VENUS

@ravrose

seungcheol remembers when he first came to hogwarts. the people were excited as their footsteps resonated in the compressed hallways. robes clinging from loose frames as their child-like innocence bounced of their voices. the first and second years were always the kids whose presence was the most memorable. all because new friendships were built from scratch, each one becoming greater than others. for him, he met several people who impacted his life positively once the awkward encounters were done. in those moments, he met people such as his ride and die and his best pal who played dead best. yet, one of the most memorable people was none other than rose. the little girl with a shy nature.

her lips pursued as her arms grasp books whose titles were too difficult for him to pronounce. but, he never expected his curiosity would push him to grab the said book and decide to make friendship. it was his mistake when he fell in the way where he wasn’t able to differentiate between love and friendship. well, he could. he could very well. he seen plenty of girls fall in and out of his relationship with him. yet, he never attempted to try with rose. he decided to simply drown with the excuse of not letting go when her eyes wandered to the male whose reputation reeked. but, such thought has come to fade as the years go by and he catches the fragments of her broken heart. as he complies those pieces in his palm, he rebuilds them with the emotion that friendship involved in. regardless of her heart almost being built up, there was solely one piece missing from her spirit. he knew that much because her soul has become tangible to the point he was able to read it in fragments.

there was one fragment obvious enough for him to catch, it was the search for a new love or a found one. seeing such message transcend through her smiles towards her actions whose tenderness returned. even if he knew such, there was an impulse to become selfish for once. even if it didn’t work out in the end. being selfish for this wouldn’t be bad. not when her heart still scorched and lurched between the gaps. it was the night where his graduation night has fallen and he was ready to let out his heart free for once.

even if the small thought passed through his system, god what if she likes you? you are leaving for italy tomorrow.

it’s already morning and the sun was greeting him. there’s melancholy roaming in the air of his dorm. screams were exchanged as there was a boisterous way to announce how their friendships would prevail adulthood. with calloused palms pressed against his back, the slaps loud enough to cause their teachers run to the source. but, there’s only laughter following it alongside a few tears escaping from the juniors whose sleeve were etched.

once the teacher announce their graduation and destinations, seungcheol sees how many people are crying. he wonders if he will join them, if he will join them once he wins this war or he finishes it with bruises and satisfaction. (but he knows he won’t, not when people stared and his heart sang hymns.) after seeing her bid farewell to her older friends he assumes she will see later, he walks up to her. there’s a smile clasping in his features, the previous sad thought nowhere to be seen in his visage.

he sees her radiation lessen down, it may be because all the farewells were accumulating within her. but, it didn’t change the fact that it was his day. it was the time to take his leap just like icarus did once he flied towards the sun.

“cheol, congratulations!” she greets him, her tone immersed with a nostalgic sadness as he reciprocate her actions. before he gave her the opportunity to ask more, his fingers were already reaching out for her petite fingers.

“so, we are both going different ways now, aye? it is a bit sad seeing my best friend stay here while i go into another part of the world.” he whines.

he hears her peak a small laugh, “it is. but we will see each other, right?” he catches how her eyes are gleaming as if the stars are embedded in the small hope towards their platonic relationship.

“you are right. but, i am hoping to see you with a different sight. you know rose, i always been in love with you. saying this to you might sound pathetic because we are done with our time here. so, how about we date?” he starts off, there’s a smile of mockery plastered in his features. ones who call out his foolish behavior.

“just like the foolish icarus who flew, just like the foolish man who makes the stupid decision to confess right now. don’t answer me now. let me just tell you one thing.” he releases her hand and gives a her a small velvet box. there was a small silver bracelet from the store his sister told him to buy.

“let me see you again even if it isn’t in the eyes of a lover.” seungcheol feels he sees it again, the image of the small boy who pushed his interests aside to like the pretty girl’s one and make her a bit more comfortable. the small second year who gave him a bit of courage. in that moment, he thanked her for being so nice.

