Super Junior: wishing I was a derivative so I could lie tangent to your curves
Title: wishing I was a derivative so I could lie tangent to your curves
Author: papered
Fandom: Super Junior
Characters/Pairings: Donghae, Kihae, Sihanchul
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 4233
Summary: Donghae hates math. He's in senior year, and all he can say is that there's nothing about numbers that make sense to him. Kibum is two years his junior and about a million times smarter. Kibum does extracurricular senior-level math after school, and is the top of his grade. In which Donghae is nervous and Kibum is confident. And Siwon and Hankyung are totally whipped.
Notes: This Kihae fic started off a drabble and ended up being a monster. Many thanks to waveless and songmuse for all their help and support. :)
Donghae hates math. He's in senior year, and all he can say is that there's nothing about numbers that make sense to him. He's an intuitive learner, and likes the hands-on approach. Math is too many equations and constants and doing things without knowing why he's doing them.
Kibum is two years his junior and about a million times smarter. Kibum does extracurricular senior-level math after school, and is the top of his grade. Maybe that's why when Donghae gives up on going to class and starts failing math, it's Kibum the teacher assigns him to for tutoring.
Kibum is quiet - quiet the way Heechul is loud - but when he talks, his voice is low and confident. Watching him patiently go through the example (again) with him, Donghae concludes that he might be a little in love with Kibum after all.
It's lunchtime, and Donghae is eating at his usual spot on the other side of the field with Heechul and Hankyung and Sungmin when he sees a familiar figure pass by. Without a second thought, he leapt up and attached himself to an arm. "Kibummie! Come have lunch with us!"
Behind him, Sungmin grinned while Hankyung raised an eyebrow. Heechul smirked.
Pulling an apprehensive-looking Kibum into the seat next to him, Donghae proceeded to do the introductions. It wasn't until he was done that he realized that perhaps it hadn't been the smartest idea to introduce Kim Heechul as one of his best friends.
Kibum paused at the name of the most well-known troublemaker in the school, then gave a small nod to each of them, but was otherwise quiet.
"Something you want to tell us?" Heechul asked, leering.
Donghae internally groaned and wondered if he hadn't made a mistake after all.
Things got progressively more awkward in the next half an hour of break, with Heechul making pointed Heechul-like remarks and ordering Donghae to go buy him food. Sungmin tried to be polite and make conversation, but any response was cut off when Heechul proceeded to climb into Hankyung's lap and examine his tonsils with his tongue.
Donghae briefly wished he could cover Kibum's eyes before turning frantically to Sungmin, who whacked Hankyung on the head, looking vaguely disapproving.
Donghae buried his face in his arms and died.
"Hyung!" Donghae wailed after Kibum left for his chemistry class. "You scared him off!"
Heechul waved his hand dismissively at him, mouth still occupied.
Donghae flailed off his chair in distress. "And now, things are going to be awkward, and Kibum's going to think I hang out with weirdos and refuse to talk to me again, and if he won't talk to me, he can't tutor me, and then I'll fail math and get kicked out of school!"
"Why would anyone be scared off by me?" Heechul asked, looking perfectly angelic. "I'm a nice person, aren't I, Hankyung?"
Hankyung nodded his agreement, looking far too amused.
"You're only saying that because you know he'll withhold sex if you don't!"
Sungmin patted him on the back, looking sympathetic. "It's okay, Donghae. Kibum will still like you."
Donghae heroically managed not to scream.
"Don't look up," Donghae whispered urgently. "Pretend you're studying or kissing or something, but whatever you do, don't look up."
"Kibum!" Heechul called out helpfully. "We're over here!"
The younger boy looked up at his name, then turned and headed in their direction, seemingly not noticing the whispers that followed him.
Donghae groaned and buried his face in Sungmin's shoulder.
"Your new boyfriend is hot," Heechul informed Donghae. "Not as hot as me, obviously, but we need more hot people at our table to make up for you and Sungmin."
Donghae thanked whatever deities there were that Kibum hadn't been within earshot. The dark-haired boy reached their seats, set his bag down on the table and slid in beside Donghae, giving them all polite hellos before resuming his silence.
Ten minutes later, Donghae looked beside him and realized two things. One, at some point, Kibum had taken out his textbook and was doing his reading. Two, Kibum was wearing glasses.
His throat went dry.
"Yah, what are you looking at, Donghae?" Heechul prodded him in the side before frowning at Kibum. "And you, what are you doing? Don't you ever talk?"
Kibum slowly looked up from the page, eyebrow raised. "I'd think that it's obvious what I'm doing, hyung. And of course I talk - just not to you."
There was a sharp intake of breath from Sungmin, while Donghae temporarily forgot to breathe.
And then Heechul let out a laugh, loud and sharp. "I like him, Donghae. You should keep him around."
The bell rang twenty minutes later, at which point Kibum promptly packed up his books and stood up. Seeing no one else at the table move, he turned questioningly to Donghae. "Aren't you going to class, hyung?"
Donghae squirmed uncomfortably for a minute and internally whined that Kibum had a far too convincing smile before standing up with a sigh, tossing his apple core in the general direction of the garbage can.
"Where are you going?" Hankyung asked, looking surprised.
"I have chemistry this block," Donghae informed him before walking off after Kibum, ignoring the I thought Sungmin was the only one of us who actually went to class? Heechul called out at his retreating back.
