>About why love is the one thing that gets us going, and why cherishing that one person is the most important thing.<

>I’ll be home late today. I know, again. I’m sorry. Love, Jjong<
Jonghyun sighed as he typed out that message to his boyfriend. It wasn’t the first time. To be precise, it was the third time in a row, today being Wednesday, when his boss had turned up in his small office and dropped another bunch of files on his desk.
Meaning he hadn’t actually seen or talked to his lover at all this week.
Mornings were an exception, but usually they had like ten minutes together before Jonghyun had to hurry off to work.

It wasn’t like he hated being a lawyer.
He loved helping people, loved to fight for the rights of others, of bringing justice to this world. Even if it were just little cases, everyone deserved to get their rights defended and applied.
But then again, he hated his job.
Hated getting up early, not having enough time to get a quick cuddle session with his boyfriend.
Hated getting home late and seeing that Kibum had once again tried to stay up for him, only to fall asleep on the couch.
Hated that all he got these days were rushed kisses of goodbye, or that one kiss he stole of his lover’s lips when he carried him to bed.

Kim Jonghyun liked being a lawyer, but he hated everything else that came with it.

Like the fact that he could never say no, in fear that he might get fired.
That was something he absolutely needed to avoid.
They needed the money.

Jonghyun’s salary was good, he could pay for their apartment, could even pay Kibum’s college tuition for him.
They had food, clothes and still something he could save for later. When they’d have kids or would like to plan a vacation in some far away country.
Jonghyun could pay all these bills and he gladly did so, fulfilling Kibum’s dream of being in that private fashion design school.

The smile the younger had gifted him with had been enough to make up for the hole on his bank account.

He looked over to the bouquet of roses he had bought earlier that day, sacrificing his lunch break to run to the nearest flower shop and getting these nicely wrapped up flowers for his boyfriend. He had had that premonition that his boss had already planned to keep him long today. And though Seoul was a city of the night, he didn’t know any flower shop that was open after 8 p.m. So he had no other choice than to get the bouquet in his lunch break, hoping that it would survive till he got home. The day passed tediously slow and when he finally took the subway to get back to their shared apartment, it was already late. He had tried to hurry, skipping some lines while reading and taking lesser notes on some cases, but …
Maybe he saved 20 minutes in total.

A small part of his heart hoped that Kibum might still be awake. But who could blame him for falling asleep?
No one.
Working and studying for a fashion major wasn’t exactly a piece of cake.
So Jonghyun never complained.

He understood.

But his hopes got crashed immediately when he found his boyfriend curled up on the couch, his phone clutched tightly between his hands.
And Jonghyun’s heart sank a little.

He had been waiting. Waiting for him to come home or to message him. And he hadn’t. Was too caught up in his work and with pleasing his boss, who had new ideas and tasks every day.
Jonghyun had to close his eyes, felt a bitter lump building up in his throat as he couldn’t watch his lover like that.
So lonely.

The brunet tiptoed into the kitchen, where he got a vase out of the cabinet, filling it with water and placing the bouquet inside after.
He was lucky, the roses had actually survived being in his badly ventilated office room.
Jonghyun carried it into their shared bedroom and placed it on Kibum’s bed side drawer. He hoped the younger would at least smile a little tomorrow when he saw it.

When he came back to carry his lover to bed like almost every night, Kibum rubbed his eyes and mumbled something inaudible
“Shh”, Jonghyun smiled at the kittenish yawn
“Sleep”, the elder hadn’t wanted to wake the younger at all. He leaned down and kissed that small pout that was forming on the blonde’s lips.
“You’re late”, his boyfriend whispered and Jonghyun knew his lover enough to hear the sad undertone
“I’m sorry”, he didn’t know what else to say.
“I was lonely…”, Jonghyun knew it wasn’t meant as a direct offense. Kibum was sleepy and he just expressed what he felt, but nevertheless, the elder felt his heart clench
“Still no new friends in that school of yours?”, he whispered, heart pounding in worry
“You know I’m bad at making friends…”, Kibum turned away, hid his face at the elder’s neck and let his fingers curl, holding onto Jonghyun’s dress shirt while the brunet carried him into the bedroom.

“I’m sorry”, that seemed all that Jonghyun could say these days.
That he was sorry.
He was. What more could he say? He couldn’t get out there and get friends for Kibum. He couldn’t just…
But he wished he could.

Feeling the shaky breath of his lover against his skin caused Jonghyun to wish he was some kind of superman, some super hero that was almighty.
Who could take the stars from the sky and place them into Kibum’s hazel eyes to make them shine again.
He felt like some useless peasant that had never set foot into the outside world and had never known more than how to wake up early, care for his farm and retiring to bed.
Who would want to share such a life with him?

And yet, Kibum was here. Had always been here.
Had made him feel better when he was stressing about the lawyer exams, the state examination.
Had been there to tie his necktie the right way and to hold his hand before his first job interview.
Kibum had always been there. When he got rejected, when he finally got accepted.
His boyfriend always knew how to make him soar on cloud nine.

And what was he doing now?

