Title: lost in the crowd (found by your side)
Pairing: Kai/Kyungsoo
Genre: fluff
Length: 1673w
Warnings: this was an ask.fm drabble
Prompt: random woman tries to flirt with jongin and soo doesnt think much about it cause he trusts jongin but the girls get angry and glares at woman? + prompt for your parents!au-- one of the girls' teachers start flirting with either kyungsoo or jongin at a parents' teachers meet because she didn't rly know abt kaisoo being a couple or smth and girl gets super defensive like STOP FLIRTING WITH MY FATHER
( ‘Okay,’ he says, linking his fingers with Kyungsoo’s. ‘Come on,’ )
Title: through the crayoned clouds
Pairing: Kai/Kyungsoo
Genre: fluff
Length: 2293w
Warnings: this was an ask.fm drabble
Prompt: Parents!au where their eldest daughter is independent causing them to sometime think that she's capable of handling matter on her own and later she feels like she is being neglected.
( Kyungsoo’s voice echoes off the walls of his and Jongin’s house. )
Title: lines in the sky
Pairing: Kai/Kyungsoo
Genre: fluff
Length: 1117w
Warnings: this was an ask.fm drabble
Prompt: one of the girls' got really frustrated with something/someone and accidentally swore in front of kaisoo
( He sighs, flips a page. )
Title: pressed between
Pairing: Kai/Kyungsoo
Genre: fluff
Length: 1738w
Warnings: this was an ask.fm drabble
Prompt: parents au kaisoo stumbling upon one of the girls' diaries and reading about her frustrations over something (even though THEY SHOULDN'T READ THE DIARY LMAO)
( A little reminder pops up in the corner of the screen of his Macbook, and Kyungsoo groans. )
Title: truth be told (i never was yours)
Pairing: past!Kai/Kyungsoo
Genre: angst
Length: 4123w
Summary: There are shadows in Kyungsoo’s life, and it’s time he sees the light.
honeymoon avenue (this is so cute………. i waNNA HOLD KYUNGSOO’S HANDS TOO WHO MUST I FIGHT)
under the light of a thousand stars(I CALL THIS THE GOD OF ALL DOMESTIC FICS its honestly so great its inspired by thinking out loud thAT SONG PRETTY MUCH SCREAMS DOMESTIC TO ME)
Trade Me a Kiss
put your hearts up (TAEOH IN A PENGUIN ONESIE!!! JESUS HAVE MERCY ON ME)
Fairytale (not sure if this counts as domestic au??? bUT THEY JUST GOT MARRIED AND THEY’RE JUST IN ~~~DISBELIEF~~ hOW CUTE!!!)
uponinfinity’s come build our home, my love au (is all u need)
there are a lot more but you can find them in our request list! the ones i mentioned here are just my most favorite omg
BASTA-!? NINA FINSIH YOUR SENTANCES! im lame i dont get what you are trying to say im sorry we arent at that point where i can finish off your sentences its because as i said im lame, and other that, i am oblivious and a little too dense but yes boys just... idk i don't even know how to interact with them, i don't talk to boys im to shy of a person :P & KAISOO IS MY LIFE NINA DONT TELL ME WHAT TO DO ♡ but yes i do need start becoming more independant.. - typo anon
HAHAA I SAW UR OTHER MESSAGE GLAD U UNDERSTAND IM SORRY OTL bc i know coughs boys on tumblr and coughs they can’t see this ok sorry not sorry <33 IT’S OKAY BB ONE STEP AT A TIME ONE DAY THOSE BOYS WILL MEAN NOTHING TO U except your loved one, be it girl or boy :~)
uponinfinity fics are open again and im crying bc ive never read hers but i know they’re good so im reading all of them now hueheuehe
Summary: Snapshots of Jongin and Kyungsoo’s life together (or, Jongin takes literally years to say the thing, and Kyungsoo? Doesn’t.)
Read here
Note: the author is doing this project where they’re going to write a fic for every song from ed sheeran’s X album???????? thats the most wonderful thing i’ve ever heard aND THIS FIC IS THE ONE MEANT FOR ‘THINKING OUT LOUD’ HOLY SHIT GUYS i think im in love with this author /sighs dreamily/ i have so many compliments to give the story is truly great ill treasure it forever no lies i love it so much -admin may
Title: under the light of a thousand stars Pairing: Kai/Kyungsoo Genre: fluff Length: 10532w Summary: Snapshots of Jongin and Kyungsoo's life together (or, Jongin takes literally years to say the thing, and Kyungsoo? Doesn't.) / THIS WAS RUSHED I'M SORRY The third of my Project Multiply fics. :)
Basically, my aim is to write a fic for every Ed Sheeran song on his 2014 album Multiply that tugged at my heartstrings. Here’s the masterlist of my efforts. :)
01 One - Complications; and How They Arise
Tell me that you turned down the man who asked for your hand - cause you’re waiting for me. And I know, you’re gonna be away a while, but I’ve got no plans at all to leave.
11 Thinking Out Loud - Under the Light of a Thousand Stars
And baby, my heart could still fall as hard at 23. I’m thinking about how people fall in love in mysterious ways, maybe just the touch of a hand. Me, I fall in love with you every single day, and I just wanna tell you I am.
