The Halfling - Part 12
Title: The Halfling
Pairing(s): Onkey, side 2min
Rating: PG-13 (overall)
Genre: Romance, sci-fi (?)
Disclaimer: I don't own SHINee, I don't own any of the members. Their souls and bodies belong to SM, I am only a lowly, foreign fanfic writer.
Onew was happy to see that something seemed to change a little in Key after his allergic reaction only two weeks before.
He was more comfortable, not only with the other boy, but with the house in general. He had ventured down to the library on his own to retrieve books only two days after, and on the fourth day had spent time in the dance studio alone - Onew assumed to dance and paint but wasn’t sure as he hadn’t followed him in. Just like he’d promised, that room was for Key. The Halfling had even started conversations himself and had called down to the kitchens for food without Onew’s direction; and sometimes without asking if he wanted to eat anything, much to the elder’s displeasure.
Key had been noticeably nicer to Jonghyun when the tailor had visited over those two weeks, and had even joined in a bit during some conversations Onew, Jonghyun and Taemin were having. Most of the time, however, he sat by and listened quietly with Minho. All around, Onew was more than thrilled at the changes in Key. It seemed as if the Halfling was starting to feel safe and even, Onew hoped, to feel more at home in just a couple weeks.
Mid-morning at the end of the second week found Onew at his desk in his sitting room. He was flipping through the daily news stories on the bottom screen of his laptop while monitoring the weather conditions on top from time to time. A winter storm was supposed to be rolling through the area that day and Onew hoped it would keep his parents in the capital city rather than returning to the estate. Vehicles would have little problem in the snow - technology had come too far to keep humans in if they really chose to venture out - but sometimes people preferred to not bother with it and just stay indoors.
The opening of his bedroom door caught Onew’s attention and he looked up in time to see Key shuffling into the sitting room, bundled up in an oversized grey sweater and slim fitting jeans. His large black slippers slid along the floor as he walked and his black eyes blinked sleepily while he adjusted to the brighter light of the sitting room. Key headed for the fireplace, pulling his sweater tighter around himself, and Onew smiled.
He wasn’t ready to give up the small world they’d created in his parents’ absence.
-----------------------
The day had gone by quietly. The snowstorm continued to rage outside and Onew hadn’t heard a word about his parents impending arrival.
He was curled up in his bed reading and subconsciously listening to the shower running in the bathroom. Key, he’d come to learn, took quick showers. The Halfling rarely spent more than ten minutes under the water but it was the after-shower ritual that really took time.
Along with all natural and organic shower essentials Jonghyun had brought Key, the basket had also been full of less imperative beauty products (which Onew was one hundred percent sure Jonghyun would never admit he himself used). The basket was full of moisturizer, body lotion, hair creams, foundation, nail clippers and cuticle creams and countless other things Onew never used. He was a simple guy, after all.
Key, however, had taken to the products like a duck to water. He often spent twenty to thirty minutes after a shower trimming his nails, slathering on creams, brushing his hair and a thousand other things. Onew didn’t mind so much; they were things that obviously Key enjoyed - he’d once told Onew his people used to apply mixtures of berries to their skin on his home planet for beauty reasons. Plus he liked the way the coco butter made Key smell like fresh baked cookies when he curled up next to him in bed at night. Not that he’d admit that. No.
The only downside to the Halflings newfound routine was that it seemed to be making him impossibly more attractive. Which made Onew’s day-to-day life just that much harder. Key’s skin was brighter, his hair looked even softer and he smelled absolutely divine.
Onew was considering these facts with a far away look in his eyes when the bathroom door opened and Key came out dressed in sweatpants and a tee shirt. He immediately settled into Onew’s desk chair and let his tail hang gracefully over the armrest to just brush the floor. The heir’s desk had been taken over by Key’s beauty products and as he watched the blonde begin applying moisturizer to alabaster skin he mused that perhaps he should just buy him a vanity.
His thoughts were interrupted by the beeping of his room remote and he reached over immediately to answer it.
“Yes?”
“My lord,” Junsil’s voice floated through the small device. “The Duke and Duchess have arrived. They would like to see you in the drawing room before they retire for the evening. And they would like you to bring your Halfling with you, my lord.”
Onew instantly turned worried eyes toward Key who was looking back with widened black eyes. “Of course, Junsil. I’ll be down in a moment.”
