Astronaut!AU prompt given by lastrainhome
Genre: Romance, Humor, Slight Fluff
Word count: 938 (8x more than a drabble because no self control)

Kim Jongin maneuvers his way to look at Earth through one of the windows of the International Space Station. Being a Mission Specialist sent on one of NASA’s medical experiments has meant being far away from his family and friends for a quarter of a year now. He sighs and notes that it is currently the 14th of February back of Earth, and the fact that people were celebrating it with their loved ones back home is enough to send a pang of homesickness through his heart.

“You can’t fall in love in microgravity.”

Jongin glances up to see who had spoken up. He is surprised to find out that the statement had apparently come from none other than the crew’s resident stoic and Educator Mission Specialist, Do Kyungsoo.

Jongin stares at his fellow Korean crewmate for a while, trying to decipher if he had just witnessed the other joke for the first time in their three-month stay in space, or if Kyungsoo is just as cynical as he appears.

Kyungsoo’s lip twitches, and the spell is broken.

“You were joking.” Jongin says, dumbfounded.

Kyungoo shrugs, the movement looking strange on his usually composed and confident frame. “Of course. Pun intended. Did you really think I was incapable of it?” he asks, a playful glint in his eyes.

“I-uh, no. Uh. I just, it’s just-.” Jongin flounders for an answer that the other would not find offensive, considering that he didn’t want to ruin his chances of ever becoming close to him.

Kyungsoo chuckles, another first since the mission started. He pushes off a wall to get closer to the window Jongin is looking out of, and purses his lips in amusement.

“Missing home?” he asks quietly, the playfulness once again gone from his tone.

Jongin looks out of the window before nodding slowly. “It’s pretty inevitable, don’t you think?”

“I wouldn’t know, there’s really no one back there for me. The station is just as much of a home as Earth was.” Kyungsoo answers forthrightly, glancing back at Jongin.

Jongin is stumped, as he cannot imagine not having anyone of any importance, of not having a home back on Earth.

“Of course I had a house, a structure that half-assed passed off as home.” Kyungsoo adds, seemingly reading his mind. “And I had my students. Those kids.” He smiles, and shakes h