(( OTL So friday I knew it was friday all day and I'm like I forgot to do something, but I couldn't remember what till now
Also! Are there any groups that you all are curious about who we see as platonic/romantic soulmates? I know we have half of Vixx mentioned here, but we also decided for Shinee and we love talking about it so we'd be more than happy to give our opinions on groups we know :3c comment a group below and we'll have our answers in the beginning a/n of next week's chapter~ ))

The soft shuffle around the room pulled Junmyeon to the edge of his dreams, though he was still under enough that silence would have lulled him back to sleep. That feeling where you know you’re asleep and if you focused enough to open your eyes you would wake but as it wasn’t the sound of an alarm interrupting him he didn’t muster up the effort and intended to allow himself to drift off again. The clattered noise of something thick and plastic hitting against tile had him bolting up in bed, blinking as his eyes tried to adjust to the light that cast over the bed from the bathroom, and he rubbed his face with one hand, the other moving over Jongdae’s spot on the bed revealing it to be cold.

“Jongdae? What are you doing?” Junmyeon mumbled, looking over at the brunet who was picking up the toothbrush holder that had fallen.

“Cleaning,” was what Junmyeon got in return, his voice so soft as if his response was an automatic response, the blond looking over to the clock on his nightstand.

“Jongdae it’s four in the morning, why are you cleaning? Why are you even awake?” he asked, this time not receiving a response and he sighed, slipping out of the bed, wandering over to the younger. “Come back to bed,” he said, pulling Jongdae to his feet by one of his arms, flicking the light off with his free hand, guiding the other back to bed.

The instance started becoming a more regular occurrence- three times in the week Junmyeon woke up to find himself alone in their bed, Jongdae either in some part of their house cleaning, or missing from the premises completely, responding to Junmyeon’s panicked calls with a simple ‘I’m just going for a walk’. He didn’t seem phased by the fact that his walks were not only completely out of character, but also took place between two and four in the morning, or during the time they were supposed to be having dinner.

“What’s gotten into you lately?” Junmyeon asked as the brunet walked in the front door several days after the problem started. 

“Nothing’s gotten into me,” Jongdae brushed off, missing the hook that he tried to place his jacket on without seeming to notice as he walked out of the entryway and towards the kitchen. Junmyeon frowned, letting out a small huff before he wandered over to the jacket, putting it in its place, trailing after Jongdae after.

“We’ve been together far too long for you to expect the ‘oh nothing’s wrong with me, I’m just physically disappearing constantly, and when I am here physically my mind is far from it’ to work,” he stated firmly, grabbing onto Jongdae’s arm and giving it a small tug when the other didn’t spare him a glance. “Seriously, what is going on? What aren’t you telling me?” He asked, voice softening a little. Jongdae fell silent, then pulled his arm out of the older’s hold, slipping past him, disappearing up the stairs.

Another couple of weeks passed before Junmyeon had reached his limit; he went over what he was going to say, over and over in his head as he made his way home from work. The imaginary conversation caused irritation to bubble up in his chest, and he shut the front door behind himself a little harsher than necessary, though he faltered a little when he found Jongdae sitting on the bed, wiping at his face in a hurry, trying to stifle sniffles.

“W-what’s wrong?” he asked, the other shaking his head.

“It’s nothing,” Jongdae tried, attention falling onto his lap.

“Would you stop with that?”

“Stop with what, it’s really nothing, we don’t need to talk about it.”

“We’re a team, Jongdae.” The brunet slowly looked up from his lap, tears lacing his eyes. His lips parted to speak, and he flinched a little when Junmyeon didn’t give him the chance. “We’re soulmates, god damnit! We have to work together when it comes to the problems that we face, no matter how small they seem to us because no matter how hard you try to hide that you’re hurting, I can tell. Just like you felt how torn up I was that I couldn’t help Yixing back when Yifan-Hyung left. You of all people know what goes back and forth between two people who are bonded, so don’t you dare try with the whole ‘nothing is wrong’ bull!” Jongdae opened his mouth again, only to sigh and look back down at his lap, Junmyeon sitting beside him.

