[Fic] More Than This - 12/15
Title: More Than This
Author: Coley Merrin
Pairings: Zhou Mi/Kyuhyun, Tablo/Eunhyuk
Other: various
Rating: R
Genre: AU, crime, romance
Warnings: violence, death (not of main characters), sexual situations
Summary: Zhou Mi’s focus is Heartstrings, a dating company where love is more than just a guarantee - it's in Zhou Mi’s blood. A matchmaking gift he’s used with gladness, until a series of murders has it shaping his nightmares.
Eunhyuk, his business partner, can’t let go of his tumultuous past. But finding a man he’s been looking for over half his life has repercussions not only for him, but for Zhou Mi and their future.
Chapter One * Chapter Two * Chapter Three * Chapter Four * Chapter Five * Chapter Six * Chapter Seven * Chapter Eight * Chapter Nine * Chapter Ten * Chapter Eleven * Chapter Twelve * Chapter Thirteen
***
One thing that hadn’t changed, was that Eunhyuk moved like the wind. Tablo remembered games of tag, where getting a hand on the squirming Hyukjae had been hard for a couple of reasons. One, because the kid moved and darted like he was on pivots. The other because it was hard to see that much enthusiasm go down the drain. Hyukjae had usually caught onto his “accidental” misses after a time, giving him the stinkeye. And then it had been his job to run away instead.
Eunhyuk’s choice of a soccer pitch to get out of the apartment and do something after work probably wouldn’t have been his first choice. But it got him Eunhyuk in shorts, and a competitive gleam in his eye. They started by trying out making goals on each other.
It didn’t take a genius to know who won that, Eunhyuk bouncing around, his blond hair flopping.
And he seemed to know which way Tablo was going to kick before Tablo did, and he was too rusty to do much switching up. Not that Eunhyuk seemed sad about that, grinning and jeering at him with every block.
“Get out here,” Tablo ordered, feigning annoyance. And then it was mostly racing around with the ball like two overgrown boys, gentle shoves and well-aimed kicks as they played keep-away with their feet.
Half the fun was getting his hands on Eunhyuk’s body. A palm against his stomach, or on his arm. Feeling Eunhyuk lean against him as they tried not to fall. He had a few seconds to consider those things, without totally losing track of what he was doing. He lost the ball a couple times because of it, but his competitive spirit wouldn’t allow much.
“Truce,” he called, panting with his hands braced on his knees as Eunhyuk spirited away the ball through some kind of soccer magic. He wasn’t even sure if Eunhyuk used those feet to run.
“Does a truce mean we’re even?” Eunhyuk asked, stepping on the ball like he was claiming it for all of Korea.
“Fine. Fine. Then you win. You win. I give up.”
And he flopped back onto the cool grass, feeling it poke against his skin as he closed his eyes and felt his heart thud away.
Eunhyuk pressed a water bottle into his hand a few seconds later, and sat beside him, being a very lovely sunblock. And it also gave him a great view as Eunhyuk tipped his head back to drink. Tablo licked his lips, poor approximation of the throat he was staring at. He could see the sweat lines in Eunhyuk’s shirt as well. If they’d been alone, he’d have thought of trying to get that shirt off. Maybe do a little touchy-feely in the process. But anyone could walk by, so he kept his thoughts to himself.
“I thought you sat in a desk chair all day,” Tablo said, slapping at Eunhyuk’s hip with the back of his hand. With the other, he was trying not to drown himself by drinking while lying down.
“I like soccer,” Eunhyuk said. And his face was sly as he looked down at Tablo. “I like playing soccer with you.”
“You like beating me, you mean.”
Eunhyuk laughed, the sound bright. “Maybe.”
But Tablo sat up, scooting around so they were sitting in opposite directions, but still close, and able to see each other.
“Remember when we used to play tag?” Tablo asked.
Eunhyuk’s brow worked as he thought.
“When you’d let me get away?”
Brat. Of course he’d remember that.
“Sure. When I let you get away.”
“Did the older kids think you were weird for playing with me?”
Tablo jerked a shoulder. “Those kids didn’t give a rat’s ass about me. It didn’t matter if they were orphans or abandoned, I was even more different.. So playing with a kid was probably something they expected. All the others seemed like babies. You were the first one who seemed to get me. And you were six. You hadn’t been taught yet that I was weird, or had a funny accent.”
“I thought you were funny,” Eunhyuk said, his grin flashing. “And you were the closest thing to home that I had.”
And now? he wanted to ask. But Eunhyuk leaned in, lips damp, and sweet, and quick. And a smile there, not overt, but written over his face. Probably because Tablo had been the first to bring up their past. Eunhyuk seemed a little shy about bringing it up, which was his own damn fault. He hadn’t meant that they needed to ignore it outright, just that he needed time to get his head around it. The warm feelings and regret for losing the child, and the intrigue and desire for the man smiling at him, were getting integrated still. Maybe a little rough in places. But there were little things it made sweeter. Things about himself he tended to hold back, and hide. Things that had gotten him ridiculed and mocked. Things that Eunhyuk knew, and had lived somewhat himself. Eunhyuk wasn’t the only one who could understand. But that he did, that he was there, it was like fate was trying to tell him something.
“There was something I wanted to ask you about,” Eunhyuk said, but that time his face wasn’t soft. It was nervous. And the switch had Tablo’s eyebrows raising.
“Yeah?”
“I wondered if you’d be willing to meet my dad.”
Ah, the father. Tablo had fostered some anger at the man, while knowing it was stupid. His existence had taken Eunhyuk away, which Tablo refuted by knowing that being with his father had been best for Eunhyuk. And Tablo, with no power of his own, wouldn’t have been guaranteed to be able to keep Hyukjae with him, or safe. It was the feelings of being abandoned that caused it, he knew that. Finding out later that Eunhyuk had been lied to by his father regarding Tablo’s adoption status, had only torn open that long-buried wound. Sure, he’d told Eunhyuk he knew Eunhyuk’s father had lied to keep Eunhyuk safe. But knowing, and feeling, were two different animals.
“Your dad?” Tablo asked. Hoping Eunhyuk would expound and give him a reason beyond the grousing he was coming up with. He hoped he could face the man without wanting to punch him.
“Yes. Well. You know how he lied about where you were. Thought you weren’t real even if I had a picture and all that.” Eunhyuk shrugged. “It’d be nice to show him differently.”
Tablo was reading between the lines on that one, or maybe “rubbing it in his face” was only the way he’d have used, and not Eunhyuk.
“So is it a “Hey, Dad, I found that kid I ran away for, see he’s real?” meeting. Or a “Hey Dad, here’s that kid, and we’re dating.” meeting.”
He didn’t think it was too odd of a question to ask. Not everyone wanted their relationships in their parent’s face, and he got that. They hadn’t exactly discussed the family implication, and he didn’t have anything to hold him back on his side. But the more he knew, the more he’d know how to prepare for it.
“My dad and I are pretty close, despite what happened in the past,” Eunhyuk said. “I’ve told him I’m into guys as well. So there’s no reason not to tell him everything.”
“He knows you like both? So is he just waiting for you to stop playing and settle down?’
“He’ll have a long wait, if that’s true.”
Tablo cleared his throat. “Has he met any guy you’ve dated?”
“Briefly. But like you said, it’s kind of a combination thing. I don’t want it to be drawn out and awkward.”
“So I don’t have to ask him for your hand?”
Eunhyuk laughed, pushing against Tablo’s leg.
“Not yet anyway.”
“‘Hi Dad,’” Tablo said, as though he were greeting Eunhyuk’s father. “‘I took care of your son for you for a while way back. Now I want to take him home and help him out of his pants.’”
Eunhyuk had been laughing still, quieting as Tablo spoke. He watched Eunhyuk swallow hard.
“I’m glad I don’t need my dad’s approval for that,” Eunhyuk said, and helped Tablo up.
***
Tablo unlocked the door to his apartment, feeling steady as Eunhyuk came in after him. If Eunhyuk had reservations, he’d had more than one make-out session to air them. A train ride to make excuses. His eyes were on Eunhyuk’s calves and butt as he stepped up into the apartment. The way his neck flexed as the headband was taken off, leaving Eunhyuk’s hair rippled in places.
It made him want to touch.
Eunhyuk purred into the kiss, meeting him face to face. The rumble against his palms as Eunhyuk tried to press closer. Hard to think back, the twenty minutes of trying to keep their minds off it, glances out of the corner of their eyes, brushing hands as they stood and waited for their stop.
Cute, was his first thought, as Eunhyuk broke the kiss. He could see the smile pulling at Eunhyuk’s mouth, and he wanted another kiss. Just one or thirty more.
And then Eunhyuk’s eyes caught his, and Eunhyuk was no less cute. But he felt a bit like prey under the hungry, naked stare. He had no idea how Eunhyuk could display so many emotions in a single expression. Happiness. Lust. Impatience.
And it was hard to say which one affected him more.
“Shower before or after?” he said, stroking the back of Eunhyuk’s neck.
“The bed will be less dirty if we’re clean before we get it…dirty,” Eunhyuk said.
And then paused. They stared at each other.
“Shower first it is,” Tablo said, laughing. And he ignored the fleeting rush and the urge to name it.
The shower called. His building new enough to have an actual stall. Maybe his fantasies had featured Eunhyuk wet and naked. Knowing he was moments away from realizing that wasn’t helping his hands to steady.
Neither was the sight of Eunhyuk’s torso being bared. Fluid movement drawing the shirt up over his head. Leaving the straw blond hair ruffled. Not that Tablo’s eyes stayed at Eunhyuk’s hair. Not when there was his stomach, chest, back, and arms to look at. He wanted a picture, a hundred pictures. From every angle, every perspective. Each muscle, rib, and curve. He nearly fished for the toilet seat, to sit down, sit back and just admire. But looking wasn’t enough. Became far less than enough as Eunhyuk rubbed his stomach, almost as though he were getting shy. It drove him wild.
Eunhyuk’s fingers stopped, though, at the waistband of his shorts. And he bit his lip, before looking up at Tablo through his eyelashes. It had Tablo’s throat sticking closed.
“I thought you said you were going to help me out of these.”
Incoherent sounds were all that were going through his head, hands wanting to reach and grasp blindly. Everything. Everywhere.
