[Fic] Dog Walks and Dorm Talks
Apr. 7th, 2012 07:27 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
coley_merrinTitle: Dog Walks and Dorm Talks
Pairing(s): Zhou Mi/Kyuhyun, Eunhyuk/Junsu
Rating: R
Summary: (AU) Escaping dogs, love potions, and pop quizzes. University wasn't supposed to be quite that exciting. 6,350 words.
Warnings: past car accident trauma, some sexual situations
"You aren't even in our year," was the first thing that Kyuhyun said to Zhou Mi. "Why are you in this class?"
Zhou Mi shrugged. "It looked interesting."
And then he'd leaned into the aisle with a grin that bordered on too-excited, to ask Kyuhyun about the assigned books.
Zhou Mi, slightly older, good for a study partner. Also catching up on subjects since he'd taken a year off of university for reasons at the time Zhou Mi had not been willing to divulge. Maybe a little chatty, a little gawky, but Kyuhyun figured if the entire hallway stopped, it'd be filled with college kids in various shabby states, and Zhou Mi would glide right through, like he'd been gold plated.
There was an aura about him, and Kyuhyun kind of hated to use that word. And his crush was semi-persistent, like a nagging cough after a bad cold. But he dealt with that, burying it down deep like a coal he could just barely feel the warmth off of. Just enough, to keep himself from getting hot in the ears.
Kyuhyun roomed with Donghae his first year, and, when he'd been allowed to choose, with Changmin his second. It seemed each semester, Zhou Mi was in at least one of his classes, and it was nice and familiar to have someone he knew kind of built in. It made things easier, just to be able to meet up at the cafe, and see Zhou Mi with his fruit salad, or his burger, or spicy food, and get down to the business of schoolwork.
After the requisite whining. Most of that was on his end, since Zhou Mi seemed to get a weird charge out of some of the work, but there were times when it was in excess, especially in front of a big exam, when even Zhou Mi let it drag him down.
Kyuhyun felt a little more normal on those days, but he never told Zhou Mi that. Some days they ate together, even if they didn't have studying to do. It was informal, and he'd spent more than one meal eating and listening to Zhou Mi make sarcastic comments into his phone in languages he couldn't understand. It was easy to tell by Zhou Mi's tone, the way his lip curled up a little, like he was slinging insults by his expression alone. And then there were the little smiles, as Zhou Mi rolled his eyes and kept talking.
It wasn't like they were super close. They were comfortable. Zhou Mi disappeared between terms and Kyuhyun didn't give him a thought until the next time they ran across each other in class. Every so often he'd check his email to find that Zhou Mi had forwarded something funny or insightful to, or something designed to save the planet one helpful tip at a time, all carefully blind copied of course. He was pretty sure everyone on the list did exactly what he did, and deleted it after smiling a bit indulgently.
Indulgence was one emotion everyone who knew Zhou Mi seemed to share, and that was something he noticed after a few months. He was cute, but not that cute.
He watched Zhou Mi all but wriggle over the sight of a table full of hats, and invalidated all of his arguments.
--
Zhou Mi lived with an exchange student named Henry, and the three of them got along pretty well. Zhou Mi had shown Henry around with Kyuhyun in tow a few times, and Kyuhyun got a decent meal out of Zhou Mi's pocket. They only really saw each other on the occasions that Kyuhyun had to go fetch Zhou Mi, like when Zhou Mi accidentally slept through their study time, or when he expressly asked Kyuhyun to fetch him so he didn't sleep through their study time.
The effect on his grades was nominal, but at least it did give him an interest in studying, unlike his other classes where the computer's siren call was too much to resist when it was left to his own choices.
And even if Zhou Mi could go on tangents - really long, very colorful tangents - he did tend to stay on topic once they got focused. Zhou Mi, when he got going spoke with his hands, his eyes, whatever he was holding, at times looking like he was a helicopter about to take flight, and he was, of course, impossible to ignore. Paying attention to anything else when Zhou Mi was zipping along was unthinkable. Zhou Mi in quiz mode, also difficult to look away from. If Kyuhyun yawned, or spaced, he had Zhou Mi's pen on his forehead.
"It's just a quiz, not even 10% of our grade," Kyuhyun grouched.
"Then if you do good, you have less to worry about on the exams," Zhou Mi said, all prim and annoyingly logical. "I have most of this memorized."
"So we can stop—"
"So it's good review for me, and helping you to remember. You do well remembering like this, come on. We can go get a snack after."
Dangling food like cheese at the end of a maze. He knew Zhou Mi's angles, all of them. He also knew Zhou Mi's angles when he was dating, having seen Zhou Mi going around with a girl a few weeks back.
Changmin politely asked if Zhou Mi actually dated girls, and Kyuhyun had shot back that he had two eyes and could tell a girl when he saw one. Zhou Mi didn't go around that often with people on campus. And they were talking, and eating together.
He'd ignored Changmin saying that was what Zhou Mi did with him. But they were not dating. And frankly, it didn't matter to him who Zhou Mi wanted to date. Maybe, the whole coal-under-the-floorboards-crush thing he had going on, but he was almost, almost over that. Pretty positive as the bones of Zhou Mi's ankle were more interesting than what Zhou Mi was quizzing him on.
But he was sprawled on the floor of Zhou Mi's dorm room with a small mound of books beside one arm - their only quiet place to study, since Henry was gone for the weekend - when his cell phone rang. Things kind of changed, then.
Most of the time he was okay. Movies. Books. TV shows. They were fiction, not real, not close enough to him to matter. He didn't let them matter. He walked around, like he was every other guy, but he had all those things, more things than just a crush buried down deep. Some of them were screams. Not all of them had sound.
The truck hadn't seen them. The car was totaled.
His mother's voice was strong, though a little shaky. He knew without her saying, that she had thought of his own accident. The one where she had spent almost a month at his bedside, as he fought to live and heal. Knew that she called him, not to upset him, but to make sure he knew they were okay. That he didn't have to worry. His dad was in the hospital for observation, but he was just fine. Kyuhyun talked to him, too, his voice so fake, so chipper as his hands shook.
Zhou Mi was beginning to catch on, the more Kyuhyun said, the longer the conversation went on, and the concern in his eyes had his heartbeat rising.
Closing his eyes, breath quick and shallow as he made her swear to call the second they were home.
"Okay, bye Mom," he said.
Not goodbye, Mom, I'll never speak to you again. Just goodbye, for now. Just for right then.
The tone sounded letting him know the call disconnected, and he shivered. The jolt, the sound of scraping metal and crushed glass. Cacophonies of voices, and crying, and— If it hadn't gone the way it had, he'd have gotten a call from the police, or his sister, or had to call his sister, and every single thing he'd feared—
He bolted for the en suite bathroom, stomach roiling. Barely made it to the toilet, the heaving getting the best of him.
He thought he was trying to deny it, even as he lost control, but it didn't work. The tears came, in the middle. Not sobs, just hot and rolling tears as he tore off toilet paper to wipe his mouth.
He heard shuffling, water running, and accepted the hot wash cloth without thanks. He didn't trust his voice. Zhou Mi eased back out, as he flushed away any evidence of what had happened, rinsing his mouth with water, and staring at his reflection with watery eyes.
"There's mouth wash on the counter, if you want to use that," Zhou Mi said softly, from beyond the wall.
He did, and felt raw and achy inside.
It took two hours, Zhou Mi going out to get something light for Kyuhyun's stomach, and five cups of tea, before Kyuhyun got out the full story. First, that his parents had been in an accident, and were okay. That was easy, and immediate, and probably hinted to Zhou Mi what was up anyway. And then… Then, of the accident that had almost taken his life.
Maybe it had been because he was young, and because right after, he'd been alone. Trying to breathe, wishing someone was there to hold his hand. A decade later, he had nightmares sometimes, still. And the fact that it was his parents—
"She sounded okay, but her voice wasn't normal. It wasn't the voice I expected. I think that shook me the most," Kyuhyun said. "I didn't realize I'd get that upset. I let myself get too worked up."
"I don't think there is ‘too upset' in this case," Zhou Mi said. "No reaction is ever the same, yeah?"
