Taekwoon let out a deep breath as he entered his and Wonshik’s apartment after yet another long day at work. After toeing off his loafers, he loosened his tie and ed the top of his dress shirt before flopping on the couch.

He should probably start getting dinner ready, but the option to just have Wonshik pick something up on his way home was looking more appealing by the second. His head twisted to look at the time on the clock over their tv, seeing it was about the perfect time to call Wonshik and have him get take out. He quickly pulled his phone out and selected his most recent contact, pressing call and waiting for his boyfriend to pick up.

“Taekwoon?” Wonshik’s voice is a little staticky over the line, meaning he must be walking to the bus station already. “Do you need me to pick up something from the store for dinner?”

“‘Shiiiiik, I don’t wanna cook tonight. Pick something up on your way home… Please.” He hears Wonshik laugh over the line before agreeing quickly and saying goodbye. Taekwoon slips out a quick “bye” in response, and then hangs up and falls into a quick nap.

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Wonshik just barely kept the door from slamming shut as he realized Taekwoon was asleep. He quietly hung up his jacket and pulled off his shoes before going into the kitchen to get dinner set up. It wasn’t technically his night, but he suspected Taekwoon had a long day at work today, so he was fine with the easy task.

Once dinner was set up, he went to wake up Taekwoon, leaning over his boyfriend and gently shaking him. Taekwoon’s eyes slowly blinked open, one hand coming up to rub at them as he sat up.

Wonshik brushed some hair away from his forehead before opening his mouth. He totally meant to say dinner was ready, but what came out instead was, “Not to be gay, but you look really hot today.”

His boyfriend squinted at him in disbelief for a few seconds before reaching up and flicking Wonshik in the forehead, gently. “We’ve been dating for four years, moron.” Taekwoon pushes him away as the smell of dinner finally hits him, going to grab a plate and dig in.

Both men returned to the couch after serving themselves food, turning on the football game. They ate mostly in silence, making comments occasionally on plays and passes. At one point, Wonshik reached up and wiped some sauce off the side of Taekwoon’s mouth, it off his thumb.

“No homo, though,” Wonshik whispered when returning to watching the game.

Taekwoon makes a noise of exasperation before getting up and walking away. This doesn’t go unnoticed, however, and seconds after he enters the bedroom he hears Wonshik start warbling out the words to “Baby Come Back”. He had been planning to be in the bedroom for just a minute, but oh, look at that. The bedroom door was closed and locked now, might as well finish dinner in here. Wonshik will surely finish his joking around soon and calm down, then he’ll return after dinner and cuddle with him.

Surprisingly, Wonshik’s determination to follow through on this joke was much stronger than Taekwoon had anticipated. Five minutes in, he could still hear his boyfriend singing loudly as he moved about their apartment. This was going to be a long night.

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Hongbin had just finished washing the dishes when he heard a terrible croaking noise coming from the apartment next door. He merely ignored it at first, assuming that it was just Wonshik being weird towards Taekwoon and that it would end shortly, probably with laughs and giggles from their neighbors. Instead, he sat down on the couch and tried to focus on the TV as he waited for Hakyeon to finish in the shower.

Five minutes later, his concentration on his favorite shoe was broken again by his neighbor’s ghastly singing. These walls were paper thin and Wonshik could be really loud when he wanted.

Hongbin pushed himself up off the couch and marched over to the wall separating their apartments, banging on it while yelling at the attempted-singer to shut up. He was met in response with Wonshik altering his rhythm to match the beat of his pounding. Who knew Baby Come Back could be sung in 7/6 time?

Hakyeon stepped out of the shower at the commotion of his boyfriend pounding and yelling, wondering if he’d finally snapped at the amount of romance on his favorite show. What he found was his boyfriend miserably slumped beside the wall, rapping his knuckles against it as their neighbor’s voice rang through. He sighed deeply before going to get his phone to text Taekwoon.

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Taekwoon glanced at his phone on the bedside table as it vibrated with the incoming text. He cringed when he saw it was from one of their neighbors, and opened the message to find Hakyeon’s words:

Shut your boyfriend up already before I call the cops for disruption of peace.

In defeat, Taekwoon got up from their bed, unlocking the bedroom door and exiting to find Wonshik washing the kitchen counters while singing.

“‘Shik… ‘Shikkie, please… Shut up.” His pleas go completely ignored, so he tries again after moving closer. And again even closer. Finally he’s right next to Wonshik when he finally gets a response.

“I’ll stop,” Wonshik says between singing phrases, “if you kiss me, baby.”

Taekwoon sighs in defeat, knowing this was his partner’s ultimate plan all night, before grabbing for his face and locking their lips together. He could feel Wonshik’s smile growing as he returned the kiss and quickly tried to deepen it.

Taekwoon pulled back before things could get too heated though, and was met with Wonshik’s pout. “Now go clean the bathroom and think about what misery you’ve put us all through.” He lovingly pats his boyfriend’s face as the pout intensifies, but Wonshik knows he’s lucky he’s not sleeping on the couch tonight, so he grudgingly goes to clean the bathroom.

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Taekwoon wipes at his face as he watches the cookies bake in the oven. He loves Wonshik, really, but sometimes his jokes could go a little too far and have a negative impact on others - namely, their next door neighbors. This leads to him making cookies for Hongbin and Hakyeon fairly regularly.

He just starts dozing off again when the timer for the cookies goes off, jolting him awake. Opening the oven while fumbling for the hot mitts, Taekwoon gets hit with a wave of heat mixed with the delicious scent of red velvet with white chocolate chip cookies.

Finally getting the mitts on his hands, Taekwoon pulls out the trays to find the cookies perfectly baked - as per usual. He waits a few minutes for them to start cooling, then starts arranging them on two plates. The larger plate takes most of the cookies and is nicely presented; meanwhile, the smaller plate only has a handful, and they’re not as nicely presented but still definitely edible. Pleased with his work, Taekwoon takes the larger plate and leaves to apologize to their neighbors.

Upon hearing the door close, Wonshik slips out of the freshly cleaned bathroom. He heads towards the bedroom when he notices something sitting out on the kitchen counter. A small plate full of his favorite cookies sits, beckoning him. Hastily making his way over, he picks up the plate to eat off of and notices a slip of paper addressed to him sitting underneath. Wonshik picks it up and unfolds it, reading the note inside.

‘Wonshik,

Even though sometimes you’re a pain in the , I love you to the ends of the earth and beyond. I went over to apologize to Hongbin and Hakyeon for your joke bothering them, but have these cookies as a sign of my love.

Taekwoon

P.S. next time, please use your actual singing voice. It’s so much more pleasant.’

The front door creaks open as Wonshik finished reading the note for the third time, wiping the beginning of tears from his eyes. He looks up to find Taekwoon staring at him uncertainly.

“You do love me!” He proclaims as he runs towards Taekwoon and jumps on him, hugging him tightly as his boyfriend falls against the front door.

Taekwoon takes a moment to catch up, but returns the hug quickly. He places a kiss below Wonshik’s ear, and then whispers in reply, “Yeah, I really do.”