Ship/Member: seokmin/minghao/mingyu Major Tags: teen angst, ferris bueller if john hughes was braver Additional Tags: n/a Permission to remix: yes
*
Mingyu calls Seokmin to come over, because of course he does. Seokmin really thinks this time he’s not gonna do it, that he’s gonna stay at home for real for once. He really does feel sick.
Seokmin goes over.
Mingyu convinces Seokmin to call the school for Minghao, and Seokmin still feels sick but he does it, and then when Mingyu asks him to steal the car he does that too.
*
He’s going to regret it. He’s sure he is.
*
After the day’s almost over, the museum and the restaurant and the parade all behind them, Seokmin wakes up at the side of the pool. Minghao’s leaning over him, the glare of the afternoon sun behind threatening to eclipse his soft face. Minghao’s hands are cradling his head, palms warm and dry against his skin. In the background Mingyu’s talking loudly about something but Seokmin can’t make out anything he’s saying. Isn’t really trying, honestly.
“Hi,” Minghao smiles down at him. His voice is quiet, just for Seokmin. He isn’t listening to Mingyu either.
“Is he okay?” Mingyu calls, then, voice raised deliberately. Minghao’s mouth twists, amused, before he turns to call back.
“He’ll be fine!”
Minghao’s hands haven’t moved from Seokmin’s head. Seokmin’s head hasn’t moved from under Minghao’s hands.
He expects Mingyu to drop it, to go back to splashing or flexing or whatever he was doing on the other end of the pool. But of course Mingyu doesn’t, because he’s never as callous as Seokmin sometimes wishes he was.
“Seokmin-ah,” he says, his head leaning into Seokmin’s field of vision and forcing Minghao out of the picture. His wet hair drips onto Seokmin’s forehead, but Seokmin doesn’t flinch. He’s been surprised by worse. “Seokmin-ah,” Mingyu says, voice low and urgent. The smile is gone from his face, now, something serious taking its place. Seokmin doesn’t like it any better.
It would make Mingyu feel better if Seokmin did something, probably. If he would at least sit up and dangle his feet in the water, like Minghao’s doing.
Seokmin does nothing. The sickness from the morning is back for real, his stomach turning over on itself every time he thinks about the car, and he can’t stop thinking about the stupid car.
Seokmin knew better, is the thing. He knew better than to answer when Mingyu called, and he knew better than to call the school pretending to be Minghao’s dad, and he knew better than to steal the damn car. He knew better but he still did it, because Mingyu asked. He always does what Mingyu asks.
“He just needs to rest, that’s all,” Minghao says to Mingyu, a quiet admonishment in his voice. Seokmin isn’t sure he likes that much more — Minghao thinking of him as something pitiable. That’s the sort of thing a mother would say about her sick child, or maybe her wilting orchid. It just needs to rest.
He thinks about when they picked up Minghao, how Mingyu had pulled him close and kissed him right there in the parking lot, in clear view of the school. He’d dipped him and everything, while Seokmin crouched in the backseat like a lump.
Invisible.
Before he knows what he’s doing Seokmin sits up in a rush, much too quickly. Minghao lurches back sharply with a high-pitched giggle, dodging him neatly, but Mingyu’s slower. Their skulls connect with a dull thud, the shock of it sending Mingyu flailing backwards into the pool. For a stunned moment Seokmin watches him flail, eyes wide, and then Minghao snorts next to him and he loses it.
“Don’t make fun of me,” Mingyu whines from the water, pushing his hair out of his eyes with both hands before he fixes his gaze on Seokmin, a determined set to his jaw that Seokmin knows better than to trust. Sure enough, Mingyu starts to stride forward with purpose, mouth twisting in amusement even as he tries to keep his face serious. The pull of the water slows him down enough that Seokmin could stand up and move backward, if he wanted.
He doesn’t.
He lets Mingyu come to him, instead, shrieking when Mingyu’s wet hands come up to grasp at his body — his knees, his thighs, his arms, tugging and tugging and tugging until Seokmin gives in with another yell and tumbles forward with him into the water, his heavy body deadweight against Mingyu’s.
