[Fic] It's You
Title: It's You
Pairing: Zhou Mi/Kyuhyun
Rating: PG-13
Genre: AU
Summary: Ficlets from multiple universes including: Until You, For Always, All That I Am, Error Code, Company Time, Passage, More Than This, Black Satin, The Life I Live, and Rundown.
A/N: Have a lovely day~ <3
***
Until You
***
There were few things more appealing than a man sunning himself, all bare naked torso, and arms all temptingly tucked under his head. That held true even if the man was a vampire who was sunning himself in front of a heavily protected window.
“You’re not as quiet as you think,” Zhou Mi said.
“Vampire senses?”
Zhou Mi’s eyes opened, and Kyuhyun could see the little roll they took as he squinted at Kyuhyun.
“Senses of anyone with functioning ears.”
“How’s the sun, then?”
Zhou Mi wriggled on the couch, an action both cute and acutely distracting.
“It’s nice. I can’t get a tan but it’s warm.” Kyuhyun edged onto the couch beside Zhou Mi’s hip and got a more awake pair of eyes. “What are you thinking?”
“I think we should take a trip. Take the train and see Eunhyuk. Go to some other city. There’s some kind of vampire museum, you know? Or the beach. We could get you flip flops.”
“A pair of shoes is your reason for a vacation?”
Kyuhyun just shrugged. “It could be fun.”
He leaned down as Zhou Mi guided him guided him in for a nuzzle. “I’ll pack an extra sun suit.”
“You’re really okay with it?”
Zhou Mi considered him. It wasn’t as though he asked Zhou Mi to do a lot of things that made him uncomfortable, but it was a more epic trip than anything that Zhou Mi had been on in a while. The last time they’d left town, their blood bond had been severed, so there were reasons both of them would be wary.
“I’m not going alone,” Zhou Mi said, kissing his nose.
“We can go to the beach at night. No trip is complete without sand everywhere.”
“And a shower together?”
That made Kyuhyun grin.
***
For Always
***
Kyuhyun sat like a king in the back room of Soulmate. His reading chair was wide and plush, like a throne, and he sat on it with his hands spaced on the armrests, and his legs crossed. He looked about ready to give command, but for the fact that his eyes were closed.
Though Zhou Mi knew it would disturb him, he closed the door behind himself.
“You’re back.”
“I am. You had delivery today?”
“Lots of boxes,” Kyuhyun said, lifting his arms as though to flex. “Cleaned, too.”
He wondered if Kyuhyun knew just what the thought of cleaning reminded Zhou Mi of. It made him think of cuddling on couches, and Kyuhyun’s sleepy urges for him to stay. It reminded him of waking, and for the first time knowing - truly hoping - that he might be as precious to Kyuhyun as Kyuhyun was to him.
He’d asked why once, Kyuhyun telling Zhou Mi that he made Kyuhyun happy. Kyuhyun had mumbled something about proximity and hugs. And that was okay. He liked to think that being close to Kyuhyun made him happy.
“You hungry or do you want to commune with the chair a little longer?” Zhou Mi teased.
“Don’t pretend. You like seeing me in this chair,” Kyuhyun said, smiling.
“I do. Wait there.”
Zhou Mi pulled out his keyring, with a key to the book closet full of rare books, and slipped inside. He was so familiar with all of them, like old friends, that it took little thought to choose one in particular. The first volume, first edition, of a set of nature poetry.
Kyuhyun watched as he dragged over a chair, trapping both of Kyuhyun’s ankles between his own.
Kyuhyun’s smile was so pleased, as Zhou Mi began to read, that Zhou Mi’s heart beamed.
***
All That I Am
***
They did not own many weapons. In fact, they owned only one, Zhou Mi’s handgun. Zhou Mi had chosen to keep that only because it had been a gift from his father. But it was heavily fortified, locked away in a safe. It was not meant to be used - Zhou Mi tried daily to put that part of his life behind him.
