[TC/007] Alright To Dream [Hangeng/Heechul, PG-13]
Title: Alright To Dream
Pairing: Hangeng/Heechul
Rating: PG-13
Genre: General/Romance
Challenge: Themes Challenge
Disclaimer: I don't own any of them, their respective managements do. Plot is mine.
Summary: He's a man who's long dreamed of flying and along comes a person with wings, wanting more than anything to take him wherever he wants to go.
Warning: UN-BETA'D.
Challenge - Theme: War. Pairing: Hangeng/Heechul.
The first time they meet he falls out of a tree and lands flat onto the cement ground beneath him, dusting his scathed palms together and looking back up into the branches with a silent sigh.
Strong hands wrap around his shoulders and help him to his feet.
“You alright?”
Heechul takes a moment to gather his thoughts as the stranger bends over slightly to look him in the eyes. Eventually, he manages a nod.
The man smiles kindly and looks up into the tree briefly before furrowing his brows.
“The cat.” Heechul forces himself to say.
“Ahh,” the man chuckles, his eyes crinkling at the ends. He quickly lifts his messengers bag off of his shoulders, takes his cellphone out of his pocket, and hands it all over to Heechul. “Hold these for a second.”
Heechul accepts the items and watches as the stranger climbs the tree almost skillfully, every movement fluid and confident, and reaches for the cat. The smile spreads on the stranger's face, and it’s almost contagious, when the cat is resting fully in his embrace.
“Could you move over a little?” He asks.
With the man’s items in tact, Heechul steps away from the tree and opens up enough space for the stranger to land. He watches as the stranger makes a small hop, and the landing is rather loud, but the man and the cat in his arms make it to the ground safely.
The stranger holds out the cat to Heechul. “Yours?”
Heechul exchanges the stranger his belongings for the cat. He shakes his head.
“What are you going to do with it now then?” He wants to know.
Absentmindedly, Heechul quietly replies. “I don’t know.”
A warm smile surfaces and the stranger shrugs. He leans forward and pets the cat on the crown of its head, looking up at Heechul. “You could keep it. It kind of looks like you,” he says with a teasing tone.
Taking a silent breath, Heechul purses his lips and looks out into the streets.
The man bites his cheek, wondering if he had said something wrong. He scratches the back of his neck awkwardly, taking a look around. “Ah!” He exclaims, as if he’s spotted something in the distance. “I have to go!”
Heechul notices how the stranger knits his brows together, the quick swipe of his tongue over his dried lips.
“If you really don’t know what to do with it, maybe you should take it to the animal shelter,” the man suggests.
Looking down at the cat, who is purring happily in his arms, Heechul tries to decide whether or not he wants to. The stranger seems confused by his action, but is flustered by lost time.
“My name is Hangeng, I attend the academy just down the street. If you don’t know where the shelter is, I can keep the cat in my dorm and take it there after my classes.” He offers.
It’s an internal war Heechul is fighting, really.
The cat snuggles its nose into the crook of Heechul’s arm and it brings a smile to his lips. The cat is a little dirty, a little worn out, and, Heechul thinks, a year or two too old to be walking around in the streets under this sunlight but the cat is so warm, so incredibly soft and warm, that he doesn’t want to let go.
Hangeng thinks this to be one of the most beautiful and heartwarming sights he’s ever seen.
And truly, it is.
-
Hangeng runs into Heechul at a street shop one evening, and he remembers the man from all those weeks ago. He doesn’t know why, but he does. One knows a beauty when one sees one, he guesses.
“Did you end up adopting the cat?”
Startled, Heechul nearly drops the glass figurine in his hands. He turns around to find a familiar face leaning just over his shoulder, smiling into his eyes. His brows knit together for a moment, but eventually he remembers, too.
The man laughs. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to give you a scare.”
“It’s okay,” Heechul replies, patting himself on the chest. He places the figurine back in its original placement and shifts himself to face Hangeng fully, bowing a little as he greets him. “Yes, I did.” He says.
“I somehow knew you would.” Hangeng beams proudly.
And really, his smile is much more radiant than Heechul remembered it to be.
