Drabble #4 - Departures
Title: Departures
Rating: PG
Pairing: Teddy/Seungho(-ish)
A/N: Written in response to Seungho enrolling and Daniel and Teddy leaving Korea. The story's told backwards, which is an idea the lovely lovelyable executed ten thousand times better than me. :)
Teddy walks through the airport with his most precious belongings slung over his shoulder, his earbuds firmly in place and his chest burning with rage, hating everything and everyone around him in a way he hasn't in years, not since the last time he was forced to leave mid-promotion.
This time he's leaving because he wants to, though. A tiny, unsatisfying form of rebellion, of silent protest, because he can't punch the entire South Korean government in the face.
***
"He just left."
Daniel stands in the door frame of Teddy's studio, his voice hollow and his eyelashes still spiky with tears. By the time Teddy thinks of something to say, he's already sat down heavily onto his couch. "What are you gonna do?"
"Go back to London. He told me--" Daniel shakes his head, rakes his fingers through his hair. "We were supposed to graduate together, you know."
"You could stay. YG ain't gonna send you away."
Daniel only looks at him and shakes his head again, a bitter smile twisting his lips. Of course he can't stay - not with a hole the size of Seungho in his styling team, not without a roommate and a best friend, and not with the ever-present possibility of another letter showing up in his mailbox to ruin what's left of his life.
Such a fucking waste of talent, Teddy thinks, then moves to sit next to Daniel. "So when are you leaving?"
***
"Purple?" Teddy asks amusedly as Seungho catches up to him on the sidewalk, the keys to his workshop jangling in his hand and his short-cropped hair clashing violently with the orange jacket he's wearing.
"Lavender. Thought I might as well do it while I still can, you know?" He smiles at the quizzical look Teddy shoots him, easily falling into step next to him. "Got the letter last week."
"The-- What, military service?"
Seungho nods in reply. Teddy wants to laugh at first, because seriously, Seungho in the army, purple hair and piercings and delicate hands and all. He's seen what military service does to people like him, though, the way it dulls their minds and breaks them down, and then the thought of Seungho wasting his best years away in fatigues and dogtags isn't funny at all anymore. "Fuck."
"Yeah."
Silence hangs heavy between them as they walk, Seungho's eyes fixed on the pavement, but he puts on a smile again once they face each other in front of his apartment building. "I'll miss you." He reaches up and touches Teddy's cheek briefly. "I guess I should've said something earlier."
Teddy pulls him into a hug and slaps him on the back and tells him two years isn't that big a deal, because acknowledging what he just saw in Seungho's eyes will only make saying goodbye more difficult down the line.
Rating: PG
Pairing: Teddy/Seungho(-ish)
A/N: Written in response to Seungho enrolling and Daniel and Teddy leaving Korea. The story's told backwards, which is an idea the lovely lovelyable executed ten thousand times better than me. :)
Teddy walks through the airport with his most precious belongings slung over his shoulder, his earbuds firmly in place and his chest burning with rage, hating everything and everyone around him in a way he hasn't in years, not since the last time he was forced to leave mid-promotion.
This time he's leaving because he wants to, though. A tiny, unsatisfying form of rebellion, of silent protest, because he can't punch the entire South Korean government in the face.
***
"He just left."
Daniel stands in the door frame of Teddy's studio, his voice hollow and his eyelashes still spiky with tears. By the time Teddy thinks of something to say, he's already sat down heavily onto his couch. "What are you gonna do?"
"Go back to London. He told me--" Daniel shakes his head, rakes his fingers through his hair. "We were supposed to graduate together, you know."
"You could stay. YG ain't gonna send you away."
Daniel only looks at him and shakes his head again, a bitter smile twisting his lips. Of course he can't stay - not with a hole the size of Seungho in his styling team, not without a roommate and a best friend, and not with the ever-present possibility of another letter showing up in his mailbox to ruin what's left of his life.
Such a fucking waste of talent, Teddy thinks, then moves to sit next to Daniel. "So when are you leaving?"
***
"Purple?" Teddy asks amusedly as Seungho catches up to him on the sidewalk, the keys to his workshop jangling in his hand and his short-cropped hair clashing violently with the orange jacket he's wearing.
"Lavender. Thought I might as well do it while I still can, you know?" He smiles at the quizzical look Teddy shoots him, easily falling into step next to him. "Got the letter last week."
"The-- What, military service?"
Seungho nods in reply. Teddy wants to laugh at first, because seriously, Seungho in the army, purple hair and piercings and delicate hands and all. He's seen what military service does to people like him, though, the way it dulls their minds and breaks them down, and then the thought of Seungho wasting his best years away in fatigues and dogtags isn't funny at all anymore. "Fuck."
"Yeah."
Silence hangs heavy between them as they walk, Seungho's eyes fixed on the pavement, but he puts on a smile again once they face each other in front of his apartment building. "I'll miss you." He reaches up and touches Teddy's cheek briefly. "I guess I should've said something earlier."
Teddy pulls him into a hug and slaps him on the back and tells him two years isn't that big a deal, because acknowledging what he just saw in Seungho's eyes will only make saying goodbye more difficult down the line.