of Seoul, a 20th birthday is celebrated for three days, at least. Sometimes, when Yoongi climbs up to the rooftop of his dingy flat, he sees the city burn bright with the distinct glow that comes with a 20th birthday bash, elaborate fireworks lighting up the sky in squiggly words that spell out the lucky kid's name. The rotating sparks stay in the air long enough that it drowns out the light of the stars, a symbol of how someone has a future so bright, not even the universe can hold them back.

Turning 20 is huge.

If Yoongi were normal, he would've known all of this. If he were normal, he would've had all of this.

But down here in the slums, 20 doesn't seem much different from 19 when simply surviving is the biggest thing to celebrate each day.

Yoongi is a telekinetic, but with limited powers. True mutants nowadays are rare, with most mutants having a partially developed power due to generations of imperfect evolutions and careless inbreeding. Yoongi can only mentally move small physical objects and even then, it drains him thoroughly and knocks the breath out of his chest. He's best at controlling sound waves, and years of practice after the initial discovery has made him an expert in manipulating sound. It's useful in the moments that he fights with Hoseok and makes Hoseok squeak out his next argument, but his power truly comes into play when he bends the waves to make himself sound good on stage.

He's lucky that his true passion lies in composing and rap, because without the help of his powers, he can't even hold a note. Hoseok once likened his singing voice to a frog, which is a bit rich from someone who tends to go off-tune with every other word. They started out the band with Yoongi as the lead vocal but if he tries bending sound waves for a long period of time, he gets nosebleeds. This is why they have Jeongguk.

"Our little golden maknae," Yoongi coos, crouching down next to the youngest member of their band and tickling Jeongguk under the chin like he would a puppy.

Jeongguk levels him with a glare, jerking his head away from Yoongi's fingers and turning back to his notebook.

"Stop filling your mind with this nonsense," Yoongi tuts, snatching the notebook away and knocking Jeongguk's pen over in the process. "Education does nothing but ruin us. Best that you go out there and learn how to fight instead."

Hoseok leans over and elbows Yoongi in the stomach, forcing him to hand the notebook back. Jeongguk takes the book from him with a grin and earns an affectionate ruffle of his hair. "He's underage. We can't keep sneaking him in like this. We're already toeing the line as it is."

"Don't speak of me like I'm not here," Jeongguk grumbles, uncapping his pen and throwing the cap at Hoseok. It bounces off Hoseok's shoulder harmlessly and Hoseok obediently moves to pick it up. He's the only one that listens to Jeongguk's every whim and fancy, spoiling him with too much attention. Sometimes Yoongi wants to warn Hoseok to lay off the coddling because it'll do no good for Jeongguk to get used to relying on someone else. They never know how long they can stay together like this, and they're all minutely aware of the possible dangers that loom.

"Do you want to live underground then?" Yoongi flops on the couch and lays his head on Taehyung's lap. Taehyung makes a half-hearted attempt to push Yoongi off but settles on petting his hair, playing with the floppy bangs that look like they should've been cut two months ago.

Hoseok frowns at the dark and dank basement bar they're crouched in, the air forever stale and tinged with an unidentifiable acrid stench. It's the only place safe enough for a group of misfits like them to perform in. When he laughs, the bitterness rings off the paint cracked ceilings. "We already do."

"Well, this place is more of a home than we'll ever have," Taehyung says grimly.

Hoseok opens his mouth for a retort but they're interrupted by Jimin, who kicks the door open noisily and peeks his head in. His hair is all over the place as usual and his eyeliner is already smudged on his right eye. Jimin too, shouldn't be in a place like this, especially when his face is so jarringly young, but Taehyung is right; Cypher is home. "10 minutes, guys." Through the open door, they can hear the din of the crowd, already fired up and chanting their name. Bulletproof, bulletproof, bulletproof. "I hear Daniel got some good ambrosia in this week. Everyone's floating in the clouds already."

His words cause a few raised eyebrows because with the stricter controls imposed by the Authority lately, normal alcohol, much less ambrosia, is hard to come by.

Yoongi jumps lazily to his feet and drags a languid Taehyung up with him. "Come on, guys, let's blow this place up." He fingers the guitar pick hung around his neck with a smile. Tonight'll be a good night.

When Yoongi said he would blow the place up, he didn't mean it literally.

The moment the light turns on, gone are the 5 scruffy boys who live in the slums, replaced by 5 bright eyed youths with the world at their feet and nothing to lose.

Taehyung strums his white electric guitar, the first notes causing the crowd to erupt into a deafening cheer. Yoongi catches his eyes and sees the transformation from quiet oddball to wild musician, knowing that the same wild look is reflected in his own eyes.

There are flashes of silver among the bodies tonight, a sign that there are spoilt Seoullites here. They get some of those sometimes, the upper class who are determined to prove that they are more than just a pretty face, that they are daring enough to push the limits of what the authority allows. Jimin should have turned them away at the door, especially when they were sporting their metallic outfits proudly like a badge, but it's too late to worry now.

"We are bulletproof!" Big words from a group of young boys, but on the stage, they are magnified; they are larger than life. Yoongi throws his arms apart, basking in the attention. He lives on this, because it's only when the mic is in his hand that he feels alive. The authority melts into a distant memory, picked apart by tongue-in-cheek lyrics that teeter on the brink of disobedience.

"Are you ready?" Jeongguk shouts, more as a cue for Hoseok to start on the drums than to hype up the audience. Yoongi is already ten feet above reality; he was born ready.

The spotlight makes the smirk tugging on Yoongi's lips seem extra menacing, but that's exactly the effect he's aiming for when he launches into the rap, riding the beat of Hoseok's drums and Seokjin's sharp notes on the keyboard.

What is the you that you’ve dreamed of?
Who do you see in the mirror? I gotta say-

It's no wonder underground raves like these are so popular among the youths. Jimin had done a good job on the promotion, making use of his charming ability to entice the hackers over at the underground radio system to slip in a word or two in their nightly coded broadcasts. As risky as it is, it only takes one broadcast to draw people in because the news of raves spread faster than poison in a water stream.

Rebel against the hellish society, dreams are a special pardon

Just when Jeongguk reaches a particularly high note, a light bulb bursts, shattering a shower of sparks and glass down on the pulsing crowd, but it only fuels the bodies as they reach a frenzied craze.

Yoongi turns around to glare at Hoseok, who grins and mouths, "Oops."

Thankfully, tonight's audience is too pumped up on ambrosia to even notice anything out of the ordinary.

Hey you, what’s your dream?

Yoongi is always on the wrong side of reckless, puffed up with the bravado that only comes with youth. They're toeing the line of so many rules, but celebrated like this, this is where he belongs.

Tonight is a good night.

Yoongi lets out one final whoop and jumps off stage, heartbeat ringing louder than the screams of the crowd. Behind him, Hoseok, always the dramatic one, launches himself into the adoring audience and immediately, hands reach up to tug at him, pulling mercilessly at every article on his body as Hoseok laughs maniacally.

Yoongi is thinking of jumping in to help his bandmate out when a cough catches his attention.

"Nice stunt out there, with the lights," the boy leaning against the wall says casually. His hair is pushed into this awful faux mohawk, but it oddly matches the black leather jacket and ripped jeans that hang loose on his hips. Yoongi hasn't seen that hair on someone so young -the boy is 20 at most- since his grandfather's yearbooks, but there's no accounting for taste. Yoongi frowns in confusion, too distracted by the adrenaline still pumping in his veins to make sense of his words. The boy lifts up a corner of his mouth and continues, "Be careful, what if people find out?"

The smile slips off Yoongi's face, until he notices how the newcomer sounds amused instead of threatening. Instantly, instinct takes over, scanning the boy over and picking up on the small details that a normal Seoullite would miss. Clothes genuinely worn in, a red hexagon tattooed on the inside of his wrist, scruffed up shoes- the boy screams rebellion. He unclenches his fist, letting relief leak away and arrogance take over. "Takes one to know one, eh?"

Hoseok finally stumbles in, hat missing and shirt ripped at the seams. He grabs at Yoongi to steady himself, reeking of the unmistakable sweet scent of ambrosia and a hint of something darker. "Good night?"

"Tonight," Yoongi nods, pulling Hoseok up right and brushing at a spot on his shoulder, "is a good night." He glances back at the shadows but the boy is long gone.

Sometimes Yoongi dreams of pretending to be like any other Seoullite. His own parents were born normal in a line of mutants by some twist of fate and they had hoped Yoongi would be the same. When his mother was pregnant with him, they took the risk to move from Jeollado to Seoul, prepared to start their life anew. Yoongi was brought up with care, his days filled with violin lessons and afternoon tea with scones. Then he discovered his powers.

If he takes out his piercings and smooths down his hair, if he lets his eyes glass over and dresses in the odd metallic shines that the Seoullite youths favour, he could pass off as just another carefree 20 year old. After all, his parents are fairly affluent figures, and his powers are purely mental. Even if he were to use his powers, sound waves are intangible, all evidence easily swept away before detected by the unseeing eye.

Once a month, Yoongi plays pretend. He dresses in the only presentable outfit he owns, a baby blue button-down and pressed slacks, carefully masks his tattoos, and takes the tube into the city. He sits down with his parents for steak and fancy wine, concentrating on slicing the meat and ignoring his parent's pointed comments about his life. Every time, they belittle his friends and his lifestyle, and every time, Yoongi ends up chewing the inside of his cheek raw, trying to avoid stabbing the knife into the table. That would be bad manners.

He would rather eat glass than sit through this monthly ritual, but his parents give him a decent amount of money each time, just enough to pay the rent and cover most of what the band needs. He could always use more, but he's too proud to ask for more.

Besides, he already knows how his mother will react. "If you came back," his mother always says, "you could have everything you want."

Yoongi has always put her down, but a string on Taehyung's guitar broke a week ago and Hoseok split his drumstick in a brawl. Seokjin had sought him out that morning, worrying about the hike in grocery prices lately. Soon, Yoongi's allowance and the meagre wages Hoseok and Seokjin bring back from their odd jobs won't cover their living expenses.

He stares at the steak on his plate. The meat is a beautiful cut that probably costs as much as his rent for the week. Someone who has grown up in the slums like Hoseok has probably never eaten something as fine as this before.

Maybe if he just goes back-

"And you can finally go to university to learn something worth doing," says his father primly, looking everywhere but his son.

Yoongi's sock has a hole in it, but that's okay, because his shoes shine. In the city, appearances are all that matter. Suddenly, everything seems too stifling. Yoongi pushes the chair back abruptly and stands up, the sharp scrapping sound making the people dining around them to look around. He brings the folded napkin up to his mouth and dabs lightly, keeping a tight lipped smile as he then drops the napkin to the ground. "I’m sorry, but I have to go."

"Yoongi," his mother admonishes, sneaking looks around them in horror. "People are watching! Sit down!"

"I'm sorry I'm making a spectacle, mother, and I'm sorry that a spectacle is all I'll ever be. Thank you for the money." he bows politely, like he's talking to a complete stranger and not the people that form his flesh and blood.

He only breathes properly when he slams the door of his flat back in the slums.

"I made dinner," smiles Seokjin, always so serene and put together. He's wearing the ridiculous apron Jimin bought him on a whim, this pink thing with ruffles along the side and hearts dancing across the fabric. The hearts are barely visible now under the stains of a hundred meals. Without Seokjin, they might all starve to death.

