Work Text:
Wow, that guy has some seriously long hair.
Currently, your view is the give-or-take 50 year old man sitting across the aisle, snoring while he sleeps, mouth wide open. His ears are adorned with all sorts of metals and shapes of jewelry, which you think must have cost him a lot to pay for. You don't even think you have that many earrings yourself, and your hair is probably shorter than his.
You took the train home, once again exhausted, wanting nothing more than to fall asleep on the couch and not wake up for hours.
When staring at the man with long hair and earrings across the aisle of the train gets boring, you sigh and open one of your pockets in your bag to try and fish out the earbuds. After wrestling with the fast movement of the train and the jammed zipper, you grab hold of the wire and pull them out, slipping them into your ears. It only takes a few taps on Spotify to realize that the right earbud is losing its ability to work properly. If you were at home, you would have screamed at the only pair of earbuds you had to work and lost your composure, because who could not, but then again, this was a public train, and you still had to keep your civility here.
A text popped up on your screen, and before you could roll your eyes in frustration at your earbud situation, your anger quickly dissipated. It was from one of your favorite people in the world, so how could you be upset?
Yeosang's name shot to the top of the iMessages app, and you smiled as you read what he had sent you.
-Do you mind if I come over tonight? I've got nothing to do.
Of course you didn't mind.
-Sure, nor do I! I'm on the train home so give me around an hour. See you soon <3
After he liked the message, you put down your phone and closed your eyes.
The good part about the train was the fact that it was a train. Your eyes fluttered open to stare at the soft snow beginning to fall around the city. There was supposed to be a mild snow storm tonight, according to the weather channel, which prompted you to get home earlier. Staring out plane, car, and train windows when you were younger was always the most intriguing part of transportation, and that hadn't changed even though you were 23. Listening to music made it even better. Now, staring outside the glass at the city buildings that passed and got smaller with every minute, your mind couldn't help but wander away from the reality that was your every day schedule.
Your job, like many, was a normal day job at a big company. You helped with the computer programming of video games for one of the big game producers, and almost every day you had to be at a desk sorting through code. This wasn't exactly a dream come true, but you grew up loving coding, so it was at least something interesting. But after long, tiring hours at a computer, it wasn't unusual for you to want to get out of the building.
Ten minutes passed before there were more buildings again, indicating that you were once again in the city that you and Yeosang lived in. The train announced your upcoming stop, and five minutes later you picked up your bag and got off the train with a few other people, leaving the snoring man behind.
Stepping off the platform to walk a couple blocks to your apartment, snowflakes drifted down onto your face and clothes. You pulled your scarf a little tighter and put your gloves on, trying to catch snowflakes on your tongue on the way back. It was times like these when you felt as if you were in a snow globe. The city was beautiful when everything was decorated white, but you couldn't wait for springtime as well, when the flowers on all the trees turned brilliant pinks, oranges and reds.
Saying hi to the land lady on the bottom floor of your apartment complex was always one of the best parts of the day. You talked with Mrs Kim about your usually boring days at work, and she would tell you all about her grandchild's antics and her family. She was one of the close people in your life that you had known for over a year and loved talking to, and that was not a very long list.
After listening to her laugh about her grandson's school stories, wishing her a good night, and heading up to the third floor in the elevator, you stepped out and fished your apartment key out of your bag, jamming it in the key hole. It took a few tries before it worked, but you successfully opened the door, closed it, locked it, and slid down on to the floor, tossing your backpack aside in the small entrance hallway. Groaning at the energy it took you to get there, you closed your eyes in some moments of peace before getting up and neatening the living room. You wanted it to at least be decent to hang around in when Yeosang came over. Noticing the lack of food in your pantry and refrigerator, you snatched a pencil from your room after changing into a comfortable outfit and wrote down some of the food items you were missing. Pulling your hair up into a messy bun after spotting a can of soup on a shelf, you stuck the pencil in your hair, turned on a burner on the stove and cracked the can open.
You had just put the can's contents in a pot when you heard a knock at your door. Your heart fluttered a little at the thought of it most likely being Yeosang, and you may have ditched the soup a little too quickly to go meet him at the door.
Sure enough, when you opened your front door, your best friend was standing outside in the apartment complex hallway. "Hi, Yeo!" you exclaimed with a smile and bright eyes as you hugged him.
"Hey, Ara," Yeosang said calmly with a soft smile as you hugged him. He was wearing a long, brown, fuzzy coat with a black turtleneck and pants, complementing his newly dyed blond hair and light make up well. "What're you up to?"
You let go of him to jog back into the kitchen to check on your food. "Nothing much, just heating up soup." You tugged at the pencil stuck in your messy bun. "You want some?"