They’d gone to shoot handguns only once, after Kyuhyun had sat with Zhou Mi’s in his lap for almost half an hour. It was something like therapy, Zhou Mi thought. It had been unloaded, and he had shown Kyuhyun the parts, how to hold it. Kyuhyun knew he had had it, when he had been there to find Kyuhyun. There had been no one for Zhou Mi to shoot or threaten with it. But with their ears protected, and a target set, he had watched Kyuhyun test himself at the range. Kyuhyun was an excellent shot, that much he hadn’t doubted, but it had taken Kyuhyun barely five minutes before he was finished.
“I know more of what you used to feel now,” Kyuhyun told him, as he leaned against Zhou Mi at their car. And that was enough.
But he trusted Kyuhyun, which was how they ended up shooting skeet once a month or so. He suspected it was because it was one of the few activities where he could beat Kyuhyun without falling on his face or having a game over screen.
He didn’t think it was that Kyuhyun enjoyed losing so much as he kept hoping he was going to win. And Zhou Mi was pretty sure he would one day.
“I love you anyway,” Kyuhyun told him seriously. “But come on. Do you ever miss?”
Zhou Mi shook his head, kissing Kyuhyun lightly. “Never.”
***
Error Code
***
Kyuhyun was fascinating. The way he sat with his computer on his lap, one knee in the air and curled in some painful-looking position. The way he pulled open their kitchen cabinet as though he expected there to be something there, before going to program in whatever he wanted for dinner. It’d taken a month before they could program their own food. Before that, they’d had to buy pre-made food or order it in, so Kyuhyun was still working himself out of that habit. They kept some energy bars around in case the programming failed.
They’d gotten two bowls of orangey-green slop instead of ice cream once, and it’d sent them into a panic.
Kyuhyun was amazing at every game Zhou Mi saw him play, but he was terrible at electronics. Luckily, Zhou Mi knew a little, enough to fix the problem.
Kyuhyun gave him ice cream kisses to thank him.
He liked to learn. He liked to be near Kyuhyun to learn. The classes they attended together, and the stores they visited to buy Zhou Mi clothes. Every outing was new, and it became more familiar.
And for the first time, he got to see Kyuhyun really live. They weren’t just living room to room, but in their own little apartment. Errands. Fun. They ate out, went to a huge air conditioned building and watched a movie on a screen that seemed as big as the sky.
Kyuhyun called it a date, grinning at him, and Zhou Mi had nearly hurt him, squeezing his shoulders to the point of pain. And he’d gasped, undone, as Kyuhyun pressed kisses to his face and laughed at him.
Their bed. Their closet. Their video screen.
Theirs. A whole world that was theirs, because Kyuhyun was beside him. He lived.
***
Company Time
***
Zhou Mi’s gorgeous, cocky little grin as he arrived back at the hotel room after visiting his parents was infectious.
“Good visit?” he asked, chuckling as Zhou Mi rocked them from side to side in a dance that was getting them nowhere.
“It was. She asked how you were,” Zhou Mi said. “Told me to take food to you, so you didn’t starve.”
Kyuhyun’s eyebrows raised. That seemed like a huge step forward. Of course, it was a year and a half after Zhou Mi’s mother had learned of Kyuhyun’s existence. He wasn’t sure if she was actually concerned, or trying to soothe Zhou Mi’s feelings so he’d be more willing to listen to reason. About the whole wife thing.
Kyuhyun didn’t really qualify for that position. Of course, sending food back with Zhou Mi and inviting Kyuhyun to eat at her home were two vastly different things. They’d been back to China twice, and each time they’d stayed in a hotel with Zhou Mi going to see his parents during the day, and staying with Kyuhyun at night. They went to other cities, too, having a real vacation together.
But her sending food was something. He didn’t ask if it was poison, even, as he sipped soup, listening to Zhou Mi tell him the family updates.
“I wonder how long it’ll take before she lets you come eat,” Zhou Mi mused.
They’d eaten with Kyuhyun’s parents a few times. Mostly, it seemed like they were happier in denial, like Kyuhyun was really dating a girl on the sly. But family disapproval hit everyone differently.