Seokmin’s expecting it, but it’s still a shock when he goes under. He goes limp until Mingyu steadies himself underneath and lets him go, big hands finally pulling back, but even then he doesn’t move to push back towards the surface. Instead he lets himself drift down until he’s sitting at the bottom of the pool, wincing at the sting as he blinks his eyes open.
He can see Mingyu’s legs through the water, wavy and blurred. He can hear Mingyu talking, just like he could before, and just like before he can’t make out any of the words. He can’t even be sure it’s Mingyu. It could be anyone, those muffled warbling sounds.
His lungs are starting to burn.
The muffled sounds get louder and louder until suddenly there’s a splash, disrupting the water enough that Seokmin has to close his eyes, raw and irritated from the chlorine.
Warm hands grip him under the armpits and pull, hard, until Seokmin has no choice but to let them drag him to the surface.
He coughs when his face breaks through the water, sputtering a little as he fills his starving lungs with air.
“Yah, Kim Mingyu,” Seokmin starts, voice rough, but when he blinks his eyes open it’s not Mingyu at all.
“Lee Seokmin,” Minghao says, hands still wrapped around Seokmin’s forearms, and Seokmin’s annoyance fades immediately into embarrassment.
“Sorry,” he laughs awkwardly, but Minghao shakes his head.
“Don’t be,” he says, smiling, and before Seokmin can register what he’s doing he moves forward to grab Seokmin’s head in his hands, just like before only they’re standing in the pool this time, soaked and dripping and clammy, and instead of stroking Seokmin’s hair back from his face Minghao coaxes him forward into a kiss.
It’s brief — just the barest brush of lips and then it’s over. Minghao’s mouth is soft against Seokmin’s, his smile warm when he pulls back.
Seokmin’s cheeks flush.
“You — ” he starts, his eyes darting to Mingyu before he can help it. He isn’t sure what he’s expecting, but whatever it is he doesn’t find it. Mingyu manages to surprise him, for once. He’s staring right at the two of them, but not with the jealousy Seokmin expected. No anger either. Just —
Hunger, Seokmin realizes, eyes widening in surprise.
Minghao’s hands drop from Seokmin’s face down to his chest. They’re still resting there when Mingyu makes his way closer, movements made awkward by the water. When Mingyu comes to a stop Minghao takes them back completely.
“What are you — ” Seokmin starts again, but he doesn’t finish this time either.
Mingyu kisses differently than Minghao. Pushier, sloppier. Wetter.
“Don’t worry about the car,” Mingyu says. It’s the kind of line that would annoy Seokmin, usually, but this time he’s too distracted by the line of saliva connecting their lips as Mingyu draws back far enough to speak. Mingyu keeps going, emboldened by Seokmin’s silence.
“We’ll take it back together, okay? Don’t worry so much.”
“Sure,” Seokmin says, or maybe he only thinks it. It doesn't really matter, either way. He's focusing on more important things.
*
“Hey, Seokmin,” Minghao asks on the way back to Seokmin’s father’s house. He’d crawled into the back when they all got in instead of taking the passenger seat next to Mingyu, which Mingyu had pouted about and Minghao had ignored. Seokmin’s heart feels too big for his chest, sore from overuse as he turns to look at Minghao for real.
“Were you looking when I got changed? Back at the pool?”
Minghao’s words are such a shock that at first all Seokmin can do is sputter, confused, his cheeks flaming red. Minghao breaks into another round of giggles, delighted, and when Seokmin glances up towards Mingyu he’s grinning too.
Seokmin takes a deep breath, and lets a matching smile break onto his face.
“I don’t know,” he says, voice jolly and teasing. “Did you want me to be?”
Minghao only laughs harder.
*
The two of them drop him off with the car and Mingyu says goodbye with a hug that’s two shades too tight, promising that he’ll call. Minghao slides himself under Mingyu’s arm, the same way he always does, but the way he’s looking at Seokmin is different.
The way they’re both looking at him is different.
*
His dad is furious about the car, of course, just like Seokmin knew he would be. Seokmin is the one who’s different, his father’s words drifting past instead of soaking inside him and settling into his most vulnerable parts.
Seokmin doesn’t regret it, he decides, thinking of the way Minghao held his hand on the sidewalk outside the parade. Of Mingyu on a parade float, holding out a flower for each of them.
[FILL] you could miss it.
