Secret Stars and Summer Wishes [ 5/5 ]
Title: Secret Stars and Summer Wishes
Pairings: Sehun/Suho
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: I don't own anything, written just for fun.
Summary: Sehun has been looking forward to spending time with his nephew Tao, but his summer break plans did not include volunteering alongside the (cute) kindergarten teacher, Joonmyun.
Warning: language, side Chanyeol/Kyungsoo, side Lu Han/Sunyoung, kid!Tao, kid!Kris, kid!Infinite, +a few other Kpop singers and SM Town people sprinkled on for good measure
A/N: Originally posted for the 2015 round of Ohunlimited. I haven’t taught preschool for ages so please forgive my inaccuracies. Have a song, have a gif, have some love <3 (and thank you to Holly for the beta!)
"Looks like you're making progress." Yixing slides another page to the back of the stack. His finger slides across the few bars scribbled at the top as he scans the last part Sehun accomplished this week.
"I guess?" It sure doesn't feel like much, considering Sehun still has to complete another movement before he can call it quits, and he should probably add another reprise before he slaps on a coda. Not that he really cares at this point, because the sun highlighting the dust motes floating in the room is too hot and too bright and about to give Sehun another headache.
"Why don't you give it a rest for a day and just take a walk."
"A walk to where," Sehun snaps, but he's already sliding from his stool to drag his feet to the door. He doesn't want to go anywhere except back to bed, but he's too restless to be productive while trapped in the music room with Yixing for the third day in a row.
"It's almost dinner time. How about you walk to that chicken place on the corner and bring me back some food?"
Sehun sneers at Yixing's grin and stuffs his music score in the folder sticking out of his backpack. "Give me your wallet first, hyung, and then maybe I'll consider it."
"Unsupervised shopping with someone else's credit card, hmm," Yixing muses. The pads of his fingers squeak against the frets of his guitar as he fingers the strings in a silent progression of chords. "Maybe not."
"Fine." Sehun shoulders his back and slips his phone in his pocket. "I guess I'll just go home, then. See you tomorrow, or whatever."
"Mmhm, be safe." Yixing waves Sehun through the door as it shuts behind him.
Sehun isn't tired but he finds himself spacing out on the subway, as if he's pulled a few all nighters and is in desperate need of some heavily sweetened coffee. Well, he has spent several sleepless nights this week, but not because he's been productive. His apartment just feels too...big. It’s kind of empty without Tao's quiet sighs and mumbled dreams to help him drift off to sleep.
Even the music room feel too quiet with only Yixing's lazy humming providing the soundtrack instead of Jonghyun's hyper laughter and Qian's narration of every bite of food that goes in her mouth during lunch time. And, okay, yes, Sehun also misses talking to Joonmyun on the playground about cello strings and children and what kind of jobs he might apply to next year. He especially misses Joonmyun's smile, the way his lips curl up at the edges and the corners of his eyes crinkle inwards as he lifts his chin and--
"Hello?" Sehun answers his phone on the second ring, drawing a few glares from the other passengers because he forgot to turn the ringer to silent. Fortunately the train is just pulling into his station so Sehun slips through the doors and jogs up the steps of the escalator.
"Hey!" It's Lu Han, and Sehun can hear Tao's voice singing along to the radio in the background.
"Oh hey, what's up?"
"We were just wondering if you had time to come over for dinner this week? Maybe on Friday?"
"Oh, uh, sure," Sehun says, squinting into the glare of the setting sun as he steps off the escalator. He hurries to climb the last few stairs and merge into the shade lining the the sidewalk.
"Sunyoung said you might be busy this weekend since your classes start on Monday, so if you really don't have the time just text and let us know, ok?"
"Thanks, but I think it's fine." Sehun twists to check the street sign over the intersection, still squinting in confusion. He exited the station on autopilot, paying more attention to Lu Han than which number gate he went out of. He climbed the stairs at exit 3, but the dental clinic on his right isn't the CU that was at the end of his neighborhood street when he left this morning.
"Ok! That was all! I won't keep you from your exciting student-life escapades."
"Escapades?" Sehun snorts and turns around again, still trying to get his bearings. This street definitely looks familiar, but--
"Bye bye, hyung! See ya later!" Tao's voice yells in Sehun's ear.
