Title: Perpetual
Pairing: Minseok/Luhan
Rating: PG
Word Count: 1378
Summary: Minseok's seen more of the world in 16 years than most people see in a lifetime and nothing is ever constant in his life. He's used to the moving but someone shows up, and for the first time, Minseok wants to stand still.
Notes: So, um yeah. I guess I'm on a writing roll and I wrote this originally for someone else, as a readerxcharacter but I re-wrote it to Xiuhan. I finally have a ficlet for this amazing pairing and they're honestly my OTP.
Tumblr Minseok's always changing. Moving. Adapting. Minseok was still young, but he'd lived in a lot of countries, states, and every continent except Antarctica, and maybe even that in a couple years.
Minseok's parents constantly move, one a freelance blogger, the other a bestselling author, so their jobs don't require to be bogged down. And so they do what they consider natural, they move. A lot.
Minseok's made a few friends through the year, but he always end up moving before the year's up, and various factors cause him to lose touch with all of them. They've made new friends, Minseok's lost their phone number, or really, long distance friendship is too much effort.
Many cities that he's lived in, fades from memory as new memories press forward to fill it. But there's one city that Minseok can never forget. Beijing. More specifically, there's one person he can never erase. Luhan. His crinkle-at-the-corner-of-his-eyes smile, his dazed look when he daydreams, the way Minseok's hand slotted into his so comfortably.
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Minseok met Luhan in the summer of his 16th year and he fell in love with the city bustling with life. And slowly, the teen felt himself falling in love with Luhan.
As busy as the capitol of China was, Minseok managed to find a small niche in around the corner of his house that was quiet and was often frequented by young couples and small children. It all becomes background noise as Minseok dove into another universe, the words leaping from the page to paint vivid images in his head. He was right next to the protagonist, as they battled evil sorcerers and wicked dragons, until a voice piqued up, "Is that the newest installment?"
Minseok blinked as he slowly resurface from the book, his brain making the adjustment from fantasy to reality. "Excuse me?" Minseok asked in his stilted Mandarin, thousands of accents leaking into it.
The blond haired Chinese standing in front of Minseok just smiled and repeated his question. He glanced down at the book and look back up, "Oh, oh yes! Yes, it is! You read Korean?"
It's the first conversation that brought Luhan into the Korean's life. Minseok don't realize then, how much the soccer fanatic impacts the rest of his life.
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Minseok enrolls into school and Minseok finds that the Chinese boy he met at the park goes to the same school. He spends the first day of school, lost and wandering, afraid to ask anyone directions because his Mandarin was so bad, so he just floats from hallway to hallway, nearly half an hour late to every class he slips into. Halfway through the day, Minseok having introduced himself about 4 times already, stands at the front of the room, ready to roll off the prepared speech of his name in Mandarin before an excited voice cuts through his thoughts. “You're that boy from the park!”
The Korean boy looked up to search for the owner of the voice and sees the blond boy waving from the back of the room. The teacher, a middle aged woman snaps at him, “Luhan! Sit down and let the boy introduce himself.”
Luhan. Minseok mentally saves the name and give a weak smile to the teacher before rattling off his name. The teacher gives him the empty seat next to Luhan because they seemed to have already met before.
Minseok quickly loses track of the days they spend lunch on the roof of school excitedly discussing the latest book that either of them have stumbled upon. The months slip away and winter comes all too quickly.
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When the first snow falls, Minseok realizes that his time in Beijing is coming to an end. Soon, his parents will sit Minseok down and announce another city that they've set their eyes on.
Somehow, spring blossoms alongside the feelings that Minseok feel are more than friendship. He keep it to himself and cherishes all the bubbling laughs that Luhan makes.
Summer brings heat back into the city and there's still no sign of Minseok's parents wanting to uproot everything again. Minseok begins to relax, now his eyes following Luhan everywhere he goes without Minseok noticing.
A year slips by filled with laughter, jokes, prodding elbows, and multiple miserable attempts of Luhan trying to teach Minseok the art of soccer.
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Before he knows it, the small group of friends that Minseok manages to make, celebrates Minseok's 17th birthday in Beijing and Luhan surprises him by coming in through his window with a birthday cake and candles at the strike of midnight. Wufan somehow maneuvers his long limbs through the window, followed closely by Zitao, who is much more graceful that Wufan, Yixing ever so quiety slips in, and Luhan leaps through the window last. They all shout-whisper the birthday song first in Chinese and then they attempt it in Korean and Minseok laughs and laughs. That day is hushed eating and another outing, this time in broad daylight.
By the time Christmas rolls around, Luhan has stuttered a confession and brandished a bouquet of roses that mysteriously holds no roses. When Luhan looks back, he sees a trail of roses from his house to the park that he had asked Minseok to come to. Minseok blushes out a gurgled yes, and he's swept into a crushing hug and a shy peck to the cheek.
Lunar New Year holds tears and pleading 'don't go's and 'I have to' as Minseok's parents have announced at the dinner table that Seoul is the next destination.
It's a tearful Valentine's Day where Luhan sees Minseok off at the airport with a promise of "I'll get into Seoul University and Minseok, you do, too, so we can be together again."
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Minseok spend his 18th birthday with his nose buried into a textbook as the teen struggles with oncoming exams. A skype call is brief with Luhan, Wufan, who insists to be called Kris now, Zitao, and Yixing, who wishes him a happy birthday and a chorus of 'good luck on your exams' is said.
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Exams come and pass, graduation a joyful day where Minseok thanks every higher deity that he somehow manages to finish high school.
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Minseok impatiently logs on and calls Luhan for a skype call and the Chinese boy picks up with a drowsy “hello?”. Minseok proceeds to shriek at the webcam perched on top of his laptop, "I GOT ACCEPTED INTO SEOUL UNIVERSITY!" Luhan bolts awake and celebrates with Minseok, all thoughts off sleep far from his mind as he waits for his own acceptance.
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A similar call is made again as Luhan gleefully shares that he, too has been accepted into Seoul University.
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Minseok shifts from foot to foot nervously, scanning the crowd at the airport for the familiar button nose and doll like eyes. Hands much larger than Minseok last remembered cover over his eyes and a voice that is deeper, but oh so achingly familiar whisper, "Guess who?"
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Tears stream down Minseok's face as he says his farewells to the pair of people who have raised Minseok for so long, allowed Minseok to see so many things that other children weren't able to, and showered him with nothing but love. They are flying to America to live in California and Minseok watches the airplane containing the two people he loves the most fly away into the distance.
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Hands are awkwardly fumbling as low giggles echo through the room along with the sound of clothes softly hitting the floor. Soft whimpers and nervous kisses are stained on that day which end with Minseok's legs tangled with Luhan's legs and a tender kiss is pressed onto the Korean's forehead.
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College eventually passes with many crying nights of arguments, nerves stretched tautly, screams of 'YOU DIDN'T HAVE TO FOLLOW ME TO SEOUL' piercing into hurt hearts only to be patched over with a remorseful 'I'm sorry, please don't leave me's. A reply of "How can I leave my entire heart like that?" accompanied with a soft shushes and hiccups from crying is repeated again and again.
Years bleed into decades and Minseok realize many, many years later that Luhan is perhaps the only thing in his life that perpetual and he wouldn't give it up for the world.