Kaisoo One Shots

Paint me in (a shade of you) [2/3]

  'Wake up, Kyungsoo. This is no way for you to treat a guest,' Jongdae's voice rings loud and clear in the space of Kyungsoo's portrait, and Kyungsoo just barely restrains himself from hurling a cushion in the elder's direction. It was nowhere near time for them to wake up yet, and Kyungsoo briefly wonders what it would take for them to get Jongdae to sleep.

'Go away,' Kyungsoo grunts, eyes screwed shut with the determination not to let Jongdae wake him up a minute earlier than need be. He'd been up all last night trying to get his brain to cooperate with him in his effort to write his first song, but it didn't work. He'd ended up screwing the lid of the ink jar on too tight out of frustration, almost ripping unused music sheets because he thought he could hear them mocking his lack of creativity. He'd had a rough night, and now all he wanted to do was sleep.

'Won't, you need to wake up,' Jongdae says stubbornly. Kyungsoo sighs. There is no budging the elder once his mind has been made up, so Kyungsoo admits defeat, sits up, stretches and gives off the largest, most unattractive yawn he can muster...

... Right into Jongin and Jongdae's faces.

'J - Jongin! What are you doing here?' Kyungsoo asks, scrambling to arrange himself more presentably. He rakes a nervous hand through bird's nest hair, straightens his clothes with the other, and pointedly ignores Jongdae's sniggering. 'I, um - I wasn't expecting you,' he says, lamely.

Jongin chuckles a little to himself. 'Yeah, I can tell,' he comments, eyeing the set of Kyungsoo's hair. He keeps his thoughts to himself. 'Anyway, I came in here to thank you for bringing me the food the other day. Baekhyun could have done it himself, but I guess his handkerchiefs are more important.'

'Oh - oh, that. You don't need to thank me for that, it was nothing,' Kyungsoo says. His heart drops a little - Jongin was only here on a courtesy visit. He probably wouldn't have thought twice about Kyungsoo had Baekhyun not talked him into delivering his food for him.

'No it wasn't - why, you brought me back from the brink of starvation, Kyungsoo! I must repay you somehow,' the dramatic tone of his voice has Kyungsoo growing suspicious, because, well - only Jongdae and Baekhyun spoke like that. He narrows his eyes suspiciously.

'O - okay,' he says, slowly. 'Um - how do you plan on doing that?' Early morning dew glazes over his nerves a little, and he mentally congratulates himself for being able to carry on a normal conversation with Jongin, albeit one that's driven by sleep deprivation.

'I was thinking - have you ever seen the sun rise? You look like you'd enjoy it, and I know the perfect spot to watch it from,' Jongin says. His demeanour turns shy, a little uncertain, and Kyungsoo is both intrigued and amused by this transition. He shakes his head.

'I've never seen it, actually,' Kyungsoo says, shy smile poking the corners of his lips. 'Would you like to show me?' he asks.

'Come on,' Jongin grabs Kyungsoo's hand in his and before the elder can register what's going on, he's already out of the door, racing through various portraits and upsetting their inhabitants, rushing to get to the courtyard on time. They stop in a portrait that's vacant, the settings for a garden tea party the only things there to greet them. Jongin sits himself down on the grass next to the picnic mat, careful not to upset the tea things. He beckons Kyungsoo to do the same.

Kyungsoo hesitates for a while before sitting himself down, cross legged, a little way away from Jongin. The run had woken him up, jolted him back to all his senses and now, he thinks he's probably overstepped a few of Jongin's (and his own) boundaries. He tries to reign himself back in. If Jongin notices, he doesn't say anything.

The two of them sit in a comfortable silence as the sun begins its slow ascent into the sky. Baby blue streaks the sky until it consumes the entire canvas of it, filling the space with its colour and its colour only. The light of the sun dances on the surface of Black Lake, tinting its waters bright orange and soft pink for all of five minutes, and Kyungsoo can only sit and watch in awe.

So much beauty, so little he knew about it up until now. He turns to look at Jongin.

'Thank you,' he murmurs, trying not to feel himself an idiot for the reverence in his tone. He hopes Jongin doesn't notice it.

'Haven't done anything,' Jongin whispers. His eyes fly to meet Kyungsoo's, and a gentle smile tugs at his features. He leans in a little closer. 'Listen - you and I... We were off to a bad start. I wasn't the most welcoming neighbour I could have been,' he begins. Kyungsoo just nods and listens. Jongin takes a deep breath. 'So - if it's alright with you, I'd like to start over. Is that - are you okay with that?'

Kyungsoo stares at him blankly for a moment, mind taking time to process what had just been said to him. Jongin was apologising? Asking to start afresh? But what for? Dozens of questions wage wars in his mind, but somewhere between them, Kyungsoo finds the presence of mind to choke out a 'Yes.'

Jongin beams at him before extending his right hand in greeting. 'Hello, my name is Kim Jongin. I live on the fourth floor corridor of the East wing at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and that whole speech in your portrait was Jongdae's idea. I was painted to dance,' he hesitates a bit before smiling mischievously and looking at Kyungsoo shyly. Kyungsoo blinks back. 'And I think you're one hell of a singer.'

