(I’m Little, but) I’m Coming for the Crown
(I’m Little, but) I’m Coming for the Crown
For: EVERYONE
Rating: PG-13
Length: 5,880 words
Summary: (university!au) Seduction is not for the socially awkward, or Luhan, for that matter.
Author's Note: I’m sorry for obliterating your prompt and making it so cheesy, I hope it still manages to reach some of your expectations v_v.
If Minseok wouldn’t stop him from doing it, Luhan is pretty sure he’d smother himself in the jjajangmyeon placed in front of him. He sinks deeper into his oversized sweatshirt, watching as Minseok side-eyes him like he knows exactly what Luhan is thinking.
The commons is alive with chatter as Yixing finally arrives at the table with food in hand. “Are you really still moping?” Yixing asks, plopping down on the seat diagonal from Luhan.
He scoffs in response, wishing he could make Yixing understand the seriousness of the situation. “You would feel the same way if it happened to you!” Luhan says, shaking an accusing finger at Yixing’s perpetually blank face.
“Hm, I’m sure I would. But it’s not every day that I take secret pictures of a stranger’s butt, nor do I accidentally send them to my professor instead of the essay that is supposed to be due.”
A groan rings out across the table as the mortification slowly regains its place in Luhan’s mind. The ‘send’ button is practically ingrained into the backs of his eyelids at this point. He unjustly blames this all on the short, dark haired boy in his music theory class.
He was currently two weeks into the ‘class he never wanted to walk back into’. At this point, not even thinking about the year Jongdae dyed his hair an appalling shade of emerald could nullify the humiliating feeling of realizing he had sent a picture of short stranger’s butt to his professor.
On the first day of his music history, literature, and theory class, it’s like the Gods were trying to send him a sign already. He had been dragged to a coffee shop at the crack of dawn by Jongdae, who insisted the class would be worth it. Luhan had dubbed him a ‘music nerd’, which was ignored. Following the trip to the small cafe, he tripped over his own foot, bringing his coffee splashing down on his thankfully black sweater (but, Luhan had concluded, even if the color could save him from being obviously noticed, the strong smell of mocha and coffee would). When he looked up, he had come face to face not only with Jongdae, but an extremely attractive person with full pink lips and wide eyes, asking if Luhan was alright and oh, would he like some help up?
Jongdae had teased him for hours on end about his star-struck expression, something he usually only gained when Korean words zipped by a little too fast for his understanding. The nice-lipped stranger had tried to ask Jongdae if Luhan could speak Korean, but Jongdae was too busy laughing to respond. Luhan wondered if he could hit him hard enough to make those thin lips fall right off.
Jongdae knew the boy, and identified him as Kyungsoo. Kyungsoo is a singer and supposedly just naturally kind. And so Luhan decided this seemingly perfect specimen had a butt with the need to be photographed, which added to Jongdae’s distress about Luhan’s new obsession (he even decided to switch seats with a certain Sehun so not to be spotted talking to the infatuated boy).
Now here is Luhan, dreaming of suffocating himself with noodles and wishing Kyungsoo’s butt never came into existence.
“You know, there’s better ways to try to woo him other than taking discreet pictures of his ass and fawning over him from a distance. Like, I don’t know, speaking to him.” Minseok speaks with precision, staring at Luhan like he’s teaching a lesson to his five year old son.
Luhan is not Minseok’s son (he doesn't even have one) nor is he five (he turned twenty-two just a couple months ago, thank you very much!) so he ignores his chipmunk resembling friend.
“Why should I listen to you?” Luhan grumbles, picking through his food again.
“Honestly, I think you should be taking any advice that isn't your own right now,” Minseok says. He wears a condescending tilt of the eyebrow, hands spread flat on the table.
Luhan raises a threatening fist and puts on his best glare (because Luhan is feared by everyone, of course).
☁
Much to Luhan’s chagrin (or maybe pleasure, but it’s leaning the other way at this point), Jongdae, for once in his life, has thought about Luhan.
Luhan (in all his bad ass, rebellious way) had come back to the music theory class after avoiding it for three days. Jongdae informed him that within the duration of his...mini-vacation, a group project had been assigned that dealt with composing a short song in a month. (A test of skill, which was a must have for a class like this.) Jongdae considering Luhan’s feelings, an extremely rare occasion, meant pulling him into a group with his new enemy.
He stares down at the makeshift table in front of him, four small desks the group had pulled together. Jongdae sits across from this tall, talkative dude named Chanyeol, and to his right sits the cause of all his problems. The issue was that Kyungsoo apparently didn’t even know about it (he thinks that if Kyungsoo actually knew that he was the root of Luhan’s troubles, it’d be a tad bit easier to blame it on him) and sits perched on his chair with an annoying air of innocence that Luhan will never be able to emit.
Then Kyungsoo is smiling at him and Luhan forgets to be even kind of pissy and superficially angry. This is real life, he thinks. This is not some shoujo manhwa or romance movie, so that is extremely unfair and unrealistic. He reluctantly sits down with his all too cheery group, avoiding looking at big, searching eyes or dumb, kissable looking lips. Chanyeol’s surprisingly deep voice starts a round of unnecessary introduction and casual banter.
At first, Luhan is a bit affronted by Chanyeol’s seemingly random appearance in Jongdae’s acquaintance list, but decides to accept him when he takes in Chanyeol’s gregarious disposition and the weird way he quirks his eyes as he laughs.
He’s interrupted out of his wandering thoughts when Jongdae asks, “So what do you think we should do? Does anyone besides me play any instruments?”
“I play the drums, guitar, bass, and piano,” Chanyeol offers. “Most of my free time is spent composing stuff, so I actually wanted to claim rights to arrange. I mean, if that’s okay with everyone.”
Jongdae nods and thumbs through his own printed out rubric. “That should be fine. So which style of music should we be working with?”
“We have two vocalists here, so I guess we’re going to have to try to settle on a genre that fits us all well,” Luhan suggests, trying to get the creative wheels in his brain to creak back into action.
“Alright! We have a month, so let’s split it up evenly,” Chanyeol throws out the idea, and Luhan thinks it’s his time to shine. If it’s any indication, Jongdae’s over dramatic cough and elbow in his side says he thinks so too.
“Yes, yeah, I agree.” Luhan is too smooth for his own good. “Kyungsoo? Jongdae says you’re into writing. I've always been a bit of a closet poet, myself. We should do lyrics, and Jongdae and Chanyeol can send us the composition in parts.” He nods so hard his hair flops on his forehead, and hopes he comes across as eager for the project instead of eager to spend time (yeha, super sexy time, that is) with Kyungsoo.
Kyungsoo breaks his own silence by agreeing, smiling pleasantly and giving Luhan contact details with ease. Luhan tries not to lay his phone on the floor and praise it, now useful for something besides sending Minseok pictures of cute puppies and other small animals with crying emoticons attached, or annoying Yixing with philosophical late night thoughts. Luhan feels strangely victorious, like he just scored Kyungsoo’s number with his own super amazing, dazzling charms instead of acquiring it through a mandatory project.
He’s oddly thankful when Jongdae discreetly waggles his eyebrows in Luhan’s direction, effectively demolishing his embarrassing happiness and replacing the affection growing in his heart with distaste. He fake-gags, filled with satisfaction at the scowl Jongdae sends his way.
☁
Jongdae wipes an invisible tear away, looking up dramatically. He turns, looking Luhan in the eyes and placing both hands on his shoulders, locking him into place with determination set in his gaze.
“Mother has guided you well, right? You remember what I said?”
To be completely and utterly honest, Luhan wishes he hadn't. “You are the master of seduction, Xiao Lu. I have taught you the rules, now apply them. Generously. Like lotion.” Instead of voicing that to Jongdae’s face, he chooses to nod instead, not needing another round of chiding.