"Bye, Taozi!" Sehun manages to say right before Lu Han hangs up.
Sehun puts his phone away and then he realizes where he is, at the station close to Tao's kindergarten and still several stops away from his apartment building. He sighs, glancing down the steps he just climbed. As long as he's here he might as well--maybe if he hurries he can still catch Joonmyun in the classroom.
Sehun breaks into a sprint, grateful he wore his trainers today and not his sandals. The echo of the pavement is hard against his feet, the vacuum of nerves sucking his eardrums dry except for the pound of his heart and the rasp of his breath as he runs. His calves are burning in complaint by the time he hits the shallow hill that leads up the school building, and Sehun lunges through gate when he reaches the yard.
The front door is still open. The lights are still on in the front office but the metallic taste of not enough oxygen coating Sehun’s tongue laced with a hint of fear propels him down the hall as fast as his shaking legs will carry him.
201--208--213--there.
"Hey, wait!" Sehun's breaths push past his dry lips in a tumble that matches the errant rhythm of his speeding heartbeat but Joonmyun hears him, turning with the key in his hands.
"Sehun? What happened! What's going on?" Joonmyun pushes the door back open and grabs the nearest chair. It's his desk chair, and he wheels it to the doorway.
"Thanks, sorry," Sehun gasps and collapses onto the seat. The chair swivels under the force of his weight aligning their shoes at the tips, Sehun's dangling sneakers shifting just centimeters above the polished leather of Joonmyun's oxfords. Sehun stares for a moment at the contrast of their twisted laces as he catches his breath with his head bobbing between his knees.
"Did you forget something?" Joonmyun says finally, rubbing at a scratch on the speckled floor with the toe of his shoe. "If you came for Tao, I'm afraid you're a bit late. Lu Han already came by during pick up."
"Yeah, he just called me." Sehun lifts his eyes, his neck muscles straining against gravity of his head that feels twice it's normal weight, still pounding with the blood and adrenaline racing through his veins.
"I'm here to talk to you, actually."
"Oh?" Joonmyun shifts back, crossing his ankles as he leans against the door frame.
"Yeah, I've been thinking, and--and stuff,” Sehun pants, his breath coming a little easier now, “and I guess I really miss coming here. And the kids." And you, mostly you.
"Ah," Joonmyun nods, and his hair ruffles up in back against the slide of the wooden frame. "You know, if you really like volunteering here you can always apply to be a regular." He tilts his head, narrowing his eyes in thought as he meets Sehun's gaze. "We have classes on weekends if that would be more convenient for your schedule, but you should probably come back on Monday and talk to Choa about that. I don't work weekends, so I'm not sure on the details."
Sehun gulps down another gasp of oxygen, nodding impatiently at Joonmyun as he fights for the right words to make it out of his mouth through the jumble of things his mind is throwing at him to say. Joonmyun is still staring at him, a not-quite-a-smile tugging at his lips.
"I'm not--" Sehun licks his lips, his tongue dry and thick against the rough skin. "I'm not here to talk about that though. I might be interested in volunteering, but--" His heart flutters and his eyelids flutter and Sehun tries his best to keep his voice from fluttering as he forces out the last few words, "but I'm more interested in you?"
Joonmyun's eyes fly open and Sehun's face heats even redder and hotter than his mad dash from the station left him. He meant to say more interested in talking to you, but oh well, as long as he's said it. There's no backing down now.
"So...does this mean you have time for that coffee date now?" Joonmyun asks, moving forward until the tips of his shoes kiss the rubber toes of Sehun's sneakers. Sehun’s feet are flat on the floor now, his legs spread and straddling the chair. Joonmyun wets his lips with the pinkest hint of tongue and leans in to trace the curve of Sehun's brow with the tip of his finger.
"Yes," Sehun says, and he hopes there isn't too much sweat beading on his forehead right now. "But I demand you kiss me first."
That earns him the first real smile he's seen from Joonmyun today. “I’ve been waiting for you to say that,” Joonmyun breathes, “ever since you decided to stay.” Before Sehun can catch another breath Joonmyun's cool fingers cup the sides of his face, tilting his chin with the press of his thumb to draw their lips together. Sehun slips his fingers around the band of Joonmyun's belt and tugs him forward until Joonmyun is straddling his lap on the rolling chair in the dark hallway.
