A/N: Uhmmmm…. Here you go… a new chapter. I don’t have an excuse for the lateness besides lack of motivation and discipline. This chapter is a lot more broken up in that it’s little short scenes, I had to write it like this because I am setting up some stuff in preparation for the ending. Yep… only three chapters left! Eeeeek! Scary stuff.
Anyway, here you go….

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Kibum dropped his cases by the front door and was immediately pulled into a strong embrace by none other than Elise.

“Oh Kibummie, I’m so happy to see you!!!” She squealed and suddenly the drained feeling left his body as he smiled and returned the hug just as tightly. “But, I’m sad that you’re back too” she gave another smile, this time a sad one.

“Don’t worry Elise, it will all be okay.” Kibum smiled and patted her on the shoulder as they pulled apart.

They spent the next ten minutes in his room, unpacking and catching up. The older woman asked about Jinki and his family and how things were. She didn’t need to ask why he was back, she knew what was going on as Jonghyun had informed her just yesterday that Kibum would be coming back home. The pleasant conversation was interrupted as the house phone rang and Elise excused herself to answer it.

Kibum looked around his room, nothing had changed. In all of that time he was gone, the carpet was still the same, bed sheets crisp and clean and the large window still ominously overlooked the vast garden. Once again, Kibum sat on the window sill and looked outside. He felt peace overcome him and with it, the familiar feeling of loneliness seeped back into the pores of his skin with every breath he took. The large grandfather clock in the hall ticked loudly and tocked obnoxiously where Elise had left the door slightly ajar. There was not a speck of dust in the air as Kibum patted the deep mahogany desk and he figured that Elise had been keeping herself busy all this time.

He immediately missed the dusty shelves of Jinki’s room – that Kibum always complained about – but now he wanted nothing more than to run his finger through it and tell Jinki to clean up once in a while. He missed the cramped space of Onew’s bed and the musky smell of his boyfriend all over the sheets. Kibum longed to smell the fabric softener that Jinki’s mum used on the washing and he had an itching feeling to start folding it neatly whilst laughing at his boyfriend’s superman underwear. He missed everything about Jinki, his family and his house. The only thing, he found that he missed about this house was Elise and the memories that clung to every fibre of the high pile rug.

The memories swamped him instantly. He remembered that spot below in the garden where, Jonghyun had comforted him many times when Kibum would cry after being scolded by his mother for interrupting a business meeting to ‘ask stupid questions.’ He glanced over his shoulder to look at the bed, he remembered waking up next to Jinki and admiring as the sun settled upon his skin, making it glow in an ethereal way that made Kibum convinced that his boyfriend was secretly an angel and not some superhero like his underwear suggested.

“Kibum-ah??” He was pulled from his thoughts by a soft voice in the doorway. He snapped his head away from the bed and turned around fully to see Elise calling him. “Sweetie, that was your father, he will be back tomorrow morning. I just wanted you to be ready.” She smiled with a pained expression.

“Okay thanks” he spoke glumly.
There was a pregnant silence before Elise spoke up again.

“C’mon, let’s spend today enjoying what’s left of our peace before he comes back shall we?” She beamed and though Kibum just felt like curling up and maybe calling Jinki, he couldn’t say no to the smile on her face. 
Nodding, he stood up and asked

“So what did you have in mind???” he said with a quirked brow.

“Well, how about we take over the kitchen, make the rest of the staff an amazing meal and maybe do some experimenting?” Elise asked, knowing full well that the young man enjoyed cooking and learning new skills despite his parent’s strict instructions that it was the staff who should be doing it.

“That sounds great!” Kibum beamed.

He quickly sent a text message to Jinki telling him that he was okay and he was spending the day with Elise and not to worry.

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Jinki worried anyway, especially when Kibum mentioned later that night that Mr Kim was coming back tomorrow morning… or in a few hours really as Jinki looked at the clock ‘2:57am’

He was laid in bed, he could still smell Kibum on his sheets and he really should have changed them – given the activities that they got up to on Kibum’s last night before departure – but he couldn’t. If he washed his sheets then he would be washing away the last trace of Kibum from his room, his house. 

He found himself picking up his phone from the night stand. The bright LED screen glowed in the darkness of his room and hurt his eyes for a second before he saw Kibum’s serene face smiling back at him, dimples in cheeks and flour all over his face. Jinki remembered the day he had taken the picture:

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“Yah! Jinx, will you stop messing about and at least try and help out. It’s YOUR mother’s birthday.” Kibum said with a scowl but it was light hearted, his tone slightly amused despite trying to mask it.

“I can’t bake Bummie, I told you this already. I was going to just buy her a cake but you said it was too impersonal and YOU suggested baking one, therefore, I am leaving this entirely in your hands.” Jinki retorted with a cheeky grin as he pinched Kibum’s bottom for the third time.
The younger boy once again squeaked and spun around so that he was chest to chest with his boyfriend.

“Last chance, either help out or get out.” Kibum spoke lowly. Jinki pretended to think about it but Kibum jumped in again “Or, you can stay but keep your hands to yourself.” He said before pushing Jinki back towards the kitchen table.

“I can’t make that promise, but I’ll try … for you.” Jinki grinned as he reluctantly took a seat on the table and watched his amazing boyfriend move around the kitchen with some kind of whimsical grace.

It wasn’t until the cake was finally in the oven that Jinki decided it was a good idea to approach his boyfriend once again. He moved up behind the younger and placed both hands on his hips. What he didn’t expect was to startle a Kibum who was currently holding a bag of flour to roll up and put away. Before Jinki could comprehend what had happened, there was a cute boyfriend facing him in his arms and a cloud of flour surrounding them. Kiibum’s eyes were wide and they soon morphed into an annoyed stare. Jinki lightly leaned in and the flour from Kibum’s lips.

‘Sorry’ he whispered when he pulled back and Kibum melted as he placed the flour on the work surface before grabbing Jinki by the nape of his neck and crashing their lips together.

“You had better help me clean this mess up” he spoke as he pulled back, Jinki was still in a daze and nodded dumbly before leaning in for another mind blowing kiss.

The boys spent the next while making sure the kitchen was once again flour free. After their efforts Jinki stood and grabbed his phone – still covered in flour – and held it up to face Kibum.

“Smile Bummie” and he did. Jinki clicked the photo before showing it to Kibum. 

“Yah! I have flour all over my face, delete it.” He said as he swiped his sleeves across his face, just spreading the flour around more.

“No, I like it.” And with that he pocketed the photo to a grumbling Kibum’s chagrin.

Later that night he had changed it to his lock screen photo as Kibum was sleeping soundly beside him.

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Jinki sighed as he swiped his thumb across the pattern on the screen to unlock it. He was greeted by another photo, this time it was of both of them. Jinki was grinning at the screen and Kibum was pressing a kiss to his cheek whilst making a funny face with his eyes. Jinki smiled as he clicked the envelope icon:

‘I miss you’ He typed out and sent it to his boyfriend. He knew Kibum would be sleeping but he felt like he had to send it anyway.

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