oneshot, challenge fic: Under the bed (007. Dark) (041209)
Title: Under the bed
Pairings: Teukmin
Rating: PG 12 ?
Genre: darkish? not really angst but it has a dark theme (idk... why don't you tell me?)
DISCLAIMER: fictional and totally not true. Result of my fangirling, sorry if you're uncomfortable with it. Oh yeah, and I don't own them.
Warning: lousy writing, unedited, quite brainless overall.
Summary: it’s really dark under the bed
CHALLENGE PROGRESS: 4/100
CHALLENGE ARCHIVE: HERE
Being under the bed is nice, to put it simply. Leeteuk likes it there. Because it’s dark.
Sure, it’s cold and musty too but it’s dark.
Doesn’t matter that he’d wake up the next morning with his hair all stiff, flat and frizzy because it’s been slept on all night. Doesn’t matter if he’d probably catch a cold from sleeping on the cold hard floor.
Darkness is an escape route from reality.
As a child, he hid under the bed while playing hide and seek. Every child did that. When he was a teenager, he hid under the bed to escape from homework, chores and scoldings. Now, he barely hid under the bed anymore, let alone sleep on it. But now and then he would just go back into the darkness, to revisit the time when he was free, not earth-bound by work, work and even more work. It was like an old friend, welcoming you with open arms, comforting you and preparing you before you were thrown back into the cold hard face of reality.
So he just wants to melt away into the background and stay there, watching. The dark covered him and for a few precious hours, he would just blissfully disappear, and not exist in the world. He wants to become invisible, because when you’re invisible, you’re nothing. He wants to be there and not be there at the same time, and just hide (from what, he didn’t know). He just wants to pretend he’s not there, run away to a make-believe world until he has to wake up and face the reality of a sore back from sleeping on the floor and never-ending schedule.
And he was always alone. One is enough.
~~~
Leeteuk curled up into a tight ball under the bed, watching the dust particles stir up into the air with every breath and catch the scarce light.
The room was dark. Pitch blackness blanketed his surroundings and seemed to stifle the sound that was coming from the living room. From where he was, he could see everything. Donghae’s bed was empty. He was away in China. Light pooled in from under the door and the smooth wooden floor reflected it like a mirror, revealing bits of dust and goodness-knows-what on the floor.
The light looked so liquid, Leeteuk swore he could just reach out and scoop it up.
He could hear them fighting over the remote control again. Can’t they just go to sleep? They’re going to wake the entire block up. Normally, he would go and chase them to bed but he didn’t feel like moving because the stillness in the air was so perfect and golden, he didn’t want to ruin it.
A loud clap of thunder wrenched him out of his thoughts. His eyes immediately flitted to the ceiling. He heard Kangin and Heechul, who were outside, go quiet.
Soon, the gentle tapping of rain was heard and he felt the air grow a little colder. He unfroze and pressed his back against the wall as he listened to the rain. It was soft and delicate, singing him to sleep with its clear, cool lullaby.
Out of the blue, another whip-like crack sounded. Leeteuk hit his head hard against the bed frame. The rain grew louder and a grumble and shuffling of feet outside signalled that his dongsaengs had postponed their fight because they couldn’t hear the TV over the storm and decided to (finally) go to sleep.
The lights were switched off and he was plunged into complete darkness. Slowly, as his eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness, he saw the shapeless shadow of his door open.
Hyukjae?
A pair of bare feet padded softly against the floor as it scurried around in the darkness, looking for something.
Then he heard a whisper.
“Hyung?” It was Sungmin and he sounded as though he was about to cry.
“Hyung? Where are you? Omo… I’m so scared.”
He saw the bedsprings sink and creak a little as Sungmin sat down on the bed. The peaceful silence was broken by soft sniffles and shuffles.
Leeteuk whispered, “Minnie?”
He jumped.
“Hyung? Where are you?”
“Under the bed…”
“Omo… hyung, I’m so scared… it’s all dark, and the thunder… omo…”
“Take my blankets and come down here. Hyung will sleep with you tonight.”
“Hyung…”
He saw him stand up and heard a gentle rustle of fabric as Sungmin did as he instructed.
Suddenly, the sky outside rumbled and let loose another tremendous thunderclap.
Sungmin gave a terrified squeak and the next Leeteuk knew there was a bundle of warmness trembling violently against him, whimpering and squealing softly.
“Shh… shh… hyung’s here, don’t be scared….”
He stroked his terrified dongsaeng’s hair and coaxed him out of his foetal position and onto one of the blankets so he didn’t have to lie on the hard floor. Leeteuk reached out and pulled the other blanket over his dongsaeng, covering him tightly. It could get very cold under the bed when it was raining and he didn’t want Sungmin to catch a cold.
After Sungmin stopped trembling, Leeteuk pulled him closer, letting him use his arm as his pillow and keeping him warm as he snuggled into Leeteuk.
“Thank… you… ” he heard him breathe as he finally fell into a gentle slumber, his hair falling over his closed eyes. Leeteuk smiled and soon, fell asleep too.
Outside, the rain stopped.
~~~
Leeteuk likes the darkness. That is also the reason why he likes being under the bed.
But he was always alone. One is good. But sometimes, just sometimes, two is better. Very much better.
A/N: i'm trying to improve my writing but its kinda hard... i don't think it worked anyway. this random fic is derived from my weird antics and my love for the darkness under the bed. haha. comments and criticisms are equally welcome