Jaejoong closes his book shut and slides it away from him, and then takes his glasses off and buries his face in his hands. With exams coming up, he’s been more than stressed and exhaustion pulls at his body. Sleep has never been so tempting but Jaejoong has to fight against the urge.

He just reminds himself that in one week packed with those thick tests, everything is all over and he can do whatever he wants after that. Changmin had told him not to be so serious about it, but he had just ignored it. His grades mattered to him more than anything else. It was the only way he could show his parents that he was absolutely fine after moving out, and that he was in control of his life and doing more than just okay. They had a tendency to underestimate him, to make him look like a child, telling him that he wouldn’t be able to study well, he wouldn’t be able to concentrate if he took on all the responsibilities of being alone, and so on.

Jaejoong wasn’t going to lie. Doing chores and paying bills and being an adult was kind of tough while balancing his school load at the same time. But it wasn’t like he was going to admit it to them, and it wasn’t like he was alone either.

He had a roommate. They divided the apartment rent and the tasks and duties that went into making sure the place actually looked like a place and not a pig’s barn with beer bottles and dirty clothes strewn over. That was, indeed, what it looked like for the first few weeks until one day Jaejoong lost his favourite ring in the midst of socks and empty pizza boxes and then he decided that was enough. They had cleaned up, talked about sharing the responsibility of adulthood, and now they were okay.

Jaejoong’s parents had never visited yet, but he really didn’t want them to. They would just pick at the small things and probably make a speech about how the brand of their toaster was too cheap to be good, and how the furniture didn’t match and how you’re not doing well, you see what we meant? They knew his address as he had reluctantly sent it to them but they said they would call if they ever decided to take a visit into the city, and so far there was no call. Just some rude voicemails and a text message with a picture of the family dog—the only message Jaejoong had ever enjoyed from them, even though he knew it was them trying to tempt him into coming back with cute photos of Vick.

Jaejoong loved Vick but he disliked his parent’s behaviour more. So he remained in the city.

With the thoughts of his mother and father infiltrating his mind, Jaejoong groans and rubs his eyes. He loves them, he does—but sometimes they get a bit too much. Wanting a distraction and a study break, he gets up and strolls to the kitchen. His roommate has a love for sweets and so their fridge is often packed with chocolates and cakes and milk bottles—usually all strawberry flavoured. Not in the mood for anything sugary, Jaejoong takes out a crinkled bag of potato chips the other male had probably thrown in there, closes the door and shuffles towards his roommate’s room.

“Yunhooo,” Jaejoong calls, and without knocking, he opens the door and then sees his roommate, sitting on his bed, fiddling with his phone and wearing nothing but his boxers (black with white polka dots).

Yunho jumps slightly and then blushes, immediately rushing to the corner as he yells, “Dammit Jaejoong, knock next time.”

Jaejoong rolls his eyes, Yunho was a shy guy. “Oh come on, I’ve seen you in your boxers before.” He’s nonchalant and casual as he closes the door behind him and calmly walks over to the bed, before climbing on it, some crumbs from the bag of chips falling out and decorating Yunho’s bed sheet.

“Clean that up,” Yunho demands, and Jaejoong grins sheepishly, just dusting them away with his hand. He looks up to see Yunho roll his eyes as he slips into a pair of sweatpants, and retorts,

“You have worse ways of cleaning things up. Recall exactly how you cleaned the kitchen counters today morning?”

“Shut up,” Yunho mutters, and Jaejoong sprawls himself over Yunho’s bed and grabs a pillow and mushes his face into it. “What are you doing here? I thought you were studying?”

Jaejoong sits up, stomach grumbling, and digs into the bag of chips. As he munches on them, he mumbles, “Break.”

“So you decided to come annoy me,” Yunho nods thoughtfully, and Jaejoong grins again. He moves aside to let the taller male onto the bed and as soon as Yunho sits down, Jaejoong attacks him. The brunet groans as he gets pushed down onto the bed. “Stop,” He mumbles, but Jaejoong’s already stopped, and now he’s straddling Yunho’s lap.

