Bet On Me Part 5
Title: Bet On Me
Pairing: HaeHyuk
Minor Pairings: MinKyu, YeWook
Part: 5
Rating: R
Genre: romance, drama, angst
Disclaimer: I wish
Warnings: more than implied sex, language
Summary: It's been years and Donghae is still struggling with the ghosts of his past.
A/N: Sequel to Bet On It
“We missed our best fighter. How are your ribs holding up?”
Donghae smiled at Yesung as he started stripping from the waist up. “All better now.”
Yesung hummed doubtfully. “Are you sure you’re ready to fight again? If you re-injure your ribs, it will be much more serious.”
“I’m sure,” Donghae reassured him, wrapping bandages around his knuckles.
“Alright then,” said Yesung, clearly unconvinced. “You’re up, kiddo.”
Donghae swung himself into the ring and jumped up and down to pump himself up. His eyes scanned the dim room, but he didn’t see anything out of ordinary.
“Ready? Fight, start!”
Donghae expertly deflected his opponent’s blows, returning a few of his own. He glanced around the room again.
A kick came out of nowhere, striking Donghae in the stomach, too close to his newly healed ribs. Donghae doubled over, gasping for breath. A knee caught him right under the chin, sending him sprawling.
Donghae struggled to get up. Two palms struck him in the abdomen, grazing his sensitive rib area.
In the midst of all the stars, Donghae saw a flash of red moving towards the ring as his opponent delivered the finishing blow.
-
A cool hand was checking the extent of the damage to his ribs. Grabbing the wrist in a death grip, Donghae forced himself to sit up, ignoring how the room spun around him like a carnival ride.
“Don’t run away,” Donghae managed to say.
Eunhyuk glared at him, trying fruitlessly to break Donghae’s hold. “I never run away.”
Donghae snorted. “I beg to differ. That’s exactly what you’ve been doing.”
Quick as a flash, Eunhyuk reached out and punched Donghae’s ribs. Donghae flinched slightly. Eunhyuk gazed at him. “Your ribs aren’t injured,” he stated, confusion laced in his voice. Eunhyuk’s expression darkened with realization. “You lost that fight on purpose.”
Donghae shrugged. “I had to find a way to talk to you. Would you have shown yourself otherwise?”
Eunhyuk stood up abruptly, knocking over the chair he was sitting on. “Let me go,” he demanded.
Donghae swung out of bed without slackening his hold on the wrist, standing so he stared Eunhyuk straight in the eye. “That’s what I did five years ago. And look where that got us.”
“I’m doing perfectly fine without you,” spat Eunhyuk. “Better, even.”
“Really?” Reaching out, Donghae traced the dark circles under Eunhyuk’s eyes gently.
Eunhyuk slapped his hand away, backing up a step. “I don’t need you,” he said slowly, avoiding Donghae’s eyes.
“But I need you.”
Eunhyuk’s shocked eyes snapped to Donghae’s earnest features. Without a word, the redhead whirled around and ran out of the room.
Donghae considered giving chase, but decided against it. With a heavy sigh, he sank back down into the bed.
There was a knock and the door opened, revealing Yesung with a glass of water and a painkiller. “Oh, you’re up. That was a really bad fight. I told you not to strain yourself.”
Donghae swallowed the pill gratefully. “Thanks, hyung. I’ll do better next time.”
“If there is a next time,” Yesung remarked. He merely shrugged at Donghae’s questioning glance.
-
“Kyuhyun,” said Donghae as he slipped into the car.
“One step ahead of you.” Kyuhyun handed Donghae his laptop. “The locator indicates that your boy is heading south.”
“Step on it,” Donghae commanded. The car peeled out of the parking lot.
I will catch you this time, Donghae thought determinedly.
-
“Sorry,” said Kyuhyun sympathetically, as they pulled up in front of Donghae’s apartment.
Donghae waved him off. “It’s not your fault that he discovered the tracker and led us on a wild goose chase,” he replied resignedly.
“I’ll see you tomorrow?”
Donghae nodded. “Goodnight, Kyuhyun.” Turning, he walked up the steps to his apartment. Donghae slammed the door a little harder than necessary and stalked into his room, wanting nothing more than to collapse on his bed and sleep. And he would’ve, if there wasn’t someone already there.
“Welcome home,” smirked Eunhyuk, getting off the bed and walking over. “How was your trip around the city?”
Donghae simply stared, trying to sort through all his thoughts and emotions.
“Happy to see me again?” Eunhyuk took Donghae’s hand, tugging him towards the bed. Grabbing the back of Donghae’s neck, Eunhyuk pressed their lips together. Noticing Donghae’s unresponsiveness, he pulled back. “What?”
“Stay with me.”
Eunhyuk stared at Donghae incredulously. “What?”
“Stay with me. Stop running away.”
“Are you kidding me?” Eunhyuk laughed. “There’s too much to lose if I stay with you.”
“I thought you were a betting man,” Donghae challenged.
