He rested against the counter of the small boba tea shop.

The space wasn't anything to brag or be over exuberant about; The shop a medium size. No larger than it needed to be in order to house the empty seats which occupied the floor. The rush hour of the midday breaks having ended minutes before his mind decided to evacuate far away. The chairs and tables, familiar in where they rested on the flooring, a blend of crème white and khaki brown to match the soft bear theme of the shop the owner insisted on following. The clean but rounded ease on the eyes a welcoming sight. Overhead, vibrant green plants occupied the shelves. Cute, as long as he remembered their existence on his respective days to care for the plants.

His eyes flickering around the area before they settled back on the lit screen of his phone, shifting back to select a new song to play over his blasting earbud. One in his ear, the other out.

a faint jingle twinkled over the droning hum of the air conditioning. Changbin perked up at the sound.

The alert rung loud and clear.

A customer walked in.

His eyes shifted up, landing on a man approaching the front counter with languid steps.

He smiled softly, "Lavender, please."

"Small?" Changbin asked in turn.

"Please."

He nodded lightly, moving to input the order into the kiosk register. Moving as the way his muscles remembered. The man's order popping up for him to pay on the screen while Changbin turned around to prepare his drink for him. He still hasn't busted a move and had a dance battle with the machines yet. Hopefully soon, hopefully in the future.

As his back was turned to set the familiar plastic film over the boba tea drink, he heard the man digging around behind him. He heard the setting of the wallet on the counter, and the binging of the credit card reader to inform him to remove the card after a successful transaction.

As soon as his drink was set on the counter, the man swept it up and wheeled around.

"Hyunjin," Changbin called the man.

He whipped back, slamming to a stop in his tracks as the fresh cup of boba tea sloshed miserably in his hand.

Changbin lifted the discarded wallet from the counter, "Don't forget this."

"Sorry," The younger bounced back, his steps rolling from heel to toe as his freshly bleached blond hair bounced around. A decision made shortly after he left his job with the conglomerate, in a random fit of 'artist inspiration' as he told Changbin while speaking over the phone call, leading to the current unnaturally clean hue of the wavy strands. Changbin watched him, simply all of him; The grown hair strands and roots beginning to peep through, the slight squish to his cheek that returned after a few weeks of 'You have to eat properly' lectures, the outfit he currently draped himself in more flowing and comfortable on his body than any suit ever was for him, the general radiance that glowed gently from every inch of him. Plus the smudge of what seemed to be a seafoam paint wiped on his cheek.

"Don't be," Changbin comforted as the other swiped the wallet off the counter and pocketed it in his jeans. He picked at his own cheek in a gesture, a teasing smile telling, "You have paint on your face."

"Oh, do I? I didn't notice. I had to finished up the mural today and I guess I painted myself too," Hyunjin scooted over to the napkin dispenser. Pulling a few loose, he then wiped at the painted spot a few times with the scratchy fabric, rubbing it furiously to no help from the paint. Refusing to come off. Dried entirely as a second skin to his body despite the way he tried to pick and peel it off. Completely missing the tiny mark covering his skin as he spoke, "How much longer do you have on your shift?"

"Still another hour. After that, I'm all yours," Changbin hummed. Giving up on watching the other's pathetic attempts, he snatched the napkin and grabbed his boyfriend's chin, lightly tugging him to lean over the counter on the platforms of his folded elbows. The younger slotted his eye close, his squishy cheeks puffing out as the older hurried himself with wiping off the stubborn spot of paint. To no avail either. That bit of color was adamantly refusing to come off no matter how hard he wiped and scrubbed at the spot. With taking into consideration the other's cheeks, being careful not to hurt him in any way or form as he moved a hand to pick the remaining few speckles of paint off of him.

"I want to take you somewhere when you're all finished," Hyunjin peeped an eye open to him. A soft grin on his features, wonderfully proud and demure, yet loud and deciding in his habitual nature. Hwang Hyunjin in his native world, amongst the few with clean money. His crystalline smile, gentle upturn of his lips only continued on as he told, "I have a surprise. A date. A surprise date."

Changbin scrunched his nose up at him, the napkin in his hand crinkling up before he tossed it in the trash beneath the marble counter top.

A surprise date?

The younger only kept that wide grin about him. No hint of what he was referring to.

An anticipation giving the only comfort to Changbin as his leg bounced and his fingers tapped out rhythms to calm his derailing thoughts down. Possible solutions of what the other was planning to do to him flying through his mind like Pokémon flying into random battles on the street.

