[TC/003] An Invisible String [Eunhyuk/Henry, PG-13]
Title: An Invisible String
Pairing: Eunhyuk/Henry
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Friendship/General/Romance
Challenge: Themes Challenge
Disclaimer: I don't own any of them, SME does. Plot is mine.
Summary: They say that things which aren't broken easily are sometimes the best.
Warning: UN-BETA'D. Written in one sitting (which may or may not be a bad thing?)
Challenge - Theme: Pins. Pairing: Eunhyuk/Henry.
“Henry-ah, are you free today?”
A young boy with an arrogant air bent over, lifting his bag from the ground beside his desk. “No,” he said, “I have to go to lessons today, hyung. I told you already.”
Eunhyuk frowned, leaning on the desk surface with his elbow, his cheek in his palm. “You never have free time anymore after you picked up the violin,” he complained, “we never get to hang out anymore.”
Henry glanced at the boy, immediately averting his eyes when their eyes met. “Sorry.”
In fact, Henry wasn’t at all apologetic. If anything, he felt as if Eunhyuk deserved it.
Inconsiderate people always deserved a little bit of suffering every now and then, after all.
“When will you have time for me then?” Eunhyuk asked, sighing.
As if he were truly considering the question seriously, Henry bit down on his lip. “When you stop wasting most of your time on pointless girls that you never stay with for long?”
“It’s called having fun.”
“It’s called insanitary and unhealthy association.”
“It’s called being jealous,” Eunhyuk retorted, sticking his tongue out defiantly.
Henry gagged. “It’s called caring. Try it some time.”
Swallowing any other counter-attack he had left, Eunhyuk watched as Henry effortlessly walked away from him. With his back turned towards him, he couldn’t read the expression written on the boy’s face; Eunhyuk could only guess, he guessed that Henry was angry.
Or, maybe, Henry didn’t care as much as he made himself out to.
-
The instructor catches on quickly when Henry isn’t as focused on his words today as he normally is. “Your wrist is touching the neck of the instrument again, Henry.”
Apologizing, Henry relaxes his wrist and straightens his back. He continues playing the music on the sheet placed at the stand in front of him, practicing the accuracy of his finger placement with the chromatic scale repeatedly.
“You’re not paying enough attention to the fingerboard; your notes sound a little off.”
“Maybe I didn’t tune the instrument well enough,” Henry tries to excuse his lack of attention, “can I try to tune the pegs again?”
His instructor shakes his head. “The condition of the instrument is fine, Henry. You just need to focus. Why don’t you try to practice the scale a little more? I’m going to find another musical sheet for you to practice at home tonight.”
Henry nods, standing to bow as his instructor left the room. After his instructor is gone, Henry sighs and sets his instrument down in his lap for a short rest.
His neck hurt, his wrist hurt, his back hurt, his ears hurt, his fingers hurt. Everything just hurts.
Just as he decides he’s rest enough and adjusts the shoulder rest back into place, the doors opens again. Vaguely, he hears the voice of a whining girl.
“Oppa, are you sure this is okay? The teacher is really mean!”
Eunhyuk seems to be trying to pacify her, urging her to do as he says. “We’ll be fine. Didn’t you see? The teacher already left. I just need to talk to Henry real quick.”
Moments later, two figures appear from the doorway. Henry groans low in his throat.
“Henry! Look what I found!”
Hesitantly, Henry gives in and looks at the object sitting in Eunhyuk’s palm. “That’s it?”
“What do you mean ’that’s it’?” Eunhyuk gasps. “It’s the toy car you gave me when we were kids! I found it in my locker just now, isn’t that cool? I didn’t even remember bringing it to school!”
Henry scoffs, swatting Eunhyuk’s hand away and placing the instrument on his shoulder. “I have to practice.”
Eunhyuk frowns. “What’s wrong? Having a hard time with your violin?”
“Just leave before the teacher gets back.” Henry replies coldly.
The girl beside Eunhyuk purses her lips, displeased by Henry’s uncaring and arrogant attitude.
