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colibrie · 7 months ago

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Confrontations- Doubling Down, part III

Art credit to the incredible @trilobitepunch. Check out all of her art, it's incredible!

When no reply came in return Mikey pushed back and went to his and Leo’s room, quietly closing the door behind him. The room was exactly how they had left it, but the excitement of the morning felt so far away now. Nearly another life time, another him all together.

He sighed, dropping down to sit on the edge his bed.

“Man…What am I going to-Ack!”

A shadow broke from the rest to zip across the room, leathery wings beating gusts of air into his face as happy trills and squeaks broke through the gloom.

“George!” Mikey cheered, his mouth and mood lifting as he held up an arm to his beloved pet. “Hey buddy!”

The smooka chirped as he settled on the proffered perch, chattering affectionately as his scaly head nuzzled against Mikey’s cheek.

“Heh, I missed you too,” Mikey hummed, giggling at the sensation of a wiggly nose pressing against the sensitive parts of his neck. “You would not believe the day we’ve had.”

Words poured past his lips as he told his beloved friend about training, about the fight, their flight home, and the revelations of the afternoon. About his father’s story and the weaponized words his brother and father had hurled at one another.

“I don’t know what to do George,” he groaned, flopping back to stare at ceiling. “I don’t know how to fix this!”

George let out a sympathetic croon, prehensile tail wrapping lightly around Mikey’s neck in a lose hug as a pair of sharp front teeth tugged at the collar of his shirt.

“I know they didn’t mean what they said, either of them,” Mikey continued, fingers stroking the short fuzz on his friend’s mottled brown skin. “Dad and Leo are stubborn, and they just…gah, I don’t know! I don’t even know how I feel about all this! I mean, it’s not like I didn’t know that I had two other brothers at some point, but Raph and Donnie… it’s…I’m…”

George purred, a deep rumble that shook his tiny body as it sank soothingly into Mikey’s chest. It coaxed the air and frustration from his lungs and encouraged him to take a new, clean breath.

“Yeah…You’re right George. I can’t help any of them if I don’t start with me. So, let’s do this Dr. Feelings!” he agreed, lightly clapping his hands to psyche himself up.

“First step is to break the feelings down and define them. I’m…overwhelmed. Confused, and scared. Someone tried to kill me, and that someone is actually my big brother, whose name is Raphael. Leo froze up and got hurt because of my other brother Donatello, and that is scary too. I’m also…frustrated, and maybe a little angry. I’m frustrated with myself for panicking and forgetting how to land the ship. I’m frustrated that Leo and Dad can’t just talk to each other. I’m... I’m angry at dad for treating my force abilities like they’re bad thing. I’m angry that I didn’t even know my other brothers’ names. I’m angry…no…I’m hurt that I’m the only one who doesn’t get remember them, that Leo and Dad have all these memories to fall back on while I’m stuck in the dark. I’m hurt that I just found out my big brothers are alive, and dad won’t let us go after them.”

He paused to pull in several slow breaths, carefully counting each one as George continued to purr against his throat.

“Okay, emotions identified. Great job! Now to take a step back and put those emotions in context.”

The shadows slowly grew longer as he worked, George occasionally letting out a squeak or chirp in support as he carefully untangled the skeins of his thoughts and feelings.

“There’s something dad isn’t saying about what happened back at the temple, but…it’s not because he wants to hurt us, and I don’t think he forbid us from going after Raph and Donatello because he doesn’t care. I think he’s just scared. For some reason, he’s scared of whatever it was Leo saw, and he’s probably scared that what happened to Donnie and Raph will happen to us too. Leo is probably feeling awful right now. Probably feels betrayed and thinks he’s all alone with everything. Which means he’s gonna do something stupid…”

“Not on my watch,” he muttered, pushing himself up. “Come on George, we’ve got work to do!”

_________________________________________

The silvery light of the moon gilded the treetops, wispy clouds scrolling lazily across a sky studded with breathtaking stars. The night’s chorus well underway, a symphony of nocturnal insects and creatures moving through their monotonous routines, unconcerned with the faintest footsteps that slipped by. Beaten earth wound on to the clearing, shadows peeling back as a lone, lean figure strode toward the parked shuttle. One hand was shoved deep into a pocket while the other held a bag slung over his shoulder, the hem of a long coat barely kissing the top of grass as he passed. His head hung low, the moon highlighting the brilliant blue of his mask as he frowned absently at the ground.

