among the stars / hyungwonho

10

A knock on Hoseok's door makes him tense because he knows that knock. Kihyun has a tendency to just come in without knocking altogether, after all. On Hoseok's work table the wooden box sits, finished inside-and-out, but he doesn't remember to hide it before saying,

"Yeah?"

Hyungwon shuffles in, hands shoved into the pockets of his over-sized jacket -- a birthday present from Kihyun and Hoseok, the kind of jacket with enough hidden pockets and useful attributes to serve him for many years, more expensive than Hyungwon is comfortable with but they want him to have it and so he does. Walking over, Hyungwon perches on the table as he has a habit of doing and Hoseok doesn't stop him -- also a habit.

Sometimes Hoseok hears Hyungwon singing with Kihyun and is unjustifiably sad, has the outrageous thought: but he's married to me. That's when he catches himself and makes sure he's not around either of them for the rest of the day. Sometimes Hoseok sees Hyungwon kicking back on the sofa and laughing at an old radio-play and his heart swells the way the stories always warned him about. Sometimes Hoseok is in his workroom and Hyungwon comes in, sits on his table, kicks his bare feet back and forth and makes Hooseok worry about how cold he must be.

Sometimes.

"Where are your socks?" he sighs.

"I think we have a sock monster. They keep disappearing."

Without a thought, Hoseok reaches and draws Hyungwon's feet against him, covers them in his hands which are warm warm warm. Angled now, Hyungwon stares and wants to say a number of things but none of them come out, his mouth slightly parted as he thinks: well this is better anyway. His gaze slides to the box just past Hoseok shoulder and he leans over to reach for it. Hoseok doesn't see it fast enough and his hands, previously rubbing heat back into the soles of Hyungwon's feet, go very very still.

"This' so pretty," Hyungwon murmurs appreciatively. "It's the one you were working on, right?" Hoseok nods but he isn't looking at his invention. Hyungwon runs his fingertips over the carefully engraved wood -- the twining vines, leaves, flowers suspiciously like stardrops, follows the rounded corners and down underneath where they pause. "Hm?" Hyungwon turns it over and his eyes brighten. "Ah," he turns the silver almond-shaped extension: click, click, click. Then he looks over at Hoseok, meets his eyes directly for the first time since walking in, as if for permission even as he opens the box.

A song plays.

Hyungwon has never heard it before but he'll know it now for as long as he lives.

Even longer than that.

It stops halfway through a third play.

"I," Hoseok says gracelessly. From his perch, Hyungwon smiles a half smile; and he's never been good at math, has no idea anymore of his chances -- odds for or against -- but he decides then and there, he wants to know. It's the bravest, stupidest thing he's ever done when he slides off the table, closes the tiny distance between them, leans down until they are nose-to-nose and says softly,

"You?"

Hoseok kisses Hyungwon like he'll never have the opportunity to ever again; he kisses him with his hands gripped at Hyungwon's waist to hold him there, hold him close, kisses him at all angles to his mouth, his jaw, the delicate dip of his clavicle and right over where his heart beats steady, doesn't realize he's shaking until he feels Hyungwon's arms around him, feels Hyungwon press his nose into his hair, hears Hyungwon say,

"Me too."

Hoseok's hands tighten and Hyungwon smiles and if his eyes are a little wet it's just rain; it's just relief; it's just: yes.

Thank the stars. it's yes. 

***

The rest of the stardrops go into the music box, and over a year later when everything seems lost, Hoseok finds it in Hyungwon's room next to a ring that Hyungwon never wore because he was afraid something would happen to it.

***

"You're doing it all backwards," Kihyun informs them.

"And whose fault is that?"

Kihyun laughs at Hoseok who isn't nearly as ruffled as he's pretending to be.