thirteen ;

“Donghae,” Hyukjae uttered with a quiet sigh meanwhile demanding fingers curled around his narrow waist, gently trying to pull him closer. “Donghae, I need to go.”

And yet, even in spite of his halfhearted words of protest, hazel orbs contentedly fluttered close the moment thin lips languidly brushed against his own. They lightly beckoned him into a slow lip-lock, hot touch both pliant and prodding upon his sensitive skin, while a long shiver pleasantly rippled through his whole body. A pool of simmering warmth seemed to be forming in the pit of his stomach as hot, damp breaths his flushed cheeks, and snugly nestled there, throbbing wonderfully within him.

A long moan was then released against his mouth, soft and husky, as he finally deigned to answer the sweet kiss. Tasting fresh mint and bitter coffee around the edges of his senses, the student let out an airy hum of his own, and carefully sneaked his arms around Donghae’s neck. He teasingly tugged on a handful of hair he found at the back of his head and earned himself a short grunt, before obligingly tilting his head to the side when sharp teeth nibbled on his lower lip.

Good, he thought with thick haziness and a delicious hint of surprise. Really, really good.

The tip of a familiar tongue then slowly brushed along the seam of his closed mouth, prompting him to sigh deeply from the back of his throat. He shivered again, mind delicately clouded with a nameless sort of ache, and idly buried his fingers into smooth dark hair; tightening his grip around it, he allowed the other to press himself closer to his chest and finally granted him access.

A satisfied rumble was his immediate reward. The blue-eyed boy took the opportunity for what it was and eagerly entwined their tongue together, drawing him into a slow, heated dance that seemed to be consuming his very soul. It was only pleasure and languorous passion, sparkles of thrill spreading through him as though they were following the beat of an odd waltz tune. Lovely pressure growing demanding upon his lips, Hyukjae tentatively curled his own wet muscles around his with a quiet groan, and then curiously the hot insides of his luscious mouth for a few seconds more. He traced and retraced, again and again, each nook and cranny he could find with close to no hesitation at all, pulling moans after moans out of him – until he was already withdrawing from their languid kiss.

Donghae instantly hissed at him, indignation clear on his features, which only made the student laugh a little more. He grinned faintly, gaze soft and affectionate, then ran his fingers through his dark locks and distractedly tried to smooth them down into something presentable, although he was actually rather pleased with the way he looked right at that moment – it was just a bit arousing, if not a lot more, to see the way his hair was all messy and his lips glistened deliciously. The way he stared at him, eyes bright and appealing and wild, but with a lovelier sort of lust than they had burned with the first time.

The way he made him want to kiss him, over and over again.

Hyukjae bit hard on the inside of his cheeks at the enticing thought. Tilting his head to the side, he leaned forward and pressed a firm kiss on his swollen lips; he slowly curled their tongue together one last time, then sighed softly when a toe-curling ache swiftly rippled through his chest.

“I really need to go, you know?” he said with a mumble of mock-exasperation, fighting down a grin when the other boy still refused to let go of him.

The student made a halfhearted attempt to disentangle himself from his warm embrace – which he truly wasn’t surprised not to manage –, and then gave Donghae a disapproving look when it was clear he had no intention of releasing him.

“No,” the latter snarled stubbornly.

Strong arms tightened around his waist without so much as a warning and pulled hard, causing the both of them to fall over onto the bed. Wrinkled and messy sheets fluttered around them the moment their weight dipped into the mattress, rippling along their body such as silky feathers.

Air momentarily knocked out of his lungs, Hyukjae let out a small yelp of surprise when he abruptly landed atop the raven-haired boy’s chest.

“Donghae!” he protested and vainly tried to push himself up on his elbows, meanwhile the other tried to steal yet another wet kiss from him. “Donghae, I’m serious! I have classes in less than an hour!”

But even while he said those words, Hyukjae still found himself bending down and teasingly biting onto his lower lip. Softly humming under his breath, he pulled on the fragile flesh and lightly nibbled on it until it reddened into a delicious shade of dark pink. Hoarse moans and cries reached his ears every time he soothed the sting with an idle , prompting him to chuckle a little.

