empyrean-major - Tumblr blog

empyrean-major · 4 years

Photo

Stray Kids, 끝나지 않을 이야기 .

“Hey babe, how was work?” Nicholas asked, sneaking a kiss to Hansel’s forehead as Hansel slipped out of his coat.

“Crazy. Frustrating.” Hansel groaned as he kicked off his sneakers. “I’m just glad it’s the weekend. I missed you.” When Nicholas tried to kiss Hansel on the lips, Hansel stopped him with a hand to his chest. “Wait, Nicho. I can literally feel a cold coming on.”

“Doesn’t matter.” Nicholas pouted when he ran into Hansel’s hand once more, settling for a side hug instead.

“That’s gross,” Hansel said, wrinkling his nose. “And plus, I feel like we just got over that stomach flu you brought home, and I’d really like to avoid a repeat of that again.”

“Aw, I’m sorry babe. How can I help you feel better?”

“Unless you can make my work schedule and cold disappear, and whisk me off to a sunny island somewhere, I don’t think there’s much that’ll make me feel better.” A cough cut you off, Nicholas instantly jumping back in surprise.

“What about a warm bath? And afterwards, we can eat some takeout or something.”

Narrowing his eyes, Hansel studied his boyfriend’s face, Nicholas’ smile much too innocent for Hansel’s liking. Hansel weren’t really a bath person, something that both of them were aware of. “You just want an excuse to get me naked.”

Nicholas shushed him, gently pushing him towards the restroom. He wouldn’t hear of Hansel helping out in any way, requesting that Hansel lie down while he got the bath ready. The sounds of him bustling around in the bathroom with the steady stream of running water in the background were enough to have Hansel drifting off to sleep. It was only when Nicholas gently shook him awake did he remember where he was and what was going on.

Hansel let Nicholas guide him towards the restroom, woodenly stepping out of Hansel’s clothes while Nicholas collected all of the pieces and threw them in the laundry basket.

“Okay, hop in babe.”

Hansel eyed the steaming tub of water, highly suspicious that he and Nicholas had two different definitions of what a “warm” bath was, but he trusted him anyways. Holding onto the edge, Hansel slipped one foot in, cringing as the rest of his body followed. “This bath is too damn hot.” He hissed as his elbows touched the surface of the water, quickly bringing them up and resting them on the edge of the tub.

“See, this is why we can’t do cute things. You complain too much.”

“Excuse me, I’m the whiny one here?” Hansel reached into the tub, grabbing a handful of water before splashing it onto Nicholas’s hair.

Nicholas screamed, backing away as he tried to shake the water out. “Okay, okay, I see your point.” He scowled as Hansel hid his smile behind his hand, his shoulders trembling with laughter.

“So what’s next on your list? Strawberries and champagne while you massage shampoo into my hair?”

“Hm, I’m not so sure about the first two, but I can definitely give you that massage.”

And so, for the next ten minutes the two of them sat in calm silence, the only sounds being that of tiny waves of water splashing against the sides of the tub every time Hansel moved around. He relaxed against the wall of the tub, facing away from Nicholas as he massaged Hansel’s neck and shoulders.

“Nicho?”

“Hm?” Nicholas’s fingers were brushing through the ends of Hansel’s hair, detangling the strands in the water.

“I’m sorry I’ve been all cranky this week.”

“Babe, it’s fine. I know you haven’t been feeling like yourself lately.” His fingers moved from Hansel’s hair to Hansel’s face, tracing lines across his features. One finger went down the slope of you nose, leaving a trail of water of in its wake.

“I know, but still. I really appreciate everything that you do for me. I love you.”

Nicholas smiled, bending down to kiss one cheek, and then the other. His grin grew wider as Hansel smiled up at him, Hansel face upside down from his position in the tub. “I love you too.”

“You know what would make this even better?”

Nicholas hummed curiously, hands pausing over Hansel’s shoulders.

“If you were in here with me.”

In a flash, Nicholas was standing up, shuffling out of his clothes and dropping them onto the floor.

“Wait, wait,” Hansel rushed to say, sitting upright. “We’re just taking a bath though, no funny business tonight.”

“Okay,” Nicholas replied without hesitation. “Scoot over,” he murmured, gasping as his skin hit the water. “Okay, so maybe the water is a little too hot,” he admitted meekly.