Their bodies caught together, Eunhyuk’s arm wrapping around Tablo’s neck as Tablo pressed into the kiss. Hands kneading at Eunhyuk’s hips, and feeling his sighs, and all that skin. Bared. The gasps as Tablo’s mouth kissed a line down his neck and across the top of his shoulder. A little ticklish, a little sensitive. He could feel the shiver in Eunhyuk’s body.
And as they moved together, he could feel the arousal in it.
“I’ll help you out of these,” Tablo said hoarsely.
From shorts and underwear. Eunhyuk dealing with his own socks as Tablo stripped down to catch up. Not the same as Eunhyuk’s lean perfection. But as Eunhyuk ran a hand down the center of Tablo’s chest, both feeling and fucking him with his eyes, he might as well have been Mr. Universe.
The shower was just the staging area. The appetizer. To see Eunhyuk’s hair wet and flowing on his face and neck. To grope in premise of washing and getting little laughs against him. The hot water as he tweaked Eunhyuk’s nipples with his thumbs and getting moans against his mouth.
Eunhyuk turned off the water for him, water still dripping down his face. And Tablo lobbed a fluffy towel into Eunhyuk’s chest. Lucky towel. Lucky him getting to see it working down Eunhyuk’s skin.
But rolling naked, skin to skin, onto the bed, he knew Eunhyuk’s plan had been best. Showering, getting to the peak of want. Not just walking in the apartment door and falling on each other like wolves. It just made him want more. Eunhyuk’s skin, warm and fragrant from his own body wash. Hair fluffed and partly damp between his fingers, as he parted Hyukjae’s lips with his own.
Eunhyuk wrestled with him, lithe and gorgeous, and surprisingly strong. Pinning Tablo to his own bed and looking utterly pleased about it.
“Hi,” Eunhyuk said, pecking at Tablo’s mouth, so unsatisfying.
“Hello,” he said, heart thundering and body aching.
Eunhyuk, straddle-thighed, and poised. Nudging their hips together. A tease.
“Lube?” Eunhyuk asked.
“Drawer,” Tablo said, turning only his head. Within arms reach of Eunhyuk, it was. And he knew Eunhyuk saw the condoms in the drawer as well as he drew back. Tablo had been prepared from the first time they’d made out. Getting his hands on a man’s skin wasn’t supposed to be akin to a religious experience.
But Eunhyuk’s hands were slick, and cool, getting lube between them. Warming it on their bodies, with his fingers. Sliding them together, root to tip. Hips doing the work as Eunhyuk’s hand guided them. But his mouth was on Eunhyuk’s as they rocked together. Fingers kneading Eunhyuk’s hips, and doing what he could to move faster. Slick, tight, hot, hard.
Sweet.
And Eunhyuk above him. Clearly determined that Tablo come first, fingers and hips at fever pitch, driving every thought from him but more and gorgeous and mine.
Though it seems Eunhyuk was doing the claiming, pressing Tablo back into the pillow with tongue and teeth, and it shattered him. Clutching. Moaning. Gasping for air as he came in Eunhyuk’s hand.
He was still high in his own world when Eunhyuk’s desperation rose. The quickening stroke, the moans against Tablo’s cheek, little mewls urging himself on. He’d been there so many times before, on the edge of perfection, just waiting for something to give. Teasing hands against Eunhyuk’s skin, selfish and giving all at once. Eunhyuk made him want just by breathing. Moving in to whisper, almost to beg. To give back what Eunhyuk had given him.
“Eunhyuk. Eunhyuk. So gorgeous. Come for me. Next time I’ll do it for you. Next time it’ll be my mouth.”
He felt Eunhyuk first gasp, then moan as he came. The urgency of his strokes slowing as he urged out his pleasure. And it was satisfaction that he could feel, against the wet he’d already caused. Eunhyuk’s panting breaths against his collarbone, the soft moans as Eunhyuk’s hand rested bonelessly between them. He languished in the heat, comfortable and uncrushed. The weight of a man above him quite welcome. Quite welcome.
He waited until Eunhyuk stirred, a little clutch in his stomach as Eunhyuk pressed a kiss to his neck.
“Seems like we need to clean up again.”
“You more than me,” Eunhyuk murmured.
He tapped on the side of Eunhyuk’s head.
“That’s the reason you pinned me down, isn’t it?”
He got a lazy chuckle for his accusation.
“I’m starved. We could order in. Be clean by the time it got here. At least, if you feel up to moving.”
Eunhyuk hummed from his shoulder, as Tablo ran his hands up and down Eunhyuk’s back. He knew they’d be moving at some point. Eunhyuk’s legs couldn’t hold that position forever.
“Okay, yeah, food,” Eunhyuk said after a minute. And Tablo snuck a kiss to the ear closest to him before Eunhyuk could shift away. His little secret.
The hand that patted Tablo’s chest was a bit sticky, and the mouth far above it, a little knowing.
“What do you want?” Tablo asked as Eunhyuk stood.
And he swore Eunhyuk knew what he was doing, licking his lips and looking up and down Tablo’s body.
“To eat,” Tablo clarified before Eunhyuk could get in any jokes.
They ate in bed as well, clean, and both in clean clothes. He did more watching of Eunhyuk’s feet tapping under the covers than he did of the TV. Exercise, sex. A good meal. He hefted himself out of the bed to take out their trash, nearly detouring to brush his teeth before realizing they hadn’t actually talked about Eunhyuk staying. And Eunhyuk was on the side of the bed, comfortably waiting as Tablo approached.
“Work particularly early tomorrow?” he asked, putting a hand on Eunhyuk’s head and grinning when Eunhyuk shifted it off.
“No. Why?”
“You should stay over, then. We’ll do something tomorrow, after.”
First stay over. Not a small step. But it was a good thing that Eunhyuk was smiling.
“I can see if you snore, see if I have to toss you back into the sea,” Tablo said.
“Hey, what about you?”
Tablo ignored all protests, and gifted Eunhyuk a spare toothbrush.
It led to minty kisses, and snorting giggles as they groped under the covers, getting comfortable.
He breathed out warmly into Eunhyuk’s neck and was rewarded with a shudder. And smiled.
***
Tablo woke first the next morning, before his alarm, Eunhyuk all but invading his space. Arms all curled up and neck extended, like he was trying to get closer during the night. He traced the shadow that had been forming above Eunhyuk’s upper lip, and got a snarly little growl, and Eunhyuk rocking closer, pushing his face against Tablo’s and sighing a sleepy sigh.
Tablo concurred, notching his arm around Eunhyuk’s side, and sliding back into sleep.
***
Zhou Mi had hours to think on what had happened. Eunhyuk’s reservations, Kyuhyun’s judgement. And it was that, pure and simple. Looking at Zhou Mi as though he were a sad and broken person for not being able to make his own decisions. And that was not how he usually operated. When he was sure of something, he went for it. Even if it was roundabout, little gestures, he didn’t hang back. His feelings moved him, and his decisions drove him. When he was certain someone wasn’t for him, he broke it off. Even if he had regrets or second thoughts like anyone else, and a concern for other people’s feelings.
Kyuhyun had basically asked him if he’d have chosen Kyuhyun, if he had any desire to pursue him.
And he’d rolled around on his bed as he tortured himself with the knowledge that he’d basically said no. And he’d had the conviction that steering away from Kyuhyun had been right, until Kyuhyun had been there asking him about it. Because Kyuhyun hadn’t been asking him if it was the smart thing, or the ethical thing. He asked if Zhou Mi wanted it, him. He missed being in a relationship, having someone to call, to cuddle, to take to movies. Someone to anticipate and impress, and enjoy. Someone who might look after him, in more ways than just the obvious ones. Anonymous sex fulfilled his body, but he had been hungry for more for what seemed like lifetimes.
His eyes were wet as he contemplated their conversation. Kyuhyun turning from him. Eunhyuk had made the match, like they’d promised. Zhou Mi had just never expected that it would be himself. Or that he’d come to want it, like learning to breathe.
And it was fate that intervened the next day, when he worked furiously from dawn, onwards. Eunhyuk had interrupted him to say that Kyuhyun wouldn’t be in. Sick.
“He sounded pretty miserable on the phone,” Eunhyuk said. “Just letting you know.”
“Oh, I thought he sounded a little tired when we talked last night.”
“About the match? Yeah. I’ll run him again when he gets back.”
Another blind date for Kyuhyun. It nearly made Zhou Mi’s lip curl.
“I think we should wait on that. I need to think some more about the result from before,” Zhou Mi said, honest all he really could be.
Eunhyuk opened his mouth, but paused and nodded. “Okay. Let me know if you need to talk.”
“Thanks,” Zhou Mi said.
He knew he would want to talk, and soon. But the person he really needed to talk with, was sick at home. Zhou Mi allowed himself over lunch, time to look over Kyuhyun’s profile again. Seeing exactly why Zhou Mi had been tagged. Age, location, preference. Kyuhyun had marked he’d taken some Mandarin and English in school, and enjoyed traveling. Movies, dramas, food.
There were the dissimilar things, too. He tried to see what was wrong about it, besides their working relationship and everything Eunhyuk had brought up. Those were just facts. They didn’t cover the affection Zhou Mi had, or the attraction. Sometimes the idea of a person was better than reality. It was perfectly reasonable to think that after trying to date, they’d agree that nothing was there. Incompatible in bed, perhaps. Though somehow he doubted it, unless Kyuhyun was into pain. He could possibly see Kyuhyun wanting to lead-
And that was getting far too ahead of himself.
He had to see Kyuhyun.
***
Air was hard to come by, standing at Kyuhyun’s door with a bag in one hand and waiting for it to be answered. Supplies for the sick, was his secondary mission. Seeing Kyuhyun’s face was his first. And not letting things spiral out of control, arched over all of that.
Kyuhyun looked rumpled as he opened the door, in baggy sweats and a shirt, his hair flopped down. He looked like a child, with heavy eyes and awkward feet in thick socks. And Zhou Mi had the strongest urge to cuddle that he’d had in the longest time.
“Hey,” Zhou Mi said, gesturing with his bag. “I brought food. Can I come in for a moment?”
“If you’re not afraid of getting sick,” Kyuhyun said, and Zhou Mi heard what Eunhyuk had. A raspy throat, and stuffy nose. But he let Zhou Mi in, leading him to the kitchen.
“How are you feeling?”
One of Kyuhyun’s shoulders jerked under the faded cloth of his shirt. “About the same. Woke up with my head throbbing, and threw up breakfast.”