12 Afire Love - In Life and Love
I could look into your eyes until the sun comes up, and we’re wrapped in light and life and love. Put your open lips on mine and slowly let them shut, cause they’re designed to be together. With your body next to mine our hearts will beat as one, and we’re set alight - we’re afire love.
So this is a masterlist of my parents!au kaisoo verse arranged in chronological order. I still have prompts coming in so this post will be continuously updated! ^^
note: this whole verse is based off prompts people send me, so instead of summaries, i’ll put down the prompts. (read: i’m too lazy for summaries)
drabbles & oneshots
* = > 1000w word count, unmarked are all less than that.
+ = newest ones. updated 22/10/2015
* shiver in my arms baby i’ll keep you warm: is it okay if i give a prompt of parent au like after jongin and kyungsoo had sex for the first time one of them said ‘let’s get married and adopt children’ and the other one just laughed at it but actually it’s kind of a real question…
* so promise me (forever): heyyy! i’m the one who asked about kaisoo proposal. and yes! i meant it in relation to parents!au. :D
* self-shackling: please write jongin being overly possessive over kyungsoo for the parents au PLEASE AUTHORNIM I LOVE THAT VERSE SO MUCH AND I LOVE YOU ^O^
we go together like - : parents!au kaisoo first date after jongin proposes and they start calling each other husband / other mushy as hell names HAHAHAH
with shaking hands: leaving a prompt for ur kaisoo!parents au!! how about the backstory with jongin and kyungsoo’s parents (or is it just his mom?) i rmb reading in one of the drabbles (i think it was with the ‘jongin learning how to braid hair’ one) jongin saying “now ur mother wont hate me anymore” or something :D
* all of me (loves all of you, forever): what about a parents!au about their wedding day and baekhyun as the wedding planner where he fusses about everything and kaisoo’s like ‘chill bro..we’re the ones getting married not you’…sorry if this is too much to ask..hehe
like a nervous heart: Can you make a fic or drabble whee kyungsoo get possesive and jealous because everybody is watching his husband jongin ?
i’m singin’ 1 4 3: married kaisoo prompt where jongin goes on a business trip and kyungsoo has had a shitty day on his own and jongin calls to find his husband in tears and frustrated (this one actually happens somewhere in the middle of once upon a time, they wrote)
* once upon a time, they wrote: its abt when jongin and kyungsoo had their first daughter. it must be cute and touching ;u;
when i’m in this dream: hey~ can u write a kaisoo where they are parents hehehe
* all along: how about soojung’s adoption story?
* strictly business: is it possible to make kaisoo pair up for a business? like kyungsoo have to design something and jongin is the accountant for that client or smth and kyungsoo was shocked when he first saw his husband and they get to spend alittle more time tgt
to the beat of her drums: parents au where kaisoo is currently in an intense make-out session like super intense but then one of their daughters disturbed them (can be anytime of day actually lmao)
just hold on: parents!au prompt: what about kaisoo grocery shopping with the girls and they’re making it rly hard like destroying everything in sight and running away :3 bonus points if an ahjumma walks up to them and ask if this toddler belongs to them after she runs away ^^ I’m sorry this is so long ily xo
teach me your ways, master: parents!kaisoo with jongin learning how to braid his daughters’ hair for them and kyungsoo laughing at him lol
beauty on the beast: parents!kaisoo. kyungsoo was busy with work, so jongin instead had to stay with their daughters. when kyungsoo went home, he came home to his daughters watching some barbie/disney princess movie on tv with jongin. jongin had make up on and his hair was messily tied & full of colorful clips
* revisitation: hi~ :) you’re parents!au fics are just so great and fluffy and adorable and wonderful and yeah, i love them (and i love you for writing them) so, i have a prompt for you: jongin teaching one of the girls (or all three of them) how to dance? pretty please~ o3o
like watching the sun rise: maybe i am a little bit of a sadist but i want to see parents!kaisoo having a tiff. their daughter(s) may or may not overhear it. but i am not that much of a sadist so maybe they make up or something. hihihihihihiiiiiii. 8)
strings in colour, strings of you: hi emma ^^ I have a little prompt for you~ how about kaisoo taking the girls to the carnival for the first time ^~^ I hope you have the loveliest of days!
twist and lock: how about jongin getting too immersed in the whole hair braiding business :»»
between sheets: parents!au where the kids disturb daddy and papa’s alone time ~
honesty (and how cruel it is): parents!au prompt :)) - one of the girls say “When I grow up, I want to marry Uncle Baekhyun! Because etc. etc!” and then queue Kaisoo’s reaction. (but lol if Baekhyun is with them and Kyungsoo doesn’t react positively haha) (also if either one of them says “What about daddy/papa?” & gets rejected)
* train tracks: I love your kaisoo parents!au <3 if you could, please write about everyone falling sick one after the other, until one parent is left running around taking care of everyone. And then when he falls sick, everyone gets to spoil him. Thank you!! :)) + parents au where the girls take turns to care for either a sick jongin or kyungsoo because the other one is busy with work
and smile for me: prompt for you E - kaisoo sending their kid to school and she is embarrassed because she has two dads
* so i did it myself: can i request a prompt for parents!au where kaisoo breaks to their children about their adoption because apparently not all of them understand that concept- being surrounded by children with parents of both genders?
