Seungcheol and Jeonghan found themselves sitting in Seungcheol’s living room as they watched reruns of Goblin. They were alone in the house since Seungcheol's mother had went out for a "girls day" with some of her friends when they were in the middle of their first episode and they had stayed on the couch ever since. The two idols had made themselves comfortable with Jeonghan’s head resting on Seungcheol’s shoulder as he stared blankly at the TV while Seungcheol got emotional over the same scene’s he’d seen a thousand times. Every now and then Seungcheol would mouth the words that the characters were saying and Jeonghan would smile to himself at the older’s cuteness. 

'My Seungcheollie is so cute’ Jeonghan thought to himself but then he stopped the thought abruptly because of how easy those words came to him. But was that true? Was Seungcheol really his? Sure Seungcheol was his coworker and his leader…but what what were they beyond that? Were they still friends? Or were they more than that?

Jeonghan thought back to their kiss from an hour ago. It only lasted a few seconds but for Jeonghan, it was perfect. 

It felt like he could finally breathe after holding his breath for what felt like ages. And once it was over, Jeonghan wanted to go back for another. And he tried to, until he saw Seungcheol staring at him with wide eyes and a shocked expression.

The feeling of not being able to breathe came back, along with a feeling of dread and panic. 

Both boys stood still for what felt like forever, until Seungcheol finally broke out of his shocked state with a broad smile and before tackling Jeonghan into a hug. They laughed and held onto each other tight, feeling like the only two people in the world, and without letting each other go, they situated themselves onto the couch.

Jeonghan was beyond happy, ecstatic, but he still felt uncertain. Sure they had just made up, but they hadn't’t really talked about anything regarding what they were even though both of their feelings were clear as day. And Jeonghan knew he wouldn't’t be able to rest until they had everything figured out.

So without wasting another second, Jeonghan disturbed their blissful silence to ask the one question that had been bothering him.

“What are we?” Jeonghan asked, with no context at all and that confused Seungcheol, getting him to pause the TV just to ask what the younger meant.

“What do you mean?” Seungcheol asked for clarification.

“I mean, are we a thing or what? I know we kissed and all but what does that mean for us?” 

“It means whatever you want it to mean for us.” Seungcheol answered calmly.

“Come on Cheol, I’m being serious.” Jeonghan replied, not really knowing what Seungcheol meant with his first response. Did he really not care?

“I am being serious. I know what I want us to be but what’s more important to me is that you’re comfortable. I've already screwed up once and that almost made me lose you. I don't want that to happen again. So I mean what I said that it’s all up to you. If you want us to be something more than I’m more than okay with that, but if you want us to stay friends then we can do that too. I’m okay with anything as long as I’m with you.”

Jeonghan was taken aback by Seungcheol’s sincerity and he felt overwhelmed by the amount of affection that he felt for his team leader. How did he ever manage to get someone so wonderful in his life?

“I want us to be more… and by that I mean I want us to be boyfriends.” Jeonghan said with confidence and Seungcheol just smiled.

“Then we’re boyfriends.” Seungcheol said in his leader-like voice before grabbing one of Jeonghan’s hands and interlocking their fingers. Jeonghan could only smile back before snuggling in deeper to the older boy's frame and they proceeded the finish the rest of their episode in silence. 

It was sometime after their marathon had ended that Seungcheol's mother phoned them, saying that she would be out until late and asked if they could kindly get some dinner for when Seungcheol's father and older brother returned home. She had even offered to pay them back if they ordered take out but Jeonghan refused and instead he told her that they would prepare something with the ingredients that were in the house. Seungcheol's mother was a bit hesitant at that suggestion but Jeonghan had insisted that they could do it and she decided to trust her "angel son." 

God, Jeonghan loved the relationship he had with Seungcheol's mother.

And with that, both Seungcheol and Jeonghan were left staring at the opened refrigerator for a good 20 minutes.

"Do you even know how to cook?" Seungcheol asked as his head rested on Jeonghan's shoulder.

"As a matter of fact, I do.... kind of...a little.... I remember helping out Mingyu once when we were cast away on Yeoseodo." 

"Yah! Then why did you tell my mother that we could make something?" Seungcheol asked.

"Because I thought it would be fun." Jeonghan confessed while looking away from the older. Jeonghan had always thought that couples that cooked together were cute ever since he was a child and he would watch his mother and father helping each other out in the kitchen. It was something he'd hoped he could do with his significant other in the future but with becoming a trainee when he was just in high school, there was never ever time to actually date. But now that he had Seungcheol, he jumped on the first opportunity that was presented to him. It was sappy and it was the type of thing he'd read in one of Minghao's romance novels, but it was something on his bucket list and he was determined to try it at least once.

