In the Meantime, Part 8 (Drabble)
Pairing: college roommates!JongKey
Rating: PG-13
Genre: part humour, part angst, some fluff
Summary: Jonghyun was all too aware of the mess of emotions that awaited him back home.
A/N: Inspired by Key’s familial situation, although I did purposefully change some things for this fic (gifset, vid). I couldn’t find these references so I asked for help on tumblr, and these three lovely people linked me up: mina-tenshi, dinopuppysaur and mindblowinglyawesome. Thank you so very much <3
Warning - this one’s a little sadder, guys. I’m not too sure about how it turned out, too :/. Also, as a commentary to recent twitter-related events, I want to say that Jonghyun is an amazing human being <3 my sunshine in a bottle.
(Last thing, would anyone be interested in more from this verse even if it’s similar in tone to this installment? I have an idea, but as usual I don’t want to promise anything. Just asking ^^)
( 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
____________________
"You look tired," is how Minho greeted them as they stepped into the small restaurant.
"We were up late," Jonghyun replied, and Minho arched an eyebrow. “Yes, in that way,” he added then, with such unashamed straight-forwardness that it had Onew snorting into his drink. The elder looked up at Kibum with wide eyes, as if awaiting an explanation or some sort of emotional comfort. Meanwhile, to Taemin's credit, the kid didn't even flinch.
Kibum merely shrugged, sharing a brief look with Jonghyun as they sat opposite each other. "He isn't lying."
"You guys are gross," Minho announced, to one in particular.
"Yeah, whatever," Jonghyun dismissed him, "closet-case. Anyway, what are you guys doing for Christmas?"
"I'm not gay!" Minho spoke, rather loudly. The waitress happened to be serving the table right next to theirs and turned around to ogle him blatantly; Jonghyun couldn't help the laughter that bubbled out of his mouth.
“I swear, you’re the reason I’m still single,” Minho grumbled dejectedly before taking a sip from his tall glass and hunching as if he was trying to hide behind it.
“I don’t have anything planned, actually,” Onew offered.
“What about your girlfriend?” Kibum asked. “Shouldn’t you be spending time with her?”
“She’s busy,” was Onew’s simple reply that had Jonghyun wondering yet again what this hypothetical woman could possibly be doing to be busy all the time.
“Of course,” Jonghyun went on. “And you, Taem?”
“I’ll be staying with my family over the break.”
“Oh, okay,” Jonghyun nodded to himself, “well then the four of us can meet up or something. What do you guys feel like doing?”
"Actually, Jjong," Kibum spoke up in a solemn voice, all eyes turning to him, "I’ll be going back to Daegu for a few days."
To everybody else, it may have seemed like Kibum was simply informing Jonghyun, but Jonghyun knew there was more to it. It wasn't the first time Kibum would be going back to his hometown for a while, and it wasn't the first time Jonghyun would have to deal with him when he returned. Kibum knew this, Jonghyun knew this, and they needed to talk about it more but now was not the right time or place.
Instead of the hefty sigh Jonghyun wanted to let out, he kept quiet and nodded thoughtfully. They still had plenty of time to talk it out later. He shared a long look with Kibum, worry bubbling up from the pit of his stomach. Despite it, he granted Kibum a small smile and was glad to see Kibum do the same, although slightly unsure. He reached under the table to catch Kibum’s leg between his feet, and Kibum’s smile became a little more sincere after that.
However, their little game of footsie was interrupted when the waitress came to take their orders, staring surreptitiously at Minho from the corner of her eye and earning Jonghyun a hard kick to his calf, courtesy of Minho.
***
They parted ways after lunch, Onew and Minho going off to rent Christmas-themed horror movies as well as a few video games. Kibum shook his head at them, falling into step beside Jonghyun as they headed back towards the dorm.
“You guys are so lame,” Kibum told him, although his tone was more amused than reproving.
