"It's called I Can't Hold Your Heart."
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Had Changkyun and Kihyun ended up together...
"Guys, come on! We gotta get going if we wanna get there by sundown!"
"Can't I just... stay here?"
"Kihyun, we're taking this trip for you! Come on!"
"Ah, okay..." The pinkette nodded solomnly at the words, swinging his heavy backpack over his shoulder. It was true: they were taking this trip for him.
About a few months ago, the pinkette had gotten a small kitten. He had named her Bella, with the help of Changkyun's suggestion. She was the cutest little thing--everyone agreed on that, all black with blonde tufts of fur just above her eyes, looking almost like eyebrows.
He had fallen for her so helplessly, but then...
But then she died.
He didn't know what had caused it. He had just gone to pick her up from her cat bed one day, and he found that she was cold, unmoving.
Since then, since that moment that he lost his animal soulmate, he had been nothing less than depressed; he even had constant nightmares where he was forced to relive the feelings of finding her there, dead.
That was why his friends were taking this trip for him, trying to cheer him up, trying to help him move on from this great loss. Kihyun was very important to them, they all said. They couldn't allow him to be hurting forever.
"Alright, load up, fellows!" Eagerly, Minhyuk slid open the van door and gestured to the seats inside. His eyes were alight with excitement.
One by one, everyone slid into their friend's yellow vehicle. Hoseok and Hyungwon took the two back seats; Kihyun and Changkyun took the middle seats, and Minhyuk was in the front with his boyfriend, Jooheon, right beside him.
Minhyuk had barely given them all a second to put their seat belts on before he had pressed down on the petal and sent them flying down the road; destination: Hoseok's family cabin.
"So," Minhyuk chided over the faint background music, a playful smirk tugging at his lips. Of course he had something up his sleeve. "Remind me again how you all became a couple?"
An instant chorus of groans and sighs came from the seats behind him. They couldn't count just how many times he had said this exact thing and expected them to tell the story.
"Really, I just wanna hear! It makes me all happy and fuzzy inside!"
Changkyun--of course he was the willing one--broke out into a contented smile as he gently squeezed at his boyfriend's fingers. He was always like this: touching Kihyun in some way, scared that he was going to lose him again. "It was Valentines Day," he began, figuring he should be the one to get this story telling session moving along, "and we were having that party at school, remember? It was the one where Hyungwon fell into the punch and was stained red." He paused for a second to hold in a laugh. "At that time, I had come to terms with my feelings, and Kihyun was finally starting to hang around me again. I thank whatever God is out there that he was willing to still be my friend, even if it did take a year."
"Anyway, anyway, when he was off with you guys--also thank you to those who were willing to distract him for me--I stuffed his locker full of chocolates. From there, I hid behind the corner and waited for him. When he ended up finally opening his locker, all the chocolate came tumbling out, and I took action and snapped a picture of his expression. Then, making sure he had become aware of the picture and was paying attention to me, I walked up to a random person in the hallway and said, 'You see this picture? This is my boyfriend.' He was so red; it was incredibly adorable. We've been together ever since."
Kihyun laughed lightly, looking down, and tugged their intertwined fingers over to rest on his thighs. "You make it sound like we've been together for years. It's only been a few months."
Changkyun just responded with a deep chuckle, his lips close to Kihyun's flushed ear, and suddenly they were in their own little world. No one else existed.
Their driver shivered, being all dramatic, and flung his free hand over his heart. "Ah, how romantic! Hyungwon, your turn!"
"It's a long story," Hyungwon stated, letting out a short sigh.
"C'mon, we got time!"
With yet another sigh, the frog peered down to his lap, tucking a strand of his black hair behind his ear. He guessed didn't have a choice. There was no point in fighting it. "You all know how Hoseok and I like to go out on coffee dates?"
Low hums came from all around. Minhyuk's was particularly long, drawn out with interest.
"Okay, one day, I somehow got a bunch of courage and had the barista make a heart on the surface of Hoseok's coffee, with foam. When Hoseok got it, he was super confused, but then he looked up to me and I asked, 'Boyfriend?' And he just smiled and replied, 'Boyfriend.' It was simple, nothing all extravagant, like what Changkyun did."
The youngest grunted.
