Crossover Challenge: Day 04
Title: Loneliness
Prompt: outside
Warnings: none
Rating: G
Disclaimer: Maggie and Tabitha are MINE. Please don’t take them. The dorm mates are just random names. All the idols from SM Entertainment are not mine, and none of this happened.
Summary: A bit of home. In more ways than one.
Prompt table
Maggie leaned against the one tree in the small courtyard behind SM Entertainment building, listening to the leaves rustle in the near non-existant breeze with her eyes closed. Except for the first week - the thought of which still made her blush - her first month had gone pretty smoothly. She made progress with the language, with the dance instruction, and with vocal instruction, enough that the teachers didn’t look at her like they were wasting their time, and had slowly started to get acclimated. The fact that she could sit here and have a conversation with this tree - if rudimentary - helped her see how much she’d improved. When she’d first found him, she could only tell that he spoke, not what he said.
A Henry joins us, the tree said, and Maggie tilted her head, curious.
“A Henry?” she asked. “What’s that?”
“Me.”
Maggie’s eyes snapped open at the English, and she stared at the young man sitting across from her.
“Although no one’s ever called me ‘a’ Henry before,” he added, and smiled. “Hi.”
“Hi,” Maggie stammered. “I’m Maggie.”
“I figured as much,” he said. “Kris said you might need someone to talk to. And I need someone to talk to, now that he’s back in China,” he added sheepishly.
Maggie understood that very well. “How long have you been here?”
“Seven years.”
Maggie stared at him. “Seven… what have you been doing?” she asked.
To her surprise, he laughed. “Performing, mostly in China., with Super Junior M.”
That made her head hurt. Super Junior M? Oh! “Like EXO M? Mandarin, right?”
He laughed again, sounding delighted. “Yes.”
Maggie relaxed, leaning against the tree again. “Are you glad you came?”
“Yes,” he said, without hesitation, although a grimace crossed his face for an instant. “You?”
“When I’m not running into people or knocking them down, yes,” Maggie said.
Henry stared at her, and then laughed again. “I heard about that! SungMin-hyung was absolutely horrible for about a week after that, crowing about how he was right. He’s always thought YoungWoon-hyung would knock over anyone who ran into him.”
“He knocked me down,” Maggie said wryly.
Henry grinned slyly. “I also heard you took out most of SHINee,” he added, and she blushed.
“No, that was… um…. Jinki’s fault,” she said. “I have no idea what he was looking at, but it wasn’t the door in front of him.” Henry laughed.
“So… why are outside?” Henry asked a while later, both of them relaxed. It was so nice to just sit and talk.
“Oh,” Maggie said with a smile. “I come visit this tree. He’s lonely.”
Henry stared at her a minute, then smiled. “He does look lonely,” he said, and then his phone buzzed. He pulled it out and sighed. “I have to go. It was nice meeting you.”
Maggie scrambled to her feet when he got up, and bowed. “It was nice to meet you, too, and talk to you,” she said, and watched him go inside. Then she sat back down. “How’d you know his name?” she asked the tree, her words slow but fairly correct. Hopefully.
He’s lonely, the tree told her.
She sighed. “Yeah, that’s what I thought, too.”
Prompt: outside
Warnings: none
Rating: G
Disclaimer: Maggie and Tabitha are MINE. Please don’t take them. The dorm mates are just random names. All the idols from SM Entertainment are not mine, and none of this happened.
Summary: A bit of home. In more ways than one.
Prompt table
Maggie leaned against the one tree in the small courtyard behind SM Entertainment building, listening to the leaves rustle in the near non-existant breeze with her eyes closed. Except for the first week - the thought of which still made her blush - her first month had gone pretty smoothly. She made progress with the language, with the dance instruction, and with vocal instruction, enough that the teachers didn’t look at her like they were wasting their time, and had slowly started to get acclimated. The fact that she could sit here and have a conversation with this tree - if rudimentary - helped her see how much she’d improved. When she’d first found him, she could only tell that he spoke, not what he said.
A Henry joins us, the tree said, and Maggie tilted her head, curious.
“A Henry?” she asked. “What’s that?”
“Me.”
Maggie’s eyes snapped open at the English, and she stared at the young man sitting across from her.
“Although no one’s ever called me ‘a’ Henry before,” he added, and smiled. “Hi.”
“Hi,” Maggie stammered. “I’m Maggie.”
“I figured as much,” he said. “Kris said you might need someone to talk to. And I need someone to talk to, now that he’s back in China,” he added sheepishly.
Maggie understood that very well. “How long have you been here?”
“Seven years.”
Maggie stared at him. “Seven… what have you been doing?” she asked.
To her surprise, he laughed. “Performing, mostly in China., with Super Junior M.”
That made her head hurt. Super Junior M? Oh! “Like EXO M? Mandarin, right?”
He laughed again, sounding delighted. “Yes.”
Maggie relaxed, leaning against the tree again. “Are you glad you came?”
“Yes,” he said, without hesitation, although a grimace crossed his face for an instant. “You?”
“When I’m not running into people or knocking them down, yes,” Maggie said.
Henry stared at her, and then laughed again. “I heard about that! SungMin-hyung was absolutely horrible for about a week after that, crowing about how he was right. He’s always thought YoungWoon-hyung would knock over anyone who ran into him.”
“He knocked me down,” Maggie said wryly.
Henry grinned slyly. “I also heard you took out most of SHINee,” he added, and she blushed.
“No, that was… um…. Jinki’s fault,” she said. “I have no idea what he was looking at, but it wasn’t the door in front of him.” Henry laughed.
“So… why are outside?” Henry asked a while later, both of them relaxed. It was so nice to just sit and talk.
“Oh,” Maggie said with a smile. “I come visit this tree. He’s lonely.”
Henry stared at her a minute, then smiled. “He does look lonely,” he said, and then his phone buzzed. He pulled it out and sighed. “I have to go. It was nice meeting you.”
Maggie scrambled to her feet when he got up, and bowed. “It was nice to meet you, too, and talk to you,” she said, and watched him go inside. Then she sat back down. “How’d you know his name?” she asked the tree, her words slow but fairly correct. Hopefully.
He’s lonely, the tree told her.
She sighed. “Yeah, that’s what I thought, too.”