Title: Embracing stereotypes
Prompt-#: 249
For: -kimkyungri- 
Pairing: Jonghyun/Key (+sidepairings in later parts)
Author: Blingdom
Word count: 2370 words (Part 1)
Rating: PG-13 (for this part)
Warnings: language (for this part)
Summary: Kibum and Jonghyun are drawn to each other, knowing very well that there should be more. But there are many hurdles to overcome with Jonghyun being a popular member of their university's american football team and Kibum belonging to the cheerleader squad.

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A/N: Dear prompter, this is only the first part of the story I mapped out :) Please look forward to reading more of this in the near future and thank you for prompting this!
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Embracing Stereotypes

Kibum let out a sigh, the pencil dropping from his hand. He felt like there was no space left in his brain and yet, looking at the enormous pile of notes on his desk, it was clear that he still had quite an amount of memorising to do.
The good thing was that he had started summarising everything he picked up in class early this time. Yeah, he had learned from his mistake last semester and as he had actual plans of graduating in time…
Did he see this as necessary evil.
Just another week, he told himself as he deflated, his hand reaching out for his pen again. The groan he let out when he read the next subtitle echoed through his room and both his toy poodles raised their heads at him.
“Sorry you two…” he said and reached behind himself to pet the both of them.
They had a special carpet like fabric that was placed on the end of his bed. And they really loved to cuddle and sleep there.
Which was okay with him.
“After this is done I will have more time for the both of you again” he continued, this time with a smile on his lips. The pups looked back at him as if they understood, their tails wagging.
“Yeah, it’s a promise” he chuckled and then turned back to his pile of notes with another, final, sigh.
He had to do this.
Then he could focus on other things again. On his dogs, his club activity and the other hobby he had recently picked up. Which… might sound a little unspectacular, and yet Kibum felt himself relax a lot during cooking.
His grandma at least liked everything he produced and the blonde hoped that she would be as enthusiastic about trying out new recipes from him as he was.

Kibum scribbled down the year dates that he remembered.
1866, the black crook
1924, Lady, be good
1926, Showboat -> Broadway, melting pot, different influences…

He nodded to himself, relieved that some of the things already came to him from the consecutive reading and repeating he had done.
Everyone learned differently, but Kibum liked to use all kinds of techniques that involved ‘hearing’, ‘writing’, ‘seeing’ and ‘speaking’. And until now he had managed to pass every exam that had been thrown at him. Fortunately, or he would probably lose his scholarship – which, honestly, would be the end of his short career. His grandmother would never be able to pay the tuition fees that Korea’s universities took from the students these days.
The blonde shook his head.
That was really not what he should be focusing on. At least would his Music and Musical History teacher not appreciate it.
So Kibum rubbed his temples once, exhaling deeply before he focused back on the task at hand.
His dominant hand kept scribbling, while his other hand either supplied him with salt sticks or water until he heard his grandmother announce that she was going to bed.
He wished her a good night and got his attention back to his upcoming exam.
His dogs were curled up by now as well, breathing evenly.

Kibum yearned to just lie down as well.
It was nearing midnight by the time he checked his phone, signalling him that yes, he had been studying for nearly the whole day.
It seemed excessive, but everyone who even had the slightest idea about how studying here was like would probably just pat his shoulders and tell him to go on.
And well, the blonde would.

He had a lot of people he wanted to make proud. Or well… there was a certain pair of people he actually just wanted to prove his worth to.

Kibum growled, realising that his thoughts had yet again wandered off. Maybe he really should call it a day.
He put his pen down, closing his notebook over it. Like this he would know where to pick up once he awoke after a short night, that would be… around five hours maybe. He clicked his tongue as he checked his phone where the time was displayed. He usually got off at half past six so he had additional time for studying.
He could sleep after the midterms.

