variance

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The darkness that enveloped Luhan along the way was scary, yet reassuring. While he had to tread extra carefully to avoid walking off the road and into the grass, the darkness also acted like a cover. Luhan knew that with his black cloak under the shadows, nobody would see him. That gave him the re assurance to walk on undeterred. It was way past midnight, and the only sound to be heard was the occasional crunch of shoes against gravel. 

 

Not long after, he managed to spot a majestic building in the distance. Luhan knew the orphanage was not far from there. The trodden building looked kind of eerie in the moonlight, thought Luhan. There was no sound except silence, so Luhan took a big breath and stepped inside.

 

The high arches and mosaiced windows told Luhan that the architects had probably tried to mimic a church, and failed. As he walked deeper and deeper within, he shivered—for some reason the air suddenly felt chilly. He was now far enough from the entrance such that no light shone through, and Luhan could see nothing in the darkness. He decided it would be best to call out.

 

"Hello? Is anybody here?" The remnants of his voice echoed through the building, bouncing and reverberating against the walls. 

 

No answer. He tried again, a tad louder this time.

 

"Excuse me? Is anybody awake?" He heard a subsequent rustle, followed by the light shuffling of feet. Not long after, a glowing light approached him from afar. It was an old man holding an oil lamp, slowly hobbling over.

 

Luhan observed him closely. He had a hunched back, a long beard and snowy white hair. Wrinkles were spread across his face. Under a crooked nose was a mouth, lips parched and dry. The mouth moved.

 

"Who are you, young man? And what are you doing here at this time of the day?" He rasped out. Luhan noticed bony fingers gripping the handle of the lantern.

 

He replied, "Kind sir, I am Xiao Lu. I am an orphan and I managed to chance upon your orphanage, and if you please I'd like to take up lodgings here for the moment for I have no means to provide for myself."

 

Upon hearing this, the old man broke out into a toothy grin. "Well, it must have been hard on you," he smiled genially. "Welcome to Autumn Valley Orphanage. Come, follow me and I'll find you a place to sleep for the night." He led Luhan up a flight of stairs, until they reached a corridor. There were rooms on both sides of the corridor, numbered by engravings in the wooden doors. The old man stopped in front of a door in the middle of the corridor, turned the doorknob and entered the room with Luhan following closely behind him, not daring to make a sound. The flicker of lights from the oil lamp illuminated a slightly messy room with four beds. Three had occupants; one was empty. 

 

"This is your bed," said the old man, pointing at the empty bed. "You will be staying here for the time being, until Sangjae comes back. He's the one who used to sleep here, but he has gone out." Luhan threw a glance at the three other figures. Still sleeping soundly.

 

The man continued, "Breakfast is at 6 tomorrow, sharp. You're on your own now, so if you need help ask your roommates." Luhan nodded gratefully. 

 

"Thank you, sir," he said. The old man merely chuckled and hobbled out of the room, clicking the door shut.

 

And Luhan was left alone.

 

He got onto the bed, which was hard and rather uncomfortable. To Luhan it didn't really matter though, the fatigue overcame any sense of discomfort he felt. He drew the blankets around himself, and slept.

 

-

 

Luhan was awaken by the feel of cold liquid against his face. "Ahhh!" he yelled, jumping out of bed. Opening his eyes, he was greeted by rude hollers from a tall and mean-looking boy. Water dripped down his hair and chin, and his entire face was wet. Luhan simply could not control the rage bubbling up in his chest.

 

"What was that for?" he shouted.

 

The snickers stopped and the leader glared at him menacingly. "Well, well, well, look who we have here. A newcomer who already thinks he owns the place." He narrowed his eyes, and came so clsoe to Luhan that he could smell the whiff of his breath (which stank). "I am Sangjae, the rightful owner of this bed, not you. I left just a week ago and when I came back what did I find? An unwanted beggar sleeping on my bed. And what do I do when I find unwanted beggars sleeping on my territory? That's right, I teach them a lesson."

