Homesick, Homebound - Chapter 6 END [Changmin/Victoria, PG-13, Chapter]
Pairing: Changmin/Victoria
Rating: PG-13
Genre: AU!Drama, Family, Romance
Length: Chapter (6/6)
Disclaimer: I don’t own them, SME does. Plot is mine.
Summary: When she first met him, she was at her worst. At her best, he realized he's never seen anything good about her. That didn't stop her from breaking, though. It also didn't stop him from falling.
Warning: UN-BETA'D.
“Victoria left this morning.”
Kyuhyun is bringing dishes out from the kitchen to the table, gesturing for Changmin to take a seat. The other man bows but walks to the kitchen in order to help Kyuhyun prepare the breakfast table.
“She wanted me to tell you not to worry,” Kyuhyun says casually. His nonchalant attitude reminds Changmin of himself, and he smiles secretly. “You spend a lot of time with her,” Kyuhyun smirks, leaning against the door frame,“don’t you?”
The cups clash a little when Changmin freezes, anxiety ghosting over his hands.
“How was life with her?” Kyuhyun asks. “Just the two of you, abroad, so far away from home.”
Changmin lifts a cup and pours each glass with milk. “Different.”
“No doubt,” Kyuhyun nods.
“She missed you,” Changmin says. “You, Henry, life in Korea... she cried almost every night, every day.”
Kyuhyun stands to his full height, arms at his sides.
Changmin takes it as a cue. “When she finally found someone she could lean on, she still cried. Not once did she forget about your family. She often had me take her to the bar so she could drink; even if you don’t believe it, it seems the two of you are more alike than either of you like to think.”
The atmosphere tenses a little, and Changmin raises his eyes to meet with Kyuhyun’s.
“All she ever wanted was to come home.”
Kyuhyun laughs, and Changmin isn’t quite sure what’s so funny. He watches as the brother shakes his head and walks past him, taking the two filled cups sitting on the counter and exiting the kitchen.
“It’s true,” Changmin insists when he sits down across from Kyuhyun.
“I know,” the other replies.
The door behind them slides close and Henry appears from the hallway. Kyuhyun glances between the two of them and shakes his head again.
“What?” Henry asks.
His older brother grins and pushes his plate of toast towards an empty seat and stands to make another breakfast serving. “Changmin thinks this is the only place Vic considers her home,” Kyuhyun says.
Henry blinks and turns towards Changmin.
The clueless stranger shrugs.
When Kyuhyun returns minutes later, Changmin is apparently still awaiting an explanation.
“This has never been home to her,” Kyuhyun says, gesturing to the house around them. “Home is in her own heart. Her heart, though,” Kyuhyun raises his chin, “doesn’t rest with herself anymore.”
Henry laughs and the brother’s exchange knowing glances.
Kyuhyun smirks and turns to Changmin. “Right?”
-
“Do you really approve of him?” Henry asks Kyuhyun secretly when Changmin volunteers himself to do the dishes.
Kyuhyun shrugs and changes the channel, draping an arm over Henry’s shoulder. “If she likes him, who am I to disapprove? Jungmo, though-”
“Hey!” Henry pouts.
The older boy laughs and ruffles Henry’s hair, hugging him closer. “Relax. Geez. I just wanted to say Jungmo’s a good guy.”
Henry raises a brow and purses his lips.
When Changmin joins them in the living room, Kyuhyun smiles at him and Changmin smiles back. Henry feels himself being encased in warmth from all directions, and it feels good. This is his new family, he thinks.
This is home.
-
(Victoria tries not to think too much of anything when her mom breaks down and cries in her arms, and her father gives her a look of something mixed between guilt and apathy. The divorce papers are sprawled all over the living room table and her mother is begging her not to be angry at either of them.
Her brothers are going through the documents, absorbing the fact that the papers are already signed and their parent’s decisions are truly finalized beyond their control.
To the elders surprise, Victoria isn’t upset with any of this, or them. Her parents wonder why, and she only has one answer,
“I saw it coming,” she admits, “years ago.”)
-
Her return was supposed to prevent her family from falling apart, but it didn’t.
The divorce was inevitable; their mother still moved out to live with her lover, and their father still opened up his room to a woman that none of his three children acknowledged.
Victoria had purchased a new flat and offered shelter to her siblings if they ever needed an escapade. They used it to their advantage, knowing the only reason their eldest sister bought the place was to provide them a place to call home in the first place.