“Bedtime stroll, Leo?” a voice broke the silence as a second, smaller figure detached itself from the side of the shuttle, stepping out into the moonlight as the taller one flinched to a halt.

“M-Mikey?” Leo blinked, mouth falling open in puzzled shock as he glanced between his little brother and the direction he had just come. “Wha…. How…but you were…?”

“Wow, you must be really off your game if you actually fell for the old pillow under a blanket trick,” Mikey scoffed, letting his own bag drop beside him with a dull thump before crossing his arms. “Care to share what you’re doing out here in the middle of the night?”

“Uh…”

“Because I know it’s not because you were planning to steal the shuttle to go after Donnie and Raph all alone, right?”

“What? Pshaw, that doesn’t sound like something I would do,” Leo laughed, faceman smile spreading across his lips as Mikey silently returned a dry, unimpressed look.

“Really Leo?”

“Really! Everything is fine Mikester, I just couldn’t sleep is all. You know how it is. I just need a walk to wind down. You should head back though; dad will go ballistic if he finds-”

“I’m gonna save us both some trouble and stop you right there,” Mikey cut in, planting his hands on his hips as he leaned into Leo’s space, pinning his elder brother with a glare that had Leo leaning back, hands half raised in unconscious surrender. “I know you are planning on stealing the shuttle. I know you are planning to go after Raph and Donnie, and I am going with you.”

“I won’t…you’re what now?”

“I. Am going. With you.”

“Absolutely not! Mikey go ho-”

“They are my brothers too, Leonardo,” he argued. “I may not remember them the way you do, but that doesn’t mean I love them less!”

“I didn’t say tha-”

“And that also goes for you. You are my big brother, and I love you! Whatever comes next, we are going to face it together. Understood?!”

They stared at each other, a silent battle of wills backset by the songs of the night. George shuffled on his perch on Mikey’s shoulder, chattering softly as he too stared a Leo with shiny, expectant eyes. Little by little Mikey’s resolve chipped away at Leo’s, until at last the elder gave in, huffing out a resigned sigh. The next smile he gave shifted away from the perfect, artificial faceman to something a little more crooked, a little more real.

“Alright, alright, I give. Yeesh, you’re a real delicate touch when you want something.”

“You know it baby!” Mikey crowed, a wide smile replacing his glare as he leapt forward and wrapped his arms around Leo’s neck. “I’ve got your back Lee!”

“I know,” Leo mumbled, gently patting Mikey’s shell. “Its going to be a lot harder with out the maps in dads holocron, but we’ll figure something out.”

“Or” Mikey snickered, fingers deftly poking the sensitive skin at the back of Leo’s neck, “you could just say “abracadabra”.”

“Abraca-aaahhhh! Mikey, why?!” Leo squawked, flinching back. Mikey smirked as his brothers glare quickly transformed into dumbfounded delight as he took in the bright cube now sitting in Mikeys palm.

“Ta-da!”

“How did you…?”

“Jedi secret, oh beloved brother. Maybe one day you’ll reach my level of skill.”

“You little!”

Mikey squealed as Leo lunged for him, and the clearing rang with laughter as the two chased each other under the watchful stars. Mikey inevitably ended up in a headlock, giggling like a fool as Leo fought to both noogie him and push away a swooping George. Said headlock slowly transitioned to a tight embrace, the two of them standing firm against the looming unknown.

“We’ve got this Lee,” Mikey whispered, holding on with all his strength.

“Let’s bring them home,” Leo answered, pressing a kiss to the top of Mikeys head.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Down below their father awoke to a horrifyingly familiar feeling, one he’d had only once before, on the night when everything changed.

No. Please, no!

The door slammed as clawed feet tore up the path, terror mounting as the familiar whine of a shuttle lifting off shattered the night.

Not my boys. Please! Please, not my boys!

“Boys, no!” he screamed as the shuttle appeared above the trees, willing his legs to go faster even as his heart wailed for the impending loss.

They are too young! he begged, willing the force to listen. Please don’t take them too!

“LEONARDO! MICHELANGELO!”

He reached the clearing as the ships thrusters engaged, one hand reaching uselessly for sky as the shuttle, and his precious children, shot into the atmosphere.

