pairing: chensoo.
word count: 6900.
rating: PG-13.
genre: crack/humour, light angst, modern day fairytale.
summary: “I can't promise you for certain that we'll live happily ever after, but I'll sure do my best.”
 

There's no one at the house when Kyungsoo first arrives. He can't help the disappointment he feels. It's not that he had expected some kind of welcome committee or anything, but just having at least one person there to tell him where to put his things would have been nice. It's also weird to enter someone else's home when they're not there. No. This isn't just someone else's home. This is Kyungsoo's home now.

Behind him, the moving guy clears his throat. “I don't mean to be rude, kid, but these things are kind of heavy.” He jostles the cardboard box he's holding to get a better grip on it.

“Right, sorry,” Kyungsoo says. He finds the spare key hidden under the fake, decorative apples on the porch where he was told it would be, and he steps aside to allow the movers to enter the house, then pauses. He doesn't even know which room is his. There are several hallways with several doors, there's a staircase leading to the second floor, there are far too many options. Across from what Kyungsoo believes to be the kitchen is an open doorway where he can catch a glimpse of a couch, and he gestures in that general direction. “Just... put everything in the living room for now, I'll sort it out later.” The moving guy grunts in assent and shuffles past Kyungsoo with his crew following behind.

Kyungsoo doesn't have a lot of belongings, so it only takes a few trips back and forth between the van and the house for the three moving guys to empty everything. Kyungsoo tips them, watches them get into their van, waves as they drive off. Is he supposed to wave? He isn't familiar with the unspoken rules when it comes to these things, but he waves anyway because he feels it's the polite thing to do when they've just spent a couple of hours lugging around his stuff.

The house is huge. Then again, Kyungsoo supposes it has to be when there are so many people living here. There's a communal kitchen and living room, one bathroom on each floor, and a lot of closed doors that Kyungsoo isn't comfortable opening. Instead, he decides to wash up the few dishes stacked up next to the kitchen sink, partially for something to occupy himself with, partially because he doesn't like having dirty dishes sitting around for too long. Once he's done, he sits on one of the couches in the living room and scrolls through his phone to pass the time until someone else gets home.

It has been an eventful couple of weeks, from getting kicked out of home and being given less than a month to find a new place to stay, to packing up all his things and moving in with people he's never even met before. Right now is the first time in a while Kyungsoo has had time to sit down without having to worry about how everything could possibly work out. He has a roof over his head, and he didn't have to quit the job he actually likes.

The weight of anxiety slides off his shoulders, creating room for the bone deep exhaustion to finally set in. It's usually like this after a period of intense overthinking. The adrenaline wears off, and Kyungsoo's body shuts down. Sighing, he leans his head back against the backrest of the couch and stares up into the ceiling, eyelids heavy. Everything has worked out, after all.

Kyungsoo didn't intend to fall asleep, but, alas, expectation and reality rarely mirror each other. He wakes to the sound of hushed voices, and when he opens his eyes, he's met with the sight of three people looking back at him. That's enough to startle him fully awake. Kyungsoo lets out a surprised shout, and the guy crouched down in front of him lets out a surprised shout in response, falls flat on his and then immediately sneezes several times in a row.

“Who the hell are you?” asks another one of the guys. He has his arms crossed over his chest as he regards Kyungsoo with great skepticism. He kind of resembles Grumpy Cat when he frowns this way.

“Uh, I'm K–” Kyungsoo begins, but his voice is hoarse with sleep, and he has to clear his throat before continuing: “K-Kyungsoo.”

“Well, K-K-Kyungsoo, mind telling us what you're doing in our house?” Grumpy demands.

Kyungsoo gulps. He isn't usually easily intimidated, but there are three strangers surrounding him right now, one still suffering under a sneeze attack, one glowering at Kyungsoo like he's trying to disintegrate him through his stare alone. The third guy of the bunch looks like he most of all wants to join Kyungsoo in sleeping on the couch, blinking drowsily. “I live here, too,” Kyungsoo explains. Grumpy squints at him. “I just moved in.”

“Kyungsoo is our new housemate,” comes a voice from the doorway. It belongs to a small man, who rushes into the living room to stand between Kyungsoo and the three guys. “I told you he was coming today, remember?” There's a brilliant smile on his face when he turns to look at Kyungsoo, a hand outstretched in greeting. “Hello, I'm Joonmyun, we spoke on the phone.” For some reason, Kyungsoo hadn't expected him to be so young. Less of a middle-aged landlord, more of a college student.