“Yes, my lord,” and the device beeped to signal Junsil had disconnected.
Onew stood from his bed slowly and moved to his wardrobe to pull on a sweater.
“My lord?” Key questioned quietly.
“I knew you’d have to meet them eventually, Key,” the older sighed. “You remember my father, right? From the Keeper’s?” Key’s face darkened for a moment but he only nodded silently in response. “Then you’ll remember his opinion of Halflings. Please don’t be offended by the things they say about you. If I pretend to agree with them they’ll leave us alone.”
“I understand, my lord,” the blonde finished with his moisturizer and stood.
Key followed behind his master silently, only the shuffling of his slippers on the floor making any noise. When they reached the large white doors outside the drawing room Onew paused and turned to look at the Halfling one more time. Key did not return his gaze, only stared straight forward with a blank look on his face. The caramel haired boy felt a tugging in his stomach immediately; he hadn’t seen that look in a while. Onew took a deep breath and entered the room.
His mother and father sat on the sofa each drinking a cup of tea. Upon hearing his entrance his mother stood immediately with a smile on her face.
“Onew-ah, darling!” the woman exclaimed and placed her delicate china teacup on the coffee table before the couch.
“Mother, Father,” Onew bowed. “I trust your trip went well.”
“Very well. The Italian Prime Minister was asking about you. His daughter is still single, you know. She is, of course, not royalty but the political benefits are obvious I think,” his mother rattled on. She was always trying to find him a wife. “And she is so lovely, Onew-ah.”
“Of course, mother. I will have to send her a message and see how she is doing,” Onew barely held in his grimace. His lack of interest in the poor girl - who he knew for a fact didn’t want any part of him - was clear to everyone but the Duchess.
Onew turned his attention to his father then who had remained silent. The Duke stood, his face already set in a frown, and the heir knew that look; his father was displeased about something.
“What are you wearing?” the Duke asked. Onew glanced down to his sweater and sweatpants and cursed himself for not having thought to change.
“I apologize, Father, but I was about to go to bed when you called for me.”
“And the Halfling?”
Onew glanced behind himself to see Key standing with his head bowed, hands clasped in front of his body with his ears just barely drooped. “He was going to bed as well, Father.”
The Duke eyed Key disapprovingly and gave a soft grunt as if to portray his lack of impression.
“Junsil has informed me that he does not sleep in his own bedroom but in yours,” two hard eyes flicked back to his son before adding, “every night.”
“Forgive me, Father, but many Pleasure Hal-“
“Junsil has also informed me,” the Duke interrupted, “that the Halfling had a reaction to body wash. How much did the emergency doctor visit cost me, Jinki-yah?”
“Father, we have plenty of money. He could have died, I couldn’t just-“
“So then he would have died, Jinki. And you would have bought another.”
The room fell into a harsh silence. Onew stood stock still, so shocked that he couldn’t find a response. He knew there were owners that would have done that, he had told Key as much, but the thought that his own father would willingly have done so - and expected Onew to do it as well - was too much. He knew his father was a cruel man, but this? How many slaves had died in his ownership?
“Jinwoo,” the Duchess murmured softly and touched her husbands arm.
“No, Jiwon! You baby him too much,” the Duke protested before turning back to his son.
“Father, he is my Halfling and I will treat him as I see fit,” Onew said, somehow managing to stare his father in the eyes the whole time.
“You are a soft master, Jinki. Just as I thought you would be. Remember this, son,” Jinwoo pointed a thick finger in Onew’s face. “He is your Halfling. He is not your pet, he is not your friend, and whatever you are thinking, you are not a commoner. You will grow up and marry a woman and produce an heir. And he,” the Duke turned his finger on the silent blonde behind his son, “will grow old. And you will discard of him just as everyone discards of their Pleasure Halflings once they reach a certain age. Do you understand me?”
Onew struggled for words. He could feel so many thoughts pushing in his throat to get out, blinked against the sting of frustrated tears in his eyes. Key wasn’t a thing, he was a living being, and hearing him spoken of like that, as something to be discarded, was sickening. Finally the dam broke and he pushed his father’s hand out of his face.