"Yeah," Kyuhyun said, and closed the book he'd been unsuccessfully trying to take notes out of. "Yeah."
"They're okay. And you'll be okay, too. Let's relax. This stuff will wait. Come on."
Zhou Mi urged him up, and onto Zhou Mi's bed so they could rest against the pillows. The laptop was on Zhou Mi's stomach, and the movie was funny. It let some of the aching in his head calm down, his shoulder against Zhou Mi's.
Halfway through, his mom called to tell him they were okay, and at home again, and that his sister was there, and he grinned as Zhou Mi cheered. His head naturally curved into Zhou Mi's shoulder, as Zhou Mi's arm went around him. The rubbing on his back soothing out some of the knots as he pushed the space bar to get the movie started again.
Zhou Mi fell asleep before the movie ended, and Kyuhyun watched the rest, muffling laughter into Zhou Mi's soft white undershirt. And when it ended, he closed the laptop, and stayed very still, listening to Zhou Mi breathe, to the faint beating of his heart. They'd stay like that, until Zhou Mi woke up, he realized. Blowing out a soft breath, and trying not to breathe too hard, as they rested together, him and Zhou Mi and the computer.
When Zhou Mi's hand slid off his back not long after, he found he missed it.
--
Kyuhyun took a psychology course, and it wasn't one he shared with Zhou Mi, but somehow they met up after it anyway. It was how he got to know some of Zhou Mi's friends, introduced to Eunhyuk, as he'd watched them companionably sneered at each other.
It also gave good opportunities for fun.
"Love potions don't work," Eunhyuk scoffed, turning the bottle Kyuhyun had brought with him over and staring at it like it was poison.
"I got it from someone who swears they work," Kyuhyun said, waving his chopsticks and speaking through a partially full mouth. The noodles were too good to wait for, even given the conversation. He hadn't had breakfast, rolling out of bed too late, so even cup noodles were gourmet.
Eunhyuk still didn't look convinced.
"I'll try it," Zhou Mi said, standing and taking the bottle of red liquid from Eunhyuk. Full of something that wasn't poison, that was all Kyuhyun knew. "Not like I have anyone to date."
Eunhyuk stared between them like they were crazy. "Yeah, but I'm dating, and Kyuhyun…is Kyuhyun. How does that stuff even work, anyway?"
"You say the name of the one who you're meant for after you drink it," Kyuhyun said.
And it seemed like he was the only one who caught the smile in the corner of Zhou Mi's eyes, as Zhou Mi made a big fuss over opening the bottle. It was kind of murky and red, and Eunhyuk was wincing as Zhou Mi lifted it.
"Sure you don't want to try?" Zhou Mi asked Eunhyuk one last time.
"I'm good. Go for it."
"Bottoms up," Zhou Mi said, and downed the bottle in a gulp.
Kyuhyun watched, eyebrows raising as Zhou Mi closed his eyes and breathed in deep. He had no idea what that stuff tasted like, but Zhou Mi swallowed several times, and let out a long exhale.
"You okay?" Kyuhyun asked.
"Mm," Zhou Mi hummed.
And his hand raised, grasping at something he couldn't see.
"Okay, good joke," Eunhyuk said. "You swallowed it. Food coloring? Come on."
Zhou Mi shook his head, and kept reaching, leaning so far over that even Kyuhyun was a little concerned.
"What's he doing?" Eunhyuk asked.
"I don't know," Kyuhyun said. "Hey. Zhou Mi, you okay?"
Zhou Mi inhaled sharply, whimpering and reaching.
"You're going to fall," Eunhyuk said, and Kyuhyun stood when he did. Eunhyuk grabbed Zhou Mi's arm and pushed him back before he faceplanted onto the floor. "Come on. Joke's ov—"
Zhou Mi's eyes snapped open, eyes locked on Eunhyuk's face. "Eunhyuk!"
Kyuhyun's only noticeable sound of amusement was a tiny snort, which he desperately tried to cover up as Eunhyuk went from helping to needing help as Zhou Mi grasped at him.
"Okay! Okay, I get the joke. Ha, ha. Eunhyuk is so gullible. Okay? Zhou Mi."
"Eunhyuk," Zhou Mi said softly. "Eunhyuk, can I… I never knew."
Eunhyuk's hand slipped out forcefully out of Zhou Mi's hand as he backed away.
But Zhou Mi followed him.
"Call him off, Kyuhyun!"
"Hey, I can't. I didn't tell him to do anything."
Maybe had implied it, but hadn't told him explicitly.
"Eunhyuk." Zhou Mi's moony voice had Kyuhyun almost strangling himself to keep from laughing, as Eunhyuk used first one hand and then the other to keep Zhou Mi away from him, backed up almost to the wall.
"Can I kiss you?" Zhou Mi asked.
"No!" Eunhyuk protested. "You owe me lunch for the rest of the year if this is a joke. Kyuhyun, help me!"
Kyuhyun flapped his arm helplessly, as though he wasn't sure what to do.
"Zhou Mi, stop I mean it," Eunhyuk said, the words coming out as half a laugh, half an order. "I'll start tickling you!"
"What is tickling in the way of true love?"
Kyuhyun's angle allowed him to see that Zhou Mi's lips poked out hopefully even as Eunhyuk screwed up his face and tried to free one arm to tickle Zhou Mi while still holding him away.
The door swung open.
Junsu.
Staring at Eunhyuk and the attacking Zhou Mi.
"Help!" Eunhyuk yelped.
Zhou Mi spun away, darting back to the bed to pick up his books and bag, and subtly, oh-so-subtly, hiding behind Kyuhyun.
"Let's go!" Zhou Mi whispered, poking Kyuhyun in the back.
"Were you kissing my boyfriend?" Junsu asked, bewildered.
"Only almost!" Zhou Mi said. "It was a joke! Go!"
That last was hissed at Kyuhyun.
"Did...you just call me your boyfriend?" Eunhyuk asked Junsu, before noting that they were almost out the door. "Hey! Zhou Mi! You!"
"I'll buy you lunch tomorrow!" Zhou Mi promised Eunhyuk as they ran for it.
--
They collapsed on a grassy knoll, far away enough to be safe. At least they hadn't actually been kissing. And Junsu had a sense of humor. If anything, Kyuhyun was going to bear the brunt of it more than Zhou Mi. He could see how that went down.
"Is he going to be mad?" Kyuhyun asked.
"Eunhyuk?" Zhou Mi asked, rolling his bag off to the side. "He'll be put out. I'm sure he'll send a bunch of scathing texts later. We'll kiss and make up. Without the kissing."
Kyuhyun laughed at Zhou Mi's joke, pulling his shirt back down his stomach where it had ridden up. "Would you really be into Eunhyuk if he was single?"
"Maybe," Zhou Mi said. "He's hot. And nice. I'd rather date him than a lot of people."
"How many people are you dating right now?"
Zhou Mi snickered, and shoved his hands deeper into his jacket. "How many?"
"Henry says you go out almost every night, usually with different people."
"Henry had better hope that he doesn't have any secrets he wants me to keep," Zhou Mi said, his voice still light.
"It's not like he was tattling, we were just discussing roommates. What did that stuff taste like, anyway?"
Zhou Mi scrunched up his nose. "Like watered down cough syrup."
He laughed, and Zhou Mi pushed him until he rolled down the hill. But the image of Zhou Mi almost kissing Eunhyuk was more unsettling than he would have thought.
--
Then he began a string of accidentally seeing Zhou Mi everywhere. In the cafe, the cafeteria, the library, the common study area. All at times when they weren't meant to be meeting up, and all, as Henry had said, with different people. Sometimes with a mixed group, but then also with girls. Pretty girls, and not always more than one. More study companions, he reasoned. Maybe he'd just been living in a bubble and Zhou Mi really was everywhere. He wanted to have another opportunity to relax together as they had, resting against Zhou Mi and muffling laughs. If he was honest he wanted more than that. But it was pretty easy to hide that away again and just pretend that he was lonely, and that a relationship would be too much trouble.
"No love potion," Kyuhyun swore when he walked into Eunhyuk's room a week later. He'd pretty much said that every time he'd walked in after that time. All three times, but still.