Kyungsoo takes the proffered hand to introduce himself, and Grumpy seems somewhat assuaged. He uncrosses his arms, but looks no less constipated. “Welcome or whatever,” he says without any real emotion behind it, and he stalks off before Kyungsoo can even think of anything to say in response.

“Don't mind Sehun,” says the guy still sitting on the floor. “He's not actually mad, that's just how his face looks.” He sneezes again before continuing: “I'm Chanyeol, by the way.”

“Are you alright?” Kyungsoo asks, eyebrows furrowed in concern. Chanyeol has been sneezing a worrying number of times since Kyungsoo woke up.

Chanyeol opens his mouth to reply, then holds up a single finger in a gesture for Kyungsoo to wait as another sneeze comes over him. “Yeah, I'm fine,” he says, sniffling. “I just forgot to take my allergy meds with me to the shelter I volunteer at. I'm allergic to cats.” That explains the red, puffy eyes and the tears streaming down his face, Kyungsoo supposes. “Now if you'll excuse me, I'm just gonna go self-medicate before I sneeze up a lung or something. It was nice meeting you, Kyungsoo.” He, too, has left before Kyungsoo can reply.

Kyungsoo looks at the third guy. He's sleeping on the couch, now. Kyungsoo looks at Joonmyun, whose smile has grown noticeably tighter around the edges. “Let me show you around the house.” Kyungsoo has already shown himself around, but he says nothing of this and allows Joonmyun to give him The Grand Tour anyway. Joonmyun talks a bit about who lives in each room, and Kyungsoo already knows he won't remember all the new names right away. He has taken to calling them nicknames in his head while he's in the process of memorizing their actual names.

When they make it back downstairs after looking at the second floor's many bedrooms, there are new voices coming from the kitchen. Someone is singing along to the radio, crooning wrong lyrics and belting out over-exaggerated high notes in all the wrong places, while someone else is laughing at the antics. One guy is dancing around the dining table while using a wooden spoon as a makeshift microphone. He flashes a wide, happy grin when he sees the look of part amusement, part exasperation on Joonmyun's face. “What's up, Doc?”

“Baekhyun,” Joonmyun says. “This is Kyungsoo, our new housemate. Kyungsoo, Baekhyun.”

Baekhyun does several twirls on his way across the linoleum floor, stopping right in front of them with a hand out for Kyungsoo to shake. “Name's Baekhyun,” he drawls. “Mr. Byun, if you're nasty.” He follows this up with a salacious wink that makes Kyungsoo bristle.

“Play nice,” Joonmyun chides, but there's no real heat in his voice.

Still, Baekhyun squawks in outrage. “Excuse you, I am nothing if not An Absolute Saint!” The other new guy, seated at the dining table, snorts at this. He flushes when all the attention is suddenly directed at him, averting his gaze bashfully. Baekhyun walks over and slings an arm around his shoulders. “Don't be shy, Minseokkie-hyung, say hello to the new kid.”

“Hello,” Minseok mutters without making eye contact. Kyungsoo can relate.

“Will you guys help me and Kyungsoo move his things into his room?” Joonmyun asks.

Baekhyun clicks his tongue. “No can do, buckaroo,” he says, shooting finger guns at Joonmyun. “I've got a choir practice that requires my attendance, my ride should be here any minute now. But I'm sure Minseokkie-hyung would be more than happy to put these pythons to good use.” He s Minseok's bicep for, like, an inappropriate amount of time.

If possible, Minseok goes even redder, though he doesn't pull away nor does he make any motion to shove Baekhyun off. “Uhm,” he does say, as he stares desperately at Joonmyun as if begging for help. Baekhyun seems to have fallen into some kind of muscle-induced trance as he keeps squeezing Minseok's arm.

The stupor is only broken by a series of rhythmical knocks. Apparently whoever's at the front door finds it appropriate to walk right in, because moments later another new face enters the kitchen. A very handsome face. A face Kyungsoo can't stop staring at. Is this house just a neverending parade of attractive men? “Ah, my ride!” Baekhyun declares. Yes, Kyungsoo would very much like to ride that face. Wait, no.

“Hey, you,” Joonmyun greets pleasantly.

The new guy – Prince Charming, Kyungsoo's mind helpfully provides before he can stop himself – smiles a slow-spreading grin as he leans against the doorway to the kitchen. “Hey,” he says. His eyes linger on Kyungsoo for a moment before they slide over to look at Baekhyun “Ready to go?” Baekhyun leaves in a whirlwind, and with him goes both Prince Charming and the noise, and all that's left is the staticky sound of the radio and the ringing in Kyungsoo's head.