“please let wait for you till you graduate. till then, tell me if you want to date.”

this time, he thanks her for being my first love.

Bittersweet indeed. 

“Cheol, congratulations!” She had launched herself at him, teary laughter and all. Trying her very best to commit his warmth and distinct scent into her memory, for even though summer is a welcome distraction -- he wouldn’t be waiting back by the Gryffindor table come September, with his stupid smile and arms open wide. No, he would be in Italy or travelling the world, doing what he must, whilst she in turn must wait her turn. 

“Of course we’ll see each other again!” Incredulous all round, her lips pulled down into a small pout as she landed a small smack on his arm -- truly offended that he even thought of asking the question in the first place. For if there is one person she would make sure to keep in touch with, it’s the strange boy who came to er with his sunshine smiles and bright eyes, the boy who pulled her eyes away from her books and made her laugh, smile, in a place where she knew no one and felt the most alone. 

He became her warmth then, and he enveloped her being with all the comfort and most beautiful attention there is. For she believed that being under his gaze would ward off rain and storm better than any umbrella ever would. Choi Seungcheol is the protector she didn’t deserve, one she could never atone for. 

He far too good for her. Always. 

It’s too bad that he couldn’t see it. 

“Cheol?” 

Speechless and stunned, she could do nothing but accept the small velvet box, not even daring to crack it open to see what’s inside -- her eyes are focused on his, and the rest of the world blurred in comparison. Her worst fear and most fervent wish came true, for they are one and the same. 

Now she’s torn between jumping into his arms and letting him walk away -- for once in her life, no logical reasoning could help her. 

Her heart had been broken beyond repair, and in his loveliness, with all of his love; Choi Seungcheol placed it back together piece by piece, unknowingly making it beat solely for him. How could she possibly see another in his place? But Roseanne had bit her tongue and sat stock still with that realization, for it became apparent that this was her burden to bear. A beautifully kind boy like him doesn’t deserve a defective product, no matter how prudent the feelings of pity were. 

What she wasn’t prepared for is the current conversation; how he had her in his heart before she was ever broken, how she was living under a loving gaze that did not belong to the boy who had broke her. Could it be that the warmth she had felt all this time were the one propelled by the soft graces of his protection? 

It was with a deeply painful clench of her heart did she finally decided. 

The feeling of his skin against her’s, the simple touch of fingers -- Roseanne’s heart began to burst into symphony. For this had always been love, and this will always be happiness. 

Now, she flittered mercifully whole once more. 

“It was you all along.” 

Fingers laced together, there were nothing but stars reflected in his irises -- for then, he became her moon, stars, and sun. ( All the light in her life in one being. ) Rose slowly rose to her full height, coming up to her tiptoes to place the softest kiss on his cheek. Unsatisfied, she disentangled her fingers from his to place on either side of his face. ( All the light in her life in her grasp. ) Her lips found his in a second, and all the warmth of the world tingled through her fingers and limbs. ( All the light in her life sweetly tasted on her tongue ). 

There were no words. There needn’t be but one, and it was the happiest, most sincere word she had ever said in her short life so far. For it was love; overflowing. 

“sounds like you had a blast,” she chuckled, feeling like an even bigger loser for missing out on so much action. it all sounded very wild and fun to her, like a romantic, action-packed tv movie that deserved an emmy. of course, rose was rose, and lisa was lisa. and rose’s yule night could have been a B-rated feature on Lifetime and lisa–her one-woman fanclub–would have still nominated it for best picture.

“well… everyone has their good points and bad points, right?” lisa said, finally considering the possibility that rose might not be the best role model for Being A Great Judge of Character. 

(there goes the dry wall–chipping away.)

“so… how are you doing now?”

“Does it really sound that way?” Rose contemplated, scrunching her nose at the plethora of unpleasant memories that she would have to associate with that night. It easily outweighed the good, but she tried not to focus too much on train-wrecks and sloppy tears. 