Both take a moment to absorb the awkward air around them before Hangeng takes the initiative to begin another conversation. “So, are you doing some casual shopping?”
Heechul briefly glances his own shoulder to look at the figurine he took interest in but then he shakes his head and holds his hands together.
“Oh.” Hangeng mutters.
The atmosphere is heavy and Hangeng finds himself shifting on the balls of his feet impatiently, stuffing his hands into his jean pockets.
“So, what are you up to?”
Heechul shrugs. “Nothing.”
“That’s great!” Hangeng grins. “I’m really hungry and I hate eating alone.”
“But I--”
Hangeng held up an accusing finger. “You just said you didn’t have anything to do, so you’re not allowed to reject me. I haven’t had anything to eat since last night. Do you really want to see me starve to death?”
Unable to refute, Heechul swallowed his words.
“Good.”
-
The entire meal is much too tense for comfort, Heechul thinks.
He isn’t used to eating with strangers, though Hangeng refuses to be acknowledged as a mere stranger to Heechul because, he insists, they’ve experienced a life-and-death situation together before.
There’s not much Heechul can argue with about that, he supposes.
But Hangeng doesn’t ask him anything that trespasses his personal boundaries and he’s relieved, thankful almost. He can just about say Hangeng makes him feel relaxed, really, beneath all the superficial, non-existent pressure he burdens.
They talk about the food, they talk about the beverages, and Hangeng talks about his life in school. Too many of his daily experiences are interesting, and Heechul finds something suspicious about that-- his life has never been anything but dull and bleary.
Until Hangeng appeared, that is.
“And then the janitor lady tried to make me pay her for to get my own garbage back. My garbage,” Hangeng groans.
Heechul makes an effort to laugh, but it only comes out as a strained smile. He’s not quite used to smiling, either.
The other man rests an elbow on the table and supports his cheek in his palm. He observes Heechul closely and, unexpectedly, smiles wide. “You’re a good listener,” he comments lightly, tilting his head to the side.
Across the table, Heechul secretly wonders if Hangeng was, somehow, drunk. Instead of asking, however, he stares into his eyes and they maintain this really long, really intense staring contest that neither of them understand.
Then Hangeng reaches across the table and holds out his hand. “Let me see your cellphone,” he says, simple and clean.
For a second, Heechul wonders if that would be the right thing to do. From Hangeng’s transparent and luminescent eyes, he reads a story that is more complicated than what they seem-- far from pure, but too deep for him to see clearly.
Really, though, he’s probably just overthinking it. Just like he does with everything else. This time, he wants to take a risk-- to escape his inner battle, to act as he wants.
“Only if you give me yours.”
Hangeng grins and it’s a stupid grin, he admits, but he pulls out his cellphone and they exchange the devices. He watches as Heechul types in his number into his cell and he feels his heart beating happily against his ribs, healthy and full of life.
And Heechul screams at his inner conscience, telling himself to shut up and leave him alone. All he wants to do it let his will give him a way, and not the other way around. He wants to live for himself, if only once.
At the end of the meal, Hangeng pushes a small gift bag across the table to Heechul. After Heechul opens it, he smiles warmly and lifts his eyes to meet with Hangeng's.
"So that's where you went." He recalls, remembering the long leave Hangeng took to 'use the restroom'.
Hangeng grins. "It's a gift, for spending so much meaningful time with me today."
Heechul is demanded by Hangeng to leave it at that and the rest of the evening Heechul holds the figurine in his hand tightly, too afraid to let it go. It was once a fragment of his memories-- a part of his life. Now, it's his again.
-
He receives another text message today, two days after the first, and Heechul can’t explain the sudden drumming of his heart in his ears.
It’s a simple text, with a photo of a lone bird through the view of a cafe window. The man smiles to himself and reads the short words accompanying the photo, ‘it reminds me of you’ Hangeng says, and he saves the picture into his memory.
I’m not so alone. Heechul argues back.
Hangeng chuckles at the cell phone and pokes the window with his pointer finger. The bird looks his way in minor alert, but makes no motion to move. It still reminds me of you, he eventually writes.
