Superstitious
Title: Superstitious
Pairing: Jonghyun/Key
Rating: PG
Summary: "I mean, when a guy goes to visit his best buddy's grave, he expects to see a piece of some kind of stone sticking out of the ground. Not a piece of stone with his buddy sitting on it."
a/n: holloween in april. yeah, i know.
It wasn't so much that Jonghyun didn't believe in ghosts. Jonghyun believed in ghosts in some paranoid and superstitious part of his nature but he didn't believe in ghosts. Jonghyun didn't like to think that things got back up and kept going when they were dead. There was something reassuring about the finality; no one just gets back up and start taking care of business like he'd never left. No, he stayed down; got a little rest for a change. Right?
Right.
Except that Kibum was standing in front of him.
"You're dead."
"Well . . . yes," Kibum said uncomfortably.
Then Jonghyun was pacing. He was pacing because it wasn't like he could swing at Kibum because Kibum wasn't real. This was all a dream; some sick effort his subconscious was making to encourage him to stay asleep and he wasn't buying.
"No, see, I know you're not talking to me. I saw you die. The funeral? The burial? I was there for all that. You're dead."
Maybe if he closed his eyes. . . .
Nope, still there and, damn, if death wasn’t a good look on Kibum. Not that Kibum had ever looked bad alive.
"Well, actually, Jonghyun, Halloween is often said to be a night when the spirits of the dead--"
"Fuck Halloween, Kibum! What? You woke up this morning in Ghostville and thought to yourself, 'Hey, it's Halloween! Let's go pay my old buddy Jonghyun a visit?'" Jonghyun snapped and then he wished he hadn't said it because Kibum looked hurt and pissed and lost all at once. Even if this was a bad dream, Jonghyun never wanted to see that look on Kibum's face again.
"Kibu--"
"I assure you it wasn't intentional," Kibum said and fuck if he didn't sound like he looked. Jonghyun needed to kick himself.
. . . Jonghyun couldn't believe he was buying into this.
. . . Jonghyun was going to go out and get seriously drunk when he woke up.
"Look, Kibum, I'm sorry. The thing is, I'm glad to see you I just wish it was, you know, under better circumstances."
"I completely understand, Jonghyun."
"I mean, when a guy goes to visit his best buddy's grave, he expects to see a piece of some kind of stone sticking out of the ground. Not a piece of stone with his buddy sitting on it. It's just weird, Kibum."
"I'm sorry, Jonghyun. I'll be careful to sit on another grave marker next time but, you'll forgive me if I was unwilling to be so rude as to encroach on the dwellings of my neighbors."
"Neigh-- oh, Jesus!"
A woman with three missing teeth smiled crookedly at him from an adjacent headstone. Jonghyun waved weakly.
"Uh, Key, seeing one ghost doesn't mean you suddenly see all of them, does it?"
"In my experience, Jonghyun, most ghosts tend to avoid interfering in the material world with a few notable exceptions."
"Oh good. 'Cause I have a delicate constitution, Kibum; just seeing you nearly put me under."
Kibum frowned but anything he or Jonghyun might say next was destined to hang in the air until it forced its way through the protective barrier of awkwardness that had suddenly risen to suffocate them both. Jonghyun suddenly felt like he was on the first date and they were still working their way past the getting-to-know-you part. Only he and Kibum already knew each other so maybe this was the I’m-not-sure-how-much-longer-this-evening-is-going-to-last part which was just silly. And Jonghyun was suddenly worried that maybe Kibum had been away so long that they didn’t have anything in common anymore which was even sillier because Kibum was here now, right?
“So . . . this thing,” Jonghyun said, waving his hand to include Kibum and himself. “When does it end? I mean, do you have a curfew?”
“Not as such, no. I-Jonghyun, there was one more thing.”
“Yeah?”
“I meant to say-well, that is what I-well-“
Suddenly Jonghyun didn’t want to hear it. “Don’t.”
“Jonghyun?”
“Don’t. Just . . . just--let’s pretend like you’re still here and I’ve still . . . and I can still pretend like there’s nothing I want to say because I’ve . . . because I’ve got forever not to say it.”
“Jonghyun?”
How had he gotten so close? It was closer, maybe than Kibum had ever gotten to him alive but that wasn’t true. It was like, if Jonghyun stepped forward a little he could be inside Kibum and that was something he had always wanted, wasn’t it? But not like this. And then Jonghyun was sobbing uncontrollably and laughing because Kibum looked like he wanted to put his arms around Jonghyun but they both knew he couldn’t.
Jonghyun didn’t want any true confessions, he wanted his friend back. He didn’t want Kibum to tell him all those things he never said because that would make all of this real and Jonghyun liked real when it was with Kibum even if that meant never saying what he thought about all the time.
Jonghyun didn’t know how long they stood waiting for him to finish letting it out.
“Hey, Key? You got to be home anytime soon?”
“No, Jonghyun, I have all night.”