The blonde was just about to get his phone away, when a pop-up appeared on his screen, signalling the arrival of a message in his kakaotalk messenger.
And well… the name of the person who had texted him in the middle of the night was spelled out then and there for him.
Kibum’s tummy flipped and he bit his lower lip as he contemplated opening the new message. His phone didn’t show him the content of it, just that it had arrived and so he had no other choice but to open the app and access the chatroom to see the message written there.

➡Are you still up? Knowing you, you are.

What was he supposed to answer?
Kibum felt how his heart was thundering in his chest, urging him to reply to the other male. Yet, he didn’t want to seem to eager.
That just wasn’t him.
So instead, he got up and checked his face in the mirror, grumbling when he noticed a red spot on his cheek. Could his skin stop with that?
He took his phone again and sent a simple

➡mhm

back.
It told the elder everything he wanted to know. Of course he was still awake, studying for his exams just as the other should be doing.
Not texting him…
Damn this, Kibum exhaled deeply, banishing all thoughts of the brunet from his brain.

Which lasted for about a minute as the next message reached him just then. Of course. Just when he was about to go to sleep that football player had to text him.
Of course.
Just his luck.

➡ I took a run and kind of ended up around your area… wanna meet and talk? I’ll buy you your favourite lemon grass soda.

Kibum let out a small whine.
He wanted to.
He really wanted to. But he looked like right now, in sweatpants and his favourite colourful hoodie, hair a mess. And… he knew that they shouldn’t be like this. Jongyhun shouldn’t ask him to come out to the playground three houses down his own at this time of the day.
He shouldn’t buy him the expensive soda he likes.
And they just…
Shouldn’t.

It was too… cliché.

Still, he would feel bad if he sent the other away as well.
So, even if he knew that this was a bad idea he still texted him back, telling the elder that he would be there in a moment.

Which kind of induced panic in him.
Kibum jumped to his wardrobe and tried to fish out something that looked at least halfway presentable.
He didn’t like dressing up when he holed up at home but… well this was definitely an emergency.
The blonde loved to be dressed to impress, but at home?
He wanted to wear something comfortable like everyone else.
The sweatpants didn’t look that bad, but he got out of his hoodie and threw on a simple black one.
It wasn’t the best outfit and definitely nothing he would wear if he was to meet some cheerleading squad members… but this was Jonghyun.
A football player and a really warm-hearted, easy to be around guy.
And though his style was usually impeccable as well, being on point most of the time, it was more to the fact that the football player could wear just about anything and still look good without actually putting in some effort.

Kibum hated envied him a little for that. So he didn’t want to look too terrible next to the elder.

Anyway. He checked himself in the mirror again and made his way out of his room, tip-toeing down the stairs before grabbing his keys and vanishing through the door.
He didn’t mind his grandmother knowing, but he didn’t want her to worry.

After making sure that the door was closed and locked, the blonde made his way to the playground where he found the brunet sitting on one of the swings.
Kibum buried his hands in his hoodie’s muff as he approached Jonghyun with slow steps. The brunet was clad in his usual running outfit and he wondered yet again how the other was not freezing in the middle of the night.
Not that it was particularly cold in May, but… it still cooled down greatly during the late hours, which was obviously of no concern to the elder.

Kibum hummed in acknowledgement, leaning against the supporting pole of the construction and Jonghyun bestowed him with one of his bright smiles.
One of those unfair ones that always caused his stomach to flip. Damn him.

“Glad you could make it.” The brunet said and tossed him a can. Kibum barely managed to catch it in mid-air, letting out a noise of surprise as his hands finally got a hold of the soda.
“You idiot” he grumbled, opening the can
“You saw that my hands weren’t prepared for that…”

Jonghyun just shrugged his shoulders at that, still grinning.
Sometimes it felt like he never stopped with that.

“I knew you’d make it though.”
“Oh shut it!” Kibum growled, shoving the elder’s shoulder none too gently. The blonde just wasn’t like that. He wasn’t all smooth and easy to handle.
He was rough and complicated – the younger knew this.

