you set me on fire, baby
title: you set me on fire, baby
characters: luhan/kai, luhan/kris
rating: pg-13
length: ~5000w
summary: in which luhan literally sets kris on fire. but not really.
HS!AU. sequel to the hard life of kim joonmyeon. aside from the first paragraph, everything else can be a standalone.
all connected fics in this verse, in order:
the hard life of kim joonmyeon | you set me on fire, baby | personal boundaries do not exist when you're kim jongin | love is but an auction of the heart | epilogue
a set of highschool drabbles, i said. 5000 words later, i cry.
as you can see, i like lukai. even though they are purely platonic, maybe even maternal (on luhan's part) in this, i cannot help but sneak in heavy bromance. what can i say? i made otp share a room.
since this fic seems to get the most attention imma say this here
PLEASE THROW PLOTBUNNIES OVER MY WAY ON TWITTER. I AM @cocoonedsoul
"so, that went well," luhan says as he lies horizontally on his bed, head hanging over the edge to get an upside down view of a pacing jongin. his slender legs are kicked against the wall and he takes baby steps across the plaster.
"extraordinarily well," jongin agrees, before his voice escalates about 50 decibels and he shrieks, "except for the part where i got a week of detention for speaking the mind of the students!"
"jongin, you called the principal a dumbass. to his face."
"and a dumbass he was!" as a prefect and hence an extension of the school, luhan technically should not harbour negative feelings towards the head of the school which so nicely offered him full scholarship plus allowance. but worked up jongin is a convincing jongin, so luhan finds himself nodding along and agreeing.
"why are you making such a fuss anyway?" luhan asks. "the last time you drank i spent half the night holding your hair back as you threw up. i distinctly remember you sobbing into my arms about how you'll never touch alcohol again."
"because," jongin says intelligently. "of reasons. and i did not sob. my gag reflex just made me tear up!"
"i drew circles on your back and murmured encouraging comments at you all night," luhan reminds him. he closes his eyes, wishing that his roommate would stop speaking in exclamation marks. he does not function well in the mornings. in fact, luhan does not function well until the sun disappears from the sky. then he's a wriggly ball of energy and has a fondness for making surprise spot checks on the dorm-lodging student body, bursting into their rooms just as everyone's guard is down. "does the reason for your outburst contain the words 'kim', 'joon' and 'myeon'? because i am strangely reminded of a 5 year old pulling his classmate's pigtails on the playground."
jongin stops in his tracks and stays uncharacteristic silent.
when luhan gets no response, he flips over so that he's lying on his stomach and frowns at jongin. the younger boy is staring into air, his thick lips turned into a smirk. "are you imagining joonmyeon in pigtails."
jongin's eyes immediately drop to the floor and his lower lip juts out. "no."
"okay. okay then." even though luhan is known to have a sharp tongue unbefitting his baby doll looks, he has a soft spot for jongin, always taking his side at all times. luhan knows not to push jongin's buttons, and jongin loves him for that.
filled with sudden adoration, jongin walks over and throws himself onto his favourite hyung, making the older boy shriek in surprise and pain. luhan squirms under jongin but he finally settles into a somewhat comfortable position and allows jongin to smother him in a cuddle. for a long moment they just lie there, with jongin burying his face in luhan's nape, all long limbs and contrasting skin. luhan doesn't protest, instead reaching up to loosely wrap his arms around jongin, letting the younger boy derive all the comfort he needs. luhan only slips out of beneath jongin when jongin falls asleep, breath tickling the hairs on luhan's neck.
every morning yixing waits patiently by luhan's locker so that he can walk together with the other chinese boy to class. sometimes he waits 5 minutes, sometimes he waits 10, but he always has to wait, because the alarm clock is luhan's number one enemy. his second enemy, the morning sun does not particularly favour luhan and luhan returns the hate tenfold, preferring to remain tangled in his bed sheets until jongin lures him out of bed with food.
today is one of those rare days when luhan is not late for once and he bounces towards yixing barely a minute after yixing reaches luhan's locker. the older boy has a beanie on his head, mushing his bangs down until they half cover his eyes. yixing suspects that luhan did wake up late as usual, but was too lazy to shower. luhan is almost anal when it comes to his hair, insisting on a half hour conditioning routine every two days. for luhan to hide his hair means that his hair is extremely unpresentable.
the first thing that luhan does to yixing is what he does every time he sees yixing. yixing claps a hand over his right cheek but it's too late. luhan's finger jabs into his cheek.
"please stop doing that." yixing rubs sadly at his dimple where a fingernail shaped mark is clearly visible. he takes an experimental sniff at luhan's clothes and decides that while luhan skipped his morning shower (no signature raspberry smell from luhan's favourite shower wash!), he still smells okay.
"no can do," luhan says cheerfully. "having a dimple is like having an open announcement for everyone to poke it!"
"guys."
both boys turn around to see kris jogging towards them. luhan immediately slinks his fingernails into yixing's arms to keep from squealing out loud. yixing widens his eyes and tries to shake luhan's death grip off.
"do you know tao's number?" kris frowns and shakes his phone at them. "he's late with handing me his part of the report-"
"you should ask me for my number," luhan blurts out, cutting off kris mid-rant. "i'm jealous."
everyone falls silent for a moment and luhan blinks at them. he panics inwardly, trying to remember if he said it with a sane face. he did rearrange his features into a smile right? he's fairly certain that he did, so why are the other two boys staring at him?
after a few seconds, kris nods and pulls out his phone. "okay then, say it and i'll call you."
luhan rattles his number, even saying it again to make sure that kris keys it in correctly. "my name is spelled like-"
"i know i know," kris waves a hand at luhan, flashing the screen at luhan for him to confirm the characters.
"you do?" luhan forgets about trying to act nonchalant, and flashes an unmistakeably adoring smile at kris. kris did get his name correct and luhan's heart flops around his chest like a motherfucker on a sugar high at the thought of kris's fingers typing out his name. it's almost as good as hearing his name pass through kris's lips. almost.
