---

Youngjae stepped out of the car and sighed. It was already way too hot for his liking, but work was work and after the last incident at his main job he was feeling pretty lucky to be chosen to help with prepping this field for a small... festival? Farmer's market, maybe? 

Honestly, it had been a year since Youngjae had been here and he didn't exactly remember what it was they did in this field in the summer, beyond burning themselves to a crisp, that is. 

Damn, that reminds him.

He forgot his sunscreen.  he'd left it on his bed at home, next to his phone, tablet, and laptop. The only thing he actually remembered to bring was his wallet and some changes of clothing. Now, he couldn't even listen to music while he worked, and he remembered the disaster last year when he'd tried to get people to listen to k-pop on the community speakers.

This is why he really needed to stick to jobs in his area.

Shaking his head he looked around, recognizing a few faces as they ran past on their errands, some waving to him others looking like they wanted to murder him. He didn't know why they wouldn't be happy he was here though- Oh. That's right. He was brought on last year to remove poison oak from the field. He never got the stuff, no matter how much he came in contact with, but the few girls he hugged weren't so lucky. He'd have to remember to be more careful this year.

Shifting the strap of his duffle bag over his shoulder, he walked into the main building that served as an office, hoping to escape the heat for at least a few minutes before he was put to work. Though he knew the owner, he also knew the man was a lot different from his brother -Youngjae's usual employer- while he still wanted his employees to have fun, the man was a bit more work oriented, keeping longer hours and having stricter guidelines around his ranch. 

Or would it be considered a farm? 

Youngjae really didn't know or care, but his attention span was at an all time low today. He'd be lucky if he didn't get distracted mid work day and chase a goat off into the woods trying to pet it.

He sighed again loudly, willing his thoughts back into some form of order and walked through the open door and into the office. Ahh, nice and cool. Maybe he could just skip work and hang out in here for the next few days.

"Youngjae! there you are!" Yongnam looked up and grinned at him, teeth and gums put on display just like his brother Yongguk's whenever he smiled. At least this meant the man was happy to see him.Youngjae returned the grin and nodded.

"I hope I'm not too early? I know I'm a day sooner than Yongguk told you I'd be, but I had to come down with my family anyway, so I thought I'd just stay here and jump right into work, if possible." Youngjae watched the man as he concentrated for a moment.

"Well... I could let you, but you'd have to assure me you wouldn't walk off as soon as you meet the new lead man we hired a few months back. He's a bit... Intense. Sounds like an angry trucker most of the time, the girls have this weird love-hate thing going on with him." Yongnam lets a small smile creep back onto his face.

"I can honestly tell you there's no one I can't handle. If I can't get along with him, I'll just ignore him and do my job. you know that, Nam." Youngjae ended the sentence with a smile of his own.

"Glad to hear it, Jae. Just don't let his personality get to you and you'll do just fine. Well, you know the drill. Same as Yongguk's. Pick a locker, drop your stuff off and get to it, same deal as last year, just clear the field and get it ready. I'll be out to see how things are going a bit later." Youngjae nodded and headed out, leaving Yongnam to do his work in peace.

Youngjae had no problem finding the lockers or dropping his things off. He had no problem grabbing his tools out of the shed or getting started on the first patch of poison oak he saw.

He only had a small problem when he heard rushed footsteps and the loud voice of what he assumed was an angry trucker telling him he was standing in poison oak. Youngjae stayed calm however and looked over, not expecting that voice to belong to such an attractive man. 

"Didn't you hear me? You're standing in poison oak! You're going to be itching for days!" the man frowned, giving Youngjae a look that suggested he thought him an idiot for his current position.

"I heard you, and I know this is poison oak. I can roll in this stuff and not get it. It's why was brought in last year to take care of it, and again this year." Youngjae smiled at him and the man just scoffed.

"Yongnam didn't tell me any newbies were coming today, So unless you can prove you work here... ?" The man trailed off, probably waiting for his name, he assumed.