"Junsu offered to beat you guys up, but I told him it was a waste of effort," Eunhyuk joked, shooting Zhou Mi a judging look.
"He didn't think there was a chance Zhou Mi wants to kiss you?"
"Why would he when he's in love with—"
"I think," Zhou Mi said loudly, startling both of them. "Eunhyuk, don't we have a quiz tomorrow? Sorry I brought you over here when we need to study."
"That's okay. I can just…"
Kyuhyun's sentence trailed off when sitting quietly and studying by himself wasn't an option, since Zhou Mi was all apologetic smiles and edging him out the door.
"I'll call you after," Zhou Mi whispered. And grinned as he shut the door, and left Kyuhyun standing in the hallway, utterly confused.
--
In love with—
It could've been Henry for all he knew, and the thought had him groaning at how silly it sounded even in his head. But it didn't matter how silly he sounded. Even if he didn't think he should be dating or even interested in dating, it was something else entirely to think that Zhou Mi would be unavailable. Even for just stupid things like catching a snack together.
And of course letting it go would've been like dropping a million dollars and walking away. He had to know.
They met at a bench halfway between the cafeteria and the library, Zhou Mi already seated and holding up two cans to entice Kyuhyun to sit with him.
"Sorry for earlier."
"No problem. Studying is important. You have a date tonight?"
Zhou Mi laughed. "Not yet. Why?"
"Just wondering. Is it someone I know?"
Zhou Mi smiled, a clever little smile as he played this his drink. Even lifting it to his lips and drinking, before he began to speak.
"He doesn't like to get up in the morning. Hair smells nice. Fits nicely beside me in bed. I met him in one of my first classes."
"Oh," Kyuhyun said.
Bed. That sounded more serious than he imagined.
Of course Zhou Mi wouldn't just send longing looks. Bed. Right.
"His name is Kyuhyun," Zhou Mi said.
Kyuhyun had been in the middle of both a drink and an inhale, and took both in forcefully.
Coughing at the soda stinging his throat and trying to keep his brain between his ears.
"What?" he croaked.
"That's why I hurried you out of there when Eunhyuk was talking. I was scared he was going to say something before I could tell you."
"But…those other people? The girls?"
"Friends. Classmates. I was hoping you might want to go out with me sometime. No schoolwork."
"Are you asked me so Eunhyuk doesn't tell me for real next time?"
Zhou Mi grinned sheepishly, looking down at his can. "He might have suggested that was possible. I can't exactly keep you away from him."
He blew out a breath he'd been holding.
Zhou Mi didn't like him.
He was too busy to date.
He didn't like Zhou Mi like that.
He could've dragged an elephant, and a whale tank, and a big safe full of concrete over to hold all his feelings down and hidden, and kept himself safe. Maybe. Maybe that would've worked for a few minutes. But, it wasn't working right then. It was popping back up, until he was as fizzy inside as the inside of the can he was holding.
He bit his lip, and lifted the can. "So, to our first date."
Zhou Mi met his eyes, surprised. And their cans bumped together with a metallic ping.
Zhou Mi leaned in, close, and had the hairs on the back of his neck standing up. "So you like me, too?"
He cleared his throat. "I'd be the one doing the punching if Eunhyuk tried to kiss you."
And he downed the last of his orange soda and laughed.
--
And his laughter woke him up, when he realized life wasn't quite that easy. Sometimes things got handed to him without him asking, but some things he had to work for.
Well, and sometimes the truth was stranger.
It all started the week Zhou Mi was dogsitting a classmate's poodle, going over to feed and walk the dog a couple of times a day, and starting to show off pictures of it like it was his own flesh and blood.
And then there was the day Zhou Mi called with his voice pitched a little high, as Kyuhyun was just on his way into his building.
"You finish walking your son?" Kyuhyun teased.
"Can I come over? I mean, I'm almost there, but are you free?"
"Yeah, I'm free. But—"
"There was almost an emergency! I'll be right there."
Kyuhyun turned around, going back to the doors and staring outside, his heartbeat rising as he asked Zhou Mi what he meant. A few seconds later, one of the lights above the walkway glinted off red-tinted hair, and Kyuhyun pushed open the door to let Zhou Mi in.
And he hung up, clearly no need for their phones.
"I was walking Henri," Zhou Mi said, jittering a little. Not bothering with formalities like hello, how are you and getting right to the point. Well, the point as soon as Kyuhyun got the image of Zhou Mi walking Henry out of his head. "And you know how dogs are, you let your attention go for one second! I thought he saw a cat, and he jerked the leash right out of my hand. The car stopped so fast, I almost thought— Henri was okay, he was across the road, but the driver shouted at me. We took the shortcut home, though. I was so scared!"
Kyuhyun wasn't sure he'd actually understood half of what Zhou Mi said. He got the important points. Car, dog. Everything okay. But he was too busy watching Zhou Mi's face, and the demonstrated surprise, and simulated running. And the way Zhou Mi's fingers moved. Kyuhyun could feel all the energy and drama, right down to the clear and obvious hurt at being yelled at, while at the same time Zhou Mi seeming like he wanted to be flogged for the transgression.
"Well. At least the car didn't—"
"Oh no," Zhou Mi said, eyes going wide as he stared at Kyuhyun. "I forgot. The night you told me about your car accident. This won't upset you, will it?"
"Uh," he said, blinking as his brain seemed to explode in rainbows of amusement. "Not unless you were the dog."
It took a second before Zhou Mi burst into laughter, taking Kyuhyun's arm. "I'm so glad. I didn't even think. I had to tell someone, or I was going to explode."
And he'd chosen Kyuhyun. It made his throat tight, even as he tried to tell himself that it just meant he was the only one available or closest. Neither were true.
"Yeah, I'm good. As long as you don't play in the street. I wouldn't want to have to collar and leash you."
"That might be okay," Zhou Mi said. "Depending on how it looked on me. But if you're trying to tease me, I can go see Eunhyuk instead."
"He's busy with Junsu, I'm sure. We could put a tag on it. Return to owner, property of Kyuhyun."
Kyuhyun knew what he was saying, even as he said it. Yeah, it was a tease. But it was also a test, of Kyuhyun's own fortitude. Maybe he was strong enough to tell Zhou Mi he liked him, or not. Maybe Zhou Mi wasn't interested. Zhou Mi had been upset, and he'd been bursting to be with someone, and he'd chosen Kyuhyun.
And Kyuhyun was choosing to try.
"So, yeah," Kyuhyun continued. Throat strangling him for a moment. "Sit. Stay?"
"You are teasing me," Zhou Mi said. And whatever emotion had started to light in those eyes, hope or whatever it had been, snuffed.
And Kyuhyun had carried the joke too far.
"If a collar's too obvious, we could just get couple rings instead," Kyuhyun blurted. "You'd probably pick out better ones, so…"
"You'd be willing to get yelled at by guys in cars for me?" Zhou Mi asked, some indefinable jab hidden in the tone of his voice that had Kyuhyun squirming.
"I'd tell him to back off my boyfriend," Kyuhyun said, and his bravado was 85% more than what it was in reality as his head dropped in utter horror and embarrassment - and he nearly broke his nose on Zhou Mi's collarbone as Zhou Mi stepped forward and pulled him in. He adjusted his face so he was more breathing into Zhou Mi's collar than smothered by it, kind of frozen and uncertain as Zhou Mi squeezed him, and kept talking at the speed of light.
"I hoped you liked me. Jungmo will be so happy. I mean, because of Henri, this happened— But not because I accidentally let him go! I'll probably tell him about that anyway but… you!"
Kyuhyun jostled obediently around with Zhou Mi's movements. "So. Wait, this means yes?"
All movement stopped abruptly, Zhou Mi's hand tight in the back of Kyuhyun's jacket. "In response to what?"
Oh. Oh. He hadn't actually asked. And of course Zhou Mi would call him on it.
"If you'll go out with me?" he ventured.
"Yes." And the word was so decisive and the hug so fast, he was pretty sure he'd have gotten whiplash had they not already been leaning into each other.