A week flew by, and Kibum had more or less become a permanent fixture during lunch. Donghae wasn't sure if he should be pleased or mortified. On one hand, he liked having Kibum sitting next to him while he ate, but Heechul had this irritating habit of making inappropriate comments just to see if Kibum would react. Sungmin assured him that Kibum was holding up on his own just fine, but that didn't stop Donghae from having a heart attack every time Heechul opened his mouth, because Kibum was a fine upstanding student, and fine upstanding students didn't hang out with smirking troublemakers or failing oddballs, and surely today would be the day Kibum realized how much of a freak they all were and left them behind for better company.
"Yah, Kibum," Heechul said, right as Donghae put a forkful of potatoes into his mouth. "Want to make out?"
Donghae choked. Sungmin gave Heechul a scandalized look.
Kibum rolled his eyes, annoyance spinning off them perfectly. "You wish, hyung," he replied, his mildly polite tone in direct contrast with his words.
Hankyung froze for a fraction of a second before bursting out laughing. Heechul frowned and whacked him on head. "Don't laugh at your hyung."
By the time Donghae had finished with his coughing fit, conversation had moved on. "It's Siwon's birthday next Friday, and I'm throwing a party for him," Heechul informed them all. "I expect you to all show up."
"You're throwing Siwon a party?" Sungmin asked at the same time Kibum looked up and went, "Wait, Choi Siwon?"
Heechul looked pleased at the sudden attention. "Of course I'm throwing Siwon a party." ("And I'm guessing he doesn't know anything about this party.") "And yes, Choi Siwon. Are there any other Siwons in this school?"
"You know Choi Siwon?"
Heechul looked vaguely offended. "Of course I know Siwonnie." He paused, and then leered. "Actually, I'd say we know each other quite well."
Sungmin snorted, then turned to Kibum. "Heechul's known Siwon since they were kids," he explained. "He usually eats lunch with us too, but ever since he was voted student council president last year, he's always running around planning something or another during breaks." He gave the boy a small smile. "I didn't realize you knew Siwon as well, Kibum."
"I'm actually on the student council too," Kibum explained. "I'm the academics coordinator."
Heechul made a dramatic sound. "Why didn't you tell me your boyfriend's another one of those straight-A students, Donghae?"
Donghae laughed nervously while mentally promising himself that he would hang Heechul in a closet for that comment later. Deliberately not looking at Kibum and trying to ignore the way his stomach suddenly clenched, he changed the topic. "So what time does the party start?"
"My parents are out of town, so Hankyung and I are setting up in my house at seven - Siwon should be done with his council meeting by eight, and Hankyung can go pick him up." Heechul frowned and suddenly turned to Kibum. "Don't tell me you have to be at that meeting Siwon's going to too."
"That one's for the fundraising coordinators and volunteers only, so I'll be free."
"Good," Heechul approved. "You and Donghae are coming at seven thirty then. And you'd better not be late."
"Donghae!" His mother called. "There's someone asking for you at the door!"
Donghae pulled on his jacket and dashed out of his room, down the stairs, past the living room and to the front door. "I'm so sorry I'm late, Kibummie - I couldn't find my - oh my god."
"Donghae?" Kibum looked slightly puzzled and waved a hand in front of his face. "What's wrong?"
Asldjsakfj, said Donghae's brain, because Kibum looked fucking fantastic.
The usual school uniform had been traded for low-slung jeans and a casual black t-shirt, and it's not like there's anything special about the clothing, but those jeans had freaking beltloops and Donghae suddenly feels like his self-restraint has gone flying out the window.
"I'm fine," he manages to chokes out. Trying to seem casual, he pulled on Kibum arm. "Come on, Kibummie - let's go, we're going to be late!"
As Kibum gives him a half-amused, half-puzzled look and lets himself be dragged down the street, Donghae can't help but feel a little giddy. His day had just gotten infinitely better.
As an afterthought, he admits to himself that he might be more than just a little in love with Kibum after all.
"Kibum!" Siwon exclaimed, lighting up like a candle when he walked through the door and noticed the younger boy. "What are you doing here?"
"Heechul-hyung invited me," Kibum said, and his smile just a little too bright for Donghae's taste. "Happy birthday, hyung!"
Donghae's stomach drops when Siwon pulls Kibum into a hug and all the younger boy does is laugh.
The world hated him, Donghae concluded four hours later.
He's collapsed on Heechul's couch and it's his god-knows-how-many cup of soju, but the world still isn't spinning enough for him to stop his brain from functioning.
"Hey," Heechul said, appearing out of nowhere and settling down next to him. "Stop moping, it doesn't suit you."
"Go away," Donghae grumbled half-heartedly, and closed his eyes, because everywhere he looks, there's Siwon and Kibum and Kibum following Siwon around like a lovesick puppy. God. He should've guessed.
"It's just Siwon," Heechul said, rolling his eyes in exasperation. "Everyone has a crush on Siwon - you should know that by now."
Donghae thinks that Heechul sucks at this whole comforting-a-friend thing.
"You suck," he informed Heechul sadly.
Heechul sighed dramatically before standing up and calling across the room. "Siwonnie! Come over here!"
Siwon obediently appeared, face lit up with a smile. He was still partially in school uniform, having come directly without realizing there would be a party, but Donghae had to miserably admit that even unprepared, Siwon outshone and outclassed and out-everythinged him.
Life sucked.
Heechul casually slung an arm around Siwon's shoulder and proceeded to kiss him senseless. Seeing the way Heechul had deliberately angled himself so that Kibum could see them, Donghae groaned and hid his face in his arms, completely missing the way Kibum rolled his eyes at the public display.
"You and Hankyung go upstairs and cuddle for a bit," Heechul said, pulling away and pushing a confused Siwon in Hankyung's general direction. "I'll be up later."