“What else are we supposed to do?” Jonghyun asked, playing along. The real question was ‘what else am I supposed to do without you here’ but Jonghyun thought against it, if only because Kibum would have called him even lamer. Yet it was the truth; Jonghyun was so used to having Kibum fall asleep or crawl into bed next to him that the thought of an empty bed perplexed him.
“You’re supposed to have a nice dinner, invite Onew’s girlfriend. And I should be there, too,” Kibum said wistfully.
“One, she might not even exist,” Jonghyun countered. “And two, when else are we supposed to catch up on all the horror movies we missed because you didn’t want to watch them?” he finished, tongue-in-cheek.
Kibum promptly shoved him off the sidewalk, but caught his arm before he could stumble too far. He then laced their cold fingers together and stuffed their hands into his coat’s pocket, and Jonghyun knew it was a wordless apology.
The dorm was always a bit quieter whenever the students were granted a short break. The lobby and the hallway were empty as they trekked back to their room. Once inside, Kibum immediately went to fold the clean laundry they had left unfinished the night before when they had been distracted by other things. Jonghyun knew he didn’t want to talk about it and he couldn’t blame him, but he needed to know.
“Is it your mom? Is she okay?” Jonghyun was well aware of her precarious health, it being the reason Kibum had moved to Seoul in his teens to live with his aunt.
Kibum stilled halfway through straightening one of Jonghyun’s t-shirts, looking down at the bed cover. Jonghyun sat down beside him, scooting over until he could feel Kibum pressed to his side.
“No,” he spoke quietly, “well, yeah - kind of. She has a big operation scheduled in a few weeks and it… it’s risky.”
“I’m sorry,” Jonghyun replied sincerely, his heart tightening in his chest. He wrapped an arm around Kibum who, after resisting a bit, finally let himself be pulled in. “Will your grandma be there?” Jonghyun asked, knowing how fond Kibum was of the woman.
“Yeah.”
“That’s good.” Kibum turned himself to place his head on Jonghyun’s shoulder, face buried into his neck. The tip of his nose was cold, and his hand was heavy where it fisted into Jonghyun’s shirt. “I’ll be right here, waiting for you,” Jonghyun spoke softly into Kibum’s hair as he held him tighter. “You’ll call me every night, yeah?”
“Yeah.”
Jonghyun nodded, pulling back to lay a kiss to the side of Kibum’s face. He crawled up the bed after that, Kibum following and fitting himself into Jonghyun’s embrace. He was the first to fall asleep, and Jonghyun didn’t mind the few extra minutes it gave him to hold him close and revel in his warmth.
***
Jonghyun ended up accompanying Kibum to the train station a few days later, seeing him off with a tight hug and a hasty kiss. It wasn’t the first time they had done this; by now, Jonghyun was all too aware of the mess of emotions that awaited Kibum back in Daegu. It was draining, in all senses of the word.
Whenever Kibum went back home to visit, Jonghyun would usually send him stupid selcas every so often, although something about that didn’t feel so appropriate this time around. Like clockwork, Kibum called every night, even on Christmas day. Jonghyun had put him on video call then so that he could also talk to Onew and Minho in the midst of their horror movie marathon. He had also called on New Year’s Eve and stayed on the phone with Jonghyun until well past midnight, through the new year. Minho would probably tease them about it when he found out, but Jonghyun couldn’t bring himself to care. He missed his boyfriend and he wasn’t ashamed to admit it.
He stood at the train station again on the day of Kibum’s return, trying to disappear into his thick winter coat to ward off the cold. Still, it was worth it just to catch Kibum as he stepped off the train and fell into his arms. It was worth it just to hold Kibum when, once they had made it back to their dorm, tears began streaming down his cheeks and he needed a shoulder to cry on.
“I’m coming with you next time,” Jonghyun told him softly, leaning his head against Kibum’s. “I don’t want you making the trip alone again.”
Kibum drew back to look at him with puffy, red eyes before mouthing a soundless, “Thank you.”