Kyungsoo cracks a smile, then. 'Hello, Kim Jongin. I am Do Kyungsoo, and I live opposite you. I was painted to sing, and I very much appreciate your comment about my singing. I hope to be able to say the same thing about your dancing someday, too.' He grasps Jongin's hand in his without really paying attention, and shakes it firmly.

'Someday. I like the promise of it.'


They fall easily enough into a friendship. Kyungsoo's gentle smiles and how his eyes crinkle up at the corners does things to soften the hardness of Jongin's heart, and soon enough, his smiles aren't so few and far between anymore. Kyungsoo crawls under Jongin's skin so quietly, so effortlessly that Jongin doesn't even realise the elder is there until Kyungsoo's already spread roots and settled down. It should set off warning bells, loud and screeching in his ears, but it doesn't.

He has guards so well built around his heart, but all of them self destruct at the sight of Kyungsoo's smile.

'Hey! Hey, Jongin!' Kyungsoo calls, head popping through his door. There's that grin Jongin can't resist, blinding him with its brightness and making him feel light headed. He never used to get this way about anyone.

'What is it?' he asks, lips stretching into a smile because it's a reflex he has no control over when he catches sight of Kyungsoo. Kyungsoo radiates warmth and happiness and fixes up all of Jongin's broken dreams, and the dancer can't help but react accordingly.

'We think Chanyeol's met a girl, and Jongdae says his classes for the day end soon. We're all going to meet up in Baekhyun's portrait, and look at her!' Kyungsoo chirps, excitement making his eyes gleam. Jongin bites his bottom lip.

'Baekhyun's portrait? Are you sure - I mean, I don't think that's a very good idea,' Jongin says, scratching the back of his neck. Kyungsoo tilts his head to the side as his brows furrow.

'What do you mean, not a good idea? Baekhyun and Chanyeol get along great!' Kyungsoo says. Jongin lets out a long suffering sigh, steals a glance at Kyungsoo. He decides he can trust the singer - after all, it really isn't much of a secret anymore. Almost all the residents of the corridor know, anyway. The only person left who didn't know was Kyungsoo - and Wufan, but he was never really interested in anything besides his paintings.

'Kyungsoo - Um. I don't know how to say this - but I don't think we should meet in Baekhyun's portrait. Whose idea was that, by the way?'

'Mine! Why shouldn't we?'

'Um - because, well - '

'Yes?'

'... Baekhyun's in love with Chanyeol.'

Kyungsoo stares at Jongin for a full minute, eyes blown wider than he's ever seen them, and Jongin's afraid they might just pop out of his head and he's not ready for that. 'Um, Kyungsoo - '

'WHAT?' Kyungsoo bellows, astonishment raising his voice by several decibels and making Jongin jump. Kyungsoo notices, blushes and tones his voice down. 'Sorry. But - did you just say that Baekhyun was in love with Chanyeol?'

Jongin nods.

'Oh.' Kyungsoo says. A memory slowly fades into his mind. 'But - Baekhyun told me when I first came here that we aren't allowed to fall in love!' Kyungsoo exclaims, intrigue making him rush forward and curl fists in Jongin's tshirt. Jongin tries to back away, but fails. Kyungsoo's got an iron grip on more than just his heart, he thinks.

'Baekhyun told you that?' Jongin asks. He pauses for a couple of beats, thinking this new information over, until he arrives at a conclusion and plants his hands over Kyungsoo's. 'He probably doesn't want you falling for one of the students the way he did. He can't be with Chanyeol, you know, and it eats him up inside. Sad to watch, really.'

'Hah! As if I would be so stupid as to fall in love with a student - and Chanyeol's such a noisy one, at that! What a selfish thing to tell a new person, what if I decided I wanted to fall for one of the other portraits or something, and - ' Kyungsoo's voice trails off, ranting concluding itself when he notices how him and Jongin are touching. Jongin's palms are warm against his own hands, the fabric of the dancer's tshirt still clutched tightly in his fists. He gulps.

'Well - have you?' Jongin asks. His eyes don't leave Kyungsoo's, hands still on top of the elders, and they're so close their noses are almost touching. Kyungsoo's mind can't seem to process Jongin's words, scatters them completely like residual paint splatters on an artist's smock.

'Have I - what?' he asks. He feels the rise and fall of Jongin's chest as the younger takes a deep breath, steadying himself before he ventures to speak.

'Have you fallen for one of us?'

Kyungsoo's jaw drops just the slightest bit, surprise making him go mute. He hasn't yet mastered the art of reading Jongin's thoughts through his eyes, but when he sees it he gasps - it's a spark of hope, hiding just along his irises, and it makes Kyungsoo's heart race. He clears his throat.

'Um - well. I guess we'd better get going, then. I'll - I'll tell everyone to meet in Wufan's portrait instead. That way we're far away enough for Baekhyun not to have to see if he doesn't want to. I'll see you again in fifteen minutes.' Kyungsoo retracts his hands, tucks them awkwardly into the pockets of his robes. He takes a couple of shy steps backwards, not looking at Jongin at all, before abruptly turning and leaving the dancer alone. It's just a means to hide the colour that's risen to his cheeks, but Jongin doesn't know that.

He watches the door swing shut behind Kyungsoo, and lets out a sigh that's born of exhaustion and pent up emotions. It's difficult, he decides, trying to keep this kind of distance from someone he's almost positive he adores.

Maybe it's time he stops trying.


