Late Night Walks {Kibum/Heechul, Shiwon/Hankyung} R- For Language
Author: seket_ninstuku
Title: Late Night Walks
Pairing: KibumHeechul, mentioned ShiwonHankyung
Rating: We'll say R for some language just to be safe, mentions of sex but none present this time.
Genre: Friendship, Romance, Very Light Angst (manifested as depression)
Summary: Nights are getting longer and colder while the days become more busy and hectic. Nothing is as it should be so who will fix everything that's been broken?
Word Count: 2,545
He would wait until it was a silent darkness, even the bugs outside in the tall grass along with Eeteuk were fast asleep until rosy fingered dawn decided to appear. Beforehand he’d merely wait, in front of the glow his computer emitted at first then he’d move into bed with his music funneling into his ears thanks to the small buds that hid beneath his hair. Watching the door he’d wait to see who, if anyone, came to wish him good night but it was rare that anyone came. As months passed by it had become less important to his fellow band mates, but it never stopped being important to him. This was something he wasn’t surprised they didn’t see. There were many things about Kim Heechul no one saw.
Room pitch black, monitor shut off long ago, and air thick thanks to the heater, an ancient clock in their living room which had been given to them by someone in the band’s grandmother, probably Shindong’s, rang out like it did every night at three am. Heechul knew this because it was the unspoken signal. Letting the dull bell’s sound reverberate through him as if he were touching it the man shivered and let peace come over him. Or at least as close to peace as he was going to get. Tugging the buds gruffly from his ears he let the mp3 player fall onto his comforter soundlessly as he moved to stand.
Like most nights he wore a long sleep shirt meant for a girl but worn by this man who felt female fashion appealing and entertaining. Always wanting to present himself as both appealing and entertaining it was easy to see why then he found pleasure in wearing women‘s clothing from time to time. It wasn’t special to him, just cloth that expressed something. Women’s clothing always expressed something and he liked that. He was a very expressive individual as well. Having kicked off his sleep pants before crawling atop his sheets to wait, the shirt and one of many pairs of brightly colored panties well hidden by his lengthy top was all he wore as he calmly walked to his door.
Pushing aside the wood which gave a soft tired squeak like always, Cinderella went out on the nightly search for his prince. Was there really anyone even somewhat like a prince within his band? ELF of course would say yes so loudly windows would shatter across Korea, but he would always ask himself this as he quietly padded down the hall, eyes adjusting to the darkness even though sight didn’t matter much, Heechul knowing the way by heart.
Sungmin was a sweet kid but hell if he really let anyone get close. Most relationships beyond friendship proved to be exercises in futility when the martial artist was involved. Eunhyuk was too shy. Donghae was too open about things that didn’t matter and closed off about all the things that did. Eeteuk worked too hard too often and enjoyed it far too much. Kangin lived life like a buffet and wanted a little taste of everything before death, never settling on one dish for too long. Kyuhyun was too strong. He felt he didn’t need anyone in a relationship capacity and could handle himself just fine. This always made Heechul’s heart ache just a bit because he knew one day the house of cards within the singer would come crashing down and it wouldn’t be pretty. The boy was still young but Heechul was not and he knew that feeling quite well having experienced it himself years ago.
Ryeowook wasn’t shy so much as he was terrified of relationships and Heechul always wondered if there was more to that story. If there was he hadn’t heard it. Yehsung tried too hard when he didn’t need to and not enough when he really should have presenting a rather tragic lack of sense about what people wanted. Shindong was a great guy. He was funny, sweet, talented, but no one had given him the time of day for so long he’d just stopped trying and found other ways to be happy. It seemed to be working for him.
Wraithlike pale lanky frame, now trimmed about the shoulders and back with some added muscle that made him just a bit more formidable, paused at a door and gave it a long hard stare. Hankyung. He was just too perfect. Everyone wanted a piece of perfection. The Chinese boy knew he was perfect, knew that he came from a good home and a happy childhood which made him strong and helped him make it through the hardships of learning a new language and the culture that went along with it, but in knowing all this he also knew he couldn’t settle on any one person when so many wanted his attentions. His flaw was his perfection. Why help just one when you could help many more by remaining alone? Shaking his head gently Heechul let his hand brush the door silently before he kept walking.