“First of all, Father,” was spit out like a curse, “his name is Kibum, and he is my friend. And I would appreciate it if you refrained from referring to him as if he were a toy to dispose of when I am done with it. We have plenty of money, plenty of space and plenty of resources. If you had not have had Junsil report every detail back to you, you would never have known anything that happened.” Onew could see his father’s face growing red, and he knew he should stop but he just couldn’t. This was only a fraction of what he’d been dying to say to his father for ages and he could hold back no longer. “I have not asked much from you, Father, so all I ask for now is that I may treat Kibum as I would like to; which is as a sentient being. Since that is what he is, after all.”
The crack that rang throughout the room was incredible.
Onew could swear he heard the sound before he registered the feeling or that his head had been thrown sideways. The pain was sharp against his skin and hit like a blast before dulling just barely and spreading up his cheekbone. He thought for a moment that his eye had exploded, or perhaps his vision had just been damaged because surely the floor didn’t look that fuzzy before? A small gasp sounded from behind Onew but he paid it little attention.
“I do not want to see you again until you learn how to speak to your father,” the Duke demanded before leaving the room altogether.
Onew watched his father silently and then brought a hand up to his cheek, just barely hovering over the skin. He could feel the heat radiating from it even without actually touching and could only imagine the red color it must have been turning.
“Your impropriety is mortifying, Jinki-yah,” the Duchess downright hissed before following her husband out of the room.
“My lord,” Key whispered almost as soon as the door shut. A gentle hand turned the young heir around until he was faced with two black eyes, widened in worry. Key touched his fingertips to Onew’s throbbing cheek. He just barely made contact but still the older flinched away. Wiping a stray tear from his master’s non-injured cheek, he murmured, “You should not have said those things to the Duke, my lord.”
Onew just shook his head as if to signal he didn’t want to speak about it. “Let’s go.”
Key followed after him in silence.
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Sometime later found them sitting on Onew’s large bed. Key sat with his knees pulled up to his chin and watched Onew press ice to his face. Neither of them had said anything since they left the drawing room except to call for a maid to bring ice up from the kitchens.
Onew could feel Key’s eyes on him but he didn’t know what to say. He was upset and embarrassed. His father hadn’t hit him in a long time, not since he learned it was easier to stay quiet and do as he was told. To be honest, Onew wasn’t quite so sure if he was more embarrassed that he hadn’t kept his cool in front of the Duke - he often prided himself on his ability to keep a level head and not get emotional - or simply that he had been hit in front of Key. Onew couldn’t remember having ever felt so upset with his father. Maybe because he knew and lived with a Halfling now he found he could no longer ignore the comments. He couldn’t separate himself from that world any longer. During his musings the caramel haired boy had unconsciously stopped pressing the ice to his face and was instead holding it in his lap, playing with the edges of the hand towel it was wrapped in.
“Are you alright, my lord?” Key asked softly.
“I’m fine,” Onew whispered back, finding he didn’t have it in him to push his voice any louder. “Let’s just go to sleep,” he dropped the ice and towel into a bowl on his bedside table.
Onew slid down in bed and pulled the covers up to his chin. He waited a moment but when he realized Key was still sitting he turned his head, carful of his cheek on the pillow, and saw the Halfling distractedly playing with the brown tip of his tail. He only watched Key until finally two coal eyes turned toward him.
“Do you want to talk about something?”
“No, my lord, I just-“ Key shook his head, ears twitching uncertainly. “I have never before seen a father treat his son that way.”
“Yeah, well,” Onew turned his eyes back to the ceiling. “I’m sorry you had to see that.”
Onew felt Key shuffle down into a laying position as well. A bit more shuffling and then they both lay in silence. Onew reached over to turn off the light when Key said something.
“My parents always loved me,” the blonde whispered. “You deserve parents who treat you as mine treated me.”
Onew froze in the middle of his action and turned back slowly. Key was lying on his back, staring at the ceiling blankly just as Onew had been before. His eyes were distant again. He’d never before mentioned his family and Onew had never asked about them, no matter how badly the curiosity ate at him.
“Do you miss them?” was out of the heir’s mouth before he could stop himself. And then he cringed; of course Key missed his parents.
Key seemed to understand Onew’s embarrassment, though, because he only smiled sadly and nodded, “Every moment, my lord.”
“Are…are they still on Agrius?”