"My name's Youngjae. I'd shake your hand but, well you know." He chuckled and pointed to the poison oak that was rubbing at his exposed legs and hands. "If you ask Yongnam, he'll tell you I'm a bit early. I usually work for his brother."

"You're not the idiot that took out his eyes and hand last month are you?" Youngjae frowned slightly but didn't speak.

"Well, I guess that answers that... How'd you manage that anyway? I'd love to hear it." The man crossed his arms and waited for an answer.

"I hit a rotting board with a hammer and smashed my hand since I wasn't expecting the wood to be that far gone. The wood particles just went straight for my eyes. Not as dumb as it sounds, honestly. It's why Guk's having the rest of the buildings inspected right now... And isn't it a little rude to question someone without telling them your name?" Youngjae crossed his arms over his chest and raised an eyebrow.

"That's a fair question. I'm Himchan, and since you used Yongguk's nickname, I guess I'll have to believe you. no one ever calls him that unless they know him personally." the man half smirked, half smiled, his eyes twinkling like he was planning on putting Youngjae through hell. "Let me grab some gloves and I'll help you clear this patch." Before Youngjae could protest the man had run off.

Youngjae rolled his eyes. What a ing weirdo that guy was, it shouldn't be too hard to deal with him though.

He went back to pulling the Poison Oak out of the ground and pouring the special mix Yongguk and Yongnam made to kill the stuff into the holes left in the ground. 

Ten minutes later, Himchan literally danced his way back into the patch of poison oak, earbuds firmly in his ears as he mouthed the words to the song playing so loudly that Youngjae could hear the melody. It sounded strangely familiar but he brushed it off and became slightly jealous that this guy had music and he didn't. Damn all his luck, this was going to be a boring few days.

Youngjae stopped after an hour, his skin feeling tight and itchy from the sunburn he most likely had. He needed to head for some shade and cool off before he could finish the last bit of this patch. when he stood up straight he heard Himchan chime in with; 

"Holy you're a lobster! damn kid, go sit down before you die from the heat, this type of work is for real men such as myself anyway." 

Youngjae scoffed and mumbled something in Himchan's direction but it wasn't loud enough for him to hear over the music that was once again blasting into the man's ears.

After grabbing an iced coffee that was way larger than he needed, Youngjae headed out to a patch of shade under a tree not far from where Himchan was working. He plopped down, sipping his coffee and watching as the man seemed to notice his presence and looked over.

Himchan quickly made his way over and plopped his head down on Youngjae's leg, lifting just far enough to Catch Youngjae's straw and steal some of his coffee.

"Yeah sure, Just help yourself to my coffee. Make yourself at home, Damn." Youngjae frowned and stared down at the man who seemed to be ignoring him completely.

"Don't be a , sharing is caring." the man closed his eyes. Damn this guy really wasn't bad looking. Focus, Youngjae.

Suddenly a thought struck Youngjae and he chuckled. "Well, I guess we can share the poison oak I've been rubbing myself in then."

Himchan opened one eye and smiled, his front teeth looking a little bit like bunny teeth, Youngjae mentally noted."Jokes on you, then JaeJae. I don't get Poison oak either."

"Rude..." Youngjae moved his drink when Himchan tried to steal another sip and started drinking it quickly, causing Himchan to chuckle. 

"Damn, greedy... Share that glorious elixir of life!" Himchan chuckled more as he flailed his arms randomly.

Youngjae laughed and wondered why Yongnam had warned him about the man's personality. He seemed normal-ish to him. so far. Maybe he needed to get to know Himchan better before he could judge.

"Fine, one more drink. Jeez. Soooo dramatic" Youngjae smiled when Himchan let out a squeal and happily took a drink of the coffee.

"Honestly I didn't sleep over an hour last night, so coffee is probably the only thing keeping me alive." Himchan handed Youngjae his coffee back and went quiet for a moment before blurting out. "How weird would it be if coffee was the only cure for the zombie virus?" 

