Work Text:
The air in the cafe was still today, golden sunlight filtering through and bouncing off of the stray wisps of Hyunjin’s magic; splintering into tiny rainbows whenever they collided. Hyunjin was focused, but in that abstract way wherein his mind was sharp but his body loose, this particular process almost second nature to him, his mind still needing to focus the magic but his body following along without thought– like a wave being guided by the moon, a delicate dance of nature.
Which was somewhat ironic considering nature magic was actually Hyunjin’s forte.
He was so focused in fact that he didn’t even recognise the sound of the bell tinkling above the cafe doors, instead continuing to coax the vines of his ivy to keeping growing, watching as they spilt over the side of their pot and began to trail downwards towards the floor, green leaves beginning to flourish across the length of the vine. It wasn’t until he heard a soft–
“Holy shit! ”
–that he realised there was someone standing in front of the counter. Someone who, on second glance, should absolutely not be able to be in here.
Hyunjin blinked at the newcomer and watched as he blinked back, neither of them seemingly being able to say anything until they both started speaking at once.
“Am I dreaming right now?”
“How did you get in here?”
They both stopped again. Then both opened their mouths. Hyunjin sighed, the breath causing a small flower to bloom on a cacti next to him and the boy’s eyes bugged out. Realising that the boy - man? Hyunjin could never tell with humans - was quite clearly overwhelmed, Hyunjin motioned for him to speak first, his own curiosity also winning out in the face of such a strange situation. He watched as the boy looked towards the door, then the windows and then finally back at Hyunjin.
“How is it daylight in here? I’m pretty sure it was gone midnight when I stepped through the door…”
Hyunjin was stunned, out of all the questions that’s what he decided to lead with?
“That’s because it’s the afternoon…?”
Hyunjin felt like he had blinked more times in the past 5 minutes this guy had been here than in the past 5 years of his life. He did so again as he watched him cross the space from the counter to the door again and wrenched it open, where this time, now that Hyunjin was also paying attention, they could both see the stars dotted in the ink black sky. Huh. Weird.
He half expected the guy to decide that this was way too freakish and run back out of the door to wherever it was he came from but instead he closed the door and stalked back up to the counter, slamming his hands onto the aged wood and looking Hyunjin dead in the eyes.
“Have I somehow managed to step into a magical plane of existence or did I finally get hit by a car after not paying proper attention when crossing and now I’m having some weird painkiller induced hallucination?”
Hyunjin was pretty amazed at how astute the guy was, and that, despite his initial shock at seeing Hyunjin in the midst of his magic, he had seemingly bounced back straight away and was instead analysing the situation surprisingly calmly all things considered.
“Well, I’m pretty sure I’m real so, I guess the former?” Hyunjin paused before squinting at him slightly, “But I don’t understand how you managed it though, humans shouldn’t be able to pass through the barrier…”
The guy just shrugged, turning his gaze to scan around these new surroundings, looking like a cute little woodland creature as he turned his head this way and that.
“I dunno, all I know is one second I’m wandering around trying to find a 24 hour coffee place so I can study and the next I’m almost face planting into your door.”
Hyunjin frowned a little, things still not really making much sense but the fact of the matter was, he was here, somehow, and that that would technically make him a customer.
“Um, well, would you like something to drink?”
The boy brightened immediately before his face quickly fell, raising his eyebrow sceptically,
“Aren’t those faerie wings though? If I eat or drink something here doesn’t that mean you’ll trap me here forever?”
Hyunjin was torn between preening over him recognising Hyunjin’s faerie traits despite being human or being affronted that he thought he was trying to trick him, he wouldn’t be running a very effective business if his customers weren’t allowed to freely come and go! He floundered for a second, mouth opening and closing a little like a fish before he settled on another frown,
“Well, yes, I’m a faerie but this isn’t the Fae realm so everything here is safe.”
Hyunjin could see the boy still eyeing him warily but he couldn’t stop his eyes from flicking over towards the pretty cake display, full to the brim with the various mouthwatering delights that his fellow fae Felix had brought over that morning. He watched as the boy’s resolve melted away in real time.
