[SJ] WARNING: May Cause Nausea, PG-13, Qmi
100% of what I write these days is entirely self-indulgent. This is no different. :D Heed title for warnings.
WARNING: May Cause Nausea
Super Junior (M), Kyuhyun/Zhou Mi, bandfic, PG-13, 2805 words
Side effects of Kyuhyun and Zhou Mi include nausea, light-headedness, and eventual immunity following prolonged exposure. Hyukjae and Sungmin had no idea what they were getting into.
"Brace yourself, hyung," Henry told Sungmin before they went to China.
"What do you mean?"
Henry smiled, but it was grim. "You'll see."
Confused and not entirely comforted, Sungmin nodded. He didn't think the anti backlash would be quite that bad, but he appreciated the warning all the same.
Turned out, it was nothing like he'd expected.
***
"Um," said Hyukjae rather urgently. His gaze was frozen on the scene in front him, unable to tear himself away, as Donghae turned at the tug on his sleeve.
"What's up?" he asked.
"Is that- Do you see that?"
Donghae turned to look. The group was scattered in the tiny waiting room, backstage at another variety show. Siwon was draped over Sungmin's shoulders, talking earnestly to Ryeowook about the upcoming show and the kinds of things they'd be doing. Henry was listening in, standing still as one of the make-up girls patted his face with a powder puff and a stylist arranged and rearranged a lock of hair. Kyuhyun and Zhou Mi were on the other side of the room with their heads bent close, giggling and whispering.
"What am I looking at?" Donghae asked after a moment.
Hyukjae's grip on his sleeve tightened a little bit. "That," he said, and gestured frantically at the way Zhou Mi's cheek slid across Kyuhyun's as he murmured something into his ear. Kyuhyun's resulting laugh stirred the fine hairs around Zhou Mi's face, which Kyuhyun then smoothed down with gentle fingers.
Donghae looked blank. "Kyuhyun and Zhou Mi? Talking?"
"Do you see how close they're standing? They're practically breathing each other's air!" hissed Hyukjae. "Even we don't stand that close when we talk."
Donghae only sighed, a long-suffering exhale. He took Hyukjae's hand and steered him around, guiding him towards the table piled with water and snacks. Forcibly sitting his best friend down, he patted him on the shoulder and finally said, consolingly, "Oh Hyukkie. They're always like that. If you think that's close, you've barely seen them in action."
Hyukjae blinked up at him, wide-eyed.
"B-but," he protested, "they're not like this in Korea?"
"Something in the water," Donghae said wisely, nodding. He handed Hyukjae a bottle of water. "Stick to bottled."
Later, on stage, Kyuhyun leaned into Zhou Mi's shoulder heavily and tilted his head up to make an amused comment under his breath. Zhou Mi tipped his head down automatically and Hyukjae watched as Kyuhyun more or less mouthed the words against Zhou Mi's ear, warm and low. No one else seemed to notice.
Hyukjae shook his head and desperately searched with his eyes for his bottle of water, finding it sitting on the edge of the stage awaiting breaks in the filming. Water break, he signaled Siwon.
***
Sungmin lolled drowsily in his seat in the waiting area for their flight back to Seoul. They had managed to cram in an interview in the morning before being rushed to the airport, which had been its usual production of screaming crowds and hassled security guards. They had finally made it through to their gate, however, and the lack of sleep from the previous night combined with the packed schedule this morning was finally catching up with Sungmin.
He pulled up his jacket, slumping back against the seat and yawning. His eyelids drooped as his consciousness faded into that hazy pre-sleep state.
Beside him, Henry was playing games on his iPhone, thoughtfully muting the sound.
Suddenly, a sharp burst of laughter jerked Sungmin out of his fogginess and back into reality. He blinked, disoriented, and lifted his head.
A row over and two seats down, Kyuhyun was laughing like it hurt, head thrown back and mouth open. The face mask he'd been wearing earlier was tucked under his chin. Not the most attractive of faces, Sungmin mused, as Kyuhyun had to rescue to his hat from sliding off his head.