“Why don’t you take it easy? You can’t learn an instrument in a couple of weeks, it takes some time--”
Henry slams his bow onto the ground and stands up, his brows furrowed and eyes narrowed. “Didn’t you hear me? I said go! What’s wrong with you two?”
“What’s wrong with you?” The girl asks, standing up for herself. “He’s just trying to be nice. Why are you being so rude?”
Eunhyuk rests a hand on her arm, shaking his head at her subtly. He knew Henry-- he knew Henry wouldn’t take out his anger on him if it weren’t because he was really in a horrible, helpless mood.
The boy turned away, leaning over to pick up the bow from the ground. A couple of horse hairs hung off of it, broken. A little like he was.
“I’ll wait for you at the front of the school after your lessons,” Eunhyuk smiles. “You’ll be hungry, right? Let’s grab something to eat.”
Henry lowered his head, twisting the button of the bow to tighten the hair. “I want to go home after I’m done here. I’m tired.”
“You--”
Eunhyuk took the girl by the hand, hardening his expression at her. “Okay. Then I’ll wait for you and then walk you home. You know you love getting lost after the sky gets dark,” he chuckled lightly. “You’ll be done by six, right?”
The only intention Henry had was to reject Eunhyuk’s suggestion again, but the boy had disappeared with his new girlfriend before Henry could say another word.
After the door closed, Henry lowered himself onto the seat, staring at the stand of music ahead of him. He sighed, tugging on the loose hairs on his bow until they snapped off. He smoothed the remaining hairs with his chalk of rosin.
Some things, no matter what, couldn’t be broken off as easily as the hairs of his violin bow.
Some times, he wished they could be.
-
“Why didn’t you let me teach him a lesson?” Eunhyuk’s girlfriend complained. “He was so rud--”
Eunhyuk let go of her hand, bending over so he could meet with her at eye level. “You don’t know him. Don’t speak as if you do.”
“But--”
“No one is allowed to say anything bad about Henry, you understand? He’s my best friend. Even my best friends don’t get to judge him. No one does. Not even you.” When he says this, the look in his eyes are almost threatening.
She swallows her words, nodding obediently.
“Good. I’m not in the mood for a date anymore,” Eunhyuk stood up straight, stretching his arms over his head. “You can go now. You’re free to do whatever you want.”
The girl frowned. “What about tomorrow?”
“Forget it,” Eunhyuk rolled his eyes.
All she could do was furrow his brows in confusion, staring at him with questions written all over her cute, small face.
“You talk too much. I don’t like people who talk too much.”
-
It sort of came as a surprise when Henry saw Eunhyuk in a ruffled state; his hair a mess, his clothes wrinkled and expression slightly scowling. “What happened to you?” He asked with his brows raised. “Did you walk into a tornado?”
“Worse,” Eunhyuk laughed, “I broke up with a crazy.”
Henry scoffed, shaking his head. “I knew it. She didn’t even look normal. What were you thinking when you asked her out?”
“She was cute,” Eunhyuk shrugged.
“Yeah,” Henry nodded. “I guess so.”
Eunhyuk smiled, throwing an arm over Henry’s shoulder. “Now that I think about it, she wasn’t as cute as you are. I should just date you.”
“Shut up,” Henry rolled his eyes, but he couldn’t hide the small smile that invaded his lips. He turned his face away, which was when he realized the wrist of Eunhyuk’s shirt was a little torn. “Was she that angry?”
“Hm?” Eunhyuk hummed in reply.
Henry grabbed his arm and slipped it off of himself. “Look,” he said, pointing to the shredded fabric.
“Oh, that,” Eunhyuk laughed. “I was playing with the little toy car while I waited for you and accidentally tossed it into a bush. It ripped when I reached for it.”
“You actually sat there for two hours?” Henry raised a brow. “You could have hung out with your other friends or something.”
Eunhyuk shrugged. “Didn’t feel like it. I was worried about you.”