Yeosang took off his shoes and hung up his coat. "Ah, no thanks, I just had dinner actually."
"Aw. Okay then, I'll have it all for myself." You smirked as you stirred the spoon through the broth and he laughed.
"How long has it been since you got home? Mrs Kim told me she saw you come in."
You smiled at his mention of Mrs Kim. "About 20 minutes."
You had met him when you were in your third year of college, studying video game design. You sat alone in your classes for a few weeks until he had arrived in one and sat down near you. After plenty of awkward, short conversations, you two eventually talked about your interests and went out for coffee some mornings before school. He had been studying for performing arts which you would later find out was the result of a passion to play the violin. Having not changed your quiet friendship for years, you two still went to the same coffee shop every week and lived in the same city.
Now, because he only lived 15 minutes away, he would come to visit you often, and you would do the same. Normally, one would have thought leaving college for separate careers would distance the two of you, but you only hung out more with each other, and it wasn't uncommon for him to ask to come over. He always asked before he came.
You two had sat down on your couch for some time in silence, just enjoying each others company. You couldn't blame Yeosang for not speaking that much, his quiet nature was your own as well. You both could be mistaken for being rude and distant, but in reality were soft hearts who only needed a close friend.
Your phone timer went off, interrupting the silence. "Soup's done!" you announced, jumping off the couch and going into your miniature kitchen to pour it into a bowl.
Yeosang tilted his head back over the couch so he could look at you across the kitchen upside down. "Do you want to watch the drama, too?"
"Yeah, sure! I'll get some chips."
You two had been watching a new drama for some time now, a pastime that went back to your college years. Every few months a new one was picked and you never watched one episode without Yeosang. This time, you brought chips over in a bowl and sat down next to him to curl up in a blanket and eat your soup. Since there was only one blanket, Yeosang usually let you have it because he knew how cold you could get. You had mercy on him this time and tossed what would fit around his shoulders.
He looked at you and raised an eyebrow. "You sure you don't want all of it?"
"Yes, I always have all of it! We can share it." You and him tried to situate yourselves comfortably, but you still ended up with the bigger half and him the smaller half of the blanket. You were too short, and in your opinion, he was too tall. Laughing at the size difference for what seemed like the millionth time, you glanced at Yeosang, who was smirking too.
His fluffy hair was getting longer, and it had gotten to the point where it brushed down his neck. His eyes were always a deep brown, and the best time was when they had sparkles in them. He had new earrings on, silver ones in the shape of a cross and a couple of studs.
He caught you staring. "What?" He turned as a corner of his mouth curved upward.
You felt your cheeks turn hot as you looked away. "Oh! Nothing, I- I just love your earrings. I haven't seen the crosses before. Are those new?"
He brought his hand up to touch one of them. "Oh yeah. I bought those yesterday, do you like them?"
"Yeah! They look really nice on you." You paused, looking awkwardly at your soup for a few moments. "There was this guy on the train ride home, he had all these earrings, and they looked so expensive too." you swallowed, desperate to continue a somewhat normal conversation. "And really long hair. Way longer than yours. Like, I don't understand why some guys grow their hair out that long. It doesn't look that great. Not to say you wouldn't look great in it, because you would actually style yours-"
"Ara!" Yeosang exclaimed, laughing lightly at your hand gestures and funny faces. "You're gonna spill your soup!"
He was right. The bowl was tilted way too far to the left as he reached over and tried to gently push your hand back to a safe position. "Oh!" You quickly fixed your hand position, blushing even harder. "Let's just watch the next episode of this," you said, waving a finger at the TV before burying yourself behind a pillow and frowning in your embarrassment. Yeosang agreed with a small snicker as you shoved a spoonful of noodles in your mouth.
* * *
You didn't realize how long you two had been watching the drama when you woke up.
Disoriented, you felt yourself being lifted off the couch. You were trying not to panic as arms wrapped around your knees and under your neck to lift you up. Your head instinctively bobbed to rest on the chest of the person who picked you up.
Yeosang.
He took you through the kitchen, into your room, and placed you gently on your bed.
You didn't open your eyes, faking that you were asleep. Feeling him lift your head so it was on top of a pillow felt like the cutest gesture he had ever shown towards you. He placed the blanket from the living room over you and made sure you seemed warm. When he turned, you peaked open your eyes to see him with his coat and shoes on. He was going to leave.
You should let him go. He deserved sleep, and you should have let him go. Did you want to dare keep him?
You dared.
"Yeo?"
He froze in the doorway and turned. "Yes? I thought you'd never wake up." He reached his hand up to his neck and his strained smile told you something was off. Was he… afraid that you had woken up while he was carrying you?