They both freeze for a moment, Sehun’s mouth going dry when his brain catches up with his fingers and he realizes how close they are, how warm Joonmyun’s thighs feel perched on the edge of his knees, how large Joonmyun’s eyes loom on his field of vision, wide and dark with surprise. “Sorry,” Sehun mumbles, bracing his feet against the floor to to shift back, to find some breathing space, but there’s nowhere to go. The chair just scoots further into the hallway.
"You know, I really like your eyebrows," Joonmyun whispers against Sehun's lips before leaning up to press a kiss over each one. His fingers tremble against the curve of Sehun’s shoulder, then move to cup Sehun’s jaw with tentative fingers. "Didn't you notice me staring at them?"
"I dunno," Sehun sighs, biting back a groan as Joonmyun's hips shift on his lap. He digs his fingers in deeper at the sides of Joonmyun's waist, savoring the subtle shift of firm muscle he can feel through the cotton of his dress shirt. "I don't notice a lot of things, apparently." Sometimes he has to step on them or get off at the wrong stop to see them.
"As long as you notice me," Joonmyun says, and Sehun shivers at the dark purr of his voice that sounds nothing like the cheery tone he uses to hand out cheese crackers.
"That," Sehun pants, leaning up to taste more of Joonmyun's pink mouth, "is easy."
"Oh?" Joonmyun nuzzles along the arch of Sehun's cheekbones, their noses bumping when he sucks Sehun’s bottom lip in between his teeth.
"Fuck yes." Sehun can't breathe in oxygen fast enough for his brain to keep up with all of the things he's noticing right now, the dark hint of spice in the waves of Joonmyun's soft hair and the plastic slide of the buttons on the fronts of their shirts as he pulls their chests together. "You were the first thing I noticed when I walked in here two weeks ago."
"Should I be flattered?" Joonmyun is breathless now too, and that just makes the affection fluttering around in Sehun's chest spill over into a waterfall that floods all the way down to his stomach. "Or was I having a bad hair day?"
"Have you ever had a bad hair day?" Sehun snorts, his voice cracking as he laughs. He tightens his hold around Joonmyun's waist as he spins them in the chair. "I think you probably were born with perfect hair."
"I think I was born bald," Joonmyun says, and they both laugh against each other's lips as the chair twirls to a stop, facing into the empty classroom.
The star poster is still on the wall and the light from the hall catches on some of the patches of glitter from the dangling wishes.
"So did it work?"
"Hm?" Joonmyun wraps a section of Sehun's stiff hair around one of his fingers, smoothing down the short strands with the pad of his thumb.
"The star wishes," Sehun repeats. His voice comes out in a whisper, maybe because it's getting darker in the hall as the hint of sunlight behind the drawn curtains in the classroom fades, or maybe because he wants to hear every breath from Joonmyun’s lips. "Do you think they came true?"
"Mine did," Joonmyun says, and he tilts Sehun's face up for another kiss. "Or maybe it was Sungyeol's star ball. Either way, I wished for you."
+++ +++ +++
Joonmyun is holding Sehun's hand and Sehun is sliding the soft locks of Joonmyun's hair through his fingers while they wait for the subway. The station isn't crowded, but there are clumps of people waiting at each of the queue lines, scrolling on their phones or zoned out with their earbuds in. A few turn their heads to stare when Joonmyun stretches up to press a kiss to Sehun's cheek, but Joonmyun doesn't seem to care.
"Could we possibly delay the coffee date til after dinner?" Sehun suggests, linking their fingers together. He wants to feel Joonmyun's palm as close against his as possible. It feels strange and new, fingers almost the size of his own sandwiched against his instead of Tao’s tiny palm. But the warmth is incredible and Sehun can’t wait to get used to it, to this, to him.
"I suppose I could be convinced." Joonmyun hums as he leans back in Sehun's embrace. Sehun wraps him tighter, crossing his arm in front of Joonmyun's shoulders to pull him into his chest.
"Is there a preferred method of convincing?" Sehun would wink but he's entirely too lazy with Joonmyun's weight relaxed against him, and Joonmyun can't really see him from this angle.
"I like your smile, too," Joonmyun whispers, "almost as much as I like your eyebrows."
Sehun snorts, tapping Joonmyun's shoulder skeptically. "When you say stuff like that I can't tell if you're teasing me or if you really mean it."
