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chineseinkRemix fic challenge! Original fic In Vino Veritas by ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
panpipe/proudfoot. See Remix Fic Master List.
Just in Case You Didn't Know: I Love You (In Vino Veritas Remix)
Super Junior (M), QMi, some HenWook, PG, 3290 words
Their relationship goes like this: First, Kyuhyun gets to know Zhou Mi. Then, Kyuhyun falls in love.
Just in Case You Didn't Know: I Love You In Vino Veritas Remix)
bymeiface
The first time Kyuhyun really gets to know Zhou Mi is the night the China subgroup is announced and Ryeowook decides that the announcement calls for a round of drinks or ten and a lot of drunken bonding.
"I don't know why we listen to him," Kyuhyun mutters to himself, because for all that Ryeowook can be naive and innocent, for all that he really is good-hearted and soft-spoken, he, like most quiet people, has a hidden streak of wild. Or, in this case, a streak of loud and obnoxious that comes out only when he drinks.
Zhou Mi looks over at him, eyes curious. "Did you not want to come?" he asks, and Kyuhyun realizes he's been overheard.
"I'm fine," he says, sketching a quick, noncommittal smile. He isn't nearly as badly off as Henry, who has been watching Ryeowook knock back shots with growing dismay. It's the first time he's seen his hyung drink. Kyuhyun laughs softly under his breath and returns his gaze to Zhou Mi, who sits across from him in the U-shaped booth. He's nursing a beer and Kyuhyun can tell already he's not the sort to drink much, unlike Hankyung, who is nearly falling over with laughter as he orders Siwon off to the bar again, on a poorly-disguised quest to get the female bartender to give him her number.
Zhou Mi has been around for close to a year - a good eight months, at least. Kyuhyun's seen him around the building with various other trainees, seen him leaving vocal lessons, Korean lessons. He knows Hankyung is friends with him and discovered a few weeks ago, to his surprise, that Heechul is close with him too. Then again, where Hankyung is, Heechul is sure to be...and vice versa.
Kyuhyun narrows his eyes at Zhou Mi thoughtfully; the gesture is returned with a wide smile.
"Are you having fun?" Zhou Mi asks loudly, trying to be heard over Ryeowook and the music. "You haven't been drinking much!"
They've spoken before, but casually, only enough to learn a little about each other's respective backgrounds. Kyuhyun doesn't have strong feelings for or against him, but he's curious. He puts out feelers. "Neither have you, hyung," he replies, gesturing at Zhou Mi's beer. "Afraid of what kind of drunk you'll be?"
Zhou Mi laughs. "I know what kind of drunk I am. And that's why I'm not drinking. Besides," he adds with a fluttering gesture of his fingers at the rest of the group, "it looks like they'll need some help getting back to the dorms."
Ryeowook has draped himself over Henry, much to Hankyung's amusement and Henry's appall. He may not know how to express himself in Korean properly, but Kyuhyun can read his face. It's too bad all his hyungs are too drunk to notice. Donghae is in the process of pouring out more liquor - is that Jack Daniels? - and waving his free hand wildly in the air.
"Sometimes I think I should just leave them," he remarks.
"Aw, but you're a good dongsaeng." When Kyuhyun looks at him again, Zhou Mi just beams. "I can just tell. Plus, Heechul-hyung likes you."
And that cements Kyuhyun's interest. For anyone who depends on Heechul's judgment of people as their basis for friendship has to be crazy. But an interesting sort of crazy. Kyuhyun smiles, all teeth, and sets forth to learn all about Zhou Mi.
--
What Kyuhyun learns, over the next months, is that Zhou Mi is tall, good-looking, a fantastic vocalist, fairly humble, a great son, somewhat of a picky eater, and a complete and total girl.
"Not just any kind of girl," Kyuhyun tells him on more than one occasion, "but a little girl."
"Kyuhyuuuun," Zhou Mi will exclaim, pouting, and Kyuhyun will just roll his eyes because his point is proven.
They become great friends.
--
When Super Junior M arrives in China, the first thing Kyuhyun does is complain of the heat. It doesn't help that his outfit is complete fucking joke, with enough layers that he could put a pea under them and a princess on top and she wouldn't feel a thing.
"Kui Xian, you make no sense, " Zhou Mi says helpfully. He pulls the blinds over the sliding doors leading out to the balcony and turns up the air conditioning.
"Why the fuck is it so hot?" Kyuhyun mumbles into his pillow, words muffled. He's planted face-down on the bed, stripped down to his boxers and still sweating. His arms dangle off the side of the bed, as limp as the rest of him feels. "It was never this hot in Seoul."
"Well, the thing about Beijing is that even though it's close to Seoul on latitude, the climate is totally different. Beijing is on a desert plain and Seoul is in the mountains, where—" Zhou Mi stops when Kyuhyun groans again and rolls over, glaring.
