Jihoon texts Joshua two mornings later. I’ll be there in five, have my coffee ready. He’s at the café and, contrary to what the text says, Jihoon arrives in two minutes. Joshua has his drink ready, so when Jihoon clambers in the café, he already has the tall cup on the counter.

            Jihoon curls his fingers around the cup, dragging it toward him. “This is free, right?” He takes a sip and raises a brow. “So, do you have time to talk to me or do you have to work?”

            Joshua glances behind him, where Soonyoung sits in his office. Seokmin sits on Soonyoung’s desk, shuffling papers in his hands. Joshua turns back to Jihoon, grinning as he walks around the counter. “We can talk,” he says as he leads the boy to an empty table. The café is empty now. Seungkwan isn’t working, and neither is Mingyu or Wonwoo, as they all requested time off to be with their mates. Joshua would ask for the same, but he knows that Jeonghan will be waiting for him when he gets home. It makes him grin something silly.

            “So,” Jihoon starts as he leans back in his seat, “I’m assuming things went well with Jeonghan? You two are all lovey now?”

            Joshua flushes red, feels his blush go up his back. Okay, so maybe he hasn’t left his house in the past two days because he’s too busy being with Jeonghan. The only reason he left the house today was because he had to work. He would much rather be at home, cuddling and kissing with Jeonghan. And who can blame him? They have a lot of lost time to makeup for. “Why do you say that?” Joshua asks instead.

            Jihoon raises a brow and points to the underside of his own jaw. “You have a ton of hickeys right here. Never knew you were one of those, to be honest.”

            Joshua brings a hand up and smacks it against his jaw, feeling his face grow hotter. Jihoon just laughs and Joshua reaches out to lightly kick at his feet. “Oh my god,” he mumbles. “Shut up.” Jihoon laughs loudly, bringing his coffee back up to his lips and taking a long sip. Joshua sighs and drops his hand. He nudges Jihoon with the tip of his foot. “Hey.”

            Jihoon kicks him back. “Hey.”

            “Thank you,” Joshua says sincerely. Jihoon furrows his brow and looks at him in confusion. Joshua sighs and rubs his neck. “I mean, I don’t know how I would have survived this without you, Jihoon. Jeonghan told me he talked to you and… he told me he asked for your blessing, and all. I just… thank you. For everything. You’re my best friend.”

            Jihoon blinks and Joshua faintly notices that the tips of his ears turn red. He lets out a small cough, like he’s embarrassed to say anything. He shifts in his seat and seeing him be so embarrassed makes Joshua smile. Jihoon seems to notice because he reaches out to kick Joshua’s shin sharply. “Yah,” he says, “why is everyone being so sappy lately?” He lets out another small cough. “But… yeah, thanks, I guess. You’re my best friend too.”

            Joshua smiles. “Aw, Jihoonie. I knew you loved me.”

            Jihoon gags. “Bleh, this is too sweet for me. Let’s talk about something else. Like the fact that I called Seungcheol today and asked him to meet up with me for lunch.”

            Joshua’s mouth drops open. “What? Oh my god, Jihoon. This is huge. What are you gonna say?”

            Jihoon avoids his eyes, but his ears turn redder. “I don’t know. I think I’ll just listen to what he has to say. I don’t want to be angry with him forever, you know? But I don’t need him to be happy, I have myself for that.”

            “Well,” Joshua says, leaning forward. “I’m happy for you, Jihoon. I just want you to be happy. That’s all I want.”

            Jihoon smiles. “I’m getting there. I still have some things to do, but I’m okay.” He glances at the clock they have mounted on the wall, the one that Soonyoung really only has up for decoration. It runs five minutes late, but it looks nice in the café. Jihoon sighs. “I have to go. I’m meeting Seungcheol for lunch.”

            “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”

            Jihoon gives him a secret smile. “Well, who knows what you wouldn’t do anymore? Jeonghan will make a dishonest man out of you, I tell ya.”

            Joshua blushes and ducks his head. “Shut up! Get out of here, oh my god. I take it all back, you’re the worst.”

            Jihoon smiles as he sits up. He chucks his empty coffee cup at Joshua, who catches it easily. His grin lights up his face and Joshua can see that Jihoon is right. He’s not completely healed, but he’s better. “You love me,” Jihoon says and then he wiggles his fingers in a wave as he leaves.

            Joshua ducks his head, twirling the cup in his hands. “Thank you,” he whispers again and he stands up just as he hears something crash in the kitchen. “Soonyoung!” Joshua calls as he walks behind the counter. “I know you were listening to me!”