"Kyuhyun!" Zhou Mi cried, hitting him in the arm.
"And then the girl would say 'thank you, please come again', right?" Kyuhyun was still snickering. He wrapped a hand around Zhou Mi's upper arm and leaned in. "I never knew you were such a sex fiend."
"Why are you like this," Zhou Mi grumbled, but let Kyuhyun cling to his arm anyway. "That's not what I meant and you know it."
"Should I teach you more dirty words in Korean? Will they come in useful?"
Zhou Mi elbowed him, exasperated, but Kyuhyun's grin didn't dim. Instead, he squirmed a little closer, resting his chin on Zhou Mi's shoulder to beam up at him, obnoxious. Sungmin watched him and felt like perhaps the fog had not cleared out of his head entirely.
"Kyuhyun is..." he said slowly.
"Yep," said Henry, without looking up. "Stuck to him like they've been glued together."
"He's never been against skinship," Sungmin said, still staring. "But not to the point where it's...like this..."
"Like white on rice," Henry muttered in English.
Sungmin's head swiveled to look at him. "What?"
"Nothing."
"Heechul-hyung already taught me that one. You're too late," Zhou Mi scoffed, setting off another fit of laughter.
Henry resumed playing Angry Birds as Sungmin digested this new side to Kyuhyun - and to Zhou Mi, who had always been nothing but sweetness and light to Sungmin. Earnest and helpful and respectful, eloquent and generous with his affections - this was the Zhou Mi that Sungmin knew. Not this guy ribbing Kyuhyun with dirty jokes, all those long limbs crammed into a tiny plastic seat with some sort of Kyuhyun-shaped foreign growth attached to his arm. Sungmin shook his head, trying to rearrange his worldview.
"Told you, hyung," Henry said. "And it only gets worse."
***
"We have the afternoon off, we should do something!" Zhou Mi exclaimed, flopping onto the couch and putting his head in Sungmin's lap. Sungmin smiled down at him and pet his hair, moving his other hand, which was holding his PSP, to the side so he could continue watching his show. Zhou Mi rolled his head back to peer earnestly at Sungmin.
"What do you want to do?" Ryeowook asked. He had been looking up recipes on his computer, with Henry leaning over his shoulder and helpfully putting in orders for food he wanted.
"Let's go out!" said Zhou Mi.
Hyukjae, who was a little bored flipping through channel after channel of shows he didn't understand and watching Donghae surf the net, thought going out would be fun. "Where?"
"Where do you want to go, hyung? Last time we were here, Hankyung-hyung took us to a local restaurant - that was pretty fun."
Sungmin and Hyukjae exchanged glances, as they were the only ones who hadn't been here before. Ryeowook seemed to be awaiting their answer as they came to a silent consensus. Hyukjae said, "Yeah, food is always good. It'd be cool to get out and see the city a little bit." Better than being cooped up all day, Donghae distracted and Siwon away on another solo schedule.
Zhou Mi's lower lip slid out a tiny bit.
"But I thought you were going to cook," said Henry plaintively.
Ryeowook looked torn.
"I want to stay in," Donghae said, eyes still on his computer where he was, as far as Hyukjae could tell, reading up spoilers on the latest drama he was following. Were they really that fascinating?
"I wouldn't mind staying in." Sungmin shrugged. "It'd be nice to relax and not do anything, too."
At last, Zhou Mi couldn't seem to contain himself anymore. "I want to go shopping," he burst out. His eyes looked a little fever-bright, Hyukjae thought, as Zhou Mi launched himself off Sungmin's lap and into a sitting position. He was practically vibrating with energy. "We've been so busy and I haven't gone shopping in forever and the malls here are so good-"
He paused and looked around hopefully. "Does anyone want to come with me?"
There was a moment of silence. Then Hyukjae said, because surely even shopping with clothesmonger fashionista Zhou Mi would be preferable to sitting around watching other people use the internet, "Sure, I could-"
Zhou Mi beamed at him before he could even finish his sentence, then turned to the person who'd been sitting quietly in a corner, earphones plugged in, attacking his keyboard with intent. Hyukjae had practically forgotten he was there. "Kyuhyun?"
