Ride Until Dawn
Title: Ride Until Dawn
Pairing: Onew/Key, past Jonghyun/Onew
Rating: Pg
Summary: Jinki finds it strange how he feels more at home in a foreign country than he ever felt in Korea.
The hotel room is dim. It’s not completely dark, but the lights are off, and Jinki had drawn the curtains back from the windows. All of the natural light from the rapidly lightening sky is spilling in. It hasn’t broken yet; the light is a cool blue, and it spreads through the room, staining everything that sleepy color.
He’d been sitting on his hotel room bed - not sleeping, but sitting. The covers are untouched and the bed is still made from the last time the staff was in the room. Jinki’s coffee is done; it’s shitty, from the little portable coffee maker in the bathroom, but he still drinks it because it’s familiar and somehow it makes him feel like he’s home even though he has much better coffee at home.
Now, Jinki is standing in front of the two sliding glass doors that open to a little railed-in balcony. He’s twenty-five floors up with a view good enough that he can look out at a large section of the city that they’re in for the day. The city is a ghost town this early, and for a moment, looking out through the glass, Jinki can pretend that this place is just for him.
The light breathing in the room ruins the illusion and reminds Jinki that he isn’t all alone.
“Your coffee smells like shit,” Kibum says. He sounds tired. He’s curled like a cat in the twin of Jinki’s untouched bed. Jinki watches him stretch out before he kicks away the covers and swings his legs over the edge of the bed. Kibum is all mussed. Jinki can’t even believe Kibum is awake already. He’d come back to the room only two hours beforehand after exploring the city. He has a memory card full of images saved to his camera. Jinki flicked through them once Kibum had fallen asleep. The pictures made Jinki sort of wistful. He wishes he had gone out too and had some drinks, saw some sights, but he likes to do that on his own more than he does with drinks in his system.
“It isn’t bad once you add all the fixings,” Jinki says. “Do you want a cup?”
Kibum shakes his head as he staggers to the bathroom, the alcohol or sleep making Kibum’s body move slow and heavy. Jinki has returned his sights to the window, trying to remember the brief glimpses of what it felt like to really be in control for once, even if it was just a moment in an imaginary city.
Kibum’s hands are cold when he touches Jinki’s shoulders. He’s not wearing a shirt and Kibum slides his soft, cool palms down Jinki’s arms. Kibum presses his clothed chest against Jinki’s naked back, arms wound around Jinki’s middle, and steals his cup of coffee, drawing it back to his mouth so he can take a sip.
“You lied,” Kibum says when he hands back the coffee. “Still tastes like shit.”
Kibum’s hands haven’t left Jinki’s skin. They’re cupping Jinki’s hips now, rubbing a little. It’s hard to suppress the shivers. He moves away from Kibum because…well, he doesn’t have a good reason, because he can’t even say that Kibum’s hands are cold anymore. Jinki sets the coffee aside on the table near the window. He dips his head and tries to sense without looking where Kibum is.
“I was watching you,” Jinki hears Kibum say. “For a while, before I got out of bed, I was watching you.”
Jinki turns his head so he can find Kibum; they lock eyes. “And?”
Kibum takes a few steps closer, feet silent on the soft carpeting of the room. “And I feel like I’ve seen something far too intimate.”
The room is quiet now, heavier. Jinki frowns. Kibum’s skin is catching all the light from the windows now. He briefly watches the way it’s changing colors from cool icy blue to a warmer pink, a dim yellow, all of it beginning to rise on the expanse of Kibum’s cheekbones.
“I think,” Kibum continues. “That I saw someone you try to hide.”
It isn’t a lie, but Jinki wishes it was. It’d be easier if it was, if he didn’t actively tuck himself away from everyone, even those that he shouldn’t. He stiffens up, embarrassed, and Kibum is so aware of everyone else around him that there’s no doubt that he picks up on it. Jinki shrugs.
“I think I caught a glimpse of the person Jonghyun used to talk about.”
“Don’t,” Jinki breathes before he can catch himself. “Don’t talk about Jonghyun.”
“Fine.” Kibum lets the subject drop. He nods towards his messy bed. “Come lie with me for a little while. I’m lonely.”
Jinki doesn’t believe it. He doesn’t believe Kibum of all people could ever feel lonely, but he nods anyway, and he follows Kibum to the bed, shuffling along, feeling like a child. Kibum gets in the bed first, slipping under the thick blanket and cool sheets, and then he holds the covers up so Jinki can follow him. Dimly, as he crawls into the bed that’s still warm from the first time Kibum was sleeping here, Jinki remembers that he forgot to draw back the curtains. He hasn’t slept in maybe eleven or twelve hours, but he wishes he had drawn the curtains closed. He thinks about asking Kibum to do it, but they’ve both just settled down, Kibum tucking in the corners of the blanket around them.
They lie facing each other on their individual pillows. Kibum’s eyes are dark and dreamy and searching for something inside of Jinki that Jinki himself isn’t even sure he could find if he went looking. Jinki closes his eyes because he can’t handle the moment. Eventually, he has his eyes closed for long enough that he doesn’t even feel like opening them. He can hear the slow ease of Kibum’s breathing as he falls back to sleep. Jinki shifts a little and his knee brushes Kibum’s bare leg. It’s been so long since he shared a bed with anyone. Even though he doesn’t want his body to remember, he still does - he remembers like a dream that Jonghyun liked to fall asleep with their hands laced together. Kibum sleeps with his hands tucked under his chest or face.
Slowly, as Jinki falls asleep, the sun climbs ever higher, falling in a long, neat slice into the room.