Siwon is completely whipped, Donghae thinks to himself when he hears Siwon comply, and doesn't bother lifting his head.
Ten minutes and what felt like a gallon of alcohol later, there's someone prodding at his shoulder.
Donghae groaned and tried to smother himself in the arm of the couch. "Go away, Heechul."
"Donghae-hyung?"
Oh great. Opening his eyes a crack, he tried to smile. "Hi there, Kibummie."
"What's wrong? Are you not feeling well?"
Donghae tries to shake his head, but it turns out to be a bad idea when Kibum's face suddenly turns fuzzy.
There are suddenly arms around his torso, lifting him upright. "Come on, hyung - I'll get you upstairs. I'm sure Heechul-hyung won't mind if you borrowed a room for the night."
Donghae's protests fell to deaf ears, and the next thing he knows, he's practically carried up the stairs. Kibummie's so strong, he thinks to himself, and notes that the ceiling seems to be moving.
He's pulled into a room, and there's someone pushing a pillow under his head and covers over him, and Donghae grabs onto an arm before Kibum can completely pull away.
"Hyung?"
Donghae breathed in, and vaguely wondered why hadn't he noticed how nice Kibum smelled until now.
"Can you give me my arm back, hyung?"
Why did Kibum sound so amused? Cracking open and eye, Donghae frowned at the smiling face. "You shouldn't laugh at your hyung, Kibummie."
"Of course not."
"Are you leaving now?"
"I'm just going back downstairs, hyung."
"Oh. Okay."
The arm pulled out of his grasp, and he could distantly hear footsteps fading away. Just as the sound of the door swinging open reached his ears, Donghae opened his mouth and, without thinking, blurted out, "I really like you, Kibummie!"
There was a pause.
He thought he heard a quiet "I like you too, hyung," before the door clicked shut, but Donghae couldn't be sure.
Donghae groaned and wondered why someone was banging pots inside his head.
"Hyung?"
The banging grew steadily louder until it felt like someone was drilling a hole in his brain. With a groan, he tried to sit up, but failed miserably.
Someone wrapped an arm around his shoulders and pulled him into a sitting position.
His stomach roiled.
Bolting upright, he suddenly recovered the ability to move as he charged blindly towards the bathroom at the side of the room. It was a good thing, he decided amidst retching out his lungs, that he spent enough time at Heechul's house to find the toilet in his sleep.
Hands pulled his hair out of the way until he settled himself down on the bathroom floor with a moan.
"Are you feeling any better, hyung?"
"Why are you even coherent, Kibummie?" He groaned out.
Kibum smiled at him. "I didn't drink anything last night."
"... nothing?"
"I don't drink. Plus, I'm still underage."
Oh, right, Donghae had temporarily forgotten that Kibum was a fine upstanding student, and fine upstanding students actually followed the law and used legal drinking ages as more than just a vague guideline.
Kibum is so responsible, Donghae thought with a sigh. It's too bad that all the good ones are always straight, taken, or completely in love with Choi Siwon.
Wait.
Oh. Oh.
Crap, said his brain.
"Crap," he said out loud, and wished the ground would swallow him whole.
Thankfully, there was a loud banging on the door, and Heechul and Siwon came pushing into the room before anything too-awkward could happen.
"Oh good, you're awake!" Heechul announced when he saw him.
Donghae closed his eyes, headache suddenly back. "Why is everyone unreasonably coherent this morning?"
Heechul smirked at him. "Because I don't get hangovers, and Siwonnie didn't drink, as usual, even though it was his party. Are you done puking your guts out?"
Donghae thinks Heechul is a piss-poor friend.
He might actually tell him so, if his brain wasn't completely fried.
"Did you stay here overnight, Kibum?" Siwon asks, his voice friendly.
"I went home after everyone left, but came back again this morning." Kibum responded with an easy smile. "I thought Donghae-hyung could use someone around today."
"Oh, that really nice of you! Did you -"
"Too much talking, not enough kissing," Heechul decided, and proceeded to cut Siwon off mid-sentence by sticking his tongue down Siwon's throat.
Kibum made a disapproving noise. "You should stop doing that in public, hyung. It's disgusting."
Donghae opened his mouth to agree, and then froze.
Wait. What?
Last time he checked, that wasn't the natural reaction when you saw your crush kissing his boyfriend. Kibum wasn't your average male, but his reaction was far too mild. What was going on?
Heechul was smirking at him, while Siwon stood there looking embarrassed. "Right," he coughed, cheeks turning pink as he shifted from feet to feet. "Sorry about that, Kibum."
"Siwonnie, you go and wake Hankyung up. And you can go downstairs and find my bag for me, Kibum."
Siwon automatically stepped towards the door, but Kibum frowned. "Go do it yourself, hyung! How am I supposed to find your bag in that mess everyone left behind last night?"
"You should learn to respect your hyung," Heechul started, just as Siwon pulled Kibum to him by the shoulders and ruffled his hair. "Come on, Kibummie - Heechul's going to have a hard enough time cleaning up the mess downstairs later. We can help him out a little, right?"
Kibum still didn't look convinced, but let himself be dragged out the door. As soon as he was gone, Heechul turned to Donghae.
"I told you so," Heechul informed him smugly, and Donghae really isn't in the mood to be further confused right now.
"Shut up and tell me what's going on!"
"Wait, so Kibum's not in love with Siwon?"
Heechul sighed in annoyance. "Haven't you been listening to a word of what I just said? Their parents are friends. They've been next-door neighbours since Siwon was ten."
"... oh."
