Jongin doesn't know what he expects to find when his feet finally hit the cold pavement, but he braces himself for the worst. As much bracing as one can do in such little time, at least. 

He takes off down the street, absentmindedly noticing that his feet are numb and maybe his toe is bleeding. But it doesn't matter, he reminds himself, as the sound of Kyungsoo's whimper rings in his ears over and over again. 

"Kyungsoo?" Jongin yells out into the dark air. He feels too loud, like a disturbance, but he also fears that he's not loud enough -- that Kyungsoo won't hear him.

He can feel himself panicking, can feel his heart speed up to an almost dangerous level, and he's a little lightheaded. Jongin can't tell if he's like this because of the sudden cold, the blood he can definitely feel running down his foot, or because of the thought of Kyungsoo in pain. Maybe it's a combination.

"Kyungsoo!" Jongin yells again.

He registers the bookstore to his right and turns to investigate near it more. If Kyungsoo was on this street, this is where he'd be, he reasons. The once flourescent flowers and winding green vines are now brown with cold, leaving an eerie, empty feeling in Jongin's stomach. The store and the street and the ocean doesn't look inviting anymore; they just make a sweat break out across his forehead. 

He doesn't see Kyungsoo's blue bike, can't see any sign of the boy being around, but something is tugging at his brain to keep looking, past the store and into a dimly lit alley. This has to be where he is. 

"Kyungsoo," Jongin says, barely above a whisper. It's like he's scared to hear an answer, fearful of what he could find in this cramped space. "It's me." 

He doesn't know whether to smile or cry when he hears the noise again, this time close. It's Kyungsoo. 

Jongin stumbles farther into the alley, eyes searching frantically for any semblance of Kyungsoo. His eyes scan the area warily, stopping only when he makes direct eye contact with someone. It sends bile up his throat, fear making his numb hands tingle. He wants to run, but then he recognizes the deep brown eyes. They're round and soft and full of tears. 

He lets out a breath, hands shaking suddenly in relief, and hurries to kneel next to him. Kyungsoo is huddled against the wall of the alley, cold brick cushioning his cheek and head. Something snaps in Jongin when he sees blood on his cheekbone, and suddenly anger is burning in his chest, all fear gone and replaced with fury. He's never been much of a fighter, but now he wants to go find whoever did this and make them bleed tenfold.

Before he can act on it, though, Kyungsoo has a small hand wrapped around his wrist. Jongin stills, fearful of what this could mean. Kyungsoo had never reached out to touch him before, had never been this cold against his skin. 

"Jongin," he breathes out, voice relieved and scratchy. Probably from crying, Jongin realizes, as he wraps an unsure hand around Kyungsoo's shoulder in order to pull him closer.

Jongin is acutely aware of the last time they were this close, how soft Kyungsoo's lips and hands had been against his own. It sends another burst of anger through his system looking at the quiver in his lips and the shaking of his hands. So much had changed; it made Jongin feel dizzy and useless.

"Here," Jongin reassures, explaining every movement as he does it to make Kyungsoo feel comfortable. He needs help. Jongin can't take advantage of that, can't make it any worse. "Come here." 

He finally pulls Kyungsoo all the way up, until they're standing side by side in the dark alley. He can feel Kyungsoo putting all of his weight onto his right foot, left obviously injured, and he curses under his breath a little. He can't fathom why anyone would hurt Kyungsoo, how someone could leave him crying in an alley. 

"Does your foot hurt a lot?" Jongin whispers. He feels Kyungsoo's nod more than he sees it, and he wraps a tentative arm around Kyungsoo's waist in order to lead him out. Kyungsoo doesn't object, only leans into him more, and so Jongin starts walking towards the streetlights. 

"Don't put any weight on it. Just hop," Jongin advises, grasp tightening around the other. "I'm here." 