'But you're pretty,' Jongdae observes, squinting at the human girl before him. She has copper brown hair hanging just above her shoulders, kind eyes and long limbs that match Chanyeol's perfectly. 'Why would you look twice at a buffoon like Chanyeol?'

'Hey!' Chanyeol blusters, ears turning red as he glares at the tiny painted man. 'I - I don't look that bad, thank you very much!'

'Those ears... They generate their own wind currents, don't they?'

'Jongdae!'

'Now, now,' the girl, Jinri says. Her lips curl into a fond smile as Chanyeol arranges himself, running a hand through his hair. Jongdae, Wufan, Zitao, Sehun, Jongin and Kyungsoo are all in Wufan's portrait, an abundance of light flooding the room from his tall windows. All of them gape up at Jinri, who seems friendly enough, and spend a few minutes just looking at her.

It probably doesn't sound like proper etiquette, staring so blatantly at a guest, but, well. They're portraits. They live their lives to be stared at - it's only polite, Jongdae reasons, that they return the favour.

Jinri takes the time to learn each of their names, insists on hearing Jongdae and Kyungsoo sing, applauds Wufan's paintings, stares in awe as Zitao performs an effortless string of flips, expertly landing on both his feet without making a sound. She even stomachs a little bit of Sehun's acting, clapping politely after his emotionless show. It's when she turns to Jongin that the atmosphere grows stiff, awkwardness congealing in the air as she asks, 'And what do you have to show me?'

It's polite, nothing they aren't used to, what with the day by day flow of students wanting to watch them perform, but when it comes to Jongin - the rest of the portrait people feel as though his unwillingness has condensed into leaden weights on his feet and tongue. He doesn't move and doesn't respond, just barely managing to force himself to stare at the floor instead of glaring at Jinri. Chanyeol's a nice enough guy, and the slight bowing of his head is all the effort he's going to exert in trying to be polite.

'Well!' Jongdae claps his hands together, easily diffusing the tension that's thickened in the air. 'Don't think Jongin's up for dancing right about now. Bones are a little heavy on this one,' he says. 'So now that you've met all of Chanyeol's little friends, please know that you're always welcome here. If you need cheering up, Zitao's your best bet!'

Zitao raises his head and glares straight at Jinri.

It tells her not to try.

'... Or not.' Jongdae admits.

Chanyeol clears his throat. 'But she hasn't really met all of you yet. Where's Baekhyunnie?' Chanyeol asks. 'Is he in his portrait? I'll go get him, I've told Jinri all about - '

'That might not be such a good idea, Yeol,' says Kyungsoo hurriedly. Chanyeol frowns at the tiny singer, who's been mostly silent up until now. His curiosity concerning Jinri satisfied, Kyungsoo had decided it was easier to just try and fade into the background, opting to hide behind Jongin. He throws Jongdae a panicked look, eyes signalling a desperate cry for help that Jongdae, thankfully, picks up on right away.

'Oh - yes, Chanyeol, you wouldn't want Baekhyun to meet Jinri. You know how he is,' Jongdae rolls his eyes. 'You know how hoity-toity he gets when it comes to what girls wear. If he has to so much as speak to a girl in the school's uniform, he may faint from the unflattering cut of your shirt. Or skirt. Or robe, I really can't remember, though he nags me about it all the time.' Jongdae says. Chanyeol seems to agree with him, and Kyungsoo can see Jongin breathe a sigh of relief.

'Anyway, Jinri,' Jongdae says, smoothly shifting focus back to their new friend, 'Now you've made friends with us, what do you think of our little band of thieves?'

Jinri giggles, hand coming up to cover her mouth. 'Band of thieves? I don't think - can portraits steal things from each other?'

'Well - yes, but there really isn't any point. So do you like us?' Jongdae asks. He tiptoes a bit to ask his question, and Jinri peers at him for a while in consideration.

'Hm,' she ponders, finger to her lips, 'How can I give you an answer after thatline? Are you sure none of you are thieves?' she teases.

'Of course I'm sure!' Jongdae huffs, chest puffing out in indignation. And then he seems to remember something, and a tiny smile spreads across his face. 'Well - except for Jongin over there. The rest of us aren't thieves.'

'Him? What do you mean?' Jinri asks, confused. Jongdae's eyes twinkle mischievously as he goes right up to the translucent barrier, and motions for Jinri to come closer. It makes no difference, though - Jongdae's voice, even when not singing, has a clear and loud quality about it, possesses the ability to bounce off surfaces for perfect projection. Everyone can hear him.

'Well, I don't like to point fingers,' Jongdae begins, and Sehun rolls his eyes because if that weren't the lie of the century, he doesn't know what is. 'But... Someone's already stolen our newest addition's heart.'

All eyes fall on Jongin and Kyungsoo. Chanyeol barks out a laugh that resonates throughout the corridor. Wufan and Sehun snicker at the pair, Jongdae staring innocently at them both. Zitao glowers.

Embarrassed, Kyungsoo inches further and further away from Jongin, finally managing to escape to Jongdae's portrait and then into his own.

He needs to be alone to calm the rapid beating of his heart.

He doesn't stop to realise that Jongin never said a word in denial.


'Have you ever thought what it would be like... To be one of them?' Jongin asks Kyungsoo this question all of a sudden on a Tuesday morning, when they're visiting Jongin's friend who lives in a portrait overlooking the moving staircases. Luhan is all fairy-like in appearance, delicate mouth and eyes arranged in a pleasant smile when Jongin had introduced him to Kyungsoo.