best friend: parents au - the girls want a pet poodle, or two, maybe even three ;) (because jongin in real life lighting up after seeing his dogs is heartwarming)
goodbye to our yesterdays: parents au - kaisoo with their girls moving into a new home after many years living in it
eye of the tiger: ALSO KYUNGSOO PLAYFULLY KICKS THEM SOMETIMES but one of them learns hapkido from uncle baekhyun lmao so kyungsoo doesn’t play with her v often hehe
but nobody’s home: kaisoo and family go to new york for a vacation and the kids got lost & separated
patience, child: wondering if you can write a parents au where one of the girls wants to go on a really expensive school trip and kaisoo has to break it to her that money’s a little bit tight because 3 girls or some reason? thanks emma! :D
save me from myself: kyungsoo’s out of the country for a few days and jongin gets a call from the school that their daughter is sick. hilarity ensues as he tries to figure out how a thermometer works and how one is supposed to cook chicken soup.
wrapped around your little finger: kaisoo are arguing about something small and one of the girls comes in and goes like “you two are being stupid, i demand you to kiss and make up”
on the other side of a street i knew: their children are slightly bigger now and kyungsoo still grabs hold of their hands when they cross the roads together much to the embarrassment of the girls bc “dad!!! i can cross the road by myself thanks!” :3
+ * lost in the crowd (found by your side): random woman tries to flirt with jongin and soo doesnt think much about it cause he trusts jongin but the girls get angry and glares at woman? + prompt for your parents!au-- one of the girls' teachers start flirting with either kyungsoo or jongin at a parents' teachers meet because she didn't rly know abt kaisoo being a couple or smth and girl gets super defensive like STOP FLIRTING WITH MY FATHER
* bundled up in warmth (bundled up in love): parents!au : Luna’s classmates are mocking her/ bullying/outcasting her for her tan skin. They also called her ugly too because of her skin tone. Then come Jongin to the rescue because he had once been in her shoes too.
additional: parents!kaisoo prompt for you - one of the kids did very badly for her exams and kyungsoo flips out while jongin sits her down and talks to her.
* not quite yours and not quite mine: a prompt for your parents!kaisoo: the kids cooking for their parents’ birthdays (since they’re one day after another) and trying not to burn the kitchen down~
no, thank you: parents!kaisoo dealing and facing their daughters “girl problems” (aka periods and such).
* spreading your wings (except… not really): kaisoo at a pharmacy with the girls buying the girls’ necessities and arguing over which brand of pad is better and the girls getting embarrassed
we’re going down swinging: another prompt :3 kaisoo finding out about their child’s boyfriend hehehehe
* meet the parents: PARENTS!AU PROMPT! ONEW/SEHUN/ONE OF THE GIRLS’ BOYFRAN COMES OVER FOR DINNER ONE DAY PLSPLSPLSPLS EMMA PLS
hit that high: pls make parents!au prompt about sunyoung and kyungsoo singing huhu because it’s so precious ;;;A;;; thank you so much D:
hashtag (this is what it feels like): kaisoo finding one of the girls’ twitter accounts and realising she’s having some problems and sounds really sad
+ * pressed between: parents au kaisoo stumbling upon one of the girls' diaries and reading about her frustrations over something (even though THEY SHOULDN'T READ THE DIARY LMAO)
* lessons from my father: hey em, got a parents!au prompt for you U TOTALLY DA MAN ㄟ(￣▽￣ㄟ) + I hate your parents au sfm because I always get feels from it. Gah if only we have a Jongin in our lives ;; /sobs but here’s a prompt if you have time! Soojung-bonding with her parents? ^^ bec I always notice Sunyoung and Jinri but not so much Soojung :( thank you and I don’t rly hate u I love u♡
check yes, juliette: emma you need to write a kaisoo!parents dealing with angsty kid please
* theirs: haiiii can I request a kaisoo where they have been married for a long time and sometimes they don’t talk much but every night they don’t forget their good night kiss no matter how bad the fight etc etc
* press your smile to my skin: parents au prompt- kaisoo going on a holiday (just the two of them) and kyungsoo being paranoid about what his girls are up to. even though they’re not really doing anything. (maybe one of them throws a party??? much to the dismay of the other 2 sisters LOL)
* hold your tongue (and my hand in yours): parents au - one of the girls has a /huge/ fight with kaisoo and someone (either the girl or jongin or kyungsoo) says something very hurtful
stilling seconds: jongin being overprotective of his girls (parents!au)
* perfect (isn’t what i’d call you): parents!kaisoo prompt: kaisoo having to deal with one of their daughters’ heartbreak over someone and advising her on r/s bla bla
* stand by you: dskjhfsj jongin taking the girls out for coffee or smth on a cold day and jinri walking in all jolly-ho before her eyes land on oh my god blonde hair gasp sehun and then jongin whips around like where which one must i beat make it happen pls
* back straight, smile strapped on: one of them gets a part-time job during the school hols and kaisoo pays her a visit to see her getting yelled by a very nasty customer
when i say jump: Also would like to request that you fill a prompt: parents!kaisoo celebrating one of their children’s birthdays and they get her boyfriend to stand in for the surprise
until the morning sun: parents!kaisoo giving support to their oldest daughter for her college entrance exams
+ * through the crayoned clouds: Parents!au where their eldest daughter is independent causing them to sometime think that she's capable of handling matter on her own and later she feels like she is being neglected.
safe (when you’re with me): another parents!kaisoo prompt: one of the girls have a late-night out and she gets lost in the city; tries to call one of her sisters to help her but ends up having kaisoo to pick her up anyway
+ * lines in the sky: one of the girls' got really frustrated with something/someone and accidentally swore in front of kaisoo
extras // things people ask me
#1 | who is the more likeable/loveable parent?