Zhou Mi blinks innocently at him. "Well, you asked."
"I hate you," Kyuhyun says very slowly and very clearly. He repeats it in Chinese for good measure. "And," he adds, rolling again and angling himself towards the cold air from the air conditioner, "I hate Beijing."
Zhou Mi, the bastard, only laughs and says something about taking Henry and Donghae out later to see the sights and maybe get some popsicles. He doesn't bother asking Kyuhyun if he wants one, but when he comes back an hour later, Donghae in tow, he finds Kyuhyun with a t-shirt on and happily hands him a red-bean popsicle.
--
"Henry has really nice eyes," Ryeowook slurs, poking Donghae's shoulder. "Don't you think so?"
Donghae looks and agrees and Ryeowook sets off on a diatribe about how Henry is his and how Donghae can't have him. Donghae gives him a strange look.
Zhou Mi watches them and giggles into his beer. "Aren't they adorable, Kui Xian?"
Kyuhyun groans. "The next few days are going to be so awkward. Ryeowook's drunk enough to remember nothing, and Henry is sober enough to remember everything." Then he smirks a little. "At least we won't be bored those next few days."
Zhou Mi grins and slides an arm around Kyuhyun's shoulders and leans in. "You're a terrible person," he sings into his ear, and he sounds entirely too delighted by the fact.
Kyuhyun is slightly concerned by the warmth rising in his stomach, but he's been drinking a bit. He may be tipsy. He turns his head to smile at Zhou Mi then blinks, finding him a lot closer than expected. "Don't believe in personal space, hm?" He raises an eyebrow.
"Not when it comes to you." Zhou Mi's smile turns blithe.
"I've noticed." Kyuhyun snorts, recalling every interview since the first one, where Zhou Mi latched himself to Kyuhyun and did his best impression of a very smiley, very well-spoken barnacle. His impression has continued since then.
"Kyuhyun!" Siwon says loudly and suddenly on his other side. He wraps his arms around Kyuhyun's waist and leans in close, eyes unfocused and breath wafting of alcohol. "You're my favorite dongsaeng!" he declares soppily and plants a wet kiss on Kyuhyun's cheek. Kyuhyun blinks, too surprised to pull away.
Hankyung shouts from down the table, evilly, "What about Ryeowook? Henry?"
Siwon pauses in his determined clutching of Kyuhyun. "Henry!" he exclaims happily, leaving Kyuhyun to round on Henry, who is on his other side.
Kyuhyun turns to find Zhou Mi laughing hysterically. "I hope he vomits on you," Kyuhyun says unfeelingly, wiping at his cheek with the back of his hand.
Then Henry vomits into Siwon's lap, and Zhou Mi dissolves again into gales of laughter.
His hand slides from around Kyuhyun's shoulders to clutch at his stomach, then the edge of the table, and then Kyuhyun's thigh. The warmth makes Kyuhyun's breath catch in his throat and the frantic sounds of leader Hankyung and overly-concerned Ryeowook bending over a sick Henry fade into the background.
Kyuhyun looks at Zhou Mi, still laughing, eyes creased and head thrown back, and thinks, Oh.
--
Nothing comes of Kyuhyun's realization because, he tells himself, they're too busy. Super Junior M has a hectic schedule promoting themselves and their new album. They're filming shows or interviews at least once a week, and meeting with reporters for magazines or rehearsing or something, always something, the rest of the week.
Kyuhyun doesn't avoid Zhou Mi because Kyuhyun isn't that type of person. Not that avoidance would have been possible, anyway, considering how they are all in close quarters, 24/7. Kyuhyun's only escape is at night when he retreats to the hotel room he and Donghae share, but when Donghae gets particularly loud on the phone with Hyukjae or Kibum or Heechul, Kyuhyun finds himself wishing he were rooming with Zhou Mi instead.
Zhou Mi with his aegyo - Kyuhyun pauses and tries to remember the Chinese phrase Hankyung taught him after recording a show - he can't remember, but he knows it defined Zhou Mi to a T. Adorable, Kyuhyun thinks, resigned. At times, he even reminds Kyuhyun of Sungmin. But Sungmin is shy where Zhou Mi is bright laughter and loud chatter, happy to talk to anyone, especially in Chinese. Where Sungmin smiles and makes Kyuhyun feel comfortable, welcome, at home - Zhou Mi smiles in ways that makes Kyuhyun's stomach twist, makes breathing a little harder than it used to be.
Great, he thinks, flopping back onto his pillow. Now he was the one turning into a girl.
"Kyuuu," Donghae exclaims, bouncing onto Kyuhyun's bed, "do you wanna talk to Heechul? Here, here, you guys can talk about computer games or something." He hands off the phone, nudging Kyuhyun in the side with his knee, grinning.
Kyuhyun takes the phone and Donghae flops onto his stomach next to Kyuhyun. Kyuhyun gives him a strange look and says cautiously into the phone, "Hello?"