“Yes well-- some have worse points than others.” She pointed out, unnecessarily so. It seems like Lisa did not need an type of advice from her, it wasn’t like she was the one stuck in petty fights and B-rated drama. “Maybe I should hire you to do all the people judging for me... I don’t think I particularly have the knack of making sound decisions for myself.” 

he laughed, keeping one hand on her arm to keep her steady and using the other to part her hair. he brushed the strands behind her ear and put everything back in place as if no one had ever told him about the story of Humpty Dumpty–how he sat on a wall, had a great fall, and how all the king’s horses and all the king’s men couldn’t put humpty dumpty back together again.

but king kyle was exactly the type to send all his horses and men to try anyway.

“i’d like to think it’ll do me some good,” he teased further, offering his other hand for her to take so they could sway back to the beat and she could have more support if ever her knees decided to give out. he laughed, and swayed with her to the rhythm, and twirled her around with all the carefulness of one tipsy person dancing with a slightly tipsier person.

“of course i mean it–just like how i meant i’d get your bike back from that big old playground bully, remember? tom never stole another bike after that.”

Being with him was as easy as she could remember. Little Rosie had followed Little Kyle everywhere, as if he was her knight and her shield, she felt somewhat fearless being in his presence. He did the job back then; he had chased all her demons away and filled her mind with images of him as a king, and her playing along as his queen. 

“Oh well it’s not like I feel anything for you now.” She whined lightly, taking his hand in hers and giggled as she twirled back into his arms. Little Rosie would be proud of her for not dropping completely to her knees, but current Rose was too busy trying to convince current Kyle that she’s decidedly not the little girl who followed him around anymore. 

“I think he’s quite scared of you! It’s because you came after me like a knight in shining armour!” Rose laughed, smiling up at him with all the ease in the world. She even swept in to a playful little curtsey in the middle of the song before taking back his hand in hers. 

“a crush? on me?” he said, eyebrow raised and grinning, seeming equal amounts surprised and amused by this grand revelation. he entertained her for kyle was the self-declared eraser in the big messy etch-a-sketch that was life. it was a sickness, really–the chronic need to make people feel better, the automatic reaction of handing himself over as a rag to wipe away problems with.

“how embarrassing, rosie,” he teased her, chuckling, staying right on the beat where they’d fallen. “i’m kidding. i remember that day. you were the prettiest girl on the block. for a hundred blocks, actually. i remember thinking your smile looked like the sun. and i thought, man that girl must be cool if she’s anything like the sun, i want to know her name.

you were all… big brown eyes and pretty little nose and–it was winter so you had red cheeks. just like roses,” a sway, a rose, quiet permission slips slipped between glances and a kiss to the cheek. deja vu. the more time he spent with her, the more he felt like his old self. she was close, close enough that the air filled with the fragrance of her skin and the alcohol in their breaths. it was a warm, pleasant feeling–and this time, not one caused by the liquor.

a beat, a glance, a little smile to say it’s alright. a laugh to say this is happiness. “still are. the prettiest girl for a hundred blocks.”

It was as if she just couldn’t stop. 

“As if you didn’t know!” She gasped mockingly back, a cheerful chime of a laugh spilling out of coral lips. Tipsy Rose spoke as if she wont remember in the morning, as if the warm glow on the apples of her cheeks did not serve as a reminder for her to stop talking. “Why else would I ever follow you around?” 

Roseanne felt her scarlet cheeks then, only to have them sear even warmer at the sound of his words. She burrowed her glowing face right on to the sturdy expanse of her chest, embarrassed not at her own admission, but at the all too flowery words that were directed at her. Her body swayed languidly to the music, but her cheek stayed pressed just under his shoulder. In her hazy state she was convinced that he could not sense her embarrassment if she only did not look him in the eye. 

