Author's note: todae fluff, todae fluff everywhere \0/

You look fine, Daesung.

It’s the first time he can remember regretting getting a normal muggle mirror instead of a magic one. Usually they freak him out and he’s never really in the mood to be creeped at or berated by an inanimate object because two of his hairs are out of place but right now he could use the reassurance.  Going in robes is likely a bit too much so he’d picked some of his nicer but still casual muggle clothes and even that is probably giving it too much thought. The reason for his nervousness is obvious but he’s still reluctant to think about it.

Finally, a sigh leaves his lips as he stares at himself in the mirror. Alright, so maybe he likes Seunghyun. The idea seems a bit ludicrous because it’s not like Daesung had a crush on the guy during school – hadn’t felt anything in particular towards him except for a vague sense of admiration – and they’ve barely spoken a handful of times, only properly met recently. Still, it shows no signs of slowing down and it’s not exactly something he can keep ignoring but… what can he even do about it? Maybe he should broach the topic with Youngbae. There’s no way he’s going to Seungri with this, he’d never hear the end of it, and Jiyong knows Seunghyun so that’s out, too.

A voice from inside his head that sounds suspiciously like the enchanted mirror in the boys’ dorm chides him for frowning because that’s going to give him wrinkles later, causing him to abruptly close the closet door, deciding he’s being far too ridiculous about this entire thing. D-Lite blinks open sleepy eyes and hoots at him in encouragement, getting a few pats in the head as thanks for the pep talk before falling back asleep. He can totally do this if D-Lite believes he can, Daesung reassures himself with a nod, resolutely grabbing his jacket and moving on before realizing they didn’t actually set up a meeting place.

That’s the second time this week he feels like an idiot but he shakes the feeling off determinedly, thinking while tapping a finger against his chin. The Alley isn’t that big really and he’s about to just comb it from one end to another before an idea occurs to him and he rushes off to Ollivanders instead. His guess proves to be correct, butterflies suddenly appearing in this stomach and doing a happy little dance at the sight of that familiar posture, earning a mental reprimand. It’d be helpful if his body behaved, he has enough of a hard time trying to not be flustered around the man.

“Good morning, Seunghyun,” he tries for cheery but it comes out slightly softer than he means it to at the sight of him. His hair is down, for once not held perfectly in place by fancy spellwork and while it does make him stand out less, it also makes him seem… cute, especially with the glasses. Maybe even a little fluffy. The butterflies seem to agree, particularly when that gorgeous face shifts from a neutral expression to a rather warm one, but he ignores them. “Good morning, Daesung,” it’s not cold enough for their breaths to condense quite yet but the few wisps make him think of comforting smoke rising slowly from a warm fireplace. Merlin, he needs help.

“Forgive me, I didn’t know where exactly to meet you,” Daesung shakes his head at the apology and offers a smile in return. He never gave him his address and even if he had, Seunghyun doesn’t seem familiar enough with the nooks and crannies of the Alley to be able to find his apartment. What matters is that they ended up meeting without unnecessarily walking back and forth and missing each other. Sometimes magical streets give him a headache with all the changing they do, maybe that’s why wizards don’t seem to have a lot of maps. “That’s alright. Uhm, where are we going?”

“I thought we may just stroll here. You seem familiar with the place but I’m afraid I only know the path to and from Gringotts,” his smile seems almost-shy again, as if he’s embarrassed by the admission. Daesung smiles back in what he hopes is a reassuring fashion, gently grabbing at the sleeves of Seunghyun’s robes and dragging him along eagerly. It almost feels like coming here as a student again instead of as a resident, pointing out all the shops and the stands, mentioning which ones are the best at what and which ones had good deals during which days, sometimes throwing in an anecdote or another about times spent with his friends here.

Most of the conversation probably isn’t all that interesting to Seunghyun but he nods in all the right places, asks questions and sometimes even offers small, funny quips or recollections of his own, like that one time Jiyong had tried to carry all of his purchases at once by himself and ended up with ink all over his head. Him being Jiyong, of course, had ensured he walked around the rest of the day with ink stained robes and hair as if it was a fashion statement. The inconsequential chit chat slowly makes the most of the anxiety leave Daesung’s shoulders and soon enough he’s smiling and laughing without restraint.

