Chapter Text
Jeonghan woke up because he felt cold. A slight breeze tickled his nape and startled him as he felt the chilliness blow down his back. Shivering, he moved his arm slowly to feel for the blanket, before pulling it up to cover his neck and part of his face. In doing so, he let his eyes open slightly and winced at the bright sunlight.
Feeling the ache from staring at the light, the angel struggled to pull the blanket further up, using his feet to kick up the heavy duvet and push it up. He sighed in content when the darkness enveloped him. However, the relief was short-lived as he felt his breath turn shallow with every passing minute. It took him ten minutes before he flung the blanket away from his face, to be greeted by the cold air yet again.
That alone definitely woke him up fully. As Jeonghan forced himself to open his eyes, he was pleasantly surprised that he couldn’t see anything. No ceiling lights or anything, just a plain grey that reminded him that it was, in fact, daytime. Not morning though — it was far too bright to be his usual wake up time.
How long was he asleep for?
Jeonghan moved his arms, intending to stretch out the rest of his fatigue, but in doing so, realised both sides of the bed were empty. He was laying there, alone. The bedsheets were as cold as the air he breathed in.
The angel remembered everything. He touched his sides and was surprised that only a mild, and slightly annoying, ache remained. If he didn’t purposely press down on parts of his body, he wouldn’t know where it hurts. The pain wasn’t even nearly as bad as last night. Even if the angel wanted to question his quick healing — all the hows and whys — he was honestly not in the mindset to be thinking through all the details. He was just glad to have made it in one piece.
Besides, the physical abnormalities were not on the front of his mind. Jeonghan recalled the conversation they had. All the emotions that ran through him as Seungcheol broke down in front of him.
Ah…
He was here because of Seungcheol.
“I’m sorry, Jeonghan. I’m sorry. I’m sorry…”
His apologies echo in his mind as Jeonghan sighed. He let his head fall to his right, where the light was coming from. The light that shine through his eyelids did little to block out the visions of Seungcheol’s silhouette hunched over, and did nothing to ease the return of the memories and feelings flooding him like a tsunami. The shock, the betrayal, the worries. And floating on the very surface of it all: fear. All directed at the man who brought him here.
Jeonghan suddenly opened his eyes. He struggled to adjust to the bright lights, but he did not care. Looking around him, he held his breath as he slowly made out the folds of the dark curtains that hung beside the window. He saw the window frame and its dark outline as he got used to the sunlight, then realised he could see the difference between the colours of the curtains and the frame. One was almost black, almost blue. The other was a lighter grey.
Damn it.
The angel closed his eyes again and frowned.
He could see blue. Blue! He might as well say his vision was almost completely back, which kind of defeated the purpose of having to wear the halo all the time. Jeonghan really could not understand how something as important as the halo could just crack at the most crucial time, as if it were glass. When he got back, Jeonghan decided, he was going to find the engineering team and… Well, he didn’t exactly know who were behind the creation of these halos. But whoever it was, he was going to give them an earful.
With a groan, the angel pushed himself up and got out of the bed. He made sure to tidy the blanket before looking around.
With what he could see, he immediately made out a doorway on the other side of the room. This time, he was able to walk straight towards it, never bumping into the bed frame even once. Jeonghan had no problem finding the silver handle and pulled the door open.
Just as he walked into what looked like a hallway, a distant clatter could be heard. Jeonghan wasted little time getting there, following the dim hallway into another room, where he was greeted by a familiar figure. Said person immediately looked up at him and gave him a small smile.
“Look who finally got up.”
It took a while for Jeonghan to adjust to the change in lighting, but as he stood by the end of hallway, watching intently at the man, he slowly discovered how much he could really see.
He was in a kitchen. From what he could see, it was probably the same size as the room he shared with Jisoo. The table and chairs already took up a huge part of the space. As he glanced across the room, he could make out the plates and bowls stacked inside an open cupboard and the pots sitting in a dark corner, unused. Seungcheol seemed to be standing next to the stove, or what looked like the stove area, since in one of his hands, the man was holding onto a spatula tightly. So tightly, in fact, that Jeonghan could see the veins taunting him from the back of his hand which was saying something. About how the guy was feeling, that is. Not how he was using this opportunity to stare him down, clothes, arms and all.
The angel stared at Seungcheol cautiously, wondering what the oversized-shirt-and-sweatpants-wearing guy was going to do next. Last night’s roller coaster of events did not serve to make him trust him too much. Even though they technically slept together, in the same bed, almost embracing.
The word ‘almost’ was like the last strand of rationality holding Jeonghan together in this very moment.
“Care for some brunch?”
Jeonghan jumped at Seungcheol’s question, earning another smile from the man. Right then, the former locked eyes with the latter. He could feel its piercing intensity. Panicking slightly, the angel held onto the doorway and looked away, ignoring the feeling of heat growing in his ears.
“No thanks. I don’t need brunch… or anything. I was just walking around.”
Seungcheol saw how the other was staring intently at where his hands were.
“Not even a bite?”