“I –” he whispered hotly, and punctuated each of his words with either a kiss or another bite, hoping he sounded at least a bit seductive. “Need – to go – to – university – right now.”

Donghae whimpered loudly underneath him – jackpot! he thought in delight –, unsuccessfully trying to pull him down into a proper lip-lock. Amused, the student firmly refused to grant him his plea, for which he earned a mournful glare in return. Thick eyebrows drew together into an indignant frown, prompting a neat line to crease his forehead, while blue orbs darkened into a conflicted mixture of pleasure and dissatisfaction.

And Hyukjae – Hyukjae loved it. A whiplash of sheer gratification and excitation rocketed through him, taking him by surprise.

Bemused, and a bit fascinated as well, he couldn’t help but revel in the broken pace his breathing took at his smallest touch, and the way his pupils had dilated in pure need, clouded and craving for more. A flare of burning heat shot through him at the mute cries of frustration that forced Donghae’s mouth open, and, most of all, at the way the latter clung onto him for dear life, as though unsure whether to let him lead or to simply claim everything he was yearning for. The fact that he seemed to be desperately fighting for the first option, body tense but moving no further than needed, only made an ache swell so big within him that the student nearly gasped.

Hyukjae tilted his head to the side and slowly nuzzled his nose into the crook of his neck, destabilized by the foreign sensation of a blazing hotness languidly spreading down to his crotch at the luscious sight. Panting slightly, he shifted a little atop the blue-eyed boy’s hips and earned a strangled moan as a faint hardness poked the inside of his thighs. It made him freeze almost instantly, mind going blank for a second, before his heartbeat set off again at a worrying speed. , he thought – . He pressed himself closer and curtly bit on the smooth skin under his ear, teeth digging in with something close to delight. Eyes fluttering close, he took his sweet time to relish in the way his breath loudly hitched in his throat.

Well, that is new, he mused distractedly as he lapped the darkening bruise. Does that make me a deviant, I wonder?

“,” Donghae hissed, baring his teeth with a sort of lust that almost looked like anger. “You’re such a ing tease.”

Ah – a tease. That’s the word.

Hyukjae only laughed, trying to hide his embarrassment behind light chuckles, and then softly kissed him again. But as he meant to straighten up and possibly hurry to university – there was no way he would ever reach his first class on time at this rate –, smooth fingers carefully sneaked under the hem of his shirt. They the sensitive skin on the small of his back and daringly ran their way up his sides, such as feathery brushes that almost tickled him. Surprised, he shivered, and briefly thought of pushing him off – until he realized Donghae wasn’t trying to do anything further than simply touching him. The latter’s gaze was warm and prudent as it caught his own, wordlessly giving him the power to stop things altogether if he wanted to.

Except he didn’t.

The sensation of his rough fingers grazing across his back, cheeky and curious, sent a jolt through him that felt almost electrifying. It seemed to be burning him from the inside out, in an absolutely mind-blowing sort of way, while an unexpected longing spread within him, all heat and throbbing pleasure.

He released a shaky breath against the other boy’s swollen mouth, quietly when large hands curled around his ribs and traced the ripples of his muscles.

“Feels good, hmm?” Donghae whispered with a faint smirk as he wetly roamed his tongue along his own.

Damn. “Not at all,” he promptly denied and valiantly fought a long groan down. “It’s annoying. Get off.”

A derisive scoff, then another teasing caress. “Liar.”

Of course he was.

It felt odd, but also strikingly wonderful, to realize he was actually feeling something in return of those curious touches, instead of a dull discomfort only. Really wonderful, he dazedly thought to himself, and halfheartedly made to stop himself from leaning into his warm hands.

“Well, maybe,” he finally conceded – he had always been a poor liar, anyways. Sighing with contentment, he arched a little within his tender embrace, then blushed when the raven-haired boy chuckled beneath him. “That still doesn’t mean I don’t have to go to university, you know that, right?”