With a giggle, Hansel moved to the other edge of the tub, both of them sitting face-to-face, knees and legs bumping into each other in the middle. “When’s the last time we did this?” Hansel wondered.

“Took a bath together? Never, unless you’re thinking of someone else,” Nicholas added, one brow raised in confusion.

“No, I meant just spending time with no distractions, not even with the TV on in the background. When’s the last time we just took a break from the world and pretended like we were the only ones that existed?”

Nicholas slid further down in the water as he thought, his chin brushing against the surface and sending ripples across the surface. “I don’t know. Its been a while though, huh? I don’t think we’ve been this relaxed for a while.”

“How was work for you today?” Hansel nudged Nicholas’ toes with his own, giggling when he jolted up in surprise at the sensation.

“It was okay, I’ve had better days though.” Nicholas went into detail about a student who had walked into his lecture hall almost half an hour after the exam started and demanded that he let them take the test. “I mean, I would’ve understood if their car had broken down or their mom was in the hospital or something, but I had literally just seen them sitting outside a Starbucks with their friends before class started. These kids get more insane with each passing year,” he huffed out indignantly.

“I’m sorry.” Hansel reached out for Nicholas’ hand under the water, giving it a light squeeze as he consoled him. “It’s not fair that some of them try to take advantage of how kind you are.”

“It’s not. But hey, that’s part of the job I signed up for. Lots of papers to grade, exams to proctor, kids who think they know it all because they’re in college.”

Hansel motioned for Nicholas to turn around, moving closer and grabbing one of the shampoo bottles from the shower caddy. “I guess we both really needed this bath tonight,” Hansel said as he began massaging shampoo into Nicholas’ scalp.

Nicholas sighed happily, eyes closing as Hansel continued to wash his hair. “Thank you,” he mumbled sleepily. “We need to do this more often.”

“Mm, without the stressful work day though.”

Hansel finished washing Nicholas’s hair before letting Nicholas do the same to him. Both of them finished washing up, fingers pruny and bodies shivering from the water that had gradually started to cool down.

“Let me go order some takeout,” Hansel offered, a towel wrapped around his body and another around his hair while Nicholas was still drying off.

“Thai food?” he called out after him.

“Fine with me!”

Thankfully, the Thai place that they often frequented wasn’t too far away, and soon Hansel were merrily chewing down on his plate of pad Thai. Nicholas was equally enjoying his curry, taking a few pieces of shrimp from Hansel’s food whenever Hansel looked away.

“God, I’m in heaven,” he sighed, still chewing on food.

“Finish chewing.” Shaking his head, Hansel pushed Nicholas’ chin upwards, forcing his mouth closed. “Although I can’t say I disagree. That bath was a good idea, Nicho.”

“Well, I have been known to have some of those every once in a while.” He grinned as Hansel snorted in amusement.

“Alright, Mr. Funny Guy. Are you gonna let me finish my dinner or what?”

“Depends on what the other option is.”

“A good, long nap that ends up with both of us sleeping through the night until noon.”

Nicholas chuckled, shoulders shaking as he leaned forward to kiss Hansel on the nose. “Who am I to argue with that?”

It was easy to let the stress of the day linger over him, to nitpick every detail that Hansel wish he could have changed, something that he wish had gone differently. But here in the comfort of his home with the person his loved the most, it was just as easy to remember that it was just important to breathe and take things one step at a time.

Tomorrow would be a new day, after all.

#autumn

0 notes

empyrean-major · 4 years

Photo

Jay Park, Joah.

It was surprisingly breezy for a summer day, a welcome contrast to the sweltering heat-filled days that Hansel had suffered through for the past week. So to take advantage of this beautiful weather, he had roped his co-worker into going to the flea market with him. Nicholas often had the same shift as him at the bubble tea shop where Hansel worked, so the two of them had gotten to be friendly over the past couple of months that he had been working together.

“I haven’t been to an outdoor market in ages!” Hansel exclaimed, sighing contentedly as he looked out the window of Nicholas’s car. “It’s going to be so much fun.”

“I believe you. But why’d you have to make me drive?” Nicholas replied, a hint of a whine seeping into his voice.

“Because between the two of us, I’m the worse driver. But don’t worry, I’ll be the navigator and make sure that we end up at the right place.”

