Jinki held the cell phone between his shoulder and ear as he carefully placed the armful of cookie dough containers onto the counter. “How’d the presentation go, Taem?”

“Pretty okay,” The young man sighed deeply and Jinki could hear the sound of him probably falling into the couch of his apartment. “Like I didn’t completely bomb it, but I also didn’t knock it out of the proverbial ballpark.”

“I’m sure you did fine.” Jinki snipped the end of the tube with the scissors and tossed it into the trash bin at the end of the counter. He glanced up when he heard Jonghyun whistling. “Are you going to your mother’s for her birthday?”

“I am. She called me right before I did you to make sure I was still bringing cream pie.” Jinki softly snorted as he adjusted the phone on his shoulder so he could hear his son better. “She’s upset about something to do with how you won’t help her fix the floors.”

“Ah, yeah.” Jinki flashed a smile when Jonghyun came into the room, mouthing, hey Baby, as the man walked around him to hug him from behind. “She wanted me to pay for them to be fixed and I figured it was time for her to realize we’re divorced for a reason.”

Taemin was softly saying something, but Jinki’s attention was taken from him for a moment when Jonghyun quietly asked, “Did you preheat the oven?”

“Ah, No Baby I forgot.”

“Ooo~ Was that Jonghyun?” Jinki’s cheeks turned a little pink at the tone of Taemin’s voice.

“Yes.”

“I thought you had court today?”

“It was adjourned yesterday afternoon.” Jinki cut open the tube down the side and worked to unwrap it completely from the plastic.

“What are you doing?”

“I do not appreciate how much fun you’re having with this. I’m hanging up.” He pressed the tube down until it was more like a thick pancake.

“Oh, come on Dad. This is fun for me.” Jinki rolled his eyes at the munching sounds of Taemin eating, being used to it from the years of calling him as a teenager doing the same thing. The bag crinkled over the receiver and he figured he was eating cheese nips again. Probably ruining his new sofa. “At least tell me why you need the oven preheated before you end the call.”

Jinki moved the phone over to his other shoulder to hand Jonghyun the other cookie tube down for him to open, stepping back and leaning against the opposite counter next to the oven for a moment. “We’re making cookies.”

“Well I won’t keep you anymore, Dad. Goodbye,” Jinki was about to respond when Taemin spoke again, “Oh also, in about two weeks I was wondering if you’d like to meet the person I’ve been dating for a while.”

With a little laugh, “Someone likes you enough to date you?”

Taemin whined, “Dad~”

“But yes, yes of course.”

“Mom’s gonna be there.”

“I figured. I promise to be on my best behavior. Swear.” Jinki stuck his tongue out at Jonghyun who was making kissy faces at him from across the way, opening the second pack and pressing it into the previous one.

“Thanks, I’m just a bit nervous about how it’ll all work out.”

“Why, Son?”

It was obvious Taemin suddenly grew a little uncomfortable, “I’d rather just wait for the night. I’ll tell you restaurant details later Dad.”

“ Alright, talk to you soon Taemin.”

“Bye! Love ya.”

“Love you too.” He clicked the call over and slid his phone into his pocket. When he looked back up he flashed a soft smile over at Jonghyun, lifting his arms a little, “C’mere.”

Jonghyun slipped over easily after wiping his fingers off, arms tight around Jinki’s middle as he gazed up at him. Jinki pressed a soft kiss to his lips with a gentle smile. When they parted Jonghyun quietly said, “What was that about?”

“Taemin wants me to meet who he’s dating in a few weeks at this dinner out with his mom.” Jinki moved his thumb over Jonghyun’s lower back as he spoke. “He seems really nervous about it. He’s never been one to be anxious about bringing his date to meet his parents. I hope it’s not because we’re divorced now.”

With a pout Jonghyun asked, “Does she have to go?”

“Unfortunately, but,” Jinki tapped the tip of Jonghyun’s nose with a big smile, “I have you and cookies right now, so I think I can handle the prospect of it in the future.”

          “You do have me, but I’m not sure if I’m up to sharing my cookies.” Jonghyun softly teased, chin resting on Jinki’s chest as he gazed up at him.

           “Oh really?”

           “Yeah,” He smiled happily, pushing up on his toes to gently peck his lips. “You’ll have to convince me, warm me up to the idea.”

           “If I warm you up too much you’ll melt in my hands.”  And sure enough, as the conversation paused and Jinki pressed into the kissing further Jonghyun sagged a little in his hold. He always would grumble about how good of a kisser Jinki was. When he pulled away Jonghyun pouted and followed his lips as they withdrew. Jinki chuckled softly at him, “Let’s get the dough rolled out.”

          Jonghyun withdrew, almost skipping over to the cabinet under the kitchen island to pull out a huge container of cookie cutters. The bin seemed almost too big for him to hug against his chest as he rose. “I’ve had this for months and never used it. I thought it might be fun.”