Of course Zhou Mi wanted to know why then and he babbled something about dreams, and floorboards, and concern, and he didn't even know. But what he did know, was that they were in the middle of a hall, and the things he wanted to do and say right then, were in appropriate to the setting they were in.
"I think we should check my room, see if Changmin is out. So we can…talk. Privately."
He hadn't meant it to come out quite so hoarsely, things kind of blitzing past him, while he tried to make sure he wasn't going to be hitting his head in two hours for being so stupid.
Maybe for how he'd done it. But not that he'd done it.
Of course, Zhou Mi agreed. They couldn't exactly keep hugging like that. And not nosing into Zhou Mi's neck elevated his speed of thought at least triple.
"I like the way you say that," Zhou Mi said, following after him. And Kyuhyun's face flushed with heat.
"Yeah, so. Let me check," he mumbled, and unlocked his dorm room door. There was immediate sound, so Kyuhyun held up a finger. Popping inside for a moment, and talking to Changmin, before going back out.
"They're studying," he told Zhou Mi. "Nowhere else they can go. Maybe your room?"
He followed Zhou Mi's beckon, and he locked the door again, as they stood together in the hall. Maybe he was magnetic, because Zhou Mi's hand rose, to touch his shoulder, his hair.
"Let me call Henry, and I'll see. Hey," Zhou Mi said into the phone, his thumb making passes up and down the back of Kyuhyun's neck and making him shiver. "I'm really sorry this is short notice, but do you have somewhere you can be tonight? I can't really explain, but— Yeah. Oh really? Okay, yes. Thanks, Henry. I'll see you tomorrow."
And Zhou Mi smiled as he tucked away his phone. "He's going to stay with a friend. Will you come back with me?"
It was kind of hard to hold hands surreptitiously, but they managed.
"How long have you liked me?" Kyuhyun wanted to know.
And all he had was Zhou Mi's profile to stare at, but it was something, as Zhou Mi's face moved into a smile. "Long enough to know I would have wanted you to give me a love potion. A real one."
If he'd have been giving one to Zhou Mi, he'd have made sure it tasted better.
--
Maybe it was tempting fate a little, the two of them together in a room, alone for the whole night. Not just classmates, that night. They hadn't even been on a date. Or maybe, that was what they were doing right then as Zhou Mi rummaged for snacks, and they had a moment to relax.
"This wasn't what I anticipated happening when I called you," Zhou Mi said.
And Kyuhyun blinked up at him, letting a little devil into his eyes. "What did you imagine happening?"
"That maybe we'd get some food, and I'd be able to spent some time with you. I like - have really liked - you."
"And you weren't going to do anything about it?"
Zhou Mi laughed. "I invited you to study, and eat with me. I bought you desserts, and saved your seat. Introduced you to my closest friends. It was increments."
"So you'd have confessed on your graduation day, is what you're saying."
Zhou Mi kicked his leg with his socked feet and Kyuhyun grinned and kept eating.
"I'll find you something to sleep in," Zhou Mi said, and the little buzzing got going again.
He couldn't exactly sleep naked, so Zhou Mi unearthed a pair of boxers that had seen better days - not Zhou Mi's undergarment of choice, clearly. He didn't care, because they were soft, and loose, and the t-shirt that Zhou Mi sent with them was similarly soft and smelled a bit like Zhou Mi's shoulder had. There was a moment when Zhou Mi had stared at Henry's side of the room, rubbing his hands together. Maybe wondering if Henry's bed could be used. It wasn't like Zhou Mi's side was spotless and organized, but Henry's looked like… Henry. And they'd shared a bed before.
"Kyuhyun," Zhou Mi said, looking him up and down and holding out his arms so that Kyuhyun could step into them. More of Zhou Mi's shoulder, but being able to appreciate his arms around Zhou Mi's slender waist, and the rise of their chests rubbing together.
There was a soft touch to his neck that he took a moment to realize was Zhou Mi's mouth. He realized, because it happened again. Making him flush to the roots of his hair, as Zhou Mi squeezed him tighter.
"You're quick," he muttered.
"No, no," Zhou Mi assured him. "Not tonight. I'm just glad you're here."
"Your mouth is saying one thing, but your mouth is doing another."
Zhou Mi made a soft sound, petting Kyuhyun's hair. "Then let's get in bed."
Where it was safe. Wait…
It wasn't unlike the time before, Zhou Mi's arm around his shoulders, his head on Zhou Mi's chest. And the laptop on Zhou Mi's stomach.
"You make a good laptop stand," Kyuhyun mused, using the trackpad and squinting at the screen with one eye.
He learned it was hard to get punched when he was all squished against Zhou Mi's side.
But it was fitting, that it was how they kissed the first time. Kyuhyun's hand smashing the laptop keys, laughing at Zhou Mi's face. And then silent, because Zhou Mi leaned in, and fit their lips together.
Only the indignant, incessant beeping of the laptop broke that kiss. But Kyuhyun rose up on his elbow for the next, arm around Zhou Mi's neck, and the computer forgotten entirely for at least the second or third time in his life. It was talking, the way Zhou Mi touched his face, and kissed his mouth. All the little things he'd admired about Zhou Mi tumbling over him as he fought to breathe, and taste, and touch.
But the laptop aside and light off, Zhou Mi tucked them in, curling a hand around Kyuhyun's.
"We should go on a date tomorrow," Zhou Mi whispered, like there was someone listening.
"What do you want to do?" he whispered back.
There were giggles, and rustles, and sweaty palms, and near-miss touches. But they slept, and Kyuhyun knew it wasn't a dream.
--
Dating made Zhou Mi an even stricter study partner. No more study sessions in a dorm room alone, or it quickly devolved into a make out session. Great for learning anatomy and topography of each other's skin, not so great for grades in anything they were getting quizzed on.
Zhou Mi and Henry devised a system, where they'd tape a smiley face to the door, to let him know not to enter for a while. Or at least call first, so he didn't see anything he didn't want to. But they both knew it was Henry's room, too.
So they were very, very careful about that.
"Oh yeah," he moaned, running his hands up Zhou Mi's back. "Okay. You win."
Zhou Mi disentangled his mouth from Kyuhyun's collarbone, and hitched Kyuhyun's thigh a little higher on his hip. The closer they got, the better, and Zhou Mi was like a space heater above him. "I know. We—"
They very obvious sound of the door opening had them scrambling for blankets, and Kyuhyun just barely dared peek around Zhou Mi's shoulder.
Henry yelped, and Kyuhyun gawked.
"There wasn't anything on the door!"
"Yes, there was!" Zhou Mi called over his shoulder, tugging the blanket higher to make sure nothing could be seen.
"Oh, it fell. Oh…kay. I'll be back in an hour or something. You owe me therapy!"
And the door slammed closed.
The bed shook as Zhou Mi laughed, and Kyuhyun followed, trying to find the humor in getting caught bare-assed by Zhou Mi's roommate. Mostly he was just covering his face and trying to forget it had happened. Difficult, when Zhou Mi was still giggling and teasing Kyuhyun's sides.
"You have no shame," he told Zhou Mi, trying not to squirm which would have just been encouraging to Zhou Mi.
"He knows we have sex. It could've been way worse. It could've been that time when you were on top of me, you know."
Yes, he did know. That time when the only covering he'd have had would've been Zhou Mi's hands steadying his hips. Or, hell, any time when Zhou Mi had been blowing him for that matter.
It made being caught with his pants around one ankle, and Zhou Mi squeezed between his legs, seem a little less horrifying. Only a little.
And they did have an hour left. If he knew anything about Henry, it was that he wouldn't be back in an hour on the dot, so they could be a little free. But the way Zhou Mi was starting to move, teasing Kyuhyun in steady increments, he didn't think they'd need that long.
Zhou Mi jostled his shoulder after, pursing his lips in a cute way that said he was apprehensive, before starting to speak.
"We could move in together this next year. Save instances like those."
"We could," Kyuhyun said, thinking. They had a whole year to go, where they could share a dorm. Get used to it before they got to the real world. It was a nice thought to dream to.
After they dressed, anyway.
The only person getting an eyeful of Zhou Mi, was him.