It’s at his insistence that they go into Magical Menagerie to look at all the animals, despite both of them being quite content with their own. For the most part it’s the usual fare when it comes to wizard pets: cats, toads, even owls regardless of the Owl Emporium being just a few doors down. There are a few more exotic ones, including some really impressively bright birds that come with a silencing charm and need a proper license to buy, and they spend some time just walking about and peering at all the cages. It’s the perfect opportunity to buy some treats for D-Lite so he does, breath stopping short once he turns around with the bag in his arms.

Seunghyun is crouching down, staring at a large cage full of little kittens and pressing his fingers gently against the glass. His eyes are slightly wide, hidden partly behind his fringe, mouth spread into a wide yet giddy smile as the tiny little paws try reaching for his hand. It’s the cutest, most adorable sight Daesung has ever seen and he’s almost scared of moving and ruining the moment, but manages to make his way into the next aisle. He hugs the owl treats to his chest, heartbeat far too loud in his ears, looking for some sort of distraction and finally founding it in the toad container.

The bag is placed carefully on the floor as he bends a little, trying to take a better look at them. Most wizards don’t seem to like toads very much but Daesung is a little fond of them, finds their little vocalizations cute and the way they hop around everywhere a bit funny. One of them turns to look at him, pressing itself up on the glass. He moves his hands to the sides of his head, pressing both thumbs against his cheek, wiggling his fingers and sticking his tongue out.  It seems to interpret this as a challenge, making itself straighter and inflating its throat, trying to look at him in the eye.

He’s about to right himself up when the sounds of faltering footsteps and an expression of bafflement reach him. Still bending down at the level of the glass, thumbs still pressed against the side of his face, Daesung turns his head to look and immediately catches sight of Seunghyun’s wide eyes staring back at him, blinking slowly as if in surprise.  The mortification threatens to swallow him whole, already crawling up his neck, but a recklessness sort of mischief creeps up on him first. Well, he thinks, why not? He’d already been caught in the most embarrassing position he can think of, so it can’t get any worse. Resolutely then, Daesung keeps looking at Seunghyun, before wiggling his fingers and tongue like he had been doing previously.

The reaction is almost immediate: wide eyes go slightly wider, a burst of laughter escaping before long fingers cover his mouth. Seunghyun turns around, almost with a twirl, trying desperately to hold on to his composure, hand still pressed against his lips, but his shoulders are clearly shaking. Feeling oddly victorious and proud of himself for some reason, Daesung picks up the bag again and walks out with a smile on his face and a casual wave, trying to make it seem like he doesn’t notice the occasional small sounds of mirth behind him. They walk side by side again after a while and the older man shows interest in Rosa Lee Teabag’s once he mentions it’s his favourite place to hang out around here so they end up entering the shop.

As usual, the impatient-looking quill is tapping on the parchment once they come in but it freezes after two taps, tilting and turning to Seunghyun almost as if it’s curious. It’s always impressive to Daesung, how some enchanted objects seem to have or imitate personalities and how he could glimpse emotions from them sometimes. It had been difficult enough in school to assign simple tasks to non-magical objects, he doesn’t want to think at how much spellwork was involved in something like this – although, most people would probably tell him wandcrafting is a lot more complicated than these sort of enchantments.

They end up sitting down near the windows and there are actually two menus on the table for once, since Seunghyun isn’t a regular and presumably doesn’t know what’s for offer. Daesung peruses one of them absentmindedly, biting down on his lip slightly. His usual order is on there, quite obviously, but for once he feels like having something else. Maybe it’s because it isn’t Youngbae sitting across for him or maybe it’s the fact he feels a bit adventurous today but he decides on something else instead, tapping the scribbled name with the tip of his wand. His gaze lifts just in time to see the other man doing the same thing, making him freeze.

It’s not the gesture itself that does it, rather it’s his wand that immediately catches Daesung’s interest. Smooth and gorgeous, the carving twirling around the end of it gracefully, forming into a strong but subtle hilt, all of it a rich brown. And it’s…. vine? He’s fairly certain, has handled that wood enough times to be sure by now, but it’s so unexpected he can’t stop himself from staring at it. He’d have thought ebony, elm, maybe even hawthorn but… vine? The wand quickly disappears from sight and Daesung startles out of his thoughts, hurriedly putting the menu down and offering a smile as if he hadn’t been gawking.