The room smells like Hoseok hasn't washed his feet in weeks, and dinner consists of rubbery spaghetti and a few measly burnt pieces of bread, but Yoongi feels himself relaxing, stress knots tumbling away like the notes on Seokjin’s keyboard when he runs through the scales.

This is home.

Jimin is right; ambrosia is the drink of the gods. The company that makes the saccharine sweet drink claims it’s nothing but vodka, but Yoongi knows his alcohol. No normal vodka gives a kick like ambrosia does, especially not the accompanying hallucinations suffered by some, which many claim are visions. Anyone who has been in contact with a good Seer, however, would scoff at these unfound claims. Ambrosia makes you unwind and float; any side effects suffered are of your own imagination. The pink liquid slides easily down the throat, tinting lips with the tell-tale rogue of a good night’s out. It warms its way down to the stomach, a perfect drink for the colder days of winter, when ambrosia is much cheaper than heating.

It’s easy to let his guard down when he’s had one too many glasses of the drink. Taehyung won it in a poker game with the kids over at the Exo bar, which is unfair, because Taehyung has empathy and can sense the spikes in excitement with a good hand or the dread of a 10-2. But as far as the Exo boys know, Taehyung doesn’t have powers, and Taehyung isn’t about to rectify that belief. He loses on purpose every so often to throw the scent off, and secured himself a seat at Exo’s weekly round of poker.

Yoongi’s head is spinning as he stumbles down the stairs leading up to his flat. The stairs are steep and slippery, covered in a layer of mold that rubs away the friction.

Jeongguk disappeared early into the night, probably turning invisible and hiding somewhere to avoid being forced to drink by the other boys. Hoseok and Taehyung were curled up on the couch, arms snugly around each other while Jimin wandered back to his own bed after two drinks. Earlier, Jimin had tried to charm Hoseok into stuffing ice cubes down his boxers, and honestly, Hoseok doesn’t need much egging to do stupid things anyway.

Only Seokjin remained awake and sober enough to voice out his worries about Yoongi going out so late, but Yoongi brushed his concern away.

“I’m a big boy,” he had slurred, trying to fake sobriety even through the drunken stupor in his head. “Just need a walk to clear my head.”

Now he wishes he listened to Seokjin.

The cool air has sobered him up, and only now, he realises how quiet his surroundings are.

"Fucking mutants," comes a sharp whisper from his back and suddenly he’s slammed against the brick wall, a heavy arm pressed against his neck, hard enough that Yoongi has to gasp for air.

Yoongi’s reflexes are dull to begin with but his head is spinning too fast for him to even react. Eyes flash cold in the dark and he sees the glint of the knife, drawn out from the pocket of the grinning man. The next thing he registers is pain shooting up his shoulder as the blade is thrust into his arm and twisted cruelly.

Yoongi’s scream is loud enough to wake the neighbourhood. His attacker grabs his shirt collar and pulls him up close, strong grip holding Yoongi up despite his thrashes of pain. When he speaks, Yoongi can smell the fresh smoke on his breath, a sweet scent that he has grown to associate with the city. The cigarettes here in the slums are bitter at most, never sweet, like an additional punishment for the mutants and underclass littered across the streets. The citizens living here are so unworthy that they are deprived of even the simplest pleasures. “Today, it’s you. Soon, it’ll be everyone. Consider this a warning.”

The resident on the ground floor, Intae, bursts out with an unloaded gun in his hand and a million curses on his lips, but by then, Yoongi’s attacker is long gone.

When Yoongi comes to, he doesn’t expect to see the guy from Cypher, hovering over him and making odd faces. The boy is waggling his thick eyebrows, mere inches away from Yoongi’s face and Yoongi’s gut reaction is to push him away, but when he moves his shoulder, crippling pain shoots straight up his arm.

At Yoongi’s startled intake of breath, the boy draws back, pleased. “Oh, you’re awake.”

“Thank fuck!” Jimin pushes the boy away unceremoniously and dives straight for where Yoongi is lying.

Thankfully, Taehyung catches Jimin and yanks him back before he can jump on Yoongi.

“Don’t jostle his injuries,” Taehyung says softly, thumb rubbing slow circles onto Jimin’s bicep.

Yoongi doesn’t need to have empathy to know that Jimin is upset and worried like the young, sensitive boy he is. They’re all young, but it’s easy to forget.

“I’m Namjoon,” the boy cuts in, eager to draw the attention back to himself. Everyone else doesn’t seem to mind his presence, which is a rare feat because they barely get newcomers in this house. How long has Yoongi been out cold for even Jeongguk, normally the most suspicious of them all, to become comfortable with Namjoon?

Seokjin swings an arm around Namjoon and pulls him close. “We go way back.” Back could mean childhood friends or just back when they haven’t discovered their powers. Either way, friends that stay are true friends. Then again, Seokjin declares everyone a friend, even Dongrim from the bar four blocks away, and they barely meet at all.

“He’s the only one who has experience with injuries,” Seokjin continues. His eye flicker to Namjoon, heavy with unsaid messages, but he recovers quickly with a grin. “He’ll be your nurse for the next few days, so he’ll be dropping by a lot.”

“You’re in good hands, Min,” Namjoon says solemnly with a quick salute. “I’ve had a lot of experience.”

“Welcome to our hideaway, I guess.” Yoongi moves to shake his hand but winces at the pain and abandons the motion. He flexes his arm tentatively and watches the bandage bleed red, the wounds bursting open again. A complete stranger did this, and a half stranger stands in front of him. It doesn’t hurt to be cautious. “For now.”

Namjoon smiles like a fox. “Don’t worry, pretty boy. I don’t want to see you more than necessary either.”

Being a mutant has its perks. They’re stronger, for one, with a better stamina. Jimin can easily lift 100 pound weights with his tiny body, and his powers are nowhere near physical. Their metabolisms also burn faster, making diets unnecessary and leaving them with a large appetite. Yoongi’s shoulder heals in two days but leaves behind a pink, ragged scar, still sore to the touch.

Namjoon stays true to his word and only comes as necessary, stopping by only to check on the wound and change the bandages. Taehyung flutters around them and feeds Yoongi suspicious pills that burn down his throat, but Yoongi doesn’t question because it makes him feel light and pleasant. Sometimes, in the moments where Yoongi drifts between reality and sleep, he hears Seokjin’s loud laugh mixed with Namjoon’s low chuckle, and it settles down in his stomach, an odd anchor that unnerves him at the same time.

By the third day, he’s already feeling good enough to drag himself out of bed and into the balcony. The air is crisp and his clothes are too thin but it’s a relief to be outside even for a moment.

He doesn’t bother turning around when the door slides open.

Namjoon dangles a cigarette between his fingers. "Have a light?"

"I don't smoke." he used to, going through a pack a day until his hands shook and his voice trembled. He dealt in all the vices until he realised he had enough fuck ups to last a lifetime. “Where’s your little voice of reason? Shouldn’t he be stopping you right now?” Seokjin has taken to waddling around after Namjoon, like he’s making up for the years spent not taking care of him. Jimin and Hoseok are the happiest about this because Seokjin has found someone else to coddle. Even bed riddled, Yoongi does not envy Namjoon.

"Seokjin is feeling unwell." Namjoon seems nervous, hand trembling as he brings the cigarette to his lips. His face is startlingly pale today, a stark contrast from his usual tanned appearance. Yoongi can feel the little sparks of energy rolling off Namjoon’s arm, a sign of the jitters.

Suddenly, Taehyung runs in, rushed and frantic, beads of sweat down his face. “I could feel him scream from a mile away.”

He doesn’t even need to specify who he’s talking about, because Yoongi bolts to Seokjin’s room. The door bursts aside without him even touching it, his powers coming out full blast in his worry.

He’s horrified to see Seokjin lying in a mess of blankets, sweat drenching his shirt. The metallic tang of blood is strong in the air.

"Jin...." Yoongi reaches out for Seokjin but Seokjin winces, curling into himself.

In a flash, Yoongi has Namjoon pinned against the wall, an arm pressed on his neck. "What did you do to him?"

Namjoon gasps, hands reaching up to claw at the pressure on his throat. He widens his eyes and manages to gasp out, "His- his wings."

"No- no-” Seokjin tries to pull himself up, but he’s too weak to even manage and he collapses back down. Jimin gasps, drawing attention to the blood that’s rapidly spreading across Seokjin’s back.

Taehyung curls up in a ball by the bed and starts murmuring to himself with his hands over his ears, overwhelmed by the emotions rising in the room.

"Get out. Now."

Namjoon opens his mouth to protest, but his gaze falters when it falls on Seokjin's writhing body and he bows his head slightly, a sign of submission and backs out of the room.

Yoongi has never felt fear the way he does now.

Jimin sent a hologram to Cypher the night that Yoongi was attacked and cancelled their next three shows. The manager screamed so loud in his returning hologram that Yoongi could hear him from the next room but quieted down immediately when Jimin informed him of the reason. Cypher’s manager is known to be shrewd with money, and if he’s cowed enough by the attacks to let a couple of sold out performances go, something is wrong.

They’ve had a delicate peace in the neighbourhood for months, with no attacks since the terrible suspected arson that killed two young teens, one a teleporter and the other a rookie time manipulator.

“Just be careful,” the manager warned. “The streets aren’t safe anymore.”

Yoongi doesn’t know who to trust now. Seokjin is rapidly bleeding into the sheets but when they try to move him, he cries out in anguish. They’ve since left him alone, hoping that his heightened mutant defense system would heal itself.

“He’ll be okay,” Taehyung says, but he’s not much reassurance when his face is still drained of colour from the influx of the negative emotions in the air.

“He looks so-“ Yoongi can’t even continue his sentence and brings his hands up to cover his face, breathing in deeply to calm himself. Seokjin was always the strong one among all of them, the only to keep his cool when everyone was worked up over anything. To see him weak like this hurts Yoongi more than he thought it could.

Taehyung gently lowers Yoongi’s hands and smiles at him shakily. “I don’t know what happened, but Namjoon was only helping Seokjin,” he says softly. “I can’t feel a single thread of malice in him. You need to apologize.”

The logical part of Yoongi knows that he overreacted. But it was impossible to be level-headed when one of the most precious people to him is hurt. He gently brushes Seokjin’s hair away from his face and shakes his head. “I can’t trust him. Not yet.”

The person trailing him makes no attempt to be discreet, his footsteps heavy and dragged. Such terrible posture, Yoongi tuts in his mind as he watches their shadows overlap, cast long from the lone streetlight. He slips his hand into his pocket and tightens his finger around the knife that he now brings around everywhere, praying fervently that he doesn't need to use it. Yoongi isn't particularly tall nor strong, but enough time on the streets has trained him to be quick on his feet. Agility proves useless once an assailant has him in a headlock though, made worse by the wound on his shoulders that is probably bleeding through his shirt now.

He steels himself, prepared to whip the knife out and face his stalker straight on when the shadow comes into focus. Only one person would have a hairstyle as ugly as that.

He stops in his steps, and the footsteps behind him pause. Even so, his fingers remain firmly wrapped around the knife. It never hurts to be too careful around here, especially after he's already been assaulted once. Without even turning around, he barks out a single command, determined to show that this is his turf. "Speak."