The first time they’d gone, Zhou Mi had returned to the hotel in tears, joyful tears, after a hug from his mother.
“We have each other,” Zhou Mi assured him. And surrounded him with love.
***
Passage
***
“Gather a bit more,” Zhou Mi called.
Kyuhyun’s thighs looked amazing in riding breeches. Well, to be honest his legs, his butt, his- He was going to stop there. Everything, basically. If Kyuhyun wondered why he suggested that Kyuhyun would feel more comfortable riding in breeches, he’d never said. It was true, but it was also very lovely to consider whether Zhou Mi was riding beside him or leaning over the railing over the outdoor arena and coaching him.
Kyuhyun’s skill as a rider was superior to some people Zhou Mi had seen. He had a lovely seat, and solid hands, and seemed to listen to his horse well. Zhu, anyway, seemed to listen to Kyuhyun better than he did even with Henry.
Kyuhyun’s explanation was that Zhu liked him better, because he could smell Zhou Mi on him. Zhou Mi wasn’t sure how to argue with that. Still, it was fun to watch him learn with Zhu, even if Kyuhyun insisted he was going to teach Zhu bad habits. Zhu was the most patient horse Zhou Mi had ever owned, far more so even than Dahua, and Zhou Mi detected no bad habits afterward.
Kyuhyun was never going to go professional, or even compete, but Kyuhyun had expressed interest - and it was time they could spend together.
“You’re doing really good!” Zhou Mi called out, as Zhu extended his trot. The lines were excellent, and Kyuhyun’s control was fine. Horse and ride were looking just as gorgeous as ever.
“Sometimes I think you want me to ride so you can take me home and massage my butt,” Kyuhyun huffed out as he trotted by.
Zhou Mi’s mouth dropped open as dueling images assaulted him, and he nearly hit his head on the railing as he doubled over with laughter.
***
More Than This
***
“How many people did you make happy today?” Kyuhyun asked as he wrapped his arms round Zhou Mi’s ribs.
It was nice to be out, at a low key club instead of the seemingly bi-monthly weddings where Zhou Mi heroically held back tears and worried like the mother-in-law at receptions. They were more welcome to dance at some weddings than others in those situations, but out on their own they could relax.
Zhou Mi’s arms were warm and not in the least bit confining over his shoulders and around his neck as they swayed, cheek against cheek.
“I set up a few dates,” Zhou Mi told him. “I think there’s an engagement coming soon for one couple, because I got this gushing phone call.”
Kyuhyun had taken a personal day, which meant he had to get caught up on Zhou Mi’s life. Mostly because he’d had a doctor’s appointment, and he had to get his suit picked up and make sure he had a clean shirt for a wedding that weekend. Zhou Mi had sent him a very amused look when he’d confessed that, and he’d kicked Zhou Mi under the table. Someone had a far larger selection of formal wear to choose from than he did, even if their combined closet was slowly filling up.
“I bought something for you while I was out,” Kyuhyun teased. “It’s back at the apartment.”
“Kyuhyun!”
Yeah, yeah. That was like snatching food away from a dog, teasing Zhou Mi like that.
“You’ll like it,” he promised. It was dessert.
Not like the time he’d given a pair of boxer briefs with a cute little bow attached to the back.
Only to receive a pair with a bunny tail on it a couple of days later.
Together, they were perfect.
***
Black Satin
***
“They want you to do what?” Kyuhyun asked, staring at Zhou Mi.
“Dance routine!” Zhou Mi said, and shimmied in such a way that had Kyuhyun hitching in laughter. There were many things he loved about Zhou Mi. That he was a good friend, and that he was great in bed, and that he looked something ridiculous and amazing in a dress.
“Is it comedy night?”
Zhou Mi’s pillow glanced off his head.
Oh yeah, and Zhou Mi had a pretty decent aim, too.
“Please tell me I get to come see this,” Kyuhyun said.
He didn’t go back to Satin much, mostly just on nights everyone was off and hanging out together. He was still considered one of them, in addition to being Zhou Mi’s significant other, so that wasn’t something that was going to change.