“I'll help you,” Minseok mutters quietly. He's probably going to be Kyungsoo's favorite housemate. Kyungsoo likes quiet.

Fortunately, Kyungsoo's room is one of the three located on the first floor, which means they don't have to carry all the boxes upstairs. Minseok is stronger than he looks, and between the three of them it doesn't take long to move everything out of the living room. Sleepy – Kyungsoo has yet to learn his actual name – is still passed out on the couch, dead to the world. Joonmyun goes over the house rules, and Kyungsoo pretends he's going to remember all of them. “I'll get you a written copy as soon as I can,” Joonmyun promises. “Most important thing to keep in mind is to not eat the food with someone else's name on it unless you've received explicit permission to do so. Unmarked items belong to the whole house.”

“Got it,” Kyungsoo says and shakes his head when Joonmyun asks if he has any more questions.

“If you need anything, my room is the one across from yours.” Joonmyun gestures at the door as if Kyungsoo could possibly miss the giant bubble letters spelling out Joonmyun's name in metallic purple and gold. “I'll leave you alone now. Give you some time to settle in.”

“Thank you,” Kyungsoo says. He closes the door behind himself and leans against it as he takes a look around his new room. It's already partially furnished with a bed, a bookcase and a desk with a chair, which he's happy for since he couldn't bring any of the things from his old place. There's still space to put in more pieces of furniture if he needs it, too. It really is incredibly lucky that he was able to find somewhere like this on such short notice. Perhaps other people just weren't desperate enough to live in a place with seven roommates. Not as desperate as Kyungsoo, at least.

Despite his nap on the couch, Kyungsoo still falls asleep without even eating dinner. He wakes up to the grey light of pre-sunrise dawn and feels hunger gnawing at his stomach. It's early, but there's already someone in the kitchen when Kyungsoo enters in search of food, someone else Kyungsoo hasn't been introduced to yet. He deduces that the guy gaping motionlessly into the bowl of cereal on the table like it holds all the answers to life's most important questions is probably the final roommate. He spots Kyungsoo hovering in the doorway and jolts in surprise. Then a dopey smile spreads on his face. “Oh. Good morning.”

“Good morning,” Kyungsoo responds. He fidgets a little awkwardly as the guy keeps staring at him. “Uhm. I'm Kyungsoo. I moved in yesterday.”

The guy looks confused, then pensive, then dopey again. The expressions flit over his face at a sloth-like tempo. “Right. I think Joonmyun mentioned that?” He takes a spoonful of cereal and chews slowly while staring off into space. Halfway through the mouthful, he seems to remember that he never introduced himself, because he says: “My name is Yixing. Would you like some cereal?”

“Yes, please,” Kyungsoo accepts the offer gratefully. Joonmyun did say to help himself to whatever's unmarked in the kitchen, but Kyungsoo doesn't really feel comfortable going through the cupboards just yet. He sits across from Yixing at the table, and they eat together in companionable silence. Kyungsoo hates awkward silences, so he's happy that this isn't a case of that. It's just two people having their breakfast in the general vicinity of each other without the need for conversation.

Once Yixing is done, he leaves his bowl in the sink to soak. “Well, I'm off to work,” he declares. “It was nice meeting you, Kyungsoo. I hope you'll like it here.” He gives Kyungsoo a weird half-hug – weird because Kyungsoo is sitting down and also because he's not at all prepared to be hugged by someone he just met minutes ago, but Yixing is probably just a friendly guy. Kyungsoo finishes his own cereal and washes up his bowl. While he's at it, anyway, he also does Yixing's bowl as well as the few items sitting by the side of the sink. He really doesn't like to let the dishes pile up.

Kyungsoo has been allowed a few days off work while he settles into his new place, so he doesn't need to go anywhere. He spends the morning unpacking his boxes and putting up whatever few decorative items he has to make the room feel more like his own. It's not like Kyungsoo has a lot of things, mostly books and clothes, but just filling the shelves with those is an improvement. He sets his tiny succulent on the windowsill by the desk. He puts up the pictures of his younger siblings, of himself and his high school best friend. He looks at the picture of his mother for a long time but ultimately decides to leave it in the box. He lays down on an unfamiliar bed in an unfamiliar room and stares up at an unfamiliar ceiling.

It isn't by conscious choice that Kyungsoo ends up avoiding everyone, it just happens that way. By the time someone knocks on his door, it's already evening, and Kyungsoo has stayed in his room all day. “Yes?” he calls out.

