Four times Key tried to say 'I like you'; Onew/Key
Four times Key tried to say 'I like you' and the one time he didn't have to
1098 words. PG-13.
- SHINee; Onew/Key.
author onew.
summary The only way to effectively get a message across is to actually say it, but Kibum tries to find other ways, anyway.
notes A remix of jennchii's The Four Times Key Was Molested And The One Time He Liked It, for kpop_ficmix. I focused on the OnKey part of the story and twisted it a bit. Hope I did the original fic justice! (Originally posted here.)
It starts when Kibum traps Jinki against the bathroom door, with his arms on either side of Jinki.
They've been running around in circles for a couple of months now, with Kibum running away from Jinki's advances - nothing short of innocent, really; all for the good of the band - all the time. Jinki reaches out for a pat on the back; Kibum turns on his heel and walks away. Jinki shoots more than the usual number of glances Kibum's way; Kibum just turns a blind eye. Every single move Jinki makes, be it something so insignificant or something entirely monumental, Kibum ignores because really, really, Jinki can't possibly be interested in him.
"He's just being his normal, Jinki self. Nothing new," Kibum mumbles, eyes fixed on his feet.
"Except he isn't normal," Jonghyun quips. "Maybe it's his weird way of saying 'I like you'."
"Nah," Kibum scoffs. "It's just his weird way of trying to reach out to all of us, myself included."
Jonghyun laughs a little. "But he's not like that to me."
Jonghyun makes sense, which is why Kibum gets up from his seat and walks away, ignoring Jonghyun's call. It can mean anything and nothing, so Kibum doesn't think about it too much. If it ever means anything, it's just Jinki trying to be a good leader.
But this night is different. Kibum has just come home from a little high school reunion. He's exploiting his new right now that he's legal; he's had a couple of bottles of beer. He's never been good at handling beer. He's trudging to the bathroom when he conveniently bumps into Jinki, his lips colliding with the latter's inelegantly as his arms snake around Jinki's waist, pulling the latter close.
It's not a kiss. It's an accident, Kibum tells himself again and again, when the memory of that night haunts him and keeps him from sleeping. A big accident.
"Oops," says Kibum when he pulls away. When he sees Jinki's questioning eyes, he lunges for a second round without hesitation.
-
The continuation doesn't take place until they are given a considerably long break after a series of promotions. Jonghyun has already called and told him that he'll be going out with some friends, and Minho's sleeping over at Super Junior's dorm for some "catching up". Taemin, meanwhile, is visiting his parents.
Kibum opts to stay in the dorm rather than go back to Daegu for a little trip down memory lane, spending a couple of hours on the phone talking to his relatives. Jinki, surprisingly, stays behind, too, despite the many attempts of his high school friends to have him go out for a little drink.
Jinki brings home a couple of drinks one day, when dorm life gets monotonous without their neck-breaking schedule.
"You bought drinks," Kibum comments, wide-eyed, and continues, "For the two of us."
Jinki nods appreciatively and shoves a bottle of vodka in Kibum's hand.
Their drinking session lasts until there's only one bottle of whatever alcohol it is left and both of them are on the floor, completely knocked out. Jinki's lying flat on his back and Kibum's drawing random figures on Jinki's belly with his finger. He pauses for a while and thinks, things like this can only be done under the influence of alcohol, so he presses his body closer to Jinki's for warmth. Little does he know that when he drifts off, Jinki presses a soft kiss on his forehead and watches him until he wakes up at six in the morning.
-
The practice room is where Kibum's free to do anything, so he moves to his liking, making as many large movements as he could. Jonghyun resents him for this, but only because he can dance so much better than Jonghyun.
"Taemin said my hip thrusts look weird." Jonghyun frowns. "I told him nothing looks worse than Onew hyung's hip thrusts."
"Say that again and you're washing the dishes tonight," Jinki says flatly, coming from behind Jonghyun. Jonghyun gulps down hard. Kibum just laughs.
Later that evening, Kibum invites Jinki for an extra hour of practice just to make sure and assure Jinki that there's nothing wrong with his hip thrusts. They're fine for the most part; besides, one can never take away the awkward aspect of Jinki. When Jinki finally does it right, though, he pulls Jinki by the collar, kisses him longer than the usual. He can do anything here so he hangs onto Jinki a little longer, lets his fingers linger on the small of Jinki's back.
He turns around quickly when he pulls away. If Jinki sees the grin on Kibum's lips, he'd never let on.
-
It's their first stage for their new song. They've gotten used to the pressure and the nervousness by now. If anything, they're just a bit afraid to make mistakes with the new routine, afraid to make a fool of themselves in front of the general public. Kibum doesn't let it show in his features, especially when Jinki walks up to him and gives him a pat on the back.
"Can we run through that routine one last time?" Jinki asks, voice dropping down to a whisper and moving just a bit closer. "Just one run, I promise."
Kibum shakes his head and gets up from his seat, anyway.
Then Jinki whisks him away, pulling him to a dimly lit corner of the area. Jinki mumbles something before pressing his lips tentatively on Kibum's, softly and gently, as if unsure of what he's doing. Kibum can feel the smile surfacing on Jinki's lips as he sinks into the kiss, giving up and giving in. When they both pull away, their breathing is mismatched, and Jinki's smiling rather childishly.
"Payback," Jinki says faintly, the silly grin on his lips growing wider. Kibum chuckles.
Kibum leans in for another kiss seconds after, and when Jinki asks why he only says, "Payback," in reply.
(There must be an end to this game, especially when Jinki is just a few centimeters from him and they're all limbs and skin on each other. Then there it is - the familiar, charming upward curve of Jinki's lips, the many tiny city lights in his eyes. Kibum grips the bedsheets tight and takes a deep breath, biting his lower lip a bit too hard when he tries to say something.
Someday, he'll find the courage to say it, but right now he lets his hands do the talking, letting his fingers linger on Jinki's chest, heart. He says things best when he says nothing at all.)