love you later | yeonbin

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Yeonjun is different, softer somehow. It's a little jarring at first when Soobin has gotten so used to their fights, the bigger ones that left behind a bitter taste, and the little quarrels that weren't about anything important at all. Suddenly, instead of snapping at him whenever he asks something or does something he wasn't supposed to, Yeonjun only halts for a moment, tilts his head, and watches him before he answers.

The first time it happens is after Soobin accidentally puts a book back in the wrong place, and consequently messes up Yeonjun's careful organization. He expects the worst. He braces himself for the storm to come, and when it doesn't it gives him whiplash all the same. Because instead of getting angry, Yeonjun just takes a deep breath, points out the right shelf, and asks Soobin to correct his mistake. It's strange, and a little unsettling at first, but it's easy enough to get used to when anger is exchanged for soft sighs and smiles.

Before Soobin knows it, weeks have passed without them having a single fight that went beyond the question of what they should have for dinner. The days are getting longer, and warmer too. Even the shade of the trees is not enough to block out the summer heat completely, and the first time Soobin steps back inside the house after cleaning up the pond, he realizes how sweaty he has gotten. It makes him falter for a moment, the realization of how long it has been since he's arrived and been staying with Yeonjun hitting. His heart clenches in his chest thinking about his friends and family. He was supposed to visit his parents and grandparents for the Lunar New Year, and he misses the casual dinners with his friends and working at Taehyun's gallery. He's been calling them every now and then, but it's not the same, doesn't replace seeing them in person. It doesn't offer the same comfort a hug from his mom would, doesn't make him feel at ease the way sitting together in silence with his grandmother could.

And yet, he doesn't have it in himself to be truly sad, because being around Yeonjun is more fun than he would have ever expected. It's like that night at the pond has knocked down a wall between them, something invisible but definitely there, hindering them from understanding each other.

Suddenly, Yeonjun lets Soobin into his study as he's working, giving him simpler texts to read. Some days, Yeonjun will snap his fingers to clean the bowls and plates after dinner, and although Soobin has always enjoyed doing the dishes, he doesn't have it in himself to tell Yeonjun when it leads to them watching the sun set behind the trees out on the dock. He shows Soobin how easily he can change his hair color with nothing more than a wave of his fingers, making Soobin's heart stumble in his chest as he goes from black, silver to blond to ginger to and back to blond again. It gets worse when Yeonjun's cheeks bunch up slightly as he's laughing loudly at the shock on Soobin's face. He finally learns that the warm scent of peaches and vanilla lingering in the air is a product of Yeonjun's magic, and it's so oddly endearing to Soobin that he has to excuse himself to step outside for a moment until all he can smell is the scent of the forest soil and the trees around him. Yeonjun is lighter, less tense, and it's a good look on him. He's blooming right in front of Soobin's eyes, and it's a sight so beautiful, Soobin wants to capture it in all its facets.

Still, Yeonjun never loses focus. It's on a Wednesday afternoon that he asks Soobin to join him in the study once more. There are books scattered all across the place, a coffee mug wedged somewhere in between, and it's a sight so familiar to Soobin that it doesn't even make him cringe anymore thinking about how the coffee could spill and taint all the fragile pages.

"Okay so," Yeonjun says as he plops down on his chair, angling it a bit towards where Soobin is sitting next to him. Yeonjun doesn't bother to remove the extra chair anymore, leaves it right there for Soobin to join him whenever he wants to. "I think I got it."

Soobin's heart stops for a second. His eyes go wide, his lips dropping into a perfect O-shape. "Really?"

"Yeah. I had a conversation with Kai while he was here, and he mentioned something about the flow of energy. Remember how you had to pluck the flowers at full moon?"