Valentine's Day requests - PART TWO
7. joyce, sukai, canon crack
8. an, onkey, AU
9. haze, baekyeol, AU
10. karis, krisbaek, AU
11. special non-kpop request for zelie because i love her, marceline+ice king, canon
12. jess, suhan, AU
7. Joyce, SuKai, canon
Junmyeon rolled over to see Jongin staring at him in a very disconcerting way.
"... What are you doing?" he asked cautiously.
Jongin continued to consider him with furrowed brow.
"I'm trying to make a list of unflattering things about you," he finally answered.
Junmyeon frowned as well.
"Why?"
"Well, there have to actually be bad things about you... I'm just trying to figure out exactly what they are."
Junmyeon's expression cleared and he smiled at Jongin affectionately.
"Why can't you be this sweet in public?" he asked, reaching out to stroke Jongin's hair.
Jongin ducked away from his hand and stared back haughtily with what Junmyeon always thought of as his Kai Face.
"Because," Jongin said firmly, "I am the cool, aloof one. I cannot be seen associating with you and your geezer sweaters and your little old man smiles."
"Oh, 'associate'... is that what they're calling it these days?" Junmyeon tried to leer and failed spectacularly, "Anyway, you like my sweaters. I caught you wearing one yesterday and you seemed quite eager to 'associate' with me then so-"
"Shut up," Jongin said irritably, "I am trying to think about your eyebrows."
Junmyeon touched one.
"What's wrong with my eyebrows?" he asked.
"Nothing, that's the problem," Jongin frowned again.
They both stared at each other for another long moment.
"Let me try this again," Junmyeon said, "Why exactly are you trying to come up with bad things about me?"
"Because," said Jongin, "You're always so nice and calm and collected and polite-"
"Please continue," said Junmyeon smugly.
Jongin shoved a pillow into his face.
"-and charming and junk. It's unsettling. I need to think of gross or weird things about you so you stop being so freaking..."
Jongin struggled for the word.
"... I dunno, perfect or something."
Junmyeon batted his eyelashes.
"You think I'm perfect~?"
Jongin flushed.
"Shut up," he muttered, "You have a weird bellybutton."
Junmyeon blinked.
"I- what?" he asked, "I have a weird bellybutton?"
Jongin crossed his arms.
"Yeah, you do."
Junmyeon pulled down the covers to poke at it.
"What's so weird about it?"
"It... I dunno it looks like a freaky third nipple or an eye or something," Jongin said, "It's like it's staring. It's always watching. It's lying in wait for me."
Junmyeon rolled over onto his stomach to grin at Jongin.
"It's 'watching'? Is that why you get all shy and self-conscious when we-"
Jongin choked and held the pillow down over Junmyeon's face again.
"Shut up!"
Junmyeon emerged laughing and enveloped Jongin in a huge, crushing pretty damn naked hug.
"Okay, okay," he said, "Should I put on a sweater and hide the scary staring bellybutton?"
Jongin coughed and blushed.
"Again with the sweaters?" he asked weakly.
"Because you love them so much."
"... You will breathe no word of that to anyone."
"Of course not."
"... Okay then."
Junmyeon smiled and proceeded to distract Jongin from lists or weird bellybuttons or even sweaters for quite some time.
______________________________
8. An, OnKey, AU
Kibum was hard to drag out of the house in general. He hated shivering in the cold in the winter and he especially hated sweating through all his clothes in the summer. Which was why when he announced that he was going out for a walk, his mother gave him a very strange look and asked him if he was feeling well. He assured her he was feeling fine and that he would be back by dinner before carefully wrapping his scarf around his neck and pulling on his gloves.
It was true that Kibum wasn’t particularly fond of the outdoors, so he was pleased when he saw a figure waiting for him on the corner. He had a mission to carry out.
Jinki smiled when he saw Kibum approach, as usual.
“Got your text,” he said, “A walk? Are you feeling okay?”
“Of course,” Kibum said, “Aren’t I allowed to want to take a walk? Isn’t that one of those sappy, romantic things that couples are supposed to do?”
“Since when do you care about that?” Jinki laughed.
Since this is the last year we can be together like this all the time, Kibum wanted to say, Since you got accepted to all those universities.
Since you decided to leave me.
“I don’t know,” he said instead, “It just felt like the thing to do.”
He started walking ahead, leaving Jinki to follow. The sun was setting by then, but the sky was too cloudy to actually see it. Kibum had checked the weather carefully before leaving and hoped that he had timed this right.
The streetlights started to come on soon after, and Kibum watched their shadows stretching out in front of them on the pavement. They merged as Jinki drew closer and linked their arms together.
“Do I need to tell a joke to break the awkward silence?” he asked.
Kibum made a pained face at him.
“For the love of god, please don’t,” he said, “Sorry... I was just thinking.”
“About what?”
“About how maybe I should have acquired better shoes for walking. That hill looks stupidly steep up close.”
By the time they got to the top, Kibum was shivering and rethinking his clever plan. Surely they could have stayed inside and watched cartoons or something instead. He stepped in closer to Jinki and tried to worm his way inside Jinki’s coat.
“What are you doing?”
“You’re like a human heater,” Kibum explained patiently, “Give me your body heat before I die.”
Jinki laughed and obliged.
“Your hands are freezing,” Kibum exclaimed, “Don’t you own gloves or anything?”
“I guess I forgot them,” Jinki said.
Kibum took his own gloves off and started rubbing at Jinki’s hands, ignoring his protests.
“You don’t have to do that,” Jinki said, “You’re going to get cold.”
“I want to,” Kibum said, and brought Jinki’s hands up to breathe on them.
He ended up putting on one glove himself and giving the other one to Jinki, keeping their bare hands together in one coat pocket when they finally found a bench to sit down on.