A surprise date? What counted as a surprise date? A movie date? Would they go to the theatre and see the newest horror movie released? He knew Hyunjin kept mentioning going to watch it with Jisung and Seungmin, a hangout the three of them had been eagerly setting up. Maybe that was the surprise? He would suddenly join? What about a karaoke night? A barbeque? An expensive dinner? He wasn't big on eating out, too pricey, so maybe a wine tasting? A trip to an art museum? Finishing up the rest of the Gundam mech build-able? A watercolor and music playlist night? Dungeons and Dragons with the boys? Was that a date? The ice rink down in the corner of the city? A nice walk around the park? Laser tag? Both of them had been wanting to go do laser tag, are they doing a laser tag date? Fuck yeah!

Though he quickly realized, if he was able to guess what the date would be, it probably meant that wasn't the surprise Hyunjin was planning.

That puzzled curiosity only began to build when his shift ended and he slid into the passenger seat, the refreshing scent of new car assaulting his nose as the factory leather of the expensive seats welcomed him. Chilly inside the car, the air-conditioning had been running. Him recognizing why when the wet nose of a dog rammed into his ear and tried to climb on him. The overexcited paws tapping on the modernistic seats and nearly knocking over the few sketching supplies stacked with Melon in the back. Yes, Hyunjin sold his old car and got a new one. Yes, it was nice and had fancy buttons. No, he did not care most of his time inside the vehicle was spent pressing the gadgets around to see what they would do.

That anticipation only began to bud into anxiety when he realized Hyunjin was driving away from the city.

Was Hyunjin planning to take him out and kill him?

Was this the last car ride he would ever experience?

With Melon shoving her nose into his armpit and some strange pop song playing over the radio?

He pressed the dog away from him, attempting to turn his gaze to the window. Wanting to watch the buildings of the city disappear in the side mirrors, becoming nothing more than a model set of what that bustling world truly was. Giants with thundering steps and piles of gold treasured away beneath their sleeping bodies, turned nothing but ants working tirelessly on sloped hills pushing their own boulders of burdens up those slanted slops. How Hyunjin used to be amongst those towering warriors, now the beautiful and cheerful soul sat focusing in the driver's seat (Which turned into a very long and very interesting (concerning) conversation where Hyunjin explained he wasn't able to drive without spacing out every thirty seconds before he was checked into the hospital. Turns out high blood pressure and chronic stress was not good for you! Wild!).

Or, he tried to, until a sloppy tongue started greeting him with licks. Melon. He loved her, he did, she was his dog after all, but she never toned down the energy.

The assumption that Hyunjin was about to murder him and leave him for the vultures to eat was only reinforced when they turned off the freeway, onto snaking side roads of the flat terrain turned mountainous they longer they drove. Thin strips of concrete rivers leading in curved paths farther and farther away. Borderings of tall trees stretching far above them as the roads narrowed, slimming into rough ribbons no doubt never repaved since their original lay on the trails they used to be through the tough thicket. Even those ribbons dispersing amongst the casted shade of the mountain forest around them, dissolving into a rocky dirt road, the unstable ground shaking the luxurious suspension to tiny bits. In which a few foul jokes were made between the two as they mentioned the bumpy ride, but who were they to repeat it to anyone but themselves.

Hyunjin parked off to the side in what seemed to be a square space of a dirt lot, both of them clambering out into the shady cool of the forest surrounding them as soon as the vehicle came to a complete stop. The firm scent of the firs grown around them flooding into their city boy scenes. Unfamiliar scene in it's cleanliness and rocky terrain. While Hyunjin locked the doors and went to grab something from the trunk of the car, Changbin busied himself with allowing the border collie out of the backseats. Her immediately jumping out and dancing circles around the dirt lot.

The older called her over, Melon zooming to be by him as he grabbed the leash Hyunjin was holding out to him. He wondered, "A hike?"

"No, not a hike," Hyunjin laughed softly, airily. The crisp sound from his chest as clean as the mountain air embracing them. As untouched, unturned, unadulterated as the languid breeze rustling through the evergreen treetops, branches knocking against one another as they joined his laughter in subtle melody, singing along with the wind chimes of his twinkling voice. That angelic person slung the strap of what looked to be an ice chest over his shoulder, a blanket folded neatly on his arm as he slammed down the lid of the trunk and finished off, "But we do have to walk the trails for a few minutes. Not far, just past the trees."

Changbin scrunched his nose more in suspicion. A blanket? An ice chest? His dog? Mountains?

A picnic?

He finished clipping the leash on Melon, then coming go grab the large blanket from Hyunjin as the younger grabbed his sketchbook from the back of the car.

Is this a picnic date?

Hyunjin led them off to a side path. A long, winding dirt trail, expanding through the thick curtain of the forest through the thicket.

