across the field (oneshot)
Title: Across the Field
Pairing: Injoon/Kan
Genre: fluff
Word Count: 836
Rating: G
Warnings: None.
Summary: Idols become friends on Idol United, especially D-NA and F.Cuz.
Notes: For kiparang.
The first words Injoon ever says to Kan are, "Wow, you're tall," and he instantly regrets them. All Kan does is laugh, more to his own bandmates than at Injoon, but Injoon flushes and stutters a quick apology before shuffling away, only to remember he's supposed to be standing in a line, so moving away isn't an option. He's reduced to shifting from foot to foot, refusing look at Kan until they're allowed to break the line when finally he glances over his shoulder to see Leeu bouncing away with Kan close behind.
He learns fairly quickly that his embarrassment was unnecessary after watching Kan joke and play around with his bandmates and the other idols. At first, Injoon just watches him because he's afraid that maybe he'll ruin the mood. But hours into filming, he comes back from the bathroom to find Leeu and Kan there, with Hyunmin and Hyunchul, waiting for him. From then on, they're together as five. Leeu jokes that Jinon ditched them for Seungho, but Injoon can't help but notice, with some pride, that it seems they were the ones who ditched their leader.
Injoon likes the way Kan smiles at the camera, so cool and confident and utterly effortless. He likes the way Kan gets away with his little blunders, smoothly covering up his stumbles with laughter. Most of the time, no one even notices Kan's failures, but Injoon does, partly because he's always watching a little too closely and partly because he more than anyone knows the look of someone trying to pretend they didn't mess up. With some bitterness he comes to accept that someone like Kan will always be better at failing than his. Yes, Injoon even fails at failing, and he never even knew that was possible. When he discovers this difference between him and Kan, Injoon's half-tempted to hate him, but from the very beginning he can tell that hating Kan is just another thing to add to his ever-growing list of failures. Kan makes it impossible. He sneaks up behind Injoon and bops him on the head or grabs Injoon's little ponytail, making him yelp, and when Injoon tries to get mad he makes a cute face that is so over-the-top even Leeu, ten feet away, cracks up. He sings IU's "Marshmallow" is an obnoxious voice just while Injoon practices, causing him to grip his sides as he crumbles to the grass in laughter.
The second day of filming Injoon discovers he has a problem. He doesn't like some of the things he sees Kan do. He doesn't like the way Kan lets Leeu hold his hand and lead him around, nor the way Kan gently fixes Leeu's hair before the camera moves their way. When he spies Kan and Hyunmin sitting off the the side, chatting so casually and smiling together, he feels weird. Not right. He wants to join them, but doesn't feel like it's his place to, so he ends up watching them. Constantly.
Injoon wishes Kan were more like Leeu. Leeu has no qualms about hugging Injoon, or anyone for that matter. When he's happy, Leeu grabs shoulders and squeezes waists and holds hands. Leeu pinches Hyunchul's cheeks and pets him like a dog as if doing so were completely normal. For someone like Leeu, such acts are normal.
But Kan is different. He makes friends easily but doesn't touch. With D-NA, he's quick pats on the shoulders and awkward arm-holding across the field. With Leeu and Jinon, though, he's even worse than Leeu, resting against their backs and playing with their fingers as they sit in the grass. When Jinon comes to check on them, Kan is the first to jog over to greet him with brotherly hugs almost bursting with enthusiasm, and Injoon feels that weird feeling again. Like he wants to be a part of that.
He starts to have fantasies about meeting Kan on the field, alone. Sometimes it's night-time, sometimes the sun is shining as brightly as it is during filming. The meet and they laugh and they holds hands, lying on the grass side by side. They talk about the shapes of the clouds and the foods those shapes remind them of. In his daydream, this rendezvous lasts for hours. They eventually fall asleep, just like that, with linked fingers and grass in their hair.
Somehow it's always Kan who snaps Injoon out of these dreams, though Injoon starts to suspect Hyunchul is behind that. It's always with one of those forced, heavy pats on the arm, too, which leaves Injoon pissy and Kan endlessly confused by his sudden change in mood. He tells himself he needs to give it time. Maybe one day they'll be like that. He resists grabbing Kan's hand because he feels the same sense of dread and shame he felt the time time they met. He doesn't want to ruin it. Instead he calls to him across distances, waiting with tingling hope until Kan very, very gradually closes the space between them by himself.
For anyone who wants to witness the inspiration for this, enjoy these two videos.