“I guess it can’t hurt… I am really hungry and besides faeries can’t lie so if you say it’s safe then…”
“Mm well that’s a misconstruction actually, we can lie we just don’t like to.”
The boy’s head snapped back up to him, desserts seemingly forgotten about as his eyes started gleaming with curiosity instead.
“What do you mean?”
Hyunjin sighed slightly, rubbing the back of his neck,
“That’s an old superstition– that we can’t lie, I mean. We can lie, but for faeries we value honesty more than anything, so we mostly choose not to out of moral principles.” He paused, “I say mostly because of course there’s some fae who disregard this, and they will lie until they’re blue in the face but, most fae? We would never.”
The boy hummed in understanding, nodding to himself before grinning up at Hyunjin,
“Ok sounds good enough to me, in that case can I take one of the slices of that cake?”
Hyunjin follows the line of his arm to see him pointing at the biggest slice of cake in the display, dripping with bright, sugar coated fruits and thick whipped cream and he smiles to himself, clearly the guy had an immense sweet tooth– much like Hyunjin himself.
“Sure! Would you like a drink?”
The boy thought for a second, clearly looking for some kind of menu board and upon seeing the walls filled with only plants turning to question Hyunjin,
“Do you do black americanos? Or is that like, an exclusively human drink?”
Hyunjin laughed, the sound making a wealth of new blooms burst into life on the various plants closest, the boy 's eyes widening in fascination.
“I can do you a black americano, just because this is a different plane of existence doesn’t mean I don’t know coffee.” Hyunjin teased. “It’s ok, go and take a seat and I’ll bring it for you.”
The boy grinned again, taking one last look around before picking a seat near the window, one of Hyunjin’s favourite sunflowers turning to face him as he settled and he could hear her giggling from here. He puffed out a little laugh and turned to busy himself with making the boy’s drink, he should really ask him his name, calling him ‘the boy’ all the time was getting exhausting.
After finishing up his order he places it all on a tray and starts to carry it over to the table, where the boy had various books spread out in front of him, twirling a pencil absentmindedly in his hand. Hyunjin curiously peered over his shoulder but the boy was quicker, spinning round to face Hyunjin, mouth opening in a silent ‘oh’.
“Sorry, I haven't left you much space for the tray,” he reached over and pushed one of the books to one side, “here, you can put it there!”
Hyunjin does, taking another glance at the books as he does so and he hears soft laughter from the side,
“You’re really curious huh? I’m a literature student and I’m currently trying to wrap my head around ‘symbolism in Shakespeare’ and how I can apply that to my own writing. Or something like that anyway I was only half paying attention.”
Hyunjin nodded as he drifted even closer to the table,
“Mm Shakespeare was a very good writer, although Titania wasn’t best pleased with her role in a midsummer’s night dream.”
“Titania is real?!”
Hyunjin laughed at the outburst before shaking his head slightly,
“Mm yes and no, the Fae Queen doesn’t have a name, well one that she uses in public that is, but Titania stuck and despite her initial grievances with the character I think she’s become rather fond of it.”
The boy looked awestruck at Hyunjin’s explanation, his brows furrowing slightly as he no doubt thought of another question,
“So that means the superstitions of names being powerful are true then?”
Hyunjin pondered the best way to answer before looking back at him,
“Again yes and no, for fae, especially powerful fae, it’s quite important to never give away your true name, the cruel hearts of humans and other magical beings wouldn’t hesitate to use them against us, but there’s nothing fae can do to others if we knew their names, it doesn’t have that kind of power if that’s what you mean.”
“So if I told you my name then you couldn’t curse me or something?”
Hyunjin laughed loudly, grinning down at the boy,
“I could curse you with or without your name,” he watched in amusement as the boy pouted, “but no, if you tell me your name it wouldn’t give me any more power over you than not knowing your name, that’s not how it works.”
The boy stuck out his hand, and Hyunjin reached for it tentatively,
“In that case my name is Jisung, nice to meet you–”
He raises his eyebrow expectantly,
“Hyunjin.”