“Now what?” asked Jinki.
“Now we wait,” Kibum said.
“For what?”
They watched the lights come on one by one from the top of the hill, but before long Kibum found himself glancing up at the sky every few minutes rather than the lights below.
“Is something wrong?” Jinki finally asked.
“Nothing,” Kibum said immediately, “Only...”
He sighed.
“Only it would be nice to freeze everything right here, you know? To keep everything just like this.”
“Couldn’t you have picked a better word?” Jinki groaned, “I think we’re freezing enough already right now.”
“I meant-”
“I know.”
Jinki turned to look at him.
“But think about it,” he said, “If we froze everything just like this, then nothing new would ever happen. We’d only have the things we’d already seen and done and we could never have anything new.”
“But nothing could change and make it worse,” Kibum argued.
“I’m going to school, not dying,” Jinki said gently, “If things don’t change, they can’t live. We’ve got so many exciting things waiting... I wouldn’t want to freeze the world here, no matter how perfect it is.”
“The eternal optimist,” Kibum said with a rueful smile.
“You don’t think we’ll make it?” Jinki asked, “I'm leaving for college, not leaving you. There's a difference."
"I guess I'm only a year behind you," Kibum admitted, "I'll just have to see if I can manage to get accepted to the same illustrious school then.
"Is the great Kim Kibum backing down from the challenge?”
“Not on your life,” Kibum’s grin matched Jinki’s own now.
“Can we go back now?” Jinki shivered.
“Wait a little while longer...”
“What are we waiting for-” Jinki started to say, but then stopped and looked at the arm of his coat, “Is that...?”
“And there it is.”
Kibum laughed as Jinki spun happily, gathering white flakes.
“You look like a kid on Christmas,” he said.
“Look at it!” Jinki marvelled, “They look like tiny flowers.”
The light from the streetlamp made him seem to shine as he stood there, and Kibum’s heart caught in his throat.
Is this the last winter like this we’ll have? he wondered.
As if he could hear Kibum’s thoughts, Jinki reached out his hand and pulled Kibum closer.
“The first snow,” he said, “It’s new every year.”
He leaned forward to bring their foreheads together.
“I love new things,” he breathed, “But it helps to have someone you love there to go through it with you.”
“I don’t like new things,” Kibum replied, “But I can make it through if I have someone I love to help me.”
Jinki smiled.
And put snow down the back of his coat.
They laughed and shrieked and ran around leaving footprints that were soon covered by the new snow, as the world slowly turned from gray to white around them.
Kibum was late for dinner.
______________________________
9. Haze, BaekYeol, AU
Chanyeol was by nature a very cheerful person. There was no point in being sad if you didn't have to be, he figured, which was why he compulsively tried to lighten the mood and cheer up anyone he saw sad. He liked to see the people around him smiling, and when he saw them sad it was almost painful to him. So he kept smiling as brightly as he could and telling jokes and talking about everything and nothing in the hopes that he could take people's minds off whatever was hurting them.
The first time he saw Baekhyun curled up in bed, homesick tears silently rolling down his face, Chanyeol felt like someone had punched him in the stomach.
He finished getting ready to sleep and sat awkwardly on the side of his own bed, wracking his brain for something to say.
"Hey," he finally said, moving over to sit next to his friend and poking gently at a teardrop, "Good thing you're not wearing all that eyeliner right now."
It was a terrible joke and he knew it, but Baekhyun still gave a waterlogged chuckle.
"It would get all over the pillowcase and Kyungsoo would complain," he sniffed.
"He'd angst about making more work for the house elves. He'd leave them like a bleach pen or something with a note apologizing," Chanyeol said, "Imagine if it were Luhan hyung's bed though."
"He wouldn't even let me in the room with it on to begin with," Baekhyun rolled over to hide his face in the blankets, "I don't think I know any charms to make waterproof stuff more waterproof... I'd look like shit."
His voice broke slightly and the tightness in Chanyeol's chest that had been fading came back suddenly with a pang.
"I don't think you ever look like shit," he said, wrapping one arm around the curled bundle of blanket and boy and resting his chin on what he assumed was Baekhyun's shoulder, "I don't think you ever could look like shit."
Baekhyun's hand crept out and pulled Chanyeol's arm tighter around him.
"And I've seen you after a History of Magic midterm," Chanyeol continued, lying down carefully on the ridiculously tiny bed, "I didn't know a zombie could look so adorable and yet so dead at the same time."
"You're a jerk," Baekhyun said, turning his back.
"I know," Chanyeol agreed.
"... Thanks."
"Any time."
______________________________
10. Karis, BaeKris, AU
At first Baekhyun thought that "Careless" was somewhat oxymoronic when it came to Kris, who never left the house looking anything other than immaculate.
"How on earth do you look like something out of a fashion plate," he asked once, poking his Sacrifice right in his stern face, "Did you iron the creases into your khakis? Did you polish your loafers?"
"Did you spend more than half an hour on your eyeliner this morning?" Kris deadpanned back.
"That's beside the point," Baekhyun said, "How on earth do you even fit into Careless anyway?"
"Like this."
Kris elbowed his cup of ice water, sending it all over Baekhyun. Baekhyun let out an unholy shriek and fell out of his seat as Kris laughed at him.
As he got to know him, though, Baekhyun saw more and more about Kris that could be called careless. For example, the way he kept a stony face around most people and yet immediately flashed an incredibly dumb grin at even the lamest of Baekhyun's jokes. Or the way he claimed various bits of Baekhyun's clothing at the oddest moments.
The first time he had stolen Baekhyun's beanie was on their first official outing as a team and Baekhyun had wailed and tried to snatch it back.