He saw Jeonghan gulp right at that moment, probably salivating from the thought of food. Waving his arms in the general direction of the dining table, he went back to focus on the pancakes in the pan, hiding his smile. He didn’t need to hide it since Jeonghan can’t see, but force of habit…
It’s been a while since he last felt this light-headed. The good kind.
“Just sit down. The food will be ready in a few minutes.”
Jeonghan looked at the man as if trying to read his mind, but eventually sighed and walked into the kitchen to seat himself.
That apparently shocked both parties.
“You can see?”
Jeonghan was startled by how loud Seungcheol exclaimed, almost jumping in his seat, but managed to calm his own heart before replying.
“Just shadows and rough shapes.”
The standard reply he was taught. Though, Jeonghan thought he might have to change it a little to keep up the accuracy. He was clearly seeing more than just shadows and rough shapes. He could even see his own fingers now. Sickly thin, like fat white bean sprouts fused to his palms. The angel stretched them out curled them back into fists, hearing the clicks as he bent his fingers. He always wondered why they made such sounds.
Just then, he saw something slide towards him on the table. Jeonghan looked up and saw that, on a dark blue plate, was a round, brown item with smoke wisping from its top. There were also a bunch of red clustered around the sides. With a closer look, he could make out the shape of a strawberry.
“Here you go. Don’t mind if the pancakes taste a little weird. Can’t expect much from boxed mixtures.”
Seungcheol sat himself opposite Jeonghan, who wasn’t paying much heed to the former as he stared intently at the food before him.
Seungcheol picked up his fork and cut out a piece of the pancake.
“Bon appetite~”
Jeonghan locked his eyes on the strawberry.
It was a food item he never tasted before. In Heaven, he only ever saw them on the packaging of sweet snacks and sodas. When he asked the younger angels if they ever tried them, the response was mixed: some claim them to be tasty and sweet like candy, but others grumble about how sour they were. Jeonghan never got a definite answer of what a ‘Strawberry’ tasted like.
He wanted to know.
The red was bright and alluring, locking his eyes onto the mysterious fruit. His left hand slowly moved towards them. As he grabbed one, he was pleasantly surprised by the rough spots where the seeds were, as he remembered in the pictures. A film of water made the strawberry smooth to the touch.
Without much of a thought, Jeonghan took a bite.
Oh my god
He was not supposed to say something like that (he would ask for God’s forgiveness later on), but the sweetness practically bursted inside his mouth. It was startling how much juice the tiny fruit, but each drop made his tongue tingle excitedly. All he could think of was how incredible it was. How sweet it was. Like liquid candy swirling in his mouth.
Jeonghan’s first reaction after finishing the strawberry was to eat another. He liked it so much. Up till this moment, this was the only food that got him excited, after spending a week overcoming his body’s resistance towards Earth’s food and other strange humanly sensations. There was a great relief in being able to enjoy eating again.
However, just as he grabbed a second piece of strawberry, he saw Seungcheol nonchalantly finishing his own plate of food. As if it were merely routine. On his plate, Jeonghan did not see any fruit. Only the brown of the half-eaten pancakes and the glistening layer on top of it.
Did he not have any strawberries?
How could he miss out on such a lovely food?
Jeonghan reached out his hand, holding a single strawberry in between his fingertips.
“Here.”
Seungcheol looked up, cheeks puffed up with food. His confusion was clear from his silence. Jeonghan stretched his hand further towards him.
“Try one. They are very sweet.”
Seungcheol quickly swallowed his food, albeit dramatically. Clearing his throat, he gave a small smile and shook his head.
“Thank you, but I don’t like strawberries.”
Jeonghan gasped.
“You don’t like them?!”
Seungcheol almost wanted to laugh at the other’s reaction. The pure shock and horror upon hearing his dislike for the simple fruit. Like a child who had been told that Santa was not real. Adorable, though there was no reason for him to be fawning over cute pouts.
“They just taste funky. Too sour for my liking.”
Instantly, Jeonghan stood up from his seat and stretched his hands further. He didn’t even realised he was pressing the tip of the strawberry onto Seungcheol’s lips. He couldn’t imagine someone calling the precious gem ‘sour’.
“They are sweet. Very sweet. Please try one.”
Seungcheol glanced up and saw how desperate Jeonghan looked. He could feel the moisture of the fruit seeping through his lips, as he watched the other hold his ground. Eyes drooped in a pleading expression that Seungcheol didn’t quite know how to respond to.
He was already going against his demonly morals to feed the angel and keep him comfortable, yet he was here, softening himself all because of one ‘please’.When he got back to Hell, he really needed to seriously evaluate this past few days. He was acting too out of character, and Seungcheol knew it himself.
Seungcheol opened his mouth and took a bite.
“Yeah… It’s sweet.”
Jeonghan beamed.
“See, I told you!”
Seungcheol looked down and picked up his fork again. He rested his now-reddening cheek in his hand, hiding it. But Jeonghan could not tell, nor see the way the former's face was heating up.
“Okay, okay. You were right. Now finish your pancakes.”
“No, they taste weird.”
“...”
“...”
“Oh fuck, I forgot to pour the maple syrup for you.”