It's a quiet night at their local pub. Jinhwan's busy doing a crossword and keeping tabs with Ms. Daisy. She likes to sneak drinks from Junhoe when he isn't looking.

The clock ticks past ten and it's closing time in half an hour. He sighs with ease and wonders if there won't be any singers on the stage tonight. Barb must be sick but maybe Yoon from the bar downtown?

He's interrupted by the bell chiming and he signals for Junhoe to take it. There's shuffling and ruffling, the stranger shaking off snowflakes from his shoulders.

Jinhwan turns to look at him after a moment, Junhoe somewhere in the back, probably texting that new friend of his.

"Can I help you with anything?"

He puts on his best face, best he can do after a 12 hour shift, and awaits for the stranger to speak.

The boy steps into the light and a shiver runs through the both of them. Jinhwan doesn't know why he feels so breathless all of a sudden. Why the oversized coat on the boys shoulders makes him want to hug him tight.

"I'll take a regular."

Jinhwan quirks his brow as his fingers hover of the register.

"Black coffee. No sugar no milk."

The boy coughs into his glove and Jinhwan takes notice of the bags under his eyes and the droop of his shoulders. The ache in his chest intensifies.

"Cream is free of charge."

He smiles at the boy and feels his cheeks quiver. It's strange. The feeling he gets when their eyes cross. When their fingers brush as the boy gives him a handful of cents.

"I counted."

He smirks but it doesn't reach his eyes. Jinhwan counts the cents until it's 20 minutes until the end of his shift.

 

* * *

The first sip of the coffee brings some color to the strangers cheeks. Brings some color into Jinhwan's night.

His skin is ashy but Jinhwan likes it. It reminds him of the old christmas movies he used to watch with his grandma. Reminds him of the wooden walls of his empty bedroom. He shakes his head to focus on the crossword before him but before he can, the boy looks over.

Jinhwan startles, busying himself with dusting the fairy lights and checking to see if anyone's on stage yet. Busying himself with anything but focusing on the tight feeling in his chest and in his throat.

Junhoe appears from who knows where and Jinhwan doesn't mention a thing about the stranger. Junhoe notices himself though.

"What are you staring at?"

Jinhwan's pencil falls as he pretends to do the crossword. Junhoe squints his eyes at him when he doesn't answer.

"You should start cleaning up instead of daydreaming. It's fifteen minutes 'til closing time!"

Junhoe makes a show of lifting the glasses to their cupboards and Jinhwan just yawns at him. When he looks over at the boy, he's already gone.

 

* * *

He wakes up to the whistling of a snowstorm outside his window. The day doesn't get much better than that yet something inside him flutters along with the snowstorm, not stopping until he reaches the bar later during the day.

Until he adds the cinnamon to his honey toast and wonders why the specks of it remind him of the specks of snow on a certain persons lashes.

"You look pale today. Everything good?"

He's working with Yunhyeong tonight and it makes him feel a bit better.

"Yeah. Just tired of the storms."

Yunhyeong nods and whistles, putting the kettle on.

Jinhwan stares outside and wonders if he's tired of the storm outside or the storm inside him. Or maybe both.

 

* * *

At around nine pm the snowstorm outside stops. Jinhwans' insides still quiver.

"You sure you're fine today? You've been kinda quiet."

Yunhyeong's washing ash trays, nose srunched. Jinhwan smiles at the look on his face and leans forward to solve another crossword.

"I'm fine. I'm just.. affected by the weather I guess."

Yunhyeong doesn't seem to buy it but before he can protest again the bell chimes.

Jinhwan feels his heart skip a beat and wonders if that's considered normal. He stares nowhere in particular before looking at the boy who's now standing an appropriate few inches away. He yearns him to be closer and the smile that forms on his face is knit tight with worry. He hopes the boy doesn't notice.

"Black?"