Shiwon’s problems were much like Hankyung’s own. Being handsome, talented, and charming came with a high price it would seem. Anyone he dated would have to be hidden away and few people enjoyed such treatment. Better to stay by one’s self rather than cause someone else problems. Shiwon was kind hearted in that way. Kim Kibum was a mix of everyone’s problems. He worked too much, kept people at a distance, felt he could handle everything alone, had a painfully shy streak while grasping up at stardom with an iron grip, and of course he was just a bit too perfect.
Pausing in his walk down the hall Heechul wondered what his flaws were. His three best friends were all just too perfect but that wasn’t the case for him as well. The flaw Heechul presented was that he wanted too much and became confused about what really mattered. Sighing softly, more a loud exhale than a true sigh, Heechul sat down right in the middle of the hall. Where was he going? What did he want? He couldn’t answer these questions so instead he turned to the three doors to his left. Silently his index finger pointed to each in turn while a singsong tune from childhood played out in his mind. Finger paused and that door was eliminated from the race, process beginning again with the remaining to doors. As finger slowed and came to point forward Heechul canted his hand to the side as if to ask fate ‘Really?’. This time he did sigh as he pushed himself to his feet.
Going to the door which had been eliminated first, he slid into the darkened room without much sound. Tiptoeing on the carpet over to the bed he lifted the sheets quietly pausing as he heard a soft grumble. Freezing he was ready to be smacked with a pillow but instead he laughed quietly as Kibum pulled him into bed with a tiredly mumbled, “You’re late.” It was nice to be expected.
Every night he never knew where he would end up but some how it was always here. To travel into certain rooms would be pointless after all. Curling up against his best friend, still not having spoken a word, a peaceful quiet fell over the room. Nuzzling Kibum’s chest which Heechul could feel had firmed up since the last time his nose had told it hello, lanky legs reached out to lock around Kibum’s own as he sought to be as close as he could to the actor.
“Nightmare?” Kibum mumbled half awake.
“No,” was the simple and soft reply.
“Lifemare?” He guessed in a quiet and somewhat more awake tone.
“Yea…” Heechul’s voice had grown softer.
Lifemare was the affectionate term the four best friends had given that feeling of dread that liked to bubble up and choke them when they least expected it. This horrible formless creature would encase them in darkness and self doubt while raining down boredom, loneliness, and heart ache. It was a vile wicked fiend of a creature and as of late it had frequented Heechul’s room each night as if it had no place else to go. You could be in a room full of people and this terror could take hold and sink it’s talons into your soul, but if you sought out the proper person in time the beast would crawl back into his abyss.
When the fiend first appeared Heechul had sought liquor and Hankyung but the boy had said he was busy that night so Heechul drank alone which in turn delivered him into the villain’s claws wrapped neatly with a bow around his heart. In his drunken stumbling down a dark unfamiliar hall he had sought out Shiwon and as he swung open the door to seek solace in his friend’s endlessly positive attitude no words could come out nor sound be made at the sight before his eyes and he slowly backed away as if he’d seen his own death not even bothering to shut the door as he ran back into his own room and curled up on the bed, staring at the wall in silence as the minutes and hours ticked by. He vaguely remembered a knock on his door an hour or so after, seeing Shiwon step in to ask him what had been wrong earlier. Heechul’s hearing was canned and fuzzy, barely able to make out the words Shiwon spoke as he looked up at his friend in utter disbelief. Shaking his head softly he laid his head back onto his pillow swearing if the man came any closer he’d spit on him but the man knew his friend and wished the princess goodnight before quietly exiting. The rest of the days spent in Japan had been bleak for Kim Heechul.
The night they had gotten back to Korea from the shoot in Tokyo Heechul had started his nightly wanderings into Kibum’s arms. They never spoke about it or what it meant but now as Heechul lay thinking he could finally get some sleep, Kibum’s voice rang out again quietly in the silence of the room.