Kyungsoo nods again, this time accompanied by a light sniffle. Whether it's a side effect of the cold or crying, Jongin will never know. They slowly make their way out of the alley, Jongin's grip tight but hopefully not overbearing. Kyungsoo is struggling too much, but he's got his mouth sealed shut to keep from making any sounds that would give away his pain.  

"What happened?" Jongin asks softly, hand squeezing Kyungsoo's waist involuntarily. He hadn't meant to -- it'd just seemed natural, as a way to comfort someone. He chides himself for the impulsivity and tries to ignore that he'd done it at all. Kyungsoo doesn't mention it, just hobbles alongside him, face red with cold. 

"I don't really know. I came out of the bookstore, and someone was trying to take my bike, so I told them to stop, and then they punched me --" Kyungsoo stops, noticing the tightening grip around his waist. He blanches for a second at the feeling of Jongin being all over him, but then he relaxes, realizing the stern look on Jongin's face is one of worry and fear. 

"Did you see their face?" Jongin's voice is filled with anger, a sort of protectiveness.

He doesn't mean to sound like that, and he coughs suddenly, willing it to seem like nothing was off. The worst thing he could do right now was make Kyungsoo uncomfortable with him. After the last time they'd met, Jongin is surprised he'd even been relieved to see him, and he can't afford to make their relationship any worse.

"I didn't. He hit me here," Kyungsoo points to the cut on his cheek. "And then pushed me. I think I sprained my ankle when I tried to get up again, because he punched me at the same time. I kind of out for awhile." 

Jongin nods gravely, anger bubbling to the surface again. He tries to refocus all of his anger into being extra careful with Kyungsoo, practically carrying him the last couple feet. They're nearing the bakery, and Jongin notices that the lights aren't on. Junmyeon and Sehun must've slept through it, he realizes. 

Even though the sight of the rolling ocean leaves him a little nauseous right now, he faces the water directly, taking a deep breath of the wind that blows up the street from it. He needs to somehow make his numb hands work well enough to climb back up the balcony. He needs to not fall and break a bone in front of Kyungsoo while on a mission to help him, most importantly.

"Wait here," Jongin tells him, leaving the shorter boy leaning against the door. "I'll be right back." 

Kyungsoo makes a humming noise, obviously complying with whatever it takes to get home. Jongin feels so distraught looking at the cut on the boy's face that he has to look away, fear creeping up his sides and into his throat. He can't breathe. He's only ever made it back up to the balcony one other time, but it was a good twenty degrees warmer that time, and he hadn't dragged Kyungsoo the entire way back home. 

He shakes his head and starts up the side of the house, biceps pulling in a painful way and numb hands searching for a grasp. This feels like an obstacle course. His foot slips and he looks down, confirming the suspicion that his foot is bleeding, and he hears Kyungsoo take a worried gasp. Jongin grunts back in a way that he hopes conveys "I'm fine!" but he fears it might sound more like he's in pain.

Jongin finally gets a hand on the rails, pulling himself all the way up. He slumps over the rail and falls, hard, onto the floor of his room. He allows himself a few seconds to breathe before he hurries out of the room and into the bathroom in the hallway, grabbing everything that looks medical. Mongmong's barks register somewhere in the back of his mind and he mumbles a hello, rushed and weak. 

Then he grabs his broom and leaps back out into the cold air. He's floating for a second, but soon he's sliding into place on the broom, bag stuffed with bandaids and gauze. 

He stops in front of Kyungsoo and reaches out a hand, studying the way Kyungsoo's eyes shift over every part of him warily. Kyungsoo seems to be scared of getting on the broom, much less with Jongin.

"I'll take you back home," Jongin explains, voice soft. He lifts a leg over the side of the broom, so that he's on the ground next to Kyungsoo. Guiding the boy's hand to land on top of Jongin's, gripping the broom, he nods a little. "It's okay. I've delivered there, like, a hundred times." 

Brown eyes widen even more as Jongin lifts the broom up and climbs on again, hovering above the ground a little. He smiles faintly, trying to work his charm, even though he knows that Kyungsoo doesn't like him enough for it to work. 

