muscle memory
@shatterxkai
he’d be lying to himself if he said myungsoo’s absence went unnoticed. of course, kai isn’t known for being entirely honest or candid with himself, so the distinct lack of myungsoo around wasn’t just noticed—it was loathed. whatever excuse jongin could conjure up that let himself sleep at night didn’t matter—that he didn’t have a half-decent sparring partner or anyone to begrudgingly clear away the filth of empty cigarette boxes left in his wake. they were all just different consequences of the same problem; myungsoo wasn’t here.
fingertips hover hesitantly over the buttons of his phone, tempted to lock and unlock the device to give his hands something to do until he receives the reply he’s awaiting. but he leaves it be by his side and lies down flat on his back instead, arching his spine away from the cushioned floor to stretch muscles that have grown weary with neglect. it’s his own fault for not taking advantage of his free time, but he’d rather suffer in silence than admit it to the very person that had him riddled with homesickness while he was still in his own bed. and yeah, it’s childish to make up an excuse to see someone, but jongin’s naivety is still a curse on his better days.
when the replies bring his phone to life, they aren’t soon enough. he’s already stretched out the rest of what he could until he’s left feeling languid and tired instead of energised and eager. basking in the afterglow of adrenaline and endorphins.
( txt → assbutt ) well ( txt → assbutt ) i did sleep for most of it ( draft → assbutt ) mostly in your bed ——— ( // unsent ! ) ( txt → assbutt ) you’re the one that’s been slacking off on vacation ( txt → assbutt ) i’ve got training in here later and wanted to try out something first
and though that part is entirely true, he’s pretty sure he knows the technique inside out already.
but running through it one more time can’t hurt.
The elevator dings quietly in front of him, metal doors reeling open and then sighing closed after he’s situated himself a bit uncomfortably into a corner. Myungsoo’s back presses firm against the bars when he reaches out and spends a second mapping out the shatterdome again in his head where combat room b would be on the third floor, if he’s remembering correctly, but it could also be on the second considering the anchorage base had their’s on the third and not all areas are built the same way. He’s probably overthinking it. Mixing things up tends to be a common theme lately; there’s no way in telling if he’s suddenly swapped blueprints because of his time away, or if the feeling in the pit of his stomach is his bodies way of impolitely telling him he’s seeing Jongin again for the first time in months or maybe it’s a mundane pang of adrenaline digested the wrong way. An afterthought brings attention to the little red pills in his back pocket, kept cutely in a tic-tac container so he doesn’t have to carry around a stupid looking bottle of meds in his jeans that would be completely noticeable to anyone with a working pair of eyes. And then there’s questions. He hates questions.
The metal contraption finally ascends and some enthusiastic, flowery pop song continues where it had left off.
Half way into the third repetition of the chorus, Myungsoo has blandly looked over his phone again to assess the new messages, forehead against one of the walls. His cellphone is tucked closely to his abdomen when he has half a mind to retort with the fact that his vacation was work related, but the door opens like a plea for peace so he keeps the words bundled up on the end of his tongue, bent on saying them sometime into their meeting if he ever had the chance. If Myungsoo retained anything from his time with Jongin, it would have been how carcinogens leaked into his words and how it had the capability of switching so quickly from something harmless to scalding. That’s just how Jongin functions, he reiterates to himself while looking over the markers next to each door and coming to a full stop at combat room A. He remembers the last time he saw Jongin; his hair was damaged but it was the closest to a normal color that he’s ever seen on him. The dark circles under his eyes were just starting to go away. He murmured something about his bad habits into the top of Myungsoo’s spine and months later he still feels the thrum of his nerves responding to the tone of Jongin’s voice in the only way they know how. Despite this, he straightens out his shoulders and rolls his head from side to side in preparation to make himself look a little less like he was across the oceans, like coming back wasn’t something he’s still trying to adjust to.
Myungsoo bridges the distance with his hands in his pockets and stands in the doorway, rigid but bright-eyed. “It was a business trip, you idiot.”






















