[FIC] Lip balm

Title: Lip balm
Characters: Eunhyuk, Heechul
Rating: PG
Wordcount: 652
Summary: He has lip balm and an opportunity, but no way out.
A/N: A slightly less happy one here, but I loved the rather dark atmosphere I gave to the story. Don't know if that is conveyed well, though.

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Heechul has been hiding in his room for days when Hyukjae finally decides that it’s getting too much. His emergency plan has been ready for a few days already, but he has simply been waiting for the right moment. The moment where he can muster up enough courage to set it in motion. Today is that day. Today contains that moment. Right here and right now, when Heechul hyung is vulnerable still because of the Soju and the lack of sleep. He decides that now is his time.

No one notices when he swallows the last of his fear away and gets up. No one notices when he gathers all his courage and sets for the door of his hyung’s room. In his hand he has the one thing that is supposed to give him entrance to what lies behind the forever locked door. He stops in front of the dark wooden thing and sighs deeply. In his peripheral view, he can see Jungsoo hyung sending him a worried look, obviously trying to decide whether he should intervene or not. Hyukjae decides to knock before anyone, including himself, can stop him.

“Hyung?” he asks, and the answer comes in the form of a growl, a wail, a cry and a grunt, and then something hard hits the door. “Hyung, I found your lip balm.” he continues, because he can’t just give up on swimming after only dipping his foot in the water. There is a stumble inside, a loud thud and a grunt. Moments later Hyukjae can hear the sound of the door being unlocked and he is dragged inside before he has time to react. The door is smashed closed again behind him, the lock gets turned, once, twice, and then someone breathes in his neck.

“It’s about fucking time, Hyuk.” The voice sounds hoarse, dark and incredibly beaten. The poor articulation of the words reveals that Heechul must have drank at least a bottle already that day.

Hyukjae sighs, because it is only twelve and he feels that his hyung shouldn’t be drinking this early.

“So where is it?” He shows the tiny little piece of nonsense that was his way inside of the room. It gets grabbed out of his hand and he suddenly realises that maybe he should have brought something to gain safe passage outside again as well, but he realises that it’s too late when Heechul pops open the lip balm and gives it a good look.

“This isn’t mine.” he says, closing it again and throwing it on his bed. Hyukjae sees that he has to act soon before Heechul explodes. “You bought it, didn’t you?” is whispered in his ear and he shivers his fear right back up in his throat as he nods. A hand touches his cheek and long, feminine fingers turn his face towards his hyung’s.

“You remind me of him, you know. Sometimes. When you jump around the room like an idiot. More often when you dance.” They are so close that Hyukjae feels Heechul’s lips touch his every now and then when the elder speaks and the smell of alcohol is nearly making him gag, but he holds it back, because he believes that his hyung deserves sympathy right now. Someone knocks on the door and it is completely ignored, like every other knock has been in the past weeks. “You remind me of him, you know..” Heechul repeats and Hyukjae knows.

“It’s okay to cry, hyung.” he says, wrapping his arms around Heechul’s middle and pulling the elder against him without any fear. For a moment there is complete silence as he waits until his hyung explodes, but then an empty bottle slips out of a lifeless grasp and the great Kim Heechul collapses against him, sobbing like the world needs a whole new ocean. Hyukjae only smiles and strokes and consoles and whispers, but mostly he knows.