For: Fishes

Pairing: Yadong

 

Hey, Mr. Officer

 

"So! Do you guys want to hear the very interesting story of how your uncle Howon met uncle Dongwoo?"

"Sungyeol, stop, you'll hurt the kids."

"Hurt the kids?! Woohyun, you know this is a funny story, okay? And Myungsoo's kids need to hear it--"

"Myungsoo's kids? Really, because last time I checked they were angels who wouldn't find this funny at all."

"Yeah but--"

"Sungyeol."

"Fine, okay I won't te--"

"WE WANNA HEAR IT, UNCLE SUNGYEOL!"

 

 

 

It was the summer 2014.

The sky was bright and clear, a gentle breeze was blowing in his face, and he had an ice cream in one hand. It was a perfect summer day, really, and he was just heading to a friend's house so they could go for a swim in the river.

Well, at least that was his plan.

What he didn't plan on, however, was to have his ice cream knocked out of his hand while a man pushed him out of the way as he ran and someone screamed 'Robber!' from behind him.

Dongwoo blinked. He stared at down his ice cream on the ground, now just a blob of browns and pinks under the grueling summer sun, then up at the path where he could still see the man pushing other people and knocking their ice creams out of their hands.

"Hey!" he started, finally coming to his senses. His feet began to pick up pace as he followed the man, while also taking note of his clothes and appearance, so he could be identified later.

They were running through market streets now and it was getting harder and harder for him to follow--he almost tripped on a runaway cabbage.

"HEY!" he shouts again, his feet going faster, as he took in a broad back and broad shoulders, buff arms and dark hair. This time the man turned around and for a moment he saw bushy eyebrows. He added that to his mental image as he moved smoothly through the crowds, skillfully avoiding other people much unlike who he was chasing.

That is, until he was hit on the back of the head with a stray apple.

Okay, it wasn't a stray apple. It was an apple targetted at him with force enough to knock him down.

Oh god, what's happening--I'm seeing a light-- it's so bright--

He feels a weight pushing down on him, it's the weight of his sins, the weight of living, the weight of the world on his back-- oh, it's breaking my back-- and then it's gone.

"Get up!" Oh.

The weight speaks.

"W-what?" he's blinking, his eyelashes fluttering against his cheeks as he tried to see through the blur in his head most probably caused by his impact to the ground. "What's happening?"

The man appeared to be saying something, but Dongwoo couldn't hear a thing--or couldn't understand, but soon he's being yanked up and there are hands grabbing at his wrists and pushing them behind his back and--

"...have the right to remain silent," click click, goes the handcuffs. "Everything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law."

"Okay, what?" Dongwoo is barely registering anything, his head still fuzzy from a possible concussion when his head hit the pavement, and it dawns on him too late. The robber he was chasing has probably treated himself to a cake and skipped home with a pocketful of old women jewelry and credit cards and cash. He probably already threw a party for all his robber friends too. He tries to get the man's attention, who, as he takes a good look at him now, is actually in uniform. Unfortunately all he gets is a bunch of words he can't even understand.

"Officer!" he tries again. He wriggles his wrists in futile attempts to get free but damn, the handcuffs were tight and barely allowed him any movement at all. His wrists felt hot and rubbed raw and he was starting to get real pissed. The stocky man in the blue uniform kept reciting stuff at him and he resists the urge to scream in his face.

"Officer, please, you've got to listen--" he jerks. "It wasn't me-- I was running after the robber--" Dongwoo starts to trail off because he starts to see that there was no point at all anymore. He's being dragged away and there are people staring at him disapprovingly, like he just hadn't had his ice cream dumped on the ground like it wasn't even from the best ice cream parlour in town.

 

("That's because it wasn't from the best ice cream parlour in town, Sungyeol! And stop narrating the story complete with their thoughts!"

"Hey, Woohyun, you know what? Shut up.")

