♔  lullaby ♔

[ my heart will catch you, and not let you go
can you feel it as well? ]

Kibum shifted in his bed, pulling the blankets over his head and then changing positions, splaying out in a snow angel shape and then curling into a ball. He even tried laying on his stomach before his face pressed into the pillow and he realized he couldn't breathe, which wasn't a very wise decision. He settled for lying on his back, tracing shapes into the ceiling with his fingers. He just couldn't sleep no matter what. He turned over on his side to look at the glowing digital clock on his oak nightstand, the soft red light reading 1:43am. 

He groaned to himself. He was going to be the walking dead in school tomorrow.

He really, really missed Jonghyun.

Just then, as he rolled over he caught sight of the phone lying on his nightstand.

He considered for a second, before reaching for it, unlocking it and pressing number 2 on his speed dial. It rang for a few moments, and Kibum almost hung up after the third ring - after all, Jonghyun was busy and probably tired from the flight, maybe he shouldn't have--

"Kibummie?" Jonghyun answered, voice husky with sleep. Kibum swallowed hard, hands quivering as he held it to his ear. How long had it been since he'd heard Jonghyun's voice? He could almost see Jonghyun holding the phone up to his ear, eyes half-lidded as he rubbed them in an effort to wake up a little bit. His heart ached. "What's up, baby? Why aren't you asleep?"

"I can't sleep," Kibum whispered shyly into the phone, pink splattering across his cheeks as he twisted the sheets in his hands, curling up on his side as he placed the phone beside him, turning up the volume so he could hear Jonghyun without putting it on speakerphone. Jonghyun chuckled on the other end, a soft smile touching his lips as he rolled over onto his back, pressing the phone to his ear.

"What do you want me to do then?" he said teasingly, eyes staring up at the ceiling of his room as he concentrated on the honey-sweet voice flowing through the speaker.

He heard Kibum inhale a deep breath, and then let it all out in a jumble of accented Korean that he couldn't understand, a mix of words in which Jonghyun could only pick out 'jajang-ga^1'. Jonghyun chuckled. "Sorry, what was that?"

He could practically see Kibum's pout over the phone.

"A lullaby. Sing me a lullaby, please." Kibum's voice was so soft Jonghyun almost didn't hear it.

Jonghyun stilled for a moment, before his smile grew. "What do you want me to sing?" he asked.

"I don't know." Jonghyun heard the rustling of blankets as Kibum presumably shifted to get in a more comfortable position, fluffing his pillows and kicking at his comforter as Jonghyun knew him to do. "Anything, really."

Jonghyun shrugged. "Okay," he said willingly, racking his brain for a suitable bedtime song. He didn't really know any lullabies that weren't for children, and he didn't think Kibum would be satisfied with something like 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star' or something. "Does it have to be a lullaby?"

"No, just any song I guess." He could detect a faint tinge of embarrassment in Kibum's voice as he spoke. "I just want.. to hear your voice."

Jonghyun almost aww'd, wishing he could reach through the phone and sweep the boy into his arms when he said that. Kibum was way too cute for his own good. He cleared his throat slightly, sitting up in his bed to channel his voice better as he crooned into the speaker. 

The morning sunlight is like you
It might be a little childish, but I like it
If I’m by your side when you wake me up
I have nothing more to wish for

I want to see you

Jonghyun heard a slight gasp that broke through his trance, followed by...was that sniffling? Jonghyun stopped immediately. "Kibummie?" he said anxiously. "What's wrong, baby? Did you not like the song-"

"Keep going, please," Kibum sniffled into the speaker, honey voice breaking ever so slightly as he spoke. "I just. I just miss you. A lot. Please keep singing."

Jonghyun looked unsure, releasing a puff of a breath into the speaker. "Okay," he said uncertainly. "But just tell me if you want me to stop, okay?"

He didn't hear anything on the other end, so he assumed that meant yes. He his lips nervously, mouth going dry. He reached for the water bottle on his nightstand and took a swig, before he turned the phone upside down so the speaker was closer to his mouth so that Kibum could hear him better, eyes fluttering shut as he sang.

Don’t think that we can’t love because we’re young
Before it’s too late
Before I grow older, can you hold onto me?

Kibum smiled softly into the phone as Jonghyun continued to sing, voice still a little husky from sleep. He liked the way Jonghyun sounded at this time of night, voice soft and a little bit scratchy, low and pleasant honey-sweet tones as his voice filtered through into their shared bedroom. His eyes fluttered shut and he sank into his fluffy comforter, burrowing into the thick blankets and pillows. He felt sleepier than he had in a long time, eyes closing on their own as darkness pulled over his vision.

That night, he fell asleep with a smile on his face.

♔

When Jonghyun finished the song, the last note quivering in the air, he paused to listen to the other end, and was greeted by soft, even breathing. Jonghyun smiled, pulling the sheets over him as he listened to the sound of Kibum's breathing through the phone. It was almost as if he was back home, Kibum in his arms, blonde hair tousled and falling over his forehead as he snuggled into Jonghyun's body, bow-shaped lips parted in a soft whisper as they slept together, limbs entangled. Jonghyun reached for his phone and whispered softly into it before sliding it under his pillow.

"I love you, Kibummie."

[ I love you only, as much as the sky
You truly are the reason I live
I really, really, I want to hug you like crazy ]

notes

- ¹jajang-ga - lullaby

- lyrics are from 하나, which... i was supposed to use 'lullaby' and the lyrics of whatever song popped up on shuffle for a prompt and they just happened to go together which is a relief lmfao

for chiara ; so um idk what this is. i don't even think this is like a legit chapter, more like a ty drabble sigh. feel free to edit whatever is inconsistent with your story because idk if i added something in there that isn't in your story lmfao

also first time i wrote something even close to a song-fic so idek it probably but i'll edit it later lmfao

--

written by Olivia, yep, that osm motherer aka my co-author.

Next chapter is going to be how Jonghyun met Kibum's parents.
And after that, I'm (finally) going to let something happen so that this story won't be boring like fuq.
I'm going to make it a little interesting, ok ? Because I know that up till now, this story has been so ... disorganised or w/e you call it.

Thank you for reading ! (and don't praise me for this chapter, praise Olivia, BECAUSE SHE'S OSM. and I love her.)

<3 !!