Chapter Text
"Did he seriously invite you to St. Averick's?" Felix points at the pier in front of him. His phone pocketed, he's been here enough times to know where it is without directions.
"It's not like that, we just meet up at the tables and do homework." Jeongin shrugs like it's the most casual thing; it is to him. "Lix, I should be walking.. you home." He looks down at Felix's scrawny figure.
"Jeongin, I'm older; I need to make sure you get there safely." Felix waves his hand dismissively, yeah, like he's doing anything. "Anyway, good luck with studying, you'll need it." Felix walks off, presumably home.
Jeongin nods and goes up to the pier, leaning against the railing before pulling his phone out again. Oh, Changbin texted.
"Innie, sorry, but the tables are kinda crowded right now, and I can't find you. Could we meet up near the creek?"
Jeongin pockets his phone. The creek is right beside this; it's a pretty crowded place too, but it must be calmer since everyone's at the tables. Not to mention, it borders the forest.
He balls his fist and starts making his way to the creek, 'cause you never know which freaks like Changbin's friends are just waiting in the corner to bother you.
It's quiet up at the creek. Jeongin only saw people while going here, but there's no one actually at the creek, probably because it's so cold out here.
Jeongin pulls his jacket closer to his body before looking into the water; the only noise is the faint chatter from the pier, but even that's barely audible. An unexpected tiny wave hits the rocks at the shore, causing Jeongin to flinch a little. Dammit, where is Changbin?
Just when Jeongin pulls out his phone, he hears rustling somewhere in the forest, a branch snapping. Jeongin whips behind, trying to spot whatever made the sound. "The fuck?"
A warm pair of hands lay on Jeongin's shoulders, not grabbing, just there. "Boo."
"Holy shit-!" Jeongin whips behind to see Changbin's very smug face. He stumbles back, then regains composure almost immediately. "Immaculate timing, dumbass."
Changbin simply laughs, pleased by the fact that he managed to scare Jeongin, just a bit. He then takes his hand and takes him out of there, his warm hands a contrast to the biting cold.
The two of them stumble through the trees, Changbin's grip surprisingly firm for someone who was just laughing a second ago. The rustling continues behind them-maybe an animal, maybe something else entirely.
"Okay, but like," Jeongin huffs as he yanks his arm free (mostly to shake off the lingering warmth of Changbin's hands), "if you were gonna sneak up on me, at least warn me first. I almost had a heart attack."
Changbin grins and shoves his hands in his pockets like nothing happened. "Where's the fun in that?" He nudges Jeongin toward a drier patch of grass near an old oak tree-their spot now apparently.
They plop down side by side; Changbin pulls out notebook papers covered in scribbled lyrics while Jeongin glares at him suspiciously.
"...You brought homework?"
"Duh, what did you think we were doing here? Making out?"
"No," Jeongin accentuates, before leaning back, letting his head hit the tree trunk. "I just didn't expect it." He looks at Changbin, his heart picking up the pace just slightly, which seems to be more prominent recently.
"What were you expecting?" Changbin lays out the notebooks and notes on top of the provided picnic mat. This must've been a picnic spot before it turned into a date one, given how many mats and benches there are.
Jeongin doesn't quite know how to answer that either, so he just stays quiet. The lesson soon begins, Changbin recapping whatever boring shit happened in class today that Jeongin slept through.
"Uh, they talked about prokaryotes and eukaryotes today, so we can recap that real quick," Changbin says while flipping through his notes. "Innie?" He repeats when he gets no answer.
He looks up from the notebook, letting out a tiny sigh as he watches Jeongin doze off, not yet sleeping but tired enough to shut his eyes, his head resting against a tree.
Changbin doesn't have the guts to wake him; he's never had a job before, since he grew up wealthy, it must be exhausting based on how dark his eye bags are. So, he shuts the books for today and keeps them to his side.
"Bugs, Innie. Bugs." Changbin says as Jeongin buries the back of his head into the tree stump. He grabs the side of Jeongin's hood and yanks him down to lie on his lap.
"Tch, what are you-" Jeongin readjusted his hoodie, pissed off before opening his eyes and seeing his position. His head, lying on Changbin's lap as he looks up at the stars like this, is a normal occurrence.
"You can see Cepheus tonight," Changbin says calmly as he points at a random group of stars. What the actual fuck is he talking about this time?
Jeongin's entire body tenses for a second-what the actual hell is happening right now?-but then Changbin starts pointing at stars like some kind of dorky astronomy professor, and he can't help but huff a laugh.
"Cepheus?" Jeongin repeats, squinting up at the sky like that'll magically make him understand what Changbin is rambling about. "Dude, I don't even know which constellation that is."
Changbin just grins down at him (because oh, this view isn't bad) and flicks his forehead lightly. "Obviously. That's why I'm showing you." He keeps gesturing wildly toward random clusters of stars as if sheer enthusiasm will fill in all the missing knowledge.
"...You're an idiot," Jeongin mutters under breath - but there's no real bite to it when he says it while snuggling deeper into Changbin's lap without thinking twice about how weirdly domestic this feels.
A comfortable silence settles over them both; only interrupted by occasional stifled yawns from either party or when one tries (and fails) to identify constellations correctly based on pure guesswork alone...