 

"Well?" Sunggyu is pacing around the room, staring at a mug shot on the wall with his eyebrows knit close. He glances at the photo and the guy Howon had brought in. "I don't even know how you could've gotten mixed up, officer," he shrugs, shooting a glare at the younger officer, who looks down in embarrassment. They'd locked the guy up in the temporary cell inside the station, just outside the office they were talking in for the mean time, just in case.

"He was running-- so I just thought--"

"You can't just assume he's robbed someone just because he was running!" Sunggyu snaps, touching his temple. That was a sign that every police officer under him looked out for, because that means they're in for a it. Howon swallows and apologizes, bowing so rapidly it looked like he might break in half.

"It's not me you should be apologizing to."

And Howon flinches because honestly, it would be a lot harder and more embarrassing to apologize--to even face--the man he'd so wrongly accused, but he nods anyway. He is a policeman. He'd trained to be disciplined and to stick to his values. Yes, yes, I will apologize.

Sunggyu watches as Howon walked out the door of his office and sighs.

 

Howon doesn't know how to begin. When he walked out that door he wasn't confident, and of course he's still not confident now. It's just an apology, you can do it!

And he's right there, sitting behind bars, half-asleep. Maybe I'll come back later-- he turns on his heels. He sees Sunggyu watching him. Or not.

Slowly, he walks up to the cell. He takes his time, trying to figure out what to say. "Hey, I'm sorry about that," Lame. "Sorry," then walk away. No, don't be a douche. "Heh, yeah, I was pretty cool back there, huh?" NO, WHAT AM I EVEN THINKING

"Hey, I--" he starts. The guy yawns and blinks, staring at him. "I'm... uh, you know-- the um--"

"... who through my pants in jail?"

"No! I mean I'm--"

"...the who tackled me to the ground and gave me a concussion?"

"Hey! It wasn't a concussion! It wasn't even that serio--" this is clearly going in the wrong direction, Howon thinks, finally, so he shrugs and throws his arms up in surrender. "Okay, you're right, I'm an , I am so sorry."

His eyes are cast down, ("Which is totally lame.") and he hears-- guess what? Laughter. There he was, admitting he's an , and this guy laughs. It wasn't even a polite, kind and funny laugh, it was an all out, obnoxious, totally demeaning kind of laugh. Howon wanted nothing more than to punch the guy in the and scream at him not to laugh, but then he says:

"I'm Donghyun."

 

("What?! That wasn't uncle Dongwoo?!"

"Kids, calm down, let me tell the rest of the story--"

"What was the point in telling all that if that wasn't even him--"

"Sshh, let me tell the rest of the story!")

 

"A-ah," Howon bows, again. "My name is Howon."

"Nice to meet you, officer," his smile is easy, relaxed. "Maybe next time you should be careful who you tackle to the ground."

"I'm... sorry about that. It was an honest mistake." The blood rushes to Howon's face and he tries to hide it by bowing again.

"Eh, that's okay," 'Donghyun' shrugs. "Just buy me an ice cream and we'll be fine."

Blinking, Howon purses his lips as he thinks about it. It maybe wouldn't hurt, would it? Besides, it might be a way to show his sincerity in apologizing.

"I get off work at eight," he says. "I'll see you at that ice cream shop next door?"

"Sounds good."

 

 

("Now you see, kids, there was something Uncle Howon had mistaken that night. It was pretty embarrassing."

"Get on with it, Uncle Sungyeol!"

"Fine, fine." )

 

"So, um, what flavor do you want?" It was nice, seeing Howon in normal-people clothes instead of a uniform.

"Chocolate," he answers with an air of certainty in his voice because of course, nothing beats chocolate ice cream. "I want two scoops of chocolate."

"Got it," Howon nods, and 'Donghyun' sets off to find a booth for both of them. He chooses one in the corner of the shop, right beside the glass walls and overlooking the public park. It's night time, so there aren't much children playing around; mostly there were just adults on dates.

Howon slides into the booth just as Donghyun watched a couple and their little toddler on an evening walk. Howon hands him his ice vream and they eat in silence for a while, until Howon speaks up."Um, listen, I'm really sorry about this morning, you know."