"course i do." kris smiles at him distractedly and frowns again. "now i really have to find tao. see you later, guys."
luhan gives him a perky wave and only notices after kris has turned the corner that his hand is shaking. yixing finally lets out the laughter he was holding in, collapsing against the locker as he gasps for breath. "dude you are so whipped."
just to spite him, luhan jabs a finger into yixing's dimple again, making sure to aim with his fingernail this time. stupid yixing.
that afternoon, jongin searches around for luhan after school so that they can walk back to the dorms together. he finds luhan in the performing arts classroom. luhan has his fingers clasped and held high over his head as he sways from side to side. he's humming softly to himself, blissfully oblivious to everything around him.
"what." jongin gapes. "are you doing."
"i am a tree," luhan breathes out serenely. he peeks with one eye at his intruder and shuts it again. "join me, jongin, and make a forest."
jongin is dumbfounded for 2.5 seconds before he decides to hell with it and joins luhan in his lonely representation of nature. "i am glad i didn't take performing arts," jongin comments, standing in position next to luhan. "it is filled with weird people like you." he shoots his hands up in the air and waves them side by side. when his left hand hits luhan's right hand, luhan squints at him. "strong wind," jongin explains.
three sways later, jongin gets bored and lurches at luhan, knocking them both over onto the thankfully cushioned floor. luhan yelps and swats at jongin, long fingers doing no damage to jongin's hard shoulder. this escalates into a wrestling match, which ends just as quickly as it started. luhan squeaks for mercy when jongin easily pins both his arms over his head and starts tickling him.
luhan is ticklish and weak, but luhan is also violent and flexible. he kicks up his feet at jongin, hitting the boy on the back of his head. jongin gives up on the tickling and rolls over to luhan's side, plopping his head down on the thin mat. "you should've taken the cooking elective with me," jongin says, chest heaving as he catches his breath.
luhan squints at jongin. "no, i am not being in the same room with you and a knife. you are a threat to humanity."
jongin kicks luhan in the side, not even dignifying him with a worded response.
"you stabbed your teacher in the thigh, oh my god."
"in my defense, he said cut the finest piece of meat!" jongin throws up his hands, slapping them down again in a muted thud. "it was a compliment!"
luhan dissolves into guffaws, clutching at his stomach while jongin fumes.
"why didn't you take photography though?" jongin asks as soon as luhan gets his laughter under check. "kris takes photogra-"
luhan pushes himself up to stare at jongin, arm elbowing the other boy in the process. "KRIS TAKES PHOTOGRAPHY?"
"yeah, with all the time you spend stalking the boy i thought you knew."
"NO I DID NOT!" luhan says shrilly, mind going wild with images of kris with a camera slung around his neck, kris cocking his head as he tries to get a good angle, kris adjusting the lens to get a better shot. he flops back on the mat. kris the photographer. he always did fall for the brooding, artistic types. "oh my god."
"inside voice, luhan," jongin reminds him mildy, earning him another punch from luhan. he's one to talk.
he's late for class again. fuck fuck fuck fuck, goes luhan's mind when he finally drops out of bed and registers that he has 5 minutes to homeroom. he brushes his teeth so fast that he's pretty sure he missed a few teeth and for the umpteenth time, wonders why the world doesn't follow luhan's biological clock and start the day at dusk.
"MOVING THROUGH, EVERYONE," luhan wails as he runs through the corridor, shirt untucked and half a banana in his hand. he barely skids into a stop right in a group of people and bellows, "EMERGENCY SITUATION WHY WON'T YOU LET ME PASS. I AM A PREFECT."
baekhyun, who luhan has almost crashed into, whips around to glare at him. "this," he hisses, jerking his head towards the scene in front of him, "is the true emergency here."
luhan stops wheezing and calms down long enough for the situation to sink in. "oh noes," he gasps as he takes in the happenings. jongin is holding a bunsen burner. a flammable piece of equipment. jongin.
"i am trustable with fire," jongin says with a wounded expression. he clutches the labotary equipment to his chest and shakes his head. "why won't you trust me?"
"give me the bunsen burner, jongin," luhan spits out the words slowly and carefully. he holds a palm out and crooks his fingers, beckoning for jongin to stop the crazy. beside him, baekhyun, sehun and chanyeol nod eagerly like bobble dolls on a car's dash.
jongin glares at luhan, having expected his roommate to be on his side. "fine!" he thrusts the bunsen burner into luhan's arms and stomps back into the lab.
"CRISIS AVERTED," luhan shouts, pumping the bunsen burner in the sky like he's holding a trophy. "i am such a good prefect." he ignores sehun who is pointedly eyeing his messy outfit and uncombed hair. feeling triumph at yet another expertly diffused situation (he should become one of those suicide watch people!), luhan turns around and switches on the gas valve, watching the flames shoot up wildly.
it all happens so quickly after that.
luhan is midspin when someone brushes past him.
there is a cry of surprise and when luhan comes back to reality, he sees kris staring down at a burning sleeve in horror. the flames are small and barely lick at kris's loose shirt, but still, kris is on fire.
"OH MY GOD I'M SORRY I DIDN'T MEAN TO SET YOUR SLEEVE ON FIRE." luhan waves the still burning equipment around frantically and slaps at kris's clothes. unfortunately his aim severely misses and he manages the brush the flame over kris's jeans. "OH MY GOD NOW YOUR PANTS ARE ON FIRE! LET ME TAKE THEM OFF." he lunges at kris's belt and kris takes an alarmed step back.
kris is saved from having to answer and from suffering even more at the hands of luhan when a hard slap of water drenches them. chanyeol stares at them wide eyed, bucket still dripping water in his hands. in one quick movement, kris pulls his shirt off and throws it on the ground.
luhan stops squawking because kris is shirtless. and wet. this is better than the images his imagination so helpfully provided on the nights that he can’t sleep. kris obviously spends a lot of time working on his body, but his muscles aren’t overwhelming like some of the other guys luhan sees at the gym on the few occasions that he bothered to go. luhan wants to trace his fingers along the outline of kris’s defined abs, and maybe lick the point where his tummy dips into his belly button. a best of all, two protruding hipbones disappear into the waistband of kris’s calvin klein underwear band. "krist." luhan doesn’t even bother to hide the fact that he’s unabashedly staring, because kris is adonis reborn, and everyone in the hallway can’t tear their eyes away as well.
kris looks down at himself, full with amazement at how he is relatively unharmed, with only a small red burn on his left arm. his jeans were too thick for the flames to catch fire, so only the shirt that is lying on a heap on the floor suffered, half a sleeve charred. kris is lucky that he wore a loose shirt today, and that chanyeol jumped in as quick as he had. kris looks back up at everyone, too confused to choke out more than a, "how."
luhan winces and tries to shrink back, appearing small and hopefully too fragile for kris to pummel in pulp. "sorry?"
at luhan's small apology, the confusion on kris's face clears and is replaced with something akin to ohhhhh. luhan thinks he should feel insulted, because kris is accepting all this so easily this all because it is luhan.