“Wonderful. Now you go get ‘em tiger!” Jongdae brings a slap to Luhan’s butt that sends him flying, and he rubs his now sore backside with a hand as he grudgingly makes his way towards the dorm. It’s not that he doesn't want to spend time with Kyungsoo and this stupid project anymore, no, it’s that Jongdae is determined to make him some sort of pimp and has managed to bring down his mood along with what little respect he carried for his younger, feline like friend.
Kyungsoo’s dorm number and floor is written in his own large scrawl across his palm, smeared from clenching his hand into a fist so much in the past hour (thank you, Jongdae). It doesn't take him long to be standing in front of a door, covered with stickers and flamboyant girl group posters. In the center, a white board confirms that it is Kyungsoo’s room, along with someone named Baekhyun, who must be his roommate.
He brings his arm up to knock, only to have the door swinging open and a gush of air that smells like cinnamon and honey blasting into his nose. The person in front of him is definitely not Kyungsoo, but someone of the same height. Luhan takes in the thick lines of eyeliner and eggplant colored hair with wary eyes, watching as the person only blatantly stares at his presence.
Maybe-Baekhyun lets out a sudden screech. Luhan wonders if he saw the name on the whiteboard correctly, and tries to lean his head back to see it. Once he’s sure, he looks back into dark-rimmed lashes, confusion set heavy in his gut.
In a matter of ten seconds, Baekhyun grabs Luhan’s hand, drags him inside and onto a couch, and throws several random pastries onto his lap before running into a separate room and shutting the door.
Baekhyun adds to the occurrences, and Luhan is starting to think his life is just one long, drawn out joke in light of this past week.
He takes in his surroundings slowly, eyeing the small kitchen to his right and random notes sprawled all over the otherwise clean counters. The hairs on the back of his neck stand as he hears footsteps coming near, and Kyungsoo steps into his line of sight. Kyungsoo doesn’t seem very surprised to see Luhan on his couch covered in pastries, like this has happened many times before.
“Oh. Baekhyun let you inside? Sorry, I was listening to something.” His tone is a strange cross between monotone and amiable, which Luhan has come to like.
“It seems so,” Luhan says, leaning back onto the couch, not at all bothered by the pastries shifting on top of him. “It’s a bit weird to admit that this isn’t even the strangest thing that’s happened to me all week,” He adds, muttering.
“Really? Then what is the weirdest thing that’s happened this week?” Kyungsoo’s mouth plays at a smile, and he has randomly produced a pencil and a notebook out of nowhere.
Luhan tries to think of an effective way to block this question, because Kyungsoo definitely does not need to know about the essay incident. “I picked up a stray dog.” He settles for this, because it’s half true. Chanyeol is the most human-like dog he’s ever met, anyways. “A giant, loud dog.”
Kyungsoo just nods before settling onto the couch. Luhan eyes the two feet of space between them with loathing. Hello, I don't remember you being invited here.
“Chanyeol and Jongdae sent me this last night.” Kyungsoo wastes no time as he fiddles with his phone, playing a short part of their composition.
Upon hearing Jongdae’s name, Luhan is reminded of the countless speeches he has heard in the last few days. The two feet of space is now his enemy, which he is determined to defeat.
Luhan crosses his legs, putting them on display. Scooting towards Kyungsoo slightly, he picks up one of the pastries and begins eating it in a way that he hopes is slow and sensual. Luhan tries, awkwardly, to bring attention to bring attention to his mouth by making noises of food induced pleasure.
Truthfully, Luhan doesn’t believe he should be having this issue with Kyungsoo. Luhan’s track record when it came to dating was reasonable, listing three long-ish relationships (although failed, all for cliché, typical reasons) that he initiated himself. He has no idea why Kyungsoo has the effect of making him awkward and not-so-suave.
A life’s mystery is unknowingly tested on Luhan: is it possible to eat a pastry in a sensual manner? No, not really, which is what Luhan soon discovers. As Kyungsoo silently rambles on about the lyrics and other musical things, Luhan is making crumbs rain onto his lap with the efficiency of mother nature.
“Do...do you need a napkin?” A quirked eyebrow. A set of pursed lips. Luhan is about as sexy as a beached whale. Kyungsoo doesn’t even wait for an answer, stalking into the kitchen and returning with a paper towel in his left hand. In his other hand, Kyungsoo has a death grip on a tiny blue manual broom, which reminds him of the one Jongdae often carries around for no valuable reason.
Kyungsoo sits next to Luhan again, although extremely close this time, leg to leg. He puts the tiny dustpan slightly below the level of Luhan’s thighs and begins lightly dusting off his lap. This is not what Luhan imagined doing with any of his crushes, at any point in time. When he finishes, Kyungsoo looks relieved. He sighs and clears his throat, looking at Luhan. “Cleanliness is next to Godliness, Luhan.” He shifts to the side, away from Luhan. “Now, the lyrics.”
Luhan sincerely needs to reteach himself in the arts of flirtation.
☁
“You’re pathetic. You act like trying to get someone to like you is rocket science, or something. Did you even try?” Minseok is utterly flabbergasted by Luhan’s story. “Don’t you remember what happened the last time someone listened to Jongdae? They can’t have children anymore Luhan. They can no longer have children.”
Luhan feels like he’s on trial, grimacing and shimmying a few inches away from Minseok whenever the opportunity arrives. “It’s not that bad. Kyungsoo probably just thinks I’m a little weird now, no biggie.”
“Do you know what Chanyeol said Kyungsoo told him? He asked whether you had any issues you needed to take care of,” Minseok argues, gesturing pointedly at his head in a circular motion. “He thinks you're socially inept and insane.”
“Okay now, where does Chanyeol come from? How does he know everyone? This guy is really coming out of nowh-”
Minseok bangs a fist onto the table. “DEEMED UNIMPORTANT! Luhan, I’m your best friend. I was there when you tried to chat up that mannequin at the mall, and I’m here now. I will help you, because we are true companions.”
“Oh God.”
☁
Luhan is having a hurried conversation in Mandarin with Yixing when Kyungsoo knocks on his door. He cuts Yixing off, hanging up on him to run and open the door with flourish. He replays Minseok’s words in his head, but doesn’t think he needs it. This is something he’s good at.
“Looks,” Minseok advised, “looks are important. You’re gifted, Luhan. Use your gift to your advantage!”
That is how Luhan ends up dressed like he’s going to a party instead of a homework session, and opens the door to Kyungsoo, who’s wearing sweats and a t-shirt.
Kyungsoo casts him an indecipherable look, scanning Luhan's choice of wardrobe before voicing his concerns. “Going somewhere?”
Luhan rushes to find an excuse. This wasn't a part of the plan. Kyungsoo wasn’t supposed to be curious. “No, absolutely not, negative.” Word vomit, take number fifty. “I just came back from...my parent’s house.” Luhan is getting into the unusual, bad habit of lying to Kyungsoo. His parents don’t even live in Korea, so this has to be the worst one.
Kyungsoo furrows his eyebrows like he knows this, but doesn't say if he thinks so. “So…can I come in?” He stares at Luhan with the same air of speculation as he has recently taken to doing.
Luhan seems to finally notice that he’s standing inside the dorm, and Kyungsoo is standing in the hallway. He waves Kyungsoo in, briefly showing him majority of the dorm and pointing out Jongdae’s door. He doesn't notice what Kyungsoo seems to be looking for until he’s asking Luhan himself.
“Your dog?” Kyungsoo questions. He’s really asking too many questions Luhan can’t answer today.