            Soonyoung and Seokmin peek through the small window on the kitchen doors, both of them grinning widely at the older boy. “I’m sorry!” Soonyoung calls. “I’m just a er for a happy ending!”

            Joshua laughs, leaning against the counter. He smiles softly, placing a hand over his mark. “Me too.”

⚘❁⚘

            Sometimes, Joshua comes home to find that Jeonghan isn’t there. He’s worried at first, of course, especially when he stays up one day to wait for him and Jeonghan doesn’t get home until eleven at night. Jeonghan had stood at the door, wide-eyed in shock as he saw Joshua sitting up for him.

            “Hey, why aren’t you sleeping yet?”

            Joshua blinked sleepily. He had a couch pillow hugged to his chest, resting his head on it. “I was waiting for you,” he had mumbled as he yawned. “What are you wearing?”

            Jeonghan had looked down and played with the material of his shirt. He had on a tight fitting mesh shirt and a pair of leather-looking pants that fit him snuggly around his thighs. He also had something sparkly under his eyes, a red tint smeared on his lips. His hair was getting long again, so it brushed his shoulders. Jeonghan bit his lip. “I joined an acting class. We had a performance tonight.”

            Joshua had hummed. “I would have went to watch you.”

            Jeonghan had come over and sat beside Joshua, letting the other boy rest his head on his shoulder. He had run his fingers through Joshua’s hair, planting a sticky kiss to the top of Joshua’s head. “I know you would have,” he had said.

            “Is this a finding yourself thing?” he had asked sleepily.

            “Yeah,” Jeonghan had said. “Maybe when I get better, you can watch me perform.”

            And two weeks later, Joshua and Jihoon – who had been invited by Jeonghan – went downtown and saw Jeonghan act in a, frankly, confusing play. Jeonghan had been great, Joshua has insisted. Jihoon had rolled his eyes, gagging as Joshua had caught up with Jeonghan after the show to give him a congratulatory kiss.

            “You were great,” Joshua had said, handing Jeonghan flowers.

            “Thanks,” Jeonghan had said. “But I don’t think acting is for me.” And he quit the day after that. “That was just my first adventure,” he said when Joshua had asked why, and that was that.

⚘❁⚘

            The next adventure that Jeonghan had was signing him and Joshua up for a couples cooking class. He had suggested the idea on a night when Joshua and him had ordered takeout with their friends. They had all had things to drink, except Seungkwan, Vernon, and Chan. The three boys had been forced instead to carry a giggling Soonyoung and Seokmin out the door.

            “Hey,” Jeonghan had called from where he sat on the couch with his feet pulled up. He had on an oversized shirt that belonged to Joshua – his favorite thing to sleep in now. His hair was longer, and still growing, with a blue streak on his bangs. He looked up from where he paused scrolling on his phone. “What do you think about taking a cooking class?”

            Joshua had paused from where he was busy placing the paper plates in the trash. “A cooking class?”

            “Yeah,” Jeonghan brushed his hair back from his face. “Like a couple cooking class? I think we can benefit from it.”

            “If you want,” Joshua had said as he proceeded to wipe crumbs off the counter. “I’m down for it.”

            So, they start taking cooking classes and Joshua briefly mentions it to Mingyu one day at work. The other boy immediately signs him and Wonwoo up for the same class. It’s fun, Joshua decides, especially when he gets to watch Jeonghan wear a silly chef’s hat. They’re always seated next to Mingyu and Wonwoo, where Wonwoo rests by the counter and lets Mingyu do all the work. They become the teachers’ favorite couple, whereas Joshua and Jeonghan are not.

            Jeonghan spends most of his time in the class eating their ingredients, blinking innocently at Joshua when the other boy asks him to stop. “Stop doing what? I’m not eating,” Jeonghan will say as he wipes crumbs off his lips.

            They manage to finish the class and Jeonghan cooks him a meal to celebrate. He places candles all over the apartment and doesn’t let Joshua do anything as he fusses over making sure that everything is correct.

            It makes Joshua’s heart flutter and he pulls Jeonghan close, peppering kisses all over Jeonghan’s face. “Yah,” Jeonghan had laughed as he shoved Joshua away, “I cooked for you! We have to eat before it gets cold!”

            “I don’t care,” Joshua mumbled as he nibbled at Jeonghan’s jaw. He rested his hand over the other boys mark. “We can eat later.”

⚘❁⚘

            In the middle of the summer, Jeonghan goes to China for two weeks. He goes with Jun and Minghao, visiting their hometowns. When he tells Joshua that he’s leaving, Joshua blinks at him. Jeonghan reaches out to squeeze his hand. “We can go to China together next time, okay?”

