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It's a sign of Minho's good mood when he walks into his room and doesn't wince at the overpowering smell of nail polish.
The low winter sun is hardly warm, but it trickles into the dorm room through the small windows, casting everything in a sparkling glow. Minho shrugs off his jacket and throws his bag on his bed There's a lingering taste of coffee in his mouth. Remannts stain the corner of his lips, curving with his small smile when he sees Hyunjin.
They've been roommates for 2 years now, and friends for much, much longer, opting to share when they arrived at University instead of having to pay the extra funds for single rooms or student houses. The company is nice, Minho thinks, and Hyunjin respects his space. Overall sharing with him was a dream, and the only problem, really, is how sweet Hyunjin is.
Leaving cute post it notes on his desk. Sharing his food. Cuddling up next to him on rainy days, when all they wanted to do was watch movies and let the world pass by. A dream, Minho thinks, he's been a dream. And by now Minho is half in love with him.
He glances at his roommate. Hyunjin sits with his long legs tucked up on his desk chair, and his hand is flat out on the desk. His tongue is between his teeth as he brushes the nail polish against one of his fingernails.
"Hi." Hyunjin murmurs to him, completely focused. His long, blonde hair tickles his neck, half of it held up by a hair clip, and his tight turtleneck sweater clings to him. "What are you so happy about?"
"Nothing." Minho replies, his smile widening.
He crosses the room and perches on the edge of Hyunjin's bed beside the desk. Up close, the glitter nail polish Hyunjin is using has been messily applied - Minho can see traces of it on the skin around his fingernails.
"Don't watch me," Hyunjin whines.
"You're not doing it right."
"Well, it's my first time." Hyunjin pouts, and his hand slips. "Oh, not again."
"Let me do it."
"What?"
"Give me your hand." Hyunjin looks at him, bewildered, and Minho rolls his eyes. "Come on."
When Hyunjin holds out his hand, Minho takes it in his own gently. Hyunjin's long, slender fingers are soft in his palm, and he swallows before taking the nail polish brush. The glitter on Hyunjin's fingers is oddly endearing, and he stares down at the sparkling skin for a moment before starting.
Hyunjin twitches, and Minho looks at him sharply.
"Stay still." He grumbles.
A small, shy smile flickers on Hyunjin's face when he realises Minho is serious.
"Seriously?" He asks, as Minho works on the first fingernail. "What's gotten into you today?"
"Nothing," Minho says again.
Some days Minho is grumpy or bored and the air in their shared room can become tight, stifling. Some days, like today, there is too much to be happy about to frown. Like today. And coming home to Hyunjin had been the icing on the cake. Easy lectures, a stray cat, and good coffee had made this day one to treasure.
So he doesn't hold back his gentle smile and paints Hyunjin's nails without complaining.
"Is glitter your new thing?"
Hyunjin had been through a variety of phases , none of them staying for much longer than a few weeks. Honestly, Minho always looked forward to seeing what exactly Hyunjin would be interested in next. Like when he grew out his hair, or when he wore exclusively floral clothing for one memorable spring.
"For sure." Hyunjin says. Then, quieter, he asks, "Does it suit me? It doesn't, right?"
Minho glances at him.
"It's pretty. It suits you." He says, gently brushing the polish against another fingernail, "Don't worry."
"I'm not."
"Sure." Minho teases.
He finds himself applying the nail polish slowly, wanting to savour the moment for as long as possible. He knows there's glitter on his own hands, now, knows that once it dries it'll be a bitch to get off. But for now, Minho wants to hold Hyunjin's hand gently in his own.
So, even when he's finished and the last nail is glittering, Minho still sits with his warm hands holding Hyunjin's. Hyunjin's delicate fingers, his sparkling fingernails, entrance him.
"Hyung?"
"You need to let them dry, Hyunjinnie."
Minho turns over Hyunjin's hand and runs his fingertip along his palm. The remnants of glitter on Minho's fingertips make Hyunjin's hand sparkle in the winter sun, too.
"You're glittering." Minho murmurs.
Hyunjin takes in a sharp, glittery breath, and Minho's heart flutters.
He's considering kissing the glitter away from Hyunjin's palm when the door slams open and Hyunjin's ridiculous friends fall through the doorway.
"Sorry." Jeongin's sweet voice says, but Minho knows he isn't.
"Are you ready yet?" Jisung says loudly.
Minho raises an eyebrow at Hyunjin, who's cheeks have turned a lovely pink. Hyunjin ducks his head and stands, pulling on his coat and wrapping his scarf around his neck without meeting Minho's eyes. The nail polish is still wet, so Hyunjin's careless movements have made sure his scarf and coat are coated in wet glitter.
"Let's go." Hyunjin murmurs, running a hand through his hair. The pink blush hasn't quite left his cheeks yet.
Silly, Minho thinks. Now his hair is sparkling too.