At that, Kihyun pulled himself from his boyfriend's gaze, peering over the seat and turning his attention to his blonde friend, who still had yet to go. "Isn't it your turn now, Minhyuk?"
"Yes, actu--"
"I wanna tell it," Jooheon interrupted quickly, wiggling his eyebrows like they were little caterpillars. He didn't wait for his significant other's permission before he started his story. "As you all know, Minhyuk is super dramatic, the kind of dramatic that is so dramatic that it's not even dramatic. He decided that he was going to fall off the bed and get hurt just so I could patch him up. When I was tending to his bruise, which was super small, he looked at me and said something like, 'You know, you can take care of me like this for the rest of my life,' and with such a cute face looking at me, I couldn't say no."
Minhyuk hummed eagerly in agreement--he did have a cute face. If both hands had been free from the steering wheel, he would have sent his boyfriend some saucy finger guns. "You know it."
After that last story, the laughter gradually died down, and the van fell into a peaceful silence. Most of them were focusing on the ever-changing scenery outside, scouring every detail they could, whether it be the pattern on the leaves or the height of the grassy mountains.
Kihyun had set his head down on his boyfriend's shoulder, enjoying the company and the warmth, like he always did. He hadn't meant to, but feeling so comfortable and at ease, he drifted off into the Land of Dreams.
It didn't take long for Changkyun to notice the new, steady routine in the older's breathing. He glanced down at the male with fond eyes, at his parted lips and long eyelashes. He softly swept the pad of his thumb over the male's cheek and pressed his lips to his forehead, offering the most delicate kiss he could muster up.
Just this was enough for him.
"Is he sleeping?" Hoseok whispered from the very back seat, leaning forward so he was close enough for Changkyun to hear him.
"Yeah."
"Good. He needs sleep."
With just that, both males turned back to their respective windows. They didn't have much to say, and they didn't want to force a conversation, either.
Changkyun took to watching the nature passing by outside. It was all so pretty in his eyes; he could thank his boyfriend for that. Had they not met, he was positive he would have never been able to look at the world outside and genuinely say, "Beautiful."
Sniffle.
The younger almost flinched in surprise.
"Kihyun?" Changkyun, being gentle, shook the male's shoulders, yet despite this, his boyfriend didn't wake up, nor did his tears stop falling. He must have been having another nightmare about Bella. "Kihyun, my love, you need to wake up." He shook his boyfriend again, this time a bit harder.
Finally, the crying male awoke.
The first thing Kihyun did was wipe at his damp cheeks, somehow already knowing that he had been crying. "I fell asleep."
"Yeah, and you were crying."
The pinkette just frowned, dark eyebrows pulling together. Something about this fact had him turning to hide his face in his soulmate's shoulder. "I know... I dreamt of her again."
"I figured..." With a worried sigh, Changkyun brushed a chunk of Kihyun's pink hair behind his ear. "Is there anything I can do--wait, wait, wait. Minhyuk, your windows are tinted, right?"
"Huh?" Minhyuk looked up into the rear view mirror, having been pulled from his own conversation. "Oh, yeah. I do."
Changkyun broke out into a relieved smile. "Good." He nudged Kihyun's side with his elbow, suggesting he had something up his sleeve.
The pinkette only looked up confusion. "What is it?"
"Get on my lap."
"Oh?" Minhyuk gasped.
"Shush, this is all for good reason."
"Okay..."
And so Kihyun, although still not understanding, unbuckled his seatbelt and swung his legs over to the side, straddling his boyfriend. His arms wrapped around the male's neck cautiously.
"Now," Changkyun whispered, sliding his hands around Kihyun's waist and holding him securely. "Go back to sleep. I'll be here if you need me."
Kihyun couldn't help but smile. "Okay, thank you." He took just one more second to keep their gazes connected before he nuzzled into the hilt of Changkyun's neck, his eyes fluttering shut. It was so peaceful and safe there that it was unfair.
"You're very welcome."
And looking to undo the negative that the nightmare had brought, Changkyun moved his lips to his boyfriend's ear, whispering one last thing. "I love you, you know."
From then on, Kihyun slept peacefully.
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And that was the extra! I thought of it one night before bed and figured it'd be good to add in.
Bye for now :)
-Author 🖤