#2 | who is the most difficult child?
#3 | how do other children view kaisoo’s family structure?
#4 | does kyungsoo ever understand why jongin is pissed at him?
#5 | what does kaisoo like to do when they’re not dealing with the kids?
#6 | will kaisoo ever have grandchildren?
#7 | easiest & hardest thing about writing this au?
#8 | how do kyungsoo and jongin differ when disciplining their children?
#9 | would kaisoo ever break up?
#10 #11 | kaisoo characterisations
#12 | what are the kids’ sexual orientations?
#13 | of the girls, who’s a picky eater?
#14 | how did they get jinri & soojung?
#15 | why did i choose three daughters?
#16 | which of the girls is a daddy’s/papa’s girl?
#17 | do the girls ever get jealous because they think kaisoo gives the others more attention?
When they move in to their new apartment, their first home together, the first thing Jongin does is root about in one of his boxes, pull out his iPod speakers. There’s a stain on the front of his white tshirt, and his skin is starting to go from slick with sweat to sticky with it, but he ignores all this in favour of finding the nearest power point. When he finds it, he plugs his speakers in.
Kyungsoo walks in with the last of the boxes to find Jongin sitting cross legged, facing the wall.
He sighs.
‘We need to get some of this stuff out,’ says Kyungsoo, kicking at the flat-pack box that contains the skeleton of their bed, trying to get it to their bedroom with as little effort as he can manage. It’s heavy and Kyungsoo’s tired, so it moves barely an inch or so before he gives up. ‘Jongin, c’mon,’ he grumbles, brow knitting together when his boyfriend doesn’t move.
‘Hold on,’ says Jongin, scrolling through the music on his iPod until he reaches the one with the familiar title. He smiles when he finds it, thumb tapping on it before he plugs the device in, and stands up. There’s a sizeable amount of free space in the middle of all the small towers of boxes piled in their living room, and he grins before he reaches out to take Kyungsoo’s hand, a soft laugh tumbling from his lips when his boyfriend accidentally squeaks as he’s pulled close.
Kyungsoo frowns at him. ‘I don’t like being manhandled,’ he says, and his expression is so serious and so disgruntled, Jongin’s almost overcome with the urge to smother his boyfriend with kisses - but he knows the elder wouldn’t like that. He’s always been quick to point out that he’s a whole year and two days older than Jongin, and the younger had better know to treat him as such.
And I can’t sweep you off of your feet
Still, with Kyungsoo in his arms, looking so dissatisfied and tired, Jongin can’t help but push the thought out of his head, along with the various threats Kyungsoo’s made for every time he’d done the exact same thing in the past.
Will your mouth still remember the taste of my love
‘Dance with me,’ says Jongin, softly, as if wary that the air between them would try to steal the words away before they reached Kyungsoo’s ears. He lays his hand across the small of Kyungsoo’s back, bites down on his lower lip, looks the elder in the eye.
Kyungsoo suddenly feels like the room’s grown much too hot, and he can feel pink climbing into his cheeks.
Will your eyes still smile from your cheeks
‘I’m sweaty,’
‘I don’t care.’
‘You’re sweaty.’
‘I know you don’t care,’
‘We don’t have anywhere to sleep tonight,’
‘Soo, please. Just. Dance with me.’
Well, me - I fall in love with you every single day
‘I can’t dance.’
‘I lead, you follow,’
‘I’m going to hurt us both.’
‘I trust you.’
Take me into your loving arms
They sway together, Kyungsoo’s head on Jongin’s chest, Jongin’s hand on Kyungsoo’s waist, under the bare light in their new living room. They’re both tired, limbs weighing heavy on every move, every turn, but Jongin manages to lead Kyungsoo through most of the song without incident.
People fall in love in mysterious ways - maybe it’s all part of a plan
‘I love you,’ whispers Jongin, the words getting lost in Kyungsoo’s hair.
I’ll just keep on making the same mistakes
Kyungsoo lifts his head up, frowns at Jongin, chin still pressed against his chest. ‘I’m already all gross from the furniture moving. Please do not pollute me further with your greasiness.’
Jongin doesn’t have to hear it to know what Kyungsoo’s thinking. I love you, too.
Kiss me under the light of a thousand stars
The end of the song draws near, and Jongin gently pushes Kyungsoo away, tries to turn him, intends to catch him back in his arms.
Oh, darling, place your head on my beating heart
It doesn’t work. Kyungsoo doesn’t know where to put his feet next, manages to get it caught under Jongin’s right, and then proceeds to lose his balance. When he falls he keeps Jongin’s fingers clasped between his own, and before they know it, Kyungsoo’s lying flat on his back on the floor, Jongin lying on top of him.