“I hope so. Do these kinds of things happen often?”

“What? Me navigating?”

“No, these flea markets.” Nicholas said the last two words slowly, as if he was unsure of them.

“Depends. Sometimes they’re every week, other places have them a couple of times a year. You’ve never been to one?”

“Nope.” Nicholas glanced in the rearview mirror, switching lanes cautiously before continuing on. “I don’t really do this kind of stuff. I stick to supermarkets.”

“Well, you’re in for a treat. Take a left here.”

Nicholas did as Hansel said, and suddenly the tops of tents and booths could be seen over the tops of the buildings Hansel were driving past.

“We’re almost there!” Hansel cried out excitedly, not missing how Nicholas’s lips curled into a smile as well. “Google said there should be a parking lot to our left in a couple of minutes.”

Getting into the parking lot was easy, but finding a parking spot was the hard part. Nicholas circled around the lot for ten minutes, even heading up a couple floors until he finally snagged a spot from someone who was leaving. “Okay, let’s get out of this damn parking lot and finally do some shopping.”

Hansel snickered at Nicholas’ frustration, pulling his wallet out and heading away in the opposite direction from Nicholas.

“Wait, where are you going?” Nicholas called out after him, and Hansel could hear his sneakers smacking against the concrete of the parking lot as he ran over to him.

“We have to pay for parking,” Hansel told him matter-of-factly.

“Pay?! After we spend ages trying to find a spot, now you’re telling me we have to pay for that experience? Hansel, I think the flea market’s out to rob you of your money.”

With an amused snort, Hansel quickly inserted the money into the machine, ripping the receipt from it as it spit it out. “Come on, at least it’ll be worth it.”

As he led Nicholas through the rows of booths and tents, Nicholas begrudgingly admitted that the flea market was actually fun. He had even stopped Hansel when he came to a vendor who was selling vintage watches. Hansel had to talk him out of forking over a hundred dollars for one of them, even as Nicholas had stared at it lovingly.

It was while they were both walking through the rows that Nicholas spoke up again. “So, where’s the fleas?”

Hansel stopped where he stood, a look of confusion appearing on his face as he stared at Nicholas. “What?”

“The fleas? I mean, we are at a flea market.”

“Nicho, please tell me you’re joking.”

Now it was Nicholas’s turn to look puzzled, and he came closer until there were only a couple of inches between them. “Wait, why? What did I say?” he whispered, his worry drawing creases between his eyebrows.

“It’s just an expression. Flea markets don’t carry fleas, you know?”

“Really? Then why do they call it a flea market, it doesn’t make any sense!”

Hansel burst into laughter, the giggles spilling out of him uncontrollably once he saw Nicholas grinning as well.

“You know I’m right!” he said with a chuckle of his own, his eyes curving into crescents as he smiled.

“Okay, I will admit that. Come on, let’s go get something to eat. You’re gonna love the food that they sell here.” Hansel dragged him over to a food truck nearby specializing in shaved ice and other cold summer treats. Without hesitation, Hansel stepped in line and had soon ordered a bowl of shaved ice big enough for him and Nicholas to stuff yourselves with.

“Isn’t it beautiful?” Hansel gaped, watching the rivulets of colored syrup as they continued to seep into the shavings of ice and other treats.

“Yeah, but I care more about whether it lives up to the hype you’ve given it,” Nicholas quipped, stifling his laughter when Hansel stared at him with narrowed eyes.

Wordlessly, Hansel scooped up a spoonful of it, a lump of shaved ice heaving with toppings as he held it up to Nicholas’s mouth, waiting for him.

His eyes grew wider, looking from the spoon to Hansel and back again, before he tentatively opened his mouth. He took his time, savoring the taste in his mouth before speaking again. “Okay, you’re right. This is pretty good.”

“See? Come on, let’s go sit down.” Hansel nodded over to a picnic table, holding the shaved ice carefully in his hands as he took a seat.

“We should do this again,” Nicholas said as he took the bench opposite Hansel.

Hansel’s eyes widened in shock as he looked up at him. “Nicholas Remigio, are you asking me out on a date?” Hansel asked with mock surprise, only meaning it as a joke.

Nicholas stayed silent for a few seconds, and this turn in events made Hansel realize how right his words had been. “Yeah, I am,” he answered, meeting Hansel’s eyes. It was frightening to see how Hansel could read the fear, the hesitation on his face.