 

He folded his arms, looking extremely pleased with himself. Luhan was disgusted. He clenched his fist and resisted the urge to punch the sorry excuse of a human being in the face.

 

"I'm sorry, Your High and Mighty, but beds don't have your name engraved onto them. Also, I came in just last night and the kind old man directed me to this place so it's not like I even wanted to sleep on it, considering it was contaminated by your germs and all," he bit back.

 

The bully chuckled. "You mean old Gramps? Nah, he's loony. And what did you say? Implying that I'm dirty and gross, aren't you," he said condescendingly, looking down at Luhan from the tip of his nose. "Seems like you haven't learnt your lesson yet, little bastard." 

 

With a sickening crack, Sangjae's fist connected with Luhan's face. The impact of the hit was so great that it sent Luhan sprawling across the floor. Luhan got up and clutched his throbbing face. 

 

He his lips and... was that blood?

 

Blood.

 

He tasted blood on his lips.

 

Sangjae was about to land another punch when his fist was stopped in mid-air; a hand was clutching his wrist tightly. Sangjae stalled for a moment, and in a flash, the same hand managed to somehow grab hold of both his wrists and pin them behind his back. Sangjae turned his head, vengeful eyes seeking the unwelcome person. Luhan turned to look as well, and saw a boy slightly shorter than him, with angry eyes. He looked sort of scary. 

 

"Leave yourself out of this, Minseok, or I swear it won't be pretty for you," Sangjae spat, trying to wriggle out of Minseok's deadlock. It didn't work, as the latter dug his cuticles deeper and deeper into Sangjae's skin, leaving fresh marks. 

 

"I won't," Minseok rebutted. "Stop this, Sangjae."

 

"And why do you care?" Sangjae sneered, looking at Minseok the same condescending way he treated everyone. Luhan had never felt so disgusted by somebody before in his life.

 

"He didn't know, Sangjae. He isn't at fault."

 

The bully shrugged. "Alright. So be it, then. Now get your hands off me."

 

"You won't try anything funny, right?"

 

"No, no," answered Sangjae impatiently. "Just let go." 

 

As soon as Minseok released his hold on Sangjae, the rascal spun around and landed a punch square in Minseok's jaw. "That was for you, you son of a ," he shouted emphatically. "I'll teach you to meddle about in my business."

 

"Alright, you asked for it," Minseok muttered. He threw a punch right at the spot below Sangjae's ribcage, which caused him to double over and howl in agony. Swift as lightning, Minseok pinned him to the ground, forcing all his body weight on him so that Sangjae couldn't move an inch, no matter how hard he tried. Luhan merely watched with his mouth agape, in a mixture of amazement and shock. He didn't expect Minseok to be that good at fighting. 

 

"How about now? Still dare to mess with me?" asked Minseok triumphantly.

 

"I never knew you were a fighter..." muttered Sangjae, "but nope, let me go and I'll never find trouble for you again. I'll tell Gramps to change me a room."

 

Minseok made sure to glare at him extra hard before he released his hold on the bully. "I give you ten seconds to scram." 

 

And sure enough, scram he did. The corner of Minseok's lips twitched upwards as he watched Sangjae scramble away, more pathetic than he already was.

 

"You didn't have to help me. Now you're hurt too," said Luhan, feeling bad as he looked at the darkening bruise on Minseok's jaw.

 

"Nah, it's okay. Xiao Lu, right?" Minseok smiled. Luhan liked the way that his cheeks went up when he smiled; it was especially cute. Luhan couldn't even comprehend how this was the same boy from a few moments ago. He looked so different then, when he seemed like he could almost kill.

 

"Yeah. I don't know your name, though," Luhan said, biting his lip.

 

"I'm Minseok."

 

Somehow, Luhan found his hand going up to pinch Minseok's cheeks—it hovered awkwardly in the air for a split second but Luhan quickly changed direction such that he touched Minseok's bruise instead. The latter hissed in pain, squeezing his eyes shut. Obviously it still hurt. 

 

"I'm so sorry, Minseok," Luhan apologised again. 