"Bye." Minho drawls. Hyunjin's eyes flicker to him and then away just as quickly. It's impossible, but Minho thinks his eyes must be glittering too, as magical and as beautiful as the starlight.
|
♡ |
Thanks to Minho's extended year of travelling, the two of them are in the same academic year. So, sometimes, lecture halls are a space for the two of them, another pocket of the world that they live in together.
Although it is distracting, Hyunjin's warm presence beside him. He smells of cinnamon and cookie dough, of sweet things and spring flowers. Whenever Hyunjin leans his chin on his hand, blinking sleepily, his hair falls prettily over his face, and Minho has to try not to gaze at the blonde hair curling under his ear.
It's another kind of intimacy, to be this close to someone every day. Their legs often brush under the table, as if they're drawn to one another. And, as the years have went on, Minho has become used to the quickening of his heartbeat whenever Hyunjin glances at him out of the corner of his eye.
"What do you think?" A sweet voice asks.
Minho's eyes flicker to Hyunjin. His notebook has been forgotten, and instead he's holding a makeup brush in his hand, and his eyelids are sparkling with pink and yellow glitter. Minho's lips quirk into a fond smile. Of course Hyunjin would focus on eye shadow instead of the lecture.
"It's messy," Minho whispers, setting down his pen.
"Ugh." Hyunjin sighs, and takes a frustrated drink of his smoothie. "I've been trying to get this right for days and it's just not working."
"You need to be patient." Minho chuckles. "Give me the brush."
Without waiting for a reply, Minho takes the eyeshadow brush from the desk. Hyunjin had put it down carelessly, so now the pages of his notebook and the wooden desk sparkle with eyeshadow glitter. Typical, Minho thinks, smiling.
"I don't need you to do it for me."
"Sure you don't."
"Really!" Hyunjin tries to snatch the brush back. "I can do it myself. "
"But I want to." Minho says.
There's a warm silence. Hyunjin gazes at him with wide eyes.
"You do?"
"I wouldn't offer if I didn't." Minho says. "Just... come here."
"Fine then." That pink blush is back in Hyunjin's cheeks. "The makeup remover is there, too."
So Hyunjin leans forward and his eyes flutter shut. For a moment Minho just stares at him, enchanted by the pretty curve of his lips and the warm blush in his cheeks and the way his eyelashes rest against on his skin. Then he swallows his affection and takes the sponge and the makeup remover.
"You need to be more careful with this stuff," Minho says, dabbing the sponge on his eyelids gently, "Or you'll get eyeshadow in your eye."
"No I won't."
"Don't be so stubborn." Minho smiles fondly.
"It tickles."
"Stay still. "
Once the eyeshadow is removed, Minho takes the palette from the desk and brushes the eyeshadow brush against it. He applies the pink and yellow glitter carefully.
"So you're still in your glitter phase?" Minho asks quietly, the brush moving gently against Hyunjin's eyelids.
Hyunjin's chest rises and falls. He hums in agreement.
"Good." Minho says. He lets his hand fall. "All done."
Hyunjin's eyes flutter open. His gaze sparkles, and when he looks at Minho with those glittering eyes, Minho is sure he'd do anything for him.
"How do I look?"
Minho swallows.
"Beautiful."
♡
The glitter phase lasts much longer than Minho is expecting.
Not that he minds. It's just that whenever Hyunjin moves, he sparkles. Every smile and every word seems painted in glitter, and it makes Minho's mouth dry, makes his heart stutter. Every surface of their room becomes covered in some sort of glitter makeup, and more often than not Minho finds glitter on his clothes and in Hyunjin's hair and he can do nothing but smile in wonder.
Perhaps that's why he drinks a lot more than usual at the bar. The third shot slips down his throat and burns his insides, and Minho gasps and slams the empty glass down on the counter. His friend Chan giggles, copying Minho and slamming his down too.
"What's gotten into you?" Chan asks, leaning on Minho's shoulder.
"Nothing." Minho says, but the red flush crawling up his neck suggests otherwise.
Hyunjin is on the dance floor, his glittery jumpsuit clinging to his skin. When he twirls, he sparkles, and Minho thinks he's ethereal. A dancing fairy, a wonder. No matter how much Minho tries to look away, his eyes are pulled to him again.
"Do you like glitter?" Minho asks Chan.
"What?" Chan shouts, over the pounding of music, and Minho shakes his head.
Hyunjin's glittering eyes meet his through the throng of people. He dances towards them, and grabs Minho's hand, stumbling over his own feet.
"Come on." Hyunjin yells, tugging at him. "I have to go to the bathroom."
"And you can't go on your own?"
"No." Hyunjin pouts, "Hurry, hurry, I want to dance with you after."
So Minho let's himself say goodbye to Chan and be pulled through the crowd. The quiet bathroom is a sharp contrast to the vibrating music in the bar. Minho leans on the wall while Hyunjin peers into the mirror.
"You took me here so you could reapply your lip gloss." Minho says.