"I'm talented, you won't fall!" Jongin promises, and Kyungsoo actually smiles a little. Kyungsoo's hand still hasn't wavered, covering Jongin's on the broom, and he nods a little. 

"Okay," Kyungsoo responds, and he limps to the back of the broom. Jongin doesn't want to have to say this and make Kyungsoo think he's trying to pull something with him, but he needs him to stay safe. Jongin couldn't imagine what he would feel like if he was the reason Kyungsoo was hurt.

Jongin spins around and shakes his head reluctantly. "It's easy to fall off on your first ride. Sit in front of me, okay?" 

Kyungsoo flushes and nods, obviously uncomfortable with this preposition. Jongin ignores the pain in his heart at Kyungsoo's reluctance to be near him, and instead he focuses on helping the boy onto the broom. Kyungsoo isn't used to it, definitely isn't used to being held by Jongin, and it's evident. 

"Sorry," Jongin whispers, winding his arms around the shorter boy in order to have a firm grip of the handle. Kyungsoo says nothing, but Jongin can feel him stiffen against his chest, fear obvious. They start to lift off of the ground and Kyungsoo shakes his head, hands immediately grabbing onto Jongin's arms. 

It's intimate, a little too intimate for Jongin's tastes, but he tries his best to ignore the way Kyungsoo's hands feel wrapped around his arms, the soft tug of Kyungsoo's breathing that connects into his own chest. It feels like they're one, like Kyungsoo has melded into him, and he regrets letting his mind wander to any sort of romantic territory.

Kyungsoo is hurt and scared, and Jongin feels like an awful, awful person. 

And then they're flying. It's slower than Jongin usually flies, only because he knows Kyungsoo is scared, constantly shifting against Jongin's chest. Jongin almost wraps his ams tighter, but he stops when he realizes that he can't take advantage of this situation like that. Kyungsoo doesn't like him, will never like him, he reminds himself. 

The wind blows against them, tousling Kyungsoo's hair back into Jongin's face. He smiles against the wind and pushes the broom closer towards the ground, so that he can start monitoring what street they're approaching. Kyungsoo yelps at the sudden incline, turning his head away from the oncoming ground, and nuzzling his face into Jongin's neck. 

Jongin expects Kyungsoo to pull away once they've leveled out again, but instead, he stays like that, breathing softly onto Jongin's neck. Jongin gulps hard and hopes the shorter boy can't hear it, can't feel it. 

And then Jongin is landing as softly as possible, lifting Kyungsoo with him off of the broom. He doesn't ask for permission before he wraps an arm around Kyungsoo's waist, lifting him bridal style. It's immensely embarrassing, but Jongin would prefer to make it up the stairs in less than three hours. This seems like the best way, logically.

"Here we go," Jongin whispers more to himself than Kyungsoo, starting the climb up the stairs. Suddenly, it feels as if Kyungsoo lives on the top of Mount Everest. Jongin knows he's breathing hard, knows that his muscles are worn out and his feet hurt, so he desperately prays that somehow he'll make it all the way up the stairs in order to drop Kyungsoo off safely. 

Kyungsoo stays silent the entire climb, but Jongin can feel him burning holes into the side of his face. He knows the older boy is looking at him, probably regretting ever letting Jongin near him in that alley, and so he makes it his goal to ignore it. 

"Here," Jongin finally wheezes out, letting Kyungsoo's feet make their way softly to the floor. He watches Kyungsoo collect himself, leaning on the apartment door, cheeks and ears red, tears dried by the cold. 

"Thank you," Kyungsoo says earnestly in his usual deep voice, the one that sends chills down Jongin's spine. "Really." 

Jongin has no way to respond besides smiling back, rubbing the back of his neck, and looking down at the ground in embarrassment. He wants to go inside the apartment, to apply all the ointment and bandaids and make sure Kyungsoo is okay. But he knows that's overstepping his boundaries. 

