Lol, I'm a turrible writer. Anyway, this is the first thing I've written in months. It's short but it's better than nothing, right?~

Fight Club AU
 

For my wonderfully lovely eomma Isadora_Quagmire for her birthday.

___________________________________________________________
 

Kibum stood barefoot and bare-chested in front of a stranger. Someone new, he realized with the sense of detached curiosity he always felt when faced with a new opponent. The assessment began almost automatically. 'Stance indicative of at least basic training, small muscular stature means he's probably speedy, right-handed or possibly ambidextrous...' the list went on.

He didn't know the man's name, nor whether he had children. Whether he smoked, or liked his coffee black. What his reason for being there was. None of that was ever important. Not when they were in the ring.

The crowd started chattering lowly and Kibum flexed his fingers. He breathed out harshly through his nose. His heart was racing, but his face showed no signs of nervousness or hesitation. In fact, his expression was quite serene.

Someone yelled 'fight already!' and the next thing he knew, Kibum was on his back. His head smacked against the concrete floor, and he saw black spots in his vision. 'So he is fast' Kibum thought sluggishly. A hard kick to his ribs snapped Kibum back to reality. He got to his feet swiftly and started fighting back.

That was the thing about fight club. Appearances could be (and more likely than not, were) deceiving. A guy who looked weak could land his opponent in the hospital if he wasn't careful. Kibum happened to be one of those kinds of guys. He'd earned quite a reputation for himself because of it. There had been more than one night where he'd had trouble finding an opponent willing to fight him.

Kibum heard a crack, but his adrenaline was so high he didn't know if it was something of his, or his opponent's. He looked to his opponent's face and saw the man's eyes tightly shut, his teeth clenched. 'Well', Kibum thought numbly 'at least it's not me'. He'd already been to the hospital 5 times this month. His insurance wouldn't cover any more visits.

He pushed his opponent back gently and waited to see if the fight would continue, or if the new guy would hang it up for the night. Already, Kibum could feel the adrenaline high starting to wear off. He ignored the bruises he felt blossoming all over him. Nothing new, or particularly painful for that matter.

His opponent took a deep breath and faced Kibum with a renewed determination. Kibum smiled grimly. The new guys, they always had something to prove. These kinds of fights were always the best kind, in Kibum's opinion. They lasted.

After that, things were kind of a blur. Kibum was pretty sure he felt one of his ribs break, and a few seconds (minutes?) later he saw his opponent's nose crunch. When they stepped back from each other for a brief respite, their chests were both heaving, and blood was everywhere on the floor. There was a healthy amount of respect in the other man's eyes, which was all Kibum needed to see.

He announced quietly that he wanted to stop, and murmurs ran through the crowd. Kibum wasn't known for letting his opponents off so easily. He heard someone say lowly that it must be because the other guy was new, and Kibum snorted. Even after 4 years of coming to fight club, the other regulars still knew nothing about him.

He made his way to the back, letting the next pair into the ring without seeing who they were. He leaned against the concrete wall, wondering if his opponent would be back next week. Most of the new guys, once they'd been in one good fight, they never came back. A way of reassuring themselves of their masculinity, Kibum reckoned.

"Why didn't you finish beating the crap out of me?" Kibum looked over and saw his opponent. He shrugged. "Anyway, I just wanted to say what a great fight that was. I'm Taemin." Taemin held out his hand, and winced. He grabbed his shoulder gingerly. Kibum smirked.

"Kibum," he took the outstretched hand and shook it firmly. "Where'd you learn to fight like that? It's been a long time since I saw someone move that fast." Taemin smiled secretively.

"That, my friend, is a story saved for another time," Kibum chuckled.

"Looking forward to it," he patted Taemin on the shoulder that wasn't bothering him. "So. You coming back next week?" Taemin smiled.

"Yep," he answered gleefully. "How bout you?"

"Here every week for the past four years, like clockwork," Kibum grabbed his still-healing rib fracture from a couple of weeks ago. "I don't always fight, though. For obvious reasons." Taemin laughed.

"Sure," Taemin checked his watch. "Damn, I gotta go." Kibum started thinking about all the responsibilities waiting for him at home.

"I'll walk with ya," he offered, and they headed towards the exit. They waved as they parted, and Kibum got into his car, already wondering just how interesting fight club would be next week.
________________________________________________________________

Hope y'all liked it. c: Like I said, I know it's short, but.. it's literally the first thing I've written and finished (for the SHINee fandom, anyway) in several months.

~~

Til next time, loves. ^o~