Rumors (1/2)
Rumors.
Kai/LuHan
---
January 20, 2012
When LuHan first hears rumors about Kai having a girlfriend, it makes him furious. He doesn't know why though, so it makes him even more livid.
He walks around with a black cloud over his head, snapping at anything and everything that moved on two feet and generally avoiding Kai.
---
January 23, 2012
He drills a hole into the wall every time Kai asks permission for Suho to go out, disappearing the whole day and coming back late in the evenings, looking exhausted but smiling widely.
Like a cat that got the cream. LuHan thinks bitterly, slamming pans and kitchen utensils and chopping vegetables so harshly that D.O, very very slowly, asks,
"Hyung? Are you alright?"
LuHan grasps the knife so tightly his hand turns white with the effort. He takes a deep breath and, smiling widely enough to be convincing, holding the knife in his hand, says,
"Of course, why wouldn't I be alright?"
D.O is not convinced though, and he backs away, slowly putting some distance between them, "...hyung? Why don’t you go and rest?... You, er, look a little, uhm, peaked."
LuHan growls and sniffs, making his expression both cute and intimidating at the same time. D.O is uncertain what expression to use in response, so he adopts his usual expression, looking much like a deer caught in the headlights anyway.
LuHan relents and drops the knife with a clatter, muttering harshly under his breath, and D.O hears the phrase, "...you bastard." before LuHan slams the door of his room shut with a loud bang.
--
January 25, 2012
LuHan teaches Chen Chinese words every day, testing his vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation, and most of the time LuHan is a relentless teacher, making Chen repeat the word again and again until it becomes second nature and the word flows of his tongue fluidly.
Today though, LuHan is absentminded and he sits there, staring into space and tapping his fingers on the tabletop, in sync to an invisible beat.
Chen does not know if he's going to feel irate or worried, because LuHan had been moody for several days already, seething in anger or depressingly staring into space.
Chen fears schizophrenia.
Chen offers LuHan the book he's translating into Chinese, and LuHan accepts it, reading the passage carefully.
And she's beautiful, with eyes as bright as the stars and lips as red as freshly picked blood; and as he looks upon her he thinks " I want her to be my girlfrie----
LuHan drops the book like he's burned and he looks at Chen , expression so hurt that Chen tries to think about what he did wrong.
Chen can't think of anything, so gamely, he asks LuHan what's wrong.
LuHan just says, "I hope you're happy." before stalking off.
---
January 29, 2012
LuHan searches for Kai's girlfriend on the Internet, and what comes up are, "she's pretty", "I've seen her and Kai, they're so cute,", "they'll make wonderful babies together!"
LuHan comes up with mental images, and the thought makes him feel sick.
----
February 1, 2012
"Hyung, please pass the rice."
"...."
"Hyung."
"....."
"Hyung?"
"....."
"LuHan Hyung!" Kai says loudly amidst all the clatter of utensils in their dining room.
Everyone stops eating and waits with bated breath.
LuHan turns his head slowly, smiling so sweetly Kai almost feels ants crawling up every crevice of his body In an unpleasant trickle of arms and legs.
LuHan looks deadly and poisonous.
"It's on the middle of the table, dongsaeng-ah."
Kai begins to feel very afraid, because when he's not Ka~i~ with a little trail at the end, or Jonginnie with a cute lilt in the pronunciation, he knows LuHan thinks he's done something wrong.
But Kai can't think of anything he's done wrong in the past few minutes, hours and days, so he stays silent, bewildered.
When LuHan abruptly stands up and announces, "I'm finished," and he promptly traipses out of the room, he leaves everyone in awkward silence.
Lay clears his throat.
"What's wrong with him?"
"....bad stomach?"BaekHyun suggests.
----
February 5, 2012
LuHan looks for ways to try and brew Veritaserum.
----
February 6, 2012
His efforts to brew the potion fail, so he tries to look for poison instead.
----
February 6, 2012
He abandons his efforts because clearly he can't try to poison Kai.
He spends the day thinking why.
----
February 7, 2012
After making multiple lists and adding, removing various reasons (and after he's littered his floor with crumples of paper), he is fed up with coming up exactly why Kai is important.
So in a fit of indignation he crosses out all answers and writes Kai is important because Kai is Kai.
Later, when he looks at the list again, he thinks the reason he wrote was apt enough.
---
February 12, 2012
XiuMin asks LuHan to play soccer with him, and LuHan agrees, because it was a free day anyway, and it seemed like a good idea to blow off some steam through the game.