Pairing: Injoon/Kan
Genre: fluff
Word Count: 836
Rating: G
Warnings: None.
Summary: Idols become friends on Idol United, especially D-NA and F.Cuz.
Notes: For kiparang.
The first words Injoon ever says to Kan are, "Wow, you're tall," and he instantly regrets them. All Kan does is laugh, more to his own bandmates than at Injoon, but Injoon flushes and stutters a quick apology before shuffling away, only to remember he's supposed to be standing in a line, so moving away isn't an option. He's reduced to shifting from foot to foot, refusing look at Kan until they're allowed to break the line when finally he glances over his shoulder to see Leeu bouncing away with Kan close behind.
He learns fairly quickly that his embarrassment was unnecessary after watching Kan joke and play around with his bandmates and the other idols. At first, Injoon just watches him because he's afraid that maybe he'll ruin the mood. But hours into filming, he comes back from the bathroom to find Leeu and Kan there, with Hyunmin and Hyunchul, waiting for him. From then on, they're together as five. Leeu jokes that Jinon ditched them for Seungho, but Injoon can't help but notice, with some pride, that it seems they were the ones who ditched their leader.
Injoon likes the way Kan smiles at the camera, so cool and confident and utterly effortless. He likes the way Kan gets away with his little blunders, smoothly covering up his stumbles with laughter. Most of the time, no one even notices Kan's failures, but Injoon does, partly because he's always watching a little too closely and partly because he more than anyone knows the look of someone trying to pretend they didn't mess up. With some bitterness he comes to accept that someone like Kan will always be better at failing than his. Yes, Injoon even fails at failing, and he never even knew that was possible. When he discovers this difference between him and Kan, Injoon's half-tempted to hate him, but from the very beginning he can tell that hating Kan is just another thing to add to his ever-growing list of failures. Kan makes it impossible. He sneaks up behind Injoon and bops him on the head or grabs Injoon's little ponytail, making him yelp, and when Injoon tries to get mad he makes a cute face that is so over-the-top even Leeu, ten feet away, cracks up. He sings IU's "Marshmallow" is an obnoxious voice just while Injoon practices, causing him to grip his sides as he crumbles to the grass in laughter.
The second day of filming Injoon discovers he has a problem. He doesn't like some of the things he sees Kan do. He doesn't like the way Kan lets Leeu hold his hand and lead him around, nor the way Kan gently fixes Leeu's hair before the camera moves their way. When he spies Kan and Hyunmin sitting off the the side, chatting so casually and smiling together, he feels weird. Not right. He wants to join them, but doesn't feel like it's his place to, so he ends up watching them. Constantly.
Injoon wishes Kan were more like Leeu. Leeu has no qualms about hugging Injoon, or anyone for that matter. When he's happy, Leeu grabs shoulders and squeezes waists and holds hands. Leeu pinches Hyunchul's cheeks and pets him like a dog as if doing so were completely normal. For someone like Leeu, such acts are normal.
But Kan is different. He makes friends easily but doesn't touch. With D-NA, he's quick pats on the shoulders and awkward arm-holding across the field. With Leeu and Jinon, though, he's even worse than Leeu, resting against their backs and playing with their fingers as they sit in the grass. When Jinon comes to check on them, Kan is the first to jog over to greet him with brotherly hugs almost bursting with enthusiasm, and Injoon feels that weird feeling again. Like he wants to be a part of that.
He starts to have fantasies about meeting Kan on the field, alone. Sometimes it's night-time, sometimes the sun is shining as brightly as it is during filming. The meet and they laugh and they holds hands, lying on the grass side by side. They talk about the shapes of the clouds and the foods those shapes remind them of. In his daydream, this rendezvous lasts for hours. They eventually fall asleep, just like that, with linked fingers and grass in their hair.
Somehow it's always Kan who snaps Injoon out of these dreams, though Injoon starts to suspect Hyunchul is behind that. It's always with one of those forced, heavy pats on the arm, too, which leaves Injoon pissy and Kan endlessly confused by his sudden change in mood. He tells himself he needs to give it time. Maybe one day they'll be like that. He resists grabbing Kan's hand because he feels the same sense of dread and shame he felt the time time they met. He doesn't want to ruin it. Instead he calls to him across distances, waiting with tingling hope until Kan very, very gradually closes the space between them by himself.
For anyone who wants to witness the inspiration for this, enjoy these two videos.