It’s exactly 2:57 AM when Seungyoon crosses the threshold. It takes him exactly four seconds to slip out of his sneakers followed by another twenty three seconds to slink inside Jinwoo’s dark bedroom and quietly prop his guitar bag by the door. He walks over to the bedside surreptitiously, slipping his fringed bag off his shoulder and letting it rest on the floor.

The cats are the first to acknowledge his existence, Seungyoon smiles at them sheepishly. They stare at each other for seconds and under the scrutiny of their gaze Seungyoon couldn’t help but deflate a little. He runs a hand over his disheveled hair and bites into his bottom lip.

The cats are upset with him. He knows it and doesn’t doubt it.

He’s been gone the last few days and when he did come back he’d been too occupied. Dim light from the hallway sneaks into the bedroom, its bluish candescence exposing Jinwoo’s hand sticking out from under the sheets.

He should have come home faster, should have been here with Jinwoo sooner.

His mind flits back to Jinwoo’s last two instagram updates. The first one beckoned him to hurry home, all of him wanting to run full pelt towards Jinwoo and just have his arms full of him. The second had him wanting to be by Jinwoo’s side for an entirely different reason.

Standing at that very room now, Seungyoon doesn’t dare call out Jinwoo’s name and wake him. A part of him silenced by disbelief that the young man before him is his. Just that fact alone makes him radiate with pride, his heart thuds like it might actually jump right out of his chest.

“Seungyoon-ah...”

Seungyoon shifts, lips stretched into an instantaneous smile as Jinwoo’s doe eyes sleepily blinked up at him. The felines jumped off the bed and trotted out of the room, leaving them both in the dark.

“What are you doing?”

Seungyoon smiles wider, gently capturing Jinwoo’s chin. “You’re just so beautiful when you sleep, I couldn’t help but want to watch you.”

Jinwoo giggled softly, the corners of his eyes crinkling prettily. “Come closer.”

.

.

.

Jinwoo’s body is warm. Seungyoon presses closer, this is Jinwoo, his Jinwoo, and he finally has him back in his arms.

“You have no idea how much I wanted you like this. How much I missed you.”

Jinwoo doesn’t verbally respond, instead his lips smooth over Seungyoon’s, gentle and loving.

“Liar.” Jinwoo mumbles into his mouth as he pulled away. “I saw the airport pics. You were flirting here and there.”

Seungyoon chuckles a little, he knew Jinwoo would say that. Which is exactly why he keeps him from talking further by shushing him with his lips. He nips Jinwoo softly, affectionately. It’s been days since he last had Jinwoo like this and Seungyoon wanted to take his time. Pushing Jinwoo down on the bed, he trails kisses along his jaw while his fingers fumbled over the pearlized buttons of the pajama top Jinwoo wore.

“Why did you change into this?” Seungyoon grunts under his breath, desperately battling the stubborn second button, his frustration evident in his voice.

Jinwoo just grins and smacks his hand aside, “You’re hopeless.”

He lets Jinwoo take care of the goddamn buttons, all the while letting his lips dance on Jinwoo’s exposed collarbones, lightly at opportune patches of skin.

“I’m proud of you.” He whispers in Jinwoo’s ear. He pulls back just enough so that he can stare into his eyes. “I saw. I read the comments too.”

“Were they bad?” Jinwoo suddenly looks worn out in his eyes. “Did I cause trouble for you?”

This is the other reason why Seungyoon wanted to rush home to him. He knew that the anguish would soon take its toll on him. Jinwoo’s eyes glint with unshed tears. He’s too soft-hearted, too kind, too good for this world. Seungyoon wanted nothing more than to protect Jinwoo and always keep him close. Period.

“A lot of them are proud of you.” Seungyoon his hair, tucking a few stray strands of gold behind his ear. “Don’t be too hard on yourself.”

His lips brush against Jinwoo’s cautiously. “I’m with you. We’re in this together.”

A grin spreads across Jinwoo’s face as he goes back to undoing the buttons of his pajama top. Seungyoon hovers above him and watches quietly, admiring every inch of skin revealed to him. The lighting in the room isn’t sufficient and Seungyoon is just a little grateful for that. He knew how red he must be about now, he bites into his bottom lip - Jinwoo was quite a