The winters are usually harsh like this in Inju, the summers even more unforgiving. The broken air conditioner and heater didn't make things much easier either, the AC only worked in the winter and the heater in the summer. Lu Han curled in the futon of the vacant bedroom, only with a lamp and a dresser. He's only half asleep really, the biting cold of the room keeping him somewhat alert and awake. He tries to curl up a little more in the blanket that's really thin. He should probably go out and buy a new one, but he's not sure if he has the money yet, work is always slower this time of the year, it's the holidays and everyones making money, they don't need Lu Han to go out and steal important information from others.
Lu Han should have jumped, should have freaked out, normally he would, but he was so calm when he felt another body crawl into the futon with him and wrap his arms around him, pulling him into his chest with his back to him, feeling soft breath soak into his blond locks, and the familiar scent of something outdoor and a slight taint of Inju's industrialization mixed with the all too familiar scent of Jongin. That bastard was always so quiet, he must have thought he was sleeping because he didn't say anything to Lu Han at all, perhaps he wanted it to be a surprise, to have him wake up to Jongin in the morning, but he doubted it.
"I thought you weren't going to be coming back until next week" he knew he must have startled Jongin because he squeezed him just a little harder and the breath he could feel in his hair still for a fleeting moment before he relaxed and resumed again.
"Well yeah, but I got lazy and decided to come back…" he never understood why Jongin bothered staying with him in his practically falling apart apartment with the cracks in the wall, rust in the steel, the faulty appliances and almost all rooms bare, furniture worn down with stuffing falling out, it wasn't like Lu han wanted to live like this, but he had no choice, and yet Jongin always came back here when he could have gone into a warm bed.
"You must be damn lazy if you didn't even bother getting out of your clothes…" Lu Han slipped out of the remnants of the little bit of heat he'd gathered and Jongin's warm body, shivering at the unforgivingly cold air in his apartment, turning on the small lamp after heading over to the drawer, digging through the contents, grabbing a pair of Jongin's sweat pants that he'd left here at one point and had gotten mixed in Lu Han's laundry. He tossed them at his lover who'd already sat up and let the pants hit him right in the face.
"Your reflexes suck" Lu Han snorted and Jongin could only smirk in response as he stood to his feet, stripping his pants and boxers off in one go, kicking them to the floor and off on some random part of the room, peeling his shirt off a moment later and tossing it with the rest of his clothes, standing stark naked in the cold room with no qualms and Lu Han just shook his head at him, he himself was clad in sweats and a plain white t-shirt and here was Jongin only slipping on a pair of sweat pants.
"You're going to freeze you know" he added after that and Jongin just leaned over to grab Lu Han's wrist when he walked over, tugging him into his body which Lu Han found so damn disturbingly warm. Jongin's hands fell to Lu Han's hips loosely, looking directly into Lu Han's judgmental eyes.
"Don't think it's going to be a problem actually, since I don't really plan on letting you go tonight" they didn't need to say anything else, Jongin had tucked Lu Han's head under his chin holding him to him for a moment, having their 'welcome back' embrace that always required few words, Lu Han and Jongin had always required little words, they'd always been the type to just show things, do them instead of speak them, it wasn't like they'd been together forever, or that they'd only just started dating, they weren't in this 'head over heels in love' that one might think, there wasn't this overwhelming urge to want to spend every waking moment together, but it was comfortable, sometimes there were beautiful words, but because they were spoken so few, they meant so much more when they were said.
Jongin and Lu Han parted from each other just slightly too look into each others eyes, and Jongin's larger slightly more calloused hands framed Lu Han's face, adding weight to soft cheeks as he brushed his thumb over his smooth lips, leaning in slowly to pull Lu Han into a gentle kiss, it's slow and innocent, not suggestive in the least and he pulls away all too quickly, looking into his eyes again.
"Play for me before bed…" he murmured and it caught Lu Han off guard a little. He wanted to say some sort of snarky sarcastic remark, but he knew better, not right now, not for this moment. He walks off towards the living room, as he pulls away he's only connected to Jongin by their fingertips, only gently tugging to urge him along. He walks towards the grand piano, the only extravagant thing in his whole apartment and for some it might seem out of place, but in a sense… it's right where it needs to be. His fingers glide over the smooth surface, catching a bit of shine on the top from the moonlight spilling in from the floor to ceiling windows mingling with the glow of the city. Jongin sits on the bench first, making his way quickly around Lu Han and pulling him into his lap.
