Sleepover? [ NSJ / NJH ]
@mixjoonyoung
Another long day of work had stretched long into the night. Seoji trudged home through heavy snow on unshoveled sidewalks. He approached his usual haunt, the bar down the street from his apartment. As he did nightly, he told himself he wouldn’t go in and, as he did nightly, he discovered a reason why he should before he’d even passed the entrance.
When he was a few dozen paces from the door, it burst open and the bouncer came stomping out. His breath was visible in great white huffs as he dragged a slender, long-legged kid along under his arm. He shoved him, guitar case and all, into the snowy street. Instead of going back inside like he should, he took a few steps closer to the sprawled figure and Seoji knew it was trouble.
“I’ll teach you to come in here and drink all night knowing damn well you couldn’t pay for a drop!” he shouted as he pushed up his sleeves. “Hey! Hey, hey, hey!” Seoji exclaimed as he ran up to his acquaintance. He placed a hand on his shoulder, his handsome face more concerned than usual. “Let’s not make this a bigger problem than it already is, Kwangin-ah,” Seoji insisted, his tone somehow soothing and convincing at the same time.
He looked over his shoulder at the guy who’d been thrown into the street. Something about him immediately struck a chord with Seoji. He stared at him longer than he should have, trying his best to place the resemblance. His eyes locked onto Joonyoung’s and a flicker of a memory began to surface, but Kwangin’s huge form moved under Seoji’s hand and he immediately worried he was making a second attempt to inflict bodily harm upon him.
“He owes my uncle!” Kwangin bellowed furiously. “It’s fine. I’ll cover it. Let’s just go back inside,” Seoji insisted, steering the large bouncer back inside the establishment and leaving Joonyoung outside, cold but unharmed.
Kwangin wasn’t joking about the bill Joonyoung had racked up. Seoji didn’t regret sticking his neck out for the kid, but his wallet was feeling differently. He had a couple drinks while everyone calmed down, watching the reflection of big snowflakes beginning to fall heavily in the reflection of the mirror behind the bar. It was quite late when he came in so Seoji’s visit was short that night. He paid his bill and Joonyoung’s and headed back into the cold feeling a bit warmer from the alcohol and adrenaline.
To his surprise, that long-legged figure was right outside the door, squatted down, legs pulled to his chest. He was slowly becoming covered with snow and visibly shaking. Seoji was so surprised he hadn’t run off that he spoke up, when normally in this type of situation he would’ve minded his own business. “Why are you still out here?! You’ll freeze to death!” he scolded.
It wasn't surprising for Joonyoung when the bouncer came up to him and grabbed him. He'd gone in expecting to find someone he could charm into paying for his tab, but as the night went on it was proving rather difficult. When the bartender finally started pushing for some kind of payment on his ever-growing tab, it became painfully obvious that Joonyoung was flat broke. Joon instinctively tried to slip into the crowd in hopes that the bouncer would lose sight of him, but he wasn't that lucky.
He was hauled outside and tossed into the snow, having forgotten just how bitter cold it was for the few hours he had been inside. Living on the street was something he had grown used to over the many years, but winter was a different story. There was no getting used to the way the cold just seemed to seep right into your bones, the way a small fire might have kept you from freezing to death but it certainly didn't give any warmth.
Ice cold guitar strings and numb fingers made it almost impossible to play anything decent as well, meaning tips from passersby were also few and far between. Winter was tough, but this wasn't Joonyoung's first, and he had his ways to get through it. Even though hiding out in places was a good way to finally warm up, even if it did take hours, it always made the icy outside air feel twice as cold as it did before.
Joonyoung looked up at the bouncer as he shouted at him. He didn't wince, but he certainly looked as though he was expecting to be hit. When a stranger came to stop him though, Joonyoung turned his attention to him instead, his heart suddenly leaping. Joon blinked and sat up a little, trying to get a better look. It was dark and it was difficult to see...but then again maybe his mind was just playing tricks on him. He'd been searching for the older man for so long it seemed like every dark haired man he saw had been looking like him lately.
Joon was further surprised when the stranger offered to pick up his bill. He hadn't even spoken a word to him yet and he was offering to take care of everything. He kept expecting to be given conditions for such an offer, but instead the older man just entered the bar. This would have been the best opportunity for him to leave. There was a chance that the stranger could easily change his mind once he found out exactly how much was owing and send the bouncer back out to get him, but Joon decided to risk it.
He huddled next to the door, knees pulled to his chest as he pulled his ratty scarf up a little higher for extra warmth. The air was so bitter cold it felt like it was suffocating him with each breath. He could feel the wet snow seeping through his shoes and through his clothing as it piled up on him, but still he didn't move. Each time the door opened Joonyung would glance up until finally the older man from earlier emerged. Joonyoung's intention had been to just follow him home, because he had never expected the man to pay him any attention a second time.
Joonyoung got to his feet, but his movement was slow, his body practically frozen in the huddled position he'd been in for hours. "I don't have anywhere else to go," Joonyoung confessed with a simple shrug. It wasn't a plea for help, or as if he was asking for sympathy. He was just stating the truth. "It is really cold though...I already can't feel my ears," he added, moving a bit closer to Seoji, his lips sliding into a coy smirk. It was still difficult to tell if this was really the man he’d been looking for, mostly because Joonyoung was so worried that he might be wrong.
"I bet your place is warm though...and I do owe you for paying off my bill..."