“Maybe,” Zhou Mi teased, still showing a hint of a pout from the comedy quip. “We might be putting aside a special table for significant others. You won’t have us coming to sit with you, but you’ll be able to see. I get to sing, too!”
They’d done a good deal of singing in little rooms together, or just around the apartment as they were cleaning. Kyuhyun wasn’t jealous of Zhou Mi’s voice, feeling it was only for him. Zhou Mi had sang at Satin before.
“You’ll do great,” Kyuhyun assured Zhou Mi, hooking an arm around his waist. “I give you full permission to practice around here any time.”
“Horizontally?” Zhou Mi asked, eyeballing him.
They giggled against each other’s mouths.
And when the night came, Kyuhyun was in a suit, and sitting with two women and a few men, there just like him.
Zhou Mi emerged covered in feathers. Any other time, he might’ve laughed.
But right then, he was dazzled.
***
The Life I Live
***
The mist rising off of his tea cup made him think of mist on the water in the forest.
They were sort of in a forest, of palm trees. A couple hundred feet away was the beach, and Kyuhyun was stretched out like a gleaming fish in one of the deck chairs outside of their bungalow door. The only thing he had on was a pair of swim trunks, so Zhou Mi took a moment to admire him.
“How do you drink that when it’s so hot out here? Kyuhyun asked. Zhou Mi couldn’t see his eyes because sunglasses half the size of his face were obscuring them. Actually, he was pretty sure those were his sunglasses.
It made him smile as he settled in his own chair.
“Same as going to the sauna in the summer,” Zhou Mi told him.
Kyuhyun just grunted, and continued gleaming, the product of a good quarter of a bottle of sunscreen.
“Want to go in the water soon?”
Zhou Mi could almost feel the judgement in the stare.
“You like the water way too much.”
Zhou Mi sniffed. “Tigers like water. And they like Kyuhyun…wet.”
“It took almost an hour in the shower until we weren’t tracking in the beach.”
Zhou Mi chuckled. “But that was fun.”
And from the way Kyuhyun’s smile was curling, he’d thought so too.
It was strange. Sometimes in the water, they remembered more of their time together in the forest. It was in the way Kyuhyun kissed him, clung to him. He felt alive in a different way, with his hands on Kyuhyun’s wet skin. It became more primal. Not better, or worse, but different.
But it didn’t matter if they were kissing against a palm tree, or against their bedroom wall.
Kyuhyun was always there.
***
Rundown
***
The baseball knocked off the tip of one of Kyuhyun’s shoes, spinning to the other side. Kyuhyun held his breath as it rolled neatly down between his feet on their bedroom carpet.
“Hole in one!” Zhou Mi crowed, lifting his baseball bat into the air in celebration.
“We’re never going to take up golf as a hobby, right?” Kyuhyun asked, kicking the baseball back toward Zhou Mi.
“Probably not,” Zhou Mi agreed. “You have enough sports.”
“Between the treadmill and tackling you in bed?”
Zhou Mi’s look hit him askance. He wasn’t sure why they kept a baseball bat and ball on a stand in their bedroom. Miyun, even at precocious six, wasn’t going to be dating for a while.
Zhou Mi flopped onto the settee beside him, nuzzling his cheek, and pressing a kiss beside his mouth.
“You didn’t take your shoes off when you came in. Something up?”
“Just tired. Photoshoots are rough. I know why people used to think pictures stole their souls.” And he remembered the pictures the photographer had show him of his family. And the question most on his mind. “Do you want a child of your own?”
Zhou Mi paused, and their eyes met. “What?”
“Miyun… I know you love her. But a baby. Your own blood. Did you want…? I used to wish she had a sibling. So I just… I wondered.”
“Oh. Kyuhyun. I couldn’t love Miyun more if she were my blood. Miyun was a gift I never expected. I never knew I needed. Do you really want to start over with a baby?”
He could do it, with Zhou Mi.
“I just don’t want to hold you back from anything. If you change your mind?”
Their noses lined up. Their hearts. “I’ll let you know,” Zhou Mi promised him.