         The cookie cutters were pushed onto the counter as Jinki moved to pick up the rolling pin. He smiled as Jonghyun dipped under his arm, taking the handles into his hands and moving Jinki’s off. Flour was gently tossed out onto the counter before he brushed off his hand on the cloth on the  counter and moving his hands to wrap around Jonghyun’s middle. “It’s probably quicker if I don’t bear hug you, but I want to.”

           Before pushing the roller over the tube of cookie dough he reached down to gently squeeze Jinki’s hands that were laying on his tummy. “I have no objections.”

Once the dough was completely rolled out Jinki opened up the container of the cookie cutters and dumped them out on the counter. He laughed as Jonghyun’s eyes widened. “What? I’ll clean it up.”

They each picked up a cookie cutter and pressed it into the dough, laying the cut out shape on one of the already prepared pans. Once the pans were filled they slid them into the preheated oven and Jinki set the timer. He barely at time to place the timer on the counter with the volume up high before Jonghyun was tugging him toward his bed. Jinki snorted as Jonghyun stumbled a little, the curtain they had put up earlier that month getting in the way as he tried to open it. He finally stopped tugging and let go of Jinki’s hand to climb into the bed and get comfy in all his pillows, a gift from the older man sometime before, when he started spending the night more. “We can continue our movie~”

“What about the mess that is in the kitchen?” Jinki quietly asked as he climbed up to him from the bottom of the bed.

Jonghyun tsked as he adjusted the laptop on his lap to turn it on. “We can do that while the cookies cool before we ice them Babe.”

Jinki just gazed at him fondly as he rested back against the pillow. His chest was extra warm when Jonghyun leaned his head against his shoulder, cheek a little squished as he adjusted himself. He looked up at Jinki with a soft smile, “Ready?”

“Yeah,” Jinki gently breathed out, heart feeling like it was in his throat.

Jonghyun pressed play and snuggled closer. He was pink in the cheeks when Jinki pressed a firm kiss to his hair.

—–

Later that night after the cookies were iced, the kitchen cleaned and dinner made, Jonghyun was told to wait for a moment on the couch. With a raised eyebrow he did as he was asked. His confusion grew when Jinki slipped on his shoes and left out the front door. About 10 minutes later Jinki returned, nose a little red, as he kicked his shoes off and headed over to him. Jonghyun didn’t notice the bag in his hand until he came closer. It was a blue gift bag, about a foot long from where Jinki was holding it. It was laid in his lap before Jinki took a seat next to him. Jonghyun frowned. “What’s this?”

“A gift?” Jinki questionably answered.

“Why yes, I get that, but what is it for?”

“Just open it.” Jinki pinched his side playfully. Jonghyun grumbled but did as he was told. The tissue paper was lifted and he gasped a little. Inside were two large Yankee candles. Jinki was all smiles as he watched Jonghyun pull one out carefully. “I noticed the one you had was really low. So there’s a new one of the scent and I got Pink Sands because it reminded me of you.”

“It was the pink hair wasn’t it?” Jonghyun laughed a little before looking at him seriously. “You didn’t have to do this.”

“I know. I like taking care of you, giving you things.” Jinki tapped the tip of his nose gently. “Don’t look so conflicted, Baby. I buy you things because I want to.”

“But I can’t give you much of anything.” Jonghyun pouted, thumb moving over the smooth glass of the candle jar.

Jinki moved over close to him, wiggling his arm around Jonghyun’s waist and kissing his cheek sweetly. “You give me more than enough. I thought you could light them when you sketch at night.”

Jonghyun placed the candle back into the bag and laid it on the ground. Then he fell backward on the couch after wrapping his arms around Jinki and tugging him with him. Jinki let out a little yelp and he blushed, embarrassed when Jonghyun began to softly laugh. He smiled so warm and in love and whispered, “Hey, Handsome.”

Jinki hummed, pushing up off the couch to move up just a little, hovering over him for a moment. “I love you.”

“Love you more.” Was whispered just before their lips connected, Jinki letting his weight press Jonghyun into the couch, but he knew the man liked the pressure. Between kisses he began to speak, and Jinki took the break to kiss down his neck. “Maybe tomorrow we can - ah - go see a movie or something.”

He hummed as he nibbled on Jonghyun’s ear lobe. “We could go to the putt putt place or the arcade.”

“Arca-cade?” Jonghyun swallowed thickly, breath hitched as Jinki shifted to get more comfy against him.

“Mhmm.” Jinki returned to kiss his lips and chuckled deeply as he pulled back, noses still touching. “Do you want to talk about our plans tomorrow?”

Jonghyun huffed cutely. “I want to be kissed.”

Jinki almost snorted. “I can fix that.”

——