Bravely summoning all the willpower he had, Hyukjae finally decided to push himself up. Messy locks of hair airily fell across his forehead and slightly tickled him, until he distractedly brushed them off with a hand. He subtly shifted a little forward on the other’s hips so he wouldn’t be directly straddling his crotch, then stared down at his flushed face and craving orbs with a small smirk of his own. Thin fingers softly his clothed thighs and lingered there for a brief moment, before they reluctantly let go, falling onto the bed next to them.

The student grinned approvingly and then playfully ruffled his mop of hair.

“Come on,” he said as he got up and tried to pull him on his feet. “Let’s go, now! I’m already late for my first class and that’s all because of you, you stupid mutt!”

Donghae growled and snarled and hissed as much as he could, but to not avail; the other boy stayed firm and only laughed when he demandingly tried to tug him closer, the intention of hiding back under the covers of their bed clear in mind.

A few minutes later saw Hyukjae heading to the kitchen with a couple of heavy books in hands, distractedly mumbling to himself. He carefully put the thick works away in his backpack as he stepped inside, shivering a little when pleasant sunrays warmed his skin from outside the window, then looked up in slight alarm upon hearing someone bustle around the bright room.

Blinking, he found his mother standing on the tip of her toes and vainly trying to reach for her favorite tea bags, which had curiously been hidden in a high cupboard instead of where they were usually put away. The boy laughed at the sight, shaking his head in amusement as he made his way towards her.

“Hello, Mom,” he greeted her with a teasing smile, before he easily grabbed the green box for her. He handed it to her, then chucked his backpack on the main counter. “A bit short for that, aren’t we?”

Huffing, the older woman accepted the box and protectively cradled it against her chest. “There’s no need to be making fun of me, young man,” she sniffed a bit dejectedly, though he knew she wasn’t truly upset. “Why did you even put the tea bags in there? You know perfectly well that I can’t reach them.”

Why indeed. He snorted in a mixture of fondness and mild exasperation, then briefly glanced upwards in the general direction of his bedroom, where he knew the blue-eyed boy was listening to each of his words. That would be Donghae – of course.

“Sorry about that.” Grinning sheepishly, he kissed the top of her head and breathed in fresh undertones of citrus underneath a thick cloud of a perfume he had offered her last Christmas. “Kyuhyun dropped by yesterday night and it probably distracted me; I was just not paying attention, I guess. Anyways, how are you, Mom?”

“Wonderful!” she chirped happily while she gave him a tight hug. One of her hands affectionately combed his messy hair and tried to flatten them, though it seemed to be quite useless, before she softly patted his cheek. “Are you headed to university yet? Aren’t you going to be late, though?”

Hyukjae nodded and shrugged at the same time, which made him jerk a bit awkwardly, then went to retrieve a bottle of milk in the fridge and directly drank from it. His mother threw him a disapproving frown, apparently torn between the need to fulfil her duties as a parent and wanting to dote on him. A couple of seconds silently went by, allowing him to close the fridge and head back to the main counter, before she decidedly settled with saying nothing.

Amused, he flopped down onto a stool and took another long gulp of fresh milk. He watched her pour hot water in a thermos flask, his fingers fiddling with the damp cap of his half-full bottle, until she finally turned around to face him once again.

“Oh, by the way, Sweetheart,” she sent him an apologetic look and put the empty kettle down. “I know you’ve been taking my car to go to university lately – which is perfectly fine, of course –, but… Well, I think I’ll need it for the day.”

Pressing her lips into a nervous, tight line, she capped her thermos flask close again and then unconsciously started to twist her fingers together – a habit Hyukjae had certainly stolen from her. “Do you think you can manage and take the bus this morning instead? Or maybe do you want me to drive you? We’d have to go right now, but…”

The student blinked in bemusement, unable to fight down the disappointment that instantly spread through him upon realizing that Donghae wouldn’t be driving him to university that morning. Even though it had only been a couple of days since the two boys had officially met, it already felt like a sort of lovely ritual he had absolutely no intention of breaking at all.

