black cat | woosan ✔

39

The fairy lights blinked in soft shades of black, purple, and navy, casting an otherworldly glow across San's living room. Jack-o-lanterns lined the windows, flickering with both goofy and sinister expressions. The skeleton Wooyoung insisted on buying was awkwardly propped up in the corner, now sporting a cheap cowboy hat that neither of them could take seriously.

"Your skeleton is crooked," San muttered, standing back with his hands on his hips.

"He's distinguished," Wooyoung shot back, adjusting the skeleton's hat with a satisfied grin. "Not crooked. He's just got personality."

"He looks like he's two seconds from collapsing," San said, squinting at it.

"Like you were when we had to carry all those bags up the stairs?" Wooyoung smirked, nudging him playfully with his shoulder.

San rolled his eyes. "You literally bought half the chocolate section. I'm surprised I didn't collapse for real."

"Some people just can't handle greatness," Wooyoung teased. He was kneeling on the floor, untangling the fairy lights with the enthusiasm of a kid opening presents, though his hands were struggling with the endless knots.

San leaned over the couch, watching him with amusement. "You're about as coordinated as that skeleton over there."

"Excuse you." Wooyoung stuck out his tongue. "I'm a light-wrangling pro—you wouldn't understand my process."

"Your 'process' is looking more like a disaster." San crouched next to him and reached for the tangled lights, fingers brushing against Wooyoung's in the process. "Move. You're making it worse."

"Am not!" Wooyoung yanked the bundle toward himself, grinning mischievously. "Hands off, bitch. I've got this."

San let out a long, exaggerated sigh. "We're going to be buried in these lights by the time you figure this out."

"Oh, relax. It's Halloween, not a race." Wooyoung gave him a triumphant look. "Anyway, you just want to look useful for once."

San snorted, flicking Wooyoung's forehead lightly. "At least I don't wear tube socks with sandals like that one day you showed up at the campus."

"That was one time!" Wooyoung exclaimed, scandalized. "I was hungover!"

San grinned. "No excuses."

The back-and-forth insults flowed effortlessly between them, filling the room with warmth and laughter as they draped the fairy lights across the windows and shelves. It felt easy—too easy—and Wooyoung's heart swelled with every moment they shared.

Once the lights were finally in place, Wooyoung stepped back, hands on his hips. "See? Told you I could do it."

"They're uneven," San deadpanned.

"Say one more thing," Wooyoung warned, narrowing his eyes.

San smirked. "They look—"

Before San could finish, Wooyoung lunged at him, swatting him lightly on the arm. "You're such a jerk!" he laughed, though the sound was full of affection.

San caught his wrist easily, pulling him a little closer. "Takes one to know one."

Their playful teasing fizzled into silence, leaving only the low hum of fairy lights and the distant flicker of jack-o-lantern candles.

The shift was subtle but undeniable—something deeper thrummed between them now, heavier than the banter.

Wooyoung fidgeted for a moment, biting his lip before gathering his courage. "San," he began, his voice softer than before. "There's something I need to tell you."

San's teasing expression melted, replaced by quiet attentiveness. "What is it?"

Wooyoung took a breath, his heart racing. "I think...No. I know I've been in love with you for a while. Longer than I probably even realized." His gaze dropped to the floor, the words rushing out before he could overthink them. "I didn't say anything sooner because I was scared of ruining what we have. But I can't keep pretending anymore. Not when I feel like this."

For a moment, the air felt impossibly still.

San stared at him, expression unreadable. Wooyoung's heart thudded in his chest, painfully loud in the silence.

"You don't have to say anything," Wooyoung mumbled quickly, looking down. "If you don't feel the same, I'll understand. I just...I had to tell you."

San didn't say anything at first. Instead, he stepped forward, closing the space between them. Then, without a word, he cupped Wooyoung's face in his hands and pressed their foreheads together.

"You idiot," San whispered, his voice soft but full of emotion. "I've been in love with you too. I just thought you'd never say it."

Wooyoung blinked, his breath catching. "Wait, what?"

San smiled—really smiled, the kind that made Wooyoung's knees feel weak. "Yeah. I've wanted this for a long time."

Before Wooyoung could say anything else, San's lips were on his, more urgent than before. This wasn't the soft, tentative kiss from earlier. This was something deeper, more heated—like all the moments of waiting and unspoken feelings had finally boiled over.

Wooyoung melted into it, his hands sliding up to clutch the front of San's hoodie. San responded instantly, wrapping his arms around Wooyoung's waist and pulling him closer, their bodies pressed tightly together. The kiss deepened, their mouths moving in sync, warm and desperate and filled with everything they hadn't been able to say before.

Wooyoung let out a soft, breathless sound against San's lips, and it was like a spark igniting something between them. San's grip on him tightened, his hands sliding under the hem of Wooyoung's shirt, fingers splaying across warm skin. Wooyoung gasped at the touch, heat blooming across his cheeks and down his spine.

"You're trouble," San whispered against his mouth, his voice low and teasing.

"So are you," Wooyoung shot back, breathless but grinning as he nipped at San's bottom lip.

San chuckled, his laughter vibrating against Wooyoung's mouth before diving back in for another kiss, this one even more intense than the last.

They kissed like they were trying to make up for lost time, for all the moments they'd hesitated, for every chance they hadn't taken. And in that moment, with the glow of fairy lights surrounding them and the decorations forgotten around them, it felt like nothing else mattered.

When they finally broke apart, both of them were breathless, their foreheads still resting together.

"And I thought I was gonna have a shitty Halloween," Wooyoung whispered, a playful grin tugging at his lips.

San laughed, his thumb brushing softly along Wooyoung's jaw. "It definitely will be now."

They stayed like that for a moment longer, wrapped up in each other, knowing that they had finally crossed the line they'd been toeing for so long—and there was no going back.

Not that either of them wanted to.