Something about it is bothering him. A moment of awkward silence falls between them and for the life of him he can’t find anything funny to say, still trying to shake off the surprise. Thankfully, he’s spared by their orders arriving and Seunghyun wrapping long fingers around his cup while smiling at him. “You said before that you… study at the store?” The question practically feels like a lifeline and Daesung gratefully takes it, nodding. “Yeah, I’m an apprentice there,” a dark eyebrow shoots up high and something about his gaze makes him think the Slytherin is genuinely impressed with him. His cheeks flush, his gaze lowers a little as one of his nails taps against his own cup. It’s not like he thinks he doesn’t deserve it or anything but it feels good to get a bit of recognition – as far as he knows, his master had only taken one apprentice before him and it hadn’t lasted more than a couple of months.

“Congratulations.”

“Thank you.”

Their previous ease around each other returns as they change topics, not rushing from one to another but not lingering too long on any of them either. Seunghyun has a cat, a fluffy white thing that insists on climbing on top of everything, both of his parents are doing alive and well, he’s fond of classical wizarding music much to Jiyong’s eternal disappointment but he admits to being rather interested in what his friend has been experimenting with. Daesung misses muggle movies, listens to the WWN’s reporting on the Quidditch League religiously, eats breakfast with D-Lite every morning, rambles a bit about his work and studies before cutting himself off with a slightly embarrassed laugh.

At one point their conversation starts slowing down and he’d be worried if Seunghyun’s face wasn’t doing that thing it seems to like doing where his brows furrow and his eyes shift as if he’s trying to decide if saying whatever he wants to say is the smartest decision. “Are you scared of being creepy again?” the question is teasing but gentle as he bumps their feet together under the table. The older man smiles, eyes suddenly focusing on him before dropping to the table, letting out a small and almost inaudible laugh. “I’m afraid of being… a little forward, perhaps.” Daesung takes a sip of his drink and waits patiently for him to make a decision, watching the tip of his ears turn pink.

“I… had considered this before but felt like we didn’t know each other well enough for it to be appropriate of me,” his gaze turns to the window and remain there rather fixedly, pointedly avoiding eye contact. “Normally I still wouldn’t consider it for fear of making you uncomfortable but since seeing you at that event…” his voice is slow, almost if he’s carefully measuring each word before speaking, making Daesung edge a little closer in his seat. Event? He’s probably talking about Seungri’s press party thing. “You’re aware of the ceremony the Ministry gives every year during All Hallows’ Eve?” the seemingly abrupt change of subject surprises him but he nods.

Sure, he never paid all that much attention to it before but he knows the Ministry of Magic has certain ceremonies at specific times of the year. The next three would be very close together, All Hallows’ Eve, Yuletide and the New Year. It’s a fancy affair, something between a ball and a high-end party if the vague reports he’s hear throughout the years were anything to go by. He’d never given it much thought. “Would you be willing to accompany me?” The cup freezes halfway to his mouth, although if it’s because of the question or the way intense eyes suddenly land on him again, he can’t be sure. “Me?” the disbelief in his own voice is palpable.

Daesung had never been to one of those functions in his entire life and he’s sure there are a fair few people who would be willing to go and already had the experience necessary for it. Seunghyun smiles at him reassuringly, fingers on his table curling slightly. “Usually I attend such things with Jiyong but he seems to be… busy, this year,” the Ravenclaw has been working rather a lot lately, mostly in a bunch of music related things he never tells anyone about and insists he won’t until it’s ready.  Whatever it is. “And I would very much like you to come with me. If you’re willing.”

He could say no. He could say yes. Seunghyun lapses into silence after his last words, sipping his drink and waiting patiently for his answer as Daesung had waited for his earlier.  He doesn’t feel pressured to go but really, really, really wants to, despite feeling a small amount of disappointment at the fact he only got asked because Jiyong couldn’t come. His brain pipes up, deciding now is the perfect opportunity to make him think of how many things can go wrong. What if he offends someone? What if he shows up underdressed? What if ends up embarrassing Seunghyun so much that they’ll never hang out again?

The tea is still hot as he drinks the last of it – warming charm, it never really goes cold – and feels it stirring uneasily in his stomach. It’s still some weeks away, there’s time for Seunghyun or maybe Jiyong to answer his questions. He’s sure Youngbae will listen to him stress out over this later, sit him down and make him see how irrational he’s being about all of it and that always has a calming effect on his nerves. All he needs now is to say yes, and where’s Seungri’s courage when he needs it? Actually, on second thought, his friend would probably just pass him a glass of firewhiskey. Not a very good idea.

“Uhm… is there anything in particular I need to bring with me…?”