Heechul purrs and Kyuhyun sighs. "Hello Heebum. Can you put your owner on the line?" He can hear Heechul's raucous laughter in the background.
He's happy to be distracted from his thoughts, Donghae warm against his side, and tells himself to stop worrying about it. Either the feelings will pass or...well, he'll cross that bridge when he comes to it.
--
Kyuhyun is further distracted from his crush (that's all it is, he repeats to himself, and tries not to stare at Zhou Mi so much or to smile so involuntarily when Zhou Mi says something cute or leans against him or - he stops there) when Ryeowook approaches him, looking miserable.
"Kyuhyun," he says, staring at the ground and wringing his hands. "I...I think I like Henry."
Kyuhyun blinks and calmly puts his glass of orange juice back on the kitchen table. "That's good, hyung," he hears himself say. "We don't want him to feel left out."
Ryeowook looks up then, eyes slightly panicked. "No, Kyuhyun. I...I like him." The last three words are whispered, as if he's afraid Henry will hear him, even though he's out with Hankyung and Donghae and Zhou Mi. "What do I do?"
"Well..." Kyuhyun pauses and thinks back. Then he can't help smiling, a little mischievously. "Seems like you've done plenty already," he says offhandedly, remembering all the times Ryeowook came close to molesting Henry in public after a drink (or ten) too many. "I doubt he'll forget anytime soon."
Ryeowook flushes scarlet and cries, "Kyuhyun!" He looks both mortified and slightly reproachful.
Kyuhyun laughs but he relents, because he loves his hyung. And Ryeowook seems so sincere. Reaching out, he takes Ryeowook's hands in his and gives them a light squeeze. "Don't worry so much, hyung. Just talk to him. He's a good guy. He'll understand."
"But what if—"
"Hyung," Kyuhyun says gently, "you can't keep this to yourself forever. Not if you feel this way. It's better just to get it out and see where things go from there, isn't it?"
With a sigh, Ryeowook pulls away from him and takes a seat around the kitchen table. He tilts his head slightly in a nod. "I guess you're right, Kyuhyun." He wavers a smile and Kyuhyun smiles back. In the back of his head, though, a small voice is saying, Maybe you should listen to your own advice.
He ignores it.
--
There's a moment where Siwon has just reached out and groped Zhou Mi's ass shamelessly, and Hankyung protests with laughing indignation, "Hey! I thought you were the daddy to my mommy!"
"So now you're okay being the 'umma', hyung?" Siwon asks, grinning as Hankyung sputters.
"I want to be the firstborn son!" Zhou Mi exclaims. He reaches out and grabs Kyuhyun, arms sliding naturally around him, palms open and warm against Kyuhyun's back. "And Kyuhyun can be the super-smart middle kid, and Ryeowook and Henry can be the baby twins, and Donghae can be the weird neighbor kid who always hangs around!"
"Hey!" protests Donghae, shoving Zhou Mi into Kyuhyun, and everyone's laughing, and then Hankyung says,
"No, no, that won't work. That's far too incestuous."
They all laugh and Kyuhyun thinks, I love these people and they're fucking ridiculous and god he feels nice.
Then the moment is over and Kyuhyun spends the rest of the day remembering the feel of Zhou Mi's arms around him and the strangely sweet smell of his skin.
--
"Henry and Ryeowook made out last night," Donghae reports cheerfully as Kyuhyun stumbles out of the newly-rented apartment where Super Junior M is staying for the next two months.
Kyuhyun blinks blearily at him. "Great," he says and walks into the bathroom to discover Ryeowook bent over the toilet, throwing up. He stares for a moment, then sighs and rubs at the sleep in his eyes.
"Oh yeah, I might've mentioned something about breakfast to him," Donghae adds innocently from behind him.
Ryeowook makes a wretched sound and clutches the side of the toilet.
"You're a bastard, you know that, hyung?" Kyuhyun turns to glare half-heartedly.
Donghae just cackles.
--
For a week, Henry and Ryeowook do their best to avoid looking at each other, speaking to each other, or breathing the same air. Hankyung notices but allows it because, Kyuhyun suspects, it amuses him. He has clearly been friends with Heechul for too long.
Kyuhyun finds himself amused for the first three days, but suddenly Ryeowook is spending all his time avoiding Henry with him, and Kyuhyun finds to his dismay that he's unhappy about Ryeowook interrupting his time with Zhou Mi.
"Oh my god," he moans to himself.
"What's the matter?" Zhou Mi asks immediately, ever attentive and concerned.
Kyuhyun glares at him. "I hate you, go away."
Zhou Mi pouts. "I was just trying to help."
"You're not. Go away."