The guy startles but smiles, nodding with a slight shiver. Jinhwan wants to wrap him in his massive scarf and never let him go.

He gives him the coffee and cream instead.

"You sure you don't want anything else? We have great blueberry pie."

He smiles and feels his cheeks quiver again, wonders why smiling at him makes the snow in his stomach flutter.

"No thanks. I'm kind of on a budget."

The boy smiles at him and his eyes convey the same. Jinhwan leaves him alone after that.

 

* * *

The boy keeps coming over a few times a week and Jinhwan's stomach won't stop fluttering. He considers going to the doctor with this weird issue. Wonders if he's swallowed too many snowflakes in his lifetime.

It's another Wednesday night when the boy comes in again. Jinhwan feels his stomach somersault and wonders if it's just a snowball causing a ruckus.

"Black?"

The boy smiles as he walks to the counter, their fingertips touching as he hands over paper money this time.

Jinhwan's eyebrows rise to his hairline and the boy chuckles, hands in his pockets and back drooped. Jinhwan still wants to wrap him in his scarf. He thinks he'll never get rid of the urge.

"Yep. I got some tips from the other bar downtown."

Jinwhan feels his eyebrows rise even further and the boy laughs heartily at that. Jinhwan savors the sound of it for stormy mornings.

"You work there?"

The boy sits behind the counter now, has been sitting there for a week, stirring his drink.

"Nope. I actually uhh.. play some guitar and sing."

Jinhwan feels himself waver under the force of the snowstorm, holding onto the countertop for leverage.

Junhoe snorts from behind him, pushing a few dozen packets of cream towards the boy.

"Kid. Could you do us all a favour and tells us your name? And maybe take these creamers." There's a pause and Jinhwan hopes Junhoe's stopped talking. "Aaand ask this dude out?"

The boy chokes on his coffee at that and Jinhwan turns around to slap his friend. No, coworker.

"Shut up! Stop pressuring him. Can't you see he's..."

Jinhwan stares over at him now, flush on his cheekbones spreading down to his neck. The boy gulps.

"I'm what?"

He's amused now and Junhoe leaves them with a snicker. Jinhwan feels like the air around him shifts and doesn't know why. Feels as if the whole universe has er punched him into this blizzard that he'll never get out of.

"You're...shy. And uhh..if I must admit under a dire situation as in like.. gunpoint situation.. you're really cute."

Jinhwan looks at the creamers with a lump in his throat that's probably visible from the outside. The boy chuckles. Jinhwan doesn't know if that's a good sign or not.

"I'm shy. But I wouldn't say I'm cute. Even at gunpoint."

Jinhwan gives him a look but the boy just flashes him his teeth, shutting him up in a second.

"I'm hot."

Jinhwan nudges him at that but his heart is still beating a bit too loud. The air is still a bit too heavy.

"I'm Chanwoo."

Jinhwan shakes his hand in an attempt to save himself from the awkwardness.

"I'm Jinhwan."

 

* * *

"So when are you gonna tell the bar boy that you're like in love with him and want his babies?"

Bobby's lounging on their living room sofa, reading some comic book Jinhwan is not interested in. It's four days until Christmas and he's trying to make some room in their budget for a tree. Bobby doesn't seem that interested in the tree though.

"When are you gonna tell the kid at school that you want to kiss him under the mistletoe and hold his hand and most probably take it in marriage?"

Bobby glares at him but doesn't say a word. The clock ticks over two as Jinhwan finally finds enough resources for a tree. It has to be super tiny though. Really really tiny.

"Y'know I might want all of that sappy with Hanbin but like.. at least I know him. What do you know about the bar boy? That he's poor and has great eyelashes? That's not enough to fall in love Jinnie."

Bobby doesn't take his eyes off of the comic book and Jinhwan continues to slurp his coffee in silence.