Youngjae grinned. "No weirder than it would be for people to keep them as 'pets'... A friend of mine told me about this movie I need to watch, apparently. It's called Fi-"

"FIDO!" Himchan shot up off of Youngjae's lap so fast he almost lost his balance.

"You're excitable, aren't you?"  Youngjae chuckled at a grinning Himchan who was staring at the necklace he had on with a weird smile. It was a Rovix necklace.

"You listen to Kpop." Youngjae nodded, though he was slightly surprised.

"And so do you, that's why you're music sounded familiar earlier. It was Cross Gene, wasn't it?" Himchan nodded as his grin widened.

"See, the girls around here don't get it, they keep asking me like 'why would you listen to that, it sounds so weird.'  I haven't even attempted to ask the guys about it, but since they're usually whistling some country song or other, I've labeled them as lost causes."

"I get that. It's so hard to get someone to listen to it... I swear I thought I was the only person in this area of the country who did. well, besides my one friend.. but they sort of moved away? I don't know, it's weird..."  Youngjae trailed off for a minute but looked back up at Himchan, seeing him sitting there with the same grin he had earlier. 

"What?" Youngjae tilted his head and looked confused as Himchan offered a hand to help him up. 

"I'm telling Yongnam that I'm keeping you with me the next few days. He can't have you back, I never have the chance to talk to other fanboys." Youngjae chuckled as Himchan pulled him up.

"That works."

Himchan and Youngjae got back to work, the former leaving his ear buds out as they played a few rounds of ", Marry, Kill" and tossed 'would you rather' questions at each other randomly. Youngjae was having fun, honestly and hoped this would be a good friendship in the future.

That's when Himchan suddenly blurted out. "You're like an irritated ballsack."

Youngjae had been offended at first and prepared to give Himchan an earful, but the man continued before he could.

"I mean to say, I want to keep you in my pants, bring you out for air occasionally and never let my friends find out about you."  Youngjae made a squeaking noise before he burst into a snorting fit of laughter.

"What the hell is wrong with you Himchan?!?" Youngjae was almost wheezing from laughing so hard, and Himchan was just chuckling.

"So, So much..."

A few minutes later Yongnam came by to see how everything was going and was pleasantly surprised to see the two of them getting along rather well. Even if they did bond over music he can't stand. The meeting between the boss and his employees went smoothly, minus the interruption from Youngjae's snorting laugh when Himchan had leaned over very slowly and with a completely serious look on his face, whispered just loud enough for both of the other men to hear; "Youngjae's my favorite testicle".

Yongnam had left shortly after shaking his head and mumbling to himself about sending them both to Yongguk when Youngjae had to go back. 

The work day ended when the sun started setting. Himchan and Youngjae had both worked hard and the field was coming along nicely. At this rate, they'd be done with it a day or two sooner than expected, which was nice for everyone involved.

That night Youngjae found himself sitting alone by the bonfire. drinking his least favorite type of beer. Everyone seemed to be socializing elsewhere, and Himchan had left to head into town awhile ago, saying he had something important to pick up.

Youngjae sighed and stared into the flames, rolling his shoulders and moving away slightly when the heat from the fire irritated his sunburn. Oh, how he wished he'd brought that damn sunscreen. After a particularly loud sigh, he saw someone plop down next to him holding a paper bag. 

"Your savior is here, JaeJae! Take off your shirt." Said man looked over to see Himchan pull a tube of aloe vera lotion out of the bag he was holding. Youngjae flushed bright red.

"H-here? M-my shirt? I can't..." Youngjae looked down at the ground in front of him. Himchan bit his lip and thought for a second. 

"Come with me then." Himchan got up and walked away, not even looking back to see if Youngjae was going to follow.

Against his better judgment, Youngjae stood up and followed Himchan's path after a couple moments, Following the man into the trees and down a small path to a circle of hammocks set up in a clearing to the left of the field he'd been working in all day. 

