chapter 10

“I’m still in shock over how well they got along,” Kyungsoo says, tossing an apron to Jongin and tying the strings to his own. “Did you see how Sehun was comforting Baekhyun? During the bloody scenes?”

“I saw everything,” Jongin laughs, looping the apron over his head. “And, trust me, Sehun isn’t the affectionate type. He must really like him.”

Kyungsoo slows down as he’s pulling out bowls and mixers, glancing at Jongin curiously.

“Is he…?”

Jongin meets his gaze, freezing up when he realises what Kyungsoo is hinting at. “No! No, he’s—he’s not.”

Both of them fall quiet after that, taking ingredients from the fridge and equipment from the cupboard in silence. Jongin is afraid that Kyungsoo’s questioning means that he’s homophobic, and in response to his agitated reaction, Kyungsoo fears the same.

“Maybe Baekhyun offered him my cheesecake?” Kyungsoo suggests nervously, gaining a snort from Jongin, and the tension is, thankfully, broken.

“Do you want to melt the butter while I crush the biscuits?” Kyungsoo offers, handing a bowl to Jongin. “We’re going to use these for the crust. Normally you’d puree the biscuits in a food processor, but…I mean…I’m cheap. So I don’t have one.”

Jongin laughs and follows Kyungsoo’s instructions, microwaving the butter while he rolls the biscuits into fine crumbs.

“I wish,” he puffs, “that I had a stupid food processor. This is always the most exhausting—part.”

“Want some help?”

Kyungsoo shakes his head, smiling gratefully up at Jongin, cheeks already flushed and red. “I’m almost done. I’ll just need to mix in the butter, and that’s dirty work. Could you make sure the oven is preheating?”

Jongin focuses as hard as he can on the jobs Kyungsoo sets for him, measuring out ingredients and tipping them into the mixing bowl with as much precision as his clumsy hands will allow. The fact that he’s nervous doesn’t help, either, and every time his eyes land on Kyungsoo’s pink cheeks he can’t help but falter in whatever he’s doing.

He can’t help noticing the movement and change in Kyungsoo’s expressions as they work. He admires the determination in Kyungsoo’s eyes to be meticulous and precise, the careful inspection of textures and tastes, and the twinkle of love in his eyes when he explains how to properly combine ingredients and why.

“I’ll just make this a simple one,” Kyungsoo says, tipping the bottle of vanilla extract and adding just a splash to the mixture. “So you can decorate it however you’d like once it’s finished baking. Want to mix?”

Jongin gingerly takes the hand mixer from Kyungsoo and stands before the bowl, anxious.

“I have butterfingers,” he says quickly, before Kyungsoo flicks the ‘on’ switch. “I feel like I’m a hazard with electrical items.”

“I’m right here, Jongin. You can’t screw up mixing in vanilla extract.”

Kyungsoo turns the mixer on and Jongin winces as he presses the button to mix, and he gasps and recoils back when part of the batter escapes the bowl and splatters onto his apron.

“Jesus!” he cries, squeezing his eyes shut and slamming the hand mixer deeper into the bowl to stop the mess. This, unfortunately, backfires, and Kyungsoo dives forward to pull the plug and stop the mess from going everywhere.

“I told you!” he wails, covering his face once Kyungsoo wrenches the mixer from his hand. “I told you I’d screw it up!”

“Jongin, calm down,” Kyungsoo laughs, taking Jongin’s wrists and moving his hands away. He thumbs the mixture from Jongin’s cheeks and wipes it on his apron, and Jongin is thankful that he’s already bright red, because Kyungsoo is really close to him now and his hands are so, so soft…

“I’m sorry,” Jongin manages to choke out once Kyungsoo steps back, his breathing shallow from the pounding of his heart. “I didn’t—”

“You didn’t even make that much of a mess,” Kyungsoo says kindly. “I should have showed you how to use it. Don’t worry. Come here, watch me do it, and I’ll teach you.”

Kyungsoo hooks their arms together and pulls Jongin back to the bench top, and Jongin clasps his hands behind his back when he lets go – partly because he’s agitated, partly because he kind of wants to put his arms around Kyungsoo and watch from over his shoulder, and partly because he wants to slap the life out of himself for thinking such stupidly romantic things. He doesn’t like Kyungsoo. He doesn’t even like Kyungsoo – why would Kyungsoo’s gentle touch and rosy cheeks matter to him?

“Don’t put the blades too shallow into the bowl, see?” Kyungsoo says, showing Jongin what he did wrong. “If it’s not deep enough it causes splatters, and pressing it into the actual bowl will cause the machine to malfunction.” He switches on the mixer and of course, the batter twirls around the blades effortlessly, not a single drop out of place.

“Oh.”

“Have you really never used a mixer before?”

Jongin stares at the floor sheepishly, and Kyungsoo stops mixing and turns to smile at him.

“It’s alright,” Kyungsoo laughs. “I’ll teach you how to cook.”

He bangs the blades on the side of the bowl to remove the excess batter, and transfers the bowl into Jongin’s hands. “Now, you need to pour this into the crust.”

“Are you sure?”

“I trust you.”