“You have to learn to rely on me when you have problems, Jongdae.”

“I do rely on you.”

“Really now?” The blond asked, arching an eyebrow at the younger. “How did you manage to afford this house?” He asked, watching Jongdae shrink ever so slightly in on himself. “We both know you haven’t worked for my father nearly long enough to have saved enough for it, and I doubt that any bank would have given you a loan large enough for a place like this with less than a year’s experience at a company like my father’s. Even with a year there I don’t know if they would have,” he said, looking around the room. “So tell me, how did you do it?”

“… Yifan-Hyung.” Junmyeon slowly turned his focus back to Jongdae.

“Yifan-Hyung?” He echoed, Jongdae nodding as he sighed. 

“I… when I was rejected for the loan, Baekhyun thought it would be a good idea to go out for a drink. We found Yifan-Hyung at the bar, and he let it slip that the reason he hadn’t bought a house to live in with Yixing-Hyung was because he was having one built from the ground up. But he then begged me not to tell anyone, not even you, and said that if I kept his secret then he would help me buy this place,” he explained, a silence settle between them. “It was just… so perfect, when I saw it I knew that it was everything that you would have wanted, and I was scared that if I waited to have a year of experience under your father’s company that it would be gone! So when Yifan-Hyung offered, I…” Jongdae started to look over at the other, flinching when his arm was swatted, eyes widening as they met Junmyeon’s.

“So instead of coming to me you went to Yifan-Hyung. Of all people!”

“I didn’t go to him, we ran into each other-”

“That doesn’t matter! What matters is that you went to someone who wasn’t me, your romantic soulmate. You didn’t even go to your platonic soulmate!”

“Baekhyun could never afford the place-”

“Again, that doesn’t matter! I probably could never have afforded it either, but who knows? You never gave me the chance to try and help you.” Jongdae swallowed hard, trying to look down again, Junmyeon catching his chin to force their eyes to meet again. “You never mentioned anything about this. You just sent me on a scavenger hunt and told me that we owned a house now.”

“I wanted to surprise you…”

“I know, but you could have surprised me with just finding the house, and we could have worked together to buy it. We could have gotten a loan together, and maybe then we wouldn’t have had to get Yifan-Hyung involved, we might have been able to co-sign on a lease together.”

“I didn’t…”

“Didn’t think of that? Of course not, you’re always so focused on taking care of every single little thing.” Junmyeon let the other’s chin go, Jongdae’s head lowering, and Junmyeon’s hand moved to the younger’s shoulder. “You say you want to get married, there was a while where you would ask me in nonchalant ways on a weekly basis, and I’ve told you no in just as playful ways as you’ve proposed. But we can’t get married until you start to trust that I’m going to be here when you need me. I refuse to marry you until you realize that I’m able to take care of you like you’re able to take care of me,” Junmyeon said, his voice losing its bite as he spoke.

“You have to start being up front and honest about things, no matter how small you think the problems are. I need to know what’s going on in your head because neither of us are mind readers, and I seem to be the only one willing to open up about my problems. I know that it was hard on you when Baekhyun and Chanyeol broke up… I know Baekhyun was an and when he said that soulmate things were bull - I know how badly that hurt you… I felt that ache. You sometimes seem to forget that the connection goes both ways.” Jongdae fidgeted a little, Junmyeon forcing the younger to look him in the eye.

“I’m being serious. I might not be able to fix everything, but sometimes you won’t need me to fix things. Most of the time you just need someone to listen to you to help get the poison out of your head; you don’t have to be looking for a solution. You can talk just to talk; we both know you’re capable of that,” Junmyeon added, pulling a small smile across the brunet’s lips, and the older reached over, taking Jongdae’s hand, intertwining their fingers together. “So talk. Please.” Jongdae was silent for a few long moments, and then he took a deep breath and let it out as a slow sigh.