"Of course I mean it." His voice doesn't sound like he's teasing. It’s smooth and even and barely above a whisper. "You're really beautiful," Joonmyun says as his fingers play with the fine hair dusting Sehun's forearm. "More flowerlike than all the lily flowers surrounding you."
"What the--?" Sehun coughs on his laugh, his throat still dry from his impromptu workout earlier. "Where on earth did that come from?"
"There." Joonmyun points to the glass wall at the edge of platform that separates the waiting passengers from the empty tracks. "I was just reading the poem, but I still mean the sentiments I hope you know."
"Poem?" Sure enough, there on the glass just to the left of the sliding doors are stanzas of text printed in small white characters. "Since when did they put that in here?"
"You've never noticed?" Joonmyun's thumb strokes the back of Sehun's fingers before he pulls their hands up to his lips for a kiss. "For a few years now, at least."
"I'm always so sleepy in the mornings, I guess."
"Aw, don't pout!" Joonmyun twists in his arms to pinch at Sehun's cheek.
"But I'm hungry, hyung!"
"Hyung?" Joonmyun's eye flash open in surprise and Sehun is already in love with the way his eyebrows shift upwards as his lashes flutter. He wants to slip his fingers through the button placket of Joonmyun's shirt and watch his lips fall open with another quiver of shock.
"Hm?"
"You called me 'hyung,'" Joonmyun says, his lips still parted and his breath sighing between them.
"Is that...a problem?"
"No." Joonmyun turns back around in Sehun's embrace, facing forward to tuck himself closer into his arms. Sehun can hear the smile in his voice anyway. "Not at all. As long as I can call you my boyfriend?"
"I suppose I could be convinced to--hey!" Sehun breaks off with a sharp gasp when Joonmyun's fingers twist a sharp pinch into the back of his hand.
"Shhh!" Joonmyun reaches up to press his fingers to Sehun's lips and Sehun presses back with a kiss. "We have to be quiet now, can you hear the Dragon Princess?"
(Footnote: the poem Joonmyun quotes is “Butterfly Effect” by Kim Yoosun (나비 효과, 김유선). I couldn’t find an English translation online, so please forgive my messy approximation of the first line.)
(part four here)
Pairings: Sehun/Suho
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: I don't own anything, written just for fun.
Summary: Sehun has been looking forward to spending time with his nephew Tao, but his summer break plans did not include volunteering alongside the (cute) kindergarten teacher, Joonmyun.
Warning: language, side Chanyeol/Kyungsoo, side Lu Han/Sunyoung, kid!Tao, kid!Kris, kid!Infinite, +a few other Kpop singers and SM Town people sprinkled on for good measure
A/N: Originally posted for the 2015 round of Ohunlimited. I haven’t taught preschool for ages so please forgive my inaccuracies. Have a song, have a gif, have some love <3 (and thank you to Holly for the beta!)
"Looks like you're making progress." Yixing slides another page to the back of the stack. His finger slides across the few bars scribbled at the top as he scans the last part Sehun accomplished this week.
"I guess?" It sure doesn't feel like much, considering Sehun still has to complete another movement before he can call it quits, and he should probably add another reprise before he slaps on a coda. Not that he really cares at this point, because the sun highlighting the dust motes floating in the room is too hot and too bright and about to give Sehun another headache.
"Why don't you give it a rest for a day and just take a walk."
"A walk to where," Sehun snaps, but he's already sliding from his stool to drag his feet to the door. He doesn't want to go anywhere except back to bed, but he's too restless to be productive while trapped in the music room with Yixing for the third day in a row.
"It's almost dinner time. How about you walk to that chicken place on the corner and bring me back some food?"
Sehun sneers at Yixing's grin and stuffs his music score in the folder sticking out of his backpack. "Give me your wallet first, hyung, and then maybe I'll consider it."
"Unsupervised shopping with someone else's credit card, hmm," Yixing muses. The pads of his fingers squeak against the frets of his guitar as he fingers the strings in a silent progression of chords. "Maybe not."
"Fine." Sehun shoulders his back and slips his phone in his pocket. "I guess I'll just go home, then. See you tomorrow, or whatever."
"Mmhm, be safe." Yixing waves Sehun through the door as it shuts behind him.
