“Do we need this for the soup?”

“Um, I don’t think so. Just go back to the cart, Jonghyun, I’ll take it from here.” the artist takes the can from his boyfriend’s hands and shooes him away, rolling his eyes as he hears the lawyer make a noise of indignation from the back of his throat.

They had both agreed to make some chicken soup for the chilly weather, since during the past whole week it had been almost impossible to go out due to the snowy blizzards. Plus Jonghyun has taken a huge liking towards Kibum’s cooking. It has also been a week since the artist and the lawyer had started dating.

The whole thing is still hard to grasp sometimes, since the two are complete opposites of each other. It’s like getting a cat and dog to establish a friendship. Even Jonghyun’s coworkers at the company still can’t get over the fact that he’s with the artist.

Taemin, Minjung, and Jinki are the only ones that actually adore the couple to pieces. Taemin had bombarded the two with dozens of questions when they had walked into the bakery hand in hand, making the baker squeal in delight with the customers turning to look at the cause of all the commotion.

Kibum felt a bit awkward at the situation, but Jonghyun turned out to be calmer and easier going in comparison. He had changed a lot during the past week, but sometimes he still has trouble getting along with others.

Especially Minho.

The two still aren’t on proper speaking terms after the whole incident with the athlete punching Jonghyun’s jaw, and there was nothing anyone can do about it but wait for their silent tension to pass.

Kibum tries to avoid having the two meet whenever he’s with the lawyer.

“Chopped mushrooms, seasoned potatoes, green beans……” Jonghyun watches as the younger boy crosses out the ingredients on his list, pouting a lip in deep thought.

The lawyer finds the habit completely adorable, and he often can’t help but lean in to kiss those cute pair of bow shaped lips during more than one occasion. He likes to make the artist get all flustered whenever he has the chance, but really it’s just a sort of revenge for having him make Jonghyun’s heart double over at the smallest things.

And making him into a softie. But he’s not complaining because he gained a pretty looking boyfriend in return.

“Jonghyun? Is that you, my dear?”

The lawyer turns to find an old woman standing a few feet away from him, holding a big package of flour in her hands. Jonghyun’s eyes widen.

“Anna!”

“Long time no see.” Anna chuckles, nodding thanks as the lawyer takes the heavy bag from her.

“How have you been doing lately?”

“Well enough. Although I think the cold has been seeping a bit too far in my bones. You look different dear, anything special happened?”

Jonghyun hefts the bag of flour in his hands a bit failing to keep a smile from bursting onto his face. “Nothing much, really.”

Anna raises an eyebrow at him, looking back at the cart full of ingredients and then back at Jonghyun again. “Which reminds me, are you here alone? It seems like you’re buying an awful lot just for yourself.”

Jonghyun realizes there’s no way of getting out of this. “I came with Kibum.”

Something sparks up in Anna’s eyes. “Ah, of course. I take it you’re taking good care of my grandson?”

For some reason, the lawyer knows what she means by that. “Of course.”

“That’s good.”

“Would you like me to call him for you? He’s just around the corner over there.”

Anna shakes her head. “No, no, I’ll wait here with you until he comes back. I’d like to keep my presence a surprise.”

Jonghyun nods, placing the bag of flour in the shopping cart. “We’ll pay for these together then. Did you come here alone, Anna?”

“I rode the bus to visit an old friend of mine here. She promised to teach me how to make her homemade apple pie which is beyond delicious.” she gestures over to the bag of flour for explanation.

“Ah.”

“So when did you and Kibummie and up together, hm?”

Jonghyun almost chokes on air at her question.

Anna laughs a bit at his embarrassment, but still awaiting the lawyer’s response.

“Well, um, it’s complicated.” Jonghyun stutters, scratching at the back of his neck. “But let’s just say it was an unplanned event.”

“You must like him a lot then.” Anna says softly.

“Yes.”

“My grandson sure is growing up so quickly.” Anna shakes her head. “It’s been such a long time since he’s introduced one of his boyfriends to me. Though I admit, you’re the most good looking one so far.”

Jonghyun laughs, shaking his hands in front of him in rejection. “For someone as pretty as him, I bet I’ve got some pretty tough competition out there.”

“I trust you with him.” Anna nods, turning serious for a moment.

“I’ll treat him well, I promise.” the lawyer reassures.

“Grandma!”

Anna chuckles merrily as Kibum races toward her, dropping more ingredients in the cart before pulling her in for a hug. He holds her tightly as she pats his back gently.

“Hello there, my grandson. Having fun without me?”

Kibum pulls away, shaking his head violently. “I miss you so much!”

“You’re always saying that, my dear. Which reminds me, I don’t remember you telling me about your fine new boyfriend here, hm?”

The artist casts a glance towards Jonghyun, who only smiles at him in return.

“Did he tell you something about us?” Kibum asks.

“Nope. Grandmother’s instinct, I suppose.”

“Are you here for a visit?”

“Well I intended on stopping by later on in the afternoon.” Anna winks at Jonghyun mischievously once Kibum isn’t looking. “But I think it’s best if I leave you be for today.”

When the couple arrives at Jonghyun’s house, Jinki is seated on the couch with a novel in hand.