He couldn’t help the sympathetic noise, or the urge to touch. The bag was carefully set on the counter, and he turned fully to Kyuhyun. Maybe not the best timing, with Kyuhyun all miserable. But even then, Kyuhyun wasn’t totally out of it, sensing there was more to the visit.
“You just came by to bring food?”
“No. I wanted to talk, if you were feeling up to it. I have something I want to tell you. But that can wait until after you eat, if you’re hungry now?”
“Always hungry,” Kyuhyun said, giving the wan grin of the sick.
“If you want to get comfortable, you can. I brought soup. Tea. Fruit. I didn’t know what you had. What you wanted. I’ll bring it out to you.”
Zhou Mi warmed the soup he’d bought, brewing a mug of tea, and putting fruit into a container that Kyuhyun could seal. Kyuhyun was sick, and didn’t need Zhou Mi fluttering around him to keep him from resting. But doing the things he was doing made him feel better.
Kyuhyun was on his futon, as it turned out. A mug sitting beside it, and a blanket half on, half draped on the floor from when Kyuhyun had gotten up.
He’d found a tray in Kyuhyun’s kitchen, arranging the heated-up soup and mug and fruit on it. He’d have put something cute on it to make Kyuhyun laugh, if he’d had anything, but as it was he just barely remembered to put a spoon on it. Walking cautiously so he didn’t get tangled in his own feet, to where Kyuhyun had settled with the blanket over his legs. Zhou Mi tsked him as Kyuhyun tried to reach, putting it carefully down on Kyuhyun’s lap himself, and kneeling on the floor next to the low futon.
Kyuhyun eyed him. “You looking to go into indentured service? You might have a future in it.”
“Try it,” Zhou Mi urged, ignoring the tease.
Kyuhyun made an interested face at the soup, a slightly “bitter, ew but it’s good for me,” face at the tea, and left the fruit alone for right then.
“It’s good, thanks. Work okay without me?” Kyuhyun asked.
And Zhou Mi chuckled, giving Kyuhyun an overview of the day. Slipping in little anecdotes about thinking Eunhyuk had gotten lost getting the mail, only to get tea, and wishing he could arm wrestle the printer. The ink cartridges seemed to work only under Eunhyuk’s magic touch. Not even Kyuhyun could make them obey - as evidenced by the ink splotch on the wall from Kyuhyun’s frustration.
Mostly he wanted Kyuhyun to be able to eat, before possibly being riled up by what Zhou Mi had to say. Maybe riled up wasn’t the right way to put it. Upset. Excited. Full of emotion. He knew which he was, that antsy feeling in the bottom of his stomach as he watched Kyuhyun eat and kept chattering. There were a lot of really eloquent ways he could say it. But he didn’t know if he had those in him.
“So?” Kyuhyun said, letting his spoon rest in the bowl. “You had something to tell me? I’m not fired, right?”
“No. No! I hope it’s not as bad as that,” Zhou Mi said, half strangling himself with borderline hysteria. He held out his hand, waiting as Kyuhyun frowned slightly and extended his own. Zhou Mi took it, light, feeling the long fingers and soft skin slide along his palm. Letting his fingers curl over the edge of Kyuhyun’s hand, watching the way they locked together before looking up, seeing the apprehension poorly veiled in Kyuhyun’s face. He’d either succeed or fail. But he’d try either way.
“Your dating report. No one asked you if you were interested in me, mostly because I was afraid. Because of the business, and a lot of things. When I saw I was on your dating report, I went a little crazy.” And Zhou Mi blew out a breath, squeezing Kyuhyun’s hand a little tighter. “Because it wasn’t a bad match. And I did want it.”
Kyuhyun cocked his head as he sagged a bit further back against the futon. “Is that because of the computer or because of you?"
Zhou Mi winced, Kyuhyun’s disbelief so understandable to him. "No. It’s me, this time.”
“So you come here with food to try and bribe me?”
He was glad he was sitting as he laughed, Kyuhyun’s smile appearing as the irony rushed through him.
“If I thought bribery would work, I’d have tried,” Zhou Mi admitted. “The food is for you. The rest is just something to think about.”
Kyuhyun stared at their joined hands for several moments, teeth working at his lips as though that was bringing up words for him to say. But eventually he did speak, words almost offhand if they hadn’t lit Zhou Mi through with hope.
“You and I had a way better time eating out together than I did with anyone else,” Kyuhyun said.
“I always had a great time with you,” Zhou Mi said, and it was nothing but the truth. “If I’m honest, I wasn’t happy about matching you the last time. Because it felt like it should’ve been me asking you out.”
Kyuhyun’s silence was terrifying, and his mouth wanted to run to fill the empty air. Instead he plucked the fruit from the tray on Kyuhyun’s lap, setting it aside. And with regret, let Kyuhyun’s hand go so he could lift the tray from Kyuhyun.
“I’ll take this out so you don’t have to,” Zhou Mi said. But it was really an excuse for a few moments to get his head back together. He hadn’t really expected Kyuhyun to leap into his arms. He just wanted to take a step. Let Kyuhyun know his interest, since Kyuhyun had indicated his. In person seemed less cowardly. Like that negated the running away he’d done to begin with. He washed the dishes quickly, putting them in the drainer, and wiping down the tray. And by the time he’d finished, Kyuhyun was standing beside him, like a ghost.
“I guess I’m used to being the one doing the asking out,” Kyuhyun said, not quite looking at him.
“We can do that, too,” Zhou Mi agreed equitably.
But he wasn’t content to watch Kyuhyun shift from foot to foot. Stepping forward to give the hug his body had been begging to feel. It didn’t matter that Kyuhyun was sick, or unsure. It was a comfort, and it was apology both. He had not done it so many times before that it was familiar. Once, twice. The solid feel of Kyuhyun’s body giving, leaning just slightly, while also maintaining its rigidity. Kyuhyun’s hands patted at his back.
“I’m sorry for screwing this up,” Zhou Mi said, and leaned back to touch Kyuhyun’s face. That nearly wary face. But Kyuhyun leaned into the touch anyway, like a puppy after a caress. And Zhou Mi felt for the first time, just how warm Kyuhyun’s skin was.
“You’re burning up!”
“I’m sick,” Kyuhyun pointed out, not a little crabby.
He kept his hand on Kyuhyun’s back, unable to help himself, as they walked back out to the futon. Standing a bit uselessly as Kyuhyun got back under the blanket and left room so that Zhou Mi could sit as well. And he did, cautiously, bracing his upper arm on top of the cushion so they could face each other.
“So you wanted the match to be real?” Kyuhyun asked, the blanket tucked up nearly to his chin.
“I did. You know that I didn’t really trust myself. Eunhyuk was…” Zhou Mi blew out a breath, wondering how to say it in a way that didn’t make Eunhyuk look like the bad guy. He knew he was just as much to blame. “He was concerned because we work together. And if I would get myself hurt, if it turned out you didn’t like me, or we weren’t compatible.”
“He could’ve asked me,” Kyuhyun croaked.
“Yeah,” Zhou Mi said softly. “We both should’ve.”
It was a new experience, matching an employee. Normally that matching sheet would’ve gone under review before a client ever saw it. And having someone known appear on it, was twice as surprising. It wasn’t something he’d ever encountered before. And adding stress on all of that, was the other big happening in his life. He wasn’t sure, if he was still getting used to how the dreams and visions were affecting his life, how Kyuhyun was supposed to accept it without question. Maybe Kyuhyun wanted a normal boyfriend, whose only purpose was to divine what was for dinner.
“I really appreciated you coming to me and talking to me yesterday,” Zhou Mi said. And he made sure Kyuhyun was looking at him. “It made me do a lot of thinking. And I wanted to pay you the same courtesy. And it’s okay if you want to think it through. So, yes. I should go, so you can rest.”
“Thanks for the food,” Kyuhyun said, and his eyes were soft. Kyuhyun’s eyes. One of the first things he had noticed. Hard to miss, and it made him unaccountably fond. “Thanks for coming by, letting me know.”
There were a lot of ways he could have left that would have seemed impersonal and friendly. Had the situation been different, he might have tried for a kiss. But Kyuhyun was sick, and he didn’t want to test his luck.
Kyuhyun’s cheek gave just so beneath his mouth. A soft, slow kiss, that he hoped spoke beyond its platonic facade.
Kyuhyun squeezed Zhou Mi’s shoulder as he leaned back, and they shared a smile.
“You can call me if you need anything,” Zhou Mi told him, and stood. “And we can talk more later.”
“Thanks,” Kyuhyun said. “And yeah, I’d like that.”
He carefully locked the door behind himself, letting the image of Kyuhyun curled on the futon stay with him as the door closed behind his wave.
Half an hour later he got a text, “You home? Who taught you to cut up fruit?”
And it came with a picture of Kyuhyun with his face all but inside of the fruit container.
“Made it home okay,” he texted back. “Feel better soon.”
He jumped, when a few minutes later his phone sang out his text tone.
“You like me?” was the simple message from Kyuhyun.
“Very much,” he texted back, and tried to stay calm as he watched the message send.
“Me too. ^^”
He stared at the message, not even daring to breathe as he read it over and over. So simple. I like you, too, Kyuhyun had implied. Zhou Mi rolled over and laughed until his stomach ached, spread across his bed where he had flopped in a fit of humor, and the overwhelming flood of emotion. Face half buried in the bedspread and chortling at his phone. Maybe it was possible after all.
Zhou Mi fell asleep early for the first time in weeks, holding his phone and picturing Kyuhyun’s face. That night, the dreams did not interrupt his rest.
***
Zhou Mi could tell when Eunhyuk realized he was being stared at. The blinking as Eunhyuk looked up, and the slightly befuddled expression. They both laughed, having been in that situation more than once, and Zhou Mi slipped into the chair beside Eunhyuk’s desk. They were alone, as it was still morning, and he wanted that ability to talk. Considering Eunhyuk with his chin propped in one hand.
“Why aren’t we together?”
Eunhyuk blinked at the totally random question, before grinning and leaning back. “Because I’d kill you in the first week for the state you keep your room? Why? What’s up?”
“I went to see Kyuhyun last night,” Zhou Mi said, and waited as Eunhyuk nodded, absorbing that. He hadn’t been subtle about it the day before. “I told him I was interested in dating him.”