“oh, yes. he was a fine young gentleman. he swept me off my feet and stole me away to a secret cabaret–promise you won’t tell papa,” she replied, mocking an old hollywood accent, chuckling. “i’m kidding. i danced so much my ankles were throbbing, then my brother shoved me into bed with a glass of chocolate milk and a bedtime story about The Poky Little Puppy.

“what about you?” she steered the conversation, sounding ever-invested in all of rose’s stories. “how was your night?”

Roseanne giggled, a palm mover laughing lips as she threw her head back in glee. Lisa would never fail to make her laugh, even in the most austere of moments-- and it seemed like she knocked her loneliness right out of her mind. “You’re adorable! Although I do think that you’re a little too old for The Poky Little Puppy?” She smiled delicately, running small fingers through her newly golden hair. 

her diverted gaze – despite only lasting an insignificant moment – presented to him a dilemma: he did not want to let go of her hand, nor did he want to remove his palm from the small of her back. but so long as her attention was on him, he gathered that this was enough. she was not obligated to remain with him, after all, and neither was he committed to her. it was amusing, at the very least, that a relationship borne out of mutual, physical desire could allow for something more…wholesome. 

“is that so?” at least, it kept his mind off of certain things. if he sought anyone else, then he was sure to find the someone he’d particularly been avoiding. not now; not yet. he would let her enjoy her night and, at its close, would fittingly ask her to dance. besides, it would be impolite to abandon his current dancing partner in favour of another. “then we have sorely been deprived of each other’s company all these years,” he commented, smiling as he did, slowly becoming more comfortable in disclosing his less-than-exciting interests. to rose, it was riveting – it appeared to yixing that his intellectual pursuits left that impression – and, though it could have been any other ravenclaw, he doubted that any of them could be as pleasant company as roseanne park. “we should definitely talk more. not over the holidays – i’m sure you’re busy – but…after?” charm – he remembered it, despite his sour mood, “unless i’ll be stealing you away from seungcheol again. i don’t want to be too greedy with the amount of dates i’ll be taking you on.”

Sometimes she thought of the possibility of never letting Song Yixing go, impossible as it were -- she could not help but let her mind wander. He was good looking enough, more than just interesting, a perfect gentleman ( as far as she knew ), it seemed like he ticked all of her boxes. Too bad Roseanne Park cared too much about what the heart wants rather than objective lists of positives and negatives. And it seems like her heart did not choose Song Yixing, and his ( as far as she could tell ) did not choose her. 

Her eyes trailed off even whilst she was spun around in his arms, eyes searching for a pair of others-- a familiar pair that she wasn’t aware that she had missed dearly. 

this was more her area; yixing rarely engaged in intellectually stimulating conversations, and when he did, they most often ended in arguments. there weren’t many people to talk to about this, anyway; he was much too reserved, in his own way, to disclose any interests that extended past either polite flirting or insufferable, misunderstood silence-as-snobbery.

“you’re right again,” he agreed, much more enthusiastically now that the alcohol had warmed him up. he liked this: a conversation neither completely in her domain nor is it completely in his. somehow, they had reached some sort of middle point; yixing almost didn’t want to look at the time, and only when she gave a hum of thought did she look away, pulling his sleeve up slightly to check the time on his wrist, and took one last swig. “would you care to continue this conversation over dinner? — unless you want to return to the castle for it, i reckon they have decent food here, too.“

She could not believe that she was sitting in a pub across from Song Yixing like this, the boy she previously knew as the Slytherin Quidditch captain and general heartthrob -- and more recently, the boy who had taken her breath away when the sun disappeared ( the boy who she had secretly called her lover that one night amidst hazy fumes ). But there they were, giggling about terribly serious things -- all bright eyes and warm cheeks. Far away from preconceived notions and what ever their previous opinions of each other were, they were just Rose and Yixing, laughing about plants and politics over beer. 