Like their resident gamer would ever be corralled into shopping over attacking and destroying whatever enemies were currently in his way. Hell, he could barely be corralled into dinner over his gaming.
As Hyukjae expected, Kyuhyun carried on gaming as if he hadn't heard.
Of course, this made Zhou Mi bounce out of his seat and cross the room to Kyuhyun's side. He touched Kyuhyun lightly on the shoulder, with far more delicacy than Hyukjae had expected, considering his visible enthusiasm at the idea of shopping. Then again, it was always wise to treat Kyuhyun delicately when he was so caught up in gaming.
Somewhat to Hyukjae's disbelief, Kyuhyun actually paused his game to look up. His expression was dark. "What?"
Zhou Mi tugged an earphone out. "Hyukjae and I are going shopping. Do you want to come?"
Kyuhyun narrowed his eyes.
The first surprise was the lack of immediate, forceful rejection.
"How long has it been since you've gone shopping?"
Zhou Mi bit his lip, thinking. "Um, about two months?"
Kyuhyun looked pained. "You're going to buy everything, aren't you?"
Zhou Mi just grinned, not even pretending otherwise.
"Three hours max," Kyuhyun said flatly, "and that's being generous. Are you going to bring your camera?"
"Of course!"
Kyuhyun snorted. He shrugged Zhou Mi's hand off his shoulder and replaced the earphone, adding, "And we leave only after I finish this mission." Zhou Mi opened his mouth but Kyuhyun beat him to it, eyes already back on the screen. "About fifteen minutes. Go put on your shopping clothes or something."
The second, third, and fourth surprises were Kyuhyun knowing Zhou Mi's shopping habits, his agreement to go out, and - if Hyukjae was interpreting this conversation correctly - his implicit acquiescence to playing fashion photographer. Hyukjae's mouth fell open.
It remained open as Zhou Mi bounded out of the living area to his room to change. Hyukjae sputtered, "Did Kyuhyun just agree to put off his game in order to go shopping?"
Kyuhyun, who was lost again in his game, didn't hear him. Ryeowook, though, smiled at him. "Yeah. Isn't it sweet? He knows Zhou Mi likes company."
"He does it all the time," Henry said with disgust.
Hyukjae's brain threatened to explode.
"He even lets Zhou Mi buy him things sometimes," Ryeowook added enthusiastically. "Zhou Mi-hyung has a really good eye for what looks good on him."
So that was why his wardrobe had seen marked improvement lately. Hyukjae continued to gape.
Beside him, Donghae said absently, still immersed in the drama forums, "Close your mouth, Hyukkie. You'll catch flies."
***
To say that none of the members had ever slept together would be a filthy, filthy lie. They had all collapsed on or around each other too many times to count before, a perfectly innocent pile of limbs as their exhaustion took over in the van, in a waiting room, or back in the dorm. Sungmin himself had probably napped on all of the members at one point or other, or had been napped on in return, someone's gelled hair tickling his cheek as they crashed on his shoulder.
But the way Zhou Mi and Kyuhyun were tangled up together was, well, a little different.
First of all, because they had two separate beds in the hotel room that they shared but had ended up piled together on one of them. Second of all, Kyuhyun had tucked his face nearly entirely into Zhou Mi's armpit, sheet and pillow creases on his cheek as he burrowed closer, one arm slung across Zhou Mi's middle.
Zhou Mi, for his part, was passed out with one arm splayed wide and the other one tucked under Kyuhyun, wrapped along his back and limp against his hip, right where the saggy sweatpants hugged the hipbone.
Sungmin stood at the foot of the bed and looked at them, shaking his head.
Their shirts were hitched half-up their stomachs, their hair a collective bird's nest, and their breathing synchronized.
"They're actually...really cute," Sungmin said sadly.
Siwon smiled, a soft look in his eyes. "They are cute, aren't they?"
"I think the word you're looking for is 'sickening'," Henry said from next to Sungmin, arms crossed.