Kyungsoo stares at Jongin for a moment, before they both break out into a grin.
‘You are so bad at dancing.’
‘I told you so.’
I’m thinking out loud
Jongin dips his head down, hovers for a moment over Kyungsoo’s face before he lowers himself all the way, presses their lips together and lets himself enjoy the warmth of the man underneath him, lets himself savour the time he has with him.
When he pulls away, Kyungsoo’s eyes are softer, Jongin’s breathing is deeper, and there’s a feeling of general calm surrounding them, a warmth that’s grown so familiar over the past year, but one that still excites them both, all the same.
That maybe we found love right where we are
‘We’ll just get the bed done tomorrow,’ murmurs Kyungsoo, and Jongin nods. He lays his head down on Kyungsoo’s chest, feels his heartbeat against his ear, smiles at how it speeds up right after he kisses it.
This - him and Kyungsoo, just him and Kyungsoo - this is really all he needs.
‘You’re going to have to deal with the place sooner or later,’ Luhan had shrugged, hours before. He’d found Jongin curled up on his couch in his boxers, crumbs all over his chest from the bag of chips he’d stuffed himself with earlier. His eyes are trained on the screen of his iPad, detailing the volatility of the housing market, and it doesn’t take Luhan long to put two and two together. He sighs.
‘Look, Jongin - let’s be a little more practical here. You can’t put that place up for sale unless it’s empty, alright. People aren’t going to want to deal with all the junk you still have there,’ Luhan had said, tugging on Jongin’s arm until the younger - albeit begrudgingly - moved into a sitting position.
Jongin hadn’t said anything. Luhan sighed again.
‘Think about it this way, man,’ he sighed. ‘The faster you get rid of all that stuff…’
His voice trailed off, and Jongin finally looks up at him, meets the elder’s gaze with his own. He’d thought that maybe, just maybe - he’d find the right words, this time. Luhan swallowed.
‘The faster you get rid of your past with Kyungsoo.’
This is how, three hours later, Jongin finds himself back in his old apartment building, four cardboard boxes in tow, determination steeling his jaw as he climbs the single flight of stairs he has to take to get to his unit. Every step weighs heavy on his heart and conscience, but he knows this is something he has to do.
He has to at least try getting over Kyungsoo.
The door to his unit swings open under trembling fingers and Jongin - he can’t bring himself to take the first step inside. It all looks the same, the couch with its back to the front door, the dining table set to fit six - but nothing really is the same anymore.
He used to call this place home, but now… Now it just wasn’t.
Not anymore.
He debates for a minute whether or not to take his shoes off, deciding not to when he thinks how nobody lives here anymore. Someone’s going to come in and wipe the place clean of anything he’s ever stained it with, of every memory, of every smile. Footprints are easier to get rid of, after all.
The apartment smells different, is the first thing Jongin notices. The air hangs stale in every room, no longer scented by hints of shampoo and detergent, traces of meals cooked past midnight. It’s all dissolved into the kind of smell that only sticks in abandoned rooms that nobody visits anymore, smatterings of a love burned out splattered across every wall.
Jongin is about to make his way to the bedroom - rip off the bandage as quickly as he can - when a voice just behind him stops him, and he almost drops everything he’s holding.
‘Jongin?’
Kyungsoo’s voice curling around the syllables of his name - it’s always been his favourite sound.
He turns around.
He knows he isn’t prepared to see Kyungsoo again, not draped against the background of their first home together, but he could never have foreseen the intensity of the burn in his heart when he sees what Kyungsoo’s holding in his hand.
It’s their wedding photo, glossy paper depicting a smiling Jongin with his arm around Kyungsoo’s waist, his head tilted to the side just enough to touch Kyungsoo’s.
They are silent for a long, long minute, the events of the past few years replaying in Jongin’s mind, all of them boiling down to screaming and shouting and words being thrown like daggers, of tears and more shouting and even more screaming. It had all, eventually, torn them apart, lead to the papers Kyungsoo had filed against Jongin, the ones with a foreboding black X in a box next to the words Dissolution of marriage.
Tears fall from Kyungsoo’s eyes, one by one, trailing down his cheek as he grips the frame so tight his knuckles turn white. Jongin reaches for it, his fingers trembling around the gilded frame. He traces the smiles on their faces with his eyes, remembering the day he’d promised himself to Kyungsoo, remembering the atmosphere of love and of hope that had lasted well into the night. It was a day of wonderful chaos, the kind Jongin never thought he would enjoy - but he had.
He loved every minute of it, because he knew, by the end of it, Kyungsoo would be his forever.
He almost laughs to himself.
Forever looks a lot shorter once you’re on the other side of it.
‘What happened, Kyungsoo?’ Jongin asks, surprising himself when his voice comes out broken and wet. ‘What happened to us? Why didn’t we work?’
Kyungsoo presses his lips together, tilts his head up to the ceiling to stop any more tears from falling. What’s done is done, he reminds himself, there isn’t any turning back now.
It takes all his willpower to look Jongin in the eye, and when he does, he struggles not to wipe the tears from his soon-to-be ex-husband’s face. The time for comfort, for trying to rekindle a spark on wet wood - it’s gone now.
They need to face reality, they need to heal.