And here they were.

They fell into silence, both of them busy with their beverage for a while.
The sky was clear and so Kibum could look up to see the stars twinkling above them.

“It’s sad, right?” the elder started and the blonde turned toward him, blinking
“What is?” he pressed and Jonghyun’s brown orbs met his for a moment.
“The night sky. We can barely see its beauty. Seoul is such a big city… it never sleeps. There’s always artificial light polluting our environment.”

Ah, that again. Jonghyun could go on and on about light pollution. How even the supermarkets that were closed during the night had their lights still on, how there were so many lit advertisements blinking and flashing at any time of the day.
Kibum understood him. If he was honest, it was kind of endearing that the elder was bothered by this.
It seemed… not like something a football player in university should be bothered about – but then again was Jonghyun majoring in natural resources management, which, in itself, didn’t sound like something a guy like him would choose.
People might think that Jonghyun was just that – the typical jock. Obsessed with his sport, girls flocking around him, and a really narrowed view on the world.
The real stereotype.
But he wasn’t that.

Just as Kibum wasn’t the typical cheerleader.

“I really want to take you to the countryside and show you the full night sky. Maybe close to the sea. It’s beautiful.”
The blonde felt himself blushing at this. It sounded nice, it sounded really nice but it held too many promises.
Too many, for all the things they were not.
“Jonghyun…”
“Mh?” the brunet said, reaching out and taking Kibum’s hand in his. The blonde squeezed back without thinking.
They both knew.
They both knew there was something more and they shared their insecurity, their perturbation.

“You know that… you know.” Kibum stopped mid-sentence, not finishing the thought or the statement. The glint in the elder’s eyes told him that the other knew what he was talking about anyway.
“Mh… I’m tired of it though.”

Of course he would say that.
The blonde listened to his heart thundering in his ribcage, taking a deep breath to calm it down. They had been at this point before, but nothing had changed back then. So, nothing would now.

“Jonghyun…”
Their coaches wouldn’t like it. Relationships were prohibited in the team and the cheerleader squad. And that included among each other.
So this was a no go. They both knew it.
Besides… Kibum was really not in the mood to deal with people.

“No.”
Jonghyun grumbled and stood up. The swing swayed after the weight had been lifted, but Kibum’s attention shifted to the brunet a moment later.
“What ‘no’?” the younger narrowed his eyes, looking at the brunet.
“There is no ‘no’ here, Jonghyun.” he said intently but the elder just shook his head at that. Why was the other like that? Once he had made up his mind…
There was no way to keep him from executing whatever plan, whatever action he had come up with.

“We can keep it a secret. It’s easy.”
The brunet said and shrugged his shoulders. He had crossed the distance between them now, standing right in front of Kibum who looked at the brunet with big eyes.
Had he really heard correctly?
“Jonghyun, you know if that would come out… the coach would kick you off the team for lying! And for breaking the rules, or… I don’t know, he will be pissed!”

That was a certainty.

Yet, Jonghyun wasn’t budging. He was looking at Kibum with a determined look on his face, as if this was something utterly important to him. The blonde felt his cheeks heat up again and he cursed the lamppost close by which was probably revealing his secret.
Judging by the brunet’s grin that bloomed on his face at least, he had been ratted out,
“Don’t be stupid okay? You know he will be pissed and we can’t risk tha-“

Words got stuck in his throat.
Kibum barely managed to make himself blink when he was suddenly faced with Jonghyun’s closed eyes, their mouths brought together by the elder.
.
The younger felt the panic rise in him, panic at being overwhelmed, panic because he knew he should stop this and panic because this was Jonghyun, and Jonghyun was kissing him.
It felt as if his mind shut down a moment later, his eyes falling shut as his hands searched for purchase at the elder’s cardigan.

It felt like reciprocating would mean tasting a forbidden fruit.
Like finally giving in.

So, he kissed Jonghyun back.