"Kui Xian~"
Kyuhyun flings the couch pillow at him and Zhou Mi ducks it, pouting. He goes to find Ryeowook instead, still sulking, and Kyuhyun has a few precious moments alone to bemoan his life. Because it is totally unfair that Ryeowook isn't letting him be alone with Zhou Mi, and worse, Kyuhyun just sent Zhou Mi away from the first five minutes of privacy they have gotten all day.
His life sucks, he decides grumpily.
--
His life sucks and clearly the gods favor Ryeowook and Henry a lot more because now they're soppily together, or something grossly cute and adorable in that vein.
"We're going to see a movie," Henry announces to the rest of the group at dinner and beams at Ryeowook, who beams back and only blushes slightly.
"Aww, aren't they cute," Hankyung coos in Chinese, and that's it, Kyuhyun decides, he really has been around Heechul too much.
Siwon replies with something longer in Chinese that Kyuhyun doesn't catch, and Donghae tugs on his sleeve, wanting to know what he said. "You guys always leave me out!" he complains, and Hankyung promises to take him out that night.
Donghae brightens. "Are there arcades? Ooh, what about a karaoke bar?"
"Do you two want to come too?" Siwon asks Kyuhyun and Zhou Mi.
"No thanks!" Zhou Mi chirps before Kyuhyun can say a word. Zhou Mi pats Kyuhyun's knee under the table and Kyuhyun suddenly finds his heart in his throat and can't say anything, anyway. "Kyuhyun and I will just stay in and relax tonight!"
Siwon nods agreeably and then turns the force of his puppy-dog look on Hankyung to help Donghae achieve whatever ends he's currently pursuing.
"What are we doing?" Kyuhyun hisses to Zhou Mi when he has regained mastery of his vocal cords again.
"You'll see!" Zhou Mi whispers back.
--
"I didn't have anything special planned, really," Zhou Mi admits two hours later. He shrugs and smiles sheepishly at Kyuhyun. "I just wanted to spend some time with you. I feel like we've all been super busy recently and I missed you." His eyes flick away and Kyuhyun's surprised that he almost seems embarrassed.
He feels warm inside, like a glow spreading languorously through his limbs. He can't seem to stop the smile from appearing. "Okay," he says, and curls up on the couch next to Zhou Mi to watch a movie on TV that he doesn't understand a word of.
Zhou Mi's arm rests around his shoulders, a comfortable, familiar weight. Kyuhyun closes his eyes halfway through the movie and drifts off, the sweet scent of Zhou Mi's skin lulling him into sweeter dreams.
He wakes with a start when Zhou Mi presses his fingertips, slightly cold, into Kyuhyun's cheek. "Kui Xian," he whispers. "Kui Xian, wake up."
His eyes flicker a moment and then he's looking into Zhou Mi's face, so close. "Mi?" he murmurs, soft, sleepy.
"Hi," Zhou Mi says, smiling. He leans a little closer and brushes his lips across Kyuhyun's. "I like you, Kui Xian. I thought I should tell you."
"Oh."
He's not sure how to respond, still half-asleep, not quite awake. He's warm and comfortable, happy, and it's this that makes him cock his head and slide his lips back against Zhou Mi's. He doesn't have the right words, any words, right now - he just has this, soft pressure and warmth and this strangely heady feeling of that was easy. His heart jumps when Zhou Mi shifts, but his arms only pull Kyuhyun closer, and suddenly they're kissing for real.
It's whispered breaths and the electric slide of mouth against mouth, a flicker of tongue, a sudden clench of fingers - it's everything Kyuhyun never dared to daydream about and better, more real.
When they pull apart, Zhou Mi says, "Oh." His eyes are wide and dark.
Kyuhyun smiles and he almost wishes he said something earlier, instead of spending the past weeks confused and silent. Almost, because he's not sure he would have traded anything for this moment now, strangely perfect, somewhat surreal, and Kyuhyun's leg falling asleep under him. He moves, stretching his leg out, and then says, softly, "I like you too."
--
"Am I the only straight one in this band?" Donghae groans when he finds out.
"Donghae," Zhou Mi reproaches. Kyuhyun just raises an eyebrow.
Donghae rolls his eyes and throws up his hands, but he's grinning. "Okay, okay. Bi. But whatever, more girls for me!" He sounds cheerful enough.
Kyuhyun decides not to tell him that it's not guys, it's just Zhou Mi. Who is really, after all, a pretty big girl.
(Especially proven by the fact that when Kyuhyun finally asks Zhou Mi about the smell of his skin, Zhou Mi sniffs himself then says, happily, "Oh that's just the body wash I use! It's supposed to smell like oranges and jasmine!"
In the end, Kyuhyun just sighs and blames Heechul. It's easier that way.)