‘We thought we loved each other enough,’ begins Kyungsoo, voice cracking midway through his sentence. He licks his lips. ‘But… We didn’t.’ he says, and the words come out so simply that Jongin can’t help but think there really isn’t any other explanation. The truth had been laid out in front of him for months, he was only just allowing himself to see it in its entirety now.
He nods, a little breath escaping him as he wipes the tears away from his eyes. Kyungsoo’s are dry now, too, and he knows - there really is no use standing there, crying about things they’ve tried to fix, but were unable to. They were a sandcastle fashioned by children’s fingers, impatience weaved into their very foundation.
The tide came in.
They didn’t stand a chance.
Jongin watches as Kyungsoo composes himself, throws one last, longing look at him before the latter picks up his own box of stuff. He makes his way to the front door, hesitating for a moment before he turns to say goodbye to Jongin, his voice a snipped greeting.
And he leaves, and Jongin is left alone in the shell of his old home, every memory etched into the plaster, every whispered word a mocking scream in his ear as he moves to start packing his things.
It’s only later, that Jongin notices.
Kyungsoo had his shoes on, too.
(eh i know most people in america land wear shoes in the house but for me, my family, at least - we only do that when we don’t live in the house anymore. when it isn’t, essentially, home anymore. so. haha. okay.)
He goes to him in the dead of night, when water splashes against weathered oak in a lullaby that the crew and passengers don't hear. The moon shines overhead, a slither of a crescent illuminated against darkened sky. His footsteps are measured and cautious, boots pressing quiet against the hardboard floors.
He stands in front of the Prince's door, bottom lip caught in his teeth, hand hovering over the handle. It's now or never, he thinks, swallowing when he realises how scratchy his throat has become, weeks of disuse itching just where he can't reach.
He reaches out and turns the handle, slips inside the room and shuts the door again behind him.
'Who goes there?' croaks a deep voice, scratchy trails creeping into salt-sprayed air. 'I have a sword, and I am not afraid to use it.' The Prince reaches under his bed for his weapon, the blade glinting in minimal light. He's about to get out of bed when his visitor moves out of the shadows, bathes himself in the pool of light from the window, just at the foot of the Prince's bed.
He lowers his sword.
'Kyungsoo,' says Jongin softly, fingers slackening. He places the sword back in its hiding place, all his earlier apprehension vanishing at the sight of his newest faithful companion. An easy smile pushes the worried set of his lips off his face, his tensed muscles relaxing. 'Why are you here?'
Beads of sweat form with every step Kyungsoo takes towards Jongin, his face carefully crafted into a mask of indifference, just to hide the pain. He stops just at Jongin's bedside, eyes intense on the Prince's own. 'Kyungsoo?'
Kyungsoo doesn't hesitate this time, not after weeks of being unsure. He reaches for Jongin's wrist and grasps it in one hand, palm up, a finger poised to trace words on it. The movement causes his coat to lift, and a glint catches Jongin's eye. 'What - ' but Jongin doesn't get the chance to ask. Kyungsoo rearranges his clothing and fixes him with a look that says please, listen.
Jongin's mouth falls shut.
You are to be married tomorrow?
'Yes,'
To the Princess of Fouvetra?
'Yes,'
Kyungsoo's finger trembles, hovers a centimetre above Jongin's skin. He traces more words.
And you do not plan to host a great escape?
'This is a ship, Kyungsoo, and we are to dock on a remote island in the middle of the ocean tomorrow morning,'
Answer me, please.
'No, I do not.' Jongin sighs.
Kyungsoo presses his lips together, baby pink bleaching with nerves, a sickening kind of anticipation dripping down his throat, settling in the bottom of his stomach. The look in Jongin's eyes tells Kyungsoo he's being serious - in this moment Jongin isn't the strapping young man who disobeyed social norms and spoke to servants as friends, he isn't the Prince who wears his title like a cloak of shame - in this moment, Jongin is the only heir to the throne of Voell. In this moment, Jongin understands that he needs to fill that throne, that castle with his own heirs - and he needs a Princess by his side to do it.
The revelation unfolds in front of Kyungsoo's eyes like a morning glory blossoming in early summer. Jongin has an entire future written out for him, and, try as he might, Kyungsoo just wouldn't be able to carve a place for himself among the words.
He knows what he must do.
I give you my most heartfelt congratulations, he writes, his shaking finger making it slightly more difficult for Jongin to figure out what he's saying. I hope, in her, you find happiness.
He hesitates for a minute before he drops Jongin's hand. He bows, low, and for a long moment, just to keep his composure in check and to make sure the tears in his eyes fall out before he raises his head again to look at Jongin. There are two wet patches on the ground now, barely the size of his thumbs.
Goodnight, he mouths, cracks beginning to pull his heart apart. He turns to leave.
'I'll see you in the morning?' asks Jongin, the question aimed at Kyungsoo's retreating back. Kyungsoo stiffens for a while before he nods, moves as quickly as he can to exit the room.
