cosmos

haneulih:

( . . . )

this was why he loved when haneul came over as much as did. the sweater, the enthusiasm, the lack of judgement. it was low stress and easy, what more could anyone ask for?

“realism,” he commented, amusement coloring both his tone and expression, as he picked a handful of the snowflakes up. the minute he’d seen them, he’d decided the balcony door was going to be covered in them, that way even if it wasn’t snowing outside, he could pretend it was. “are you going to make constellations, too?” 

if he wasn’t as proud as he was, yoongi would probably have christmas music on, and would, in all honesty, probably be humming to it as he decorated. if only he wasn’t so proud. as it was, he was still humming ‘it’s beginning to look a lot like christmas’ quietly as he made his way to haneul, snowflakes in hand. 

“just on the balcony,” he replied, a wide grin lighting up his face. something in haneul’s expression made him want to laugh, but he refrained, not wanting to run his decorating companion away so quickly. “so when it’s night time and snowy, i can sit outside.” 

there was just something about christmas lights that were comforting. maybe it was the color of the light, maybe it was what they represented, who knew. but he thought having them on the balcony sounded like the perfect way to really top things off. as he thought it, though, he remembered how cold it was outside, and that not everyone was insane. 

“i can do that bit on my own, don’t worry. i won’t subject you to the cold for the sake of decorating.”

haneulih:

( . . . )

Uui is careful with his gaze, it transitions smoothly from the coffee to his cake and up, to look at Haneul. He’s been told he tends to stare and staring can be unnerving or flattering depending on the person being stared at. He’s just observant and can’t help himself. So, he can’t help himself when he stares at the way Haneul switches his answers, escalating into the one that seems most fit and he gets the same feeling of when he’s flipping through a sketchbook - process.

“My schedule isn’t so busy today.” He smiles. Wider when the other laughs because hey, that’s pretty and he loves when he’s really hearing someone laugh for the first time. “No, that doesn’t sound boring.” He sips at the coffee first, then the milk, and then the tea - which he sticks with after the taste test, taking small, birdlike bites of the tart. “I usually have a few visitors a week so, really, I don’t mind anyone coming and going.”

Well. “As long as they’re not trying to take pictures.”

It takes him ten minutes to get halfway through the tart, savoring the chocolate mousse mixing pleasantly with the milk and coffee, the raspberries cutting through the sweetness nicely. “We could go now, if that’s okay with you? After I finish this up..” He gestures at the tea, the little blossoms settling at the bottom of the cup.

Haneul continues to watch Uui closely as he goes about what looks to be some kind of ritual of testing the three drinks before finally settling on one. He's not nearly as aware of how unnerving of an action it is as the other seems to be, however. His excuse is that he's simply curious, most things in the universe have an explanation; x happens because of the result of y and z combining. People, however, didn’t seem to follow the same formula and often times the reason for why the did the things they did was simply “just because” or “I don’t know.”

(Neither of which were ever a good enough answer for Haneul. There was always an itch in the back of his mind, always a little voice asking “but why?!”)

If there’s one thing that Haneul’s extended state of couch-surfing has him accustomed to, it’s various people coming and going when they please. Being a guest in someone’s home doesn’t really afford one much say in the happenings that take place in it. And despite how close he might have been with the friends he’s stayed with, he never once thought to invite anyone else over.

On top of the actual personal space he’d be getting, it’d be equally as nice to have someplace to comfortably spend time with people.

“That’d be weird.” The sentiment is mingled between quieter laughter and in the time that Uui takes to get through his tart, Haneul finishes the piece of bread in front of him and orders another — whether it’s because he’s actually hungry, or he’s just trying to expend anxious energy, it’s hard to tell.

(probably a little of both.)

haneulih:

( . . . )

He’s barely fazed. Of all the reactions he could have gotten, it’s actually quite mild and he smiles amiably back - an instinctive response. “That’s who I am.” It’s probably better that Haneul doesn’t quite remember him, easier without all the details of the past to complicate the present. However, from past experiences, Uui has learned there needs to be a careful balance of business versus casual in these situations.

“So…”

The warmth of the cafe has him shedding off his layers, mask first, coat next, he fidgets with his hat too before deciding to leave it on. There’s a pause in their conversation when the waitress comes by to take his coffee order - a medium roast pour over, a steamer, peach blossom tea, and a raspberry chocolate tart (less than his usual, he was really holding himself back).

“So, I have an empty room in my apartment. It’s probably about a half hour from campus.”

Uui arranges each cup the server brings in order, coffee first, milk, then the tea, all the handles aligned to the right. It looks leisurely, the way he does it, slow, gentle movements of his hands, fingertips tracing the rims of each mug.