#rottmnt #rottmnt synthesis #rottmnt x sw #rottmnt leo #rottmnt mikey #rottmnt splinter #rottmntfanart #angst fairy writes #three cheers for mikey being the only emotionally intelligent member ofhis family #George the smooka #We love George #Dr. Delicate Touch always wins #Buckle up kids

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diorkyeom · 1 year ago

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‘✷’ : CHAPTER TEN “yoon jeonghan always knows”

<< prev chapter | ao3 fic | next chapter >>

chapter word count: 4.7k+

chapter warnings: none

summary: "lately, seokmin had come to a realisation. joshua hong, seokmin thought, was a little bit of an enigma." - in which seokmin has known joshua for years, but he's always been a bit of a mystery to him. and as the days go by, he finds himself falling further and further for the enigmatic man, wanting to find out who the real Joshua Hong is behind his polite smiles and warm eyes and sweet words.

notes: teehee i love this chapter actually

Lately, Seokmin had come to a realisation.

He might, Seokmin thought, be a little bit in love with Joshua Hong.

The moment he dramatically flung open the door to the literature office, Hayoung jumped in her seat before tilting her head curiously as Seokmin, without so much as saying a word, flounced across the office before collapsing at his desk, head buried in his arms.

She looked over at him for a moment, and blinked rapidly as a drawn-out groan came from under his arms. But then, ultimately deciding that it was just Seokmin’s everyday dramatics, she shrugged and turned back to the essays she was grading.

Seokmin, on the other hand, was currently in the middle of the biggest crisis of his entire existence.

He was still reeling from his realisation yesterday—he was in love with Joshua? How on Earth had that happened?—and he’d ignored the entire school for the whole morning, barely even able to focus on his lessons, too preoccupied with going all over his encounters with Joshua, trying to find how exactly he’d even managed to fall in love.

Seokmin was replaying one particular moment exactly three months and two days ago where he’d seen Joshua waving at him from a passing bus window, when Yuna and Minjun walked in, having finally gotten off their last lesson and prepared to have their lunch break, and both teachers looked down confusedly at Seokmin's devastated state.

"What's up with him?" Minjun asked, pointing in Seokmin's direction as he set his things down on his desk.

“He’s having his monthly breakdown,” Hayoung answered, while Seokmin whined into his hands incoherently. She leaned over to pat the top of his head, smoothing down the hair at the back of his neck. “Our department’s baby is having a bad day, I think.”

Seokmin whined again, lifting his head up to rest his chin on his arm. “Guys, what would you do if you found out you’ve been in love with someone for ages?”

“In love?” Yuna repeated as she leaned against Seokmin’s desk, reaching over and poking his cheek. “Who are you in love with?”

Seokmin squirmed a little, partly to get away from Yuna’s affectionate pokes and partly out of embarrassment, lips twisting shyly. “You know that new teacher in the music department? The one that came after those guys left to start their own company?”

Minjun gasped loudly. “Joshua-ssi?” His hand came down on the back of Seokmin’s seat, presumably to pull him away from the desk and finally lift his head up, but he missed and ended up slapping the teacher on the back instead, making Seokmin wheeze and cough. “Sorry, sorry. Are you talking about Joshua-ssi?”

“Oh, Mr. Hong?” Hayoung asked, wheeling her chair closer to Seokmin’s desk. They were all gathered around him now, like overbearing mothers listening to their child’s latest drama. “I thought you were already dating him.”

Seokmin, having only just stopped coughing at Minjun’s sudden attack, choked and started spluttering yet again. “Wh—what?” He waved away Yuna’s hands, and then sat up and looked at Minjun, who was smiling sheepishly. “Did you think that too?”

Minjun shrugged. “We all thought you were already dating,” he said. “Are you not?”

Seokmin’s eyes dissolved into something so devastated, as if Minjun’s question had made him unbearably sad, and he looked like he was going to cry. Eyes glistening, he shook his head sorrowfully.

“We’re not. I’m just hopelessly in love with him,” he whined, “and there’s no way he could love me back.”

Minjun’s eyes widened in utter surprise and he opened his mouth to say something when there came a knock at the door, and they all looked up as a student poked her head into the room, smiling a little awkwardly.

“Uh, hello,” she said. “Mr. Lee asked me to come by at lunch to collect my essay? I wasn’t in the lesson when he handed them out…”

Instantly, the rest of the literature teachers dispersed and went back to their own desks, attempting to look absorbed in their own work. Seokmin shook his head at their antics before beckoning in the student.

“Yes, Heejin, come in,” he said, plastering a bright look on his face. “You had a music exam that day, didn’t you? How did that go?”