Major Tags: teen angst, ferris bueller if john hughes was braver
Additional Tags: n/a
Permission to remix: yes
*
Mingyu calls Seokmin to come over, because of course he does. Seokmin really thinks this time he’s not gonna do it, that he’s gonna stay at home for real for once. He really does feel sick.
Seokmin goes over.
Mingyu convinces Seokmin to call the school for Minghao, and Seokmin still feels sick but he does it, and then when Mingyu asks him to steal the car he does that too.
*
He’s going to regret it. He’s sure he is.
*
After the day’s almost over, the museum and the restaurant and the parade all behind them, Seokmin wakes up at the side of the pool. Minghao’s leaning over him, the glare of the afternoon sun behind threatening to eclipse his soft face. Minghao’s hands are cradling his head, palms warm and dry against his skin. In the background Mingyu’s talking loudly about something but Seokmin can’t make out anything he’s saying. Isn’t really trying, honestly.
“Hi,” Minghao smiles down at him. His voice is quiet, just for Seokmin. He isn’t listening to Mingyu either.
“Is he okay?” Mingyu calls, then, voice raised deliberately. Minghao’s mouth twists, amused, before he turns to call back.
“He’ll be fine!”
Minghao’s hands haven’t moved from Seokmin’s head. Seokmin’s head hasn’t moved from under Minghao’s hands.
He expects Mingyu to drop it, to go back to splashing or flexing or whatever he was doing on the other end of the pool. But of course Mingyu doesn’t, because he’s never as callous as Seokmin sometimes wishes he was.
“Seokmin-ah,” he says, his head leaning into Seokmin’s field of vision and forcing Minghao out of the picture. His wet hair drips onto Seokmin’s forehead, but Seokmin doesn’t flinch. He’s been surprised by worse. “Seokmin-ah,” Mingyu says, voice low and urgent. The smile is gone from his face, now, something serious taking its place. Seokmin doesn’t like it any better.
It would make Mingyu feel better if Seokmin did something, probably. If he would at least sit up and dangle his feet in the water, like Minghao’s doing.
Seokmin does nothing. The sickness from the morning is back for real, his stomach turning over on itself every time he thinks about the car, and he can’t stop thinking about the stupid car.
Seokmin knew better, is the thing. He knew better than to answer when Mingyu called, and he knew better than to call the school pretending to be Minghao’s dad, and he knew better than to steal the damn car. He knew better but he still did it, because Mingyu asked. He always does what Mingyu asks.
“He just needs to rest, that’s all,” Minghao says to Mingyu, a quiet admonishment in his voice. Seokmin isn’t sure he likes that much more — Minghao thinking of him as something pitiable. That’s the sort of thing a mother would say about her sick child, or maybe her wilting orchid. It just needs to rest.
He thinks about when they picked up Minghao, how Mingyu had pulled him close and kissed him right there in the parking lot, in clear view of the school. He’d dipped him and everything, while Seokmin crouched in the backseat like a lump.
Invisible.
Before he knows what he’s doing Seokmin sits up in a rush, much too quickly. Minghao lurches back sharply with a high-pitched giggle, dodging him neatly, but Mingyu’s slower. Their skulls connect with a dull thud, the shock of it sending Mingyu flailing backwards into the pool. For a stunned moment Seokmin watches him flail, eyes wide, and then Minghao snorts next to him and he loses it.
“Don’t make fun of me,” Mingyu whines from the water, pushing his hair out of his eyes with both hands before he fixes his gaze on Seokmin, a determined set to his jaw that Seokmin knows better than to trust. Sure enough, Mingyu starts to stride forward with purpose, mouth twisting in amusement even as he tries to keep his face serious. The pull of the water slows him down enough that Seokmin could stand up and move backward, if he wanted.
He doesn’t.
He lets Mingyu come to him, instead, shrieking when Mingyu’s wet hands come up to grasp at his body — his knees, his thighs, his arms, tugging and tugging and tugging until Seokmin gives in with another yell and tumbles forward with him into the water, his heavy body deadweight against Mingyu’s.
Seokmin’s expecting it, but it’s still a shock when he goes under. He goes limp until Mingyu steadies himself underneath and lets him go, big hands finally pulling back, but even then he doesn’t move to push back towards the surface. Instead he lets himself drift down until he’s sitting at the bottom of the pool, wincing at the sting as he blinks his eyes open.
