For forestwhisperz
~Infinite Secret Santa 2013~ *Santas Revealed!*Snowing Indoors
For Forestwhisperz
Pairing: Author's choice (author chose Myungyeol)
Prompt: Apple crumble tastes bitter.
*click*
The single solid note of the shutters resounded through the quiet park.
*click*
*click*
Behind the lens, the raven hair observed the picturesque landscape appreciatively. Snow has blanketed the place adding a layer of peaceful softness. The ground was freshly white and smooth, untouched by the bustling of life and hurried footsteps. White balls bundled and were hanging off the bare branches of the trees, masking the emptiness from the fallen leaves.
Trying to leave as little as possible on the undisturbed surface, he lightly tiptoed his way across. Tugging his scarf tighter along with a few swipes of the gloved hand, he sat on the wooden bench that seemingly gotten a fresh coat of paint covering all the nicks and carvings that had been engraved by time. Gingerly sweeping away at the right corner of the second wood panel as though uncovering a hidden secret, he fluttered his eyelids closed, allowing the wave of memories to come.
~
“Myung!”
Came the shout that rang loudly across the street. With amused shakes of his head, Myungsoo looked up from his reviewing of photographs to see the familiar sight of a lanky guy with his head of chestnut coloured hair running towards him.
“Yeol, slow down, I’m not going anywhere.”
How Sungyeol always look so effortlessly charming was beyond him. His complexion was not flawless, features not exactly symmetrical, limbs slightly too long and awkward, but it was all the little imperfections that made him perfect, at least perfect in his eyes. He will never forget the first time he met him, in the season of orange, whilst the air was tinged with chillness. His bubbly laughter had cut through and shook him from his trance of shutters snapping. For those few seconds, it was a melodic tune to his ears and his senses perked with eyes speedily scanned through the crowd to find the source.
*click*
And his perfect shot of happiness was taken on that day.
“I’m always excited to see you! And I want to spend more time with you, even if it is just a few seconds more.”
“Really cheesy, darling. Time to cut back on your sugar intake.” with a grin, Myungsoo gave a pretense shiver after letting the humor coated words out.
Before a retort could be replied, Sungyeol felt a gentle kiss on his lips, and a soft whisper by his ear.
“I miss you…”
~
The weather was gorgeous, the street view seemed exceptionally beautiful and the brief sounds of construction that he heard were nothing but a light buzz. Passing by florist, the scent drifted past and he wondered if flowers had smelt that good every day, giving a light pat on the head of the young daughter from the apparel shop, he decided that today was absolutely glorious as he continued making his way towards his source of excellent mood.
Pushing the restaurant's door open, his grin got wider as he spotted his favourite boy sitting at a corner booth. Lightly skipping, he was at the booth in moments. Planting a deep kiss on the other's lips, he breathed.
"Happy 100th day, sunshine. I love you."
And the smile that lights up his world, flashed at him.
"I love you too, Myung."
Time went by steadily without either of them noticing. All they knew were of the constant flow of conversation, comfortable warmth radiating from the proximity of each other and pure contentment of just being there. Dessert came and passed, and he decided that it was time.
"For you…"
Receiving the box with a silver ribbon, Sungyeol narrowed his eyes and shook the box in an attempt to figure out his gift.
"You should open it now."
"Really?"
Anticipation in his eyes turn into ones glistening with moisture and happiness.
"Are they couple bracelets?”
And hands flung around his neck while his lips were peppered with continuous pecks.
“I love them!"
At the display of affection, a blissful smile spread across his face.
"Put it on for me."
~
the worn out leather bracelet on his wrist, he realized that both of them had never removed its presence and the significance of their first couple item had never wavered.
~
“This is childish.”
“I am childish! But you love that side of me,” putting on his pouty face, he continued with a whine. “Myung~~ It will just be a few letters, I will make it small so that no one will know except for us.”
