Turnabout
Title: Turnabout
Pairing: Luhan/Sehun
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 3600 words
Summary: Brash quasi-villain SEHUN comes back at unspeakable hours and frequently disturbs the sleep of disgruntled quasi-hero LUHAN.
Notes: Originally posted as part of the Winter 2015 round of Selubration.
INT. DORM - SOME UNSPEAKABLE HOUR (2:54 AM)
The room is dark. Hero LUHAN is sleeping like a SENSIBLE PERSON. Heavy footfalls echo in the background, accompanied by ominous music. Cue villain SEHUN.
SEHUN is HOT, but this is why LUHAN is very special. He will not succumb to false temptations. He is IRON STRONG.
THE DOOR
Squeaking.
SEHUN
Walking in like it isn’t ass-o’clock.
LUHAN
Groaning.
SEHUN
Being a general asshole.
LUHAN
More groaning.
SEHUN
More being a general asshole.
“I have an issue,” Luhan says loudly at lunch one day.
Jongdae snorts. “Shocker,” he replies, a grin tilting on the edges of his perpetually upturned lips. A carefully aimed spork, Luhan’s spork, flies at his face.
Tao, on the other hand, just nods sagely. The hope for helpful advice blossoms in his chest until- “Is this about that bad dye job? Because I know a guy who can fix that for you for a very reasonable price.”
Luhan’s hands automatically fly up to his hair. “Hey! It’s not a bad dye job!”
“Sure, but it’s kind of bright, no?” Jongdae interjects. He’s taken the spork and is now bending it into a triangle. “Like, less blond and more yellow-”
Luhan clears his throat. “Moving on, then!” And he most certainly does not make a calendar reminder on his phone for a new hairdresser’s appointment. Most certainly not.
Tao does his I am fifty years old and I am very smart nod again. “Yes. Your issue,” he says.
And so Luhan explains.
Luhan explains the situation carefully, voice low and solemnly somber, and places special emphasis on the vivid purple discolouration under the sockets of his eyes. Jongdae tilts his head at that and remarks that he thought Luhan was trying out a new "it's-not-a-phase!" makeup style. Luhan slaps his triangle spork in between Jongdae's fingers.
Tao, who has looked on at the exchange in thorough amusement, only has one choice word. “So?”
“So?” Luhan repeats, and thrusts his hand out. He watches sort of horrified amusement as it trembles against the table, a byproduct of interrupted nights and high doses of caffeine. “So I haven’t slept at all. For days. Look! I’m actually buzzing. I don’t know whether I’m ready to cry or run a marathon.”
Tao claps his hands enthusiastically. “Run a marathon! It’s great for your health and mental focus!”
Really, Luhan can’t help it if he makes a (ఠ_ఠ) sort of face because this has quite possibly been The Most Horrible Group Meeting in the history of Horrible Group Meetings. A vein twitches irritably near his eyebrow.
“Zitao, I don’t think that it was a serious question,” Jongdae gently suggests.
“Oh.”
Luhan sighs.
“I think,” Tao starts, placing a comforting palm on top of Luhan’s quivering fingers, “that I can’t help you very much there.”
INT DORM - SUPER SUPER SUPER LATE (2:50 AM)
Hero LUHAN is tucked away underneath his TOTALLY NOT PORORO COVERS (totally not). Thunder cracks in the background to announce the arrival of villain SEHUN.
LUHAN
(OPENING AN EYE) Ah.
SEHUN does not respond because he is a SUPER EVIL villain.
LUHAN
(GROANING) Ah.
Luhan wakes up to Sehun shuffling around their room in just his boxers and thick gray socks. One glance at the clock confirms that he’s only gotten about four hours of sleep and right about now, with the early morning sun hitting his face, all Luhan wants to do is become one with his pillow again.
“Good morning,” Sehun says. “You’re up. I’m so sorry. Did I wake you?”
Luhan wants to laugh at the irony because there’s no way that Sehun doesn’t know how many times he’s woken Luhan up in the short time they’ve been roommates. “Yes,” he says instead, words slurred through sleep.
Sehun blinks. Luhan refuses to think about how long his lashes are. “Oh. I’m sorry.”
“Mmm.” Luhan looks up and sees that Sehun is still only in his boxers and thick gray socks. “Will you at least put on a shirt?”
“Oh,” Sehun says, his eyes widening, “Right, sorry!”