"It looks bad on you!" he protested, "You'll stretch it with your dumb, fat head! I have hat hair!"
"You're hiding your ears again," Kris cut right to the heart of the problem, "Don't do that."
Baekhyun's face turned red.
"People are looking," he muttered, "Look, we're in college. Do you see anyone else around here with fuzzy ears?"
"No," Kris said, "And I don't see anyone who'd look as good with them either. No wonder they got rid of them so fast."
He slung an arm over Baekhyun's shoulders and ran his fingers over one ear.
"You can be an adult and still keep your ears," he said soothingly.
"Try telling that to the general population," Baekhyun grouched, "Why do you think I wear hats? Because I like squashing my hair flat?"
"Just don't wear them," Kris said, "Every hat you wear I will steal. And stretch out with my 'dumb, fat head'."
"I will arrange to have Chanyeol kill you."
Kris raised an eyebrow. Baekhyun rethought his threat.
"... Okay, Tao then."
"Tao would be more intimidating if he didn't get teary-eyed while watching Up."
"Everyone cries at Up," Baekhyun said, "It is a moral failing if you don't cry during Up."
The way Kris tweaked his ear was certainly not careless, no matter how much he tried to look it.
"Just don't let it worry you too much," he said, "You're a Fighter... since when do you back down?"
Baekhyun grumbled under his breath, and thought to himself that at that moment the look on Kris's face seemed very much full of care.
______________________________
11. Zelie, Ice King + Marceline, canon
A TEN MINUTE CLIP FOR THOSE NOT FAMILIAR WITH THIS CANON: I Remember You
Marceline, is it just you and me in the wreckage of the world?
It was a lucky blow that sent the crown spinning off the Ice King’s head and into a nearby tree and Marceline sucked on her knuckles as her hand tingled.
The annual Parade of Totally Vulnerable Princesses Parading On Their Own Without Protection had come to a screeching halt with the arrival of the Ice King, and they had sent word immediately that help was needed, which was how she came to be there in the first place.
“What do you think you’re doing?” she demanded, “What’s wrong with you?”
“What’s wrong with me? What’s wrong with you? You knocked me into a bush and-"
He felt the top of his head.
"Oh, that's not good. What did you do with my crown?"
"You mean this?"
Marceline picked it out of the tree and held it up out of his reach.
"Give it back!" the Ice King whined, jumping up and down trying to grab the crown.
"Not until you unfreeze all of this!"
Marceline gestured to the ice walls and blocks impeding the princess parade, two of which also contained frozen Finn and Jake.
"Marceline, I need that- I-"
"No, you need to stop being such a creep all the time! Why do you keep doing stuff like this?"
"I don't feel so good..."
Marceline quickly landed when the Ice King sank to one knee clutching his head.
"Hey, what's going on?" she asked nervously, "Are you okay?"
"It's not my fault," he muttered, still holding his head, "It makes me forget... But it's not its fault either... it's trying... we're trying..."
Marceline put out a hesitant hand.
"Wh-what's happening?"
He looked up at her through clutching fingers.
"Don't be angry," he said, "It's trying to preserve me. It's just... not very good at it."
Marceline had a pretty good idea of what he meant now, but she still asked.
"What's not very good at it?"
"That crown you're holding. It makes me forget, doesn't it? I'm remembering now, but I'll forget again when you give it back."
"What if I don't give it back?"
Her fingers tightened on the metal as she held it behind her back.
"You will," he said, "You have to. Please don't be mad. I need it."
Marceline looked at the crown and then back at the man who was, and always would be, her dear friend.
"I'm not a bad man," he joked, "I'm just a very bad wizard. You'll need to look out for me."
She sobbed once and nodded.
"I need it now, Marceline, I-"
He broke off into a cough. Marceline took a step forward, but held herself back from touching him.
"I'm sorry for forgetting," he said, "I'm sorry for anything it makes me do."
The Ice King -- Simon -- dragged himself forward and she placed the crown back on his head hesitantly, but he caught her in a hug before she could step back away.
"I'm scared of losing myself," he said quietly.
"I'm afraid you're going to lose me too," she replied.
It took Marceline a second to realize that he had suddenly gotten much colder.
Guess it's working then, she thought unhappily.
"Wow, mood swings much?" he sounded much more energetic and much... less remember-y, "One minute you're beatin' me up, the next minute you're all huggy. Geeze, make up your mind."
She floated back out of reach and glared at him.
"Melt all this stuff out right now!" she demanded.
"But then how am I gonna find a super fine princess to marry me?"
"Why-"
Marceline's vision blurred as she swung her arm back again.
"Ow! What are you-"
"I'm hurting you because I love you!"
(The Ice King wished he knew what she meant by saying that when tears were streaming down her face.)
Please forgive me for whatever I do when I don't remember you...
______________________________
12. Jess, SuHan, AU
Junmyeon shut the car hood with a sigh.
"I just don't know what's wrong with it," he said, "I can't make heads or tails of this thing."
"I didn't know you knew anything about cars," Luhan said through the slightly open window.
Junmyeon scratched his head, embarrassed.
"Well," he said slowly, "I don't know much... That is, I..."
Luhan relaxed. Okay, so he knew nothing about cars. That was good. That was great. He didn't know exactly what Tao's smiling friend had done to ensure a breakdown, but whatever it was, Junmyeon sure wasn't going to figure it out any time soon.
"Why don't you get back in the car?" he suggested, "All the warm air is going to get out if I try to talk to you out there."
Luhan eyed the sky suspiciously. Was that a snowflake? He hadn't realized it was supposed to snow. Why hadn't Yixing said anything to him before they set out? When his roommate had come to him, full of smiles and with a plan to get him some quality time alone with the deliciously cute Kim Junmyeon, Luhan had agreed wholeheartedly without questioning the plan too closely. Now Luhan almost wished he had thought this through more carefully.
