Author's note: ... yep, got nothing again. Please enjoy~! 

He’s never been more impatient for a customer to leave the shop.

It’s not her fault, really. She seems genuinely upset about having to replace her lost wand and for some reason it’s being particularly tricky to get her a new one. His master remembers her – his master remembers every single customer she ever had and that’s pretty impressive but also scary – and remarks on how difficult the first wand was to find, too. And, usually, he would finds this interesting, an opportunity to observe and learn.

But it’s been two weeks since he’s had a free day. Daesung hasn’t seen anyone in that time and Seunghyun has been a bit too busy to walk him home. He’s not entirely sure what’s been happening, something about the Ministry and the Goblings clashing a little in regards to old inheritance laws. Seungri has been mumbling about it too and he supposes that makes sense, the front page of the Daily Prophet has been taken by these news for a few days but the apprentice has been so tired he hasn’t had neither the patience nor the energy to read any of it.

They all write to each other regularly, of course, and the letters from Seunghyun come two or three times a day but honestly owl post is slow and it’s not enough. That one picture he likes so much is framed, standing on the dresser, angled in such a way he can clearly see it while sitting down on the couch but that’s not enough either. Still he forces himself to smile and try to reassure the frustrated customer while his master mutters to herself and moves to the back store to go fetch some unusual combination of a wand or another.

In the end it takes them forty extra minutes past the shop’s closing time to find a suitable one and they’re both far too tired to do more than the bare essentials before closing up. He doesn’t bother cleaning or wiping anything down – the dust will be there in the morning even if he does, anyway – and merely makes sure the books are back in the office and that he has everything before practically running out. His eyes squint, trying to adjust to the cold and darkness as he looks around and immediately spots him standing two shops down.

Seunghyun looks… tired. As beautiful as ever, tall and thin, not a hair out of place, robes dark enough to make him almost blend in with the night, left hand curled around a cup of something steaming. But there are circles under his eyes, the skin on his cheekbones seems a little stretched, and he looks a little paler than usual. He’s thinking about something, staring off somewhere to the left and whatever it is seems to be capturing most of his attention because he doesn’t notice Daesung getting closer, until the later greets him softly. “Hello, Seunghyun.”

Dark eyes blink, slowly, before coming to rest on him. It takes barely a second for the Slytherin to register his presence before he’s smiling back, thin but gentle, and offering his own soft greeting in return. It’s so cold and he still looks tired but his gaze is warm so Daesung smiles and moves closer, intertwining their hands together and pulling him along in the direction of the residential area. The small ball of anxiety in his chest caused by not being able to see him slowly unwinds.

“I’m sorry you had to wait so long. We had a tricky customer.”

“There is no need to apologize, Daesung. I would have waited for as long as necessary.”

His cheeks flush at those words even as the Hufflepuff squeezes their hands together. It’s been snowing for the last couple of days: the street, the rooftops of the shops and even some of the stalls are covered in white, giving off a cold, lonely sort of feeling. Their slow steps make loud crunching sounds as they walk over the snow; their breaths come out pure white in the chilly air, rising above their heads, thicker than the steam from Seunghyun’s drink. The silence is fitting somehow, maybe because of the darkness, and neither of them feels the need to break it.

He can’t resist stepping just a little closer, humming a song under his breath, low enough to be almost inaudible. It’s something old, something he heard on the radio when he was a kid and his mum was helping him make little gingerbread men. One of those Christmas songs that plays every year around this time – well not quite yet but December is only a few days away after all, so there’s little harm in letting himself hum it. Seunghyun doesn’t seem bothered by it, at least not until they get to the residential part of the Alley and he tugs on his hand, making the apprentice stop and turn around to face him, tilting his head in confusion.

“Seunghyun?”

The cup in his hand disappears, banished somewhere and leaving Daesung momentarily surprised – wandless magic? – but he doesn’t have time to dwell on it before gloved hands cradle his cheeks, pulling him closer, and soft lips rest on his own. The surprise lasts only for a second and then his eyes flutter shut as he responds in kind, pressing back firmly, hands curling at the front of heavy robes. After a quiet, long moment they part again, lips brushing just once more in a feather light kiss before they rest their foreheads together. “Forgive me.”

Daesung feels his lips curling up. The apology is meant either because Seunghyun hasn’t been able to walk him home since asking for the privilege or because he hadn’t waited until they were inside the building but, frankly, he cares about neither. His hands skip over fine cloth to curl around the older man’s neck and pull him closer into another kiss, stronger and firmer than the previous ones despite the thumb brushing across his cheek gently. He laughs a little when they separate again, eyes opening slowly. “I’ve been waiting for that all day.”

It’s Seunghyun’s turn to laugh, low and a little rough, smile turning into a roguish sort of grin and something cheeky flickering in his eyes for a second. Daesung would be lying if he said he hadn’t thought at least once about the Slytherin’s interest in him possibly dwindling from the lack of contact since their date but seeing the clear adoration in his gaze is all the reassurance he needs as they reluctantly step away from each other, clasp their hands back together and start walking again.

It’s already too cold for anyone to walk leisurely or appreciate the scenery or do anything except get inside as quickly as possible so the two or three odd figures they come across don’t pay them any sort of attention. His building quickly comes into sight and he uses his free hand to grab his wand and quickly tap the lock, opening it. Daesung feels self-conscious for only a second before shaking it off and turning his head to look at Seunghyun, smiling and a little flushed. “Would you like to come in?”

