Gone(2/3)
Title: Gone(2/3)
Pairing: Hyukjae/Donghae
Rating:PG
Genre: Angst, Romance, Science Fiction
Disclaimer: I own nothing, a short chaptered fic.
Summary: Donghae's uneasy about the new technology Hyukjae's company wants him to try out. He's more than just scared.
“What’s wrong?”
“Your tattoo. It’s gone.”
You got that tattoo as proof that you loved me, along with the ring that I wear on my finger. I, too, got a matching tattoo in the same place. I finger it now, your initials in delicate cursive across my right shoulder, as you search for my initials on yours.
“Oh…I guess the scanner missed that,” I see worry, ever fear, flash across your face for an instant, but immediately you’re smiling again. “Don’t worry; I’ll get another one that’s exactly the same.”
I let you caress me, your chest against my back, but at this moment I realise that it’s not really your chest, not your body, but a duplicate, assembled and dissipated by a supercomputer. You are not really the man I know, but a coy, freshly minted, destroyed in an instant and created again somewhere else.
It’s too late when I realise I’ve been saying all this out loud, but you, forever undeterred, whisper in my ear but my love for you will never disappear, and I cannot help but be comforted by those few words.
***
Weeks pass, you disappearing and appearing into my life, looking as jubilant every time you step out of thin air as a magician performing his most spectacular trick. We do more than I had ever imagine with the time you have saved by all this, even though you start coming back later because of “time allotted for travel time now being freed up,” it’s never as late as it was before. I never have to keep your dinner warm for you. You’re at home to watch me cook it, and in time you learn to help me, too.
Sometimes you come home and forget where something is, or the name of the aunt of distant cousin visiting for the day, or an outing with Heechul hyung and Hankyung hyung we planned months in advance. But as each day blends into another, I take little notice of this. I assume that the company’s working you too hard, and it’s just my job to make sure you have as much rest as possible in the time we have been granted.
***
The chicken is roasting in the oven, and I’m taking a bath, counting on the halo-cooker’s sensors to alert me if anything goes wrong. I contemplate the soapsuds, the sound of sifting rise rising as the bubble collide with each other, thousands being born and destroyed at the same time.
Then you’re a shadow cast on the shower curtain and I open it just a crack to welcome you. Yet even as you smile your ever-present smile, your eyes are intense and serious. I draw the curtain aside so that I am looking at you right in the eye.
You bend down and take my soapy hands in yours, heedless of the water seeping into your sleeves, and open your mouth.
“Let’s adopt a baby.”
I hear myself draw a sharp, painful breath.
“Hey, hey, I didn’t mean to shock you like that!” you say, squeezing my hands and strengthening your smile. “I mean, I’ve got time now. I’ve always been worrying that I wouldn’t be able to devote my time to a child, what with spending so much time at work…”
I let my hands drop from yours, and they hang limp on the lip of the tub. My fingers start to go numb, and a cold wind slices across my back, even though the water is warm.
“But I have time now. And I know that you’ve always wanted to be a father. And I love you and I want to show that…”
You’ve noticed my face and you stop talking, putting your hand son my cheeks. “Hey, hey baby, what’s wrong? I didn’t mean to upset you…”
I’m crying again, and I can’t stop myself.
“What are you talking about? We…we already have a child.”
Your hands grow stiff, and as I look into your widening eyes, I suddenly feel the urge to flee, feel my heart escaping out of my throat.
“Don’t you remember…? His name is Eunhae. He’s three years old. He has black hair…brown eyes…he even looks like you…”
You remove your hands slowly, downcast.
“You were the one that chose his name! You counted his fingers and toes when you first saw him! I fetch him to school and we both pick him up every evening from my mother’s house because school is so far away!” I’m frantic, splashing water everywhere.
“Don’t shit with me and tell me you don’t remember! If this is a joke, it isn’t funny.”
After an eternity, you looked up, your smile established once more. “Hae, of course I remember. I do. I just…I’m just shooting my mouth off. I’ve been…drinking a little, with my colleagues. I just wasn’t thinking. Sorry.”
And then you’re gone, and I’m left shrivelling in the bathtub, listening to the smoke alarms blaring outside.
