I'll Admit I Cried A Bit - Tumblr Posts
helloooo i saw u were accepting drabble requests and i just want to request a little side story based on this tweet i found for han + whispers of nature. that's all thank youuu <3
My god this is just so sweet... thank you so much for this request, I hope you enjoy the outcome :)
(Find the original work, Bloom, here!)
Stray Kids drabble game: send me a Stray Kids member + a prompt (check out the post for ideas) and I’ll write a drabble for you!
~
Title: Tiny Steps (I’ll Hold Your Hand)
Pairing: Jisung x fem!reader
Word count: 1.2k
Triggers: implied death
(Inclusivity note: reader has green eyes in this fic as a plot point explained in the original scenario!)
~
"You’re back.”
Jisung doesn’t startle at the sound of Hyunjin’s voice. It hasn’t changed much since he was last here maybe a hundred years ago. A little deeper, maybe, though that could just be because it’s morning and the water nymph hasn't quite woken up just yet.
He turns around to face Hyunjin. Just like his voice hasn’t changed, his looks haven’t either - still the long flowing hair, the handsome face. Hyunjin’s skin has tanned a little, but that’s all Jisung can see is different. The love for the mute willow has not left his eyes, the willow whose branches still extend of the cool pond, shading it from the rising sun.
A tinge of bitterness coats Jisung’s tongue. It isn’t fair that he fell in love with a mortal, while Hyunjin will have his lover for as long as the forest stays under the protection of a guardian. And Changbin, they all know, will be around for a long time.
But it also isn’t fair that Jisung took Hyunjin’s first love away for nothing other than a prank of spite. So he swallows the bitterness away and nods, trying to smile. “Yeah.”
Hyunjin’s expression doesn’t register pity, only understanding. “Hurt too much?”
How could it not, when all Jisung ever sees in the expanse of the Earth Mother are your eyes, emerald in the grass, verdant in the trees? Everywhere he looks he hears your laugh, sees your smile, feels the phantom warmth of your skin brushing against his hand. If he were to come back here when the grief was still fresh, the forest where you met and made memories and fell in love, Jisung would have broken down.
Now, though, the grief is a dull throb and even if it hurts, Jisung can find it in himself to return to your final resting place, where you asked him to bury you once your mortal life came to an end. He extended it as long as he could - you lived a century longer, at least, than your peers - but in the end, Death came for your soul, and Jisung laid you to rest.
He’s already visited your grave, dug into the old faerie ring where he promised you protection for the rest of your days. The grass is overgrown, the flowers and mushrooms wild with color. It would have made you smile, Jisung thinks, to see the ring grown as the Earth Mother had wanted before it was turned into his prison for centuries.
Remembering the grave makes the pain ring fresh and Jisung winces. “Yeah.”
If Hyunjin is bothered by Jisung’s monosyllabic answers, he doesn’t show it. Instead, he only jerks his head deeper into the forest, a little way past his pond. “The creek is still there, if you haven’t seen it yet.”
You loved the creek when you were alive. It hadn’t formed a consciousness then, the waters slow to manifest a nymph, but you liked to watch the clear water run over the rocks, sparkling in the afternoon sunlight. Jisung, in turn, liked to kiss you then as the sun gleamed over your body, painting a portrait of you that couldn’t possibly be equalled by even the greatest artists in the land.
“Anyone there?” Jisung asks.
“Not yet.” Hyunjin shrugs. “But it’s only a matter of time.”
With that, Jisung walks past the pond, placing a greeting hand on the trunk of the still-sleeping willow at Hyunjin’s side. He feels the nymph’s eyes follow him across the grass until he’s out of sight.
The sound of running water grows louder the closer he gets until Jisung stands at the edge of the creek. Here, he can almost hear your laugh in the splash of water around the rocks, feel your warmth in the sunshine that beams around his figure. It’s a beautiful day and a beautiful sight, and Jisung’s heart aches with the wish that you were here to see it.
But there is no lovely figure standing next to him whose lips he can kiss, no sparkling eyes that will meet his when he holds out a hand to help you cross. There is no lady who will take the step onto the first rock, carefully balancing on the uneven surface before leaping to the next rock, letting Jisung take your space on the first. There is no laugh that will intertwine with his, little squeals at splashes of water that sound like music in his ears.
Jisung stares at the churning water, foam rising around the rocks. From here, he can map out the exact path you two would take to cross the little creek. The smaller rocks have changed, smoothed and eroded or replaced altogether, but the larger ones, the rocks you used as stepping stones, are still there, wet and shiny in the sunlight.
He takes a step to the very edge of the creek. A bit of water splashes onto his feet and he jerks reflexively in surprise, a sound rising from his throat that you would have laughed at, definitely, before kissing his pout away. Jisung can almost feel it, the soft pressure of your mouth against his, your laugh still hanging on your lips.
More water splashes his legs as he steps forward onto the first rock. It doesn’t wobble, stays strong as he carefully places his foot where you would have, clutching tightly onto his hand as you found your balance. There is no one here to hold his hand now, but Jisung manages to balance anyway, wobbling slightly on the water-slick surface for a moment before he can stand.
Another step to the next rock, a short leap from the first. It’s almost as though your hand tugs him forward in the practiced stride. He barely wobbles on the slippery surface as he prepares for the third.
Jisung hops over the path of rocks, pausing at moments to watch the water, to feel it splash over the tops of his feet as it churns its cheerful way downstream. Merry, just like you, clear green eyes sparkling even on rainy days, and as Jisung reaches the last stone, an unconscious smile lifts the corners of his lips.
You’re here, still here. Physically, your body lies beneath the overgrown flowers of his former faerie ring, but the color of your eyes lies in the grass and the leaves, the sound of your laugh in the chirping birds and rushing water. No matter where Jisung goes, he will feel your warmth in the air, your presence by his side, because nothing, not even Death, could break the bond you made so long ago between the trees of this very forest.
The smile is no longer unconscious as Jisung closes his eyes, letting his lips curve as wide as they wish. Sunlight spills on his body from the crown of his head to the tips of his toes and he can feel the warmth of your hand, brushing against his, as you tug him forward to the other side.