--
Started/Finished: 2009.06.01
Notes: So I originally remixed a different fic, but oh god did I hate how my remix fic turned out. I hated it so much I scrapped it yesterday in a panic and picked a different fic to remix and, well, I hope this turned out a lot better. I liked it a lot better, anyway. :D SO COURTZ, I HOPE YOU LIKE THIS. ♥
panpipe/proudfoot. See Remix Fic Master List.Just in Case You Didn't Know: I Love You (In Vino Veritas Remix)
Super Junior (M), QMi, some HenWook, PG, 3290 words
Their relationship goes like this: First, Kyuhyun gets to know Zhou Mi. Then, Kyuhyun falls in love.
Just in Case You Didn't Know: I Love You In Vino Veritas Remix)
by
meifaceThe first time Kyuhyun really gets to know Zhou Mi is the night the China subgroup is announced and Ryeowook decides that the announcement calls for a round of drinks or ten and a lot of drunken bonding.
"I don't know why we listen to him," Kyuhyun mutters to himself, because for all that Ryeowook can be naive and innocent, for all that he really is good-hearted and soft-spoken, he, like most quiet people, has a hidden streak of wild. Or, in this case, a streak of loud and obnoxious that comes out only when he drinks.
Zhou Mi looks over at him, eyes curious. "Did you not want to come?" he asks, and Kyuhyun realizes he's been overheard.
"I'm fine," he says, sketching a quick, noncommittal smile. He isn't nearly as badly off as Henry, who has been watching Ryeowook knock back shots with growing dismay. It's the first time he's seen his hyung drink. Kyuhyun laughs softly under his breath and returns his gaze to Zhou Mi, who sits across from him in the U-shaped booth. He's nursing a beer and Kyuhyun can tell already he's not the sort to drink much, unlike Hankyung, who is nearly falling over with laughter as he orders Siwon off to the bar again, on a poorly-disguised quest to get the female bartender to give him her number.
Zhou Mi has been around for close to a year - a good eight months, at least. Kyuhyun's seen him around the building with various other trainees, seen him leaving vocal lessons, Korean lessons. He knows Hankyung is friends with him and discovered a few weeks ago, to his surprise, that Heechul is close with him too. Then again, where Hankyung is, Heechul is sure to be...and vice versa.
Kyuhyun narrows his eyes at Zhou Mi thoughtfully; the gesture is returned with a wide smile.
"Are you having fun?" Zhou Mi asks loudly, trying to be heard over Ryeowook and the music. "You haven't been drinking much!"
They've spoken before, but casually, only enough to learn a little about each other's respective backgrounds. Kyuhyun doesn't have strong feelings for or against him, but he's curious. He puts out feelers. "Neither have you, hyung," he replies, gesturing at Zhou Mi's beer. "Afraid of what kind of drunk you'll be?"
Zhou Mi laughs. "I know what kind of drunk I am. And that's why I'm not drinking. Besides," he adds with a fluttering gesture of his fingers at the rest of the group, "it looks like they'll need some help getting back to the dorms."
Ryeowook has draped himself over Henry, much to Hankyung's amusement and Henry's appall. He may not know how to express himself in Korean properly, but Kyuhyun can read his face. It's too bad all his hyungs are too drunk to notice. Donghae is in the process of pouring out more liquor - is that Jack Daniels? - and waving his free hand wildly in the air.
"Sometimes I think I should just leave them," he remarks.
"Aw, but you're a good dongsaeng." When Kyuhyun looks at him again, Zhou Mi just beams. "I can just tell. Plus, Heechul-hyung likes you."
And that cements Kyuhyun's interest. For anyone who depends on Heechul's judgment of people as their basis for friendship has to be crazy. But an interesting sort of crazy. Kyuhyun smiles, all teeth, and sets forth to learn all about Zhou Mi.
--
What Kyuhyun learns, over the next months, is that Zhou Mi is tall, good-looking, a fantastic vocalist, fairly humble, a great son, somewhat of a picky eater, and a complete and total girl.
"Not just any kind of girl," Kyuhyun tells him on more than one occasion, "but a little girl."
"Kyuhyuuuun," Zhou Mi will exclaim, pouting, and Kyuhyun will just roll his eyes because his point is proven.
They become great friends.
--
When Super Junior M arrives in China, the first thing Kyuhyun does is complain of the heat. It doesn't help that his outfit is complete fucking joke, with enough layers that he could put a pea under them and a princess on top and she wouldn't feel a thing.
"Kui Xian, you make no sense, " Zhou Mi says helpfully. He pulls the blinds over the sliding doors leading out to the balcony and turns up the air conditioning.
"Why the fuck is it so hot?" Kyuhyun mumbles into his pillow, words muffled. He's planted face-down on the bed, stripped down to his boxers and still sweating. His arms dangle off the side of the bed, as limp as the rest of him feels. "It was never this hot in Seoul."
"Well, the thing about Beijing is that even though it's close to Seoul on latitude, the climate is totally different. Beijing is on a desert plain and Seoul is in the mountains, where—" Zhou Mi stops when Kyuhyun groans again and rolls over, glaring.
Zhou Mi blinks innocently at him. "Well, you asked."