“Want?” He shakes the bag in front of Yunho’s annoyed face.

“No. I want you to get off me. Go spend your break doing something else except attacking me and holding me down to the bed,” His actions contrast to his words however, when he places his hands on Jaejoong’s hips, resting them there.

If it’s one thing Jaejoong enjoys, it’s being a pest to his roommate. Yunho is the best target. He’s easy to annoy and make fun of and get all riled up. He’s also probably the most attractive person Jaejoong has ever laid his eyes upon—but that’s something else.

“What are we eating for dinner?” Jaejoong asks instead, and Yunho grabs the bag of chips and eats one or two anyway.

“It’s only four. Why do you want dinner now?” He asks, and tells Jaejoong to put the bag on his nightstand before an army of ants invade his bed.

“Dunno. Didn’t eat lunch because I got a major headache from studying.”

Yunho frowns, and moves his hand up to touch Jaejoong’s bangs. When he flicks the blond’s forehead instead, Jaejoong gasps, growling at him but bursting into a fit of giggles at the same time. “,” He complains, rubbing his forehead with a pout.

“Speaking of , get yours off of my crotch,” Yunho complains, and Jaejoong laughs, sliding away. There is a blush on his cheeks however, and Yunho smirks and pinches him.

“Stop it,” Jaejoong slaps his hand away, but Yunho goes to do it again and this time Yunho has both of his wrists held.

“Just put the lasagna in the microwave,” Yunho tells him, and Jaejoong shakes his head. The brunet pushes the blond down onto the bed, and Jaejoong turns slightly red as their noses touch.

They never talk about it. The flirting, the intense looks—Jaejoong wants to, but he doesn’t want to pressure his roommate. He’s fine with just fooling around and occasional pecks on the cheek. Currently, he’s occupied with exams so he doesn’t think too much of it—but with moments like this, Jaejoong wants more. He wants Yunho to really, officially be his, and not just his roommate.

Yunho swallows thickly and Jaejoong hides his disappointed expression when the brunet sits back up. He stays lying on the bed and notices his shirt had ridden up in the midst of their mini play fight. He tugs it back down and then pokes Yunho’s thigh with his foot.

Jaejoong giggles as the brunet catches his foot and leans down, acting as if he was going to bite it. “I’ll kick you in the face,” The blond threatens, but a weak threat at that, considering the goofy grin on his face.

“You’d never dare to harm my handsome face,” Yunho shook his head, and let go of his foot. Jaejoong laughs with a roll of his eyes and sits up, crawling towards the taller male.

“Can we get pizza?” Jaejoong mumbles, resting his chin on Yunho’s shoulder. Yunho reaches a hand back and runs his fingers through soft, blond locks and nods.

“If you want.”

“I have no work tomorrow, the place is closed because of some maintenance inside,” Jaejoong talks through a mouthful of pizza, when it’s eight and they’re lying on the couch.

“You wanna do something then? Yoochun and them are going to a club,” Yunho starts, but when the blond wrinkles his nose, he knows Jaejoong would rather stay at home.

“I’m not going back to a club after getting thrown up on by a random stranger. Plus, you know how gross it is when you feel like three hundred s grinding up all over you?” Jaejoong pretends to gag, and Yunho laughs. Jaejoong had only gone a few times but he wasn’t a big fan of a group of people getting drunk together and trying to have through their clothes.

“What do you want to do then?”

Jaejoong thinks for a moment and then smiles slightly as he says, “We don’t need to go to a club to drink. Wanna stay home with me and finish the beer in the fridge?”

“Correction, watch you finish it because beer is gross.”

Jaejoong laughs, “Fine. Let’s not drink. We can have a lazy day and do nothing.”

“Mm, okay.” Yunho agrees. Their lazy days were definitely a lot more fun than a night out at the club.

They decide to chat. Thats how they mostly spend their day together.