And then he turns around to pick up a shirt from the floor and Luhan most definitely does not look at his butt.
(But it’s sort of nice?!)
INT DORMS - DAY (3:21 PM)
Hero LUHAN is in his room by himself studying like the VERY GREAT STUDENT he is. He seems bothered by something. We are giving gratuitous scenes of villain SEHUN BENDING OVER in only his boxers to pick up his shirt.
LUHAN
I am not thinking about this. Not now.
LUHAN looks back at his notes.
LUHAN
I am only thinking about Physics. Nothing else.
Another gratuitous scene of SEHUN BENDING OVER in only his boxers to pick up his shirt plays.
LUHAN
This must be part of his EVIL PLAN. (SCOFFS.) Well, it’s not working. The only reason I’m thinking about him is because he keeps me from sleeping.
LUHAN doodles idly in his notebook. It is nothing significant or helpful to his studying. It is a TIME WASTER.
LUHAN
Yes. The biggest issue here is not SEHUN’s butt, but rather SEHUN’s constant disturbing of my sleep. That’s the issue.
LUHAN
I think I’m going to visit JONGDAE to fix this.
LUHAN
The sleeping issue.
“Jongdae, I really need your help and- Oh. You’re not Jongdae.”
Someone he doesn’t recognize is standing in the doorway, wearing a starched white button-down that looks very Prim and Proper. Luhan is unsure as to whether he’s at the right place until Jongdae’s familiar bedhead pops over the shoulder of Random Prim and Proper Dude, smiling wickedly. There’s a purple bruise blossoming in the junction where his neck meets his shoulder that Luhan most certainly does not want to know about.
“Luhan hyung! Good morning!” he says. “This is Junmyeonnie.”
Luhan tries not to wince at the overly saccharine tone Jongdae’s voice takes on. “Hello,” he says instead. “I hope I’m not intruding or anything.”
Junmyeon shakes his head and smiles. Luhan remembers him vaguely from freshman Biology: the one with the too white teeth and too many correct answers. “I was just headed out,” he replies.
Jongdae pouts. “Aw,” he says, and he looks just like (｡•́‸•̀｡) . Just as Junmyeon is halfway out the door, however, Jongdae's hand snaps out to pull forcefully on his wrist. Junmyeon looks just the slightest bit startled when Jongdae says, “But you’re here for advice, right Luhannie? And Junmyeon is really great at giving advice.”
And so the three of them sit around the coffee table, Jongdae’s expression now akin to something more similar to (´꒳`) because Junmyeon is pressed closely against his side. Maybe too closely, but Luhan’s not going to judge.
Junmyeon is a good listener. He makes all the appropriate little ah’s and hmm’s during intervals in Luhan’s speech. His face is unlined and open and very kind, and Junmyeon has all the qualities of being a Very Great Advice Giver until he actually gives advice.
“May I recommend,” Junmyeon says, and pauses for dramatic effect, “earplugs?”
Jongdae sighs and slumps against Junmyeon in exasperation. Luhan thinks that it's just an excuse to move closer to him. “We’re not that stupid, hyung. Luhan’s sleep has a temperament even the thickest earplugs couldn’t help. His room back home is soundproofed. It’s hilarious.”
Luhan frowns. “Is not.”
“Ah,” Junmyeon replies softly, then, “You should talk to him about it.”
Nothing life changing. Nothing ground breaking. Junmyeon has the type of face that would make you think he’d be able to solve world hunger, but it turns out he’s just another one of those people who think that talking solves everything.
As if.
INT. DORM - A TIME FOR NO LIVING SOUL (1:22 AM)
Hero LUHAN sits in his room, dramatically backlit by the Seoul skyline. A bright red clock to his right ticks down the minutes. He is waiting for something, or someone. The door opens and villain SEHUN enters.
LUHAN
Hey, Sehun!
SEHUN looks up from where he’s removing his shoes by the door. It’s a TOTALLY EVIL ACT.
SEHUN
Yes?
LUHAN pauses for a moment before continuing on like the BRAVE HERO he is. He has taken side character JUNMYEON’s advice; not that it’s going to actually work or anything. He’s totally not using his LAST RESORT.
LUHAN
I was wondering if you could come back earlier or something? It’s just that I wake up really easily to little noises and it’s kind of hard for me to sleep sometimes-
SEHUN
(BEING A TYPICAL MEAN VILLAIN) No.