***
Pairing: Zhou Mi/Kyuhyun
Rating: PG-13
Genre: AU
Summary: Ficlets from multiple universes including: Until You, For Always, All That I Am, Error Code, Company Time, Passage, More Than This, Black Satin, The Life I Live, and Rundown.
A/N: Have a lovely day~ <3
***
Until You
***
There were few things more appealing than a man sunning himself, all bare naked torso, and arms all temptingly tucked under his head. That held true even if the man was a vampire who was sunning himself in front of a heavily protected window.
“You’re not as quiet as you think,” Zhou Mi said.
“Vampire senses?”
Zhou Mi’s eyes opened, and Kyuhyun could see the little roll they took as he squinted at Kyuhyun.
“Senses of anyone with functioning ears.”
“How’s the sun, then?”
Zhou Mi wriggled on the couch, an action both cute and acutely distracting.
“It’s nice. I can’t get a tan but it’s warm.” Kyuhyun edged onto the couch beside Zhou Mi’s hip and got a more awake pair of eyes. “What are you thinking?”
“I think we should take a trip. Take the train and see Eunhyuk. Go to some other city. There’s some kind of vampire museum, you know? Or the beach. We could get you flip flops.”
“A pair of shoes is your reason for a vacation?”
Kyuhyun just shrugged. “It could be fun.”
He leaned down as Zhou Mi guided him guided him in for a nuzzle. “I’ll pack an extra sun suit.”
“You’re really okay with it?”
Zhou Mi considered him. It wasn’t as though he asked Zhou Mi to do a lot of things that made him uncomfortable, but it was a more epic trip than anything that Zhou Mi had been on in a while. The last time they’d left town, their blood bond had been severed, so there were reasons both of them would be wary.
“I’m not going alone,” Zhou Mi said, kissing his nose.
“We can go to the beach at night. No trip is complete without sand everywhere.”
“And a shower together?”
That made Kyuhyun grin.
***
For Always
***
Kyuhyun sat like a king in the back room of Soulmate. His reading chair was wide and plush, like a throne, and he sat on it with his hands spaced on the armrests, and his legs crossed. He looked about ready to give command, but for the fact that his eyes were closed.
Though Zhou Mi knew it would disturb him, he closed the door behind himself.
“You’re back.”
“I am. You had delivery today?”
“Lots of boxes,” Kyuhyun said, lifting his arms as though to flex. “Cleaned, too.”
He wondered if Kyuhyun knew just what the thought of cleaning reminded Zhou Mi of. It made him think of cuddling on couches, and Kyuhyun’s sleepy urges for him to stay. It reminded him of waking, and for the first time knowing - truly hoping - that he might be as precious to Kyuhyun as Kyuhyun was to him.
He’d asked why once, Kyuhyun telling Zhou Mi that he made Kyuhyun happy. Kyuhyun had mumbled something about proximity and hugs. And that was okay. He liked to think that being close to Kyuhyun made him happy.
“You hungry or do you want to commune with the chair a little longer?” Zhou Mi teased.
“Don’t pretend. You like seeing me in this chair,” Kyuhyun said, smiling.
“I do. Wait there.”
Zhou Mi pulled out his keyring, with a key to the book closet full of rare books, and slipped inside. He was so familiar with all of them, like old friends, that it took little thought to choose one in particular. The first volume, first edition, of a set of nature poetry.
Kyuhyun watched as he dragged over a chair, trapping both of Kyuhyun’s ankles between his own.
Kyuhyun’s smile was so pleased, as Zhou Mi began to read, that Zhou Mi’s heart beamed.
***
All That I Am
***
They did not own many weapons. In fact, they owned only one, Zhou Mi’s handgun. Zhou Mi had chosen to keep that only because it had been a gift from his father. But it was heavily fortified, locked away in a safe. It was not meant to be used - Zhou Mi tried daily to put that part of his life behind him.