"Do you not want to cook with me?" Jeonghan asked, trying to hide the disappointed look on his face and Seungcheol only chuckled.

"I have nothing against the idea. It's just that neither of us know how to make much beyond instant ramen and I doubt my parents would be too happy with that." 

"Well we don't have to do anything fancy." Jeonghan said before grabbing out the container of kimchi that Seungcheol's mother had in the fridge. "We can make kimchi fried rice! I saw Mingyu making it the other day and it didn't look too complicated!" Jeonghan said happily, feeling triumphant at his quick thinking. 

"Fine." Seungcheol said after thinking for a bit. "I think we can manage making some rice." 

They then got to work with Jeonghan chopping up some carrots and onions while Seungcheol started on the rice. They almost burned themselves twice and at one point they (read: Seungcheol) almost dropped an entire carton of eggs (Jeonghan insisted that they didn't even need the eggs) before they finally pulled up a tutorial on YouTube and whipped together a pretty decent meal. Jeonghan then trusted Seungcheol to set the table, placing the fried rice and a few side dishes for each person while Jeonghan worked on making a puree-type soup for his boyfriend (Jeonghan felt giddy at referring to Seungcheol as his boyfriend). He searched the kitchen and eventually he found where Seungcheol's mother kept her little notebook filled with recommended foods and recipes that Seungcheol could eat after the accident and Jeonghan had decided on a simple but tasty Chicken puree.

After about 10 minutes, the two had finished their jobs and they both felt so proud of themselves, they hugged and celebrated as if they had just won the Rookie of the Year award. And it was in the middle of their celebratory hug that the front door opened and Seunggil walked in.

The two idols broke apart and Jeonghan had tensed up a bit, remembering how the older Choi had confessed to him and how Seungcheol knew about it, but much to his surprise, there was no awkwardness between any of them and Seunggil even smiled at them before taking off his coat and going to wash up. Seungcheol's father was the next to walk in about half an hour later and the boys all sat down together to enjoy their meal.

Dinner was lively thanks to Seungcheol and Jeonghan's constant teasing and playful bickering. Mr. Choi got in some good laughs and had to opportunity to learn more about Jeonghan, much to Seungcheol's pleasure. Somehow they all ended up on the living room floor playing Gonggi which lead to them all in a fit of giggles as Seungcheol and Seunggil got more and more frustrated since they were both too competitive yet they couldn't make it through the second round, meanwhile Jeonghan turned out to be quite an expert and he teased Seungcheol about finally finding a game that the older at. 

Time flew by for them all and before they knew it, it was 11 pm and Seungcheol's mother had finally come home. She walked to where she could hear them all laughing and she smiled at the sight of her two sons (but in her mind three since she also considered Jeonghan as her son) and her husband spending some quality tome together. She quietly settled down on the couch and watched over them before she checked the time and saw that it was nearing 11:30.

"Jeonghan, sweetie," She interrupted them, "are planning on staying the night?"

It was only then that Jeonghan had realized how much time he had spent at the Choi's house. He paled a bit knowing that he may get into trouble if he didn't return to the dorm that night, but he was also too tired to make the drive back to Seoul. Seungcheol seemed to read Jeonghan's expression and knew what he was contemplating, so the leader made it easier for his boyfriend.

"I think Jeonghan should spend the night here. It's too late for him to drive." He announced before he spoke to Jeonghan directly, "You can just text Josh or Seungkwan to pass on the message to our manager. If anybody has a problem with it then they can speak to me." Seungcheol assured him and Jeonghan was grateful for that as he pulled out his phone to work on that text. 

With that settled, the Choi family and Jeonghan all cleaned up the down stairs and they all prepared for bed. Jeonghan and Seungcheol were both sharing the bathroom to brush their teeth, something they did normally at the dorm, when Seungcheol's mother popped her head inside to ask if Jeonghan needed anything.

"No ma'am. I'm fine. Seungcheol already said that I can wear something of his to sleep." Jeonghan replied, a light pink dusting his cheeks at the thought of sharing Seungcheol's clothes. It was no secret that the members often borrowed clothes from each other, but with the recent events between them, it somehow felt more intimate to wear something of Seungcheol's.

Mrs. Choi gave a knowing smile before speaking to her son. "Seungcheol, I know you're a big boy but you're still living under my roof with my rules and if you're sharing a room with Jeonghan then I expect your door to stay open." She instructed and both boys turned a deep red at her insinuation. 