"it's alright," kris assures him. "only my shirt suffered damage and the burn isn't even that bad." he even convinces luhan to go to class because he knows that the boy's track record for being late is infamous. "sehun here can bring me to the nurse, right?" sehun nods eagerly, always the brownnoser who aimed to please all the seniors. luhan hates kris for being so nice, because now he's even more in love with this tall 187cm piece of perfection.
luhan shuffles into class 10 minutes later, dripping wet and with his hair a pitiful mess. his teacher takes one look at him, shakes her head and gestures for him to sit down, not even bothering with questions.
"luhan." despite being severely hungover and thoroughly tired from lack of sleep (fuck diablo 3), luhan can recognise the deep gravelly voice that calls his name anytime.
his face does a spasm as he tries to stamp down the grin that immediately pops up on his face. shaking his head quickly to compose himself, he counts to three beneath his breath before casually turning around.
"kris." luhan barely manages to say the other boy's name before his voice box dies on him. all the mental preparation in the world wouldn't have gotten him ready for this. kris is striding towards him (kris doesn't walk, he strides, long legs taking in wide, confident steps) with his hair artfully tousled. luhan immediately feels the need to become a hairstylist just so he can tousle kris's hair every day. heck he doesn't even need hair products. he just needs a bed, and certain movements to produce that beautiful bed hair. the wrinkled tshirt that kris has on fits his body snugly, and luhan's mind immediately starts conjuring images of him running his hands across the kreeeses creases and smoothing them over.
luckily, luhan turns into a bumbling idiot around kris on a daily basis, and this fits along nicely with the fake image luhan has conjured up about being a shy inept foreigner. kris seems to accept luhan's tendency to stare at him unblinking as one of luhan's many eccentricities.
"sorry about yesterday," luhan manages to choke out. "how is your burn?"
"it's nothing." kris casually swings an arm around luhan to further assure him, the older boy fitting perfectly in the crook of his arm. luhan starts cussing up a storm in his mind because kris knows right? kris knows how hot he is, knows how he turns luhan's brain into mush, knows how to flaunt his sexiness just so to manipulate luhan into a melting puddle on the floor. luhan's skin burns where kris's touches him, even through the thin fabric of their tshirts.
"it doesn't even hurt anymore!" kris flexes the arm that isn't around luhan's shoulder to prove his point and luhan starts counting the probability of him getting into heaven if he dies right now.
suddenly he gets the best idea of his life. pressing closer to kris just because he can, luhan says, trying to sound as apologetic as he can, "i'll make it up to you! your photography assignment is coming up soon right? i'll model for you."
kris peers down at him, a question in his eyes. "how did you know?"
"uh." luhan's mind churns slowly and provides him with a lie, even though he doesn't know how true it is. "tao is in your class right? he told me!"
thankfully kris seems satisfied with his answer. he nods thoughtfully, seemingly not convinced at luhan's suggestion.
"you and me are the only legal ones in this entire school," luhan points out. in his desperation, he throws out another line. "i can do things that those minors can't. look, i have a tattoo of a branch of sakura flower here." he jerks the collar of his shirt down and exposes the intricate design right next to his collarbone, the pink and black standing out on his pale skin.
kris removes his arm from around luhan (luhan almosts cries out as he mourns the loss of contact) and leans down to peer at luhan's tattoo. "this is exquisite," kris murmurs as he studies the ink. luhan had gotten it done when he first visited japan during the sakura season, falling in love with the way the sakura blossom dotted the blue sky. he cried through almost the entire thing, ending up with the tattoo artist threatening to strangle him if he wouldn't stop wailing, but the end result was beautiful.
luhan almosts shivers at the sight of kris checking him out at such a close distance. you are exquisite, is what his mind hears. "well?"
kris straightens back up and nods with a smile, mind made up. he gives a slight shrug. "i suppose we could give it a try? we'll schedule a shoot, so tell me when you're free. you have my number."
that's right, luhan has kris's number, and now luhan has a date with kris. not technically, but hey, luhan will take what he can get!
they schedule for friday, after class, because they both end early that day. luhan suggests that they do it in his own room, and kris agrees because he wants to photograph luhan in the most natural setting possible so that the boy can be more comfortable and natural in front of the camera.
"so uh here it is," luhan sweeps a hand around the room nervously. the night before he barely slept, rousing jongin up to clean up their room together. he finally got jongin to help him tidy up and to stay out of the room until night by promising to help him hook joonmyeon. it sounds impossible to luhan, but desperate times call for desperate lies.
kris is tall and his daunting presence seems to make his room looks tiny. i got him in my room, luhan thinks giddily. he hopes that kris doesn't notice the stains on the wall where luhan had a minor accident with the hair dye. he soon realizes that kris is barely taking in the details, eyes scanning the room only to find the best spot to be photographed. so he falls silent, admiring the way kris paces around the place with his camera, checking out the lighting and taking test shots.
forgoing all small talk, kris jumps into business immediately and gestures at luhan's bed. "the window opposite this casts a nice strong light on the bed. could we shoot here?"
luhan scrambles onto the bed. he pauses uncertainly and glances at kris, who is setting up the camera equipment on the other side of the room. he takes a few breaths to calm himself and shakily wriggles out of his shirt.
kris looks up at him and nods approvingly. "yeah we'll get the tattoo better with your shirt off." his voice is calm and stable, but luhan is pleased to note that kris at least seems somewhat affected, his eyes shifting when he catches a sight of luhan's pale skin. luhan is so glad that jongin talked him into joining a three month work out plan to get abs. while luhan flaked out somewhere in the two month point, his body is still lean and reasonably tight. luhan looks down at his feet, curling his toes into the comforter, feeling a whole lot more naked than he is.