“Well, the reason I’m so dressed up today, you see, is because my parents hosted a dog party. For dogs. So the dogs can party.” Luhan clears his throat loudly. “So yeah, they have him. He’s having a blast at his canine party.”
Kyungsoo seems amused by his story, which is not what Luhan had expected. “Cute.”
And now Luhan really wants to ask if Kyungsoo thinks he’s cute or the dog party is cute, but Kyungsoo sidesteps him and lands right in front of Luhan’s door. Luhan reaches around him to push it open, walking in. It’s a bit strange to see his room through the eyes of someone other than himself, and he waits anxiously as Kyungsoo peers around at the sparsely decorated walls and furniture.
When Kyungsoo’s gaze lands on a poster, his eyebrows draw up in surprise. “You’re a fan of Hoseok?” He asks curiously.
Hoseok is the name of a famous dancer. He is somewhat well known, but not enough to the point where many people share Luhan’s liking for him. He nods with enthusiasm, shocked Kyungsoo knows who he is. Before he knows it, he’s prattling on about Hoseok, while Kyungsoo responds with little noises of agreement and the odd remark here and there, a small genuine smile fixed on his lips.
Luhan feels slightly abashed about nearly fanboying in front of his typically stoic crush. He swallows. “Sorry about that. I get really excited about things that I...am interested in.” He thinks back to everytime he excitedly squealed about Kyungsoo to anyone who would listen. Oops.
Kyungsoo just tilts his head, grinning now. “It’s fine. It was...endearing, I suppose.”
Too confused to respond, Luhan wipes slightly anxious hands off on his jeans and points towards one of the chairs that faces the desk in the corner of his room. As they sit, a replay of last week’s event carry out (minus crumbling pastries and personal embarrassment). Their writing was going well in general, and they tried to keep the lyrics uncomplicated.
Kyungsoo more or less proves himself perfect once again, listening to what they were given and thoughtfully breathing out words here and there that sound right. Luhan adds his input where it’s needed and gives ideas of his own, which Kyungsoo always views with interest.
Other than that, Luhan spends his time suppressing shudders as Kyungsoo’s small hand brushes against his own, or willing the dragons in his stomach (because manly men don’t get the butterflies, and Luhan is about as manly as a man can get) to stop jumping around.
Jongdae arrives at the dorm halfway through the session, peeking his head through the crack in the door. He looks startled to see Kyungsoo there with Luhan. “How is the writing coming along, honeybuns?”
There is no real way to escape secondhand embarrassment around Jongdae, so Luhan tries to just flow with whatever his unfortunate friend says.
“Fine. We should be done with this part in a little bit. Anything you need, Jongdae?” Luhan sends his best pointed looks and telepathic messages. Get out of here now before you do something irreparable, you monster.
Jongdae sends a few careful looks in Luhan’s direction too. What you've done is already irreparable, freak. “No, Luhan. Thank you for asking. Chanyeol just requested that I ask you guys to join us at lunch tomorrow to compare notes. Join our halves. Something like that, anyways.” He shakes his head lightly and blinks, unsure of his words.
Kyungsoo looks confused, and Luhan would be too in his situation. “Tell Chanyeol that would be fine," he says, the last few words rising up like a question.
“I will relay the message, friends. Have fun writing your lyrics. Toodles!~” Jongdae slams the door, a stark contrast from his words that leaves Luhan and Kyungsoo reeling.
“He’s really...interesting,” Kyungsoo murmurs.
“I know. I’m not sure how I’ve stayed friends with him for so long,” Luhan confesses, tapping tapered fingers on the desk.
Kyungsoo sighs. “I don’t know how you do it. I just met Jongdae and Chanyeol two weeks ago and I already feel like I’m going to rip my hair out.” He looks at the time that shows itself in the corner of the laptop they have open. “Can we finish off here? I have class soon and I don’t want to be late.”
“Of course,” Luhan says, getting up and guiding Kyungsoo to the front door. Before he leaves, Kyungsoo turns around with a smile, hand reaching up. Luhan’s breath hitches as Kyungsoo simply picks a piece of lint off his shirt.
“I’m sorry for being such a neat freak.” He sighs it out, but the smile is still on his face. “See you later, Luhan.” He waves and walks out, glancing back when he gets far enough down the hall and waving again. Luhan reciprocates the farewell sluggishly, feeling resigned.
☁
“You’re a rude little shit. How dare you hang up on me while I’m talking? You should value me-” Yixing starts.
Tugging on his own hair, Luhan moans in frustration. “Kyungsoo was here and Minseok gave me stupid advice and Kyungsoo is definitely not attracted to me.”
Yixing pauses before questioning, “Luhan, you do realize there is a fine line between infatuation and affection, right?”
“What. What are you trying to say to me right now?”
Yixing’s static sigh is loud. “You can’t always win someone over with ‘good looks’ or ‘confidence’. You aren’t a bad person, you know? You should try being yourself. It’s easy.”
“Hahaha, jokes on you Yixing. I am being myself! This is me in all my awkward, ignorant glory!” Luhan trails into a sob near the end.
“No, no, no. You are being seventh-grade-Luhan. You need to take a chill pill. Just relax, what is Kyungsoo even going to do to you?”
A shiver wracks Luhan’s body as he shrieks. “We don’t talk about seventh grade!!”
“Oh my goodness. What is wrong with you? Just listen.” He waits for Luhan to calm down before continuing. “It’s not hard to tell when someone is being intentionally fake. So just talk to Kyungsoo. Not like any flirtatious douche, or even any normal person, but like yourself.” Luhan is pretty sure if Yixing was here, he’d be petting Luhan’s head like he was some sort of dog.
“Okay. Okay. That seems...reasonable.” Luhan breathes in and out. Simple.
“It’ll be okay, Han.” Luhan isn’t used to the fondness, but accepts it regardless with a smile.
“Thanks, Yixing. And I promise that I won’t hang up on you next time, I-” Jongdae, who has made his way into Luhan’s room like some sort of ninja, snatches his phone from him, and pushes ‘end call’ before Luhan can even react.
“Time for lunch, my baby kiwi.”
☁
Lunch goes by quickly, and it can only be addressed as what Luhan would call a “happy argument”. Every compliment that was shouted from either side somehow came across as a challenge, like they were trying to one-up each other in the arts of flattering.
Luhan tries to channel the part inside him that is not awkward at all and super leaned back and awesomely cool, but it’s not exactly working when Kyungsoo looks him directly in the eye as they talk, or the corner of his mouth turns up in the warnings of a smile.
Afterwards, everyone heads to Chanyeol's dorm for group practice and piecing everything together. It's goes by easier than Luhan expected but is still a long and tedious process that ends up lasting from noon to around nine.
Chanyeol offers to treat them to drinks in hope of letting the frustration bleed away into a sense of accomplishment, which everyone thankfully accepts (except for Jongdae, who required some convincing because he’s a huge sleep wimp).
Luhan wishes they hadn't gotten Jongdae to come though, because his friend is steadily forcing shots down his throat with a vicious expression.
"My beauty is being put at risk for this," Jongdae says. "The hours of sleep are being lost." Then he gives Luhan another shot, ignoring the protests of "stpshoaip" (stop) and "wetryudin?!" (what are you doing?!)
"What beauty?" Chanyeol chuckles, stopping when Jongdae shoots him a death glare that doesn't falter.
Kyungsoo seems used to Chanyeol and Jongdae's antics by now, and watches it all happen with an entertained gaze.
The night passes by without hitch, besides the fact that Luhan ends up drunk whereas the rest are semi-sober (besides Kyungsoo, who forgoes drinking and instead guzzles water like he’s been starved of it for weeks) and therefore contain the actual ability to think. Jongdae makes some excuse, saying he left something at Chanyeol's dorm that needs to be retrieved. Luhan sees something familiar in his eyes that he can't place in his drunken state.
