"You're late," Jisoo hums, raising a brow as he watches his boyfriend take his seat.

"You're early," Jeonghan replies, waving him off. "We agreed 11. It's only 10.50!"

"We agreed on 9!"

"There's no way you waited 2 hours for me."

"I've gone through 2 cups of coffee and three plates of cookies, Han."

Jeonghan gasps as he clutches his chest, the other hand moving to wipe away some non-existent tears on his cheek. "You really do love me."

Their little coffee dates became staple in the mini-routine they've set up after properly deciding to date (since the two of them were previously very anti-commitment), their class schedules never truly working out for them (which only fuelled their anti-commitment agendas). The two continuously refused to develop their relationship, the idea of which both of them weren't really keen on. Yet here they are, 18 months later, their life and little banters now inclusive of kisses and waking up in each others' arms.

"Overtime?" Jisoo asked, Jeonghan finally settling in his seat after excusing himself to go and order his drink. Their inability to balance school and work oftentimes became the cause of their fight, their conflicting schedules making it harder for the two to meet up. This semester, however, they finally got the hang of it after Jisoo had established himself as a freelancer and Jeonghan got introduced to modelling for art students (which had a more flexible time schedule than his previous 8-12 shift at a local convenience store) after Minki had told him their last one just quit. Now, even while working two jobs, Jeonghan could make sure he had time for his boyfriend, Jisoo doing the same (the amount of coloured pens in his pencil case weren't just for show). 

"A newcomer messed up and I had to clean up after him," Jeonghan whined, groaning as he remembered yesterday's hectic schedule. Working in the food service industry is hard enough as is, but having someone new come in and mess up every order you give to them, Jeonghan could truly feel how unfair the world is to some people. He wasn't getting paid enough for this.

"You know what could fix this?" Jisoo hummed, leaning back and crossing his legs, elbows resting on the arm rests. "You moving to a cheaper unit."

"I don't have the time to even find one," Jeonghan sighed, shaking his head.

"You could ask Minhyun, he should have some contacts. Would love to help but I am admittedly terrible at networking and have no idea how to rent a unit."

"You're not terrible at it," Jeonghan corrects, "you just can't be bothered."

"That's true. You could also ask Minki, he probably knows half of Seoul's population."

"We'll see."

--

The two of them often stayed by each others' sides, finding comfort in the other's presence. It was an odd feeling; they've never felt such a sense of comfort before. This may be due to the fact that both have lead very hectic lives, trying to get by day by day, living like a mayfly that only exists within the 24 hours a day brings.

Jeonghan had been so busy he couldn't bother developing any relationship (intimate or not) with more than two people (namely Minki and Wonwoo, but that's probably because they've known each other for the longest time and they've concretised their existence in his life) and him meeting Jisoo when he was at peak burnout was probably what saved him.

It is with his firm belief that as soon as someone's born, they're old enough to die. This mindset of his prevented himself from fully enjoying life and instead trying to make use of what time he has to at least be able to leave something, whether it be a memory or a legacy or even just a name on an 'employee of the month' placard, behind. But all of this only made him lose himself all the more.

He knew he needed a hand to hold, knew he probably needed a hug or two, maybe even a pat on the back, and while his two friends had been there beside him, sometimes it just takes someone new; and now, he doesn't have to hold his own hand behind his back whenever he feels lonely.

Jisoo had been so recluse, living in his own world for the longest time. He trusted himself and no one else--why, he couldn't really put a finger to it--but there was something about the world that made him believe that there's no one out there for him. Maybe this was borne out of his lack of experience and social interactions (he was busy with school and refused to lose his scholarship even though his parents had told him they've become more financially stable in the latter years of his education and that they could pay for it in full; but why should they if he could get 75% off?) He lived every day for his family, making sure he protected and loved with every inch of his being the people who've given him their all. He failed to realise, however, that he forgot to allot any love for himself.

It was Jeonghan, in his intoxicated, whiny and grumpy self after a small heart-to-heart that happened after Minki had left the man in his arms and whisked away another man in his, that pointed it out.