"are you ready? just pose however you want," kris instructs. "we'll do it freestyle for a few shots, and then i'll give you ideas on how to pose." he lifts the camera and takes another test shot, capturing luhan before he's ready.
okay, he can do this. luhan gives himself a mental peptalk, you've modeled before for your friends. he rearranges himself so that he’s sprawled across the bed, shoulder bearing the tattoo jutting forward in an angle that he knows will accentuate his collarbone. kris offers no encouragement, but the camera flashes nonstop, so luhan takes it as a go ahead to continue. remembering taemin's advice from the last time when he volunteered to be a subject, he lets his eyes go dead and unfocused, mouth slightly open in what he hopes to be a sexy look.
then kris takes a step closer. luhan gasps, arms that were propping himself out giving way, and he falls onto the bed. his heart is unprepared for kris to be so close. luhan curses at himself. he's not a 13 year old girl. he shouldn't be as affected as he is.
"what's wrong?" kris lowers his camera and asks, concerned. "i know you're used to the camera." he clicks through the shots he's taken and lets out a low whistle. "your previous shots are great."
"i'm not comfortable with being so exposed when you're fully clothed," luhan complains, trying to cover his embarrassment. he closes his eyes and breathes out, reminding himself that he has one chance, and he cannot blow this up. determined not to chicken out, he blurts out, "can you- can you take your shirt off too?"
kris cocks his head at him, mulling his words over. luhan feels panic building up in his throat. oh my god why did he listen to jongin. how is that a good idea. no one should ever listen to jongin. this is stupid and kris will sue him for sexual harrassment and he'll be thrown out of his own room.
"okay." luhan's panicked thoughts jolt to a halt and he blinks at kris. kris thinks that it's a strange request but it does sound reasonable and he wants his subject to be as comfortable as possible. so he complies, jerking his shirt over his head in one swift motion.
luhan's jaw drops open. he can't believe that it worked. jongin is his new favourite person. he will smother him with love when the other boy gets home. seeing a shirtless kris twice in a week; did luhan save the fucking country in his past life? "more," luhan demands before he can stop himself.
demanding little fucker. kris runs his fingers through his hair, making his muscles ripple as he lifts his hands. "jesus, luhan, you offered to be my subject. you suggested the concept, not me." the amusement is obvious in his voice. luhan scrunches his nose at him and sticks out his tongue, resorting to childish acts when he can't think of a reply.
this draws a short bark of laughter from kris. "i seem to be getting naked a lot around you," he jokes wryly. as soon as the words leave his lips, everything comes to a halt. kris's words hang heavily in the room, filling it with charged tension, the suggestion behind the comment not lost on the both of them. he looks down at luhan, surprised to see the older boy flustered and a splash of red creeping across his pale chest. kris suddenly doesn't find his joking comment all that funny.
luhan fists a handful of the blankets. he swallows, and decides to go ahead and say what's on his mind. he lifts his chin and runs a tongue over his bottom lip, all come hither i want you do you want me too, and breathes out daringly, "i intend to keep it that way."
stoic giant or not, there is only so much kris can take when a beautiful, baby faced boy blatantly offers himself to him. luhan watches in fascination as kris growls in frustration and in two seconds flat, kris is hovering over luhan. luhan's heart pounds in his chest as the reality of what's going on sinks in. i am going to kiss the love of my life. he puckers his lips in preparation but kris doesn't kiss him like luhan expects him to.
instead, kris climbs onto the bed and straddles luhan. luhan automatically curls his fingers in the belt loops of kris's jeans, loving the feel of kris's solid thighs pressed against his own. with half lidded eyes, kris traces a rough finger across luhan's tattoo, making the younger boy let out a gasp at the intimacy of the touch. "you're beautiful, did you know that?" kris asks in a low voice. he smirks and continues, "and shameless, the way you throw yourself at me."
luhan's spine turns to jelly and his shoulders collapse, extensive skin contact and the gravelly voice of sex too much for him.
kris immediately cups luhan's face, fitting luhan's ear between his thumb and the rest of the fingers. his eyes are filled with lust and luhan shivers in delight, proud of the fact that he was the one who made kris look like this. luhan snakes a hand around kris's shoulder, pressing himself harder against kris's bare chiseled body. kris lightly cusps the back of luhan's head and guides his lips forward until their lips touch, just a brief testing brush of contact. their chests are heaving, the months of bottled tension spilling over.
kris presses their nose together softly. both boys have their eyes open, mapping the other’s face into memory. luhan drinks in kris’s thick eyebrows, fierce stare and long nose; kris runs his gaze over luhan’s doeful eyes framed by those long lashes, the cute button nose and the almost feminine lips. it’s a romantic gesture, a sappy one that luhan would never have imagines kris initiating. he likes this soft side to kris, doesn't know if he can like the other boy more.
luhan is the one that deepens the kiss, opening his mouth to suck on kris's lower lip and they're off, mouths furiously biting and sucking like their lives depend on having that one passionate perfect kiss.
in the heat of the moment, his phone rings. luhan is all intent on ignoring it, but kris slips a hand into luhan's back pocket without breaking the kiss and dangles it by luhan's ear, prompting him to answer.
fucking twat with his terrible timing, luhan is going to kill his caller. pulling away reluctantly from kris, he looks at the caller id, grabs the phone and barks into it as soon as he can press answer. "fuck you oh sehun i am in the middle of a situation and you are interrupting. if you want to keep all your teeth, you will put down the phone right this instant and warn everyone around you to not call me until tomorrow, got it?"
there is a squawk on the other side of the line and the line goes dead. luhan smiles and turns back to kris, eager to pick up where they left off.
but kris is not leaning back to give luhan the most mind-blowing kiss of his life. instead, kris is staring at him. immediately realizing his mistake luhan mentally face palms. "i said that all in korean, didn't i?" kris nods. luhan bites his lower lip and tries his best to impersonate a kitten. "so i may have kinda faked my inability to speak korean to get you to tutor me?"
kris lets out a laugh of disbelief. "you are impossible." he places a soft kiss on the tip of luhan’s nose and lightly nips at luhan's lip. luhan whines and pulls kris down on his him, pressing their lips together again.
luhan hums into the kiss and gurgles happily. tall, foreign boyfriend? yeah, he could live with this.
end.
i fully intended this to be a drabble. but instead i wrote 5000 words in one shot. this explains why the ending unraveled, almost. but i will continue this universe! with kai/suho next. or do you guys want kai/sehun idk.
also!
everything in here is a result of the plot bunnies that the commenters from the last drabble threw at me. thank you everyone!
characters: luhan/kai, luhan/kris
rating: pg-13
length: ~5000w
summary: in which luhan literally sets kris on fire. but not really.