Eunhyuk’s eyes narrowed. “Not when the odds are stacked against me.”
“Bet on me,” Donghae said in one last plea.
Indecision flashed across Eunhyuk’s face. “I-I can’t.” Donghae felt one of Eunhyuk’s hands move so that the fingers lightly touched the opposite wrist.
Donghae let out a breath in disappointment. Curling his hands into fists, he forced himself to speak. “Eunhyuk, I can’t do this anymore,” Donghae murmured.
Eunhyuk frowned. “Do what?”
Donghae untangled Eunhyuk’s arms from his neck, holding onto his hands. “I love you,” he said steadily. “I’ve always loved you. Heck, I don’t think I’ll ever stop loving you. And you don’t know how sorry I am that I hurt you.”
Eunhyuk ripped his hands from Donghae’s. “What are you getting at?” he bit out harshly.
“This thing we have between us has to end,” Donghae said softly. “I can’t take it any longer; I’m at my limit. I’m not going to chase after you anymore.”
Eunhyuk breathed heavily. “Are you dumping me?” he asked incredulously.
Donghae laughed joylessly. “If I recall correctly, you dumped me first.”
Eunhyuk grabbed Donghae’s chin roughly, pulling him in for another, more desperate kiss. Donghae closed his eyes and returned it, memorizing the older’s taste. After a moment, he placed his hand on Eunhyuk’s shoulder, pushing him back gently.
“Donghae, I-”
“Please leave,” said Donghae quietly.
Donghae watched as pain, confusion, and maybe something more flashed in Eunhyuk’s eyes. Without another word, the gambler turned and left.
Donghae stood there, unmoving for some time, breathing in the lingering wisps of Eunhyuk’s scent.
-
Donghae snuck up on Kyuhyun, startling his partner with a hug from behind.
“Donghae?” Kyuhyun questioned.
“The one and only,” joked Donghae.
“What is it?”
“Nothing,” said Donghae, tightening his hold. “Thank you for everything. Both you and Sungmin.”
Kyuhyun reached out awkwardly and stroked Donghae’s hair, not saying anything, even when he felt a wet patch form on his shoulder.
-
“I’m not going to come here anymore.”
Yesung tilted his head, unsurprised. “Did you finally make a decision with your life?”
Donghae nodded. “I won’t turn this place over to the police,” he promised.
“I know you won’t.” Yesung patted both of Donghae’s cheeks affectionately. “You just won me a lot of money, you know. Everyone bet that you would never quit fighting. I knew better, of course.”
Donghae smiled. “You know everything, hyung.”
“Not everything; enough.” Yesung gazed into Donghae’s eyes. “Take care of yourself. I know you will be okay.”
“I will,” Donghae said. “I know I will be.”
And he was.
-
“Donghae!” Sungmin exclaimed, surprised as said man trailed into the studio after Kyuhyun. “What are you doing here?”
Donghae smiled sheepishly at him. “It’s been too long since I’ve seen this place,” he commented, looking around the martial arts studio. He peeked up at Sungmin. “Um, does your offer still stand?”
Sungmin grinned. “You’re always welcome here.”
-
“Hey, want to ask Leeteuk-hyung for another murder case? The last one was pretty interesting!”
Kyuhyun looked horrified. “Are you sure? I think there’s a jewelry heist we can work on instead…”
Donghae put Kyuhyun in a headlock, giving him a noogie. “Aw, is it because you threw up last time we saw a dead body?” Kyuhyun made a noise of protest.
-
“Do you still think about him?” Kyuhyun asked out of the blue one morning.
“Yes,” said Donghae. Donghae doubted he would ever stop.
-
A/N: The end. So I anticpate there will be some questions and I've answered a few below for your convenience.
Q: What? Is this really the end?
A: Yes, it's really the end.
Q: Why is this part so short?
A: Because both Bet On It and Bet On Me were written as one shots and I did not initially intend to split them into parts.
Q: But Eunhyuk didn't even show up for half of this story!
A: That's because while Bet On It was an EunHae centric story, Bet On Me is more focused on Donghae. Eunhyuk kind of takes the backseat in this and acts as more of a catalyst for Donghae's journey to move on.
Q: So Hangeng...He just popped up randomly and never showed up again.
A: So about that...uh, I actually was going to have him show up again at some point, but I kind of...forgot?
Q: Will you be writing a sequel to this? With a happy ending? And unbroken EunHae?
A: No, no surprise sequel this time.
Q: Please!
A: Hmm...no.
Q: Will you write more from this verse?
A: Yes actually, I plan on writing some drabbles or something from this verse. None will be a continuation of this though, more like side stories and such. But don't expect anything any time soon because as much fun as I've had with this verse, I kind of want to play in other sandboxes for now.
Q: Do you have any more chicken?
A: Fried chicken party at my neighbors' tonight. BYO batter.
Anywho, kidding aside, thank you for sticking with this story for this long! You guys are awesome.