Resigned to his weakness by the name of Sungyeol, he waved his hand carelessly giving the go ahead.
“Now, we are engraved here, a type of forever that no one can take away from us. Well, unless they decide to dismantle the bench.”
Slapping his own forehead, the brown hair groaned.
“Way to undermine your own romantic action, Sungyeol.”
While leaning affectionately on his lover’s shoulder, strings of chuckles spilled into the air together with the glance towards the mentioned area.
‘Sungyeol ♥ Myungsoo’
~
Tracing the squiggled words with his now bare right hand, he felt the ever familiar chest constricting ache which has been his companion for the past month.
~
"Shall we? Shall we? We totally should!"
"Yeol..."
"It will be fun! It's romantic, sweet and dreamy all rolled into one."
"It's just silly. I can think of better things to do that has everything rolled into an awesome package."
With that, a look that glinted with bedroom mischief was shot towards the pouting boy.
"Come on, Myung. Please~~" And a pair of puppy eyes counter attacked.
"I'm so going to regret for agreeing, ain't I?"
"You won't, I promise! Just an hour and tonight I will make it all worthwhile."
Looking at the flowers in his hands, he lamented, "Remind me to never give in to you again."
"But you lo~~ve me," was the singing reply.
"You can start once I say go! Give me your best cute and kissy faces, Myung!"
"Go!"
And so he started. Moving around in circles, eyes following the recording camcorder, arranging his features into various expressions to his definition of cute and kissy, adding in dashes of laughter when he heard the supposedly romantic background music that was played at the insistence of Sungyeol. Flowers were occasionally blown towards the screen or being forward shyly with his hands.
In his head, he swore that the directors who came up with the idea of running in circles under the afternoon sunlight and placing said scenes into music videos and dramas were only trying to torture the leads masking the actions as sweet, adorable gestures.
"Done!"
Lowering the camcorder, he threw his whole body into a full embrace.
"You were so cute, Myung! I love you more than anything else! Maybe except for oxygen."
~
The phone on the pillow had vibrated for the umpteen time. However, the figure on the adjacent pillow had no knowledge of it nor made any movements at all.
Half an hour later, keys were jiggling at the door and frantic footsteps were heard rushing into the room.
“Myung, I was worried! Why didn’t you pick up my calls?”
“Myung? Myung? Are you alright?” A hand quickly laid on his forehead and concerned words followed immediately.
“Myung, wake up! You are burning! Can you hear me?”
All he received were muffled groans.
After a few hours of iced towels and gentle soothing from the nervous person beside him, he finally cracked open an eye and simultaneously felt the heaviness in his head.
“Myung, you are finally awake! I was so scared! Hang on!”
Carefully being assisted him into sitting position, he felt as though someone has tied lead to his body and limbs. Seconds later, a cup appeared in his sight.
“Here, sip some water. Don’t move, I will hold it for you.”
Looking into the pair of orbs that were b with tears, he tried to form a coherent sentence.
“Yeol...”
“Hush, don’t speak. You are going to be fine, so I will be fine.”
~
Swinging the bag back and forth excitedly, Sungyeol jumped around screaming
“Myung, try this! It is absolutely delicious! How did I managed to pass my years without the existence of apple crumble in my life?”
Chortling out loud at his beloved’s hysterical actions, Myungsoo could only eye the paper bag that is currently moving around wildly.
After finishing what seem like an endless amount of the pastry, Sungyeol declared.
“You can never go wrong with apple crumble as dessert.”with the tone of importance as though it was a world breaking news.
And Myungsoo bursts into rounds of laughter once again.
~
"This is bitter, Yeol! What have you added?"
"I just followed what was written on the recipe! It gave misleading ingredients!”
"I'm positive that apple crumble is not supposed to taste bitter. And I'm pretty sure that the ones that we bought do not have brown bits all over."
Furrowing his brows, Myungsoo looked over to the figure that was leaning against the counter indignantly with his arms crossed.