Through the robust trees topping at neck-breaking heights, ferns coating the forest floors like a fluffy carpet of plants, and fallen logs big enough to encase humans. There was a few piles of moss scattered around too. From above, Changbin caught the melodic chirping of songbirds fluttering in the high treetops before their wings broke into the open sky, the crisp smell of arid dust attempting to properly scatter as if their grains were fine bronze mixed with the gusts of wind, the emerald leaves of the tall umbrella trees rustling as their branches drooped above, their sound paced to the tempo of the lush grass stirring awake underneath their feet. The omnipotent breaths of the mighty giant beneath the soil, the secluded area boomed. Like the monotonous tone of the daily humdrum exploded with color.

As they continued on, the thickness of the forest slowly began to melt away. Sunlight cascading through the breaking treetops and spilling canopies, their light casting through indefinite cracks the coverings peeped open with any odd wind slicing through. With every slice of beaming sun spotlighting the dirt trail they walked, Changbin took note that Hyunjin glowed. As if his body was made of polished crystal, glass edges refracting and splintering the timid waterfalls shining into the shady area, the fractures hues of light dancing off in flecks of gleaming silver. Gleaming gold. Even if Hyunjin didn't notice his own radiance in the clipping light, Changbin made sure to memorize every detail he could while he followed behind him.

After a moment, those trees disappeared entirely.

Washed away to an open clearing. The afternoon sky above dotted with few cotton clouds. Otherwise, sapphire blue. The richest shade he ever saw the curtain above blushing in. A familiar scent flooded his nose.

Before them, a valley of sloped hills, freckled with a purple sea.

As they walked, closer to the discolored waves, Changbin recognized those flowing ripples as something else. His steps slowed.

Lavender.

This was a lavender field.

Noticing his stop, Hyunjin turned back to him.

"Lavender has just, kind of been our thing ever since we met. And I was thinking, we could have a picnic date," He explained gently to the stunned eyes of Changbin, a stupid expression obviously on his face, he could tell that the moment the younger turned around and looked at him with a bitten back grin. And from his fingers, delicately brushing into the underside of his chin to call him back to reality from his gawking. His hand then lacing tightly with the older's own as the other balanced the sketchbook precariously atop the ice chest, pulling him after once they were anchored together, "There in the border of the clearing. You, me, Melon, the flower fields."

Changbin sighed wistfully, the grip he had on the dog leash tightening, "If only Linguine could be here."

"I thought about bringing her."

"Say sike."

"Of course I'm joking. Are you still scared of her?"

"Baby, I'm sorry, but it's a fucking tarantula."

"It's my tarantula. No Linguine, no Hyunjin."

Changbin scrunched his nose up at the comment, the gesture immediately returned by Hyunjin and his breathy laughter as they walked along the dirt path.

Peeling off somewhere in the middle of the lavender fields to find an optimal spot to lay their blanket down, somewhere to enjoy the flowers, somewhere they wouldn't destroy them as they took care not to step on any of the budding growth. They found a perfect spot near one of the few lonesome trees dotting the amethyst glow of the lavender field, beneath it's branches where none of the beautiful flowers laid in wait to be smashed by the thick blanket they laid out and flopped atop with their few snacks or Melon chomping at every bee and lavender bud she saw. Each time being met with a firm kiss on the snootle from Changbin and a fast, 'Don't eat bees, you'll froth at the mouth like a dumbass'.

When they were settled down in the scenic spot, Melon laid on the grass beside them, Changbin reached to grab another one of the peanutbutter cookies they brought. Turns out, Hyunjin is a peanutbutter cookie kind of guy. Discovered when he caught Hyunjin spooning mouthfuls of peanutbutter as a midnight snack and it led to an impromptu baking session at three in the morning to curb the sudden peanutbutter cravings.

He glanced to where the younger was sitting quietly; Hyunjin's own gaze flickering around the fields, seeming to take them in for a moment, nothing but the sonority of the rustling flowers meeting their eardrums like faint butterfly kisses gracing the warm breeze. Then shifting those puppy eyes to where Changbin was laying behind him, then flipping his attention down to the sketchbook in his lap as he scribbled on the paper. Changbin shoved the full cookie in his mouth, chewing lightly as he rolled over onto his side. Head propped up on an elbow. Gaze peering around Hyunjin's back to see, "What are you drawing?"

"I want to remember this moment. I want to keep it in my memories as long as I'm able to," Hyunjin murmured beneath the sparkling of the field, tipping his sketchbook to Changbin for him to see the outline of the picturesque scenery stretched in front of them.

"I'm glad you've been able to do your art again," Changbin said earnestly.

"Me too, I really missed it. And with my art page set up, I can try to earn some funds on the side. I don't think I..." The younger's voice trailed off, the expression on his face falling from it's bright cheer to something ever so sour. Scrunched up, as if a foul taste lingered in his mouth. In both of their mouths, the vividly icky memories from either side still freshly cut down into their bones. He set the sketchbook off to the side, also shifting to lay down on the blanket with Changbin, head knocking into the divot of the older's waist as he finished off,  "I don't think I realized how miserable I was in that job until now."