Their home was no longer home to them anymore; it was a cold place with people they didn’t felt as if they knew or understood. Too many people were missing and, if they could, they would simply leave, but too many past experiences kept that place a memorable one.
When Jungmo visited their new abode, he could feel the solemn mood brooding about all the siblings. Changmin had remained silent throughout the entire issue and offered help here and there, but he felt the burden growing heavier on their shoulders as well.
“I’m sorry I can’t do anything for you,” Jungmo frowns, squeezing Henry’s hand.
The boy smiles weakly and shakes his head. “You’ve done plenty,” Henry says. “Thank you for helping us move.”
“Don’t be so down,” Victoria says encouragingly to both of them. “Like Kyuhyun always says; blood is thicker than water. No matter what happens, all of us will always be family. So what if mom and dad aren’t together anymore? We’ll still meet, we’ll still spend time together, and we’ll always love each other.”
Jungmo nods and kisses the back of Henry’s hand. “She’s right.” Henry flings Jungmo’s hand off playfully and laughs.
The sight is heart warming, bringing a smile to Victoria’s own lips. Kyuhyun comes out of his cave and complains about the heat. “It’s too hot,” he grimaces. “What are we eating tonight?”
Suddenly, Victoria remembers they have yet to do any shopping. She runs to her room and grabs her purse, speeding for the door. “Text me what you guys want to eat, I’m heading to the grocery store!”
Changmin immediately joins her, shutting the door behind them.
Kyuhyun scoffs and shakes his head. “We could have just ordered out.”
“She wants to take mom’s place,” Henry sighs. “All she ever thinks about now is taking care of us. If only she thought a little bit more about herself, and maybe Changmin.”
Jungmo leans back in the couch, crossing his arms over his chest.
Victoria has changed a lot over the years, he thinks. She’s never showed so much affection before, not even to her own family. He knows. “It only makes her that much better of an older sister, doesn’t it? She really loves the two of you.”
Henry and Kyuhyun exchange glances, trying to smother their smiles.
“Yeah,” Kyuhyun agrees. “It does.”
-
“Wipe that look off your face.”
Changmin blinks, his vision shifting to the older girl beside him. “What look?”
Victoria looks up at him, biting her cheek. “Sympathy? Pity? I don’t know. You tell me.”
“Nothing of the sort,” Changmin denies.
He shields her from cars, pedestrians, and tells her to walk a little closer to him just in case anyone tries to shuck away her bag.
She tells him South Korea isn’t that dangerous of a place and, if anything, people should already be wary enough of them because the look on Changmin’s face could scare the skin off of innocent sheep.
They reach a small park, blocks away from the supermarket, and Changmin takes her by the wrist. “Follow me,” he says, and pulls her towards the grass.
As they sit down, Victoria reminisces on all the days they spent on Poitiers grassland, staring into the distance, Changmin sitting beside her without a word but all the support she needed. “Did you ever get tired of being with me?” She asks.
Changmin shakes his head.
“Were you ever disappointed in me?” Victoria inquires.
The younger boy looks at her, pondering the question for moments too long, but shakes his head again. “No.”
Victoria smiles and tilts over, leaning her head on his shoulder.
“What about you?”
Her breath hitches and she fumbles with her fingers in her lap. “What about me?”
Changmin hesitates before he reaches over and takes one of her hands in his own, interlocking their fingers and pulling them into his lap. He studies her small, thin hands. “Did you ever grow tired of me? Were you ever disappointed in me?”
“What’s there to grow tired of you for?” Victoria laughs. “You only started really speaking to me last week.”
His fingers tighten around hers, and she tries to hide her grin.
Victoria runs her free hand through her hair and sits up, leaning over to peer into his face. His cheeks are red and he tries to turn away, but she reaches out to cup his cheek and forces him to look her in the eyes again.
He observes her; watching as her long lashes shape her eyes when she blinks, the sincerity in them overflowing as they stare into each other’s gaze. Her lips thin into a line and he can see that she’s trying to force away her blush, too.
The silence dawns on them, forcing the words they’ve never spoken to each other to surface, dying to spill from their lips.
“Will you let me stay with you?”
Changmin says the words too quickly and Victoria can’t be certain that she heard him correctly. She cocks her head to the side and narrows her eyes. “Huh?”
“Can I stay with you forever?” He repeats himself, raising her fist to his chest. “Even if you only see me as a brother, I just want to stay beside you; to give you support, to provide reliance, to be here for you when you need me.”
The words linger on his tongue and he feels itchy all over. Victoria blinks at him with a blank expression, but her heart is racing at miles per second, bubbles popping all over her insides.