--

babez♡:

we're out of ice cream and bagels

A Baby:

can u liv w/o them until saturday or will u die

babez♡:

i have a deadline in 48 hours so if it's before thursday at least

i'll live

A Baby:

ohmYGOD Ur dramatic as But okay fine i get it

ill get some in a few

finishing things up at work

babez♡:

art or mcdonald's

A Baby:

STOP CALLING MY WORKPLACE MCDONALD'S

IT'S A THREE STAR RESTAURANT

just bc we cant afford it. . ..

babez♡:

i would call it by its name properly

if it weren't so heckin' pretentious

A Baby:

stop being so anti-capitalism u kno u cant liv w/o it

babez♡:

shut up this society and us deserves more!!!

anyway so bagels and ice cream

A Baby:

ugh thats what ur article is abt rn aint it

also yea yea how lows ur sugar lvl 1-5

babez♡:

maybe

and a solid 4

help

A Baby:

will be home in 40 pls dont die

we havnt settled on who gets the apt yet

and did u even finish makin ur will

i better get evrything

babez♡:

oh my god

see you in 40

A Baby:

:***

To say that they've 'settled in' after moving together is probably false, primarily because the two had been 'settled in' a year into their relationship. They were able to expand their social circles, grow to like themselves more, and learned to properly allocate the amount of love they have in their bodies to the right set of people. They've become more comfortable not only with each other but with themselves and the world they live in.

"I'm home!"

"Gimme," Jisoo groaned, sprawled out on the sofa, face buried in a pillow, and hand outstretched.

"Wow, I love you too." Jeonghan chuckled, shaking his head as he immediately moves to the kitchen, grabbing a spoon and placing the small tub of ice cream in the other's hand, giving him the spoon when he finally sits up, his forehead and cheeks having slight imprints from the texture of the pillow covers. "Thank god it was just a 4, they were out of Choco Hazelnut Brownie."

"Oh my god I really could've died tonight, huh," Jisoo mused, opening the tub and digging in.

"Strike 2 for this month, drama queen."

"Hey! You don't get to be the only drama queen in this relationship!"

"I do! That's the whole point!!"

Jisoo, unable to think of anything to retort back with, grumbles under his breath and shoves another spoonful of Dark Chocolate Truffle ice cream. The fact that his boyfriend polices him over his overdramatic tendencies (even though he got it from him) and that he's only given 3 opportunities to execute said tendencies a month says a lot about their relationship dynamic. The fact that Jisoo doesn't even get mad about this and accepts Jeonghan's stunts all the time without batting an eyelash shows just how far gone he is. Then again, Jeonghan handles everything so smoothly and knows him like the back of his hand so there's not much to complain about, really.

The two had been so preoccupied as of the late, what with having found an emotionally constipated friend suddenly in dire need and another finding it hard to find peace with the fact that they've finally entered an exclusive relationship, they've been giving (or rather, snarking) love advice left and right. The fact that they're the ones people are going to for advice on relationships wasn't something either had thought would happen; being in a relationship in general wasn't in their future plans. But plans change and people do, too. And this is one of the very many instances wherein everything happened for the best.

"Do I get my welcome home kiss now or are you really gonna finish the tub first?" Jeonghan huffed, raising a brow as he took a seat beside his boyfriend on the sofa once he sorted out all the groceries in the pantry and fridge (well, he was already in there, might as well do the shopping for the rest of the week, right?).

Jisoo chuckled, stabbing the spoon into the ice cream and moving to place it down on their coffee table before turning back, hands cupping Jeonghan's face, planting a soft kiss on his lips. And another. And another. And another, before he pushed him down, kissing away the day's worth of exhaustion that came in the form of grumpy customers and incompetent co-workers.

He looked down at him, smiling, the other his lips before mirroring his expression and bursting out into a small fit of giggles. It wasn't until the two of them sat back up that Jeonghan commented, "I wish it was a level 3 instead, I'm craving."

"Just deal with level 4, you'll live," Jisoo chuckles before pressing another kiss on his lips.

They're in their third year of dating, they just moved in together, and the two had finally found a home in themselves and each other. Now the next obstacle to tackle: the domestic rut they're probably going to encounter in the next few months. Being cute and loving is nice and all, but seeing as how one of Jeonghan's closest friends goes by the name of Choi Minki, he probably couldn't handle that very well.

But then again, that's Jisoo's problem. For now, they're content with ice cream kisses and emergency midnight bagels.

 

 

 

 

 

-------

A/N:

for reference:
lvl 1 - pistachio
lvl 2 - avocado
lvl 3 - coffee crumble
lvl 4 - dark choco truffle
lvl 5 - choco hazelnut brownie