Siwon grinned and grabbed Henry in a rough, affectionate headlock, ruffling his hair and ignoring his yelps of protest. "He pretends to hate it," Siwon told Sungmin, "but he was their staunchest supporter from the beginning. A great big sweetheart, our Henry."
"Stop saying horrible things about me," Henry protested, shoving at Siwon. Freeing himself, he ran a hand through his hair and made a face at Siwon, who just pinched his cheek.
"I kind of feel bad," said Sungmin, hefting the water bottle in his hand. Well. Almost, he amended.
"They slept in," said Henry. "They know the consequences."
Siwon tipped his head back as he emptied half his water bottle into his mouth. Waggling his eyebrows, he closed in on the bed. Sungmin and Henry followed suit, eyeing each other and their bulging cheeks with mischief.
Siwon lifted his fingers in signal: three...two...one...
As one, they sprayed water over the unsuspecting duo sleeping so peacefully past their alarm. And when they bolted up in bed, damp and awake - shrieking in Zhou Mi's case and bleary in Kyuhyun's case - the other three proceeded to empty the remainders of their water bottles with glee. Then they sat back and watched, cackling, as the two late sleepers nearly fell off the bed in their effort to disentangle themselves.
***
"I'm going to tell Heechul-hyung you said that," Sungmin laughed, one arm wrapped companionably around Hyukjae's waist and the other pushing open the door to their make-up room.
Hyukjae panicked, imagining Heechul's reaction. "Hyung, don't! We were just getting close, he doesn't need another chance to get mad at me!" They entered the room together, Hyukjae making pleading faces at Sungmin, and then they both stopped short.
In the middle of the room, Zhou Mi was sitting in a folding chair, his long legs encased in skintight black jeans bent at the knee. Straddling his thighs was Kyuhyun, in the stripped-down version of his performance outfit, with rolled-up sleeves and no jacket. He was holding still as Zhou Mi peered intently at his face, smudging black liner around his eyes with deliberate care. His mouth parted, drawing in a sharp breath as Zhou Mi's thumbnail edged a smidge too close to his eye.
"Sorry," murmured Zhou Mi. He licked his lips and moved his hand to the other eye, making another gentle swipe. "There, I think that's good."
Around them, the other members and the rest of the stylists and staff carried on, ignoring them.
Hyukjae and Sungmin exchanged uncertain looks.
"I guess this is normal," Sungmin said, doubtful.
Hyukjae watched Kyuhyun run light fingers over Zhou Mi's face, trailing over his forehead and eyebrows and cheeks before coming to a rest on his lips. They lingered. Hyukjae looked away hurriedly. "Yeah," he said to Sungmin, nonchalantly. "Something in the water."
***
Two months later, Siwon was on the phone with Hankyung. "Yeah, it's not the same without you, hyung. We all miss you. But we're doing okay. We're making do."
Hankyung asked, "How are Hyukjae and Sungmin? Have they finally settled in?"
Here Siwon laughed. "Well, the other day Kyuhyun was feeding Zhou Mi off his plate and Sungmin gagged and told them to stop being disgusting. And when they were making out in back of the van, Hyukjae just sighed and moved to the front. Progress, you think?"
"Sounds like they're settling in just fine." Hankyung chuckled. "Trial by fire. Withstanding the nauseating couple that is those two."
As Siwon settled against his headboard, leaning back into the pillows, a moan wafted up from the next room. A breathless Kuixian, oh. He rolled his eyes and banged a fist on the wall. "Keep it down!" he shouted. Thin hotel walls would be the death of them all.
Hankyung was laughing in his ear when he refocused. "Let me tell you some of the things I don't miss," he said and Siwon grinned.
As nauseating as they might be at times, though, they were good for each other. Kyuhyun and Zhou Mi were still gravitating towards each other, still smiling into each other's eyes, and still ridiculously head over heels stupid for each other as ever. It was kind of nice to see.
Thankfully, prolonged exposure led to the diminishing of side effects.