"Oh my god! Mom! We would never do anything like that here! Especially with you, dad and Seunggil in the house!" Seungcheol stated and Jeonghan only blushed harder.

"I'm only being a mother." Mrs. Choi said with a laugh, clearly enjoying getting to embarrass the two. "And if you ever do, remember to use a !" She said before finally disappearing, leaving the two lovebirds too embarrassed to even look at each other.

It wasn't until they reaching Seungcheol bedroom that they finally felt a little less awkward.

"I'm so sorry about that." Seungcheol started to apologize but Jeonghan only giggled.

"Don't worry about it Cheol. I'm pretty sure my mom would've done the same and my dad would've probably given us the talk."

"Oh god, I forgot about my dad. The only reason he hasn't teased us yet is because he probably hasn't figured it out yet. Once he does, I don't think we'll ever live it down." Seungcheol explained.

"Well, at least you don't have a little sister that's a huge fan of your boyfriend and is also super into BL mangas. If we were at my place, she'd never leave us alone." 

"I'm her favorite in the group?" Seungcheol perked up.

"Second. I'm her favorite by default." Jeonghan clarified and he had to hold back the giggle when he saw Seungcheol pout.

"But if it makes you feel any better, if I were a Carat, I'd be your fan." Jeonghan replied.

That got Seungcheol to brighten up and the two both got into Seungcheol's bed, lying on their sides and facing each other.

"Psst." Seungcheol whispered and Jeonghan decided to indulge him with a hum. "I really like you." The older said, as if he were sharing the world's biggest secret, only for Jeonghan to hear.

"I like you too." Jeonghan found himself responding with a large smile and Seungcheol replied with a smug "I know" which earned him a shove on the shoulder.

"How do you think the others will react when they find out about us?" 

"Honestly... I think they'll want to celebrate with us. They were really rooting for us and I know for a fact that Seungkwan and Mingyu have a bet going on about when we would get together." Jeonghan answered.

"What kind of bet?" The leader asked.

"The kind where Mingyu loses and now he has to do Seungkwan's laundry for a month."

"Ouch." 

"His fault for betting on our relationship." Jeonghan said with no sympathy at all.

"At least they're all supportive of us." Seungcheol said thoughtfully.

"Yeah. Our members are great like that."

"We're really lucky." Seungcheol added.

"Super lucky." Jeonghan agreed.

"And do you know what makes it even better that they know?"

"What?"

"It means that we can cuddle as much as we want in the dorm!" Seungcheol said excitedly.

"You really like cuddling, don't you?" Jeonghan asked with amusement.

"Of course. That's the best part about being in a relationship." The older replied like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "And, it also means that we can hold hands and stuff in front of the fans and the members can help us play it off as fan service. It's the perfect plan!" 

"You've got this all figured out, don't you." Jeonghan praised and bopped Seungcheol's nose with his finger, liking the idea of getting to express his affections in public.

"Yup!" Seungcheol beamed.

"...But what do you think would happen if Carats found out?" Seungcheol continued his wondering thoughts, stating them out loud simply because he wanted to keep the conversation going to hear Jeonghan's voice some more instead of actually going to sleep.

"They would either be extremely happy, or we'd both be receiving a lot of because we stole someone's 'oppa.' Maybe even a little of both." Jeonghan responded, knowing it would never happen but choosing to play along with where the conversation was going.

"I think they'd be more happy about Seventeen's mom and dad becoming official." Seungcheol said with a grin, scooching a little closer to Jeonghan, making the gap between them even smaller.

"Oh god, we really are like a married couple now! We even have kids!" Jeonghan replied.

"I always did want a big family." Seungcheol said jokingly which earned him another playful shove.

They continued their meaningless conversations and they told funny stories that left them both giggling like children while subconsciously shifting closer to each other. And before they knew it, they were barely an inch away from each other, both of them so close that they were able to feel the other breathing. They took a moment to calm down and they were left staring at each other in the dark, the only light coming from Seungcheol's window as moonlight bled through the blinds and rested gently on Jeonghan's face.

"How can someone be so handsome?" Seungcheol wondered out loud as he looked at his boyfriend, and he didn't realize he had said it out loud until he registered that Jeonghan was left speechless with wide yes.

And when Jeonghan did try to speak, he could only let out incoherent sounds. Even though Seungcheol was embarrassed about his little slip, he felt a little happy at Jeonghan's reaction and thought it was adorable. The older chuckled and Jeonghan told him to shut up and to go to sleep, before kissing Seungcheol on the cheek and turning over to finally get some sleep, muttering something about having a stupid boyfriend that says unnecessary sweet crap when he least expects it. Seungcheol simply smiled and leaned over to kiss Jeonghan's head before listening to the other to catch some sleep himself.