HS!AU. sequel to the hard life of kim joonmyeon. aside from the first paragraph, everything else can be a standalone.
all connected fics in this verse, in order:
the hard life of kim joonmyeon | you set me on fire, baby | personal boundaries do not exist when you're kim jongin | love is but an auction of the heart | epilogue
a set of highschool drabbles, i said. 5000 words later, i cry.
as you can see, i like lukai. even though they are purely platonic, maybe even maternal (on luhan's part) in this, i cannot help but sneak in heavy bromance. what can i say? i made otp share a room.
since this fic seems to get the most attention imma say this here
PLEASE THROW PLOTBUNNIES OVER MY WAY ON TWITTER. I AM @cocoonedsoul
"so, that went well," luhan says as he lies horizontally on his bed, head hanging over the edge to get an upside down view of a pacing jongin. his slender legs are kicked against the wall and he takes baby steps across the plaster.
"extraordinarily well," jongin agrees, before his voice escalates about 50 decibels and he shrieks, "except for the part where i got a week of detention for speaking the mind of the students!"
"jongin, you called the principal a dumbass. to his face."
"and a dumbass he was!" as a prefect and hence an extension of the school, luhan technically should not harbour negative feelings towards the head of the school which so nicely offered him full scholarship plus allowance. but worked up jongin is a convincing jongin, so luhan finds himself nodding along and agreeing.
"why are you making such a fuss anyway?" luhan asks. "the last time you drank i spent half the night holding your hair back as you threw up. i distinctly remember you sobbing into my arms about how you'll never touch alcohol again."
"because," jongin says intelligently. "of reasons. and i did not sob. my gag reflex just made me tear up!"
"i drew circles on your back and murmured encouraging comments at you all night," luhan reminds him. he closes his eyes, wishing that his roommate would stop speaking in exclamation marks. he does not function well in the mornings. in fact, luhan does not function well until the sun disappears from the sky. then he's a wriggly ball of energy and has a fondness for making surprise spot checks on the dorm-lodging student body, bursting into their rooms just as everyone's guard is down. "does the reason for your outburst contain the words 'kim', 'joon' and 'myeon'? because i am strangely reminded of a 5 year old pulling his classmate's pigtails on the playground."
jongin stops in his tracks and stays uncharacteristic silent.
when luhan gets no response, he flips over so that he's lying on his stomach and frowns at jongin. the younger boy is staring into air, his thick lips turned into a smirk. "are you imagining joonmyeon in pigtails."
jongin's eyes immediately drop to the floor and his lower lip juts out. "no."
"okay. okay then." even though luhan is known to have a sharp tongue unbefitting his baby doll looks, he has a soft spot for jongin, always taking his side at all times. luhan knows not to push jongin's buttons, and jongin loves him for that.
filled with sudden adoration, jongin walks over and throws himself onto his favourite hyung, making the older boy shriek in surprise and pain. luhan squirms under jongin but he finally settles into a somewhat comfortable position and allows jongin to smother him in a cuddle. for a long moment they just lie there, with jongin burying his face in luhan's nape, all long limbs and contrasting skin. luhan doesn't protest, instead reaching up to loosely wrap his arms around jongin, letting the younger boy derive all the comfort he needs. luhan only slips out of beneath jongin when jongin falls asleep, breath tickling the hairs on luhan's neck.
every morning yixing waits patiently by luhan's locker so that he can walk together with the other chinese boy to class. sometimes he waits 5 minutes, sometimes he waits 10, but he always has to wait, because the alarm clock is luhan's number one enemy. his second enemy, the morning sun does not particularly favour luhan and luhan returns the hate tenfold, preferring to remain tangled in his bed sheets until jongin lures him out of bed with food.
today is one of those rare days when luhan is not late for once and he bounces towards yixing barely a minute after yixing reaches luhan's locker. the older boy has a beanie on his head, mushing his bangs down until they half cover his eyes. yixing suspects that luhan did wake up late as usual, but was too lazy to shower. luhan is almost anal when it comes to his hair, insisting on a half hour conditioning routine every two days. for luhan to hide his hair means that his hair is extremely unpresentable.
the first thing that luhan does to yixing is what he does every time he sees yixing. yixing claps a hand over his right cheek but it's too late. luhan's finger jabs into his cheek.
"please stop doing that." yixing rubs sadly at his dimple where a fingernail shaped mark is clearly visible. he takes an experimental sniff at luhan's clothes and decides that while luhan skipped his morning shower (no signature raspberry smell from luhan's favourite shower wash!), he still smells okay.
"no can do," luhan says cheerfully. "having a dimple is like having an open announcement for everyone to poke it!"
"guys."
both boys turn around to see kris jogging towards them. luhan immediately slinks his fingernails into yixing's arms to keep from squealing out loud. yixing widens his eyes and tries to shake luhan's death grip off.
"do you know tao's number?" kris frowns and shakes his phone at them. "he's late with handing me his part of the report-"
"you should ask me for my number," luhan blurts out, cutting off kris mid-rant. "i'm jealous."
everyone falls silent for a moment and luhan blinks at them. he panics inwardly, trying to remember if he said it with a sane face. he did rearrange his features into a smile right? he's fairly certain that he did, so why are the other two boys staring at him?
after a few seconds, kris nods and pulls out his phone. "okay then, say it and i'll call you."
luhan rattles his number, even saying it again to make sure that kris keys it in correctly. "my name is spelled like-"
"i know i know," kris waves a hand at luhan, flashing the screen at luhan for him to confirm the characters.
"you do?" luhan forgets about trying to act nonchalant, and flashes an unmistakeably adoring smile at kris. kris did get his name correct and luhan's heart flops around his chest like a motherfucker on a sugar high at the thought of kris's fingers typing out his name. it's almost as good as hearing his name pass through kris's lips. almost.
"course i do." kris smiles at him distractedly and frowns again. "now i really have to find tao. see you later, guys."
luhan gives him a perky wave and only notices after kris has turned the corner that his hand is shaking. yixing finally lets out the laughter he was holding in, collapsing against the locker as he gasps for breath. "dude you are so whipped."
just to spite him, luhan jabs a finger into yixing's dimple again, making sure to aim with his fingernail this time. stupid yixing.
that afternoon, jongin searches around for luhan after school so that they can walk back to the dorms together. he finds luhan in the performing arts classroom. luhan has his fingers clasped and held high over his head as he sways from side to side. he's humming softly to himself, blissfully oblivious to everything around him.
