WARNING! Depressing drabble ahoy! Here be angsty Nap! Read at your own peril!

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Niel stood by the window, watching the cars go by and the children from next door playing in the street. They were laughing, the bright light catching their blond hair as they ran beneath a running sprinkler. One appeared to be “it”. The cars slowed as they passed, a quiet suburban street like this, no one was in a hurry.

He watched through the chink where the curtains almost met. The rest of the room was dim. In the half-light, there were things strewn everywhere, clothes discarded in piles, books that seemed to have been thrown from one side of the room, a lamp was even toppled over. Besides the mess there was a plush lounge and a television. A half-emptied bookshelf was against one wall and a small dining table was pushed into the corner. Two chairs set at the table, the decorative fern in the centre was wilted and near death. Clearly there had been an upset in this household. Niel paid no mind to the mess though. He was fascinated by the children playing. He was fascinated by the fact that the world was still turning and life was continuing.

Minsu shuffled through the mess. Moving absently from one room to the next. Niel didn’t seem to register that he was there either, intent on gazing into the sunlit street.

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A frying pan on the stove sizzled, a scramble of eggs slowly drying and almost burning. Niel stood by the stove, entranced by the desiccating egg. The soft sound it made, it sounded like tearing paper? Or the crunching of gravel beneath a sneaker? It probably didn’t matter though. Nothing mattered now.

Minsu was in the kitchen too. Standing at the sink, it was overflowing with dirty dishes and fast food containers. Minsu was staring down at the mess, he seemed to be overwhelmed by it. Much like Niel was overwhelmed by the cooking food.

Both of them were motionless, as though suspended in the moment. As though, despite evidence to the contrary, their world had completely stopped. Time had paused for them. Minsu turned and caught sight of the eggs in the pan, but couldn’t bring himself to do anything.

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Minsu sat on the cold floor. The floorboards were hard against his pelvis and he was tucked into the corner of the room, leaning into the wall. The wall was a comforting blue, a sky blue almost. He loved that colour. He had chosen that colour to remind them that there were always blue skies behind thunderclouds. Minsu stared intently at the slightly rumpled, bitty drywall. He ran a finger across it, the matte paint was smooth but textured from the wall.

There was a loud knock on the door, Minsu didn’t respond. He didn’t even jump at the sound. Instead he appeared to not have noticed it.

Niel moved from his place by the bookshelf towards the door. It opened before he got there. Niel was stopped in his tracks.

“Oh, you’re ready to go.” Chanhee said, his voice soft as though he was disturbing a strange balance. “It’s… time.” He beckoned from the doorway.

Behind him, in the frame of the doorway was a bright blue sky, a few fairy-floss clouds floating on a breeze. There’s always blue skies behind thunderclouds.

Niel nodded resolutely and moved for the door. Minsu stood to follow him.

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Minsu and Niel stood in the glaring sunlight. The rolling hills around them were green with grass and trees whispered softly in the breeze. It was warm today but neither felt anything but a cold sensation in their stomach. An old man stood nearby, droning on and on. His voice becoming a monotonous buzzing, like a fat beetle. None of it meant anything. Nothing meant anything anymore. The whole reason for existence had been removed. The sun might shine and the crickets might call. Chanhee might hold his hand and Byunghun might lean a comforting weight against his side. But none of it meant anything anymore.

The old man finally wound down, like a clockwork toy. There was hushed murmurs, rumbles of apologies and condolences; people touching hands, giving awkward hugs, gripping arms. It all floated around them. They stood in a bubble of despair, rooted in place, gazing fixedly at the place the preacher had been.

Where the coffin still was. Gleaming darkly in the sunlight. A spray of joyous flowers spread across the lid, the flowers seemed to be mocking the anguish he felt.

“Go on. It’s time.” Chanhee gave him a slight push in the small of his back.

Minsu and Niel approached the coffin, it seemed to grow and populate their entire vision. Minsu stopped beside it, reaching out and passing a finger over a flower petal. Lilies, the death flower. Niel grimaced as he examined the portrait photograph on the stand nearby. His chest hurt.

“Oh God. I can’t do this.”

The pain in Niel’s chest blossomed and grew, opening like one of the lilies before him.

“It’s time to let go I suppose.”

Minsu felt tears track their way down his cheeks, dripping from his chin onto the warm wood. His chest ached and ached, a yawning hole that felt it would never be bridged or closed. He sobbed and sniffed but the tear had now opened and everything was pouring out.

Niel stood silent beside him. The pain in his chest subsiding into a warm glow instead. The glow grew into a flare of light. In a final moment Niel leant forward and laid a kiss in the air over Minsu’s cheek. Then he was gone.

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A/N: Angsty and depressing Nap drabble! I don't write much like this (I'm a er for fluff and romance) but this one wouldn't get out of my head. I'm sick as a dog at the moment and literally spent yesterday in bed thinking about writing this. And so I did. And now I'll stop babbling in my notes and go watch some Kpop videos to heal my probable chest infection *spirals away to the tune of new Vixx* <3

*slinks back in, embarrassed that she forgot something* Oh, I'm on a week of holidays (and of course i got sick >.>) So i'll probably update a fair bit. Feel free to give me any requests for the next week. Pairings, groups, prompts etc, I'll need something to do while Shaboo (the fiance) is at work ^.^ k bai!