I can still hear you - 1/5 - Eunhyuk x Donghae
Title: I Can Still Hear You
Paring: Eunhyuk/Donghae
Rating: PG
Genre: AU, romance, angst
Chapter: 1/5
Warnings: -
Disclaimer: Nothing is mine except from the plot.
Beta: plu178
Summary: Sometimes just listening with your ears isn't enough.
_____________________________________________________________________________
I Can Still Hear You
part one
“Ew! I'm all wet!” Sungmin whines, but no one listens because Sungmin always whines. Besides, it's not like he didn't know he would get wet, and it's not like it's their fault Sungmin doesn't know how to play soccer.
When no one pays him any attention, Sungmin moans out loud, frustrated. “Hyukie!” he almost yells, as if it's Hyukjae's fault and responsibility Sungmin's pants are wet. Hyukjae's pants are wet too, almost up to his calves, but he, unlike Sungmin, likes it. His socks are also wet, but he's having so much fun that it's not even uncomfortable. Why can't Sungmin be a little more like him?
The grass and ground are covered in white, freshly fallen snow decorating everything around them, and they all have to lift their legs high to be able to walk. Children are laughing loudly, running, falling, throwing snow at one another. The soccer ball is wet and dirty; wet from the snow and dirty from the boys' shoes, but no one seems to mind except for Sungmin. But as mentioned previously, Sungmin always whines.
“Go play with the girls then,” Hyukjae says, his attention on the ball his feet are kicking, eyes following its movement. Up, down, up, down. Someone laughs - yuck, play with girls - but Hyukjae is too engrossed to raise his head and see who it is. It sounds like Shindong.
Sungmin glares at him, as if what his friend just said is an insult, something inexcusable, which in a way it is. Everyone knows girls are gross. Not to mention they have no idea how to play.
“I don't wanna do this anymore,” Sungmin says and sobs because it's just so cold. He runs his clothed arm over his red nose, wondering how anyone can actually like this time of the year. Do people like it when their skin feel as if it's going to break because of the cold, when their nose starts running, their lips turn blue, and fingertips and toes numb?
When he realizes no one is listening, but are busy kicking the ball to one other (really, what is the point in this game? They aren't even playing real soccer.) he moans loudly again and walks over to sit at a bench. It's not until then that his friends actually pay him his well deserved attention, because now the teams are uneven.
“Yah, Sungmin-ah!” Junsu says when Hyukjae stops the ball. Sungmin just crosses his arms and looks somewhere else, his head high in the air, too proud to admit that his butt is turning into ice, and he regrets so badly ever sitting down.
“I'm not playing,” he says.
And neither are the other boys. Sungmin knows that, because if the rules aren't fair they'll end up fighting with each other. They always do. Even though Sungmin isn't that good in ball games they still need him, because there is no way Hyukjae and Junsu can win against Siwon, Shindong and Kibum. Two against three is unfair.
Junsu walks over to pick up the ball, before starting to nag about how Sungmin always does this; whenever things don't go his way he always makes sure to ruin it for everyone else.
Sungmin is stubborn, and Hyukjae, especially, knows that. So instead of joining forces with Junsu he looks around for another possible teammate. Anyone is fine, even a girl.
A couple of girls are in the middle of making a snowman, while a third girl comes running with a carrot and two stones in her hands. Some boys are still throwing snowballs at one other until an old lady - a teacher - tells them to stop before someone gets hurt (when the old lady leaves the boys pick up from where they left off). Everyone is in the middle of something - talking, playing, creating - and Hyukjae sighs loudly, because there is no way anyone is going to interrupt what they are doing to play with a dirty ball.
But then a boy catches Hyukjae's attention; a boy sitting on a swing, his feet kicking the snow in an attempt to set the swing going without having a teacher helping him. Unlike the other kids, this boy is alone and, in Hyukjae's opinion, not showing any interest in wanting to join the other children. Maybe he's just shy.
Junsu is still trying to persuade Sungmin to play with them; Kibum is crouching down, quietly and patiently waiting for something to happen; and Shindong and Siwon are having an important argument about which Pokemon is the strongest and which one is the weakest. Usually Siwon gives up in the end, because Shindong is as stubborn as Sungmin. Together those two are the worst.
“I'm gonna ask him,” Hyukjae says and points when his five friends turn to look at him. Sungmin widen his eyes - Hyukjae is going to replace him?! - and gets up at the speed of light, but before he can announce that he was just kidding, he wants to play with that stupid ball and his stupid friends, Hyukjae is already walking away from them.
The kindergarten isn't that big, so it surprises Hyukjae that he doesn't recognize the boy at all. Not that Hyukjae is the type to take notice of other people except for his friends, so perhaps it isn't that surprising.
Sometimes Hyukjae doesn't play with his friends outside when his mom forgets to pack his mittens, or scarf, or an extra sweater, because he doesn't want to get sick. But this boy is dressed in a dark, blue winter jacket, a cream colored scarf, and checkered earmuffs covering his ears; the white headband of the earmuffs buried in the boy's black hair. He's even wearing light gray mittens, so he is dressed appropriately. Hyukjae is not sure what's stopping him from playing with the other kids.