'Why, he's nearly as adorable as Minseok!' Luhan had exclaimed, rushing forward to squeeze Kyungsoo's cheeks. If anyone else had tried that, Kyungsoo would have probably punched them on reflex, but he couldn't do that to Luhan. Luhan was so... Ethereal, so lovingly painted and Kyungsoo didn't think it right to stop such a beautiful creature from doing what he wanted. So he shut up and bore with it, grimacing a little until Luhan had finally pulled away. 'Absolutely adorable,' Luhan cooed. Kyungsoo found it almost daunting to stop himself from rolling his eyes. He raised his eyes in a silent thank you to the gods when Luhan all too casually slipped out to 'go mind Minseok's sheep.'

Minseok rode a single horse. He had no sheep.

It turned out that a lot of the time when Jongin wasn't in full view of Kyungsoo and the other portraits on the fourth floor, he came here. Luhan's portrait was the perfect place to watch students mill about, ants in a colony, hurrying to get from one class to another. Kyungsoo found himself bored out of his mind not ten minutes into the activity, but the look of enjoyment on Jongin's face stopped him from saying anything. Jongin rarely ever asked Kyungsoo for anything, just humouring his odd hobby wouldn't hurt.

'What, to be a student?' Kyungsoo asks incredulously. He scans the crowd and all the students look haggard, books weighing their backpacks down, dark bags lining their eyes. A few even look like they'd been involved in nasty accidents - Kyungsoo winces as a large boy bumps into a smaller, but stronger-looking red headed girl with a sling on her arm. 'They look really tired.'

'No, silly,' Jongin says. He smiles fondly as a boy and a girl exchange shy glances, fingers inching closer and closer together with every step they climb, hands interwined when they reach the top of the staircase and disappear down a corridor. 'I'm talking about being human. Can you imagine that? Just - just think about it for a minute, Kyungsoo. No matter how far we go, how long we travel, we'll never get out of this castle. That's not the case for humans.'

Jongin looks at Kyungsoo with excitement shining in his eyes, as if recounting his viewing of something special sitting atop a pedestal justout of reach. 'Think of all the places we could go to, the people we could see!' Jongin comes closer to Kyungsoo then, snatches up one of the elder's wrists and twirls him, a ballroom move Kyungsoo's never seen him perform before. 'You could sing and I could dance to an audience of people who aren't just wandering students, trying to burn time instead of getting to their next class.'

Kyungsoo bites his bottom lip. Jongin does have a point. It gets tiring, sometimes, becoming a jukebox for the same people over and over again, singing himself hoarse to students who do nothing to show appreciation. Kyungsoo's been in Jongdae's portrait - he's dreamed of being able to sing in a setting like that, only one with an audience, an abundance of people in place of the empty seats that stare the stage down.

Still... There's no use wanting things you know you can't have. Becoming a human being was unattainable, they were born as portraits, they will die as portraits. Kyungsoo can't bring himself to say this to Jongin, of course, the excited twinkle in his eyes not unlike that of a toddler's. He decides to gently pull the topic in another direction.

'But - but Jongin, you didn't even want to dance for Jinri,' says Kyungsoo softly, plucking the words out tentatively, afraid he'd offend the dancer. Jongin's eyes seem to dull somewhat, but he doesn't look angry, so Kyungsoo goes on. 'I mean - I, you haven't. You haven't even let me see you dance.'

Jongin drops Kyungsoo's hand, steps back a little when he hears the singer's words. He knows Kyungsoo's right. But his unwillingness isn't because he's afraid of an audience. He just wants a worthy one. He doesn't like living this life, like a puppet jerked this way and that, dancing because a snot-nosed student wants entertainment. He wants to dance for people who understand what it means to dance, to create, and that's why he'd only ever performed a couple of times in front of his friends. They all understood what it meant to pour your soul into an art - but none of them really understood dance the way Jongin did.

His attention shifts from his thoughts to Kyungsoo, who looks as if he'd just said something completely wrong, and guilt immediately floods Jongin's body. How could he call himself a friend if he didn't even trust Kyungsoo enough to share his talent with him?


How could he even hope to be more than friends with Kyungsoo if he was still fighting to keep all his defences up?

The answer was simple: he couldn't. If he truly wanted Kyungsoo to open up to him, to be there for him, to be with him - he had to open up first.

Jongin licks his lips. 'Come by my portrait tonight,' Jongin says. Uncertainty lines the undertones of his voice, but if Kyungsoo notices, he doesn't say anything. Something about Jongin's demeanour tells the elder that what Jongin's saying bears a lot of weight with the dancer.

Even so, Kyungsoo's never been one to ignore his own curiosity. 'Why?' he asks. Jongin stares at his feet for a long moment before lifting his eyes to meet Kyungsoo's.

'There's something I want to show you.'


Kyungsoo doesn't go to sleep at his usual time that night. Instead, he says goodnight to Jongdae and Baekhyun like he always does, sits down on the floor, and stares up at his clock expectantly. It's barely eleven, and Jongin had said to come at midnight, when everyone else would be asleep. Even so, Kyungsoo's already a jittery mess, hands itching to do something. He could turn around and stare at Jongin's portrait instead until the dancer motioned him over, but something tells him not to.