“–Hyunjin, wait Hyunjin? Oh right, not your real name probably?”
Hyunjin smiled, pleased the boy– no, Jisung , had been listening to him as he spoke. He gave him a conspiratory wink, before shifting back and turning to head back towards the counter, throwing his next comment over his shoulder,
“Nope, only my future husband would ever get that information out of me, good luck with your studies Jisung.”
And if he noticed the cherry red flush painting Jisung’s ears as he settled into his seat, he simply pretended not to.
It became a bit of a routine after that. At least once a week in the afternoon, Jisung would come through his door– shutting it closed on a starlit midnight sky as he stepped into the warm sunlight of Hyunjin’s cafe. Occasionally there would be other people in the cafe too, some of his more regular customers almost spilling their drinks in shock as a human came breezing past them in a beeline to wherever Hyunjin might be when he arrives.
His favourite times however, are when it’s just the two of them. When it’s just Jisung scribbling away in his notebooks to the sound of Hyunjin’s humming, or when he takes a break and they talk about anything and everything, Jisung being a fountain of knowledge and curiosity, telling Hyunjin obscure animal facts or asking him a million-and-one questions about the magical realm and all its inhabitants, talking a mile a minute.
Even more than those though, are the times when the sunlight is beginning to wane, making the air drip with golden honey. In those moments, Jisung will recite poetry to him softly, sometimes the work of the literary greats– or sometimes even his own, his mellow voice flowing through the space of the cafe and enveloping Hyunjin in its tenderness.
Hyunjin remembered the first time so clearly, he had been tending to a particularly stubborn hydrangea, the little brat trying to resist his magic with fervour, when Jisung’s voice gently floated over to him,
“Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer’s lease hath all too short a date;
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimm'd;
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance or nature’s changing course untrimm'd;
But thy eternal summer shall not fade,
Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow’st;
Nor shall death brag thou wander’st in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou grow’st:
So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.”
Hyunjin was enthralled, his hands pausing in the motions of his magic as he turned towards Jisung’s voice like a sunflower to the sun. Despite Jisung possessing no magic the air around him thrummed in response to his words, almost as if all the particles in the space around them were charged with electricity, sending tiny, static shocks throughout Hyunjin’s body, rooting him in place as he stared at Jisung and the way his soft lips wrapped around the words falling from them.
Then Jisung lifted his head; their eyes locked and for the first time, Hyunjin felt an unfamiliar feeling clench around his heart.
So he did the one thing he always does in times of distress– he called on his best friend.
Hyunjin had often been told that the two of them made an odd pair, and indeed, he did find it rather difficult to find a common ground with him at first but once you fell into the right rhythm Lee Minho was one of the greatest friends you could ask for. He watched as he breezed into the cafe, unwinding his hand-knitted scarf from his neck and hopping over the bar counter to make a beeline for Hyunjin’s stash of teas.
He waited patiently while Minho rummaged through the various bags of tea leaves, before he flicked his hand in the vague direction of Hyunjin’s teapots and his favourite cat patterned set floated towards them; it’s only when the tea leaves are in the caddy and brewing– the smell of Hyunjin’s finest earl grey permeating the air, did Minho finally grace Hyunjin with a greeting.
“Yo Hyunjinnie~” He raised his mug of tea and blew on it, “What did you call me for, it sounded urgent?”
Hyunjin took a deep breath, wringing his hands together,
“I think I’m sick…”
Minho blinked at him, before huffing out a breath, the steam from his mug blowing upwards with more velocity, coating his glasses in a fine mist. Hyunjin can’t see his eyes through the steam but he can feel his judgement radiating.
“You’re not sick, I would’ve sensed it as soon as I arrived,” the steam had subsided and it gave Hyunjin a clear view of his eyes rolling, “What is this really about?”
Hyunjin surged forward and gripped his hand, eyes a little frantic.
“No seriously Minho! I felt this clenching around my heart yesterday and I’ve never felt it before! I’m sick!”