"What-what time is it?"
He sighed and sat on the edge of your bed as you reached from under the blanket to turn on your reading light, wincing at the brightness. You could see the fading blush on his cheekbones.
I knew it. He'll never admit it, but he's a hopeless romantic.
"It's 1 in the morning, Ara. You should get some sleep, okay? Don't you have work tomorrow?" He asked, concerned.
"But... could you stay a little? Please? I think there's a snow storm tonight." You knew he wanted to stay. You just had to convince him.
He sighed. "Fine, I will." He kicked off his shoes and slipped off his coat he had put on to leave and sat criss-crossed on the edge of your bed.
"Good," you responded, withdrawing from the warmth of your blanket at the realization that your mouth still tasted like soup broth. "I'll be right back, let me brush my teeth."
Yeosang nodded and let you go. You walked out of your bedroom and went to the bathroom, picking up a toothbrush and hastily squirting some toothpaste on it before you shoved it around in your mouth. Looking into the small mirror, you noticed the rat's nest your bun was and tried to fix it by letting it down and brushing it. While washing your face and letting the excess water drip off your hands and down your neck, you wondered what you had gotten yourself into. You had asked Yeosang to stay with you. And it was the middle of the night.
Your face was red again. You couldn't believe yourself.
What is wrong with me?!
After scowling at your reflection and rubbing your face with a towel, you grabbed the doorknob and whipped the door open, walking back into the room.
Yeosang was sprawled out across the edge of your bed, one leg over the other, staring at your ceiling.
Before you could have time to process how beautiful your best friend was, he sat up almost immediately like a child getting caught doing something wrong.
You let out a mocking gasp, leaning on the doorframe of your room as a hand flew to your mouth. "Oh my gosh, were you laying down? On my bed?"
He looked fearful even though you had been overly sarcastic. "I didn't know I-"
"I'm kidding!!" you exclaimed, a laugh dancing across your face. You skipped across the room and jumped on your bed, sending the pillows flying. Yeosang still looked a little embarrassed at the fact that he was caught lying down, and watching him sit in such an uncomfortable position bothered you. You laid your head down, placing your feet on the wall the bed was touching and motioned for him to lay down next to you. He obeyed and softly placed his arms behind his head.
Yeosang's legs were hanging off the side of the bed because of the way you were both positioned diagonally. Your heads lightly touched as you both stared at the ceiling this time. Fake vines and flowers taped up by you when you moved in hung above, a reminder that the spring was soon to come. "Your flowers are really pretty," he declared, reaching up to grab a red one.
You turned your head to look at him. His gaze was still on the ceiling and there were tiny sparkles from the faint reading light in his eyes. It was hard not to lose your breath when he could just lay there looking so perfect. "I got them off Amazon, but thank you," you smirked as his lips tugged upward in amusement.
After a couple minutes, he shifted his position so he was resting his head on his hand. He reached one of his hands out, slowly touching the wisps of your hair behind your ears. His hands brushed across your ear softly. When he did, you weren't anticipating it, and little sparks sent shivers down your arms and legs.
Noticing your frozen nature at his touch, he took his hand away. "Are you okay with your hair being played with? I figured it might help you fall asleep."
You stared at him with wide eyes. He was always so gentle.
"Yes, of course, I love people braiding it. My friend in high school used to do my hair in all these styles because I couldn't," you remembered, making two 'ponytails' by grabbing two fistfuls of your hair as a joke. "It feels really nice."
Yeosang laughed at your gesture, and you couldn't help but smile at his grin. "I can braid it then."
You smiled and let him sit up behind you while you rested your head on his knee. He pulled your hair back past your ears so none of it was in your face. Your eyes automatically fluttered shut from the bliss of your hair being played with. When you were younger, you remembered begging your mother to braid or play with your hair because it felt amazing. Being alone in high school and college had left you touch-starved without you knowing it. Talking about physical affection openly had definitely never been your forte, and you were too scared to fall for love yourself even as the people around you fell into relationships.
Feeling Yeosang's nails comb lightly around your ears and scalp, sift through your long hair and twist and turn it slowly to form a braid felt like the best thing that had happened to you in years. You didn't know why people playing with your hair was so comforting, but it was, and him of all people was the person tying it up tonight.
He pulled your hair into another twist of a braid. "Your hair is so pretty. Because of your natural highlights. They look so beautiful in the sun."
You almost immediately felt yourself turn red again at his compliments. "Do they really?"
"Yes, they really do. And while I'm at it, your eyes are beautiful too. I wish I had natural green pigments like yours."
