Archive of Our Own ^beta

Soyeon glanced up from her laptop just long enough to see Minnie and Yuqi messing around, posing randomly as one of their managers snapped photos of them.

The two settled down minutes later, Minnie’s legs resting over Yuqi's as they laughed at the phone between them, mouths moving a mile a minute as they took turns pointing at the screen, probably trying to decide which ones to post online.

She felt a twinge in her chest at missing out on another bonding moment, but she'd made a promise to herself to try and get most of this song done by the end of the day.

The only reason she was out here instead of locked up in her hotel room in the first place was because Yuqi had begged her to go out for almost an entire hour, until Soyeon gave in with the promise to be left alone for however long she wanted later on.

Lost in her latest creation, she didn't notice a shadow creeping up and carefully lowering herself onto the bench beside her.

She was snapped out of it when the masked face of her girlfriend blocked her view of the screen.

She blinked once at the sudden closeness before her own eyes squinted into a smile, mirroring the ones peering up at her happily.

“Hi baby,” the younger rasped.

Soyeon whispered out her own greeting, flustered from both the term of endearment and being caught off guard.

Yuqi’s smile seemed to widen even more if that was possible.

“How's the song coming along?”

“Oh… I'm actually almost done, I think. Just playing around with different instrumentals for the chorus.”

“Is it giving you any trouble?”

“No, just can't decide which I like more”

“That's good… maybe I could listen to it later? If you're comfortable sharing.”

Soyeon but her lip in contemplation.

She usually kept these things to herself til she was satisfied and confident enough to share it with others.

Yuqi knew this.

But she also knew that their leader liked to be complimented and praised for her progress sometimes, especially by Yuqi, so she wasn't surprised when her orange haired girlfriend took a second to shrug unsurely.

“Mmm, that's okay, but do you think you can take a break for a bit?” Yuqi asked, voice softening ever so slightly.

Seeing Soyeon's eyebrows furrow in confusion, she continued, “I want to take a walk with you, I miss you.” She pleaded, the pout audible in her tone.

“You were having fun with Minnie-unnie weren't you?”

“Well yeah, but I wanna spend some time with you too. That's the only reason I dragged you out here," she laughed,

"but I wanted to give you some time to yourself first. Plus, I figured the change of scenery would help ease your mind a little after everything you've done for us these past few months.”

Soyeon couldn't help the adoring smile tugging at her lips.

“Yeah, thank you jagi, I did need to get out for a bit. We can take that walk right now if you want.”

Yuqi positively beamed at her words.

“Yes, please.”

Soyeon hummed happily when the younger woman leaned in to give her a kiss, one she felt even through the masks covering both their faces.

What was visible of her cheeks glowed a soft red at the contact, making Yuqi wish she could give her more than a quick peck through thin fabric.

Getting to her feet, Yuqi waited patiently for Soyeon to switch off her laptop and place it in her bag along with her headphones.

Once she'd stood and dusted off the back of her pants, Yuqi plucked her bag out of her hands and slid the straps over her own shoulders, her free arm coming up to wrap around the shorter woman’s shoulders to keep her close.

Soyeon smiled and tilted her face up to press a quick kiss to her jaw, averting her gaze shyly when her girlfriend grinned down at her.

They'd barely taken more than 10 steps before Soyeon halted, prompting Yuqi to stop as well.

“What about Minnie-unnie?”

“What about her?”

“You just ditched her for me, didn't you?”

Yuqi grinned to herself at the subtle snark in her tone, chuckling under her breath as she guided them forward again,

“Please, if anything, she ditched me first. Miyeon-unnie texted to ask where we were and she immediately forgot about me.”

“Oh so you only came to me because you felt neglected, huh?”

Yuqi gasped in mock offense, “No!” then after a beat, “Okay maybe a little,”

Soyeon snorted a laugh at the quick admission.

“But in my defense, it did take all of my self control to not come and annoy you sooner when you looked all cute sitting on that bench alone.”

They both grinned when Yuqi playfully knocked on the bill of her cap.

They'd barely made it out of Soyeon’s hotel room earlier when Yuqi was hit with a burst of cute aggression at the sight of her.

Soyeon's small frame engulfed in the baggy sweatshirt, the minimal makeup, and the overall pastel palette of her outfit had made her look heart wrenchingly soft in Yuqi’s eyes.

At first, Yuqi had managed to keep herself in check, but then Soyeon had gone and slung the few sizes too big backpack over her shoulders.

And when she’d looked up at Yuqi, after putting on her glasses, the taller woman let out an almost pained groan before wrapping her in a bear hug right behind the door.

They’d been saved, or in Yuqi’s opinion, interrupted, by a phone call from Minnie, yelling at them to hurry up since she'd been waiting for them in the lobby for 20 minutes already.

Neither knew how far or how long they walked, Soyeon listening contently as Yuqi rambled about anything and everything as they blended seamlessly among strangers.

They’d slow down every now and then to watch some dogs run around with their owners, Yuqi even getting to pet a big golden retriever after his owner had offered, having spotted her adoring gaze on the animal as he bounded around smelling some flowers.

They separated long enough for Soyeon to snap a quick photo of them together, bidding the kind woman and her fur buddy a warm farewell before Yuqi’s arm was around Soyeon's shoulders again.

A call from Minnie prompted them to turn back the way they came, upcoming dinner plans pulling them back to their hotel to rest for a bit before then.

Yuqi hummed mindlessly as she walked Soyeon to her room, stopping in front of her door and shrugging the backpack off to hand it over.

Soyeon ignored the bag in favor of opening her room door and pulling Yuqi into the entryway by her wrist.

“Wha-”

Whatever Yuqi had been about to ask was cut off when Soyeon spun on her heel and tugged both their masks off, pulling Yuqi’s head down with a hand on the back of her neck in one fluid motion.

A happy hum rumbled through Yuqi’s throat as Soyeon connected their lips in a lingering kiss.

“Thank you… for dragging me outside,” Soyeon whispered once she pulled back.

Yuqi chuckled and playfully bumped their foreheads together.

“Thank you for letting me drag you outside.”

Yuqi stole another quick kiss just as Soyeon grabbed the backpack from her, before she was gently shoved out of the room through the still open doorway, a lopsided grin on her lips as she watched her girlfriend disappear behind the door.

Soyeon was about to head further into the room when she felt a strong urge to look outside.

So she got on her toes to look through the peep hole.

And the sight pulled a quiet laugh from her.

Yuqi was still standing outside, grinning at the door like an adorable creep.

Soyeon shook her head and walked away.

She couldn't shake the fond grin on her own lips as she put her bag down and flopped on top of the duvet.

"Cute."