            Joshua smiles at him and agrees. It’s not too bad being alone, Joshua decides. Jeonghan texts him all the time, sending him pictures or videos of him enjoying himself and he calls Joshua every night before bed. On Jeonghan’s third night there, he whispers into the phone that he loves Joshua.

            “I miss you,” Jeonghan whispers. “And I think I’m in love with you.”

            Joshua feels his fingers pause, his jaw going slack. His heart stutters in his chest and he tightens his hold on the phone. “I miss you too.”

            And it isn’t until Jeonghan comes back – when Joshua is physically holding him in his arms, kissing his neck – that Joshua tells him he loves him too.

            Jeonghan freezes and then – Joshua decides that the smile that overtakes his face is his favorite. His eyes shine and he laughs a twinkling, magical sound. “I was hoping you did,” he says. “You’re kind of stuck with me now.”

⚘❁⚘

            Jeonghan gets a job at an amusement park, much to Joshua’s surprise. He knows that Jeonghan is – to put it nicely – lazy. He’d rather lounge around the house and do nothing. So, when he tells Joshua that he’s got a job, Joshua can’t hide his surprise.

            Jeonghan laughs at his expression. “Are you surprised?”

            Joshua raises a brow, reaching out to pull Jeonghan into his arms. He rests his arms around Jeonghan’s hips. “No, I mean… Well actually, yeah. I am surprised. You? Doing physical labor?”

            Jeonghan grins mischievously, raising a brow as he runs a hand down Joshua’s chest. “I like doing physical things,” he teases and Joshua has to swallow deeply to get that image out of his mind.

            When Jeonghan comes home from his shift, his hair is matted to his forehead, his shirt covered in sweat. He comes into the room with a loud sigh, dragging himself toward the bed and letting himself flop forward, groaning as his body hits the cushion.

            Joshua shuffles on the bed, reaching out to pat the back of Jeonghan’s hair. He’s cut it again, the strands shorter at the back and longer on top so it falls around his face. Joshua runs his fingers through the sweaty strands. “Jeonghan,” Joshua whispers and Jeonghan hums. “Hey, no offense, but can you take a shower? I just did the laundry and you kind of smell.”

            Jeonghan groans loudly. “But I’m so tired.” He turns over so he can look up at Joshua with pouting lips and wide eyes. “Shower me,” he says as if it’s nothing. Joshua splutters, causing Jeonghan to laugh. He lazily sits up and runs a hand over his face. “I’m kidding, geez. Don’t freak out on me.” He stretches wide and yawns, standing up sluggishly to make his way to the bathroom.

            Just before he can leave, Joshua reaches out to grab onto his wrist. He can feel Jeonghan’s curious eyes, but he averts his eyes. He feels a blush crawl up the back of his neck. “I… I want to,” he whispers. “I’m just… scared? I don’t know.”

            Jeonghan lets out a sigh and he sits down beside Joshua. He grabs both of Joshua’s hands in his own, pulling them up to his lips so he can brush his lips across Joshua’s knuckles. “It’s okay, Jisoo.” And he only calls Joshua that when he’s being serious. “I’ll wait. We have forever.”

            Joshua moves his hands so that he can interlock their fingers. He looks down at their interlocked hands, still feeling embarrassed. “Will you take care of me?” He winces right after he says it, but Jeonghan squeezes his hand.

            “It’s okay, Jisoo. I’ll take care of you.”

            And when the time comes – he does.

⚘❁⚘

            Jeonghan is the one who tries to set Jihoon up on dates. Joshua knows that Jihoon and Seungcheol are on better terms now – at least they’re friends. But Joshua knows that Jihoon still doesn’t trust him, not enough to start a relationship. He also knows that Seungcheol still holds hope for Jihoon and him to work things out.

            So, when Jeonghan announces one night while they’re out at dinner with the other boy that he found him a date, Joshua is a little surprised.

            “A date?” Jihoon’s brows jump up to his forehead. “With who?”

            “It’s some guy that I was in the acting class with,” Jeonghan says as he reaches towards the middle of the table to grab some more food. “He’s really cool. His name’s Changkyun.”

            “I don’t want to date some douche wannabe actor,” Jihoon counters.

            “Come on,” Jeonghan stresses. “It can’t be that bad. The last time you got set up on a blind date, you got this guy.” He jerks a finger towards Joshua, causing Joshua to pause from where he’s bringing a handful of food to his mouth. “He wasn’t so bad, was he? Just give Changkyun a chance.”