"what." jongin gapes. "are you doing."
"i am a tree," luhan breathes out serenely. he peeks with one eye at his intruder and shuts it again. "join me, jongin, and make a forest."
jongin is dumbfounded for 2.5 seconds before he decides to hell with it and joins luhan in his lonely representation of nature. "i am glad i didn't take performing arts," jongin comments, standing in position next to luhan. "it is filled with weird people like you." he shoots his hands up in the air and waves them side by side. when his left hand hits luhan's right hand, luhan squints at him. "strong wind," jongin explains.
three sways later, jongin gets bored and lurches at luhan, knocking them both over onto the thankfully cushioned floor. luhan yelps and swats at jongin, long fingers doing no damage to jongin's hard shoulder. this escalates into a wrestling match, which ends just as quickly as it started. luhan squeaks for mercy when jongin easily pins both his arms over his head and starts tickling him.
luhan is ticklish and weak, but luhan is also violent and flexible. he kicks up his feet at jongin, hitting the boy on the back of his head. jongin gives up on the tickling and rolls over to luhan's side, plopping his head down on the thin mat. "you should've taken the cooking elective with me," jongin says, chest heaving as he catches his breath.
luhan squints at jongin. "no, i am not being in the same room with you and a knife. you are a threat to humanity."
jongin kicks luhan in the side, not even dignifying him with a worded response.
"you stabbed your teacher in the thigh, oh my god."
"in my defense, he said cut the finest piece of meat!" jongin throws up his hands, slapping them down again in a muted thud. "it was a compliment!"
luhan dissolves into guffaws, clutching at his stomach while jongin fumes.
"why didn't you take photography though?" jongin asks as soon as luhan gets his laughter under check. "kris takes photogra-"
luhan pushes himself up to stare at jongin, arm elbowing the other boy in the process. "KRIS TAKES PHOTOGRAPHY?"
"yeah, with all the time you spend stalking the boy i thought you knew."
"NO I DID NOT!" luhan says shrilly, mind going wild with images of kris with a camera slung around his neck, kris cocking his head as he tries to get a good angle, kris adjusting the lens to get a better shot. he flops back on the mat. kris the photographer. he always did fall for the brooding, artistic types. "oh my god."
"inside voice, luhan," jongin reminds him mildy, earning him another punch from luhan. he's one to talk.
he's late for class again. fuck fuck fuck fuck, goes luhan's mind when he finally drops out of bed and registers that he has 5 minutes to homeroom. he brushes his teeth so fast that he's pretty sure he missed a few teeth and for the umpteenth time, wonders why the world doesn't follow luhan's biological clock and start the day at dusk.
"MOVING THROUGH, EVERYONE," luhan wails as he runs through the corridor, shirt untucked and half a banana in his hand. he barely skids into a stop right in a group of people and bellows, "EMERGENCY SITUATION WHY WON'T YOU LET ME PASS. I AM A PREFECT."
baekhyun, who luhan has almost crashed into, whips around to glare at him. "this," he hisses, jerking his head towards the scene in front of him, "is the true emergency here."
luhan stops wheezing and calms down long enough for the situation to sink in. "oh noes," he gasps as he takes in the happenings. jongin is holding a bunsen burner. a flammable piece of equipment. jongin.
"i am trustable with fire," jongin says with a wounded expression. he clutches the labotary equipment to his chest and shakes his head. "why won't you trust me?"
"give me the bunsen burner, jongin," luhan spits out the words slowly and carefully. he holds a palm out and crooks his fingers, beckoning for jongin to stop the crazy. beside him, baekhyun, sehun and chanyeol nod eagerly like bobble dolls on a car's dash.
jongin glares at luhan, having expected his roommate to be on his side. "fine!" he thrusts the bunsen burner into luhan's arms and stomps back into the lab.
"CRISIS AVERTED," luhan shouts, pumping the bunsen burner in the sky like he's holding a trophy. "i am such a good prefect." he ignores sehun who is pointedly eyeing his messy outfit and uncombed hair. feeling triumph at yet another expertly diffused situation (he should become one of those suicide watch people!), luhan turns around and switches on the gas valve, watching the flames shoot up wildly.
it all happens so quickly after that.
luhan is midspin when someone brushes past him.
there is a cry of surprise and when luhan comes back to reality, he sees kris staring down at a burning sleeve in horror. the flames are small and barely lick at kris's loose shirt, but still, kris is on fire.
"OH MY GOD I'M SORRY I DIDN'T MEAN TO SET YOUR SLEEVE ON FIRE." luhan waves the still burning equipment around frantically and slaps at kris's clothes. unfortunately his aim severely misses and he manages the brush the flame over kris's jeans. "OH MY GOD NOW YOUR PANTS ARE ON FIRE! LET ME TAKE THEM OFF." he lunges at kris's belt and kris takes an alarmed step back.
kris is saved from having to answer and from suffering even more at the hands of luhan when a hard slap of water drenches them. chanyeol stares at them wide eyed, bucket still dripping water in his hands. in one quick movement, kris pulls his shirt off and throws it on the ground.
luhan stops squawking because kris is shirtless. and wet. this is better than the images his imagination so helpfully provided on the nights that he can’t sleep. kris obviously spends a lot of time working on his body, but his muscles aren’t overwhelming like some of the other guys luhan sees at the gym on the few occasions that he bothered to go. luhan wants to trace his fingers along the outline of kris’s defined abs, and maybe lick the point where his tummy dips into his belly button. a best of all, two protruding hipbones disappear into the waistband of kris’s calvin klein underwear band. "krist." luhan doesn’t even bother to hide the fact that he’s unabashedly staring, because kris is adonis reborn, and everyone in the hallway can’t tear their eyes away as well.
kris looks down at himself, full with amazement at how he is relatively unharmed, with only a small red burn on his left arm. his jeans were too thick for the flames to catch fire, so only the shirt that is lying on a heap on the floor suffered, half a sleeve charred. kris is lucky that he wore a loose shirt today, and that chanyeol jumped in as quick as he had. kris looks back up at everyone, too confused to choke out more than a, "how."
luhan winces and tries to shrink back, appearing small and hopefully too fragile for kris to pummel in pulp. "sorry?"
at luhan's small apology, the confusion on kris's face clears and is replaced with something akin to ohhhhh. luhan thinks he should feel insulted, because kris is accepting all this so easily this all because it is luhan.