"We set this up for the visitors a week ago. People will be able to rent the hammocks for a night if they want to sleep outside. It's a hell of a view from here too." Youngjae looked up, his mouth opening slightly. Himchan was right, the sky was absolutely gorgeous from this spot. 

"Wow... It's so pretty. I kind of wish I was staying a little longer." Youngjae smiled and continued his star gazing, completely oblivious to the way Himchan was looking at him.

"We could stay out here tonight, test the hammocks. You know Yongnam has the 'sleep where-ever you want, just don't anything up' rule." Youngjae looked over at him, excitement etched on his face.

"I might stay out here then..." Youngjae stopped himself from saying anything else as he tried to catch a glimpse of Himchan's face in the tiny bit of light they had with them.

"Sounds like the best plan, honestly. Now come on, off with your shirt. I'm going to take care of your lobster skin." 

Himchan walked over to one of the hammocks and trailed his hand along a tree, finding what he was looking for and flipping a small switch, he repeated the action with the other tree holding the hammock up, causing a row of fairy lights on each tree to light up.

Youngjae gasped quietly, amazed at the direction Yongnam had gone for the campers this year. It was a lot prettier than last year, honestly. The lighted hammocks were a nice touch.

Himchan sat down on the hammock carefully and motioned for Youngjae to join him, Smiling when the man sat in front of him.

"I need to see the burn, JaeJae." Youngjae took a deep breath when he felt Himchan's fingers at the hem of his shirt. When he tugged the shirt up slightly he met very little resistance from Youngjae and removed it from him completely.

Himchan smacked the lotion tube against his hand a couple times and opened it, coating the palms of his hands in the cool Aloe. Youngjae almost moaned when Himchan started rubbing the lotion into his shoulders. He became quickly convinced that the man's hands were magic, and it took all of the willpower he could muster to not just flop against him like a ragdoll. 

Himchan smirked slightly as he noticed the effect he was having and moved to Youngjae's collar bones and the bit of chest that he'd burnt in the sun. Youngjae gave up and leaned against Himchan as he continued his massage, feeling his eyelids get heavy.

Youngjae wasn't sure when he fell asleep, but he was slightly disoriented when he awoke, it was still dark out and there was a warm weight behind him.

Not to mention whatever he was laying on was swinging slightly. Oh, right... It was coming back to him. He was at the hammocks with Himchan, the guy he'd met earlier that day and developed a weird friendship with. 

But that meant... Youngjae sat up slowly and looked at behind him. 

There was Himchan. They'd fallen asleep out here together, apparently. Youngjae stretched and noticed that he not only had his t-shirt back on but Himchan's hoodie as well. He smiled and looked at the man again. He was wearing a long-sleeved shirt. He must have been planning to sleep out here all along, to wear something long sleeved. 

Youngjae frowned at himself. Why the hell was he analyzing what Himchan was wearing at god knows what time of the morning or night?  

He yawned and slowly lowered himself back beside Himchan, only slightly surprised when an arm wrapped around him.

"Something wrong?" Himchan yawned and opened his eyes partway to look at Youngjae.

"No, just forgot where I was for a moment, that's it." Another yawn escaped him as he moved closer to Himchan and closed his eyes.

"Mm, 'Kay. try to get some more sleep, JaeJae. we'll need it for tomorrow." Youngjae nodded slightly as he drifted off again.

~

When Youngjae awoke for the second time, he had something cold pressed to his forehead, and the smell of something delicious was right under his nose.

"Wake up, wake up~ C'mon  Jae, time to get up and get ready for work," Youngjae grumbled and sat up. Himchan moved the iced coffee off of Youngjae's head and held the plate of food back so he wouldn't smack it when he sat up.

"What time is it, Chan?" Youngjae stretched and resisted the urge to flop back into the hammock.

"Five thirty. Sorry to ruin your beauty sleep, but if we step up work today we might actually get it done, we have two new workers coming today...Oh, and you might want to know... Some of the girls got y last night, and now there's a rumor going around that we had freaky animal ."