DIRECTOR’S NOTES
(That’s not actually how it goes. The real thing goes something a little like this: Luhan asks Sehun why he stays out so late and Sehun says that he helps his classmate Jongin with the dance team’s choreography after night classes.
Luhan doesn’t like this answer, though, because it makes Sehun seem like an actual person and not just a (・-・) emoticon. The problem still hasn’t been solved; ergo, Sehun is still the villain, so he sticks with his version.)
Luhan doesn’t quite understand how it happens.
One moment he’s on his bed, chewing on the end of his pencil whilst flipping idly through his Physics notes, and the next the door is being thrown open and he has a lap full of very soft, very pliant Sehun. Luhan glances at the clock, startled, and notices with alarm that it only reads 9:45 PM.
“Sehun?” he asks. Sehun rolls less than an inch and presses his face into Luhan’s thigh. Curious, Luhan leans in and takes a sniff, but there is no lingering odour of alcohol. Just a miasma of fatigue that Luhan is all too familiar with.
“Mmph,” he replies.
Luhan raises a brow and tries again. “Um, is there any particular reason for this?”
Sehun sniffles and- gosh, no, it’s totally not cute at all - and mumbles something close to, “Dance practice was cancelled.”
“Ah,” Luhan says. “And you’re on my lap because?”
There isn’t an immediate response, and Luhan looks down to see Sehun staring back up at him, eyes warm and hazy with a veil of sleep. Luhan realizes, with startling clarity, that in the six months that him and Sehun have been roommates, this is the closest they’ve ever been.
“Tired,” he mutters, burrowing into Luhan’s sweater. Luhan’s subconscious screams at him because this is fraternizing with the enemy that leaves dark circles under your eyes. “Don’t wanna sleep alone.”
Luhan’s heart does not shiver a little. Absolutely not.
INT. DORM - DAY (8:25 AM)
Hero LUHAN wakes up to villain SEHUN standing awkwardly over his bed. This is it. The final confrontation! This is-
SEHUN
Erm.
LUHAN
(HALF ASLEEP) Mmhmm.
SEHUN seems nervous. He fidgets for a moment.
SEHUN
Um. So. I’m sorry about last night?
LUHAN is not fully awake yet.
LUHAN
Mmhmm.
SEHUN
Apparently Jongin says I’m a sleep cuddler, which actually is like, a thing? (LAUGHS NERVOUSLY.) So, I hope it wasn’t weird or anything?
LUHAN
Mmhmm.
SEHUN
Oh. Okay. Um. I guess we’re cool, then?
LUHAN
Mmhmm.
Apparently Sehun thinks that Luhan’s (half conscious) pass to the awkward incident somehow makes them, like, friends or something, which is totally not cool.
There are a lot of things that aren’t cool. Argyle socks aren’t. The ascot that Jongdae’s new “friend” Junmyeon occasionally wears isn’t. His mom saying things like “how rad!” isn’t. Sehun sitting with him at lunch is also not cool.
“Hello!” he says loudly, setting down his salad and orange juice like there isn’t anything wrong.
Tao looks up and glances from Sehun to Luhan not-so-covertly. Tao is not very well versed in the fine art of subtlety. “Um, hi?” he replies after taking a sip of water.
Jongdae says nothing but there’s an odd glint to his eyes when he stuffs a grape into Junmyeon’s mouth. He does it a bit harshly and then Junmyeon’s choking on the grape and Jongdae is thumping at his back with way more force than necessary and oh my god can it get any more embarrassing-
“I’m Jongdae,” Jongdae introduces after the piece of grape dislodges itself from Junmyeon’s throat. “And this is Junmyeon.”
“I’m Luhan’s roommate,” Sehun says, sliding into the seat between Tao and Luhan like he belongs there. Which he doesn’t. “Sehun.”
Junmyeon nods. “Yes, I’ve heard.”
And if Sehun notices the heavy awkwardness, he doesn’t acknowledge it. He jokes happily, loudly, and it’s such a stark difference from the thin pressed lips Luhan is used to seeing for two seconds at 2:30 in the morning when he stumbles back into their room.
Luhan doesn't like it. Luhan doesn't like it one bit.
INT. CAFETERIA - DAY (1:23 PM)
Hero LUHAN is sitting with his friends, JONGDAE, TAO, and newcomer JUNMYEON. Villain SEHUN is disappearing into the distance after interrupting lunch.
TAO
(NODDING.) I like him.
