A/N: warning, lots of fluff; I'm not responsible for any devastation. Enjoy!

January 28th, a bitter winter's day.

The sun has long since set and the storm clouds obscured any glimpse of stars, leaving only an inky black sky weeping pure white flakes. The colorful streets of Seoul were covered in blinding white from the days before, but this sudden storm nearly doubled it. Once news began spreading, most people reacted quite quickly. Cancelling some appointments last minute, getting food ready or some flashlights in case there were any blackouts. Some were even let off work early so they can make it home in time for a hot meal. Seonghwa wished he could be like most, but lo and behold, he wasn't as lucky. He stretched and sighed deeply, hunching over to rest his head in his hand with his eyes closed and elbow on the table.

"Alright we're stopping. The storm's been at it for a while,"

"Just five more minutes?" he whined.

"Hongjoong, I've given you an extra two hours. now tell me what you've changed."

"You're no fun." He said. Reluctantly, he turned and sifted through the track, listing and mumbling the changes as he saw them. "I finished the detailing for the chorus and the hook, cut back on the rap, added a verse so Yeosang and Wooyoung can show their vocals better, and mixed the backing vocals so Yunho's harmonies are clearer."

"Now isn't that a lot?"

"It's not enough." he muttered. Seonghwa opened his eyes and gave him a look that looked ready to murder him if he had to sit here for another minute. Hongjoong gave an over dramatic sigh topped with an exaggerated eye roll. "But I guess it's good enough for now." He looked over and scrunched his nose slightly at Seonghwa's satisfied smile.

Eventually, Hongjoong stretched and pushed himself away from the crowded desk. A chaotic area with tangled wires and devices, along with a few overlapping water bottles. There were other items left astray but luckily Seonghwa was packing and clearing the noise, chastising Hongjoong all the way. He would've liked to organize the mess and busy himself while Hongjoong worked, but the equipment is far too complicated to tamper with, and he would hate to impede or break anything. With a swing of his chair, he raised to his feet and slipped on his coat, picking his phone up from the desk to look at the comments from their latest Twitter post. As he exited the app, Seonghwa noticed Yeosang texted him. He'll just call him on the way out. Meanwhile, Hongjoong already had his coat on with his backpack slung over his shoulder. He won't admit it, but with the members all visiting family, he wasn't able to see them as much and he was excited to finally have a group dinner after a while.

"Do we have everything?" Seonghwa asked, putting his phone away to straighten the sleeves of his coat. It was a heavy navy blue which hung to his knees with the puffy sleeves covering his hands so only his pale fingertips peeked out. If he wasn't so tall, you might have even mistaken him for a child. Hongjoong couldn't help but smile seeing him like that, but it quickly dropped when he realized he took too long to respond. "Hongjoong?"

"Oh y-yeah, yeah. We have everything."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes I'm sure-" He held back another eye roll. By the time he turned to face the other, Seonghwa was already checking the desk for anything left behind. "Why even bother asking if you were going to check anyway?"

"Because this is the only time I can prove you wrong" he muttered when noticed something on the desk. Seonghwa turned to face him, his face suddenly cocky. "Oh would you look at that, I wonder whose phone this is," He said, waving the expensive black IPhone as he walked to Hongjoong waiting at the door.

"Be honored you get to take care of your leader's phone." He said as he grabbed the phone from him and exited the studio.

"Be honored I still give it back to you at this point."

They headed down to the elevator when they bumped into a few of the staff that were still there. The two immediately noticed something off. While the small group of women and gentlemen still gave a smile and greeted the two with their usual warmth, the same warmth Seonghwa and Hongjoong greeted back, their brows were furrowed and they were checking a phone a touch too often, vaguely reminding Seonghwa of Wooyoung looking up his name every so often. That is, if they didn't seem so distraught or annoyed.

"Is something wrong? You guys seem stressed." Hongjoong asked.

"Oh well you know, this storm's got us staying at the building for the night so" One of the trainees said. While he laughed it off, it was clear he wanted to go home.