Heejin blinked, surprised, before nodding with a smile. “It went well!”

Seokmin smiled again, rifling through the papers on his desk before finding her essay, handing it back to her. “That’s good to hear. Overall, you did quite well, especially with your introduction, but make sure that your line of argument is clear.” He pointed at the comments that he’d made, and Heejin bobbed her head dutifully in thanks.

“Thank you,” she said, smiling, clutching her paper. “Also, sir, by any chance, are you coming to the school’s music concert in a few weeks’ time?”

“Concert?” Seokmin repeated, having to bite the inside of his cheek to prevent himself from screaming out that he’ll probably be too busy having an existential crisis to come. He was still at work, after all. “Hmm, perhaps. I didn’t even know we were having one.”

She smiled, rocking back and forth on her feet. “It’s the Autumn Concert! We have it every year. I—I thought you might already know, since Mr. Hong is leading the senior’s choir this year. Sir,” she added, eyes shifting around the office. “You know, since you and Mr. Hong are… um, very good friends.”

Minjun, attempting to read ‘Macbeth’ upside down, muffled a snort behind the pages.

Seokmin gnawed the inside of his cheek once again, and smiled. “I’ll have to check my schedule to see if I’m busy,” he said, “but I might come! You’re going to be in it, aren’t you?” When the student nodded, he just smiled wider. “In which case, I’ll think about coming, for sure.”

Heejin giggled, smiling, before bowing in thanks and backing out of the office, the door swinging shut behind her. The moment she was gone, Seokmin whirled around to Minjun, shaking his head exasperatedly.

“Why did you start laughing while she was talking?”

Minjun turned around in his seat, eyes glittering in a way that curiously reminded Seokmin of the devious look that Jeonghan sometimes had while he knew something that someone else didn’t. Instead of answering, however, he just grinned, and before Seokmin could get the chance to whine and pester him further, there was a knock on the door and a head peered into the office once again.

“Hello,” Joshua said, ducking his head in greeting, eyes scanning the room before they landed on Seokmin, and his expression softened almost instantly. “I’m here for Seokmin.”

Seokmin barely managed to stop his thoughts from melting into a puddle of incoherent goo, smiling back at the music teacher. He had no explanation for the way his heart skipped a beat at the mere sound of Joshua’s voice.

(Actually, he did.)

(It was because it was Joshua, and Seokmin was deeply, deeply in love with him.)

As it was, Seokmin let out a little squeak at Joshua’s words, which prompted a round of silent giggling across the office. “Let me just get my stuff,” he said, ignoring his colleagues as he stood up and grabbed his phone. He smiled at Joshua. “You can wait in here, Shua hyung. These guys won’t mind.”

Joshua smiled, shook his head, and just opened the door wider for Seokmin. “It’s okay. You might want to put on your coat, though,” he said. “It’s a bit cold outside.”

“Oh, right.” Seokmin grabbed his coat from the back of his chair, tugging it on. “Be good,” he warned his colleagues, wagging a finger threateningly at them, but judging from the way Yuna just grinned and Hayoung hummed and Minjun didn’t even look up from his upside down ‘Macbeth’, none of them were really taking his threat seriously.

That was whatever, though. Seokmin was used to his department’s antics. He hopped through the door that Joshua was holding open for him, and then interlinked his arm with the elder’s as they walked down the corridor.

“You said you wanted to go to that sandwich shop for lunch today, right?” Seokmin said. “What stuff do they have?”

“Sandwiches,” Joshua said, and then laughed as Seokmin nudged him in the side. “You’ll see when we get there. I think you’ll really like what they have.”

“Really?” Seokmin said, teasingly. “What if I decide I’m gonna hate them just to prove you wrong?”

“You wouldn’t. Plus, I have faith that you’re really going to love these sandwiches,” Joshua said, smiling, all warm and lovely and Seokmin kind of wanted to melt at how pretty Joshua was.

Then Joshua tightened his arm in his, pulling him closer to his side as they exited the school, asking how Seokmin’s morning had been in that sweet, rose gold voice, gentle and genuine and Seokmin was reminded once again of how his heart resided not in his own chest, but well and truly cradled in Joshua’s hands.

───────────── ‘✷,

“—think that Seungcheol hyung is just so, so Zeus-like?” Seokmin said, eyes wide in earnestness even while Joshua laughed into his sandwich across from him. “Hey, stop laughing! Don’t you think so?”