"Well , obviously not freaky enough, because I don't remember anything like that." Youngjae laughed a little. he honestly didn't care what people thought about him, as long as he could work peacefully and get paid, same as usual. 

"Oh, trust me, babe. If we'd done anything you'd remember it." Himchan chuckled and handed him the plate of food he was holding.  "Alsoooo~" Himchan reached down and grabbed the bag from last night, pulling out a bottle of sunblock. "No more sunburns for you. It's not allowed."

Youngjae smiled and started stuffing food in the general direction of where he figured his mouth was. It was too early for someone to be in such a good mood. but he'd tolerate it for Himchan.

By noon, Youngjae was lost in his thoughts and honestly surprised at how well he'd ended up clicking with the man working beside him.

The "Angry Trucker"  persona that people seemed to stick him with was pretty far from how he actually was and Youngjae loved spending time with him. He was just sad that he had to leave in another day or so. 

He'd come to realize he was really going to miss Himchan.

A hand on his shoulder brought Youngjae back to reality.

"You okay? you've been spacing out for a bit. Do you need to take a break or something?" Himchan was looking at him with concern on his face.

"Nah, I should be okay. Just.. thinking, you know?" Youngjae did his best to flash Himchan a smile.

"Yeah, I know.  Come on, let's go take a break anyway, the newbies can finish this spot since we took the poison oak out already." Himchan took the tools from Youngjae and walked them over to the shed, placing them in their proper places as Youngjae followed, sighing and letting his eyes rake over the field they'd been clearing.

"You  going back to the bonfire tonight, Chan?" Youngjae let the words slide off his tongue without paying much attention to what the other was doing.

"I will if you're going to be there, I don't feel like socializing otherwise. Especially with the rumors of our steamy affair floating around now. Did you hear the latest one?" Himchan stood beside Youngjae and leaned on him.

"No? I don't know, the last one I heard was that we were caught drunk banging in the hammocks..." Youngjae glanced over at the other man. "What did you hear?"

"That you're leaving tomorrow and you're forbidden to come back because we were caught on Yongnam's desk this morning." Himchan laughed at the snorting noise that erupted from Youngjae.

"Do the other workers here not have lives? Who even does that... oh my god." Youngjae tried to hold back his snorting but failed after he'd managed to say those words.

"I don't know, Jae. but damn, we need to calm down on all the , Seriously I'll get nothing done if you keep jumping me."

"Please tell me that's not what's being said..." Youngjae flushed bright red at a few images his mind supplied him with.

"well, of course, it is! you must be throwing yourself at me after getting me drunk. After all, according to some of the girls, I'm not even gay." Youngjae made a weird face at him.

"I don't even know if you're gay, and I really don't care. people need to mind their own business. If you wanted to be bent over Yongnam's desk by Yongnam himself it wouldn't matter, that's your business." Himchan chuckled.

"I'm only half." 

"huh?"

"Half gay, I'm Bi. How about you?" Himchan smiled at him

"You could say I'm the same? I don't really like labeling..soooo. " Youngjae shrugged.

"That's good. Let's go get coffee before I die from lack of caffeine." Himchan bumped into Youngjae playfully before heading to the food prep area.

Youngjae followed and playfully shoved Himchan a bit when he caught up.

That night, after the bonfire had been lit for a while and the sky was once again dark, Himchan lead Youngjae back to the Hammocks, both men had a couple beers in them, choosing to drink since Yongnam had informed them of Yongguk's arrival to pick Youngjae up in the morning. 

And as they sat together in the same hammock they shared the night before, the situation seemed to sink in.

"This , Chan. this really ."

"I know, JaeJae. It's going to be boring as hell without you here. and not only that... I feel like this could've been a great friendship, maybe even something more if we had the chance to actually get to know each other." Himchan glanced over at Youngjae, barely able to see his features in the dim light the fairy lights were putting off.

"I know! This is stupid... I've only known you for two days and I'm already turning into a weepy over leaving." Youngjae sniffled a little. "You being so...damn ... you. doesn't help either!" Youngjae flailed his arms around enough to almost smack Himchan, and get the hammock rocking.