--
Pairing(s): Zhou Mi/Kyuhyun, Eunhyuk/Junsu
Rating: R
Summary: (AU) Escaping dogs, love potions, and pop quizzes. University wasn't supposed to be quite that exciting. 6,350 words.
Warnings: past car accident trauma, some sexual situations
"You aren't even in our year," was the first thing that Kyuhyun said to Zhou Mi. "Why are you in this class?"
Zhou Mi shrugged. "It looked interesting."
And then he'd leaned into the aisle with a grin that bordered on too-excited, to ask Kyuhyun about the assigned books.
Zhou Mi, slightly older, good for a study partner. Also catching up on subjects since he'd taken a year off of university for reasons at the time Zhou Mi had not been willing to divulge. Maybe a little chatty, a little gawky, but Kyuhyun figured if the entire hallway stopped, it'd be filled with college kids in various shabby states, and Zhou Mi would glide right through, like he'd been gold plated.
There was an aura about him, and Kyuhyun kind of hated to use that word. And his crush was semi-persistent, like a nagging cough after a bad cold. But he dealt with that, burying it down deep like a coal he could just barely feel the warmth off of. Just enough, to keep himself from getting hot in the ears.
Kyuhyun roomed with Donghae his first year, and, when he'd been allowed to choose, with Changmin his second. It seemed each semester, Zhou Mi was in at least one of his classes, and it was nice and familiar to have someone he knew kind of built in. It made things easier, just to be able to meet up at the cafe, and see Zhou Mi with his fruit salad, or his burger, or spicy food, and get down to the business of schoolwork.
After the requisite whining. Most of that was on his end, since Zhou Mi seemed to get a weird charge out of some of the work, but there were times when it was in excess, especially in front of a big exam, when even Zhou Mi let it drag him down.
Kyuhyun felt a little more normal on those days, but he never told Zhou Mi that. Some days they ate together, even if they didn't have studying to do. It was informal, and he'd spent more than one meal eating and listening to Zhou Mi make sarcastic comments into his phone in languages he couldn't understand. It was easy to tell by Zhou Mi's tone, the way his lip curled up a little, like he was slinging insults by his expression alone. And then there were the little smiles, as Zhou Mi rolled his eyes and kept talking.
It wasn't like they were super close. They were comfortable. Zhou Mi disappeared between terms and Kyuhyun didn't give him a thought until the next time they ran across each other in class. Every so often he'd check his email to find that Zhou Mi had forwarded something funny or insightful to, or something designed to save the planet one helpful tip at a time, all carefully blind copied of course. He was pretty sure everyone on the list did exactly what he did, and deleted it after smiling a bit indulgently.
Indulgence was one emotion everyone who knew Zhou Mi seemed to share, and that was something he noticed after a few months. He was cute, but not that cute.
He watched Zhou Mi all but wriggle over the sight of a table full of hats, and invalidated all of his arguments.
--
Zhou Mi lived with an exchange student named Henry, and the three of them got along pretty well. Zhou Mi had shown Henry around with Kyuhyun in tow a few times, and Kyuhyun got a decent meal out of Zhou Mi's pocket. They only really saw each other on the occasions that Kyuhyun had to go fetch Zhou Mi, like when Zhou Mi accidentally slept through their study time, or when he expressly asked Kyuhyun to fetch him so he didn't sleep through their study time.
The effect on his grades was nominal, but at least it did give him an interest in studying, unlike his other classes where the computer's siren call was too much to resist when it was left to his own choices.
And even if Zhou Mi could go on tangents - really long, very colorful tangents - he did tend to stay on topic once they got focused. Zhou Mi, when he got going spoke with his hands, his eyes, whatever he was holding, at times looking like he was a helicopter about to take flight, and he was, of course, impossible to ignore. Paying attention to anything else when Zhou Mi was zipping along was unthinkable. Zhou Mi in quiz mode, also difficult to look away from. If Kyuhyun yawned, or spaced, he had Zhou Mi's pen on his forehead.
"It's just a quiz, not even 10% of our grade," Kyuhyun grouched.
"Then if you do good, you have less to worry about on the exams," Zhou Mi said, all prim and annoyingly logical. "I have most of this memorized."
"So we can stop—"
"So it's good review for me, and helping you to remember. You do well remembering like this, come on. We can go get a snack after."
Dangling food like cheese at the end of a maze. He knew Zhou Mi's angles, all of them. He also knew Zhou Mi's angles when he was dating, having seen Zhou Mi going around with a girl a few weeks back.
Changmin politely asked if Zhou Mi actually dated girls, and Kyuhyun had shot back that he had two eyes and could tell a girl when he saw one. Zhou Mi didn't go around that often with people on campus. And they were talking, and eating together.
He'd ignored Changmin saying that was what Zhou Mi did with him. But they were not dating. And frankly, it didn't matter to him who Zhou Mi wanted to date. Maybe, the whole coal-under-the-floorboards-crush thing he had going on, but he was almost, almost over that. Pretty positive as the bones of Zhou Mi's ankle were more interesting than what Zhou Mi was quizzing him on.
But he was sprawled on the floor of Zhou Mi's dorm room with a small mound of books beside one arm - their only quiet place to study, since Henry was gone for the weekend - when his cell phone rang. Things kind of changed, then.
Most of the time he was okay. Movies. Books. TV shows. They were fiction, not real, not close enough to him to matter. He didn't let them matter. He walked around, like he was every other guy, but he had all those things, more things than just a crush buried down deep. Some of them were screams. Not all of them had sound.
The truck hadn't seen them. The car was totaled.
His mother's voice was strong, though a little shaky. He knew without her saying, that she had thought of his own accident. The one where she had spent almost a month at his bedside, as he fought to live and heal. Knew that she called him, not to upset him, but to make sure he knew they were okay. That he didn't have to worry. His dad was in the hospital for observation, but he was just fine. Kyuhyun talked to him, too, his voice so fake, so chipper as his hands shook.
Zhou Mi was beginning to catch on, the more Kyuhyun said, the longer the conversation went on, and the concern in his eyes had his heartbeat rising.
Closing his eyes, breath quick and shallow as he made her swear to call the second they were home.
"Okay, bye Mom," he said.
Not goodbye, Mom, I'll never speak to you again. Just goodbye, for now. Just for right then.
The tone sounded letting him know the call disconnected, and he shivered. The jolt, the sound of scraping metal and crushed glass. Cacophonies of voices, and crying, and— If it hadn't gone the way it had, he'd have gotten a call from the police, or his sister, or had to call his sister, and every single thing he'd feared—
He bolted for the en suite bathroom, stomach roiling. Barely made it to the toilet, the heaving getting the best of him.
He thought he was trying to deny it, even as he lost control, but it didn't work. The tears came, in the middle. Not sobs, just hot and rolling tears as he tore off toilet paper to wipe his mouth.
He heard shuffling, water running, and accepted the hot wash cloth without thanks. He didn't trust his voice. Zhou Mi eased back out, as he flushed away any evidence of what had happened, rinsing his mouth with water, and staring at his reflection with watery eyes.
"There's mouth wash on the counter, if you want to use that," Zhou Mi said softly, from beyond the wall.
He did, and felt raw and achy inside.
It took two hours, Zhou Mi going out to get something light for Kyuhyun's stomach, and five cups of tea, before Kyuhyun got out the full story. First, that his parents had been in an accident, and were okay. That was easy, and immediate, and probably hinted to Zhou Mi what was up anyway. And then… Then, of the accident that had almost taken his life.
Maybe it had been because he was young, and because right after, he'd been alone. Trying to breathe, wishing someone was there to hold his hand. A decade later, he had nightmares sometimes, still. And the fact that it was his parents—
"She sounded okay, but her voice wasn't normal. It wasn't the voice I expected. I think that shook me the most," Kyuhyun said. "I didn't realize I'd get that upset. I let myself get too worked up."
"I don't think there is ‘too upset' in this case," Zhou Mi said. "No reaction is ever the same, yeah?"
"Yeah," Kyuhyun said, and closed the book he'd been unsuccessfully trying to take notes out of. "Yeah."
"They're okay. And you'll be okay, too. Let's relax. This stuff will wait. Come on."