Still, he thought delightedly, snow made it all the more likely that they'd have to huddle together for warmth.
~~
Luhan sighed as Junmyeon hit the redial button on his cell phone for the sixth time.
"I don't think you're going to get through," he said, "We must be out of range here."
The snow was falling fast and thick now and, while Luhan was reluctant to call it a blizzard, the fact remained that it was difficult to see more than five feet or so beyond the car. Add to that the fact that they seemed to be unable to reach anyone, and he had to admit that the situation was more than a little worrying.
Junmyeon shivered miserably and turned off his phone before putting it back in his pocket.
"Guess I should try and save the battery," he said, "If it weren't so bad out there, I'd try and walk until I got a signal."
Luhan's heart gave a lurch at the thought.
"You're not going anywhere until this stops," he said, "You'd get lost and freeze to death out there."
It was his turn to shiver then, either from fear or the rapidly dropping temperature in the car. Junmyeon looked worried.
"Do you have a blanket or anything in here?" he asked, "You look freezing."
Luhan shook his head.
"I didn't think I'd need one," he said, looking at his lap.
Junmyeon coughed nervously.
"Then I guess the thing to do is... I mean, if you don't mind..."
His ears had turned bright red and Luhan had to stop himself from squealing out loud because 1) not in the least bit manly, and 2) a dead giveaway. Instead he smiled back at a very embarrassed Junmyeon.
"The backseat might have more room?" he suggested.
~~
By the time the sun set, even the fact that he was currently wrapped up in his crush's coat along with said crush couldn't do much to cheer Luhan up.
"We're going to die," he groaned.
"We're not going to die," Junmyeon said soothingly, "Don't worry. Someone will find us eventually."
"They will find our frozen corpses," Luhan insisted, "How long do you think it will be until they send anyone to dig out this road? Because my bet is not for another twelve hours at least, and I can't feel my feet."
Junmyeon shrugged the coat off and wrapped it snugly around Luhan before scooting over to pick up Luhan's feet and hug them to his chest.
"What are you doing?" Luhan asked.
"Trying to warm your feet up," he answered.
"Well, stop that," Luhan said, feeling his face heat up (Maybe they could harness the power of a solid blush. He filed that away for later consideration.), "Get back over here before you turn into an icecube."
Junmyeon laughed and continued rubbing at Luhan's feet. Luhan stared at the roof of the car.
"I'm going to haunt Yixing," he said finally, "This was all his idea and my restless ghost will torment him forever."
"What was his idea?"
"Who's going to take care of Wanda after I'm gone?" Luhan asked.
"Who's Wanda?"
"Yixing will forget to feed her and change her water and she'll die without me!"
Luhan reached for the glove compartment.
"What are you doing?" Junmyeon asked in bewilderment.
"I'm checking for paper and something to write with," Luhan explained, "I need to write a Last Will and Testament."
"I don't think anything you write on..." Junmyeon peered at the paper, "... the back of a shawarma receipt could be considered legally binding."
"Then Wanda is going to die!" Luhan flung up his hands, "First we will die and then she will die, and it's all because of Yixing's negligence!"
Junmyeon moved back over to join Luhan in the coat.
"I want her buried with me," Luhan sniffed, "Yixing will flush her, but she deserves better than that. When the ground thaws enough for them to bury us, I want a note saying for them to bury her next to my head."
"You want them to bury you with your fish..." Junmyeon said slowly, "I can't tell if that's incredibly sweet or just really really depressing."
"My entire life is depressing," Luhan wailed, "I'm going to freeze to death in a crappy old sedan with peeling seats all because my roommate had a plan to get me stranded with the guy I like and Tao knows a guy who knows stuff about cars and I didn't think to check the weather and... I... just... said... something I shouldn't have... didn't I?"
Luhan stared at Junmyeon's startled face.
"Wow, okay, I can't do anything," Luhan struggled to get out of the coat and towards the car door, "I'm sorry, let me just-"
"Luhan, wait, no! It's too cold out there, don't-"
"No, it's okay. I think I need some air to clear my-"
Luhan was pulled back suddenly by the arm and Junmyeon's face was suddenly way too close to be normal and Luhan had only a split second to think oh before Junmyeon's lips were pressed to his.
It was colder than he had hoped for, but Luhan graciously conceded that it was very cold in that car, period, so this could be forgiven. Perhaps the plan had not failed entirely after all.
Junmyeon smiled nervously when he finally pulled back, and Luhan felt himself fall a little deeper in love.
"I guess if we're going to freeze to death, now was my chance," Junmyeon said sheepishly.
"Don't be silly," Luhan said, "We're not going to die. You haven't even bought me flowers yet."
Junmyeon laughed and kissed him again.
They were still so engaged a few minutes later that they were both caught by surprise when the car suddenly shook and a bright light shone through the car windows.
"I take it back!" Luhan said, shielding his eyes, "I think I see the light at the end of the tunnel."
"I think I see headlights, actually," said Junmyeon.
They could hear someone taking a shovel to the outside of the car and it was less than a minute before the door opened and someone peered in.
"Luhan?"
"Yixing!" Luhan felt limp with relief, "You found us!"
"Yeah," said Yixing, "I got Kris to borrow his dad's snowplow when I realized you'd probably gotten caught in the storm. Thought you could use some rescuing."
They climbed out of the car gratefully and Luhan saw Kris wave at them from behind the wheel.
"So," said Yixing quietly, edging closer, "How did the plan work?"
Luhan reached out and took Junmyeon's hand, earning a smile as he laced their fingers together.