“Can you hate him forever?” Were the five words the younger spoke, simple when by themselves and insanely complex when put together in this context.
Pretending he was asleep wouldn’t work and something deep inside Heechul feared that Kibum, who had a vindictive streak, would threaten to walk the elder back to his room if he didn’t think of something to say. So, forced to think about something he’d spent countless hours trying to forget, Heechul answered Kibum’s question with one of his own, “Why not me?”
There was a pause followed by a smooth easily spoken reply, “You’re not what he needs.”
The creature descended upon Heechul like a ninja, grabbing him up by the throat making it hard to breathe and bringing tears to his eyes that he refused to let fall as he spoke oh so softly to keep his voice from cracking, “What if I need him?”
This pause was significantly longer than the last and it seemed to stretch on so long Heechul thought surely before Kibum could respond he’d be dead, strangled to death by his own personal Lifemare.
“Why do you need him?” Kibum finally asked, arm sliding under and around his friend to hold him a little closer, gently rubbing his lower back.
Monstrous grip loosened slightly and Heechul’s answer was quick in coming for this was a question he’d often asked himself and managed to pack the answer into one sentence, “Because he’s the only one that understands.”
“What does he understand?” Kibum wanted to know, the back and forth sounding much more like conversation now as it no longer held long stretches of silence.
“Me.” This answer was clear as day to Heechul.
“Does he really?” Kibum wondered, “If he knew you so well, wouldn’t he be with you? Know that you needed him?”
The silence had returned briefly, Heechul finally amending his answer, “I know him best…” This new answer wasn’t much of an answer at all but it was all the boy could think to say.
“Then don’t you know what he needs?” It would seem an obvious question with equally obvious answer but it was a trap that Kibum had set and Heechul walked unknowingly into it.
“Of course I know what he needs,” was the quietly huffed response of the brunette, “I just told you I know him best.”
Kibum kissed the top of Heechul’s hair softly. It was a slow deliberate motion in hopes to soften the blow of his rebuttal, “Then you must know he needs Shiwon.”
How he’d lost that argument Heechul didn’t quite know but he blamed the Lifemare for his loss. Being choked always made thinking straight more difficult. Shutting his eyes which no longer cared to search the dark room before them for answers, Heechul whispered softly, “I’m glad two of us are happy then.”
What a fool he felt in this moment. Heechul should have known better to speak of such matters to Kibum. The man always made things sound so simple as if the princess was making things overly complex. It was an agree to disagree situation because while Kibum felt that yes in fact Heechul did make things more complicated the elder felt he couldn’t really help it as it was in his nature to be emotional and emotions always made things more difficult. This was why he felt true emotion for very few people, to love many would mean he’d have to hurt more and his petals caused him enough grief as it was whenever they weren’t being darling.
“Three,” Kibum corrected softly. It should’ve been obvious but Heechul didn’t see it yet, too blinded by the grief in which he felt trapped.
“Who else?” the singer snapped softly as if he planned on changing that as soon as possible.
“I’m happy hyung,” his friend explained kindly.
Blinking a few times Heechul’s heart raced of it’s own accord. There was no way the boy meant what Heechul thought he meant. It just wasn’t possible, and yet…was it really that hard to believe? In a vain attempt to remove the tension from the air brought on by undeniable realization, Heechul managed to reply with as much fake ‘genuine’ confusion as he could muster, “Shiwon’s fucking you too?”
All was quiet for a few seconds then without warning Kibum burst into soft laughter that would not wake anyone but did violently shatter the silence and tension in the room. This laughter did very little to slow the rapid thudding of Heechul’s heart against his rib cage. Strong arms wound fully about Heechul to pull the princess on top of the firm body of his best friend making him blush just a little in a mix of shock and lingering confusion, “Kibu-” But that sentence would never be uttered as warm lips sealed to his own and silenced him. So powerful was the kiss that even the Lifemare stood no chance against it, so the creature left Kim Heechul that night, quiet laughter and warm muttering fading into the distance behind it.