Sehun isn't tired but he finds himself spacing out on the subway, as if he's pulled a few all nighters and is in desperate need of some heavily sweetened coffee. Well, he has spent several sleepless nights this week, but not because he's been productive. His apartment just feels too...big. It’s kind of empty without Tao's quiet sighs and mumbled dreams to help him drift off to sleep.
Even the music room feel too quiet with only Yixing's lazy humming providing the soundtrack instead of Jonghyun's hyper laughter and Qian's narration of every bite of food that goes in her mouth during lunch time. And, okay, yes, Sehun also misses talking to Joonmyun on the playground about cello strings and children and what kind of jobs he might apply to next year. He especially misses Joonmyun's smile, the way his lips curl up at the edges and the corners of his eyes crinkle inwards as he lifts his chin and--
"Hello?" Sehun answers his phone on the second ring, drawing a few glares from the other passengers because he forgot to turn the ringer to silent. Fortunately the train is just pulling into his station so Sehun slips through the doors and jogs up the steps of the escalator.
"Hey!" It's Lu Han, and Sehun can hear Tao's voice singing along to the radio in the background.
"Oh hey, what's up?"
"We were just wondering if you had time to come over for dinner this week? Maybe on Friday?"
"Oh, uh, sure," Sehun says, squinting into the glare of the setting sun as he steps off the escalator. He hurries to climb the last few stairs and merge into the shade lining the the sidewalk.
"Sunyoung said you might be busy this weekend since your classes start on Monday, so if you really don't have the time just text and let us know, ok?"
"Thanks, but I think it's fine." Sehun twists to check the street sign over the intersection, still squinting in confusion. He exited the station on autopilot, paying more attention to Lu Han than which number gate he went out of. He climbed the stairs at exit 3, but the dental clinic on his right isn't the CU that was at the end of his neighborhood street when he left this morning.
"Ok! That was all! I won't keep you from your exciting student-life escapades."
"Escapades?" Sehun snorts and turns around again, still trying to get his bearings. This street definitely looks familiar, but--
"Bye bye, hyung! See ya later!" Tao's voice yells in Sehun's ear.
"Bye, Taozi!" Sehun manages to say right before Lu Han hangs up.
Sehun puts his phone away and then he realizes where he is, at the station close to Tao's kindergarten and still several stops away from his apartment building. He sighs, glancing down the steps he just climbed. As long as he's here he might as well--maybe if he hurries he can still catch Joonmyun in the classroom.
Sehun breaks into a sprint, grateful he wore his trainers today and not his sandals. The echo of the pavement is hard against his feet, the vacuum of nerves sucking his eardrums dry except for the pound of his heart and the rasp of his breath as he runs. His calves are burning in complaint by the time he hits the shallow hill that leads up the school building, and Sehun lunges through gate when he reaches the yard.
The front door is still open. The lights are still on in the front office but the metallic taste of not enough oxygen coating Sehun’s tongue laced with a hint of fear propels him down the hall as fast as his shaking legs will carry him.
201--208--213--there.
"Hey, wait!" Sehun's breaths push past his dry lips in a tumble that matches the errant rhythm of his speeding heartbeat but Joonmyun hears him, turning with the key in his hands.
"Sehun? What happened! What's going on?" Joonmyun pushes the door back open and grabs the nearest chair. It's his desk chair, and he wheels it to the doorway.
"Thanks, sorry," Sehun gasps and collapses onto the seat. The chair swivels under the force of his weight aligning their shoes at the tips, Sehun's dangling sneakers shifting just centimeters above the polished leather of Joonmyun's oxfords. Sehun stares for a moment at the contrast of their twisted laces as he catches his breath with his head bobbing between his knees.
"Did you forget something?" Joonmyun says finally, rubbing at a scratch on the speckled floor with the toe of his shoe. "If you came for Tao, I'm afraid you're a bit late. Lu Han already came by during pick up."
"Yeah, he just called me." Sehun lifts his eyes, his neck muscles straining against gravity of his head that feels twice it's normal weight, still pounding with the blood and adrenaline racing through his veins.
"I'm here to talk to you, actually."
"Oh?" Joonmyun shifts back, crossing his ankles as he leans against the door frame.
"Yeah, I've been thinking, and--and stuff,” Sehun pants, his breath coming a little easier now, “and I guess I really miss coming here. And the kids." And you, mostly you.