 

Minseok grinned. "Stop apologising, Xiao Lu, I told you I was fine." He glanced at the clock hung on the wall.

 

"Oh crap! Hurry!" he yelled, grabbing Luhan's hand and dragging him out of the room, "We're gonna get into trouble!"

 

They ran with all their might, managing to reach the dining hall within a few minutes, breathless and panting. However, the disapproving looks on the faces of everybody else was not to be mistaken. At the end of the hall was a fierce-looking guy, folding his arms and tapping his foot impatiently.

 

", our headmaster is angry with us," Minseok muttered. "We're dead."

 

"Can't we just explain to him what happened?" asked Luhan.

 

"No, it won't work. He's not kind and understanding like Grandpa Lee, he has no emotions. At all. Explaining to him is just a waste of breath."

 

"You little fools! What are you whispering about?" shouted the headmaster. "Come here at once." Minseok and Luhan walked briskly over, unsure of their imminent fate.

 

"Why are you late?" he asked, in a voice that was scarily sweet. "And I see you both have bruises on your faces. Ooh, what a nasty shade of purple you've got there," the headmaster remarked, peering at Minseok's jaw. "What, got into a catfight?"

 

"Um." 

 

"Yes?"

 

"Well, Sangjae was picking on Luhan. And I couldn't let him go on with it, so I tried to stop him, but then he turned around and punched me too." Minseok gave the extremely watered-down version of the whole event.

 

"That's not a reason for being late for breakfast." The headmaster snapped, gesturing to the hall that was full of other orphans. "And look, all of them weren't late. There's no reason you should be either."

 

"But, sir, Minseok was helping me," cried Luhan indignantly.

 

"What a bad choice," the headmaster tutted sympathetically.

 

Luhan's words were stuck in his throat. He was not used to such blatant injustice. "Isn't that a valid reason? And you should really do something about Sangjae, he's so obnoxious."

 

"A liar and a tattletale?" asked the headmaster, shaking his head. "A very very bad combination. And some advice," he turned to Minseok, "don't ever help him ever again." 

 

"Wha—"

 

"Now, your punishments."

 

"But—"

 

"Go and scrub the entire courtyard clean. I want it to be spotless." 

 

"What about our breakfasts?" asked Luhan.

 

"Oh, that's too bad, you'll just have to starve won't you?" A sickly-sweet smile hung on the headmaster's face, as his beady little eyes stared at the both of them, daring them to answer back. Luhan was pretty sure he was secretly eating their souls.

 

"Well," sighed Minseok. "Let's get to work, I suppose." 

 

-

 

They scrubbed the windows, walls, and every inch of the place. By the end of it all, Luhan's fingers were blistering. His smooth and unblemished skin was red and itchy. The headmaster was a real and he had made them scrub it three times more before he was satisfied. By then, it was already dusk. Dinner was served, but for some reason the headmaster decided to scrap their portions, and sent Minseok and Luhan back to their room.

 

They were hungry, tired, and full of complaints. Luhan, especially, felt like his stomach was twisting itself into knots. He'd always had his meals on time, never for once did he have to miss three meals straight. Faceplanting into his pillow, Luhan muffled a shout of frustration. He made a mental note that once he was back in the palace, the first thing he would do was to fire the headmaster immediately. And consider making the courtyard smaller.

 

"Hey, want some?" Minseok sat on the edge of Luhan's bed, holding out a piece of bread. 

 

"Oh my god, thank you so much," Luhan gushed as he gladly accepted the offer, before chomping down on it with great ferocity. Minseok observed the feat with raised eyebrows. Within seconds the bread was no more to be seen, instead a cheerful Luhan was brushing away the bread crumbs on his chin.

 

"Minseok, you saved my life. I was this close to dying," Luhan deadpanned, and Minseok chuckled.

 

"You eat like you haven't eaten for days," Minseok commented, highly amused.

 

Luhan shrugged. "Well, I was hungry."

 

It was three seconds before Minseok burst out laughing, clutching his tummy. A second later Luhan joined him, roaring out loud guffaws that would surely have been heard through the paper-thin walls. 

