Kangin turned sharply from his position on the couch when he heard the door opening.  Leeteuk came through the door first, almost entirely overtaken by an absurd about of shopping bags. Grunting, Kangin stood and headed over to help, lamenting his friends obsession with buying things for other people. 

                As he picked up the paper bag obscuring the thin man’s face, he was met with an embarrassed smile and a thank you.  Looking over Leeteuk’s shoulder, he saw Heechul coming up the front steps caring a similar number of bags.

                “Couldn’t find anything you liked,” Kangin joked in a low tone. 

                Shifting the bags in his arms so he could see around them and look the bigger man in the eyes, Heechul said,

                “You weren’t lying when you said Leeteuk had a problem.” 

                “Hey!  I heard that!  And I’d watch it if I were you. I’m the breadwinner in this family.  Without me, you guys don’t eat.”

                Kangin and Heechul smiled at each other behind Leeteuk’s back as he went to drop his armful of bags on the floor.  As Heechul went to move by Kangin to relinquish his own load of bags, Kangin stopped him, flicking at his new bangs. 

                “Haircut?” 

                “Yeah,” Heechul said uncertainly. 

Kangin nodded approvingly.  “Not bad.” 

Smiling, Heechul said, “Well, before I apparently looked like John Lennon.”  The feminine man winked conspirationally and glanced over at Leeteuk.

                Eyes widening, Kangin spun around and shouted at Leeteuk, “Did you hear that?  John Lennon!  Pay up, Teukie!” 

                “What?” Leeteuk exclaimed, “No, he said it was neither!  And, seriously, you too with the Teukie?” 

                “Don’t try to play this off, blondie, the man said John Lennon.” 

                Leeteuk looked over at Heechul who simply shrugged, his flawless face revealing nothing.  The bruise from the previous week had vanished and with the haircut, he looked like a different man.

                Grumbling, Leeteuk pulled his wallet out of his back pocket and handed a few bills over to Kangin.  “Seriously, this is a conspiracy,” he whined.

                “I think you’re paranoid, Teukie,” Heechul sighed wistfully as he snatched up the bags that were his and disappeared in the direction of his room.

                “Definitely,” Kangin agreed, pocketing the cash and heading off down the corridor to his room. 

                “Hey, wait,” Leeteuk called, his hands on his hips, “who’s going to help me with these groceries!”  He received no response. 

                Shaking his head, Leeteuk snatch a few bags off the floor and sighed, “This is what I get,” trying not to sound too pleased with himself.

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                The room was nearly silent save for the humming of the still night air.  Heechul was perched at the end of his bed, staring at himself through the darkness in the small mirror hanging on the wall.  He barely recognized the strange figure that looked back at him in the reflection.  The man in the mirror looked normal:  average, even.  He was sitting comfortably in a neat room he actually seemed to belong in.  The reflection’s presence might have been temporary, but it didn’t feel precarious.  It didn’t feel like it could be taken away.

Looking away from the mirror, Heechul mused at how the reflection only existed as long as he was watching.  Flopping down onto the mattress, Heechul closed his eyes, felt the calm in the air, and breathed in the silence.  His hand stretched out and he ran it over the comforter.  All at once the darkness behind his eyes turned threatening.  Feeling vulnerable he jackknifed into a sitting position looking around the empty room.

                Everything was still in its place. 

                He contemplated looking once more into the mirror, but he was too afraid of what he might find looking back at him, so he sidled off the bed, his bare feet connecting with the carpet.  He waited there for a moment, feeling the carpet like it was a foreign thing, and then he stood and crept toward the door. 

                He didn’t know why he was being so quiet.  He was the only one who lived on the right side of the apartment.  Registering this fact, he was suddenly overcome by a sense of urgency and quickly headed down the corridor into the living room.  Promising himself that looking over his shoulder would only serve to play on his fear, he resisted the urge and skidded into the couch, flipping into a normal sitting position while breathing rapidly.  His ears perked as the silence overtook him again.  He suddenly became acutely aware that the couch was the least defendable part of the apartment.

                Daring not to move, he sat there tensely, trying to pretend that he wasn’t afraid.  He jumped as a small noise came from behind him.  He quickly looked and was somewhat relived to discover the noise wasn’t coming from anything in the room with him. Keeping in mind that curiosity killed the cat but realizing that he was going to investigate anyway, he stood slowly, and began creeping toward the sound, balancing on the balls of his feet.

He followed the noise around the corner and halfway down the left hand corridor.  It was a distressing sound and it was coming from Leeteuk’s room.  Straining his ears harder, he also realized there was a low snoring sound coming from the next room over.  Nodding in half relief, Heechul was none the less perturbed as he realized it was safe to keep moving but that Leeteuk was actually under duress. Not sure what he was doing, or planned to do, he moved closer to the room and leaned his ear against the closed door.  Mumbling and the sound of violent turning came from the other side. 

Even as his heart pounded, Heechul reached up for the door handle, still debating whether he should do anything.  He’d encountered nightmares that sounded like this before and he hated to have to hear it again.  He paused, sensing suddenly that something had changed.  He listened, wondering if Leeteuk had woken up, before realizing what it was:  the sound of Kangin’s snoring had stopped.  Knowing already, Heechul turned his head to the side, still jumping a mile when he saw the larger man standing there, his arms folded over his chest.

Kangin’s groggy eyes were somehow still threatening, his presence still imposing despite his disheveled appearance.  In fact, the combination seemed to contribute to his dark presence. 

Utterly stunned, Heechul just pointed behind himself at Leeteuk’s door, trying to explain what he was doing there. 

With disinterest, Kangin slid his gaze over to the door and then looked at Heechul. 

“Go back to bed,” he grumbled. 

“I was just checking…I think he’s having a bad dream,” Heechul responded lamely.

Kangin rubbed his hands over his face and explained, “He gets like that when he thinks too much before he goes to bed.” 

Realizing that Kangin was probably the better authority, but still wanting to stop the pathetic sounds coming from the other side of the door, Heechul whispered carefully, “People who think before bed tend to do so every night.  Have I just not heard him before?”  

                Sighing so that his demeanor crumpled slightly, Kangin turned looked at the door instead of Heechul as he said, “He gets like this when he worries too much,” poignantly adding, “like when his brother died.”

                Feeling guilty for some reason, Heechul asked, “Shouldn’t we try to wake him up?”

                “If we do he’ll just fall right back into it.  Better to let him sleep.” 

                Heechul remained reluctant, still looking at the door. 

                Kangin glanced from the door to Heechul, his gaze unreadable when suddenly he wondered,

                “Is that my shirt?”

                Looking down, Heechul’s eyes widened.  He met Kangin’s gaze, smiled sheepishly and then he was off, bolting away down the corridor back toward his own room.

                A smile played across Kangin’s face which faded as he slowly sat down, leaning against Leeteuk’s door frame.  As he closed his eyes, his heart twisted at the sounds of the nightmare.

A/N  Dah, Kangin, ruining what could have been a moment!!!  I still love you though  XD  SO not a very long update today just two quick scenes.  I'm trying to resist the urge to post a whole bunch because I'd hate to make you guys wait more than a day or two for a new chapter.  Um, all the usual stuff, complain/comment, subscribe or whatever.  I love you regardless. XD  <3   P.S. if it was confusing, the scene jumps from the day to the night of the same day, sorry if that was unclear!