At that, he saw he’d truly surprised Eunhyuk. They’d already discussed that Zhou Mi should be careful with Kyuhyun. But he also knew they were aware that sometimes things just happened. There wasn’t much to be done about it.
“Wow,” Eunhyuk said. “That’s…Wow. So, Kyuhyun.”
“I did a lot of thinking,” Zhou Mi said, examining his fingers. “Kyuhyun had talked to me, too. Told me that he was interested in the match. It was a lot easier to explain it as an accident or a bad idea, when it was one-sided. And the longer I allow myself, the longer I want it.”
Eunhyuk squeezed his arm. “Then I support you. Both of you. Not who I’d have expected, but still. Isn’t it kind of odd, that the reason you met was because of me looking for Tablo?”
“And now we’re dating them?” Zhou Mi said, laughing. “Well. I guess he hasn’t actually agreed to date me. We still need to talk.”
“You can tell him if he has any dispute about work, he can still come to me,” Eunhyuk teased. “I won’t try to wrangle dates out of him.”
“I see how much you trust me.” But they both knew that behind the jest, there was some truth. It wasn’t without risks, and there were precautions to take. “Let’s keep in contact about it. You might let Kyuhyun know yourself, as this goes forward.”
“Of course,” Eunhyuk said. “Just keep aware of yourself, too. Even if you feel positive about this, things change. Be careful. About everything”
“I will. And you and Tablo?”
Eunhyuk tried not to look embarrassed, but only half succeeded. “We’re doing okay. It’s weirder than any relationship I’ve had. Sometimes I feel so tentative and needy.”
“Because it’s more important?”
“Yeah,” Eunhyuk chuckled. “Yeah, it is. I stayed the night with him. That felt like a bigger step than it should’ve.”
“I bet that was relaxing.”
They both chuckled, needing no more confirmation than that. Eunhyuk was still caught up in the newness, fear and excitement. Zhou Mi was glad. It also made him envy. They were both right on the brink of something. Kyuhyun flashed in and out of his mind, and he had to stop himself from moving.
“I told him I wanted him to met my dad.”
At that, Zhou Mi’s eyebrows rose. Eunhyuk had a good relationship with his dad, better than many people he knew. They’d been close, bonding over the loss of a loved one, though Eunhyuk’s childhood transition had been hard. He knew Eunhyuk had worked a long time to get rid of some of the resentment.
“I kind of want to be like, “This is what you made me miss out on my whole life,”” Eunhyuk said. “But we wouldn’t be where we are now if we’d been together the whole time. He’d just be my brother. I grieved for that for so long, but now I’d grieve for this more.”
Eunhyuk rested his chin in his hand. “You have a lot of advice for people in these situations don’t you?”
“Be yourself. Lean on friends. Have a good time. Dance and fall in love?”
“That’s way easier to say when it’s not on you, isn’t it?”
The irony was not lost on him. Zhou Mi could only shrug and smile. “It always is.”
***
There was no more assumption. Zhou Mi liked him. Zhou Mi had wanted the match. Zhou Mi, pushing past his uncertainties to throw Kyuhyun a line. It hadn’t even been a day since Zhou Mi had come to see him, bringing him food, and apologies. Staying even though Kyuhyun was sick, and kissing him on the cheek. That kind of contact would’ve had him squirming out of existence in any normal situation. Maybe it was the fact that he was sick, and it had been kind of comforting. He thought he’d kept himself from whining overly much. Or from whimpering in thanks at the hot soup and tea. Behold, how good of a boyfriend Zhou Mi could be, the spread seemed to say. He wasn’t arguing. He was pretty sure he’d gotten a few percent better, just from vitamin D exposure from Zhou Mi’s smile.
So much so that he’d felt enough like coming to work, getting a greeting from Eunhyuk as he came in. No strange looks, so he wondered if Zhou Mi had told Eunhyuk anything. Kyuhyun had barely begun sorting emails, leaving the enviable task of proofreading Zhou Mi’s new dating advice column for the site until later, when Zhou Mi arrived back from lunch.
He’d had some kind of weird fever dream the night before about playing kickball, and Zhou Mi’s legs flailing, and having to rub Zhou Mi down after. At least, he was going to call it a fever dream. More subtle than a shot between the eyes, and a hell of a lot more fun.
And of course, there had been the text messages. Very much, Zhou Mi had told him. Which of course had prompted a text message from Kyuhyun to Ryeowook saying “Zhou Mi likes me VERY MUCH” with a googly eyed smiley face after it. And of course Ryeowook had called demanding when they were going out, which of course Kyuhyun didn’t know. They were in the staging area. They were both interested, and Zhou Mi was being apologetic for mostly rejecting him. And as he sat at his desk, he figured they’d know that day, and no later. They’d been out together. They’d slept in the same bed, and practically blown up all chance at getting together from stupidity on both sides. Getting to an official date couldn’t be too hard after all that.
But it wasn’t just curiosity that had him eyeing Zhou Mi’s hips as he came in the office door with a drink carrier. Depending on the clothes, Zhou Mi looked almost impossibly…hot. That was all he could come up with. He was sick, and on medicine. He got a pass.
But Zhou Mi waggled his eyebrows at the cup, before handing Kyuhyun one of the paper cups he carried. He could smell the tea before it got close to his nose, and it made his throat clutch. Hot yeah. Yeah, his throat should be scared, because it was going in him and fast. But he didn’t get a chance to drink, before he caught sight of the writing on the side of the cup. A little messy, but Kyuhyun got the gist.
“Feel better! I’m happy to see you today! ^^”
He laughed silently as Zhou Mi came back to Kyuhyun’s desk to retrieve his cell phone, and gave Zhou Mi a nod of acknowledgement. Agreement. And Zhou Mi retreated back into his office, leaving Kyuhyun to enjoy the tea as he worked. It soothed his painful throat, and kept him going. At least he wasn’t sneezing as much, on the medicine he was taking, and he had his mask. But if he was honest, he’d have slept on the heat of the cup without much prompting.
It was probably the most inconvenient time to be sick. Maybe it had given Zhou Mi a chance to talk to him in private, but he was also exhausted and fuzzy, and there were germs. And the fact that his throat was even more sore than it had been, meant he felt decidedly unsexy.
Come date me, and I will croak at you and get you sick! his body seemed to be saying. Zhou Mi hadn’t exactly confessed eternal love, but had also said that he had fears. And Kyuhyun got that. Zhou Mi could see for others, and felt blind for himself. Kyuhyun probably would’ve been a little cautious, too. It was harder to be objective with himself involved. If Zhou Mi had been wary about someone else, he’d have suggested getting to know the guy’s friends, or spending time with him. Seeing what kind of guy he was.
Zhou Mi already had a dossier on Kyuhyun’s general existence, so that was something.
***
Zhou Mi texted Kyuhyun that night to make sure he was okay, just keeping in touch. He’d have called, but he knew Kyuhyun’s throat was still sore. And though texting felt like the coward’s way, it was only for a short time. And it had been nice during the day to do the little things. Bringing Kyuhyun the tea, and putting a little extra into his smile. Not enough to make things awkward, but he could see the edges of expressions behind Kyuhyun’s mask. Kyuhyun wasn’t avoiding him, at the very least. It was no wonder that he had been a little afraid. What he had told Eunhyuk was the truth. The longer the possibility of starting a relationship with Kyuhyun hung in front him, the more he felt compelled to grab it.
Kyuhyun had sounded better, talked clearer the next day. And Zhou Mi had to put it out of his head to continue working on everyone else’s love problems. He could not bring his own feelings to the workplace, try and flirt or do what needed to be done outside of work hours there. Our of respect for the business, and for all of them who worked there.
Kyuhyun brought in the last papers of the night to be filed before he left, and Zhou Mi bit his lip, waiting.
“Is there anything else?” Kyuhyun asked him.
“No, thank you. Oh. Kyuhyun,” Zhou Mi said, snagging Kyuhyun’s attention before he could go back out to his desk. “Can I call you tonight?”
Kyuhyun considered him a moment, in that slow and pondering way Zhou Mi had gotten used to. “Sure.”
Zhou Mi nodded in lieu of saying anything else, smiling and watching Kyuhyun’s retreating back. No more waiting. No more giving in, even as he watched the time, until after he assumed Kyuhyun would have eaten. He waited as the phone rang, waiting for Kyuhyun’s voice. Unable to help the smile as they greeted each other.
“Are you free?” Zhou Mi asked.
“Sure, what’s up? You don’t need me to come in, right?” Kyuhyun asked, his voice still a little raspy but amusement there as well.
“No. But there is something I do need from you,” Zhou Mi said.
“Okay? What’s that?”
“I need you to go on a date with me.”
Kyuhyun seemed to choke before the laugh came. “Is that a question or a demand?”
“Who demands someone date them?” Zhou Mi scolded.
“Then I guess I need to decide when and where.”
Zhou Mi smiled, hearing the humor in Kyuhyun’s voice as he leaned a bit closer against the phone. “I’d like that.”
“Hey, Zhou Mi.”
“Yes?”
Kyuhyun’s voice dropped a little lower, and had Zhou Mi’s stomach tightening. “I think I need something else from you, too.”
“Anything,” Zhou Mi said, and hoped he didn’t sound breathless.
“I guess I really need you to tell me places you don’t like to go, so I don’t make an ass out of myself on our first date.”
“Oh, where do I start?”
“I’m going to guess not hiking,” Kyuhyun said. “So many bugs, not enough air conditioning.”
“Hey!” Zhou Mi said, laughing. “You’re getting me all wrong.”
“I’m listening.”
Zhou Mi sighed, and leaned back in his chair, picturing Kyuhyun on the other end of the line, smiling because he’d teased Zhou Mi. Maybe with his feet tucked up, or a pant leg riding high. He wasn’t sure how Kyuhyun managed to do that. He managed to be so real, so tangible, even when Zhou Mi couldn’t feel or touch him. Where even the humor in his voice sounded close. He half wished he could get up and go find Kyuhyun where he was. But it wasn’t time for that, yet. He would know when that would feel right as well.
“I would say I’ll only tell you if you promise not to laugh at me, but I don’t think I’d be able to tell you anything.”
But they laughed together until Kyuhyun’s healing throat could take it no more.
“I’ll see you tomorrow,” Zhou Mi promised him. And he kept his cell phone cradled on his chest until he got up to get ready to sleep.