They’d gone to shoot handguns only once, after Kyuhyun had sat with Zhou Mi’s in his lap for almost half an hour. It was something like therapy, Zhou Mi thought. It had been unloaded, and he had shown Kyuhyun the parts, how to hold it. Kyuhyun knew he had had it, when he had been there to find Kyuhyun. There had been no one for Zhou Mi to shoot or threaten with it. But with their ears protected, and a target set, he had watched Kyuhyun test himself at the range. Kyuhyun was an excellent shot, that much he hadn’t doubted, but it had taken Kyuhyun barely five minutes before he was finished.
“I know more of what you used to feel now,” Kyuhyun told him, as he leaned against Zhou Mi at their car. And that was enough.
But he trusted Kyuhyun, which was how they ended up shooting skeet once a month or so. He suspected it was because it was one of the few activities where he could beat Kyuhyun without falling on his face or having a game over screen.
He didn’t think it was that Kyuhyun enjoyed losing so much as he kept hoping he was going to win. And Zhou Mi was pretty sure he would one day.
“I love you anyway,” Kyuhyun told him seriously. “But come on. Do you ever miss?”
Zhou Mi shook his head, kissing Kyuhyun lightly. “Never.”
***
Error Code
***
Kyuhyun was fascinating. The way he sat with his computer on his lap, one knee in the air and curled in some painful-looking position. The way he pulled open their kitchen cabinet as though he expected there to be something there, before going to program in whatever he wanted for dinner. It’d taken a month before they could program their own food. Before that, they’d had to buy pre-made food or order it in, so Kyuhyun was still working himself out of that habit. They kept some energy bars around in case the programming failed.
They’d gotten two bowls of orangey-green slop instead of ice cream once, and it’d sent them into a panic.
Kyuhyun was amazing at every game Zhou Mi saw him play, but he was terrible at electronics. Luckily, Zhou Mi knew a little, enough to fix the problem.
Kyuhyun gave him ice cream kisses to thank him.
He liked to learn. He liked to be near Kyuhyun to learn. The classes they attended together, and the stores they visited to buy Zhou Mi clothes. Every outing was new, and it became more familiar.
And for the first time, he got to see Kyuhyun really live. They weren’t just living room to room, but in their own little apartment. Errands. Fun. They ate out, went to a huge air conditioned building and watched a movie on a screen that seemed as big as the sky.
Kyuhyun called it a date, grinning at him, and Zhou Mi had nearly hurt him, squeezing his shoulders to the point of pain. And he’d gasped, undone, as Kyuhyun pressed kisses to his face and laughed at him.
Their bed. Their closet. Their video screen.
Theirs. A whole world that was theirs, because Kyuhyun was beside him. He lived.
***
Company Time
***
Zhou Mi’s gorgeous, cocky little grin as he arrived back at the hotel room after visiting his parents was infectious.
“Good visit?” he asked, chuckling as Zhou Mi rocked them from side to side in a dance that was getting them nowhere.
“It was. She asked how you were,” Zhou Mi said. “Told me to take food to you, so you didn’t starve.”
Kyuhyun’s eyebrows raised. That seemed like a huge step forward. Of course, it was a year and a half after Zhou Mi’s mother had learned of Kyuhyun’s existence. He wasn’t sure if she was actually concerned, or trying to soothe Zhou Mi’s feelings so he’d be more willing to listen to reason. About the whole wife thing.
Kyuhyun didn’t really qualify for that position. Of course, sending food back with Zhou Mi and inviting Kyuhyun to eat at her home were two vastly different things. They’d been back to China twice, and each time they’d stayed in a hotel with Zhou Mi going to see his parents during the day, and staying with Kyuhyun at night. They went to other cities, too, having a real vacation together.
But her sending food was something. He didn’t ask if it was poison, even, as he sipped soup, listening to Zhou Mi tell him the family updates.
“I wonder how long it’ll take before she lets you come eat,” Zhou Mi mused.
They’d eaten with Kyuhyun’s parents a few times. Mostly, it seemed like they were happier in denial, like Kyuhyun was really dating a girl on the sly. But family disapproval hit everyone differently.