Zhou Mi urged him up, and onto Zhou Mi's bed so they could rest against the pillows. The laptop was on Zhou Mi's stomach, and the movie was funny. It let some of the aching in his head calm down, his shoulder against Zhou Mi's.
Halfway through, his mom called to tell him they were okay, and at home again, and that his sister was there, and he grinned as Zhou Mi cheered. His head naturally curved into Zhou Mi's shoulder, as Zhou Mi's arm went around him. The rubbing on his back soothing out some of the knots as he pushed the space bar to get the movie started again.
Zhou Mi fell asleep before the movie ended, and Kyuhyun watched the rest, muffling laughter into Zhou Mi's soft white undershirt. And when it ended, he closed the laptop, and stayed very still, listening to Zhou Mi breathe, to the faint beating of his heart. They'd stay like that, until Zhou Mi woke up, he realized. Blowing out a soft breath, and trying not to breathe too hard, as they rested together, him and Zhou Mi and the computer.
When Zhou Mi's hand slid off his back not long after, he found he missed it.
--
Kyuhyun took a psychology course, and it wasn't one he shared with Zhou Mi, but somehow they met up after it anyway. It was how he got to know some of Zhou Mi's friends, introduced to Eunhyuk, as he'd watched them companionably sneered at each other.
It also gave good opportunities for fun.
"Love potions don't work," Eunhyuk scoffed, turning the bottle Kyuhyun had brought with him over and staring at it like it was poison.
"I got it from someone who swears they work," Kyuhyun said, waving his chopsticks and speaking through a partially full mouth. The noodles were too good to wait for, even given the conversation. He hadn't had breakfast, rolling out of bed too late, so even cup noodles were gourmet.
Eunhyuk still didn't look convinced.
"I'll try it," Zhou Mi said, standing and taking the bottle of red liquid from Eunhyuk. Full of something that wasn't poison, that was all Kyuhyun knew. "Not like I have anyone to date."
Eunhyuk stared between them like they were crazy. "Yeah, but I'm dating, and Kyuhyun…is Kyuhyun. How does that stuff even work, anyway?"
"You say the name of the one who you're meant for after you drink it," Kyuhyun said.
And it seemed like he was the only one who caught the smile in the corner of Zhou Mi's eyes, as Zhou Mi made a big fuss over opening the bottle. It was kind of murky and red, and Eunhyuk was wincing as Zhou Mi lifted it.
"Sure you don't want to try?" Zhou Mi asked Eunhyuk one last time.
"I'm good. Go for it."
"Bottoms up," Zhou Mi said, and downed the bottle in a gulp.
Kyuhyun watched, eyebrows raising as Zhou Mi closed his eyes and breathed in deep. He had no idea what that stuff tasted like, but Zhou Mi swallowed several times, and let out a long exhale.
"You okay?" Kyuhyun asked.
"Mm," Zhou Mi hummed.
And his hand raised, grasping at something he couldn't see.
"Okay, good joke," Eunhyuk said. "You swallowed it. Food coloring? Come on."
Zhou Mi shook his head, and kept reaching, leaning so far over that even Kyuhyun was a little concerned.
"What's he doing?" Eunhyuk asked.
"I don't know," Kyuhyun said. "Hey. Zhou Mi, you okay?"
Zhou Mi inhaled sharply, whimpering and reaching.
"You're going to fall," Eunhyuk said, and Kyuhyun stood when he did. Eunhyuk grabbed Zhou Mi's arm and pushed him back before he faceplanted onto the floor. "Come on. Joke's ov—"
Zhou Mi's eyes snapped open, eyes locked on Eunhyuk's face. "Eunhyuk!"
Kyuhyun's only noticeable sound of amusement was a tiny snort, which he desperately tried to cover up as Eunhyuk went from helping to needing help as Zhou Mi grasped at him.
"Okay! Okay, I get the joke. Ha, ha. Eunhyuk is so gullible. Okay? Zhou Mi."
"Eunhyuk," Zhou Mi said softly. "Eunhyuk, can I… I never knew."
Eunhyuk's hand slipped out forcefully out of Zhou Mi's hand as he backed away.
But Zhou Mi followed him.
"Call him off, Kyuhyun!"
"Hey, I can't. I didn't tell him to do anything."
Maybe had implied it, but hadn't told him explicitly.
"Eunhyuk." Zhou Mi's moony voice had Kyuhyun almost strangling himself to keep from laughing, as Eunhyuk used first one hand and then the other to keep Zhou Mi away from him, backed up almost to the wall.
"Can I kiss you?" Zhou Mi asked.
"No!" Eunhyuk protested. "You owe me lunch for the rest of the year if this is a joke. Kyuhyun, help me!"
Kyuhyun flapped his arm helplessly, as though he wasn't sure what to do.
"Zhou Mi, stop I mean it," Eunhyuk said, the words coming out as half a laugh, half an order. "I'll start tickling you!"
"What is tickling in the way of true love?"
Kyuhyun's angle allowed him to see that Zhou Mi's lips poked out hopefully even as Eunhyuk screwed up his face and tried to free one arm to tickle Zhou Mi while still holding him away.
The door swung open.
Junsu.
Staring at Eunhyuk and the attacking Zhou Mi.
"Help!" Eunhyuk yelped.
Zhou Mi spun away, darting back to the bed to pick up his books and bag, and subtly, oh-so-subtly, hiding behind Kyuhyun.
"Let's go!" Zhou Mi whispered, poking Kyuhyun in the back.
"Were you kissing my boyfriend?" Junsu asked, bewildered.
"Only almost!" Zhou Mi said. "It was a joke! Go!"
That last was hissed at Kyuhyun.
"Did...you just call me your boyfriend?" Eunhyuk asked Junsu, before noting that they were almost out the door. "Hey! Zhou Mi! You!"
"I'll buy you lunch tomorrow!" Zhou Mi promised Eunhyuk as they ran for it.
--
They collapsed on a grassy knoll, far away enough to be safe. At least they hadn't actually been kissing. And Junsu had a sense of humor. If anything, Kyuhyun was going to bear the brunt of it more than Zhou Mi. He could see how that went down.
"Is he going to be mad?" Kyuhyun asked.
"Eunhyuk?" Zhou Mi asked, rolling his bag off to the side. "He'll be put out. I'm sure he'll send a bunch of scathing texts later. We'll kiss and make up. Without the kissing."
Kyuhyun laughed at Zhou Mi's joke, pulling his shirt back down his stomach where it had ridden up. "Would you really be into Eunhyuk if he was single?"
"Maybe," Zhou Mi said. "He's hot. And nice. I'd rather date him than a lot of people."
"How many people are you dating right now?"
Zhou Mi snickered, and shoved his hands deeper into his jacket. "How many?"
"Henry says you go out almost every night, usually with different people."
"Henry had better hope that he doesn't have any secrets he wants me to keep," Zhou Mi said, his voice still light.
"It's not like he was tattling, we were just discussing roommates. What did that stuff taste like, anyway?"
Zhou Mi scrunched up his nose. "Like watered down cough syrup."
He laughed, and Zhou Mi pushed him until he rolled down the hill. But the image of Zhou Mi almost kissing Eunhyuk was more unsettling than he would have thought.
--
Then he began a string of accidentally seeing Zhou Mi everywhere. In the cafe, the cafeteria, the library, the common study area. All at times when they weren't meant to be meeting up, and all, as Henry had said, with different people. Sometimes with a mixed group, but then also with girls. Pretty girls, and not always more than one. More study companions, he reasoned. Maybe he'd just been living in a bubble and Zhou Mi really was everywhere. He wanted to have another opportunity to relax together as they had, resting against Zhou Mi and muffling laughs. If he was honest he wanted more than that. But it was pretty easy to hide that away again and just pretend that he was lonely, and that a relationship would be too much trouble.
"No love potion," Kyuhyun swore when he walked into Eunhyuk's room a week later. He'd pretty much said that every time he'd walked in after that time. All three times, but still.
"Junsu offered to beat you guys up, but I told him it was a waste of effort," Eunhyuk joked, shooting Zhou Mi a judging look.