Eyebrows furrowed over black eyes that suddenly shone more in the lamplight. “No, my lord. When the men came…” Key trailed off, swallowing thickly. “Everyone they did not take was killed.”
Onew didn’t know what to say, but he did know that the tears threatening to fall from Key’s eyes upset him deeply. Seeing Key cry was one of the worst things he could think of.
“Why don’t we go to sleep?” the young heir suggested gently. “We've had an eventful night.”
Key nodded silently and shuffled in his position, discretely trying to hide his unshed tears. As soon as Onew was horizontal Key slid over and rested his head on the other’s chest. The lights were turned off and they lay in silence for a few moments.
“Thank you for defending me, my lord,” Key whispered softly and then added even more quietly, “And yourself.”
Onew could only shut his eyes against the sudden onslaught of emotions.
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“I have a serious problem. A big problem. A catastrophic problem,” Onew rambled. He had been pacing the room for upwards of three minutes, doing little more than saying variations of the previous sentence. Key was in the library downstairs reading, as Onew had told him he and his best friend had something private to talk about. Jonghyun sighed as he watched his friend make probably his twelfth pass of the table he sat at.
“Hyung, are you going to tell me what’s going on?”
Onew stopped his pacing and turned to stare at his best friend. He looked very serious, took a breath and then-
“I’m in love with Kibum.”
“Old news,” Jonghyun muttered into his coffee cup with a roll of his eyes.
“Jonghyun, I’m being serious!” the caramel haired boy exclaimed.
“So am I, hyung,” the tailor crossed his legs. “Taemin and I have known how deep your feelings go since we first saw you two together.”
“You don’t understand,” Onew collapsed into the chair opposite his friend. “I’ve never felt this before. He understands so many things about me so easily…”
“That is relatively rare,” Jonghyun admitted quietly.
“I defended him in front of my father.”
“Excuse me?” Jonghyun’s eyes tripled in size.
“I told him I wanted him to leave us alone, and that I wanted to treat Kibum how I see fit,” Onew murmured, playing with his fingers.
“What did the Duke do?” the brunette’s shock was barely hidden.
“He slapped me.”
“Hyung,” Jonghyun shook his head. “You can’t upset your father. He could have Kibum taken away! Just pretend to agree with him. There are certain expectations for a noble, you know that.”
“I’m so sick of expectations, Jjong!” Onew burst out, causing his friend to jump in surprise. “I always follow the rules and I do as I’m told and I do what’s expected of me. All I ask for is to be happy but even that’s too much.”
“I’m sure Kibum would understand that you have to make the Duke believe you, and that one day you’ll have to marry and have a child. Minho and Taemin have made it work-“
Jonghyun stopped talking abruptly when Onew stood from the table and walked toward his fireplace. He stood in silence, staring at the flames and biting his lip. He would love nothing more than to carry on a relationship like the one the Prince and his bull Halfling had.
“This isn’t a romance novel, Jonghyun-ah,” the heir said after a moment. “This is real life. Things don’t happen that easily.”
“Of course it’s real life!” the younger scoffed. “Do you think Taemin lives in a fairytale? If your cousin can do it why can’t you?”
“Because Taemin is different. Minho loves him back.”
“And Kibum doesn’t love you?” Jonghyun finished the thought. Onew nodded sadly, teeth still abusing his lip. “The only difference between you and Taemin is that he made his feelings clear once he felt them. Kibum could love you, hyung.”
Onew shook his head and Jonghyun sighed at his friend’s stubbornness.
The truth was that Onew was fairly certain that to Key he was only a master and possibly a friend. He protected the Halfling and shared his time but nothing more. And he was too afraid to test the waters because his greatest fear was that Key would think the past months had been a rouse to gain the blonde’s affections. Onew didn’t want to be compared to those people from Key’s past who had hurt him so terribly. He was too afraid to risk the delicate balance they had found.
It was safer to keep their relationship as it was now. But, for Onew at least, it was becoming exponentially harder.
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sdnvbiwrnpow oh my god HOW LONG HAS IT BEEN!? okay so i want to start by saying im so sorry. and then i'd like to continue by saying im so sorry for how hard this part sucks. i did everything i wanted to with this update but it somehow doesn't feel good to me. but i really couldn't keep you guys waiting any longer. please let me know what you think. it means so much that you've stuck around to read this - all three of you lmao! it was quite the wait i'm so sorry again!
next
Pairing(s): Onkey, side 2min
Rating: PG-13 (overall)
Genre: Romance, sci-fi (?)
