Badum.

Badum.

Badum.

Badum.

Breathe in.

Badum.

Badum.

Breathe out.

Badum.

Badum.

He waited, until his skin began to itch. “Well?” he demanded softly.

Seungcheol moved across the table, picking up with one of the cone-shaped paper coffee filters off the table, opening it up and gently placing it up- his boyfriend’s head. “Your majesty!” he chuckled, eyes crinkling at the corners.

Jihoon froze, confused.

“Very cute, babe.” He grinned. “Although you’re an omega and… well, I guess you do have a similar kind of face shape as the prince. But really! Look at you. You’re glowing, glittering, smiling and happy and bright! You could never be the Dark Prince.” The look Seungcheol gave his boyfriend was doting, adoring, and absolutely committed. “Look at you. You’re the most precious man in the world. It’s alright that you’re just a barista and not really royalty. You can be the Prince of my heart.”

Something in Jihoon got both extremely anxious and extremely relaxed at the same time, as his shocked expression melted into something far sweeter, with a loving smile on his face. “The Prince of your heart?”

“Complete with your coffee-filter crown.” Seungcheol tapped the paper on Jihoon’s head. “It’s kind of cute on you.”

“Not clown-like?” the omega teased.

“Okay maybe a little. Take it off.”

“But my crown!” Jihoon put both hands to the coffee filter on his head. “I can’t possibly take off my pretty, pretty crown! My clown crown!”

“Jihoon!”

The barista stood, one hand on the filter on his head as he skipped away from his lover, who came bounding after him: after just a few seconds of chase Seungcheol stole an arm around Jihoon’s waist, tipped his coffee filter crown off his head and kissed him deeply.

If Jihoon had to describe it, it could have been a thousand things. It was like swimming through the night sky, filled with stars and a sense of wonder; it was like the taste of dark chocolate, rich and mysterious; it was like candle-light, a soft, warm glow that spread through his body like a flame. When Seungcheol kissed him, all was right with the world. When Seungcheol kissed him, it was as if he was home. Not his home in the palace, surrounded by whispering maids and annoyed brothers, and not his little apartment that made do, and not the countertop of his café where his passion danced on notes of earth and water. When Seungcheol kissed him, it was as if he was free.

More free than he had ever been. More free than he had ever hoped to be. More free than he knew he could be.

“I love you,” Seungcheol whispered between kisses. The sound made hairs on Jihoon’s neck stand up, made his body twist closer.

“I love you,” the alpha repeated over and over, cupping Jihoon’s face in his hands as he kissed. His warm, broad, lovely hands.

“I love you.” The pressure against Jihoon’s forehead of Seungcheol’s was lovely, hot, heavy and simply lovely. “I love you so much. How did I become so attached in such a short time? It’s only March.”

“Maybe it’s magic,” Jihoon breathed back in the darkness.

“Your magic, then,” Seungcheol whispered back, his arms grappling around Jihoon’s waist possessively. “You must be an elf, or a fairy of some kind. You’ve put a spell on me. A spell of soulmates. I can’t look away from you. Can’t not touch you. Can’t leave you. You own me, you know that?”

The heat was stifling and the darkness made his heart speed up, but Jihoon could only look at his lover.

“You own my body. My mind. My soul.” Seungcheol took Jihoon’s hand, pressing the palm to his chest. “Do you hear it? The heart? It is yours. Belongs to you. You’ve overwhelmed me, Jihoonie. I never expected there to be so much to fall in love with. The way you speak, the way you think, the way you smile. I didn’t think there could ever be so much happiness in the world, never mind how I feel when I see your face.”

“Seungcheol.” Jihoon blushed. “You’re seducing me.”

“Shhhh.” The alpha hushed him with a small kiss. “You make me feel alive, Jihoonie. Alive and happy and free. And I didn’t even think I wasn’t free before. Everything is… different. Do you know what petrichor is?”

“…it’s the smell that’s freed when rain hits dry soil,” Jihoon answered breathlessly, confused with the direction the conversation had taken. “An earthy, plant-y smell.”

“It’s my favorite scent in the whole world. It’s so fresh, happy and bright – just like your eyes when you’re making coffee, like your smile when you open the shop. The way the very edged corners of your mouth curl up and you look away because you’re so shy. I feel like I’ve found a thousand worlds living inside you, Jihoon, already – and I feel like there’s a million more left for me to explore.”

“I love you,” Jihoon whispered, pulling himself up for another kiss. This time, it was a little wilder, a little less constrained. This time, it was more passionate and deep and hot than ever before.

Seungcheol stayed over at Jihoon’s that night.

“…good morning, most beautiful man on earth,” Seungcheol whispered. He was sitting up in bed on his side, supporting his head with one arm handsomely. Like a bedroom model. He raised one hand to gently press the pad of his thumb to Jihoon’s lower lip, rubbing it a little.

The omega took a deep breath at the sight of Seungcheol, entirely , wrapped up in his pristine white bedsheets. “…good morning,” he smiled shyly.

They stared at each other for a while.

“That was…”

“Did I hurt you?” Seungcheol was careful to keep his expression neutral. “Is it sore?”

“…a little.” Jihoon wiggled slightly under the sheets. “It’s not so bad.”

“Here.” Seungcheol leaned down to kiss Jihoon’s lips. “I love you, Hoonie. And last night, you said you loved me too. That meant a lot. Thank you.”

“I’ve said it before,” the boy pouted, wriggling more under the white sheets.

“No, you’ve said me too plenty though,” Seungcheol teased, eyes becoming little happy boughs. “You’re too cute. Too funny.” He chuckled a little. “Dark Prince. Sure, babe. You’re the farthest thing from that taciturn, evil boy.”

Jihoon’s mouth became a straight, thin line. “…I forgot to tell you. I have to leave today.”

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