Except that he's not playing as well as he should be, because his concentration is off, and when he runs, the ball in his field, his thoughts are filled with he must be with her right now, buying her flowers or going on dates and he pisses himself off. He misses goals completely.
XiuMin gets worried because between the two of them LuHan is the better player, but when LuHan kicks the ball so hard it springs off into the distance, XiuMin offers to get the ball, figuring LuHan must need time and space to get his game on.
He takes his time; he walks leisurely, thoughts filled with golden steamed buns they were sure to eat after. When he comes back, ball in hand now, he sees LuHan sitting on the field, head buried in his arms.
XiuMin sits beside him, and asks, "Do you want to talk about it?"
LuHan is silent for a few moments, and XiuMin waits in the silence, making himself comfortable, when LuHan's mumble of "I don't want to." reaches him.
He shrugs, and when he belatedly remembers LuHan can't see him, he pats his back instead and together, they wait for the setting sun.
----
February 16, 2012
LuHan does talk, but he does it with SuHo, because although he's older SuHo is leader, and perhaps he has gained some leadership qualities not bestowed upon mere mortals like him.
So he sits beside SuHo who's watching television, and conversationally, he asks, "SuHo-ah... Does Kai have a girlfriend?"
Except maybe it wasn't offhand enough, because SuHo actually stops staring at the screen and he's halfway to munching through a handful of popcorn.
"Why do you ask?"
LuHan shrugs, and says, "No reason."
He is silent for a few moments, but then SuHo starts to smile that little smile of someone who knows a secret, and LuHan is about to tear his hair out in frustration in waiting for his answer.
"...Go ask Kai."
LuHan screams silently in his head.
---
February 19, 2012
Since SuHo was no good, LuHan waits for the right time to ask Kris, instead. He figures EXO-M's leader would help him...
...if he can just tear Tao away from his side for a few minutes.
So LuHan thinks of a plan.
---
February 19, 2012
Except all the plans he think of will most probably end in Tao crying, and no one wanted that, so he waits for everyone to go asleep instead before tiptoeing into Kris's room.
He then furiously shakes the mound that is Kris, who grunts and mutters random words in many languages.
Kris looked a bit tired, LuHan thinks, staring at his face. But LuHan is stubborn, so he relentlessly continues to shake Kris until he receives a groggy response of "What?"
"Kris! I need you to answer me!" LuHan hisses. Kris blinks sleepily in response.
"Does Kai have a girlfriend?"
Despite being sleepy, Kris manages to look incredulous. "You're seriously asking me that at this time of the night? ...go ask him yourself."
He then swats LuHan's hand away and goes back to sleep.
---
February 26, 2012
They get busy in practices and when LuHan is so tired and bone weary he forgets to be mad at Kai. When they arrive in the dorm he collapses in the sofa, and he wakes only an hour later when he feels fingers running through his matted hair.
Kai is smiling at him, eyes soft, and he places a blanket over LuHan's body, shielding him from the cold.
"Night, hyung."
He's nearly asleep when he feels Kai's lips brush over his forehead lightly.
His body tingles.
The sensation follows him in his dreams.
---
February 28, 2012
When LuHan tries to settle to bed, plumping up pillows and patting the sheets to smoothen them out, he hears Lay clear his throat and cough.
Again.
And again.
LuHan wheels and asks, "Are you getting sick? Do you need cough drops? Do I need to tell manager?"
Lay waves his hand hastily to dispel LuHan of that notion. "I'm just trying to get your attention hyung."
"Well now you have it."
There is awkward silence.
Lay rubs the back of his head uncomfortably. He coughs again.
"Hyung...er. About the other night? Maybe, 2 -3 days ago?"
LuHan shrugs. "What?"
Lay blushes a beet red. "You were sleep talking, I guess? I could hear you, er, moaning in your sleep. And uh, you were moaning about, er, Kai?"
When LuHan settles into a shocked face Lay, panicking, rushes to get the word out.
"Not that there is anything wrong, Hyung! Of course not! You can dream whatever you want about Kai! It understandable really! So no need to get embarrassed about having those dreams! I have them too--well, not about Kai, but you get it right?"
LuHan does not respond.Lay coughs again, beet red in the face.
"I'll just go to sleep then, uh...night Hyung."
----
March 1, 2012
LuHan avoids Lay for days.
Lay flushes everytime he sees LuHan.
Everyone else is confused.
----
March 2, 2012