"Oh! Here," Jongin remembers the bag of medicine suddenly, and he races down the stairs and back up in a few seconds. Jongin's heart is racing from the physical exertion and the smile on Kyungsoo's face. It's shining, lighting up the dark hallway they're standing in, leaving him speechless. 

Instead of speaking, he smiles back softly and s the bag of medicine into Kyungsoo's hand. 

"Bandages, gauze, medicine, ointment --" Kyungsoo turns a bright red as he ruffles through it, an embarrassed smile eclipsing the previous one. Jongin loves seeing all the different smiles he can make, all the ways his eyes crinkle in the corners. "This is so much."

"Well, I didn't know if you'd have stuff like that at your apartment, so --" Jongin shrugs, suddenly feeling extremely inferior and dumb. He shouldn't have done that, should've just brought him home and called it a night. He's trying too hard, and now Kyungsoo knows that he still likes him. He should've played it cool. 

"How can I repay you?" Kyungsoo asks, eyes serious.

Jongin thinks to dismiss him, but then he realizes that this might be the last chance he has to ever see Kyungsoo. He swallows the fear rising up, and smiles confidently, focusing in on the curve of Kyungsoo's lips and the soft twinkle in his eyes.

"You could help out with the bakery on Sunday? Sehun and Junmyeon are pretty busy lately; they'd love a day off." 

"Okay," Kyungsoo responds quietly, almost immediately. Then, before anything else can be said, Jongin knocks on the apartment door. He's so embarrassed and overjoyed at Kyungsoo's answer; he doesn't want to stay, doesn't want Kyungsoo to have the chance to take it back. 

He waves slightly, hands cold and shaking out of excitement.

Jongin makes it down to the street at the same time that he hears the door opening, a deep voice asking Kyungsoo what happened. Then he hears Baekhyun's voice cut through, screaming at the cuts on Kyungsoo's face. Kyungsoo's low voice rumbles through, affirming them that he's fine, and Jongin can hear his name slip into the conversation as he flies away, cheeks burning. 

Kyungsoo is safe. Kyungsoo will see him at least one more time. He can explain himself, get a proper goodbye, smile at him one last time. It's enough, Jongin thinks, glancing at the tumbling waves of the ocean as he flies home.

--

Three days later, Jongin's foot has healed. He'd made it the entire way home and into bed before he realized he'd been barefoot the entire time, and that his foot was most definitely covered in blood. It was a shocking find, but he'd cleaned it up and figured out he'd just cut it on the grate outside; it wasn't a big deal, really. 

His heart felt a little more healed, too. Maybe it was because he knew he'd get some time with Kyungsoo, and maybe a chance to really say goodbye, unlike the awkward avoidance that had happened before. He thinks maybe having a conclusion is better than living on with hope for the rest of his life. No matter how badly rejection hurts, Jongin would rather have it happen than wonder. 

Which is why he's fretting over his appearance in the mirror, trying to make himself look as good as possible. It felt like a date. 

He finally gives up after Sehun knocks on the door for the fifteenth time, whining about needing the bathroom. 

"Jongin, if you want me and Junmyeon to have a day off and go out for a movie, we need to be able to get ready." 

Jongin sheepishly smiles and nods because, oops, he's right. He'd been so caught up in thinking about Kyungsoo that he'd forgotten the other guys needed to leave, too.

It was a Sunday after all, and Jongin and Kyungsoo were going to do all the cleaning and basic baking, making the older boys useless. Jongin hadn't specifically told Kyungsoo that they were closed on Sundays, but he assumed the shorter boy knew, and so he didn't feel bad about purposely getting them alone time to talk. 

"Sorry, Sehun," Jongin apologizes. Instead of keeping up the angry act, Sehun just smiles and ruffles Jongin's (previously perfect) hair lightly, pushing past him to get into the bathroom. 

It's later, around eight a.m., after the owners have left for their day off, that Jongin hears a soft knock on the bakery door. Jongin straightens up from where he was grabbing pans and rushes to the front door, pushing it open for Kyungsoo. 