Henry parted his lips to say something, but nothing really came to mind. So, instead, he just smiled-- a warm smile, one that Eunhyuk was allowed to see.
He stopped walking, sliding his backpack off and unzipping one of the pockets. Reaching inside, he pulled out a small safety pin and fastened the two ends of the ripped shirt together.
Eunhyuk watched as Henry handled his sleeve with care, a soft smiling appearing on his own face, too. He tilted his head, watching as Henry proudly pulled back, looking at his work of art proudly. “There!”
“You carry safety pins around with you? What? Do you always get your clothes ripped?” Eunhyuk teased.
Henry rolled his eyes. “I used to use it as a pick for the guitar since I kept losing mine,” he explained as he slipped the backpack back onto his shoulder, “I guess I kept it in there out of habit, it feels like something is missing if I don’t.”
“And now you’re giving it to me?” Eunhyuk asked. “Won’t you always feel like you’re missing something now?”
Considering that thought for a moment, Henry puffed out his cheeks. “I suppose so. But you’re always with me, so, it’s not really gone, per say. It’s just not on me.” As a matter of fact, the pin now bound them together; like an invisible string.
Eunhyuk laughed, returning his arm to Henry’s shoulder and holding the boy close to his side. “So, what went wrong today? Why were you in such a bad mood?”
“I just kept messing up,” Henry shrugged. He couldn’t exactly say that he didn’t like the fact that Eunhyuk had found a new girlfriend, or that he even had one at all. “I kept getting lectured.”
“Ahh,” Eunhyuk nodded. “Don’t worry. You’ll get it right eventually. It was the same with the guitar, wasn’t it? You kept getting frustrated at first but as time passed you mastered it.”
Henry couldn’t exactly say that he mastered the guitar perfectly fine and that it was Eunhyuk and the girl that he introduced to him during his lesson that messed up his entire performance that day either.
“You’ve always been a genius when it comes to instruments,” Eunhyuk grinned. “Don’t fret.”
“I know, I know,” Henry laughed. “What about you then? Why did you break up with that girl if you thought she was so cute?”
Eunhyuk pouted. “She almost yelled at you!”
“So?” Henry furrowed his brows.
“I haven’t even yelled at you before,” Eunhyuk exclaimed over-dramatically, “how dare she even try!”
Henry laughed. “That’s it?”
“Hey, haven’t you ever heard of bros before hoes?” Eunhyuk asked, leaning his face closer to Henry’s and rubbing their hair together. “You’re like my baby bro, I can’t let a girl like that talk down to you.”
Henry wasn’t entirely satisfied with that comparison, it wasn’t quite good enough. “So, I’m first place?”
“Number one in my heart,” Eunhyuk nodded.
Henry bonked their foreheads together. “Always?”
“Forever and a day, ‘till the day I die,” Eunhyuk swore, rubbing his slightly aching forehead.
“You swear?” Henry asked one last time.
Eunhyuk laughed, giving Henry a quick peck on the cheek. Not unlike the type you would give a crying child. “Cross my heart, Henry.”
This was as close as he gets, Henry supposes. It’s the most he’ll be getting out of Eunhyuk. “Okay then,” he grinned. “I’m buying dinner tonight!”
“I want ramyun!” Eunhyuk shouted excitedly. “The shop at the end of your block!”
Henry nodded. “Okay. I like that one, too.”
It was a routine that never quite changed over the years; Henry getting upset over something Eunhyuk pretended not to understand or acknowledge, and Eunhyuk trying his best to mend the complications in their relationship until things were back to normal.
Because of the way the world perceived other people, they couldn’t have the kind of relationship that they would both be happiest with, but this was close enough.
This was a bond that couldn’t easily be broken; it was a type of friendship that lasted a lifetime.
And, Henry reconsiders, maybe things that couldn’t be broken easily were the best, after all.
-
Read Nyx's version of Eunhyuk/Henry [Pins] here.