 

 

Jeonghan woke up to an empty bed and about 30 texts from s and 2 missed calls from his manager. The singer felt a little disoriented and he had to take a moment to realize that he wasn't in his bunk bed at the dorms. It took another minute for him to realize that he was in fact at Seungcheol's house, in Seungcheol's bed, and that everything that had happened yesterday with his group leader was not a dream. 

They had kissed. They had talked and now they were dating.

Seungcheol was his boyfriend.

Jeonghan smiled to himself before leisurely getting out of bed, taking a glance at himself in the mirror in Seungcheol's room, loving how the older's shirt looked on him, before he made his way downstairs.

He walked to the kitchen and he was greeted by Seungcheol's back. The older was doing something that Jeonghan couldn't see, so the younger back-hugged the older and peeked over his boyfriend's shoulder. Seungcheol jumped a little and Jeonghan just chuckled.

"You scared me." Seungcheol said as he leaned into Jeonghan's embrace.

"What are you doing?" 

"Just preparing some eggs. My new PT said that they're a good source of protein and that I should have them for breakfast after my morning run. Do you want some?"

"I thought you couldn't make anything besides some instant ramen." Jeonghan teased.

"I can manage an egg. Just throw some oil in a pan and crack an egg. Simple."

"I guess I'll have one if you're the one that's making it." Jeonghan said with a tone of flirtation before he grabbed some juice from the fridge and set the table for the two of them to eat.

Seungcheol plated their breakfast not long after and the two sat down and ate together as they shared small talk. It felt so natural and domestic, it didn't even feel like this was a first for them even though it was. Usually, they could never manage more than some quick jam on toast since they almost always had a morning schedule that they were rushing to. But now they could tae their sweet time and both Seungcheol and Jeonghan enjoyed the small pleasure to the fullest.

"Where are your parents?" 

"Out." Seungcheol replied as he shoved another piece of his breakfast down.

"How descriptive."

"I don't know. Dad's probably at work and mom is most likely running some errands. I know Seunggil is still sleeping so we can't be too loud." Seungcheol explained.

"And what about you? What time did you wake up?" Jeonghan asked.

"Maybe around 6? 6:30 I think."

"AM?!" Jeonghan asked, not understanding how someone would even be awake at that time.

"I usually wake up a lot earlier to start my morning exercises but we did go to sleep pretty late last night." 

"That's so early though." Jeonghan complained.

"Yeah well, it's just something I have to endure until I'm ready to get back on stage." Seungcheol said seriously, his determination showing through his eyes.

"How long will that be?" Jeonghan asked quietly. The mood suddenly became heavier.

"With the new program I've been put on, I should be ready to go by this summer."

"That's not too far away. Is this new program hard?"

"It's nothing I can't handle." Seungcheol replied and Jeonghan didn't like that answer. It was an answer that sounded like Seungcheol was taking on yet another pain for the sake of other people.

"And if it does become too much, you'll tell someone right? You'll tell me?" Jeonghan asked, wanting nothing more than for Seungcheol to confide in him.

"It won't happen but yes, I promise to tell someone." Seungcheol agrees, knowing that that would please the angel in front of him.

"That's all I ask." Jeonghan said with a smile before grabbing his and Seungcheol's plates to clean up a bit. Jeonghan also tried to give a quick peck to Seungcheol's lips but the older boy jerked back, avoiding the other completely.

"What the hell, Cheol?" Jeonghan asked, a little irritated about being rejected like that.

"You haven't brushed your teeth and now you have eggy breath. You're not kissing me until you fix that." 

Jeonghan muttered something that sounded close to "party pooper" before he moved away from Seungcheol to clean their dishes. Seungcheol could sense the other sulking and so he moved behind Jeonghan his placed a quick kiss on his cheek, telling him that he would give him a real one later before he resumed putting stuff away in the fridge. Jeonghan wanted to continue his sulking to prove a point but he couldn't deny how the peck made him melt. That along with Seungcheol's little promise made a shy smile replaced form on Jeonghan's face and suddenly he was eager to freshen up and then get back to his boyfriend.