The shorter boy looks better. The cut on his cheek is healed, mostly, and he has a healthy, pink glow to him that was missing the other night. Kyungsoo is wearing a brown sweater, one that makes his eyes look darker and skin golden. His glasses have slipped down his nose due to the wind, and Kyungsoo moves to push them back up, sweater covering most of his hands. It makes Jongin take a deep breath to calm down. 

It's hard to, though, when Kyungsoo is so beautiful.

"I'm here to help," he offers, deep voice showing an ounce of nervousness. Jongin shuts the door behind him, effectively shutting out the cold, and watches as a tall boy zips down the street on a black bike. 

"Chanyeol drop you off?" Jongin asks, but it's more like confirming. Kyungsoo nods back, studying the bakery's interior. It hits Jongin that he's only actually been inside once. 

Jongin looks around at the now-familiar brown walls, the white accents, the pastel paintings on the walls. It feels like home to him, but to Kyungsoo it must be foreign.

Kyungsoo's eyes light up at a certain painting, one of a muted sky, birds and clouds fighting for space on the cramped canvas. The sky is an orange color, but it fades into a shining, vibrant yellow at the bottom. Jongin thinks he can see sunflowers in one corner of the painting, a rose in another. There is something distinctive about it, familiar in a way Jongin can't describe.

Before Jongin can ask, Kyungsoo speaks up suddenly. 

"That's why we came here that day, you know," Kyungsoo says. Jongin thinks vaguely back to it, the day the trio had walked in, the day he'd immediately been attracted to Kyungsoo. The day he got caught staring at him openly across the crowded cafe. 

"The painting?" Jongin asks to clarify, tearing his mind away from how he'd felt that first day. Kyungsoo nods back, hands searching for something to play with, and finally settling on his own thumb.

"Baekhyun painted it." 

It all seems to click in Jongin's mind. The way they'd walked in, happy and bright and confident, and how they'd chosen to sit in the corner next to it. Suddenly, Jongin recognizes the brush , can see Baekhyun's smiling face behind each specific color chosen. It makes sense. 

"Junmyeon bought it from him. It was his first piece that he sold, so we all came to look at it," Kyungsoo is rambling, hands fiddling in a way that makes Jongin's stomach churn. He's so, so cute, is all Jongin can think. 

Kyungsoo's talkative mood seems to evaporate and he looks at the ceiling suddenly, cheeks pink again. Jongin doesn't know why he's blushing, but he doesn't want to make anything awkward, and so he ushers him towards the kitchen. 

"We're going to make the basic stuff that Sehun and Junmyeon trust me with," Jongin explains, finally getting the last few pans out. Kyungsoo watches and nods along, moving to wash his hands. Jongin follows suit and tries his best to ignore the way their elbows and shoulders are rubbing together. 

It's odd, but he feels so comfortable with Kyungsoo right now. The awkwardness has evaporated, and all he can focus on is how the shorter boy breathes softly and ties an apron. His fingers are paler and shorter than Jongin's, but he thinks they're infinitely prettier, in a way that makes his cheeks flush and world spin. 

"A cake?" 

Jongin looks up, nodding, and points to the recipe book on the counter. Kyungsoo moves to sift through it, squinting hard at the instructions despite his glasses. 

"Sehun said it was easy. He said we should be able to handle it," Jongin explains, arranging bowls on the counter. Kyungsoo steps next to him, suddenly so close that Jongin in a deep breath. Kyungsoo's eyes widen and he steps back, back hitting the fridge. Jongin laughs a little at that, despite the overwhelming urge to hold Kyungsoo close.

He'd learned what happened if he did that last time; he wouldn't make the same mistake again. 

Kyungsoo smiles at the floor, embarrassed, and moves back to the counter to start cooking. Jongin's heart feels warm and calm. 

At some point, they discover that Jongin is much better at stirring and Kyungsoo is much better at the actual baking aspect.