-
[ [TC/002]: Yesung/Kibum [Snow] ] ♦ [ [TC/004]: Author's Choice [Blind] ]
Pairing: Eunhyuk/Henry
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Friendship/General/Romance
Challenge: Themes Challenge
Disclaimer: I don't own any of them, SME does. Plot is mine.
Summary: They say that things which aren't broken easily are sometimes the best.
Warning: UN-BETA'D. Written in one sitting (which may or may not be a bad thing?)
Challenge - Theme: Pins. Pairing: Eunhyuk/Henry.
“Henry-ah, are you free today?”
A young boy with an arrogant air bent over, lifting his bag from the ground beside his desk. “No,” he said, “I have to go to lessons today, hyung. I told you already.”
Eunhyuk frowned, leaning on the desk surface with his elbow, his cheek in his palm. “You never have free time anymore after you picked up the violin,” he complained, “we never get to hang out anymore.”
Henry glanced at the boy, immediately averting his eyes when their eyes met. “Sorry.”
In fact, Henry wasn’t at all apologetic. If anything, he felt as if Eunhyuk deserved it.
Inconsiderate people always deserved a little bit of suffering every now and then, after all.
“When will you have time for me then?” Eunhyuk asked, sighing.
As if he were truly considering the question seriously, Henry bit down on his lip. “When you stop wasting most of your time on pointless girls that you never stay with for long?”
“It’s called having fun.”
“It’s called insanitary and unhealthy association.”
“It’s called being jealous,” Eunhyuk retorted, sticking his tongue out defiantly.
Henry gagged. “It’s called caring. Try it some time.”
Swallowing any other counter-attack he had left, Eunhyuk watched as Henry effortlessly walked away from him. With his back turned towards him, he couldn’t read the expression written on the boy’s face; Eunhyuk could only guess, he guessed that Henry was angry.
Or, maybe, Henry didn’t care as much as he made himself out to.
-
The instructor catches on quickly when Henry isn’t as focused on his words today as he normally is. “Your wrist is touching the neck of the instrument again, Henry.”
Apologizing, Henry relaxes his wrist and straightens his back. He continues playing the music on the sheet placed at the stand in front of him, practicing the accuracy of his finger placement with the chromatic scale repeatedly.
“You’re not paying enough attention to the fingerboard; your notes sound a little off.”
“Maybe I didn’t tune the instrument well enough,” Henry tries to excuse his lack of attention, “can I try to tune the pegs again?”
His instructor shakes his head. “The condition of the instrument is fine, Henry. You just need to focus. Why don’t you try to practice the scale a little more? I’m going to find another musical sheet for you to practice at home tonight.”
Henry nods, standing to bow as his instructor left the room. After his instructor is gone, Henry sighs and sets his instrument down in his lap for a short rest.
His neck hurt, his wrist hurt, his back hurt, his ears hurt, his fingers hurt. Everything just hurts.
Just as he decides he’s rest enough and adjusts the shoulder rest back into place, the doors opens again. Vaguely, he hears the voice of a whining girl.
“Oppa, are you sure this is okay? The teacher is really mean!”
Eunhyuk seems to be trying to pacify her, urging her to do as he says. “We’ll be fine. Didn’t you see? The teacher already left. I just need to talk to Henry real quick.”
Moments later, two figures appear from the doorway. Henry groans low in his throat.
“Henry! Look what I found!”
Hesitantly, Henry gives in and looks at the object sitting in Eunhyuk’s palm. “That’s it?”
“What do you mean ’that’s it’?” Eunhyuk gasps. “It’s the toy car you gave me when we were kids! I found it in my locker just now, isn’t that cool? I didn’t even remember bringing it to school!”
Henry scoffs, swatting Eunhyuk’s hand away and placing the instrument on his shoulder. “I have to practice.”
Eunhyuk frowns. “What’s wrong? Having a hard time with your violin?”
“Just leave before the teacher gets back.” Henry replies coldly.
The girl beside Eunhyuk purses her lips, displeased by Henry’s uncaring and arrogant attitude.