There’s the faint clink of a mug being placed down before the slight sting of a palm being slapped to his forehead. Minho’s hand is overly warm from his tea as it rests against the bare skin of Hyunjin’s forehead, holding it there for a beat or two before he removes it, shaking his head and immediately wrapping his fingers back around his mug.
“I’m telling you Hyunjin, there is absolutely nothing wrong with you. I can’t sense anything off with your health.”
Hyunjin sighed heavily, leaning against the wood of the counter before mumbling more to himself than towards Minho,
“But I don’t understand, what was it I felt when I met with Jisung’s eyes yesterday…”
Just like a cat that has heard the rattle of a treat bag, Minho immediately whipped his head up to look at Hyunjin, metaphorical cat ears twitching at the mention of some newfound gossip.
“Who’s Jisung?”
Hyunjin froze, words getting stuck in his throat as the realisation hit him that he had been so wrapped up in Jisung’s mere presence, he had neglected to mention it to his oldest friend. There was two ways he could go about this, 1) is to lie his way out–
“I can hear you thinking too hard Hyunjinnie, don’t you even attempt to lie to me.”
Hyunjin pulled a face.
“Jisung is… He’s…” Hyunjin can see Minho’s eyebrow ticking upwards with each explanation attempt and it makes him nervous, “Jisungisahumanthatsomehowgotintothecafe!”
Minho gave him a slow blink, and then a flick to the forehead.
“Slowly, Hyunjin. Subtitles don’t exist in real life.”
Hyunjin sucked in a deep breath to calm himself and then tried again.
“Jisung is a human that somehow got into the cafe…”
Minho’s eyebrows pulled together in that overly exaggerated way that always reminds Hyunjin of a cartoon character.
“A human got into the cafe? How?”
Hyunjin sighed, feeling a weight lift off his shoulders at Minho’s non-judgement.
“We don’t actually know to be honest, the very first day he showed up he surprised us both, so I don’t think he was actively trying to cross the barrier, he didn’t even seem to realise it was a thing?”
Hyunjin decided some tea was needed for this and he headed over to his selection before continuing,
“The way he described it was that he was just wandering around looking for somewhere open late to study and then suddenly he was in front of my door, all the other times he visits he says he just has to think of me and then the door will appear somewhere nearby.”
Minho was uncharacteristically silent for a while and Hyunjin was a little concerned until a loud laugh started bubbling from him, startling Hyunjin so much he almost dropped his fresh tea. He waited while Minho cackled to himself for a few minutes, Hyunjin getting increasingly more worried for his friend's mental state before he finally quieted down, wiping a stray tear from his cheek.
“Holy shit I didn't think it would actually work, let alone attract a human. ”
Hyunjin was definitely confused now,
“What do you mean?”
Minho shifted so he was sitting on the counter,
“Well you were constantly whining about not finding a lover yet so I cast a little spell,” Hyunjin’s eyes were threatening to pop out at this admission, “Oh don’t give me that look, it wasn’t a proper love spell so to speak, it was more of a spell to draw love to you naturally, except the fact that it was powerful enough to even allow a human to cross the barrier…”
“A love spell?!”
Minho gave him an exasperated sigh,
“Were you even listening properly then? It wasn’t a traditional love spell, the lack of consent in those are unsettling. No, I simply rewrote one to help the universe find you your ideal lover and then it would be up to you to seal the deal with your sparkling personality, or something like that anyway.”
Minho waved his hand blasély, while Hyunjin felt like the earth was shifting beneath his feet, white noise rushing through his thoughts. The clenching around his heart… Did this mean?
“Stop thinking in your head and think out loud Hyunjin.”
“The clenching of my heart, it happened when we locked eyes…” He could see Minho starting to smirk, “Do you think that means I love him?”
“Mm possibly, how does he make you feel just in general?”
“Warm. He’s… He’s like the sun to me, I find myself turning to face him no matter where he goes.”
Minho was smiling softly, gesturing for him to continue,
“His voice, it’s something I could listen to forever, actually when I first felt this–” he makes a squeezing motion with his hand near his heart, “–he was reading poetry, the sunlight was coming through the window, kissing his skin gently; making him look like he’s made of pure honeyed gold and I thought to myself, surely there is nothing more beautiful in this world than him.”