He can see Mingyu’s legs through the water, wavy and blurred. He can hear Mingyu talking, just like he could before, and just like before he can’t make out any of the words. He can’t even be sure it’s Mingyu. It could be anyone, those muffled warbling sounds.
His lungs are starting to burn.
The muffled sounds get louder and louder until suddenly there’s a splash, disrupting the water enough that Seokmin has to close his eyes, raw and irritated from the chlorine.
Warm hands grip him under the armpits and pull, hard, until Seokmin has no choice but to let them drag him to the surface.
He coughs when his face breaks through the water, sputtering a little as he fills his starving lungs with air.
“Yah, Kim Mingyu,” Seokmin starts, voice rough, but when he blinks his eyes open it’s not Mingyu at all.
“Lee Seokmin,” Minghao says, hands still wrapped around Seokmin’s forearms, and Seokmin’s annoyance fades immediately into embarrassment.
“Sorry,” he laughs awkwardly, but Minghao shakes his head.
“Don’t be,” he says, smiling, and before Seokmin can register what he’s doing he moves forward to grab Seokmin’s head in his hands, just like before only they’re standing in the pool this time, soaked and dripping and clammy, and instead of stroking Seokmin’s hair back from his face Minghao coaxes him forward into a kiss.
It’s brief — just the barest brush of lips and then it’s over. Minghao’s mouth is soft against Seokmin’s, his smile warm when he pulls back.
Seokmin’s cheeks flush.
“You — ” he starts, his eyes darting to Mingyu before he can help it. He isn’t sure what he’s expecting, but whatever it is he doesn’t find it. Mingyu manages to surprise him, for once. He’s staring right at the two of them, but not with the jealousy Seokmin expected. No anger either. Just —
Hunger, Seokmin realizes, eyes widening in surprise.
Minghao’s hands drop from Seokmin’s face down to his chest. They’re still resting there when Mingyu makes his way closer, movements made awkward by the water. When Mingyu comes to a stop Minghao takes them back completely.
“What are you — ” Seokmin starts again, but he doesn’t finish this time either.
Mingyu kisses differently than Minghao. Pushier, sloppier. Wetter.
“Don’t worry about the car,” Mingyu says. It’s the kind of line that would annoy Seokmin, usually, but this time he’s too distracted by the line of saliva connecting their lips as Mingyu draws back far enough to speak. Mingyu keeps going, emboldened by Seokmin’s silence.
“We’ll take it back together, okay? Don’t worry so much.”
“Sure,” Seokmin says, or maybe he only thinks it. It doesn't really matter, either way. He's focusing on more important things.
*
“Hey, Seokmin,” Minghao asks on the way back to Seokmin’s father’s house. He’d crawled into the back when they all got in instead of taking the passenger seat next to Mingyu, which Mingyu had pouted about and Minghao had ignored. Seokmin’s heart feels too big for his chest, sore from overuse as he turns to look at Minghao for real.
“Were you looking when I got changed? Back at the pool?”
Minghao’s words are such a shock that at first all Seokmin can do is sputter, confused, his cheeks flaming red. Minghao breaks into another round of giggles, delighted, and when Seokmin glances up towards Mingyu he’s grinning too.
Seokmin takes a deep breath, and lets a matching smile break onto his face.
“I don’t know,” he says, voice jolly and teasing. “Did you want me to be?”
Minghao only laughs harder.
*
The two of them drop him off with the car and Mingyu says goodbye with a hug that’s two shades too tight, promising that he’ll call. Minghao slides himself under Mingyu’s arm, the same way he always does, but the way he’s looking at Seokmin is different.
The way they’re both looking at him is different.
*
His dad is furious about the car, of course, just like Seokmin knew he would be. Seokmin is the one who’s different, his father’s words drifting past instead of soaking inside him and settling into his most vulnerable parts.
Seokmin doesn’t regret it, he decides, thinking of the way Minghao held his hand on the sidewalk outside the parade. Of Mingyu on a parade float, holding out a flower for each of them.
Of what happened at the pool.
*
Seokmin doesn’t regret any of it.