Donghyun smiles as he his ice cream. "It's okay, really. You were just doing your job--totally fine."

"That's um, good to know." Howon wasn't built for small talk, so he just takes a bite out of his ice cream sandwich and wishes the silence wasn't so awkward.

"Hey, do you wanna know something?" Donghyun breaks the silence. He was staring at Howon's face.

"Uh, okay...? What?"

"You actually look like the robber."

He splutters. What? He had seen that robber today--Wonshik, that other guy from his department, had chased him all the wöay and retrieved the old woman's belongings while Howon was tackling the wrong man to the ground. I SO LOOK NOTHING LIKE HIM.

"I'm sorry, what?!"

Donghyun puts his arms up in playful surrender and laughs. "Seriously! I was making this mental profile of him in my head and as I look at you I realize you look so much alike!" he leans in and whispers theatrically: "Are you sure you're not the robber?"

Howon glares. "I am not the robber!" he crosses his arms. "We caught the guy! Or, at least, Wonshik did--"

"Ah, well." Donghyun shrugs, finishing up on his ice cream. "Thanks for this. I should get home though." He srarts to stand up, and Howon does so as well.

"I can drive you home," he says, like nobody's business.

"Okay," Donghyun beams. "In a police car?"

"Yeah."

They both grin.

 

"Can we turn on the siren?"

"No."

"This is no fun. Let's turn the siren on."

"No. Do I take a right or a left?"

"Left. Let's turn on the siren."

"Yeah... no. Is this the right street?"

"Yup. Come on! It'll be like five seconds."

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because. Which way?"

"Right then straight ahead. Please?"

"We're in a residential area, and it's pretty late. You'll bother all the people."

"But--"

"Is this it?"

The car comes to a stop.

"Well, thanks for tonight, Officer Lee," Donghyun grins as he gets out of the car. "Maybe next time you'll let me run the siren," he says with a laugh.

"It's no problem and-- are you saying there'll be a next time?" Howon grins, trying hard not to look too thrilled.

"Maybe."

"Well, I also had a nice time with you. And again, I'm really sorry about earlier, Donghyun shi."

"It's okay! I told you-- and wait, what did you say my name was?"

 

("Oh my god! That's so embarassing! So it was Uncle Dongwoo all along?!"

"And Uncle Howon got his name wrong?? THAT'S SO EMBARASSING!"

Sungyeol laughs. Woohyun smacks him in the head. "Ow! So, you wanna hear what happens next?"

"Um, duh.")

 

"I never ever wanna show my face to him again," Howon groans, banging his head on the table. His roommate, Sungjong, was watching TV with his planted on the couch, seemingly uncaring about Howon's case. But Sungjong was evil and he's actually laughing. Internally.

"You're dumb," Sungjong says casually, popping a marshmallow in hiis mouth.

"Hey! I'm older than you!"

Sungjong grins. "Only physically."

Howon sends him a glare from across the living room.

"Did he give you his number?"

"Yeah, but," Howon shakes his head, faceplanting on the coffee table. "I SAT AND HAD ICE CREAM WITH HIM FOR LIKE AN HOUR AND I TOTALLY GOT HIS NAME WRONG THE WHOLE TIME! DO YOU EXPECT ME TO CALL HIM?!"

"Geez, stop whining--"

"itotallyhadhisnamewrongwhat'swrongwithmei'msodumb"

"Yes, you are."

"i'msodumbandembarassingishouldjustdieandburymyself"

"No, you should call."

"Are you stupid?"

"Not as much as you."

"Right, but--HEY! I'M OLDER THAN YOU STOP MAKING FUN OF ME!"

 

"Hey," the voice crackles from the other line, but Howon immediately regrets answering the call from the unidentified number. "It's Dongwoo."

"Yeah, h-hi." Howon hits himself for stuttering.

There's a laugh from the other end. "Or Donghyun, you know."

Howon doesn't laugh. Dongwoo clears his throat.

"So, anyway, my friend and I were supposed to go to this thing, but he injured himself and can't go--wanna take his place?"

