Philophobia ❧ JEONGCHAN

11

Flawless-The Neighborhood

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The warm breeze had chilled over, Australia's-at least the part of Australia they were in-temperature dropping to a good twelve degrees Celsius. It wasn't burning and it wasn't cold. It was the perfect time to go strolling around the city with hands interlocked, pointing into windows at cute things.

That was exactly what Jeongin and Chris were doing. They reminisced about all the times Jeongin had gotten tipsy while out with the group. The day when they first met, too, was brought up. It wasn't a romantic topic. Neither had actually fallen in love the day they met. It was a friendship that led to something more.

All because of a purple fox tattoo. It was gone now, replaced with an array of dark and light blues perfectly lined with black to create Japanese-styled waves. Despite its color, it looked darker, and the highlight of paler blue was only added to accentuate that. From far away anyone might think it was black. It started at Chris' shoulder and then washed down his arm to his wrist. His pectoral muscle was also painted over and while people would only know that if he took his shirt off, Jeongin adored it.

It made Chris that much more attractive. The small details on his skin were remarkable. Praise worthy, honestly. If he could, Jeongin would trace the lines forever just to feel Chris' skin and admire its decoration. He couldn't now but he would take up every opportunity to do so in the future. Sooner or later he'd be waking up next to him everyday.

"I still don't know why you got waves."

Chris moved his eyes from the shop he was looking into and over to Jeongin. "Because your love came crashing in on me like waves and I drowned in it," he explained simply.

It was the most basic description but it had Jeongin's face up in flames. He clung to the other's hand with a bright smile, arms beginning to swing back and forth a little bit. They passed by another store. "You left Australia so abruptly. Didn't you get a job just before? What happened with that?"

Jeongin pulled out his phone with his free hand. "I still technically work there. I was taking photos for them in Canada and when I got back they returned my position in the store."

Chris pursed his lips out of curiosity as he looked over the pictures with Jeongin. Most had been transferred over from a camera. Jeongin had three, all used for different purposes. Two for work and one for his personal life. Chris pointed his finger at a photo he found familiar. The brick house in the background and Chris' pale face covered with a sliver of pink grabbed his attention. The navy blue knit scarf hanging around his neck hid half of his lower face and his curls peeked out from a comfy beanie.

"New York."

"Yup. That's my favorite photo."

"Why?" Chris thought he looked far too pale and the snow flurries had gotten a bit in the way of the lense so the focus was slightly blurred.

"It was a few minutes before I fell in love with you," Jeongin answered, a gentle smile spread across his face. "I really wanted to kiss you then." The air had been frozen and it had made his senses higher. The cold did that. It made Jeongin feel high off some drug he knew he'd never taken. Chris had that effect as well.

"Your nose was buried into your scarf and you were watching everything around you like an innocent owl; scouting for something, though I'm not sure what. You probably didn't know either. It's one of my favorite memories."