"Are the roads that bad?" Seonghwa asked, surprised how big yet unexpected this storm was..

"Just look outside." One of the stage technicians said as she gestured to the window, if you can even call it that. The elevators of the building were in a glass case of sorts and the nearby hallways followed suit, the glass taking up the majority of the wall. As they peered down from the third floor, the two couldn't believe their eyes when they saw the flurry of white glaring back at them through the darkness of the night. The scale of the snowy blanket was a little harder to see from above, but based on how much snow the entrances of surrounding buildings were drowning in, It was safe to say theirs was just as unlucky. Seonghwa felt disappointment wash over him followed by a shot of loud panic for the other members. He took a quick breath and pulled out his phone to call Yeosang, pacing around so much he didn't realize Hongjoong's look of concern. To be honest, Hongjoong couldn't help the tar-like guilt forming in his heart for delaying them so much. Meanwhile, the staff was quiet, maybe even a little uncomfortable. KQ is a small company, and with Ateez being very transparent and loud to them, it wasn't long before the entire building knew how excited they were to have a big dinner and movie night. Now, seeing how anxious and upset the two were, they could almost feel the heartbreak for them. Seonghwa paced back down to the studio with his phone ringing. Hongjoong could only watch as he retracted into the shadowy corridor, feeling the tar weigh heavier and heavier by the second. Before he could start to stew in it, one of the technicians rested a hand on his shoulder, pulling him out of his thoughts.

"We'll be heading down to the store to buy some things." he offered. "You two could join us later if you want."

Hongjoong was touched they would care so much, but nevertheless he simply smiled gratefully and declined. "We'll be fine, don't worry." he waved off. "You know we can handle ourselves."

While they seemed unsure, the others looked amongst themselves and eventually nodded, quietly boarding the elevator to the first floor. Once the door shut, Hongjoong's smile melded into concern as he quickly ran to the studio. By the time he arrived Seonghwa had finished the call with Yeosang, worry still evident in his face.

"Is everyone okay?" He asked. "What did Yeosang say?"

"He said he called everyone and luckily no one got on the road," Hongjoong visibly relaxed hearing that, but he noticed Seonghwa's wandering eyes and tensed brow.

"But..?" Hongjoong prompted cautiously.

"I just.. I don't know. I want to call and make sure but, I don't want to get in the way of their time with their family..." He admitted. Hongjoong smiled and rested his hand on his shoulder. He may be a disaster in anything else, but when it comes to the group, this is where Hongjoong works best.

"Hey, the kids will be fine. Do you think we raised them any different?"

"I know but still," Seonghwa said, still sounding anxious.

"Tell you what; with the exits blocked, we can't make it back to the dorms. We'll grab what we can from the first floor before they close, and then we'll call all of them and check if they're okay." Hongjoong declared. While Seonghwa wasn't entirely calmed by this new plan, he let his trust ease him enough to accept. Hongjoong's the leader and he usually knows what's best. Hongjoong grinned and bounced like a child, turning Seonghwa's uneasy smile to a face of amusement and joy.

"Alright, calm down. If you go into the store bouncing like that, I won't let you get anything sweet." He said with a laugh, the tension and gloom quickly fading from the air. They walked to the elevator and descended to the first floor, Hongjoong's arms wrapped around one of Seonghwa's. Some of the staff were still there, either still roaming for snacks in their growing pile or waiting in line to finish payment, much to the cashier's dismay. While the company is nice while being trapped in a Seven Eleven, she still didn't want work. Hongjoong bounced slightly again, making Seonghwa smile more as he grabbed a basket and they split to gather enough food to last them the night. Seonghwa grabbed some Bento boxes, along with some jalapeno chips and water, meanwhile Hongjoong slipped in some Honey Butter Chips, some banana milk, and chocolate milk. They paid and thanked the frazzled cashier as they headed back up.