Seungcheol was the first to take a shower, the older had asked if Jeonghan wanted to join him since it wasn't uncommon for the members to shower together, but Jeonghan refused and gave a poor excuse of needing to make a quick call to Joshua and their manager. Thankfully, Seungcheol bought it and went on with his morning routine and Jeonghan waited patiently while he responded to the different texts that he'd ignored when he woke up. Most of them were the same, asking him where he was and what time he was coming back home. There was one from Jun that made him laugh because the Chinese boy had thought he had gotten kidnaped since he never replied to their text messages and Jeonghan assured him that he was safe and with Seungcheol. Not even 2 seconds had passed before his phone started buzzing. Jeonghan thought about answering but then Seungcheol walked into his room with just a towel around his waist and Jeonghan's brain stopped functioning completely.

This was why Jeonghan didn't want to shower with the other. He knew that Seungcheol had a nice body, much to his liking, and even though some of that muscle mass went away due to his injuries, Seungcheol still had a really nice figure. Jeonghan was internally screaming and Seungcheol seemed to notice the younger's reaction to his state of undress. Needless to say, that reaction from his boyfriend inflated his already bigger than normal ego. A greasy smile that formed on his face and Seungcheol couldn't help the next words that came out of his mouth.

"Like what you see?"

Jeonghan threw a random shirt at him and stalked off to the bathroom, his face red as he ignored the sound of Seungcheol's laughter. 

When Jeonghan finished showering, he went into Seungcheol's room to find the other gone. He grabbed a pair of sweats from Seungcheol's closet, already having permission to wear the other's clothes for the day, and then he looked himself over in the mirror. He didn't have as much muscle mass as Seungcheol, but his body was toned, and with the water droplets running down his torso, he knew he looked good. And that's when a wicked idea formed in his head.

Two can play that game.

So Jeonghan styled his blonde hair in a way that he knew made him look y, Minghao had told him that on multiple occasions, and then he sent an innocent text to Seungcheol asking him to come back to his room. 

Jeonghan didn't bother putting on a shirt and instead he stood in front of Seungcheol's standing mirror, with the sweats hanging off of his hips and showing his happy trail, as he did some morning "stretches" that may or may not have showed off his back muscles.

Seungcheol walked in at just the right moment and the older boy was left frozen as he stared at the younger with his jaw slacked and his eyes wide open.

Jeonghan saw this all from the mirror's reflection and he was more than satisfied. He turned around with a smirk and threw Seungcheol's words right back at him.

"Like what you see?"

Seungcheol just stuttered and then Jeonghan grabbed a t-shirt from Seungcheol's dresser and put it on before walking out of the room, more than happy that Seungcheol was so affected by him that he was still frozen in place.

Jeonghan waited for another hour before he decided that it was time for him to head back to Seoul. He bid farewell to the Choi's and Seungcheol walked him to the car. They hugged and Jeonghan leaned in for a peck but Seungcheol stopped him, glaring over Jeonghan's shoulder and the younger turned to where the leader was looking and saw that they had an audience. Mrs. Choi then grabbed her husband and her eldest son by their ears and dragged them back into the house to give the two idols their privacy. 

After that, Seungcheol placed a gentle kiss on Jeonghan's lips, wrapping his arms around the younger's waist and squeezing him closer as Jeonghan gripped the older's shoulders. The kiss was slow and their lips lingered before they finally pulled away and rested their foreheads together.

"Have a safe trip back." Seungcheol whispered.

"And you take care of yourself. We're all eager for you to come back strong and healthy." Jeonghan said, his motherly side coming out.

"Yes sir." Seungcheol joked, placing another peck onto Jeonghan's lips and both the boys giggled.

"I'll miss you." Jeonghan confessed.

"I'll be back soon. I promise." Seungcheol told him before he opened the car door for the younger.

Jeonghan got inside and fixed himself while Seungcheol closed the door for him. Seungcheol then walked back towards his house as Jeonghan backed out of the driveway. They waved goodbye to each other one final time and for the first time in what felt like forever, they left each other with a smile and the comfort of knowing that they were together. Both as band mates and now as something more.

 

---

A/N: What do you mean it's been almost 5 months since my last update?? Time sure flies by haha (please don't kill me)

Here, have some fluff as an apology for being the worst writer ever :D But on the bright side YA GIRL JUST GRADUATED!! Which means I have more time to work on my fics for a while! yayy!! But seriously, thank you so much to everyone that's still reading this and who haven't given up on me. I'm gonna be honest, I almost lost my motivation to continue this but I think it was just the stress of school overwhelming me. But I'm back now and I'll try to be more frequent with my updates! 

As always, thanks to everyone that's reading this! Please let me know what your thoughts are and I hope you all enjoyed! Bye for now!!