“Let me join the group."

This surprises Yoongi enough that he whirls around. The hand in his pocket slips and catches on the blade, and he pulls his hand out with a hiss, bringing his palm up to his lips to suck on the blood.

Namjoon's eyes dance with amusement. His posture is bold and uncaring, shoulders slouched but still standing proud. "That's unsanitary."

Yoongi frowns in disbelief, taking his hand away regardless and wiping it on his sleeve. "Is that really an issue right now?"

The change in Namjoon's expression is almost startling. The smirk on his face remains but somehow, his face shifts until he's dead serious. "Now that two of you are out, you need a new front man."

Yoongi can't help but scoff. "I hurt my shoulder, not my throat."

"You can't even handle yourself. You need someone who can manage the team."

"And you can do that?"

"I can do that," Namjoon sounds awfully sure of himself for someone who hasn't earned the trust of everyone else. "And let Jeongguk go. He's too young for you to fuck up his future."

Yoongi clenches and unclenches his fists, wondering what Seokjin would say if he socked Namjoon in the face. "We're all young. You are in no position to squash his dreams, even if his dream ends up killing him. Anyway, how can I trust you, after what you did to Seokjin?"

Seokjin still hasn't woken up completely, but from the brief moments when he is conscious enough to open his mouth, he mutters about how Namjoon is a good man. They can’t even get the reason why he’s hurt out of him, but Yoongi completely trusts Seokjin's judgement because the boy has one of the best judge of character Yoongi has ever seen. Seokjin was the first person to see past his own prickly personality and make an effort to be friends. Seokjin was the one who gave him a home, so if he thinks Namjoon is harmless, he probably is. Paired with Taehyung’s insistent urging that Yoongi apologize, he has to admit that Namjoon is innocent. Still, Namjoon was the only person in the room, and Seokjin is now immobilised. It's an incriminating position to be caught in, trusted or not.

"You know how Seokjin is... Fragile?" Namjoon's face is impassive but his words are careful, laced with concern. From that sentence, Yoongi knows that Seokjin and Namjoon go way back. Seokjin doesn't tell anyone about his condition. Yoongi only found out himself when Seokjin slipped from the stage one night and broke three ribs. It's a blessing that Hoseok knows Cheolyong, who knows a healer. It would have been difficult if Seokjin went to a normal hospital and his hollowed bones showed up on the x-ray results.

"Seokjin and I grew up together. I don't know if he told you this, but Seokjin has the blood of a half siren."

This is news. Yoongi raises an eyebrow. "Meaning?"

"He has wings."

"Oh."

"Ever since I discovered my powers, I've been helping him keep it under control."

He sticks his hand out to show Yoongi. Namjoon's hand quivers, his skin rolling and popping like the surface of boiling water.

"Magma," Yoongi whispers, half in awe. Mutants tend to hide themselves so Yoongi has only seen a handful of powers in action. This is the first time he's ever seen someone with the ability to turn into another element. His skin prickles from the heat radiating off Namjoon's arm.

Namjoon clenches his fist and the glowing red melts into a calmer pink and fades away completely, leaving behind smooth skin, seemingly untouched. He lets his hand fall back to his side and watches Yoongi’s reaction carefully, an unspoken question in his eyes.

Yoongi looks up at the darkening sky. "Winter's coming. I think we just saved a whole lot on electricity."

The relief that floods Namjoon’s face warms Yoongi’s heart. Namjoon offers hesitantly, “Want a drink?”

They were right when they said that people bonded best over alcohol. Namjoon brings him to a tent bar hidden in one of the alleys littering underground Seoul.

“I thought these were extinct!” Yoongi marvels, already forgetting about the animosity he felt towards Namjoon with each shot that he brings to his lips.

“Stick with me and I’ll bring you to the best places around town.” Namjoon speaks like he expects to be around them for some time, but Yoongi doesn’t correct him. It’s just easier to tip their shots and forget.

Somewhere along the sixth and seventh glass, Namjoon dares to venture. “Are you okay with the whole… Seokjin thing?”

Maybe this is what Namjoon planned to do all along- get Yoongi drunk and have his defences shaved down, and then wheedle his forgiveness out of him.

“Not angry at you,” Yoongi slurs, and it’s true. He understands what drives Seokjin to do something as extreme as burning his wings to stumps, but it fills him with inexplicable rage, not at Namjoon or Seokjin, but just at the injustice of it all. Why should he have to put himself to such pain to change what he was born with?

"You ever think what life would be like if we were born normal?" he muses, pouring the soju out so roughly that it splashes onto the table.

Namjoon clinks their glasses together. "We are normal."

“I want to think that way too.” Soju slides down the throat smoother than ambrosia but hits just as fast. He doesn’t remember what happens next, because he just lets himself go. It’s alright just this once; Namjoon is there to catch him.

Having Namjoon around is comfortable.

Yoongi has never realised the weight of being the frontman and unofficial leader until now. Seokjin always seemed like he took care of everything, leaving Yoongi with barely anything to do, but with Namjoon in place, everything seems oddly efficient.

Seokjin had worried they would clash, because they are both personalities that burned too brightly to be near each other. Yoongi is oxirane, dangerous on his own, but when paired with heat, with magma, they're explosive.

But it's comfortable. He's comfortable.

"Jeongguk, put the game away and finish your homework first," Namjoon nags, tapping Jeongguk lightly on the head with his knuckles. "And Hoseok, for god's sake, take a shower."

"He's like a fucking drill sergeant," Hoseok mutters half-angrily as he reluctantly picks himself up to freshen up. He brings his palm up to his nose and sniffs at his wrist. "How did he know I didn't shower today?"

Namjoon picks an old sock off the ground and throws it at Hoseok. "I don't have to be a dog to smell the sweat on you."

"Thanks," Yoongi murmurs, pulling Seokjin close in a half hug but careful not to jostle his wings. He doesn't have to elaborate for Seokjin to know what's he's talking about. Namjoon is a good addition to their team, and Seokjin is the one who brought them together and taught them to trust.

Seokjin rests his head on Yoongi's shoulder and smiles knowingly. "I'm not the one to thank."

Winter drags on too long this year, and their little two bedroom flat is the coldest it has ever been.

For someone who was brought up with the knowledge that friends are temporary, Yoongi fears solitude. He hates the cold because even if he’s cold inside, he doesn’t want to be cold on the outside either.

“Snow day!” Jeongguk cheers, tapping away at the holographic display on his watch. He’s still in his pyjamas that he’s been wearing since before his growth spurt and everything is a bit too short on him. It makes him look like his clothes shrunk in his sleep.

"Grow up, little one," Yoongi says fondly, fighting the urge pet Jeongguk on the head. Or don't. Youth is nice to cling to. “Maybe you can put in a couple of hours of vocal practice instead.”

Instead, he claps Jeongguk on the back, forcing him to lurch forward and Jeongguk turns invisible in a huff. The boy has the ability to turn himself and anything he touches invisible. He has the most complete power among them all, golden maknae that he is, but he mainly uses it to escape from the rest when they decide to tease him.

Namjoon shuffles into the living room, rubbing at his eyes sleepily.

“That’s my shirt!” Yoongi protests, abandoning his search for Jeongguk and heading over to tug at Namjoon’s black hoodie. It’s the warmest hoodie that Yoongi owns but he hasn’t seen it for days. The thought of Namjoon wearing it to sleep sends little flips in his stomach that he brushes aside.

Namjoon responds by yawning in Yoongi’s face.

“Stop bullying him,” Hoseok says, that traitor, and pulls Namjoon down onto the couch beside him. Still too sleepy to function, Namjoon falls with his arms outstretched and closes his eyes. Hoseok folds himself into Namjoon automatically, shifting them both until he’s satisfied with a comfortable position.

"You're so warm," Hoseok marvels, resting his head on Namjoon’s chest and blinking up at him.

"Get off me, you fat lump," Namjoon says gruffly, but he looks oddly pleased. His smile is jarring on his tough features and makes him look like a cat who caught his mouse.

He’s not allowed to use telekinesis against people, Yoongi reminds himself, clenching and unclenching his fist. He can’t blow Hoseok’s brains out either because they need a drummer.

"You're so silly," Taehyung smiles knowingly, pulling out a chair and joining Yoongi at the kitchen table.

"What," Yoongi snaps defensively. He stabs his fork into his eggs and shoves it into his mouth, carefully avoiding Taehyung’s eyes.

"If i could see colours, you would be pink, tinged with green," Taehyung says. "And when you look at Hoseok, you’ll turn dark."

"Because Hoseok is a fucking twat, that's why."

“Okay,” Taehyung allows. “Okay.”

They don’t talk about Seokjin’s wings and Yoongi almost forgets about it. Namjoon is a surprisingly good addition to their band as well. He has a keen sense of music and gives valuable input that turns their previously amateurish music into something more presentable.

Jeongguk is suitably impressed and never misses the chance to fawn over Namjoon’s skills. “You’re right, this verse does sound better if it’s slower!” He gushes, testing out the lyrics again and again.

Yoongi basks in the increasing amount of compliments thrown their way by fans who lap out their new sound. It’s more mature, they say, has more depth. Bulletproof has never sounded better. Their shows sell out faster now, with more and more banners flashing with Namjoon’s face instead of Yoongi’s. The fans accepted Namjoon into the group faster than they expected, brushing away Jimin’s initial worries over a resistance to change.

All this increased attention creates this false sense of security until the day Seokjin misses out on another performance. It’s no surprise that Namjoon disappears as well.

“Please calm down,” Taehyung says nervously after breaking the news to them, but it’s too late. Yoongi grabs his coat and storms out of Cypher.

He slams the door to their flat shut with so much strength that the crack along the hinges deepens. The ancient radio gathering dust in the corner of the room, an antique that hasn’t been working for decades, begins to crackle from the strength of Yoongi’s power which is trickling out.

Seokjin manages a weak smile when Yoongi bursts into the room, but he doesn’t even manage to get a word in before Yoongi launches into his rant.

“You’re like this modern day Icarus or something. Namjoon burns you and still you go close-”

Seokjin is so patient even when he’s in pain. “But I’m not obsessed with him.”

“And you get hurt and your wings literally melt away-“

“Yoongi.”

“How can you fly when he hurts you like this-“

“Yoongi.” Seokin presses a finger to Yoongi’s forehead and nudges him back.

Yoongi goes cross-eyed trying to look at Seokjin’s finger and snaps, “What.”

“Just because he helps me doesn’t mean he hurts me. And even if he hurts me, it doesn’t mean he’ll hurt you. I want nothing from him, so I will never burn from greed.”

Maybe Seokjin knows him too well, because how else can he draw blood with each word that he says? Yoongi bristles and stubbornly turns his head away, not wanting to respond to Seokjin’s implied message.

“Besides,” Seokjin grins, waggling his eyebrows, “Why would I want to be Icarus when I can be cupid instead?”

In Yoongi’s defense, the pillow that he sends flying into Seokjin’s face moved of its own accord.

Yoongi takes it upon himself to make dinner. He hurries a grumbling Hoseok off to the shops with an eager Jeongguk for groceries and appoints Jimin his right hand man. Taehyung stays in the room with Seokjin and gently sends him positive emotions, smoothing the wrinkles out of his frown when Seokjin winces in pain.

