fic scrap #3: awareness
Eunhyuk/Tablo (Super Junior/Epik High)
G. 655 words.
This was the first thing I wrote when I first got into Blohyuk back in... 2008?? Early 2009? Also, I had little to no grasp on Heechul, Eunhyuk or Tablo's personalities, aside from what was portrayed in fandom. :Db it kind of went on for longer than it should've as well - I was aiming for a drabble, or something less than 500w at least.
Anyway, I figured it might as well not languish in my writing folder and instead find a home here in my fic scraps archive. Plus it kind of ties into one of the next things I'll finish (... which will be in May/June lol), so I thought it might be interesting for me to see the difference in my writing from way back when compared to now.
Tablo had begun to suspect that something was up with Eunhyuk - despite their increasing closeness and developing friendship (he thinks it might be safe to say that it’s a friendship - he doesn’t really like people all that often, but he’ll be damned if the kid isn’t just too earnest to ignore), Eunhyuk had been doing this strange twitch-jump thing every time Tablo touched him. It’s not like he ever snuck up on him or anything, either - it’d just been a casual touch to the hip as he reached around him in his kitchen to get a glass of water, or a quick one-armed hug before he performed at a show they’d both attended, or a pat on the cheek as they joked around.
Truth be told, it’d been getting a little annoying, and the last time it happened, Tablo had retracted his arm with a huff and clasped Eunhyuk’s shoulders, shaking him just a little and asking, “What’s up with you, Eunhyukkie? You’re acting so weird.”
When Eunhyuk smiled without meeting his eyes and said, “What are you talking about? I’m fine,” Tablo had wanted to sit the kid down and say, “Sure, now what’s really the matter?” but then Eeteuk had come by, gripped Eunhyuk’s arm and bowed to Tablo in greeting, and then Super Junior had run onto the stage and Tablo had been left backstage with no explanation and a scowl lingering on his face.
“Are you really that stupid?” Heechul scoffed on the telephone that night, “Or do you really have no idea? Why do I talk to people like you?”
“What are you talking about?” Tablo asked, closing his eyes and rubbing his hand across his brow, “You called me, okay?”
Heechul ignored him. “Eunhyuk is an idiot too. He’s got the hugest mancrush on you; it’s actually really embarrassing.”
Tablo choked on his own spit in reply as Heechul cackled and hung up.
The thing was - people just didn’t have crushes on Tablo. He could admit that people admired him. But crushes? It made him feel awkward, like he was thirteen and had just received a Valentine from the girl who sat in the corner and was flattered and unsure and really, really awkward.
The next time he saw Eunhyuk, it was by invitation to the Super Junior dorm (it was a place he normally avoided like the plague - it was something akin to a zoo in there), and he decided to go, steadfastly reminding himself that he was not thirteen, he was not going to be awkward about this, and he absolutely was not going to make of a fool of himself like some teenager caught on the receiving end of an uncomfortable high school crush. He repeated it to himself like a mantra as he pressed their doorbell: he was going to be mature, he was going to treat this like an adult -
Then Eunhyuk opened the door with a grin and an easy, “Hyungnim!”, and Tablo had the strangest overwhelming urge to bolt, until he forcefully shoved the feeling aside and composed himself with a crooked smile and brushed past Eunhyuk - there was that twitch-jump again - and realized, very suddenly, that he had no reason to be awkward.
Eunhyuk turned back to greet him properly after he closed the door, and he reached forward, touching his hand lightly to the back of Eunhyuk’s neck in greeting before sliding it down. His fingers rasped against the cotton of Eunhyuk’s shirt and he allowed his palm to settle, barely making contact, at the small of his back. Eunhyuk trembled and glanced at him, wide-eyed.
He smiled slightly and slipped his hand away, as though it were never there. Eunhyuk let out a breath - barely noticeable, unless, like Tablo, you were paying attention - and moved away with a shaky grin.
Ah, Tablo thought, and followed Eunhyuk to the kitchen, his smile widening as he closed the door behind them.