Heechul whacked him on the head. "Now, stop being miserable, because you're making me miserable too. Hurry up and go have sex with Kibum or something."
Donghae's mouth curved unconsciously into a smile, and he pointedly ignored Heechul's disgusted grunt when he threw both arms around his shoulders in a hug.
Three hours later, Donghae's hangover symptoms had dulled to a numb roar, and he was feeling adventurous enough to try and make it home.
Heechul shot him a disgusted look as he stumbled around the front door, looking for his shoes. "Kibum, go take Donghae home," he ordered imperiously.
Before Donghae could open his mouth, Kibum slid into place beside him with a respectful "of course, hyung".
Siwon blinked at the lack of protest.
Heechul smirked.
It was a good thing he lived so close to Heechul, Donghae thought, because if he had to walk much farther, he would trip on a crack in the sidewalk and break his neck, like he'd nearly done three times in the last ten minutes.
It was also a very good thing, he decided, that Heechul had made Kibum come with him.
There was amused laughter in his ears as arms prevented him from falling again. "Are you okay, hyung?"
"The world won't stop spinning, Kibummie!" Donghae complained, but secretly, he's quite pleased at the way Kibum has one arm slung around his back to catch any more unexpected stumbles.
Kibum laughed at him, and Donghae decided that he liked Kibum's laugh, and Kibum needed to laugh more often.
There were a few moments of comfortable silence.
"Hyung?"
"Mhmm?"
"Do you remember what you told me last night?"
Oh, said Donghae's brain.
"Hyung?" Kibum pulled him to a stop, and turned so that Donghae was facing him, and Donghae mentally whined that it's just not fair that Kibum's two years younger but is still about five centimeters taller in height.
Life is so biased.
... and Kibum is still looking expectantly at him.
Nod, you moron, he hears Heechul's voice hiss inside his head, and Donghae decides that he really needs to check himself into a mental institution after this because hearing Kim Heechul's voice in your head is one of the five signs of insanity. But real or not, it's still Heechul, and if you knew what was good for you, you listened to Kim Heechul.
Donghae nodded.
"I... Did you mean it?"
Donghae kicked at the ground, voice frozen, and in his head, Heechul's voice is swearing at him and calling him a coward, and really, Kibum has the worst timing ever, because his poor head is still vaguely pounding, and the ground is still vaguely spinning and -
"Donghae-hyung?"
Donghae made himself looked up, and suddenly his knees buckled underneath him.
Shit, he thinks as he goes tumbling towards the ground and ends up on a heap on top of Kibum (who'd apparently tried to stop him but ended up being dragged down by his weight instead), because it's completely ridiculous that he just fell because stupid Kibum flashed that stupid smile at him again, and he wonders if he can blame this on his stupid hangover too.
"Hyung! Are you okay?"
His mental Heechul is smirking at him, and Kibum's still lying underneath him, looking adorably worried, and really, Kibum had the nicest eyes he'd ever seen, and the next thing he knows, he just really really wants to tell Kibum everything. But his stupid voice is still refusing to function, and he really has the most uncooperative larynx ever, and so Donghae settles for the next best thing.
Kibum fell still underneath him at the first touch of lips, and Donghae hummed in contentment when the arm around his torso tightened.
"I think I really like you, Kibummie," he blurts out when he manages to pull himself away.
Kibum smiled up at him. "I'm glad," is all he says before he's reaching up to pull Donghae's face down again, and Donghae's only too happy to comply.
"Why are you wearing a scarf in April?" Heechul frowned at him.
"Um," said Donghae.
"And if you had to wear one, at least wear something nicer. That one's hideous." With a dramatic sigh, he reached up in one fluid motion and pulled off the large scarf Donghae had managed to strategically drape over the mark on his neck.
"... Oh," said Sungmin.
Hankyung started to laugh.
Donghae buried his face in Kibum's shoulder.
"Our Donghae is all grown up!" Heechul announced in a sing-song tone. He lowered his voice conspiringly, smirking the whole time. "So. Do share, Donghae. How was our Kibummie in bed?"
Kibum rolled his eyes and looked up from his chemistry text. "Mind your own business, hyung," he said, sounding bored.
Hankyung choked around his mouthful of fried rice.
The bell rang promptly a little while later, signalling the end of lunch, and Kibum dutifully packed up his books before turning to Donghae "You have a break now, right?"
Donghae nodded happily, glad that he didn't have to run off to class yet, because really, his attendance in class has almost been consistent since Kibum had shown up, and that was just Not Right. (Donghae's mother had been delighted, but Heechul insists that Kibum is a bad influence.)
"Well, I'll wait for you at the front gate after class then, hyung," Kibum says, and Donghae is briefly shocked speechless when the younger boy leans down to press a chaste kiss against his lips before heading back in the direction of the main building.
Heechul collapsed onto Hankyung in a fit of laughter.
By the time he's shocked out of his stupor by Sungmin prodding him in the side, Kibum is already more than halfway across the field. Suddenly grinning, Donghae raised his voice, waving his arms around wildly.
"Hey!" he called out impulsively.
The figure turned questioningly in his direction.
"I love you, Kibummie!"
Donghae can make out the amused smile on Kibum's face, and the younger boy gives him a small wave before running the last few meters to the main doors and disappearing into the building.
People sitting a few tables down are suddenly shooting him odd looks and whispering amongst themselves, and the gossip mill is probably going to make a mountain out of this tomorrow, but Donghae can't bring himself to care. With a happy sigh, he settled himself onto Sungmin's shoulder and looked up into the blue blue sky.
