prompt: n/hyuk elastic heart

Sanghyuk joins the troupe when he's a lanky seventeen-year old with no muscles but enough determination to last a lifetime, and it only takes him two months of following Hakyeon around and trying to persuade him before Hakyeon finally gives in against his better judgment. There is a reason why the team doesn't accept newbies, but strangely enough, the others all welcome Sanghyuk warmly.

It's only years after, when Hakyeon and Sanghyuk begin practicing for their first showcase that Hakyeon realizes something.

He watches as Sanghyuk fixes his skin colored leggings and spreads a layer of chalk powder on his palms that the realization strikes Hakyeon; like a thundering lightning that crashes the windows, and Hakyeon is suddenly short on breath as he takes a step back.

"You okay?" Sanghyuk asks curiously, hopping off the stage. The long silk stripes hanging from above are still tied to the belt around him, and they copy every movement Sanghyuk does, following them like an elegant shadow.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just a little stuffy in here," Hakyeon dismisses with a deep exhale, making Sanghyuk come to a halt before he could reach Hakyeon.

"Should we call off the practice?" Sanghyuk pries further, worry clear on his face. Hakyeon bites into his cheek from the inside to keep himself from blurting out anything that he'd regret later.

"No, no," Hakyeon shakes his head. "You've worked hard to get here, I don't want to postpone the practice."

"Hyung," Sanghyuk begins, stepping up to Hakyeon, "I care more about your health. The practice can wait."

Maybe it's only now that his heart stretched large enough to wrap around the greatness that is Sanghyuk's presence in his life, maybe Hakyeon has always been in love with Sanghyuk and he just hadn't realized before.

Or is it just now that his stretched out heart snapped, finally, around the amount of emotions Hakyeon had bottled up, and now all of these emotions are pouring out, coloring his eyes in roses, clogging his brain.

Maybe he is not alone anymore, maybe he's found his other half in the boy standing right before him, looking at him with the same hopeful and determined eyes that he had arrived and caught Hakyeon's attention with.

"I'm fine."

Hakyeon takes Sanghyuk's hand, and together they step onto the stage to tell the story of two humans who have found each other in the vast world.