"I only added chocolate! I wanted it be sweeter, a special flavour that can't be bought it stores!" came the huffed response.
Carefully scanning the messy counter, Myungsoo's hand reached for the packet of extra ingredient that was supposed to be the unique factor. Picking it up, a long exasperated sigh was released with a knowing glint hovering in his eyes.
"Yeol, a chocolate that has a 99% content of cocoa can never be sweet."
"Isn't the content of cocoa supposed to make the chocolate richer and taste better?"
With signs of defeat written on his face, he took a step to the right, pulling the patissier of that afternoon into a comforting hug. Amidst the alluring mix of Sungyeol's scent and baked pastry wafting pass his nose, he once again concluded in his head that the person he loves is an adorable package adorned with silly personal logic.
Leaning his back slightly away, gentle words flowed.
"Shall we try again? This time we will do it together and it will definitely be a one of a kind apple crumble that only belongs to the two of us."
~
Recalling the apple crumble that he had a week ago, when he found himself wandering into their usual cafe, the decadent treat had held no traces of sweetness, only the bitter aftertaste when recollections of their laughter played out in his head.
~
The weather was cold, but all they felt was the warmth blossoming within them. A trip had just been booked, they were finally going away for a holiday, escaping the hustle and bustle of city life to an island of relaxation. At the thought of the trip, they began to discuss excitedly on what should be worn, what should be brought, what activities should be done, all the while interlacing their fingers, strolling down the streets, admiring the season’s beauty.
They were just one street away from dinner when everything had happened. All too quickly. He was still laughing from the ridiculous sayings of Sungyeol, when the blur of chestnut flashed in his face, followed by the the sickening sound of a crash and the next moment they were both on the pavement while blood started to pool.
There were no time for farewells, no time for any words of “Stay strong”, “Baby, don’t leave me”, “I need you by my side”, “We are forever”. All he had were the seconds when the ghost of breath still lingered in Sungyeol. Holding his hand as tightly as he could, four simple words were whispered tenderly, “I love you, Yeol”.
Tears spilled on the face that Sungyeol dearly loved and had remarked numerously on how flawlessly beautiful it was.
*drip*
*drips*
The droplets fell, landing harshly on Sungyeol’s pale face. Quietly, they rolled off his cheeks, as though the tears were his own. Helplessly acknowledging the fate that awaits them soon.
The happiness that is fragmented, the promises that were now broken, the forever that will never be.
~
Now, alone here at the place where they first met, the absence of him by his side glared brightly. The numbness that he had felt was finally broken. His heart ached so much with pain that threaten to swallow him whole. He sorely missed the brushing of hands softly against his, yearned for the enveloping hugs, the promises that spoke more than love, the childish whines and pouts, the exchange of knowing looks, the words murmured only for his ears, the smile that seemingly lights up the world, his everything.
Rocking his body to and forth, sadness poured, cries bawled and tears pooled, melting the snow beneath him.
Just like how their favourite apple crumble will never be sweet again, couple items that have lost the other half, trips that will not be travelled, hugs and kisses that will never be returned, conversations that will not be replied, his love that will not be responded to;
His life now is incomplete.
a/n: This is my first fanfic and I hope that the person who gave the prompt will not be disappointed. *fingers crossed*
StarlightSpirit: Excuse me whilst I sit and sob for a while. Seriously, guys... can you stop killing off my bias? I wouldn't have arranged this freaking Secret Santa if I knew that I'd have to live through Yeollie's death multiple times. But yes, this was amazing, especially for your first fic!
Comment from prompt giver:
Thank you secret santa for the lovely story :) I like how you incorporated the prompt into it, as well as the comparison/analogy made with the apple crumble at the end. I was worried that the author who received the prompt might simply chuck it in as a passing remark, so I'm really glad you wrote it as you did. Thanks again! :)
Updates will be just me adding direct links as they come in and adding the santas to the chapters, don't worry too much :3
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