"Ah," Joonmyun nods, and his hair ruffles up in back against the slide of the wooden frame. "You know, if you really like volunteering here you can always apply to be a regular." He tilts his head, narrowing his eyes in thought as he meets Sehun's gaze. "We have classes on weekends if that would be more convenient for your schedule, but you should probably come back on Monday and talk to Choa about that. I don't work weekends, so I'm not sure on the details."
Sehun gulps down another gasp of oxygen, nodding impatiently at Joonmyun as he fights for the right words to make it out of his mouth through the jumble of things his mind is throwing at him to say. Joonmyun is still staring at him, a not-quite-a-smile tugging at his lips.
"I'm not--" Sehun licks his lips, his tongue dry and thick against the rough skin. "I'm not here to talk about that though. I might be interested in volunteering, but--" His heart flutters and his eyelids flutter and Sehun tries his best to keep his voice from fluttering as he forces out the last few words, "but I'm more interested in you?"
Joonmyun's eyes fly open and Sehun's face heats even redder and hotter than his mad dash from the station left him. He meant to say more interested in talking to you, but oh well, as long as he's said it. There's no backing down now.
"So...does this mean you have time for that coffee date now?" Joonmyun asks, moving forward until the tips of his shoes kiss the rubber toes of Sehun's sneakers. Sehun’s feet are flat on the floor now, his legs spread and straddling the chair. Joonmyun wets his lips with the pinkest hint of tongue and leans in to trace the curve of Sehun's brow with the tip of his finger.
"Yes," Sehun says, and he hopes there isn't too much sweat beading on his forehead right now. "But I demand you kiss me first."
That earns him the first real smile he's seen from Joonmyun today. “I’ve been waiting for you to say that,” Joonmyun breathes, “ever since you decided to stay.” Before Sehun can catch another breath Joonmyun's cool fingers cup the sides of his face, tilting his chin with the press of his thumb to draw their lips together. Sehun slips his fingers around the band of Joonmyun's belt and tugs him forward until Joonmyun is straddling his lap on the rolling chair in the dark hallway.
They both freeze for a moment, Sehun’s mouth going dry when his brain catches up with his fingers and he realizes how close they are, how warm Joonmyun’s thighs feel perched on the edge of his knees, how large Joonmyun’s eyes loom on his field of vision, wide and dark with surprise. “Sorry,” Sehun mumbles, bracing his feet against the floor to to shift back, to find some breathing space, but there’s nowhere to go. The chair just scoots further into the hallway.
"You know, I really like your eyebrows," Joonmyun whispers against Sehun's lips before leaning up to press a kiss over each one. His fingers tremble against the curve of Sehun’s shoulder, then move to cup Sehun’s jaw with tentative fingers. "Didn't you notice me staring at them?"
"I dunno," Sehun sighs, biting back a groan as Joonmyun's hips shift on his lap. He digs his fingers in deeper at the sides of Joonmyun's waist, savoring the subtle shift of firm muscle he can feel through the cotton of his dress shirt. "I don't notice a lot of things, apparently." Sometimes he has to step on them or get off at the wrong stop to see them.
"As long as you notice me," Joonmyun says, and Sehun shivers at the dark purr of his voice that sounds nothing like the cheery tone he uses to hand out cheese crackers.
"That," Sehun pants, leaning up to taste more of Joonmyun's pink mouth, "is easy."
"Oh?" Joonmyun nuzzles along the arch of Sehun's cheekbones, their noses bumping when he sucks Sehun’s bottom lip in between his teeth.
"Fuck yes." Sehun can't breathe in oxygen fast enough for his brain to keep up with all of the things he's noticing right now, the dark hint of spice in the waves of Joonmyun's soft hair and the plastic slide of the buttons on the fronts of their shirts as he pulls their chests together. "You were the first thing I noticed when I walked in here two weeks ago."
"Should I be flattered?" Joonmyun is breathless now too, and that just makes the affection fluttering around in Sehun's chest spill over into a waterfall that floods all the way down to his stomach. "Or was I having a bad hair day?"
"Have you ever had a bad hair day?" Sehun snorts, his voice cracking as he laughs. He tightens his hold around Joonmyun's waist as he spins them in the chair. "I think you probably were born with perfect hair."