So far, it is not going well.

“Is this supposed to happen?” Jimin asked dubiously, peering into the pot.

It’s spaghetti, not rocket science, but Jimin still manages to burn the bottom of the sauce beyond salvation.

“Ten minutes,” Yoongi yells as he frantically turns the gas off. “I said ten minutes!”

“Oops? I might have left it in for twenty.”

Needless to say, Namjoon is surprised when he lets himself into the apartment to find noodles dripping down Jimin’s face and the strong burning smell in the air. He instinctively takes a step back at the sight of Yoongi, afraid that he would have a similar reaction to the last time Seokjin was hurt.

Jimin shrinks down into himself, anticipating the tension between the two elder boys but Yoongi just grins.

“Hey Namjoon, this kid here killed dinner. Wanna help me smash dessert into his face too?”

Jimin widens his eyes, darting his gaze to the pie lying innocently on the countertop. “I bought that for Jeongguk!” He protests, struggling to get away from Yoongi.

Namjoon only looks confused for two seconds before he recovers, mischievous smile slipping back onto his face. “I’ll hold him down.”

They make a good team, Yoongi thinks in satisfaction. Jimin, now covered in cream and candied apples, would disagree.

In another world, they would be international superstars and have stupid stage names like Suga and Rap Monster. In another world, they would be perfect.

But for now, fooling around in the basement they call home, tasting acrid in each breath that they take, catching Namjoon's eyes and getting a grin in return, this is perfection in itself.

end.

tbh i am very worried about this fic. i'm still struggling with bangtan headcanon, and if anyone could give tips or criticism, i would appreciate it!

Cock-a-doodle-doo: Time for an uprising

2014-01-23T01:57:51Z

Title: Cock-a-doodle-doo: Time for an uprising
Rating: R
Wordcount: 850
Summary: Jongin turns into Lu Han's peen. Chintsubu!au
A/N: I actually wrote this 6 months ago and then forgot about it. How I managed to forget writing about Jongin turning into Lu Han’s chinko escapes me. For Lia ♥

Lu Han wakes up to Joonmyun's shouts.

This is normal. Joonmyun shouts a lot. Mostly at Chanyeol when he's being too noisy or Sehun when he refuses to get out of bed.

Apparently Jongin is missing.

This is normal. Sometimes, Jongin practices until dawn and falls asleep in the practice room, too tired to trek the 15 minutes walk home.

Lu Han reaches down for a quick morning jerk, because he can practically feel his dick straining against his boxers.

This is normal. Lu Han is a young man with a lot of feelings and 16 hours worth of porn (a present courtesy of Jonghyun sunbaenim, that good man).

His penis blinks at him.

This is not normal.

This is not normal at all.

"Good morning, hyung," says his penis, all bright grins and large eyes.

Holy shi-

Joonmyun rushes in at the sound of Lu Han's shrill screams, a spoon in one hand and a pair of ripped pink boxers in the other (don't ask). "Where's the fire- oh, Jesus fuck, Lu Han. I did not need to see that first thing in the morning."

"Sup', leader," says Lu Han's penis.

"Huh," Lu Han says to his penis a few seconds later. "Do you know mouth-to-mouth, because Joonmyun is out cold."

Minseok refuses to kiss Joonmyun.

"S'not a Kiss," Kris insists, prodding at Joonmyun's lifeless chest. "Life saving procedure." He mutters something in cantonese, something that sounds awfully like 'I'm not paid enough for this', but Lu Han only speaks Mandarin so he can't be sure.

"There are more pressing issues at hand," Sehun whispers, peeking out from between his fingers because wow, Lu Han's hyung penis is out in the open and standing tall and proud except it's-

"It's pressing, alright," Lu Han's penis- sorry, Jongin, snickers and flops around, his shiny pink head hitting against Lu Han's happy trail.

Lu Han giggles and swipes at Jongin, causing peen-Jongin to quiver at the touch. "That tickles."

Jongdae gags, but Chanyeol seems very fascinated. "Hyung, if you stroke Jongin, do you both feel aroused or-"

Everyone looks at Lu Han and Jongin, intrigued and curious. Lu Han flushes and pulls his boxers up, completely smothering Jongin. "Hey, stop looking at me!"

Jongin makes a dying noise of distress.

They tell the PDs that Jongin's back injury is working up again. PD Park tuts and mutters about idols and their fragile bodies, and reassigns the dance demonstration to Yixing and Minseok instead. Jongdae unsuccessfully tries to wrangle the part over, but is shot down by an unanimous vote from everyone in the studio, cleaning lady included.

"I helped you pick up trash," Jongdae says to her, completely wounded.

"It was your trash in the first place," comes her reply.

"That Chinese kid, Lu Han," Kwanghee whispers to Hyunwoo before the recording of Music Core. "He was in the bathroom, but he was talking to his crotch."

Hyunwoo shrugs, taking another selca to upload on the Mucore twitter. "Maybe it's a Chinese thing?"

Five minutes later, Kwanghee runs back in. "That other Chinese kid. The tall one. Kris? I saw him leaning in front of Lu Han, giving his crotch a pep talk!"

"China is weird," Hyunwoo agrees.

In the EXO dressing rooms, the aforementioned pep talk continues.

"Look, Jongin," Kris pleads. "You need to stay quietly in Lu Han's pants because we need to perform."

"I can't breathe in there!" Jongin whines. He wriggles around and Lu Han pats him sympathetically. "And when I hear music, I just need to dance."

VIXX's Leo walks into the room to find Kris kneeling in front of Lu Han, with Lu Han waving his dick around.

"It's not what it looks like-"

Leo slowly, slowly backs out of the room and wonders for the millionth time why he became an idol.

The week before, Lu Han hit #4 on the search engines for the search term 'Lu Han armpits'. This week, Lu Han hits #1 on Naver for the search term 'Lu Han boner'.

"EXO-M's Lu Han," reads Baekhyun. "Singlehandedly breaking the stereotype of Asians and tiny members."

Jongin grins proudly but Lu Han swats at him before burying his face in his hands. "The first time i get noticed, and it's because of my privates."

"At least they think you're packed," Chanyeol says glumly. He scrolls down and shows Lu Han the comments of netizens calling Chanyeol the tiny pepper oppa. look at tiny pepper oppa with his huge ears and itsy bitsy gochu! “Also did you just touch your face after you touched your dick."

All in all, Lu Han adjusts pretty well to having a bandmate turn into his dick. Until one night when Lu Han opens his mailbox to find a new email from Jonghyun.

The email comes with a Google Drive link and this message: lol took me a while but i found tat crossdressing bondage porn u asked for. gotta stop liking this shit, man.

Jongin yawns and blinks sleepily, stirring from where he was sound asleep on Lu Han's hip. "Hyung, why do I suddenly feel hot?"

Lu Han pulls his boxers up from where it was pooled around his ankles and snaps the band on Jongin, cursing his life, attractive ukes and Jonghyun.

end.

now i finally understand what people mean when they say this is the most self-indulgent thing i've written

lifestyles of the rich and the peasant

2013-12-11T15:05:43Z

Title: Lifestyles of the rich and the peasant
Pairing: Gen
Rating: PG
Length: 2,673
Summary: ouran high school host club au. yeap, that's it.
A/N: Haruhi!Lu Han - scholarship student (peasant) | Tamaki!Kris | Kyouya!Sehun | Hikaru!Baekhyun | Kaoru!Chanyeol | Honey!Tao | Mori!Yixing. yiss.

Lu Han sighs as he glances up at the long, winding staircase leading up to the third floor of SM Academy's west wing. Ever since he was awarded a scholarship here, there hasn't been a day when he isn’t reminded of his wealth. Or rather, the lack of it. He doesn't feel right in the halls lined with floor-length windows and red plush carpeting. He can't even pronounce half of the food served in the cafeteria- oh sorry, dining hall, and his ratty, tattered backpack draws scathing remarks from all the other students. He’s always been content with his middle-income parents and modest home but being here makes him feel almost… poor.

Insecure or not, Lu Han is determined to graduated, so he just has to learn to suck it up. He pushes up the thick glasses perched on his nose, swipes his bangs out of his eyes and begins to ascend.

Lu Han wanders down the corridor and peeks into random rooms. Three weeks here and he still hasn't gotten a grasp of his surroundings. Paired with his bad sense of direction, Lu Han has a tendency to get completely lost.

As he passes by the third pink door engraved with white roses, Lu Han scrunches up his nose in confusion and hikes his backpack higher. "This isn't the way to Model United Nations."

Lu Han's deciding between retracing his steps or continuing forward when the two doors to his left sweep open. He must've tripped and knocked his head on the way up the stairs because suddenly he is blinded by lights.

"Hi, I'm Baekhyun!"

"And I'm Chanyeol!"

"Welcome to SM Academy Host Club!"

Slapping his hands to his face in an effort to shield out the lights, he squints and makes out two figures in front of him, one freakishly tall and the other slightly shorter than Lu Han.

Dear god, he is even hallucinating. How serious is this possible concussion? As he sorts out his senses, a wave of floral freshness attacks his nose, followed by the sound of birds chirping and violins. What are these pesky things flying into his face? Are those- rose petals?

Oh, he must be dreaming, because only in his dreams would he step into what must be paradise for a metrosexual 17 year old with a penchant for fabulous.

Hey! Maybe if he's dreaming he can fly too, because he's always kind of wanted to. With a smile on his face, Lu Han starts flapping his arms and willing himself to take flight.

"Uh," says the tall one.

"Are you insane," says the shorter one.

"Holy fuck, it's the scholarship student," they chorus together.

Lu Han opens one eye because he doesn't dream of himself as a scholarship student. In his dreams, he's either a gladiator or Hercules or some manly hero going off to save the world. And then he realizes the situation that he's in. Lu Han is flapping his arms in the middle of a flowery room filled with what must be 30 students and he's fully awake. His arms snap back to his side as he recoils in horror.

"The scholarship student has gone batshit," whisper the duo, and it's really starting to get a bit creepy and annoying, how they talk together or finish each other's sentences.

By now, Lu Han has the attention of every person in the room. This is maybe a little awkward. "Hi?" he ventures, giving a little wave to his audience.

"Save me from the poor!" One girl shrieks, breaking the silence. "It might be contagious!"

Her friend with the horrific pink bow tie on her head fans herself so fast with her gloved hands it's like she's having a seizure. "Oh, Kris. Protect us!"

In the middle of the chaos, a boy stands up. Lu Han is momentarily rendered speechless, because here is perfection disguised as a student, tall and blonde and with flawless porcelain skin. As an aspiring manga artist, Lu Han is already speed sketching this boy in his mind, all long limbs and broad shoulders. He would be dressed as a prince, in flowing robes and regal colours, perched upon a golden throne. Then the boy speaks, his voice deep and gravelly, "Girls, please, there is enough of the Wu to go around."

Girls around them swoon, but Lu Han merely frowns. Okay, so that breaks the prince fantasy a little.

"Hello," says manga boy, a dazzling smile on his face. He actually bows, a hand placed delicately on his chest. "What an honour to have the infamous scholarship student drop by. I am Kris, leader of the SM Academy Host Club, and I ensure you, my fine lady, that, we will do our best to satisfy you."

Lu Han blinks. Is this boy for real?