“What do you mean he peed? That’s gross!”

“I know,” Yunho exclaims, groaning as Jaejoong bursts out into laughter, smacking the bed at the hilariousness of Yunho’s first time story. “I didn’t even notice it at first and then yeah, I looked down. He looked like he was about to cry so I didn’t yell or anything. I got off of him and he left. The next time we met he was embarrassed, I mean, he was the shy, anxious type—so yeah, I wasn’t too angry but just felt awkward.”

“Did you talk to him after that?” Jaejoong asks, shifting his position on Yunho’s bed to be more comfortable.

Yunho nods, “Before we decided to have .. well, he was my friend. I cared for him so it would be rude of me to stop talking to him after that incident. He was just way too nervous.”

Jaejoong smiled, “That’s nice of you. I mean, to still talk to him,” He pauses, brows furrowing and then asks, “But wait. How is this a first time story? You guys didn’t end up really having right? You said he left.”

“I ended up having with the same guy after all,” Yunho chuckles, and Jaejoong’s smile fades a little. “Some time after that, he got a boyfriend, broke up, and he was more confident and outgoing. So yeah. That time, nothing embarrassing happened. It was good for a first time.”

“Okay, ew, I didn’t ask for the dirty details,” Jaejoong mutters, waving his hands in dismissal. Yunho laughs and smacks him playfully on the with a pillow. With a squeak, the blond buries his face in the mattress.

“So,” The brunet plays with the strands of his hair, lying on his stomach, “What about yours?”

Jaejoong stills. “What?”

“Your first time,” Yunho urges.

There was a silence, and Yunho frowns. “Come on. I told you mine, it doesn’t matter if yours is embarrassing or with a horrible person. Just tell me.”

Jaejoong remains with his face flat on the bed, and the taller male nudges him.

“I never had one,” Came the muffled words. Yunho his head, and then smiles.

“You never had an embarrassing moment? Wow. Good for you,” He chuckles, and then rolls over onto his back, gazing up at the ceiling, “It’s quite rare for a first time to be all smooth and nice.”

They continue to sit in silence, but then Yunho begins to talk about his favorite high school memories, including the awkward and humiliating moments that he was now fond at and could laugh easily remembering them. In the middle of reminiscing, Jaejoong removes his face from the bed, lifts himself up with his elbows and rests his chin on Yunho’s chest instead.

Yunho pauses, and in that moment, Jaejoong whispers softly, “I’m a .”

The taller male freezes and Jaejoong’s cheeks burn immediately. He moves to get away, but Yunho grabs his arm before he can flee. “Jaejoong,” He says, but the blond avoids his gaze, struggling to get out of his grip.

“Are you serious or are you just joking?” Yunho cups his cheeks and makes Jaejoong really, really look at him. The red cheeks and nervous eyes answer the question and the brunet drops his hands. “I—wow.”

“Don’t make fun of me,” Jaejoong mumbles quietly, picking at the mattress. Yunho is surprised, but then frowns and squeezes his arm.

“I am absolutely not making fun of you,” Jaejoong looks at him tentatively, biting his lip. “I’m—I’m just kinda shocked, that’s all. I didn’t expect it at all.”

The blond his head. “Why?”

Yunho almost laughs. He doesn’t even lie, he goes straight to the point, “You’re really gorgeous, I would have thought—yeah.”

Jaejoong turns even redder. He pushes Yunho lightly and the taller male laughs. After a while, he murmurs, “I’m just waiting for the right person.. I don’t like one night stands and stuff.. I don’t like the idea of random, casual .”

Yunho smiles at that, and nods, “I understand.”

Neither of them say anything for a moment, but then Yunho changes the topic. Something about a new movie that recently came out, but Jaejoong isn’t concentrating on the brunet’s words. He’s fixated on Yunho’s expression and his animated hand gestures and how handsome he looks—and blushes slightly at the thought of the other male thinking he too, was gorgeous.

