in between (oneshot)
Title: In Between
Pairing: Gwangchul/Injoon
Genre: AU, fluff, humor
Word Count: 1953
Rating: PG
Warnings: language
Summary: All Injoon knows about the boy in the dorm room next door is his name.
Notes: For kiparang, as usual.
Injoon's dorm room is located in the middle of the hall, sandwiched between two of the worst neighbors one could possibly imagine. On one side lives Woo Hyunmin, local playboy and, quite unfortunately sometimes, Injoon's best friend. Injoon wouldn't mind living so near his friend, were it not for Hyunmin's frequent and very loud sleepovers. Night after night Injoon goes to bed at his usual nine o' clock, only to wake up four hours later to muffled moaning on the other side of his wall. This is pretty easily dealt with, though, by leaving his headphones on his nightstand so they are within easy reach should he need them.
His other neighbor is a different story. Not once in the two years he's lived in this dorm has Injoon met the boy in that room, but he knows for certain it's been the same one. Why? Because over those same two years, his mystery neighbor has become a sort of obsession. Luckily, Hyunmin happens to be sleeping with their Resident Assistant, Suhoon, so Injoon never has to worry that the object of his curiosity will change without him knowing. All Suhoon has been willing to tell him is that the boy's name is Gwangchul, and Suhoon promises to let Injoon know should Gwangchul ever apply to move.
Meanwhile, Injoon spends more time than he'll ever admit just waiting. When he gets home from class, he hovers outside his door with the key in the lock. He stares at the door so close to his, but that he's never seen open, convinced that the instant he looks away and goes inside, it finally will. He also, even worse than standing outside staring at a door, has a tendency to try and listen to what goes on in the mysterious room next door. On the nights that Hyunmin's wall is miraculously quiet, Injoon presses his ear against the other. A few times he swears he's heard a television, but that doesn't tell him much. All of his curiosity about his neighbor revolves around this very issue, that he knows absolutely nothing but a name.
"You're such a fucking creep."
Injoon just spins in his computer chair and ignores Hyunmin, stretched across his small dorm bed. With an exasperated sigh, he stops spinning and stares at his monitor. Clicks the mouse a few times. Sighs again. He hears the springs squeak behind him as Hyunmin moves to lean over to stare into the screen as well.
"Just call the IT geeks, man," he grumbles and walks away from the desk. "They can fix your computer, and maybe you can ask them to take a look at your brain, too. Your wiring's all fucked up."
"I invited you over to try and help me fix this because you said you've fixed your computer before." Injoon shakes the mouse a few more times, but the screen remains a horrifying shade of blue.
"Whenever mine breaks down I just call the geeks," Hyunmin says, shrugging. "They're available all hours of the night. I can't even count how many times I've had to call one of them over during prime porn time because my laptop froze." Injoon turns and shoots him a look over his shoulder, but Hyunmin just grins. "Hey, it's convenient as hell."
"I don't think those guys get paid to be your personal porn-fixers, Hyunmin."
"No, but they're getting paid nonetheless, so they might as well help me out." There's a buzzing sound and Hyunmin pulls his cell from his pocket, stepping a ways away to chat with whoever is on the other line. Just from the tone, Injoon can tell it's one of Hyunmin's many late-night visitors, and when Hyunmin returns, there's a bounce in his step. "Sorry to bail, but I gotta go!"
"You're not sorry," Injoon mutters to himself as he hears Hyunmin prancing out of his dorm. The door slams in the distance and Injoon's alone, staring at his blue screen of death in despair. It doesn't help that he has a paper due the next day and the clock is ticking away the hours, clearly mocking him. When he finally decides to follow Hyunmin's advice- dear lord, a frightening thought- it takes him a good ten minutes of panicking, because he doesn't remember how to look up a phone number without using the computer. He manages to get under control enough to remember he owns a school directory, though, and flips through the pages until he reaches the one that reads IT.
He hesitates after he dials the numbers into his cell. The last thing he feels like doing is spending hours with some guy who would probably take one look at his computer, laugh in is face, and press a button that would magically fix everything. With one last pathetic glance at his computer, he hits the call button and tosses away what little pride he has.
"IT Department," a voice answers and for a moment Injoon just stutters. "Um, how may I help you?" The tone of the voice sounds like the guy's trying not to laugh.
"Uh, I need help," he manages to choke out.
"I can hear that," the guy says, not even trying to mask his amusement.
"No, I mean," he takes a deep breath. "Something's wrong with my computer and I need someone to come over and help me figure it out." He's proud of the business-like tone he manages to pull-off after just sputtering into the phone like an idiot.
"Alright, building and room number?"
"Robinson, 204."
"Oh!" there's a surprised lilt in the guy's voice. "That works. I'll be right over." The line disconnects before Injoon can respond.
