"Better?" Kyungsoo's forehead touched Jongin's - creating a small reservoir of warmth as the cool night air that clung to their skin grew chillier still. Jongin nodded wordlessly, rubbing his nose slowly against Kyungsoo's before letting his lips slide slowly over the other man's. Warm tongues danced gently with each other as they drank in mutual comfort and belonging from their shared kisses. Jongin’s feelings of hurt and disappointment dissipated as he surrendered himself to Kyungsoo's caressing hands and healing kisses. As for his own hands, Jongin slipped them into Kyungsoo's back pockets, pulling him closer.

 

"We should start heading back." Kyungsoo said reluctantly as his lips lingered on the smooth skin of Jongin’s neck, "It's getting late and it'll be really cold on the bike if we don't leave soon. Lucky we brought jackets. It pays to be prepared sometimes. I knew I joined the Boy Scouts for a reason." Jongin had been perplexed when Kyungsoo had texted him earlier in the evening to bring a jacket with him - especially when Kyungsoo had refused to divulge why.

 

"You were a Boy Scout?" Jongin chuckled.

 

"Too square to be real, right?" Kyungsoo looked sheepish.

 

"I was almost an Eagle Scout, hyung."

 

"WHAT?!"

 

"But I didn't want to be Troop Leader because - well you know about me and my non-existent people skills - so ... I was a Life Scout. You were totally an Eagle Scout, right?"

 

"Yeah." Kyungsoo admitted reluctantly. "Was it that obvious?"

 

Jongin chuckled, hugging him and refusing to say a word more. Just one more thread connecting their lives. 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

A loud buzzing noise was forcefully penetrating Kyungsoo’s sleep-fogged mind but something was off-kilter because it didn’t sound anything like his alarm clock. It sounded all wrong - so he ignored the persistent noise until he felt a lean arm tighten around his waist and heard a husky, chocolatey sleepy voice murmur against his skin, “Wake up, hyung.” 

 

He was still drifting in and out of sleep until he felt teeth nip at his earlobe, and he was suddenly wide awake as delicious shivers travelled up and down his neck and back.

 

“Morning,” Kyungsoo turned around to face him. He had insisted on staying the night so Jongin wouldn't be alone after the thing with his dad, but if he was honest with himself, he’d stayed mostly because he wanted to.

 

“Morning,” Jongin’s eyes were half closed, as if he was trying to shut out the light from the bedside lamp. It was only 6.00 am and still dark out.

 

“Why is it Monday?” Kyungsoo groaned as he shielded himself from the artificial brightness by planting his face in Jongin's hard, cotton clad chest. Their legs lay tangled under the sheets, both of them wearing thin cotton pajama pants that belonged to Jongin. Kyungsoo had the night before about all the extra laundry he'd have to do because of him, and Jongin had mumbled something about him bringing his own clothes next time if he felt bad. It had made Kyungsoo feel ridiculously happy to hear Jongin mention a next time.

 

"You can sleep a bit longer if you want, hyung. I'll reset the alarm for you." Jongin said as he drew hearts on his back - at least it felt like hearts.

 

"What about you?" Kyungsoo very deliberately rubbed the arch of his right foot against the inner ankle of Jongin's left leg and felt the younger man's breath catch a little. The skin-on-skin contact was both comforting and tantalizing and ugh, why was it Monday? He consoled himself by clinging to the broad planes of Jongin's shoulder. 

 

"I have to drag my sorry to the growers' market by 6.30, hyung. If I'm late all the best flowers will be gone, and we always try to get the freshest blooms for the shop." Jongin's fingers continued their heart shaped treks over Kyungsoo's back as he gave his explanation.

 

"Jongin, why does a delivery guy have to buy flowers?" Kyungsoo asked quietly and Jongin's fingers unthinkingly stopped moving.

 

"It's ... I've always done it. I can't explain why right now but I promise I'll tell you, hyung. Very soon." There it was again, Kyungsoo thought, that guilty air to Jongin's voice whenever he spoke of his job.

 

"There's a photo on your bedroom wall of Chanyeol and you. You're both arranging flowers, I think. And that day in my apartment when you did that thing with my peonies. Are you ... Are you really just a delivery guy, Jongin?" 