            Jihoon groans, slumping his shoulders. “I don’t need anyone. But fine, I’ll go on the stupid date.”

            Three nights later, Jihoon knocks on their door after his date is over. He’s wearing a nice sweater and pressed slacks, his hair neatly falling over his eyes. Surprisingly, Chan is with him. Jihoon grumbles, his lips twisting as he gestures to Chan. “Chan was at the restaurant with Seungcheol and they would not leave me alone the whole night.”

            Chan pushes past Joshua to make his way into the apartment. He waves enthusiastically at Jeonghan, who is resting across the couch. “I was just helping Seungcheol-hyung,” Chan says. “He was jealous and sad that you were on a date.”

            “Baby,” Jeonghan frowns at Chan. “That’s not very nice.”

            “That’s like our first date,” Joshua quips as he moves so Jihoon can make his way in. “Your friends came to sit with us and ate all our food.”

            “Actually, Jun ate most of it,” Jeonghan adds, moving so Joshua can sit with him. Jeonghan cuddles into his side, Joshua wrapping an arm around him.

            “And here we are now,” Jihoon says drolly as he sits beside Chan. “That’s obviously the start of a beautiful relationship.”

            “I still think you should give Seungcheol a chance,” Joshua says and Jihoon rolls his eyes, ignoring the other boy as he settles more into his seat and turns toward the television.

            Jeonghan runs his nails up Joshua’s thigh, whispering, “Just let it be.” He makes circles on Joshua’s thigh. “Jihoon and Seungcheol will work it out.”

            Joshua hums, closing his eyes. So he’s a little distracted by Jeonghan running a hand up his thigh. Just a little.

            He hears a low groan, causing him to snap his eyes open and look at Chan, who is watching them with a disgusted face. “Do you have to?” Chan whines. He throws the couch pillow behind him toward Jeonghan and Joshua. “Can’t you be gross somewhere else? Or in private?”

            “This is our place,” Joshua says.

            Jeonghan raises a brow, throwing the pillow back at Chan. “You say that now, but I’d like to see you when you get your own mate.”

            Chan rolls his eyes. “No thank you.”

⚘❁⚘

            When December comes, Jeonghan goes with Joshua to visit his family. They’re both nervous. It’s Jeonghan’s first time in the states and he’s meeting Joshua’s family and friends for the first time. Joshua is nervous because he’s scared that Jeonghan will see something about Joshua’s past that he doesn’t like.

            It turns out they were both worried for nothing – Joshua’s mother loves Jeonghan more than anything. She cries when she meets him, embarrassing Joshua, but Jeonghan just smiles and allows himself to be hugged. She lets them stay in the same room, which Joshua still has covered with anime posters. It embarrasses Joshua even further and he tries to stutter out an excuse to why the posters are up but Jeonghan stops from where he’s getting undressed and says, “Jisoo, I already know you’re an anime nerd. You don’t have to hide it from me.”

            They spend a lot of time at the beach, despite the fact that it’s freezing outside to Joshua’s standards. Jeonghan bundles Joshua up in scarfs and coats. He even knits his own scarf for Joshua to wear. They also spend a lot of time sightseeing, as per Jeonghan’s request. Jeonghan buys them those touristy shirts that say I ♥ LA and Joshua agrees to wear the matching couple shirt when they go out.

            When Christmas comes around, they spend the entire day cuddled up in his room. They only leave the room to have Christmas dinner and they don’t bother to change out of their staple I ♥ LA shirt and matching pajama bottoms. Jeonghan’s hair sticks up in every direction and Joshua grins as he hears his mother and Jeonghan talk because he thinks that maybe, he’s finally getting the happy ending he wanted.

⚘❁⚘

            They have a party at the café because it’s the only place big enough to hold all the friends. Jun, Seungkwan, Soonyoung, and Vernon sit on one table, talking animatedly between themselves. Minghao, Chan, Seokmin, Mingyu, and Wonwoo sit on the table beside them, talking loudly over each other. Jihoon and Seungcheol sit on a table by themselves, talking quietly to each other.

            Joshua looks up when he sees Jeonghan come out of the kitchen with a cupcake, the older boy taking a seat beside Joshua and resting his hand on Joshua’s thigh. Jeonghan has frosting on his lips, but he gestures towards Jihoon and Seungcheol. “What’s up with them?”

            Joshua shrugs. “Who knows?”

            He hears Soonyoung exclaim loudly, “You guys! It’s a minute to midnight!”

