Chapter Text
They met at the train station like they did for their day trips. The difference was that this time, they greeted each other with a hug instead of a handshake. They got on the train and left at a tiny station surrounded by some houses and a forest. Doyoung used to come to that place with his brother, when he was younger, and he always wanted to show it to someone. To guide Jaehyun to the right path, Doyoung took his hand. Except for some small sentences they didn’t talk much, feeling that there was no need for it. They made their way through the forest and walked beside a meadow for a while. The wind was cold, but the hand that Doyoung held onto Jaehyun’s with felt warm. Doyoung stopped in front of a small tower, barely reaching over the trees and looked at Jaehyun in question.
“Do you want to go up there?” Even though Doyoung was afraid of heights, he would be okay as the tower seemed sturdy enough and didn’t reach too high.
Jaehyun nodded while smiling so they began to climb up the wooden stairs. The higher they got, the firmer Doyoung’s grip on Jaehyun’s hand got until he grabbed Jaehyun’s arm instead. He felt much safer immediately.
“Are you okay?” Jaehyun asked, concerned by Doyoung’s behaviour.
“Yes, definitely. I just need to hold onto something then I’m fine. I am not the best with heights.” Jaehyun stopped mid step to turn to Doyoung and he regret his words immediately. He didn’t want to make Jaehyun feel bad.
“We don’t have to go up there. I want you to be comfortable.” The concern in Jaehyun’s eyes made Doyoung blush.
“I’m fine, really. Just… Don’t let go of me.” And their faces were suddenly very close to each other. They both immediately looked away shyly when their eyes met.
“I won’t let you go.” Jaehyun whispered. Doyoung felt like it was a promise. Not only for not letting him go then, but also a promise that he would stick around. Doyoung couldn’t help but smile at the cheesiness of it all.
“Let’s go up now, I want to show you the view.” Doyoung said then, gaining new confidence to climb further up. When he was younger, he had no trouble running up the stairs to enjoy the view on the forests and meadows. He spent hours on the tower just watching the wind blow through the grass and the trees. They even had a picnic on top of the tower once. Doyoung wasn’t even sure how he became afraid of heights. They soon reached the top of the tower, Jaehyun holding onto Doyoung softly. A particularly strong gust of wind hit them and Jaehyun put both of his arms around Doyoung to keep him stable. Doyoung appreciated the gesture and let his head sink into Jaehyun’s shoulder. He felt Jaehyun taking in the view around them. Their hug was kind of awkward, with both of them being dressed in thick winter coats and Doyoung briefly wondered if choosing to go outside was a mistake. But then he looked up to see Jaehyun look around with a soft smile on his face, deciding that it was fine. When Jaehyun looked at him again, their noses were almost touching, both of their faces turning red. They both looked away again to take in the view.
“We should get going.” Doyoung said after an especially icy gust of wind hit them. So, they continued their way until they reached a gate leading to a pasture. Doyoung ´didn’t hesitate to open the gate.
“Is that allowed.” Jaehyun asked, following Doyoung anyways.
“Yes, this time of the year the cattle are still inside so they allow people to take the path through here. You can also walk around the fence, but this is more convenient.” Jaehyun nodded. For the rest of the way, Doyoung told Jaehyun some stories about things he experienced with his family in that area, pleased to make Jaehyun laugh with some of them. The next time they stopped was in front of a small cottage. Only a small sign with café indicated that the building was not a normal house. A small terrace was attached to the house, full of plants and colourful art pieces.
“We are here.” Doyoung announced, nervously waiting for Jaehyun’s reaction. Jaehyun smiled softly and Doyoung was relieved.
The café was nearly empty when they entered. They sat down in a cushioned corner and placed their orders. Doyoung started to recount some of the times he visited the café before, unable to stop due to his excitement to be there again. He only stopped when their orders came in.
“What do you think of the place.” Doyoung asked in lack of anything else to say. He looked at Jaehyun to find that his eyes were already on him.
“What?” he added when Jaehyun didn’t react.