TAO becomes TAO THE TRAITOR.
JONGDAE
He’s hot.
JONGDAE becomes JONGDAE THE TRAITOR.
JUNMYEON looks vaguely offended at JONGDAE THE TRAITOR’s last comment. JUNMYEON becomes JUNMYEON THE GREAT.
JUNMYEON THE GREAT
He seems very nice.
JUNMYEON THE GREAT becomes JUNMYEON THE TRAITOR.
It’s around seven in the evening when Luhan’s phone buzzes with a text.
unknown
hey!!
Luhan frowns and quickly types a message back.
luhan
who is this?
The response is almost immediate.
unknown
it’s sehun!! jongdae gave me ur number.
i hope u don’t mind!
Of course. Fuck Jongdae.
Then, less than a minute later:
unknown
lol i just realized isn’t it weird that we’re roommates
but we don’t even have each other’s numbers??
It was very much intentional.
unknown
anyway me and a few friends were going out for dinner.
jongdae’s coming but his phone died so he asked me to ask u!!!
Luhan very highly doubts Jongdae’s phone is actually dead. He carries a charger around with him religiously. He is the recharging wizard.
unknown
of course, we’re going to pay!! r u coming??
And Luhan is stuck in a very, very difficult place. Free food! his stomach screams. Villain Sehun! his mind reminds him. But free! his crying wallet reminds him.
Luhan sighs.
luhan
sure. where should i meet u guys??
Maybe his subconscious also whispers something about Sehun and seeing him again in the black skinny jeans he left in this morning, but he smothers that.
INT. RESTAURANT - NIGHT (7:32 PM)
Hero LUHAN is sitting in a relatively average restaurant. To his left sits villain SEHUN. To his right sits JONGDAE. Across from SEHUN is random tall person JONGIN and random small person KYUNGSOO.
LUHAN may have looked at SEHUN’s butt from time to time while they were waiting for a table, but that’s extraneous.
SEHUN
(LOOKING AT LUHAN.) How’re your classes?
LUHAN
Alright so far. I’ve been getting really busy recently. (SHRUGS.)
JONGDAE looks at LUHAN expectantly, and then lets out a very loud breath.
JONGDAE
(ELBOWING LUHAN.) And how about you, Sehun?
SEHUN
Oh, they’ve been alright. Mostly it’s just the late night dance practices. We’re up at all sorts of odd hours.
JONGDAE nearly snorts water out of his nose, which is SO VERY UNNATRACTIVE.
JONGDAE
Wow, really?
Sehun, Luhan finds out very quickly, texts like a five year old.
It’s rather cute, a small part of him admits. He has a fondness for using random Japanese emojis and is very prone to using (ﾉ^ヮ^)ﾉ*:・ﾟ✧ if he’s in a particularly good mood.
sehunnie!
got a 92 on the calc test (ﾉ^ヮ^)ﾉ*:・ﾟ✧
sehunnie!
today is pizza tuesday (ﾉ^ヮ^)ﾉ*:・ﾟ✧
sehunnie!
it’s friday (ﾉ^ヮ^)ﾉ*:・ﾟ✧
(He also sometimes writes something that seems like “yehet”, but Luhan is, like, ninety nine percent sure he’s just reading it wrong. He’ll have to ask Jongdae later about this strange Korean slang.)
Sehun talks to him more often now, too, and occasionally, on the spare free weekend, they sit down for a movie or two. Every Thursday they go to the convenience store to stock up on groceries (it’s a joint effort, Sehun had said, which is pretty much code for hyung will pay now!). Luhan adds a new contact to his phone. Jongdae is obnoxious and adds a heart emoji. Luhan deletes it.
Sehun still comes home late.
But some time in between weary nights and early mornings, Luhan finds himself looking forward to being woken up in the middle of the night if only to see Sehun’s messy blond hair in the dim hallway lights that leak from the open doorway. He doesn’t say this aloud, doesn’t even say this to himself, but sometimes Sehun actually mistakens Luhan’s bed for his own and Luhan never bothers to correct him. Not anymore.
Luhan learns a lot of things.
Some time in between Jongdae’s obnoxious handholding with the ever-present Junmyeon and Tao’s constant attempts of getting him to dye his hair another color, Sehun becomes a permanent fixture at their lunch table. Sehun likes orange juice over apple juice and never eats more than seven hundred calories for lunch or else he feels nauseous in practice.