Life is good, he thinks to himself.
fic started: October 2nd, 2008
fic finished: October 5th, 2008
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Author: papered
Fandom: Super Junior
Characters/Pairings: Donghae, Kihae, Sihanchul
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 4233
Summary: Donghae hates math. He's in senior year, and all he can say is that there's nothing about numbers that make sense to him. Kibum is two years his junior and about a million times smarter. Kibum does extracurricular senior-level math after school, and is the top of his grade. In which Donghae is nervous and Kibum is confident. And Siwon and Hankyung are totally whipped.
Notes: This Kihae fic started off a drabble and ended up being a monster. Many thanks to waveless and songmuse for all their help and support. :)
Donghae hates math. He's in senior year, and all he can say is that there's nothing about numbers that make sense to him. He's an intuitive learner, and likes the hands-on approach. Math is too many equations and constants and doing things without knowing why he's doing them.
Kibum is two years his junior and about a million times smarter. Kibum does extracurricular senior-level math after school, and is the top of his grade. Maybe that's why when Donghae gives up on going to class and starts failing math, it's Kibum the teacher assigns him to for tutoring.
Kibum is quiet - quiet the way Heechul is loud - but when he talks, his voice is low and confident. Watching him patiently go through the example (again) with him, Donghae concludes that he might be a little in love with Kibum after all.
It's lunchtime, and Donghae is eating at his usual spot on the other side of the field with Heechul and Hankyung and Sungmin when he sees a familiar figure pass by. Without a second thought, he leapt up and attached himself to an arm. "Kibummie! Come have lunch with us!"
Behind him, Sungmin grinned while Hankyung raised an eyebrow. Heechul smirked.
Pulling an apprehensive-looking Kibum into the seat next to him, Donghae proceeded to do the introductions. It wasn't until he was done that he realized that perhaps it hadn't been the smartest idea to introduce Kim Heechul as one of his best friends.
Kibum paused at the name of the most well-known troublemaker in the school, then gave a small nod to each of them, but was otherwise quiet.
"Something you want to tell us?" Heechul asked, leering.
Donghae internally groaned and wondered if he hadn't made a mistake after all.
Things got progressively more awkward in the next half an hour of break, with Heechul making pointed Heechul-like remarks and ordering Donghae to go buy him food. Sungmin tried to be polite and make conversation, but any response was cut off when Heechul proceeded to climb into Hankyung's lap and examine his tonsils with his tongue.
Donghae briefly wished he could cover Kibum's eyes before turning frantically to Sungmin, who whacked Hankyung on the head, looking vaguely disapproving.
Donghae buried his face in his arms and died.
"Hyung!" Donghae wailed after Kibum left for his chemistry class. "You scared him off!"
Heechul waved his hand dismissively at him, mouth still occupied.
Donghae flailed off his chair in distress. "And now, things are going to be awkward, and Kibum's going to think I hang out with weirdos and refuse to talk to me again, and if he won't talk to me, he can't tutor me, and then I'll fail math and get kicked out of school!"
"Why would anyone be scared off by me?" Heechul asked, looking perfectly angelic. "I'm a nice person, aren't I, Hankyung?"
Hankyung nodded his agreement, looking far too amused.
"You're only saying that because you know he'll withhold sex if you don't!"
Sungmin patted him on the back, looking sympathetic. "It's okay, Donghae. Kibum will still like you."
Donghae heroically managed not to scream.
"Don't look up," Donghae whispered urgently. "Pretend you're studying or kissing or something, but whatever you do, don't look up."
"Kibum!" Heechul called out helpfully. "We're over here!"
The younger boy looked up at his name, then turned and headed in their direction, seemingly not noticing the whispers that followed him.
Donghae groaned and buried his face in Sungmin's shoulder.
"Your new boyfriend is hot," Heechul informed Donghae. "Not as hot as me, obviously, but we need more hot people at our table to make up for you and Sungmin."
Donghae thanked whatever deities there were that Kibum hadn't been within earshot. The dark-haired boy reached their seats, set his bag down on the table and slid in beside Donghae, giving them all polite hellos before resuming his silence.
Ten minutes later, Donghae looked beside him and realized two things. One, at some point, Kibum had taken out his textbook and was doing his reading. Two, Kibum was wearing glasses.
His throat went dry.
"Yah, what are you looking at, Donghae?" Heechul prodded him in the side before frowning at Kibum. "And you, what are you doing? Don't you ever talk?"
Kibum slowly looked up from the page, eyebrow raised. "I'd think that it's obvious what I'm doing, hyung. And of course I talk - just not to you."
There was a sharp intake of breath from Sungmin, while Donghae temporarily forgot to breathe.
And then Heechul let out a laugh, loud and sharp. "I like him, Donghae. You should keep him around."
The bell rang twenty minutes later, at which point Kibum promptly packed up his books and stood up. Seeing no one else at the table move, he turned questioningly to Donghae. "Aren't you going to class, hyung?"
Donghae squirmed uncomfortably for a minute and internally whined that Kibum had a far too convincing smile before standing up with a sigh, tossing his apple core in the general direction of the garbage can.
"Where are you going?" Hankyung asked, looking surprised.
"I have chemistry this block," Donghae informed him before walking off after Kibum, ignoring the I thought Sungmin was the only one of us who actually went to class? Heechul called out at his retreating back.