Hyunjin paused, a soft ‘oh’ passing through his lips. Minho had gone back to sipping his tea but Hyunjin could see the satisfied smile tugging at the corners of his lips. The silence wasn’t uncomfortable, Minho giving him the time to unravel his thoughts, the thread slowly unwinding with every recollection of his time with Jisung. The more time he spent thinking about it, the rosier his memories became, every smile and every laugh, tinted with blushing pink and surrounded by the smell of fresh flowers–
“Hyunjinnie~ If you keep thinking of lover boy like this, we'll be coughing up petals soon.”
Hyunjin snapped out of his thoughts and realised that the reason he could smell the flowers in his memories was because even just the mere thought of Jisung was making his magic spiral out of control. The myriad of plants he keeps in the cafe sprouting new blooms with every abstract recollection, the vines of his trailing ivy even having grown as far down as to be gently curling around Minho’s bicep as he finished the remains of his earl grey.
He watched as Minho gently coaxed it to let him go, before striding over to Hyunjin and patting his head softly, pinching his cheeks where it was inflamed with an embarrassed blush.
“I think you should tell him how you feel Hyunjin,” Hyunjin blinked and Minho was already by the door, “Love looks good on you Hyunjinnie!”
And as quick as he had arrived, he was already gone.
In the few days in between Hyunjin’s revelations and Jisung’s next visit, he had spent all that time fretting. Minho had sent him a letter the day after their meeting demanding that Hyunjin tell him everything after he confesses but Hyunjin wasn’t even sure if he had the guts to do so. It was one thing for him to finally recognise his own feelings but it would be another thing entirely to act on them. After all, there was no guarantee that Jisung would feel the same and Hyunjin wasn’t sure he wanted to lose all of Jisung’s warmth on the off chance that there could be something more between them.
In fact he was in such a mild distress that when Jisung did eventually reappear, Hyunjin almost accidentally strangled him with the philodendron he was currently repotting.
“Hey Hyunjin, how's it– Whoa!”
Hyunjin noticed what was happening just a beat too late and already the philodendron was wrapping it’s heart-shaped leaves around Jisung’s neck and shoulders, luckily it wasn’t wrapping tightly, instead it was more like it was embracing him. The plant was still only a baby which meant that it was very highly in tune with Hyunjin’s own emotions, most likely what had happened was, it had heard Jisung’s arrival and recognised him as the object of Hyunjin’s affection and had tried to welcome him by a gentle caress, albeit a tad overzealously.
Quickly Hyunjin worked to help Jisung untangle himself, turning red as a rose in his embarrassment and flushing even deeper still when he sees that Jisung is treating the philodendron so sweetly, being incredibly careful as he frees himself, his bright smile matching the shape of the leaves. Once free, he softly brushes his fingers across the leaves and Hyunjin can hear the way they preen under his attention, Hyunjin having to scold them silently with a gentle wave of his magic when he sees their leaves creeping towards him again.
Flustered, Hyunjin finally managed to wrangle the plant into their new pot and he flashed Jisung a smile he prayed didn’t look as awkward as it felt.
“Somebody was excited to see me,” Jisung joked and Hyunjin’s deer in headlight’s expression made Jisung laugh a little, “The plant? Because it was wrapping around me?”
“Oh! Haha, yes– The plant! They were definitely happy to see you! The plant was. Well, I mean I am too, haha…”
Jisung gave him a look that was so teetering on the cusp of being described as ‘endeared’ that Hyunjin had to turn his gaze away, lest he make an even bigger fool of himself. Clearing his throat, Hyunjin tried to school his expression back to normal, clutching onto the yellow-patterned plant pot like a lifeline as he shuffled over to the counter.
“So, um, what brings you here today Jisungie? More studying? It’s unusual for you to come in the evening though.”
This time Jisung is the one flushing pink. His hands nervously fiddling with the strap of the bag he was holding,
“Oh well, errr actually my exams are finished now, well these ones anyway…” he trailed off a little awkwardly.