“Why don’t you take it easy? You can’t learn an instrument in a couple of weeks, it takes some time--”
Henry slams his bow onto the ground and stands up, his brows furrowed and eyes narrowed. “Didn’t you hear me? I said go! What’s wrong with you two?”
“What’s wrong with you?” The girl asks, standing up for herself. “He’s just trying to be nice. Why are you being so rude?”
Eunhyuk rests a hand on her arm, shaking his head at her subtly. He knew Henry-- he knew Henry wouldn’t take out his anger on him if it weren’t because he was really in a horrible, helpless mood.
The boy turned away, leaning over to pick up the bow from the ground. A couple of horse hairs hung off of it, broken. A little like he was.
“I’ll wait for you at the front of the school after your lessons,” Eunhyuk smiles. “You’ll be hungry, right? Let’s grab something to eat.”
Henry lowered his head, twisting the button of the bow to tighten the hair. “I want to go home after I’m done here. I’m tired.”
“You--”
Eunhyuk took the girl by the hand, hardening his expression at her. “Okay. Then I’ll wait for you and then walk you home. You know you love getting lost after the sky gets dark,” he chuckled lightly. “You’ll be done by six, right?”
The only intention Henry had was to reject Eunhyuk’s suggestion again, but the boy had disappeared with his new girlfriend before Henry could say another word.
After the door closed, Henry lowered himself onto the seat, staring at the stand of music ahead of him. He sighed, tugging on the loose hairs on his bow until they snapped off. He smoothed the remaining hairs with his chalk of rosin.
Some things, no matter what, couldn’t be broken off as easily as the hairs of his violin bow.
Some times, he wished they could be.
-
“Why didn’t you let me teach him a lesson?” Eunhyuk’s girlfriend complained. “He was so rud--”
Eunhyuk let go of her hand, bending over so he could meet with her at eye level. “You don’t know him. Don’t speak as if you do.”
“But--”
“No one is allowed to say anything bad about Henry, you understand? He’s my best friend. Even my best friends don’t get to judge him. No one does. Not even you.” When he says this, the look in his eyes are almost threatening.
She swallows her words, nodding obediently.
“Good. I’m not in the mood for a date anymore,” Eunhyuk stood up straight, stretching his arms over his head. “You can go now. You’re free to do whatever you want.”
The girl frowned. “What about tomorrow?”
“Forget it,” Eunhyuk rolled his eyes.
All she could do was furrow his brows in confusion, staring at him with questions written all over her cute, small face.
“You talk too much. I don’t like people who talk too much.”
-
It sort of came as a surprise when Henry saw Eunhyuk in a ruffled state; his hair a mess, his clothes wrinkled and expression slightly scowling. “What happened to you?” He asked with his brows raised. “Did you walk into a tornado?”
“Worse,” Eunhyuk laughed, “I broke up with a crazy.”
Henry scoffed, shaking his head. “I knew it. She didn’t even look normal. What were you thinking when you asked her out?”
“She was cute,” Eunhyuk shrugged.
“Yeah,” Henry nodded. “I guess so.”
Eunhyuk smiled, throwing an arm over Henry’s shoulder. “Now that I think about it, she wasn’t as cute as you are. I should just date you.”
“Shut up,” Henry rolled his eyes, but he couldn’t hide the small smile that invaded his lips. He turned his face away, which was when he realized the wrist of Eunhyuk’s shirt was a little torn. “Was she that angry?”
“Hm?” Eunhyuk hummed in reply.
Henry grabbed his arm and slipped it off of himself. “Look,” he said, pointing to the shredded fabric.
“Oh, that,” Eunhyuk laughed. “I was playing with the little toy car while I waited for you and accidentally tossed it into a bush. It ripped when I reached for it.”
“You actually sat there for two hours?” Henry raised a brow. “You could have hung out with your other friends or something.”
Eunhyuk shrugged. “Didn’t feel like it. I was worried about you.”