"Would you like the smart and cold type like Sehun?" Kris asks, gesturing to the skinny boy with the unamused expression that is leaning against the wall. "Or maybe Tao, whose cuteness will tug your noona heartstrings?" The dark haired boy with the smothering gaze looks up and uses his panda bear to wave at Lu Han. "Yixing, the nice, caring senpai that will always protect you?" Yixing has his face ducked over where he is preparing tea, but Lu Han catches a glimpse of a delicate face and even nicer fingers. "Or maybe you like something a little more dangerous. The twins?"

Lu Han's attention is drawn over to the twins in question. Chanyeol and Baekhyun, he remembers from their earlier encounter. Chanyeol is sprawled on the red velvet couch, Baekhyun curled up in his lap. Upon Kris's mention of them, Baekhyun cranes his neck to nuzzle his nose into the crook of Chanyeol's shoulder and Chanyeol places a soft kiss into Baekhyun's hair.

"You are not actually twins," Lu Han dares to venture. The sentence has barely left his lips before a palm is clamped over his mouth, muffling the squeak that he lets out.

Lu Han is met with wide eyes and a frantic shake of Tao's head, who has somehow leaped over in the matter of seconds.

"The twins are to be known as the twins," Yixing says quietly in Mandarin and Lu Han's head snaps up in surprise.

Yixing gives him a secret smile and returns his attention to pouring out the tea.

"I saved the best for the last," Kris declares grandly, and Lu Han looks around to see if he had missed any dashing bachelor.

"My princess, do I have the pleasure of serving you?" He swipes a thumb over his lips and sends a much too sleazy wink over at Lu Han.

The girls in the room scream and one or two faint gracefully, hands thrown against their forehead. Lu Han takes all of this in with wide eyed wonder until he realizes that everyone is looking at him expectantly, waiting for an answer.

"Yeah, no, I'm just... Gonna go." Lu Han smiles weakly and starts backing out of the room slowly. The thing with walking backwards is that humans do not have eyes at the back of their head. It's truly an unfortunate lapse in human evolution, a fact that Lu Han laments a lot in the days following the incident that is about to happen.

"Wait!" Kris yells, a hand shooting out to catch Lu Han's shoulder.

Startled, Lu Han jumps backwards, and bumps into the giant statue of what appears to be Kris's face.

If this was an anime, the scene would have been slowed down, showing the marble figure inching towards the ground split frame by frame. Lu Han would've lunged for the sculpture, face contorted in panic and outstretched body landing on the ground in a cloud of dust that appears out of nowhere. There would be a close up shot of the rest of the boys standing around, faces frozen in various stages of shock, mouth open in an 'o' as if preparing to yell out nooooooo.

But this is Lu Han’s life, so all that does not happen. Instead everyone stands around stupidly, watching Kris's marble face crash to the floor, shattering into infinite pieces of white. It's strangely graceful, the way the white marble pieces fly across the ground and spread itself like prickly snow. The crash is loud, but perhaps not louder than the drop in Lu Han's heart.

"Oops."

There's a moment of suspended silence. No one moves, no one speaks, no one breathes, until Tao lets out the most minuscule of shudders.

"Wow," Lu Han says to Tao, voice hushed and awed. "Can you stop time?"

Tao looks at him like Lu Han just suggested that they take a dip in shark infested waters. Judged by a 15 year old boy in a panda suit. Lu Han really doesn't like this. "Does your brain exist?"

Then time starts flowing again and the room erupts into chaos.

"My face!" Kris howls, dropping to his knees and reaching for the broken pieces of marble.

"My masterpiece!" Yixing wails, because he spent a month on that sculpture.

"Whee!" says Chanyeol, just eager to join in the noise making and add to the commotion.

"Fuck," is all Lu Han can manage as he takes in the damage.

“That statue could pay for a lifetime of your education, 100 times over,” Sehun comments, kicking at one of the marble pieces. He raises a brow at Lu Han. “How do you propose paying it back?”

“Pay-” Lu Han pales because he can’t even afford high school education, much less a marble statue of Kris with maybe exaggerated man bits.

"Oh right, you're poor!" Kris frowns and taps his chin. "You wouldn't happen to have an extra kidney to sell?"

"Wait, what?"

Kris cocks his head and stares at Lu Han seriously. Lu Han is about to actually offer his organs when Kris waves his hand dismissively. "Just kidding! You can pay with your body!"

Lu Han sucks in his breath and slaps his arms over his body defensively. "I am thin! Frail! Nothing you'll like to see!"

This draws a snort from Kris. "I meant you being the new manager of the host club, silly!"

"So we're saying we use this poor defenceless girl as our slave?" Chanyeol asks, sounding much too excited about the idea. Lu Han tries not to take offense about the emphasis on poor, when there are much more issues to be addressed. Issues like-

"Uh, I'm a guy," Lu Han pipes up, holding a hand up to draw attention to himself.

The room falls silent.

Then Kris laughs, loud and obnoxious.

"I am sorry, Lu Han dear," Kris says kindly, patting Lu Han's shoulder in a slightly patronising way. "I know that you want me, but I am really, truly gay, so pretending to be a guy will not help you."

"But."

Yixing shakes his head and pats Lu Han on the shoulder. "Let it be. He'll catch on eventually."

"Yeah," Baekhyun chimes in, slinging an arm around Lu Han (with some difficulty, because Lu Han is much taller). "This should be fun!"

Lu Han can only smile weakly as he watches Kris launch into a monologue about the pains of being so attractive. Fun, yeah. This will be a blast.

Lu Han's first day as assistant ("slave!" Baekhyun and Chanyeol remind him cheerfully) starts out pretty nice.

"Sehun," Tao squeals, hands thrown out and lunging for Sehun.

Sehun does a quick side step but Tao has already latched himself to Sehun's side, nuzzling his cheek against Sehun's arm. "Fuck, Tao, you are taller than me. You can't cling to me! Go back to Yixing!"

Tao pouts. "But Yixing hurt his back last night so I promised him that I would find someone else for today instead."
"How is that physically possible," Lu Han asks, head cocked to the side in confusion. He can't for the life of him figure out how Tao could possibly attach himself to Sehun when he is as tall as the boy himself.

Yixing shakes his head. "Just accept it as one of life's finer mysteries and move on," he says philosophically and Lu Han frowns because what the fuck is that supposed to mean?

Then Baekhyun bursts into the room, loud and frantic. "Code red, code red, man down!"

"Baekhyun! What did I tell you about your inside voice?" Kris chides, crossing his arms across his chest in disapproval.
Baekhyun shakes his head so fast the bangs on his head vibrate into a blur. "Chanyeol's sick."

Chanyeol being sick is a code red, because they have more girls than usual scheduled in today, and they simply can’t handle the crowd.

A lightbulb goes off over Kris’ head. "See! I have a brilliant plan!"

Sehun narrows his eyes. "Does it involve naked mole rats, because the last time we had to call the exterminators-"

"No furless vermin this time! We'll get the poor honour student to sub."

"What." Sehun deadpans.

"What?!" Lu Han shrieks.

"Wow!" Tao squeals because how fun would the makeover be? "I've got the cutest dress for you!"

"Man bits," reminds Lu Han, voice taking on a weary tone now.

It turns out that Kris has very selective hearing. Tao hurries over with a dress that he magically conjured out of one of the closet and hands it eagerly over to Kris. Sensing danger, Lu Han inches away but his arm is jerked roughly back by Kris and suddenly he's immobilized by the weight of Kris's arms fastened around his shoulders. Kris pulls the whole dress forcefully over Lu Han's head in one swoop, almost tearing the seams in the process.

The dress is a size too small as it is, and Lu Han actually has muscles from the lazy hours he puts in at the gym, so despite his pretty face, Lu Han looks terrible in a dress.

Kris frowns as he takes in the horrific sight. "So that was a bad idea."

Lu Han sighs and starts to pull the dress over the head with some difficulty. "I told you-"

"We'll have you masquerade as a man instead!"

"Wait, what?"

Baekhyun cackles gleefully. "This day is just becoming better!"

(Outside, new student Kim Joonmyun pads through the halls of SM Academy excitedly. He takes in the over the top decorations with wonder and runs his finger over the carvings on the railings. This is his year! A new beginning! He's tried and failed the entrance exams for three years running, but has finally made it through this year. So maybe his father might have donated a new wing to the school, but what's important is that he's in the academy.

He hears a voice, speaking low enough to draw his curiosity. Face flushing with guilt, he can't help but creep closer. He presses his ear against the door and can faintly make out the voice. He's not eavesdropping, he consoles himself, just getting to know his classmates better!

"Yes, hello? Crisis centre? Okay, so what do I do if I'm being forced to pretend to be a girl pretending to be a guy and I kind of have this crush on the guy forcing me to be a girl pretending to be a guy?"

For about five seconds, Joonmyun just stands there, too stunned and confused to speak. Then he chooses to turn around, breathe deeply twice and ignore everything he has just heard.

Bright grin back on his face, he skips through the hall with the optimism of a five year old.

This is his year! A new beginning!

Oh? Those two pink doors with the carving of roses seem to have light shining out from the cracks, and is that the faint sounds of violins that he hears? Ah, it must be the music club!

Joonmyun smiles happily to himself and hikes up his pants, preparing to introduce himself to the music club members.

This will be the best year of his life!)

end.

hahahaahahahhahah?? what is this??

wip meme: Works I'll (never) Progress

2013-11-02T05:06:45Z

Post a single sentence from each WIP you have (or as many as you want to pick). No context, no explanations. No more than one sentence!

1. Kyungsoo makes a really cute hamster.

2. His throat is still a bit hoarse from the night before, because Jongin can be an ass and no matter how hard lu Han holds his hips down, Jongin still thrusts up.

3. The first time Lu Han is identified as unable to reproduce (94% chance of a child with down syndrome, 74% higher than the legally allowed amount), his mother cries.

4. Chanyeol can see that Kris is cracking, so if he plays his cards right, and maybe convinces Jongin to don the nice collar that Chanyeol picked up, they'll make progress.

5. The sand-papery feel of her skin reminds him that in Pyong Yang, time works differently.

6. Minseok has gone with far too many questions left unanswered to trust sehun.

7. Sometimes he wonders if he made the right choice of leaving everything behind, but he loves his job as a tour guide right now, so he doesn't allow himself to dwell on the past.

8. Besides, blood splotches match a sunny yellow uniform better than the baby blue one of the normal wards.

9. The first time Hyunjoong meets Jongsuk, Jongsuk is pressed under Jonghyun on the couch, hands fisted in Jonghyun's hair.

10. "Does it involve naked mole rats, because the last time we had to call the exterminators-"

11. The difference between them is that Lu Han kisses like he wants Jongin, and Jongin kisses like he needs Lu Han.

12. When Jongin stumbles in late for their first date, Sehun's hair is blooming red but after a quick peck on the cheek and a pleaded apology, it fades to peach.

13. First love agency: We find first loves and repair dreams.

14. Jongin watches, too captivated to move, as Empress Lu Han makes her way over to the tub and sits at the edge, her legs crossed daintily under her flowing silk robes.

15. Kris meets Lu Han when the other man is the date of Zhang Yixing.

16. Baekhyun nudges Kris's shoulder impatiently, waiting for him to address why he brought a feral boy back home.

17. He wants Lu Han in an apron, pretending to play the role of the househusband when they both know Lu Han can burn eggs while Jongin is the better cook of the two.