Jaejoong had been attracted to Yunho since the day he moved in. The taller male was exactly his type and so much more—but their little game of flirting had only begun after a drunken night with friends. He had gotten a little too cuddly and they had kissed—and instead of awkwardness following the next morning, some mutual attraction had occurred, something they both immediately felt.

Sometimes Jaejoong was frustrated, that Yunho didn’t say anything about it. He didn’t say how he felt or even ask how Jaejoong felt. Then there were other times where he was busy with studying and school projects and work shifts that he just forgot about it, not thinking much of the dance they were doing. Maybe that was why they never talked about it, it passed through their minds, the thoughts going as quickly as they came.

Yunho was a busy person, too. He was studying law and worked as his father’s assistant in a big company (that Jaejoong would gape at whenever the brunet talked about it) and it was because of him that their rent was always paid on time. There had been some occurrences where Jaejoong’s small job as a barista in a cafe didn’t help much, and Yunho had paid the rest and dismissed all of the blond’s panicked apologies. Slowly Jaejoong had come accustomed to having Yunho in his life, and the brunet meant a lot to him, as a friend.. or whatever they were.

He often thought that maybe his intense attraction for Yunho was one-sided, something so strong that he didn’t find chemistry with anyone else—but there were days where Yunho was so affectionate that Jaejoong had to hold himself back from blurting i kinda like you.

He was surprised he hadn’t done it already.

When it hits seven, they both leave the apartment. They had decided to eat at a fast food joint to put an end to Jaejoong’s exam stress and give him some refreshment. Jaejoong knew he wouldn’t stop being anxious about the upcoming week but he was just happy to go out somewhere with his roommate.

They argue over which place they want to go to, and which one is much unhealthier and much better for them. In the end they decide to go to the nearest one, a small yet brightly lit restaurant with only a few customers inside. Jaejoong sits down at a table while Yunho takes their order, and when the food arrives, he digs in immediately.

“You’ve been really hungry recently, eating like a baby elephant,” Yunho teases, and dips his fry into sauce. Jaejoong grabs it from him with narrowed eyes and pops it into his mouth. With a roll of his eyes, Yunho unwraps his burger.

“Exam stress.”

“Don’t blame it on the exam stress,” Yunho grins, and Jaejoong huffs, mumbling through a mouthful of his chicken burger,

“It’s not an excuse, and I am not a baby elephant.”

The other male tilts his head, smiles and says, “But you’re my baby elephant.”

Jaejoong blushes and almost sputters. He swallows his food down thickly and takes large gulps of his soda, feeling flustered. “Then..” He pauses, taking a moment to recompose himself as he watches an amused twinkle spark in Yunho’s eyes, “You’re my.. bear.” He finishes, originally wanting to come up with an insult, but the longer he stared at Yunho’s soft, cute, and handsome features, bear made sense.

Yunho chuckles, taking a bite out of his own burger. “I’m fine with being your bear.”

Jaejoong just smiles, trying not to look shy as he stares down at the table instead, cheeks glowing.

They go to the park just around the corner after they finish eating. They sit on the swing set together and say nothing for several moments. Jaejoong’s teeth chatter as a cold breeze passes over them and Yunho shrugs out of his jacket, and drapes it over his shoulders.

“Thanks,” He mumbles, snuggling into it, hiding his timid smile with his eyes peeking over it.

Yunho just hums. Jaejoong wants to talk about.. them, it’s such a good time for it, but he’s too nervous. Yunho starts to push his feet back and begins swinging, and Jaejoong chuckles. He decides not to do it. They have more time, and besides, he knows that if Yunho rejects him, he wont be able to concentrate on his exams properly.

Instead, he joins Yunho and they start a competition on who can swing the highest, and then a game of who can jump the furthest from the swing.

They come home covered in dirt and Yunho has a bruise on his elbow.

It starts raining the moment Jaejoong brings out some ointment to soothe the taller man’s purpling bruise. Yunho had fallen while trying to regain his balance after he had jumped, and hit his elbow hard on the monkey bars besides them. That was the pole part of it. He had hit his elbow on a pole and was pouting the whole way back home, with Jaejoong snickering at him and patting his hair affectionately.