He smiles widely in welcome, while the lawyer resists the urge to groan and settles for daring Jinki with his eyes to say something.

The novelist still hasn’t stopped teasing his best friend about being a love sick puppy during the past week, and he never failed to make Jonghyun irritated and end up actually fantasizing over the younger boy.

“Hi, Kibum.” Jinki says a bit too chirpily, ignoring the lawyer’s glares.

“Hi, hyung.” Kibum responds, oblivious of Jonghyun next to him giving death glares to the novelist.

“Well then,” Jinki says, closing his novel and standing up to stretch from sitting down for so long. “I think I’m going to head out for a second.”

“That’s a great idea.” Jonghyun says drily, placing the groceries on the kitchen counter.

“Excuse me, dino boy? Did we not discuss the importance of my presence in this household before?”

“Out.”

“Okay, okay. I know you’re eager to get in Kibum’s pa-“

“I said out!”

“I’m going, sheesh.” Jinki mutters, pulling his jacket on and waving at Kibum just before he slips out the door. “Bye, Kibum! Call me if Jonghyun turns into a ert or something, I’ll rush over to save you from his evil clutches!”

“He’s a nightmare.” Jonghyun moans, not even bothering to run after the novelist and drop kicking his .

“Jinki hyung is nice.” Kibum says, taking everything out of the bags. “I like him.”

“You’re not the only one.” the older boy mutters.

“Minho?”

“Yup.”

“How long are you two going to ignore each other?” Kibum asks, fumbling for the recipe in the pocket of his jeans and reading through it carefully.

“We’ve always been ignoring each other, so what’s the problem now?”

The artist shrugs, bending down to get the pots from the lower cupboard.

Jonghyun turns away to avoid from getting dirty thoughts, cursing himself as he can’t help but think back to Jinki joking about him jumping his own boyfriend at his own home.

It’s not like he hasn’t shared a few heated moments with the artist before, but they’ve never went further than making out on Kibum’s bed. Although that had gotten pretty close to turning into something more passionate, if Minho hadn’t decided to arrive home just as Jonghyun was about to reach for the hem of Kbum’s shirt.

They had quickly sprung apart and rearranged themselves, just in time as Minho barged into Kibum’s room with a suspicious expression on his face, grunting as he slams the door closed a few moments later.

Ever since then, the artist made sure not to lead Jonghyun into his room again.

And the lawyer admits he’s kind of disappointed at that, but never will admit it out loud.

”I know, but I feel like you two need to establish some sort of friendship-ish or something because you guys are so important to me and I feel kind of awkward being the person in the middle.” Kibum responds, straightening as he gets a medium sized pan and places it on top of the stove.

Jonghyun feels guilty of thinking about such things then, so he quickly pushes away those thoughts and settles for watching the artist cook instead. “I’ll think about it.”

“Hm.”

There’s a pause and Jonghyun takes the opportunity to admire Kibum’s profile, loving the way he just blends in the kitchen perfectly as he slices the potatoes and tosses them into the pot.

He looked perfect enough with a paintbrush in hand, but there’s just something about the way he looks in the kitchen. It’s like he’s made to be a skilled cook, even though his profession more so has something to do with art.

The situation reminds Jonghyun of a similar event that had occurred at the younger boy’s house, so he unknowingly blurts out,

“This reminds me of the time I brought you ingredients at your house.”

Kibum takes some time to think for a moment, throwing the chicken in the pot before responding. “Oh, I remember that. You were watching me cook that time too.”

“And I nicked my skin on one of your knives.”

The artist laughs. “You scared me that time, you know? I seriously thought you were about to die or something. Why were you such in a hurry to leave anyways?”

A part of the lawyer wants to lie and say that he really did have something urgent to do back then, since he’s still a bit embarrassed sometimes to say his feelings out loud.

But this is another opportunity to make Kibum become all shy and flustered, so Jonghyun settles for being honest and telling the truth.

“Because in that moment I realized that I like you.”

Almost instantly, the artist blushes, almost dropping the lid of the pot in his hands and barely managing to save it at the last minute. He readjusts it on the pot clumsily, making Jonghyun chuckle.

The older boy walks closer towards Kibum and spins him around so their eyes meet, and the artist shrinks back to try and hide his face.

“Really?” Kibum squeaks out.

Jonghyun nods. “Really. But honestly the real moment I realized I like you was when you were treating the cut on my arm. The reason why I stumbled on the knife was because I was having weird thoughts about you looking cute and pretty and I just wanted to walk up and tuck a strand of your hair behind your ear and kiss you right then and there.”

“Aw…” the younger boy coos. “I think I like it when you start talking a lot.”

“And I think you were cutting potatoes at that time too.” Jonghyun adds.

“Actually, this recipe I’m making is the exact same one you brought to me that one night.” Kibum giggles.

“Really?” the lawyer says, wide eyed. “I haven’t noticed until now.”

“Well now you do.” Kibum smiles.

After eating they end up sitting on Jonghyun’s bed in his room, with Kibum sitting on the lawyer’s lap and listening to music on the older boy’s ipod.