When he's close enough, when the sound of snow crunching under Hyukjae's feet reach the other boy's ears, the boy raises his head.
He looks up at Hyukjae and smiles politely, his narrow eyes peering as they too smile. But when the boy realizes Hyukjae isn't going to walk past him, as he first thought, but stops when he's standing in front of him, the smile on his lips slowly fades away. His eyes are confused, but Hyukjae can also see a hint of curiosity visible in his dark orbs. He doesn't say anything, waiting for Hyukjae to break the silence.
“Do you wanna play?”
The boy's eyebrows shoot up in surprise, almost as if Hyukjae has just done the most unexpected thing one can possibly imagine. Hyukjae figures maybe people don't ask the boy that often if he wants to play.
The boy smiles again, the polite smile from before, and shakes his head.
“Why not?” Hyukjae asks, a little offended. One would think this boy would throw himself at Hyukjae for asking him. Hyukjae has honestly not seen anyone else take the initiative.
He sees how the boy stretches his neck to look over Hyukjae's shoulder, at the group of boys Hyukjae left minutes ago. They are still waiting for him - Junsu with the soccer ball still under his right hand, and Sungmin waving at him to come back. From what Hyukjae can see, Kibum is still crouched down and has started drawing patterns in the snow, while Shindong and Siwon are having a play fight. For a split second he wonders if Siwon didn't give in this time.
The boy looks back at Hyukjae and shakes his head again. Maybe asking this guy wasn't such a great idea. He honestly is a little weird.
“They're nice,” Hyukjae says as one last attempt, even though his instincts are telling him the boy on the swing isn't going to change his mind. He isn't sure why he's still insisting, it's not like he even knows the nameless boy.
Perhaps it's because even though the boy is smiling, it still looks so rehearsed. There is still a hint of sadness and fear in his eyes, that he almost skillfully hides behind white teeth and peering eyes.
The boy nods eagerly, the snowflakes on his dark hair falling down like little diamonds, and he blinks, as if he's trying to show that isn't the problem. He has no doubt that Hyukjae's friends are nice. He looks so innocent, worried even, and that makes Hyukjae feel bad for thinking this boy is weird. He isn't that bad, Hyukjae decides then and there, he's actually pretty cute.
When the boy shrugs his shoulders, and switches the polite smile to an apologetic one, Hyukjae gives up. He is about to turn around and walk away, but before taking the first step away from there he realizes he still doesn't know who the boy is.
“What's your name?”
The black haired boy, who was obviously expecting Hyukjae to leave, is taken by surprise again. For a split second he looks uncomfortable, but then he quickly reaches down to grab the baby blue backpack on the ground, next to his feet.
Alright, this kid is weird.
“Hello?” Hyukjae asks impatiently, one eyebrow high up on his forehead. The boy looks up and raises his hand, his palm pointing at Hyukjae in a way that could have meant “stop”, or “don't get any closer”, but Hyukjae knows it's a “wait”. So he waits.
He waits as the young boy takes out a travel sized notebook and a pencil, and quickly writes down something before putting the pencil back in his backpack. He stretches his arm to give Hyukjae the notebook.
Hyukjae stares at the weird characters for a few seconds, turning the notebook a little as if that's going to make it easier to read. It's not that he can't read - of course he can read - it's just that it takes him some time. He knows how to write and read his own name really fast - that's easy - but other people’s names are a lot harder to read.
Donghae, he finally manages to read.
“Donghae?” he asks, a little insecure, eyes looking suspiciously at both the notebook and the owner.
Donghae nods and leans forward, reaching out his hand again to take back the notebook.
Hyukjae chuckles and says, “You're weird, Donghae.” But maybe being weird isn't always a bad thing.
Donghae shrugs his shoulders.
“If you change your mind you're welcome to join us.”
And with that, Hyukjae runs back to his friends who are still waiting for him.
In the end Donghae doesn't change his mind.
♥ | next
______________________________________________________________________________
A/N: First of all, I just want to say Thank you. In my previous post I told everyone the reason to why I haven't updated anything in a while and the replies I got... idk, I genuinely didn't expect that. The idea was to just inform you guys of what was going on and delete the post as soon as I'd get on track again. No way, that's going to happen now~ I'll leave the post there and whenever I feel like I'm going down again I'll just read what you guys said, and remind myself that there are people who genuinely read and like my work. I ♥ u gaiz ; ~ ; *being all sentimental*
That being said, I'm back in the Eunhae fandom! \O/ People kept asking when I would write a new Eunhae fic, and tada!
This isn't the fic I was talking about tho when I said I'm working on a new Eunhae chaptered fic. This is more like a... Kinda like a start. It was supposed to be a oneshot, but it got pretty long. So I decided to make a short story instead :3
I hope you liked it~