Joshua had to take a few breaths to gather himself, shaking his head, eyes still bright with mirth. Seokmin found himself beaming too, his lips responding to the sounds of Joshua’s own happiness.

“I’m so serious,” he insisted. “Doesn’t he give off the vibes of the most himbo jock in the world?”

That had Joshua bursting into laughter once more, head thrown back, and they were getting a couple of weird stares from the other customers within this sandwich shop, but Seokmin didn’t even care, his face feeling like it was going to split into two any second, utterly delighted at the laughter he’d managed to elicit from Joshua.

“You need to stop saying it like that,” Joshua said, still laughing. He set down his sandwich, dabbing at his eyes with the back of his hand. “Oh, god. Wow, I don’t think I’ve laughed that much in ages.” He looked up at Seokmin again, and his irises seemed to fill with bright light as his eyes crinkled once more, cracking up. “And what makes it even better is that you’re right.”

Seokmin laughed too, bright and loud and bursting and they were definitely getting more than a couple of weird stares now. “Right? You see it too, right?”

Joshua shook his head, shoulders shuddering in laughter. “I do, I do.”

It took a long while, but eventually they calmed down, enough for Joshua to finally properly wipe his eyes and pick up his sandwich again, asking Seokmin about his Greek God allocations for the rest of their friends. Seokmin immediately lit up again, running off on a tangent in between sips of his soda, and Joshua watched him, smiling and humming at his decisions.

They’d been at it for a good half an hour now, spending most of their time talking rather than eating the food that they’d come to eat during their lunch break. It was how, usually, their lunch breaks went, and Seokmin delighted in those kinds of moments, where he and Joshua were in this little bubble, away from the rest of the world, talking and laughing like they had all the time in the entire universe.

And it was kind of nice to see how those moments didn’t change, even though Seokmin had been wracked with the realisation that he was in love with Joshua.

“—in love,” Seokmin blurted out, and then blinked rapidly, his brain finally zoning back in to what his mouth was saying. “Wait, what was I saying?”

Joshua was smiling, and his eyes were an array of colours, bright and swirling and when he laughed, Seokmin could only describe the sound as fond. “You were talking about how Eros and Psyche couldn’t have been truly in love.”

“Oh!” Seokmin beamed, nodding. “Right. So, because Eros pricked himself on his arrows when he first saw Psyche, it can’t have been real love.”

Joshua hummed, tilting his head. “But his arrows are the manifestation of genuine love, aren’t they?”

“No one can fall in love that quickly and decide to risk godly wrath to make sure she’s forever safe from harm,” Seokmin said. “Especially at first sight.”

That made Joshua smile, resting his chin on his hand. “I think you’re underestimating the strength of love at first sight.”

Seokmin shook his head. “Nah. Would you be willing to purposefully defy your divinely powerful mother for a pretty human you just met?”

Joshua’s eyes sparkled, gazing unfalteringly into Seokmin’s own. “Of course.”

A beat.

“Oh,” Seokmin said, softly. And then he beamed. “That’s so lovely, hyung! See, you’re totally proving how you’re exactly like a god of love.” He clasped his hands together, still grinning. “Whoever you fall in love with is gonna be so lucky to be loved by you.”

Joshua chuckled, looking down at his empty plate. “I just hope that they’ll love me back too.” He looked up at Seokmin again, taking a sip of his water. “So how is your end-of-semester marking going?”

At the mention of the pile of papers on his desk that he had yet to tackle, Seokmin groaned and Joshua laughed.

“Don’t even mention them,” Seokmin said despairingly. “Every semester I promise myself I’ll get more organised, and then I don’t.”

“Maybe you should promise yourself this semester, too.”

“But it just doesn’t work!”

Joshua laughed again, leaning across the table to pat Seokmin’s hand placatingly even while the literature teacher continued to lament his mountain of work. The conversation continued on like that, their comfortable back-and-forth going on until they had to leave and go back to work.

Seokmin liked it. Liked how Joshua was unwaveringly sweet, and other than the fact that his heartbeat sounded far too loud in his own ears, Seokmin was grateful for how nothing else seemed to change. It was hard, he found, to be different about Joshua. To be more awkward, or to be more withdrawn. It was hard, because Joshua’s eyes would light up gold in tandem with Seokmin’s and the smile on his lips was always devastatingly genuine, prompting Seokmin to be nothing but himself in return.