"I think it worked out pretty well."
8. an, onkey, AU
9. haze, baekyeol, AU
10. karis, krisbaek, AU
11. special non-kpop request for zelie because i love her, marceline+ice king, canon
12. jess, suhan, AU
7. Joyce, SuKai, canon
Junmyeon rolled over to see Jongin staring at him in a very disconcerting way.
"... What are you doing?" he asked cautiously.
Jongin continued to consider him with furrowed brow.
"I'm trying to make a list of unflattering things about you," he finally answered.
Junmyeon frowned as well.
"Why?"
"Well, there have to actually be bad things about you... I'm just trying to figure out exactly what they are."
Junmyeon's expression cleared and he smiled at Jongin affectionately.
"Why can't you be this sweet in public?" he asked, reaching out to stroke Jongin's hair.
Jongin ducked away from his hand and stared back haughtily with what Junmyeon always thought of as his Kai Face.
"Because," Jongin said firmly, "I am the cool, aloof one. I cannot be seen associating with you and your geezer sweaters and your little old man smiles."
"Oh, 'associate'... is that what they're calling it these days?" Junmyeon tried to leer and failed spectacularly, "Anyway, you like my sweaters. I caught you wearing one yesterday and you seemed quite eager to 'associate' with me then so-"
"Shut up," Jongin said irritably, "I am trying to think about your eyebrows."
Junmyeon touched one.
"What's wrong with my eyebrows?" he asked.
"Nothing, that's the problem," Jongin frowned again.
They both stared at each other for another long moment.
"Let me try this again," Junmyeon said, "Why exactly are you trying to come up with bad things about me?"
"Because," said Jongin, "You're always so nice and calm and collected and polite-"
"Please continue," said Junmyeon smugly.
Jongin shoved a pillow into his face.
"-and charming and junk. It's unsettling. I need to think of gross or weird things about you so you stop being so freaking..."
Jongin struggled for the word.
"... I dunno, perfect or something."
Junmyeon batted his eyelashes.
"You think I'm perfect~?"
Jongin flushed.
"Shut up," he muttered, "You have a weird bellybutton."
Junmyeon blinked.
"I- what?" he asked, "I have a weird bellybutton?"
Jongin crossed his arms.
"Yeah, you do."
Junmyeon pulled down the covers to poke at it.
"What's so weird about it?"
"It... I dunno it looks like a freaky third nipple or an eye or something," Jongin said, "It's like it's staring. It's always watching. It's lying in wait for me."
Junmyeon rolled over onto his stomach to grin at Jongin.
"It's 'watching'? Is that why you get all shy and self-conscious when we-"
Jongin choked and held the pillow down over Junmyeon's face again.
"Shut up!"
Junmyeon emerged laughing and enveloped Jongin in a huge, crushing pretty damn naked hug.
"Okay, okay," he said, "Should I put on a sweater and hide the scary staring bellybutton?"
Jongin coughed and blushed.
"Again with the sweaters?" he asked weakly.
"Because you love them so much."
"... You will breathe no word of that to anyone."
"Of course not."
"... Okay then."
Junmyeon smiled and proceeded to distract Jongin from lists or weird bellybuttons or even sweaters for quite some time.
______________________________
8. An, OnKey, AU
Kibum was hard to drag out of the house in general. He hated shivering in the cold in the winter and he especially hated sweating through all his clothes in the summer. Which was why when he announced that he was going out for a walk, his mother gave him a very strange look and asked him if he was feeling well. He assured her he was feeling fine and that he would be back by dinner before carefully wrapping his scarf around his neck and pulling on his gloves.
It was true that Kibum wasn’t particularly fond of the outdoors, so he was pleased when he saw a figure waiting for him on the corner. He had a mission to carry out.
Jinki smiled when he saw Kibum approach, as usual.
“Got your text,” he said, “A walk? Are you feeling okay?”
“Of course,” Kibum said, “Aren’t I allowed to want to take a walk? Isn’t that one of those sappy, romantic things that couples are supposed to do?”
“Since when do you care about that?” Jinki laughed.
Since this is the last year we can be together like this all the time, Kibum wanted to say, Since you got accepted to all those universities.
Since you decided to leave me.
“I don’t know,” he said instead, “It just felt like the thing to do.”
He started walking ahead, leaving Jinki to follow. The sun was setting by then, but the sky was too cloudy to actually see it. Kibum had checked the weather carefully before leaving and hoped that he had timed this right.
The streetlights started to come on soon after, and Kibum watched their shadows stretching out in front of them on the pavement. They merged as Jinki drew closer and linked their arms together.
“Do I need to tell a joke to break the awkward silence?” he asked.
Kibum made a pained face at him.
“For the love of god, please don’t,” he said, “Sorry... I was just thinking.”
“About what?”
“About how maybe I should have acquired better shoes for walking. That hill looks stupidly steep up close.”
By the time they got to the top, Kibum was shivering and rethinking his clever plan. Surely they could have stayed inside and watched cartoons or something instead. He stepped in closer to Jinki and tried to worm his way inside Jinki’s coat.
“What are you doing?”
“You’re like a human heater,” Kibum explained patiently, “Give me your body heat before I die.”
Jinki laughed and obliged.
“Your hands are freezing,” Kibum exclaimed, “Don’t you own gloves or anything?”
“I guess I forgot them,” Jinki said.
Kibum took his own gloves off and started rubbing at Jinki’s hands, ignoring his protests.
“You don’t have to do that,” Jinki said, “You’re going to get cold.”
“I want to,” Kibum said, and brought Jinki’s hands up to breathe on them.
He ended up putting on one glove himself and giving the other one to Jinki, keeping their bare hands together in one coat pocket when they finally found a bench to sit down on.
