Chapter Text
EARLIER THAT DAY, AFTER THE MAGAZINE INTERVIEWS…
“Good work for today~”
As the first day of Paris Fashion Week wrapped up, Leo and Sangwon bowed politely to the event staff bustling around and cleaning up the hall.
“Thank you so much for letting us interview the two of you today,” one of their interviewers said, smiling. “You two have such great chemistry. No wonder you’re so popular with the fans.”
Sangwon laughed politely. “It’s all thanks to you for helping us feel more comfortable.
Leo nodded. “We’ll continue to work hard, so please look forward to it.”
“Oh, well, I look forward to seeing the two of you around again sometime. Perhaps as our brand ambassadors next time?” she added with a playful wink.
“Uh—yeah. We’ll keep that in mind,” Leo said, letting out a short laugh.
“We’d be honoured if we got the opportunity.” Sangwon gave a small bow.
“Please do,” she said brightly, already stepping away as she bowed back. “Well then, I’ll be taking my leave now. Enjoy the rest of Paris, Leo-nim, Sangwon-nim!”
And with that, she disappeared into the crowd, leaving Leo and Sangwon alone once again, awkwardly standing off to the side of the event hall while trying to avoid the numerous staff rushing around them.
A brief silence settled between them.
Sangwon had begun glancing around the event hall—Leo wondered if he was looking for his fellow ECLYPSE members.
Leo desperately racked his brains for something—anything—to say to him. He still hadn’t fully recovered from the intensity of that afternoon; from having to pour every ounce of energy and willpower he possessed into holding himself together during the fashion show, only to immediately have to jump into a series of rapid-fire interviews while doing his best to act like he wasn’t fucking head over heels in love with the man sitting next to him.
And right now, the best thing that his exhausted brain that had been running on pure adrenaline for the past three hours could come up with was, “The weather sure is nice today, huh?”
As if they could even see the fucking sky from inside here.
Leo cursed under his breath, growing more desperate by the second. Judging by the current atmosphere, if he didn’t say anything soon, he guessed that in approximately ten seconds, Sangwon would probably hit him with a polite, “So.. I’ll get going now, then.”
And then Leo would have no choice but to say goodbye to him. Which he absolutely was not ready to do so, especially since they hadn’t seen each other in a while, and Leo wanted to cherish every opportunity he got to spend time with Sangwon, considering how busy the two of them always were.
Come on, Lee Leo. Think. Think—
“Today was fun, huh?” Sangwon suddenly said.
Leo’s head whipped towards him a little too fast. “Huh? Oh, uh.. Y–Yeah. It was great. Haha,” he stammered awkwardly. “The outfits were all really.. amazing.”
As if he had even paid attention during the show.
“Yeah, I really enjoyed watching the showcase too. I might just buy a few of those outfits for myself.” Sangwon smiled.
“Oh, well.. I think you should. Because, like.. you’d look really good in them,” Leo blurted out.
Sangwon blinked. Leo blinked.
“Oh,” Sangwon said in a small voice, his cheeks dusting pink.
Fuck.
Why did I just say that?
Leo slammed his head into the floor (mentally), before clearing his throat and scrambling to change the subject. “Um—so, anyways.. you’ve gone sightseeing here already, right? Where have you been so far?”
Sangwon lit up at that.
“I went to Montmartre yesterday,” he said, turning towards Leo with bright eyes. “There was this really cute street with artists everywhere, and I got coffee at this small but cozy café. It was so good, hyung. You should visit there if you have the time, I think you’ll like it.”
Leo nodded, trying very hard to focus on Sangwon’s words and not the way his eyes crinkled when he talked, or the way he called him hyung in that soft and sweet voice of his.
“And then this morning we went to the Seine River,” Sangwon continued, clasping his hands together. “It was really pretty. Did you go there too, Leo-hyung?”
“Oh yeah, I did. Not this morning, though.. I went last night. I went to see some arch this morning..”
“The Arc de Triomphe?”
“Yeah, that one.” Leo laughed sheepishly. “And then we wanted to go see the Eiffel Tower after that, but we ran out of time because Anxin and Xinlong kept taking a bunch of silly photos, and Junseo-hyung insisted on taking, like, two thousand pictures from every conceivable angle to send to Arno.”
Sangwon laughed. “You didn’t join Anxin and Xinlong for their photoshoot? I thought you always liked doing silly poses with them.”
Leo flushed. “Um, well.. maybe just a little..”
He paused, blinking. “Wait. How do you know I always do that?”