“It’s my mother. You remember how I told you about getting a job as soon as I could to help take care of her? We thought… that she was finally better but a couple of months ago… She got really bad,” he explained, Junmyeon soothing his thumb over the back of his hand. “It was hard, because she would seem like she was starting to get a little better, but then she would get worse, and it was this whole battle of one step forward, two steps back and I…” Jongdae choked a little as his throat tightened, Junmyeon’s stomach knotting up at the tears that laced his eyes. 

Junmyeon realized that he had never seen Jongdae cry… Not when he had Baekhyun had fought, not when he had broken his arm… He was a man on many words, but Junmyeon was becoming aware of the fact that he only got choked up like this when he talked about his mother. He pulled his hand back from Jongdae’s to wrap both of his arms around him, pulling Jongdae close against himself as he started running his fingers through the younger’s hair.

“I don’t know if there’s anything I can do this time, she might- sh-she might…” Jongdae’s voice cut out with a whine, Junmyeon holding him tighter.

“Hey, I’m sure things will get better, she’ll get better… Just you wait and see,” Junmyeon soothed, placing a soft kiss on top of the younger’s head. “The night is always darkest before the dawn, as the saying goes,” he added, trying a smile as Jongdae looked up at him.

“That’s really c-cliché,” he pointed out. His voice still shook, but there was the flicker of amusement behind his eyes, making Junmyeon’s stomach relax as he reached up to cup Jongdae’s cheek.

“And you would know all about those, since you won me over with a bunch of them,” the blond stated, kissing Jongdae’s forehead, the brunet responding by placing a light one on Junmyeon’s lips before resting his forehead on Junmyeon’s shoulder.

“Thank you…”

“For what?” Junmyeon asked, turning his head a little to see as much of the other’s face as he could.

“For listening… for being here… for forcing me to actually talk about this I… It’s less suffocating not being the only one that knows,” Jongdae explained, Junmyeon smiling softly, nuzzling the younger’s hair.

“I’ll always be here for you.”

Junmyeon looked over from the book he had been going over as Jongdae’s mobile started buzzing against the surface of his desk, the brunet picking up the device and appearing hesitant to answer. After the fourth ring he selected answer, taking a deep breath as he raised the device to his ear.

“Hello?” Junmyeon placed a book mark between the pages of his book, closing it and setting it down slowly as he watched Jongdae’s face closely. The way he was acting lead the older to think that it was his mother or the hospital on the other line, and Jongdae starting to pace a moment after answering the call nearly confirmed the theory without the brunet needing to answer the question in his eyes.

“Yes… No, just outside of north Seoul… Yeah, I can head to the hospital now,” Jongdae said, ending the call a moment later, staring down at his mobile as he took a slow breath. Junmyeon stood, stepping around his desk, pausing as he noticed the smile pulling at Jongdae’s lips, relaxing when the other looked up at him. “She’s okay… she’s going to be okay,” he said, Junmyeon pulling him into a tight hug as the younger started crying again.

They had made the trip to visit the hospital that Jongdae’s mother had been staying in, Junmyeon hesitating in the doorway as Jongdae rushed to her side. She offered a smile to him, petting his hair for a few moments before she noticed the blond in the doorway, wincing a little as she pulled herself up into a sitting position.

“I wasn’t expecting him to bring you, Junmyeon.” The blond blinked, looking to Jongdae before back at the black haired woman in the bed, taking a few steps inside the room.

“You… you know who I am?” he asked, and she let out a soft giggle.

“Of course I do. Dae’s told me a lot about you. You’re just as cute as he always describes,” she added, pulling a faint pink blush over Junmyeon’s cheeks. She looked back to Jongdae, pinching his cheek as she saw the faint glimmer of tears in his eyes, and she shook her head a little. “You worry about your eomma too much,” she cooed, Jongdae pouting a little.

“Well duh, you’re my only eomma,” he stated and a playful smile tugged at her lips as she looked back to Junmyeon.

“Not into that, huh?” she asked, Junmyeon’s face turning bright red.

“So that’s where you get it from,” he said, trying to keep the embarrassment from his voice, causing Jongdae burst out into laughter.