“It’s a great choice, but don’t worry, my company is more important.”
“Are you being cheesy again? I hate it.” Doyoung stated, his smile contradicting his words. He loved how cheesy Jaehyun made everything sound.
“I am only cheesy with you.” Jaehyun said without missing a beat. Doyoung was flustered at those words.
“Shut up.” Doyoung knew that it was stupid and that Jaehyun’s words shouldn’t affect him, but they did. He looked at his bread and took a sip of his tea, to avoid talking to Jaehyun. Despite knowing that Jaehyun liked him, he still didn’t know how to act around the other. They ate in silence for a while, Doyoung trying to figure out what to say.
“It is funny how you are more confident in a club than in a café. I always took you for the type to hate going out dancing. I was surprised to see you so comfortable at the pub.” Jaehyun’s observation confused Doyoung. He guessed Jaehyun wanted to know something. Doyoung realized that he never gave his version of the events of that night.
“Most of it is the alcohol, if I am being honest. Also, I was with my friends, I don’t think I can even be uncomfortable when they are around.”
“Do you always dance like that with Johnny?”
“Is that what you are curious about?” Jaehyun just nodded slightly at Doyoung’s inquiry.
“It usually doesn’t get that far. I think Johnny just wanted to annoy you. I don’t think he thought you would go about kissing some dude.”
“I am not sure if Johnny was that surprised if I am being honest.”
“What do you mean?” Doyoung was very curious about what Jaehyun had to say.
“I followed Ten’s advice. Ten told Johnny about his idea as well.”
“Oh my god, why would you follow something that Ten says? What did he even say?”
“Because of the alcohol?” Jaehyun offered but it sounded more like a question than a statement.
“He said I should make you jealous.” He said, his voice now even quieter. And Doyoung knew it was his turn to say something.
“I hate to say this, but it worked. Ten might have been onto something. I wanted to work out things with you since then.”
“Are you sure that you want to tell Ten that he was right, he would remind everyone about it at lot.” Doyoung was relieved to see Jaehyun relax again and they continued chatting while they finished their meals. They ordered more drinks and just kept talking. At the beginning of their trip, Doyoung wondered where they stood with each other, but now he found that he didn’t care. Talking seemed so easy and Jaehyun never showed that he was uncomfortable. Their dished were cleared and Jaehyun joined Doyoung on the padded bench looking out of the window front onto the fields. Jaehyun intertwined his hand with Doyoung’s, without saying a word, while Doyoung let his head fall on Jaehyun’s shoulder. They stared out of the window, content.
“This is even better than eating poisoned chicken in a shady restaurant.” Jaehyun eventually broke the moment.
“Are you still on about that?” Doyoung laughed while Jaehyun just shrugged.
“Are you up for it?”
“No! Of course not. I am not against eating anything other than chicken in a shady restaurant with you though.” Lifting his head to gaze at Jaehyun was a mistake, Doyoung had to realize. The smile he saw was blinding and Doyoung felt ready to burst. He was lucky.
“That’s a date.” Jaehyun concluded and Doyoung could only shake his head at what made Jaehyun happy.
Sometime later they decided to leave, since it would get cold in the evening and they still had to walk back to the train station. They made it halfway through the path when they felt raindrops in their hair.
“What is it with us eating and the rain?” Doyoung frowned as he looked up to the darkening sky. He wasn’t prepared for rain this time and didn’t even have an umbrella with him. Jaehyun didn’t seem to be bothered at all, as he started to laugh and skipped ahead.
“It’s romantic, Doie.” Was all Jaehyun needed to say for Doyoung to forget that he was slowly getting soaked. The rest of the way they jumped over puddles and held onto each other while trying not to slip on the ground. The rain didn’t stop pouring until they reached the station again. Doyoung was just glad that his coat was waterproof.
“Do you think they will let us on the train like that?” Jaehyun asked suddenly. Feeling bold, Doyoung took both of Jaehyun’s hand in his and looked him in the eyes, trying to be serious.