Joonmyun stands in the doorway and smiles like a parent. But not, like, a regular parent, a cool parent. “Wow, you really made this place look nice,” he says, looking around the room. Kyungsoo shrugs. He didn't really do much. Joonmyun seems flustered by Kyungsoo's lack of response, and he clears his throat. “We're having a house night. I'm not sure what's going to happen, but pizza is on it's way, and there'll probably be video games. You're free to join us, if you'd like.”

Kyungsoo isn't usually the most sociable person. He figures this would be a good chance to get to know his new housemates better, though, so he says: “Okay.”

There's already a lot of noise coming from the living room. Baekhyun and Chanyeol appear to be in a heated debate over which Super Mario Party character is the superior choice, while Yixing, mouth agape, looks back and forth between them like he's watching a tennis match. Sehun is sitting on the couch, scowling at his phone as his fingers tap the screen with impressive speed. Minseok sits next to him, quietly, and on his other side sits the sleepy guy, whose name Kyungsoo has yet to learn, with his head leaned back against the couch's backrest and his eyes threatening to slip shut every other second. Kyungsoo has half a mind to retreat to his room to stay away from the ruckus, but they all go quiet and look at him when he enters the living room behind Joonmyun. It's too late to escape now.

The eerie silence that seems to last forever is finally broken by Chanyeol letting out a sneeze. Immediately after, he smirks like he has just been given a great gift, and he eyes Baekhyun smugly. “Would you look at that, it seems on top of everything else, I'm also allergic to bull,” he says, and with a squawk of a battle cry from Baekhyun, the argument starts right back up again.

Eventually, they stop quarreling and start actually playing the game they've been fighting over. Baekhyun gets to be Yoshi, and Chanyeol gets to be Princess Peach, and they continue to argue about which of the two is better, until the sleepy guy – Kyungsoo has finally learned that his name is Jongin – wipes the floor with everyone else as Bowser despite being borderline unconscious for most of everyone else's turns. Sehun playing as Dry Bones grumbles grumpily under his breath each time Jongin gains another star or wins another minigame, and Joonmyun keeps trying to diffuse the situation by loudly offering to get more snacks and drinks for everyone.

Kyungsoo sits with Minseok and eats pizza and popcorn as they observe everything going down. He doesn't speak much, but neither does Minseok, so it's alright. All in all, it ends up being a pretty good night.

The bookstore Kyungsoo works at smells like dust and mothballs, but he likes it here. The owner of the place – an elderly lady named Yojung – has always been kind to Kyungsoo, and most of the customers are here because of their interest in literature and know how to respect the books they handle. Most of them, at least. There are always a few bad apples.

One such bad apple enters the store on a slow Tuesday afternoon. Kyungsoo ducks behind the shelves as soon as he sees the new customer. It's one of Kyungsoo's stepfather's friends, whose name Kyungsoo hasn't bothered to learn since his stepfather's friend group is a revolving door of trash. He thinks he has some recollection of seeing this one before, though. Kyungsoo keeps an eye on the guy as he peruses the store, picking up books from displays and tossing them back carelessly once he's done looking at them. It's hard to tell if he's looking for something specific or if he's just being an . Not that the two are mutually exclusive.

It is not a very large store, and it's only a matter of time before the guy makes it to Kyungsoo's part of it. His face lights up with recognition, and a wolfish grin spreads on it. “Well, well, if it isn't little Soo,” he drawls as he shuffles over. Kyungsoo can't help but in a sharp breath, but he tries to act as unbothered as possible as he continues moving books from his cart to the shelf he's standing by. His lack of a reaction seems to anger the guy, judging by the way the smile falls from his face. “Cute apron. Suits a fruit like you.”

Kyungsoo's nostrils flare. “What do you want?” he asks, still without sparing the guy a glance.

The guy clicks his tongue. “Is that any way to speak to a potential customer?”

“Customer?” Kyungsoo repeats dryly. “I didn't know you could read.” He jolts when the book he's lifting to place on a shelf is suddenly knocked out of his hand, and the guy grabs him by the collar. He's wearing an ugly snarl, now, and he's clearly going for intimidation. Kyungsoo won't allow himself to be intimidated. He meets the guy's gaze straight on.

“You're such a little boy,” the guy growls. “No wonder you got kicked out.” It's a jab at a still fresh wound. Kyungsoo clenches his jaw, but doesn't bother with a response. The guy jostles him. “Someone should really teach you how to show some respect.”