“If you’ll have me,” the words are slow and hesitant, as is the nod that accompanies them, but he only needs to find that dark gaze lingering on him in concern to realize the Slytherin is just worried about pushing his boundaries and nothing more. Resolve solidifying, Daesung offers a nod of his own before tugging on his hand and dragging him along a single flight of old stairs, tapping the inner lock with his wand again and pushing the door open.

He refuses to feel embarrassed about his apartment. It may be small and cramped and nothing like the other man is used to but it’s his and has been his home for nearly a year and a half. There’s nothing to be embarrassed about. Daesung can practically feel Youngbae patting him in the back and nodding encouragingly as he lets Seunghyun inside, who peeks around curiously, gaze lingering only in the photographs and little trinkets here and there before they sit down on the couch.

The apprentice excuses himself just to go grab a glass of pumpkin juice for himself, coming back to D-Lite walking back and forth on the coffle table, chest puffed and positively preening as a solemn Seunghyun – whose eyes are swimming with amusement and catch his own as soon as he comes back in – tells him in a very serious voice how good his feathers look and how swift and deadly his flight from the perch was. It lasts only until Daesung sits back down and ruffles the owl’s head, prompting D-Lite to give out and indignant hoot before making his way somewhere else.

“How was your day, Seunghyun?”

“Dreadful.”

There is indeed an argument between the Goblin Nation and the Ministry of Magic, caused by apparently both parties wanting to avoid doing what they agreed to in some treaty or another. It all sounds terribly confusing and frustrating and tiring so he slips both his hands into Seunghyun’s, watching as that small gesture brings a smile to his face, wide enough for one of his dimples to appear, almost making him seem less tired. The older man lets out a small sigh, squeezing their hands together slightly.

The conversation changes to other topics. Youngbae will have a free week at some point, Seunghyun’s mother had yet to stop teasing him about his new relationship, Daesung’s own mum had framed that picture he sent and put it above the mantelpiece, Jiyong had apparently not asked Seungri out yet for whatever reason but Seunghyun suspects it’s because he’s making preparations for some grand romantic gesture, Seungri himself seems to be back to normal albeit demanding more attention than usual.

“Do you have plans for Yuletide, Daesung?”

“.. uhm, not really? I’m doing to spend Christmas Day with my parents,” like he does every year but he’s got nothing planned for the previous evening. Come to think of it he doesn’t really know how wizards celebrate the day itself since he never stayed at Hogwarts during the Christmas break and all he has to go on are Seungri’s outlandish stories. He knows how the Ministry celebrates, but not the average witch or wizard. Oh, speaking of-

“There is to be another Ministry event on Yuletide,” Seunghyun beats him to the question, intense gaze focusing slowly on him as he raises both his hands up and kisses them gently, deliberately, smiling at the immediate flushing of his cheeks. Daesung’s brain is rambling about what the significance of this gesture in contemporary pureblood culture according to that book but honestly he wants it to shut up now so he can enjoy the moment. “Would you attend with me?”

“Of…” he hesitates. “… course.” His voice had stalled for only a second but Seunghyun caught it, lowering their clasped hands and squeezing them again, staring at him and waiting patiently for him to speak. It’s kind of an embarrassing thing to discuss but it would need to happen eventually. Daesung’s budget is just a bit too tight for him to be spending money on new robes the way he’s been doing lately and he doesn’t want to ask his parents for it. “I would love to go with you, Seunghyun. But uhm… the robes…”

His tongue feels heavy in his mouth but the Slythering apparently gets the gist of it, nodding at him in understanding. “I see,” his left brow furrows slightly, eyes narrowing but gaze unfocused, all clears signs he’s thinking and considering something carefully. Daesung does his best to focus on their clasped hands and waits, trying not to feel too embarrassed about his current predicament.  There’s nothing to be embarrassed about, Youngbae’s voice chastises him again.

“Would you allow me to buy them for you?” it takes a few seconds for the question to sink in and he opens his mouth to protest when Seunghyun brings one of his hands up, asking for time to explain, so he closes it again. “I understand your position, Daesung. As I understand your reluctance in taking advantage of my generosity. However, I do very much wish to attend these with you and I consider the expense of the robes to be entirely acceptable in order to make that happen.”

Daesung struggles for a moment. A part of him still wants to say no, the same part that feels guilty for asking for help in anything, but a bigger part wants to spend time with Seunghyun and recognizes the offer was made entirely of the other man’s own free will. Finally he relents, nodding slowly but with a shy smile blossoming across his face. “Alright, but I’m paying for most of our meals from now on,” because he does need to contribute something, if only to feel like he’s not taking advantage of the pureblood’s wealthy status.

“Agreed,” Seunghyun grins at him, dimples long and deep as he brings their hands to his mouth and kisses his knuckles again. That mischievous glint returns to his eyes as a chuckle escapes him, causing Daesung to raise a brow and tilt his head at him in a silent question. “It would be dreadfully boring without you – after all, I may have to attend with Jiyong and he hasn’t proven himself reliable as of late.”

“Well,” he feels his own grin turn cheeky. “We wouldn’t want that, would we?”