“Massimo is still here?”

Myungsoo laughed and shrugged. “Massimo is kind of living with my grandparents until further notice.”

“Why?”

“Because he just graduated from a university in America. So now he’s back in Italy but he’s searching for a job still.” Myungsoo grinned. “It’s great having him back though. I used to be able to only see him during holidays.”

Sungyeol smiled. “That’s good.”

It has been a month and a half since Sungyeol has been to Naples for Myungsoo’s grandparents’ anniversary. After they left, Sungyeol had missed it so much that Myungsoo promised to take him back before he had to leave for Korea. They were going to be staying in the same room they slept in since they were last there. Sungyeol had assumed it was just going to be the two of them and Myungsoo’s grandparents, but Massimo was still around.

As they put their bags down, Sungyeol spread himself out on the bed. “You know,” he said, “this feels really nice. It’s like going back to a home.”

Myungsoo smiled softly as he sat down on the bed next to him. His smile faltered for a moment as he murmured out, “Speaking of going back home… you’re going back to Korea in two weeks. Aren’t you?”

Sungyeol was silent. His four months in Italy was almost up and he would need to leave soon to finish his studies domestically. It had never really been a big issue in his head until the date for his departure started moving closer. Now that he was leaving in a little over a week, he wasn’t sure how to feel.

“Yeah,” he said. “I’m leaving soon.” He felt Myungsoo lay down next to him and press his nose into his shoulder.

“I don’t want you to go,” Myungsoo muttered into his shirt. “You’re going to leave me all alone in Italy, cucciolo.”

Sungyeol smiled and ran his fingers through his boyfriend’s hair. “You were fine before you met me.”

“But now that I’ve met you I’ve been ruined!” he whined. He threw himself onto Sungyeol’s body and kissed his neck. “You can’t go back to Korea, cucciolo.”

“I have too,” Sungyeol said. “I need to finish school before I can even thinking about settling down with you.”

Myungsoo leaned up to kiss him fully on the lips. “I’m going to miss you so much, cucciolo. How am I supposed to live without you at my fingertips?”

“I’ll come back and visit during my breaks,” Sungyeol promised. “And maybe you can visit me sometime in Korea too. You said your dad lives there, right?”

“Yeah, my dad lives in Korea. I should definitely visit you.” Myungsoo sat up. “Should I buy a ticket now and get ready to visit you over the summer?”

Sungyeol giggled. “Don’t waste your money just yet. We can talk about it later. We’ll still keep in contact over video chat, right? Promise to call me at least once a week?”

“Of course,” Myungsoo replied exuberantly. “And I’ll text you every single day, whether you like it or not!”

“I’m always going to like it, goyangi.” Sungyeol grinned at him. He tackled Myungsoo onto the bed and kissed his cheeks. “Because I really like you.”

Myungsoo was surprised at the sudden movement but was pleasantly surprised. He hugged Sungyeol’s waist close as he leaned up to kiss his nose. “You know, I think you’ve spent too much time with me. You’ve gotten almost as cheesy as me.”

“Is that a bad thing?” Sungyeol asked cheekily.

It was true that he was much more affectionate after four months of dating Myungsoo than he had ever been in his life. With so many hours dedicated to Myungsoo, he was bound to start talking like him eventually. And maybe it was just another side of his personality he hadn’t discovered yet, but Myungsoo kept calling him a tease.

Myungsoo fully believed he was becoming a tease, more or less. With the hot weather arriving with summer, Sungyeol was wearing less clothes these days. And now he was one hundred percent comfortable around Myungsoo to the point where changing his clothes in front of him didn’t even matter. Watching Sungyeol change and blossom right before his eyes was a thrilling experience.

“When I leave, can I keep one of your shirts?” Sungyeol asked suddenly as he sat up.

Myungsoo was surprised only for a moment before breaking out in a grin. “You want one of my shirts?” he cooed lovingly. “Aww, of course I’ll give you one of my shirts! Do you want the one I wore when I slept over a couple week back?”