“I’m so sorry, Hyukjae, love,” she said as she hurried around the counter to cradle his face between her fresh hands. “I promise it’s only for today, okay? Your father already left for work and I forgot to wake up early this morning so he could drop me off to the studio.”

“No, it’s fine, Mom,” he reassured her with a grin and leaned into her comforting touch. “Just go or you’ll be late too. Remember to be careful on the road, yeah?”

His mother laughed and proudly made the car keys jingle between her fingers. “Don’t worry about me,” she winked at him. “Even your father knows I drive better than he does; I’m just too lazy to do anything about it.” Chuckling, she hugged him again and then put her coat on.

“See you tonight, then, Sweetheart. Oh! And do remember to put some lip balm on before going, Hyukjae; your lips look awfully red, did you know? Maybe it’s because of the cold? It’s been snowing a lot lately, after all. Anyways – be careful about that, okay?”

“What –?”

Hyukjae blushed a crimson red as soon as her innocent words sunk in. Yelping in complete embarrassment, he spluttered incoherently while she kissed his cheek a last time and finally left the house.

, he groaned as quiet steps coming down the staircase reached his ears. So much for being discreet.

Unsurprisingly, it only took a couple of seconds before Donghae was already stepping inside the kitchen. A broad smirk was smugly pulling at the corners of his mouth as he strolled towards him, hands nonchalantly shoved in the pockets of his borrowed trousers.

“Oh, don’t look so satisfied with yourself, you idiot,” the student warily grumbled at him.

Apparently pleased enough with the situation to ignore his harmless taunt, the raven-haired boy only snorted and pulled him into another demanding kiss, making a point to nibble onto his swollen lips until it nearly stung. Hyukjae whined in protest, halfheartedly trying to push him away while soft groans treacherously rose from the back of his throat.

“Your mother’s right, though,” the other lightly commented as he ran the tip of his thumb along the corner of his mouth. “Your lips do look really red – might want to do something about that before going to your university.”

“And whose fault is this, exactly?” he huffed in mild indignation, though he firmly ignored the fact that he had played a huge role in their earlier kissing as well.

“Mom took the car,” he then continued a bit dejectedly. “I’ll have to ride the bus for today, and I don’t think it’d be a good idea if you came with me, so…” Pressing his lips into a tight line, he gave him a hesitant look and started to painfully wring his fingers together.

A frown furrowed Donghae’s eyebrows, before he firmly stopped him and entwined their hands together so he wouldn’t be unconsciously hurting himself anymore. A similar kind of disappointment to his own briefly twisted his crestfallen features, before he let out a grunt of resignation.

“Give me your lips,” he demanded after a short moment of silence. Then, as an afterthought, added, “Please.”

Sighing sadly, the student complied and pressed a sweet kiss upon his pouting lips. “Sorry,” he told him. “Don’t sulk, okay?”

“I do not sulk,” the blue-eyed boy protested immediately, scowling.

“Sure you don’t,” he laughed loudly, before standing up and grabbing his backpack.

Putting it on, he playfully bit the side of his jaw, which earned him a moody grumble, and then finally turned around to leave. “See you this afternoon, okay? I’ll try to be back early. Be good while I’m gone!”

Soon reaching the entrance of the house, he put his winter coat on and glanced a last time behind him. A pair of unhappy blue orbs caught his own into an agitated gaze for a short second, before thin lips softly pressed themselves up upon his mouth once again.

“Be safe,” Donghae mumbled.

“I will,” Hyukjae promised, and finally walked out.

*

After having slept most of the day and fed himself with anything that smelled tasty enough – the stew leftovers had been the yummiest food he found –, Donghae was half-considering stealing another book from the study, in hopes it would help time go a bit faster until the other boy finally came back home to him.

In fact, as much as he tried to ignore it, boredom and restlessness had firmly taken hold of his agitated mind ever since Hyukjae had left him for university. Time seemed to be flowing like thick cement, bland and nearly unmoving, while seconds were suddenly lasting long enough to be hours, or so it seemed. It felt as though he had been trapped inside