Injoon barely has time to change out of his pajamas and into jeans and a t-shirt before there's a knock at his door. He can't help the dread that churns in his stomach and he's half-tempted to pretend not to be in. Tell them he gave them the wrong room by accident but hey, he managed to fix his computer himself in the meantime so there was no reason to come out anymore! But no, he can't do that and he knows it. With one last heavy sigh, he prepares for whatever embarrassment he is about to face and opens the door. When he does, though, he automatically thinks something must be wrong.
The boy standing in his doorway is wearing glasses, but that is the only thing about him that even comes close to "computer geek," as Hyunmin would put it. His hair is bleached and pulled back and he wears a some rock band's t-shirt and jeans. Quite frankly, Injoon looks more like a geek than this guy.
After about a minute of Injoon's gawking, the boy finally asks, "Room 204?" and stares inside the room, waiting to be let in.
"You're from the IT Department?"
He nods and glances once again behind Injoon. "May I see your computer?"
"Oh, uh, yeah, come in," he mumbles and moves moves aside. The boy moves past him quickly and heads straight for the desk. For a moment he stands and stares at the computer, then he takes a seat in Injoon's chair and resumes his staring. Injoon chooses to hover awkwardly, first just inside the door, then he drifts to the desk, then around the back of the chair, until he settles onto the edge of his bed.
"Do you know what caused this?" the boy asks as he reaches out to shift the laptop around slightly, looking at its side, then around back.
"Not really," he admits, staring at his hands. "I was just playing a flash game online, then this screen came up."
"Hm." The boy presses a few buttons, clicks the mouse. "I think it just crashed." It sounds so simple, and Injoon braces himself for the ridicule to come. Instead, the boy turns and smiles. "But you may have a virus which caused it to crash. I'll get it to reboot and then check it out. It's a good thing you called." Relief washes over Injoon as the boy turns back to the computer. "So you play flash games? Which ones? I play sometimes, too."
While the boy works, pressing buttons and starting to reboot the system, Injoon babbles on about the games he likes to play. Whenever he pauses, unsure if he's talking too much, the boy asks another question, wants some random elaboration, and Injoon continues. There's something easy, natural almost, about talking to the boy seated at his desk, as if Injoon's known him forever. He's not even sure the guy meant what he said about also playing the stupid little games, but Injoon's also not sure it matters. His ranting doesn't bother the boy, instead it seems to make him more comfortable. Helps him concentrate. He even laughs a few times while Injoon is describing a game about playing a mortician, and Injoon can sense that that's something special.
When the boy suddenly stops typing, resting his hands in his lap, Injoon stops talking, too. "There were a few small viruses, but I've managed to clean them out for you," he says, turning in the chair to face Injoon. "Just be careful what sites you play games on from now on."
Injoon grins sheepishly and nods. For the first time, there's an awkward silence. "Well, um," he starts, but doesn't know what he can say to make the conversation last a little longer. "I've never seen you around campus before." Inwardly he winces, because he knows it sounds stupid. If the other boy thinks so, too, he doesn't show it. He nods thoughtfully in Injoon's chair.
"I don't really like functions or clubs," he admits. "I spend a lot of time in my room."
'I do, too," Injoon chuckles, but then there is more silence. The boy stands up and starts to move for the door.
"Well, if you need any more help, just call us again." He pauses and throws Injoon another awkward smile before opening the door.
"Wait!" he calls out, and the boy pauses. Injoon starts to stutter again as he's being watched, the curious and expectant look on the boy's face only adding to his panic. "Um, what's your name? Maybe we could hang out some time...." His eyes widen as the last bit comes spilling out. He'd only meant to ask the first part. He stares at his shoes.
"Don't you already know?" there's that amused tone again, just like Injoon heard earlier on the phone. He looks up from his shoes.
"Excuse me?"
The boy doesn't close the door, but leans against the wall, still grinning. "Suhoon told me you've been asking about me."
Slight panic turns to geniune, blaring freak0out as the boy's words begin to register slowly in Injoon's brain. "Gwang... chul?" he squeaks, and the boy nods. Injoon's heart starts to pound as the blood rises in his face. "I, um, well, I didn't" He cuts himself off mid-babble and waits, feeling that familiar cold sensation of dread settle in his gut.
Gwangchul crosses back to Injoon's side, stilling grinning, and pats him on the arm. "You're even cuter than Suhoon told me," he sighs, and Injoon swears he must be hearing things. But then Gwangchul swings an arm around his shoulder and pulls him in close, their noses almost touching. "Feel free to come over any time," he mumbles, his lips mere centimeters from Injoon's.
Before Injoon's brain can fully process what just happened- do they call this a brain crash, he wonders?- Gwangchul is back across the room and out the door. When Injoon snaps out of his embarrassed daze, blushing and sputtering and fanning his face, he hears the door next door close.