"Please make sure my darling nugget here gets home safely." Jongdae pats Luhan on the shoulder, and he can only respond with a slurred "no one likes your nicknames, Jongdae" before said man is rushing off with Chanyeol.
Luhan has never wished he was sober more, for the worry of saying something wrong is eating away at his nerves more than it usually does. As Kyungsoo basically carries him home, he does really miserable things like brushing Luhan's bangs away with slender digits and asking if he's alright or placing a hand on the small of Luhan’s back to lead him when he starts waddling off. Luhan feels very disappointed because it's all with the pretense of being a good friend.
Kyungsoo brings them back to Luhan's door after a struggle up the stairs, and steals the key from the intoxicated male. Luhan watches as Kyungsoo opens the door, thoughts running in a thousand directions.
He's brought to his bed, where he makes his decision. It's pitch black except for the light seeping through the open door, bathing Kyungsoo's back in yellow hues. Luhan thinks he'll probably regret this tomorrow, but that's why he chooses to do this now, with his senses blurred and an excuse already formed.
"Is it because I'm a raisin?" Luhan slurs, mustering up as much charisma his inebriated mind can form, which isn't all that much.
"...What?" Kyungsoo's eyes are wide and bewildered.
"My face scrunches up when I laugh," He whines, dragging hands down his face. "And my draw drops and it's extremely unattractive. I can never form coherent sentences. My eyebrows do weird stuff when I sing. I-"
Kyungsoo stares. "What are you saying?"
"You know, I allowed Jongdae not to sit next to me this year. I tolerate Sehun and his lisp every day, ‘hyung, ith thith the right anthwer?' Just to take pictures of your ass. I like your ass. And your face. And your stupid heart shaped lips."
Luhan thinks Kyungsoo's blank expression is lightened with a blush, but perhaps that’s just the alcohol talking. Then there's a definite hesitation and confusion taking it's place as he furrows his eyebrows at Luhan, which seems to expel whatever small hope he claimed before.
"Are you joking? You've had a lot to drink tonight." Kyungsoo bites his lip and folds his hands together.
Luhan groans and covers his face with hands, preparing for the arriving rejection. "I wish I was."
He must sense the sincerity in Luhan's voice, because every facial muscle straightens out from where it was previously drawn up. "You have bad timing, Luhan," He says it with a smile, like bringing Luhan pain is just a walk in the park. "Don't you think it's better to confess when you're less...drunk?"
Luhan glares and points at Kyungsoo. "Stop drawing this out. Give me the truth. I'm a strong bro-man-guy, I can handle the pain." But he's lying through his teeth.
A breathless chuckle comes from between Kyungsoo's lips. "I'm not rejecting you." He clears his throat as Luhan's expression becomes comically surprised. "I'm aware that I...don't express my emotions well. Or show people that I like them in a loud way, but...I like your face too, Luhan. I also like your calves because they look really nice and I really like everything in between your face and calves, because I like all of you.”
Luhan feels like he's back in front of the bowl of black bean noodles, staring down into an abyss of brown sauce that he could drown himself with, but this time for entirely different reasons. He thinks this must be a dream, a mirage before he wakes up in his bed with an unrequited crush still weighing down his heart and a hangover clouding his head.
But then Kyungsoo is full out grinning, teeth flashing at a still star-struck Luhan. Regardless of whether it's a dream or not, Luhan sits up with a new sense of purpose, realization washing over him. He looks at Kyungsoo, who has seated himself on the edge of Luhan's bed.
Leaning forward, he feels startlingly sober as he gets close enough to count each of Kyungsoo's dark lashes. "Is this alright, then?" He glances down to his lips. When he receives a nod, Luhan tucks his knees underneath himself and leans fully into Kyungsoo, chests flush against each other as he presses their lips together.
It’s slightly sloppy from Luhan’s side, a testament to the numerous shots forced down his throat throughout the night, but in his heart he can’t amount it to anything other than perfect. Luhan's heart is beating in his ears as he tastes, smells, something like honey, something that spells out Kyungsoo with every flick of his tongue against Kyungsoo's.
His hands are gripping the denim stretched over his thighs so hard he's unsure why there isn't a hole in them yet. Kyungsoo sighs into his mouth and Luhan thinks it feels so unbelievably real and wondrous.
It’s Kyungsoo who pulls back, slick lips reddened and stretch into a grin. Luhan is sure he must be wearing his own sheepish smile, internally beaming about the fact that not all his embarrassing efforts went to waste. There’s still a bit of hesitation swimming in Kyungsoo’s irises, and Luhan makes a mental note to oust any that might remain tomorrow.
But his plans of right now are simple. He shuts the door (he refuses to let Jongdae have the satisfaction of bursting into his room) and returns to bed, albeit clumsily in the dark. He and Kyungsoo speak (well, Luhan does most of the talking) about meaningless things for close to an hour, Kyungsoo allowing Luhan to place a hand on his stomach, fingers spreading and tapping on his belly every once and awhile.
It’s not easy to feel guilty when he dozes off in the middle of a sentence, relishing in the way Kyungsoo gently cards fingers through his hair.
☁
When Luhan wakes up the next morning, it is with contradicting feelings. His head is about to explode, but there’s an irreplaceable warmth next to him. And then it’s all rushing back, the terribly articulated confession and falling asleep glued to Kyungsoo’s side. He isn’t sure whether to be humiliated or contented as he stares at Kyungsoo’s sleeping form, clutching his face as a blush overwhelms it.
Before he knows it, Kyungsoo’s dark eyes are staring up at his own, prickling with amusement.
“Hi,” Luhan all but croaks, willing his expression back into something more neutral.
“Hi.” Kyungsoo’s grin is contagious as he uses his arms to push himself up to Luhan’s level. He leans in slowly, like he’s unsure if Luhan will reject him or not. In Luhan’s mind, the thought of rejecting Kyungsoo is an impossible abomination. He receives an innocent peck to the corner of his mouth that makes him flush a thousand shades of pink.
Then Kyungsoo stands up from the bed, smoothing out invisible wrinkles in the boxers and t-shirt he’s clad in. “Breakfast?” He asks, but his vision is shifting to an area near Luhan’s door, a crease easing its way between his eyebrows.
Luhan stands up with him and looks in the same direction, making eye contact with a manila folder that has been slipped under his locked door. Knowing that it could only be Jongdae, Luhan’s eyes widen and he has no time to try to pick it up and tear it to shreds before Kyungsoo is picking it up himself.
On the front of the folder, giant childlike handwriting spells out the words, “MASTER SEDUCTION PLAN: HOW TO SEDUCE A SINGER WITH YOUR MAD SKILLZ”. Luhan blanches as Kyungsoo opens the folder up, a small stapled packet tucked neatly inside.
“Hello my sweet fetus muffin. I have come home today to see you have once again failed in your plight to seduce the mighty Soo, seeing as you have locked yourself in your room in a state of melancholy :(. I have once again given you a set of rules to land the guy of your dreams-” Luhan snatches the incriminating thing out of Kyungsoo’s hands, throwing it unceremoniously into the trash bin with a pout on his face.
When he turns back, Kyungsoo looks like he’s trying to hold in a chortle, the back of his hand pressed to his smiling mouth. “Your friends sure do care about you, huh?”
Luhan grunts, wishing more than anything to find Jongdae and assault him physically. As if he can sense this, Kyungsoo shifts closer to him, bringing comforting fingers up to the back of his neck to squeeze in a small show of devotion. The anger and shame melt into a puddle of delight.
“I think it’s cute,” Kyungsoo murmurs. “Regardless of whatever failures he may be talking about, you’ve had me since the beginning.”
