Handong x Female Reader
College au
Status - Finished (1 part) ✅
Warnings ~ angst, mentions of depression, fluff ending
Requested by girlgeniusgwg1442 (hope you like this, homie 😉)
In the past, I used to think that bad days were the end of the world...
That being so swamped at school and work that I was unable to have a single moment to think to myself (let alone grab a meal in between classes or shifts) was probably the most dreadful thing in the world.
That feeling so empty and depressed when thick raindrops soak my hair and clothes on my walk back to my apartment (because I forgot to check the weather after I woke up and come prepared with an umbrella) was the worst thing ever.
I used to.
But now, those days, although still dreadful in the moment, became more bearable. All because of one simple difference...
I had her.
Handong.
Half the time she was nearly as unbearable as those bad days, insisting on teasing me constantly for everything and nothing all at once (really, you'd think her only form of communication was through insults). She had this cold exterior that she liked to keep up. Like an ice princess, she built her walls thick, hiding away her true emotions.
But, little by little, she allowed me to chip away at those icy gates guarding her heart. Until, gradually, she granted me access and I realized just how much warmth was encapsulated within those glaciers: even more than the chill that seemed to encompass her being.
When the moments mattered most, when I was depressed, or scared, or lost... those were the moments when she opened up to me:
When she would approach me with her arms outstretched and her ears ready.
When she would show me just how observant and caring she really was.
When she would prove just how intelligent and selfless she has always been.
When she would remind me just how important and real she would always be to me.
So, even though my saggy clothes left puddles in our apartment hall as I walked to the bathroom, and even though it took way too long for the water to heat up as I shivered under the freezing liquid, I didn't mind. Because, after I got cleaned up and dried off, Handong was there with a pile of warm pajamas and a sad, reassuring smile on her face.
"Bad day, huh?" Her voice was soft and empathetic. She already knew the answer to her own question even before she found me in front of the mirror, looking mildly pathetic with my lips and shoulders drooping.
My head nodded on it's own, "The worst."
I nearly melted into her touch right there, barely enough energy left in my body to take the clothes from her hands and slip them on. If I had the ability to hold my eyes open normally, I would've blushed at the sight of Handong watching me in my peripheral. Although I knew it was only innocent curiosity in her gaze, the grey-haired beauty always seemed to make my heart thump at an unnerving rate in my chest any time she looked at me for longer than socially accepted.
"Come on." She stepped forward and tugged at my arm once I finished. Without refusing, I allowed her to drag me to her room and lay me down in bed.
Once I rested my head on her chest and felt her comforting arms around my body, I couldn't stop the burst of emotions that had built up throughout the day. The tears spilled from my eyes and landed on Handong's shirt. Yet, she didn't seem to mind, instead gently combing her hands through my hair in a soothing way.
"It's okay." She breathed out, her lips pressing to my forehead lightly, "Let it out." She whispered and pulled me impossibly closer, resting her cheek on top of my head. Her warmth enveloped me and, like some trick of magic, the heavy weight of sadness and worry was lifted from my heart. I grabbed her free hand and intertwined our fingers, my tears already slowing down, until they finally came to a halt.
"Thank you." I whispered simply, too afraid of moving too quickly and uttering those three dangerous words that always seemed to be hanging on the edge of my tongue when I was with Handong. She was too special and too precious to me, I wasn't willing to scare her off when she just fully opened up to me.
"Anything for you." She replied sincerely and I was suddenly thankful for the thick storm clouds outside; dark enough to shade the pink tint spreading across my cheeks and loud enough to cover up my erratic heartbeat and staggered breathing.
In that moment, feeling a tingling in my chest that only arose when Handong was close, I finally decided that there was only one thing worse than a bad day...
Not having her.