G. 655 words.
This was the first thing I wrote when I first got into Blohyuk back in... 2008?? Early 2009? Also, I had little to no grasp on Heechul, Eunhyuk or Tablo's personalities, aside from what was portrayed in fandom. :Db it kind of went on for longer than it should've as well - I was aiming for a drabble, or something less than 500w at least.
Anyway, I figured it might as well not languish in my writing folder and instead find a home here in my fic scraps archive. Plus it kind of ties into one of the next things I'll finish (... which will be in May/June lol), so I thought it might be interesting for me to see the difference in my writing from way back when compared to now.
Tablo had begun to suspect that something was up with Eunhyuk - despite their increasing closeness and developing friendship (he thinks it might be safe to say that it’s a friendship - he doesn’t really like people all that often, but he’ll be damned if the kid isn’t just too earnest to ignore), Eunhyuk had been doing this strange twitch-jump thing every time Tablo touched him. It’s not like he ever snuck up on him or anything, either - it’d just been a casual touch to the hip as he reached around him in his kitchen to get a glass of water, or a quick one-armed hug before he performed at a show they’d both attended, or a pat on the cheek as they joked around.
Truth be told, it’d been getting a little annoying, and the last time it happened, Tablo had retracted his arm with a huff and clasped Eunhyuk’s shoulders, shaking him just a little and asking, “What’s up with you, Eunhyukkie? You’re acting so weird.”
When Eunhyuk smiled without meeting his eyes and said, “What are you talking about? I’m fine,” Tablo had wanted to sit the kid down and say, “Sure, now what’s really the matter?” but then Eeteuk had come by, gripped Eunhyuk’s arm and bowed to Tablo in greeting, and then Super Junior had run onto the stage and Tablo had been left backstage with no explanation and a scowl lingering on his face.
“Are you really that stupid?” Heechul scoffed on the telephone that night, “Or do you really have no idea? Why do I talk to people like you?”
“What are you talking about?” Tablo asked, closing his eyes and rubbing his hand across his brow, “You called me, okay?”
Heechul ignored him. “Eunhyuk is an idiot too. He’s got the hugest mancrush on you; it’s actually really embarrassing.”
Tablo choked on his own spit in reply as Heechul cackled and hung up.
The thing was - people just didn’t have crushes on Tablo. He could admit that people admired him. But crushes? It made him feel awkward, like he was thirteen and had just received a Valentine from the girl who sat in the corner and was flattered and unsure and really, really awkward.
The next time he saw Eunhyuk, it was by invitation to the Super Junior dorm (it was a place he normally avoided like the plague - it was something akin to a zoo in there), and he decided to go, steadfastly reminding himself that he was not thirteen, he was not going to be awkward about this, and he absolutely was not going to make of a fool of himself like some teenager caught on the receiving end of an uncomfortable high school crush. He repeated it to himself like a mantra as he pressed their doorbell: he was going to be mature, he was going to treat this like an adult -
Then Eunhyuk opened the door with a grin and an easy, “Hyungnim!”, and Tablo had the strangest overwhelming urge to bolt, until he forcefully shoved the feeling aside and composed himself with a crooked smile and brushed past Eunhyuk - there was that twitch-jump again - and realized, very suddenly, that he had no reason to be awkward.
Eunhyuk turned back to greet him properly after he closed the door, and he reached forward, touching his hand lightly to the back of Eunhyuk’s neck in greeting before sliding it down. His fingers rasped against the cotton of Eunhyuk’s shirt and he allowed his palm to settle, barely making contact, at the small of his back. Eunhyuk trembled and glanced at him, wide-eyed.
He smiled slightly and slipped his hand away, as though it were never there. Eunhyuk let out a breath - barely noticeable, unless, like Tablo, you were paying attention - and moved away with a shaky grin.
Ah, Tablo thought, and followed Eunhyuk to the kitchen, his smile widening as he closed the door behind them.