Disclaimer: I don't own SHINee, I don't own any of the members. Their souls and bodies belong to SM, I am only a lowly, foreign fanfic writer.
Onew was happy to see that something seemed to change a little in Key after his allergic reaction only two weeks before.
He was more comfortable, not only with the other boy, but with the house in general. He had ventured down to the library on his own to retrieve books only two days after, and on the fourth day had spent time in the dance studio alone - Onew assumed to dance and paint but wasn’t sure as he hadn’t followed him in. Just like he’d promised, that room was for Key. The Halfling had even started conversations himself and had called down to the kitchens for food without Onew’s direction; and sometimes without asking if he wanted to eat anything, much to the elder’s displeasure.
Key had been noticeably nicer to Jonghyun when the tailor had visited over those two weeks, and had even joined in a bit during some conversations Onew, Jonghyun and Taemin were having. Most of the time, however, he sat by and listened quietly with Minho. All around, Onew was more than thrilled at the changes in Key. It seemed as if the Halfling was starting to feel safe and even, Onew hoped, to feel more at home in just a couple weeks.
Mid-morning at the end of the second week found Onew at his desk in his sitting room. He was flipping through the daily news stories on the bottom screen of his laptop while monitoring the weather conditions on top from time to time. A winter storm was supposed to be rolling through the area that day and Onew hoped it would keep his parents in the capital city rather than returning to the estate. Vehicles would have little problem in the snow - technology had come too far to keep humans in if they really chose to venture out - but sometimes people preferred to not bother with it and just stay indoors.
The opening of his bedroom door caught Onew’s attention and he looked up in time to see Key shuffling into the sitting room, bundled up in an oversized grey sweater and slim fitting jeans. His large black slippers slid along the floor as he walked and his black eyes blinked sleepily while he adjusted to the brighter light of the sitting room. Key headed for the fireplace, pulling his sweater tighter around himself, and Onew smiled.
He wasn’t ready to give up the small world they’d created in his parents’ absence.
-----------------------
The day had gone by quietly. The snowstorm continued to rage outside and Onew hadn’t heard a word about his parents impending arrival.
He was curled up in his bed reading and subconsciously listening to the shower running in the bathroom. Key, he’d come to learn, took quick showers. The Halfling rarely spent more than ten minutes under the water but it was the after-shower ritual that really took time.
Along with all natural and organic shower essentials Jonghyun had brought Key, the basket had also been full of less imperative beauty products (which Onew was one hundred percent sure Jonghyun would never admit he himself used). The basket was full of moisturizer, body lotion, hair creams, foundation, nail clippers and cuticle creams and countless other things Onew never used. He was a simple guy, after all.
Key, however, had taken to the products like a duck to water. He often spent twenty to thirty minutes after a shower trimming his nails, slathering on creams, brushing his hair and a thousand other things. Onew didn’t mind so much; they were things that obviously Key enjoyed - he’d once told Onew his people used to apply mixtures of berries to their skin on his home planet for beauty reasons. Plus he liked the way the coco butter made Key smell like fresh baked cookies when he curled up next to him in bed at night. Not that he’d admit that. No.
The only downside to the Halflings newfound routine was that it seemed to be making him impossibly more attractive. Which made Onew’s day-to-day life just that much harder. Key’s skin was brighter, his hair looked even softer and he smelled absolutely divine.
Onew was considering these facts with a far away look in his eyes when the bathroom door opened and Key came out dressed in sweatpants and a tee shirt. He immediately settled into Onew’s desk chair and let his tail hang gracefully over the armrest to just brush the floor. The heir’s desk had been taken over by Key’s beauty products and as he watched the blonde begin applying moisturizer to alabaster skin he mused that perhaps he should just buy him a vanity.
His thoughts were interrupted by the beeping of his room remote and he reached over immediately to answer it.
“Yes?”
“My lord,” Junsil’s voice floated through the small device. “The Duke and Duchess have arrived. They would like to see you in the drawing room before they retire for the evening. And they would like you to bring your Halfling with you, my lord.”
Onew instantly turned worried eyes toward Key who was looking back with widened black eyes. “Of course, Junsil. I’ll be down in a moment.”
