Work Text:
Oblivious to the small snowflakes beginning to descend from the colorless sky, you hummed the tune of Ditto by NewJeans, flicking your wrist softly against the desk as you lightly sketched out the scene playing before you.
Nagi, cuddled up in a sea of sheets and occupied by a new video game he bought the other day, was oblivious to your constant glances, fully immersed in the dreamlike fantasy world in which he played.
With the soft rustle of sheets, rapid taps on Nagi’s phone, and the subtle scratching sound of your pencil lead on the crisp paper, you both fell into a comfortable silence, basking in each other's presence wordlessly.
It was often like this between you and Nagi. He would come over unannounced and immediately make himself at home, speaking to you rarely— though neither of you felt the need to start a conversation most times. He complained that it was “too lonely and quiet” in his house, but you weren’t too sure when he seemed to care about that kind of stuff.
Though you had to admit, you were grateful you had someone who you could sit in a room with for hours in complete silence without feeling awkward, quietly appreciating their presence as you occupied yourself with other countless tasks or hobbies.
Fully focused on finishing the sketch of Nagi, you only then began to realize the scene you subconsciously started to capture on the smooth sheet of paper, eyes widening as your steady humming came to a stop. With your pencil hovering millimeters over the messy sketch lines, you suddenly jumped once you heard Nagi’s voice for the first time since he came over this morning.
“What song is that?” he asked simply, his expression calm as his eyes stayed glued to the screen of his phone, huffing mid boss-fight before completely losing all his health from one powerful blow.
Turning your swivel chair to face him, a grin appeared on your face, ecstatic at the thought of him taking interest in one of your favorite K-pop groups. “It’s called Ditto by NewJeans,” you explained, beaming as you picked up your phone off the surface of your desk, the beaded, dainty phone charm Nagi gifted you a few months back dangling off the crystal case.
“I’ll play it for you, I love NewJeans,” you continued, opening your music app with haste as your fingers swiftly tapped on the keypad. Entering their name in the search bar, it didn’t take long for you to find the song you were previously gushing about, immediately clicking the play button and hearing the group's dreamy vocals begin to fill the silence.
As the song began to reach Nagi’s ears, you paid close attention to his expression, eyes slightly narrowing in concentration as you desperately tried to catch even a glimpse of his thoughts about the soft melody, despite barely grazing over the first verse.
After letting the song play out for a few more moments, you finally let out a breath you didn’t know you were holding once Nagi gave you an approving hum, followed with a short nod.
As a smile braced your lips once more, you began to turn back towards your desk to continue the sketch, before realizing the sky outside was completely blank. Mesmerized by the blanket of white stretching across the skies, you then noticed the small flakes of snow beginning to pile up at your windowsill.
“It’s snowing,” you pointed out, pushing yourself off the chair as you made your way to the window, pressing your fingertips against the glass as you peeked outside. The panes were cold to the touch, which wasn’t surprising after taking note of how much snow had accumulated outside, completely covering the grass.
“Sei, it’s snowing!” you restated, a childlike giddiness consuming you as you rushed towards your closet, digging through the stacks of neatly folded clothes to look for a heavy coat and gloves.
Watching as you hurriedly scurried to your closet, Nagi finally set his phone down, sitting upright on your bed as he gazed lazily outside. “Huh, it is,” he mumbled to himself, watching as the neighbors started to step outside one by one to enjoy a day in the snow.
Shrugging on a black puffer jacket, adjusting it so it sits somewhat pleasingly on your sweatpants, you swung a dark scarf over your neck, slipping on some matching gloves to ensure your hands don’t turn into icicles in the biting cold.
“Come on,” you urged the white-haired boy, your gloved fingers wrapping around his wrist as you attempted to drag him out of bed. Unfortunately, you were unsuccessful, and you felt silly to think that you could even move a soccer player with the little strength you possessed. The lack of friction due to your gloves wasn't helping you, either.
“What?” Nagi whined, staying stubbornly seated on your bed. “I don’t want to go outside. It’s too cold, and playing in the snow is such a hassle,” he complained, slowly burying himself back into your pillows. “Can we just stay inside and watch a movie or something?”
“No way,” you deadpanned, using all your strength to tug him out of bed. “I’m not letting this opportunity go to waste. Look at the amount of snowfall there is!” you exclaimed, somehow pulling him out of the mess of sheets with one harsh pull.
Reluctantly leaving the comforting warmth of your blankets, a small frown tugged at his lips as you plucked his discarded hoodie off the floor, shoving it into his arms and wrapping a spare scarf around his neck once he slipped the thick fabric on.
Trotting over to your front door with barely constrained excitement, you slipped your shoes on, tying the laces up tightly and unlocking your front door with a quiet click. As you took in the sight unfolding before you, your pupils widened at least ten times their normal size as you marveled at the delicate beauty of the falling snowflakes, the powdery snow crunching beneath your feet with every step you took.
