Work Text:
Hongjoong was slowly walking on the sidewalk of the street, bag hung loose on his shoulder and phone in his back pocket.
It had been a long day at work, costumers yelling and throwing insults at him like he didn't know how to do his job right.
Of course, there had been nice people too, but the mean ones always got to his nerves in a way he couldn't pinpoint exactly.
He worked as a barista at a little bar in the corner of a street and sometimes people were just too much. Fortunately his manager had came before he could throw a glass at this particular drunk woman that kept yelling at him.
If he was being honest he just wanted to drop everything, run away and follow his dream to become a producer, maybe a rapper, or maybe just work in the music industry, but he was too much of a coward for that, so instead he kept his shitty job at that shitty bar, going on with his shitty life in his shitty lonely apartment.
He stopped walking and looked up at the sky in the cold but not freezing air of an april night.
It was beautiful.
The black that painted everything around him, with those little luminous white points that managed to light up the street. There was no moon, he noticed as he started walking again.
He almost had a heart attack when he saw someone -probably a man- wearing something that seemed a white suit sitting on a bench, when he looked down from the sky to the park beside the sidewalk.
He took a good look of the man, as far as the distance between them let him.
He had wavy brunet hair that reached just under his ears. He was indeed wearing a suit and -Hongjoong was not gonna lie- he looked preatty good in it too. But he seemed quite sad. His head hung low, looking down while his elbows rested on his knees.
Maybe it was because he had a bad day, maybe because it was almost three a.m. and he wasn't really thinking straight, but Hongjoong felt the urge to go and ask him how he was.
He positioned his bag better on his shoulder and walked over to the man that had still to notice him, but when he did, Hongjoong's heart skipped a beat.
He remembered as clear as day those soft but sharp features, those big round eyes, that nose that fit so perfectly on the man's face and those lips he used to fantasize about kissing so much.
How could he not remember when that man had been the reason he discovered his sexuality? How could he not when he used to crush so hard on him during his highschool years?
But then highschool ended and he never even had the courage to talk to him, so he had sucked it up and went on with his life.
But now Seonghwa was sitting here, in front of him, looking like he had just being dumped and Hongjoong felt all of his feeling wash over him once again and stronger than ever.
"...Hongjoong?"
"...You know me?"
The man smiled sadly and scooted over on the bench to make space for Hongjoong, who complied sitting down.
"Why would I not know you? We went to highschool together. Do you know me?"
Hongjoong hesitantly nodded his head. Why did Seonghwa know him? He obviously knew Seonghwa because of his crush, but he had never imagined that he could know him too.
"Yeah, I know you. You were quite popolar back then."
He heard the man giggle beside him. He had loved when he managed to hear that when he was younger and he wasn't really surprised when he found out that that didn't change one bit.
"You were quite popular yourself, you know? A lot of people talked about you."
"More like talked behind my back. I definitely remember their snickers whenever I walked somewhere." Hongjoong sighed.
"They were assholes, weren't they?" He heard Seonghwa say with a sigh.
Silence filled the space between them and Hongjoong watched as Seonghwa threw his head back to look at the sky.
He was still gorgeous.
Maybe more mature, more adult-like, but gorgeous nonetheless.
He suddenly remembered why he had walked up to him in the first place.
"Are you okay?"
Seonghwa turned his head to look at him.
"Is it that obvious that I am not?" he smiled sadly once again and Hongjoong nodded softly, maintaining eye contact as the other sighed and went back to his previous position, elbows on his knees and head hung low.
"Today's my birthday." He lazily pointed at the suit he was wearing "Hence why I'm dressed like this, well, I guess that now is not really my birthday anymore, it was yesterday."
Oh. That was right. Today was April 4th. Hongjoong remembered he used to prepare for the older's birthday months before it actually came just to be able to slip a note and a little gift inside the other's locker and a smile subtly found its way on his lips at the memory.
"I thought it would be a good time for me to come out to my parents and tell them the truth," He inhaled and exhaled sharply "But I guess I don't have any parents anymore."
Hongjoong had to stop and register the information. Did Seonghwa really mean that with his "come out to my parents"?
Because it couldn't bossibly be that right?
"Wait, you're..."
Or maybe it was.
"Bi. Yeah. I've actually known for a while and I wanted to keep it low but..." Hongjoong heard his voice crack.
Then a sob.
And, oh god, Seonghwa was crying.
He awakwardly shifted closer on the bench and put an arm around Seonghwa's shoulders, rubbing circles onto his back.
That always helped him when he was feeling down so he hoped it could help the older too.
Seonghwa turned to look at him and -oh lord did it hurt- his cheeks were stained with tears and his eyes were glossy and wide.
"I'm sorry they don't accept you. I... You can cry, I won't judge."
He wrapped his other arm around Seonghwa too when the other turned to him completely and buried his face in his chest.