Himchan chuckled and scooted closer to Youngjae. "I feel the same way, you know. But maybe we can work something out. Let's at least stay in touch, okay? see what happens." 

Youngjae nodded and wiggled slightly closer to Himchan, burying himself in the man's chest and missing it when Himchan kissed the top of his head lightly.

"I'm going to miss you, Chan..."

"I'm going to miss you too, JaeJae."

Youngjae woke up alone the next day and didn't see Himchan after that until he was in the car headed down the driveway. 

Himchan had waved at him as the car passed him, and Youngjae had flashed him a heart sign before waving back.

__-- 6 Months later--__

Youngjae flopped face down on his desk, in front of his computer. It was a Friday night and rather than go out with his friends, Youngjae had rushed straight home from work, eager to open a video chat with his favorite person and that is just what he'd done. However, Himchan wasn't online. Hadn't been for hours, according to the chat. This was what had been happening the last couple of days.

Youngjae's stomach had immediately twisted when he saw no message from Himchan, afraid something had happened to the man. But then he realized Yongnam would be in contact with him had that been the case. 

Youngjae was suddenly faced with the fact that maybe, just maybe the friendship they'd built into a fairly stable relationship just wasn't what Himchan had wanted.

A notification sounded from Youngjae's laptop and his head shot up quickly, scanning the screen as he wiped at his eyes.

It was a reminder from Yongguk that work was canceled for whatever reason tomorrow. 

Youngjae's heart sunk in his chest and he felt cold all over. He tried telling himself that his boyfriend was just busy, had just had a string of jobs the last few days, like sometimes happened and that he'd be back on the next day. Just like always. 

But this felt different.

Another notification sounded. Another message from Yongguk telling him he needed to bring something by tonight. With a sigh, he replied with his agreement, and Yongguk told him he'd be there in five minutes. He'd been in the area picking up a special delivery.

Youngjae leaned back in his chair as the tears started flowing freely. He didn't give two s what Yongguk needed to give him. He just wanted to go to bed and hope things went back to normal tomorrow.

He wanted to wake up in the morning to his usual 'good morning' text from Himchan. To the dorky pictures, he always sent with it.  He hadn't even received a text in the last three days.

A knock on the door sounded and Youngjae straightened his sweater and tugged on his leggings before wiping his face and opened the door. He was met with Yongguk's smiling face.

"Hey Jae, I just need you to come help me get this out of my car, it's too heavy for me to carry."

"Sure thing, lead the way." Yongguk's smile never left his face as Youngjae shuffled after him, sighing as he opened the door, and quickly bursting into tears.

There laying in the backseat looking up at him was Himchan, a wide smile on his face as he sat up and pulled Youngjae into a hug.

"Surprise, babes! do you know what today is?"

Youngjae, being unable to speak, only shook his head and sniffled.

"It's the 6th month anniversary of our very first meeting. "

Youngjae hugged Himchan tightly and buried his face in his chest.

"I-I thought... I thought you didn't want to talk to me any-m-more!" 

"Nothing like that, Jae. I'm sorry I didn't have time the last couple days, But moving here and transferring to Yongguk's for work was a lot more time consuming than I thought." Himchan smiled when  Youngjae looked up at him in surprise.

"wh-what? Really?!" he glanced over at Yongguk who was smiling and nodding. 

"I'll leave you guys alone for tonight, Jae, don't forget you have tomorrow off." he winked and climbed back into his car before driving off.

"So, can I stay here for tonight? Or do you want me to go back to my apartment?"

Youngjae chuckled and hugged him tighter.

"You can stay here, Channie. you know you can stay here, just don't scare me like that, I thought you left me."

Himchan's smile softened as he held onto his boyfriend.

"Never, JaeJae. You're stuck with me."

---

And end~ I hope you enjoyed this, It's a lot longer than I ever imagined it being ^^;

-Miki