Sungyeol flushed and pushed his shoulder. “Can you stop bringing that night up? Dongwoo’s never going to let me live it down!”

“It is not my fault you fell asleep on my crotch, cucciolo,” Myungsoo snickered. “Just be lucky that it wasn’t in my crotch.”

“We weren’t even doing anything!” Sungyeol exclaimed. “But now Dongwoo won’t stop teasing me for it!”

Myungsoo laughed and kissed his cheek loudly. “You’re so cute when you’re flustered.” Then he pouted. “But you don’t even get flustered when I compliment you anymore.”

“Because you got predictable,” Sungyeol snorted. “And because you’ve run out of compliments. You already know me too much to compliment me anymore,” he sang playfully.

“I’ll find another way to make you blush before I leave,” Myungsoo promised. “I bet I can get you to blush again this weekend.”

Sungyeol snickered. “Good luck, goyangi. Not much you can do with your grandparents and Massimo around.”

“I’ll succeed, I know I will,” Myungsoo winked. “Besides, my grandparents are going to some party tonight at their friends’ house. And they’ll probably be out all night.”

“All night?” Sungyeol asked in amusement. “At their age?”

“Hey, say all you want, but my nonna is a party animal.” Myungsoo laughed cutely. “But she said she made us dinner and all we need to do is just eat.”

“Isn’t Massimo still here? Will we eat with him?”

Myungsoo shook his head. “Massimo is going to be out late tonight so we’ll have this house all to ourselves.”

“Aw, I was hoping to eat with them tonight…” Sungyeol pouted.

Myungsoo furrowed his eyebrows. “I tell you that we have the whole place to ourselves tonight and you’re upset about it? I’m dating a weirdo.”

Sungyeol laughed and hopped off the bed. “You’re not going to get anything from this weirdo tonight if you don’t stop complaining,” he teased. “Anyways, I’m going to take a shower and say hi to your grandparents before they go.”

“Can I join you?”

“Nope.”

✕

✕

✕

✕

To say that Sungyeol had Myungsoo wrapped around his finger was an understatement. Though Sungyeol was the shier of the two at first, it eventually became Myungsoo who was head-over-heels in love. The more confident Sungyeol became after getting used to their relationship, the more Myungsoo fell deeper in love. Maybe it was because this confident attitude Sungyeol had was so attractive to him. He couldn’t find a moment to take his eyes off of him.

Even now, while they were just eating dinner together on the counter, Myungsoo couldn’t seem to take his eyes off of Sungyeol. It was just the simple act of eating, but Sungyeol’s lips only seemed more alluring than ever before.

“You’re staring, goyangi.” Sungyeol gave him a side smirk.

“I am,” Myungsoo agreed with a cheeky grin. “Is that a problem?”

“No,” Sungyeol replied. He giggled and brought a fork full of food to his mouth. “The stuffed calamari is great, by the way. I’ll have to make this when I get back to Korea.”

“I can ask nonna to give me the recipe for you,” Myungsoo told him. “She’d be happy to. Plus, it’s my favorite dish of hers, so you’re going to have to know the recipe for future reference.”

Sungyeol bit onto the tips of his fork with a coy smile. “Maybe if you come over to my home one day, I can make it for you.”

Myungsoo’s eyes got a dreamy look in them, as if he was already imagining it. “I’m holding you to that promise,” he said.

“Oh, I’m expecting you to.”

Myungsoo leaned onto his hand rested on the counter as he stared at Sungyeol curiously. “You know, when I met you, I never thought you were this mischievous, cucciolo. You seemed much more reluctant.”

“Well, that’s because a certain someone was springing flirtatious lines on me without even knowing my name,” he responded accusingly. “But after I started dating him, I got over it.”

“I never thought you’d be this sassy either,” Myungsoo snorted. “But I’m into it.”

“And you’re a lot cuter than I expected,” Sungyeol teased. “And I’m into that too.”