They fall into a rhythm: Kyungsoo gathers ingredients, Jongin stirs, Kyungsoo pours into a pan, and Jongin sets the timer. They let that cake cook for fifteen minutes, talking absentmindedly, before they start the next one. Since the cakes are small, Junmyeon had asked them to bake five -- a daunting task, but Jongin likes the prospect of hours with Kyungsoo. 

It's around the third cake, when Kyungsoo has just put it in the oven, and Jongin has finished setting a timer, that things take a turn. Jongin isn't sure how it happened, but somehow he'd found the courage to bring up the beach incident. 

"I'm sorry about that day," Jongin mentions it casually, but he hopes his tone rings sincere. Kyungsoo looks up, confused, and stares at him for a few more seconds. "You know, the beach." 

Kyungsoo turns bright red and looks away immediately. So he hadn't forgotten, he'd just preferred to stay silent about it. Jongin had expected this, but he needs to say his apologies and get the bad air cleared out from between the two of them. He can't live his life thinking that Kyungsoo hates him because they kissed once, he's positive of that. 

"I didn't mean to force you or anything. I just. . ." Jongin has no idea how to phrase this without sounding crude. "I wanted to kiss you. A lot." 

Kyungsoo's eyes darken a little, but his face never changes. 

"I was going to say sorry that day, but you kept avoiding me. Anyway, I'm sorry I did that." 

It goes quiet for a couple minutes. All Jongin can hear is the wind howling outside the store, Kyungsoo's uneven breathing, and the tick of the timer. Just when his hands start to get less sweaty after his apology, Kyungsoo speaks. 

"You know, I kissed you back." 

Jongin does know, but he wasn't really going to bring that up. Actually, scratch that, he definitely knows. He'd thought about how Kyungsoo's mouth felt sliding against his, how Kyungsoo's hands felt wrapped in his shirt, frequently. He'd dreamt of that moment an almost embarrassing amount of times in the last few weeks. 

"Y-yeah. But you left after, so --" 

"I've been getting yelled at a lot by Baekhyun and Chanyeol," Kyungsoo starts again, seemingly off topic. Jongin closes his mouth, waiting for more of an explanation. "They told me that I should stop being a scaredy-cat." 

Jongin bristles, thinking back to the night Kyungsoo had cried after being attacked. How the was that being a scaredy-cat? As if Chanyeol wouldn't have cried. Jongin feels anger growing slowly, and he rolls his eyes. 

"If anyone got attacked and punched, they'd cry! That's --" 

"Not about that." 

Jongin looks up then, really staring into Kyungsoo's eyes for the first time that morning. He can smell the cake baking, the rich scent taking over the bakery, and Kyungsoo looks as sweet as the building smells. Jongin wonders for a second how Kyungsoo gets himself to look so good, as if he's not trying. And then he's pulled back into the present by a hand on his. 

His eyes dart down, hardly believing what they're seeing. Kyungsoo's thin fingers are wrapped around his, almost intertwined. Kyungsoo is blushing so brightly that Jongin fears for a second that he's caught a cold, but then Kyungsoo's lips form a small heart, a token of affection that Jongin has rarely been shown. 

"They called me a scaredy-cat because I didn't know how to deal with my feelings or anything," Kyungsoo looks away, but his grasp on Jongin is firm. "About you." 

Jongin almost screams because about him? It all seems too good to be true; Kyungsoo must be tricking him. It's not funny, he laments to himself. 

"What are you talking about?" Jongin asks, rather angrily. He can't stand this. "You shouldn't do this. You knew from the start I liked you. From the first day you all caught me staring at you! Don't do this, please. It's not funny." 

Kyungsoo looks genuinely surprised and hurt. It makes Jongin pause for a second, considering all the reasons Kyungsoo would have such a distressed look if he was just joking. 

"I like you." 

