[fic] Ensconce
Title: Ensconce
Genre: Romance, au
Pairing: Kibum/Yesung
Type: Drabble
Rating: G
Summary: Jongwoon's not too sure if he'll be able to hide for his entire life.
ensconce
v. to conceal in a safe place
Jongwoon wonders what life would be like if he didn’t have to hide so much.
Their hands graze against one another, and Jongwoon, for the umpteenth time that day, needs to resist the urge to take the larger, free hand centimetres away from him. The soles of their shoes stroke the crimson red carpet that leads them down the aisle to the cinema, and each step of the way, Kibum perpetually has his shoulder glued to the side of Jongwoon’s smaller frame. That’s the most they can do, because to the public, those are accidental, friendly brushes, but to them, those are limited, loving touches.
In Kibum’s arms are a packet of sweet popcorn and a soda, and again, Kibum’s well-crafted bicep grazes against Jongwoon’s sleeve. Kibum asks if he’s cold and Jongwoon shakes his head, though he’s pretty sure that Kibum will take off his jacket and droop it over him when they’re in the theatre, basking in darkness.
Jongwoon’s eyes don’t skim past the lighted numbers lining the rows of seats, neither does he even bother to check their seat number because he knows Kibum has gotten the corner seats right at the back, where no one can see them. They lean back into the rose fabric chairs and unlike the pair of friends in front of them, they don’t talk animatedly. Jongwoon’s eyelashes caress his cheeks gently as Kibum glances around warily, before removing his jacket and wrapping it around Jongwoon’s small built.
Jongwoon honestly wonders how many times they’ve done this. Concealing their love so as to protect themselves, for society isn’t too accepting of their kind and Kibum doesn’t want Jongwoon to cry like the last time - when they had squeezed each other’s hands in the street at midnight and a shattered soju bottle had been chucked at Kibum’s head.
Advertisements and trailers flick past Jongwoon but he doesn’t notice - he’s too busy wondering if they’ll survive this life, if they’ll make it, living away in shadows and obscurity. The last seat beside them is empty and when the lights dim and the theatre falls into an abyss of darkness, Kibum discreetly places his hand over Jongwoon’s minuscule one, fingers fitting into gaps.
And it's then that Jongwoon realizes they’re ensconced, not hidden.