"I think I was born bald," Joonmyun says, and they both laugh against each other's lips as the chair twirls to a stop, facing into the empty classroom.
The star poster is still on the wall and the light from the hall catches on some of the patches of glitter from the dangling wishes.
"So did it work?"
"Hm?" Joonmyun wraps a section of Sehun's stiff hair around one of his fingers, smoothing down the short strands with the pad of his thumb.
"The star wishes," Sehun repeats. His voice comes out in a whisper, maybe because it's getting darker in the hall as the hint of sunlight behind the drawn curtains in the classroom fades, or maybe because he wants to hear every breath from Joonmyun’s lips. "Do you think they came true?"
"Mine did," Joonmyun says, and he tilts Sehun's face up for another kiss. "Or maybe it was Sungyeol's star ball. Either way, I wished for you."
+++ +++ +++
Joonmyun is holding Sehun's hand and Sehun is sliding the soft locks of Joonmyun's hair through his fingers while they wait for the subway. The station isn't crowded, but there are clumps of people waiting at each of the queue lines, scrolling on their phones or zoned out with their earbuds in. A few turn their heads to stare when Joonmyun stretches up to press a kiss to Sehun's cheek, but Joonmyun doesn't seem to care.
"Could we possibly delay the coffee date til after dinner?" Sehun suggests, linking their fingers together. He wants to feel Joonmyun's palm as close against his as possible. It feels strange and new, fingers almost the size of his own sandwiched against his instead of Tao’s tiny palm. But the warmth is incredible and Sehun can’t wait to get used to it, to this, to him.
"I suppose I could be convinced." Joonmyun hums as he leans back in Sehun's embrace. Sehun wraps him tighter, crossing his arm in front of Joonmyun's shoulders to pull him into his chest.
"Is there a preferred method of convincing?" Sehun would wink but he's entirely too lazy with Joonmyun's weight relaxed against him, and Joonmyun can't really see him from this angle.
"I like your smile, too," Joonmyun whispers, "almost as much as I like your eyebrows."
Sehun snorts, tapping Joonmyun's shoulder skeptically. "When you say stuff like that I can't tell if you're teasing me or if you really mean it."
"Of course I mean it." His voice doesn't sound like he's teasing. It’s smooth and even and barely above a whisper. "You're really beautiful," Joonmyun says as his fingers play with the fine hair dusting Sehun's forearm. "More flowerlike than all the lily flowers surrounding you."
"What the--?" Sehun coughs on his laugh, his throat still dry from his impromptu workout earlier. "Where on earth did that come from?"
"There." Joonmyun points to the glass wall at the edge of platform that separates the waiting passengers from the empty tracks. "I was just reading the poem, but I still mean the sentiments I hope you know."
"Poem?" Sure enough, there on the glass just to the left of the sliding doors are stanzas of text printed in small white characters. "Since when did they put that in here?"
"You've never noticed?" Joonmyun's thumb strokes the back of Sehun's fingers before he pulls their hands up to his lips for a kiss. "For a few years now, at least."
"I'm always so sleepy in the mornings, I guess."
"Aw, don't pout!" Joonmyun twists in his arms to pinch at Sehun's cheek.
"But I'm hungry, hyung!"
"Hyung?" Joonmyun's eye flash open in surprise and Sehun is already in love with the way his eyebrows shift upwards as his lashes flutter. He wants to slip his fingers through the button placket of Joonmyun's shirt and watch his lips fall open with another quiver of shock.
"Hm?"
"You called me 'hyung,'" Joonmyun says, his lips still parted and his breath sighing between them.
"Is that...a problem?"
"No." Joonmyun turns back around in Sehun's embrace, facing forward to tuck himself closer into his arms. Sehun can hear the smile in his voice anyway. "Not at all. As long as I can call you my boyfriend?"
"I suppose I could be convinced to--hey!" Sehun breaks off with a sharp gasp when Joonmyun's fingers twist a sharp pinch into the back of his hand.
"Shhh!" Joonmyun reaches up to press his fingers to Sehun's lips and Sehun presses back with a kiss. "We have to be quiet now, can you hear the Dragon Princess?"
(Footnote: the poem Joonmyun quotes is “Butterfly Effect” by Kim Yoosun (나비 효과, 김유선). I couldn’t find an English translation online, so please forgive my messy approximation of the first line.)
(part four here)