18. The way Kris caresses his bongos is almost obscene, but no one notices how he's slightly off beat, not when he flips his hair just so and flashes a gummy smile over at a girl to the left.

19. "So uh, what is your company's policy on harassment?"

20. Taehyung has taken to calling him Yoongi's pet, and Jimin can't exactly say he's outraged at that.

21. Jongin has no doubt that Baekhyun will find his spotlight, no matter what it takes.

22. It's when he writes down a third variation of brown tuff of hair and baby face that he realizes that it's the same man popping up.

23. Lu Han watches the commercial of Jongin holding out the snazzy new phone, mouth uttering some cheesy catchphrase and thinks he's been gone too long.

24. There are times when Lu Han is appreciative of the fact that his boyfriend is a dancer who is nimble and flexible, and then there are times when he is not.

13 drabbles

2013-10-06T12:46:01Z

written for ask.fm prompts
g - nc-17
200-600w

01. Lukai for anon | pg | 340w
Lu Han is Jongin's makeup artist

There is a new makeup artist at the studio and Jongin is not too sure if he likes him.

Three weeks later, and Jongin is still not sure whether he likes Lu Han.

Lu Han's chattering a mile a minute, spilling out his entire life story as he works the bronzer over Jongin's cheeks, making his cheekbones so sharp they can cut through glass. "And then Sehun, that bitch, decided to put pink hair dye into my shampoo, and that's how I ended up with this terrible pink hair!"

He flips his shocking pink bangs to illustrate his point and Jongin thinks that the pink actually accentuates his features, draws attention to the much too good looking face. When Lu Han had first been assigned to Jongin, Jongin mistook the makeup artist for one of his fellow idols. He casually asked about Lu Han's entertainment company, and Lu Han had laughed too loudly and then proceeded to poke a mascara wand into Jongin's eye.

Lu Han pulls back to scrutinize Jongin and Jongin straightens his back instinctively, feeling like a cowering student in front of his too strict history teacher.

"Needs more gloss," Lu Han chirps, waving a tube of Cherrylicious lip-gloss around. "Your lips are too pale." And before Jongin can register anything Lu Han has leaned down and pressed his lips against him, a sheen of gloss sticky and warm between them.

Lu Han pulls away, looking too self-satisfied and smiles.

"I think that's counterproductive," Jongin manages to choke out after three seconds of just blinking and letting out his breath slowly. Do not scream. Do not cry. Do not let melting brain goo ooze out of ears.

"Shut up, I'm the makeup artist here."

"I will sue," Jongin says without bite, even as he lets his fingers fall against Lu Han's arm, curling and pressing white marks into Lu Han's skin. "Sexual harassment and whatnot."

Lu Han laughs. Jongin laughs with him even as he feels his heart being pulled away from him.

Lu Han is lucky to have a face that lets him get away with murder.

02. Tao/Luhan for anonmyous | g | 430w

It's low season at the island. Zitao spends four consecutive days blissfully lost in the warmth of the ocean, diving and surfing, before he's directed to a student.

Now, as he stands in the private beach of the resort he works at, he sort of wishes that he was back in those four days, just lazing around on the sand and sipping martinis. But no, Zitao is actually paid to work.

"Um, sir, if you want to learn how to dive, you need to actually learn how to swim."

"Yes, what do you think I'm doing," Lu Han snaps, legs flailing around in the water. He's looking a bit like a drowned puppy right now. A cute puppy, but nonetheless, not human.

"You might want to remove the flotation devices. And uh, stand up." Zitao looks down at the water, which barely reaches his belly button.

"Drowning," Lu Han shrieks and there he goes again, clambering for anything to hold on to, which, as they are in the ocean surrounded by nothing but salty water, more often than not is Zitao. Perhaps Zitao shouldn't have asked him to abandon his floats.

Lu Han is very touchy. Lu Han is very feely. Lu Han is terrified of drowning, and hence clings to Zitao whenever he thinks he is in danger of going under. Which is always.

Zitao is starting to think that it would be better to rent himself out as some sort of human flotation device and show Lu Han the wonders of the sea with the older boy clinging to him like a barnacle.

His thought process is broken when Lu Han loops his arm around Zitao's waist. Zitao is so surprised that he almost forgets to kick his feet to stay afloat. Lu Han's yelp brings him to earth and he manages to recover fast enough that his hair doesn't even get wet.

Swimming has been ingrained in Zitao since he was a wee toddler, brought to the beach by his sun loving parents who owned a summer beach house on one of the islands dotting the Philippines. His mother used to joke that Zitao is a sea monkey, the way he lives for sand castles and flops happily in the shallow waves.

But Lu Han. Lu Han.

"Lu Han, kick your feet." Lu Han kicks his feet. Once. And proceeds to sink into the water. He yelps and his fingers are digging into Zitao's waist again.

It disturbs Zitao so much that he wears a wetsuit the next day. The heat from Lu Han still transfers onto his skin just the same. Zitao actually forgets how to swim this time.

03. Hunhan for Thea | g | 530w
Lu han decides that smokey eyed Sehun is his favourite Sehun.

Lu Han has never really noticed Sehun. He's aware of Sehun of course, likes him enough to bring him out for bubble tea and entertain the clinginess that comes whenever they're both in the same vicinity. But Sehun is not Jongin, all hard panes and soft whimpers. Sehun is not Baekhyun, small enough to fit into his arms and yet fierce enough to be dominating in bed.

As a hormonal 22 year old caged in with literally no way of release except through the power of his right hand, Lu Han has fantasized about most of the members, and has even tried out a short lived attempt at romance with Yixing before they both ruled it out quickly. Sehun though, is uncharted territory. Kissing Sehun would just be like kissing Yixing- incest, or as he's noticed from the way their reflections in the practice rooms mirrors seem to melt into one, twincest.

So, it strikes him as a surprise when Sehun stumbles into the dressing room where everyone is lounging around waiting for their turn at the album cover shoots, and the first reaction Lu Han has is an uncomfortable lurch of his stomach. They've all been busy enough with their individual training schedules that it has been a while since Lu Han has seen Sehun dressed up all prettily like this.

"Your hair!" Jongdae bursts into obnoxiously loud laughter, screeching at the rainbow mess on Sehun's head.
Sehun looks embarrassed and heads over to Lu Han, dropping into the older boy's lap without warning and curling into Lu Han. Lu Han is so caught off guard he barely has time to blink before he's met with a mouthful of dry, colourful strands. "I don't see you making fun of Luhannie hyung's hair," Sehun whines. He rakes his fingers casually through Lu Han's own silvery blue hair and tugs lightly, not noticing how Lu Han is on the verge of a panic attack.

Even when they were trainees, Sehun has always followed Lu Han like an imprinted duckling, going to him whenever he's nervous or being teased again by the other members. All this time, lu han has never thought anything about it, but now with Sehun wriggling on his lap, he realizes just how much Sehun has grown in the past year.

Endless hours in the practice rooms has given Sehun's body the volume he needed, muscles filling out where he looked too thin before. He's grown taller too, maybe an inch or two above Lu Han now. Sehun smiles down at Lu Han and Lu Han notes how the heavy eyeliner only makes Sehun's eyes even more smothering. There's a smudge of eyeliner on Sehun's cheeks, probably due to Sehun's bad habit of rubbing his eyes. Lu hHan doesn't think and swipes a thumb across Sehun's cheekbone, fingers faltering immediately when he catches what he just did. "Something on your cheek," he mumbles to Sehun's inquiring gaze.

As always, any moment has to be broken by the shortie line. "Oh my god, your flirting suits our concept so much," Baekhyun guffaws, earning him a high five from Jongdae. "Awkward high school students, indeed."

04. Lukai for Cindy | r | 152w
A scene in which your bias gets this

"A watermelon cake," Jongin says, staring at the lopsided cake on the table, peppered with what must be the entire contents of a chocolate chip factory.

"Watermelon cake," Lu Han confirms eagerly. "Do you like watermelon? I spent all morning baking this."

Jongin pokes at the slice of cake on his plate, shuddering when it wobbles menacingly. "I like watermelon, but I'm not sure watermelon tastes like this."

Lu Han hums, cutting another slice out to set it aside for Kyungsoo. "You like watermelon. That's all I needed to know."

Jongin knows Lu Han well enough to know that Lu Han doesn't just mean cake flavours. He finds out what exactly Lu Han means that night.

"You're right," Lu Han says, after he licked his lips and gently tucked Jongin back into his boxers, ignoring his little cries of protest about everything being sticky and disgusting, "Dick should not taste like watermelon. We'll try the strawberry lube next time."

No points for pointing out the reference.

05. Chankaisoo for anon | nc-17 | 400w
Kai sucks Chanyeol to completion and he snowballs with D.O as he fucks him

When Jongin suggests they try out snowballing with Kyungsoo, Chanyeol had been all for the idea. His only question was an innocent, "But it's May. The snow has melted?"

Jongin laughed and pinched his cheek patronizingly. "So much to learn, little one."

Oh, Chanyeol finds out later, oh. He doesn't really think about it because he can't, not when Jongin's mouth is warm and wet around him, not when the most obscene slurping sounds are coming out of Jongin's mouth, not when Kyungsoo is at the head of his bed, knuckle deep in his own ass. Kyungsoo catches Chanyeol's eye and lets out a deliberate moan, throwing his head back to expose his neck. Jongin chooses that exact moment to drag his teeth across Chanyeol's dick, and it's enough for Chanyeol to come, his body shaking from the sudden surge of sensations. Jongin carefully sucks him through his orgasm and winks up at him, mouth full with Chanyeol's cum.

A crook of his fingers and Kyungsoo climbs forward eagerly, settling onto Jongin's lap and slowly guiding Jongin into himself. If Jongin's mouth wasn't full, he certainly would have moaned but wait, why is Jongin's mouth full?

Chanyeol is certainly not prepared for what comes next. Jongin glances at Chanyeol and pulls Kyungsoo forward, letting the cum, /Chanyeol's cum/, dribble into Kyungsoo open and ready mouth. His erratic thrusts rock their bodies and some of the white cum drips down the side of Kyungsoo's mouth, all the way down his pale neck. Chanyeol whimpers and grabs his once-again hardening dick, jerking off to the image of Kyungsoo willingly receiving his cum while Jongin fucks him hard enough that Kyungsoo bounces with each thrust.

Jongin leans down for a kiss, licking into Kyungsoo's mouth and spitting the collected cum back down again so that it streaks Kyungsoo's eyelashes. His hand snakes down to wrap around Kyungsoo’s dick and the combined stimulation makes Kyungsoo choke, throat working to swallow the remains of Chanyeol's cum down. A few more thrusts up and Kyungsoo is coming hard in streaks across Jongin's chest. Jongin fucks him until he collapses in a sob in Jongin's arm and then pulls out, allowing Chanyeol to rub their cocks together and draw them both to completion.

"Much better than snow," Chanyeol comments cheekily when they're coming down from their high, fingers reaching out to wipe Kyungsoo's cheek.

Jongin spits in his face.

J f c anon i had to google snowballing so idek. Also, bareback because um, snowballing doesn’t work with condoms?