--
Started/Finished: 2011.03.22 | Notes I am shameless and I am pleased. Showering you all with the sparkly fabulousness of magical girl!Mimi.
WARNING: May Cause Nausea
Super Junior (M), Kyuhyun/Zhou Mi, bandfic, PG-13, 2805 words
Side effects of Kyuhyun and Zhou Mi include nausea, light-headedness, and eventual immunity following prolonged exposure. Hyukjae and Sungmin had no idea what they were getting into.
"Brace yourself, hyung," Henry told Sungmin before they went to China.
"What do you mean?"
Henry smiled, but it was grim. "You'll see."
Confused and not entirely comforted, Sungmin nodded. He didn't think the anti backlash would be quite that bad, but he appreciated the warning all the same.
Turned out, it was nothing like he'd expected.
***
"Um," said Hyukjae rather urgently. His gaze was frozen on the scene in front him, unable to tear himself away, as Donghae turned at the tug on his sleeve.
"What's up?" he asked.
"Is that- Do you see that?"
Donghae turned to look. The group was scattered in the tiny waiting room, backstage at another variety show. Siwon was draped over Sungmin's shoulders, talking earnestly to Ryeowook about the upcoming show and the kinds of things they'd be doing. Henry was listening in, standing still as one of the make-up girls patted his face with a powder puff and a stylist arranged and rearranged a lock of hair. Kyuhyun and Zhou Mi were on the other side of the room with their heads bent close, giggling and whispering.
"What am I looking at?" Donghae asked after a moment.
Hyukjae's grip on his sleeve tightened a little bit. "That," he said, and gestured frantically at the way Zhou Mi's cheek slid across Kyuhyun's as he murmured something into his ear. Kyuhyun's resulting laugh stirred the fine hairs around Zhou Mi's face, which Kyuhyun then smoothed down with gentle fingers.
Donghae looked blank. "Kyuhyun and Zhou Mi? Talking?"
"Do you see how close they're standing? They're practically breathing each other's air!" hissed Hyukjae. "Even we don't stand that close when we talk."
Donghae only sighed, a long-suffering exhale. He took Hyukjae's hand and steered him around, guiding him towards the table piled with water and snacks. Forcibly sitting his best friend down, he patted him on the shoulder and finally said, consolingly, "Oh Hyukkie. They're always like that. If you think that's close, you've barely seen them in action."
Hyukjae blinked up at him, wide-eyed.
"B-but," he protested, "they're not like this in Korea?"
"Something in the water," Donghae said wisely, nodding. He handed Hyukjae a bottle of water. "Stick to bottled."
Later, on stage, Kyuhyun leaned into Zhou Mi's shoulder heavily and tilted his head up to make an amused comment under his breath. Zhou Mi tipped his head down automatically and Hyukjae watched as Kyuhyun more or less mouthed the words against Zhou Mi's ear, warm and low. No one else seemed to notice.
Hyukjae shook his head and desperately searched with his eyes for his bottle of water, finding it sitting on the edge of the stage awaiting breaks in the filming. Water break, he signaled Siwon.
***
Sungmin lolled drowsily in his seat in the waiting area for their flight back to Seoul. They had managed to cram in an interview in the morning before being rushed to the airport, which had been its usual production of screaming crowds and hassled security guards. They had finally made it through to their gate, however, and the lack of sleep from the previous night combined with the packed schedule this morning was finally catching up with Sungmin.
He pulled up his jacket, slumping back against the seat and yawning. His eyelids drooped as his consciousness faded into that hazy pre-sleep state.
Beside him, Henry was playing games on his iPhone, thoughtfully muting the sound.
Suddenly, a sharp burst of laughter jerked Sungmin out of his fogginess and back into reality. He blinked, disoriented, and lifted his head.
A row over and two seats down, Kyuhyun was laughing like it hurt, head thrown back and mouth open. The face mask he'd been wearing earlier was tucked under his chin. Not the most attractive of faces, Sungmin mused, as Kyuhyun had to rescue to his hat from sliding off his head.
"Kyuhyun!" Zhou Mi cried, hitting him in the arm.