"I hate you," Kyuhyun says very slowly and very clearly. He repeats it in Chinese for good measure. "And," he adds, rolling again and angling himself towards the cold air from the air conditioner, "I hate Beijing."
Zhou Mi, the bastard, only laughs and says something about taking Henry and Donghae out later to see the sights and maybe get some popsicles. He doesn't bother asking Kyuhyun if he wants one, but when he comes back an hour later, Donghae in tow, he finds Kyuhyun with a t-shirt on and happily hands him a red-bean popsicle.
--
"Henry has really nice eyes," Ryeowook slurs, poking Donghae's shoulder. "Don't you think so?"
Donghae looks and agrees and Ryeowook sets off on a diatribe about how Henry is his and how Donghae can't have him. Donghae gives him a strange look.
Zhou Mi watches them and giggles into his beer. "Aren't they adorable, Kui Xian?"
Kyuhyun groans. "The next few days are going to be so awkward. Ryeowook's drunk enough to remember nothing, and Henry is sober enough to remember everything." Then he smirks a little. "At least we won't be bored those next few days."
Zhou Mi grins and slides an arm around Kyuhyun's shoulders and leans in. "You're a terrible person," he sings into his ear, and he sounds entirely too delighted by the fact.
Kyuhyun is slightly concerned by the warmth rising in his stomach, but he's been drinking a bit. He may be tipsy. He turns his head to smile at Zhou Mi then blinks, finding him a lot closer than expected. "Don't believe in personal space, hm?" He raises an eyebrow.
"Not when it comes to you." Zhou Mi's smile turns blithe.
"I've noticed." Kyuhyun snorts, recalling every interview since the first one, where Zhou Mi latched himself to Kyuhyun and did his best impression of a very smiley, very well-spoken barnacle. His impression has continued since then.
"Kyuhyun!" Siwon says loudly and suddenly on his other side. He wraps his arms around Kyuhyun's waist and leans in close, eyes unfocused and breath wafting of alcohol. "You're my favorite dongsaeng!" he declares soppily and plants a wet kiss on Kyuhyun's cheek. Kyuhyun blinks, too surprised to pull away.
Hankyung shouts from down the table, evilly, "What about Ryeowook? Henry?"
Siwon pauses in his determined clutching of Kyuhyun. "Henry!" he exclaims happily, leaving Kyuhyun to round on Henry, who is on his other side.
Kyuhyun turns to find Zhou Mi laughing hysterically. "I hope he vomits on you," Kyuhyun says unfeelingly, wiping at his cheek with the back of his hand.
Then Henry vomits into Siwon's lap, and Zhou Mi dissolves again into gales of laughter.
His hand slides from around Kyuhyun's shoulders to clutch at his stomach, then the edge of the table, and then Kyuhyun's thigh. The warmth makes Kyuhyun's breath catch in his throat and the frantic sounds of leader Hankyung and overly-concerned Ryeowook bending over a sick Henry fade into the background.
Kyuhyun looks at Zhou Mi, still laughing, eyes creased and head thrown back, and thinks, Oh.
--
Nothing comes of Kyuhyun's realization because, he tells himself, they're too busy. Super Junior M has a hectic schedule promoting themselves and their new album. They're filming shows or interviews at least once a week, and meeting with reporters for magazines or rehearsing or something, always something, the rest of the week.
Kyuhyun doesn't avoid Zhou Mi because Kyuhyun isn't that type of person. Not that avoidance would have been possible, anyway, considering how they are all in close quarters, 24/7. Kyuhyun's only escape is at night when he retreats to the hotel room he and Donghae share, but when Donghae gets particularly loud on the phone with Hyukjae or Kibum or Heechul, Kyuhyun finds himself wishing he were rooming with Zhou Mi instead.
Zhou Mi with his aegyo - Kyuhyun pauses and tries to remember the Chinese phrase Hankyung taught him after recording a show - he can't remember, but he knows it defined Zhou Mi to a T. Adorable, Kyuhyun thinks, resigned. At times, he even reminds Kyuhyun of Sungmin. But Sungmin is shy where Zhou Mi is bright laughter and loud chatter, happy to talk to anyone, especially in Chinese. Where Sungmin smiles and makes Kyuhyun feel comfortable, welcome, at home - Zhou Mi smiles in ways that makes Kyuhyun's stomach twist, makes breathing a little harder than it used to be.
Great, he thinks, flopping back onto his pillow. Now he was the one turning into a girl.
"Kyuuu," Donghae exclaims, bouncing onto Kyuhyun's bed, "do you wanna talk to Heechul? Here, here, you guys can talk about computer games or something." He hands off the phone, nudging Kyuhyun in the side with his knee, grinning.
Kyuhyun takes the phone and Donghae flops onto his stomach next to Kyuhyun. Kyuhyun gives him a strange look and says cautiously into the phone, "Hello?"