And Heechul wonders if maybe Hangeng just thinks about him a little too much. He fancies the thought briefly, shoving his phone back into his pocket and making his way through the market squares.
“You look like you’re in a good mood today, Heechul-ah.”
An old man navigating a large garbage wagon stops to smile at him, wiping away the sweat from his forehead with the back of his bare arm. Heechul smiles back, and it becomes a world of rainbows and sunshine. “Not so bad yourself, ahjussi.” He says.
Ahjussi laughs, nodding his head. “Found lots of considerable valuables in the junk today. I think I can buy a full dinner for my wife tonight.”
“Your kids left town again?” Heechul asks, joining the old man and helping him push his wagon.
The squeaking of the wagon tires wear Heechul’s ears out, but they keep walking. “Can’t complain that they never stay long. They’ve got school, y’know?”
Heechul nods.
“How about your mother? Is she doing any better?”
The silence falls heavy on Heechul’s shoulders, but he shrugs it off. Plastering on a smile, he raises his eyes to take a look at the sky. “It’s a good day today.”
“It is.” Ahjussi agrees. “The best in a while.”
-
It rained here. Do you see the stars after the storm?
Heechul is startled awake by a loud alert and vibration. He takes his cell phone out of his pocket and sighs to himself when he recognizes the name attached to the message. After a bit of self convincing, he drags himself from his bed and stumbles to the window, his neck heavy and many parts of his body sore.
He looks up to the sky, but all he sees is darkness. Nope, he replies. I think the clouds are blocking them.
It takes a moment too long for Heechul to press the send button, but seconds later he receives a reply from Hangeng. I just wanted to tell you to stay dry, the message reads. Don’t get sick.
You care too much, Heechul teases. He takes a quick look at the back of his throbbing arms, runs a hand over his aching thighs, and smiles weakly. I’m not that weak.
Hangeng just shakes his head and types back a full essay that argues about how changing weather is bad for the body, and that when he’s studying the weather never decides to be good to him.
The longer his refute is, the bigger Heechul’s grin becomes.
-
“Heechul-ah, can you deliver this to table four?” Suddenly a voice shouts, and Heechul shoves his phone into his apron pocket, running for the kitchen.
He trips over a floor mat and lands on his knees.
The cook automatically rushes to help him to his feet. “Are you alright? You didn’t have to run!” He lectures Heechul. After a bit of inspection, he decides that Heechul is healthily alive and well enough to continue working.
“Sorry.” Heechul apologizes, but there’s this dumb smile on his face.
“Table nine.” The cook repeats with a softer tone. The other employees snicker at his change in attitude and he just clears his throat, shouting for them to get back to work.
They don’t get to see Heechul’s smile often, so they’ve learned to cherish it. He gets off the hook too often because of his quiet nature-- no one hasn’t come to treat him like a fragile work of art, beautiful and weak but not incapable.
He’s greeted by a familiar face at the table-- a smile he knows all too well.
“So, you work here.” Hangeng muses.
Heechul settles the plate in front of him and pulls out an order sheet from his apron pocket. “The cost is double for friends,” Heechul says, “this is an expensive meal you’ve got here.”
“How much will it cost to have you sit down and eat with me?” Hangeng asks playfully.
They enjoy a brief moment of smiling into each others eyes before Heechul pulls himself together and stuffs the order sheets back into his pocket. “My paycheck.” He grumbles, emphasizing it grudgingly.
And before Hangeng can even get in another word, he turns on his heel and shuffles back to the kitchen. His face is beet red and he doesn’t even know why, but he takes a deep breath and shoves all other thoughts to the back of his head.
“It’s admittedly hot in here.” The assistant cook, Leeteuk, comments lightly with a certain glow in his eyes as he stares at Heechul.
Kangin, another server, pulls the double doors open. “Not as hot as it was out there.”
They chuckle to each other, earning them a stern but subtle glare from the server still standing beside the doors.
“Get back to work!” Leeteuk playfully scolds Kangin.
The server frowns. “I am! I came to get the orders for table fifteen!”