            Joshua hears everyone start counting and he watches the couples get together to bring in the new year. Seungkwan sits on Vernon’s lap, tangling his fingers in the younger boy’s hair as they both count loudly. Soonyoung props his legs on Seokmin’s lap, but he reaches a hand out to interlock their fingers. Mingyu pulls Wonwoo into his lap, pressing his forehead against Wonwoo’s neck, whispering down the time. Jun and Minghao get next to each other, Minghao bumping his knees with Jun and reaching out to grab onto his knee. Even Jihoon reaches out to grab excitedly onto Seungcheol’s arm.

            Joshua feels Jeonghan cuddle into Joshua’s side. Jeonghan’s breath tickles his neck. “Ten, nine, eight.”

            “Seven, six, five,” Joshua counts down.

            “Four, three, two.”

            “One!” Everyone shouts in unison.

            Jeonghan tilts Joshua head down and gives Joshua a kiss that leaves the other boy dizzy. Jeonghan pulls away slightly breathless, his fingers tangled in Joshua’s hair. He smiles, his eyes shining as he moves to plant a kiss to the corner of Joshua’s mouth.

            “Happy new year,” he whispers. “I love you.”

            Joshua smiles. “I love you too.”

⚘❁⚘

            The café is buzzing with the sound of people, and Joshua sits on one of the tables, looking around. It’s just like it was in New Year’s, except this time, everyone is gathered for another event. It’s Chan’s eighteenth birthday.

            Wonwoo has made a cake and there are presents on one table. Mingyu has even cooked food. Soonyoung has closed down the café and everyone has taken the day off. Jeonghan quit his amusement park job a long time ago, using the money he saved up to buy Chan a gift.

            Seungkwan sits on the arm of a chair, Vernon having an arm around him. Chan is sitting beside them, looking unbothered even as everyone around him looks at him with bated breath. They all scan over Chan every couple of minutes, looking over him like they expect a mark to just appear.

            Chan rolls his eyes, groaning in exasperation. “I’m fine!” He lifts his jacket and exposes his neck. “No marks, see?”

            They stay there for as long as they can. Chan shows no sign of getting his mark anytime soon. They end up leaving that night, with Chan getting no mark. Joshua and Jeonghan carry the cake and presents and Mingyu is the one who drives them home, Wonwoo sitting in the front seat as the other boys try to squeeze into the back. Chan spends the night and Joshua notices that Jeonghan sits up looking at him, holding his breath every time Chan shifts in his sleep.

            “Hey,” Joshua calls softly. “It’s okay. He’ll get his mark when he gets it.”

            After two weeks, Chan doesn’t get a mark. He doesn’t mind being unmarked, he says. But everyone in their circle of friends looks at him like they’re sad about it. Even Seungkwan pulls Chan into a tight hug when he finds out that Chan still had no mark.

            “After what’s happened with all of you guys,” Chan says when all of them have gathered again, “I’m okay with being a blank canvas. This just means I get to write my own story.”

            Jeonghan goes home that night and he sits in front of the mirror with no shirt on, tracing his fingers over his mark. His eyes are lost, and Joshua comes up behind him to wrap an arm around Jeonghan. Joshua plants a kiss to Jeonghan’s hair.

            “You okay?” Joshua brushes his fingers around Jeonghan’s mark, making Jeonghan shiver.

            “I’m fine,” Jeonghan sighs. “I just – I was thinking, about how hard it was. And how long it took us to find each other. I was just remembering.”

            Joshua traces his name, pressing his thumb against Jeonghan’s skin. “It was hard, yeah. But it was worth it, don’t you think?”

            Jeonghan turns so he’s facing Joshua. His eyes scan Joshua’s face and then his face breaks out into a soft smile. He presses a kiss to Joshua’s jaw. “Yeah,” he whispers, “it was worth it.”

            “I waited a long time for you,” Joshua says.

            “I was waiting just for you,” Jeonghan laughs. “I just didn’t know it then.”

            And things, finally, are perfect.

a/n: so this is it! the ending to jeonghan and jisoo's story! i know that a lot of people are going to be mad because of the lack of jicheol, but... jihoon doesn't need anyone to be happy. i never tagged jicheol, because i didn't plan on them. i do, however, have a few other things planned. a couple little bonus chapters where we get to see something for every one of our couples! so, i'm still going to upload a meanie chapter, a verkwan chapter, a soonseok chapter, a junhao chapter, and a jicheol chapter! so our story isn't over quite yet! ^^ thank you guys for sticking with me this long! i love you all! if you guys wanna check out my new story, something about you, it's meanie and it's the one i'm going to focus on after this story is over!