lamppost | changlix ✔

cincuenta y uno

"remember, you nervous wreck," felix smiled playfully as the place home to all of his childhood memories came into view. he's be thrilled to show changbin around town some more once they'd settled in a little bit. "just be you and you'll be fine, trust me. if i love you, they will, too."

"yeah... shouldn't be too hard, right? just be me," changbin recited to himself, adjusting the collar of his white button up. the younger rolled his eyes when he saw the older nervously fiddle with his shirt yet again. in their shared hotel room, the shorter spent an unreasonably long 10 minutes cuffing and uncuffing his sleeves. trying to convince changbin that his sleeve length made no difference was a complete waste of felix's time, no matter how true it was.

felix's parents cared so little about their own son's presentation that the thought of them being concerned with anyone else's was laughable to the younger. before they left their room, felix rolled his partner's sleeves back down to his wrists, knowing it'd be colder than changbin anticipated due to it being autumn. changbin's health and comfort mattered more than his appearance to the australian every day of the week, special occasion or not.

"you got it, baby," felix chuckled, "you don't need to be so insecure - certainly not around me or my weird ass family. we have no right to judge anyone."

turning onto the rows of houses he still knew like the back of his hand, felix felt a wave of sentiment wash over him. the first thing the younger's gleaming eyes caught hold of was the back of long, bright blue hair, partially covered by a familiar beanie - which he remembered buying for himself a couple of years ago and mysteriously went 'missing' when he got home. decidedly ignoring her theft, he noticed the younger female had a book in her hands. felix smiled to himself, glad that emma hadn't fearfully jettisoned her interests in high school as he came so close to doing himself. he knew firsthand how easily the education system could lay waste to your individuality regardless of how resilient you are - especially in year 8, for most.

even still, after being bashed and ostracised for her differences, they remained distinct as ever - even from a distance. the younger girl held her eccentricities to her heart, and simultaneously displayed them proudly like a peacock would its feathers. in contrast to the way felix had reacted to school bullies, emma refused to dampen her own flame to fuel those of others. she always seemed to stand up and dust herself off whenever she was beaten down. as much as he hated to admit it, felix looked up to his younger sister's mental strength. sure, they may bicker and argue and annoy each other to death, but there was always something to admire about one another. their current relationship was that of unspoken mutual reverence. vocalising their thoughts felt inappropriate to the pair, so both continued their reciprocal wordless nod of appreciation. this was decidedly something better shown rather than said.

"that's emma in the garden," felix whispered with a grin, "let's surprise her?"

changbin allowed a cheeky smile to sweep away his tense expression, nodding lightly. felix's temperate demeanour bled into the older boy's less tranquil one gradually - in steady increments of pretty smiles, light jokes and words of comfort. the more time he spent with the younger, the more infectious his easy-going poise became.

felix pulled changbin along the path lined with familiar fences of old neighbours' homes with a sinister snicker. the sight of his former neighbourhood ignited the inner child within the australian. it was nice for the older to see every stressful speckle of responsibility escape his lover for a while. everyday struggles and concerns were nowhere to be found in his eyes, and they were resident to an adorable, childlike mischief instead. he took note of such behaviour, making a mental list of things which might provoke the same response for future use.

as they approached, felix slowed down and held his hand over changbin's chest, hinting at him to stop walking. the younger began creeping his hand over his old brown picket fence. he was cautious so that its shadow wasn't visible to his blissfully unaware sister who was still immersed in her novel.