Author's note: Written for a Summer Contest #1: Mickey at hug______. I got a second place for it. ^^;; (Still can hardly believe it)
It is RPS (or at least some m/m relationship implied), if you are uncomfortable with it, leave now. :P
When writing this fiction, I was thinking about one particular day I spent in Tossa, Spain. The weather was perfect, the air smelled like a sea, it was warm and humid. And I can still taste Sangria on my lips. Tarkan’s “Dudu” always reminds me of summer.

Summer Storm


~life protects those who love
won't throw them in fire
my rose, it couldn't have the heart to hurt you~
Tarkan “SMILE AT YOUR FATE”


He was walking over the beach, the feet digging deep in the warm sand, his shoes abandoned somewhere at the water edge. The air was mostly still, and only occasional breeze played with his hair, tugged at his clothes, caressing his skin. The sky was overcast; the enormous deep blue clouds rising like the towers of the fantasy castle were outlined with the golden rays of the hidden sun. It was going to rain, he thought idly. But it was too early to start looking for a shelter.

He stopped and squinted looking in the distance at the boy running to him. Watching him approach, with that bright smile, his face flushed up from running made his heart skip a bit painfully.

“Mickey! Mickey! Look what I’ve found!”, screamed Xiah, shoving a seashell almost under other boy’s nose. Carefully taking a find in his hands, Mickey examined it. It turned out to be just a piece of a seashell, though a rather big one, one side was pearly white and the other was baby pink and heavenly smooth. Almost like his skin, thought Mickey brushing his finger over the surface.

Looking up he noticed the blond boy looking at him eagerly, waiting for a praise for his discovery. Xiah’s eyes were bright with childish excitement, his pink lips a bit parted. His blond locks were damp with sweat, and he had rolled his pants up his knees; his skin so impossibly white was gradually reddening under the sun. He looked too young, too pure, still a kid. Xiah was a temptation Mickey had sworn never to succumb to.

Swallowing a limp in his throat and handing the sea treasure back to its finder, Mickey said: “It’s.. beautiful.” The words ‘Just like you’ almost slipping out of his mouth. He was rewarded with a bright smile and an affectionate hug: “I told you there are seashells here! Do you think there might be more?”. Not waiting for an answer, Xiah turned and run away from Mickey again. The dark haired boy bit his lower lip and put his hands in the pockets, watching the other looking for more treasures in the sand.

“You will have to tell him eventually.” - he heard somebody say behind him. Mickey didn’t need to turn around to know that it was Jaejoong. The elder boy joined him, watching Xiah, who was walking peering into the send, a determined look on his face.

“Am I being obvious or something?”, asked Mickey, a note of defense in his voice. Jaejoong just chuckled: “And much so, I must say.” He leaned his head on the left, looking sideways at Mickey. “I am just surprised that nobody else has noticed yet and told him.” – he added. The taller boy let out a frustrated sigh and run a hand through his hair. “I just can’t, Jae, you know, I can’t.” The words came out choked, a bare whisper.

“I know.” It was Jaejoong’s turn to sigh. Leaning closer to Mickey, he brushed his cheek with the cold fingers. “I just want to see you happy,” – he said, letting his fingers brush down the other’s back and then sneak into his hand, entangling with his fingers. Mickey shuddered involuntary; the brief warmth spreading through his body at the touch. He could hear the well concealed sadness in Jaejoong’s voice and gave his hand a little squeeze.

“I am sorry,” – he whispered; a lonely tear escaping and rolling down his cheek. Jaejoong leaned even closer, pressing his warm body to Mickey’s side, his lips hovering over the other’s cheek. “It’s just the price I am paying for being with you.”

Mickey squeezed his eyes shut. It was painful, so unbelievably hard, to let his dreams of ever being with his love, to let Xiah go without having possessed him; to make himself realize that all his attempts were futile and it was not even worth trying. It tore his heart, making him gasp at the pain and trying to hold back tears. But he knew perfectly well that his heart wasn’t the only one that was bleeding, that he wasn’t the only one who was willing back the tears. Mickey could feel the self-sacrificing love in the body pressed to his; he could hear all the sobs that had escaped the rosy lips on the sleepless nights, could taste the despair of the unrequited love the other had felt.

Mickey had made a choice not to hurt the one’s heart, but was he ready to choose to mend the other’s one?

He opened his eyes and looked at Jaejoong. Marveling the soft unguarded expression of the others face, where both the hope and the acceptance of any decision were clearly written, Mickey found himself holding his breath. “How does pizza and sangria sound to you?” – he asked, his throat tight. The elder boy looked at him, understanding and accepting what was given to him. “Sounds great,” – he said, giving the other a tiniest of his smiles.

Squeezing a warm hand in his grasp, Mickey thought that even though the storm was brewing, he already found his shelter.


written: 16/05/05