Henry parted his lips to say something, but nothing really came to mind. So, instead, he just smiled-- a warm smile, one that Eunhyuk was allowed to see.
He stopped walking, sliding his backpack off and unzipping one of the pockets. Reaching inside, he pulled out a small safety pin and fastened the two ends of the ripped shirt together.
Eunhyuk watched as Henry handled his sleeve with care, a soft smiling appearing on his own face, too. He tilted his head, watching as Henry proudly pulled back, looking at his work of art proudly. “There!”
“You carry safety pins around with you? What? Do you always get your clothes ripped?” Eunhyuk teased.
Henry rolled his eyes. “I used to use it as a pick for the guitar since I kept losing mine,” he explained as he slipped the backpack back onto his shoulder, “I guess I kept it in there out of habit, it feels like something is missing if I don’t.”
“And now you’re giving it to me?” Eunhyuk asked. “Won’t you always feel like you’re missing something now?”
Considering that thought for a moment, Henry puffed out his cheeks. “I suppose so. But you’re always with me, so, it’s not really gone, per say. It’s just not on me.” As a matter of fact, the pin now bound them together; like an invisible string.
Eunhyuk laughed, returning his arm to Henry’s shoulder and holding the boy close to his side. “So, what went wrong today? Why were you in such a bad mood?”
“I just kept messing up,” Henry shrugged. He couldn’t exactly say that he didn’t like the fact that Eunhyuk had found a new girlfriend, or that he even had one at all. “I kept getting lectured.”
“Ahh,” Eunhyuk nodded. “Don’t worry. You’ll get it right eventually. It was the same with the guitar, wasn’t it? You kept getting frustrated at first but as time passed you mastered it.”
Henry couldn’t exactly say that he mastered the guitar perfectly fine and that it was Eunhyuk and the girl that he introduced to him during his lesson that messed up his entire performance that day either.
“You’ve always been a genius when it comes to instruments,” Eunhyuk grinned. “Don’t fret.”
“I know, I know,” Henry laughed. “What about you then? Why did you break up with that girl if you thought she was so cute?”
Eunhyuk pouted. “She almost yelled at you!”
“So?” Henry furrowed his brows.
“I haven’t even yelled at you before,” Eunhyuk exclaimed over-dramatically, “how dare she even try!”
Henry laughed. “That’s it?”
“Hey, haven’t you ever heard of bros before hoes?” Eunhyuk asked, leaning his face closer to Henry’s and rubbing their hair together. “You’re like my baby bro, I can’t let a girl like that talk down to you.”
Henry wasn’t entirely satisfied with that comparison, it wasn’t quite good enough. “So, I’m first place?”
“Number one in my heart,” Eunhyuk nodded.
Henry bonked their foreheads together. “Always?”
“Forever and a day, ‘till the day I die,” Eunhyuk swore, rubbing his slightly aching forehead.
“You swear?” Henry asked one last time.
Eunhyuk laughed, giving Henry a quick peck on the cheek. Not unlike the type you would give a crying child. “Cross my heart, Henry.”
This was as close as he gets, Henry supposes. It’s the most he’ll be getting out of Eunhyuk. “Okay then,” he grinned. “I’m buying dinner tonight!”
“I want ramyun!” Eunhyuk shouted excitedly. “The shop at the end of your block!”
Henry nodded. “Okay. I like that one, too.”
It was a routine that never quite changed over the years; Henry getting upset over something Eunhyuk pretended not to understand or acknowledge, and Eunhyuk trying his best to mend the complications in their relationship until things were back to normal.
Because of the way the world perceived other people, they couldn’t have the kind of relationship that they would both be happiest with, but this was close enough.
This was a bond that couldn’t easily be broken; it was a type of friendship that lasted a lifetime.
And, Henry reconsiders, maybe things that couldn’t be broken easily were the best, after all.
-
Read Nyx's version of Eunhyuk/Henry [Pins] here.
-
[ [TC/002]: Yesung/Kibum [Snow] ] ♦ [ [TC/004]: Author's Choice [Blind] ]