"And then the girl would say 'thank you, please come again', right?" Kyuhyun was still snickering. He wrapped a hand around Zhou Mi's upper arm and leaned in. "I never knew you were such a sex fiend."
"Why are you like this," Zhou Mi grumbled, but let Kyuhyun cling to his arm anyway. "That's not what I meant and you know it."
"Should I teach you more dirty words in Korean? Will they come in useful?"
Zhou Mi elbowed him, exasperated, but Kyuhyun's grin didn't dim. Instead, he squirmed a little closer, resting his chin on Zhou Mi's shoulder to beam up at him, obnoxious. Sungmin watched him and felt like perhaps the fog had not cleared out of his head entirely.
"Kyuhyun is..." he said slowly.
"Yep," said Henry, without looking up. "Stuck to him like they've been glued together."
"He's never been against skinship," Sungmin said, still staring. "But not to the point where it's...like this..."
"Like white on rice," Henry muttered in English.
Sungmin's head swiveled to look at him. "What?"
"Nothing."
"Heechul-hyung already taught me that one. You're too late," Zhou Mi scoffed, setting off another fit of laughter.
Henry resumed playing Angry Birds as Sungmin digested this new side to Kyuhyun - and to Zhou Mi, who had always been nothing but sweetness and light to Sungmin. Earnest and helpful and respectful, eloquent and generous with his affections - this was the Zhou Mi that Sungmin knew. Not this guy ribbing Kyuhyun with dirty jokes, all those long limbs crammed into a tiny plastic seat with some sort of Kyuhyun-shaped foreign growth attached to his arm. Sungmin shook his head, trying to rearrange his worldview.
"Told you, hyung," Henry said. "And it only gets worse."
***
"We have the afternoon off, we should do something!" Zhou Mi exclaimed, flopping onto the couch and putting his head in Sungmin's lap. Sungmin smiled down at him and pet his hair, moving his other hand, which was holding his PSP, to the side so he could continue watching his show. Zhou Mi rolled his head back to peer earnestly at Sungmin.
"What do you want to do?" Ryeowook asked. He had been looking up recipes on his computer, with Henry leaning over his shoulder and helpfully putting in orders for food he wanted.
"Let's go out!" said Zhou Mi.
Hyukjae, who was a little bored flipping through channel after channel of shows he didn't understand and watching Donghae surf the net, thought going out would be fun. "Where?"
"Where do you want to go, hyung? Last time we were here, Hankyung-hyung took us to a local restaurant - that was pretty fun."
Sungmin and Hyukjae exchanged glances, as they were the only ones who hadn't been here before. Ryeowook seemed to be awaiting their answer as they came to a silent consensus. Hyukjae said, "Yeah, food is always good. It'd be cool to get out and see the city a little bit." Better than being cooped up all day, Donghae distracted and Siwon away on another solo schedule.
Zhou Mi's lower lip slid out a tiny bit.
"But I thought you were going to cook," said Henry plaintively.
Ryeowook looked torn.
"I want to stay in," Donghae said, eyes still on his computer where he was, as far as Hyukjae could tell, reading up spoilers on the latest drama he was following. Were they really that fascinating?
"I wouldn't mind staying in." Sungmin shrugged. "It'd be nice to relax and not do anything, too."
At last, Zhou Mi couldn't seem to contain himself anymore. "I want to go shopping," he burst out. His eyes looked a little fever-bright, Hyukjae thought, as Zhou Mi launched himself off Sungmin's lap and into a sitting position. He was practically vibrating with energy. "We've been so busy and I haven't gone shopping in forever and the malls here are so good-"
He paused and looked around hopefully. "Does anyone want to come with me?"
There was a moment of silence. Then Hyukjae said, because surely even shopping with clothesmonger fashionista Zhou Mi would be preferable to sitting around watching other people use the internet, "Sure, I could-"
Zhou Mi beamed at him before he could even finish his sentence, then turned to the person who'd been sitting quietly in a corner, earphones plugged in, attacking his keyboard with intent. Hyukjae had practically forgotten he was there. "Kyuhyun?"