The first time they’d gone, Zhou Mi had returned to the hotel in tears, joyful tears, after a hug from his mother.
“We have each other,” Zhou Mi assured him. And surrounded him with love.
***
Passage
***
“Gather a bit more,” Zhou Mi called.
Kyuhyun’s thighs looked amazing in riding breeches. Well, to be honest his legs, his butt, his- He was going to stop there. Everything, basically. If Kyuhyun wondered why he suggested that Kyuhyun would feel more comfortable riding in breeches, he’d never said. It was true, but it was also very lovely to consider whether Zhou Mi was riding beside him or leaning over the railing over the outdoor arena and coaching him.
Kyuhyun’s skill as a rider was superior to some people Zhou Mi had seen. He had a lovely seat, and solid hands, and seemed to listen to his horse well. Zhu, anyway, seemed to listen to Kyuhyun better than he did even with Henry.
Kyuhyun’s explanation was that Zhu liked him better, because he could smell Zhou Mi on him. Zhou Mi wasn’t sure how to argue with that. Still, it was fun to watch him learn with Zhu, even if Kyuhyun insisted he was going to teach Zhu bad habits. Zhu was the most patient horse Zhou Mi had ever owned, far more so even than Dahua, and Zhou Mi detected no bad habits afterward.
Kyuhyun was never going to go professional, or even compete, but Kyuhyun had expressed interest - and it was time they could spend together.
“You’re doing really good!” Zhou Mi called out, as Zhu extended his trot. The lines were excellent, and Kyuhyun’s control was fine. Horse and ride were looking just as gorgeous as ever.
“Sometimes I think you want me to ride so you can take me home and massage my butt,” Kyuhyun huffed out as he trotted by.
Zhou Mi’s mouth dropped open as dueling images assaulted him, and he nearly hit his head on the railing as he doubled over with laughter.
***
More Than This
***
“How many people did you make happy today?” Kyuhyun asked as he wrapped his arms round Zhou Mi’s ribs.
It was nice to be out, at a low key club instead of the seemingly bi-monthly weddings where Zhou Mi heroically held back tears and worried like the mother-in-law at receptions. They were more welcome to dance at some weddings than others in those situations, but out on their own they could relax.
Zhou Mi’s arms were warm and not in the least bit confining over his shoulders and around his neck as they swayed, cheek against cheek.
“I set up a few dates,” Zhou Mi told him. “I think there’s an engagement coming soon for one couple, because I got this gushing phone call.”
Kyuhyun had taken a personal day, which meant he had to get caught up on Zhou Mi’s life. Mostly because he’d had a doctor’s appointment, and he had to get his suit picked up and make sure he had a clean shirt for a wedding that weekend. Zhou Mi had sent him a very amused look when he’d confessed that, and he’d kicked Zhou Mi under the table. Someone had a far larger selection of formal wear to choose from than he did, even if their combined closet was slowly filling up.
“I bought something for you while I was out,” Kyuhyun teased. “It’s back at the apartment.”
“Kyuhyun!”
Yeah, yeah. That was like snatching food away from a dog, teasing Zhou Mi like that.
“You’ll like it,” he promised. It was dessert.
Not like the time he’d given a pair of boxer briefs with a cute little bow attached to the back.
Only to receive a pair with a bunny tail on it a couple of days later.
Together, they were perfect.
***
Black Satin
***
“They want you to do what?” Kyuhyun asked, staring at Zhou Mi.
“Dance routine!” Zhou Mi said, and shimmied in such a way that had Kyuhyun hitching in laughter. There were many things he loved about Zhou Mi. That he was a good friend, and that he was great in bed, and that he looked something ridiculous and amazing in a dress.
“Is it comedy night?”
Zhou Mi’s pillow glanced off his head.
Oh yeah, and Zhou Mi had a pretty decent aim, too.
“Please tell me I get to come see this,” Kyuhyun said.
He didn’t go back to Satin much, mostly just on nights everyone was off and hanging out together. He was still considered one of them, in addition to being Zhou Mi’s significant other, so that wasn’t something that was going to change.