***
Pairing: Hyukjae/Donghae
Rating:PG
Genre: Angst, Romance, Science Fiction
Disclaimer: I own nothing, a short chaptered fic.
Summary: Donghae's uneasy about the new technology Hyukjae's company wants him to try out. He's more than just scared.
“What’s wrong?”
“Your tattoo. It’s gone.”
You got that tattoo as proof that you loved me, along with the ring that I wear on my finger. I, too, got a matching tattoo in the same place. I finger it now, your initials in delicate cursive across my right shoulder, as you search for my initials on yours.
“Oh…I guess the scanner missed that,” I see worry, ever fear, flash across your face for an instant, but immediately you’re smiling again. “Don’t worry; I’ll get another one that’s exactly the same.”
I let you caress me, your chest against my back, but at this moment I realise that it’s not really your chest, not your body, but a duplicate, assembled and dissipated by a supercomputer. You are not really the man I know, but a coy, freshly minted, destroyed in an instant and created again somewhere else.
It’s too late when I realise I’ve been saying all this out loud, but you, forever undeterred, whisper in my ear but my love for you will never disappear, and I cannot help but be comforted by those few words.
***
Weeks pass, you disappearing and appearing into my life, looking as jubilant every time you step out of thin air as a magician performing his most spectacular trick. We do more than I had ever imagine with the time you have saved by all this, even though you start coming back later because of “time allotted for travel time now being freed up,” it’s never as late as it was before. I never have to keep your dinner warm for you. You’re at home to watch me cook it, and in time you learn to help me, too.
Sometimes you come home and forget where something is, or the name of the aunt of distant cousin visiting for the day, or an outing with Heechul hyung and Hankyung hyung we planned months in advance. But as each day blends into another, I take little notice of this. I assume that the company’s working you too hard, and it’s just my job to make sure you have as much rest as possible in the time we have been granted.
***
The chicken is roasting in the oven, and I’m taking a bath, counting on the halo-cooker’s sensors to alert me if anything goes wrong. I contemplate the soapsuds, the sound of sifting rise rising as the bubble collide with each other, thousands being born and destroyed at the same time.
Then you’re a shadow cast on the shower curtain and I open it just a crack to welcome you. Yet even as you smile your ever-present smile, your eyes are intense and serious. I draw the curtain aside so that I am looking at you right in the eye.
You bend down and take my soapy hands in yours, heedless of the water seeping into your sleeves, and open your mouth.
“Let’s adopt a baby.”
I hear myself draw a sharp, painful breath.
“Hey, hey, I didn’t mean to shock you like that!” you say, squeezing my hands and strengthening your smile. “I mean, I’ve got time now. I’ve always been worrying that I wouldn’t be able to devote my time to a child, what with spending so much time at work…”
I let my hands drop from yours, and they hang limp on the lip of the tub. My fingers start to go numb, and a cold wind slices across my back, even though the water is warm.
“But I have time now. And I know that you’ve always wanted to be a father. And I love you and I want to show that…”
You’ve noticed my face and you stop talking, putting your hand son my cheeks. “Hey, hey baby, what’s wrong? I didn’t mean to upset you…”
I’m crying again, and I can’t stop myself.
“What are you talking about? We…we already have a child.”
Your hands grow stiff, and as I look into your widening eyes, I suddenly feel the urge to flee, feel my heart escaping out of my throat.
“Don’t you remember…? His name is Eunhae. He’s three years old. He has black hair…brown eyes…he even looks like you…”
You remove your hands slowly, downcast.
“You were the one that chose his name! You counted his fingers and toes when you first saw him! I fetch him to school and we both pick him up every evening from my mother’s house because school is so far away!” I’m frantic, splashing water everywhere.
“Don’t shit with me and tell me you don’t remember! If this is a joke, it isn’t funny.”
After an eternity, you looked up, your smile established once more. “Hae, of course I remember. I do. I just…I’m just shooting my mouth off. I’ve been…drinking a little, with my colleagues. I just wasn’t thinking. Sorry.”
And then you’re gone, and I’m left shrivelling in the bathtub, listening to the smoke alarms blaring outside.
***