“Can I?”
Victoria breaks into a silly laugh. “I’d like that.”
The younger boy widens his eyes, scooting a little closer to her.
“I don’t want you to be my brother, I have enough of those,” she confesses, “but let’s build this home together.”
Changmin’s stunned expression splits into a relieved grin and he throws himself around her, wrapping his arms around her possessively. “You mean it?”
“I mean it,” she smiles into his shoulder.
Although she isn’t sure how it happened, or how long it’s been, Victoria realizes that the only place she can now call home is a place where Changmin is. Without Changmin, no place can make her feel belonging - no place can make her feel like she’s home.
She’s been missing home for so long, and now she’s finally found it again; relishing in this happiness that’s been with her all along.
Only when Victoria is with Changmin can she feel so prosperous, so loved and so cherished. For Changmin, there’s no one like Victoria and for Victoria, there’s no where better than being by Changmin’s side.
They do have that popular saying for a reason, she supposes, because she really feels it now.
‘There’s no place like home.’
And home-- home is where the heart is; with Changmin, with love.
-----
[ Chapter 5] ♦ [ Homesick, Homebound Directory]
----
A/N: Wooh! Done! Honestly, if I weren't so lazy and have so many different stories I'm trying to finish off, I feel like I could have made this a lot better. But thank you to those who read and stuck with this story till the end :)
The next story I'll be debuting on Friday is a Yunho/Victoria! Nyx (a.k.a. nyx_kendaya) has also debuted her story [Mask] - yes, we're doing fic exchanges again! Haha. Check it out!
I'm still undecided on the official title, but my temporary title for it is [He's But An Overlord]. It is written in an AU! setting, going very far back into history when there were still emperors and wars and all that good stuff. Here's a preview:
身为帝国之王，他受尽万人之崇。
(As the Emperor of his reign, he received the worship of all his men.)
当他国侵入他土时，
(When another dominion invaded his soil,)
国， 他保住了，
(he preserved his country,)
但爱 却流失于无尽芳草中。
(but love was lost in the endless fragrant grasses.)
(Yeah, I'm Chinese, so, I initially thought it out in Chinese and translated it to English when I wrote it down. I hope it won't sound weird when being read =/)
Anyways! Again, thank you for reading! :D love, lien
Rating: PG-13
Genre: AU!Drama, Family, Romance
Length: Chapter (6/6)
Disclaimer: I don’t own them, SME does. Plot is mine.
Summary: When she first met him, she was at her worst. At her best, he realized he's never seen anything good about her. That didn't stop her from breaking, though. It also didn't stop him from falling.
Warning: UN-BETA'D.
“Victoria left this morning.”
Kyuhyun is bringing dishes out from the kitchen to the table, gesturing for Changmin to take a seat. The other man bows but walks to the kitchen in order to help Kyuhyun prepare the breakfast table.
“She wanted me to tell you not to worry,” Kyuhyun says casually. His nonchalant attitude reminds Changmin of himself, and he smiles secretly. “You spend a lot of time with her,” Kyuhyun smirks, leaning against the door frame,“don’t you?”
The cups clash a little when Changmin freezes, anxiety ghosting over his hands.
“How was life with her?” Kyuhyun asks. “Just the two of you, abroad, so far away from home.”
Changmin lifts a cup and pours each glass with milk. “Different.”
“No doubt,” Kyuhyun nods.
“She missed you,” Changmin says. “You, Henry, life in Korea... she cried almost every night, every day.”
Kyuhyun stands to his full height, arms at his sides.
Changmin takes it as a cue. “When she finally found someone she could lean on, she still cried. Not once did she forget about your family. She often had me take her to the bar so she could drink; even if you don’t believe it, it seems the two of you are more alike than either of you like to think.”
The atmosphere tenses a little, and Changmin raises his eyes to meet with Kyuhyun’s.
“All she ever wanted was to come home.”
Kyuhyun laughs, and Changmin isn’t quite sure what’s so funny. He watches as the brother shakes his head and walks past him, taking the two filled cups sitting on the counter and exiting the kitchen.
“It’s true,” Changmin insists when he sits down across from Kyuhyun.
“I know,” the other replies.
The door behind them slides close and Henry appears from the hallway. Kyuhyun glances between the two of them and shakes his head again.
“What?” Henry asks.
His older brother grins and pushes his plate of toast towards an empty seat and stands to make another breakfast serving. “Changmin thinks this is the only place Vic considers her home,” Kyuhyun says.
