Pillow Talk
Love Rekindled
“You ran into what?!”
“Who, Eunhyuk-hyung. It’s who,” Kyuhyun corrected, but even he was taken back by the news Henry had brought home with him and Heechul. He turned away from his hyung as a tongue was stuck out in his direction. “How did you manage to run into him already? He’s only been in the country a couple of hours.”
Henry sighed and sank onto the nearest couch cushion, looking shaken and more like a kid than ever. He shook his head, shoving a hand through his hair. “I didn’t. Heechul-hyung did. We’re just lucky I chose that route home from the bank.”
Kangin held out a soda for the youngster and ruffled his hair before he too sat down. He hadn’t been around when Heechul’s breakdown had occurred, but he’d certainly done his best to support him and the rest of the members through letters. It had driven him crazy to be so out of control, not that he’d ever admit to such sentimentality. Needless to say, when he’d finally finished his mandatory two years and Heechul had already enlisted, he’d just been relieved to know that his hyung would be getting away from it all. Two years could be an awfully long time, but in Heechul’s case it was exactly what he’d needed. Since his discharge and return to the group, he’d been more mature in Kangin’s opinion.
“I’m sure you handled it as good as any of us would have,” he reassured the younger man.
Henry toyed with the tab on his soda can, shrugging. “I really didn’t say much.”
“So how’d you handle it, then?” Donghae asked, somehow looking anxious and yet entirely content as he rested his head on Eunhyuk’s thigh.
Henry expelled a heavy breath. “I went in, grabbed Heechul-hyung, said we’d been waiting for him, congratulated Han, and dragged hyung out to the van. I didn’t give anyone a chance for anything else.”
“Good boy.” Kangin clapped him on the back just as Henry had been taking a sip of his soda. When the blond promptly choked in surprise, he patted him a little more gently on the back. “Sorry.”
“Well, I think we can all agree it was a good thing that you got there when you did, but there’s still a problem,” Kyuhyun pointed out. When everyone looked at him in confusion, he rose both brows and gestured toward the hallway leading to the bedrooms. “He hasn’t been out of the bedroom since they got back. Now, I know you guys don’t mind so much, but I do share a room with him.”
“I’ll take care of it,” Siwon said from the hallway, appearing around the corner. Still dressed in a pair of shorts and a tank from playing basketball, he looked like he’d been running. In actuality he had run from his car up to the dorm, too impatient to hold still in an elevator.
“When did you..” Henry’s confused question trailed into nothing as his boyfriend turned his back on the group and disappeared down the hallway. Seconds later the door to Heechul and Kyuhyun’s room opened, then clicked shut.
“I hate it when he just appears like that,” Henry grumbled, but the atmosphere in the living room had already lightened somewhat. While some of them were in fact closer to Heechul than others, Siwon had been the one person with the ability to read him since Han’s departure years ago. If anyone would understand Heechul’s mental and emotional state, let alone be able to help him if need be, it would be Siwon.
Everything was quiet for a few minutes before Kyuhyun spoke up. “So. Game, anyone?”
---
“Hey stranger,” Siwon paused halfway to Heechul’s bed, watching the older man for a bit. When no response was made and Heechul merely continued to play with his cell phone, Siwon sighed. “Okay, have it your way.”
He leapt onto the bed, bouncing Heechul in the process and nearly blowing out his eardrums when the pretty male yelped in shock.
“Yah! Are you crazy?!”
Siwon just grinned and wrapped his arms around Heechul’s midsection, giving him a backhug that would probably give fan girls the world over a nosebleed. “I thought we established that years ago. You’re the crazy puppet master. I’m the prince. Kyuhyun is the evil overlord, Teukkie-hyung is the umma..”
Heechul managed to swat at him with a pillow, still holding his phone in his free hand. “You’re annoying. Go away.”
“No way.”
“Siwon, I’m serious.”
“So am I,” the younger of the two said quietly, readjusting his grip so he could get comfortable. He tucked his chin into the crook of Heechul’s neck, looking over his shoulder at the other’s phone. “I know what happened.”
Heechul was silent, and Siwon took that as an acknowledgement that he was staying. He sighed and closed his eyes. “We were going to tell you when you got home.”
“..You knew? All of you?” Heechul asked after a tense moment.
“It was on the news while you were filming. That’s why Donghae texted you.” Siwon answered quietly.
Heechul closed his own eyes and mentally counted to five, but it did nothing to alleviate the sudden tension in his spine. He knew they were just being their usual overprotective selves and while he had a tendency to do the same, it didn’t make it any easier to hear that they’d all known before he had. Damn it, he should have texted Donghae before going to the café. Maybe then there wouldn’t have been a need to stop..
“Hyung?”
“What…”
“Are you mad?”
For a few seconds Heechul was quiet, deliberating. Just as Siwon opened his mouth again, he answered, shaking his head. “No. It wasn’t something any of you could control.”
Siwon nodded against his shoulder, and the two fell silent for awhile. The sounds of a video game came through the closed door, muffled taunts and laughter mingling with it. Heechul stared at Kyuhyun’s bed across the room, ignoring his phone as it went off with texts. He’d long since turned off the ringer, so all it did was light up.
“Do you want to talk about it?”
“No.”
Siwon frowned at the resignation in the whisper that answered him. It was something he’d heard a lot at one time, and he wasn’t sure he liked hearing it now. Not if it was a precursor to a relapse. “Want to lay here for awhile?”
“Yeah…”
chapter "rekindled love" is screwy because I had to post from my phone. sorry for the wall of text!!!
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