Title: Late Night Walks
Pairing: KibumHeechul, mentioned ShiwonHankyung
Rating: We'll say R for some language just to be safe, mentions of sex but none present this time.
Genre: Friendship, Romance, Very Light Angst (manifested as depression)
Summary: Nights are getting longer and colder while the days become more busy and hectic. Nothing is as it should be so who will fix everything that's been broken?
Word Count: 2,545
He would wait until it was a silent darkness, even the bugs outside in the tall grass along with Eeteuk were fast asleep until rosy fingered dawn decided to appear. Beforehand he’d merely wait, in front of the glow his computer emitted at first then he’d move into bed with his music funneling into his ears thanks to the small buds that hid beneath his hair. Watching the door he’d wait to see who, if anyone, came to wish him good night but it was rare that anyone came. As months passed by it had become less important to his fellow band mates, but it never stopped being important to him. This was something he wasn’t surprised they didn’t see. There were many things about Kim Heechul no one saw.
Room pitch black, monitor shut off long ago, and air thick thanks to the heater, an ancient clock in their living room which had been given to them by someone in the band’s grandmother, probably Shindong’s, rang out like it did every night at three am. Heechul knew this because it was the unspoken signal. Letting the dull bell’s sound reverberate through him as if he were touching it the man shivered and let peace come over him. Or at least as close to peace as he was going to get. Tugging the buds gruffly from his ears he let the mp3 player fall onto his comforter soundlessly as he moved to stand.
Like most nights he wore a long sleep shirt meant for a girl but worn by this man who felt female fashion appealing and entertaining. Always wanting to present himself as both appealing and entertaining it was easy to see why then he found pleasure in wearing women‘s clothing from time to time. It wasn’t special to him, just cloth that expressed something. Women’s clothing always expressed something and he liked that. He was a very expressive individual as well. Having kicked off his sleep pants before crawling atop his sheets to wait, the shirt and one of many pairs of brightly colored panties well hidden by his lengthy top was all he wore as he calmly walked to his door.
Pushing aside the wood which gave a soft tired squeak like always, Cinderella went out on the nightly search for his prince. Was there really anyone even somewhat like a prince within his band? ELF of course would say yes so loudly windows would shatter across Korea, but he would always ask himself this as he quietly padded down the hall, eyes adjusting to the darkness even though sight didn’t matter much, Heechul knowing the way by heart.
Sungmin was a sweet kid but hell if he really let anyone get close. Most relationships beyond friendship proved to be exercises in futility when the martial artist was involved. Eunhyuk was too shy. Donghae was too open about things that didn’t matter and closed off about all the things that did. Eeteuk worked too hard too often and enjoyed it far too much. Kangin lived life like a buffet and wanted a little taste of everything before death, never settling on one dish for too long. Kyuhyun was too strong. He felt he didn’t need anyone in a relationship capacity and could handle himself just fine. This always made Heechul’s heart ache just a bit because he knew one day the house of cards within the singer would come crashing down and it wouldn’t be pretty. The boy was still young but Heechul was not and he knew that feeling quite well having experienced it himself years ago.
Ryeowook wasn’t shy so much as he was terrified of relationships and Heechul always wondered if there was more to that story. If there was he hadn’t heard it. Yehsung tried too hard when he didn’t need to and not enough when he really should have presenting a rather tragic lack of sense about what people wanted. Shindong was a great guy. He was funny, sweet, talented, but no one had given him the time of day for so long he’d just stopped trying and found other ways to be happy. It seemed to be working for him.
Wraithlike pale lanky frame, now trimmed about the shoulders and back with some added muscle that made him just a bit more formidable, paused at a door and gave it a long hard stare. Hankyung. He was just too perfect. Everyone wanted a piece of perfection. The Chinese boy knew he was perfect, knew that he came from a good home and a happy childhood which made him strong and helped him make it through the hardships of learning a new language and the culture that went along with it, but in knowing all this he also knew he couldn’t settle on any one person when so many wanted his attentions. His flaw was his perfection. Why help just one when you could help many more by remaining alone? Shaking his head gently Heechul let his hand brush the door silently before he kept walking.
