11:37 p.m.

Less than half an hour until midnight and there you were, hunched over your laptop, typing away like a mad woman. The tale of young, unrequited love that you had created a few months ago was nearing its ; the girl was finally free from her oppressive, judgmental parents and the guy was just about to get the girl. It was going to be one of those “happily ever after” endings that you absolutely loved and you were just itching to publish it. Only a few more paragraphs, maybe a handful of edits here and there and done!

Or so you thought.

You were this close to completing the story and maybe if it weren’t for that tempting little Baozi you call your boyfriend, you would have been done by now.

But no, he just had to have his strong arms draped over your shoulders. He just had to have his hands on your body, giving your tense muscles a nice squeeze every few seconds. He just had to have his chin nestled into the crook of your neck, not even realizing how distracting his soft breath was against your skin. He just had to -repeatedly - call out your name, mumbling small words of discontent and continuously begging for your attention.

I’ve missed you! Haven’t you missed me?

Don’t you want to hug your Baozi?

Not even for a little bit?

How about a kiss? Just a peck, I promise!

Not even on the cheek?

But you’re my Jagi~

I need your touch to survive!!

Then can I just hug you from behind?

What do you mean, “no”?

How am I supposed to go on like this??

Please? Let me hold you for five minutes! Just five!

Yah… you’re really hurting my heart.

Oh look! There’s a deer outside the window!

Babe. Babe. Babe. Babe. Babe. Babe.

Babe, pleaaaaase?

“Jagiya” His voice choked on a whine as he called to you one last time. Oh, how he wanted you to drop that dumb old story and jump into his embrace like you usually did. He’d been away from you for a few weeks and now that he was back, you were choosing to ignore him. For a story! He loved you, and your adorable stubbornness made him love you even more, but sometimes it was too much.

You felt him move closer, bringing his hand up to pinch your cheek. “Yah! Don’t make me have to jump you.”

You groaned and swatted him away. “Baby, I really need to finish-“

He pinched your other cheek and pulled, effectively shutting you up. “No. What you really need to do is to stop what you’re doing and come fill your boyfriend’s cold, empty, waiting arms.”He motioned for you to do just that, spreading himself out and putting on a cute puppy dog face.

Still, you refused.

He sighed, dropping his arms to the side. “Maybe I should just find a new girl…”

The words clicked in your brain and you turned to him, furious. “Hey! What are you trying to-“

 “Gotcha!” He pushed you down from your place on the couch and grinned at you triumphantly.

“Xiumin, this isn’t funny!” You struggled underneath his weight. That sneaky little- ugh! You were so close! If only he would’ve given you a few more minutes.  “Come on! I’m almost done!”

“With what?” His face quirked up in feigned interest as he reached over your head and picked up your laptop from the coffee table. “This?” He turned back to you, his cute smile morphing into something wicked. In a flash, he jumped up with the computer tucked under his arm and dashed up the stairs.

 “Xiumin!” You shot up and followed him hastily, tripping and stumbling the entire way.

You could hear his laughter echoing through the hall. You reached the top and he zoomed passed you, slipping into the guest room. You tore the door open and you were greeted with a cream colored throw pillow in your face. You felt his soft giggles as he escaped again and you couldn’t help but laugh in return. You sped back out into the hall catching Xiumin as his head peeped out from the opening to your bed room. “Come and get me!”  He slid back inside and you raced right through the threshold.

There he was, very relaxed, arms crossed, waiting for you. He cocked his head to the side and lifted his eyebrows. You ran to him, a huge smile plastered on your face as you threw your hands around his neck. “Gotcha!” you imitated his words as he scooped you up, swinging you around.

When he set you down, he laced his fingers through yours and tugged you to him. “My Jagi has worked really hard all night long, hasn’t she?” He was teasing you now, his hands coming to hold your neck. You stammered your objection, remembering that you did not want to give in after putting up such a determined front.

But without even realizing it, you let it all slip away.  It was dawning on you how much you had missed him, how long it had been since you found yourself close to his heart. You leaned against him, breathing him in; all spice and cinnamon. “Can’t you finish it tomorrow? I haven’t seen you in so long…” He gazed down at you, pouting his lip and searching your face a little desperately.

The smidges of pride you had left ebbed away as your mind filled with tender memories of him holding and cuddling you after the many weeks, even months of work keeping you apart. As much as you hated to admit it, he was right.

So you let yourself go, pressing your lips to his for sweet kiss and giving him your answer. You felt him smile against you, proud of his accomplishment, no doubt. He lifted you up into another tight hug before knocking the two of you onto your bed.

He lay on his back, resting one arm above his head and waiting for you to climb on top of him so he could hold you close with the other. You snuggled into his chest, the many hours of hard work finally catching up to you. You could feel yourself slipping under a dreamy spell, your boyfriend providing the perfect pillow.

He took notice of how you stilled, your breaths evening out, becoming deep and steady. He chuckled, smoothing your hair back from your face. “Baby, I hope you rest well,” Vaguely, you felt him kiss your forehead. “You’ll need your energy later on tonight.”

Little did you know how much “help” he was willing to offer you; thanks to Xiumin you were able to complete your story that night.

And it had quite the ending.                          

Hope you liked it!

~Alanis

(aka LovingHopelessly)