A week flew by, and Kibum had more or less become a permanent fixture during lunch. Donghae wasn't sure if he should be pleased or mortified. On one hand, he liked having Kibum sitting next to him while he ate, but Heechul had this irritating habit of making inappropriate comments just to see if Kibum would react. Sungmin assured him that Kibum was holding up on his own just fine, but that didn't stop Donghae from having a heart attack every time Heechul opened his mouth, because Kibum was a fine upstanding student, and fine upstanding students didn't hang out with smirking troublemakers or failing oddballs, and surely today would be the day Kibum realized how much of a freak they all were and left them behind for better company.
"Yah, Kibum," Heechul said, right as Donghae put a forkful of potatoes into his mouth. "Want to make out?"
Donghae choked. Sungmin gave Heechul a scandalized look.
Kibum rolled his eyes, annoyance spinning off them perfectly. "You wish, hyung," he replied, his mildly polite tone in direct contrast with his words.
Hankyung froze for a fraction of a second before bursting out laughing. Heechul frowned and whacked him on head. "Don't laugh at your hyung."
By the time Donghae had finished with his coughing fit, conversation had moved on. "It's Siwon's birthday next Friday, and I'm throwing a party for him," Heechul informed them all. "I expect you to all show up."
"You're throwing Siwon a party?" Sungmin asked at the same time Kibum looked up and went, "Wait, Choi Siwon?"
Heechul looked pleased at the sudden attention. "Of course I'm throwing Siwon a party." ("And I'm guessing he doesn't know anything about this party.") "And yes, Choi Siwon. Are there any other Siwons in this school?"
"You know Choi Siwon?"
Heechul looked vaguely offended. "Of course I know Siwonnie." He paused, and then leered. "Actually, I'd say we know each other quite well."
Sungmin snorted, then turned to Kibum. "Heechul's known Siwon since they were kids," he explained. "He usually eats lunch with us too, but ever since he was voted student council president last year, he's always running around planning something or another during breaks." He gave the boy a small smile. "I didn't realize you knew Siwon as well, Kibum."
"I'm actually on the student council too," Kibum explained. "I'm the academics coordinator."
Heechul made a dramatic sound. "Why didn't you tell me your boyfriend's another one of those straight-A students, Donghae?"
Donghae laughed nervously while mentally promising himself that he would hang Heechul in a closet for that comment later. Deliberately not looking at Kibum and trying to ignore the way his stomach suddenly clenched, he changed the topic. "So what time does the party start?"
"My parents are out of town, so Hankyung and I are setting up in my house at seven - Siwon should be done with his council meeting by eight, and Hankyung can go pick him up." Heechul frowned and suddenly turned to Kibum. "Don't tell me you have to be at that meeting Siwon's going to too."
"That one's for the fundraising coordinators and volunteers only, so I'll be free."
"Good," Heechul approved. "You and Donghae are coming at seven thirty then. And you'd better not be late."
"Donghae!" His mother called. "There's someone asking for you at the door!"
Donghae pulled on his jacket and dashed out of his room, down the stairs, past the living room and to the front door. "I'm so sorry I'm late, Kibummie - I couldn't find my - oh my god."
"Donghae?" Kibum looked slightly puzzled and waved a hand in front of his face. "What's wrong?"
Asldjsakfj, said Donghae's brain, because Kibum looked fucking fantastic.
The usual school uniform had been traded for low-slung jeans and a casual black t-shirt, and it's not like there's anything special about the clothing, but those jeans had freaking beltloops and Donghae suddenly feels like his self-restraint has gone flying out the window.
"I'm fine," he manages to chokes out. Trying to seem casual, he pulled on Kibum arm. "Come on, Kibummie - let's go, we're going to be late!"
As Kibum gives him a half-amused, half-puzzled look and lets himself be dragged down the street, Donghae can't help but feel a little giddy. His day had just gotten infinitely better.
As an afterthought, he admits to himself that he might be more than just a little in love with Kibum after all.
"Kibum!" Siwon exclaimed, lighting up like a candle when he walked through the door and noticed the younger boy. "What are you doing here?"
"Heechul-hyung invited me," Kibum said, and his smile just a little too bright for Donghae's taste. "Happy birthday, hyung!"
Donghae's stomach drops when Siwon pulls Kibum into a hug and all the younger boy does is laugh.
The world hated him, Donghae concluded four hours later.
He's collapsed on Heechul's couch and it's his god-knows-how-many cup of soju, but the world still isn't spinning enough for him to stop his brain from functioning.
"Hey," Heechul said, appearing out of nowhere and settling down next to him. "Stop moping, it doesn't suit you."
"Go away," Donghae grumbled half-heartedly, and closed his eyes, because everywhere he looks, there's Siwon and Kibum and Kibum following Siwon around like a lovesick puppy. God. He should've guessed.
"It's just Siwon," Heechul said, rolling his eyes in exasperation. "Everyone has a crush on Siwon - you should know that by now."
Donghae thinks that Heechul sucks at this whole comforting-a-friend thing.
"You suck," he informed Heechul sadly.
Heechul sighed dramatically before standing up and calling across the room. "Siwonnie! Come over here!"
Siwon obediently appeared, face lit up with a smile. He was still partially in school uniform, having come directly without realizing there would be a party, but Donghae had to miserably admit that even unprepared, Siwon outshone and outclassed and out-everythinged him.
Life sucked.
Heechul casually slung an arm around Siwon's shoulder and proceeded to kiss him senseless. Seeing the way Heechul had deliberately angled himself so that Kibum could see them, Donghae groaned and hid his face in his arms, completely missing the way Kibum rolled his eyes at the public display.
"You and Hankyung go upstairs and cuddle for a bit," Heechul said, pulling away and pushing a confused Siwon in Hankyung's general direction. "I'll be up later."