The idea that he might be ruining something special that Jongin has in mind keeps him rooted to the spot, restless and nervous and dealing out anxious breaths like a croupier in a casino on Friday night. He needs to do something to pass the time by - an hour can morph into an eternity if you were to stare it down and will the minutes away. So he takes a deep breath, makes a grab for his blank music sheets, quill and ink, and settles down to try and write.

He can hear the notes a little better now, at least. They don't string together as well as Jongdae's melodies do when he inks his music, but it's an improvement from the total silence he'd heard on his first few attempts. He works through a couple of bars, puzzles over whether this should be a half rest or a full one, when the clock down the hallway chimes twelve times. He's startled into action, scrambles to put away all his things and curses when he almost spills his ink.

When his room is clear, he looks up, straight into Jongin's portrait. The dancer stands there, sweat darkening the chest and underarms of his tshirt, running races down his temples to his neck. And yet Kyungsoo still feels his chest tighten at the sight of Jongin. It doesn't matter how disgusting it is to literally watch a person sweat - Kyungsoo thinks Jongin could be covered in mud and he'd still think the younger was more handsome than the devil himself when he wears that shy grin.

Jongin crooks his fingers in a come hither gesture that makes Kyungsoo blush, and the latter begins his treacherous journey to the younger's portrait. He has to pass through Baekhyun's room, cut across the corridor via the trap door in Zitao's portrait that opens up straight into Sehun's (Kyungsoo had had the good grace not to question the portal when he was first introduced to it) before he can reach Jongin.

Zitao, he could handle - the man sleeps like a log, dead for eight straight hours and wakes up with stamina enough for an entire day's worth of demonstrations the next morning. Sehun wasn't a problem either - the real worry, Kyungsoo thinks, is Baekhyun. Baekhyun sleeps with a mask over his eyes because he needs his beauty rest, and even the slightest sound could wake him. Keeping Baekhyun asleep was a tiresomely difficult task - one Kyungsoo's afraid of not being able to carry out. Baekhyun may look delicate, but he was especially skilled with a knife (scissors take too long to cut large pieces of fabric) and had a temper worse than a dragon's.

Kyungsoo takes a deep breath. Jongin gives him a sign of encouragement from across the corridor, and Kyungsoo inches Baekhyun's door open. Nothing stirs when Kyungsoo gets it wide enough for him to slip through, and he breathes a sigh of relief as he shuts the door and crosses to Zitao's. He's just about to pull the door open and make an exit when -

'And just where do you think you're going?' Baekhyun snaps. Kyungsoo cringes when he hears it. He has awoken Byun Baekhyun. May his demise be quick and painless. Kyungsoo turns around to see Baekhyun standing with his hands on his hips, eye mask pushed up into his hair. 'Why are you sneaking around in the middle of the night? Go to sleep!' Baekhyun says. He glares at Kyungsoo until the singer realises he's waiting for an explanation.

'I - um, you see - I'm sorry, Baek, I didn't mean to wake you up - '

'Yes, I could completely tell by the way you were slamming my door and stomping about!'

'I wasn't! I was trying to make the least amount of noise and - '
'And yet you still woke me up. Where do you think you're going?'

Kyungsoo admits defeat. It's clear that Baekhyun isn't going to let him go until he gets to the truth, and Kyungsoo decides it's easier to give him just that. 'Jongin wants to show me something.' he mumbles quietly. Baekhyun peers at him, takes a couple of steps closer.

'What was that?'

'I'm going to Jongin's portrait because he wants to show me something!' Kyungsoo says, a little louder this time. His words wipe the frown right off Baekhyun's face, and colour rises to the singer's cheeks. He doesn't want anyone else to know. It's supposed to be between him and Jongin. Just him and Jongin.

Baekhyun curls his lip up in a smirk. 'Just don't do anything I wouldn't,' he says, and even though he's teasing, Kyungsoo can't help but think he isn't imagining the note of longing in Baekhyun's voice. Baekhyun crawls back under his covers with a reminder to Kyungsoo not to make too much noise when he inevitably sneaks back to his own portrait, and Kyungsoo's gone.

It's hard to breathe, Kyungsoo thinks, when Jongin is grinning at him the way he is now. The dancer welcomes Kyungsoo into his portrait for the first time, steps back to let him in. The floors are polished hardwood, and even by the minimal light Kyungsoo can see how they shine. He should probably take his shoes off.

'What is it, where's the thing?' Kyungsoo asks excitedly, eyes looking expectantly about the room. There isn't anything there that Kyungsoo hasn't seen already, but he looks again anyway. Maybe Jongin had it hidden from view.

Jongin presses his lips together. He goes up to one of the other wall panels, a smaller one, and pulls it open. Inside is a small radio that Kyungsoo's seen students carry before, and a few music sheets. Jongin takes the sheets out and offers them to Kyungsoo. Kyungsoo takes them, looking at him questioningly.

'You mentioned just now that you haven't watched me dance yet,' Jongin says. Slowly he backs away, fiddles a little with the radio. 'So I figured we could do a little trade. I'll dance for you, only if you sing for me.'

Kyungsoo pouts. 'How is that fair? You've already heard me sing a whole bunch of times!'