"I am not a replaceme--" Howon starts, indignant. "What kind of thing is it?"

"It's supposed to be fun, I think it's a beach party-slash-concert. So, are you free Saturday?"

"No, Saturday I have duty--" Howon lies. He doesn't want to see Dongwoo ever again (except yes he does). The embarassment will haunt him forever, but the phone is yanked from his hand and--

"Yes, Howon hyung is free on Saturday, he'll pick you up at-- what time?" There is fire shooting out of Howon's eyes as he tries to grab the phone back from Sungjong. "Okay, 9am is good. Yeah, bye!"

"Problem solved, Howon hyung."

 

("Uncle Sungjong is pretty cool!"

"No, kids, he is evil." Sungyeol and Woohyun share a knowing look.)

 

"So, this is pretty fun, right?" Dongwoo looks up at Howon, sippin on something pink. They were at the beach, sand between their toes--that kind of stuff.

"Um, Dongwoo, you realize this is a children's party right."

"Oh my god, you got my name right!"

Howon doesn't find it as funny as Dongwoo did. He glares.

"Look, it was an hones--"

"--an honest mistake, right right, let's just go. Wanna take a dip?"

"No thanks."

"Come on. It'll be fun!"

"Can we take a walk instead?" He asks instead, getting up from the lawn chair and stretching out. Dongwoo sees a stripe of skin and peek-a-boo abs when Howom's shirt rises. He swallows.

"Yeah, okay, but then we take a dip."

 

And so they walk along the beach strip, Dongwoo picking up seashells and showing them proudly to Howon, who tries not to squish the other's cheeks because damn, he's being so cute with the shells is he actually a little kid in an adult's body yes he is

Dongwoo was lagging behind Howon but they don't bother to match each other's pace, so when Howon hears a squeal of laughter from behind him he has to run a couple of yards back.

"What?" he asks, slightly out of breath from the short run. He looks at what Dongwoo was laughing at, and he spots a small crab run away from Dongwoo's stick. He knows there's absolutely no intent on Dongwoo's part to harm the crustacean in any way so he smiles and grabs his own stick to prod at the crab. It was a stupid thing, really, but it was fun.

("You know you did dumber things, Lee Sungyeol."

"Oh, shut up! Like you haven't?"

"JUST GET ON WITH IT!"

"Okay, fine, geez. You kids are so demanding.")

"Hey look!" Dongwoo apparently has a short attention span so pretty soon they're running towards this shop just a few yards away selling kites. "Let's get a kite!"

"Why?" Howon asks, raising an eyebrow. "The wind isn't even that strong."

"But--"

"It wouldn't be able to fly in this wind, Dongwoo."

"Let's make rock piles! The one who builds the highest tower gets free ice cream!"

It was actually a pretty good idea, if only there were lots of rocks. "We're surrounded by sand."

"But--"

"Hey, um, let's just go for a swim, like you wanted.

Dongwoo's smile is brighter than the sun behind them.

 

"Ah! This is so nice!" Dongwoo is already waist-deep in the water, his arms stretched out above him. He's facing the beach, facing Howon. There weren't many people around, since the beach resort was rented out for the party, and it was basically just them in that part of the beach. Dongwoo grins at Howon from the water, coaxing him to come with him.

"Seriously, come on--" Dongwoo looks like an angel, glowing with the sun behind him. Howon tells him so, and Dongwoo's smile gets even bigger.

"Alright, fine." Howon gets up from his place on the shore and starts to walk towards Dongwoo, who pretends that he's not admiring Howon's fine beach bod.

("Now, this part is so cliche it will make you cringe, so let's skip to after that, okay?"

"But, uncle--"

"Shh sh shhh, please, Soobin--seriously, it hurts to even think about it."

"Uncle Sungyeol is right, think about a really cheesy romance flick, with the beach and the splashing each other with water and then ya know."

"Know what?"

"What your Uncle Woohyun wanted to say was-- they um, they kissed."

"THEY MADE OUT!"

