crush!au

*

...

FU--

***

wonpil is a ship.

he daydreams too much, he wanders around aimlessly, yes; but he also resembles one. wonpil's thoughts are his sails, his torso -- a mast. his legs are as sturdy as a deck, and his feet -- swift as oars. he swims around all day, his thoughts easily swayed by the wind thrashing against the foamy waves of the sea. and then a certain pirate appears to capture his ship -- him, in and of himself -- and the poor boy feels the imaginary sailor called his heart lower his sails and leave them billowing around near him instead. the sailor threads his fingers through the coarse fabric, cooing a relaxing melody to turn them silky and delicate. he innocently eases it over until the sirens stalking the treacherous waters of the world capture the sails in their vicious claws and savagely rip their softened cloth apart.

because gay is not okay! gay... is not... okay...?

wonpil can't help but allow his damaged sails to shelter his heart at night, though. despite their torn appearance, they still live -- live for the pirate who goes by the name "yoon dowoon." the brunette's mouth plays with the name all night, drawing out the "yoon," poking the "do" with the tip of his tongue, breathing in the intoxicating "woon..."

"this has got to stop," he tells himself one day, and tries to convince the sailor to hang the sails back on the mast and block the pirate from sight behind their thick fabric. "oh, thank god," he utters once it's done, leading the sailor back to his position at the steering wheel, where he can regulate the beating of his heart and keep it steady. but a second after the fateful work has been done, a picture of dowoon washes onto the deck from a particularly strong wave. the sailor catches it, wanders his eyes over the soft facial features and the sharp jawline, utters his name... and the sails fall down once more, at the mercy of the hideous sirens and the destructive waves and the meaningless rejections of the doubtful sailor who fears for his life and that of the ship.

and wonpil is slowly but surely being washed away into ruin.

*

meanwhile, the pirate looks down at his map, seeking his treasure. it's now the next day, and school is sucking the life out of his battle ship like a swirling whirlpool of DOOM, his sleepless night almost bringing him into a shipwreck. "i've been looking for years, searching for decades... yet i still cannot find all that gold and those diamonds and everything shining..."

"younghyunnie-hyunggg~" dowoon groans out, covering his face with his hands. "that's not how i said it at all!" his ears grow red from all the taunting and he instantly regrets ever telling his hyung anything. he feels dizzy and torn and tossed-about... all because he couldn't sleep all night, his mind searching for the kindness and loving of the sailor's near-broken ship in the midst of the violent waves of the world's cruelty.

"okay, okay. but you did say that you want to treasure someone. anyone in mind?"

the red-haired boy feels a soft grin wash onto his face as the thought of a certain broken ship with its befuddled sailor enters his head once more and intoxicates his fuzzy feelings. "maybe..."

and before younghyun can tease him more or trick him into revealing anything, the pirate runs to his classroom, escaping from the laughing fire licking at the sails of his ears and cheeks.

*

"dowoonie is my beatitude." wonpil tells his best friends, his head lying on his desk. "and i don't know what to do about that."

jae turns to sungjin, a look of confusion settling on his features. "what's beatitude?"

"it's this archaic word for 'ultimate happiness' no one uses anymore," the black-haired boy whispers, then turns to wonpil, who's slowly lifting his head from the desk with a dejected groan. "so? ask him out!"

"but... i can't! it's... it's wrong!! my parents will hate me for forever, and they'll disown me, and my classmates will taunt us, and dowoon will hate m—"

"you're a blind man," jae cuts him off. "go clean your binoculars. he's obviously head over heels for you. and just because your classmates told you degrading things doesn't mean your parents will." the blonde slyly smiles at the overthinking brunette, leaning forward to whisper in his ear, "remember venice last year?"

wonpil nods his head. "what about venice?"

"weeellll...~ when you were off getting icecream with sungjin and your sister, your parents saw a lesbian couple kissing on a gondola. and you know what their reaction was?"

wonpil feels a cold sweat start to seep down his neck. "did they yell at the poor girls? or gossip? oh no..."

jae shakes his head and his smile becomes kind-hearted. "they turned to me and told me i should ask you out so we can be as cute as them! as if!!"

and the indirect blessing from his parents softens the wind around wonpil's sails enough to draw the sailor back on course to pursue his pirate.

*

dowoon is standing in the lunch line with his tray in tow when brian sneaks up on him. "i know who you like," the older boy whispers in the red-head's ear, causing him to jump and almost upend his tray and utensils.

"yah!! hyung!!!!~" dowoon manages to balance himself and glares at the snickering boy. "let me live in peace!"

"no can do, grasshopper. we're getting your man today!" 

and with this phrase comes a strong tug to dowoon's shirt in the direction of a far-off table surrounded by waves. the pirate gasps as the sailor comes into view and violently shakes his head at younghyun. "hyung... hyung, no! i-- iii can't no no NO nO nOONoONO!!! don't NO! i-- i Can"tT!!"

brian ignores him and pushes him over to wonpil. "hey, pillie-pillie-wonpillie! this pirate here's been looking for you all over!"

the confused brunette gets hot all over, incoming waves violently thrashing at his heart, his sailor choking from the water entering his lungs. "ww- wa- www--" he hides his face in his hands and moves over to hide behind sungjin. "sorry. he just likes you," bob said in a monotone voice, continuing to eat his rice.

"aaaaaaaaa~" can be quietly heard, muffled into the strawberry-blonde's shirt.

dowoon's ears perk up, his eyes light up like beacons... "you... really?" he grabs at his chest and excitedly sits beside sungjin. "hyung... really?! oh my god!"

wonpil slowly peeks around from behind his hyung's back and gives one swift nod. "you can hate me now... i hate me now... so it's okay if you do, too--"

dowoon's drum roll of excitement can be heard echoing from the table throughout the entire cafeteria, and the shy boy scoots closer to sungjin so he can also hide behind his back. "why would i hate you if i like you? that's counter-intuitive..." he shyly murmurs for wonpil's ears only, and the brunette can't help but smile and hug the boy close. "you're my treasure, pillie," slips out of dowoonie's lips, and he feels sungjin slip away from them to give them space.

"don't say romantic shit like that," jae whispers to them as brian sits beside him. "it makes me sick."

"give me food, asshole," younghyun demands. "you promised me food."

"bullshit! i promised you nothing!"

wonpil and dowoon drown out the conversation and instead focus on their own situation. "wanna go out tomorrow?"

wonpil plays with the younger boy's fingers and nods. "you know... it's funny how quickly things can change for the better. just yesterday i was trying to convince myself to give you up."

"and i couldn't sleep because you wouldn't leave my head. i wasn't kidding when i wrote you that note yesterday..." the redhead gives pil a sheepish smile and tilts his head from side to side in giddiness.

sungjin grabs the back of dowoon's collar and lifts it, moving it in the direction of wonpil. "just cuddle with him or something. or eat your food. your leg keeps hitting mine and it's annoying." the younger boy's leg had been bouncing in joy, and sungjin was sick of being the victim of its shaking.

"okay." dowoon sits on wonpil's lap and begins to feed the boy strawberries. "hyung. hyung... let's go to the karaoke tomorrow."

and wonpil's smile lights up the pirate's horizons with its rays of blinding sunlight, and his nodding head and quiet, "yes, please," drown the illusion of crashing waves in its calming azure tides.