(’ shifting from foot to foot, he looks about ready to bolt himself. he knew he shouldn’t have mentioned the ring ) oh… you know, just a ring. (’ he almost stops at that, but this is rose and he knows her and he knows she should never take that for a simple answer ) my grandmother’s to be exact (’ what would be wonderful right now if for him to shut up and just leave, but from past supporting evidence, he just doesn’t know how ) see, it was her engagement ring an’ i was gonna give it to  you even though i know we’re a bit young and all. i was gonna give it to you to hold because… well, at that point it was gonna end up on your finger anyway. (’ he pauses, looking awkward and like he wants to say more, but he keeps his mouth shut until ) … i mean… it’s… not now… but…. i had…… intentions (’ and max lets that hang, shoving his hands into his pockets and looking anywhere but at rose, anywhere that isn’t eye contact because you could physically cut the tension at the moment ) it was in the box, but i had to take it out… for obvious reasons, but…. i hope your cat likes the…. toys. they jingle…. 

a good enough reason to miss my train, rose.

wool mittens are folded neatly on top of this smooth suitcase. his scarf is wrapped loosely around its handle. his winter coat lays over the arm of a couch, his body seating itself gently into the cushions’ embrace. wonwoo’s warm layers were shed from his slender frame the moment he crossed into the ravenclaw common room. the heat pulsing from the brightly lit fireplace, along with the aromatic steam slowly rising from the two mugs he holds carefully in his large hands, will help to melt the young man’s chilly demeanor as he sits and waits.

meetings like these were nothing new between him and rose. although, springs were tea and promises; summers were lemonade and laughter; and autumns were cider and sighs. winters ( and oh, he really liked their winters ) called for coffee and conversation. wonwoo was ready to go back home, all packed up with light eyes and a light heart, but he believed that the seasons just didn’t begin until they had a chance to catch up.

Thank Merlin Wonwoo decided to see her before leaving for the break-- she would miss his quiet presence, his expressive eyes. And it certainly helped that she had a present to give him all wrapped and ready. It wasn’t something that she was sure he would appreciate, but with his curiosity and perceptive nature, she could only hope that it would be a somewhat interesting read. 

she’s all too ready for a break, not knowing just how much she actually needed one until her friend mentions it. dancing for hours in heels had taken it’s toll on her feet, though she’s hardly one to complain — not when it makes her legs look longer and her butt look better. she looks around for some place to set, pointing to some bench and nodding toward it. “let’s go there?”

there’s a whole night in front of them, and an array of classmates waiting for both of them, but jisoo always knew the advantages of taking some time off, and of just talking to one of her closest friends on what was always made out to be one of the most magical nights of their lives.

“so tell me everything!” she chirps as she walks away from the crowd. “who have you danced with? anyone cute? anyone you had to reject?” there’s, no doubt, an entire army of boys who want to dance with rose, for obvious reasons, and jisoo has always been interested in these things, looking at her friend with a kind of playful, questioning gaze. “i saw you with seungcheol. how is he? a perfect date?”

Roseanne had let herself be dragged away by her old friend, teetering dangerously in her too-tall heels ( “Thank you so much, Annie” ) and certainly swollen ankles -- she lamented this last fact with a sullen little look to her legs, endlessly thankful that her dress fell well below the offending area. They settled down, Rose trying not to slump unceremoniously as her friend chattered on, the familiar cheerful babble that her ears had always welcomed. 

Tucking newly golden locks behind her ear, she smiled bashfully at her endless array of questions. “I had a turn with a few friends; Jun and Kris-- ...y’know my team-mates-- Then a dance with Yixing...” She murmured quietly, counting off the names with slender fingers, a pretty smile gracing coral coloured lips. “Although I did spend most of the night with Seungcheol...” Rose added as an afterthought, eyes automatically flickering around the room to find him dancing with a friend. She lifted her hand in a small wave as their eyes met, a brilliantly bright smile on her face.