Pairing: KyuChul

Summary: Kyuhyun was here now, way older than his younger, newly-added-member-of-SJ self, a grown man having just finished his military service.

A/N: Something that I thought would happen following Kyu’s military discharged. A sequel to Of Volunteering and a Brilliant Idea (I just realized I’d never posted that on AFF so I linked it to the AO3 version instead).

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Heechul couldn’t remember if they had agreed to it beforehand, but when Kyuhyun had appeared on his doorstep, he had opened the door wider, stepped aside, and let him in. Now the younger man was settling in quite well in the living room, a noticeable contrast against Heechul’s very red everything in his all-black attire. He had come straight from the office, Heechul noted, to Heechul’s apartment for… what, a non-existent lunch? That part was on Heechul entirely, really, because he had woken up late, planning to stay in all day and surviving on snacks he had left in the fridge. Yes, he knew it was Kyuhyun’s discharged day that day, but no, he didn’t recall them agreeing to meet up, so yes, naturally, it was safe to say it was the younger man’s fault, because he hadn’t called before coming.

“So, I heard you wouldn’t be coming back to Radio Star,” Heechul spoke conversely, walking towards the living room with two mugs of water, putting them down the coffee table. “Why?”

Kyuhyun eyed the mugs. He had the nerve to scoff before taking one. Yeah, it was his fault, Heechul thought decidedly. “I’ve had enough of the criticism,” he said at last, looking at Heechul curiously as he dabbed on his mouth with the sleeve of his shirt. “I thought that was why you declined. No?”

“If you’re expecting sweet drinks, you could’ve told me you were coming; be grateful I even had water to serve.” Heechul took the remote and started going through the channels. Weird, since when did Heechul need noises to fill in the quiet between him and anyone? He certainly had never had a need of that with Kyuhyun before, but he had that urge now. He settled on a music show before glancing back at his guest. “And to answer your question, I did because I didn’t want you to be compared to me. You were substituting for me after all.”

There was a mischievous twinkle in his eyes. Heechul knew the tease was coming before Kyuhyun voiced it out. “And find out I was better?”

Heechul squinted at him. “You should go serve another year; I don’t miss your smart- mouth around here.”

“You don’t? Didn’t?” Kyuhyun tilted his head. “What a shame. I came right away thinking you couldn’t wait another day.”

“You were a public servicer, Kimkyu, in case you forgot. I got to see you almost everyday, unlike—”

“Unlike Ryeowook, who was an active soldier,” Kyuhyun interjected, “or the other members who were—but definitely especially Wook, so you didn’t miss me. Got it.”

Heechul had no response to that. Or rather, he was confused why Kyuhyun was acting this way so he didn’t know what to say.

“Well, I did.”

Heechul was glad he’d the TV. For a moment, he stayed silent and let those words hung low in the air. Although, it didn’t stay long because then Kyuhyun continued.

“I thought it would be the same as when you were the one serving.” He nudged Heechul with his shoulder. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“About what?”

“It gets lonely. Being a public servicer does.” The chuckle that slipped past his lips was half-hearted. If anything, he sounded angry. “I mean, at least, back then I had schedules that could distract me from the fact that you were absent, and I was with the members; it was easy to lose track of time. But then I had to go to ‘work’ five days a week, nine-to-five; it wasn’t as easy. And what did you say, got to see me almost everyday? If by that you mean over the weekend once every who-knows-how-many-months, then sure, I saw you a lot, too.”

Heechul turned to the younger man. He was evidently upset. Before he got to say another word, however, Heechul pulled him by the collar and crashed their lips together. There was no immediate response as Heechul halted his movement and simply pressed his lips to Kyuhyun’s closed and frozen ones. He opened his own, tilted his head a little and angled to capture Kyuhyun’s upper lip. He pulled away a little then repeated his action, now pressing his smile into the kiss. It was then that he felt the tension starting to sip away from the younger, his hands moving to cradle his jaws, lips responding to the kiss, taking Heechul’s bottom lip between his teeth, hurting the soft flesh just a little before he deepened the kiss.

They had done this before, on stage, for the sake of fanservice, so it wasn’t new. Strangely, at the same time, it was because of Kyuhyun’s unexpected confession; because Kyuhyun was upset he hadn’t seen Heechul as