The rattle of the bus over broken pavement clashes with soft conversations of the passengers. It becomes a buzzing pest that irritates the tempest in Joonmyun's head and heart.

Sniffling, he rubs his nose, grimacing at the pain and rubbing the smear of blood onto his ripped jeans. Bits of gravel off his knees and dance around his stained shoes. He'd almost thrown up when Jongdae drove a bony fist into his gut, but there was nothing but bile and spit.

Jongdae stares at the window, watching Joonmyun. He'd rather hold hands than hit with them, but frustrations reached a boiling point. Someone said something that couldn't be taken back or countered evenly at the time.

Regret and sorrow sit between them, filling the small bench seat.

“I'm sorry, hyung.”

Tension melts a little from Joonmyun's shoulders and spine, allowing him to slouch and lean through the empty space. Jongdae scoots away from the frigid metal wall. He doesn't notice at first that his fingers spread and reach for Joonmyun. It aggravates his torn knuckles, but they relish the coolness of Joonmyun's fingers between his own.

Their shoulders, hot and bruised, bump together as the bus gently tosses its riders.

a/n: Written for Shine On Fest's microfic challenge. I only managed this one, for the "laundry room" prompt set.

This was almost literally about laundry, because there's a way to clean any and every stain, but this is fanfiction, not a wikiHo