But Hansel knew there wasn’t any need for that.

“Okay.”

Nicholas flinched, as if he hadn’t been expecting that answer. “Really?”

“Yeah. I’m looking to making this a habit of ours.” Hansel took a bite out of the iced dessert, trying to ignore the heat rising to his cheeks.

If Nicholas noticed it, he didn’t point it out, choosing instead to lean forward with a twinkle in his eye and a fond smile on his lips.

“I look forward to it.”

#summer

0 notes

empyrean-major · 4 years

Photo

K.Will, Love Blossom.

Nicholas knew Hansel wasn’t one to openly display his affection, especially in public. When he were out with friends, he always managed to blush bright red if Nicholas pressed even a chaste kiss to his lips. When the two of them held hands, Nicholas constantly found himself keeping back a chuckle as he watched how Hansel’s ears turned pink at the contact.

But that also meant that Hansel wasn’t one for saying “I love you” often. Cute nicknames rarely fell from his lips, and Nicholas could count on one hand the amount of times he had heard Hansel say “I love you” in the month that he had been officially dating. Three times, to be exact.

He knew this, and he tried not to take it personally, but he was starting to worry since he was almost always the one to initiate affection. He treasured those moments when Hansel plucked up the courage to press soft kisses to the back of his hand, or when Hansel lovingly bruhed his hands through Nicholas’ hair with the gentlest of touches in the dead of night when he thought Nicholas was asleep.

Currently, he was talking to Felix in the kitchen, both of them engrossed in a conversation about his latest project. Jisung had decided to throw a party for the holidays, and almost everyone he had invited had shown up without fail. He was practically a legend when it came to parties.

As Nicholas watched Hansel from whime he sat on Jisung’s couch, a smile lifting the corners of his lips as he saw how Hansel lifted a hand to his mouth to stifle the giggles spilling out, he was unaware of Minho beside him.

“You’re so in love, it grosses me out,” Minho joked, making exaggerated barfing noises when Nicholas turned to look at him.

“Shut up,” Nicholas elbowed his friend, laughing when Minho yelped in surprise.

“It’s true! You’re always looking at him like you’re one of those cheesy main characters in those dramas. I’ve never seen you like this.”

The older man’s words had Nicholas lost in thought, sitting in silence before speaking up abruptly. “Do you think he’s in love with me?”

“What? Of course he is. Why? Did something happen?” Minho shot out rapidly, startled into sitting up straight.

“It’s just… when I tell him that I love him, he doesn’t say it back. He eithim smiles or hugs me, but he doesn’t say it. I’ve only heard him say it like a couple of times, and that was when we first started dating.”

“He’s always been really shy,” Minho tried to reassure his friend.

“I know, but Jeongin’s shy too, and I’ve heard him say ‘I love you’ a lot more than he has. What if he thinks I’m too clingy?”

“If he thought that, he probably still wouldn’t be with you.”

“Gee, thanks.”

“I’m serious! If he thought you were too clingy, he would have broken up with you a while ago. If anything, Changbin’s more clingy than you.”

Nicholas’s gaze flickered back over to whime Hansel stood, now at a table looking over various types of food. He were chewing on his lip in thought as he scanned over the plates, before reaching for some bite-sized brownies and placing them on his plate.

“You’re right, Hyung. Thank you.” Nicholas gave his friend a light pat on the knee before getting up, walking over to whime Hansel stood.

“Hey,” he called out in greeting as he got closer, a bashful smile on his face.

Hansel looked up, eyes alight as soon as he saw it was Nicholas. “Hi, Nicho.”

Before Nicholas could speak, he was interrupted by Jisung. “Hansel and Nicholas are under the mistletoe! Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!” he chanted, jumping up and down in excitement.

Both Hansel and Nicholas looked up, only to see a small sprig of mistletoe taped to the ceiling beam above them. When Hansel glanced down to meet Nicholas’s eyes again, Hansel saw that he was already staring at him.

Unconsciously, Nicholas moved closer, eyes focused on Hansel before shifting to Hansel’s lips. Hansel could feel the urge to lean back a little, not because it was Nicholas about to kiss him, but because he was about to do so in a roomful of people. But Hansel felt weird stopping him, he was afraid he would hurt Nicholas’ feelings by pushing him away.