“Yes, my lord,” and the device beeped to signal Junsil had disconnected.
Onew stood from his bed slowly and moved to his wardrobe to pull on a sweater.
“My lord?” Key questioned quietly.
“I knew you’d have to meet them eventually, Key,” the older sighed. “You remember my father, right? From the Keeper’s?” Key’s face darkened for a moment but he only nodded silently in response. “Then you’ll remember his opinion of Halflings. Please don’t be offended by the things they say about you. If I pretend to agree with them they’ll leave us alone.”
“I understand, my lord,” the blonde finished with his moisturizer and stood.
Key followed behind his master silently, only the shuffling of his slippers on the floor making any noise. When they reached the large white doors outside the drawing room Onew paused and turned to look at the Halfling one more time. Key did not return his gaze, only stared straight forward with a blank look on his face. The caramel haired boy felt a tugging in his stomach immediately; he hadn’t seen that look in a while. Onew took a deep breath and entered the room.
His mother and father sat on the sofa each drinking a cup of tea. Upon hearing his entrance his mother stood immediately with a smile on her face.
“Onew-ah, darling!” the woman exclaimed and placed her delicate china teacup on the coffee table before the couch.
“Mother, Father,” Onew bowed. “I trust your trip went well.”
“Very well. The Italian Prime Minister was asking about you. His daughter is still single, you know. She is, of course, not royalty but the political benefits are obvious I think,” his mother rattled on. She was always trying to find him a wife. “And she is so lovely, Onew-ah.”
“Of course, mother. I will have to send her a message and see how she is doing,” Onew barely held in his grimace. His lack of interest in the poor girl - who he knew for a fact didn’t want any part of him - was clear to everyone but the Duchess.
Onew turned his attention to his father then who had remained silent. The Duke stood, his face already set in a frown, and the heir knew that look; his father was displeased about something.
“What are you wearing?” the Duke asked. Onew glanced down to his sweater and sweatpants and cursed himself for not having thought to change.
“I apologize, Father, but I was about to go to bed when you called for me.”
“And the Halfling?”
Onew glanced behind himself to see Key standing with his head bowed, hands clasped in front of his body with his ears just barely drooped. “He was going to bed as well, Father.”
The Duke eyed Key disapprovingly and gave a soft grunt as if to portray his lack of impression.
“Junsil has informed me that he does not sleep in his own bedroom but in yours,” two hard eyes flicked back to his son before adding, “every night.”
“Forgive me, Father, but many Pleasure Hal-“
“Junsil has also informed me,” the Duke interrupted, “that the Halfling had a reaction to body wash. How much did the emergency doctor visit cost me, Jinki-yah?”
“Father, we have plenty of money. He could have died, I couldn’t just-“
“So then he would have died, Jinki. And you would have bought another.”
The room fell into a harsh silence. Onew stood stock still, so shocked that he couldn’t find a response. He knew there were owners that would have done that, he had told Key as much, but the thought that his own father would willingly have done so - and expected Onew to do it as well - was too much. He knew his father was a cruel man, but this? How many slaves had died in his ownership?
“Jinwoo,” the Duchess murmured softly and touched her husbands arm.
“No, Jiwon! You baby him too much,” the Duke protested before turning back to his son.
“Father, he is my Halfling and I will treat him as I see fit,” Onew said, somehow managing to stare his father in the eyes the whole time.
“You are a soft master, Jinki. Just as I thought you would be. Remember this, son,” Jinwoo pointed a thick finger in Onew’s face. “He is your Halfling. He is not your pet, he is not your friend, and whatever you are thinking, you are not a commoner. You will grow up and marry a woman and produce an heir. And he,” the Duke turned his finger on the silent blonde behind his son, “will grow old. And you will discard of him just as everyone discards of their Pleasure Halflings once they reach a certain age. Do you understand me?”
Onew struggled for words. He could feel so many thoughts pushing in his throat to get out, blinked against the sting of frustrated tears in his eyes. Key wasn’t a thing, he was a living being, and hearing him spoken of like that, as something to be discarded, was sickening. Finally the dam broke and he pushed his father’s hand out of his face.