"it's alright," kris assures him. "only my shirt suffered damage and the burn isn't even that bad." he even convinces luhan to go to class because he knows that the boy's track record for being late is infamous. "sehun here can bring me to the nurse, right?" sehun nods eagerly, always the brownnoser who aimed to please all the seniors. luhan hates kris for being so nice, because now he's even more in love with this tall 187cm piece of perfection.
luhan shuffles into class 10 minutes later, dripping wet and with his hair a pitiful mess. his teacher takes one look at him, shakes her head and gestures for him to sit down, not even bothering with questions.
"luhan." despite being severely hungover and thoroughly tired from lack of sleep (fuck diablo 3), luhan can recognise the deep gravelly voice that calls his name anytime.
his face does a spasm as he tries to stamp down the grin that immediately pops up on his face. shaking his head quickly to compose himself, he counts to three beneath his breath before casually turning around.
"kris." luhan barely manages to say the other boy's name before his voice box dies on him. all the mental preparation in the world wouldn't have gotten him ready for this. kris is striding towards him (kris doesn't walk, he strides, long legs taking in wide, confident steps) with his hair artfully tousled. luhan immediately feels the need to become a hairstylist just so he can tousle kris's hair every day. heck he doesn't even need hair products. he just needs a bed, and certain movements to produce that beautiful bed hair. the wrinkled tshirt that kris has on fits his body snugly, and luhan's mind immediately starts conjuring images of him running his hands across the kreeeses creases and smoothing them over.
luckily, luhan turns into a bumbling idiot around kris on a daily basis, and this fits along nicely with the fake image luhan has conjured up about being a shy inept foreigner. kris seems to accept luhan's tendency to stare at him unblinking as one of luhan's many eccentricities.
"sorry about yesterday," luhan manages to choke out. "how is your burn?"
"it's nothing." kris casually swings an arm around luhan to further assure him, the older boy fitting perfectly in the crook of his arm. luhan starts cussing up a storm in his mind because kris knows right? kris knows how hot he is, knows how he turns luhan's brain into mush, knows how to flaunt his sexiness just so to manipulate luhan into a melting puddle on the floor. luhan's skin burns where kris's touches him, even through the thin fabric of their tshirts.
"it doesn't even hurt anymore!" kris flexes the arm that isn't around luhan's shoulder to prove his point and luhan starts counting the probability of him getting into heaven if he dies right now.
suddenly he gets the best idea of his life. pressing closer to kris just because he can, luhan says, trying to sound as apologetic as he can, "i'll make it up to you! your photography assignment is coming up soon right? i'll model for you."
kris peers down at him, a question in his eyes. "how did you know?"
"uh." luhan's mind churns slowly and provides him with a lie, even though he doesn't know how true it is. "tao is in your class right? he told me!"
thankfully kris seems satisfied with his answer. he nods thoughtfully, seemingly not convinced at luhan's suggestion.
"you and me are the only legal ones in this entire school," luhan points out. in his desperation, he throws out another line. "i can do things that those minors can't. look, i have a tattoo of a branch of sakura flower here." he jerks the collar of his shirt down and exposes the intricate design right next to his collarbone, the pink and black standing out on his pale skin.
kris removes his arm from around luhan (luhan almosts cries out as he mourns the loss of contact) and leans down to peer at luhan's tattoo. "this is exquisite," kris murmurs as he studies the ink. luhan had gotten it done when he first visited japan during the sakura season, falling in love with the way the sakura blossom dotted the blue sky. he cried through almost the entire thing, ending up with the tattoo artist threatening to strangle him if he wouldn't stop wailing, but the end result was beautiful.
luhan almosts shivers at the sight of kris checking him out at such a close distance. you are exquisite, is what his mind hears. "well?"
kris straightens back up and nods with a smile, mind made up. he gives a slight shrug. "i suppose we could give it a try? we'll schedule a shoot, so tell me when you're free. you have my number."
that's right, luhan has kris's number, and now luhan has a date with kris. not technically, but hey, luhan will take what he can get!
they schedule for friday, after class, because they both end early that day. luhan suggests that they do it in his own room, and kris agrees because he wants to photograph luhan in the most natural setting possible so that the boy can be more comfortable and natural in front of the camera.
"so uh here it is," luhan sweeps a hand around the room nervously. the night before he barely slept, rousing jongin up to clean up their room together. he finally got jongin to help him tidy up and to stay out of the room until night by promising to help him hook joonmyeon. it sounds impossible to luhan, but desperate times call for desperate lies.
kris is tall and his daunting presence seems to make his room looks tiny. i got him in my room, luhan thinks giddily. he hopes that kris doesn't notice the stains on the wall where luhan had a minor accident with the hair dye. he soon realizes that kris is barely taking in the details, eyes scanning the room only to find the best spot to be photographed. so he falls silent, admiring the way kris paces around the place with his camera, checking out the lighting and taking test shots.
forgoing all small talk, kris jumps into business immediately and gestures at luhan's bed. "the window opposite this casts a nice strong light on the bed. could we shoot here?"
luhan scrambles onto the bed. he pauses uncertainly and glances at kris, who is setting up the camera equipment on the other side of the room. he takes a few breaths to calm himself and shakily wriggles out of his shirt.
kris looks up at him and nods approvingly. "yeah we'll get the tattoo better with your shirt off." his voice is calm and stable, but luhan is pleased to note that kris at least seems somewhat affected, his eyes shifting when he catches a sight of luhan's pale skin. luhan is so glad that jongin talked him into joining a three month work out plan to get abs. while luhan flaked out somewhere in the two month point, his body is still lean and reasonably tight. luhan looks down at his feet, curling his toes into the comforter, feeling a whole lot more naked than he is.