“I don’t think they will, but I don’t care. We can walk. You can have fun when you are with the right person everywhere, right?” What Doyoung didn’t expect was the playful glint in Jaehyun’s eyes to make way for determination.
“Alright, let’s go!” He said and pulled Doyoung in the direction of the main street. All Doyoung could do was to laugh freely. From his position of trailing behind Jaehyun he could see the wide grin on the other boy’s face.
“I hate to break it to you, but we are going the wrong direction.” Doyoung managed to press out between giggles. After Jaehyun stood still for a few moments, pouting, they went back to the train station to seek shelter in the station, despite being soaked already. The rain kept drumming on the roof and Doyoung slowly felt the cold seeping in through his clothes. Jaehyun was standing a bit away from him, trying to wring out his sleeves.
“Jae.” Doyoung called out. Before Jaehyun could even look up properly (and before Doyoung could start thinking) Doyoung already unzipped Jaehyun’s coat to hug him to get warm. When Doyoung realized how weird he had acted, Jaehyun already put his hands on Doyoung’s shoulder. But instead of pushing him away, Jaehyun just let his hands rest there.
“You are soaking my shirt.” Was the only protest Jaehyun gave, whispered in Doyoung’s ear.
“Don’t care”, was all Doyoung answered, satisfied to finally get some warmth. Suddenly something cold hit his neck and he yelped, looking up at Jaehyun in shock.
“What was that for?” he asked before he was cut off by Jaehyun cupping his cheek with his cold hand. Doyoung closed his mouth, only looking at Jaehyun’s soft smile. Before he could register what was happening, he felt Jaehyun’s lips against his. He knew that he leaned in as well, but he was still surprised. Their kiss was soft and short and when they separated again Jaehyun smirked.
“For stealing my heart.” And Doyoung wished he wasn’t as affected as he was by Jaehyun’s stupid lines. He knew it was cheesy and frankly quite dumb, but he couldn’t help getting flustered. To hide his blush, he buried his head in Jaehyun’s chest and let out a groan.
“Don’t do that.” He said, no fire behind his words, softly smiling against Jaehyun`s shirt.
After that it was silent, only the sound of the rain hitting the roof of the train stop could be heard.
“We have to move; the train is here.” Jaehyun eventually said, the sound of the brakes of the train stopping interrupting the peace of the moment. Doyoung wanted to stay, not keen on having any type of conversation about what they were or anything ridiculous he always saw in movies. The rational part of his brain told him that they would have to take the train anyways, and he didn’t want to wait for another hour in the rain. He was sure to get a cold anyways. The heating on the train made Doyoung sleepy and he was surprised how fast the time until they reached their station. Jaehyun led them toward his home with a “we are soaked, we should warm up at my home.” They held hands the whole way, but Doyoung still felt the cold run through his body. He had no idea what to say until they reached Jaehyun’s place.
“Thank you.” Doyoung whispered when they reached Jaehyun’s room. They already changed into dry clothes and hung up their soaked though coats to dry.
“Thank you for what?” Jaehyun asked back, distracted by putting some extra blankets on the bed.
”I don’t even know. Everything. Today. Just… I appreciate you I guess.”
Jaehyun stopped what he was doing before to look at Doyoung properly. After a moment of silence, he took Doyoung’s hand in his and whispered: “It was a pleasure, Doie”. Their next kiss was slow but filled with confidence. Doyoung was sure that Jaehyun wasn’t being “just nice” and was comfortable with the situation. Johnny would be thrilled to know what happened. Doyoung agreed to stay the night, feeling far too tired and cold to go anywhere. When he was laying down next to Jaehyun, getting closer to chase away the coldness, he thought about how they ended up like this. It seemed far too easy in the end. But when Jaehyun ended up putting his arm around his waist, warming Doyoung further, Doyoung stopped thinking. It didn’t matter what got them there. All that mattered at that moment was Jaehyun being close.
~
Doyoung missed the vibration of his phone as he fell asleep.