***
Author: Coley Merrin
Pairings: Zhou Mi/Kyuhyun, Tablo/Eunhyuk
Other: various
Rating: R
Genre: AU, crime, romance
Warnings: violence, death (not of main characters), sexual situations
Summary: Zhou Mi’s focus is Heartstrings, a dating company where love is more than just a guarantee - it's in Zhou Mi’s blood. A matchmaking gift he’s used with gladness, until a series of murders has it shaping his nightmares.
Eunhyuk, his business partner, can’t let go of his tumultuous past. But finding a man he’s been looking for over half his life has repercussions not only for him, but for Zhou Mi and their future.
Chapter One * Chapter Two * Chapter Three * Chapter Four * Chapter Five * Chapter Six * Chapter Seven * Chapter Eight * Chapter Nine * Chapter Ten * Chapter Eleven * Chapter Twelve * Chapter Thirteen
***
One thing that hadn’t changed, was that Eunhyuk moved like the wind. Tablo remembered games of tag, where getting a hand on the squirming Hyukjae had been hard for a couple of reasons. One, because the kid moved and darted like he was on pivots. The other because it was hard to see that much enthusiasm go down the drain. Hyukjae had usually caught onto his “accidental” misses after a time, giving him the stinkeye. And then it had been his job to run away instead.
Eunhyuk’s choice of a soccer pitch to get out of the apartment and do something after work probably wouldn’t have been his first choice. But it got him Eunhyuk in shorts, and a competitive gleam in his eye. They started by trying out making goals on each other.
It didn’t take a genius to know who won that, Eunhyuk bouncing around, his blond hair flopping.
And he seemed to know which way Tablo was going to kick before Tablo did, and he was too rusty to do much switching up. Not that Eunhyuk seemed sad about that, grinning and jeering at him with every block.
“Get out here,” Tablo ordered, feigning annoyance. And then it was mostly racing around with the ball like two overgrown boys, gentle shoves and well-aimed kicks as they played keep-away with their feet.
Half the fun was getting his hands on Eunhyuk’s body. A palm against his stomach, or on his arm. Feeling Eunhyuk lean against him as they tried not to fall. He had a few seconds to consider those things, without totally losing track of what he was doing. He lost the ball a couple times because of it, but his competitive spirit wouldn’t allow much.
“Truce,” he called, panting with his hands braced on his knees as Eunhyuk spirited away the ball through some kind of soccer magic. He wasn’t even sure if Eunhyuk used those feet to run.
“Does a truce mean we’re even?” Eunhyuk asked, stepping on the ball like he was claiming it for all of Korea.
“Fine. Fine. Then you win. You win. I give up.”
And he flopped back onto the cool grass, feeling it poke against his skin as he closed his eyes and felt his heart thud away.
Eunhyuk pressed a water bottle into his hand a few seconds later, and sat beside him, being a very lovely sunblock. And it also gave him a great view as Eunhyuk tipped his head back to drink. Tablo licked his lips, poor approximation of the throat he was staring at. He could see the sweat lines in Eunhyuk’s shirt as well. If they’d been alone, he’d have thought of trying to get that shirt off. Maybe do a little touchy-feely in the process. But anyone could walk by, so he kept his thoughts to himself.
“I thought you sat in a desk chair all day,” Tablo said, slapping at Eunhyuk’s hip with the back of his hand. With the other, he was trying not to drown himself by drinking while lying down.
“I like soccer,” Eunhyuk said. And his face was sly as he looked down at Tablo. “I like playing soccer with you.”
“You like beating me, you mean.”
Eunhyuk laughed, the sound bright. “Maybe.”
But Tablo sat up, scooting around so they were sitting in opposite directions, but still close, and able to see each other.
“Remember when we used to play tag?” Tablo asked.
Eunhyuk’s brow worked as he thought.
“When you’d let me get away?”
Brat. Of course he’d remember that.
“Sure. When I let you get away.”
“Did the older kids think you were weird for playing with me?”
Tablo jerked a shoulder. “Those kids didn’t give a rat’s ass about me. It didn’t matter if they were orphans or abandoned, I was even more different.. So playing with a kid was probably something they expected. All the others seemed like babies. You were the first one who seemed to get me. And you were six. You hadn’t been taught yet that I was weird, or had a funny accent.”
“I thought you were funny,” Eunhyuk said, his grin flashing. “And you were the closest thing to home that I had.”
And now? he wanted to ask. But Eunhyuk leaned in, lips damp, and sweet, and quick. And a smile there, not overt, but written over his face. Probably because Tablo had been the first to bring up their past. Eunhyuk seemed a little shy about bringing it up, which was his own damn fault. He hadn’t meant that they needed to ignore it outright, just that he needed time to get his head around it. The warm feelings and regret for losing the child, and the intrigue and desire for the man smiling at him, were getting integrated still. Maybe a little rough in places. But there were little things it made sweeter. Things about himself he tended to hold back, and hide. Things that had gotten him ridiculed and mocked. Things that Eunhyuk knew, and had lived somewhat himself. Eunhyuk wasn’t the only one who could understand. But that he did, that he was there, it was like fate was trying to tell him something.
“There was something I wanted to ask you about,” Eunhyuk said, but that time his face wasn’t soft. It was nervous. And the switch had Tablo’s eyebrows raising.
“Yeah?”
“I wondered if you’d be willing to meet my dad.”
Ah, the father. Tablo had fostered some anger at the man, while knowing it was stupid. His existence had taken Eunhyuk away, which Tablo refuted by knowing that being with his father had been best for Eunhyuk. And Tablo, with no power of his own, wouldn’t have been guaranteed to be able to keep Hyukjae with him, or safe. It was the feelings of being abandoned that caused it, he knew that. Finding out later that Eunhyuk had been lied to by his father regarding Tablo’s adoption status, had only torn open that long-buried wound. Sure, he’d told Eunhyuk he knew Eunhyuk’s father had lied to keep Eunhyuk safe. But knowing, and feeling, were two different animals.
“Your dad?” Tablo asked. Hoping Eunhyuk would expound and give him a reason beyond the grousing he was coming up with. He hoped he could face the man without wanting to punch him.
“Yes. Well. You know how he lied about where you were. Thought you weren’t real even if I had a picture and all that.” Eunhyuk shrugged. “It’d be nice to show him differently.”
Tablo was reading between the lines on that one, or maybe “rubbing it in his face” was only the way he’d have used, and not Eunhyuk.
“So is it a “Hey, Dad, I found that kid I ran away for, see he’s real?” meeting. Or a “Hey Dad, here’s that kid, and we’re dating.” meeting.”
He didn’t think it was too odd of a question to ask. Not everyone wanted their relationships in their parent’s face, and he got that. They hadn’t exactly discussed the family implication, and he didn’t have anything to hold him back on his side. But the more he knew, the more he’d know how to prepare for it.
“My dad and I are pretty close, despite what happened in the past,” Eunhyuk said. “I’ve told him I’m into guys as well. So there’s no reason not to tell him everything.”
“He knows you like both? So is he just waiting for you to stop playing and settle down?’
“He’ll have a long wait, if that’s true.”
Tablo cleared his throat. “Has he met any guy you’ve dated?”
“Briefly. But like you said, it’s kind of a combination thing. I don’t want it to be drawn out and awkward.”
“So I don’t have to ask him for your hand?”
Eunhyuk laughed, pushing against Tablo’s leg.
“Not yet anyway.”
“‘Hi Dad,’” Tablo said, as though he were greeting Eunhyuk’s father. “‘I took care of your son for you for a while way back. Now I want to take him home and help him out of his pants.’”
Eunhyuk had been laughing still, quieting as Tablo spoke. He watched Eunhyuk swallow hard.
“I’m glad I don’t need my dad’s approval for that,” Eunhyuk said, and helped Tablo up.
***
Tablo unlocked the door to his apartment, feeling steady as Eunhyuk came in after him. If Eunhyuk had reservations, he’d had more than one make-out session to air them. A train ride to make excuses. His eyes were on Eunhyuk’s calves and butt as he stepped up into the apartment. The way his neck flexed as the headband was taken off, leaving Eunhyuk’s hair rippled in places.
It made him want to touch.
Eunhyuk purred into the kiss, meeting him face to face. The rumble against his palms as Eunhyuk tried to press closer. Hard to think back, the twenty minutes of trying to keep their minds off it, glances out of the corner of their eyes, brushing hands as they stood and waited for their stop.
Cute, was his first thought, as Eunhyuk broke the kiss. He could see the smile pulling at Eunhyuk’s mouth, and he wanted another kiss. Just one or thirty more.
And then Eunhyuk’s eyes caught his, and Eunhyuk was no less cute. But he felt a bit like prey under the hungry, naked stare. He had no idea how Eunhyuk could display so many emotions in a single expression. Happiness. Lust. Impatience.
And it was hard to say which one affected him more.
“Shower before or after?” he said, stroking the back of Eunhyuk’s neck.
“The bed will be less dirty if we’re clean before we get it…dirty,” Eunhyuk said.
And then paused. They stared at each other.
“Shower first it is,” Tablo said, laughing. And he ignored the fleeting rush and the urge to name it.
The shower called. His building new enough to have an actual stall. Maybe his fantasies had featured Eunhyuk wet and naked. Knowing he was moments away from realizing that wasn’t helping his hands to steady.
Neither was the sight of Eunhyuk’s torso being bared. Fluid movement drawing the shirt up over his head. Leaving the straw blond hair ruffled. Not that Tablo’s eyes stayed at Eunhyuk’s hair. Not when there was his stomach, chest, back, and arms to look at. He wanted a picture, a hundred pictures. From every angle, every perspective. Each muscle, rib, and curve. He nearly fished for the toilet seat, to sit down, sit back and just admire. But looking wasn’t enough. Became far less than enough as Eunhyuk rubbed his stomach, almost as though he were getting shy. It drove him wild.
Eunhyuk’s fingers stopped, though, at the waistband of his shorts. And he bit his lip, before looking up at Tablo through his eyelashes. It had Tablo’s throat sticking closed.
“I thought you said you were going to help me out of these.”
Incoherent sounds were all that were going through his head, hands wanting to reach and grasp blindly. Everything. Everywhere.