“Good thing we made it back before we got drenched,” Yunho smiles, looking out of the window. He hisses when Jaejoong gently dabs some ointment on his elbow, the skin there tender.

“Hold still,” The blond gives him a look, and Yunho pouts yet again. When Jaejoong’s finished, he closes the bottle and squishes Yunho’s face. “Don’t you pout. That was your idea to play the game, not my fault that you couldn’t catch yourself before you fell. You should have been more limber and graceful like me.”

“Are you calling me fat?”

Jaejoong laughs, hands dropping from Yunho’s face. “No. Just meaty, the right amount of squish.”

“The right amount of squish,” Yunho muses, watching Jaejoong put the ointment aside and climb into the couch with a bowl of marshmallows and mini chocolates. “At least be more loving, jeez. You laughed the whole time!”

“Because you weren’t really hurt, silly,” Jaejoong pokes Yunho’s cheek, “I wouldn’t have laughed if you really got hurt. This bruise is not so bad, you can handle it.”

Yunho pouts again, and Jaejoong rolls his eyes with a fond smile. He leans in and pecks the other male’s jaw, pulling back with a slight blush, “Happy? Enough love?”

The very enthusiastic nod is the answer, and Jaejoong chuckles, turning his gaze to the television in front of them.

“Did your parents call?” Yunho suddenly asks, and the mood changes instantly. Jaejoong sighs and slumps against him, throwing a marshmallow into his mouth and chewing in an almost bitter manner.

“No, but they’ll definitely call after my exams,” He replies, nuzzling the brunet’s shoulder, “They’ll ask how it went, and then how much I got, and then either yell at me for bad grades or hang up—their way of congratulating me, I suppose.”

Yunho chuckles, “You know, I’m surprised they haven’t come here yet.”

“Me too,” Jaejoong nods. Before he moved out, there had been some occurrences where they followed him to different places just to make sure he wasn’t doing anything suspicious. “They usually think I’m getting drunk or partying. Okay, getting drunk is something I do,” he ignores Yunho’s snicker and promptly continues, “but they assume I’m doing drugs or anything else illegal. Like, they love me, but they have no trust in me, you know?”

Yunho knows all about it. He was used to Jaejoong’s rants and barging into his room at four am just to complain about his parents. “I know. Just don’t think about them for now, your exams are coming up and they are a huge distraction.”

Jaejoong nods again. He nibbles on a chocolate and smiles, “Hows your mom? I miss the food she used to send here.”

Yunho grins, turning to look at him. “She’s fine. I miss her food too. But she’s the leader of some environmental community back home and she’s more busier. But she loves it. She talks all about it—and she asked about you, too.”

“What did you say?”

“I said you were great, because I exist, and that you wouldn’t know what to do with your life without me,” Yunho teases, and Jaejoong rolls his eyes, poking the other male’s cheek. “I said you were fine. She misses you.”

Jaejoong sighs fondly, resting his chin on Yunho’s shoulder. “I miss her too. She’s like my second mom.”

Yunho rests his head against Jaejoong’s own and they sit in silence for a while, Yunho’s eyes on the television and Jaejoong’s closed.

They don’t always have days like this—days where they are so close, so affectionate. There had been many times where Jaejoong hadn’t even seen Yunho around, both being too busy to even stumble upon each other in the same place. Jaejoong was often swamped with school work and Yunho was helping his father out and sometimes they only managed to see each other at nights, saying hi and bye before they went to sleep.

Jaejoong wondered sometimes though, if it was really just because they both had two different, busy lives, or because they didn’t establish what they were that neither of them found it important to bump into each other and just.. talk. He could easily text Yunho, but he didn’t. Yunho could call, but he didn’t. Because at the moment, they were just roommates. And it bothered Jaejoong a lot.