They walked back to the school, and Joshua took Seokmin’s hand in his own, wordlessly warming up Seokmin’s frozen fingers as they continued to talk about anything and everything. It made Seokmin smile, leaning further into Joshua’s side, chest swelling with something so light and sparkling gold.

───────────── ‘✷,

Seokmin's phone started ringing the moment he reached home that evening.

“Hi, Jeonghan hyung!” he chirped as he unlocked the door, stepping inside. Soonyoung looked up from where he was standing in the middle of the hallway, confused.

“I’m not Jeonghan hyung.”

Seokmin waved away his roommate as Jeonghan chuckled amusedly over the phone.

“Hello. How does it feel to realise you’re in love with Joshua?”

Seokmin’s eyes widened, and the house keys slipped from his hands and clattered onto the floor. Soonyoung yelped, darting forward in concern.

“How did you know?” Seokmin asked, giving Soonyoung the ‘ok’ sign to show he was fine. Of all the things he'd anticipated from Jeonghan’s random phone call, this had been nowhere on that list.

Slowly, he bent down to pick up his keys, mind racing. He gasped. “Does Shua hyung know?”

It was the only explanation. Seokmin hadn’t told anyone, apart from his co-workers, but none of them knew Jeonghan. Maybe… Maybe Seokmin had been more obvious with his feelings than he’d thought. And now Joshua knew, and he’d told Jeonghan so they could laugh at him together and oh God now everything was utterly—

Jeonghan laughed, louder this time. “Oh, no, no. Joshuji has no idea. He’s smart, but with stuff like this, he’s rather oblivious.”

Seokmin breathed out a sigh of relief. So no, Jeonghan wasn’t calling to laugh at him and tell him that Joshua hated him now. “I see.”

“Rest assured, lover boy, your secret is safe with me.”

Shaking his head, Seokmin took off his shoes, holding the phone to his cheek with his shoulder. “How did you even find out I was in love with Shua hyung?”

Soonyoung, still watching Seokmin concernedly, gasped so loudly and so suddenly that he made himself choke. “What the fuck?” he rasped, coughing. “You—”

“Yoon Jeonghan always knows,” was all Jeonghan said. “Everything. I always know everything.”

There was silence, then, that would have felt ominous if Soonyoung wasn't still choking on his own spit and Seokmin was busy wondering what else Jeonghan could possibly know.

“Anyway,” Jeonghan carried on. “You did realise that you’ve been in love with him for ages, right?”

“Of course I did,” Seokmin huffed. He pushed past Soonyoung, who was still spluttering in disbelief and flopped down onto the couch, whining. “Hyung is so pretty. So lovely. I’m in love with him.”

Jeonghan chuckled. “I know.”

“Alright, that’s enough,” Soonyoung said, having finally managed to remember how to form words again. He marched up to Seokmin, took his phone out of his hands and put it on speakerphone, ignoring Seokmin’s indignant cries. “Jeonghan hyung. Did Seokmin really tell you this before me? His bestest friend in the entire universe?”

“He didn’t really tell me,” Jeonghan said. “I just figured it out.”

“When?”

Jeonghan hummed thoughtfully. “A few days ago?”

Soonyoung screeched, and Seokmin managed to successfully snatch his phone back. “Seokmin. You fell in love with Joshua hyung a few days ago and didn’t tell me?”

“Um.” Seokmin blinked unsurely, at a loss as to why Soonyoung looked so distressed. “Technically, I fell in love a while ago but I only realised a few days ago?” he said. Soonyoung didn't look pleased by the technicality, so he coughed and elaborated. “But, uh, I was going to tell you?”

A beat. Even Jeonghan was silent, and Seokmin’s eyes darted around nervously, wondering if he would have to make a run for it. He still wasn’t good at avoiding Soonyoung’s grabby hands, but it was getting better. A bit. He could almost succeed if he really wanted to.

Before he could make that decision to bolt, however, Soonyoung’s face split into a grin and he pumped his fists in the air.

“Holy shit, yes! Seokmin, if you’d been one year early, then Seungkwan would’ve won the bet!” He grabbed Seokmin’s face and smacked a dramatic kiss onto the top of his head. “Thank you so much, my guy. I gotta call Seungkwan and tell him to give me all his money.”

With that, Soonyoung disappeared into his room, and Seokmin blinked.

“Weird,” Jeonghan said from where he was still on speaker, echoing Seokmin’s own sentiment. “Guess they made a bet on you, huh?”

Seokmin just shook his head. “I can’t say I’m surprised.”

