felix was somewhat regretting telling changbin to meet him. his nerves were through the roof - though he didn't know why. minho, the café owner's son (and also felix's cousin as he recently discovered after dissecting every marriage in the lee family), had made a promise to keep an eye on felix in case this guy wasn't who he said he was. that's not what he was anxious about, he knew that much. for some reason, he trusted the older. his gut told him changbin was a good person, and he didn't take that lightly. felix was extremely cautious about most people, but the boy had something about him that made him feel like a safe spot; it was an unexplainable trustworthiness.
felix made sure to get there earlier than he said he'd be so he had time to prepare via panicking. he checked and rechecked his hair a thousand times in the black of his phone screen. he hated his outfit the moment he stepped out the house despite feeling fine about it beforehand. felix was wearing a black beanie, ripped black skinny jeans, a grey baseball tee, a red zipper hoodie and some checkered vans. even though he knew his mind was just playing tricks, the nervousness persisted.
but, at the end of the day, his outfit choice wasn't what really mattered to him. changbin needed a hug and felix was not about to let him go hugless.
felix fiddled with his frothy, warm latte, allowing its smell to calm him. minho always made his with extra cream and a sprinkle of demerara sugar on top. not to mention, he got a tiny cookie on the house every time he ordered his latte. his booth was worn in, comfortable. it had a small, cosy table, and was close enough to the counter that you could smell the spices from the seasonal baking. it was one of his favourite places in the world - especially at this time of year.
suddenly, the sound of a bell grabbed his attention, pulling his eyes to the direction of the sound. changbin timidly walked through the door, scanning the room before locking eyes with the younger.
felix's grin grew wide as he made eye contact with the beautiful, dark haired boy. his heart beated in and out of rhythm, reacting to the pretty - slightly sad - smile being shot at him from across the room. a pit grew in his stomach as a light shade of pink rose to his cheeks. the way his body responded to just seeing the older in person was unprecedented and foreign to him. even though he swore to himself that he wouldn't stress for changbin's sake, felix couldn't help but worry about what hugging him would feel like.
the australian caught his cousin's eye and shot him a calm smile, hinting towards changbin so that minho would hopefully stop his concern. most of the time, minho and felix acted much more like friends than cousins. you'd couldn't tell that the pair were related at all at first glance. though, the younger was thankful for the moments the brunette's protective familial side shone past his friendliness. it made him feel taken care of and protected - both things he'd taken for granted in australia but craved ever since he left.
after ordering his black americano, changbin grabbed a sugar sachet and took his seat in front of felix who was still in awe over changbin's presence.
"hello," changbin started, nervously. he tried not to show it, but he was taken aback by how breathtaking the australian was. his smile was so bright, it gave the sun competition. he didn't remember seeing freckles in the photo felix had sent him - which made the impact of seeing them up close even greater. they delicately scattered themselves around his cheeks as if by intelligent design. the boy's hair was a faded purple and complemented his tanned, soft skin tone amazingly. his eyes were like their own cups of coffee. except, usually, you drink coffee. this coffee seemed to be drinking changbin, engulfing him entirely.
luckily, only 4 or 5 seconds of changbin staring at felix had passed before he realised what he was doing and quickly switched his attention to his own respective cup of coffee.
"hi..." felix breathed out in a low voice. it took everything in changbin to not show how much this baby's deep voice affected him. yes, he'd heard it before, but it was so much more shocking to hear in person. phone call just could not do justice to the quality of his voice.
"so..." changbin started, feeling a sudden surge of confidence along with the need to somehow lighten the atmosphere and fill the silence.
"do you come here often?" he winked, hoping to elicit some sort of reaction from the taller boy.
"oh my god," felix whined, trying not to smile. he clattered his elbows on the table and covered his beetroot cheeks with his tiny hands. "you literally just got here. stop flirting."
"gotcha," changbin laughed, holding his hands up in surrender.
"but, to answer your question, i come here all of the time. this is one of my favourite places," felix sipped his latte and licked the foam off his lips.
"i can see why," changbin giggled once again at his flustered reaction. the buff, mysterious, tough-looking guy, hosting every edgy stereotype under the sun within his appearance, giggling right in front of him. felix felt as if his cheeks were going to fall off from smiling too hard, but he didn't care. all that mattered to him was the older boy sat in front of him, laughing away. distracted, if only for a moment.
after a few seconds of them talking back and forth, felix suddenly remembered why he called the boy here. his heart felt heavy, recalling that his father pretty much grounded him for being gay. at 20 years old, the man was still being housebound by his dad. the fact that he was being punished for something he had no way to govern made felix feel even worse for him. he stood to his feet, letting his heart do the thinking before his brain could interfere.
"i believe i called you here for a hug," felix leaned by the table, waiting. changbin rolled his eyes, but felix could see him smiling as he shyly stood.
as soon as the boy was within arms distance of felix, he was scooped into an embrace. the first thing that smacked changbin in the face about the contact was the scent of strawberry shampoo which radiated from the younger. he had to stop himself from cracking up at the boy's choice in hair products. the second thing that changbin realised was that he was not typically a tactile person. he loved hugs more than any other skinship, yet he couldn't remember the last time he properly hugged someone. it was nice. warm. hesitantly, he hugged back, latching onto the younger's back.
"i'm so sorry you had to experience this," felix whispered, tightening his grip on the surprisingly shorter boy and lightly caressing his upper back.
with that, every emotion changbin had bashed down in the last few months began bubbling back up again. it's strange how a hug and a simple phrase is enough to shatter a facade which took years to build. he wasn't sure how much longer he'd be able to hold back, but he refused to break down in a café in the arms of someone he's technically never met before.
after a few seconds, they broke apart, returning to their seats and immersing themselves in conversation. the more they talked, the easier it became to relate to one another. while it didn't happen immediately, their personalities collided so gorgeously. there were no awkward silences between the pair after some time; all breaks in conversation were surprisingly comfortable. they clicked like magnets.
'maybe there was no reason to be nervous after all,' thought felix.
[a/n]
it's currently 1am while i edit this chapter because i sucked ass at writing 9 months ago-
who the hell told me i could write? lmao i had to add or correct something in every other paragraph :')
anyway i'm exhausted so uh, night night
~ o.s
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lamppost | changlix ✔
Fanfiction[EDITED!] unknown: hi just a tip, maybe don't put your number in weird places me: what the fuck and who the fuck? ♡ in which changbin finds felix's number on a lamppost in his street ♡ ㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡ • lapslock • will contain cursing • may not...