There's nothing special, just a squeeze to his hand. Jongin looks up skeptically, but instead of meeting Kyungsoo's eyes, he's only greeted with Kyungsoo's tilted head moving toward him. And then Kyungsoo's lips are against his, moving in sloppy synch, allowing Jongin to breathe just enough to keep his thoughts together. 

It occurs to him, as he lets Kyungsoo move closer to him, so close that their chests are pressed together, that what's happening right now is real. 

"I like you so much," Jongin confesses between breathes of air, hands moving to cup Kyungsoo's cheeks. He's careful to avoid the still-healing cut, maneuvering until Kyungsoo is backed up to the opposite side of the kitchen. 

"I got," Jongin swoops back in, pressing soft kisses across Kyungsoo's lips, savoring the way the older boy's mouth falls open. "so excited every time I delivered for you guys." 

Kyungsoo blushes deep, smiling so hard that his cheeks are prominent, heart lips long forgotten in between Jongin's. Jongin presses him into the counter more, their bodies so close that he can feel Kyungsoo's heartbeat.

"You were the highlight of working," Jongin confesses, trailing lips down his neck.  

At this, Kyungsoo pushes back on Jongin, winding hands through his black hair. "I knew you were at the bookshop." Jongin actually stops kissing him, looking up with pitiful eyes. Kyungsoo's are shining, a permanent grin plastered on red lips.

"You knew I was watching you the whole time?" a nod. "That's so embarrassing!" 

Jongin wants to scream, but Kyungsoo's so happy that he can't help but kiss his jaw again, out of fondness.

"You weren't very secretive. Plus, I liked it. I liked you. I just didn't know how to deal with it, and I was a giant ," Kyungsoo places a soft hand on Jongin's chest, steadying himself.

"I was just really scared that, you know, you'd leave in a year. That's what witches do, right? A year." 

Jongin shakes his head, no, feverishly. Jongin can't think of a reason why he'd leave this city any time soon, especially when he thinks of Kyungsoo holding onto him desperately like that. 

 "We do a year to see what we want to do, but I still don't know. I like delivering, but I want to go to school. I want to keep exploring," Jongin reassures. "I'll stay here longer; I have good reasons for being here." 

Kyungsoo looks up hopefully, his large eyes conveying something secret that Jongin understands. 

"You're the main reason." 

Kyungsoo's cheeks tint again, flushed and sweaty and slightly sultry. Jongin wastes no time before he wraps his arms around Kyungsoo, the way he'd done on the broom, the way he'd dreamt of holding Kyungsoo, and their lips are connected again. 

He swears he could stay like this for an eternity, hearing the waves rush in the back of his head, watching the most beautiful boy in the world come undone before him, pressing against him desperately, softly. He thinks of all the days before him, the days where he can walk with Kyungsoo hand in hand before the ocean, down the crowded streets, through the bookstore. He thinks it sounds nice -- going to school, helping Junmyeon and Sehun, falling in love with the beautiful boy who makes his stomach flip. 

He's lost in thought, lost in the feeling of Kyungsoo's lips against his, warm and plush and inviting, when the timer goes off, shocking the both of them. Kyungsoo pulls away, looking towards the oven, but Jongin lazily kisses up Kyungsoo's neck in a way that makes him turn his head again, allowing Jongin to pepper kisses wherever he wants. After what seems like an eternity of beeping, Kyungsoo finally pushes away, annoyed. 

"I'm not letting this cake burn." 

Jongin watches him take it out with red cheeks, lips swollen, and realizes that this is a phenomenal way to live for a few years. Maybe always. 

--

hOOOO boy IM DONE!! it's done!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i left it a little open bc. they're young and its puppy love but . i like to think they remain in love ok? hahaha

thank you so much if you read this, upvoted, commented, subscribed, etc !! it really means so much to me! wow!! i love you guys!!!!!! 

 thnk you. i love you guys goodnight! THANKS ONCE AGAIN <333

((also! i'm still debating, but if you'd take this poll, it'd help me w the next fanfic idea (if there is one lmao)))