Siwon is completely whipped, Donghae thinks to himself when he hears Siwon comply, and doesn't bother lifting his head.
Ten minutes and what felt like a gallon of alcohol later, there's someone prodding at his shoulder.
Donghae groaned and tried to smother himself in the arm of the couch. "Go away, Heechul."
"Donghae-hyung?"
Oh great. Opening his eyes a crack, he tried to smile. "Hi there, Kibummie."
"What's wrong? Are you not feeling well?"
Donghae tries to shake his head, but it turns out to be a bad idea when Kibum's face suddenly turns fuzzy.
There are suddenly arms around his torso, lifting him upright. "Come on, hyung - I'll get you upstairs. I'm sure Heechul-hyung won't mind if you borrowed a room for the night."
Donghae's protests fell to deaf ears, and the next thing he knows, he's practically carried up the stairs. Kibummie's so strong, he thinks to himself, and notes that the ceiling seems to be moving.
He's pulled into a room, and there's someone pushing a pillow under his head and covers over him, and Donghae grabs onto an arm before Kibum can completely pull away.
"Hyung?"
Donghae breathed in, and vaguely wondered why hadn't he noticed how nice Kibum smelled until now.
"Can you give me my arm back, hyung?"
Why did Kibum sound so amused? Cracking open and eye, Donghae frowned at the smiling face. "You shouldn't laugh at your hyung, Kibummie."
"Of course not."
"Are you leaving now?"
"I'm just going back downstairs, hyung."
"Oh. Okay."
The arm pulled out of his grasp, and he could distantly hear footsteps fading away. Just as the sound of the door swinging open reached his ears, Donghae opened his mouth and, without thinking, blurted out, "I really like you, Kibummie!"
There was a pause.
He thought he heard a quiet "I like you too, hyung," before the door clicked shut, but Donghae couldn't be sure.
Donghae groaned and wondered why someone was banging pots inside his head.
"Hyung?"
The banging grew steadily louder until it felt like someone was drilling a hole in his brain. With a groan, he tried to sit up, but failed miserably.
Someone wrapped an arm around his shoulders and pulled him into a sitting position.
His stomach roiled.
Bolting upright, he suddenly recovered the ability to move as he charged blindly towards the bathroom at the side of the room. It was a good thing, he decided amidst retching out his lungs, that he spent enough time at Heechul's house to find the toilet in his sleep.
Hands pulled his hair out of the way until he settled himself down on the bathroom floor with a moan.
"Are you feeling any better, hyung?"
"Why are you even coherent, Kibummie?" He groaned out.
Kibum smiled at him. "I didn't drink anything last night."
"... nothing?"
"I don't drink. Plus, I'm still underage."
Oh, right, Donghae had temporarily forgotten that Kibum was a fine upstanding student, and fine upstanding students actually followed the law and used legal drinking ages as more than just a vague guideline.
Kibum is so responsible, Donghae thought with a sigh. It's too bad that all the good ones are always straight, taken, or completely in love with Choi Siwon.
Wait.
Oh. Oh.
Crap, said his brain.
"Crap," he said out loud, and wished the ground would swallow him whole.
Thankfully, there was a loud banging on the door, and Heechul and Siwon came pushing into the room before anything too-awkward could happen.
"Oh good, you're awake!" Heechul announced when he saw him.
Donghae closed his eyes, headache suddenly back. "Why is everyone unreasonably coherent this morning?"
Heechul smirked at him. "Because I don't get hangovers, and Siwonnie didn't drink, as usual, even though it was his party. Are you done puking your guts out?"
Donghae thinks Heechul is a piss-poor friend.
He might actually tell him so, if his brain wasn't completely fried.
"Did you stay here overnight, Kibum?" Siwon asks, his voice friendly.
"I went home after everyone left, but came back again this morning." Kibum responded with an easy smile. "I thought Donghae-hyung could use someone around today."
"Oh, that really nice of you! Did you -"
"Too much talking, not enough kissing," Heechul decided, and proceeded to cut Siwon off mid-sentence by sticking his tongue down Siwon's throat.
Kibum made a disapproving noise. "You should stop doing that in public, hyung. It's disgusting."
Donghae opened his mouth to agree, and then froze.
Wait. What?
Last time he checked, that wasn't the natural reaction when you saw your crush kissing his boyfriend. Kibum wasn't your average male, but his reaction was far too mild. What was going on?
Heechul was smirking at him, while Siwon stood there looking embarrassed. "Right," he coughed, cheeks turning pink as he shifted from feet to feet. "Sorry about that, Kibum."
"Siwonnie, you go and wake Hankyung up. And you can go downstairs and find my bag for me, Kibum."
Siwon automatically stepped towards the door, but Kibum frowned. "Go do it yourself, hyung! How am I supposed to find your bag in that mess everyone left behind last night?"
"You should learn to respect your hyung," Heechul started, just as Siwon pulled Kibum to him by the shoulders and ruffled his hair. "Come on, Kibummie - Heechul's going to have a hard enough time cleaning up the mess downstairs later. We can help him out a little, right?"
Kibum still didn't look convinced, but let himself be dragged out the door. As soon as he was gone, Heechul turned to Donghae.
"I told you so," Heechul informed him smugly, and Donghae really isn't in the mood to be further confused right now.
"Shut up and tell me what's going on!"
"Wait, so Kibum's not in love with Siwon?"
Heechul sighed in annoyance. "Haven't you been listening to a word of what I just said? Their parents are friends. They've been next-door neighbours since Siwon was ten."
"... oh."
Heechul whacked him on the head. "Now, stop being miserable, because you're making me miserable too. Hurry up and go have sex with Kibum or something."