Jongin chuckles. 'I know.' He motions for Kyungsoo to sit down, stretches his limbs out a little before the music starts. 'But just - do this for me, alright?'

Kyungsoo huffs before spreading out the music sheets before him. It's a song that Jongdae likes to sing when he's feeling a little more on the mellow side, smooth jazz led by the precise plucking of guitar strings. It's a song that easily takes Kyungsoo's voice into its melody, blending it in with the notes and when Jongin is ready, he begins to move.

Kyungsoo almost swallows his own tongue as he watches Jongin dance. Each snap of his limbs is a decisive arrangement of bones, each fluid roll of his body perfectly timed. Jongin twirls as if an invisible rope had been coiled around his body and untwined with a flick of the wrist. He doesn't stumble around looking for the right places to rest his feet, doesn't scramble to them after turning so many times Kyungsoo's dizzy just from watching him.

It takes him a while to understand what's unfolding in front of him now, what's revolving around him, even. Jongin is sharing the one thing he finds most precious in the world with Kyungsoo, is letting Kyungsoo join in as he tells a story with his body. The fist to his chest, pain. The outstretched arm, longing. The perfectly executed pirouette, the flourish of his hand - if Kyungsoo properly knew how to read dance the way he does music, he'd be able to hear Jongin's message loud and clear.

Let me be the one to hold you

The song ends, and with it, the magic that permeated the atmosphere as Jongin halts all movement and Kyungsoo stops singing. They're both breathless, Jongin a little more so, panting heavily and looking straight at Kyungsoo.

'That - that was - wow, Jongin. Wow,' Kyungsoo says, eyes blown wide. He stands up to give Jongin the standing ovation he deserves - he'd never seen anyone move with that much grace before, and he was amazed.

Jongin moves out of his ending pose and takes a deep breath. 'There's something else I want to show you,' Jongin murmurs, and before Kyungsoo can respond, he closes the distance between them in large strides, grabs Kyungsoo by the waist and kisses him full on the mouth, lips moving against lips in a recital that feels like it's been choreographed a long time ago. When Kyungsoo doesn't pull away, Jongin ventures to taste - and when he does that, he realises, well.

He should have done this a long time ago.

They pull away for air a little while later, forehead pressed against forehead, eyes gleaming with a new emotion neither have ever felt before. 'Was... Was that okay?' Jongin breathes, unable to tear himself away from the singer. He feels fingers move from his shoulders to the back of his neck, warmth pressing against sweat-slicked skin.

Kyungsoo smiles at him. 'What took you so long?'

He pulls Jongin in for another kiss, fingers moving up into the dancer's hair and soon enough Kyungsoo finds his back greeting the wall, keeping him steady as he drowns in Jongin Jongin Jongin. When they part again, Jongin pulls him to the middle of the room, rests his cheek on Kyungsoo's temple as the latter puts his chin on Jongin's shoulder. They sway to a beat neither of them can hear, a little out of sync, but both decide they don't mind. They're cocooned in their own little bubble of love and contentment, and nothing else really matters.

'I took so long because I was just. You know. Trying to decide, by the way,' Jongin murmurs into Kyungsoo's hair.

'Hmm? Decide what?'

'If... If I'm in love with you.' It takes all the courage Jongin can summon up for him to say those words, and he stiffens just a little bit when Kyungsoo doesn't respond right away.

Kyungsoo lifts his head and pulls back, just a little bit, to look in Jongin's eyes. 'And?' he prompts. 'What's the verdict?'

'I... I think it's a yes.'

Kyungsoo swats at the dancer's broad chest, not minding how his fingers get a little sticky. 'You think it's a yes?'

Jongin laughs and pulls Kyungsoo in for another kiss, one that is all just an innocent press of lips against lips, one that still manages to make Kyungsoo melt. 'I know it's a yes.'

'Good,' Kyungsoo murmurs. 'Because I love you, too.'

They sway together for just a little longer, smiles lingering on their lips, kisses stolen from willing prey. Confessing their feelings for each other lifts an invisible burden off both their chests, and it makes them both feel complete, filling holes they never knew they had.

They're too caught up in the moment to notice that there are about three hooded figures, very much human, slinking down the hallway at the end of the corridor, wands out and at the ready. Every move they make seems to tell the whole world that they aren't meant to be there - but it's half past midnight. The castle, and all its inhabitants save for Jongin and Kyungsoo, are asleep.

The intruders go unnoticed.


'Spend time with us!' Baekhyun whines. Kyungsoo is seated in his chair, eyes a lovesick spectrum of brown eyeing Jongin's portrait. It's been a month since they'd shared their first kiss, and Kyungsoo still feels like he's lost his heart to cloud nine. Jongdae has just begun his daily rounds, going to the other portraits and shaking them awake. All Kyungsoo has to do is wait until Jongin gives him the signal, and then they're off to explore the castle. Jongin has a bad case of wanderlust - the castle is enormous to their tiny eyes, and Jongin wants to see all of it.

He wants to see all of what the world has to offer, but Kyungsoo doesn't know how he hopes to achieve that, yet. Every time Kyungsoo asks, he's answered with a vague shrug and a rapid change of topic, and he's learned not to ask anymore. Jongin will tell him when he feels like it.

'Are you even paying attention to me?' Baekhyun whines again, before giving up and draping himself across Kyungsoo's lap, ignoring the younger's slightly startled jump. 'Are you staring at Jongin again? I would think with all the time you two spend together doing god knows what, you'd be sick of that face already.'