"WOOHYUN! I THOUGHT YOU SAID THEY WERE KIDS!"

"Lol guys, we were kidding, uncle Sungyeol will tell you what really happened."

"But Woohyun! Ew!"

"Come on, like you don't do mushy things--"

"I don't!"

"Whatever! Just tell the story!")

So Howon makes his way towards Dongwoo, splashing him with water when he got close enough. Dongwoo, of course, retaliates and they end up with eyes stinging from the saltwater as they made their way back to the shore. On the way back, Dongwoo leans on Howon's shoulder. It wasn't supposed to mean anything, just that he's tired, but it felt a bit more than that--and if the way Howon's arm immediately wraps around his shoulder is any indication, Dongwoo thinks Howon feels it too.

 

The sun was almost setting, and the party was about to get--well, feel like a real party. The little children were tired from the day's activities, and it was time for the adults to have their fun. Howon brings them some towels and they wrap themselves in the fluffy cotton. They don't bother to change, not yet, so they were only in their board shorts and towels as they waited for their drinks at the open bar. Since most of the kids were already knocked out, the outdoor bar was free to serve alcohol instead of fruit juice.

Dongwoo gets a drink of something blue and tastes like lemons and Howon gets a beer. They sit together on the bar stools and watch the sun set on the beach, when they hear the first few thrums of music.

"I think the performance is starting--" Howon starts, but Dongwoo is already on his feet.

 

 

The sunlight stings Howon's eyes. Who the opened the curtains?

He groans and rolls over, but his arm hits something warm and he blinks, pushing the covers away. Dongwoo. Oh no. He peeks at himself under the covers, and sighs in relief when he finds that he still has his shorts on.

He tries to stand up, but a huge head ache hits him like a freight train. He falls back onto the bed, accidentally sitting on Dongwoo's foot. Dongwoo whimpers softly but doesn't wake up, so Howon carefully shifts so that he's sitting on the mattress, not Dongwoo's limbs.

He sighs. What had happened last night? Dammit, did I get piss- drunk?

 

Oh my god, did I sleep with Dongwoo?!

 

Just as he was about to freak out, Dongwoo stirs and starts to sit up. Howon watches him blink blearily around the room.

"Dongwoo, what happened?"

"I... huh?"

Howon quickly moves closer to Dongwoo, looking him straight in the eye and repeating his question. He is met with a grin and a laugh.

"Seriously, what happened?" His eyebrows are furrowed and he's starring to find Dongwoo's laugh obnoxious and annoying. It didn't help that they were both half- and in a foreign bed.

"Howon-ah, why don't you call me hyung?" Dongwoo asks, between breaths.

Howon flusters at the question, and Dongwoo laughs even harder. He didn't know Dongwoo was his hyung. Or did I?

"Dongwoo-hyung," he says, stressing the 'hyung' and rolling his eyes slightly. Dongwoo grins again, and Howon is more determined to find out what happened that night. "Hyung, where are we? What happened?"

"Okay, you really wanna know?" Dongwoo laughs, his eyes almost disappearing. He grins at Howon and wiggles his eyebrows. Howon nods furiously.

"Give me a kiss first," Dongwoo is saying, poiting at his cheek. Howon's eyes widen. What is he talking about?

"Are you crazy?" he asks, and Dongwoo's face falls a little bit, but he grins again.

"Yes, I am," he says, poking his own cheek. Howon stands up, getting irritated more and more.

"Argh, I should just go look for someone else who would tell me," he hisses , grabbing his phone and checking it. He has thirteen missed calls, eleven from Sungjong, one from Sunggyu, and another from his mom. He groans and puts it in his pocket, deciding to call them back later. He was about to leave, really, his back was turned to Dongwoo and he was walking towards the door, but he stops when he hears Dongwoo say,

"Howon, wait. I'll tell you everything."

And so he turns, expecting an answer to all his questions.

"But first, a kiss."

"Dammit, hyung! Seriously!" he growls.

"Come on, Howon-ah, you seemed to enjoy it last night--"

"What?!"

