Title: Replacement
Characters: Kibum, Heechul
Rating: G
Wordcount: 1.208
Summary: Heechul patches up holes in old beliefs while Kibum remembers back when those beliefs were made.
A/N: Written over the course of several days for someone I treasure who should never forget I do. Because I was in desperate need of something less angsty than most of what I have been writing in this fic challenge. It's my weird perception of Chulbum and their wordless conversations filled with nonsense.
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He likes nights. Those few hours after midnight when everyone slowly goes to bed and the streets start to get empty. He likes standing on the balcony then, looking at the city lights, the few visible stars, the moon and the select group of clouds drifting by. Nature has a certain peace to it which he likes to blend in with every now and then. But of course it’s never fully possible, because when is he surrounded by only nature? Right, never. It’s hard to find even a little bit of green lately.
Suddenly the door slides open and before long something cool and round is pressed into his hand. He looks down to find a small bottle of low-alcohol beer and smiles.
“Hey hyung. How’s it going?” he asks, opening the bottle and taking a small sip.
“Should’ve told me you were coming.” the answer comes, hardly more than a grunt. “Would’ve told them to drive a little faster.” He smiles, letting the warmth of the other’s arm seep into his. The balcony’s big enough for two people, but he knows his hyung gets touchy when he’s tired, so he doesn’t comment on the lack of space between their arms and jut takes another sip.
He remembers the first time they met. Both mere trainees in the same company, one brutal and cold, the other silent and easygoing. He remembers spilling his coke and getting yelled at for two full minutes. He also remembers getting food spilled on him and being offered a dirty napkin. There’s many memories, really, but what sticks the most is blond hair and a gummy grin.
“Any news?” He gets pulled out of his memories by the gruff voice and shakes his head slightly.
“Same old, same old.” he explains the negative reply, but Heechul doesn’t take answers like that. Never did either.
“Yah, Kibum-ah! Two months passed, some things MUST have changed. Speak up!” he gets thrown at his head. Heechul turns to look at him for the first time. “Details are the key Bum-ah.”
“Details are the key to your heart, hyung?” he jokes and Heechul snorts.
“If you have the right details they might be the key to a richly filled bank account, but if you like unlocking my heart better, well… It’s your loss.” the reply comes and he smiles, downing another sip of the beer.
“Just visiting friends, trying to find other stuff to fill my days with. You know I’m waiting until they give me my job back, so there’s really nothing interesting happening.” he then explains, in reply to Heechul’s original demand for details.
It’s easy to slip into silence again, their arms still pressed together as they focus on the view once more. He smiles, lifting his bottle for another sip, but then lowering it again without drinking.
He remembers the first time they drank together like this. It was when Heechul was still recovering from his leg injury and Kibum the only one without schedules or other things to be at. He had been standing on the balcony as well back then, when Heechul had limped out, pushing a can of beer in his hand. He remembers silent smiles, understanding without talking and then the occasional repetition of that night. Most of all he remembers rediscovering mutual interests.
“Remember?” Heechul asks, making him look up for the first time.
“Yes, “ he says. “Yes, I remember.”
“When we sang karaoke with the others and Jay was singing so bad you put a piece of carrot in his nose to make him shut up…” He frowns, eyes the other for a moment and then starts smiling again.
“No..” he then says. “As I remember it, that was your nose, hyung. You thought you could manage singing Mirotic – again. You also failed at it – again.”
“Watch it, kid, you’re walking dangerous roads there.” Heechul warns, pretending to be annoyed, but he has seen it often enough and just laughs it off, taking another sip of the beer.
“You’d be a good dad.” he says, but as the words leave his mouth, he’s already reconsidering.
“I’d suck as a dad.” Heechul contradicts him before he can do so himself. “I’d teach them all the things they shouldn’t do.” He agrees with a nod.
“It’s good no girl wants you then.” he mentions in between two breaths. The warmth against his arm disappears and the next moment a hand connects with the back of his head. He grins, knowing what will come next, and indeed.
“You brat!” Heechul scolds, making his grin grow wider only. Moments later Heechul adds: “None of them is pretty enough for me anyway.” He laughs then.
He remembers having fun together like that. During car rides, on photo shoot sets, in their dorm, on variety shows, in waiting rooms, .. They’ve been everywhere and they’ve never cared about image or popularity. He remembers laughter, jokes and bantering. Two people, three people, thirteen people. Two more every now and then. What sticks with him the most is closeness.
“How’s the search going, hyung?” he suddenly questions and Heechul’s obviously surprised when he’s the one to break the silence. A smile soon appears on the elder’s face, though, as Heechul downs his beer can.
“Bad. Terrible. No one qualifies. I’ve considered a robot, but even machines make more noise than you.” the reply comes, quirky and straightforward. He grins over the comparison. Heechul huffs over it. “Why don’t you just come back yourself?”
“I told you. I’m waiting until I get my job back. They’re feeding me nonsense about surprising the fans, waiting for the next album. In all honesty, I think they’re trying to decide whether I’m still popular enough amongst ELF.” he admits and the sound of metal hitting stone makes him look up again. Heechul has put down his empty can, scowling at the scenery.
“Watch them try and not let you get back in.” Heechul scoffs, and he smiles, savouring the feeling of having someone care for him like that. Heechul would never say it in such words, of course, but it is clear from the way he acts, from the way he flares up every time someone mentions something bad about his friend.
He remembers a cup of tea on his bedside table, still damping with heat and a cold washing cloth on his forehead when feeling sick. He remembers coming home to a self-heated meal that only didn’t taste like plastic because he knew it was made with love. He remembers indecisiveness, questions, answers and disappointment. Most of all he remembers trust.
He sighs softly, taking another sip of his bottle of beer and then just downing everything. When he puts it down, he turns to Heechul. The elder looks back, a question in his eyes. He smiles, inclining his head, motioning for them to go inside. As they turn, Heechul throws an arm around him, ruffling his hair and grinning in that very Heechul-ish manner of his. It’s easy to grin back, leaning in just that tad bit and pretending he hasn’t been out of these dorms for two years already. No matter how many more months are added to that, he knows he’ll never get replaced.
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