Work Text:
Jay’s hands glow orangey warm as the shards of glass he’s holding melt together. He passes the lump back and forth from hand to hand before sticking two fingers into the middle of it. Slowly, he tugs on it as he turns the lump. He brings the lip of the opening to his mouth and breathes air into it.
“It’s not just air, you’re breathing life into the glass,” he can practically hear his father’s words in his ears.
His free hand smooths the bulb of the vase. He pulls his mouth away and molds the neck and lip to his liking. The ringing of the glass bell above the front door pulls him out of focus.
“What are you working on today, Jay Hyung?”
Yang Jungwon, the boy who lives across the street. He looks at Jay with stars in his eyes. Or perhaps it’s just the glint of light bouncing off all of the glass items hanging around the shop.
Jay likes to think it’s the first one.
His face flushes warm as Jungwon walks further into the store, brushing his fingers across a set of glass wind chimes he made over the summer. A drop of dew drips from them and catches in the light as he moves on.
He looks at him expectantly and that’s when Jay realizes he’s been staring at Jungwon, mouth agape. He shuts his lips immediately before forcing himself to form words.
“A commission,” Jay says, holding the vase higher and pretending to inspect it.
“For who?”
“I’m not in the business of spilling my client’s information,” Jay says.
“You’re no fun,” Jungwon says and Jay can see the pout on Junwon’s face without even looking at him.
“Give me the first letter and I’ll guess!”
“No.”
Jay tries not to smile as Junwon sighs dramatically. He’s not used to Jay saying no to him.
Jungwon closes in on him until he’s practically face to face with the vase. The curve of the glass contorts his face and makes his eyes look much bigger than his mouth. Jay puts it down and jumps when he realizes just how close Jungwon is.
He feels wisps of flame ignite on his shoulders which he quickly tamps down. Jungwon chuckles.
He hates how easily Jungwon breaks his cool exterior, something that as a fire bender, he’s worked very hard to maintain.
“Are you trying to give me a heart attack?”
Jungwon smiles but doesn’t answer either way. “You’re awfully red.”
“I run hot,” Jay deadpans as he places the vase onto the workbench.
“I could cool you off if you want?”
Jay chokes on his own saliva, the resulting cough erupting from him along with tall wisps of flame once again. As he regains his breath, the flames die out into a more subtle, but no less embarrassing, smoke.
“And how are you gonna do a thing like that?” Jay asks.
Jungwon uncaps a small bottle on a chain by his side and draws water out of it. He brings his hand, wrapped in a thin layer of water, up to Jay‘s neck. The second his hand makes contact, Jay flinches back. It doesn’t seem to upset Jungwon, however, who grins when a slight sheen of dew remains.
“I am a water bender after all,” Jungwon shrugs.
Jay grumbles to himself but says nothing else. He cleans off his workbench and Jungwon watches.
“What kind of bender are they?”
“Why do you want to know so bad?” Jay grabs the feather duster and begins to dust off items around the store. Jungwon follows close behind.
“Cause I’m curious!”
Jay rolls his eyes. He can feel Jungwon’s eyes on the back of his head.
“It’s for an earth bender.”
“Why would an earth bender want a glass vase?”
Jay looks at Jungwon, confused. “Why wouldn’t an earth bender want a glass vase?”
“I don’t know,” Jungwon admits. “I just thought ceramics would be more their style.”
“Well he doesn’t know he’s getting it,” Jay says. “Maybe he’d have more of a preference if he did.”
“It’s a surprise?”
“Yes,” Jay says, picking up a smudged cup that needed particular attention. “It’s an anniversary gift.”
Jungwon bristles at the word “anniversary”. He suddenly becomes very interested in a stained glass lampshade that sits facing away from Jay.
“An anniversary gift?” Jungwon repeats.
“Yeah, he really likes blue and green, so I tried to incorporate both colors the best I could,” he says absentmindedly as he rubs the smudge away with his elbow.
“When did you meet this client?” Jungwon asks, running his fingers through the glass frill trim of the lampshade.
“The client? I grew up with him,” Jay says. “Honestly it’s kind of crazy that this is the first time I’ve made something for him. I thought he would’ve hounded me for something a long time ago.”
“Oh?” Jay misses his dejected tone.
“Yeah, it feels like he never misses an opportunity to tease me about how much time I spend in the shop,” Jay chuckles awkwardly.
“You two get along well, huh?”