Their bodies caught together, Eunhyuk’s arm wrapping around Tablo’s neck as Tablo pressed into the kiss. Hands kneading at Eunhyuk’s hips, and feeling his sighs, and all that skin. Bared. The gasps as Tablo’s mouth kissed a line down his neck and across the top of his shoulder. A little ticklish, a little sensitive. He could feel the shiver in Eunhyuk’s body.
And as they moved together, he could feel the arousal in it.
“I’ll help you out of these,” Tablo said hoarsely.
From shorts and underwear. Eunhyuk dealing with his own socks as Tablo stripped down to catch up. Not the same as Eunhyuk’s lean perfection. But as Eunhyuk ran a hand down the center of Tablo’s chest, both feeling and fucking him with his eyes, he might as well have been Mr. Universe.
The shower was just the staging area. The appetizer. To see Eunhyuk’s hair wet and flowing on his face and neck. To grope in premise of washing and getting little laughs against him. The hot water as he tweaked Eunhyuk’s nipples with his thumbs and getting moans against his mouth.
Eunhyuk turned off the water for him, water still dripping down his face. And Tablo lobbed a fluffy towel into Eunhyuk’s chest. Lucky towel. Lucky him getting to see it working down Eunhyuk’s skin.
But rolling naked, skin to skin, onto the bed, he knew Eunhyuk’s plan had been best. Showering, getting to the peak of want. Not just walking in the apartment door and falling on each other like wolves. It just made him want more. Eunhyuk’s skin, warm and fragrant from his own body wash. Hair fluffed and partly damp between his fingers, as he parted Hyukjae’s lips with his own.
Eunhyuk wrestled with him, lithe and gorgeous, and surprisingly strong. Pinning Tablo to his own bed and looking utterly pleased about it.
“Hi,” Eunhyuk said, pecking at Tablo’s mouth, so unsatisfying.
“Hello,” he said, heart thundering and body aching.
Eunhyuk, straddle-thighed, and poised. Nudging their hips together. A tease.
“Lube?” Eunhyuk asked.
“Drawer,” Tablo said, turning only his head. Within arms reach of Eunhyuk, it was. And he knew Eunhyuk saw the condoms in the drawer as well as he drew back. Tablo had been prepared from the first time they’d made out. Getting his hands on a man’s skin wasn’t supposed to be akin to a religious experience.
But Eunhyuk’s hands were slick, and cool, getting lube between them. Warming it on their bodies, with his fingers. Sliding them together, root to tip. Hips doing the work as Eunhyuk’s hand guided them. But his mouth was on Eunhyuk’s as they rocked together. Fingers kneading Eunhyuk’s hips, and doing what he could to move faster. Slick, tight, hot, hard.
Sweet.
And Eunhyuk above him. Clearly determined that Tablo come first, fingers and hips at fever pitch, driving every thought from him but more and gorgeous and mine.
Though it seems Eunhyuk was doing the claiming, pressing Tablo back into the pillow with tongue and teeth, and it shattered him. Clutching. Moaning. Gasping for air as he came in Eunhyuk’s hand.
He was still high in his own world when Eunhyuk’s desperation rose. The quickening stroke, the moans against Tablo’s cheek, little mewls urging himself on. He’d been there so many times before, on the edge of perfection, just waiting for something to give. Teasing hands against Eunhyuk’s skin, selfish and giving all at once. Eunhyuk made him want just by breathing. Moving in to whisper, almost to beg. To give back what Eunhyuk had given him.
“Eunhyuk. Eunhyuk. So gorgeous. Come for me. Next time I’ll do it for you. Next time it’ll be my mouth.”
He felt Eunhyuk first gasp, then moan as he came. The urgency of his strokes slowing as he urged out his pleasure. And it was satisfaction that he could feel, against the wet he’d already caused. Eunhyuk’s panting breaths against his collarbone, the soft moans as Eunhyuk’s hand rested bonelessly between them. He languished in the heat, comfortable and uncrushed. The weight of a man above him quite welcome. Quite welcome.
He waited until Eunhyuk stirred, a little clutch in his stomach as Eunhyuk pressed a kiss to his neck.
“Seems like we need to clean up again.”
“You more than me,” Eunhyuk murmured.
He tapped on the side of Eunhyuk’s head.
“That’s the reason you pinned me down, isn’t it?”
He got a lazy chuckle for his accusation.
“I’m starved. We could order in. Be clean by the time it got here. At least, if you feel up to moving.”
Eunhyuk hummed from his shoulder, as Tablo ran his hands up and down Eunhyuk’s back. He knew they’d be moving at some point. Eunhyuk’s legs couldn’t hold that position forever.
“Okay, yeah, food,” Eunhyuk said after a minute. And Tablo snuck a kiss to the ear closest to him before Eunhyuk could shift away. His little secret.
The hand that patted Tablo’s chest was a bit sticky, and the mouth far above it, a little knowing.
“What do you want?” Tablo asked as Eunhyuk stood.
And he swore Eunhyuk knew what he was doing, licking his lips and looking up and down Tablo’s body.
“To eat,” Tablo clarified before Eunhyuk could get in any jokes.
They ate in bed as well, clean, and both in clean clothes. He did more watching of Eunhyuk’s feet tapping under the covers than he did of the TV. Exercise, sex. A good meal. He hefted himself out of the bed to take out their trash, nearly detouring to brush his teeth before realizing they hadn’t actually talked about Eunhyuk staying. And Eunhyuk was on the side of the bed, comfortably waiting as Tablo approached.
“Work particularly early tomorrow?” he asked, putting a hand on Eunhyuk’s head and grinning when Eunhyuk shifted it off.
“No. Why?”
“You should stay over, then. We’ll do something tomorrow, after.”
First stay over. Not a small step. But it was a good thing that Eunhyuk was smiling.
“I can see if you snore, see if I have to toss you back into the sea,” Tablo said.
“Hey, what about you?”
Tablo ignored all protests, and gifted Eunhyuk a spare toothbrush.
It led to minty kisses, and snorting giggles as they groped under the covers, getting comfortable.
He breathed out warmly into Eunhyuk’s neck and was rewarded with a shudder. And smiled.
***
Tablo woke first the next morning, before his alarm, Eunhyuk all but invading his space. Arms all curled up and neck extended, like he was trying to get closer during the night. He traced the shadow that had been forming above Eunhyuk’s upper lip, and got a snarly little growl, and Eunhyuk rocking closer, pushing his face against Tablo’s and sighing a sleepy sigh.
Tablo concurred, notching his arm around Eunhyuk’s side, and sliding back into sleep.
***
Zhou Mi had hours to think on what had happened. Eunhyuk’s reservations, Kyuhyun’s judgement. And it was that, pure and simple. Looking at Zhou Mi as though he were a sad and broken person for not being able to make his own decisions. And that was not how he usually operated. When he was sure of something, he went for it. Even if it was roundabout, little gestures, he didn’t hang back. His feelings moved him, and his decisions drove him. When he was certain someone wasn’t for him, he broke it off. Even if he had regrets or second thoughts like anyone else, and a concern for other people’s feelings.
Kyuhyun had basically asked him if he’d have chosen Kyuhyun, if he had any desire to pursue him.
And he’d rolled around on his bed as he tortured himself with the knowledge that he’d basically said no. And he’d had the conviction that steering away from Kyuhyun had been right, until Kyuhyun had been there asking him about it. Because Kyuhyun hadn’t been asking him if it was the smart thing, or the ethical thing. He asked if Zhou Mi wanted it, him. He missed being in a relationship, having someone to call, to cuddle, to take to movies. Someone to anticipate and impress, and enjoy. Someone who might look after him, in more ways than just the obvious ones. Anonymous sex fulfilled his body, but he had been hungry for more for what seemed like lifetimes.
His eyes were wet as he contemplated their conversation. Kyuhyun turning from him. Eunhyuk had made the match, like they’d promised. Zhou Mi had just never expected that it would be himself. Or that he’d come to want it, like learning to breathe.
And it was fate that intervened the next day, when he worked furiously from dawn, onwards. Eunhyuk had interrupted him to say that Kyuhyun wouldn’t be in. Sick.
“He sounded pretty miserable on the phone,” Eunhyuk said. “Just letting you know.”
“Oh, I thought he sounded a little tired when we talked last night.”
“About the match? Yeah. I’ll run him again when he gets back.”
Another blind date for Kyuhyun. It nearly made Zhou Mi’s lip curl.
“I think we should wait on that. I need to think some more about the result from before,” Zhou Mi said, honest all he really could be.
Eunhyuk opened his mouth, but paused and nodded. “Okay. Let me know if you need to talk.”
“Thanks,” Zhou Mi said.
He knew he would want to talk, and soon. But the person he really needed to talk with, was sick at home. Zhou Mi allowed himself over lunch, time to look over Kyuhyun’s profile again. Seeing exactly why Zhou Mi had been tagged. Age, location, preference. Kyuhyun had marked he’d taken some Mandarin and English in school, and enjoyed traveling. Movies, dramas, food.
There were the dissimilar things, too. He tried to see what was wrong about it, besides their working relationship and everything Eunhyuk had brought up. Those were just facts. They didn’t cover the affection Zhou Mi had, or the attraction. Sometimes the idea of a person was better than reality. It was perfectly reasonable to think that after trying to date, they’d agree that nothing was there. Incompatible in bed, perhaps. Though somehow he doubted it, unless Kyuhyun was into pain. He could possibly see Kyuhyun wanting to lead-
And that was getting far too ahead of himself.
He had to see Kyuhyun.
***
Air was hard to come by, standing at Kyuhyun’s door with a bag in one hand and waiting for it to be answered. Supplies for the sick, was his secondary mission. Seeing Kyuhyun’s face was his first. And not letting things spiral out of control, arched over all of that.
Kyuhyun looked rumpled as he opened the door, in baggy sweats and a shirt, his hair flopped down. He looked like a child, with heavy eyes and awkward feet in thick socks. And Zhou Mi had the strongest urge to cuddle that he’d had in the longest time.
“Hey,” Zhou Mi said, gesturing with his bag. “I brought food. Can I come in for a moment?”
“If you’re not afraid of getting sick,” Kyuhyun said, and Zhou Mi heard what Eunhyuk had. A raspy throat, and stuffy nose. But he let Zhou Mi in, leading him to the kitchen.
“How are you feeling?”
One of Kyuhyun’s shoulders jerked under the faded cloth of his shirt. “About the same. Woke up with my head throbbing, and threw up breakfast.”
