OFF OF THE DEEP END | CHANGLIX ✔️

7. you wanna come in?

dlmlu: stray kids

After discardeding his soaked shoes out of common courtesy and respect for Felix's spotless floors, Changbin admired the house. Either Felix was a clean freak or someone did the cleaning for him, because the spacious house was diligently immaculate. White walls sprouted off of dark wooden floors, the ivory paint job sporting a collection of stylish art. It seemed that Felix had a passion for landscapes, for artwork in every medium done of gorgeous scenery dotted the walls in assorted clusters. Lush plants lined the floor, an occasional plant trailing its leafy tresses from the ceiling where it hung suspended by the braided expanse of a rope swinging on a hook.

The furniture was sparse, squishy looking armchairs and sofas in bland colors, bordered by fluffy rugs. While everything was polished to a gleaming sheen, little bits of a life showed through. A book with a receipt serving as a makeshift placeholder shoved haphazardly between a couch cushion and a pillow, an abandoned drink of some sort leaving rings on the glass coffee table, a black beanie draping off of the arm of a chair. Paired with the massive collection of shoes lining the entryway, it was quite a homely place.

"It's rather messy— I would have cleaned up more if I knew you'd be coming over," Felix remarked, embarrassment lacing his tone.

"I love it. Your sense of design is impeccable."

"Thank you. Let me get some clothes for you, you're absolutely soaked." While Felix darted upstairs to fetch fresh clothes, Changbin stood and admired the decor a bit more. Felix came down a few minutes later, toting a bundle of clothing draped over his arm. He explained where the bathroom was so Changbin could change in peace.

The bathroom decor matched the rest of the house. Minimalistic, small succulents framed the gold lined mirror, a few candles releasing the enticing scent of jasmine to purify the air. Besides flashes of gold metal and the viridescent leaves of plants, everything else was the same shade of white as the wall downstairs. Shiny white diamond-shaped tiles, painted white cabinets, white towels.

Changbin donned the clothes Felix had generously let him borrow. The sweatpants were a near perfect fit, as Felix was slightly taller than Changbin. The shirt, however, was obviously made for Felix's smaller torso, and clung tightly to Changbin. Though not as uncomfortable, it was reminiscent of the way his other shirt had outlined the shape of his chest. Preferring shirts that ended hip level at the minimum, the hem that grazed the waistband of his sweats was an unfamiliar sensation, but much preferable than shivering through the cold embrace of wet fabric.

Once declaring himself presentable after attempting to adjust his shirt from the tight grasp it had on his chest and combing his hair into something other than a wet, bedraggled mess, he made his way down the stairs.

Legs crossed elegantly across a white couch, Felix engrossed himself by scrolling absentmindedly through his phone. He glanced up as Changbin's footsteps creaked over the wood floor, a small smile flashing across his features as he patted the cushion next to him. Void of the massive dark hoodies and masks he usually obscured his features with, Changbin could finally fully observe Felix in his full glory.

Dampened hair cascaded around his forehead and fell gently in waves to his shoulders. The strands brushed the bits of collarbone exposed by the askew neckline of the shirt Felix was toting, its grey fabric embezzled with some luxury logo. Preventing his hair from tumbling into his eyes, a pair of gold-rimmed reading glasses emphasized his brown eyes. Freckles covered the tanned skin of his face, a relief from the edited, make-up covered milky skin the industry forced upon him.

Changbin collapsed next to Felix on the couch, sprawling upon the cushiony surface in a way rivaling Jisung's starfish impression from earlier. As much as he would have loved to fully spread himself across the soft surface like a child making snow angels, the composed figure of Felix sitting in the most refined posture he'd ever seen— like a lady from Victorian England—brought him back to the disappointing reality that this was not his house, and he wasn't alone.

Normally, Changbin had a full routine when coming home. Crumple onto his bed face-first as a sort of therapy, stay like that for a bit to rid himself of bad karma. Then he'd undress, stripping himself from the long-sleeved shirts his boss ordered him to wear, afraid that his muscled arms would scare away her precious customers. Depending on the time of his shift, Changbin would either change into gym clothes to pursue his weekly workouts, or stay shirtless and retreat downstairs for binging a new show or reading a book that had particularly caught his attention from the bookstore.

Instead, he twitched awkwardly on Felix's couch, the mentioned eyeing him weirdly as he'd just witnessed Changbin's complete deflation into a boneless creature that moved like liquid and sagged onto couches. Perhaps passing it off as an unexpected brief possession by a half-dead demon, Felix ceased his inquisitive glances on Changbin's face and trailed his face down, over the fabric of the shift he had lent to Changbin, and anchored his gaze there. Noticing the concentrated goggle, Changbin inspected the fabric of his shirt, scanning for a stain or a piece of lint, something to merit Felix's silent observations. When the shirt was proved to be as spotless as the rest of Felix's house and the non relenting gawp still bored into his chest, out of a defensive protection habit Changbin crossed his arms over his chest, shielding himself from Felix's attentive gape. It seemed to only make the problem worse, the glare burning holes into his chest, blazing past his makeshift defensives.

Curling in himself— another precaution against the stare— in replacement of the insignificant motion of protecting himself using his arms. The sudden motion dulled the strength of Felix's weaponized act of eyeballing. Averting his eyes from Changbin's shirt, he reached delicate hands adorned with silver rings to pick up one of the two full mugs resting upon the glass surface of a coffee table. Offering the beverage to Changbin, the mentioned took it in grateful hands, the warm surface of the mug warming his half-numb hands.

"I hope you like hot chocolate, I find it always warms me up on cold days like these," Felix wondered.

"Gosh, I haven't had it in so long, not since I discovered coffee in my teens."

"I hope you enjoy then."

The first sip of hot chocolate exploded on Changbin's tongue. It tasted like the bliss of childhood, the rich flavor of melted chocolate merging with the sugary sweetness of half-melted marshmallows drowning in the cup. He downed it eagerly, the liquid the shade of almonds shrinking like ocean waves. The last dribble of the sublime drink flowed down his throat, leaving nothing but a shadow of the original flavor as an aftertaste that lingered around his tastebuds. Felix was still drinking his, taking small graceful sips in order to savor the small portion of hot chocolate, setting the mug down to engage in a brief pause before partaking in another delicate sip. Changbin felt like an ugly hippo— too big and clumsy— as he stared at his empty mug, the contents chugged in an unsophisticated manner.

Felix had no such beliefs, however, as his facial features caved into a gleaming white smile that should belong on toothpaste billboards at seeing the robust way Changbin had guzzled the drink.

"I assume you liked it?" Felix grinned.

"It was delicious," Changbin responded, knowing he would from now on always crave the drink on cold days.

"I'm glad, I learned to make it to provide some bouts of joy due to childhood reminiscing, and the recipe has stuck with me for years. It's one of the only things I can cook— I'm a menace in the kitchen, burning shit left and right."

"I'm no chef, but I've developed the tiniest amount of culinary expertise to keep me alive when I can't afford pre-prepared meals."

"You should cook for me sometime."

"I'd adore to."

book: warrior cats // erin hunter

a/n
i love this chapter and it was so easy to write
imagery and metaphors and all of that fancy bullshit >> dialogue
my english teacher would be so proud 😍