 

"Not exactly ... I'm not exactly just a delivery guy. But I'll tell you everything soon, hyung. Just ... don't make me do it today. Please?" 

 

"Take as long as you need. I just want you to know you can tell me anything. I mean, it won't matter to me. It wouldn't change anything or ...  Argh! I'm so bad with words. I need an Excel spreadsheet for this." Kyungsoo said self-deprecatingly, dragging a frustrated hand through his sleep-tousled hair.

 

"Well that's one more thing we have in common. I'm really bad with words too." Jongin laughed, and the slight tension in the atmosphere melted away. "I'll tell you on Wednesday, hyung. Promise." He said earnestly before dropping a kiss in that sensitive spot behind Kyungsoo's ear. "It's nothing bad, I swear."

 

"Okay. I can wait two more days. I'm just going to laze a bit here while you shower. I'll leave with you so I can go home and have a shower before I take the train to work. But first, one last hug for the road."

 

"Oh my God, please, the cheese." Jongin shook his head in exaggerated disbelief but allowed himself to be engulfed in an affectionate hug anyway - his eyes crinkling and lips widening in the most precious way. As Kyungsoo leaned closer to Jongin, he thought he could get used to seeing this smile every morning.

 

* * *

 

 

"So how was the coffee at La Cafeteria?" Jongin asked casually as he carefully maneuvered a stalk of purple calla lily into the towering centerpiece destined for the entrance of The Hyatt downtown. 

 

"Aromatic?" Chanyeol gave him a quirky smile, "Is it the coffee you're interested in, or how things went with Junmyeon hyung?" Calmly, he worked with the same deep purple lilies to form a medium sized centerpiece for a half-moon table at the Hyatt lobby lift area.

 

"I was trying to be subtle, Yeol." Jongin complained as he adjusted the calla lily, biting his bottom lip in concentration. 

 

"There's nothing subtle about asking how the coffee was," Chanyeol chuckled quietly, "But since you asked so ... subtly, things went really well. We both like watching European films so we had a lot to talk about. I used to watch them with my roommates in college but we all kinda lost touch and I usually just rent videos now. He, ah, asked me to watch Mood Indigo with him tomorrow night. At the Lumiere Theatre. Oh, there's a blank look on your face. Mood Indigo is a French film, Jongin."

 

"Um, okay. As long as it's your thing." Jongin eyed him dubiously.

 

"Yes it's my thing." Chanyeol's teeth showed as he gave an almost laugh. Jongin's heart felt light as he saw the genuine happiness in his usually morose friend's face. "It's nice. Having someone to talk to about art films again, it's nice. I've just been watching them on my own all these years so, yeah."

 

"I'm sorry I wasn't much help in that area." Jongin said sheepishly.

 

"I never expected that from you." Chanyeol said simply. "You're a good boss and a good friend, Jongin. That's plenty." He started on the second centerpiece before asking, "So why are you a delivery guy again? I'm not too clear on the why."

 

"I swear it's nothing bad!" Jongin defended himself for the second time that day.

 

"I wasn't implying it was. I just want to know why you're telling Kyungsoo you're a delivery guy when you're anything but."

 

"He just assumed I was. Remember that day when Luhan was trapped on the freeway and Sehun was at home puking his guts out and you ... erm don't do vehicles?" Chanyeol nodded and Jongin continued, "I delivered flowers to one of his colleagues. That's how we met. And after that I wanted to see him again so I - this part is really embarrassing, so please don't judge, okay? Anyway I kinda sent him flowers pretending they were from a secret admirer. More than once."

 

"Okay."

 

"That's it? Okay?"

 

"Yes, Jongin. Just okay. Were you expecting me to be more melodramatic? I'm not a melodramatic person," Chanyeol chuckled. 

 

"I lied." Jongin's voice was small.

 

"I'm sure you have your reasons and you'll tell him everything eventually. Besides, it sounds like you're kicking yourself enough about it. You don't really need anyone else kicking you." Jongin had to smile at the typical stoic Chanyeol reaction. 

 

"I freaked when Junmyeon hyung walked into Kyungsoo's office while I was there making a delivery. Lucky he didn't give me a hard time about lying to Kyungsoo, because they're buddies and everything. Junmyeon hyung, he's a good guy, Chanyeol. He's someone you can count on."