“Um—I mean, sometimes you guys’ pictures show up on my timeline, y’know?” Sangwon replied a little too quickly, laughing awkwardly.
“Oh—uh, anyways, speaking of which.. you reminded me, because I also haven’t been to the Eiffel Tower yet!” he clapped his hands together. “I really hope I get to go there at least once, though.. it’d be a total waste if I was in Paris but never got to see it. You know, with it being their most famous monument and all.”
“Oh,” Leo said.
Is he.. suggesting that we go visit the Eiffel Tower together?
Leo looked at Sangwon, who was fluttering his eyelashes at him hopefully, and had to bite back a smile.
He cleared his throat. “Then, do you want to go together?”
“Yes.”
The answer came so quickly that Leo nearly laughed.
“Okay,” he said, his voice softer now. “How about tonight? I can pick you up from your hotel.”
“That works for me,” Sangwon grinned. “See you tonight then, Leo-hyung.”
Leo stood in the hotel lobby in a black jacket and jeans, heart racing and foot tapping nervously against the floor, his hood pulled low over his head.
It was half past nine, and he hoped that it was late enough to go out without being spotted. He knew that being in Paris, the chances were low—but he couldn’t help but still feel a little anxious.
Because if news got out that the two of them were out on a date night in Paris together, it would absolutely, without a doubt, blow up into a massive scandal. (Though if Leo was being honest, a very small and deeply repressed part of him kind of wanted to see that happen—but he couldn’t say that, obviously.)
He’d managed to sneak out of the hotel room without any of his other nosy SOLARE members noticing. Mostly because Junseo, who was (supposed to be) his roommate, was, by a stroke of luck, not in the room with him when he had left.
All Leo knew was that Junseo was currently with Arno, his new boyfriend from ECLYPSE, and that he definitely did not want to know whatever they were doing at the moment.
Leo shivered at the thought of it.
He just hoped that Junseo would remember that they still had another long day ahead of them tomorrow and not go too overboard.
“Ding!” the elevator bell rang, making Leo jump slightly.
“Leo-hyung!” a hushed voice called.
Leo turned to see Sangwon hurrying over in small, quick steps, face a little red and voice sounding a little out of breath. He was dressed in an oversized black long-sleeve shirt and baggy jeans, his golden hair peeking out from under the beanie pulled over his head.
It was a simple and casual outfit. But it was more than enough to make Leo’s stomach flip violently.
Then again, to be fair, Sangwon could probably wear a garbage bag and still look like an angel.
“Sorry, did you wait long?” he said, with the cutest little smile on his face.
“I just got here,” Leo shook his head before glancing at Sangwon’s clothes again. “The night’s pretty chilly, you know. You sure you won’t be cold?”
The shirt Sangwon was wearing looked way too thin for the midnight Paris air, and Leo was rather worried that Sangwon would end up freezing.
“Don’t worry, hyung. I’ll be fine,” Sangwon grinned, his three front teeth peeking out from beneath his lips. “I’m so excited. I’ve never seen the Eiffel Tower in person before.”
Leo’s heart almost melted, and he found himself smiling back before he could stop it.
“If you say so,” he relented. “Well, should we go?”
Sangwon nodded eagerly. “Let’s go!”
The streets of Paris at night felt completely different.
Aside from a few couples roaming around, the city had quieted down considerably—unlike earlier in the day, when the streets had been packed with tourists and locals alike bustling from place to place.
Couples.
Leo swallowed, suddenly hyper-aware of the fact that Sangwon was walking right next to him, the two of them close enough that their shoulders brushed occasionally.
They passed another couple giggling softly together as hushed French spilled between them.
Leo’s eyes drifted to their intertwined fingers, and his own hand twitched at his side.
Carefully, as discreetly as possible, he glanced at Sangwon’s hand swinging freely beside him.
Leo thought back to the one and only time he had been able to hold Sangwon’s hands—a few months back, during their filming of Minju’s Pink Cabinet—and tried to remember how it felt like to have Sangwon’s soft, delicate fingers in his palms.
He thought about how nice and romantic it would be, to be able to walk through the streets of Paris at night with Sangwon’s hand in his. He wouldn’t have to shove his freezing hands into his pockets because Sangwon’s would already be warming them.
He wondered how Sangwon would react if he took his hand now. Knowing him, Sangwon would probably blush and giggle softly, and maybe even nestle in closer to him, or rest his head on his shoulder, or even—
“Thwack!”
The sudden, sharp sound cracked through the quiet street, making Sangwon flinch and even turning a few heads.