“Definitely. He was my closest friend growing up.”
Jay finally turns to look at Jungwon who now seems to be folded in on himself, flicking at one glass frill over and over again.
“Jungwon?”
“Yeah?”
“Are you okay?” Jay asks, walking closer to him. He throws his towel over his shoulder and leans his back against the table that the lamp rests on. He gives Jungwon a worried look.
He doesn’t know what happened to make Jungwon upset. He’s pouting, but not his usual playful pouting. Instead, Jay can tell that he’s trying not to frown and failing miserably. Even more troubling, he won’t look Jay in the eye.
“I’m fine.”
“Did I say something to upset you?”
Jungwon breathes out a short, sad laugh and shakes his head. “So it’s an anniversary. How many months are you celebrating?”
Jay’s eyes pop out of his skull at the question.
“Huh?!”
“A year?” Jungwon corrects.
“Who said it was my anniversary?” Jay asks.
Now it’s Jungwon’s turn to stand up straight. “It’s not?!”
“No! I told you, it was a commission!” Jay throws his hands up.
“I thought you were being coy,” Jungwon crosses his arms and turns away.
Jay can’t help but smile. Jungwon may still be pouting, but it’s his usual pout.
“Why would I lie about that?” Jay laughs.
“Who knows?! Because you hate me?” Jungwon teases.
“I could never hate you and you know that.”
Suddenly, Jay understands why Jungwon teases him so much. Watching someone get flustered because of you is quite entertaining.
“Mhm, so who is the vase for?” Jungwon asks.
“Jake. You know, our friend Heeseung’s boyfriend of one year.”
“The teasing tone is not appreciated,” Jungwon sasses.
“But it’s well deserved,” Jay smiles. “Especially because if I didn’t know any better, I’d say for a hot minute there you thought I was in a secret relationship and you were jealous.”
Jungwon gasps, clutching his chest. “I was not jealous!”
“Sure you weren’t,” Jay says, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
“I wasn’t!” Jungwon insists. “Why would I be jealous at the thought of you making a beautiful vase for some rando?”
Jay raises a brow at him and he scoffs.
“You look awfully red,” Jay teases.
“Am not,” he mumbles.
“Positively boiling.”
“You keep teasing me!” Jungwon says exasperatedly.
“Oh, I’m not trying to cool you off,” Jay grins. “Remember I run hot.”
Jungwon groans, flicking drops of water at him before attempting to walk away. He can’t hide the grin forming on his face, but he tries to anyway. Jay pulls him back before he can get very far, hugging him to his chest tightly. Jungwon squirms with a giggle, but not enough to seriously break free from him.
“In fact,” Jay says, whispering into Jungwon’s ear. “I’d like to see how much hotter I could get you.”
“Do your worst,” Jungwon says, though he’s buzzing with excitement.
“How would you feel about you and I getting dinner at The Piping Kettle?”
His neck glows brighter where Jay’s warm breath hits the skin.
“I’d say when do you want me to meet you there?”
“7, and I’ll pick you up.”
“It’s a date.”
“Beautiful,” Jay says, pulling away but putting up a finger for Jungwon to wait.
“It’s about time, honestly,” Jungwon says as he watches Jay pull shards of glass from a small pouch on his belt. He looks away as Jay heats the glass and starts pulling it in different directions.
“About time for what?” Jay asks, a bit distracted from whatever he’s doing.
“That you asked me out,” Jungwon says like it’s obvious. “I’ve been coming into this place for months just to talk to you.”
“Some fires take a little longer to bloom,” Jay says, putting in the final touches on his glass gift.
“Are you calling yourself dumb?” Jungwon asks.
“Yes,” Jay says, holding up his creation. A glass rose, the petals opened at the top to show the intricate layers underneath. “For you.”
Jungwon stops talking, his brows raised in surprise as he gingerly takes the flower from Jay.
“I know it’s not the same as a fresh flower, but my father used to always say that we breathe life into our work,” Jay scratches the back of his neck.
Jungwon’s surprised face melts into a soft smile. He leans in and presses a kiss into Jay’s cheek, steam curling away from the spot.
“Thank you,” Jungwon says. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
He turns and walks out of the shop. Jay continues to stand still for a few more minutes, burnt into the rug in that very spot. A kiss? From Jungwon? A date? WITH JUNGWON?!
And even after everything, Jungwon still managed to tease him one last time before leaving the shop.