“And what exactly seems to be going on here?” At the end of the shelves stands Yojung. Her crooked fingers grip tight on the handle of her cane, and her voice is croaky but powerful when she demands: “I ask that you unhand my employee immediately.” The guy seems displeased, but lets go of Kyungsoo's shirt. Yojung's eyes slide between the two of them. “Now get the hell out of my store.” The guy grumbles under his breath all the way to the exit, something about the place being a piece of and a waste of time. Neither Yojung nor Kyungsoo moves until he's out the door. Then Yojung looks at Kyungsoo again, and Kyungsoo hates the concern on her face. He hates making people worry. “Are you alright, dear? Should I call the police?”

Sighing, Kyungsoo rubs his neck where the collar of his shirt had dug into his skin. “Don't bother,” he mutters. “That guy is the police.”

It's Baekhyun, who invites Kyungsoo to the party. “It's just a small thing,” he claims. “A bit of booze, some good music, dancing. It's gonna be a good time. And I was asked to invite you.” Baekhyun adds the last part with a salacious wiggle of his eyebrows that Kyungsoo doesn't quite know what means. Once again, he figures that it's a good chance to get to know some new people, so even if he's not usually big on parties, he agrees.

As it turns out, Baekhyun's idea of small is different from Kyungsoo's. The house they enter is positively packed with people, so much so that they're spilling out into the backyard as well through the open double doors. They're greeted at the front door by Kyungsoo's Prince Charming, all high cheekbones and pretty kitten smile that curls up even more as he looks at Kyungsoo. “Hey, you made it,” he says, and he's still looking at Kyungsoo when he says it. In fact, he keeps looking at Kyungsoo. Why is he still looking at him? Kyungsoo feels warm. He clears his throat and averts his gaze from Prince Charming's weirdly intense stare.

“Yes, yes, everyone's here,” Baekhyun interjects. “Now, where's the booze? I need to get some in me.” Prince Charming gestures, and Baekhyun grabs Kyungsoo with one hand, Yixing with the other, and pulls them through the living room towards what turns out to be the kitchen where the loud music is thankfully more muted. Chanyeol and Joonmyun are already in there, and Baekhyun shoves Chanyeol in greeting and demands for him to pour three more shots from the bottle he's holding.

“Uh, I don't really do shots,” Kyungsoo says, eyeing the tequila hesitantly.

“Good thing they're all for me, then,” Baekhyun replies as he empties all three glasses in quick succession while Yixing watches in apparent awe. Baekhyun wipes his mouth with the back of his hand and smirks at Yixing. “A few more of those and I'll be doing body shots out of your belly button.” Yixing doesn't seem opposed to this at all, and Baekhyun laughs at Yixing's dopey expression as he drags him towards the living room with a: “Let's go dance!”

Kyungsoo stares after them, unsure of what even just happened. He doesn't know if he'll ever be able to keep up with Baekhyun's manic energy. His attention is pulled back to Chanyeol when Chanyeol sneezes into the crook of his elbow, followed by a sheepish smile. “Sorry,” he sniffles. “Hay fever.” Kyungsoo just hums as a noncommittal response. Chanyeol holds up the tequila. “Want some?”

“I'm not usually a big drinker,” Kyungsoo says, glancing at the wide array of bottles spread out on the kitchen counter. He doesn't know what half these things are.

“That's alright,” Joonmyun says. “You don't have to be drunk to have a good time.” Chanyeol pours himself some concoction that consists of roughly every kind of alcohol available mixed in one of those red solo cups Kyungsoo didn't know actually existed outside of generic teen comedies. Chanyeol takes a sip, visibly winces, then sneezes while Kyungsoo and Joonmyun watch on with shared looks of disdain. Still, Joonmyun pats Chanyeol on the back.

Looking through the selection of beverages once more, Kyungsoo settles on hard apple cider and pours it into a cup. It should be enough to loosen him up a bit without him getting too drunk. Chanyeol has wandered off with his horrid drink, Joonmyun hot on his heels with a worried expression like he's afraid Chanyeol will get himself into trouble if he leaves him unsupervised. Kyungsoo feels awkward standing here in the kitchen alone, so he takes a deep breath and ventures back into the living room.

On the makeshift dance floor, people are jumping and moving to the music, some more on beat than others. Kyungsoo leans against the wall, a wallflower, and tries not to look too awkward or out of place – even though he very much feels it. He keeps taking small sips from his plastic cup as he scans the room to search for his new roommates or anyone else he might know.

He sees Sehun fiddling with the music, switching to another upbeat track that Kyungsoo has never heard, but which makes everyone else howl with excitement once it comes on. He sees Joonmyun in the other end of the room talking to a pretty girl, who seems very disinterested. He sees Chanyeol flailing, towering above everyone else. He sees Baekhyun and Yixing grinding against each other in a way that makes Kyungsoo wish he had never looked at all. And then he sees what he thinks is another familiar face. He can't quite place it, but by the time he squints to get a better look at them, the person has disappeared in the mass of writing bodies.

