dbsk_flashfic | Bite (Open Challenge: Flashfic Challenge 125: Blood)

Title: Bite
Author:

twhitesakura
Word-count: 300
Concrit? Yes
Rating: PG
Summary: Changmin has ways of dealing with stress backstage.

Changmin has a habit of biting into his lips whenever he is angry. He grew up quicker than the others, before his time, and he found ways of dealing with stress that were in actuality, quite infantile. Three bowls of jjigae for a knee ache after dance practice, a plate of fresh cream pasta after it rained at an outdoor photoshoot drenching not only expensive cashmere but Changmin’s feet; the water soaked through his sandals, leaving his exposed toes cold and tingling. A bowl of cherries after a nightmare, the fruit slightly tart, as if their bite could take away the psychological sting of whatever had haunted him at night.

Today, Changmin reclines laughing and loose in their dressing room, sitting sideways on the sofa, legs hanging over the edge like a child, when his phone beeps for an incoming text message. Bad news, Yunho thinks, when Changmin bites his mouth until a line of crimson runs threadily between them.

Yunho approaches, dropping quietly to his feet at Changmin’s side to appear as unthreatening as possible. He reaches out with his thumb to soothe away the red, the tightness wound in the rigid set of Changmin’s shoulders and his eyes. Changmin gradually uncoils like a stubborn spring.

“Would you like to talk about it?” Yunho asks.

Changmin opens his mouth, but the coordinator and a retinue of make-up artists burst through their waiting room door. Sound-checks are over. Changmin frowns and silently pulls on the jacket the coordinator prompts him to, eyeing the crowd around them. He presses his lips thin and mumbles a soft, “No.”

On stage, before the concert spotlights come on to pin them in place, Yunho brushes Changmin’s hand. Changmin hesitates, but grips back, promising later, and then he lets go and the lights shine on.