Donghae's mouth curved unconsciously into a smile, and he pointedly ignored Heechul's disgusted grunt when he threw both arms around his shoulders in a hug.
Three hours later, Donghae's hangover symptoms had dulled to a numb roar, and he was feeling adventurous enough to try and make it home.
Heechul shot him a disgusted look as he stumbled around the front door, looking for his shoes. "Kibum, go take Donghae home," he ordered imperiously.
Before Donghae could open his mouth, Kibum slid into place beside him with a respectful "of course, hyung".
Siwon blinked at the lack of protest.
Heechul smirked.
It was a good thing he lived so close to Heechul, Donghae thought, because if he had to walk much farther, he would trip on a crack in the sidewalk and break his neck, like he'd nearly done three times in the last ten minutes.
It was also a very good thing, he decided, that Heechul had made Kibum come with him.
There was amused laughter in his ears as arms prevented him from falling again. "Are you okay, hyung?"
"The world won't stop spinning, Kibummie!" Donghae complained, but secretly, he's quite pleased at the way Kibum has one arm slung around his back to catch any more unexpected stumbles.
Kibum laughed at him, and Donghae decided that he liked Kibum's laugh, and Kibum needed to laugh more often.
There were a few moments of comfortable silence.
"Hyung?"
"Mhmm?"
"Do you remember what you told me last night?"
Oh, said Donghae's brain.
"Hyung?" Kibum pulled him to a stop, and turned so that Donghae was facing him, and Donghae mentally whined that it's just not fair that Kibum's two years younger but is still about five centimeters taller in height.
Life is so biased.
... and Kibum is still looking expectantly at him.
Nod, you moron, he hears Heechul's voice hiss inside his head, and Donghae decides that he really needs to check himself into a mental institution after this because hearing Kim Heechul's voice in your head is one of the five signs of insanity. But real or not, it's still Heechul, and if you knew what was good for you, you listened to Kim Heechul.
Donghae nodded.
"I... Did you mean it?"
Donghae kicked at the ground, voice frozen, and in his head, Heechul's voice is swearing at him and calling him a coward, and really, Kibum has the worst timing ever, because his poor head is still vaguely pounding, and the ground is still vaguely spinning and -
"Donghae-hyung?"
Donghae made himself looked up, and suddenly his knees buckled underneath him.
Shit, he thinks as he goes tumbling towards the ground and ends up on a heap on top of Kibum (who'd apparently tried to stop him but ended up being dragged down by his weight instead), because it's completely ridiculous that he just fell because stupid Kibum flashed that stupid smile at him again, and he wonders if he can blame this on his stupid hangover too.
"Hyung! Are you okay?"
His mental Heechul is smirking at him, and Kibum's still lying underneath him, looking adorably worried, and really, Kibum had the nicest eyes he'd ever seen, and the next thing he knows, he just really really wants to tell Kibum everything. But his stupid voice is still refusing to function, and he really has the most uncooperative larynx ever, and so Donghae settles for the next best thing.
Kibum fell still underneath him at the first touch of lips, and Donghae hummed in contentment when the arm around his torso tightened.
"I think I really like you, Kibummie," he blurts out when he manages to pull himself away.
Kibum smiled up at him. "I'm glad," is all he says before he's reaching up to pull Donghae's face down again, and Donghae's only too happy to comply.
"Why are you wearing a scarf in April?" Heechul frowned at him.
"Um," said Donghae.
"And if you had to wear one, at least wear something nicer. That one's hideous." With a dramatic sigh, he reached up in one fluid motion and pulled off the large scarf Donghae had managed to strategically drape over the mark on his neck.
"... Oh," said Sungmin.
Hankyung started to laugh.
Donghae buried his face in Kibum's shoulder.
"Our Donghae is all grown up!" Heechul announced in a sing-song tone. He lowered his voice conspiringly, smirking the whole time. "So. Do share, Donghae. How was our Kibummie in bed?"
Kibum rolled his eyes and looked up from his chemistry text. "Mind your own business, hyung," he said, sounding bored.
Hankyung choked around his mouthful of fried rice.
The bell rang promptly a little while later, signalling the end of lunch, and Kibum dutifully packed up his books before turning to Donghae "You have a break now, right?"
Donghae nodded happily, glad that he didn't have to run off to class yet, because really, his attendance in class has almost been consistent since Kibum had shown up, and that was just Not Right. (Donghae's mother had been delighted, but Heechul insists that Kibum is a bad influence.)
"Well, I'll wait for you at the front gate after class then, hyung," Kibum says, and Donghae is briefly shocked speechless when the younger boy leans down to press a chaste kiss against his lips before heading back in the direction of the main building.
Heechul collapsed onto Hankyung in a fit of laughter.
By the time he's shocked out of his stupor by Sungmin prodding him in the side, Kibum is already more than halfway across the field. Suddenly grinning, Donghae raised his voice, waving his arms around wildly.
"Hey!" he called out impulsively.
The figure turned questioningly in his direction.
"I love you, Kibummie!"
Donghae can make out the amused smile on Kibum's face, and the younger boy gives him a small wave before running the last few meters to the main doors and disappearing into the building.
People sitting a few tables down are suddenly shooting him odd looks and whispering amongst themselves, and the gossip mill is probably going to make a mountain out of this tomorrow, but Donghae can't bring himself to care. With a happy sigh, he settled himself onto Sungmin's shoulder and looked up into the blue blue sky.
Life is good, he thinks to himself.
fic started: October 2nd, 2008
fic finished: October 5th, 2008
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