“Now what?” asked Jinki.
“Now we wait,” Kibum said.
“For what?”
They watched the lights come on one by one from the top of the hill, but before long Kibum found himself glancing up at the sky every few minutes rather than the lights below.
“Is something wrong?” Jinki finally asked.
“Nothing,” Kibum said immediately, “Only...”
He sighed.
“Only it would be nice to freeze everything right here, you know? To keep everything just like this.”
“Couldn’t you have picked a better word?” Jinki groaned, “I think we’re freezing enough already right now.”
“I meant-”
“I know.”
Jinki turned to look at him.
“But think about it,” he said, “If we froze everything just like this, then nothing new would ever happen. We’d only have the things we’d already seen and done and we could never have anything new.”
“But nothing could change and make it worse,” Kibum argued.
“I’m going to school, not dying,” Jinki said gently, “If things don’t change, they can’t live. We’ve got so many exciting things waiting... I wouldn’t want to freeze the world here, no matter how perfect it is.”
“The eternal optimist,” Kibum said with a rueful smile.
“You don’t think we’ll make it?” Jinki asked, “I'm leaving for college, not leaving you. There's a difference."
"I guess I'm only a year behind you," Kibum admitted, "I'll just have to see if I can manage to get accepted to the same illustrious school then.
"Is the great Kim Kibum backing down from the challenge?”
“Not on your life,” Kibum’s grin matched Jinki’s own now.
“Can we go back now?” Jinki shivered.
“Wait a little while longer...”
“What are we waiting for-” Jinki started to say, but then stopped and looked at the arm of his coat, “Is that...?”
“And there it is.”
Kibum laughed as Jinki spun happily, gathering white flakes.
“You look like a kid on Christmas,” he said.
“Look at it!” Jinki marvelled, “They look like tiny flowers.”
The light from the streetlamp made him seem to shine as he stood there, and Kibum’s heart caught in his throat.
Is this the last winter like this we’ll have? he wondered.
As if he could hear Kibum’s thoughts, Jinki reached out his hand and pulled Kibum closer.
“The first snow,” he said, “It’s new every year.”
He leaned forward to bring their foreheads together.
“I love new things,” he breathed, “But it helps to have someone you love there to go through it with you.”
“I don’t like new things,” Kibum replied, “But I can make it through if I have someone I love to help me.”
Jinki smiled.
And put snow down the back of his coat.
They laughed and shrieked and ran around leaving footprints that were soon covered by the new snow, as the world slowly turned from gray to white around them.
Kibum was late for dinner.
______________________________
9. Haze, BaekYeol, AU
Chanyeol was by nature a very cheerful person. There was no point in being sad if you didn't have to be, he figured, which was why he compulsively tried to lighten the mood and cheer up anyone he saw sad. He liked to see the people around him smiling, and when he saw them sad it was almost painful to him. So he kept smiling as brightly as he could and telling jokes and talking about everything and nothing in the hopes that he could take people's minds off whatever was hurting them.
The first time he saw Baekhyun curled up in bed, homesick tears silently rolling down his face, Chanyeol felt like someone had punched him in the stomach.
He finished getting ready to sleep and sat awkwardly on the side of his own bed, wracking his brain for something to say.
"Hey," he finally said, moving over to sit next to his friend and poking gently at a teardrop, "Good thing you're not wearing all that eyeliner right now."
It was a terrible joke and he knew it, but Baekhyun still gave a waterlogged chuckle.
"It would get all over the pillowcase and Kyungsoo would complain," he sniffed.
"He'd angst about making more work for the house elves. He'd leave them like a bleach pen or something with a note apologizing," Chanyeol said, "Imagine if it were Luhan hyung's bed though."
"He wouldn't even let me in the room with it on to begin with," Baekhyun rolled over to hide his face in the blankets, "I don't think I know any charms to make waterproof stuff more waterproof... I'd look like shit."
His voice broke slightly and the tightness in Chanyeol's chest that had been fading came back suddenly with a pang.
"I don't think you ever look like shit," he said, wrapping one arm around the curled bundle of blanket and boy and resting his chin on what he assumed was Baekhyun's shoulder, "I don't think you ever could look like shit."
Baekhyun's hand crept out and pulled Chanyeol's arm tighter around him.
"And I've seen you after a History of Magic midterm," Chanyeol continued, lying down carefully on the ridiculously tiny bed, "I didn't know a zombie could look so adorable and yet so dead at the same time."
"You're a jerk," Baekhyun said, turning his back.
"I know," Chanyeol agreed.
"... Thanks."
"Any time."
______________________________
10. Karis, BaeKris, AU
At first Baekhyun thought that "Careless" was somewhat oxymoronic when it came to Kris, who never left the house looking anything other than immaculate.
"How on earth do you look like something out of a fashion plate," he asked once, poking his Sacrifice right in his stern face, "Did you iron the creases into your khakis? Did you polish your loafers?"
"Did you spend more than half an hour on your eyeliner this morning?" Kris deadpanned back.
"That's beside the point," Baekhyun said, "How on earth do you even fit into Careless anyway?"
"Like this."
Kris elbowed his cup of ice water, sending it all over Baekhyun. Baekhyun let out an unholy shriek and fell out of his seat as Kris laughed at him.
As he got to know him, though, Baekhyun saw more and more about Kris that could be called careless. For example, the way he kept a stony face around most people and yet immediately flashed an incredibly dumb grin at even the lamest of Baekhyun's jokes. Or the way he claimed various bits of Baekhyun's clothing at the oddest moments.
The first time he had stolen Baekhyun's beanie was on their first official outing as a team and Baekhyun had wailed and tried to snatch it back.