And the bickering goes on, but the atmosphere is lifted and the burden is taken from Heechul’s shoulders. He occasionally glances through the small windows of the door to see Hangeng happily dining, a familiar smile gracing his lips.
These coincidences are just accidents, Heechul thinks to himself-- accidents that happen too often for them both.
-
Hangeng tells him it’s alright to dream when Heechul reveals his wishes to him.
They’re looking ahead into the distance-- a field of green beneath them and a baby blue sky doused with clouds made of cotton. Hangeng pulls out his cell phone and plays a song in a language Heechul doesn’t recognize, but the melody is soft and the voice is gentle.
As Hangeng puts the phone down onto the grass beneath them, Heechul reaches out, wanting to discover the name of the song, but Hangeng takes his hand and lays it in the grass, intertwining their fingers and grasping them firmly.
“I’m a Prince in a faraway country,” Hangeng exclaims, squeezing his eyes shut and imagining everything he says. “I live in the world’s largest castle, with billions and billions to my name. I have all the power I want in the world but I chose to run away, to the place I am now.”
Heechul listens intently, hearing every rise and fall in Hangeng’s voice.
“When I decide to go back, it will all be waiting for me-- wealth, fame, power, all that I ask for.” He continues.
“What would you ask for?” Heechul asks.
Hangeng opens his eyes, basking in the daylight. “I would ask for a little bit more time.”
“Why?” Heechul wonders aloud.
A breeze brushes past them but Heechul can feel the warmth emanating from Hangeng’s palm, the warmth in his smile as he looks him in the eyes. “I just want to spend a little bit more time with you,” Hangeng says, “to get to know you more.”
And Heechul feels the world coming to a stop.
They count the seconds, the moments, every corner stone of the time they’ve spent together, and none have been as significant as this, the moment Hangeng gradually closes the distance between them and the whole world goes silent, Heechul’s mind suddenly blanking and everything going white behind his closed eyelids.
Unconsciously, Heechul raises a hand to Hangeng’s shoulder and holds him-- maybe for support, maybe just to confirm that he’s really there.
Hangeng enjoys this feeling, the feeling of Heechul holding him, Heechul’s breath on his tongue and his soft lips on his own.
It’s as if they were meant to be, meant to melt into each other on that very day, ever since the second they were born, and they relish in the obscurity of each other-- of their feelings and their desires.
The kiss satiates them, making them numb and leaving them gasping for air.
“Does this mean you’ll finally come and meet my friends?” Hangeng asks, running a hand through Heechul’s soft, silky hair.
Heechul swats his hand away, but Hangeng grabs hold of them and holds them in his own. “You don’t even really know me, and I mean everything about me,” he tells Hangeng with furrowed brows.
But the other man doesn’t seem to really care, pulling Heechul’s knuckles to his lips and pressing a chaste kiss to them. “You want to be set free,” Hangeng smiles against the skin of his hands, “I’m willing to be the person to get you to freedom.”
And maybe that’s the answer Heechul has always been seeking for because a surge of happiness replenishes him and he finds himself deep in Hangeng’s embrace, his face hidden in the man’s chest, against his heart.
For too long he had fought a war on his own, resisting his every want and trying to live a life of pursuing dreams that were never his. The person now holding his hand was the only person who made him want to chase after a world of his own.
Hangeng was a person with wings; a person who flew with the winds which never stopped, but for Heechul he landed on the grounds and he’s now more than willing to bring Heechul along with him, to help Heechul fly.
He’ll help Heechul escape, to the paradise of his dreams.
-
Read Nyx's version of Hangeng/Heechul [War] here.
-
[ [TC/006]: Eunhyuk/Junsu [Vines] ] ♦ [ [TC/008]: Eunhyuk/Donghae [Memories] ]
-
A/N: I swore to myself I wouldn't ever contribute to the world of angsty Hanchul, so, here this is. I generally write angst, so this was INCREDIBLY HARD for me to force out of myself. I had to have a little bit of hinted sadness, though, but it's only to make it sweeter in the end. Hopefully this suffices as romantic and happy. I can't fluff, so, yeah. T.T
Pairing: Hangeng/Heechul
Rating: PG-13
Genre: General/Romance
Challenge: Themes Challenge
Disclaimer: I don't own any of them, their respective managements do. Plot is mine.