Not even bothering to try to hold it in, Luhan squeals.
end.
For: EVERYONE
Rating: PG-13
Length: 5,880 words
Summary: (university!au) Seduction is not for the socially awkward, or Luhan, for that matter.
Author's Note: I’m sorry for obliterating your prompt and making it so cheesy, I hope it still manages to reach some of your expectations v_v.
If Minseok wouldn’t stop him from doing it, Luhan is pretty sure he’d smother himself in the jjajangmyeon placed in front of him. He sinks deeper into his oversized sweatshirt, watching as Minseok side-eyes him like he knows exactly what Luhan is thinking.
The commons is alive with chatter as Yixing finally arrives at the table with food in hand. “Are you really still moping?” Yixing asks, plopping down on the seat diagonal from Luhan.
He scoffs in response, wishing he could make Yixing understand the seriousness of the situation. “You would feel the same way if it happened to you!” Luhan says, shaking an accusing finger at Yixing’s perpetually blank face.
“Hm, I’m sure I would. But it’s not every day that I take secret pictures of a stranger’s butt, nor do I accidentally send them to my professor instead of the essay that is supposed to be due.”
A groan rings out across the table as the mortification slowly regains its place in Luhan’s mind. The ‘send’ button is practically ingrained into the backs of his eyelids at this point. He unjustly blames this all on the short, dark haired boy in his music theory class.
He was currently two weeks into the ‘class he never wanted to walk back into’. At this point, not even thinking about the year Jongdae dyed his hair an appalling shade of emerald could nullify the humiliating feeling of realizing he had sent a picture of short stranger’s butt to his professor.
On the first day of his music history, literature, and theory class, it’s like the Gods were trying to send him a sign already. He had been dragged to a coffee shop at the crack of dawn by Jongdae, who insisted the class would be worth it. Luhan had dubbed him a ‘music nerd’, which was ignored. Following the trip to the small cafe, he tripped over his own foot, bringing his coffee splashing down on his thankfully black sweater (but, Luhan had concluded, even if the color could save him from being obviously noticed, the strong smell of mocha and coffee would). When he looked up, he had come face to face not only with Jongdae, but an extremely attractive person with full pink lips and wide eyes, asking if Luhan was alright and oh, would he like some help up?
Jongdae had teased him for hours on end about his star-struck expression, something he usually only gained when Korean words zipped by a little too fast for his understanding. The nice-lipped stranger had tried to ask Jongdae if Luhan could speak Korean, but Jongdae was too busy laughing to respond. Luhan wondered if he could hit him hard enough to make those thin lips fall right off.
Jongdae knew the boy, and identified him as Kyungsoo. Kyungsoo is a singer and supposedly just naturally kind. And so Luhan decided this seemingly perfect specimen had a butt with the need to be photographed, which added to Jongdae’s distress about Luhan’s new obsession (he even decided to switch seats with a certain Sehun so not to be spotted talking to the infatuated boy).
Now here is Luhan, dreaming of suffocating himself with noodles and wishing Kyungsoo’s butt never came into existence.
“You know, there’s better ways to try to woo him other than taking discreet pictures of his ass and fawning over him from a distance. Like, I don’t know, speaking to him.” Minseok speaks with precision, staring at Luhan like he’s teaching a lesson to his five year old son.
Luhan is not Minseok’s son (he doesn't even have one) nor is he five (he turned twenty-two just a couple months ago, thank you very much!) so he ignores his chipmunk resembling friend.
“Why should I listen to you?” Luhan grumbles, picking through his food again.
“Honestly, I think you should be taking any advice that isn't your own right now,” Minseok says. He wears a condescending tilt of the eyebrow, hands spread flat on the table.
Luhan raises a threatening fist and puts on his best glare (because Luhan is feared by everyone, of course).
☁
Much to Luhan’s chagrin (or maybe pleasure, but it’s leaning the other way at this point), Jongdae, for once in his life, has thought about Luhan.
Luhan (in all his bad ass, rebellious way) had come back to the music theory class after avoiding it for three days. Jongdae informed him that within the duration of his...mini-vacation, a group project had been assigned that dealt with composing a short song in a month. (A test of skill, which was a must have for a class like this.) Jongdae considering Luhan’s feelings, an extremely rare occasion, meant pulling him into a group with his new enemy.
He stares down at the makeshift table in front of him, four small desks the group had pulled together. Jongdae sits across from this tall, talkative dude named Chanyeol, and to his right sits the cause of all his problems. The issue was that Kyungsoo apparently didn’t even know about it (he thinks that if Kyungsoo actually knew that he was the root of Luhan’s troubles, it’d be a tad bit easier to blame it on him) and sits perched on his chair with an annoying air of innocence that Luhan will never be able to emit.
Then Kyungsoo is smiling at him and Luhan forgets to be even kind of pissy and superficially angry. This is real life, he thinks. This is not some shoujo manhwa or romance movie, so that is extremely unfair and unrealistic. He reluctantly sits down with his all too cheery group, avoiding looking at big, searching eyes or dumb, kissable looking lips. Chanyeol’s surprisingly deep voice starts a round of unnecessary introduction and casual banter.
At first, Luhan is a bit affronted by Chanyeol’s seemingly random appearance in Jongdae’s acquaintance list, but decides to accept him when he takes in Chanyeol’s gregarious disposition and the weird way he quirks his eyes as he laughs.
He’s interrupted out of his wandering thoughts when Jongdae asks, “So what do you think we should do? Does anyone besides me play any instruments?”
“I play the drums, guitar, bass, and piano,” Chanyeol offers. “Most of my free time is spent composing stuff, so I actually wanted to claim rights to arrange. I mean, if that’s okay with everyone.”
Jongdae nods and thumbs through his own printed out rubric. “That should be fine. So which style of music should we be working with?”
“We have two vocalists here, so I guess we’re going to have to try to settle on a genre that fits us all well,” Luhan suggests, trying to get the creative wheels in his brain to creak back into action.
“Alright! We have a month, so let’s split it up evenly,” Chanyeol throws out the idea, and Luhan thinks it’s his time to shine. If it’s any indication, Jongdae’s over dramatic cough and elbow in his side says he thinks so too.
“Yes, yeah, I agree.” Luhan is too smooth for his own good. “Kyungsoo? Jongdae says you’re into writing. I've always been a bit of a closet poet, myself. We should do lyrics, and Jongdae and Chanyeol can send us the composition in parts.” He nods so hard his hair flops on his forehead, and hopes he comes across as eager for the project instead of eager to spend time (yeha, super sexy time, that is) with Kyungsoo.
Kyungsoo breaks his own silence by agreeing, smiling pleasantly and giving Luhan contact details with ease. Luhan tries not to lay his phone on the floor and praise it, now useful for something besides sending Minseok pictures of cute puppies and other small animals with crying emoticons attached, or annoying Yixing with philosophical late night thoughts. Luhan feels strangely victorious, like he just scored Kyungsoo’s number with his own super amazing, dazzling charms instead of acquiring it through a mandatory project.
He’s oddly thankful when Jongdae discreetly waggles his eyebrows in Luhan’s direction, effectively demolishing his embarrassing happiness and replacing the affection growing in his heart with distaste. He fake-gags, filled with satisfaction at the scowl Jongdae sends his way.
☁
Jongdae wipes an invisible tear away, looking up dramatically. He turns, looking Luhan in the eyes and placing both hands on his shoulders, locking him into place with determination set in his gaze.
“Mother has guided you well, right? You remember what I said?”
To be completely and utterly honest, Luhan wishes he hadn't. “You are the master of seduction, Xiao Lu. I have taught you the rules, now apply them. Generously. Like lotion.” Instead of voicing that to Jongdae’s face, he chooses to nod instead, not needing another round of chiding.