Shiwon’s problems were much like Hankyung’s own. Being handsome, talented, and charming came with a high price it would seem. Anyone he dated would have to be hidden away and few people enjoyed such treatment. Better to stay by one’s self rather than cause someone else problems. Shiwon was kind hearted in that way. Kim Kibum was a mix of everyone’s problems. He worked too much, kept people at a distance, felt he could handle everything alone, had a painfully shy streak while grasping up at stardom with an iron grip, and of course he was just a bit too perfect.
Pausing in his walk down the hall Heechul wondered what his flaws were. His three best friends were all just too perfect but that wasn’t the case for him as well. The flaw Heechul presented was that he wanted too much and became confused about what really mattered. Sighing softly, more a loud exhale than a true sigh, Heechul sat down right in the middle of the hall. Where was he going? What did he want? He couldn’t answer these questions so instead he turned to the three doors to his left. Silently his index finger pointed to each in turn while a singsong tune from childhood played out in his mind. Finger paused and that door was eliminated from the race, process beginning again with the remaining to doors. As finger slowed and came to point forward Heechul canted his hand to the side as if to ask fate ‘Really?’. This time he did sigh as he pushed himself to his feet.
Going to the door which had been eliminated first, he slid into the darkened room without much sound. Tiptoeing on the carpet over to the bed he lifted the sheets quietly pausing as he heard a soft grumble. Freezing he was ready to be smacked with a pillow but instead he laughed quietly as Kibum pulled him into bed with a tiredly mumbled, “You’re late.” It was nice to be expected.
Every night he never knew where he would end up but some how it was always here. To travel into certain rooms would be pointless after all. Curling up against his best friend, still not having spoken a word, a peaceful quiet fell over the room. Nuzzling Kibum’s chest which Heechul could feel had firmed up since the last time his nose had told it hello, lanky legs reached out to lock around Kibum’s own as he sought to be as close as he could to the actor.
“Nightmare?” Kibum mumbled half awake.
“No,” was the simple and soft reply.
“Lifemare?” He guessed in a quiet and somewhat more awake tone.
“Yea…” Heechul’s voice had grown softer.
Lifemare was the affectionate term the four best friends had given that feeling of dread that liked to bubble up and choke them when they least expected it. This horrible formless creature would encase them in darkness and self doubt while raining down boredom, loneliness, and heart ache. It was a vile wicked fiend of a creature and as of late it had frequented Heechul’s room each night as if it had no place else to go. You could be in a room full of people and this terror could take hold and sink it’s talons into your soul, but if you sought out the proper person in time the beast would crawl back into his abyss.
When the fiend first appeared Heechul had sought liquor and Hankyung but the boy had said he was busy that night so Heechul drank alone which in turn delivered him into the villain’s claws wrapped neatly with a bow around his heart. In his drunken stumbling down a dark unfamiliar hall he had sought out Shiwon and as he swung open the door to seek solace in his friend’s endlessly positive attitude no words could come out nor sound be made at the sight before his eyes and he slowly backed away as if he’d seen his own death not even bothering to shut the door as he ran back into his own room and curled up on the bed, staring at the wall in silence as the minutes and hours ticked by. He vaguely remembered a knock on his door an hour or so after, seeing Shiwon step in to ask him what had been wrong earlier. Heechul’s hearing was canned and fuzzy, barely able to make out the words Shiwon spoke as he looked up at his friend in utter disbelief. Shaking his head softly he laid his head back onto his pillow swearing if the man came any closer he’d spit on him but the man knew his friend and wished the princess goodnight before quietly exiting. The rest of the days spent in Japan had been bleak for Kim Heechul.
The night they had gotten back to Korea from the shoot in Tokyo Heechul had started his nightly wanderings into Kibum’s arms. They never spoke about it or what it meant but now as Heechul lay thinking he could finally get some sleep, Kibum’s voice rang out again quietly in the silence of the room.