Summary: He's a man who's long dreamed of flying and along comes a person with wings, wanting more than anything to take him wherever he wants to go.
Warning: UN-BETA'D.
Challenge - Theme: War. Pairing: Hangeng/Heechul.
The first time they meet he falls out of a tree and lands flat onto the cement ground beneath him, dusting his scathed palms together and looking back up into the branches with a silent sigh.
Strong hands wrap around his shoulders and help him to his feet.
“You alright?”
Heechul takes a moment to gather his thoughts as the stranger bends over slightly to look him in the eyes. Eventually, he manages a nod.
The man smiles kindly and looks up into the tree briefly before furrowing his brows.
“The cat.” Heechul forces himself to say.
“Ahh,” the man chuckles, his eyes crinkling at the ends. He quickly lifts his messengers bag off of his shoulders, takes his cellphone out of his pocket, and hands it all over to Heechul. “Hold these for a second.”
Heechul accepts the items and watches as the stranger climbs the tree almost skillfully, every movement fluid and confident, and reaches for the cat. The smile spreads on the stranger's face, and it’s almost contagious, when the cat is resting fully in his embrace.
“Could you move over a little?” He asks.
With the man’s items in tact, Heechul steps away from the tree and opens up enough space for the stranger to land. He watches as the stranger makes a small hop, and the landing is rather loud, but the man and the cat in his arms make it to the ground safely.
The stranger holds out the cat to Heechul. “Yours?”
Heechul exchanges the stranger his belongings for the cat. He shakes his head.
“What are you going to do with it now then?” He wants to know.
Absentmindedly, Heechul quietly replies. “I don’t know.”
A warm smile surfaces and the stranger shrugs. He leans forward and pets the cat on the crown of its head, looking up at Heechul. “You could keep it. It kind of looks like you,” he says with a teasing tone.
Taking a silent breath, Heechul purses his lips and looks out into the streets.
The man bites his cheek, wondering if he had said something wrong. He scratches the back of his neck awkwardly, taking a look around. “Ah!” He exclaims, as if he’s spotted something in the distance. “I have to go!”
Heechul notices how the stranger knits his brows together, the quick swipe of his tongue over his dried lips.
“If you really don’t know what to do with it, maybe you should take it to the animal shelter,” the man suggests.
Looking down at the cat, who is purring happily in his arms, Heechul tries to decide whether or not he wants to. The stranger seems confused by his action, but is flustered by lost time.
“My name is Hangeng, I attend the academy just down the street. If you don’t know where the shelter is, I can keep the cat in my dorm and take it there after my classes.” He offers.
It’s an internal war Heechul is fighting, really.
The cat snuggles its nose into the crook of Heechul’s arm and it brings a smile to his lips. The cat is a little dirty, a little worn out, and, Heechul thinks, a year or two too old to be walking around in the streets under this sunlight but the cat is so warm, so incredibly soft and warm, that he doesn’t want to let go.
Hangeng thinks this to be one of the most beautiful and heartwarming sights he’s ever seen.
And truly, it is.
-
Hangeng runs into Heechul at a street shop one evening, and he remembers the man from all those weeks ago. He doesn’t know why, but he does. One knows a beauty when one sees one, he guesses.
“Did you end up adopting the cat?”
Startled, Heechul nearly drops the glass figurine in his hands. He turns around to find a familiar face leaning just over his shoulder, smiling into his eyes. His brows knit together for a moment, but eventually he remembers, too.
The man laughs. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to give you a scare.”
“It’s okay,” Heechul replies, patting himself on the chest. He places the figurine back in its original placement and shifts himself to face Hangeng fully, bowing a little as he greets him. “Yes, I did.” He says.
“I somehow knew you would.” Hangeng beams proudly.
And really, his smile is much more radiant than Heechul remembered it to be.