He couldn’t help the sympathetic noise, or the urge to touch. The bag was carefully set on the counter, and he turned fully to Kyuhyun. Maybe not the best timing, with Kyuhyun all miserable. But even then, Kyuhyun wasn’t totally out of it, sensing there was more to the visit.
“You just came by to bring food?”
“No. I wanted to talk, if you were feeling up to it. I have something I want to tell you. But that can wait until after you eat, if you’re hungry now?”
“Always hungry,” Kyuhyun said, giving the wan grin of the sick.
“If you want to get comfortable, you can. I brought soup. Tea. Fruit. I didn’t know what you had. What you wanted. I’ll bring it out to you.”
Zhou Mi warmed the soup he’d bought, brewing a mug of tea, and putting fruit into a container that Kyuhyun could seal. Kyuhyun was sick, and didn’t need Zhou Mi fluttering around him to keep him from resting. But doing the things he was doing made him feel better.
Kyuhyun was on his futon, as it turned out. A mug sitting beside it, and a blanket half on, half draped on the floor from when Kyuhyun had gotten up.
He’d found a tray in Kyuhyun’s kitchen, arranging the heated-up soup and mug and fruit on it. He’d have put something cute on it to make Kyuhyun laugh, if he’d had anything, but as it was he just barely remembered to put a spoon on it. Walking cautiously so he didn’t get tangled in his own feet, to where Kyuhyun had settled with the blanket over his legs. Zhou Mi tsked him as Kyuhyun tried to reach, putting it carefully down on Kyuhyun’s lap himself, and kneeling on the floor next to the low futon.
Kyuhyun eyed him. “You looking to go into indentured service? You might have a future in it.”
“Try it,” Zhou Mi urged, ignoring the tease.
Kyuhyun made an interested face at the soup, a slightly “bitter, ew but it’s good for me,” face at the tea, and left the fruit alone for right then.
“It’s good, thanks. Work okay without me?” Kyuhyun asked.
And Zhou Mi chuckled, giving Kyuhyun an overview of the day. Slipping in little anecdotes about thinking Eunhyuk had gotten lost getting the mail, only to get tea, and wishing he could arm wrestle the printer. The ink cartridges seemed to work only under Eunhyuk’s magic touch. Not even Kyuhyun could make them obey - as evidenced by the ink splotch on the wall from Kyuhyun’s frustration.
Mostly he wanted Kyuhyun to be able to eat, before possibly being riled up by what Zhou Mi had to say. Maybe riled up wasn’t the right way to put it. Upset. Excited. Full of emotion. He knew which he was, that antsy feeling in the bottom of his stomach as he watched Kyuhyun eat and kept chattering. There were a lot of really eloquent ways he could say it. But he didn’t know if he had those in him.
“So?” Kyuhyun said, letting his spoon rest in the bowl. “You had something to tell me? I’m not fired, right?”
“No. No! I hope it’s not as bad as that,” Zhou Mi said, half strangling himself with borderline hysteria. He held out his hand, waiting as Kyuhyun frowned slightly and extended his own. Zhou Mi took it, light, feeling the long fingers and soft skin slide along his palm. Letting his fingers curl over the edge of Kyuhyun’s hand, watching the way they locked together before looking up, seeing the apprehension poorly veiled in Kyuhyun’s face. He’d either succeed or fail. But he’d try either way.
“Your dating report. No one asked you if you were interested in me, mostly because I was afraid. Because of the business, and a lot of things. When I saw I was on your dating report, I went a little crazy.” And Zhou Mi blew out a breath, squeezing Kyuhyun’s hand a little tighter. “Because it wasn’t a bad match. And I did want it.”
Kyuhyun cocked his head as he sagged a bit further back against the futon. “Is that because of the computer or because of you?"
Zhou Mi winced, Kyuhyun’s disbelief so understandable to him. "No. It’s me, this time.”
“So you come here with food to try and bribe me?”
He was glad he was sitting as he laughed, Kyuhyun’s smile appearing as the irony rushed through him.
“If I thought bribery would work, I’d have tried,” Zhou Mi admitted. “The food is for you. The rest is just something to think about.”
Kyuhyun stared at their joined hands for several moments, teeth working at his lips as though that was bringing up words for him to say. But eventually he did speak, words almost offhand if they hadn’t lit Zhou Mi through with hope.
“You and I had a way better time eating out together than I did with anyone else,” Kyuhyun said.
“I always had a great time with you,” Zhou Mi said, and it was nothing but the truth. “If I’m honest, I wasn’t happy about matching you the last time. Because it felt like it should’ve been me asking you out.”
Kyuhyun’s silence was terrifying, and his mouth wanted to run to fill the empty air. Instead he plucked the fruit from the tray on Kyuhyun’s lap, setting it aside. And with regret, let Kyuhyun’s hand go so he could lift the tray from Kyuhyun.
“I’ll take this out so you don’t have to,” Zhou Mi said. But it was really an excuse for a few moments to get his head back together. He hadn’t really expected Kyuhyun to leap into his arms. He just wanted to take a step. Let Kyuhyun know his interest, since Kyuhyun had indicated his. In person seemed less cowardly. Like that negated the running away he’d done to begin with. He washed the dishes quickly, putting them in the drainer, and wiping down the tray. And by the time he’d finished, Kyuhyun was standing beside him, like a ghost.
“I guess I’m used to being the one doing the asking out,” Kyuhyun said, not quite looking at him.
“We can do that, too,” Zhou Mi agreed equitably.
But he wasn’t content to watch Kyuhyun shift from foot to foot. Stepping forward to give the hug his body had been begging to feel. It didn’t matter that Kyuhyun was sick, or unsure. It was a comfort, and it was apology both. He had not done it so many times before that it was familiar. Once, twice. The solid feel of Kyuhyun’s body giving, leaning just slightly, while also maintaining its rigidity. Kyuhyun’s hands patted at his back.
“I’m sorry for screwing this up,” Zhou Mi said, and leaned back to touch Kyuhyun’s face. That nearly wary face. But Kyuhyun leaned into the touch anyway, like a puppy after a caress. And Zhou Mi felt for the first time, just how warm Kyuhyun’s skin was.
“You’re burning up!”
“I’m sick,” Kyuhyun pointed out, not a little crabby.
He kept his hand on Kyuhyun’s back, unable to help himself, as they walked back out to the futon. Standing a bit uselessly as Kyuhyun got back under the blanket and left room so that Zhou Mi could sit as well. And he did, cautiously, bracing his upper arm on top of the cushion so they could face each other.
“So you wanted the match to be real?” Kyuhyun asked, the blanket tucked up nearly to his chin.
“I did. You know that I didn’t really trust myself. Eunhyuk was…” Zhou Mi blew out a breath, wondering how to say it in a way that didn’t make Eunhyuk look like the bad guy. He knew he was just as much to blame. “He was concerned because we work together. And if I would get myself hurt, if it turned out you didn’t like me, or we weren’t compatible.”
“He could’ve asked me,” Kyuhyun croaked.
“Yeah,” Zhou Mi said softly. “We both should’ve.”
It was a new experience, matching an employee. Normally that matching sheet would’ve gone under review before a client ever saw it. And having someone known appear on it, was twice as surprising. It wasn’t something he’d ever encountered before. And adding stress on all of that, was the other big happening in his life. He wasn’t sure, if he was still getting used to how the dreams and visions were affecting his life, how Kyuhyun was supposed to accept it without question. Maybe Kyuhyun wanted a normal boyfriend, whose only purpose was to divine what was for dinner.
“I really appreciated you coming to me and talking to me yesterday,” Zhou Mi said. And he made sure Kyuhyun was looking at him. “It made me do a lot of thinking. And I wanted to pay you the same courtesy. And it’s okay if you want to think it through. So, yes. I should go, so you can rest.”
“Thanks for the food,” Kyuhyun said, and his eyes were soft. Kyuhyun’s eyes. One of the first things he had noticed. Hard to miss, and it made him unaccountably fond. “Thanks for coming by, letting me know.”
There were a lot of ways he could have left that would have seemed impersonal and friendly. Had the situation been different, he might have tried for a kiss. But Kyuhyun was sick, and he didn’t want to test his luck.
Kyuhyun’s cheek gave just so beneath his mouth. A soft, slow kiss, that he hoped spoke beyond its platonic facade.
Kyuhyun squeezed Zhou Mi’s shoulder as he leaned back, and they shared a smile.
“You can call me if you need anything,” Zhou Mi told him, and stood. “And we can talk more later.”
“Thanks,” Kyuhyun said. “And yeah, I’d like that.”
He carefully locked the door behind himself, letting the image of Kyuhyun curled on the futon stay with him as the door closed behind his wave.
Half an hour later he got a text, “You home? Who taught you to cut up fruit?”
And it came with a picture of Kyuhyun with his face all but inside of the fruit container.
“Made it home okay,” he texted back. “Feel better soon.”
He jumped, when a few minutes later his phone sang out his text tone.
“You like me?” was the simple message from Kyuhyun.
“Very much,” he texted back, and tried to stay calm as he watched the message send.
“Me too. ^^”
He stared at the message, not even daring to breathe as he read it over and over. So simple. I like you, too, Kyuhyun had implied. Zhou Mi rolled over and laughed until his stomach ached, spread across his bed where he had flopped in a fit of humor, and the overwhelming flood of emotion. Face half buried in the bedspread and chortling at his phone. Maybe it was possible after all.
Zhou Mi fell asleep early for the first time in weeks, holding his phone and picturing Kyuhyun’s face. That night, the dreams did not interrupt his rest.
***
Zhou Mi could tell when Eunhyuk realized he was being stared at. The blinking as Eunhyuk looked up, and the slightly befuddled expression. They both laughed, having been in that situation more than once, and Zhou Mi slipped into the chair beside Eunhyuk’s desk. They were alone, as it was still morning, and he wanted that ability to talk. Considering Eunhyuk with his chin propped in one hand.
“Why aren’t we together?”
Eunhyuk blinked at the totally random question, before grinning and leaning back. “Because I’d kill you in the first week for the state you keep your room? Why? What’s up?”
“I went to see Kyuhyun last night,” Zhou Mi said, and waited as Eunhyuk nodded, absorbing that. He hadn’t been subtle about it the day before. “I told him I was interested in dating him.”