Kibum is looking through his lover’s photo album, which contains mostly his childhood pictures throughout the years.

“Aw, you look so cute in this one!” the artist points at one particular picture.

In it, Jonghyun is looking straight at the camera, mouth opened in a wide smile as he holds onto his crib for support. His knees are slightly bent, as if preparing to jump at any moment.

“I was three during that time, I think.” the older boy says, readjusting his arms around Kibum’s waist as he looks over the other’s shoulder.

“This one’s cute too!” Kibum exclaims, pointing to one where Jonghyun is dressed up in a cowboy costume. “I’m keeping this one!”

He carefully pries for the picture and peels it off the album, half expecting for Jonghyun to stop him.

But he doesn’t.

Kibum risks a peek over his shoulder, meeting eyes with the lawyer who shrugs at him.

“If you want to keep it so badly, then okay. But you have to brag to people that ask about it and say that it’s a picture of your amazingly handsome boyfriend.”

The artist whacks his hand at Jonghyun’s head, who avoids it smoothly as he laughs.

“Idiot.” Kibum mumbles, a smile stretching across his lips. “But I admit, I do have a pretty amazing boyfriend.”

“Damn right.”

“But you’re still stupid.”

“Oh?” Jonghyun raises an eyebrow, digging his fingers into the other’s sides and chuckling wickedly when Kibum squeals. “Is that so?”

He proceeds to tickle the artist’s sides, making Kibum howl in laughter and trying to squirm out of Jonghyun’s lap at the same time.

“Okay, okay, truce!”

“I thought so.” Jonghyun says, stopping to wrap his arms around Kibum’s waist again.

The younger boy rolls his eyes and leans back against the lawyer’s chest, grabbing for the photo album that had slipped to his side from all his squirming.

They stay silent for a few content moments, with only the music playing in the background filling in the silence.

Jonghyun drops his head on Kibum’s shoulder and closes his eyes, rubbing lazy circle on the artist’s stomach.

“Jonghyun?” Kibum says after a while.

“Hm?” the older boy answers, nuzzling his nose in the crook of Kibum’s neck. His lips curve into a smile when the artist shivers in response.

“Did Taemin look at your photo albums too?”

Jonghyun freezes, hands halting at the other’s stomach.

“And did he stay in your room like this too?” Kibum adds.

His voice sounds a bit disappointed, striking a chord in Jonghyun’s heart. He hasn’t noticed the younger boy pondering over such thoughts like these, and his worries only increased when he tried to think if Kibum had been wondering about this for the past week.

Was he worried that Taemin had taken up a bigger place in Jonghyun’s heart?

That isn’t true; of course, because this is the first time the lawyer feels so in love and complete with Kibum by his side. He’s willing to admit that he loves the younger boy way more than he ever loved Taemin.

“No.” Jonghyun answers carefully. “We couldn’t spend much time at my house since my parents were always watching over us.”

“So you guys went to his house instead?” Kibum asks softly, playing with the older boy’s fingers in his lap.

“We didn’t do anything bad, in case you were wondering.”

“It’s okay. You don’t need to lie.”

“But I’m not lying.” Jonghyun says firmly, surprising the artist with the seriousness in his voice. “We didn’t do anything, Kibum. And you’re the only person other than me who’s ever touched my photo albums.”

“Okay.”

“And you’re the only person who’s ever listened to my playlist with me. Ever. Taemin never knew I even had an ipod.”

“But he still knew you before I did.” Kibum says quietly.

“But I like you more than I liked him.”

The artist’s eyes widen. “Are you kidding?”

“No.”

“But you went through so much together and-“

“He never made me feel so complete.”

“But-“

“No buts, Kibum.” Jonghyun interrupts again. “I like you, you’re mine, I’m yours, and that’s that.”

“Okay.” Kibum breathes, shifting around in the other’s lap so he’s facing his lover.

“No more thinking about what I did with Taemin, okay? It’s all in the past now, and I’m over it. Okay?” Jonghyun says, cupping the other’s face and bringing his head closer so his forehead is touching the artist’s.

Kibum nods, letting his eyes flutter shut as he lets out a comfortable sigh.

“Okay.”

A/N: Lol, I'm still laughing over the title I chose for this. I'm so stupid, srsly xD Okay, so more fluff here and a sneak peek in Kibum's heart. And a bit of what he's thinking inside. I'm only adding up these fluffy chapters to lead into the surprise I have in mind for you guys. *cough* *cough* it won't be that dirty, I promise (for all you dirty minded ppl out there).

Lol I'm preverted too, so I'm being a hypocrite here.

I also have an announcement. I very sad-ish announcement. I might retire from AFF soon. I feel like it's time for me to move on and focus on my side blog instead of on here, since I write about multiple pairings over there and some scenarios too. I'm still not sure when I'm officially retiring, but this story will be finished first, I gurantee. And I also might write a side fic or something like behind the scenes in which some chapters will be explained from Kibum's POV. I'm definetely going to miss this site when I leave T_T

Kay, moving on to something less depressing. Your comments last chapter were beyond entertaining. The squealing and the caps and keyboard smashing was just- lol. I can't wait to read this chapter's comments, omfg xD