"It looks bad on you!" he protested, "You'll stretch it with your dumb, fat head! I have hat hair!"
"You're hiding your ears again," Kris cut right to the heart of the problem, "Don't do that."
Baekhyun's face turned red.
"People are looking," he muttered, "Look, we're in college. Do you see anyone else around here with fuzzy ears?"
"No," Kris said, "And I don't see anyone who'd look as good with them either. No wonder they got rid of them so fast."
He slung an arm over Baekhyun's shoulders and ran his fingers over one ear.
"You can be an adult and still keep your ears," he said soothingly.
"Try telling that to the general population," Baekhyun grouched, "Why do you think I wear hats? Because I like squashing my hair flat?"
"Just don't wear them," Kris said, "Every hat you wear I will steal. And stretch out with my 'dumb, fat head'."
"I will arrange to have Chanyeol kill you."
Kris raised an eyebrow. Baekhyun rethought his threat.
"... Okay, Tao then."
"Tao would be more intimidating if he didn't get teary-eyed while watching Up."
"Everyone cries at Up," Baekhyun said, "It is a moral failing if you don't cry during Up."
The way Kris tweaked his ear was certainly not careless, no matter how much he tried to look it.
"Just don't let it worry you too much," he said, "You're a Fighter... since when do you back down?"
Baekhyun grumbled under his breath, and thought to himself that at that moment the look on Kris's face seemed very much full of care.
______________________________
11. Zelie, Ice King + Marceline, canon
A TEN MINUTE CLIP FOR THOSE NOT FAMILIAR WITH THIS CANON: I Remember You
Marceline, is it just you and me in the wreckage of the world?
It was a lucky blow that sent the crown spinning off the Ice King’s head and into a nearby tree and Marceline sucked on her knuckles as her hand tingled.
The annual Parade of Totally Vulnerable Princesses Parading On Their Own Without Protection had come to a screeching halt with the arrival of the Ice King, and they had sent word immediately that help was needed, which was how she came to be there in the first place.
“What do you think you’re doing?” she demanded, “What’s wrong with you?”
“What’s wrong with me? What’s wrong with you? You knocked me into a bush and-"
He felt the top of his head.
"Oh, that's not good. What did you do with my crown?"
"You mean this?"
Marceline picked it out of the tree and held it up out of his reach.
"Give it back!" the Ice King whined, jumping up and down trying to grab the crown.
"Not until you unfreeze all of this!"
Marceline gestured to the ice walls and blocks impeding the princess parade, two of which also contained frozen Finn and Jake.
"Marceline, I need that- I-"
"No, you need to stop being such a creep all the time! Why do you keep doing stuff like this?"
"I don't feel so good..."
Marceline quickly landed when the Ice King sank to one knee clutching his head.
"Hey, what's going on?" she asked nervously, "Are you okay?"
"It's not my fault," he muttered, still holding his head, "It makes me forget... But it's not its fault either... it's trying... we're trying..."
Marceline put out a hesitant hand.
"Wh-what's happening?"
He looked up at her through clutching fingers.
"Don't be angry," he said, "It's trying to preserve me. It's just... not very good at it."
Marceline had a pretty good idea of what he meant now, but she still asked.
"What's not very good at it?"
"That crown you're holding. It makes me forget, doesn't it? I'm remembering now, but I'll forget again when you give it back."
"What if I don't give it back?"
Her fingers tightened on the metal as she held it behind her back.
"You will," he said, "You have to. Please don't be mad. I need it."
Marceline looked at the crown and then back at the man who was, and always would be, her dear friend.
"I'm not a bad man," he joked, "I'm just a very bad wizard. You'll need to look out for me."
She sobbed once and nodded.
"I need it now, Marceline, I-"
He broke off into a cough. Marceline took a step forward, but held herself back from touching him.
"I'm sorry for forgetting," he said, "I'm sorry for anything it makes me do."
The Ice King -- Simon -- dragged himself forward and she placed the crown back on his head hesitantly, but he caught her in a hug before she could step back away.
"I'm scared of losing myself," he said quietly.
"I'm afraid you're going to lose me too," she replied.
It took Marceline a second to realize that he had suddenly gotten much colder.
Guess it's working then, she thought unhappily.
"Wow, mood swings much?" he sounded much more energetic and much... less remember-y, "One minute you're beatin' me up, the next minute you're all huggy. Geeze, make up your mind."
She floated back out of reach and glared at him.
"Melt all this stuff out right now!" she demanded.
"But then how am I gonna find a super fine princess to marry me?"
"Why-"
Marceline's vision blurred as she swung her arm back again.
"Ow! What are you-"
"I'm hurting you because I love you!"
(The Ice King wished he knew what she meant by saying that when tears were streaming down her face.)
Please forgive me for whatever I do when I don't remember you...
______________________________
12. Jess, SuHan, AU
Junmyeon shut the car hood with a sigh.
"I just don't know what's wrong with it," he said, "I can't make heads or tails of this thing."
"I didn't know you knew anything about cars," Luhan said through the slightly open window.
Junmyeon scratched his head, embarrassed.
"Well," he said slowly, "I don't know much... That is, I..."
Luhan relaxed. Okay, so he knew nothing about cars. That was good. That was great. He didn't know exactly what Tao's smiling friend had done to ensure a breakdown, but whatever it was, Junmyeon sure wasn't going to figure it out any time soon.
"Why don't you get back in the car?" he suggested, "All the warm air is going to get out if I try to talk to you out there."
Luhan eyed the sky suspiciously. Was that a snowflake? He hadn't realized it was supposed to snow. Why hadn't Yixing said anything to him before they set out? When his roommate had come to him, full of smiles and with a plan to get him some quality time alone with the deliciously cute Kim Junmyeon, Luhan had agreed wholeheartedly without questioning the plan too closely. Now Luhan almost wished he had thought this through more carefully.