Pairing: Gwangchul/Injoon
Genre: AU, fluff, humor
Word Count: 1953
Rating: PG
Warnings: language
Summary: All Injoon knows about the boy in the dorm room next door is his name.
Notes: For kiparang, as usual.
Injoon's dorm room is located in the middle of the hall, sandwiched between two of the worst neighbors one could possibly imagine. On one side lives Woo Hyunmin, local playboy and, quite unfortunately sometimes, Injoon's best friend. Injoon wouldn't mind living so near his friend, were it not for Hyunmin's frequent and very loud sleepovers. Night after night Injoon goes to bed at his usual nine o' clock, only to wake up four hours later to muffled moaning on the other side of his wall. This is pretty easily dealt with, though, by leaving his headphones on his nightstand so they are within easy reach should he need them.
His other neighbor is a different story. Not once in the two years he's lived in this dorm has Injoon met the boy in that room, but he knows for certain it's been the same one. Why? Because over those same two years, his mystery neighbor has become a sort of obsession. Luckily, Hyunmin happens to be sleeping with their Resident Assistant, Suhoon, so Injoon never has to worry that the object of his curiosity will change without him knowing. All Suhoon has been willing to tell him is that the boy's name is Gwangchul, and Suhoon promises to let Injoon know should Gwangchul ever apply to move.
Meanwhile, Injoon spends more time than he'll ever admit just waiting. When he gets home from class, he hovers outside his door with the key in the lock. He stares at the door so close to his, but that he's never seen open, convinced that the instant he looks away and goes inside, it finally will. He also, even worse than standing outside staring at a door, has a tendency to try and listen to what goes on in the mysterious room next door. On the nights that Hyunmin's wall is miraculously quiet, Injoon presses his ear against the other. A few times he swears he's heard a television, but that doesn't tell him much. All of his curiosity about his neighbor revolves around this very issue, that he knows absolutely nothing but a name.
"You're such a fucking creep."
Injoon just spins in his computer chair and ignores Hyunmin, stretched across his small dorm bed. With an exasperated sigh, he stops spinning and stares at his monitor. Clicks the mouse a few times. Sighs again. He hears the springs squeak behind him as Hyunmin moves to lean over to stare into the screen as well.
"Just call the IT geeks, man," he grumbles and walks away from the desk. "They can fix your computer, and maybe you can ask them to take a look at your brain, too. Your wiring's all fucked up."
"I invited you over to try and help me fix this because you said you've fixed your computer before." Injoon shakes the mouse a few more times, but the screen remains a horrifying shade of blue.
"Whenever mine breaks down I just call the geeks," Hyunmin says, shrugging. "They're available all hours of the night. I can't even count how many times I've had to call one of them over during prime porn time because my laptop froze." Injoon turns and shoots him a look over his shoulder, but Hyunmin just grins. "Hey, it's convenient as hell."
"I don't think those guys get paid to be your personal porn-fixers, Hyunmin."
"No, but they're getting paid nonetheless, so they might as well help me out." There's a buzzing sound and Hyunmin pulls his cell from his pocket, stepping a ways away to chat with whoever is on the other line. Just from the tone, Injoon can tell it's one of Hyunmin's many late-night visitors, and when Hyunmin returns, there's a bounce in his step. "Sorry to bail, but I gotta go!"
"You're not sorry," Injoon mutters to himself as he hears Hyunmin prancing out of his dorm. The door slams in the distance and Injoon's alone, staring at his blue screen of death in despair. It doesn't help that he has a paper due the next day and the clock is ticking away the hours, clearly mocking him. When he finally decides to follow Hyunmin's advice- dear lord, a frightening thought- it takes him a good ten minutes of panicking, because he doesn't remember how to look up a phone number without using the computer. He manages to get under control enough to remember he owns a school directory, though, and flips through the pages until he reaches the one that reads IT.
He hesitates after he dials the numbers into his cell. The last thing he feels like doing is spending hours with some guy who would probably take one look at his computer, laugh in is face, and press a button that would magically fix everything. With one last pathetic glance at his computer, he hits the call button and tosses away what little pride he has.
"IT Department," a voice answers and for a moment Injoon just stutters. "Um, how may I help you?" The tone of the voice sounds like the guy's trying not to laugh.
"Uh, I need help," he manages to choke out.
"I can hear that," the guy says, not even trying to mask his amusement.
"No, I mean," he takes a deep breath. "Something's wrong with my computer and I need someone to come over and help me figure it out." He's proud of the business-like tone he manages to pull-off after just sputtering into the phone like an idiot.
"Alright, building and room number?"
"Robinson, 204."
"Oh!" there's a surprised lilt in the guy's voice. "That works. I'll be right over." The line disconnects before Injoon can respond.