Both take a moment to absorb the awkward air around them before Hangeng takes the initiative to begin another conversation. “So, are you doing some casual shopping?”
Heechul briefly glances his own shoulder to look at the figurine he took interest in but then he shakes his head and holds his hands together.
“Oh.” Hangeng mutters.
The atmosphere is heavy and Hangeng finds himself shifting on the balls of his feet impatiently, stuffing his hands into his jean pockets.
“So, what are you up to?”
Heechul shrugs. “Nothing.”
“That’s great!” Hangeng grins. “I’m really hungry and I hate eating alone.”
“But I--”
Hangeng held up an accusing finger. “You just said you didn’t have anything to do, so you’re not allowed to reject me. I haven’t had anything to eat since last night. Do you really want to see me starve to death?”
Unable to refute, Heechul swallowed his words.
“Good.”
-
The entire meal is much too tense for comfort, Heechul thinks.
He isn’t used to eating with strangers, though Hangeng refuses to be acknowledged as a mere stranger to Heechul because, he insists, they’ve experienced a life-and-death situation together before.
There’s not much Heechul can argue with about that, he supposes.
But Hangeng doesn’t ask him anything that trespasses his personal boundaries and he’s relieved, thankful almost. He can just about say Hangeng makes him feel relaxed, really, beneath all the superficial, non-existent pressure he burdens.
They talk about the food, they talk about the beverages, and Hangeng talks about his life in school. Too many of his daily experiences are interesting, and Heechul finds something suspicious about that-- his life has never been anything but dull and bleary.
Until Hangeng appeared, that is.
“And then the janitor lady tried to make me pay her for to get my own garbage back. My garbage,” Hangeng groans.
Heechul makes an effort to laugh, but it only comes out as a strained smile. He’s not quite used to smiling, either.
The other man rests an elbow on the table and supports his cheek in his palm. He observes Heechul closely and, unexpectedly, smiles wide. “You’re a good listener,” he comments lightly, tilting his head to the side.
Across the table, Heechul secretly wonders if Hangeng was, somehow, drunk. Instead of asking, however, he stares into his eyes and they maintain this really long, really intense staring contest that neither of them understand.
Then Hangeng reaches across the table and holds out his hand. “Let me see your cellphone,” he says, simple and clean.
For a second, Heechul wonders if that would be the right thing to do. From Hangeng’s transparent and luminescent eyes, he reads a story that is more complicated than what they seem-- far from pure, but too deep for him to see clearly.
Really, though, he’s probably just overthinking it. Just like he does with everything else. This time, he wants to take a risk-- to escape his inner battle, to act as he wants.
“Only if you give me yours.”
Hangeng grins and it’s a stupid grin, he admits, but he pulls out his cellphone and they exchange the devices. He watches as Heechul types in his number into his cell and he feels his heart beating happily against his ribs, healthy and full of life.
And Heechul screams at his inner conscience, telling himself to shut up and leave him alone. All he wants to do it let his will give him a way, and not the other way around. He wants to live for himself, if only once.
At the end of the meal, Hangeng pushes a small gift bag across the table to Heechul. After Heechul opens it, he smiles warmly and lifts his eyes to meet with Hangeng's.
"So that's where you went." He recalls, remembering the long leave Hangeng took to 'use the restroom'.
Hangeng grins. "It's a gift, for spending so much meaningful time with me today."
Heechul is demanded by Hangeng to leave it at that and the rest of the evening Heechul holds the figurine in his hand tightly, too afraid to let it go. It was once a fragment of his memories-- a part of his life. Now, it's his again.
-
He receives another text message today, two days after the first, and Heechul can’t explain the sudden drumming of his heart in his ears.
It’s a simple text, with a photo of a lone bird through the view of a cafe window. The man smiles to himself and reads the short words accompanying the photo, ‘it reminds me of you’ Hangeng says, and he saves the picture into his memory.
I’m not so alone. Heechul argues back.
Hangeng chuckles at the cell phone and pokes the window with his pointer finger. The bird looks his way in minor alert, but makes no motion to move. It still reminds me of you, he eventually writes.