"Play that song you like so much" Jongin grins, urging him and Lu Han just cocks a brow at that.
"Jongin if you wanted to hear that song I have it on CD we can just-"
"I want to hear you play it" he cuts him off, slightly squeezing his hips and shooting him a look of his own. "It sounds better when you play it"
Lu Han only shakes his head after giving Jongin one more sideways glance, pulling up the cover gently and allowing his long fingers to rest on the keys, he closes his eyes and takes a deep breath, effortlessly stroking the keys according to his memory, he didn't need sheet music for Metamorphosis One, he had the song memorized, forever burned into his memory, and even if he forgot his own name, he'd never forget this song. Soft, simple, elegant, it didn't need a lot, it was such a minimalist song, so simple. Jongin had hooked his chin over Lu Han's shoulder to watch his fingers effortlessly dance across the keys, and once more Lu Han found himself lost, drifting out into a weightless and warm ocean, emotions, triumphs and guilts welling up in his heart too soon and he just looked relaxed, so at peace, and Jongin was here with him.
"Why does… everyone want more?" Lu Han asked as he continued to play, the song was capable of looping forever with the way it was written. "Everyone I know just wants more… every person i've ever come across wants more… money, power, better things, more of the latest products, a bigger house, more cars more… everything" he paused for a moment to let the song play out just a little longer before speaking, and Jongin seems to have sensed that he had more to say, because he stayed silent.
"And yet… here I am… in a broken down apartment that could probably fall apart at any second, freezing to the point that I can't sleep without a pair of arms wrapped around me… and I want less… I want simple…" he murmured, letting a small smile creep up to his lips, it's a little bittersweet.
"Simple?" Jongin asks, and Lu Han glances at him for a moment with his peripheral vision.
"Yeah, simple… like I want to live by a lake~" he smiles, watching his own fingers mindlessly play the keys like it was the only thing he'd ever done. "In a small little house built by my own hands, like a cabin or something… a place where the trees are tall and can hide me, where in the summer they're a beautiful emerald glow when the sun spills through them and in the fall they're beautiful hues of red and orange like a fire, and there's no cars, or bright lights from a city or lots of people to bother, it's just the birds singing, the wind playing the soft symphony of rustling trees and grass and maybe the soft lap of the water hitting the dock…" he smiles fondly, and before he can start the next movement, Jongin's fingers han slipped gently down his arms like water, his fingers filling the gaps of Lu Han's fingers and silencing their beautiful song, and it's quiet… Jongin's head is resting upon Lu Han's back and there's nothing but the faint sound of the city outside for a moment that seemed to take forever.
"I'd like to see it someday…" he whispers and Lu Han doesn't even realize that the tears are slipping down his cheeks until they drip off his jaw, his body's shaking in Jongin's arms, his bottom lip is quivering, and before he can let everything completely go, Jongin easily turns him around to face him, and curls the older man into him, letting him bury his face into the crook of his neck and just cry.
Lu Han had no idea where it came from either. And perhaps it was simply a lifetime of emotions welled up, and he just needed someone to hold him through it. That night the two spent wrapped up in each other, soft caresses, kisses and embraces, wiping away Lu Han's tears, no more words were spoken after that moment by the piano, but they're not needed, there's simple comfort here in just this, the kind of simplicity Lu Han longed for, and he was finally happy, even for a split second in his miserable existence, and despite the tears, he felt happiness for a fleeting moment before the world faded away and he fell into a deep sleep.
Though, the next morning, Lu Han woke up alone. Any clothes that Jongin had left there before were gone along with his shoes, Lu Han wondered around his apartment with a monotonous expression, finding the things that were Jongin's suddenly gone. Wordlessly, he wandered over, looking out the window at the complex city that snuffed out any sort of hope he had for his dream. He felt as though he should feel something, but he didn't, and perhaps that's because he's choking down and suffocating any emotion like he did with everything else. Turning around, and staring at the apartment that suddenly felt emptier than it already was, all he could picture was the little cabin he'd planned on having at some point in his life, and for a moment. Jongin is in that picture.
He never saw him again after that.
yousharknotpass
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