Like their resident gamer would ever be corralled into shopping over attacking and destroying whatever enemies were currently in his way. Hell, he could barely be corralled into dinner over his gaming.
As Hyukjae expected, Kyuhyun carried on gaming as if he hadn't heard.
Of course, this made Zhou Mi bounce out of his seat and cross the room to Kyuhyun's side. He touched Kyuhyun lightly on the shoulder, with far more delicacy than Hyukjae had expected, considering his visible enthusiasm at the idea of shopping. Then again, it was always wise to treat Kyuhyun delicately when he was so caught up in gaming.
Somewhat to Hyukjae's disbelief, Kyuhyun actually paused his game to look up. His expression was dark. "What?"
Zhou Mi tugged an earphone out. "Hyukjae and I are going shopping. Do you want to come?"
Kyuhyun narrowed his eyes.
The first surprise was the lack of immediate, forceful rejection.
"How long has it been since you've gone shopping?"
Zhou Mi bit his lip, thinking. "Um, about two months?"
Kyuhyun looked pained. "You're going to buy everything, aren't you?"
Zhou Mi just grinned, not even pretending otherwise.
"Three hours max," Kyuhyun said flatly, "and that's being generous. Are you going to bring your camera?"
"Of course!"
Kyuhyun snorted. He shrugged Zhou Mi's hand off his shoulder and replaced the earphone, adding, "And we leave only after I finish this mission." Zhou Mi opened his mouth but Kyuhyun beat him to it, eyes already back on the screen. "About fifteen minutes. Go put on your shopping clothes or something."
The second, third, and fourth surprises were Kyuhyun knowing Zhou Mi's shopping habits, his agreement to go out, and - if Hyukjae was interpreting this conversation correctly - his implicit acquiescence to playing fashion photographer. Hyukjae's mouth fell open.
It remained open as Zhou Mi bounded out of the living area to his room to change. Hyukjae sputtered, "Did Kyuhyun just agree to put off his game in order to go shopping?"
Kyuhyun, who was lost again in his game, didn't hear him. Ryeowook, though, smiled at him. "Yeah. Isn't it sweet? He knows Zhou Mi likes company."
"He does it all the time," Henry said with disgust.
Hyukjae's brain threatened to explode.
"He even lets Zhou Mi buy him things sometimes," Ryeowook added enthusiastically. "Zhou Mi-hyung has a really good eye for what looks good on him."
So that was why his wardrobe had seen marked improvement lately. Hyukjae continued to gape.
Beside him, Donghae said absently, still immersed in the drama forums, "Close your mouth, Hyukkie. You'll catch flies."
***
To say that none of the members had ever slept together would be a filthy, filthy lie. They had all collapsed on or around each other too many times to count before, a perfectly innocent pile of limbs as their exhaustion took over in the van, in a waiting room, or back in the dorm. Sungmin himself had probably napped on all of the members at one point or other, or had been napped on in return, someone's gelled hair tickling his cheek as they crashed on his shoulder.
But the way Zhou Mi and Kyuhyun were tangled up together was, well, a little different.
First of all, because they had two separate beds in the hotel room that they shared but had ended up piled together on one of them. Second of all, Kyuhyun had tucked his face nearly entirely into Zhou Mi's armpit, sheet and pillow creases on his cheek as he burrowed closer, one arm slung across Zhou Mi's middle.
Zhou Mi, for his part, was passed out with one arm splayed wide and the other one tucked under Kyuhyun, wrapped along his back and limp against his hip, right where the saggy sweatpants hugged the hipbone.
Sungmin stood at the foot of the bed and looked at them, shaking his head.
Their shirts were hitched half-up their stomachs, their hair a collective bird's nest, and their breathing synchronized.
"They're actually...really cute," Sungmin said sadly.
Siwon smiled, a soft look in his eyes. "They are cute, aren't they?"
"I think the word you're looking for is 'sickening'," Henry said from next to Sungmin, arms crossed.