Kyungsoo pulls the tin from the fridge and places it down on the bench, giving Jongin a spatula and instructing him to slowly scrape the mixture into the crust. Thankfully it doesn’t go everywhere, and only a small amount drips onto the edge of the tin, but Kyungsoo quickly steps in to wipe it away before Jongin even notices.

“Excellent! And you said you have butterfingers,” Kyungsoo praises, nudging Jongin proudly when he successfully scoops all of the mixture into the tin. He takes the spatula and their fingers brush together ever so slightly, as they have done hundreds of times before, but Jongin somehow still finds his heart accelerating at the touch.

“Now, when you just bang the tin on the bench like this, you’ll bring any air bubbles to the surface, and it also evens out the spread of the mixture…”

His hands move quickly as he smooths down the batter and evens the surface, and Jongin wishes he could feel Kyungsoo’s hands in his own. Maybe if he just grabbed them, took them right now and pulled Kyungsoo against him and discovered how soft his lips really are…

“And we’re done!” Kyungsoo exclaims, throwing up his hands and grinning at Jongin. “I mean, except for the baking part. I’ll go put this in the oven.”

Jongin’s eyes follow Kyungsoo’s movements as he takes the tin to the oven, his lips glued shut, not trusting himself to speak coherently with such a mess in his mind. His imagination is running at a million miles an hour but the sane part of him tries to push the thoughts back down his throat, tries to convince his thumping heart that he doesn’t have romantic feelings for Kyungsoo. But the thoughts won’t stop, the curiosity is suffocating, and none of his celebrity crushes or past infatuations can even compare to the overwhelming emotions he most definitely has for Kyungsoo. There’s no denying it – he’s dated a lot of guys, and he’s confident he knows what his ideal type is, but nobody has ever made him feel this breathless before, and he’s never been faced with such an urge to kiss someone in his life.

Kyungsoo shuts the oven door and turns around, and the pleased smile on his face quickly fades when he notices how lost and confused Jongin looks. He’s staring, really staring, and Kyungsoo isn’t sure how to respond, so he moves forward and places a hand on Jongin’s arm.

“Are you okay?” he asks gently, and Jongin gulps, his breathing loud and shaky. His heart is racing and his head feels light, his cheeks are hot, his throat is constricted and he can’t even breathe.

“Kyungsoo, I…”

Kyungsoo’s eyes stare into his own, deeply and lovingly, searching for an emotion that Jongin is so afraid to have. He clenches and unclenches his fist, his conscience and his heart screaming for him to do something, and Kyungsoo’s lips ever so gently purse together and Jongin falls to pieces. His hands move forward instinctively to cup Kyungsoo’s blushing cheeks in his palms, and he bends down and presses their lips together, firmly, perfectly.

Of all the lips that Jongin has kissed, none have ever fit so blissfully well against his own.

Jongin holds their faces together for just a second before he quickly pulls back, but the short time frame was enough for Kyungsoo to react and press forward, to kiss back.

Jongin’s eyes open instantly but Kyungsoo’s eyelids take a moment to flutter, letting the feeling of Jongin’s lips sink in, letting himself indulge in the short moment that was theirs. Jongin still can’t breathe, but something feels lighter, something is setting off joyous fireworks in his heart and all he can think about is kissing Kyungsoo again.

They meet gazes and stare momentarily, before Kyungsoo breaks into a soft smile, releasing Jongin’s arm and stepping back.

“We should clean up,” he whispers, without breaking eye contact. Jongin nods, mind in a haze, and even though they turn their backs to one another and don’t speak until they finish cleaning, it doesn’t stop the smile that blooms on Jongin’s lips, because he knows this is Kyungsoo’s way of saying: it’s okay. I do, too.

[] [] []

“I have to tell you something,” Jongin blurts, shoving the cake box into Sehun’s hands and waiting stiffly to be invited inside. Sehun raises an eyebrow and steps to the side, motioning for him to enter the apartment, and Jongin marches through the door and stands in the middle of the room, as if he’s lost.

“The ’s the matter with you?” Sehun asks, elbowing the door shut and opening the box. “Oh, Jesus, a whole cheesecake! Are you trying to kill me?”

“I made it yesterday with Kyungsoo.”

“What flavour is it?”

“I kissed him, Sehun.”

Sehun drops the box instantly, and the cake falls out and smashes all over the floor in a creamy, messy heap. Jongin doesn’t even flinch.

“Come again?”

“I kissed him. On the lips.”

Sehun walks forward and grabs Jongin’s cheeks, grinning from ear to ear. “You’re joking.”

Jongin finally manages an awkward, lopsided smile, telling him that Kyungsoo had kissed him back, too, and the sad dessert on the ground behind them is left forgotten. Somehow, to Sehun, this is so much better than having an entire homemade cheesecake to himself.

[] [] []

Kyungsoo: Did he like the cake?
Jongin: The best you’ve ever made

✏ ( a/n ] one last chapter to go :) :) :) :) :) haha........sorry.......... (PS im going to be away for the next few days so if i dont reply to ur enraged comments in time i will when i come back!!! i love u all)

word count: 1798