Jongdae kissed down the blond’s neck, pulling a content sigh from him as he laid back on the bed, Jongdae following after him. The tense stress had seeped out of his shoulders, Junmyeon’s hands kneading at the muscles of his shoulders, humming softly. He missed this, he had missed Jongdae; not just the hormonal desire that the younger satisfied but just being… close and intimate as they hadn’t been able to be over the past couple of months. Jongdae’s hands slid down Junmyeon’s chest, pushing up his shirt as far as it would go, and Junmyeon smiled, shifting to help the younger pull off his shirt, removing Jongdae’s as well without hesitation. Their lips met, Jongdae’s hands moving to cup Junmyeon’s cheeks, deepening the kiss and pulling a small noise from the older who’s hands wandered down to tug at Jongdae’s pants.

“Someone’s impatient,” Jongdae mused with a grin, Junmyeon tugging at his pants once more before he ed and ped Jongdae’s pants.

“I want you,” Junmyeon replied, Jongdae pressing their lips together once more, shifting to help the older remove his pants, making quick work of removing Junmyeon’s as well. Jongdae broke the kiss, starting to pull away, Junmyeon grabbing a hold of his shoulders. “Where are you going?”

“To get something.”

“Jongdae, no.”

“Don’t worry, it’ll be quick,” Jongdae assured, Junmyeon shaking his head.

“I said no. I want you. Not one of your toys, not some new way of tying one of us up… You. Just you.”

“Junnie, trust me, you’ll have me,” Jongdae said, earning a huff from the older who reluctantly let him go.

Jongdae placed a quick kiss on Junmyeon’s lips before he slipped off of the bed, crossing the room with a teasing sway of his hips, going for the bottom drawer of the dresser rather than one of the several boxes on the shelf of their closet. He returned with a shoe box that Junmyeon vaguely remembered seeing in the drawer; he hadn’t questioned it figuring it was some new toy that Jongdae was trying to keep a secret- he didn’t know why Jongdae chose their dresser as the hiding place rather than with all of the other boxes in the closet but he didn’t understand why Jongdae did a lot of the things that he did which was why he hadn’t bothered asking him about it over the last week.

Jongdae pulled off the lid of the box, revealing another box that took up only half of the space in the shoe box, looking up to check Junmyeon’s confused expression as the blond tried to figure out what kind of toy had been hidden inside, the options narrowing at the new size, and then again when Jongdae opened the second box to reveal an even smaller box, this one covered in navy colored velvet.

“So I’m going to guess that it’s an expensive toy, considering the luxury of the box it came in,” Junmyeon said, eyes flickering up to meet Jongdae’s as the younger set the two larger boxes aside.

“Expensive is a good guess,” Jongdae said, turning the box over in his hand carefully, turning one side to face Junmyeon. The blond noticed the slight shake of Jongdae’s hands, barely having the time to wonder what kind of crazy toy he could be worried about revealing before Jongdae opened the box. There was a silver ring imbedded in the slit, the top of the ring looking like it twisted once though the rest of the ring was perfectly circular. It was simple, yet beautiful, and it took Junmyeon a moment to realize what it meant.

“J-Jongdae, what are you-” Junmyeon stopped at the younger’s shy laugh, looking watching Jongdae look down at the ring.

“With this ring, I promise to lift your burdens. Not because I don’t think that you can handle them, but because I want us to grow stronger together. Neither of us is stronger than the other, and we may not be able to take on the some of the problems in our lives… But together we are a force that no problem can match. With this ring, I promise to share my burdens… Because if I’ve learned anything, it’s that I trust you to be there when I can’t make it through them, to help take some of the strain off of my back and to work with me to find a way around my burdens if we’re unable to get through them. With this ring, I give myself to you in a new way, one that I will never give myself to anyone else, if you’ll have me and only me.” Jongdae smiled at the tears that welled up in Junmyeon’s eyes, one hand having come up to cover his mouth.

“Is that serious enough for you?” He teased, Junmyeon swatting at his arm as a tear fell.

“Yes, you big jerk,” Junmyeon replied, Jongdae laughing as he took Junmyeon’s left hand, slipping the ring into place