06. Baektao for Alex | g | 525w
Baker!Baekhyun in which he tries not to murder Zitao, the part-timer who can't even crack an egg properly :d

Baekhyun has no idea why Kris even hired Zitao. Well, actually he does, and the reason lies in the massive boner Kris sports for the barely legal teen even though Kris insists he likes Zitao for brotherly reasons.

"He reminds me of myself," Kris says seriously as they both watch Zitao balance a large tray of cookies precariously. This will not end well but Baekhyun refrains from saying anything, if only because he wants to watch Kris flutter around Zitao, torn between scolding him and mothering him.

"Complete with the bad korean?" Baekhyun asks, testing Kris's reaction.

Kris's face darkens, probably more out of his outrage on Zitao's behalf than his own, but Baekhyun is saved by the loud clatter of the inevitable. Zitao stands there among a mess of cookies, looking guilt stricken. "I didn't mean to," he whimpers, a quiver to his voice adding to the glistening of his eyes. Even Baekhyun wouldn't be able to drive that frown further down.

"Complete with the bad sense of coordination," Kris says under his breath, earning him a bright grin of satisfaction from Baekhyun.

The main problem is that Baekhyun understands all too well why Kris pampers Zitao so much, but it makes it even harder to get angry at Zitao when he finds out just how earnest the part-timer is.

Baekhyun walks into his kitchen the next morning and promptly screams loud enough to wake up Chanyeol, who is known to sleep through alien invasions.

Zitao drops the egg he was holding in surprise, his eyes darting up to Baekhyun. The egg falls to the floor, adding to the mess of egg shells and flour literally strewn across the kitchen.

"What are you doing," Baekhyun manages to breathe out. His kitchen is precious to him, the one place where he can relax and gather his thoughts. Even Kris knows better than to touch any of the utensils hanging around. And now this- this /child/ has whirled in and thrashed his holy spot.

"Baekhyun hyung?" Zitao tries uncertainly. There is a smudge of flour across his nose and forehead, and Baekhyun tries desperately to keep his anger. Darn his weakness for cute and fluffy things. "I wanted to learn to crack eggs. I can't... Can't seem to get them right." He tips the large bowl forward for Baekhyun to see, frustration evident in his jerky movements. "I read all about it, and tried all night and-"

"Wait. You never went home?" Last night, Baekhyun was so tired after preparing a large batch of dough that he went against his senses and let Zitao close up store.

Zitao shakes his head, biting his bottom lip guiltily. "I'm sorry if that's not allowed, but I wanted to be better." There's something practiced about his every movement, as if he knows what effect he has on the others. He probably does.

It would be very bad to kill such ambition, Baekhyun reminds himself, fingers clenching into fists behind his back. He forces himself to breathe out and plaster a smile on his face. "I will teach you, after you return my kitchen to its original state."

07. Kai/Jongin for anon | g | 390w

Jongin has never been one for the stage. It's fucked up, he knows, how they are two and yet they are one. When he's in a line for another interview and Exo chants their tagline, Jongin always feels this pang of irony. He wonders if Kai feels it too.

Kai is too brash for interviews and variety shows; Jongin is too shy and demure for the spotlight. No one remembers who suggested it, but somehow everyone thought it was worth a shot. The twins never existed- there has only been Kai Kim Jongin, two entities mixed into one.

They'll get found out eventually, and it's no secret that SM is testing them out. The one who manages to adapt stays. The other... No one talks about what will happen to the other.

It's another issue when Kai always smiles a bit brighter to Kyungsoo, whereas Jongin gravitates to Lu Han. The members try not to act too different to the both of them but it's hard when sides are obviously chosen. Kai gets along well with Chanyeol and Baekhyun and Zitao; Jongin prefers the company of Yixing and Sehun and Kris.

Maybe it's the alcohol making their lips a little looser, or it's just an accumulation of a year of hiding, but one of them, Jongin can't even remember who now, makes a snide comment about the other and this is how he ends up pressed against the wall, Kai's arm hard against his neck, cutting off his oxygen supply.

For the first time, Jongin is scared of his brother. "Kai- Kai- you're choking me."

"Maybe if you paid attention to dance class more than you paid attention to Lu Han, you would have been me," Kai snarls. Jongin hates the way Kai twists his face into something ugly- it's his face too. This is what his face can look like too.

"My loyalties are to Exo-M," Jongin chokes out. It's true. The original plan was for Jongin to join Exo m. Things would've been much different then.

"Your loyalties are to EXO. Not Exo-M, not Exo-K, but Exo." The arm on Jongin's neck presses down harder. "Nothing will change that."

Kai's eyes are stone cold in the harsh fluorescent light of the practice room, but Jongin thinks it'll never be as cold as Kai's heart.

08. Jongin/Jungkook (bangtan) for anon | pg | 200w
Kai and Jungkook battling it out on the dancefloor before they stumble into the toilet for a quickie

Jongin recognizes bits of his old self in Jungkook- how the younger boy genuinely believes that all he needs to do is dance, the extra hours he puts in at the studio, the way Jungkook smiles, confident and proud in the way only the young and innocent can. (It's the way Jongin used to smile; he doesn't do that much anymore.)

"You're an idol," Jongin turns off the music and says coldly, wanting to see, for some reason, Jungkook break down. He wants to spare the boy the long months of hurt and pain and just cut straight to the core. A favour, he tells himself.

Predictably, Jungkook whips around furiously, arms falling to his side in one furious motion. "We're different." the distaste in his voice is obvious, that impudent brat. "You're from SM."

So naive, so trusting. Jongin wants to strip that away. He takes a step closer to Jungkook, noting in satisfaction how Jungkook takes a nervous step back. "Oh, maknae. You have so much to learn. You're lucky I'm here."

Jungkook doesn't know how to interpret the glint in Jongin's eyes, but he raises his head and smirks. "Well then, sunbaenim, please take care of me."

09. Sehun/Suho for anon | g | 330
Sehun/Suho on an ice skating dateeee

Sehun has been called an ice prince by his legion of adoring fans around school, but it soon becomes clear that he is anything but.

Suho is certainly enjoying himself right now, too amused by the embarrassment sketched across Sehun's pretty little face as the younger boy tries to stay on his feet.

“I told you I couldn't skate," Sehun snaps after a feeble attempt to move resulted in him being sprawled across the handrails for support. The red scarf that Suho has wrapped around Sehun's neck looks great against his pale skin and Suho once again admires his handiwork. The light blush sprinkled on Sehun's face when Suho presented him with the handmade present made the nights of forgoing sleep and various cuts more than worth it.

"I can teach you," Suho says patiently. He grabs Sehun's mittened hands in his and steadies them both until Sehun is no longer wobbling dangerously on the slippery ice. Carefully, Suho skates backwards, pulling his boyfriend with him until they're both skating across the ice, albeit at the speed of an overturned turtle.

Suho chuckles at the pleased smile on Sehun's face. "You're doing much better already!"

"Tiny hyung is the best," Sehun agrees, allowing a smile to soften his face in the way that has Suho falling in love again each day.

“Besides, ice skating is quite fun." Suho lets go off Sehun's hands and grabs the ends of the alarmed boy's scarf instead, tugging him forward so that Sehun falls into his arms.

Sehun laughs but doesn't protest, letting Suho wrap his arms around him. Sehun is tall enough that he can rest his head on Suho's head and he does so, holding the smaller boy closer.

Suho forgets that they are in public, on an ice skating rink in one of the busiest malls of Seoul. For this moment, he only remembers the feel of Sehun's breath tickling his ear as the other boy whispers, "Tiny hyung is my favourite."

10. Kaiyeol hickeys for anon | r | 370w

For all the fuss over Jongin's tan skin, bruises show up surprisingly easily on him, which is something Chanyeol takes advantage of, much to Jongin's chagrin. There are only so many times Jongin can brush the purpling marks on his neck off as mosquito bites before the makeup noona rolls her eyes and tells him that she's been in the industry for 7 years; he's not the first hot blooded idol around.

Luckily, she assumes he brought some overzealous fan or up-and-coming starlet home. Not-so-luckily, Chanyeol takes it as a go-ahead to be more daring in marking Jongin, sucking blooms onto Jongin every chance he gets.

Jongin doesn't exactly mind when Chanyeol has Jongin's legs splayed out around him, the older boy licking his way up the other's bare thigh, tongue warm and wet against the goosebumps popping up across Jongin's skins. He's perfectly fine when Chanyeol chooses to worship his thighs like this because as far as he knows, there are no plans to expose them anytime soon (hopefully). It took some persuading, but Chanyeol is more than happy to focus his attention on Jongin's body instead of his nape.

Chanyeol blows lightly on the tip of Jongin's cock before playfully sucking on it hard, pulling away fast enough that Jongin is left frustrated by the withdrawal of the surge of stimulation. He draws his finger nails down the inside of Jongin's thighs slowly, making Jongin writhe in anticipation. Satisfied with the whimper and whines leaving Jongin's lips, Chanyeol pulls himself up and draws the younger boy into his arms, sudden tenderness throwing Jongin off. "I want to mark you all over, but I won't." he nibbles gently on Jongin's left ear, allowing his tongue to dart inside, right where he knows Jongin is most sensitive. "But how would people know you're mine?"

Jongin blinks away the tears of frustration and clutches the back of Chanyeol's shirt, moving his hips in a desperate attempt to rub his painfully hard erection against Chanyeol's clothed tent. "Next thing you know, you'll be leaving hickeys all over my face."

Chanyeol cocks his head thoughtfully. "I wonder if that's possible..."

Chanyeol is not allowed into Jongin's room for the rest of the week.

11. Kailu for Rochelle | r | 280w
Lu Han is on a mission to protect Kai's family jewels.

When Jongin wakes up, he feels a heavy weight on him. No, he realizes when he stands up, the weight isn't exactly on him, but rather- "What the fuck?"

In the next room, a similar scream rocks the dorm.

"Let me get this straight," Joonmyun says slowly, trying to comprehend the situation. They handled waking up to Lu Han with boobs just fine. They survived Kris and Zitao switching bodies. They will survive this. "You and Sehun.... Switched dicks?"

Jongin doesn't reply, because he's too busy being fascinated by the sudden growth in his groin. Sehun has to reply instead. He tries to keep the distress out of his voice but the shakiness of his voice gives him away. "I woke up and reached down for a morning jerk, you know, and I felt- I felt-" he breaks off, a traumatized sob escaping him. Lu Han reaches off and sympathetically rubs his back. Sehun takes a deep breath to compose himself and whispers, "I felt nothing."

"Hey!" Jongin cries, thoroughly insulted. "I'm not small. /You're/ the one that's abnormal." he pokes at his dick- Sehun's dick on his own body, actually, and says in wonder, "It's like a tumour. Are you sure we shouldn't get this checked?"

Sehun reaches down and grabs his crotch, letting out another sob. "It can fit in my hand. This has never happened before." Before he can do anything else, Lu Han swoops down to bat Sehun's hand away.

"No," Lu Han says firmly, catching Sehun's hand in his. "This is Jongin's dick. And while it's on you, you have to treat it right. No hurting what's mine."

Jongin looks starry-eyed. "My hero~"

Sehun tries not to hurl.

12. Baekyeol for anon | g | 200w
Baekyeol in which they were lost, and they're arguing over the good old “we have a map, we don’t need directions” and “we should totally ask for directions, you suck at reading maps”. Pls?