“Me neither, to be honest.” Jeonghan chuckled softly, and the sound was affectionate and teasing, in the way that only Jeonghan could be. “And I’m just glad that I didn’t have to intervene.”

“Intervene?” Seokmin repeated. “What do you mean?”

“Nothing,” Jeonghan said, in a tone that made it sound like it definitely was not nothing. “Anyways, now you only have one more thing to realise! And then you can confess!”

Seokmin blinked rapidly, mouth falling open. “You want me to do what?”

“Confess.”

“N—Now?” Seokmin said, panicked. “Hyung, I can’t do that! You’re crazy if you think I can!”

Jeonghan laughed, bright and affectionate. “You don’t have to confess now, silly,” he said. “Not yet, at least.”

Seokmin gnawed his bottom lip worriedly. “Why is there a ‘yet’?”

“Just realise the other thing you need to realise first,” Jeonghan said, and Seokmin scrunched his nose, mystified. Like that wasn’t a confusing sentence.

“Why can't you just tell it to me?” he whined. “That'd be much easier than me finding out myself. You said you always know everything.”

Jeonghan chuckled. “I do. That's why I also know this is something you gotta realise for yourself.” There was the sound of the door opening on his end of the line, and a faint voice calling his name. “Oh, Joshuji’s back home now. I’ll talk to you later, Seokmin, okay?”

And with that, Jeonghan hung up, leaving Seokmin incredibly confused. Did Jeonghan call him solely to let him know that he knew that he was in love with Joshua? What purpose had their conversation even had?

From Soonyoung’s room came a loud cry.

“Seungkwan! I won the bet! Give me the money you owe me!”

───────────── ‘✷,

After that, though, Seokmin’s days passed normally.

He still had far too many essays to mark and not enough time, but at least the rest of the literature department was lagging behind too. None of them could laugh at each other for their lack of progress, because they were all in the same boat.

Seokmin asked Joshua about their Autumn Concert and received the confirmation that it was indeed happening and Joshua was indeed taking part. He then promised the elder that he would come to support him, and Joshua had laughed, saying it wasn’t necessary, but he’d insisted.

They met up with each other at night, though less frequently now that the two of them were busy with work, and sometimes, Joshua would bring his guitar and they’d sing together, rosy pink and cerulean blue voices blending together beautifully in the cold night air.

And throughout it all, Seokmin was still definitely in love with Joshua.

“Hello,” Seokmin said next to Joshua’s ear, and beamed as the music teacher looked up and immediately softened, lips crinkling into a smile. “I hope it’s not too much trouble if I sit here and watch rehearsals.”

There was about a week before the concert night, and the children were doing a full rehearsal in the auditorium where they’d be performing in seven days’ time. The chairs for the audience had already been set up, and Joshua was sitting in the back of them, watching the students perform and waiting for his turn.

“It’s no trouble at all,” Joshua said, smiling as Seokmin sat down next to him, in the seat closest to the walkway that ran down the middle. “You don’t need to stay, though. It’ll probably be a while before I finish.”

“I want to,” Seokmin said simply, putting his coat over his knees. “I wanna watch.”

Joshua smiled even wider, eyes creasing in happiness. “Okay.”

And so the two of them sat back and watched as the various choirs and music groups continued on with their rehearsals.

Seokmin didn’t really know much about music. The most he knew about music terminology and stuff was from whenever Jihoon became drunk enough to ramble to them all about his compositions, or from back when he was teaching himself how to play the guitar.

But it was fascinating to watch Joshua as the elder intently observed the rehearsal, watching the way he nodded in agreement with what the other teachers were advising, watching him furrow his brow and tilt his head slightly when he heard something a little off in the choir’s pitch or the wind quintet’s rhythm.

The colour of his expression changed minutely as he listened, and Seokmin was surprised to find himself able to see it, see the way the colours rippled and blended together depending on what Joshua was thinking. It was kind of amazing to see how well Seokmin had now gotten to know Joshua, someone who he'd originally thought to be hopelessly elusive. It was amazing how Seokmin could now read Joshua's masks so well.

Or maybe it wasn't a mask.

Maybe.

Seokmin didn't really know.

But he did know that it was utterly mesmerising, and Joshua looked so beautiful while he listened. This was Joshua doing what he loved best, Joshua in his element, and Seokmin found it so fascinating to watch.

“Oh, it’s my turn now,” Joshua said as the orchestra finished and began packing away their things. “The senior choir is after the symphony orchestra.”