“Wonderful. Now you go get ‘em tiger!” Jongdae brings a slap to Luhan’s butt that sends him flying, and he rubs his now sore backside with a hand as he grudgingly makes his way towards the dorm. It’s not that he doesn't want to spend time with Kyungsoo and this stupid project anymore, no, it’s that Jongdae is determined to make him some sort of pimp and has managed to bring down his mood along with what little respect he carried for his younger, feline like friend.
Kyungsoo’s dorm number and floor is written in his own large scrawl across his palm, smeared from clenching his hand into a fist so much in the past hour (thank you, Jongdae). It doesn't take him long to be standing in front of a door, covered with stickers and flamboyant girl group posters. In the center, a white board confirms that it is Kyungsoo’s room, along with someone named Baekhyun, who must be his roommate.
He brings his arm up to knock, only to have the door swinging open and a gush of air that smells like cinnamon and honey blasting into his nose. The person in front of him is definitely not Kyungsoo, but someone of the same height. Luhan takes in the thick lines of eyeliner and eggplant colored hair with wary eyes, watching as the person only blatantly stares at his presence.
Maybe-Baekhyun lets out a sudden screech. Luhan wonders if he saw the name on the whiteboard correctly, and tries to lean his head back to see it. Once he’s sure, he looks back into dark-rimmed lashes, confusion set heavy in his gut.
In a matter of ten seconds, Baekhyun grabs Luhan’s hand, drags him inside and onto a couch, and throws several random pastries onto his lap before running into a separate room and shutting the door.
Baekhyun adds to the occurrences, and Luhan is starting to think his life is just one long, drawn out joke in light of this past week.
He takes in his surroundings slowly, eyeing the small kitchen to his right and random notes sprawled all over the otherwise clean counters. The hairs on the back of his neck stand as he hears footsteps coming near, and Kyungsoo steps into his line of sight. Kyungsoo doesn’t seem very surprised to see Luhan on his couch covered in pastries, like this has happened many times before.
“Oh. Baekhyun let you inside? Sorry, I was listening to something.” His tone is a strange cross between monotone and amiable, which Luhan has come to like.
“It seems so,” Luhan says, leaning back onto the couch, not at all bothered by the pastries shifting on top of him. “It’s a bit weird to admit that this isn’t even the strangest thing that’s happened to me all week,” He adds, muttering.
“Really? Then what is the weirdest thing that’s happened this week?” Kyungsoo’s mouth plays at a smile, and he has randomly produced a pencil and a notebook out of nowhere.
Luhan tries to think of an effective way to block this question, because Kyungsoo definitely does not need to know about the essay incident. “I picked up a stray dog.” He settles for this, because it’s half true. Chanyeol is the most human-like dog he’s ever met, anyways. “A giant, loud dog.”
Kyungsoo just nods before settling onto the couch. Luhan eyes the two feet of space between them with loathing. Hello, I don't remember you being invited here.
“Chanyeol and Jongdae sent me this last night.” Kyungsoo wastes no time as he fiddles with his phone, playing a short part of their composition.
Upon hearing Jongdae’s name, Luhan is reminded of the countless speeches he has heard in the last few days. The two feet of space is now his enemy, which he is determined to defeat.
Luhan crosses his legs, putting them on display. Scooting towards Kyungsoo slightly, he picks up one of the pastries and begins eating it in a way that he hopes is slow and sensual. Luhan tries, awkwardly, to bring attention to bring attention to his mouth by making noises of food induced pleasure.
Truthfully, Luhan doesn’t believe he should be having this issue with Kyungsoo. Luhan’s track record when it came to dating was reasonable, listing three long-ish relationships (although failed, all for cliché, typical reasons) that he initiated himself. He has no idea why Kyungsoo has the effect of making him awkward and not-so-suave.
A life’s mystery is unknowingly tested on Luhan: is it possible to eat a pastry in a sensual manner? No, not really, which is what Luhan soon discovers. As Kyungsoo silently rambles on about the lyrics and other musical things, Luhan is making crumbs rain onto his lap with the efficiency of mother nature.
“Do...do you need a napkin?” A quirked eyebrow. A set of pursed lips. Luhan is about as sexy as a beached whale. Kyungsoo doesn’t even wait for an answer, stalking into the kitchen and returning with a paper towel in his left hand. In his other hand, Kyungsoo has a death grip on a tiny blue manual broom, which reminds him of the one Jongdae often carries around for no valuable reason.
Kyungsoo sits next to Luhan again, although extremely close this time, leg to leg. He puts the tiny dustpan slightly below the level of Luhan’s thighs and begins lightly dusting off his lap. This is not what Luhan imagined doing with any of his crushes, at any point in time. When he finishes, Kyungsoo looks relieved. He sighs and clears his throat, looking at Luhan. “Cleanliness is next to Godliness, Luhan.” He shifts to the side, away from Luhan. “Now, the lyrics.”
Luhan sincerely needs to reteach himself in the arts of flirtation.
☁
“You’re pathetic. You act like trying to get someone to like you is rocket science, or something. Did you even try?” Minseok is utterly flabbergasted by Luhan’s story. “Don’t you remember what happened the last time someone listened to Jongdae? They can’t have children anymore Luhan. They can no longer have children.”
Luhan feels like he’s on trial, grimacing and shimmying a few inches away from Minseok whenever the opportunity arrives. “It’s not that bad. Kyungsoo probably just thinks I’m a little weird now, no biggie.”
“Do you know what Chanyeol said Kyungsoo told him? He asked whether you had any issues you needed to take care of,” Minseok argues, gesturing pointedly at his head in a circular motion. “He thinks you're socially inept and insane.”
“Okay now, where does Chanyeol come from? How does he know everyone? This guy is really coming out of nowh-”
Minseok bangs a fist onto the table. “DEEMED UNIMPORTANT! Luhan, I’m your best friend. I was there when you tried to chat up that mannequin at the mall, and I’m here now. I will help you, because we are true companions.”
“Oh God.”
☁
Luhan is having a hurried conversation in Mandarin with Yixing when Kyungsoo knocks on his door. He cuts Yixing off, hanging up on him to run and open the door with flourish. He replays Minseok’s words in his head, but doesn’t think he needs it. This is something he’s good at.
“Looks,” Minseok advised, “looks are important. You’re gifted, Luhan. Use your gift to your advantage!”
That is how Luhan ends up dressed like he’s going to a party instead of a homework session, and opens the door to Kyungsoo, who’s wearing sweats and a t-shirt.
Kyungsoo casts him an indecipherable look, scanning Luhan's choice of wardrobe before voicing his concerns. “Going somewhere?”
Luhan rushes to find an excuse. This wasn't a part of the plan. Kyungsoo wasn’t supposed to be curious. “No, absolutely not, negative.” Word vomit, take number fifty. “I just came back from...my parent’s house.” Luhan is getting into the unusual, bad habit of lying to Kyungsoo. His parents don’t even live in Korea, so this has to be the worst one.
Kyungsoo furrows his eyebrows like he knows this, but doesn't say if he thinks so. “So…can I come in?” He stares at Luhan with the same air of speculation as he has recently taken to doing.
Luhan seems to finally notice that he’s standing inside the dorm, and Kyungsoo is standing in the hallway. He waves Kyungsoo in, briefly showing him majority of the dorm and pointing out Jongdae’s door. He doesn't notice what Kyungsoo seems to be looking for until he’s asking Luhan himself.
“Your dog?” Kyungsoo questions. He’s really asking too many questions Luhan can’t answer today.
“Well, the reason I’m so dressed up today, you see, is because my parents hosted a dog party. For dogs. So the dogs can party.” Luhan clears his throat loudly. “So yeah, they have him. He’s having a blast at his canine party.”