Someone sidles up to his left. “Hey,” they shout to be heard over the music, and Kyungsoo looks over to see Prince Charming standing next to him, still all smiles and high cheekbones. Is he wearing highlighter? “Are you enjoying yourself?”

“I don't really go to parties much,” Kyungsoo shouts back.

“Not your scene?” Prince Charming asks, and Kyungsoo shakes his head. He takes another sip of his cider, wrinkles his nose. Could use some ice. “Do you wanna dance?”

“I don't really dance, either,” Kyungsoo admits. “I'm not very good at it.”

To his surprise, Prince Charming laughs. “Neither am I, but that's half the fun.” He holds out his hand for Kyungsoo to take. Kyungsoo doesn't know if it's the alcohol that makes him feel this reckless or if it's Prince Charming's pretty smile. Either way, he sets down his drink on the nearest surface, takes the proffered hand, and allows himself to be guided into the chaos.

Kyungsoo feels awkward at first. He doesn't really know how to dance, let alone with someone else, but Prince Charming clearly isn't afraid of making a fool out of himself, which makes it easier to let loose. Gradually, they get shoved closer together by the undulating crowd until they're right up against each other, Prince Charming's hands on Kyungsoo's shoulders, Kyungsoo's hands on Prince Charming's waist. They're still a respectable distance apart, yet close enough to exchange body heat. It's intoxicating. Kyungsoo can hear his own pulse roaring in his ears, and Prince Charming just keeps smiling, smiling, smiling.

Out of the corner of his eye, Kyungsoo catches a glimpse of that almost-familiar face again. This time when he glances over, he sees him fully, and his blood runs cold. Kyungsoo doesn't know his name, but he does know him. The guy sneers at him with an ugly scowl. He looks Kyungsoo up and down, pausing pointedly in the place where Kyungsoo and Prince Charming are touching. Before Kyungsoo can do or say anything, the guy has slipped out of sight once more. “,” Kyungsoo curses under his breath.

“You okay?” Kyungsoo looks back to Prince Charming, who's wearing a frown of concern. Clearly, he has noticed Kyungsoo's discomfort. Kyungsoo wonders how he looks right now.

“F-fine,” Kyungsoo says, even though he's not. He feels too hot. He feels claustrophobic. “I think... I think I just need some fresh air.” Prince Charming asks another question, but Kyungsoo doesn't stick around to hear it. He extricates himself from the crowd, grabs his discarded drink from where he left it, and makes his way outside.

There are a lot of people in the backyard as well, but they're scattered in smaller groups around the swimming pool, and the night air is cool and soothing against Kyungsoo's heated skin. He downs the rest of the apple cider, which is decidedly lukewarm at this point. He should probably drink some water, but he can't find it within himself to go back inside. Not right now. Instead, he finds a secluded corner and settles down on a chaise lounge. It's clearly meant for sunbathing, but he leans back and stares up into the dark night sky. The light pollution is too heavy for him to really stargaze. He pretends anyway.

Kyungsoo loses track of how long he stays there. He was hoping for the queasiness to subside, but it only seems to be getting worse. He frowns. Or tries to frown, at least. His face feels like it's made of molasses. He didn't drink that much, did he? He can't even really remember. His heart races. Something's not right. He tries to sit upright, but everything is spinning. His head is pounding. Through his hazy vision, he swears he sees the guy and his ugly scowl approaching him, along with a few other guys, and Kyungsoo is having a hard time putting thoughts together, but he knows he needs help.

On unsteady legs, Kyungsoo stands. He tries to make his way towards the house because he knows he shouldn't be alone right now. The ground seems to wobble beneath him. He stumbles, falling hard on his knees, but manages to get up. By the door, he sees Prince Charming and Joonmyun, both of them looking around the large backyard. Kyungsoo makes it a few more steps before he falls again, only this time, he doesn't hit hard tiles. Instead, his fall is followed by a splash and a sharp pain in his temple, before everything goes black.

Kyungsoo wakes up coughing. His throat feels raw, his body is floating, and someone's face is uncomfortably close to his own. Once he blinks the water from his eyes, he recognizes the cheekbones and the brilliant smile. “Hey, hey, you're okay,” Prince Charming whispers, caressing his cheek. Kyungsoo tries to sit up, but is manhandled onto his side instead and is powerless to resist. He spits up water onto the tiles. “You're okay, you're okay.” The hand feels warm against Kyungsoo's face, yet Kyungsoo shivers. “Someone get me a blanket or something!”

