moving day | Heeseung x Jay

eighteen

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"Remember when we could go to parties where we didn't know people and it wouldn't be weird," Heeseung says as he folds in half over the couch. Jay snorts and tickles the skin of his feet as he passes Heeseung to sit like a civilized human at the corner of the cushion. From here, he can keep an eye on Halley, who they've recently opened the rest of the apartment to after she got comfortable with the environment.

University feels like so long ago, Jay thinks, even though it was just last year they were graduating. "Remember when," he says, "we could sit in classes we didn't sign up for and just audit it to learn interesting shit."

"Remember when you and your friend stayed overnight in a campus library and got yelled at by the janitor the next day?" Heeseung says, and Jay groans. Apparently, they're going for personal stuff. He tries to redirect the conversation.

"Remember when we'd count down the days till winter break since that was the only time of the year we were guaranteed time to spend together." He hadn't meant for it to sound so sappy, but Heeseung's ears go pink, and they both studiously look elsewhere.

It's only natural that they missed each other during university. Spending their entire lives together before going to opposite ends of the country for school was hard but well worth it. They grew on their own as people but strengthened their friendship. Distance really does make the heart grow fonder.

Heeseung picks up the mood. "Remember when you went to that random trivia competition while tipsy and actually won."

"Remember when shotgunning a beer became second nature for you?" Jay shoots back.

"Hey," Heeseung's grin turns sharp, "remember when you went streaking across campus?"

Jay groans. "For the last time, it was a dare."

Heeseung laughs and scrolls through his phone. Jay wonders what he's looking at but regrets it when the starting notes to Hallelujah start playing from his best friend's phone. Jay shoots him the sternest look he can muster, and Heeseung grumbles before switching it off. "Remember when," he says, snippily, "I could play Christmas music in July without being bullied."

"I'm not bullying you, just fine-tuning your interests." Jay rolls his eyes. He should've known that mentioning Christmas earlier would encourage Heeseung to start playing his tunes. "And that one doesn't count since university isn't attended during July, so I win."

Heeseung adamantly shakes his head, not ready to surrender, and makes an L with his thumb and index finger, plastering it on his forehead for the whole apartment to see—that being Jay and Halley, who is chewing a banana slice and could probably care less since she's a rabbit. Jay throws a cushion at Heeseung's face, and a pillow fight erupts, the atmosphere lighter than feathers.

Even though Jay's attention is on making Heeseung succumb to a fit of laughter, the pillows of their couch getting thrown and chucked in every direction, his mind is elsewhere, thinking back to those winter breaks from the years before.

One winter, Heeseung had come to spend Christmas with him since Jay's parents were on vacation. Jay had seen him beforehand, and they'd spent Christmas together as kids, but with Heeseung's parents visiting his brother and it only being them in his childhood house, it'd felt... different.

They'd just finished opening their gifts for each other and were eating a breakfast of champions: The cookies they'd baked the night before in lieu of usual tradition. Jay had been stuffing one into his mouth while Heeseung had been shuffling through Christmas music which Jay actually allowed since it was being played at the right time of year.