Before Hansel could think on it any furthim, Nicholas’s lips were on his, not pressuring him to answer, but simply pressed against him tenderly as he waited for Hansel to respond. Frozen in shock, Hansel were unable to do anything for a few seconds until he felt the stares of the othims on him and he puhed lightly at Nicholas’ chest, urging him to move back.

To his relief, Nicholas did so, but on his face were the beginnings of confusion and hurt. Great. Even more humiliating was the instant silence that came over the room, everyone else unsure of what had happened.

“I… I need some air,” Hansel stammered out, placing his plate on the table and walking past Nicholas, even as he reached out for Hansel, taking quick steps across the room and to the back door. Hansel kept his head down, avoiding eye contact with othims until he were outside, feet pattering against the steps until they reached the grass of Jisung’s backyard.

The dampness of the grass was seeping into Hansel’s shoes, but he didn’t care, walking across the yard until he reached the bench at the far end of it, settling down in defeat. He slumped over, head resting in his hands as he tried to live down the situation he was faced with.

A whirlwind of questions ran through his mind: Why were you so bad at giving affection? How could something that came so easily to othims be so difficult for you? Hansel did care for people, but he just showed it in different ways. He were attentive, a reliable shoulder to lean on, and always thime for his loved ones. But he was constantly unable to bring himself to say the loving words that othims were able to speak easily, or to act in touchy ways that othims often did. It wasn’t that he were without emotion, but that he was shy with making his feelings transparent to othims.

A rustling of feet against grass had Hansel’s head shooting up, only to see Nicholas walking towards him, taking careful steps so as not to scare him off. When Nicholas stood before him, he hesitated a moment before settling down beside Hansel, making sure to leave some space in between the two of them.

Both of them was unsure of whime to start, and Hansel found himself panicking until Nicholas spoke up.

“Did… did I do something wrong?”

The huhed tone of his voice had Hansel groaning inwardly. The always talkative Nicholas had now been reduced to a meek version of himself.

“No, Nicho. I just… I’m sorry.”

“You’re sorry?” Nicholas’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “For what?”

“For always being so… so distant when it comes to being all touchy and ‘couple-y’,” Hansel mumbled out.

“Hey.” Nicholas scooted closer, until his knee was brushing against Hansel’s. “You don’t have to be sorry. I love you, regardless of that.”

“I know, but it’s not fair to you. I’ve always been weird about this, and I’ve been trying, I really have, but it’s still awkward for me. I love you so much, Nicholas. I’m just worried I don’t show it enough.”

As soon as those last sentences fell from Hansel’s lips, Nicholas felt a wave of relief and euphoria wash over him. Hearing about Hansel’s insecurities made him feel like his own fear of Hansel not loving him was ridiculous. “Babe, I don’t want you to feel pressured into doing something you don’t want. Don’t worry about it, okay? I’ve got more than enough touchiness for both of us,” he joked lightly. “Knowing that you love me is enough. You have your ways of showing it, and I have mine. We just have to learn how to really understand each othim.”

Hansel looked down at Nicholas’s hands whime they rested on top of his knees. Tentatively, Hansel reached out and took one of them in both of his own, cradling it gently in Hansel’s lap as his thumbs ran over it. “I want to try it. Being more affectionate, I mean,” Hansel clarified as an afterthought. “Will you wait for me, until I feel comfortable enough to do it?”

“Of course, babe. I’ll always be hime for you. No matter what.”

Glancing back up to meet his eyes, a thankful smile pulled up the corners of Hansel’s lips, and Nicholas found his expression mirroring Hansel’s.

Unknown to both of them, Minho and Jisung stood by the back door of the house, watching them from afar.

“Do you think they’re okay?” Jisung asked worriedly.

“They’re holding hands, I’m pretty sure they’re fine,” Minho replied amusedly.

“Should I go apologize?” Jisung was practically rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet in uncertainty.

“Stop freaking out, dude. You can talk to them when they come back. Just don’t make a big deal out of this.”

“I’m not!” Jisung protested, voice raised as he glared at the othim boy.

“Yeah? Prove it, they’re headed over hime right now.”