Sehun likes wearing skinny jeans over sweatpants and never leaves the dorm without a spare pair of socks. Sehun is an avid believer in big dinners and seldom eats breakfast because he has an early Calculus class in the morning and he claims that Calculus is more than filling for a whole day.
Sehun has an odd adoration for Rilakkuma plushies and favors the color pink. He’s not a particularly picky eater, except for when it comes to when a recital is nearing, and then he goes on a largely carb-free diet with way too much protein. Sehun doesn’t bite the ends of his pencils or his nails but he does pick at loose threads.
Two months pass and Luhan realizes that somewhere along the way, he’s learned a lot about Sehun. Too much. And maybe, he maybe sort of a little bit likes-
Fuck.
INT. DORM - DAY (1:25 PM)
Hero LUHAN is crouched on the floor with his head between his hands. He is having an EXISTENTIAL CRISIS about villain SEHUN ft. Sehun’s butt. Super important person JONGDAE - stop changing the scripts, Jongdae - enters.
JONGDAE
So. Junmyeonnie and Tao asked me to check if you were okay.
LUHAN does not respond. He is despondent. He is no longer sentient. He is like a tree. He is a tree.
JONGDAE
So what do I tell them?
LUHAN THE TREE does not respond. Trees cannot respond.
JONGDAE
I’ll tell them you’re okay.
It’s three weeks until the end of the school year when Luhan decides to toss caution to the wind. He’ll be graduating his junior year of college soon and next year, as a senior, Luhan is one thousand percent sure he’ll be living off campus (alone), so if there’s ever a time to act, it’s now.
This time, when Sehun comes back at the ass crack of dawn, Luhan is sitting upright in his bed and waiting for him.
Sehun blinks sleepily, the door still open. The yellow light that spills into the room haloes his figure in an ethereal glow that only makes his platinum hair seem that much more soft.
“Oh,” Sehun says, which Luhan has learned is his default expression when he’s slightly confused, maybe pleasantly. “You’re up. It’s kind of late, though?”
He doesn’t get a direct answer.
“Y’know,” Luhan starts, and there’s blood pounding so loudly in his ears he can hardly hear himself speak. Is he whispering? “That for the past year, I haven’t gotten more than five or so hours of sleep in this room?”
Sehun blinks. There’s a fog covering his eyes. “I’m sorry?”
Luhan gets up from where he’s sitting on the bed, knees wobbling from disuse and certainly not nerves.
“I haven’t slept properly for the longest time. Because of you.”
There’s that blinking again. “I’m sorry?” It comes quiet, but not because of fatigue. Sehun’s eyes are shining now, hyperaware of every moment. His hands, with nothing else to do, are idly fussing with the hem of his sweat-stained grey shirt.
“You come back at late hours,” Luhan continues, now less than a foot away, “and you’re always so obnoxiously loud and sometimes all I want to do is sleep.”
“I’m sorry?”
Luhan laughs. “Can you say anything else?”
“Oh, I- I’m sorry. I mean- um? I’m sorry?”
And maybe it’s just the softness of the moon outside, hung like a lantern across Seoul’s too bright nighttime sky, but there’s a certain softness to the sharp planes Sehun’s face. Feather light and hesitant. Something in Luhan’s chest cavity stutters.
Then Luhan smiles. “Don’t be.”
Luhan isn’t sure who moves first, but then Sehun’s arms are on his waist and his lips are sliding, slanting, just the slightest bit shy, against Luhan’s.
The inside of Sehun’s mouth, Luhan discovers, is warm and wet and all too inviting. Sehun’s hair isn’t nearly as soft as it had looked under the filtered hallway lights; it’s dry and just the slightest bit textured, but it makes for a good place for Luhan’s fingers to thread when his knees feel about to buckle. His shirt, Sehun’s shirt, is the slightest bit damp, probably from dance practice, and slides beautifully up his chest under Luhan’s touch.
“I think,” Sehun whispers, grin salacious, “that you won’t be sleeping much tonight either.”
MONTAGE - A LITTLE WAYS DOWN THE ROAD
INT. LABROOM - DAY
SEHUN and LUHAN are making out against the desk.
INT. LIBRARY - DAY
SEHUN and LUHAN are making out against the bookshelves.
EXT. DINING HALL - DAY
SEHUN and LUHAN are making out against the wall.
INT. DORM - NIGHT
SEHUN and LUHAN are DOING THINGS that will not be explicitly described.