“Maybe,” Zhou Mi teased, still showing a hint of a pout from the comedy quip. “We might be putting aside a special table for significant others. You won’t have us coming to sit with you, but you’ll be able to see. I get to sing, too!”
They’d done a good deal of singing in little rooms together, or just around the apartment as they were cleaning. Kyuhyun wasn’t jealous of Zhou Mi’s voice, feeling it was only for him. Zhou Mi had sang at Satin before.
“You’ll do great,” Kyuhyun assured Zhou Mi, hooking an arm around his waist. “I give you full permission to practice around here any time.”
“Horizontally?” Zhou Mi asked, eyeballing him.
They giggled against each other’s mouths.
And when the night came, Kyuhyun was in a suit, and sitting with two women and a few men, there just like him.
Zhou Mi emerged covered in feathers. Any other time, he might’ve laughed.
But right then, he was dazzled.
***
The Life I Live
***
The mist rising off of his tea cup made him think of mist on the water in the forest.
They were sort of in a forest, of palm trees. A couple hundred feet away was the beach, and Kyuhyun was stretched out like a gleaming fish in one of the deck chairs outside of their bungalow door. The only thing he had on was a pair of swim trunks, so Zhou Mi took a moment to admire him.
“How do you drink that when it’s so hot out here? Kyuhyun asked. Zhou Mi couldn’t see his eyes because sunglasses half the size of his face were obscuring them. Actually, he was pretty sure those were his sunglasses.
It made him smile as he settled in his own chair.
“Same as going to the sauna in the summer,” Zhou Mi told him.
Kyuhyun just grunted, and continued gleaming, the product of a good quarter of a bottle of sunscreen.
“Want to go in the water soon?”
Zhou Mi could almost feel the judgement in the stare.
“You like the water way too much.”
Zhou Mi sniffed. “Tigers like water. And they like Kyuhyun…wet.”
“It took almost an hour in the shower until we weren’t tracking in the beach.”
Zhou Mi chuckled. “But that was fun.”
And from the way Kyuhyun’s smile was curling, he’d thought so too.
It was strange. Sometimes in the water, they remembered more of their time together in the forest. It was in the way Kyuhyun kissed him, clung to him. He felt alive in a different way, with his hands on Kyuhyun’s wet skin. It became more primal. Not better, or worse, but different.
But it didn’t matter if they were kissing against a palm tree, or against their bedroom wall.
Kyuhyun was always there.
***
Rundown
***
The baseball knocked off the tip of one of Kyuhyun’s shoes, spinning to the other side. Kyuhyun held his breath as it rolled neatly down between his feet on their bedroom carpet.
“Hole in one!” Zhou Mi crowed, lifting his baseball bat into the air in celebration.
“We’re never going to take up golf as a hobby, right?” Kyuhyun asked, kicking the baseball back toward Zhou Mi.
“Probably not,” Zhou Mi agreed. “You have enough sports.”
“Between the treadmill and tackling you in bed?”
Zhou Mi’s look hit him askance. He wasn’t sure why they kept a baseball bat and ball on a stand in their bedroom. Miyun, even at precocious six, wasn’t going to be dating for a while.
Zhou Mi flopped onto the settee beside him, nuzzling his cheek, and pressing a kiss beside his mouth.
“You didn’t take your shoes off when you came in. Something up?”
“Just tired. Photoshoots are rough. I know why people used to think pictures stole their souls.” And he remembered the pictures the photographer had show him of his family. And the question most on his mind. “Do you want a child of your own?”
Zhou Mi paused, and their eyes met. “What?”
“Miyun… I know you love her. But a baby. Your own blood. Did you want…? I used to wish she had a sibling. So I just… I wondered.”
“Oh. Kyuhyun. I couldn’t love Miyun more if she were my blood. Miyun was a gift I never expected. I never knew I needed. Do you really want to start over with a baby?”
He could do it, with Zhou Mi.
“I just don’t want to hold you back from anything. If you change your mind?”
Their noses lined up. Their hearts. “I’ll let you know,” Zhou Mi promised him.
***