Siwon grinned and grabbed Henry in a rough, affectionate headlock, ruffling his hair and ignoring his yelps of protest. "He pretends to hate it," Siwon told Sungmin, "but he was their staunchest supporter from the beginning. A great big sweetheart, our Henry."
"Stop saying horrible things about me," Henry protested, shoving at Siwon. Freeing himself, he ran a hand through his hair and made a face at Siwon, who just pinched his cheek.
"I kind of feel bad," said Sungmin, hefting the water bottle in his hand. Well. Almost, he amended.
"They slept in," said Henry. "They know the consequences."
Siwon tipped his head back as he emptied half his water bottle into his mouth. Waggling his eyebrows, he closed in on the bed. Sungmin and Henry followed suit, eyeing each other and their bulging cheeks with mischief.
Siwon lifted his fingers in signal: three...two...one...
As one, they sprayed water over the unsuspecting duo sleeping so peacefully past their alarm. And when they bolted up in bed, damp and awake - shrieking in Zhou Mi's case and bleary in Kyuhyun's case - the other three proceeded to empty the remainders of their water bottles with glee. Then they sat back and watched, cackling, as the two late sleepers nearly fell off the bed in their effort to disentangle themselves.
***
"I'm going to tell Heechul-hyung you said that," Sungmin laughed, one arm wrapped companionably around Hyukjae's waist and the other pushing open the door to their make-up room.
Hyukjae panicked, imagining Heechul's reaction. "Hyung, don't! We were just getting close, he doesn't need another chance to get mad at me!" They entered the room together, Hyukjae making pleading faces at Sungmin, and then they both stopped short.
In the middle of the room, Zhou Mi was sitting in a folding chair, his long legs encased in skintight black jeans bent at the knee. Straddling his thighs was Kyuhyun, in the stripped-down version of his performance outfit, with rolled-up sleeves and no jacket. He was holding still as Zhou Mi peered intently at his face, smudging black liner around his eyes with deliberate care. His mouth parted, drawing in a sharp breath as Zhou Mi's thumbnail edged a smidge too close to his eye.
"Sorry," murmured Zhou Mi. He licked his lips and moved his hand to the other eye, making another gentle swipe. "There, I think that's good."
Around them, the other members and the rest of the stylists and staff carried on, ignoring them.
Hyukjae and Sungmin exchanged uncertain looks.
"I guess this is normal," Sungmin said, doubtful.
Hyukjae watched Kyuhyun run light fingers over Zhou Mi's face, trailing over his forehead and eyebrows and cheeks before coming to a rest on his lips. They lingered. Hyukjae looked away hurriedly. "Yeah," he said to Sungmin, nonchalantly. "Something in the water."
***
Two months later, Siwon was on the phone with Hankyung. "Yeah, it's not the same without you, hyung. We all miss you. But we're doing okay. We're making do."
Hankyung asked, "How are Hyukjae and Sungmin? Have they finally settled in?"
Here Siwon laughed. "Well, the other day Kyuhyun was feeding Zhou Mi off his plate and Sungmin gagged and told them to stop being disgusting. And when they were making out in back of the van, Hyukjae just sighed and moved to the front. Progress, you think?"
"Sounds like they're settling in just fine." Hankyung chuckled. "Trial by fire. Withstanding the nauseating couple that is those two."
As Siwon settled against his headboard, leaning back into the pillows, a moan wafted up from the next room. A breathless Kuixian, oh. He rolled his eyes and banged a fist on the wall. "Keep it down!" he shouted. Thin hotel walls would be the death of them all.
Hankyung was laughing in his ear when he refocused. "Let me tell you some of the things I don't miss," he said and Siwon grinned.
As nauseating as they might be at times, though, they were good for each other. Kyuhyun and Zhou Mi were still gravitating towards each other, still smiling into each other's eyes, and still ridiculously head over heels stupid for each other as ever. It was kind of nice to see.
Thankfully, prolonged exposure led to the diminishing of side effects.
--
Started/Finished: 2011.03.22 | Notes I am shameless and I am pleased. Showering you all with the sparkly fabulousness of magical girl!Mimi.