Still, he thought delightedly, snow made it all the more likely that they'd have to huddle together for warmth.
~~
Luhan sighed as Junmyeon hit the redial button on his cell phone for the sixth time.
"I don't think you're going to get through," he said, "We must be out of range here."
The snow was falling fast and thick now and, while Luhan was reluctant to call it a blizzard, the fact remained that it was difficult to see more than five feet or so beyond the car. Add to that the fact that they seemed to be unable to reach anyone, and he had to admit that the situation was more than a little worrying.
Junmyeon shivered miserably and turned off his phone before putting it back in his pocket.
"Guess I should try and save the battery," he said, "If it weren't so bad out there, I'd try and walk until I got a signal."
Luhan's heart gave a lurch at the thought.
"You're not going anywhere until this stops," he said, "You'd get lost and freeze to death out there."
It was his turn to shiver then, either from fear or the rapidly dropping temperature in the car. Junmyeon looked worried.
"Do you have a blanket or anything in here?" he asked, "You look freezing."
Luhan shook his head.
"I didn't think I'd need one," he said, looking at his lap.
Junmyeon coughed nervously.
"Then I guess the thing to do is... I mean, if you don't mind..."
His ears had turned bright red and Luhan had to stop himself from squealing out loud because 1) not in the least bit manly, and 2) a dead giveaway. Instead he smiled back at a very embarrassed Junmyeon.
"The backseat might have more room?" he suggested.
~~
By the time the sun set, even the fact that he was currently wrapped up in his crush's coat along with said crush couldn't do much to cheer Luhan up.
"We're going to die," he groaned.
"We're not going to die," Junmyeon said soothingly, "Don't worry. Someone will find us eventually."
"They will find our frozen corpses," Luhan insisted, "How long do you think it will be until they send anyone to dig out this road? Because my bet is not for another twelve hours at least, and I can't feel my feet."
Junmyeon shrugged the coat off and wrapped it snugly around Luhan before scooting over to pick up Luhan's feet and hug them to his chest.
"What are you doing?" Luhan asked.
"Trying to warm your feet up," he answered.
"Well, stop that," Luhan said, feeling his face heat up (Maybe they could harness the power of a solid blush. He filed that away for later consideration.), "Get back over here before you turn into an icecube."
Junmyeon laughed and continued rubbing at Luhan's feet. Luhan stared at the roof of the car.
"I'm going to haunt Yixing," he said finally, "This was all his idea and my restless ghost will torment him forever."
"What was his idea?"
"Who's going to take care of Wanda after I'm gone?" Luhan asked.
"Who's Wanda?"
"Yixing will forget to feed her and change her water and she'll die without me!"
Luhan reached for the glove compartment.
"What are you doing?" Junmyeon asked in bewilderment.
"I'm checking for paper and something to write with," Luhan explained, "I need to write a Last Will and Testament."
"I don't think anything you write on..." Junmyeon peered at the paper, "... the back of a shawarma receipt could be considered legally binding."
"Then Wanda is going to die!" Luhan flung up his hands, "First we will die and then she will die, and it's all because of Yixing's negligence!"
Junmyeon moved back over to join Luhan in the coat.
"I want her buried with me," Luhan sniffed, "Yixing will flush her, but she deserves better than that. When the ground thaws enough for them to bury us, I want a note saying for them to bury her next to my head."
"You want them to bury you with your fish..." Junmyeon said slowly, "I can't tell if that's incredibly sweet or just really really depressing."
"My entire life is depressing," Luhan wailed, "I'm going to freeze to death in a crappy old sedan with peeling seats all because my roommate had a plan to get me stranded with the guy I like and Tao knows a guy who knows stuff about cars and I didn't think to check the weather and... I... just... said... something I shouldn't have... didn't I?"
Luhan stared at Junmyeon's startled face.
"Wow, okay, I can't do anything," Luhan struggled to get out of the coat and towards the car door, "I'm sorry, let me just-"
"Luhan, wait, no! It's too cold out there, don't-"
"No, it's okay. I think I need some air to clear my-"
Luhan was pulled back suddenly by the arm and Junmyeon's face was suddenly way too close to be normal and Luhan had only a split second to think oh before Junmyeon's lips were pressed to his.
It was colder than he had hoped for, but Luhan graciously conceded that it was very cold in that car, period, so this could be forgiven. Perhaps the plan had not failed entirely after all.
Junmyeon smiled nervously when he finally pulled back, and Luhan felt himself fall a little deeper in love.
"I guess if we're going to freeze to death, now was my chance," Junmyeon said sheepishly.
"Don't be silly," Luhan said, "We're not going to die. You haven't even bought me flowers yet."
Junmyeon laughed and kissed him again.
They were still so engaged a few minutes later that they were both caught by surprise when the car suddenly shook and a bright light shone through the car windows.
"I take it back!" Luhan said, shielding his eyes, "I think I see the light at the end of the tunnel."
"I think I see headlights, actually," said Junmyeon.
They could hear someone taking a shovel to the outside of the car and it was less than a minute before the door opened and someone peered in.
"Luhan?"
"Yixing!" Luhan felt limp with relief, "You found us!"
"Yeah," said Yixing, "I got Kris to borrow his dad's snowplow when I realized you'd probably gotten caught in the storm. Thought you could use some rescuing."
They climbed out of the car gratefully and Luhan saw Kris wave at them from behind the wheel.
"So," said Yixing quietly, edging closer, "How did the plan work?"
Luhan reached out and took Junmyeon's hand, earning a smile as he laced their fingers together.
"I think it worked out pretty well."