Changbin scoffed loudly, observing how the younger's head bounced slightly as the noise left them. Despite the rocks hiding in the uneven dirt below the blanket digging into his angled elbow, the older kept his hand as it was. Hid head propped up. Able to see the younger laying with him, reaching to grab some of the sandwiches he prepared, the dog beside them, and the open field beyond. He nodded a fast, "Yeah, no offense, but it got rough there for a while. You looked like shit."

"No offense taken," The younger grunted, poking pointed fingers into Changbin's stomach and sternum until he prodding nails were swept up in a grip. As he was snatched, he quickly flipped onto his stomach and his elbows propping him up off the picnic blanket, the gentle breeze from the fluttering valley sweeping back the growing strands of blond hair, pushing their once trimmed and neat appearance from the features Changbin found so endearing. Completely enamoured with that man. Hyunjin knocked his temple into the older's ribcage as he hummed, "Hey, also, I was thinking, I want to start a wedding planning business. With my experience with events, I think I'll do well. But then it's on my terms, you know?" 

Those features were so stunning.

So... Otherworldly. Almost as if that man wasn't his boyfriend. Wasn't a human.

Although he knew they couldn't, Changbin would have laid as they were for hours.

Nothing but them, the lavender and their rejuvenating flourish clouding the air. The sprint of the warm afternoon won't picking up the stray leaves scattered along grass blades, the flower stalks knocking into one another as door chimes in the busy day, and the tree branches suspended in frozen arches above their heads. The rough but comforting picnic blanket underneath them both, large enough to lay on, to protect them both from any wandering dirt. The scent of the recently baked peanutbutter cookies, luncheon style sandwiches, various fresh fruit in their fancy reinforced glass containers, a few nibbles of cheese and crackers to top it all off, a spread Hyunjin spent his time to throw together. That puppy's cologne, juniper and sandalwood, his home.

The feeling in his chest.

A swelling, an exploding. Fireworks bursting. If that metaphor wasn't too overplayed and cliché from romance plotlines.

More like...

Well, actually, there was nothing like that feeling.

There was nothing that could compare to the feeling Hyunjin gave him when he looked him in the eyes and smiled as he was.

There was nothing like this.

There was nothing like loving someone. 

There was nothing that could make him beam as he was.

Hyunjin grinned softly back to him. Head still tipped to him for support, the upturn of his lips hiding as he nibbled on his sandwich, "Why are you smiling at me like that?"

"I'm happy. I'm really happy. You should try it out, see how it goes," The older gave him a fast thumbs up with his free hand. Gentle laughter radiating from both of their chests, chuckles without much meaning behind their sound beside the pure joy he felt as he laid there with Hyunjin. Happiness without a reason. Senseless, enamoured, a loss of any real awareness of the world; All that mattered was the world laying against him. His world. It's demure consolidation sinking down into his ribcage and skin. It's squishy cheeks looking at him. Changbin combed his hands over Hyunjin's hair, careful not to knock the sandwich from him as he recalled,  "Imagine all of this started because you forgot your wallet on the counter."

The younger took another bite of his meal. He admitted, "Best mistake I've ever made."

"Thank fuck Jeongin was too lazy to get your order and return it," Changbin scoffed, "For once, I'm glad he doesn't do shit."

"And, thank you. Thank you for being willing to try again with me," Hyunjin gave another airy laugh. Strong and sincere. He wiggled closer as he pulled Changbin into a kiss.

Love was a strange feeling.

A touch like the silver bracelet spun around his wrist.

A sound like the rusting of branches above and the dog bouncing cheerfully in the flower fields.

A memory like the tattoo inked into his waist, the tingling pattern of the rose sketched into his held hand, and the artwork Hyunjin drew.

There was nothing else quiet like it.

Like the color lavender painted in his mind.

Like the feeling of bubbles swelling in his heart.

✾○°•° Finish °•°○✾

[A/N]

Wow I'm actually a little sad :(

This book was so stupid but a ton of fun to write too. I'm ngl it was only supposed to be 30 chapters or so and wow, guess that didn't go as plan :D I'm a little upset to see it end though. Time to move on to other projects (︶^︶)

As always, thank you for reading

From, your author

Pancakes ٩(๑òωó๑)۶

Fr though, how many of you would be interested in a hacker/camboy minsung au, I'm a little invested in this idea now. I'd make it kind of fun and silly like Lav. Bubbles but with a fewww serious things. Plus I want to??? Write out of my comfort zone. I need to make progress on LDV/Nadir but I'll draft something if enough of you are interested