Kyungsoo seems amused by his story, which is not what Luhan had expected. “Cute.”
And now Luhan really wants to ask if Kyungsoo thinks he’s cute or the dog party is cute, but Kyungsoo sidesteps him and lands right in front of Luhan’s door. Luhan reaches around him to push it open, walking in. It’s a bit strange to see his room through the eyes of someone other than himself, and he waits anxiously as Kyungsoo peers around at the sparsely decorated walls and furniture.
When Kyungsoo’s gaze lands on a poster, his eyebrows draw up in surprise. “You’re a fan of Hoseok?” He asks curiously.
Hoseok is the name of a famous dancer. He is somewhat well known, but not enough to the point where many people share Luhan’s liking for him. He nods with enthusiasm, shocked Kyungsoo knows who he is. Before he knows it, he’s prattling on about Hoseok, while Kyungsoo responds with little noises of agreement and the odd remark here and there, a small genuine smile fixed on his lips.
Luhan feels slightly abashed about nearly fanboying in front of his typically stoic crush. He swallows. “Sorry about that. I get really excited about things that I...am interested in.” He thinks back to everytime he excitedly squealed about Kyungsoo to anyone who would listen. Oops.
Kyungsoo just tilts his head, grinning now. “It’s fine. It was...endearing, I suppose.”
Too confused to respond, Luhan wipes slightly anxious hands off on his jeans and points towards one of the chairs that faces the desk in the corner of his room. As they sit, a replay of last week’s event carry out (minus crumbling pastries and personal embarrassment). Their writing was going well in general, and they tried to keep the lyrics uncomplicated.
Kyungsoo more or less proves himself perfect once again, listening to what they were given and thoughtfully breathing out words here and there that sound right. Luhan adds his input where it’s needed and gives ideas of his own, which Kyungsoo always views with interest.
Other than that, Luhan spends his time suppressing shudders as Kyungsoo’s small hand brushes against his own, or willing the dragons in his stomach (because manly men don’t get the butterflies, and Luhan is about as manly as a man can get) to stop jumping around.
Jongdae arrives at the dorm halfway through the session, peeking his head through the crack in the door. He looks startled to see Kyungsoo there with Luhan. “How is the writing coming along, honeybuns?”
There is no real way to escape secondhand embarrassment around Jongdae, so Luhan tries to just flow with whatever his unfortunate friend says.
“Fine. We should be done with this part in a little bit. Anything you need, Jongdae?” Luhan sends his best pointed looks and telepathic messages. Get out of here now before you do something irreparable, you monster.
Jongdae sends a few careful looks in Luhan’s direction too. What you've done is already irreparable, freak. “No, Luhan. Thank you for asking. Chanyeol just requested that I ask you guys to join us at lunch tomorrow to compare notes. Join our halves. Something like that, anyways.” He shakes his head lightly and blinks, unsure of his words.
Kyungsoo looks confused, and Luhan would be too in his situation. “Tell Chanyeol that would be fine," he says, the last few words rising up like a question.
“I will relay the message, friends. Have fun writing your lyrics. Toodles!~” Jongdae slams the door, a stark contrast from his words that leaves Luhan and Kyungsoo reeling.
“He’s really...interesting,” Kyungsoo murmurs.
“I know. I’m not sure how I’ve stayed friends with him for so long,” Luhan confesses, tapping tapered fingers on the desk.
Kyungsoo sighs. “I don’t know how you do it. I just met Jongdae and Chanyeol two weeks ago and I already feel like I’m going to rip my hair out.” He looks at the time that shows itself in the corner of the laptop they have open. “Can we finish off here? I have class soon and I don’t want to be late.”
“Of course,” Luhan says, getting up and guiding Kyungsoo to the front door. Before he leaves, Kyungsoo turns around with a smile, hand reaching up. Luhan’s breath hitches as Kyungsoo simply picks a piece of lint off his shirt.
“I’m sorry for being such a neat freak.” He sighs it out, but the smile is still on his face. “See you later, Luhan.” He waves and walks out, glancing back when he gets far enough down the hall and waving again. Luhan reciprocates the farewell sluggishly, feeling resigned.
☁
“You’re a rude little shit. How dare you hang up on me while I’m talking? You should value me-” Yixing starts.
Tugging on his own hair, Luhan moans in frustration. “Kyungsoo was here and Minseok gave me stupid advice and Kyungsoo is definitely not attracted to me.”
Yixing pauses before questioning, “Luhan, you do realize there is a fine line between infatuation and affection, right?”
“What. What are you trying to say to me right now?”
Yixing’s static sigh is loud. “You can’t always win someone over with ‘good looks’ or ‘confidence’. You aren’t a bad person, you know? You should try being yourself. It’s easy.”
“Hahaha, jokes on you Yixing. I am being myself! This is me in all my awkward, ignorant glory!” Luhan trails into a sob near the end.
“No, no, no. You are being seventh-grade-Luhan. You need to take a chill pill. Just relax, what is Kyungsoo even going to do to you?”
A shiver wracks Luhan’s body as he shrieks. “We don’t talk about seventh grade!!”
“Oh my goodness. What is wrong with you? Just listen.” He waits for Luhan to calm down before continuing. “It’s not hard to tell when someone is being intentionally fake. So just talk to Kyungsoo. Not like any flirtatious douche, or even any normal person, but like yourself.” Luhan is pretty sure if Yixing was here, he’d be petting Luhan’s head like he was some sort of dog.
“Okay. Okay. That seems...reasonable.” Luhan breathes in and out. Simple.
“It’ll be okay, Han.” Luhan isn’t used to the fondness, but accepts it regardless with a smile.
“Thanks, Yixing. And I promise that I won’t hang up on you next time, I-” Jongdae, who has made his way into Luhan’s room like some sort of ninja, snatches his phone from him, and pushes ‘end call’ before Luhan can even react.
“Time for lunch, my baby kiwi.”
☁
Lunch goes by quickly, and it can only be addressed as what Luhan would call a “happy argument”. Every compliment that was shouted from either side somehow came across as a challenge, like they were trying to one-up each other in the arts of flattering.
Luhan tries to channel the part inside him that is not awkward at all and super leaned back and awesomely cool, but it’s not exactly working when Kyungsoo looks him directly in the eye as they talk, or the corner of his mouth turns up in the warnings of a smile.
Afterwards, everyone heads to Chanyeol's dorm for group practice and piecing everything together. It's goes by easier than Luhan expected but is still a long and tedious process that ends up lasting from noon to around nine.
Chanyeol offers to treat them to drinks in hope of letting the frustration bleed away into a sense of accomplishment, which everyone thankfully accepts (except for Jongdae, who required some convincing because he’s a huge sleep wimp).
Luhan wishes they hadn't gotten Jongdae to come though, because his friend is steadily forcing shots down his throat with a vicious expression.
"My beauty is being put at risk for this," Jongdae says. "The hours of sleep are being lost." Then he gives Luhan another shot, ignoring the protests of "stpshoaip" (stop) and "wetryudin?!" (what are you doing?!)
"What beauty?" Chanyeol chuckles, stopping when Jongdae shoots him a death glare that doesn't falter.
Kyungsoo seems used to Chanyeol and Jongdae's antics by now, and watches it all happen with an entertained gaze.
The night passes by without hitch, besides the fact that Luhan ends up drunk whereas the rest are semi-sober (besides Kyungsoo, who forgoes drinking and instead guzzles water like he’s been starved of it for weeks) and therefore contain the actual ability to think. Jongdae makes some excuse, saying he left something at Chanyeol's dorm that needs to be retrieved. Luhan sees something familiar in his eyes that he can't place in his drunken state.