Part 9
Rating: PG-13
Genre: part humour, part angst, some fluff
Summary: Jonghyun was all too aware of the mess of emotions that awaited him back home.
A/N: Inspired by Key’s familial situation, although I did purposefully change some things for this fic (gifset, vid). I couldn’t find these references so I asked for help on tumblr, and these three lovely people linked me up: mina-tenshi, dinopuppysaur and mindblowinglyawesome. Thank you so very much <3
Warning - this one’s a little sadder, guys. I’m not too sure about how it turned out, too :/. Also, as a commentary to recent twitter-related events, I want to say that Jonghyun is an amazing human being <3 my sunshine in a bottle.
(Last thing, would anyone be interested in more from this verse even if it’s similar in tone to this installment? I have an idea, but as usual I don’t want to promise anything. Just asking ^^)
( 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
____________________
"You look tired," is how Minho greeted them as they stepped into the small restaurant.
"We were up late," Jonghyun replied, and Minho arched an eyebrow. “Yes, in that way,” he added then, with such unashamed straight-forwardness that it had Onew snorting into his drink. The elder looked up at Kibum with wide eyes, as if awaiting an explanation or some sort of emotional comfort. Meanwhile, to Taemin's credit, the kid didn't even flinch.
Kibum merely shrugged, sharing a brief look with Jonghyun as they sat opposite each other. "He isn't lying."
"You guys are gross," Minho announced, to one in particular.
"Yeah, whatever," Jonghyun dismissed him, "closet-case. Anyway, what are you guys doing for Christmas?"
"I'm not gay!" Minho spoke, rather loudly. The waitress happened to be serving the table right next to theirs and turned around to ogle him blatantly; Jonghyun couldn't help the laughter that bubbled out of his mouth.
“I swear, you’re the reason I’m still single,” Minho grumbled dejectedly before taking a sip from his tall glass and hunching as if he was trying to hide behind it.
“I don’t have anything planned, actually,” Onew offered.
“What about your girlfriend?” Kibum asked. “Shouldn’t you be spending time with her?”
“She’s busy,” was Onew’s simple reply that had Jonghyun wondering yet again what this hypothetical woman could possibly be doing to be busy all the time.
“Of course,” Jonghyun went on. “And you, Taem?”
“I’ll be staying with my family over the break.”
“Oh, okay,” Jonghyun nodded to himself, “well then the four of us can meet up or something. What do you guys feel like doing?”
"Actually, Jjong," Kibum spoke up in a solemn voice, all eyes turning to him, "I’ll be going back to Daegu for a few days."
To everybody else, it may have seemed like Kibum was simply informing Jonghyun, but Jonghyun knew there was more to it. It wasn't the first time Kibum would be going back to his hometown for a while, and it wasn't the first time Jonghyun would have to deal with him when he returned. Kibum knew this, Jonghyun knew this, and they needed to talk about it more but now was not the right time or place.
Instead of the hefty sigh Jonghyun wanted to let out, he kept quiet and nodded thoughtfully. They still had plenty of time to talk it out later. He shared a long look with Kibum, worry bubbling up from the pit of his stomach. Despite it, he granted Kibum a small smile and was glad to see Kibum do the same, although slightly unsure. He reached under the table to catch Kibum’s leg between his feet, and Kibum’s smile became a little more sincere after that.
However, their little game of footsie was interrupted when the waitress came to take their orders, staring surreptitiously at Minho from the corner of her eye and earning Jonghyun a hard kick to his calf, courtesy of Minho.
***
They parted ways after lunch, Onew and Minho going off to rent Christmas-themed horror movies as well as a few video games. Kibum shook his head at them, falling into step beside Jonghyun as they headed back towards the dorm.
“You guys are so lame,” Kibum told him, although his tone was more amused than reproving.