Heechul purrs and Kyuhyun sighs. "Hello Heebum. Can you put your owner on the line?" He can hear Heechul's raucous laughter in the background.
He's happy to be distracted from his thoughts, Donghae warm against his side, and tells himself to stop worrying about it. Either the feelings will pass or...well, he'll cross that bridge when he comes to it.
--
Kyuhyun is further distracted from his crush (that's all it is, he repeats to himself, and tries not to stare at Zhou Mi so much or to smile so involuntarily when Zhou Mi says something cute or leans against him or - he stops there) when Ryeowook approaches him, looking miserable.
"Kyuhyun," he says, staring at the ground and wringing his hands. "I...I think I like Henry."
Kyuhyun blinks and calmly puts his glass of orange juice back on the kitchen table. "That's good, hyung," he hears himself say. "We don't want him to feel left out."
Ryeowook looks up then, eyes slightly panicked. "No, Kyuhyun. I...I like him." The last three words are whispered, as if he's afraid Henry will hear him, even though he's out with Hankyung and Donghae and Zhou Mi. "What do I do?"
"Well..." Kyuhyun pauses and thinks back. Then he can't help smiling, a little mischievously. "Seems like you've done plenty already," he says offhandedly, remembering all the times Ryeowook came close to molesting Henry in public after a drink (or ten) too many. "I doubt he'll forget anytime soon."
Ryeowook flushes scarlet and cries, "Kyuhyun!" He looks both mortified and slightly reproachful.
Kyuhyun laughs but he relents, because he loves his hyung. And Ryeowook seems so sincere. Reaching out, he takes Ryeowook's hands in his and gives them a light squeeze. "Don't worry so much, hyung. Just talk to him. He's a good guy. He'll understand."
"But what if—"
"Hyung," Kyuhyun says gently, "you can't keep this to yourself forever. Not if you feel this way. It's better just to get it out and see where things go from there, isn't it?"
With a sigh, Ryeowook pulls away from him and takes a seat around the kitchen table. He tilts his head slightly in a nod. "I guess you're right, Kyuhyun." He wavers a smile and Kyuhyun smiles back. In the back of his head, though, a small voice is saying, Maybe you should listen to your own advice.
He ignores it.
--
There's a moment where Siwon has just reached out and groped Zhou Mi's ass shamelessly, and Hankyung protests with laughing indignation, "Hey! I thought you were the daddy to my mommy!"
"So now you're okay being the 'umma', hyung?" Siwon asks, grinning as Hankyung sputters.
"I want to be the firstborn son!" Zhou Mi exclaims. He reaches out and grabs Kyuhyun, arms sliding naturally around him, palms open and warm against Kyuhyun's back. "And Kyuhyun can be the super-smart middle kid, and Ryeowook and Henry can be the baby twins, and Donghae can be the weird neighbor kid who always hangs around!"
"Hey!" protests Donghae, shoving Zhou Mi into Kyuhyun, and everyone's laughing, and then Hankyung says,
"No, no, that won't work. That's far too incestuous."
They all laugh and Kyuhyun thinks, I love these people and they're fucking ridiculous and god he feels nice.
Then the moment is over and Kyuhyun spends the rest of the day remembering the feel of Zhou Mi's arms around him and the strangely sweet smell of his skin.
--
"Henry and Ryeowook made out last night," Donghae reports cheerfully as Kyuhyun stumbles out of the newly-rented apartment where Super Junior M is staying for the next two months.
Kyuhyun blinks blearily at him. "Great," he says and walks into the bathroom to discover Ryeowook bent over the toilet, throwing up. He stares for a moment, then sighs and rubs at the sleep in his eyes.
"Oh yeah, I might've mentioned something about breakfast to him," Donghae adds innocently from behind him.
Ryeowook makes a wretched sound and clutches the side of the toilet.
"You're a bastard, you know that, hyung?" Kyuhyun turns to glare half-heartedly.
Donghae just cackles.
--
For a week, Henry and Ryeowook do their best to avoid looking at each other, speaking to each other, or breathing the same air. Hankyung notices but allows it because, Kyuhyun suspects, it amuses him. He has clearly been friends with Heechul for too long.
Kyuhyun finds himself amused for the first three days, but suddenly Ryeowook is spending all his time avoiding Henry with him, and Kyuhyun finds to his dismay that he's unhappy about Ryeowook interrupting his time with Zhou Mi.
"Oh my god," he moans to himself.
"What's the matter?" Zhou Mi asks immediately, ever attentive and concerned.
Kyuhyun glares at him. "I hate you, go away."
Zhou Mi pouts. "I was just trying to help."
"You're not. Go away."
"Kui Xian~"
Kyuhyun flings the couch pillow at him and Zhou Mi ducks it, pouting. He goes to find Ryeowook instead, still sulking, and Kyuhyun has a few precious moments alone to bemoan his life. Because it is totally unfair that Ryeowook isn't letting him be alone with Zhou Mi, and worse, Kyuhyun just sent Zhou Mi away from the first five minutes of privacy they have gotten all day.
