[team one] drifting

[wolfodder.livejournal.com]

From a new fic I'm working on! It has a slightly strange ending because I wrote more but realized I wouldn't know where to end it and I don't have time to write a whole bunch more, so I just cut the scene at the most fitting place.

Lingering around the fire escape is Hakyeon, gazing out at the city. Wonshik finds him like this, quiet and thoughtful. He’s a sight to behold, with his pointy ears and a blue tint to his dark hair, and Wonshik leans against the window frame to watch him.

Ever since coming out of the ocean and leaving his kingdom, Hakyeon has been learning about the world above, and about Hongbin and Wonshik. He has this endless curiosity, wanting to understand everything; and then, in moments like this, he simply watches the world go by, like a bird watching the currents from above.

“It’s funny,” he says, and Wonshik perks up, not knowing Hakyeon was aware of his presence. “The city is so noisy, but up here, just watching, it feels so peaceful. I could watch this forever.”

Wonshik climbs through the window and joins him, leaning his arms against the railing next to the elf. “It’s pretty,” he agrees. Like you, he almost adds, but that’s so cheesy and off-topic and he doesn’t want to go there. “Sometimes when I can’t sleep, I just sit out here and think, watch the people who are out late and imagine what their lives are like.”

“It sounds nice,” Hakyeon says. Then, more softly, “I would have liked to be able to see more.”

“What?” Wonshik thinks he heard correctly, but he doesn’t quite register it.

Hakyeon sighs. “The ocean… it’s my home,” he explains, gaze flickering between Wonshik and the ground. “And I’m a prince. I can’t just leave my home behind because of war. This has been a temporary safe space, but I’ve been thinking, and I need to do something. I can’t simply hide.”

Oh. “You’re going back.” Somehow, Wonshik didn’t consider the possibility of Hakyeon going back. He was so busy helping him in this world, busy falling for him, that he went into some dreamy state and forgot all about where Hakyeon is from.

“I have to defend my home,” Hakyeon says. “My family, my friends. My people. They’re all there. I wouldn’t be worthy of a crown if I abandoned them.”

“Yeah.” Wonshik gets it, he does, and he has no right to stop him; it’s just so sudden, and he doesn’t want to see Hakyeon leave. He looks out to the street again. “I’ll miss you.”

“I’ll miss you too… and Hongbin. You’ve both been very good to me. Maybe someday I can come back.” And there it is, a sweet goodbye, and when Wonshik turns back he sees Hakyeon looking away with shiny eyes. “Ah, my eye is stinging,” he mumbles, pressing a palm to his eye, and when it comes back wet he stares at it in confusion.

“What is…?”

It must be the purest thing Wonshik has ever seen. Hakyeon lives surrounded by water - of course he wouldn’t notice his own tears in the middle of the ocean. “That’s… tears,” Wonshik tries to explain, not quite knowing how to when he’s so used to taking this for granted. “They come when you cry. I don’t know the exact science behind it, just that it’s normal and that you get dehydrated after doing it for a while. That’s from experience."

With this explanation, Hakyeon’s confusion turns into fascination as he looks at his hand. “That is the strangest thing,” he says. Wonshik chuckles a little, fondness exploding in his chest - how can one person make him feel something so strong? - and reaches out to wipe away another tear from Hakyeon’s cheek with his thumb.

“Don’t cry, Hakyeon. You’ll make me cry too, and I just look gross when I cry.”

Hakyeon laughs, rubbing his eyes. Then he looks at Wonshik with a smile that turns his insides to goo. “I don’t know if you’re capable of looking gross.”

Aaand then it's you, cairistiona!