“First of all, Father,” was spit out like a curse, “his name is Kibum, and he is my friend. And I would appreciate it if you refrained from referring to him as if he were a toy to dispose of when I am done with it. We have plenty of money, plenty of space and plenty of resources. If you had not have had Junsil report every detail back to you, you would never have known anything that happened.” Onew could see his father’s face growing red, and he knew he should stop but he just couldn’t. This was only a fraction of what he’d been dying to say to his father for ages and he could hold back no longer. “I have not asked much from you, Father, so all I ask for now is that I may treat Kibum as I would like to; which is as a sentient being. Since that is what he is, after all.”
The crack that rang throughout the room was incredible.
Onew could swear he heard the sound before he registered the feeling or that his head had been thrown sideways. The pain was sharp against his skin and hit like a blast before dulling just barely and spreading up his cheekbone. He thought for a moment that his eye had exploded, or perhaps his vision had just been damaged because surely the floor didn’t look that fuzzy before? A small gasp sounded from behind Onew but he paid it little attention.
“I do not want to see you again until you learn how to speak to your father,” the Duke demanded before leaving the room altogether.
Onew watched his father silently and then brought a hand up to his cheek, just barely hovering over the skin. He could feel the heat radiating from it even without actually touching and could only imagine the red color it must have been turning.
“Your impropriety is mortifying, Jinki-yah,” the Duchess downright hissed before following her husband out of the room.
“My lord,” Key whispered almost as soon as the door shut. A gentle hand turned the young heir around until he was faced with two black eyes, widened in worry. Key touched his fingertips to Onew’s throbbing cheek. He just barely made contact but still the older flinched away. Wiping a stray tear from his master’s non-injured cheek, he murmured, “You should not have said those things to the Duke, my lord.”
Onew just shook his head as if to signal he didn’t want to speak about it. “Let’s go.”
Key followed after him in silence.
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Sometime later found them sitting on Onew’s large bed. Key sat with his knees pulled up to his chin and watched Onew press ice to his face. Neither of them had said anything since they left the drawing room except to call for a maid to bring ice up from the kitchens.
Onew could feel Key’s eyes on him but he didn’t know what to say. He was upset and embarrassed. His father hadn’t hit him in a long time, not since he learned it was easier to stay quiet and do as he was told. To be honest, Onew wasn’t quite so sure if he was more embarrassed that he hadn’t kept his cool in front of the Duke - he often prided himself on his ability to keep a level head and not get emotional - or simply that he had been hit in front of Key. Onew couldn’t remember having ever felt so upset with his father. Maybe because he knew and lived with a Halfling now he found he could no longer ignore the comments. He couldn’t separate himself from that world any longer. During his musings the caramel haired boy had unconsciously stopped pressing the ice to his face and was instead holding it in his lap, playing with the edges of the hand towel it was wrapped in.
“Are you alright, my lord?” Key asked softly.
“I’m fine,” Onew whispered back, finding he didn’t have it in him to push his voice any louder. “Let’s just go to sleep,” he dropped the ice and towel into a bowl on his bedside table.
Onew slid down in bed and pulled the covers up to his chin. He waited a moment but when he realized Key was still sitting he turned his head, carful of his cheek on the pillow, and saw the Halfling distractedly playing with the brown tip of his tail. He only watched Key until finally two coal eyes turned toward him.
“Do you want to talk about something?”
“No, my lord, I just-“ Key shook his head, ears twitching uncertainly. “I have never before seen a father treat his son that way.”
“Yeah, well,” Onew turned his eyes back to the ceiling. “I’m sorry you had to see that.”
Onew felt Key shuffle down into a laying position as well. A bit more shuffling and then they both lay in silence. Onew reached over to turn off the light when Key said something.
“My parents always loved me,” the blonde whispered. “You deserve parents who treat you as mine treated me.”
Onew froze in the middle of his action and turned back slowly. Key was lying on his back, staring at the ceiling blankly just as Onew had been before. His eyes were distant again. He’d never before mentioned his family and Onew had never asked about them, no matter how badly the curiosity ate at him.
“Do you miss them?” was out of the heir’s mouth before he could stop himself. And then he cringed; of course Key missed his parents.
Key seemed to understand Onew’s embarrassment, though, because he only smiled sadly and nodded, “Every moment, my lord.”
“Are…are they still on Agrius?”
Eyebrows furrowed over black eyes that suddenly shone more in the lamplight. “No, my lord. When the men came…” Key trailed off, swallowing thickly. “Everyone they did not take was killed.”