At that, he saw he’d truly surprised Eunhyuk. They’d already discussed that Zhou Mi should be careful with Kyuhyun. But he also knew they were aware that sometimes things just happened. There wasn’t much to be done about it.
“Wow,” Eunhyuk said. “That’s…Wow. So, Kyuhyun.”
“I did a lot of thinking,” Zhou Mi said, examining his fingers. “Kyuhyun had talked to me, too. Told me that he was interested in the match. It was a lot easier to explain it as an accident or a bad idea, when it was one-sided. And the longer I allow myself, the longer I want it.”
Eunhyuk squeezed his arm. “Then I support you. Both of you. Not who I’d have expected, but still. Isn’t it kind of odd, that the reason you met was because of me looking for Tablo?”
“And now we’re dating them?” Zhou Mi said, laughing. “Well. I guess he hasn’t actually agreed to date me. We still need to talk.”
“You can tell him if he has any dispute about work, he can still come to me,” Eunhyuk teased. “I won’t try to wrangle dates out of him.”
“I see how much you trust me.” But they both knew that behind the jest, there was some truth. It wasn’t without risks, and there were precautions to take. “Let’s keep in contact about it. You might let Kyuhyun know yourself, as this goes forward.”
“Of course,” Eunhyuk said. “Just keep aware of yourself, too. Even if you feel positive about this, things change. Be careful. About everything”
“I will. And you and Tablo?”
Eunhyuk tried not to look embarrassed, but only half succeeded. “We’re doing okay. It’s weirder than any relationship I’ve had. Sometimes I feel so tentative and needy.”
“Because it’s more important?”
“Yeah,” Eunhyuk chuckled. “Yeah, it is. I stayed the night with him. That felt like a bigger step than it should’ve.”
“I bet that was relaxing.”
They both chuckled, needing no more confirmation than that. Eunhyuk was still caught up in the newness, fear and excitement. Zhou Mi was glad. It also made him envy. They were both right on the brink of something. Kyuhyun flashed in and out of his mind, and he had to stop himself from moving.
“I told him I wanted him to met my dad.”
At that, Zhou Mi’s eyebrows rose. Eunhyuk had a good relationship with his dad, better than many people he knew. They’d been close, bonding over the loss of a loved one, though Eunhyuk’s childhood transition had been hard. He knew Eunhyuk had worked a long time to get rid of some of the resentment.
“I kind of want to be like, “This is what you made me miss out on my whole life,”” Eunhyuk said. “But we wouldn’t be where we are now if we’d been together the whole time. He’d just be my brother. I grieved for that for so long, but now I’d grieve for this more.”
Eunhyuk rested his chin in his hand. “You have a lot of advice for people in these situations don’t you?”
“Be yourself. Lean on friends. Have a good time. Dance and fall in love?”
“That’s way easier to say when it’s not on you, isn’t it?”
The irony was not lost on him. Zhou Mi could only shrug and smile. “It always is.”
***
There was no more assumption. Zhou Mi liked him. Zhou Mi had wanted the match. Zhou Mi, pushing past his uncertainties to throw Kyuhyun a line. It hadn’t even been a day since Zhou Mi had come to see him, bringing him food, and apologies. Staying even though Kyuhyun was sick, and kissing him on the cheek. That kind of contact would’ve had him squirming out of existence in any normal situation. Maybe it was the fact that he was sick, and it had been kind of comforting. He thought he’d kept himself from whining overly much. Or from whimpering in thanks at the hot soup and tea. Behold, how good of a boyfriend Zhou Mi could be, the spread seemed to say. He wasn’t arguing. He was pretty sure he’d gotten a few percent better, just from vitamin D exposure from Zhou Mi’s smile.
So much so that he’d felt enough like coming to work, getting a greeting from Eunhyuk as he came in. No strange looks, so he wondered if Zhou Mi had told Eunhyuk anything. Kyuhyun had barely begun sorting emails, leaving the enviable task of proofreading Zhou Mi’s new dating advice column for the site until later, when Zhou Mi arrived back from lunch.
He’d had some kind of weird fever dream the night before about playing kickball, and Zhou Mi’s legs flailing, and having to rub Zhou Mi down after. At least, he was going to call it a fever dream. More subtle than a shot between the eyes, and a hell of a lot more fun.
And of course, there had been the text messages. Very much, Zhou Mi had told him. Which of course had prompted a text message from Kyuhyun to Ryeowook saying “Zhou Mi likes me VERY MUCH” with a googly eyed smiley face after it. And of course Ryeowook had called demanding when they were going out, which of course Kyuhyun didn’t know. They were in the staging area. They were both interested, and Zhou Mi was being apologetic for mostly rejecting him. And as he sat at his desk, he figured they’d know that day, and no later. They’d been out together. They’d slept in the same bed, and practically blown up all chance at getting together from stupidity on both sides. Getting to an official date couldn’t be too hard after all that.
But it wasn’t just curiosity that had him eyeing Zhou Mi’s hips as he came in the office door with a drink carrier. Depending on the clothes, Zhou Mi looked almost impossibly…hot. That was all he could come up with. He was sick, and on medicine. He got a pass.
But Zhou Mi waggled his eyebrows at the cup, before handing Kyuhyun one of the paper cups he carried. He could smell the tea before it got close to his nose, and it made his throat clutch. Hot yeah. Yeah, his throat should be scared, because it was going in him and fast. But he didn’t get a chance to drink, before he caught sight of the writing on the side of the cup. A little messy, but Kyuhyun got the gist.
“Feel better! I’m happy to see you today! ^^”
He laughed silently as Zhou Mi came back to Kyuhyun’s desk to retrieve his cell phone, and gave Zhou Mi a nod of acknowledgement. Agreement. And Zhou Mi retreated back into his office, leaving Kyuhyun to enjoy the tea as he worked. It soothed his painful throat, and kept him going. At least he wasn’t sneezing as much, on the medicine he was taking, and he had his mask. But if he was honest, he’d have slept on the heat of the cup without much prompting.
It was probably the most inconvenient time to be sick. Maybe it had given Zhou Mi a chance to talk to him in private, but he was also exhausted and fuzzy, and there were germs. And the fact that his throat was even more sore than it had been, meant he felt decidedly unsexy.
Come date me, and I will croak at you and get you sick! his body seemed to be saying. Zhou Mi hadn’t exactly confessed eternal love, but had also said that he had fears. And Kyuhyun got that. Zhou Mi could see for others, and felt blind for himself. Kyuhyun probably would’ve been a little cautious, too. It was harder to be objective with himself involved. If Zhou Mi had been wary about someone else, he’d have suggested getting to know the guy’s friends, or spending time with him. Seeing what kind of guy he was.
Zhou Mi already had a dossier on Kyuhyun’s general existence, so that was something.
***
Zhou Mi texted Kyuhyun that night to make sure he was okay, just keeping in touch. He’d have called, but he knew Kyuhyun’s throat was still sore. And though texting felt like the coward’s way, it was only for a short time. And it had been nice during the day to do the little things. Bringing Kyuhyun the tea, and putting a little extra into his smile. Not enough to make things awkward, but he could see the edges of expressions behind Kyuhyun’s mask. Kyuhyun wasn’t avoiding him, at the very least. It was no wonder that he had been a little afraid. What he had told Eunhyuk was the truth. The longer the possibility of starting a relationship with Kyuhyun hung in front him, the more he felt compelled to grab it.
Kyuhyun had sounded better, talked clearer the next day. And Zhou Mi had to put it out of his head to continue working on everyone else’s love problems. He could not bring his own feelings to the workplace, try and flirt or do what needed to be done outside of work hours there. Our of respect for the business, and for all of them who worked there.
Kyuhyun brought in the last papers of the night to be filed before he left, and Zhou Mi bit his lip, waiting.
“Is there anything else?” Kyuhyun asked him.
“No, thank you. Oh. Kyuhyun,” Zhou Mi said, snagging Kyuhyun’s attention before he could go back out to his desk. “Can I call you tonight?”
Kyuhyun considered him a moment, in that slow and pondering way Zhou Mi had gotten used to. “Sure.”
Zhou Mi nodded in lieu of saying anything else, smiling and watching Kyuhyun’s retreating back. No more waiting. No more giving in, even as he watched the time, until after he assumed Kyuhyun would have eaten. He waited as the phone rang, waiting for Kyuhyun’s voice. Unable to help the smile as they greeted each other.
“Are you free?” Zhou Mi asked.
“Sure, what’s up? You don’t need me to come in, right?” Kyuhyun asked, his voice still a little raspy but amusement there as well.
“No. But there is something I do need from you,” Zhou Mi said.
“Okay? What’s that?”
“I need you to go on a date with me.”
Kyuhyun seemed to choke before the laugh came. “Is that a question or a demand?”
“Who demands someone date them?” Zhou Mi scolded.
“Then I guess I need to decide when and where.”
Zhou Mi smiled, hearing the humor in Kyuhyun’s voice as he leaned a bit closer against the phone. “I’d like that.”
“Hey, Zhou Mi.”
“Yes?”
Kyuhyun’s voice dropped a little lower, and had Zhou Mi’s stomach tightening. “I think I need something else from you, too.”
“Anything,” Zhou Mi said, and hoped he didn’t sound breathless.
“I guess I really need you to tell me places you don’t like to go, so I don’t make an ass out of myself on our first date.”
“Oh, where do I start?”
“I’m going to guess not hiking,” Kyuhyun said. “So many bugs, not enough air conditioning.”
“Hey!” Zhou Mi said, laughing. “You’re getting me all wrong.”
“I’m listening.”
Zhou Mi sighed, and leaned back in his chair, picturing Kyuhyun on the other end of the line, smiling because he’d teased Zhou Mi. Maybe with his feet tucked up, or a pant leg riding high. He wasn’t sure how Kyuhyun managed to do that. He managed to be so real, so tangible, even when Zhou Mi couldn’t feel or touch him. Where even the humor in his voice sounded close. He half wished he could get up and go find Kyuhyun where he was. But it wasn’t time for that, yet. He would know when that would feel right as well.
“I would say I’ll only tell you if you promise not to laugh at me, but I don’t think I’d be able to tell you anything.”
But they laughed together until Kyuhyun’s healing throat could take it no more.
“I’ll see you tomorrow,” Zhou Mi promised him. And he kept his cell phone cradled on his chest until he got up to get ready to sleep.
***