And Heechul wonders if maybe Hangeng just thinks about him a little too much. He fancies the thought briefly, shoving his phone back into his pocket and making his way through the market squares.
“You look like you’re in a good mood today, Heechul-ah.”
An old man navigating a large garbage wagon stops to smile at him, wiping away the sweat from his forehead with the back of his bare arm. Heechul smiles back, and it becomes a world of rainbows and sunshine. “Not so bad yourself, ahjussi.” He says.
Ahjussi laughs, nodding his head. “Found lots of considerable valuables in the junk today. I think I can buy a full dinner for my wife tonight.”
“Your kids left town again?” Heechul asks, joining the old man and helping him push his wagon.
The squeaking of the wagon tires wear Heechul’s ears out, but they keep walking. “Can’t complain that they never stay long. They’ve got school, y’know?”
Heechul nods.
“How about your mother? Is she doing any better?”
The silence falls heavy on Heechul’s shoulders, but he shrugs it off. Plastering on a smile, he raises his eyes to take a look at the sky. “It’s a good day today.”
“It is.” Ahjussi agrees. “The best in a while.”
-
It rained here. Do you see the stars after the storm?
Heechul is startled awake by a loud alert and vibration. He takes his cell phone out of his pocket and sighs to himself when he recognizes the name attached to the message. After a bit of self convincing, he drags himself from his bed and stumbles to the window, his neck heavy and many parts of his body sore.
He looks up to the sky, but all he sees is darkness. Nope, he replies. I think the clouds are blocking them.
It takes a moment too long for Heechul to press the send button, but seconds later he receives a reply from Hangeng. I just wanted to tell you to stay dry, the message reads. Don’t get sick.
You care too much, Heechul teases. He takes a quick look at the back of his throbbing arms, runs a hand over his aching thighs, and smiles weakly. I’m not that weak.
Hangeng just shakes his head and types back a full essay that argues about how changing weather is bad for the body, and that when he’s studying the weather never decides to be good to him.
The longer his refute is, the bigger Heechul’s grin becomes.
-
“Heechul-ah, can you deliver this to table four?” Suddenly a voice shouts, and Heechul shoves his phone into his apron pocket, running for the kitchen.
He trips over a floor mat and lands on his knees.
The cook automatically rushes to help him to his feet. “Are you alright? You didn’t have to run!” He lectures Heechul. After a bit of inspection, he decides that Heechul is healthily alive and well enough to continue working.
“Sorry.” Heechul apologizes, but there’s this dumb smile on his face.
“Table nine.” The cook repeats with a softer tone. The other employees snicker at his change in attitude and he just clears his throat, shouting for them to get back to work.
They don’t get to see Heechul’s smile often, so they’ve learned to cherish it. He gets off the hook too often because of his quiet nature-- no one hasn’t come to treat him like a fragile work of art, beautiful and weak but not incapable.
He’s greeted by a familiar face at the table-- a smile he knows all too well.
“So, you work here.” Hangeng muses.
Heechul settles the plate in front of him and pulls out an order sheet from his apron pocket. “The cost is double for friends,” Heechul says, “this is an expensive meal you’ve got here.”
“How much will it cost to have you sit down and eat with me?” Hangeng asks playfully.
They enjoy a brief moment of smiling into each others eyes before Heechul pulls himself together and stuffs the order sheets back into his pocket. “My paycheck.” He grumbles, emphasizing it grudgingly.
And before Hangeng can even get in another word, he turns on his heel and shuffles back to the kitchen. His face is beet red and he doesn’t even know why, but he takes a deep breath and shoves all other thoughts to the back of his head.
“It’s admittedly hot in here.” The assistant cook, Leeteuk, comments lightly with a certain glow in his eyes as he stares at Heechul.
Kangin, another server, pulls the double doors open. “Not as hot as it was out there.”
They chuckle to each other, earning them a stern but subtle glare from the server still standing beside the doors.
“Get back to work!” Leeteuk playfully scolds Kangin.
The server frowns. “I am! I came to get the orders for table fifteen!”