Myungsoo smiled and leaned in for a kiss. He bit at Sungyeol’s lower lip and them when he heard Sungyeol giggle. He felt Sungyeol’s fingers curl around his wrist as he opened his mouth to make the kiss deeper. “You know, I was planning on eating dessert later,” Myungsoo said with teasing manner in his voice. “But I guess I can indulge now.”

With a laugh, Sungyeol pulled away. “I’m finished eating, so we can take out that dessert now.”

“Cucciolo, I didn’t really mean dessert!”

“I know you didn’t.” He gave Myungsoo a light kiss on the cheek and continued, “But I wanted dessert. So go get it for us please?” He batted his eyes playfully and laughed even more when Myungsoo rolled his eyes.

“Bat your eyes one more time and you’re not getting anything,” Myungsoo joked as he got out of his seat. He pulled out the chilled dessert from the refrigerator and set it in onto the counter in front of Sungyeol.

Sungyeol’s eyes widened in awe. “Your grandma made this?” he asked. In front of him sat a little gelatinous cake that was shining white. It was a perfect circle and it reminded Sungyeol of flan. But it clearly wasn’t, considering its pristine white color. “Is this…?”

“Panna cotta,” Myungsoo finished, digging into the refrigerator for something more. He fished out a small pitcher of a bright red liquid. “And strawberry sauce, of course. The stuff itself is just sweetened cream.”

“It looks amazing,” Sungyeol said, ogling at the dessert. Myungsoo poured the bright sauce over the top and placed a couple of fresh strawberries on the side. It looked so decadent and delicate at the same time, Sungyeol wasn’t even sure if it was okay to eat it.

But Myungsoo did that step for him, dipping his spoon into the soft texture. He brought up a spoonful of the panna cotta and sauce up to Sungyeol’s mouth and watched happily as he ate it. He loved the way Sungyeol’s face lit up in absolute pleasure at the taste.

“You like it?”

Sungyeol nodded gleefully. “It’s like if you took strawberries and cream and elevated it to a whole new flavor profile. It’s so wonderful!” His eyes were bright and sparkling as Myungsoo took a spoon for himself. “It’s so creamy but the sauce makes it tart. I love this.”

“I’m glad you like it.” Myungsoo winked at him. “A nice dessert is the best way to begin what I have planned this evening.”

Sungyeol raised an eyebrow at him. “And what kinds of things do you have planned, goyangi?”

Instead of answering, Myungsoo opted to leave a hot kiss on his neck. “That should give you an idea,” he murmured.

It took Sungyeol one glance at Myungsoo’s lidded eyes and pink lips to get a very good idea where their night was headed. And he wasn’t opposed to it at all.

✕

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✕

The next morning, the two of them woke up and tangled in their bed sheets. Myungsoo was the first to wake and the first thing he did was wrap his arms around Sungyeol’s bare waist. He littered the other’s collar with short, wet kisses until he woke.

“Mm,” Sungyeol groaned, opening his eyes drowsily. “Is it time to get up?” he asked.

Myungsoo nodded. “Yeah,” he said, tapping their noses together lightly. “Unless you want to sleep some more?”

“I do.” Sungyeol curled up in his embrace. His back and behind hurt, he wanted to lay in bed for as long as possible. “Are you grandparents back?”

“Yeah, they came back around two in the morning.” Myungsoo buried his nose into Sungyeol’s neck.

“And what time did Massimo come back?”

“Um.” Myungsoo squirmed against Sungyeol’s body. “So, I didn’t find out until later but… um, it’s a funny story. Massimo never really left.”

Sungyeol’s eyes shot open. “What?”

“Yeah. Massimo only went out for a bit and came back while we were eating. I didn’t even realize, cucciolo, I’m so sorry.”

“Myungsoo, he sleeps in the room right next to us!” Sungyeol exclaimed. “You’re telling me he heard everything?!”

“…Yup.”

“Oh, no.”

“But it’s okay, because if anything, now he knows how much I love you.”