"He didn't think there was a chance Zhou Mi wants to kiss you?"
"Why would he when he's in love with—"
"I think," Zhou Mi said loudly, startling both of them. "Eunhyuk, don't we have a quiz tomorrow? Sorry I brought you over here when we need to study."
"That's okay. I can just…"
Kyuhyun's sentence trailed off when sitting quietly and studying by himself wasn't an option, since Zhou Mi was all apologetic smiles and edging him out the door.
"I'll call you after," Zhou Mi whispered. And grinned as he shut the door, and left Kyuhyun standing in the hallway, utterly confused.
--
In love with—
It could've been Henry for all he knew, and the thought had him groaning at how silly it sounded even in his head. But it didn't matter how silly he sounded. Even if he didn't think he should be dating or even interested in dating, it was something else entirely to think that Zhou Mi would be unavailable. Even for just stupid things like catching a snack together.
And of course letting it go would've been like dropping a million dollars and walking away. He had to know.
They met at a bench halfway between the cafeteria and the library, Zhou Mi already seated and holding up two cans to entice Kyuhyun to sit with him.
"Sorry for earlier."
"No problem. Studying is important. You have a date tonight?"
Zhou Mi laughed. "Not yet. Why?"
"Just wondering. Is it someone I know?"
Zhou Mi smiled, a clever little smile as he played this his drink. Even lifting it to his lips and drinking, before he began to speak.
"He doesn't like to get up in the morning. Hair smells nice. Fits nicely beside me in bed. I met him in one of my first classes."
"Oh," Kyuhyun said.
Bed. That sounded more serious than he imagined.
Of course Zhou Mi wouldn't just send longing looks. Bed. Right.
"His name is Kyuhyun," Zhou Mi said.
Kyuhyun had been in the middle of both a drink and an inhale, and took both in forcefully.
Coughing at the soda stinging his throat and trying to keep his brain between his ears.
"What?" he croaked.
"That's why I hurried you out of there when Eunhyuk was talking. I was scared he was going to say something before I could tell you."
"But…those other people? The girls?"
"Friends. Classmates. I was hoping you might want to go out with me sometime. No schoolwork."
"Are you asked me so Eunhyuk doesn't tell me for real next time?"
Zhou Mi grinned sheepishly, looking down at his can. "He might have suggested that was possible. I can't exactly keep you away from him."
He blew out a breath he'd been holding.
He could've dragged an elephant, and a whale tank, and a big safe full of concrete over to hold all his feelings down and hidden, and kept himself safe. Maybe. Maybe that would've worked for a few minutes. But, it wasn't working right then. It was popping back up, until he was as fizzy inside as the inside of the can he was holding.
He bit his lip, and lifted the can. "So, to our first date."
Zhou Mi met his eyes, surprised. And their cans bumped together with a metallic ping.
Zhou Mi leaned in, close, and had the hairs on the back of his neck standing up. "So you like me, too?"
He cleared his throat. "I'd be the one doing the punching if Eunhyuk tried to kiss you."
And he downed the last of his orange soda and laughed.
--
And his laughter woke him up, when he realized life wasn't quite that easy. Sometimes things got handed to him without him asking, but some things he had to work for.
Well, and sometimes the truth was stranger.
It all started the week Zhou Mi was dogsitting a classmate's poodle, going over to feed and walk the dog a couple of times a day, and starting to show off pictures of it like it was his own flesh and blood.
And then there was the day Zhou Mi called with his voice pitched a little high, as Kyuhyun was just on his way into his building.
"You finish walking your son?" Kyuhyun teased.
"Can I come over? I mean, I'm almost there, but are you free?"
"Yeah, I'm free. But—"
"There was almost an emergency! I'll be right there."
Kyuhyun turned around, going back to the doors and staring outside, his heartbeat rising as he asked Zhou Mi what he meant. A few seconds later, one of the lights above the walkway glinted off red-tinted hair, and Kyuhyun pushed open the door to let Zhou Mi in.
And he hung up, clearly no need for their phones.
"I was walking Henri," Zhou Mi said, jittering a little. Not bothering with formalities like hello, how are you and getting right to the point. Well, the point as soon as Kyuhyun got the image of Zhou Mi walking Henry out of his head. "And you know how dogs are, you let your attention go for one second! I thought he saw a cat, and he jerked the leash right out of my hand. The car stopped so fast, I almost thought— Henri was okay, he was across the road, but the driver shouted at me. We took the shortcut home, though. I was so scared!"
Kyuhyun wasn't sure he'd actually understood half of what Zhou Mi said. He got the important points. Car, dog. Everything okay. But he was too busy watching Zhou Mi's face, and the demonstrated surprise, and simulated running. And the way Zhou Mi's fingers moved. Kyuhyun could feel all the energy and drama, right down to the clear and obvious hurt at being yelled at, while at the same time Zhou Mi seeming like he wanted to be flogged for the transgression.
"Well. At least the car didn't—"
"Oh no," Zhou Mi said, eyes going wide as he stared at Kyuhyun. "I forgot. The night you told me about your car accident. This won't upset you, will it?"
"Uh," he said, blinking as his brain seemed to explode in rainbows of amusement. "Not unless you were the dog."
It took a second before Zhou Mi burst into laughter, taking Kyuhyun's arm. "I'm so glad. I didn't even think. I had to tell someone, or I was going to explode."
And he'd chosen Kyuhyun. It made his throat tight, even as he tried to tell himself that it just meant he was the only one available or closest. Neither were true.
"Yeah, I'm good. As long as you don't play in the street. I wouldn't want to have to collar and leash you."
"That might be okay," Zhou Mi said. "Depending on how it looked on me. But if you're trying to tease me, I can go see Eunhyuk instead."
"He's busy with Junsu, I'm sure. We could put a tag on it. Return to owner, property of Kyuhyun."
Kyuhyun knew what he was saying, even as he said it. Yeah, it was a tease. But it was also a test, of Kyuhyun's own fortitude. Maybe he was strong enough to tell Zhou Mi he liked him, or not. Maybe Zhou Mi wasn't interested. Zhou Mi had been upset, and he'd been bursting to be with someone, and he'd chosen Kyuhyun.
And Kyuhyun was choosing to try.
"So, yeah," Kyuhyun continued. Throat strangling him for a moment. "Sit. Stay?"
"You are teasing me," Zhou Mi said. And whatever emotion had started to light in those eyes, hope or whatever it had been, snuffed.
And Kyuhyun had carried the joke too far.
"If a collar's too obvious, we could just get couple rings instead," Kyuhyun blurted. "You'd probably pick out better ones, so…"
"You'd be willing to get yelled at by guys in cars for me?" Zhou Mi asked, some indefinable jab hidden in the tone of his voice that had Kyuhyun squirming.
"I'd tell him to back off my boyfriend," Kyuhyun said, and his bravado was 85% more than what it was in reality as his head dropped in utter horror and embarrassment - and he nearly broke his nose on Zhou Mi's collarbone as Zhou Mi stepped forward and pulled him in. He adjusted his face so he was more breathing into Zhou Mi's collar than smothered by it, kind of frozen and uncertain as Zhou Mi squeezed him, and kept talking at the speed of light.
"I hoped you liked me. Jungmo will be so happy. I mean, because of Henri, this happened— But not because I accidentally let him go! I'll probably tell him about that anyway but… you!"
Kyuhyun jostled obediently around with Zhou Mi's movements. "So. Wait, this means yes?"
All movement stopped abruptly, Zhou Mi's hand tight in the back of Kyuhyun's jacket. "In response to what?"
Oh. Oh. He hadn't actually asked. And of course Zhou Mi would call him on it.
"If you'll go out with me?" he ventured.
"Yes." And the word was so decisive and the hug so fast, he was pretty sure he'd have gotten whiplash had they not already been leaning into each other.
Of course Zhou Mi wanted to know why then and he babbled something about dreams, and floorboards, and concern, and he didn't even know. But what he did know, was that they were in the middle of a hall, and the things he wanted to do and say right then, were in appropriate to the setting they were in.
"I think we should check my room, see if Changmin is out. So we can…talk. Privately."