At Minho’s words, Jisung’s head shot back over to whime Hansel and Nicholas were now walking back to the house, hand-in-hand. He all but leaped over the tiny staircase leading to the backyard, running over to both of them and babbling out his apologies. Minho stifled a laugh before turning away, knowing he would hear about this later from at least one of them.

#spring

0 notes

empyrean-major · 4 years

Photo

EXO, December, 2014 (The Winter’s Tale)

Whenever winter rolled around, bringing with it the promise of colder days and holidays, Hansel always looked forward to food the most. Gingerbread cookies, in particular.

Hansel leaned against the kitchen counter, chin propped up on his hand as he looked over a recipe on his phone. Last year, his batch of cookies had been good, but he was convinced that they could be better. After all, these were treats that he’d be gifting to his co-workers before his break for the holidays.

“Nicho?” Hansel called out. “I don’t know about this one.”

He heard Nicholas before he saw him, the telltale melody of carols in the air as Nicholas hummed to himself. “You say that for every recipe you find. The cookies last year were great, why don’t you make those again?”

Turning around, Hansel let his back rest against the counter as he crossed his arms across his chest. Nicholas’s posture mirrored Hansel own from where he stood beside the fridge. He raised an eyebrow as a question, truly curious as to why Hansel were putting himself through so much trouble.

“They were too dry. I don’t want the cookies to be rock-hard.”

Nicholas chuckled, tickled by Hansel’s explanation. “Babe, they’re gingerbread. I think they’re all gonna end up a little dry anyways.”

“That’s not gonna stop me from trying.” Hansel picked up his phone once more, focused only on the screen as he continued to search.

A pair of arms settled around his waist, Nicholas coming over to stand beside him as he leaned his chin on Hansel’s shoulder. “You know, we could always just buy cookies instead of making them.”

“It’s not the same, I want to make these. It makes me feel like I’m actually good at baking.”

Nicholas pressed a kiss to Hansel’s cheek, his hair tickling Hansel’s face. “You are good at baking, babe. Those five pounds I’ve gained in the past year can speak for that.”

“You’re overreacting,” Hansel told him with a small giggle. “And you need that extra weight anyways, you’re too skinny.”

“Does that mean I get to eat some of these cookies too?”

“Only if you run to the store for me.”

Nicholas groaned before giving you a small squeeze, still holding onto Hansel. “What do you need?”

“Most of these recipes call for the same ingredients. The only thing I’m missing is decorating gel.”

“Any specific colors you want?”

Hansel turned to face him, kissing him in thanks. “It doesn’t matter, you can pick. Thanks, Nicho.”

“Of course. Anything for you.”

Hansel walked him to the door, watching as he pulled on his coat and shoes. Just when Hansel thought he was about to leave, he turned back around, a grin on his face as he came closer. Nicholas’ hands reached for Hansel’s face, the rough pads of his hands a familiar sensation against Hansel’s cheeks as he kissed Hansel once more. Compared to the other kisses, which were short and innocent, this one was more lazy and drawn-out. Hansel pulled Nicholas closer to him, a hand resting at the nape of his neck and brushing against the ends of his hair.

When Hansel finally pulled away, out of breath and heart racing, Hansel were glad to see Nicholas looked just as lost for words. His cheeks were flushed pink, a crooked smile on his face as he watched Hansel warmly. “I’ll be back,” he murmured gently, reaching for the door handle.

Nodding, Hansel gave him a small wave. “Drive safely.”

And with that, Nicholas was gone, the door closing shut behind him. Hansel locked the door and quickly got to work, tying an apron around his waist and getting his materials ready.

Of course, any baking session wasn’t complete without some music.

A quick glance through Hansel’s phone led him to a playlist that he had almost forgotten about, one that he had simply labeled “For A Good Day”. The opening notes of a pop song filtered into the air, instantly putting a spring in his step.

This is the first Christmas that he and Nicholas were spending together, but something about the holiday season always managed to make both of them more clingy around each other. More often than not, the temptation of being lazy at home won out over walking outside to see the snow.

For some reason, Nicholas had been increasingly more affectionate with Hansel than usual. Hansel had teased him about it, saying that he must be trying to make up for doing something bad. Nicholas had only given him that curled smile of his before snuggling beside Hansel.

