Work Text:
"Taxi!" Came the voice of an annoyed male on the side of the road. He was waving frantically, trying to keep his brunet hair from blowing into his eyes as he stared into the eyes of a taxi driver, slowing his vehicle to a stop in the designated parking lane.
Without another word, the man stepped down from the sidewalk and sat in the passenger side of the car and shut the door.
The wind was quieter inside the car.
Sanha watched the man as he seemed to shrink into himself. He was about the same age as himself, and with messy hair from the weather.
When the man looked at him, the taxi driver was shocked.
He was beautiful. Even with wind-abused pink cheeks, and pale skin, he looked soft and lovely.
He just wished the man wasn't frowning as he looked back, making eye contact for the second time.
"Your name?" Sanha found his words, playing with his hair more shyly than he'd like to admit. He hadn't needed to ask, but this was autopilot taking over.
"Eunwoo." The man managed a small smile. "Yours?"
"Sanha." He grinned, changing gear. "Anywhere you'd like to go?
"Anywhere. I just want to get away from here. If that's okay, I'll pay whatever the fare is."
Sanha smiled to himself as he checked his mirrors and pulled out from the parking.
There was some silence as Sanha tried to decide where to head that was nice at this time of day. It was the late afternoon, and the sun would soon set. He always looked forward to driving at this time of day. It was always beautiful.
He hoped his current improvised companion would be happier soon, as Sanha had yet to talk to someone about the masterpiece that's the sky.
"So, you had a fight? Or..." Sanha asked, seemingly out of nowhere. "May I ask what happened?"
"It was a break up, of sorts." Eunwoo replied fast, just as swiftly as if it was in one breath. Sanha exhaled softly. "I'm sorry to hear. Things like that are always difficult."
He made a turn to the left, watching the sky.
"Well... I did the breaking up." Eunwoo sighed. "But, for reasons. I'm glad he's gone."
Sanha stiffened.
"Oh."
An idea came to his head, and he started jumping up and down slightly. When he reached the next intersection, he made a U-turn and started driving back the way he came.
"Do you mind if we stop by mine? I know something that could cheer you up!"
Eunwoo waved his hand. "Honestly, go for it. If you can cheer me up, I'm paying for dinner."
Sanha grinned as he glanced over to the slightly slumped figure in the passenger seat, then looked back to the road.
It wasn't long before they reached a house. Sanha parked and ran inside.
Eunwoo, who had been in lost in a haze of thoughts, raised his eyebrows at the lithe blond's movements.
He decided to not look at what the other man was grabbing and looked out his window to the other side, resting his chin on his hand.
After a short while, the back door opened and a couple of soft thuds were heard.
Sanha hopped back in a minute later, smiling at Eunwoo, who had peered over at him curiously.
"You'll see." He murmured, starting the car up again.
Eunwoo tried not to smile at the eagerness playing across the driver's face. There was something so personal in that expression. It felt more natural, than a driver just doing their job while deadpan.
He went back to looking through the main windscreen, before curiosity took the better of him and he glanced down to the fare screen display.
$0.00.
The taxi stopped somewhere along the parking of an empty beachside park.
Eunwoo peered out, watching the soft waves ripple down to the shore, slowly licking at an abandoned sandcastle, filling it's moat.
Sanha jumped out of the car and opened the back door. Eunwoo felt obliged to step out and follow as he shut the door and ran down to the beach.
"Hey, wait! What time do you finish!" Eunwoo called out over the wind, now softer than before.
"Half an hour ago." Sanha called back. He opened a small orange pop up tent and crawled inside with what looked to be a picnic blanket.
Eunwoo stood stunned, watching the blond kneel in the tent.
"Wait-" He paused again.
Sanha poked his head out, looking like a puppy out a car window.
"Come on, what are you waiting for?" He beckoned him over and crawled inside.
Eunwoo looked back to the car, seeing the logo and number on the side of car, and tried to figure out if this was real or not.
Sanha poked his head back out with a mock frown. "Come on!"
Eunwoo watched him for a moment, before letting himself grin widely. He hopped his way down the grass and walked a little awkwardly down the sand and fell to his knees in front of the tent before crawling in.
Apparently Sanha had been carrying two blankets, as he was lying on a plaid picnic blanket, and lying under another softer one. Eunwoo flipped the top blanket open and slid under, warming up from the wind outside.
"So, this is not what I expected at all." Eunwoo smiled.
"My family used to do this." Sanha rolled over to his side, resting on his elbow. "Now it's just my go to. And look, I positioned the tent so I could see the sun on the horizon."
With that, he turned to the sky and instantly sat up straight and clasped his hands together. "Come watch it with me."
Eunwoo followed suite, crossing his legs and putting the blanket between his neck and chest so he could stay warm.
The sky was beautiful, painted with purples, pinks and hints of blue, puffs of clouds intertwining with each other in a dance across the sky, as if seducing the sun to stay around for longer.
Sanha sighed, catching Eunwoo's attention. He was smiling, an unrestrained, ear to ear grin that made Eunwoo all mushy in the inside. He hadn't thought anything could be more mesmerising than the sunset, but he found himself enthralled with the other man.
He turned back to the sunset, wanting to feel what the blond was feeling. A sense of freedom? Nostalgia? Something like love for the unknown, something deeper than platonic adoration for the daily miracle that is the cycle of the sun.
"How does this make you feel?" Eunwoo asked, as the sun dipped below the water level, letting the sky do it's dance.
"Like... like I am airborne. Like the skies can look different or similar day after day, and people will still look upon its beauty as if they haven't seen it before. I feel like maybe I can be that sunset. I can be something, to someone, to something."
There was a silence between them, but there was no lack of noise. Between the ocean crashing softly, the wind outside the tent, and the synchronised breathing of the two tent occupants, there was no awkwardness.
"How did it make you feel?" Sanha asked back, as the sky started to darken.
Eunwoo blew a raspberry, lying back on his side.
"Like, peace."
"Hm?"
"The sunset is everyday right? If the world can go round, then maybe nothing isn't as bad as it seems. Like, it happens for a reason and our duty as humans is to roll with it and make the most of it. To rely on something, like a new day to keep you going."
Sanha lay down on his back, his hands behind his head.
"I like that a lot." He smiled, looking at Eunwoo. "You owe me dinner now." He laughed.
Eunwoo grinned, poking his tongue between his teeth. "Sure."
He scooted closer to Sanha.
"Why did you take me here? You picked me up on the side of the road even though you weren't working, and you take me to a place you strongly associate with a nice part of your childhood. It's all so extra."
Sanha grinned. "I was taught to make friends in anyone. And hey, you looked like you needed the escape. At the time it was a lapse in my thoughts, but it turned out the way we liked. It's like you said, we gotta roll with what we have."
"Gotta take life as it comes." Eunwoo added, running his tongue along his dry bottom lip. "Take opportunities when they rise. Make your own..."
"Exactly." Sanha grinned.
Without another word, Eunwoo moved his free hand to Sanha's cheek and leaned in, pressing their lips together softly.
Sanha was taken by surprise at the sudden skinship with the stranger.
He kissed back quickly, realising this is what he had meant by taking chances.
He felt Eunwoo smile against his lips, and inched closer to the other to kiss him a little deeper, his thumb stroking Sanha's cheek softly.
Soft noises escaped them. Eunwoo lay across Sanha, breaking from the kiss to chuckle and move to nibble on his ear.
"Thank you." He murmured. "For turning this bad day into something memorable."
"You're more than welcome." Sanha giggled. "Now get back to kissing me, my lips are cold."