Injoon barely has time to change out of his pajamas and into jeans and a t-shirt before there's a knock at his door. He can't help the dread that churns in his stomach and he's half-tempted to pretend not to be in. Tell them he gave them the wrong room by accident but hey, he managed to fix his computer himself in the meantime so there was no reason to come out anymore! But no, he can't do that and he knows it. With one last heavy sigh, he prepares for whatever embarrassment he is about to face and opens the door. When he does, though, he automatically thinks something must be wrong.
The boy standing in his doorway is wearing glasses, but that is the only thing about him that even comes close to "computer geek," as Hyunmin would put it. His hair is bleached and pulled back and he wears a some rock band's t-shirt and jeans. Quite frankly, Injoon looks more like a geek than this guy.
After about a minute of Injoon's gawking, the boy finally asks, "Room 204?" and stares inside the room, waiting to be let in.
"You're from the IT Department?"
He nods and glances once again behind Injoon. "May I see your computer?"
"Oh, uh, yeah, come in," he mumbles and moves moves aside. The boy moves past him quickly and heads straight for the desk. For a moment he stands and stares at the computer, then he takes a seat in Injoon's chair and resumes his staring. Injoon chooses to hover awkwardly, first just inside the door, then he drifts to the desk, then around the back of the chair, until he settles onto the edge of his bed.
"Do you know what caused this?" the boy asks as he reaches out to shift the laptop around slightly, looking at its side, then around back.
"Not really," he admits, staring at his hands. "I was just playing a flash game online, then this screen came up."
"Hm." The boy presses a few buttons, clicks the mouse. "I think it just crashed." It sounds so simple, and Injoon braces himself for the ridicule to come. Instead, the boy turns and smiles. "But you may have a virus which caused it to crash. I'll get it to reboot and then check it out. It's a good thing you called." Relief washes over Injoon as the boy turns back to the computer. "So you play flash games? Which ones? I play sometimes, too."
While the boy works, pressing buttons and starting to reboot the system, Injoon babbles on about the games he likes to play. Whenever he pauses, unsure if he's talking too much, the boy asks another question, wants some random elaboration, and Injoon continues. There's something easy, natural almost, about talking to the boy seated at his desk, as if Injoon's known him forever. He's not even sure the guy meant what he said about also playing the stupid little games, but Injoon's also not sure it matters. His ranting doesn't bother the boy, instead it seems to make him more comfortable. Helps him concentrate. He even laughs a few times while Injoon is describing a game about playing a mortician, and Injoon can sense that that's something special.
When the boy suddenly stops typing, resting his hands in his lap, Injoon stops talking, too. "There were a few small viruses, but I've managed to clean them out for you," he says, turning in the chair to face Injoon. "Just be careful what sites you play games on from now on."
Injoon grins sheepishly and nods. For the first time, there's an awkward silence. "Well, um," he starts, but doesn't know what he can say to make the conversation last a little longer. "I've never seen you around campus before." Inwardly he winces, because he knows it sounds stupid. If the other boy thinks so, too, he doesn't show it. He nods thoughtfully in Injoon's chair.
"I don't really like functions or clubs," he admits. "I spend a lot of time in my room."
'I do, too," Injoon chuckles, but then there is more silence. The boy stands up and starts to move for the door.
"Well, if you need any more help, just call us again." He pauses and throws Injoon another awkward smile before opening the door.
"Wait!" he calls out, and the boy pauses. Injoon starts to stutter again as he's being watched, the curious and expectant look on the boy's face only adding to his panic. "Um, what's your name? Maybe we could hang out some time...." His eyes widen as the last bit comes spilling out. He'd only meant to ask the first part. He stares at his shoes.
"Don't you already know?" there's that amused tone again, just like Injoon heard earlier on the phone. He looks up from his shoes.
"Excuse me?"
The boy doesn't close the door, but leans against the wall, still grinning. "Suhoon told me you've been asking about me."
Slight panic turns to geniune, blaring freak0out as the boy's words begin to register slowly in Injoon's brain. "Gwang... chul?" he squeaks, and the boy nods. Injoon's heart starts to pound as the blood rises in his face. "I, um, well, I didn't" He cuts himself off mid-babble and waits, feeling that familiar cold sensation of dread settle in his gut.
Gwangchul crosses back to Injoon's side, stilling grinning, and pats him on the arm. "You're even cuter than Suhoon told me," he sighs, and Injoon swears he must be hearing things. But then Gwangchul swings an arm around his shoulder and pulls him in close, their noses almost touching. "Feel free to come over any time," he mumbles, his lips mere centimeters from Injoon's.
Before Injoon's brain can fully process what just happened- do they call this a brain crash, he wonders?- Gwangchul is back across the room and out the door. When Injoon snaps out of his embarrassed daze, blushing and sputtering and fanning his face, he hears the door next door close.