“What else are we supposed to do?” Jonghyun asked, playing along. The real question was ‘what else am I supposed to do without you here’ but Jonghyun thought against it, if only because Kibum would have called him even lamer. Yet it was the truth; Jonghyun was so used to having Kibum fall asleep or crawl into bed next to him that the thought of an empty bed perplexed him.
“You’re supposed to have a nice dinner, invite Onew’s girlfriend. And I should be there, too,” Kibum said wistfully.
“One, she might not even exist,” Jonghyun countered. “And two, when else are we supposed to catch up on all the horror movies we missed because you didn’t want to watch them?” he finished, tongue-in-cheek.
Kibum promptly shoved him off the sidewalk, but caught his arm before he could stumble too far. He then laced their cold fingers together and stuffed their hands into his coat’s pocket, and Jonghyun knew it was a wordless apology.
The dorm was always a bit quieter whenever the students were granted a short break. The lobby and the hallway were empty as they trekked back to their room. Once inside, Kibum immediately went to fold the clean laundry they had left unfinished the night before when they had been distracted by other things. Jonghyun knew he didn’t want to talk about it and he couldn’t blame him, but he needed to know.
“Is it your mom? Is she okay?” Jonghyun was well aware of her precarious health, it being the reason Kibum had moved to Seoul in his teens to live with his aunt.
Kibum stilled halfway through straightening one of Jonghyun’s t-shirts, looking down at the bed cover. Jonghyun sat down beside him, scooting over until he could feel Kibum pressed to his side.
“No,” he spoke quietly, “well, yeah - kind of. She has a big operation scheduled in a few weeks and it… it’s risky.”
“I’m sorry,” Jonghyun replied sincerely, his heart tightening in his chest. He wrapped an arm around Kibum who, after resisting a bit, finally let himself be pulled in. “Will your grandma be there?” Jonghyun asked, knowing how fond Kibum was of the woman.
“Yeah.”
“That’s good.” Kibum turned himself to place his head on Jonghyun’s shoulder, face buried into his neck. The tip of his nose was cold, and his hand was heavy where it fisted into Jonghyun’s shirt. “I’ll be right here, waiting for you,” Jonghyun spoke softly into Kibum’s hair as he held him tighter. “You’ll call me every night, yeah?”
“Yeah.”
Jonghyun nodded, pulling back to lay a kiss to the side of Kibum’s face. He crawled up the bed after that, Kibum following and fitting himself into Jonghyun’s embrace. He was the first to fall asleep, and Jonghyun didn’t mind the few extra minutes it gave him to hold him close and revel in his warmth.
***
Jonghyun ended up accompanying Kibum to the train station a few days later, seeing him off with a tight hug and a hasty kiss. It wasn’t the first time they had done this; by now, Jonghyun was all too aware of the mess of emotions that awaited Kibum back in Daegu. It was draining, in all senses of the word.
Whenever Kibum went back home to visit, Jonghyun would usually send him stupid selcas every so often, although something about that didn’t feel so appropriate this time around. Like clockwork, Kibum called every night, even on Christmas day. Jonghyun had put him on video call then so that he could also talk to Onew and Minho in the midst of their horror movie marathon. He had also called on New Year’s Eve and stayed on the phone with Jonghyun until well past midnight, through the new year. Minho would probably tease them about it when he found out, but Jonghyun couldn’t bring himself to care. He missed his boyfriend and he wasn’t ashamed to admit it.
He stood at the train station again on the day of Kibum’s return, trying to disappear into his thick winter coat to ward off the cold. Still, it was worth it just to catch Kibum as he stepped off the train and fell into his arms. It was worth it just to hold Kibum when, once they had made it back to their dorm, tears began streaming down his cheeks and he needed a shoulder to cry on.
“I’m coming with you next time,” Jonghyun told him softly, leaning his head against Kibum’s. “I don’t want you making the trip alone again.”
Kibum drew back to look at him with puffy, red eyes before mouthing a soundless, “Thank you.”
Part 9