“What are you thinking about?” Yunho asks softly, and his voice snaps the blond back into reality. He smiles.

“Nothing. I’m tired, I’m going to sleep okay?” Jaejoong gets off the sofa after Yunho nods, and he squeezes the brunet’s hand before walking off to his bedroom, mumbling, “Goodnight.”

After his exams, Jaejoong had to ask. He had to.

Jaejoong’s exam week is exactly what he expects it to be. Tiring, stressful, annoying. All three of those feelings were not only because of the papers, but because he didn’t get to see Yunho much. He took the whole week off from work as a request, but Yunho was still busy with his own job, and whenever he came home, both were too exhausted to play around.

Jaejoong often sat at the desk in the living room, studying, and Yunho made something for the both of them before departing into his bedroom so he wouldn’t disturb the concentrating blond. He appreciated it, he did—but he missed Yunho a lot. His roommate took his mind off any worries and cleared any headaches he got from the bright colors of his highlighters. But he also knew he wouldn’t be able to go back to his desk after snuggling with the taller male, so he stayed put. Just a few more days.

His parents called on one of the days, but Jaejoong declined the call. Then they call on the day his last exam is over, and he answers it.

“Hello,” he almost yawns. He’s sitting on the couch, waiting for Yunho to get home. He’s happy that the week is finally over, but tired as hell. He wants to go into hibernation mode but not before greeting the brunet first.

“Finally, you know how many messages we sent you?! Why didn’t you answer?”

“I had exams you know,” Jaejoong tries not to sound rude.

“Oh we know, but it doesn’t hurt to talk to your parents once in a while!”

Oh it does, Jaejoong wants to say, but he keeps his mouth shut. His mother is already angry as it is, and she tends to go into a you are so disrespectful speech whenever her temper reaches its peak. “How were your exams?” She asks instead, tone still displeased.

Jaejoong snuggles into the sofa cushion, but its not as soft and fluffy as their bedroom pillows. He gets off the couch and makes his way to Yunho’s bedroom. “They were fine. Easy. I think I did well.”

“Call me when your results are out. You know how angry your father will get if you get even one grade less than an A,” she says, but Jaejoong knows she’s exaggerating. She just wants to pressure him and make him feel bad. He just hums in response though, and climbs into Yunho’s bed sleepily.

“You should visit you know. Aunty Park has come back from Japan, and she called me, asking if you were home. You know how she is—she loves you the most, so if you’re not here, she wont come visit and I need the things I requested her to get from there.”

Jaejoong laughs in amusement and his mother scolds him. “It’s not funny. You can’t get those kind of teabags here. Hurry up and visit.”

He thinks about it. Now that he’s free, it wouldn’t hurt to take a few days out into his hometown. He can sleep at his parents place but take a trip around the whole area, his favorite places—a little break. He misses where he grew up from and the idea sounds more and more pleasant by each second. “Yeah, you know what? I will. Did aunty come back with the boys?”

“Yes, she did, those brats. If you’re coming, give us a call. We can prepare some good food—your father has always been complaining about our dinners recently,” She rambles, and then pauses, “Are you coming alone?”

Jaejoong rolls his eyes, turning onto his stomach and squishing his face into Yunho’s pillow. He loves the brunet’s scent. “I don’t have a partner yet, mother.” Although his parents know of his uality, his mother is more touchy on the topic, but Jaejoong isn’t offended by it. It just saves him from embarrassing questions and having to talk about boyfriends.

“Well.. alright then. Just asking,” she mutters, and Jaejoong has to hold back a smile. Before she can go onto another topic, he interrupts.

“I’m tired. Can I call you later or something? I just finished my last exam today.”

She says fine, and Jaejoong ends the call after an i love you i promise ill eat and no i did not cheat on my exams and falls asleep five minutes later.

When Jaejoong wakes up, its completely dark in the room and he’s stuck. He blinks his eyes sleepily and tries to shift to find his phone, but he can’t move. With a mewl, he struggles, until something behind him groans and Jaejoong gasps, feeling Yunho’s nose bury into his neck.