 

Not that they cared.

 

-

 

It was a chilly night. Luhan shivered and shook under the thin covers, which were barely enough to provide any real comfort. He couldn't help but compare his plight to when he was in the palace, where he had thick duvets and a fluffy pillow and bolsters, and sighed. He could only dream of those comforts now. Luhan was starting to regret it, wondering if it was really the right thing to do—to risk both Sehun and himself, just for a selfish two weeks of freedom. But even if it wasn't, it was his choice; Luhan had to bear with it. 

 

Luhan snuck a look at the three others—they seemed to have no difficulty sleeping, judging from the even rises and falls of their chests.  He snuggled deeper inside the blanket, curled himself up into the smallest ball possible and shut his eyes, trying to will away the icy wind that was blowing at him with great gusto. The windows had no panes; nothing to shield the four of them sleeping in the same room. It wasn't very long, however, before he sensed a light weight on him and suddenly felt considerably warmer. He opened his eyes to find Minseok standing by his bed, laying his own blanket on top of him. Luhan blinked questioningly.

 

"You seemed cold," was the only explanation that the other gave.

 

"But won't you be cold too?" asked Luhan, sitting up, the two layers of blankets falling to his waist, as Minseok made his way back to his own bed. 

 

"I'm okay. Look at you, though. You're freezing." True enough, Luhan was already starting to shiver, from mere seconds of contact with the wind. Minseok turned so that he was back-facing Luhan. "Good night, Xiao Lu."

 

Luhan might be a prince, but he was extremely sensitive to others' needs. "No, you're not okay," he said as he walked over to Minseok's bed with his blanket gathered in his arms. "You're cold too." And with that, he gently ay the blanket on top of the slightly shivering body of Minseok.

 

Minseok sighed and turned over to look at Luhan. "I told you I'm fine, Xiao Lu. The blanket's for you. Why must you be so annoying to refuse it?"

 

"I can't let you be cold because of me," answered Luhan simply, clambering back onto his own bed. Minseok watched Luhan's slender figure as he pulled the blankets over his head, and exhaled loudly. He got up, carrying his blanket with him, and strode over to Luhan's bed.

 

"Move."

 

"What?" Luhan poked his head through the blankets. 

 

"I said move," repeated Minseok, nudging him with an arm. Luhan, still confused, complied and shifted inwards. Minseok lay down on the space Luhan freed up and spread his blanket over them both.

 

"Hey. Hey. What are you doing?" asked Luhan, hyperaware of the distance (or lack thereof) between the two of them. He could hear Minseok's breathing, and feel the warmth emanating from their bodies pressed against each other. 

 

"This way, it'll keep both of us warm," Minseok answered. "Is it better now?"

 

"Yeah. Yeah, it is," breathed Luhan, heart thumping so loudly he was sure Minseok could hear it.

 

"Great," Minseok yawned. "Good night, Xiao Lu." He promptly closed his eyes.

 

"Good night too, Minseok," Luhan whispered, but there was no answer. Minseok was already fast asleep. Luhan shifted ever so slightly, afraid of awaking Minseok. The bed was small; it had hardly enough space for two people so he was wedged tightly in between Minseok and the cold whitewashed walls. Oddly enough, he didn't mind at all.

 

He matched his breathing to Minseok's and soon settled into a deep slumber. 

 

---

A/N:

Hey guys! Hope you like this update :)

Just in case you wonder why I take quite long to update, it's because I write out all my drafts on paper before typing (I can't write on a computer D:). I also don't write filler chapters, so that's why I spend loads of time crafting and refining each chapter to try and make them as unty as possible... yeah. 

Comments would really make my day! <3

And whoo-hoo it's Chinese New Year over here (yay!) which means I get to gorge myself and grow even fatter than I already am \o/ My next update probably won't be so soon since we have to go around visiting friends and stuff. 

Happy Chinese New Year guys (even though most of you don't celebrate it haha) X3

My tumblr is myquirksandobsessions if you want to talk x)