"I know that he's got the greatest sense of humor on this planet. That he shivers with his whole body when he takes the first sip of our coffee. That he loves to stare at the fairy lights around the bar and write lyrics about them that I haven't seen yet. I know him Bobby. I just... don't know him well enough to say if he likes me back."

Bobby snorts at that and doesn't answer Jinhwans' defensive 'what?'

* * *

"Umm.. one of those small ones please. No wait! Do you maybe have something even smaller?"

He's picking out the tree, nose dripping thanks to the cold and windy weather. The salesman looks at him incredulously but goes searching for one with an inaudible grunt.

Jinhwan looks around him at the trees, blowing hot puffs of air on his frostbitten fingers. There's a cough behind him and Jinhwan turns to see someone he'd never expected to.

"Did you want this incredibly small tree?"

Chanwoo is smiling at him, a tiny earring bedazzling his ear and Jinhwan feels the breath wither right out of him.

"Yeah. Uhh.. how do you know?"

The salesman comes back and slaps Chanwoo on the shoulder for his good work. Ahh.

"So this is what you do outside of drinking black coffee all day."

Chanwoo smiles at him and Jinhwan smiles back even wider. They stay that way for a minute too long.

"Yeah. Gets at least some food on the table. Plus the tips from singing and.. I'm pretty much the next Bill Gates. Or whoever's the richest man on the planet right now."

Jinhwan feels himself giggle and hides it in his over sized scarf. Chanwoo's eyes widen and the moment is now stuck in time. And so is Jinhwans' heart.

"Okay so here's all the cash I got. And don't worry - I counted."

He winks and means it to be playful. Instead it's somewhat flirtatious and Chanwoo's cheeks turn a shade darker than they were. Or maybe he's just imagining things.

"Thanks. See you tonight."

Chanwoo runs to haul another tree up for some foreign family and Jinhwan wonders if the tingle in his body is because of the cold or something else. Probably because of the cold. Hopefully because of the cold.

 

* * *

It's the night before Christmas and he's feeling a bit down. Maybe it's because he's almost done with the crossword puzzle before him and there's another three hours to go with the shift.

Maybe it's because Donghyuk came around with his new girlfriend and made out with her under the mistletoe he's been so wistfully staring at.

Or maybe it's because Chanwoo hasn't been around since the tree incident.

"So have you told the kid you want to get in his pants yet or not?"

Junhoe's cleaning the cups and wiggling his brows. Jinhwan slaps him with his crossword.

"I do not want to get into his pants."

There's a beat of silence and then a burst of laughter from Junhoe with a mocking 'yeah sure'.

Jinhwan keeps pouting as the hour passes and gets to the end of his crossword. He's too busy trying to figure out the word.

"S..EN..D..P..Y...Junhoe do you know what is a, and I quote,

  the occurrence and development of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way?"

He looks up as a handful of cents fall on to the counter and a warm voice answers his question for him.

"It's serendipity."

Jinhwan smiles at the kid without even wanting to and eyes the mistletoe so hard he thinks it might fall off of it's hook.

 

* * *

"Tonight we have a newcomer on the stage. He's been performing in the other bar downtown but our lovely server Jinhwan has convinced him to keep visiting this place."

Junhoe winks as he hands over the microphone to Chanwoo and he steps onto the small makeshift stage with an awkward bow, his guitar clunking against the microphone.

"This one I wrote myself so please... Be gentle."

He flashes a smile and Jinhwan feels that maybe it was meant just for him.

 

 

There was a time
I had nothing to give
I needed shelter from the storm I was in

 

The song starts and the 10 + people in the pub speak in soft whispers. Jinhwan has never seen them respond like this and the word serendipity pops at him from the corner of his eye, trying to ruin his night with it's presence.

Jinhwan feels his chest tighten at the kids voice. At the words he's singing that echo so loudly in his ears. At the soft look on the boys face that mirrors his own.
The bell chimes and he doesn't even notice the people coming in.