Onew didn’t know what to say, but he did know that the tears threatening to fall from Key’s eyes upset him deeply. Seeing Key cry was one of the worst things he could think of.
“Why don’t we go to sleep?” the young heir suggested gently. “We've had an eventful night.”
Key nodded silently and shuffled in his position, discretely trying to hide his unshed tears. As soon as Onew was horizontal Key slid over and rested his head on the other’s chest. The lights were turned off and they lay in silence for a few moments.
“Thank you for defending me, my lord,” Key whispered softly and then added even more quietly, “And yourself.”
Onew could only shut his eyes against the sudden onslaught of emotions.
-------------------------------
“I have a serious problem. A big problem. A catastrophic problem,” Onew rambled. He had been pacing the room for upwards of three minutes, doing little more than saying variations of the previous sentence. Key was in the library downstairs reading, as Onew had told him he and his best friend had something private to talk about. Jonghyun sighed as he watched his friend make probably his twelfth pass of the table he sat at.
“Hyung, are you going to tell me what’s going on?”
Onew stopped his pacing and turned to stare at his best friend. He looked very serious, took a breath and then-
“I’m in love with Kibum.”
“Old news,” Jonghyun muttered into his coffee cup with a roll of his eyes.
“Jonghyun, I’m being serious!” the caramel haired boy exclaimed.
“So am I, hyung,” the tailor crossed his legs. “Taemin and I have known how deep your feelings go since we first saw you two together.”
“You don’t understand,” Onew collapsed into the chair opposite his friend. “I’ve never felt this before. He understands so many things about me so easily…”
“That is relatively rare,” Jonghyun admitted quietly.
“I defended him in front of my father.”
“Excuse me?” Jonghyun’s eyes tripled in size.
“I told him I wanted him to leave us alone, and that I wanted to treat Kibum how I see fit,” Onew murmured, playing with his fingers.
“What did the Duke do?” the brunette’s shock was barely hidden.
“He slapped me.”
“Hyung,” Jonghyun shook his head. “You can’t upset your father. He could have Kibum taken away! Just pretend to agree with him. There are certain expectations for a noble, you know that.”
“I’m so sick of expectations, Jjong!” Onew burst out, causing his friend to jump in surprise. “I always follow the rules and I do as I’m told and I do what’s expected of me. All I ask for is to be happy but even that’s too much.”
“I’m sure Kibum would understand that you have to make the Duke believe you, and that one day you’ll have to marry and have a child. Minho and Taemin have made it work-“
Jonghyun stopped talking abruptly when Onew stood from the table and walked toward his fireplace. He stood in silence, staring at the flames and biting his lip. He would love nothing more than to carry on a relationship like the one the Prince and his bull Halfling had.
“This isn’t a romance novel, Jonghyun-ah,” the heir said after a moment. “This is real life. Things don’t happen that easily.”
“Of course it’s real life!” the younger scoffed. “Do you think Taemin lives in a fairytale? If your cousin can do it why can’t you?”
“Because Taemin is different. Minho loves him back.”
“And Kibum doesn’t love you?” Jonghyun finished the thought. Onew nodded sadly, teeth still abusing his lip. “The only difference between you and Taemin is that he made his feelings clear once he felt them. Kibum could love you, hyung.”
Onew shook his head and Jonghyun sighed at his friend’s stubbornness.
The truth was that Onew was fairly certain that to Key he was only a master and possibly a friend. He protected the Halfling and shared his time but nothing more. And he was too afraid to test the waters because his greatest fear was that Key would think the past months had been a rouse to gain the blonde’s affections. Onew didn’t want to be compared to those people from Key’s past who had hurt him so terribly. He was too afraid to risk the delicate balance they had found.
It was safer to keep their relationship as it was now. But, for Onew at least, it was becoming exponentially harder.
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sdnvbiwrnpow oh my god HOW LONG HAS IT BEEN!? okay so i want to start by saying im so sorry. and then i'd like to continue by saying im so sorry for how hard this part sucks. i did everything i wanted to with this update but it somehow doesn't feel good to me. but i really couldn't keep you guys waiting any longer. please let me know what you think. it means so much that you've stuck around to read this - all three of you lmao! it was quite the wait i'm so sorry again!
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