Ignoring the piercing cold, you crouched down, fingers grazing against the snow. Your freehand instinctively moved to your pocket, wanting to capture this breathtaking moment— before realizing your phone wasn’t on your person.
Turning back to look at Nagi, who was staring down at the snow like something was about to emerge from the ground and jump at him, you shook your head fondly, letting out a quiet snicker at his childish antics.
“Sei,” you called out to him, grabbing his attention. “I left my phone on my desk, do you mind grabbing it for me?” you asked sheepishly, clasping your hands together in a pleading manner.
Thanking the Gods above for granting him this amazing opportunity, he didn’t hesitate to turn back towards the house to fulfill your requests with a muttered “okay.” As he was about to step past the front door, he paused as he heard you call out to him again.
“Make sure to come back,” you joked, sending him off into the warmth of your house with a smile.
Nodding hesitantly, he slipped his shoes off inside, navigating through your house before finding his way back into your room. Easily spotting your phone left on your desk, it was now playing a song called Cool With You by NewJeans, the same artist you were mentioning to him earlier.
Listening to the song closely, he noticed his own phone buried underneath some scattered pillows. Tempted to grab it and stay inside, his gaze shifted back to your device one last time, conflicted until something caught his eye in his peripheral.
Stepping closer to your desk, his eyes landed on your sketchbook, staring down at the pages laid out before him.
It was a messy, but defined sketch, and the more he stared at it, the more he realized that it was him in the picture, swarmed with blankets and surrounded by pillows as he focused on the screen of his device.
Feeling a faint warmth creep up under his skin at the thought of you making him your muse, all thoughts of abandoning you in the snow quickly disappeared, and he found himself shoving your phone in his pocket, trying to pretend he never saw the candid drawings in the first place.
Stepping back out into the bitter cold, he immediately spotted you piling some snow up next to your driveway, creating a small snowman. “Oh, Sei!” you grinned once you caught sight of him walking over to you, his hand extending to give you your phone.
“Thanks! I’m surprised you actually came back out,” you teased, slipping the device back into the safety of your pocket. “You would’ve dragged me out eventually if I stayed inside,” Nagi sighed, poorly covering up the fact that he actually wanted to be here, with you, even if it was freezing outside.
“Help me build this snowman,” you asked, though it sounded more like a demand than a request. “What a hassle. I should’ve just stayed in the house,” Nagi mumbled, grabbing some snow off to the side and beginning to pile it up with you.
Nagi couldn’t explain why he felt all warm inside all of a sudden, even though the chilling winter breeze brushed past him. He often caught himself admiring you, noticing the small details. How your nose scrunched up when you smiled, or how your hair looked slightly tousled because of the wind— but despite all the imperfections others might have pointed out about you, he couldn’t find a single flaw that you possessed.
As you finally finished up the snowman, wrapping your scarf around it snugly and pressing some pebbles into the packed snow for its eyes and mouth, you stood proud, admiring your hard work.
Glancing over your shoulder to look at Nagi, you giggled at how he was beginning to shiver, seemingly more bothered by the cold. “Can we go back inside now?” Nagi huffed, his arms moving to hug himself in a feeble attempt to bring him warmth.
Clearly amused by his weakened state, a small smirk tugged at your lips, finding this as a great time to tease him.
“What, you’re cold? We’ve only been out here for a couple of minutes,” you commented in a playful tone, taking a few steps closer to his quivering figure.
“I’m not cold,” he mumbled defensively, slowly dropping his arms back to his side, though it was clear he was lying from how stiffly he stood. As a knowing smirk appeared on your face, you let out a long hum, an evil scheme beginning to form in your head.
As if on cue, a kid playing nearby with his family accidentally sent a ball flying straight towards Nagi. As he swiftly dodged the ball that seemed to accelerate more than twice its usual speed, you took the chance to jump onto him, tackling the boy onto the ground after ensuring he was off-balance.
Not expecting the sudden attack, he landed back on the snow with a quiet grunt, just barely supporting your weight as you fell back on top of him.
“Ow...” he sighed, peering down at you, your body half draped over him as a helpless laugh escaped your lips, your eyes fluttering shut as you rested your head against his chest. Tears started to well up in your eyes from how much you were laughing, and despite his initial annoyance, he couldn’t bring himself to be irritated with you.
Rolling over on your side to get off of him, you quickly grabbed a handful of snow, shaping it into a lumpy sphere before chucking it directly at Nagi before he could get up.
As the two of you engaged in a very competitive snowball fight, Nagi then started to wonder: why was he trying so hard? He could’ve easily gone back inside despite your protests, and you would’ve gotten over it, even if you sulked for the first few hours.
But seeing you, constantly laughing because of him and enjoying yourself as you played in the snow, he thought that this wasn’t so bad, that the games could wait a little longer.
As the snow finally stopped descending from the sky and families slowly started making their way back into their respective houses one by one, you were left with Nagi, standing together in a vast land of fluffy sleet, with everything else in the world fading softly into the background as you both quietly cherished this ephemeral moment in the snow.