 

"Jongin, is that you trying to be subtle again?"

 

"It's not working?"

 

"No, dude."

 

"I at talking to people." Jongin groaned, his head slumping onto his beloved work table.

 

"You're fine." Chanyeol chuckled, patting Jongin on the shoulder. 

 

* * *

 

Jongin squinted as he put the finishing touches to a bouquet of white anemones he had painstakingly put together for the special delivery. Then he reached for the nearby plastic bottle and carefully sprayed just the slightest hint of aqueous mist over the flowers to keep them fresh. He had tried his best to keep the bouquet simple so it wouldn't look too feminine and he hoped he'd achieved the effect he wanted. 

 

Casting a critical eye over the bouquet in front of him, he took in the robust ivory white blooms with their large black centers, which had been meticulously and lovingly interspersed with white ranunculus and delicate sprigs of green for relief. The bouquet was lovely but it was still missing something. Finally, after a minute's contemplation, he sighed and made a decision - hoping the recipient wouldn't find the detail too girly. He expertly wound the flower stems with a broad, ivory satin ribbon - tying the ends in a simple dead knot and snipping off the ends. 

 

Jongin took one last, appraising look at the bouquet before yelling, "OH SEHUN!"

 

 

 

A/N: Hi everyone! First of all, I'd like to apologize for yesterday's poll update - I'm sure most of you wanted to throw a big brick at me. But I hope you'll forgive me because I honestly needed to know how to proceed with the writing of IB. And I'm going to have to say sorry again for the epic length of this A/N! Please don't kill me but I have to get all this down because it's really important to me.

 

I read and replied every single comment you guys wrote about the extension, and I looked at the poll results - 83% in favor of extension (based on 133 votes at closing). And in the end, I decided that I had to go with my heart and with Kaisoo, so I'm going to end the story at Chapter 36 - unless the characters start screaming insistently at me that I've left stuff out which I need to explore. But even if that happened, it probably wouldn't be more than one or two additional chapters max. I'm grateful to those of you who voted yes and who wrote such lovely comments about wanting the story to go on and on - and believe me, I would write this story forever if I could, just for you guys! 

 

I love these two so much, you have no idea! But while I can't bear the thought of being separated from them, I want to stay true to the characters and to the story I want to tell. The poll was important to me because it helped me see that extending the story would probably have been detrimental to IB in the end - thanks especially to readers like cherrylisa, soraaki and anbaachan, whose heartfelt comments helped me see this. Quite a few readers suggested that I should write other fics from this au and I'm perfectly willing to do that if inspiration strikes :) and if readers are willing to read them. So subscribe to me as an author just in case :).

 

OMG this fricking A/N is probably longer than the actual update, otl! But so many feels I needed to get out so bear with me. Finally, I wanna say thanks to those of you who have voted for IB, and who've commented and subscribed to IB. You guys have made this such an incredible experience for me and I hope I won't break the trust you've placed in me by botching up the end lol. Above all, thank you all for loving IB a little or possibly even as much as I myself love it. And I'll end with today's precious beyond precious Kaisoo moment! May comeback inspire a whole flood of such moments! I can't wait, can you? 

 

 (Cr. hokaid-o)

 

Oh, oh, and this is the smile Kai gives when cheesy Kyungsoo says he wants another hug for the road! He's so presh I'm dyingggg:

 

 

 

PS: This chapter is dedicated to some of the best readers any fic writer could hope for: cherrylisa, soraaki, threecheers, VIPExotic, GDKEYTOPbias, ThePearlescentBluE and daehae. Love you guys!

 

PPS: Sleepy Jongin is dedicated to VIPExotic for giving me that inspiring gif! Love you, Kate! And thank you always for sending me that beautiful Kaisoo moment from RCY /sob. 

 

PPPS: About a week ago, I received a request to translate IN BLOOM into Russian. Initially, I was worried about nuance and other things being lost in translation. But in the end, I decided I just want people to read IB Jongin and Kyungsoo's love story. So I said yes and the translation work will be done by Silver-fey. Spasibo, Silver-fey!