“Oh,” He whispers to himself, a little stunned. He takes a moment to compose himself and realize that Yunho probably slipped into bed with him (after all, it was his bed) and fell asleep too. He has no idea what time it is, which is why he wants his phone.

Biting his lip, he moves Yunho’s arm away from his waist and moves his body forward, hand blindly patting the bed to find his phone. Once he feels it, he turns it on and the light makes him wince. Squinting his eyes, Jaejoong reads, 7:00 pm and right after, his stomach growls.

He contemplates what to do. Being spooned by Yunho is probably the worlds best feeling, but he’s also starving. With a nod, he gets out of bed. His stomach would probably wake Yunho up anyway.

Jaejoong is only in the kitchen for ten minutes before Yunho stumbles in, rubbing his eyes sleepily. He smiles a little shyly, nibbling on a sandwich. “Hey.”

“Hey,” Yunho smiles too, blinking a few times before walking over to him. He wraps his arms around Jaejoong’s waist lazily, and the blond offers him the sandwich. Yunho takes a bite and asks, “How were your exams?”

“I think I did pretty good,” He admits, taking a bite himself, “Only one paper was tougher than the rest. That’s the only one I don’t expect I’ll get an A for.”

“That’s fine, you did well on the rest.” Yunho lets go of his waist and opens the fridge. He takes out an energy drink and Jaejoong hesitates before murmuring,

“Sorry I was in your bed. I—um, I don’t know, I just went there and fell asleep,” He blushes, looking down. Yunho smiles, saying there was no need to apologize, and Jaejoong his lips nervously, changing the topic before he confessed too soon, “My parents called.”

Yunho blinks, opening the drink and taking a sip. “Oh really? What did they say?”

“It was my mom. Not much this time, she just asked me to call back with my grades and also, to visit,” He scratches the back of his neck.

Yunho tilts his head. “Well.. will you?”

“Yeah, I think I will,” Jaejoong smiles, placing his sandwich aside. “I kinda miss my hometown. It’ll be nice to visit. What do you want to eat for dinner?”

“We ate fast food two days in a row..” Yunho begins, and Jaejoong nods, “Want to make it three days?”

The blond laughs. They decide that yes, they will get fast food, using Jaejoong’s last day of exams as an excuse.

They order pizza again. Jaejoong blames his pizza addiction on Yunho, because he never really liked pizza that much before he moved in. Yunho just shoves his crust into the blond’s mouth, and Jaejoong chews with a glare.

“Yunho,” He says after swallowing.

“Yes.”

Jaejoong looks at the taller male through his eyelashes, and his cheeks turn red. “I—“ He pauses, and feels his heart beat quicken, “I want to talk to you about something.”

“What is it?” Yunho puts all of his attention on Jaejoong, and it makes the blond even more nervous.

He thinks about what he will lose if he continues, thinks about the awkwardness and tension that may follow. And then he decides that he doesn’t care.

“What are we?”

Yunho stills. Jaejoong bites his lip and the brunet is silent for a moment, and then he answers. “I had a feeling that one day we’d have to talk about it.”

The blond is worried for a moment, “Are you angry?”

“Of course not,” Yunho smiles, and it relaxes Jaejoong. “What are we? Well. To me, you are..” He pauses, his lips, and then says, “Everything?”

Jaejoong blushes, feeling a mixture of anxiousness and excitement at the same time. But Yunho’s answer is not enough for him.

“You mean a lot to me, Yunho and I..” he starts shyly, “I don’t—I don’t want us to be just.. whatever we are right now. I mean.. some days we act like a couple and then on other days I don’t even see you in the apartment. I don’t want that—I want you. Like.. all of you. I want you to be mine.”

Yunho blinks and Jaejoong looks away.

“I want you to be mine too, Jaejoong, but I had no idea you felt so strongly,” He cups Jaejoong’s cheeks, “I’m fine with whatever you want to do, but are you sure you want to be with me?”

