Ateez Stories & Imagines : A compilation

San • Flight Encounters • Request

Her hair stuck to the sides of her face as she hurried awkwardly down the middle aisle of the plane, her second flight of the day. 

Just five more hours and then you'll be there, Kali. 

She told herself, eyes sweeping left to right, checking every seat number for the one that matched what was printed on the ticket clasped in her sweaty fingertips. 

A rush of relief enveloped her when she finally found the glowing number and letter, very quickly washed away by her disappointment. Not only was it a middle seat, but her two seatmates were already comfortably in place, leaving her with no option but to politely ask the grumpy looking gentleman in the aisle seat to let her in. 

Just five more hours. 

Desperately she tried to squish herself into the smallest version of herself that she could become, tucking her elbows with painful determination to her side. She wasn't opposed to interacting with either one of her seat mates, but she didn't want to accidentally bump and interrupt them either. 

A soft, pitched, laugh carried to her ears an hour into the flight and her head snapped up, eyes darting to peer curiously through the darkened space between her to the boy sitting on the window side of her. He was giggling at his phone, the screen maybe the brightest thing in the cabin right now, lighting up the delicate features of his face. 

His hair, or what she could see by the light of his screen, was a dark gray colour and just a bit longer than most boys let their hair grow, the feathery ends stopping just a few centimetres above the collar of his shirt.

He glanced up when her gaze lingered on him, sparkling eyes catching hers with none of the hostility that she'd expected to find in a stranger being watched by another stranger. 

He lifted a slender fingered hand up, tugging one of his earphones out and offering her a smile, two deep dimples puncturing his cheeks deeply. 

"Hi." He grinned, making her blink rapidly, brain working overtime to process someone as gorgeous as him speaking to her.

"Hi!" She returned his smile cautiously, gaze darting back to his phone while his thumb dropped down to press pause on the video that he'd been laughing at. "Oh! Sorry, I didn't mean to distract you-" She waved her hand at him, shaking her head to indicate he could resume watching.

His eyebrows lifted and his mouth curved gently, corners lifting in a half smile. 

"It's alright, looks like dinner time anyway." He jerked his head, sending her gaze swivelling to the hostess handing the man on her other side a tray filled with food. None of it looked particularly appetizing to her, yet her stomach grumbled loudly in response to the sight. 

Another chuckle from beside her made her slap an arm across her stomach with an embarrassed huff, smiling in thanks to the hostess when she handed her a tray. The hoestess's blank stare warmed considerably when she noticed Kali's other seatmate waiting patiently, her plump lips curving in a way that Kali could only consider flirtatious. 

"Here you go," She cooed out, leaning ridiculously close to delicately place the tray in his outstretched hands. Kali bit hard on her lip, trying desperately to hold in her amused snort when the boy flashed her a confused and uncomfortable smile, followed by a hurried thanks. 

She waited patiently for the woman to move on to the next row to release the sound, burying it deep into the palm of her hand. 

"At least buy me dinner first," the boy sighed, glancing at her with amusement glittering in his irises, lips quirking. 

"She did." She pointed out, gesturing at his tray with a grin. He let out a soft snort, shaking his head. 

"Not quite what I meant." He chuckled, lifting the roll from beside the steaming bowl of rice on his tray and tapping it with his fingernail. She watched curiously as he proceeded to dig his nails into the bread, ripping it apart easily and stuffing half directly into his mouth. 

"Gross." She murmured, tone light, as she turned to face her own meal and pick at it, eating as much of the stale bread and rice mixed through with some sort of curry as she could before she pushed it away with a sigh. 

"Definitely not the best meal I've had." The boy hummed, drawing her gaze again to him. The cabin lights had been switched on now that everyone was eating and she could better see the feline like features of his face as he smiled lazily. 

"No," She agreed, nodding her head. There was a moment of silence in which she was sure he would pull his phone back out and return to whatever he had been watching until he leaned closer, lips parting around a stream of words directed at her. 

"So what are you doing on this plane?" For a moment she was caught between her shock at his question and her extroverted desire for casual conversation to fill the next 3 and a half hours. 

He answered his own question before she had even decided that she was going to answer him, leaning back in his seat and tucking his arms behind his head, fingertips lightly playing with the ends of his dark hair as he spoke. 

"I'm on my way to see my family for a month. Your turn." His eyes twinkled under the overhead lights and the dark sky blanketed the glass behind him like velvet. 

She smiled and nodded. 

What could it hurt? 

"I'm going to look after my sister." His smile faltered slightly, his eyes widening instantly in sympathy. 

"Is she okay?" 

"She's not well..." She swallowed heavily, trying to keep a semblance of cheer in her voice. "She's really not well and her husband works in the city away from her so much.. she's all alone and I worry about her." 

"Oh gosh, I'm sorry." He said quietly, warm eyes holding hers sincerely, understanding swimming in them. "I hope she gets better, and I'm sure she's going to appreciate having you around." 

Despite the heaviness laying over her heart and clogging her throat, his kindness made her lips twitch in a smile. He'd barely known her longer than two hours, less if she went off of their interactions rather than simply being sat beside one another, and yet he was offering her words of comfort with more genuinity than people she'd known her entire life had been able to summon. 

"So why are you going to see your family for a month? That's a long time." She prodded, lifting a brow at him. His mouth curved upwards instantly, warmth almost radiating off of him. 

"I just haven't seen them in a while, I figured I might as well get as long in with them as I can." He was nearly bouncing in his seat with excitment, a faraway look in his eyes. "I haven't seen my niece and nephew since they were little, I'm so excited to see them again." 

His happiness was nearly contagious and she had to look away to hide her grin, finally relaxing a little into her seat. 

Maybe the next few hours wouldn't be so bad.