And the bickering goes on, but the atmosphere is lifted and the burden is taken from Heechul’s shoulders. He occasionally glances through the small windows of the door to see Hangeng happily dining, a familiar smile gracing his lips.
These coincidences are just accidents, Heechul thinks to himself-- accidents that happen too often for them both.
-
Hangeng tells him it’s alright to dream when Heechul reveals his wishes to him.
They’re looking ahead into the distance-- a field of green beneath them and a baby blue sky doused with clouds made of cotton. Hangeng pulls out his cell phone and plays a song in a language Heechul doesn’t recognize, but the melody is soft and the voice is gentle.
As Hangeng puts the phone down onto the grass beneath them, Heechul reaches out, wanting to discover the name of the song, but Hangeng takes his hand and lays it in the grass, intertwining their fingers and grasping them firmly.
“I’m a Prince in a faraway country,” Hangeng exclaims, squeezing his eyes shut and imagining everything he says. “I live in the world’s largest castle, with billions and billions to my name. I have all the power I want in the world but I chose to run away, to the place I am now.”
Heechul listens intently, hearing every rise and fall in Hangeng’s voice.
“When I decide to go back, it will all be waiting for me-- wealth, fame, power, all that I ask for.” He continues.
“What would you ask for?” Heechul asks.
Hangeng opens his eyes, basking in the daylight. “I would ask for a little bit more time.”
“Why?” Heechul wonders aloud.
A breeze brushes past them but Heechul can feel the warmth emanating from Hangeng’s palm, the warmth in his smile as he looks him in the eyes. “I just want to spend a little bit more time with you,” Hangeng says, “to get to know you more.”
And Heechul feels the world coming to a stop.
They count the seconds, the moments, every corner stone of the time they’ve spent together, and none have been as significant as this, the moment Hangeng gradually closes the distance between them and the whole world goes silent, Heechul’s mind suddenly blanking and everything going white behind his closed eyelids.
Unconsciously, Heechul raises a hand to Hangeng’s shoulder and holds him-- maybe for support, maybe just to confirm that he’s really there.
Hangeng enjoys this feeling, the feeling of Heechul holding him, Heechul’s breath on his tongue and his soft lips on his own.
It’s as if they were meant to be, meant to melt into each other on that very day, ever since the second they were born, and they relish in the obscurity of each other-- of their feelings and their desires.
The kiss satiates them, making them numb and leaving them gasping for air.
“Does this mean you’ll finally come and meet my friends?” Hangeng asks, running a hand through Heechul’s soft, silky hair.
Heechul swats his hand away, but Hangeng grabs hold of them and holds them in his own. “You don’t even really know me, and I mean everything about me,” he tells Hangeng with furrowed brows.
But the other man doesn’t seem to really care, pulling Heechul’s knuckles to his lips and pressing a chaste kiss to them. “You want to be set free,” Hangeng smiles against the skin of his hands, “I’m willing to be the person to get you to freedom.”
And maybe that’s the answer Heechul has always been seeking for because a surge of happiness replenishes him and he finds himself deep in Hangeng’s embrace, his face hidden in the man’s chest, against his heart.
For too long he had fought a war on his own, resisting his every want and trying to live a life of pursuing dreams that were never his. The person now holding his hand was the only person who made him want to chase after a world of his own.
Hangeng was a person with wings; a person who flew with the winds which never stopped, but for Heechul he landed on the grounds and he’s now more than willing to bring Heechul along with him, to help Heechul fly.
He’ll help Heechul escape, to the paradise of his dreams.
-
Read Nyx's version of Hangeng/Heechul [War] here.
-
[ [TC/006]: Eunhyuk/Junsu [Vines] ] ♦ [ [TC/008]: Eunhyuk/Donghae [Memories] ]
-
A/N: I swore to myself I wouldn't ever contribute to the world of angsty Hanchul, so, here this is. I generally write angst, so this was INCREDIBLY HARD for me to force out of myself. I had to have a little bit of hinted sadness, though, but it's only to make it sweeter in the end. Hopefully this suffices as romantic and happy. I can't fluff, so, yeah. T.T