Pairing: Jonghyun/Key
Rating: PG
Summary: "I mean, when a guy goes to visit his best buddy's grave, he expects to see a piece of some kind of stone sticking out of the ground. Not a piece of stone with his buddy sitting on it."
a/n: holloween in april. yeah, i know.
It wasn't so much that Jonghyun didn't believe in ghosts. Jonghyun believed in ghosts in some paranoid and superstitious part of his nature but he didn't believe in ghosts. Jonghyun didn't like to think that things got back up and kept going when they were dead. There was something reassuring about the finality; no one just gets back up and start taking care of business like he'd never left. No, he stayed down; got a little rest for a change. Right?
Right.
Except that Kibum was standing in front of him.
"You're dead."
"Well . . . yes," Kibum said uncomfortably.
Then Jonghyun was pacing. He was pacing because it wasn't like he could swing at Kibum because Kibum wasn't real. This was all a dream; some sick effort his subconscious was making to encourage him to stay asleep and he wasn't buying.
"No, see, I know you're not talking to me. I saw you die. The funeral? The burial? I was there for all that. You're dead."
Maybe if he closed his eyes. . . .
Nope, still there and, damn, if death wasn’t a good look on Kibum. Not that Kibum had ever looked bad alive.
"Well, actually, Jonghyun, Halloween is often said to be a night when the spirits of the dead--"
"Fuck Halloween, Kibum! What? You woke up this morning in Ghostville and thought to yourself, 'Hey, it's Halloween! Let's go pay my old buddy Jonghyun a visit?'" Jonghyun snapped and then he wished he hadn't said it because Kibum looked hurt and pissed and lost all at once. Even if this was a bad dream, Jonghyun never wanted to see that look on Kibum's face again.
"Kibu--"
"I assure you it wasn't intentional," Kibum said and fuck if he didn't sound like he looked. Jonghyun needed to kick himself.
. . . Jonghyun couldn't believe he was buying into this.
. . . Jonghyun was going to go out and get seriously drunk when he woke up.
"Look, Kibum, I'm sorry. The thing is, I'm glad to see you I just wish it was, you know, under better circumstances."
"I completely understand, Jonghyun."
"I mean, when a guy goes to visit his best buddy's grave, he expects to see a piece of some kind of stone sticking out of the ground. Not a piece of stone with his buddy sitting on it. It's just weird, Kibum."
"I'm sorry, Jonghyun. I'll be careful to sit on another grave marker next time but, you'll forgive me if I was unwilling to be so rude as to encroach on the dwellings of my neighbors."
"Neigh-- oh, Jesus!"
A woman with three missing teeth smiled crookedly at him from an adjacent headstone. Jonghyun waved weakly.
"Uh, Key, seeing one ghost doesn't mean you suddenly see all of them, does it?"
"In my experience, Jonghyun, most ghosts tend to avoid interfering in the material world with a few notable exceptions."
"Oh good. 'Cause I have a delicate constitution, Kibum; just seeing you nearly put me under."
Kibum frowned but anything he or Jonghyun might say next was destined to hang in the air until it forced its way through the protective barrier of awkwardness that had suddenly risen to suffocate them both. Jonghyun suddenly felt like he was on the first date and they were still working their way past the getting-to-know-you part. Only he and Kibum already knew each other so maybe this was the I’m-not-sure-how-much-longer-this-evening-is-going-to-last part which was just silly. And Jonghyun was suddenly worried that maybe Kibum had been away so long that they didn’t have anything in common anymore which was even sillier because Kibum was here now, right?
“So . . . this thing,” Jonghyun said, waving his hand to include Kibum and himself. “When does it end? I mean, do you have a curfew?”
“Not as such, no. I-Jonghyun, there was one more thing.”
“Yeah?”
“I meant to say-well, that is what I-well-“
Suddenly Jonghyun didn’t want to hear it. “Don’t.”
“Jonghyun?”
“Don’t. Just . . . just--let’s pretend like you’re still here and I’ve still . . . and I can still pretend like there’s nothing I want to say because I’ve . . . because I’ve got forever not to say it.”
“Jonghyun?”
How had he gotten so close? It was closer, maybe than Kibum had ever gotten to him alive but that wasn’t true. It was like, if Jonghyun stepped forward a little he could be inside Kibum and that was something he had always wanted, wasn’t it? But not like this. And then Jonghyun was sobbing uncontrollably and laughing because Kibum looked like he wanted to put his arms around Jonghyun but they both knew he couldn’t.
Jonghyun didn’t want any true confessions, he wanted his friend back. He didn’t want Kibum to tell him all those things he never said because that would make all of this real and Jonghyun liked real when it was with Kibum even if that meant never saying what he thought about all the time.
Jonghyun didn’t know how long they stood waiting for him to finish letting it out.
“Hey, Key? You got to be home anytime soon?”
“No, Jonghyun, I have all night.”