 

 

And when it all got too heavy
You carried my weight
And I want to hold you
And I want to say

 

He turns to get the order only stopping when he sees it's Bobby, hand around Hanbin's shoulders with the most contempt smile on his face that Jinhwan's ever seen. His hands find the coffee cups and then they stop.

 

 

 That you are all that I need
For you, I give my soul to keep

 

His breath hitches as he stares at Chanwoo and the other stares right back at him, vein in his neck popping at the words he's trying so hard to belt out.

 

 

 You see me, love me
Just the way I am
For you I am a better man
I said you are the reason
For everything that I do
I'd be lost, so lost, without you..

 

The song ends way too soon for Jinhwan's liking and so does the magic surrounding them. Chanwoo's eyes don't leave his for a second too long until he steps up and bows. The pub is buzzing again and there are even hollers at his lovely performance. Jinhwan's chest tightens yet again and he doesn't know if this feeling will ever leave. Especially after tonight.

Chanwoo makes his way to the bar as Jinhwan catches Bobby's eye, his roomate winking and smirking, making Hanbin giggle and follow the action.

"That was uhh.. pretty ing amazing! Why didn't you tell us you could sing that well?"

Chanwoo shrugs his shoulders, ducking his head as a small smile forms on his lips.

"I didn't think you'd like it that much."

Jinhwan doesn't have the willpower to hold back his honest answer.

"I think this just might be my favorite Christmas present of all time."

He bites his tongue not to say 'you'.

* * *

As closing time approaches so does Jinhwan's nerves. Chanwoo has been sitting in the corner of the pub all night, writing something in his notepad with fury.

Jinhwan stares at the word serendipity too many times for it to even make sense anymore.

"All right. I cleaned all the table tops except for your boyfriends'. And washed all the dishes. I'm outta here!"

Junhoe slaps his shoulder as he throws the apron on the counter leaving Jinhwan baffled by the effect the word 'boyfriend' has on him.

Before he has a chance to act scandalized Chanwoo approaches and Jinhwan holds his composure.

"Would you like to get your actual present?"

The pub is too quiet for Jinhwan to hide the hitch of his breath before he nods. Chanwoo's cheeks flush for a second before he takes his hand and Jinhwan feels he might have taken his heart right along with him.

They shuffle towards the door, the streetlights twinkling in Chanwoo's eyes and making Jinhwan's insides reflect what's going on outside again.

The atmosphere is tenser than it was before and especially so when Chanwoo stops them under the mistletoe. Shuffles closer to him with every shaky breath he takes.

"Is my gift gonna be a kiss cause honestly if it's not I'm gonna be super disappointed."

Jinhwan defuses the tension, clearing the air between them. Chanwoo's smile is nothing like anything he's ever seen before.

Their lips lock for the first time yet somehow it feels like the thousandth. Feels like this is how it should have been all along.

Chanwoo tastes like the coffee they make and like the sweet sugary lyrics of his song. Their noses brush as Jinhwan opens his mouth to deepen the kiss, pulling Chanwoo in by his over sized coat.

It feels familiar and exciting all at once. Before it can end Jinhwan savors the taste of him, the feel of him under his fingertips and most of all, the beginnings of a crackling fire pit in his stomach.

His phone buzzes in his pocket, interrupting the moment they've both been waiting so long to have. Jinhwan groans against Chanwoos lips, their foreheads still touching as he grabs the phone to read what better be an urgent text.

He cackles at the words Junhoe's sent and before Chanwoo can ask what it's about, he kisses him again. The other doesn't protest.

"i looked it up!! the word you were looking for is serendipity!"

 

 

 

***** 

chanwoos lyrics are from the song i linked in the beginning.
the first half was written ages ago just meant as a cozy fic and now the second half was inspired by my xmas loving .. hopefully it fits together well and please dont kill me for writing such floofy sappyness.
btw proofread only once so ill check for mistakes later!!

also posted on ao3 so you can read there as well :)