Hyunjin just smiled, clapping his hands together a fraction,
“That’s great! Congratulations! I should make you something special to celebrate–”
“No!”
Hyunjin froze, smile dropping a little bit, but then Jisung was frantically waving his free hand,
“Wait, no sorry– That’s not what I meant, I just… Well today – in my realm – it’s a national holiday of sorts and um, I wanted to ask you if you wanted to… Spend it with me?”
Hyunjin brightened back up immediately,
“Oh I love holidays! What kind of a holiday is it?”
Jisung was steadily getting redder by the second before he took a deep breath and met Hyunjin’s gaze again, this time his gaze was determined. He digs his hand into the bag he was carrying and pulls out a smallish plant pot containing what looks like a baby flower bush of some kind. He holds it out towards Hyunjin and immediately the plant starts to react to his presence, the leaves beginning to flourish and bright red rose buds starting to bloom before their eyes.
“Hyunjin, would you be my Valentine?”
Hyunjin reaches out for the pot and his fingers come to rest atop of Jisung’s, sparks flickering under his fingertips at the contact. He can see the sincerity shining in Jisung’ eyes, cheeks dusted pink as teeth gently bite at his lip while he nervously waits for Hyunjin’s answer. Then a flash of panic flits across his eyes and he’s babbling again,
“Wait, shit, do you know what type of holiday Valentine’s is? Oh my god I’m so stupid you probably don’t and–”
“Jisungie~” Jisung pauses and stares at Hyunjin in wonder, “I would love to be your Valentine.”
The smile that splits across Jisung’s face is nothing short of breathtaking.
The little rose bush pressed between them is flourishing, beautiful red roses spilling out of the green– the purest symbol of love to a flower faerie and even though Hyunjin knows that Jisung is probably unaware of that fact, it makes his heart swell irregardless. All around them Hyunjin’s many plants are beginning to blossom, petals raining down on the two of them as Jisung laughs shyly, ducking his head a little before asking,
“Would you like to go on a date with me right now?”
Hyunjin doesn’t have to think twice before he’s gently setting down his new love and flipping the sign on the cafe to ‘closed’, thinking of nothing else he would rather be doing than letting Jisung show him around the human realm and basking in a love all of his own…
Hyunjin was interrupted from his memory as a pair of strong arms wrapped around him from behind, the press of a gentle kiss to his neck,
“What are you thinking about love?”
Hyunjin turned so he was facing Jisung, his own arms coming to drape over Jisung’s shoulders.
“Hm? Oh I was just reminiscing about our first Valentines last year, well, and the lead up to it.”
“Ah is this when you had a crisis about feeling your heart racing for me that you called Minho because you thought you were sick?” Jisung grinned.
Hyunjin pushed against his shoulder lightly and groaned,
“God, you two will never let me forget about that will you?”
“Hey! For the record I thought it was a very cute story.”
Hyunjin pouted but immediately relented when Jisung pressed a quick peck against it.
“For the record, I was absolutely reciting that poem with the hopes it would make you fall in love with me, I just didn’t think it would happen on the first go. Man, I had so many poems picked out to make you swoon too…”
Hyunjin cocked an eyebrow,
“Oh yeah? Well you can always recite them to me now.”
Jisung grinned, spinning them into the center of the cafe in an imitation of a ballroom dance, swaying them gently to the soft background music floating through the air,
“I am yours as the summer air at evening is
Possessed by the scent of linden blossoms,
As the snowcap gleams with light
Lent it by the brimming moon.
Without you I’d be an unleafed tree
Blasted in a bleakness with no Spring.
Your love is the weather of my being.
What is an island without the sea?”
As Jisung recited to him, Hyunjin rested his head in the crook of Jisung’s neck, the position made it a little awkward for their dance, but they still swayed along anyway. From the corner of his eye, Hyunjin caught sight of their little rose bush, no longer so little after the past year, towering over the countertop and brimming with ruby-red roses, if this is how she looks after only a year of their love, Hyunjin would definitely need to find a bigger pot for the years to come.