“What ha-happened?” Kyungsoo croaks. He still feels woozy. It hurts to breathe. There are scattered murmurs all around him, and beyond that, the pounding bass of the music that's still going. Right. The party.

“You fell into the pool,” Prince Charming explains. “Hit your head on the edge and passed out. We're waiting on the ambulance now.”

Once more, Kyungsoo tries to sit up, but several sets of hands keep him in place. “Not a good idea,” someone else says from behind him. Joonmyun? “You need to stay still until the paramedics get to look at you.”

“'m fine,” Kyungsoo insists. “Don't need the hospital.” He can't afford it. His family would never help him. “I'll be fine, just let me... let me get up.”

Prince Charming's face swims into his field of view again as he sprawls out next to Kyungsoo to be able to look him in the eyes. “You were dead.” This halts Kyungsoo's struggles, makes him stop moving. “For... a while. You stopped breathing, and I had to do CPR on you.” That explains why his face was so close when Kyungsoo woke up. “And your head is bleeding.” Kyungsoo tries to lift his hand to touch, but Prince Charming grabs it before he can, wincing. “You shouldn't touch it. Looks pretty gnarly.” He doesn't let go of Kyungsoo's hand. He does link their fingers together. “I need you to go get checked out by a doctor, hm? I'll go with you?” Kyungsoo sighs and nods.

The ambulance arrives eventually. Kyungsoo feels like it takes a long time, but at the same time not long enough. He's loath to let go of Prince Charming's hand. The paramedics ask him all sorts of questions that he can barely answer. Where does it hurt? His head. Anywhere else? His chest. Anywhere else? Not really. How much did he have to drink? One cup of hard cider. Really, that's it? Yes. Prince Charming is by his side the whole time, filling in the blanks to some of Kyungsoo's lacking responses. His voice is a pleasant rumble in Kyungsoo's ears. He just wants to go to sleep.

Only when they're loading him into the ambulance on a gurney does Kyungsoo realize that Prince Charming isn't wearing a shirt. “Why are you ?” he slurs.

“I took off my shirt so you could use it as a pillow,” Prince Charming explains. He pulls that same shirt over his head now, and Kyungsoo sees that it's damp and covered in bloodstains.

“I bled on it,” he says, but doesn't have the wherewithal to be as mortified as he probably should be by this revelation. “I'm sorry.” Prince Charming just shakes his head with a soft smile. Damn. He's so cool. So suave. So chill with the fact that Kyungsoo ruined his shirt and probably also his night. Definitely a real Prince Charming, that's for sure.

Prince Charming appears to be holding back laughter. “And what does that make you, then?” he asks, and Kyungsoo realizes belatedly that he said that last part out loud. Oops. “Sleeping Beauty? Snow White?”

“Just Kyungsoo is fine.” He may have almost died and may have a concussion, but he still knows how to be petulant. He's not going to take anyone's . Not anymore.

“Well, just Kyungsoo,” Prince Charming says. “Then I'm just Jongdae.”

It turns out, Kyungsoo does have a concussion. He also probably has a worrying amount of Rohypnol in his system, according to the doctor's suspicions as well as a witness account of Sehun, who saw Kyungsoo's unattended drink getting spiked at the party but wasn't able to warn him in time.

It was the guy. The same one, who had scowled at Kyungsoo on the dance floor, who had slipped a date drug into Kyungsoo's cup, who had tried to approach him in the backyard along with four of his friends to... Kyungsoo doesn't know what they were planning to do to him. He doesn't want to think about it. He knows the guy is a friend of his stepbrother, and anyone involved with or influenced by his stepfather does not have any good intentions towards Kyungsoo.

According to Baekhyun, Sehun kicked all of their asses once he got his hands on them. According to Sehun, Baekhyun is embellishing, but he does seem very proud to show off his bruised knuckles. Kyungsoo nearly cries when he finds out someone would stand up for him like that. He's not used to that kind of support, hasn't been shown anything like it in a long, long time.

As soon as he's able to string two sentences together properly, Kyungsoo asks everyone to gather in the living room. All of his new housemates. “I feel like I owe you all an explanation for what happened,” Kyungsoo begins, wringing his hands. “We're going to be living together and this could potentially cause problems in the future, so you all deserve to know.” He takes a deep breath, exhales. “I'm gay.”

There is a beat of silence. Then: “No , Sherlock.” Jongin elbows Sehun in the side.

“This is a judgment free house,” Joonmyun says beatifically. “A safe space. Any uality or gender identity is welcome here.”