His life sucks, he decides grumpily.
--
His life sucks and clearly the gods favor Ryeowook and Henry a lot more because now they're soppily together, or something grossly cute and adorable in that vein.
"We're going to see a movie," Henry announces to the rest of the group at dinner and beams at Ryeowook, who beams back and only blushes slightly.
"Aww, aren't they cute," Hankyung coos in Chinese, and that's it, Kyuhyun decides, he really has been around Heechul too much.
Siwon replies with something longer in Chinese that Kyuhyun doesn't catch, and Donghae tugs on his sleeve, wanting to know what he said. "You guys always leave me out!" he complains, and Hankyung promises to take him out that night.
Donghae brightens. "Are there arcades? Ooh, what about a karaoke bar?"
"Do you two want to come too?" Siwon asks Kyuhyun and Zhou Mi.
"No thanks!" Zhou Mi chirps before Kyuhyun can say a word. Zhou Mi pats Kyuhyun's knee under the table and Kyuhyun suddenly finds his heart in his throat and can't say anything, anyway. "Kyuhyun and I will just stay in and relax tonight!"
Siwon nods agreeably and then turns the force of his puppy-dog look on Hankyung to help Donghae achieve whatever ends he's currently pursuing.
"What are we doing?" Kyuhyun hisses to Zhou Mi when he has regained mastery of his vocal cords again.
"You'll see!" Zhou Mi whispers back.
--
"I didn't have anything special planned, really," Zhou Mi admits two hours later. He shrugs and smiles sheepishly at Kyuhyun. "I just wanted to spend some time with you. I feel like we've all been super busy recently and I missed you." His eyes flick away and Kyuhyun's surprised that he almost seems embarrassed.
He feels warm inside, like a glow spreading languorously through his limbs. He can't seem to stop the smile from appearing. "Okay," he says, and curls up on the couch next to Zhou Mi to watch a movie on TV that he doesn't understand a word of.
Zhou Mi's arm rests around his shoulders, a comfortable, familiar weight. Kyuhyun closes his eyes halfway through the movie and drifts off, the sweet scent of Zhou Mi's skin lulling him into sweeter dreams.
He wakes with a start when Zhou Mi presses his fingertips, slightly cold, into Kyuhyun's cheek. "Kui Xian," he whispers. "Kui Xian, wake up."
His eyes flicker a moment and then he's looking into Zhou Mi's face, so close. "Mi?" he murmurs, soft, sleepy.
"Hi," Zhou Mi says, smiling. He leans a little closer and brushes his lips across Kyuhyun's. "I like you, Kui Xian. I thought I should tell you."
"Oh."
He's not sure how to respond, still half-asleep, not quite awake. He's warm and comfortable, happy, and it's this that makes him cock his head and slide his lips back against Zhou Mi's. He doesn't have the right words, any words, right now - he just has this, soft pressure and warmth and this strangely heady feeling of that was easy. His heart jumps when Zhou Mi shifts, but his arms only pull Kyuhyun closer, and suddenly they're kissing for real.
It's whispered breaths and the electric slide of mouth against mouth, a flicker of tongue, a sudden clench of fingers - it's everything Kyuhyun never dared to daydream about and better, more real.
When they pull apart, Zhou Mi says, "Oh." His eyes are wide and dark.
Kyuhyun smiles and he almost wishes he said something earlier, instead of spending the past weeks confused and silent. Almost, because he's not sure he would have traded anything for this moment now, strangely perfect, somewhat surreal, and Kyuhyun's leg falling asleep under him. He moves, stretching his leg out, and then says, softly, "I like you too."
--
"Am I the only straight one in this band?" Donghae groans when he finds out.
"Donghae," Zhou Mi reproaches. Kyuhyun just raises an eyebrow.
Donghae rolls his eyes and throws up his hands, but he's grinning. "Okay, okay. Bi. But whatever, more girls for me!" He sounds cheerful enough.
Kyuhyun decides not to tell him that it's not guys, it's just Zhou Mi. Who is really, after all, a pretty big girl.
(Especially proven by the fact that when Kyuhyun finally asks Zhou Mi about the smell of his skin, Zhou Mi sniffs himself then says, happily, "Oh that's just the body wash I use! It's supposed to smell like oranges and jasmine!"
In the end, Kyuhyun just sighs and blames Heechul. It's easier that way.)
--
Started/Finished: 2009.06.01
Notes: So I originally remixed a different fic, but oh god did I hate how my remix fic turned out. I hated it so much I scrapped it yesterday in a panic and picked a different fic to remix and, well, I hope this turned out a lot better. I liked it a lot better, anyway. :D SO COURTZ, I HOPE YOU LIKE THIS. ♥
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