Sangwon, being the angel that he was, immediately turned to Leo with concern, despite being visibly startled himself. “Leo-hyung? A–Are you okay? Why did you slap yourself all of a sudden..?”
Leo lowered his hand slowly, palm and cheek both stinging.
“Sorry,” he muttered. “I thought that there was a fly on my face.”
Get a grip, Lee Leo.
Why are you having such immoral and repulsive thoughts about Sangwonie?
He closed his eyes for a second, letting the lingering sting in his cheek serve as punishment for having allowed himself to entertain such ridiculous and delusional fantasies.
Sangwon winced sympathetically. “Are you sure you’re okay? That sounded like it hurt.. should we stop by a convenience store or something and get some insect repellent? Are the bugs bothering you a lot?”
“I’m okay, really,” Leo said quickly. “Thanks, Sangwonie.”
“Well, if you say so..” Sangwon replied uncertainly.
Leo immediately pointed ahead, desperate to redirect the conversation. “Ah, look! That’s the Eiffel Tower up ahead, isn’t it?”
Towering high above the Paris skyline, the Eiffel Tower glowed brilliantly against the dark night sky, bathed in warm golden light that made the iron framework shimmer almost dreamily. Even from a distance, it was breathtakingly massive.
Sangwon gasped with delight, and before Leo could react, Sangwon had grabbed his wrist and tugged him forward.
“It’s so big!” he exclaimed, clapping his hands.
“Uh, y–yeah,” Leo nodded along, trying not to completely lose his fucking shit over the lingering warmth of Sangwon’s hand around his wrist.
Sangwon turned to Leo, eyes shining. “I wonder when it’ll do the sparkle thing. I saw videos of it online, and it looked really pretty.”
Leo glanced at his watch. “The lights turn on at the beginning of every hour, so.. I guess in another two more minutes? We’re just in time.”
“Wow,” Sangwon said, impressed. “You’re so knowledgeable, hyung. How did you know that?”
“Um, haha. Actually, Junseo-hyung told me,” Leo lied through his teeth with a nervous laugh. “Because, uh.. he wanted to come see the light show with Arno or something. I think.”
Because Leo obviously couldn’t say that the second Sangwon had mentioned wanting to visit the Eiffel Tower, he’d immediately gone online to research the exact timings of the light show and carefully planned their meeting time so that they’d arrive right on time.
“Hmm.” Sangwon narrowed his eyes teasingly. “Are you sure it wasn’t because you researched everything beforehand to make sure we wouldn’t miss it?”
Leo’s heart stuttered. “W–What? N–No! I mean, maybe.. just a little..” he sputtered, face and ears on fire.
Sangwon burst into laughter. “You’re so cute, Leo-hyung.”
Leo wanted to fucking combust.
But, thank god, before his soul could physically leave his body, a sudden flicker of light caught their attention.
The crowd gathered around them that had been watching the Eiffel Tower in anticipation collectively erupted into soft gasps of awe as the entire tower suddenly burst into shimmering light, tens of thousands of golden lights beginning to flash rapidly, shimmering like stars against the night sky.
Sangwon immediately turned to watch, his eyes wide with wonder and lips parted in a soft, delighted smile.
“Woah..” he whispered softly, mesmerised.
The reflection of the glittering lights danced in his eyes, making them glow beautifully beneath the night sky. His cheeks were dusted pink from the cold, and from so up close like this, Leo was able to see just how long his lashes were.
Leo thought that he had never seen anyone look more beautiful in his entire life.
“It’s so pretty..” Sangwon murmured.
“Yeah,” Leo replied quietly, still gazing at Sangwon. “It really is.”
Sangwon turned towards him with a smile, and Leo quickly looked away, coughing into his fist.
He just prayed fervently that Sangwon hadn’t caught him staring.
After the lights dimmed out again, Sangwon let out a satisfied breath.
“That was amazing,” he said, turning to Leo, still smiling.
Leo nodded. “Yeah, it was.”
As if he’d actually spent any time looking at the tower. But Sangwon didn’t need to know that.
Leo cleared his throat. “Uh, by the way, I heard the Eiffel Tower has an observation deck with a really nice view. Should we.. go check it out?” he said casually, shoving his hands into his pockets as nonchalantly as possible.
“You heard?” Sangwon repeated, raising an eyebrow teasingly.
“From Junseo-hyung. Because.. yeah,” Leo quickly said, heat creeping up his neck again.
Sangwon laughed. “Sure you did.”
“I’m telling the truth!”
“I’m just kidding,” Sangwon grinned, before turning to leave. “Let’s go, hyung.”