“Yeah, we're pretty much all flaming homouals,” Baekhyun interjects, arms behind his head, feet propped up on the coffee table. “Except for Joonmyun, but that's because he has poor taste in just about everything.” Joonmyun sputters in protest. Chanyeol laughs, then sneezes. Yixing looks like he has no idea what's going on, but giggles anyway.

“Guys,” Minseok says quietly, and everyone goes silent right away. He smiles at Kyungsoo and gestures for him to continue.

Kyungsoo clears his throat. “A-anyway... my stepfather didn't like that. At all. He wanted to kick me out, but my mother wouldn't let him, so I was allowed to stay. Until she, uh... she passed away about a month ago.” He takes another deep, shuddering breath, stares only at the floor. He hasn't actually talked about this with anyone. It's not as easy as he thought it would be. “M-my stepfather, he's... he's chief of police. He's very respected in the community. He has a lot of connections. He has a lot of influence over his friends, his family, my family. They're all very... against my inclinations. It's... I don't know. I don't know.”

Kyungsoo doesn't realize he's crying until Baekhyun walks over to wrap him in a tight hug. “ 'em,” he says, and he sounds livid. It's the first time Kyungsoo has heard him sound anything but happy. “ 'em all. They can go eat a bag of .” He pulls back, cupping Kyungsoo's face with both of his hands, smiling wide and bright. “We're your family now.”

It's only when Joonmyun drives Kyungsoo to see Jongdae that he realizes the party had actually taken place at Jongdae's house. He hesitates in the passenger seat for a while, uncertain. Worried to talk to Jongdae, but also worried about being back here. “Do you want me to go inside with you?” Joonmyun asks. Kyungsoo thinks for a moment, then shakes his head. “Alright. Text me if you need anything.”

Joonmyun waits until Jongdae opens the door before driving off. Jongdae still looks good, it wasn't just the alcohol and subsequent head injury talking. They smile he directs at Kyungsoo is soft. “Hey,” he says.

“Hey,” Kyungsoo says. “C-can I come in?”

The house looks very different in the daylight and with a lot less people. Kyungsoo sits on the couch and glances around the living room, at the trinkets and framed pictures that had apparently been hidden away during the party. At least Kyungsoo doesn't remember having seen them. Then again, a large part of that night is still a haze. “Glad to see you up and about,” Jongdae says, making Kyungsoo turn to face him. He hands Kyungsoo a can of soda, still unopened.

“Me too. Thank you, by the way. For everything you did that night.” Jongdae had accompanied him to the hospital, had held his hand in the waiting room, had helped him answer questions again, had stayed with him throughout the night to keep an eye on him while he rested. He didn't need to. He didn't need to do any of that, and Kyungsoo is simultaneously incredibly grateful and incredibly guilty for putting him through it all. “I figured I owe you an explanation as well.”

Jongdae shakes his head. “You don't owe me anything,” he says, but listens anyway as Kyungsoo talks. He tells Jongdae everything he had told the others. Jongdae doesn't interrupt him, just lets him speak and speak and speak until the words stop flowing. Then he smiles. “Thank you for telling me.”

Kyungsoo sighs, exasperated. “I unload my whole emotional baggage onto you, and you thank me for it? You really are Prince Charming, aren't you?”

Jongdae shrugs. “I mean, trust is important in any relationship.” Kyungsoo is still reeling from the use of the word relationship when Jongdae takes his hand between both of his. “Listen, Kyungsoo. I really want to get to know you better. Can I... take you out on a date?”

A little breathless, Kyungsoo replies: “Yes.”

Jongdae's grin is blinding. “I can't promise you for certain that we'll live happily ever after, but I'll sure do my best.” No more words are necessary. Kyungsoo leans in to catch Jongdae's kitty smile in a kiss.

He'll do his best, too. 

~ * ~

A/N: 

hey, hi, hello, it's me. it's been so long since I posted that I barely remembered how to. :))))) I also haven't written anything in like a year and a half, so please be gentle with me.

anyway. I've been working on this story for literal years because of a stupid ing kyungsoo edit I saw, and now I finally found the motivation and energy to dust off this thing and send it on its way with a nice tap on the . obviously it's some kind of re-imagining of snow white, in case it wasn't clear. I'll let y'all figure out the who's who. *slaps top of story's roof* you can fit so many nonsensical plotlines in this bad boy.

bye!!!

ps: I'm never really come to aff anymore, I mostly hang out on ao3 and tumblr.

pps. I'm Really Going Through It™ right now so comments are much appreciated.