Kyungsoo jostles Baekhyun by bouncing his knee. 'I'm not staring, I'm just - observing. Anyway, Jongin said we're going to try and get into the Room of Requirement today, although I have no idea what that is or how we're supposed to get in because he says we have to get a student to open it. Jongin says it changes based on what the person truly needs at the moment. So Jongin said -'

Baekhyun groans out loud, drowning out the rest of Kyungsoo's speech. 'Jongin says, Jongin says, Jongin says. Can you hear yourself speak?' he grunts. Just then, Jongdae pushes open the door to Jongin's portrait, and Baekhyun leaps out of Kyungsoo's chair to roar at the other singer. 'Hey, Jongdae! That idiot wants to try to get into the Room of Requirement today! I told this idiot he can't possibly. Make them spend time with us!'

This is how Kyungsoo finds himself struggling to cut along the chalked line on a large piece of dark fabric, unskilled fingers fumbling around large scissors. Jongin stands on top of a little footstool, arms stretched wide as Baekhyun measures him. Jongdae throws himself on Baekhyun's bed.

'Why am I doing this.' Kyungsoo grumbles. It's a statement of dissatisfaction more than it is a question, and he curses when metal meets flesh and draws blood from it. 'Ah!' he exclaims, quickly retracting his hand as Jongin darts towards him.

'Are you hurt, baby?' Jongin says, floundering as Baekhyun rolls his eyes and cleans the cut.

'No, it doesn't hurt much. Stings a little, though,' Kyungsoo concedes, wincing as he presses down on the bandaged cut. Behind him, he can hear Baekhyun making gagging noises and Jongdae cackling along. He ignores them.

'Do you want me to kiss it for you?' Jongin teases, a half smile on his lips as he runs a finger along Kyungsoo's palm. Kyungsoo looks at him challengingly.

'What, just my finger?' Kyungsoo can feel Baekhyun glaring at them.

'Come here,' Jongin smirks. He threads his fingers into the hairs at the back of Kyungsoo's neck, pulls the latter towards him and tastes stars on his tongue.

'You bled on my fabric,' Baekhyun tries.

Kyungsoo scoots closer to Jongin, plants both his hands on his boyfriend's shoulders.

'All over. It's ruined! I can't use it!'

Jongin runs his tongue along the roof of Kyungsoo's mouth, and the elder smiles into the kiss.

'Where am I supposed to - '

'Baek. Just drop it. They can't hear you.'

'Fine, Jongdae. Fine.'

'What are you doing?'

Jongin and Kyungsoo pull away just in time to see Baekhyun rummaging in his drawers, only to emerge with a large quantity of white tulle fabric. Jongdae blinks at him. 'Um. Baek?'

'Shut up. I'm making something new,' Baekhyun huffs, laying the fabric out on his workstation. All three men turn to frown at him.

'What is it?' Jongdae ventures to ask.

'A wedding dress,' Baekhyun says. He looks up from what he's doing to smile sweetly at Jongin and Kyungsoo. 'For Kyungsoo.'

Jongin catches Kyungsoo when he nearly passes out.


One of Kyungsoo's favourite things, he decides, is lying in Jongin's arms, in Jongin's bed, where it's just the two of them and nobody else is around to see. Living life as a portrait, especially on the fourth floor corridor with Jongdae and Baekhyun as neighbours, is nothing short of exhausting. Privacy is a foreign concept, silence a rare occurrence. Kyungsoo is appreciative of his friends' neverending efforts to make him feel welcome, but. It's been months, and Kyungsoo just needs time to breathe.

In hindsight, having the warmth of Jongin's chest pressed to his back and the younger's arms around his waist probably wasn't the best idea. Whenever Kyungsoo is with Jongin, he feels his chest constrict in the most pleasant way, breath coming in drags between long intervals. Jongin steals the oxygen from his very lungs, coaxes his heart to run marathons - in all the right ways, and this is the kind of breathless Kyungsoo supposes he wouldn't mind experiencing for the rest of his life.

But there was a question nagging at the back of his mind, tumbling around in his throat, tugging on his tongue, insisting to be asked. Kyungsoo knows he's being silly - whatever he asks, he will get the truth. Jongin was not a person who made it a habit to lie, and Kyungsoo tries to calm his mind. It isn't even a fatal question - he's making a big deal out of nothing.

Here goes.

'Hey, Jongin?' Kyungsoo murmurs, placing his hands over Jongin's on his stomach. 'Are you asleep?'

'No,' his answer sifts through the hairs on the top of Kyungsoo's head, and it sends a shiver down the elder's spine. 'What is it?' he asks, peppering kisses in Kyungsoo's hair, down to his ear, his neck - doing a great job, overall, of making the singer forget his thoughts and fill them instead with the softness of his lips. It's only when Jongin's hand slips under clothes to caress skin that Kyungsoo's rationale comes back to him.

'Wait, Jongin - stop,' he says, turning so he's facing Jongin and the latter's looking at him with hooded eyes that make his determination flicker. He sits up before the burning inferno scalding him where Jongin touches can take control of his faculties again. 'Um - you know how you always talk about wanting to see the world?'