"Well, at least today wasn't a total loss." Hongjoong said as they settled into a corner, away from any tech. He settled next to Seonghwa against the wall, leaning against him. "Ready to make the calls?"

Seonghwa, now calmer and refreshed by the quick change of scenery, nodded. He pulled out his phone and called each of the remaining members. He was assured by each one that they're okay. Yunho and Mingi's families actually surprised them by having a giant dinner together at the restaurant Mingi's mom helped run. Ease settled over them with each interaction and eventually they finished their calls. Hongjoong opened the jalapeno chips and passed them to Seonghwa

"Feeling better?" Hongjoong asked.

"Yeah."

"Oh thank god! I thought you'd be in mom mode all night," Seonghwa smacked him on the head, making Hongjoong laugh.

"Half the time you're not any better." He made a show, imitating Hongjoong's hand gestures. "Why do you think I'm always angry? If you tried being the leader, you'd be as angry as me. I'm Kim Hongjoong and I don't know how to sleep like a functioning human."

"I'm nowhere near as bad as you! Hongjoong can you please clean? This place is always so dirty, I'm Park Seonghwa and nobody ever listens to me because I'm worried over everything,"

They laughed wildly, doing more awful impressions of each other until they couldn't breathe. Once they calmed down, they were so tired they just fell into a comfortable silence, Seonghwa feeding Hongjoong the salty sweet Honey Butter Chips and Hongjoong feeding him the jalapeno chips. Hongjoong exhaled, enjoying the quiet moment. No screams, no filter, just him, Seonghwa, and the world. He hasn't had a moment like this in a long time, a really long time. It's unfamiliar. Too unfamiliar. His heartbeat elevated and his grip became stiff, making Seonghwa draw his attention to him.

"You okay?"

"I just feel a little anxious."

"Do you want your laptop?"

"...Yes."

Seonghwa sighed and got up. He walked over to the desk and opened his own backpack.

"You must be delusional if you think I would ever put my laptop in your backpack."

"Don't worry, I'll call an ambulance the day you let it anywhere out of your sight." Seonghwa responded dryly before he pulled out a blanket. Hongjoong was so confused that he didn't even know what to say. Instead he simply watched as Seonghwa then opened the other bag and carefully brought the laptop to him. Hongjoong took the laptop and Seonghwa wrapped the blanket around him.

"What are you doing?"

"You might've also been tense because of the cold." Seonghwa took Hongjoong's sleeve and rolled it up. He didn't even realize there were goosebumps lining his skin. A warmth settled in his chest at Seonghwa's gesture, and spread a soft smile on his face.

"Thank you Seonghwa."

"I mean, I owe you."

"You don't owe me anything. You being by my side is enough."

"Ugh gross." He huffs as he settles next to the other again. But within a blink of an eye, Hongjoong suddenly had the other wrapped in the blanket with him.

"You're one to talk." Hongjoong grinned as he went back to work. Seonghwa scoffed as he took a break from the chips and worked at the bento.

"You know," He ate a piece and chewed for a moment. "I'm kind of glad we visited our family a week early."

"Hm?" Hongjoong hummed, prompting Seonghwa to continue.

"We never get to just sit down like this and relax." He sighed. Hongjoong smiled lightly and leaned on his shoulder.

"I'll admit, it's nice having someone else here. Even if it's you," Seonghwa rolled his eyes and they lapsed back into the silence. The only sound was the clacking of the keys and the click of Hongjoong's trackpad, the moments melding into minutes and soon hours. Seonghwa can't even remember when the lights turned off, or when Hongjoong took off his headphones or when he closed his laptop. All he remembered was his eyelids growing heavy and Hongjoong shifting so they lean against each other more comfortably.

"Hey Seonghwa,"

"Hmn?" He opened his eyes slightly, too sleepy to really make a sentence.

"The snow stopped."

Seonghwa opened his eyes a little more to the calm cityscape and the cloud parting for a few stars to be visible. He gave a sound of content and smiled.

"I guess it has."