Jaejoong holds onto Yunho’s wrists and murmurs, “I don’t want to be with anyone else. Why not you?”

Yunho smiles, “You’re an amazing person, so gorgeous both outside and inside, I can’t believe someone like you would have feelings towards me. But if that’s the way you really feel—“

“Yunho, are you kidding me?” Jaejoong laughs almost in disbelief, “Since the day you moved in, I liked you. There are so many good qualities about you and you’ve always been so kind towards me. I’ve never become so close to someone in such a short period of time and you’re—you’re amazing. Yes, I like you. Only you.”

They stare at each other for a moment. Yunho then takes Jaejoong’s hand, kisses it, and whispers, “Jaejoong. Will you be my boyfriend?”

The blond turns bright red, and a huge smile appears on his face. He nods very eagerly and throws his arms around Yunho’s neck, their lips meeting for the first time since that drunken incident. And it’s so much better now, when they’re sober and completely aware of each other’s feelings, and Jaejoong curls his fingers in Yunho’s hair, his heart jumping in excitement.

“The next thing I would probably ask is if you would move in with me, but..” Yunho trails off, and they both laugh. Jaejoong pecks the taller male once, twice and then thrice, before they kiss again, deeper and more passionate. The blond had no doubt that kissing Yunho was the worlds best feeling.

They have dinner in a Chinese restaurant to celebrate. Jaejoong calls Yoochun and tells him hey, we’re—we’re together now and has to move the phone away from his ear at his friend’s excited screaming, and then two minutes later gets messages from all of his other friends saying congrats! and it’s about timeeee! He shakes his head in amusement at Yoochun spreading the word. It seemed like the whole town knew now.

Their legs tangle underneath the table, and a thought crosses Jaejoong’s mind as they eat. Without mulling it over, he speaks his question aloud immediately,

“Would you want to go with me back to my hometown?”

Yunho looks surprised, but then a smile crosses over his face as he swallows his noodles. “Your family would be okay with that?”

“Well.. my mum recently has been asking me if I’m dating anyone. What better way than to actually bring someone home?” Jaejoong grins toothily. Yunho laughs and sips his water.

“You sure?”

“Yeah. Only my dad will be awkward about it. My mum will be shocked at first, obviously, but then she’ll get over it and welcome you with warm arms and stuff and most probably treat you better than me,” Jaejoong jokes, “And my aunty is visiting too, and she adopted two boys recently, both eleven, and they’re hilarious and so adorable, you have to see them,” He gushes, eyes twinkling, and Yunho smiles.

He then nods, “Yeah. Okay. I’ll come with you.”

Jaejoong beams, squeezing the other male’s hand on the table, before going onto a story where Aunty Park’s two boys got a pancake stuck on the ceiling and blamed it on the cat.

Late at night, they sit on the floor and laugh at what they’re going to do now when it comes to sleeping.

“Okay. Since I love your scent and all,” Jaejoong ignores Yunho’s smirk, “I’ll sleep in your room. My room can just be for whenever I study and stuff. I can’t exactly move into your room because it’s too small for both of our stuff.”

Yunho nods in agreement, “Just keep everything there, and when it’s night, or whenever you want to actually, come into my room. That can be like.. our room. And your room can be your everything else room.”

Jaejoong giggles at the amusing conversation. He crawls into Yunho’s lap and slings his arms around the brunet’s neck. “I like you a lot,” He says shyly, and Yunho grins, rubbing the tips of their noses together.

“I like you too, my baby elephant.”

The blond blushes and smiles at the remembrance of that night in the fast food joint. He presses a soft kiss to Yunho’s cheek, whispering against it, “My bear.”

And as Yunho smiles and kisses him, before carrying him bridal style into their bedroom, Jaejoong can’t remember the last time he was ever this content, ever this happy.

A/N: this is one of my own personal faves that ive written actually hahahaha

thank you so much for reading and commenting! :-*****