written for the lovely, amazing, wonderful @joenwonu <3 merry (late 😅) christmas alec!! i love you~
pairing: jeon wonwoo x gender neutral reader
genre: fluffy as fluff can get, baby!
wonwoo, despite his outwardly aloof and intimidating appearance, undoubtedly radiates warmth, in both the literal and figurative sense of the word. anyone who has ever had the pleasure of witnessing his smile can attest to this simple fact; the way that his eyes crinkle into crescents, wrinkles perfectly forming at their corners, could melt even the coldest of hearts. but wonwoo’s warmth physically manifests itself as well, for curling up against his chest at the end of a long day can easily compare to lounging next to an open fire, though the former is typically much more comforting as wonwoo tends to run his fingertips idly over your bare skin in such instances. still, for as long as you’ve known him, everything about wonwoo has always been so cozy, so mellow—and so, simply put, warm.
naturally, as the weather turns drastically colder and christmas draws near, you decide to bring wonwoo to the one place where he would, as the human equivalent of a space heater, absolutely thrive—an outdoor skate rink.
“uhm,” wonwoo’s voice sounds timid as the two of you pull into the parking lot, and his stare fixates on the small crowd already gathered on the ice. “i don’t know how i feel about this…”
“hey,” you flash him a quick smile as you open the car door, “do you trust me?”
he smiles at your blatant cheesiness, his eyebrows drawing together in a slight crease. “are you quoting aladdin?”
you shake your head, his smile absolutely contagious as you find a grin of your own tugging at your cheeks. “ah, you’re too smart for me…” you coo. your gaze meets his for a split second but quickly darts down to the snow-covered ground. “but the point is! i’ve got you. i’ll teach you what i know. so there’s absolutely nothing to be worried about.” wonwoo slips his hand in yours, and you give it a firm, playful squeeze as the two of you make your way toward the ice. he simply nods, and despite the fact that the two of you held hands on many occasions before, you notice the reddish tinge of his ears.
you tell yourself it’s the cold in a merciful attempt to save wonwoo’s pride.
the two of you run into your first obstacle almost immediately: wonwoo had put his skates on the wrong feet. you wind up having to fasten his laces for him, just to make sure his ankles wouldn’t suffer from the occasional tumble. as your fingers nimbly untie the triple knot wonwoo has somehow fixed into the laces, your boyfriend merely observes the other skaters. although you should be focusing on the task at hand, you’re undeniably drawn to the distant look in his eye as he falls into his thoughts. it happens often enough to where you’re not worried about him; comfortable silence is rather common between the two of you, as wonwoo finds himself lost in his own head more often than not. but your heart always swells whenever he thinks so deeply, his head cocked to the side, his mouth only slightly agape, and a glossy, far-away look in his eye. he’s absolutely beautiful, you think to yourself with a fond smile.
you shake your head in an attempt to clear it and finish fastening wonwoo’s laces, running a hand through his dark, curly air as he timidly thanks you before walking rather clumsily toward the edge of the frozen lake.
wonwoo is, as he is with most thing he tries, fairly decent at ice skating despite his lack of practice. unlike many first-timers, wonwoo doesn’t freak out whenever he glides out onto the ice. instead, he clings tightly onto your arm, steadying himself against your sturdy figure. he wobbles uneasily at first, his grip tightening every time he starts to lose his balance, but he catches on rather fast. he even insists on staying on the ice by himself while you search for the gloves and hat that you swear you put in your back pocket before leaving the house.
you come back shivering with fingers that ache from the cold but a heart that warms at the sight of your little doe learning how to walk. with his arms straight down and fingers outstretched, wonwoo bites his lip in concentration as he slowly makes his first lap by himself. at once, he tumbles to the ground and you hear him inhale sharply at the impact. upon seeing the shock on your face, however, he bursts out laughing, and you smile in relief. he stands, again rather shakily but managing to avoid catastrophe, shakes off the ice that clung to his jeans and puffy coat, and slowly makes his way over to you.
“my butt hurts,” he says while reaching his hands out to you with a small chuckle. you take them immediately and guide him gently off the ice. “oh wow,” his smile falters upon seeing your state. “you’re freezing.”
it was true—while wonwoo was well-prepared for the snow and ice, you somehow lost your gloves and hat, leaving your fingers and ears exposed to the harsh cold. you shiver violently, teeth chattering and all, but insist that you are fine, and he shouldn’t worry about you. wonwoo won’t accept that answer.
“come here,” he mutters, pulling you tightly against his chest without hesitation. he takes your hands and places them firmly inside his gloved ones, bringing them up to his mouth so he can blow warm air onto them. the action embarrasses you, but wonwoo cannot be stopped when his mind is set on something. he sits down on a nearby bench, taking off his scarf to wrap it snuggly around you before pulling you into his lap.
“‘nonu,” the nickname rolls off your tongue like a sigh of protest, “really, i’m fine.” had it not been for the excessive chattering of your teeth, perhaps wonwoo would have believed you.
“nuh uh.” he states simply and shifts his position slightly so he can rest his head on your shoulder. “i’m not letting go. not until you stop shivering.” you hear the certainty in his deep voice, sigh, and wordlessly succumb to his wishes, curling deeper into his chest.
yes, wonwoo is always warm, whether it be physically as he shields you from the harsh winter wind and brushes his fingertips over your goosebump-pricked skin, or metaphorically whenever he makes you laugh, kisses you tenderly, or puts your needs before his own.