april 4th. - claiming cities; blohyuk
He nearly shoots off his chair, hands already searching for something to write on. Fingers wrap around a pen as he puts his thoughts on what he calls 'repeat' but it's really just an endless loop; a string of words.
It's the middle of the night or sometime past but it's not like Tablo was sleeping. Blankets are on the floor and he can't even bother to think why that's a bad sign.
There's still not a piece of paper anywhere. He curses his messy room because his mind's already changing words around and that's not what he wants. Instead of finding paper, he trips over an empty piggy bank and nearly collides with a pile of CDs on the floor.
Making quick work, Tablo just about breaks the disk in his haste of opening the case but it's okay because letters are coming together on the cover. Tablo hopes, somewhere in the back of his mind, that it's not a CD someone else gave him but his brain is still racing and the pen is coming as close as it ever will to flying.
"...hyung?" said in a groggy voice and Tablo just shrugs it off but then a tentative hand touches his bare leg and he has to bite his lip to keep from screaming like a little kid.
He wants to finish his last thought, even though they never really end, so even as his heart is jumping into his throat, even as he raises his head, he's still scribbling away on the CD cover.
All thoughts stop when he looks up at sleepy eyes and crazed hair and he can't even bring himself to care because he loves when Eunhyuk looks like that. It's like he's one of the only people that get to see this side of the young idol and he can't help but admire every imperfection, every adorable flaw.
Tablo notices with a start though, "Did I wake you up?" and he feels guilty because not everyone lives like he does, and it's not the first time he's felt like this lifestyle would never suit Eunhyuk.
Eunhyuk rubs his eye, the right one, trying to wipe away the last remnants of sleep, unconsciously frowning when it doesn't seem to work. The dancer stretches, reaching higher, higher for the ceiling, before replying and Tablo is watching every movement, every slight rise of fabric.
"Mmm, it's okay. Hyung-ah, can we go get some ice cream?"
It makes him want to burst out laughing because it's so random and sudden but he settles for a low chuckle and Tablo's agreeing even though the digital clock that's half on and half off the nightstand tells him it's 3:39 am.
When he sees that gummy smile, those barely open eyes, bright despite the dull light seeping in from the doorway, he can't help but smile back and think that he'll do anything as long as Lee Hyukjae keeps smiling, keeps breathing, keeps being just as he is.
He picks himself up and remembers the lyrics he got down when the CD cover flutters to the ground. Eunhyuk is already pulling on his coat and pants but Tablo is still finding a place to put the bits of writing so he won't lose it.
When, "Hyung, I'm ready," comes from the general vicinity of the living room, Tablo just sticks it on the refrigerator, with a flower magnet that doesn't belong there; among random newspaper clippings and phone messages from two weeks prior. The CD cover - a nameless artist - is on top though and he's sure that he won't miss it next time he decides to get a cup of coffee.
Satisfied with that, Tablo tugs on a shirt and a jacket, mental checklist running as he pulls on a pair of faded jeans. He doesn't bother to grab his set of keys because he knows Eunhyuk carries a spare key to the flat somewhere in one of his pockets. There's a corner store within walking distance; the only place that he can think of that would be selling ice cream this time at night.
The door swings shut after them, the auto lock clicking into place. Tablo looks up at the sky and sighs, before stepping out from under the overhang, Eunhyuk already three steps down the stairs.
Eunhyuk looks back at him, that childish grin on his face again, and says; "Don't worry. I'll always wait for you, hyung-ah." There's a pretty pink blush on the younger boy's face when he realizes exactly what he just said, growing slightly when Tablo just stares at him for a moment, but he's still grinning, and then, Tablo is grinning right back.
The older rapper outstretches his hand to Eunhyuk, palm tilted at an angle they've both grown unknowingly accustomed to, and Eunhyuk slips his hand right in. Fingers laced, and fitting together perfectly, they descend the rest of the stairs. Eunhyuk's presence is infectious and Tablo can already feel another grin tugging at his lips.
His feet hit the ground, all smooth cement littered with rocks, and he stops again; breathing in air that feels so fresh even with the pollution clouding everyone's common sense. Eunhyuk tugs his hand lightly, impatiently - probably thinking of ridiculous fruit flavored ice cream - and then they're off again.
He doesn't know how but they end up walking on the curving and empty street instead of the sidewalk, arms swinging high and carefree; and Tablo feels exactly that. There's barely a whisper of cars zooming by, and even then, it's in the distance.
Eunhyuk is trying to follow the lane that is laid in the middle of the street, one footstep in front of the other, and Tablo is right by his side. He doesn't let go of the boy's hand, almost as though he were thinking if and when he did, Eunhyuk would simply disappear into the night.
They're laughing at nothing and everything, smiling widely and secretively, talking with only looks for words, and Tablo thinks that these are the moments that make everything more than worth it. On the sleeping streets of Seoul, with its glaring bright lights, there's no one in sight, no one around judging or mocking, and the city is theirs.
That's why when they burst through the left door of the corner market, wind chimes signaling their entrance, it's almost as though reality is knocking again. Eunhyuk makes his way to the freezer section though, to pick out ice cream, and Tablo is looking at all the frozen sweets; and they ignore the call for just a while longer.
After pulling out a single wrapped coffee fudge stick, Eunhyuk getting a multi-colored raspberry and orange and mango and strawberry popsicle, Tablo goes to pay despite the dancer's protest. When the girl at the counter, make-up colored eyes smoky and bloodshot, barely gives them and their interlocked fingers a second glance, it makes him feel like their city and its midnight dreamers is the right place for them.
They exit, the clanging of the wind chimes following them this time, and not even two seconds later; Eunhyuk raises the arm that's holding his popsicle and uses it to point at a bench that's randomly under a tree. Tablo raises an eyebrow but Eunhyuk is already half way to the wooden seat. Their hands are no longer laced and Tablo misses the warmth, Eunhyuk always seeming to be so far ahead of him.
He walks over as he unwraps his ice cream, taking in the sight of Eunhyuk's smiling face, lit up by innocence and that streetlamp glow. When Tablo plops down next to Eunhyuk, he throws an arm around the boy's shoulder lightly and pretends that he didn't do it awkwardly. Relaxing back against the bench, he tilts his head up towards the dark clouds and feels Eunhyuk shift closer.
It doesn't take long for them to finish their ice cream, random talks filling silences that don't need to be filled, and yet they still sit there, just wasting time with each other despite the busy schedules that are out to suffocate later. At some point, Eunhyuk moves to lay down, his head resting on Tablo's lap, their hands resting on Eunhyuk's stomach.
That's how Eunhyuk falls asleep. Tablo just smiles and watches the sky, following trails of the leafless tree branches overhead. He doesn't know how late it got, how early it's getting, how they must look; he's just thinking that the night should never end.
But when the sun peaks over the horizon and Eunhyuk is still right there, Tablo's also thinking the he doesn't really mind what time of day it is.