"Please make sure my darling nugget here gets home safely." Jongdae pats Luhan on the shoulder, and he can only respond with a slurred "no one likes your nicknames, Jongdae" before said man is rushing off with Chanyeol.
Luhan has never wished he was sober more, for the worry of saying something wrong is eating away at his nerves more than it usually does. As Kyungsoo basically carries him home, he does really miserable things like brushing Luhan's bangs away with slender digits and asking if he's alright or placing a hand on the small of Luhan’s back to lead him when he starts waddling off. Luhan feels very disappointed because it's all with the pretense of being a good friend.
Kyungsoo brings them back to Luhan's door after a struggle up the stairs, and steals the key from the intoxicated male. Luhan watches as Kyungsoo opens the door, thoughts running in a thousand directions.
He's brought to his bed, where he makes his decision. It's pitch black except for the light seeping through the open door, bathing Kyungsoo's back in yellow hues. Luhan thinks he'll probably regret this tomorrow, but that's why he chooses to do this now, with his senses blurred and an excuse already formed.
"Is it because I'm a raisin?" Luhan slurs, mustering up as much charisma his inebriated mind can form, which isn't all that much.
"...What?" Kyungsoo's eyes are wide and bewildered.
"My face scrunches up when I laugh," He whines, dragging hands down his face. "And my draw drops and it's extremely unattractive. I can never form coherent sentences. My eyebrows do weird stuff when I sing. I-"
Kyungsoo stares. "What are you saying?"
"You know, I allowed Jongdae not to sit next to me this year. I tolerate Sehun and his lisp every day, ‘hyung, ith thith the right anthwer?' Just to take pictures of your ass. I like your ass. And your face. And your stupid heart shaped lips."
Luhan thinks Kyungsoo's blank expression is lightened with a blush, but perhaps that’s just the alcohol talking. Then there's a definite hesitation and confusion taking it's place as he furrows his eyebrows at Luhan, which seems to expel whatever small hope he claimed before.
"Are you joking? You've had a lot to drink tonight." Kyungsoo bites his lip and folds his hands together.
Luhan groans and covers his face with hands, preparing for the arriving rejection. "I wish I was."
He must sense the sincerity in Luhan's voice, because every facial muscle straightens out from where it was previously drawn up. "You have bad timing, Luhan," He says it with a smile, like bringing Luhan pain is just a walk in the park. "Don't you think it's better to confess when you're less...drunk?"
Luhan glares and points at Kyungsoo. "Stop drawing this out. Give me the truth. I'm a strong bro-man-guy, I can handle the pain." But he's lying through his teeth.
A breathless chuckle comes from between Kyungsoo's lips. "I'm not rejecting you." He clears his throat as Luhan's expression becomes comically surprised. "I'm aware that I...don't express my emotions well. Or show people that I like them in a loud way, but...I like your face too, Luhan. I also like your calves because they look really nice and I really like everything in between your face and calves, because I like all of you.”
Luhan feels like he's back in front of the bowl of black bean noodles, staring down into an abyss of brown sauce that he could drown himself with, but this time for entirely different reasons. He thinks this must be a dream, a mirage before he wakes up in his bed with an unrequited crush still weighing down his heart and a hangover clouding his head.
But then Kyungsoo is full out grinning, teeth flashing at a still star-struck Luhan. Regardless of whether it's a dream or not, Luhan sits up with a new sense of purpose, realization washing over him. He looks at Kyungsoo, who has seated himself on the edge of Luhan's bed.
Leaning forward, he feels startlingly sober as he gets close enough to count each of Kyungsoo's dark lashes. "Is this alright, then?" He glances down to his lips. When he receives a nod, Luhan tucks his knees underneath himself and leans fully into Kyungsoo, chests flush against each other as he presses their lips together.
It’s slightly sloppy from Luhan’s side, a testament to the numerous shots forced down his throat throughout the night, but in his heart he can’t amount it to anything other than perfect. Luhan's heart is beating in his ears as he tastes, smells, something like honey, something that spells out Kyungsoo with every flick of his tongue against Kyungsoo's.
His hands are gripping the denim stretched over his thighs so hard he's unsure why there isn't a hole in them yet. Kyungsoo sighs into his mouth and Luhan thinks it feels so unbelievably real and wondrous.
It’s Kyungsoo who pulls back, slick lips reddened and stretch into a grin. Luhan is sure he must be wearing his own sheepish smile, internally beaming about the fact that not all his embarrassing efforts went to waste. There’s still a bit of hesitation swimming in Kyungsoo’s irises, and Luhan makes a mental note to oust any that might remain tomorrow.
But his plans of right now are simple. He shuts the door (he refuses to let Jongdae have the satisfaction of bursting into his room) and returns to bed, albeit clumsily in the dark. He and Kyungsoo speak (well, Luhan does most of the talking) about meaningless things for close to an hour, Kyungsoo allowing Luhan to place a hand on his stomach, fingers spreading and tapping on his belly every once and awhile.
It’s not easy to feel guilty when he dozes off in the middle of a sentence, relishing in the way Kyungsoo gently cards fingers through his hair.
☁
When Luhan wakes up the next morning, it is with contradicting feelings. His head is about to explode, but there’s an irreplaceable warmth next to him. And then it’s all rushing back, the terribly articulated confession and falling asleep glued to Kyungsoo’s side. He isn’t sure whether to be humiliated or contented as he stares at Kyungsoo’s sleeping form, clutching his face as a blush overwhelms it.
Before he knows it, Kyungsoo’s dark eyes are staring up at his own, prickling with amusement.
“Hi,” Luhan all but croaks, willing his expression back into something more neutral.
“Hi.” Kyungsoo’s grin is contagious as he uses his arms to push himself up to Luhan’s level. He leans in slowly, like he’s unsure if Luhan will reject him or not. In Luhan’s mind, the thought of rejecting Kyungsoo is an impossible abomination. He receives an innocent peck to the corner of his mouth that makes him flush a thousand shades of pink.
Then Kyungsoo stands up from the bed, smoothing out invisible wrinkles in the boxers and t-shirt he’s clad in. “Breakfast?” He asks, but his vision is shifting to an area near Luhan’s door, a crease easing its way between his eyebrows.
Luhan stands up with him and looks in the same direction, making eye contact with a manila folder that has been slipped under his locked door. Knowing that it could only be Jongdae, Luhan’s eyes widen and he has no time to try to pick it up and tear it to shreds before Kyungsoo is picking it up himself.
On the front of the folder, giant childlike handwriting spells out the words, “MASTER SEDUCTION PLAN: HOW TO SEDUCE A SINGER WITH YOUR MAD SKILLZ”. Luhan blanches as Kyungsoo opens the folder up, a small stapled packet tucked neatly inside.
“Hello my sweet fetus muffin. I have come home today to see you have once again failed in your plight to seduce the mighty Soo, seeing as you have locked yourself in your room in a state of melancholy :(. I have once again given you a set of rules to land the guy of your dreams-” Luhan snatches the incriminating thing out of Kyungsoo’s hands, throwing it unceremoniously into the trash bin with a pout on his face.
When he turns back, Kyungsoo looks like he’s trying to hold in a chortle, the back of his hand pressed to his smiling mouth. “Your friends sure do care about you, huh?”
Luhan grunts, wishing more than anything to find Jongdae and assault him physically. As if he can sense this, Kyungsoo shifts closer to him, bringing comforting fingers up to the back of his neck to squeeze in a small show of devotion. The anger and shame melt into a puddle of delight.
“I think it’s cute,” Kyungsoo murmurs. “Regardless of whatever failures he may be talking about, you’ve had me since the beginning.”
Not even bothering to try to hold it in, Luhan squeals.
end.