Jongin dreams of a voice as rich and as deep as the sea, its thick timbre reaching out to caress his soul. As the dream proceeds the voice becomes steadily more garbled, the notes sticking together, the throat of the voice becoming flooded. The singer begins to choke, to struggle for breath, tries to scream for air but his lungs are already drowning -
Jongin wakes the next morning with a start, one of his guards standing at the foot of his bed, brows drawn together with worry, and Jongin barely registers the 'We cannot find Kyungsoo, sir,' that the guard struggles to say. 'We fear he may have gone overboard, sir. He is lost at sea.'
A sense of foreboding fills Jongin's heart, his dream easily coming to mind. He's about to throw off his covers, gather his crew, call for an extensive search party - when something on the ground beside his bed catches his eye.
There are twin pools of gleaming silver on the wood, both of a metallic sheen Jongin could have sworn he'd never seen before.
'I don't have anything to offer you,' blurts Jongin one day, when he and Kyungsoo are alone in their apartment. Sunlight dances in through open windows, washing the floor with warmth and colour. Kyungsoo's fingers are coiled around a paintbrush, a messy palette in the other hand. He has a dash of purple smeared on his jaw and his hair is sticking up at all angles, but Jongin can't help but think that he looks beautiful.
Kyungsoo is beautiful.
'Um - are you alright?' asks Kyungsoo, somewhat taken aback by the suddenness of Jongin's words. They'd been sitting there in relative silence for the past hour or so, Jongin with his notebook and iPod, choreographing, and Kyungsoo with his paints and canvas. 'Do you want to take a break?'
Jongin shakes his head, eyes still stuck on Kyungsoo. 'I'm just - Kyungsoo. I don't have anything to offer you. I mean it. You shouldn't even - you shouldn't even be in love with me, I don't deserve it.' his words are heavy enough to break, his fingers tugging his earphones out. They lace together on his lap, his gaze angled low.
Kyungsoo sets his painting things down and gets up, settles next to his boyfriend wordlessly, takes his hands in his own. 'Baby?' he asks, softly, gently, pulling carefully at Jongin's heartstrings and hoping they don't snap. 'What's brought this on?'
'Nothing. Time. I don't know,' says Jongin, refusing to look Kyungsoo in the eye. His boyfriend's hands are warm around his own, and the concern in his voice sounds so real and Jongin - he just. He doesn't get it. 'You put up with everything I do, everything I say. You pick me up when I'm down and you're always patient with me, and I. I know I'm hard to handle, I know I'm not easy to love, but - but you do. You treat me like I'm something - you just. You do all those things for me, Kyungsoo, and I haven't given you anything back.'
Kyungsoo lets the silence that creeps between them settle for a while, lets it brush calming fingers over Jongin's chest, lets it put the right words in his mind. He gives Jongin's hands a gentle squeeze, quirks a corner of his lips up, and says, 'Hey. Hey, look at me,' like a wave in low tide - calm and in no way forceful, coaxing Jongin to look at him.
He does.
'I love you,' says Kyungsoo quietly, as if afraid the walls surrounding them would steal the words for their own. 'I love the way you wake up looking like you've just got run over by a ten-wheeler, the fact that your breath stinks when you kiss me first thing, the fact that you're messy, and uncontrolled, and you're my own taste of slightly organised chaos because I love everything about you, and I always have.'
Jongin licks his lips, heart slightly lighter, new butterflies hovering around it with every word Kyungsoo speaks. There's sincerity in his voice, mirrored by the glisten in his eyes, and Jongin thinks - Jongin thinks that maybe it's okay that he's imperfect, maybe it's okay that he feels this way sometimes, if only because it reminds him how lucky he is to have Kyungsoo in the first place.
'You love me?' he asks, scooting closer to Kyungsoo, pulling his hands away in favour of curling one under his boyfriend's chin. Kyungsoo's half-smile spreads until it's a small grin, and Jongin knows he's never seen anyone, anything as perfect.
'Boundlessly,' says Kyungsoo, and Jongin doesn't hold back - he kisses Kyungsoo passionately, like he's trying to tie their souls together - but then, he supposes, pulling away and looking at the love in his boyfriend's eyes, he can't do what's already been done.
He and Kyungsoo are meant to be, and nothing will change that.
(kind of can be read as a scene from my first ever kaisoo fic, which i have buried, and shall never again allow to see the light of day)
'I used to be up there with them,' remarks Jongin, voice a soft whisper playing on the gentle breeze that brushes against his and Kyungsoo's skin. His arm is curled under Kyungsoo's head, and he pretends he doesn't notice how Kyungsoo is staring at him instead of the sky.
The stars shine particularly brightly tonight, specks of white flame against sapphire blue sky. They take turns glinting, passing along the brief seconds of dark from one to the other, and Jongin remembers catching it, his light extinguishing for a second before he threw the ball of darkness at the nearest star. He remembers prancing along unseen in the daytime, white clouds and baby blue sky the softest and most beautiful things he'd ever seen.
He remembers falling, being sentenced to Earth to regain his dignity; he remembers meeting Kyungsoo.
'Mm,' Kyungsoo hums, calloused fingers coming up to trace patterns against the skin of Jongin's cheek. Jongin tries his best not to react, but it's difficult and Kyungsoo knows it. He bites back the laugh that's brewing in his throat and trails his finger down, tracing the precise edge of Jongin's jaw, right down to his neck before longer fingers wrap around his own, before Jongin grips his hand in his and lays it across his chest.