Hyunjin's eyes flicker to his in the mirror. They're crinkled with happiness, and he winks. His blonde hair ruffled, his cheeks flushed and glowing, Minho wants to drown in him. He adores this bright, glittering angel, who brushes the lip gloss carelessly over his own lips.
"What are you doing?" Minho laughs.
"Applying lip gloss?" Hyunjin pouts in the mirror and then nods at himself. "Perfect."
But when Hyunjin turns to leave, Minho blocks his way.
"You can do better than that." Minho says.
"It's fine!"
"Hyunjin-ah," He raises an eyebrow, and holds out his hand. "Give me the lip gloss."
Hyunjin clutches the tube of glitter lip gloss tightly and sticks out his tongue.
"No."
Minho rolls his eyes. He steps closer, and Hyunjin's confident expression wavers. Looking down at his pretty, glittering face, Minho considers just kissing the lip gloss away. But instead, he reaches out his hand and brushes his thumb gently over Hyunjin's bottom lip.
"You need to spread it evenly," Minho murmurs.
Hyunjin stares at him as Minho evens the lip gloss with his thumb. His breath hitches, and Minho smiles at Hyunjin's shaky breath before brushing away the remnants of glitter beside Hyunjin's mouth.
"What's wrong?" He asks. His thumb glitters. "Are you nervous?"
"I-" Hyunjin swallows. His ears are pink, and they redden when Minho cups his cheek in his hand. He smears the glitter lip gloss across Hyunjin's cheek. "Hyung-"
The music thrums from outside, faint and distant. Minho's eyes flicker over Hyunjin's face. I can't kiss him, Minho thinks helplessly, the lip gloss looks too pretty.
♡
When, two months later, Hyunjin is still covered in glitter, Minho begins to grow suspicious.
He sips from his mug of coffee one morning, thoughtful and quiet. Curled up like a cat on his bed, he watches as Hyunjin brushes his hair from across the room. The winter morning is dark, so Hyunjin's glittering jacket sparkles in the low light, and it takes a lot of self restraint for Minho not to stride across the room and kiss all of the glitter away.
Minho has never known Hyunjin to be this consistent. Part of his charm was the impulsive, endearing way he moved through interests, changing up his style often. He's not complaining - the glitter seems to belong on Hyunjin's skin, as dear to him as freckles or scars. But he is curious why Hyunjin is so obsessed with it.
As if sensing his stare, Hyunjin glances at him and smiles shyly.
"What is it, hyung?"
Minho breathes in the smell of coffee, dry clothes and Hyunjin, and smiles back.
"Nothing."
He thinks he could live in these slow, glittery mornings with Hyunjin forever. Sleepy, adoring, Minho just sits back and watches.
"Want to help me with this?" Hyunjin asks, pulling his makeup from his bag. That's new, Minho thinks, and his smile becomes pleased. Hyunjin has never asked him to help with his makeup before. Instead, Minho has always offered.
"Sure." Minho replies. He places the coffee on his desk and stretches, his shirt lifting and revealing his stomach. Hyunjin makes a noise of surprise and Minho, startled, looks at him. "What?"
Hyunjin shakes his head, and Minho shrugs and goes to sit beside him on his bed. The space is small. Touching knees, a flutter of Minho's heartbeat when they meet eyes. Minho feels like his insides are glittering when Hyunjin smiles and holds out the blusher brush.
"I want glittery cheeks." Hyunjin says.
"Of course you do." Minho teases.
He dabs the blusher brush onto Hyunjin's cheeks, watching as his cheeks gradually begin to sparkle. Pretty, Minho thinks, and a little of the blusher sprinkles onto his fingers.
"Why do you keep wearing glitter?" Minho asks.
"Ah." Hyunjin's smile fades. "Do you think I should stop?"
"No, no, that's not it." Minho says quickly. "I just thought you'd be tired of it by now."
"Oh." Hyunjin's eyes flicker away from him. "Well, um,"
Then Hyunjin's glittery eyes turn back to him.
"It's because you like it."
Minho's hand stills, the brush hovering over Hyunjin's cheek.
"Huh?"
"I-" Hyunjin gives him a shaky, shy smile that makes Minho melt. "I want to look pretty for you."
Minho let's out a breath. He sets the brush down on Hyunjin's desk and looks back at Hyunjin. He's in awe of this sweet, glittery boy, who's eyes sparkle too, who's lips are turned up, even though his hands are trembling.
"Hyunjinnie," Minho says, "You always look pretty."
Whether he's glittering or not, Hyunjin is gorgeous inside and out. A sparkle in a world that Minho often finds dull and lifeless. Hyunjin's lips part. Minho, in awe, kisses him.
There's glitter on his fingers when he takes Hyunjin's face in his hands. There's glitter in Hyunjin's hair when Minho runs his hands through it. There's glitter on Minho's cheeks, under his nails, tickling his nose, on Hyunjin's shirt..
"Do you think I should keep the glitter, then?" Hyunjin asks, breathlessly, when they pull apart.
"Yeah." Minho smiles, "Keep the glitter."