He hadn't meant it to come out quite so hoarsely, things kind of blitzing past him, while he tried to make sure he wasn't going to be hitting his head in two hours for being so stupid.
Maybe for how he'd done it. But not that he'd done it.
Of course, Zhou Mi agreed. They couldn't exactly keep hugging like that. And not nosing into Zhou Mi's neck elevated his speed of thought at least triple.
"I like the way you say that," Zhou Mi said, following after him. And Kyuhyun's face flushed with heat.
"Yeah, so. Let me check," he mumbled, and unlocked his dorm room door. There was immediate sound, so Kyuhyun held up a finger. Popping inside for a moment, and talking to Changmin, before going back out.
"They're studying," he told Zhou Mi. "Nowhere else they can go. Maybe your room?"
He followed Zhou Mi's beckon, and he locked the door again, as they stood together in the hall. Maybe he was magnetic, because Zhou Mi's hand rose, to touch his shoulder, his hair.
"Let me call Henry, and I'll see. Hey," Zhou Mi said into the phone, his thumb making passes up and down the back of Kyuhyun's neck and making him shiver. "I'm really sorry this is short notice, but do you have somewhere you can be tonight? I can't really explain, but— Yeah. Oh really? Okay, yes. Thanks, Henry. I'll see you tomorrow."
And Zhou Mi smiled as he tucked away his phone. "He's going to stay with a friend. Will you come back with me?"
It was kind of hard to hold hands surreptitiously, but they managed.
"How long have you liked me?" Kyuhyun wanted to know.
And all he had was Zhou Mi's profile to stare at, but it was something, as Zhou Mi's face moved into a smile. "Long enough to know I would have wanted you to give me a love potion. A real one."
If he'd have been giving one to Zhou Mi, he'd have made sure it tasted better.
--
Maybe it was tempting fate a little, the two of them together in a room, alone for the whole night. Not just classmates, that night. They hadn't even been on a date. Or maybe, that was what they were doing right then as Zhou Mi rummaged for snacks, and they had a moment to relax.
"This wasn't what I anticipated happening when I called you," Zhou Mi said.
And Kyuhyun blinked up at him, letting a little devil into his eyes. "What did you imagine happening?"
"That maybe we'd get some food, and I'd be able to spent some time with you. I like - have really liked - you."
"And you weren't going to do anything about it?"
Zhou Mi laughed. "I invited you to study, and eat with me. I bought you desserts, and saved your seat. Introduced you to my closest friends. It was increments."
"So you'd have confessed on your graduation day, is what you're saying."
Zhou Mi kicked his leg with his socked feet and Kyuhyun grinned and kept eating.
"I'll find you something to sleep in," Zhou Mi said, and the little buzzing got going again.
He couldn't exactly sleep naked, so Zhou Mi unearthed a pair of boxers that had seen better days - not Zhou Mi's undergarment of choice, clearly. He didn't care, because they were soft, and loose, and the t-shirt that Zhou Mi sent with them was similarly soft and smelled a bit like Zhou Mi's shoulder had. There was a moment when Zhou Mi had stared at Henry's side of the room, rubbing his hands together. Maybe wondering if Henry's bed could be used. It wasn't like Zhou Mi's side was spotless and organized, but Henry's looked like… Henry. And they'd shared a bed before.
"Kyuhyun," Zhou Mi said, looking him up and down and holding out his arms so that Kyuhyun could step into them. More of Zhou Mi's shoulder, but being able to appreciate his arms around Zhou Mi's slender waist, and the rise of their chests rubbing together.
There was a soft touch to his neck that he took a moment to realize was Zhou Mi's mouth. He realized, because it happened again. Making him flush to the roots of his hair, as Zhou Mi squeezed him tighter.
"You're quick," he muttered.
"No, no," Zhou Mi assured him. "Not tonight. I'm just glad you're here."
"Your mouth is saying one thing, but your mouth is doing another."
Zhou Mi made a soft sound, petting Kyuhyun's hair. "Then let's get in bed."
Where it was safe. Wait…
It wasn't unlike the time before, Zhou Mi's arm around his shoulders, his head on Zhou Mi's chest. And the laptop on Zhou Mi's stomach.
"You make a good laptop stand," Kyuhyun mused, using the trackpad and squinting at the screen with one eye.
He learned it was hard to get punched when he was all squished against Zhou Mi's side.
But it was fitting, that it was how they kissed the first time. Kyuhyun's hand smashing the laptop keys, laughing at Zhou Mi's face. And then silent, because Zhou Mi leaned in, and fit their lips together.
Only the indignant, incessant beeping of the laptop broke that kiss. But Kyuhyun rose up on his elbow for the next, arm around Zhou Mi's neck, and the computer forgotten entirely for at least the second or third time in his life. It was talking, the way Zhou Mi touched his face, and kissed his mouth. All the little things he'd admired about Zhou Mi tumbling over him as he fought to breathe, and taste, and touch.
But the laptop aside and light off, Zhou Mi tucked them in, curling a hand around Kyuhyun's.
"We should go on a date tomorrow," Zhou Mi whispered, like there was someone listening.
"What do you want to do?" he whispered back.
There were giggles, and rustles, and sweaty palms, and near-miss touches. But they slept, and Kyuhyun knew it wasn't a dream.
--
Dating made Zhou Mi an even stricter study partner. No more study sessions in a dorm room alone, or it quickly devolved into a make out session. Great for learning anatomy and topography of each other's skin, not so great for grades in anything they were getting quizzed on.
Zhou Mi and Henry devised a system, where they'd tape a smiley face to the door, to let him know not to enter for a while. Or at least call first, so he didn't see anything he didn't want to. But they both knew it was Henry's room, too.
So they were very, very careful about that.
"Oh yeah," he moaned, running his hands up Zhou Mi's back. "Okay. You win."
Zhou Mi disentangled his mouth from Kyuhyun's collarbone, and hitched Kyuhyun's thigh a little higher on his hip. The closer they got, the better, and Zhou Mi was like a space heater above him. "I know. We—"
They very obvious sound of the door opening had them scrambling for blankets, and Kyuhyun just barely dared peek around Zhou Mi's shoulder.
Henry yelped, and Kyuhyun gawked.
"There wasn't anything on the door!"
"Yes, there was!" Zhou Mi called over his shoulder, tugging the blanket higher to make sure nothing could be seen.
"Oh, it fell. Oh…kay. I'll be back in an hour or something. You owe me therapy!"
And the door slammed closed.
The bed shook as Zhou Mi laughed, and Kyuhyun followed, trying to find the humor in getting caught bare-assed by Zhou Mi's roommate. Mostly he was just covering his face and trying to forget it had happened. Difficult, when Zhou Mi was still giggling and teasing Kyuhyun's sides.
"You have no shame," he told Zhou Mi, trying not to squirm which would have just been encouraging to Zhou Mi.
"He knows we have sex. It could've been way worse. It could've been that time when you were on top of me, you know."
Yes, he did know. That time when the only covering he'd have had would've been Zhou Mi's hands steadying his hips. Or, hell, any time when Zhou Mi had been blowing him for that matter.
It made being caught with his pants around one ankle, and Zhou Mi squeezed between his legs, seem a little less horrifying. Only a little.
And they did have an hour left. If he knew anything about Henry, it was that he wouldn't be back in an hour on the dot, so they could be a little free. But the way Zhou Mi was starting to move, teasing Kyuhyun in steady increments, he didn't think they'd need that long.
Zhou Mi jostled his shoulder after, pursing his lips in a cute way that said he was apprehensive, before starting to speak.
"We could move in together this next year. Save instances like those."
"We could," Kyuhyun said, thinking. They had a whole year to go, where they could share a dorm. Get used to it before they got to the real world. It was a nice thought to dream to.
After they dressed, anyway.
The only person getting an eyeful of Zhou Mi, was him.
--
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2012-04-13 02:55 am (UTC)There was supposed to be a hurt/comfort element to the story, and that was kind of a sideways way of getting it in...since I was on a tight deadline and having a brain blank on other ways a college AU could be angsty. (short of making that love potion real and having Kyuhyun wangst about it :P) /wraps Kyuhyun in cotton fluff