He found himself thinking about the expression his younger self would have made if he ever told him that one day he'd comfort his crush while hugging him.
He started humming one of the many songs he produced in his free time. This one he had made when one night, after work, the image of Seonghwa had just appeared in his mind and he couldn't get it out.
He felt Seonghwa relax in his arms until he pulled away, wiping his eyes with his wrist.
"...thank you."
"Don't worry about it."
They stayed like that, backs rested on the bench and gazes up at the star filled sky, until Seonghwa spoke.
"You know, I used to have the biggest crush on you in highschool."
Hongjoong almost choked on air. He turned to look at the older with wide eyes and his mouth slightly open in shock.
He cleared his voiced and adverted his gaze up ahead of him before replying.
"...I used to have a crush on you too."
This time it was Seonghwa's turn to look at him dumbfounded. Hongjoong found extremely cute how his eyes widened so much.
"Isn't it funny how fate works? I never even had the courage to talk to you and after years I found out that my feeling were reciprocated." Hongjoong forced out a laugh. Because he still felt the same as when he did then and now was too late, and if only he had the guts to actually walk up to the older and tell him how he felt then maybe—
"It is. Now mines aren't. Fate really is a bitch."
...wait.
Wait a second.
What?
"...What?"
Seonghwa shook his head "Don't mind it, it's not important anyway."
"But–"
"What do you do by the way? Were you able to become a producer like you wanted to?"
Hongjoong hesitated. He wanted to know what Seonghwa meant, wanted to understand.
"I wish, I work at a bar down the street."
Would it be okay to ask Seonghwa about his so called not reciprocated feelings like that? Probably not right?
"That's a shame. I heard the song you wrote for the show after graduation, it was really good."
Maybe Hongjoong could get away with it saying that he was just curious, that he just wanted to know Seonghwa more.
"Thank you."
But what if Seonghwa still liked him? What if that was his way to tell him and he didn't even react to it?
"You welcome."
They stayed silent for a few minutes. Hongjoong was deep in thoughts while Seonghwa just stared up ahead with an empty gaze.
Maybe he should do something.
Maybe he should confess everything and run away the other direction.
No, that wouldn't work, right?
"What do you do?" He decided to ask instead.
"Oh, nothing interesting. I'm just an office worker."
Hongjoong nodded his head. It felt awkward, to be like this. They had never talked before so it was pretty understandable, but he wished it was different.
Seonghwa took a long breath and slowly stood up from the bench.
"I guess I should go now. It's late and you probably just got off work, I'll let you go home."
Hongjoong felt almost frozen on the spot.
He watched as Seonghwa smiled one last time, as he turned around and started walking to the sidewalk Hongjoong was on previously, as he went further and further with his sad stance.
Did this really have to be the end of everything?
Did Hongjoong have to watch while the man he was so down for walked away from him without any possibility for them to meet again?
No, that wasn't right.
Trying didn't seem as bad of an idea as it seemed when he was younger.
That's what pushed him up from the bench and on the street, in a rushed attempt to reach the other before it was too late.
"Seonghwa!!!"
The man turned to him in the distance, opening his eyes once his gaze was fixed on his running frame.
Hongjoong finally reached him. He put his hands on his knees and tried to catch his breath, Seonghwa watching him with attentive eyes.
"Seonghwa..." He breathed in between his attempts to regain his composure. "I lied. I still like you, I never stopped."
He shut his eyes, afraid of what was to come. He missed the way the older's eyes widened in surprise and the hand that was brought up to be gently put over Seonghwa's mouth.
But he didn't miss the noise of the step the older took. He almost thought Seonghwa was walking away, leaving him there alone, until he felt a soft touch on his shoulder.
He looked up to meet the other's glossy eyes, lucid with tears. But these felt different. The sad aura that surrounded Seonghwa earlier was gone and in its place there was something else, something Hongjoong couldn't read.
And then suddenly he was being pulled in and arms were around him, a head nuzzled in the crook of his neck.
"I still like you too." Was all he could hear before his mind started spinning with emotions and he was hugging Seonghwa back close to him.
They both pulled back at the same time, gazes locked together and eyes filled with hope and relief.
One soft touch on Hongjoong's cheek.
Two arms wrapped around Seonghwa's waist.
Three seconds before their lips met and fireworks seemed to erupt inside Hongjoong.
And maybe it was because he had a bad day, maybe because it was almost four a.m. and he wasn't really thinking straight, or maybe because this was everything he had ever wanted, but Hongjoong was sure that this was probably the best night of his life.
And if he hadn't walked up to Seonghwa almost an hour earlier, any of this would have happened.
Fate was a bitch, but it had its ways.
And now, hand in hand under the starry night, Hongjoong couldn't think of nothing else he'd rather do.