Henry blinks and turns towards Changmin.
The clueless stranger shrugs.
When Kyuhyun returns minutes later, Changmin is apparently still awaiting an explanation.
“This has never been home to her,” Kyuhyun says, gesturing to the house around them. “Home is in her own heart. Her heart, though,” Kyuhyun raises his chin, “doesn’t rest with herself anymore.”
Henry laughs and the brother’s exchange knowing glances.
Kyuhyun smirks and turns to Changmin. “Right?”
-
“Do you really approve of him?” Henry asks Kyuhyun secretly when Changmin volunteers himself to do the dishes.
Kyuhyun shrugs and changes the channel, draping an arm over Henry’s shoulder. “If she likes him, who am I to disapprove? Jungmo, though-”
“Hey!” Henry pouts.
The older boy laughs and ruffles Henry’s hair, hugging him closer. “Relax. Geez. I just wanted to say Jungmo’s a good guy.”
Henry raises a brow and purses his lips.
When Changmin joins them in the living room, Kyuhyun smiles at him and Changmin smiles back. Henry feels himself being encased in warmth from all directions, and it feels good. This is his new family, he thinks.
This is home.
-
(Victoria tries not to think too much of anything when her mom breaks down and cries in her arms, and her father gives her a look of something mixed between guilt and apathy. The divorce papers are sprawled all over the living room table and her mother is begging her not to be angry at either of them.
Her brothers are going through the documents, absorbing the fact that the papers are already signed and their parent’s decisions are truly finalized beyond their control.
To the elders surprise, Victoria isn’t upset with any of this, or them. Her parents wonder why, and she only has one answer,
“I saw it coming,” she admits, “years ago.”)
-
Her return was supposed to prevent her family from falling apart, but it didn’t.
The divorce was inevitable; their mother still moved out to live with her lover, and their father still opened up his room to a woman that none of his three children acknowledged.
Victoria had purchased a new flat and offered shelter to her siblings if they ever needed an escapade. They used it to their advantage, knowing the only reason their eldest sister bought the place was to provide them a place to call home in the first place.
Their home was no longer home to them anymore; it was a cold place with people they didn’t felt as if they knew or understood. Too many people were missing and, if they could, they would simply leave, but too many past experiences kept that place a memorable one.
When Jungmo visited their new abode, he could feel the solemn mood brooding about all the siblings. Changmin had remained silent throughout the entire issue and offered help here and there, but he felt the burden growing heavier on their shoulders as well.
“I’m sorry I can’t do anything for you,” Jungmo frowns, squeezing Henry’s hand.
The boy smiles weakly and shakes his head. “You’ve done plenty,” Henry says. “Thank you for helping us move.”
“Don’t be so down,” Victoria says encouragingly to both of them. “Like Kyuhyun always says; blood is thicker than water. No matter what happens, all of us will always be family. So what if mom and dad aren’t together anymore? We’ll still meet, we’ll still spend time together, and we’ll always love each other.”
Jungmo nods and kisses the back of Henry’s hand. “She’s right.” Henry flings Jungmo’s hand off playfully and laughs.
The sight is heart warming, bringing a smile to Victoria’s own lips. Kyuhyun comes out of his cave and complains about the heat. “It’s too hot,” he grimaces. “What are we eating tonight?”
Suddenly, Victoria remembers they have yet to do any shopping. She runs to her room and grabs her purse, speeding for the door. “Text me what you guys want to eat, I’m heading to the grocery store!”
Changmin immediately joins her, shutting the door behind them.
Kyuhyun scoffs and shakes his head. “We could have just ordered out.”
“She wants to take mom’s place,” Henry sighs. “All she ever thinks about now is taking care of us. If only she thought a little bit more about herself, and maybe Changmin.”
Jungmo leans back in the couch, crossing his arms over his chest.
Victoria has changed a lot over the years, he thinks. She’s never showed so much affection before, not even to her own family. He knows. “It only makes her that much better of an older sister, doesn’t it? She really loves the two of you.”
Henry and Kyuhyun exchange glances, trying to smother their smiles.
“Yeah,” Kyuhyun agrees. “It does.”
-
“Wipe that look off your face.”
Changmin blinks, his vision shifting to the older girl beside him. “What look?”
Victoria looks up at him, biting her cheek. “Sympathy? Pity? I don’t know. You tell me.”
“Nothing of the sort,” Changmin denies.
He shields her from cars, pedestrians, and tells her to walk a little closer to him just in case anyone tries to shuck away her bag.