"You seriously don't remember anything?" Dongwoo asks, trying to stifle his laugh this time.

"No! I--"

"Come on, Howon," Dongwoo points at his cheek. "Or do you want to kiss me somewhere else?"

Howon blinks, and frowns. I totally did not imagine us making out okay? And especially not doing-- ("His thoughts are not safe, kids, gotta keep it PG.")

"Fine," he says, finally, an leans over to kiss Dongwoo's cheek. Okay whoa, why is his cheek so soft, can I touch the rest of his face--

Dongwoo grins. "Nothing happened last night, Hoya."

At that, Howon breathes a sigh of relief. But then-- "Oh my god! How did you know my secret rapper name?!"

Dongwoo's laugh resonates through the whole room, only briefly stopping when Howon throws a pillow at him.

 

("'Secret rapper name'?" Soobin asks.

"You see, your uncle Howon has apparently dreamt of being a famous idol rapper-slash-dancer since he was a kid."

Woohyun breaks into laughter beside Sungyeol, and Soobin and Jinhwan both frown.

"Seriously?" Jinhwan asks, his brows furrowed in disbelief and amusement.

"Okay, but uncle, what happened that night?"

"Well, from what Dongwoo hyung said, Howon got carried away with drinking, because being a policeman had restrictions. He apparently told him about his hopes and dreams and kept kissing him on the cheek."

"And he told Dongwoo hyung that he was the most beautiful person in the world, even if his laugh was annoying and he didn't look Korean."

"Also that he loved him."

"And then Dongwoo had to take him to bed because he was so drunk, and when he was about to leave, Howon grabbed him and asked him to stay and sing him lullabyes and kiss him good night."

"OH MY GOD AHAHAHA!"

"I know right?" Woohyun grins. "But don't tell him, okay? He doesn't know that yet."

"Lol of course--"

"You kids are great! High five!")

 

Howon and Dongwoo don't see each other again, and Sungjong forces Howon to call again, because he was 'getting annoyed at how you daydream about him all the time, dammit, I can hear you in the shower--just call him so you can do it for real'.

But of course, Howon doesn't. So Sungjong takes him out to a bar to 'get laid'.

And of course Dongwoo would be there. Of course he'd be wearing clothes that kill Howon on sight. Of course Sungjong set this up. Of course.

Sungjong disappears from his sight as soon as Dongwoo grins at him and drags him to the dance floor.

Howon is still pretty much in a daze, and Dongwoo makes it worse. The way his hands are at Howon's hips doesn't help, and neither does the way he looks at him. Howon sees something in Dongwoo's eyes that he recognizes from everyone else he'd danced with.

Dongwoo whispers something in his ear and Howon smirks, waking up from his daze as he takes the situation in, letting the feel of Dongwoo's hands on him and the heat of his gaze sink in. His hands start to move, starting on the small of Dongwoo's back, dipping lower and lower. The last thing he sees is Dongwoo's eyes daring him to take the leap before the feel of plush lips against his overwhelms him.

They let their fingers move by themselves, let the music into their skins. It had been so long since Dongwoo had felt it, but there was an undeniable explosion of sparks where fingers touched bare skin.

Howon hopes he won't forget this in the morning.

 

("And that, kids, is how your cousins Donghyun and Dongho came to be."

"Heh, it was great wasn't it?" Woohyun grins.

"Yeah, but--"

"But what?"

"So, how did you two meet?"

"That, is a much much longer story, and definitely much more stupid."

"Oh, you definitely don't want to hear it--)

"WE TOTALLY DO!")

 

 

 

---

 

a/n: Hi! UGH this is pretty crappy?? I'm so sorry if this disappoints you, I sorta panic wrote this bc stuff happened and I was late too. I barely had a plot in mind and I basically made things up along the way. You can hit me if you want //cries BUT, I seriously hope you like it huhu ;;

ALSO, hehe, the thing about Sungyeol and Woohyun narrating the story, I blame How I Met Your Mother UGH

I HOPE YOU LIKE THIS! ♡ ♡ ♡