Pairing: Onew/Key, past Jonghyun/Onew
Rating: Pg
Summary: Jinki finds it strange how he feels more at home in a foreign country than he ever felt in Korea.
The hotel room is dim. It’s not completely dark, but the lights are off, and Jinki had drawn the curtains back from the windows. All of the natural light from the rapidly lightening sky is spilling in. It hasn’t broken yet; the light is a cool blue, and it spreads through the room, staining everything that sleepy color.
He’d been sitting on his hotel room bed - not sleeping, but sitting. The covers are untouched and the bed is still made from the last time the staff was in the room. Jinki’s coffee is done; it’s shitty, from the little portable coffee maker in the bathroom, but he still drinks it because it’s familiar and somehow it makes him feel like he’s home even though he has much better coffee at home.
Now, Jinki is standing in front of the two sliding glass doors that open to a little railed-in balcony. He’s twenty-five floors up with a view good enough that he can look out at a large section of the city that they’re in for the day. The city is a ghost town this early, and for a moment, looking out through the glass, Jinki can pretend that this place is just for him.
The light breathing in the room ruins the illusion and reminds Jinki that he isn’t all alone.
“Your coffee smells like shit,” Kibum says. He sounds tired. He’s curled like a cat in the twin of Jinki’s untouched bed. Jinki watches him stretch out before he kicks away the covers and swings his legs over the edge of the bed. Kibum is all mussed. Jinki can’t even believe Kibum is awake already. He’d come back to the room only two hours beforehand after exploring the city. He has a memory card full of images saved to his camera. Jinki flicked through them once Kibum had fallen asleep. The pictures made Jinki sort of wistful. He wishes he had gone out too and had some drinks, saw some sights, but he likes to do that on his own more than he does with drinks in his system.
“It isn’t bad once you add all the fixings,” Jinki says. “Do you want a cup?”
Kibum shakes his head as he staggers to the bathroom, the alcohol or sleep making Kibum’s body move slow and heavy. Jinki has returned his sights to the window, trying to remember the brief glimpses of what it felt like to really be in control for once, even if it was just a moment in an imaginary city.
Kibum’s hands are cold when he touches Jinki’s shoulders. He’s not wearing a shirt and Kibum slides his soft, cool palms down Jinki’s arms. Kibum presses his clothed chest against Jinki’s naked back, arms wound around Jinki’s middle, and steals his cup of coffee, drawing it back to his mouth so he can take a sip.
“You lied,” Kibum says when he hands back the coffee. “Still tastes like shit.”
Kibum’s hands haven’t left Jinki’s skin. They’re cupping Jinki’s hips now, rubbing a little. It’s hard to suppress the shivers. He moves away from Kibum because…well, he doesn’t have a good reason, because he can’t even say that Kibum’s hands are cold anymore. Jinki sets the coffee aside on the table near the window. He dips his head and tries to sense without looking where Kibum is.
“I was watching you,” Jinki hears Kibum say. “For a while, before I got out of bed, I was watching you.”
Jinki turns his head so he can find Kibum; they lock eyes. “And?”
Kibum takes a few steps closer, feet silent on the soft carpeting of the room. “And I feel like I’ve seen something far too intimate.”
The room is quiet now, heavier. Jinki frowns. Kibum’s skin is catching all the light from the windows now. He briefly watches the way it’s changing colors from cool icy blue to a warmer pink, a dim yellow, all of it beginning to rise on the expanse of Kibum’s cheekbones.
“I think,” Kibum continues. “That I saw someone you try to hide.”
It isn’t a lie, but Jinki wishes it was. It’d be easier if it was, if he didn’t actively tuck himself away from everyone, even those that he shouldn’t. He stiffens up, embarrassed, and Kibum is so aware of everyone else around him that there’s no doubt that he picks up on it. Jinki shrugs.
“I think I caught a glimpse of the person Jonghyun used to talk about.”
“Don’t,” Jinki breathes before he can catch himself. “Don’t talk about Jonghyun.”
“Fine.” Kibum lets the subject drop. He nods towards his messy bed. “Come lie with me for a little while. I’m lonely.”
Jinki doesn’t believe it. He doesn’t believe Kibum of all people could ever feel lonely, but he nods anyway, and he follows Kibum to the bed, shuffling along, feeling like a child. Kibum gets in the bed first, slipping under the thick blanket and cool sheets, and then he holds the covers up so Jinki can follow him. Dimly, as he crawls into the bed that’s still warm from the first time Kibum was sleeping here, Jinki remembers that he forgot to draw back the curtains. He hasn’t slept in maybe eleven or twelve hours, but he wishes he had drawn the curtains closed. He thinks about asking Kibum to do it, but they’ve both just settled down, Kibum tucking in the corners of the blanket around them.
They lie facing each other on their individual pillows. Kibum’s eyes are dark and dreamy and searching for something inside of Jinki that Jinki himself isn’t even sure he could find if he went looking. Jinki closes his eyes because he can’t handle the moment. Eventually, he has his eyes closed for long enough that he doesn’t even feel like opening them. He can hear the slow ease of Kibum’s breathing as he falls back to sleep. Jinki shifts a little and his knee brushes Kibum’s bare leg. It’s been so long since he shared a bed with anyone. Even though he doesn’t want his body to remember, he still does - he remembers like a dream that Jonghyun liked to fall asleep with their hands laced together. Kibum sleeps with his hands tucked under his chest or face.
Slowly, as Jinki falls asleep, the sun climbs ever higher, falling in a long, neat slice into the room.