“We can schedule a time for you to come around and take a look if you’re interested?”

haneulih:

( . . . )

this was yoongi’s least favorite part of the year, the part where it felt like it could snow, but didn’t. he had never seen the point in cold without snow, then it was just miserable outside with no positives. he could feel it in his toes that he’d been outside for a little too long just as he heard the door open. another drag from the cigarette, he didn’t like for people he knew to see him smoking much.

he couldn’t keep a faint smile off his face as he turned his head to look at haneul where he stood at the door to the balcony. “my plan is not to be able to tell it’s my apartment by the time we’re done,” he replied as he pushed himself out of the chair, cigarette put out and forgotten about. there were more important things than smoking. 

there wasn’t much he took the time to really think about, but he was very aware of how grateful he was to have haneul in his life, and that things between them were so easy. even if it meant that his winter wonderland would include a miniature galaxy. thinking about it, that would probably be a nice addition, really. star-gazing without any of the discomfort of being outside.

yoongi knew he took the holidays too seriously, but he couldn’t bring himself to care. growing up, his mom had stopped celebrating, so as soon as he moved out, he made sure to do as much as possible. he didn’t care about the holidays themselves, but more about the season and the happiness that they created in so many people.

“you just wanted a way to leave your mark, didn’t you?” he joked, dropping down on the couch, directly in the middle of the boxes of lights. immediately, he started picking boxes up, trying to find a particular one. he’d bought different kinds, and probably had really gone overboard. “should we save the icicle lights for outside or no?” he asked, looking up to make direct eye contact. 

even standing in the open doorway, haneul feels the cool chill of the air outside and he carefully pads backwards as yoongi finds his way back inside, closing the door behind him and sealing them inside of the much more comfortable heat of the apartment. "i don't think you'll have any problem with that." haneul gives a snort of laughter, tossing his bag of stars and planets into the mix of plastic snowflakes (ironically enough, most of which seem to exactly alike.) before shedding his coat -- dressed rather festively in deliberately tacky christmas sweater that included rockets, planets, and satellites right along aside its printed snowflakes, christmas trees, and santas.

(let no one ever say that jeong haneul didn't know how to dress for an occasion.)

(over dress, even sometimes.)

"think of it as providing a little bit of realism." haneul grins, all teeth and all the way to his eyes, following the other to the pile of lights.

(and, okay, maybe he did want to leave a little mark. especially if he was going to be the one pitching in to help with this endeavor. doesn't an artist always leave their signature somewhere?)

"i'll arrange some of them how they should be tonight."

haneul's head cocks to the side at the question, one of his brows arching high on his forehead -- nearly hidden under underneath the snapback that so rarely leaves the top of his head.  -- as he gives yoongi a questioning look. "we're putting lights outside, too?" he holds yoongi's gaze for a moment before then moving back and forth between it and the pile of lights.

@haneulih​

[ 19:23 ✉ ★h ] {attachment} you know you want to help [ 19:23 ✉ ★h ] they glow in the dark [ 19:24 ✉ ★h ] and i have the nasa youtube channel already open?

yoongi was pretty sure he didn’t have to bribe him to come, but it didn’t hurt to throw in an added bonus, right? especially when it wasn’t december yet and he was getting holiday decorations up already. it was the one time of year he really embraced his soft side. not that it really mattered, since no one from school that he didn’t trust would see this.

he’d had some american christmas music playing for about a week, and a lot of the time while he was home alone, he’d catch himself humming along. at least he was alone. once haneul got there, though, he needed to make sure to pay a little bit more attention to himself. 

all 15 packages of christmas lights were opened and tangled on the couch and there were a few boxes of glow in the dark snowflakes on the table, in front of his laptop, which was truly streaming a view of earth from space. he stared down at all of it and smiled to himself, before realizing how much he was overdoing it. it was good he’d shut himself down before he’d made cookies.

A roommate sounded like a good idea at first, at least, before he had to go through all the trouble of messaging every person on his contact list that he had the slightest bit of trust in. By the end of it he’s exhausted, on brink of a massive migraine, and ready to nap for the next ten hours. Too bad he scheduled the meeting at 4:45 PM and looking at his phone now, he needs to leave in the next ten minutes to get to cafe on time. The thing is, Uui doesn’t actually need a roommate. He’s got his internship, commissions, freelance works, which are all enough to keep him more than sustained even without the help of his parents. So the true, honest reality of it is how badly he deals with loneliness and filling the empty void (in the form of that extra bedroom in his apartment) seemed like the best solution at this point. It feels obnoxious and Uui really despises having to go incognito, but he’s still got a throbbing headache that’s threatening to grow with each added human contact so he’s got a cap and a mask and probably looks really suspicious. They’ve met before, just a few grazes here and there because of mutual friends, but it’s been awhile - maybe a few years now and as amiable as he’d been with all his ex’s friends, they’re not that friendly with one another. He smiles wide when he takes a seat, tucking down the black facial mask under his chin so it’s full on visible. “Hey, did you wait long?”