Conversations; All In Blue

Nine

The smell of the sawdust filled his nose, filled the room with a rich earthy scent, filled the space around him with dust and evidence of his hard work. He'd sanded the bedside cupboards back and the rose mahogany stain on them was stunning. He'd never seen furniture look so good before. Maybe it was just the knowledge of all the hard work he'd put in, the fruit of his own labour so much sweeter, the calluses on his hands matched by the rough edges smoothed down as he dragged the sandpaper across the timber.

Each crevice and nook, each deep groove, every inch had to be sanded so carefully. It was hard work but honest work, long hours spent bent over making his back ache, his arms sore and his wrists strong. The lifestyle of the quiet little village combined with the endless physical labour had Junhui sleeping well at night and rising early with the sun. He'd found a love for the warm tones of dawn, the oranges and golds and stark white skies that came just as the temperature dropped and the sun rose. With a hot coffee in his hands he could face each day as surely as the sun rose.

He was just about to take a break when he heard the tell-tale sound of tyres on gravel. Despite having laboured for hours already it was only 8:30am and the car in the driveway was a welcome distraction. He stood and wiped his hands on his pants leaving streaks of dust across the front of his seven hundred-dollar jeans and hurried to the front door.

"Good morning," his smile was wide as he threw the heavy oak door open. Wonwoo was on the other side, smile mirroring his own, the cat cage clutched in his hands. "Come in," he moved aside to let Wonwoo come inside from the brisk morning breeze. "Thanks," Wonwoo put the cat cage down and rubbed feeling back into his hands. "Its really cold this morning."

Junhui moved into his space and put his own hands around Wonwoo's to help him warm them up. His own hands had been working hard and were always warm anyway but Wonwoo's were chronically cold.

They stood in a calm silence as Junhui rubbed his hands with Wonwoo's trapped between them. Heat began to spread from his palms and Wonwoo clearly enjoyed the warmth, humming softly to himself and closing his eyes, and Junhui was fascinated. Wonwoo was a puzzle, each piece confusing to the eye, but so satisfying when you turned it this way and that and finally found where it fit. The sensations on his skin that he liked and disliked, tastes and smells he found enjoyable or distasteful, sounds that made him smile or start. Wonwoo was nothing but discovery and Junhui was invested.

"I named them," he said when he picked the cat cage up again and they moved to the living room. Cross legged on the floor with a rug on his lap Junhui smiled with joy at each kitten as Wonwoo fetched them out and handed them over.

"Cinnamon and Sage," he said as he put two squirming kittens into the space made by Junhui's crossed legs. They were familiar with him now, stronger and bigger, and they scrambled over each other as they chased his fingertips. "Cinnamon is yours. Seungcheol's is Sage."