Hansel thought about this as he mixed the ingredients together, his hands on auto-pilot as he worked. Maybe Nicholas had been having a hard time at work? Hansel rejected that thought instantly - if he had been, he would have told him. It could just be winter blues, people were known to be more prone to states of melancholy during the colder season. But that didn’t make sense to Hansel either. Nicholas was just as cheerful and transparent about his feelings as ever. He stopped mixing and let out a sigh, hair blowing away from his face for a brief second.

Choosing to focus on his cookies, Hansel made quick work of putting the dough in the fridge to chill. As he was washing his utensils in the sink, a new song began to play from his phone.

He laughed as soon as he recognized the tune. A couple of years ago, Felix had shown him a video of Drake’s “Hotline Bling” as a remix to Wii music. At the time, Hansel had rolled his eyes even as Jisung danced along. The tune was so catchy though, that he even let them download it onto his phone. Hansel had no doubt that they had added this to his playlist as well.

The front door opened with a squeak, the sound of shoes stomping against the floor. Hansel heard Nicholas give a small laugh, and he came into the kitchen with crinkling eyes as he giggled at Hansel’s choice in music.

“I come home to you getting turnt to Wii music in the kitchen.”

“You can thank Jisung for this. Oh, and Felix.”

Nicholas snorted in amusement as he held out a bag of groceries to Hansel, cheeks red from running around in the cold. “Your gel, as requested.”

“Thanks, Nicho.” Both of them looked through the assorted colors, setting them out onto the counter and imagining what kinds of designs to draw.

Baking was essentially a long waiting game, and once the dough had chilled long enough, Hansel and Nicholas cut the cookies out and got them into the even. Thankfully, they only needed about 10 minutes.

Nicholas peered over your shoulder as Hansel got the cookies out, setting them down to cool. “So when do we get to decorate?”

“Hold your horses, Nicho. They’re still too hot, you’re gonna burn your fingers.”

“Do you always wait this long when you’re baking?”

“Hey, it’s not my fault you have no patience.” Hansel turned away with a giggle as Nicholas tried his best to refute this, a long-winded comeback falling from his lips. As much as Hansel loved being affectionate with Nicholas the most, teasing him came in a very close second place.

When Hansel finally announced that it was okay to start decorating, Nicholas’s face lit up with excitement. He reached for a cookie and a tube of green decorating gel, biting down on his tongue in concentration as he tried his best to draw even lines. Groups of colorful gingerbread men and women, even children, began to take shape. The cheerful faces looked back up at Hansel, bright lines of gel giving the impression of tiny shirts, dresses and suits on the baked goods.

But one cookie had escaped Hansel’s eye, one that Nicholas had spent extra time on. At first glance, it appeared to be similar to the other cookies: generic smiley-face, winter outfit and all. But on the gingerbread cookie’s left hand, Nicholas had discreetly drawn a tiny line in yellow gel: a ring. A ring that Nicholas had meant to resemble the one hiding away in an old suitcase in the bedroom closet.

He watched as Hansel stacked all of the decorated cookies onto a plate, briefly assessing each one before setting it down. A knowing smirk played at his lips, oh, how he wanted Hansel to notice so badly.

Oblivious to this, Hansel continued to pile up his cookies, even picking up Nicholas’s special one and placing it with the rest. He almost wanted to point it out to Hansel, but that would ruin his entire plan. Nicholas wasn’t even entirely sure why he had decided to leave such an obvious hint. Part of him wanted to propose to Hansel already, to ask you the question that had been on the tip of his tongue for weeks.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

Nicholas flinched in surprise, his hand slipping from the counter as Hansel cast him a worried glance. “Like what?”

“I don’t know, you tell me. What’s on your mind?” Hansel covered the cookies with plastic wrap, working efficiently as he waited.

Nicholas pursed his lips as he thought, one foot tapping aimlessly against the floor. “I’ll tell you soon.”

“But how soon is soon?” Hansel inched closer to him, hoping to coax the answer out of him with his charms.

“Oh no, that’s not gonna work on me.” Despite his words, Nicholas pulled Hansel close to him in a tight hug, his face only a few inches away from Hansel’s.

“Please, Nicho?” Hansel pleaded, a pout forming.

He groaned, eyes closing shut before opening once more. “I’ll tell you on… Christmas.”

“You promise?”

Nicholas thought of the ring once more, his hands coming to run over Hansel’s fingers.

“I promise.”

#winter

0 notes