“Can you hate him forever?” Were the five words the younger spoke, simple when by themselves and insanely complex when put together in this context.
Pretending he was asleep wouldn’t work and something deep inside Heechul feared that Kibum, who had a vindictive streak, would threaten to walk the elder back to his room if he didn’t think of something to say. So, forced to think about something he’d spent countless hours trying to forget, Heechul answered Kibum’s question with one of his own, “Why not me?”
There was a pause followed by a smooth easily spoken reply, “You’re not what he needs.”
The creature descended upon Heechul like a ninja, grabbing him up by the throat making it hard to breathe and bringing tears to his eyes that he refused to let fall as he spoke oh so softly to keep his voice from cracking, “What if I need him?”
This pause was significantly longer than the last and it seemed to stretch on so long Heechul thought surely before Kibum could respond he’d be dead, strangled to death by his own personal Lifemare.
“Why do you need him?” Kibum finally asked, arm sliding under and around his friend to hold him a little closer, gently rubbing his lower back.
Monstrous grip loosened slightly and Heechul’s answer was quick in coming for this was a question he’d often asked himself and managed to pack the answer into one sentence, “Because he’s the only one that understands.”
“What does he understand?” Kibum wanted to know, the back and forth sounding much more like conversation now as it no longer held long stretches of silence.
“Me.” This answer was clear as day to Heechul.
“Does he really?” Kibum wondered, “If he knew you so well, wouldn’t he be with you? Know that you needed him?”
The silence had returned briefly, Heechul finally amending his answer, “I know him best…” This new answer wasn’t much of an answer at all but it was all the boy could think to say.
“Then don’t you know what he needs?” It would seem an obvious question with equally obvious answer but it was a trap that Kibum had set and Heechul walked unknowingly into it.
“Of course I know what he needs,” was the quietly huffed response of the brunette, “I just told you I know him best.”
Kibum kissed the top of Heechul’s hair softly. It was a slow deliberate motion in hopes to soften the blow of his rebuttal, “Then you must know he needs Shiwon.”
How he’d lost that argument Heechul didn’t quite know but he blamed the Lifemare for his loss. Being choked always made thinking straight more difficult. Shutting his eyes which no longer cared to search the dark room before them for answers, Heechul whispered softly, “I’m glad two of us are happy then.”
What a fool he felt in this moment. Heechul should have known better to speak of such matters to Kibum. The man always made things sound so simple as if the princess was making things overly complex. It was an agree to disagree situation because while Kibum felt that yes in fact Heechul did make things more complicated the elder felt he couldn’t really help it as it was in his nature to be emotional and emotions always made things more difficult. This was why he felt true emotion for very few people, to love many would mean he’d have to hurt more and his petals caused him enough grief as it was whenever they weren’t being darling.
“Three,” Kibum corrected softly. It should’ve been obvious but Heechul didn’t see it yet, too blinded by the grief in which he felt trapped.
“Who else?” the singer snapped softly as if he planned on changing that as soon as possible.
“I’m happy hyung,” his friend explained kindly.
Blinking a few times Heechul’s heart raced of it’s own accord. There was no way the boy meant what Heechul thought he meant. It just wasn’t possible, and yet…was it really that hard to believe? In a vain attempt to remove the tension from the air brought on by undeniable realization, Heechul managed to reply with as much fake ‘genuine’ confusion as he could muster, “Shiwon’s fucking you too?”
All was quiet for a few seconds then without warning Kibum burst into soft laughter that would not wake anyone but did violently shatter the silence and tension in the room. This laughter did very little to slow the rapid thudding of Heechul’s heart against his rib cage. Strong arms wound fully about Heechul to pull the princess on top of the firm body of his best friend making him blush just a little in a mix of shock and lingering confusion, “Kibu-” But that sentence would never be uttered as warm lips sealed to his own and silenced him. So powerful was the kiss that even the Lifemare stood no chance against it, so the creature left Kim Heechul that night, quiet laughter and warm muttering fading into the distance behind it.