"are you ready? just pose however you want," kris instructs. "we'll do it freestyle for a few shots, and then i'll give you ideas on how to pose." he lifts the camera and takes another test shot, capturing luhan before he's ready.
okay, he can do this. luhan gives himself a mental peptalk, you've modeled before for your friends. he rearranges himself so that he’s sprawled across the bed, shoulder bearing the tattoo jutting forward in an angle that he knows will accentuate his collarbone. kris offers no encouragement, but the camera flashes nonstop, so luhan takes it as a go ahead to continue. remembering taemin's advice from the last time when he volunteered to be a subject, he lets his eyes go dead and unfocused, mouth slightly open in what he hopes to be a sexy look.
then kris takes a step closer. luhan gasps, arms that were propping himself out giving way, and he falls onto the bed. his heart is unprepared for kris to be so close. luhan curses at himself. he's not a 13 year old girl. he shouldn't be as affected as he is.
"what's wrong?" kris lowers his camera and asks, concerned. "i know you're used to the camera." he clicks through the shots he's taken and lets out a low whistle. "your previous shots are great."
"i'm not comfortable with being so exposed when you're fully clothed," luhan complains, trying to cover his embarrassment. he closes his eyes and breathes out, reminding himself that he has one chance, and he cannot blow this up. determined not to chicken out, he blurts out, "can you- can you take your shirt off too?"
kris cocks his head at him, mulling his words over. luhan feels panic building up in his throat. oh my god why did he listen to jongin. how is that a good idea. no one should ever listen to jongin. this is stupid and kris will sue him for sexual harrassment and he'll be thrown out of his own room.
"okay." luhan's panicked thoughts jolt to a halt and he blinks at kris. kris thinks that it's a strange request but it does sound reasonable and he wants his subject to be as comfortable as possible. so he complies, jerking his shirt over his head in one swift motion.
luhan's jaw drops open. he can't believe that it worked. jongin is his new favourite person. he will smother him with love when the other boy gets home. seeing a shirtless kris twice in a week; did luhan save the fucking country in his past life? "more," luhan demands before he can stop himself.
demanding little fucker. kris runs his fingers through his hair, making his muscles ripple as he lifts his hands. "jesus, luhan, you offered to be my subject. you suggested the concept, not me." the amusement is obvious in his voice. luhan scrunches his nose at him and sticks out his tongue, resorting to childish acts when he can't think of a reply.
this draws a short bark of laughter from kris. "i seem to be getting naked a lot around you," he jokes wryly. as soon as the words leave his lips, everything comes to a halt. kris's words hang heavily in the room, filling it with charged tension, the suggestion behind the comment not lost on the both of them. he looks down at luhan, surprised to see the older boy flustered and a splash of red creeping across his pale chest. kris suddenly doesn't find his joking comment all that funny.
luhan fists a handful of the blankets. he swallows, and decides to go ahead and say what's on his mind. he lifts his chin and runs a tongue over his bottom lip, all come hither i want you do you want me too, and breathes out daringly, "i intend to keep it that way."
stoic giant or not, there is only so much kris can take when a beautiful, baby faced boy blatantly offers himself to him. luhan watches in fascination as kris growls in frustration and in two seconds flat, kris is hovering over luhan. luhan's heart pounds in his chest as the reality of what's going on sinks in. i am going to kiss the love of my life. he puckers his lips in preparation but kris doesn't kiss him like luhan expects him to.
instead, kris climbs onto the bed and straddles luhan. luhan automatically curls his fingers in the belt loops of kris's jeans, loving the feel of kris's solid thighs pressed against his own. with half lidded eyes, kris traces a rough finger across luhan's tattoo, making the younger boy let out a gasp at the intimacy of the touch. "you're beautiful, did you know that?" kris asks in a low voice. he smirks and continues, "and shameless, the way you throw yourself at me."
luhan's spine turns to jelly and his shoulders collapse, extensive skin contact and the gravelly voice of sex too much for him.
kris immediately cups luhan's face, fitting luhan's ear between his thumb and the rest of the fingers. his eyes are filled with lust and luhan shivers in delight, proud of the fact that he was the one who made kris look like this. luhan snakes a hand around kris's shoulder, pressing himself harder against kris's bare chiseled body. kris lightly cusps the back of luhan's head and guides his lips forward until their lips touch, just a brief testing brush of contact. their chests are heaving, the months of bottled tension spilling over.
kris presses their nose together softly. both boys have their eyes open, mapping the other’s face into memory. luhan drinks in kris’s thick eyebrows, fierce stare and long nose; kris runs his gaze over luhan’s doeful eyes framed by those long lashes, the cute button nose and the almost feminine lips. it’s a romantic gesture, a sappy one that luhan would never have imagines kris initiating. he likes this soft side to kris, doesn't know if he can like the other boy more.
luhan is the one that deepens the kiss, opening his mouth to suck on kris's lower lip and they're off, mouths furiously biting and sucking like their lives depend on having that one passionate perfect kiss.
in the heat of the moment, his phone rings. luhan is all intent on ignoring it, but kris slips a hand into luhan's back pocket without breaking the kiss and dangles it by luhan's ear, prompting him to answer.
fucking twat with his terrible timing, luhan is going to kill his caller. pulling away reluctantly from kris, he looks at the caller id, grabs the phone and barks into it as soon as he can press answer. "fuck you oh sehun i am in the middle of a situation and you are interrupting. if you want to keep all your teeth, you will put down the phone right this instant and warn everyone around you to not call me until tomorrow, got it?"
there is a squawk on the other side of the line and the line goes dead. luhan smiles and turns back to kris, eager to pick up where they left off.
but kris is not leaning back to give luhan the most mind-blowing kiss of his life. instead, kris is staring at him. immediately realizing his mistake luhan mentally face palms. "i said that all in korean, didn't i?" kris nods. luhan bites his lower lip and tries his best to impersonate a kitten. "so i may have kinda faked my inability to speak korean to get you to tutor me?"
kris lets out a laugh of disbelief. "you are impossible." he places a soft kiss on the tip of luhan’s nose and lightly nips at luhan's lip. luhan whines and pulls kris down on his him, pressing their lips together again.
luhan hums into the kiss and gurgles happily. tall, foreign boyfriend? yeah, he could live with this.
end.
i fully intended this to be a drabble. but instead i wrote 5000 words in one shot. this explains why the ending unraveled, almost. but i will continue this universe! with kai/suho next. or do you guys want kai/sehun idk.
also!
everything in here is a result of the plot bunnies that the commenters from the last drabble threw at me. thank you everyone!