Title: Welcome to the end of the world
Author: Selena
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Eunhyuk/Donghae, slight Kangin/Leeteuk
Warnings: Apocalypse AU
Word count: 911
Summary: Sometimes things can't really start until everything ends
A/N: Written for the
miracle______ new beginnings challenge.
Welcome to the end of the world
Hyukjae meets Donghae when the sky is falling and he thinks - he thinks there is no one left in the world. Donghae smiles at him, a heartbreakingly warm and sincere smile, something Hyukjae doesn’t think he has seen in years - though it’s only been a few weeks since the world disappeared.
“Hi.” Donghae says and he sits beside Hyukjae on the ledge and they both look out on the empty space that used to be the Han River. Hyukjae just waves, a shy little gesture, he doesn’t trust his voice, doesn’t really want to speak. He hasn’t spoken since that last conversation with Junsu just before the explosion - just before the world went black and he woke up in the ruins. He hasn’t seen Junsu since - hasn’t seen anyone since, except now - except Donghae.
“I’m Donghae.” Donghae says. Hyukjae nods and Donghae’s smile falters a little. “We saw you sitting up here.” Donghae continues. His voice is soft, melodic. Hyukjae thinks that he might like to hear Donghae sing - someday.
“We?” Hyukjae says. His voice cracks and he tries to squash down the hope that flares in his stomach - hope that there are people left, hope that not everything is destroyed.
Donghae takes a deep breath and his smile widens - such a hope filled smile. “Jongwoon Hyung, Youngwoon Hyung, Sungmin Hyung, Heechul Hyung and Jungsu Hyung.” Donghae points behind him, Hyukjae doesn’t see where because he doesn’t turn around to look. “We were down there and we saw you up here.” Donghae stands up and reaches out a hand. “Come on.” He says. Hyukjae looks up then, looks up into friendly eyes.
“Where?” Hyukjae asks. His voice is getting stronger now, more confident.
“Home.” Is Donghae’s answer and he turns to go. He walks down the hill a little way before turning back and looking at Hyukjae expectantly.
“I don’t have a home anymore.” Hyukjae says and it’s that admission, saying it - out loud - for the first time that finally breaks him down and he starts to cry. He’s cold, he’s hungry, he’s been alone too long and he just wants to go home - but he can’t. Donghae’s arms, when they close around him, are warm and safe. He’s not even sure when Donghae had walked back to him.
“You do now.” Donghae says, his voice is muffled, his face pressed into Hyukjae’s shoulder.
“You don’t even know me.” Hyukjae says through tears. “I don’t even know you.”
“Jungsu Hyung found me a week ago.” Donghae keeps talking, his voice soothing, he doesn’t let go of Hyukjae. “He found the others too. He found you, he saw you up here first.”
Hyukjae really hadn’t thought anyone else had survived, didn’t know how he had and in truth he didn’t even know what was going on. One minute the world around him existed and the next it didn’t.
“I hadn’t done my home work.” Hyukjae sniffs. “Now I don’t have to.” He starts to giggle. This is it, Hyukjae thinks, he’s going mad. Didn’t take as long as he thought it would. Donghae laughs with him. It feels good to laugh even though it probably means that they are both going mad.
“Come home with me.” Donghae doesn’t ask this time. He doesn’t order, he doesn’t even suggest. It’s like he just doesn’t expect Hyukjae to say no.
Hyukjae isn’t sure why he does go. Maybe it’s the need for some kind of human contact or maybe it’s the sense that it’s all just a dream. One long, strange, terrible dream so nothing he does really matters.
The others are waiting for them at the bottom of the hill. Donghae sees them and waves enthusiastically. Hyukjae sees them and stops. Stops walking and for a second it feels like he even stops breathing. Seeing them there smiling, waving, alive - it doesn’t seem real. He stumbles and he falls. He feels the skin on the palms of his hands split as it scrapes against gravel. But Donghae is right there, helping him up, surprisingly strong hands pulling him, holding him.
“It’s ok,” Donghae says. “You’re safe now.”
*
“The world ended.” Jungsu says to him later. Later when Hyukjae is ensconced in blankets - threadbare but warm and welcome. “But life didn’t. We just have to pull ourselves up from the wreckage.”
Before this - before when he was alone, Hyukjae had wondered what made him so special. Why did he get to live on, why did he get to see the world crumble and fall? But as Donghae takes his hand and they look in to the fire that Youngwoon Hyung made - and Jongwoon Hyung almost put out again - he feels a flicker of happiness spark deep within him.
“There are others out there.” Jungsu says, to no one, to all of them.” “I know there is.”
“We’ll find them.” Youngwoon says. Hyukjae watches as Youngwoon slips an arm around Jungsu’s shoulders and Jungsu leans back into the touch, warm, comfortable, safe.
“Hyukjae.” Hyukjae says. He doesn’t remember telling them his name. Doesn’t think he did, but he feels the need to say it, to put it out there. Donghae smiles at him and Hyukjae smiles back and they sit together in the ruins of the old world and together - together they know that they’ll start a new one.
FIN.