She tells him South Korea isn’t that dangerous of a place and, if anything, people should already be wary enough of them because the look on Changmin’s face could scare the skin off of innocent sheep.
They reach a small park, blocks away from the supermarket, and Changmin takes her by the wrist. “Follow me,” he says, and pulls her towards the grass.
As they sit down, Victoria reminisces on all the days they spent on Poitiers grassland, staring into the distance, Changmin sitting beside her without a word but all the support she needed. “Did you ever get tired of being with me?” She asks.
Changmin shakes his head.
“Were you ever disappointed in me?” Victoria inquires.
The younger boy looks at her, pondering the question for moments too long, but shakes his head again. “No.”
Victoria smiles and tilts over, leaning her head on his shoulder.
“What about you?”
Her breath hitches and she fumbles with her fingers in her lap. “What about me?”
Changmin hesitates before he reaches over and takes one of her hands in his own, interlocking their fingers and pulling them into his lap. He studies her small, thin hands. “Did you ever grow tired of me? Were you ever disappointed in me?”
“What’s there to grow tired of you for?” Victoria laughs. “You only started really speaking to me last week.”
His fingers tighten around hers, and she tries to hide her grin.
Victoria runs her free hand through her hair and sits up, leaning over to peer into his face. His cheeks are red and he tries to turn away, but she reaches out to cup his cheek and forces him to look her in the eyes again.
He observes her; watching as her long lashes shape her eyes when she blinks, the sincerity in them overflowing as they stare into each other’s gaze. Her lips thin into a line and he can see that she’s trying to force away her blush, too.
The silence dawns on them, forcing the words they’ve never spoken to each other to surface, dying to spill from their lips.
“Will you let me stay with you?”
Changmin says the words too quickly and Victoria can’t be certain that she heard him correctly. She cocks her head to the side and narrows her eyes. “Huh?”
“Can I stay with you forever?” He repeats himself, raising her fist to his chest. “Even if you only see me as a brother, I just want to stay beside you; to give you support, to provide reliance, to be here for you when you need me.”
The words linger on his tongue and he feels itchy all over. Victoria blinks at him with a blank expression, but her heart is racing at miles per second, bubbles popping all over her insides.
“Can I?”
Victoria breaks into a silly laugh. “I’d like that.”
The younger boy widens his eyes, scooting a little closer to her.
“I don’t want you to be my brother, I have enough of those,” she confesses, “but let’s build this home together.”
Changmin’s stunned expression splits into a relieved grin and he throws himself around her, wrapping his arms around her possessively. “You mean it?”
“I mean it,” she smiles into his shoulder.
Although she isn’t sure how it happened, or how long it’s been, Victoria realizes that the only place she can now call home is a place where Changmin is. Without Changmin, no place can make her feel belonging - no place can make her feel like she’s home.
She’s been missing home for so long, and now she’s finally found it again; relishing in this happiness that’s been with her all along.
Only when Victoria is with Changmin can she feel so prosperous, so loved and so cherished. For Changmin, there’s no one like Victoria and for Victoria, there’s no where better than being by Changmin’s side.
They do have that popular saying for a reason, she supposes, because she really feels it now.
‘There’s no place like home.’
And home-- home is where the heart is; with Changmin, with love.
-----
[ Chapter 5] ♦ [ Homesick, Homebound Directory]
----
A/N: Wooh! Done! Honestly, if I weren't so lazy and have so many different stories I'm trying to finish off, I feel like I could have made this a lot better. But thank you to those who read and stuck with this story till the end :)
The next story I'll be debuting on Friday is a Yunho/Victoria! Nyx (a.k.a. nyx_kendaya) has also debuted her story [Mask] - yes, we're doing fic exchanges again! Haha. Check it out!
I'm still undecided on the official title, but my temporary title for it is [He's But An Overlord]. It is written in an AU! setting, going very far back into history when there were still emperors and wars and all that good stuff. Here's a preview:
身为帝国之王，他受尽万人之崇。
(As the Emperor of his reign, he received the worship of all his men.)
当他国侵入他土时，
(When another dominion invaded his soil,)
国， 他保住了，
(he preserved his country,)
但爱 却流失于无尽芳草中。
(but love was lost in the endless fragrant grasses.)
(Yeah, I'm Chinese, so, I initially thought it out in Chinese and translated it to English when I wrote it down. I hope it won't sound weird when being read =/)
Anyways! Again, thank you for reading! :D love, lien