'Mm,' Jongin hums, sitting so he's got Kyungsoo's back to his chest again, the singer seated between his legs. 'What about it?' he asks, gently snaking arms around Kyungsoo's waist again.

'It's just - how do you plan to do that?' Jongin stops planting kisses on the side of Kyungsoo's neck when the latter lets the question tumble out. 'I mean - we're portraits, Jongin. No matter what we do, how far we go... We'll have to stay inside the castle unless someone decides to travel the world and for some inane reason, takes us with them.'

'You want to travel the world with me?'

'Jongin, focus.' Kyungsoo scolds gently. He pushes himself off the bed and faces Jongin, hands on his hips, lips in a straight line. 'You know I'd follow you to the ends of the earth, but - well let's face it, there's no way for us to get there.'

Jongin throws himself back down on the bed, flat on his back. He exhales through his mouth, inspecting the ceiling. 'So if I told you there was a way - that we could do all those things I promised, that we could go to all those places I talked about - you'd take it?' he tilts his head to look Kyungsoo in the eye. 'No hesitation?'

Kyungsoo nods vigorously.

Jongin sits up again, and Kyungsoo can tell by his restless fidgeting that the younger is excited, has been excited about what he's going to tell Kyungsoo for a long time. The grin that Kyungsoo can barely ever restrain himself from kissing spreads across Jongin's lips.

'Good. Because I've found a way to make us human.'

Kyungsoo widens his eyes at Jongin. 'You - what?'

'I know how to make us human.'

Kyungsoo just blinks at him, and Jongin takes this as an open invitation to go on about his plan.

'It's quite simple, really - all I had to do was make sure Junmyeon was up for it. You know how he likes brewing up potions he's never heard of. Anyway, so I told him about my plans, what I want to do, where I want to go. He gets lonely a lot, he only has Chanyeol at this school, and - well, Yeol's got friends in his own house and Junmyeon just doesn't. So we talked a bit, and a week later he turns up looking more excited than I'd ever seen him before.'

'And - what was he so excited about?' Kyungsoo asks. The twinkle in Jongin's eye glows a little brighter.

'He'd found a potion. One that could corporealise a painted person. Kyungsoo. We could be human.'

The look of uncertainty in the elder's eyes has Jongin rushing into his next words, afraid that somewhere in the elapsed seconds Kyungsoo would find sense enough to walk out and leave Jongin with his musings. They aren't just throwaway fantasies, he thinks. He could make this real for them.

He could make them real.

'Listen - look, it's not that hard. The potion takes a long time to brew because each new ingredient needs to be simmered in the light of a full moon individually, and Junmyeon just told me it's almost time to add the last ingredient, wait a few days, and it's ready. The potion is one of the only things that can allow things to pass through the barrier that keeps us in and the humans out without damaging it. All Junmyeon has to do is paint enough of it onto our portraits, we take a leap of faith, and - and that's it. We're human.'

Jongin is breathless now, excitement crawling up his chest and showing in the glow of his skin. Kyungsoo still eyes him dubiously - he isn't sure exactly how much Jongin knows about the technicalities of magic, but he knows he can trust Junmyeon. Junmyeon was top in his year, hadn't made a stupid decision in his entire life (except, maybe, keeping Chanyeol's company) and could be relied upon to make sure things go off without a hitch.

'But Jongin - we're so... Small. How are we going to do anything when we're barely seven inches tall?'

'I've thought about that already! Junmyeon says for the potion to take full effect, we have to wait a couple of hours, maybe an entire day, max - and then we'll be just as big as we are in this dimension, and he'll keep us safe while the potion works.'

Kyungsoo sighs. It's awfully tempting - being able to break away from the bonds that hold him here, being able to unlock the shackles that keep him and Jongin from their dreams. Being able to be free - to be by Jongin's side without having so many people peering at them, without having to worry if they're being indecent in case there are eyes invisible that are watching them - it's all so, so tempting.

Kyungsoo traces over the lines of Jongin's face, the curve of his lips, the set of his eyes. It's evident that the dancer wants nothing more than he wants this - and Kyungsoo can't deny, he wants this too.

He wants to be with Jongin, regardless of in what form, wherever the fates will take him. He just wants to be by Jongin's side. So he squares his shoulders, looks Jongin dead in the eye and nods.

'Okay.'

'Okay?'

'I'm not going to let you leave me behind.'

'Kyungsoo?'

'I'm saying - I want to be human, too. I want to be wherever you are, with you, that's all I need. Really.'

Jongin can't control the wild grin on his face anymore, hooks his fingers in the belt loops of Kyungsoo's pants and tugs, sending the elder tumbling on top of him, both of them sinking into the bed just as Kyungsoo tugs at Jongin's bottom lip with his own mouth. There is too much heat and too little contact and when it's all over, Kyungsoo rests his head on Jongin's bare chest, listening to the steady drumming of his heart.

'I wouldn't have ever done that, by the way,' Jongin murmurs, and Kyungsoo can tell from the way his syllables drag that Jongin is in between awake and asleep. Still, those fingers are carding through his hair, so he knows he can ask.

'Done what?'

'Left you behind. I could never leave you behind, Kyungsoo.' Jongin brushes his fingers over the smooth skin of Kyungsoo's cheek, and the elder hears an I love you, die on Jongin's lips as he falls asleep. Kyungsoo smiles to himself.

'I love you too, Jongin.'