Right on top of his heart. Kyungsoo can feel his heartbeats pick up under his palm when he nudges upwards to kiss Jongin.
'Do you miss it?' Kyungsoo asks, finally directing his eyes up at the sky. He isn't going to lie - it really is beautiful. Seoul, on most nights, was flooded with too many artificial lights - neon, fluorescent, amperes of current wrapped in cheap glass, drowning out the beauty above, blinding him so he couldn't see beyond. Here, in the middle of the rooftop of the university's tallest building, all of that faded away.
'A little,' admits Jongin, slight reluctance sticking the words to his tongue. It doesn't matter if he misses being up there with the rest of his brothers - with the rest of the stars - anyway, because, he knows, as soon as he serves his purpose, as soon as Kyungsoo's wish has been granted, he'll no longer be a fallen star. He'll have earned his place in the heavens again, the Council will have to take him back, regrant him his place in the sky.
And he wants to stay with Kyungsoo.
'You can tell me,' Kyungsoo presses, large eyes staring straight into Jongin's. 'You won't hurt my feelings, I promise.' But his voice shakes, and Jongin's heart begins to crumble.
'I don't want to be anywhere without you,'
'Jongin - '
'No, I'm serious.'
Jongin sits up, pulling Kyungsoo with him, taking smaller hands between his own, burying his fingers in the valleys between Kyungsoo's, and licks his lips. What feels like a single forever passes between them before Jongin musters up the courage to meet Kyungsoo's gaze with his own.
'I never want to be that far away from you again,' he whispers, and it's as if something in Kyungsoo breaks at the words - his entire face grows a thousand shades broken, his fingers tremble between Jongin's own.
'Jongin,' Kyungsoo murmurs, shifting closer. 'Jongin, I lo - '
'Don't say it,' says Jongin quickly, hands clenching Kyungsoo's so tightly the suddenness stops the flow of words before they finish. 'Don't say it,' he repeats, stroking along Kyungsoo's cheek. 'They'll hear. And if they hear, they'll know, and I'll - '
'I know. I know. I'm sorry,' says Kyungsoo, guilt riddling his face. Jongin makes Kyungsoo look him in the eye.
'It's not just about them. You don't have to say it.' Jongin pulls Kyungsoo towards him and presses their lips together, kissing his breath away, tongue pulling a smile from those lips.
Because I know. echoes in the way Jongin looks at him when they pull apart, the traces of fondness and something deeper apparent in his eyes when he stares at Kyungsoo.
I know, he thinks, pulling Kyungsoo closer one more time and fisting the front of Kyungsoo's tshirt, just above where his heart is.
Dawn crawls in atop dew-dipped blades of grass, dark blue sky turning yellow at the edges of the earth. Light creeps up to touch first Kyungsoo's toes, and then his legs, before he's finally bathed in it, warmth enveloping him like a lover's embrace.
His eyes flutter open, sleep slowly falling from them as he takes in the view before him. The lake, once the deepest of blues, now glows a pale yellow, and he feels the breath get knocked out of him at the beauty that's laid out in front of him.
He sits up, rubbing his eyes and stretching before instinct makes his body turn towards a thicket of trees to his left, heart racing and mind flooding with words that make anticipation race through his tired veins. It was a full moon last night, he thinks excitedly. A full moon, and he'd bathed in the lake when the moon was at its zenith, recited the words he's had memorised for years, just to summon the nymph again.
His fingers curl into his palm and dig crescent indentations into the skin porcelain skin, lips pressing so tightly together they turn pale yellow. 'Come on,' he whispers to himself, eyes trained on a single spot between the trees - because it's always the same, it's always been the same when it came to his nymph.
As if on cue a pair of brown eyes appear just where Kyungsoo's staring, and slowly, slowly, the sihouette of a man slightly larger than Kyungsoo materialises. His bare chest is a warm, golden brown, his legs wrapped in cloth tied around his waist. As the man approaches, Kyungsoo takes in the rest of him - the strong, toned arms, the soft brown hair, mussed and tangled, and the pair of antlers sprouting up out of his head.
He's here.
'You came back,' says the nymph, as if he hadn't been expecting it. He was only allowed to cross the threshold between his world and the human world once a month, and every time, for the past five years, Kyungsoo has been the one to pull him through it. Every time, for the past five years, the nymph continues to be surprised that Kyungsoo always remembers to come back to him.
'Like always,' says Kyungsoo, smile growing into a grin when the nymph laces arms around his waist to pull him close, fingers locking on the small of his back. This is where he belongs.
'That's what you say now,' the nymph murmurs, looking down into Kyungsoo's eyes. 'But in a few more months, you won't - '
'Shh.' Kyungsoo presses a finger against the nymph's lips, effectively silencing him. 'We can keep debating about this for eternities, Jongin - but the bottom line is, I am in love with you.' He leans up just enough to slant his lips against the nymph's, and when he pulls away, he keeps his eyes shut.
'As I am with you,' Jongin replies, kissing each of Kyungsoo's eyelids, pulling a giggle from his lips and all the breath from his lungs. 'And as I will be. For a long time.'
'A hundrend lifetimes more?' asks Kyungsoo, leaning his head against Jongin's chest.
Jongin buries his face in Kyungsoo's hair, inhales deeply before he replies.