"This is all your fucking fault," Baekhyun whines with his arms crossed.

"Look, all I wanted was some food. You were the one who insisted to stop at every damn crossroad," Chanyeol snaps back.

"If we just asked for directions-"

"We have a map," Chanyeol grits out, waving the now crumpled paper in Baekhyun's face.

"Yeah? Anyone can read a map, but apparently not you." Baekhyun refuses to even look at Chanyeol now, peering at the ground for any of the tell-tale footstep trails instead.

"Anyone includes you, you know," Chanyeol says, annoyed. "Like I said, if you didn't get distracted by the pretty lights-"

"Fuck you. We should've gone for Mcdonalds instead. Last I heard, Ikea's meatballs have horse meat." with that, Baekhyun throws their shopping list at Chanyeol's face and stomps off.

"Another one gone," Jongdae observes, chewing on the tip of his pencil thoughtfully.

Joonmyun shakes his head sadly and adjusts the "Hi, welcome to Ikea!" name tag on his chest. "They should make a warning sign in front of Ikea. There's something about the colourful, compact reminders of commitment that makes couples freak out."

Jongdae shrugs. "At least they soften the blow by giving everything cute Swedish names."

13. Jongin/girl!Sehun for Reine queen bitch | r | 300w
Sehuna sucking Jongin's dick in a mos burger :| <3 do it bitch

"How are you liking the burger? Is it moist enough?" Sehunna asks casually, carefully unwrapping the still warm burger with one hand and holding it out to Jongin.

Jongin glares at Sehunna incredulously but obliges, taking a tiny bite of the burger.

Sehunna flutters her eyelashes innocently and points at the side of Jongin's lip. "Ah, you have some crumbs there. Jongin, do you want me to wet some tissue for you?"

Jongin desperately tries not to choke around the morsels of food in his mouth. He grits his teeth and breathes out slowly. "You are fucking impossible."

"No, Jongin." Sehunna smiles, "you are fucking me. So shh, keep it down."

"All good here, guys?" Joonmyun, ever the helpful worker, stops by and grins at them, a tray balanced in his arms.

"S'all good," Sehunna replies cheerfully, not betraying the fact that she has Jongin's hand pressed to her panties, forcing his fingers under the thin silk and into her. "Jongin was just saying how the burgers were perfectly moist."

"It just, mmmm," Sehunna moans softly, drawing a confused look from Joonmyun. "hits the right spot."

Jongin crooks his fingers and adds another, deciding to play along. If Sehunna wants this, she's getting it.

"Yeah, Joonmyun!" Jongin chimes in, flashing a mega watt smile at Joonmyun, "it's just bangin'"

"O..kay, guys. Glad to see you're passionate about burgers!" Joonmyun gives them a nod and heads off to serve his burgers.

"Hey, Jongin?" Sehunna purrs once Joonmyun is out of hearing distance. "I hear that the mos burger in Bangkok serves sausages."

Later, Joonmyun looks questioningly in the direction of the bathroom. "Huh, the queue is awfully long today- oh wait, Jongin never finished his burger?"

Static warmth

2013-09-11T15:15:53Z

Title: Static warmth
Pairing: Luhan/Jongin
Rating: G
Length: 1.5k
Summary: Catboy!AU. Jongin is afraid of thunderstorms.
A/N: happy birthday to kaihanbitches ! this is so cheesy you may hurl ♥

*hover over the one chinese phrase for the translation

It has been three months since Lu Han brought Jongin home. Jongin seems to have settled in completely, no longer the jumpy catboy that he was. Lu Han has even started trusting Jongin with the kitchen again, after that last incident when Jongin couldn’t open a can of tuna and ended up clawing all the cupboards. Jongin had to go without human food for a week after that.

Aside from the small occurrences like these when Jongin succumbs to his cat instincts, it’s easy to forget that Jongin isn’t exactly human. He looks exactly like any other teenage boy, all lanky limbs and lean body, with only the added accessory of the light brown furry ears protruding from his floppy black hair and a sleek tail that Jongin hugs in his sleep and sometimes even sucks like a pacifier.

Still, in times of panic, a catboy is always cat first, human later.

“Jongin?” Lu Han calls as he steps into his apartment, opening the wet umbrella and setting it down by the shoe rack to dry. The rain has just barely begun, but he had rushed home as fast as he could from the grocery store the minute he heard the first sound of thunder. They’re out of milk and eggs, and he came back without them. Cookies can wait; Jongin can’t.

A quick scan of the living room shows that Jongin isn’t here. He usually doesn’t hide here due to the complete lack of spaces to squeeze into. When Jongin is afraid, he likes to be completely surrounded and absolutely avoids open spaces. He’s not in the bathroom or closet either, so there’s only one other place he could be.

“Hey there,” Lu Han says quietly, padding into the laundry room. The furrow of concern in his brow melts away, replaced by a soft smile as he spots the catboy cowering beside the washing machine, laundry basket tipped over his head in an attempt to hide. Lu Han crouches down beside Jongin and removes the basket, drawing a startled yelp from Jongin. Jongin blinks pitifully at him for a second, a single pink sock (Lu Han doesn’t own pink socks. Did Jongin mix up the coloured and the whites again?) hanging off his head.

The sight is enough to make any grown man melt, and Lu Han was never known to have a heart of steel. He laughs and brushes the sock away, ruffling Jongin’s hair with the movement. “Silly little duck.”

It’s just the invitation Jongin needs, and before Lu Han knows it, Jongin has barrelled into him, tipping them both over until Jongin has Lu Han straddled under him. Jongin’s tail is swishing around rapidly and his ears are perked up, a sure sign that he’s frightened.

“As much as I’ll love to lie with you here all day-“ Lu Han begins and taps Jongin on the nose when Jongin looks up hopefully, “let’s head to somewhere more comfortable.”

A flash of lightning lights up the sky, followed by a sharp crack of thunder that rings loudly through the apartment. Lu Han drops Jongin down on the couch, the catboy insisting that he carry him, despite them both knowing that Jongin is in fact heavier than Luhan. Jongin's ears flatten against his hair and he whines until Lu Han wraps him up in his arms. "You're an adult cat," Lu Han says, too amused to feel sorry for the catboy currently shivering in his lap. “Why are you still afraid of thunder?”

Jongin nips lightly at the collar of Lu Han’s button down to show his displeasure, but all defiance disappears when the sky rumbles again. He ducks his head into the crook of Lu Han's arm and mumbles against his skin, "Sing to me."

The first time it rained after Lu Han brought Jongin home, the catboy had flown into a sheer panic. The pet store was hidden snugly in a huge mall, far away enough from the outside world that Jongin doesn’t hear thunder often. He had been in the safe haven of the pet store store so long that his tolerance of anything remotely scary had been reset, long enough that even the smallest sounds startles him.

Lu Han had left him alone at home to go to work, and he returned to find scratch marks down all the furniture and Jongin looking guilty in a heap of feathers and a destroyed pillow case. After that, he slowly learned that Jongin calms down when Lu Han sings lullabies and old folk songs to him, fire in his eyes trickling away with each note. Jongin especially likes it when Lu Han sings the songs of his hometown in China because the catboy loves the foreign tones.

Lu Han chooses to hum a lullaby that his mother used to sing him, thumb rubbing Jongin’s ears tenderly. The lyrics has long escaped him, and the title forgotten, but the melody stays with him, so he recreates the song the best he can, trying to transfer some of the affection and warmth he felt then as a small child to Jongin.

Jongin sighs with content, wrapping his legs tighter around Lu Han’s torso and wriggling his toes. “Best master.” The storm is still raging outside but Jongin barely notices now, too lost in the embrace of his owner.

"One day I'll teach you Mandarin," Lu Han says absentmindedly. He keeps meaning to, but the opportunity never came up.

“I know all the Mandarin that I need to know,” Jongin says, voice muffled by Lu Han’s shirt.

“Show me then.” Lu Han tugs playfully on Jongin’s right ear, never missing the opportunity to tease his pet.

Jongin removes his arms from where they were locked around Lu Han’s neck and clambers upright. His lips are set in a determined line, and there’s that usual uncertainty dancing in his eyes. Confidence is something that Jongin lacked, a result of going too long without being adopted. With each passing year in the pet store, the self-doubt grew and grew, gnawing its way through his insides like a parasite, until he is hollow and vulnerable, too wrapped up in insecurities to allow himself to open up. But he’s better now. He can learn to be brave, can learn to feel love, and be wanted, because he has Lu Han, so he gathers up his nerves and whispers, so soft the rain almost drowns him out, “我爱你.”

As soon as he says the three words, he jolts away from Lu Han, too mortified to even think straight. Before Lu Han can even react, Jongin is gone from his lap.

Lu Han just sits there, stunned. All these months, Lu Han hasn’t been sure if Jongin had been happy with him because Jongin was always a little too sensitive. Some days he clung to Lu Han like glue, and others he kept to himself, tail curled protectively around his body. Lu Han understands that he needed some time to break out of his shell, and the confession catches him by surprise. This is a big thing for Jongin, he knows, because it means that Jongin finally trusts Lu Han enough to bare his soul. He feels like a teenager again, giggling to himself after his first kiss stolen behind the shelves of the library, except she had been then, and Jongin is now, Jongin is his. He can’t stamp down the bubble of laughter that escapes, his smile splitting his face so widely that he’s sure all his crows feet are out to play. It’s worth it, those extra jars of eye cream, if he can hear Jongin say it again, and again, and again.

A loud bump and pained mewl catches his attention and finally he sees where Jongin went.

Jongin will be Jongin after all, always overestimating his size and trying to squeeze into small spaces. Lu Han plops down cross-legged on the floor and taps on the coffee table. “Hey, don’t hide under here, you won’t fit. Come out, Jonginnie.”

Jongin peers out hesitantly, butt still sticking out in the air because he only managed to mush half his body under the table. Lu Han grabs him and pulls him forward, sitting him down in his lap again. He’s really much too big to be cradled in his lap like this, the catboy having a good inch or two on his owner, but they’ve always managed to make it work.

Jongin drops his face into his hands, too embarrassed to even look at Lu Han.

“It’s alright, baby, I love you too.”

Jongin peeks out from between his fingers. “Yeah?” His voice is small but hopeful, like he still has trouble believing that Lu Han would even entertain the thought of liking Jongin.

Lu Han presses a light kiss to Jongin’s forehead, then to the tip of his fingers still covering his face, and finally, to Jongin’s nose as Jongin drops his hands to put them around Lu Han’s waist.

Jongin is so open with his emotions, and anyone can tell that Jongin is bursting with joy right now, like a five year old who has just learned that he hit the candy jackpot- a lifetime supply of Willy Wonka chocolate and his own chocolate factory. The grin takes over his face, so wide he’s almost maniacal and he purrs when Lu Han reaches behind his ears for a scratch.

“Good kitty.”

Maybe Lu Han is the one who hit the jackpot after all.

end.

hello hubby ♥
happy birthday!
i'm so glad i met you, and i'm so glad i married you, because you are beautiful and bubbly and the sweetest little cotton fluff ever. i love your little voice notes, your pervy twitter names (like hubby like wife?) and your pretty face contorted into those selcas you like to take.
happy birthday bby, and enjoy your college life! i watched you graduate high school; i will watch you graduate uni!