Work Text:
The cool wind brushed against Oczy's sweat soaked skin as he emerged from the tunnel he had dug the whole day. His body is sore and aching from all the work he has done, not before long he reached the door that leads inside the barn they've been using to secretly research heliocentrism. He then took a deep breath before gently knocking.
Knock knock.
"Umm, Badeni-san...? I'm going to enter now." Oczy said cautiously as he opened the door to a dimly lit room.
The space was filled with mountains of books and papers, and in the corner of the room was a figure who seemed to be sleeping. Oczy carefully approached the man, not wanting to wake him from his slumber.
"Oh, he's fast asleep." He whispered under his breath.
He started to look around the room. His eyes then landed on a chair that was carrying a few books — likely related to what Badeni was researching. Oczy cleared the books from the chair before carrying it near the man. He sat down beside the figure and just started watching him sleep, Badeni's sleeping face is gentle he thought, you'll never guess how awful his personality really is..
Moments past, Oczy began counting. He counted the times when the other man's back fell and rose with each breath. He then swallowed the saliva that was pooling in his mouth before unconsciously stretching his arm to gently brush his hand on Badeni's hair. Oczy had never imagined it to be so soft and smooth; he wondered what the man used to wash it.
"Oi, what are you doing?" Badeni suddenly spoke up, which made Oczy jump from where he was seated.
"I-I'm sorry for touching you without permission...!" He quickly apologized, definitely regretting his action.
Badeni would probably scream at him and tell him to get out. But to his surprise, the man did neither; he just sighed.
"Come here and sit, rest assured I'm not angry." Badeni said, breaking the silence. Oczy obliged, of course, but he couldn't help feeling awkward after what just happened.
"So... what are you doing here?" The man beside him asked, resting his chin on his palm.
"I... um, wanted to check on you, that's all." Oczy replied, not even batting an eye towards the blond-haired man.
"Ohhhh... So checking up on someone is to stare at them while sleeping and touching their hair now?" Badeni said sarcastically.
"Wait, how did you—!" Oczy turned his head to face the man at the speed of light. He could almost feel his face heating up.
"You know what... nevermind. If there's nothing, I will go n—" Oczy immediately stood up from his seat, but then Badeni suddenly gripped his arm.
"Sorry, I'm just teasing you. Stick with me a little longer."
"Oh... uhm... alright, if that's what you want..." Oczy replied as he sat on his chair again.
The room was filled with silence once again. Oczy could almost hear his heart beating faster and faster every second at this point.
"Uh... Badeni-san, what are we going to do now...? There's nothing else to do and talk about, so how about turning in for the night...?"
He didn't reply.
"Badeni-san...?" Oczy turned his head to the side only to see Badeni staring at him intensely.
"Don't keep me waiting, it's now or never, you idiot." Badeni stated.
"What do you mean... ?" Oczy replied.
"There's something you want to ask me, right?"
"Well..." He gently massaged his nape. "I do..."
"Go on," Badeni reassured him as he faced the wall, looking at the necklace that started all of this.
"How did you lose your eye?"
Badeni looked at him with a surprised expression. "I thought you would ask me about something more... interesting. It's all about my eye then...?"
"Ah! I'm sorry if I didn't meet your expectations..." Oczy quickly replied.
"What did I even expect from a commoner like you..." Badeni sighed.
Oczy let out a soft grunt as he scratched his cheek.
"It got burned... by a candle wax."
"Why..? Who would do something like that..." Oczy asked surprised.
"It's because I'm too curious. All it took was to read a few lines from a forbidden writing. Well, he warned me about the consequences... but I still didn't stop." Badeni smiled, a smile that Oczy hadn't seen before.
"Oh... I see. Such a shame, your eye is so beautiful after all..." Oczy replied.
"Huh...?" Badeni's eye widened.
Oczy quickly covered his mouth, his heart about to leap out of his chest. "D-Did I just say that out loud...?" He asked, stuttering
"Y-Yes..." Badeni agreed.
This time Oczy covered his face, thinking he should die from embarrassment right now.
"Hahahaha!" The man beside him started to laugh.
"No one ever said that to me before. All they say is that my gaze is sharp and mean. What reason could you probably have to can find my eye to be that beautiful?"
"...Well, every time I look in your eye, it reminds me of the stars that I truly love. I would not get bored of looking at it forever." Oczy nervously replied
The man didn't utter a single word, so Oczy took a glance beside him. Badeni was looking away from him, is he angry..? Oczy didn't know, so he stretched his arm and gently grabbed the man's shoulder.
"Uhm... Badeni-san, are you okay...? Are you mad? If so, I'm sorry... I didn't mean to—"
"How could you say something like that to a man like me... You should do that to a girl, you idiot!"
Badeni finally turned to him, his face is red, not because of the candle beside him, but because he's embarrassed...? Really? THAT Badeni is embarrassed because of a compliment..?
"I-I'm sorry...?" Oczy replied, confused.
"Why do you keep apologizing?!" Badeni shouted.
"S-Sorry, it's a bad habit..."
"There you go again!"
"So—"
Before Oczy could apologize, Badeni grabbed him by the collar and kissed him. It all happened so suddenly, his mind went blank for a moment. The kiss was short, but it felt like forever to him.
Not long after, the blond pulled away, Oczy already missed the warmth of the man's lips against his.
"Badeni-san..." The dark-haired man tried to speak.
"Shut up," Badeni said as he rested his head on the taller man's chest.
Oczy didn't utter a single word anymore after that, because that night, they could hear each other's hearts talking.