The fact that you weren't crying yet was shocking to you. He had hit a soft spot. There had been people in high school and college who mocked you for having green eyes, so you had assumed green eyes just weren't pretty.
"But Yeo, why do you say that??"
He looked into your sad eyes and noticed you didn't believe him. His gaze got darker.
"Why else? I say it because they're truly beautiful."
You sat up next to him, forcing him to let go of your hair he was almost done braiding. "How can you say that? Your brown eye color is perfect, your hair, your everything, but I-"
Before you could ramble on, Yeosang leaned closer to you, took your face in one hand and ever-so-slowly placed a feather-soft kiss on your lips.
You let it happen. You knew he would've stopped had you pulled away, but you stayed there and let him. You froze as you became overly aware of the taste of his kiss and the way he wanted to make you believe your green eyes were perfect to him.
"Shh. No, I am not perfect," He took your hands in his. "I'm not trying to keep you from talking. I want you to," he whispered, looking deep in your eyes with half-closed, dreamy eyelids. "And I will sit here and listen to all your problems and insecurities for as long as you would like to get them off your chest, but not now. I just want to be here with you in silence. Please."
A thousand sparks flew through you, but they felt more like blooming flowers than electricity. For some reason, a kiss seemed like almost a normal thing to do. It didn't seem wrong; it felt like the right puzzle piece had lined up with all the others. You knew what he was talking about. You, too, did not want to feel bad tonight, and you just wanted comfort. To be able to be here, comforting each other, was something you treasured and had longed for so long that you wouldn't dare let go of his hand you were now holding.
Yeosang had fallen. He had fallen and asked for love, but in a way that didn't involve much talking. He had let down his armor first, and you decided to do the same, and fall into the same love.
You nodded at him in silence and pushed yourself even closer to him, which he understood, and eventually, it turned into a hug. When you wrapped your arms around him, he did too. You laid your head gently on his collarbone and closed your eyes until he turned and pulled you both sideways. He had taken most of the fall, but you both giggled from the force of falling over clumsily on top of the pillows.
He moved closer to touch your nose with his, which made you blush yet again. "So…is this okay?" He asked hesitantly, waving his finger in a circle above your heads and afterwards taking a few strands of your hair in his hand again.
You thought about that question. Did you want this to happen? The first time you had ever met him, dull sparks had made their way across your nerves. Yeosang was one of the most beautiful people you had met, inside and out. You had already fallen for the beauty he had long ago, but never admitted it. The connection was bound to happen between the two of you, because Yeosang had also loved you the same way, but you had never seen yourself like he did.
You wanted to try to learn how to love him, as well as yourself.
You pushed yourself slightly away from him to pull your legs under you as you leaned over him.
"Kang Yeosang, this is more than okay."
You paused, taking a deep breath as you could feel your entire body shaking before you admitted it. "I think I've loved you for longer than I would've liked to admit to myself. Can we give it at least a chance?"
He looked up at you with huge, chocolate-colored puppy eyes. Those eyes had sparkles in them again.
This look was rare, and dangerous.
You could barely breathe from nerves before he suddenly grabbed you, pulled you down towards him and covered your face and neck in soft butterfly kisses.
Laughing hysterically because of how ticklish you were, you tried to free yourself from his grasp to no avail. You ended up switching places as he placed another soft kiss on your lips. "Yes, Ara, yes of course we can give it a chance."
His beautiful smile finally revealed his teeth as well as his pure happiness. His eyelashes fluttered with content as he rolled to the side and wrapped his arms and legs around you, burying his face in the crook of your neck. "Do you know how long I've been waiting to hug you like this? I'm never letting you go."
"Nor am I." You blushed into his shoulder at the thought of him loving you for all these years as he ruffled your hair with his face.
You couldn't believe this was real until your heart felt calm enough to stop beating so heavily. You weren't that embarrassed at your over-excited heart because you could feel Yeosang's heart race as well. Unbeknownst to you, he had loved you and in turn cared for you for years. All the tiny touches, the soft words of reassurance and the very apparent kind actions had been his way to show you a deeper kind of affection. He had always cared for you even when you were angry, even when you were crying or upset. And now, you could both have that. You wanted to be that person to him now after the years of him doing everything for you.
You slowly leaned your head backwards as you moved your hands to reach on either side of your head. He opened his eyes when you started playing with the hair curling around his ear. It was your turn to place a kiss on his lips. When you pulled away, he stared at you with wide, childish eyes. Your head tilted down towards his chest again, and you folded your arms around him. "Thank you," you whispered so silently you didn't know if he had heard.
He did, because just as you were about to both fall unconscious in each other's arms, he spoke.
"I love you."
"Me too."