Stray Kids one shots || honeyndwild

Chan | You're staring, part 3

"Can you listen to this?" Chan wipes his lips with a tissue, leaning back on his seat, sighing contentedly after his late-night dinner. "I need your opinion."

It takes you by surprise, his request. And you slurp your hot ramen slowly, thinking about how to answer him, "Me? No, I don't think I can."

The studio is dark and warm. Sitting on the floor, ramen cup in your hands you're enjoying it to the fullest. The monitor flickers softly, unfinished songs lying there, raw and wonderful, and sometimes you can't help but glance at them, at their uncompleted beauty, wondering what they will become in the future.

Chan turns to look at you, orange juice bag in his hands, and sips it slowly, "Why not you?"

It's not that comfortable to eat under his attentive gaze. And you quickly look down at your bowl, hoping nothing got stuck on your face. "I'm a stay, you know," you shrug, finally finding an excuse. "This is your future comeback, and I don't think I am allowed to listen to it beforehand."

Chan laughs quietly, taking another sip, "Silly." You're trying not to pay too much attention to the way his "silly" makes you feel, but he just continues as if nothing happened. "Of course I won't give you the whole song," he chuckles, noticing how you finished eating and handing you a tissue. "I just found a good melody. I changed it a bit, and I need to know is it still good." He keeps staring while you wipe your mouth, he stared at how you're trying as hard as you can to keep your hands from shaking. And again, he continues as if nothing happened, "And cause I don't have Ji or Bin here... Can you? It's only 30 seconds long. It's a sample, not a song."

Your sigh sounds too heavy for your liking, and you look up at Chan quickly, hoping he didn't suspect anything. "You aren't kidding, are you?"

Chan nods solemnly, putting a hand on his heart, "I swear, it's just a plain melody."

"Then... Okay. Give me that."

The headphones feel too big on your head, and you put your hands on them for a little support. The melody feels too heavy and too dark for the atmosphere you're in. And you close your eyes, trying to disconnect from everything around, trying to imagine another image, another story. But the seconds run too fast, and the melody ends before it even starts. And the moment later you feel Chan's careful hands taking the headphones off your head.

Another moment in silence where you're sitting straight, trying to swallow the feelings the melody gave you. You want it, the silence. You need it to understand the concept, to dive deeper into the feelings of it, to draw a perfect picture– But Chan can't wait any longer. "And??" He jumps impatiently on his seat, clasping his hands together nervously. "What do you think??"

"It's..." You're still in trance, still seeing the pictures the melody drew for you. "It's good. Different from your style, but–" You're trying to focus on him, on his face and his impatient eyes. "But I like it. Can't wait to see how it all will turn out at the end."

Chan sighs with relief and leans back, smiling weakly at the sealing above, "Okay... I guess it's a good reaction."

"It is! I really liked it."

"Okay," he nods, smiling more. "I believe you."

And then he stares. Suddenly, from nowhere. He smiles and tilts his head. Moves a little. Gets comfortable in his grey chair, rests his chin on his palm... And then stares. At you. Without blinking. Making you feel nervous.

"Chan," you try to look away, but he hypnotizes you, not leaving other choices but to stare back at him. "You're staring..."

"You too," he chuckles, reaching his hand out, brushing away a small curl from your eyes. "Do I have something on my face?"

You can't help but smile, "No. Do I?"

"No. But I wish you did."

It surprises you, "Why?"

"It could become a good excuse to kiss you."

The world stops for a second. You can hear his words, can see his smiling face too close to yours. And still, it all feels so distant, so dreamy, as if it's not you who's sitting in front of him. As if you're just a watcher. A watcher of movie or drama.

"W-what?.."

He comes suddenly. One second he's staring at you, his fingertips stroking your cheek lightly. The second later his face is millimetres away from yours, so close you can feel its warmth tickling your skin, and–

His lips are warm and a little hesitant against yours. His kisses are short and careful as if he's testing the waters, learning his boundaries. But it all makes you too impatient, his behaviour. And you cup his cheeks in return, trying to move closer, trying to push him a little bit more, to make him spill his feelings out.

"Wow–" he chuckles breathlessly in your lips, moving away from a little, trying to focus his eyes on you.

"You're too slow," you whisper a bit annoyed. You don't want to move, don't want to go anywhere, that's why you leave your hands where they are, around his neck.

"We have plenty of time, no need to rush," he smiles, kissing you once more.

"I know, but–" you sigh, moving a little closer, "I wanted to kiss you for a month, and now I can't get enough of it."

"You like me this much?"

"I love you this much, silly."

"I'm glad to hear it, because–" this kiss feels a little stronger, a little warmer than his previous ones. "Because I love you too."