“Ooh, fun!” Seokmin grinned. “Is this going to be the concert order too?”

Joshua nodded, standing up. Seokmin stood up too, and backed into the walkway so that Joshua could walk past him. Before he could shuffle backwards more than three steps, however, Joshua shot out a hand and grabbed his wrist, pulling him back into the seats and into his chest.

Seokmin let out a small yelp, a blush rising up his cheeks at the sudden proximity, and with his heart suddenly pounding unsettlingly loud, it took him a moment to register what had just happened.

Behind him, several of the orchestra students wheeled their large instruments out of the auditorium down the walkway, where Seokmin had been standing just seconds ago.

Joshua released his wrist once they'd filed past, and his own cheeks were dusted a light pink as he stepped back.

“Sorry,” he said, and there was something flusteredly warm in his voice. “I was worried you were going to get run over by the harp.”

He didn't look at Seokmin, gaze sliding across the auditorium instead, and Seokmin tried to mentally get rid of his own blush.

“It's okay,” he replied, and brushed at his alarmingly warm cheeks with a shaky finger, before trying to collect himself and giving a big grin. “Thanks for saving my life. Hey, you do that a lot, don't you? Like, you save me from being murdered by my roommates when we first met, and now you save me from being murdered by a harp.”

That brought Joshua's gaze back to him, and he laughed, bright and beautiful and, even to Seokmin, devastatingly and undeniably fond.

“Guess I'm destined to always come in and save your life, huh?” Joshua said, smiling.

Seokmin laughed, stepping back into the now empty walkway so that Joshua could get past. “I guess you are,” he said, a little wistfully, as Joshua gave him a small wave and walked to the front of the auditorium. “I guess you are.”

He sat down again, watching as Joshua hovered around the stage as the choir students filed in, smiling and greeting them and directing them to where they were to stand. Occasionally, he’d look to the back of the auditorium to catch Seokmin’s eye, and his expression would positively melt before he turned back to his students again. It made Seokmin feel oddly giddy, like he was watching his boyfriend from all the way at the back of a hall only for them to still somehow always find each other amongst all the other people.

Seokmin froze.

Joshua turned to look back at him again, lips curling into one last smile before he fully turned towards the choir, opening his music score and talking over the songs with them.

At the back of the auditorium, however, Seokmin had bluescreened, his mind promptly shutting down at Joshua’s smile, brain whirring, almost subconsciously finding himself going through every encounter he’d ever had with Joshua, mentally replaying every laugh and every smile and every softly spoken word.

He thought of Joshua’s endless patience, his softness, the way the colours in his smile changed and flickered with every blink before eventually, when it was just the two of them, it melted into gentle gold. He thought of Joshua accepting those flowers months ago, of silently communicating with Joshua over plates of spaghetti, of their very first meeting where Joshua had allowed Seokmin to see him at his most vulnerable and his most real.

The memories came faster and faster now, blurring together, slowly creating a picture that Seokmin hadn’t noticed before.

Joshua listening to him sing. Joshua playing the guitar for him. Joshua finding him on whatever street he’d found himself sitting in during the middle of the night and spending hours by his side.

“I’ll be your Aphrodite.”

Seokmin gasped.

With almost uncanny timing, his phone buzzed with a text from Jeonghan, asking him about Joshua’s whereabouts and whether he knew when he’d be finishing work.

He ignored Jeonghan’s text, however, and slowly typed out a message of his own.

…is shua hyung in love with me?

The three dots appeared next to Jeonghan’s icon, and then disappeared. A moment later, Jeonghan replied, and Seokmin let out a small laugh.

now you’re getting it ^^

Setting down his phone, Seokmin looked up again, gazing at the back of Joshua’s head as the elder conducted the choir, the gentle harmonies of the piece ringing around the auditorium. He laughed softly again, wondering how on Earth he hadn’t realised before.

Joshua was in love with him too.

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#1. 😭😭😭 pls u really are the cutesy oml hshfhdh #2. i never rlly thot of it like that before??? i thought i was writing how venus and sun!seokmin wld think....#hoky shit. have I been projecting this wholr time??????#3. HELP thabku sm 🥹🥹#4. REALLLLLLL yoon jeonghsn is basically an omniscient being it's confirmed #5. AHHHHHHHH YEAHHHHHHHHHHH (are we screaming bc ofhis realisation or what)#6. welcome to my world 🤧#feedback !#sky 🌱

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