He laid the younger down and didn’t even bother with changing out of his office clothes.
Kibum’s hands were still fisted into his shirt and apparently had the other no intention of letting go soon.
So Jonghyun had smiled and cuddled to him on the bed, his lover shifting closer and using him as a pillow.

How can he still depend on me?

How did Jonghyun even deserve such a precious and captivating person in his life?
 

They fell asleep with the moonlight illuminating their room and their hearts.

When the elder woke up the next day it was due to a piercing scream and two hands shaking him awake.
“ Jonghyun!”, at least it was his boyfriend and not some psychopath burglar it seemed, so the brunet opened one eye lazily.
“Hm?”
“Why are you here!? You’re late for work!”, the blonde scolded, but the worry on his face was more than obvious
“I’m not”, Jonghyun mumbled into the pillow, reaching out for his lover and forcing him into a cuddle position.
But Kibum wouldn’t have that
“What do you mean, you’re not. Today is not Jonghyun’s allowed to slack off holiday!”, he growled and tried to free himself from his lover’s grip.
But the elder hadn’t built up his muscles for nothing and so Kibum had no chance as to stay in that iron grip.
“Hmpf”, he grumbled
“I called in earlier. I’m sick today”, Jonghyun muttered then and buried his nose in those soft locks.
That scent… Kibum’s unique scent with a hint of that lime shampoo he always used.
Jonghyun was addicted to that.

His lover’s body immediately stilled and the other knew that he had taken him by surprise. He didn’t need a lot of imagination to picture the younger with drawn up eyebrows.
“So, let me cuddle with you”, the brunet whispered, but didn’t protest this time when his lover shifted to turn his body around, big eyes facing him

“You bought me roses yesterday?”, Kibum asked and yes, there was this small smile Jonghyun was hoping for
“Yeah… I wanted to get home earlier and actually give them to you…but I failed”, he closed his eyes
“I’m sorry”, he breathed out and then he felt warm lips against his in a small and chaste kiss
“It’s okay”, Kibum answered and Jonghyun wanted to rip his hair out and scream, no, no it was not.
I can see you hurting, I know how lonely you are.
But he kept his mouth shut, didn’t want Kibum to know that he knew all along.

“It’s not.”, he said then and leaned their foreheads together
“We barely have time for us… us as a couple”, he breathed out and what more can Kibum do then agree.
When had they last made love?

“So I’m staying home today”, Jonghyun smiled a little
“And I’m not planning on leaving the bed”, the smile turned into a grin
“And for your information, you won’t either”, he added and Kibum scoffed at him, but there was that small hidden chuckle that told Jonghyun that everything was okay
“I’m not a slave under command”, he uttered, but there was a confident smile tugging on his lips.
“You’re not objecting though”, he chuckled and Kibum finally showed him that smile.
That smile that reached his eyes and that made Jonghyun’s heart pound loudly in his ribcage.
That smile that had made him fall for the younger in a matter of seconds back in high school.

“Maybe”, Kibum whispered and moved his long legs until he straddled his lover, smile still in place.
“It’s okay that you work late”, he said then and Jonghyun couldn’t hear or feel any resentment in his voice.
“I know we need the money. You pay for my education. You pay this apartment.”, the younger hummed. And still.
They both wanted more from life. More of each other.
With each other.

Kibum leaned in closer then, bringing their bodies closer and their foreheads together.
“Just…call me? Don’t text me. Call me.”, he asked and how could Jonghyun ever say no? ‘No’ wasn’t exactly in his vocabulary when the topic was Kim Kibum.
His lover, his partner, his only one.
Anything for you.

“I’m afraid I’ll run home the moment I hear your voice”, he joked lightheartedly and Kibum rolled his eyes at him in reply.
“Lunch dates would be nice too”, Kibum mentioned matter off factly and Jonghyun committed the idea to his memory.

Lunch dates indeed sounded nice.

The brunet nodded, bringing their lips closer.
“Okay”, and then they were finally kissing.
A real kiss, not a peck, where they move their lips together and where it ends with their tongues tied. Where they know the outcome this was leading to and where neither of them wanted to stop till Jonghyun’s was buried comfortably inside Kibum’s body.
And they didn’t stop before they both reached their white heavens, with joined hands and loud cries of pleasure.

This was what Jonghyun wanted.

He knew his life wasn’t perfect yet.

But with Kibum by his side, he knew they were on the best way.

“I love you”

He would cherish this man forever.
Carry him on his hands.
And even if he messes up from time to time, because he was still just a human being, and humans make mistakes, he knew Kibum would be there.
At the end of a long day, the other would be there and squeeze his hand in quiet encouragement.
He might be angry, nag and scold him.
But he was there by his side, fingers intertwined.

And like this, Jonghyun wasn’t afraid of facing the future.
 

For you, my love.

A/N:

Just something short I wrote some time ago already.
I wanted to show how important conversations in a relationship are : ]
And yeah, how little signs of affection can make the other smile
I hope you enjoyed reading this small piece!
It has barely 2k words but it was important to me!!

I hope I will be able to publish more stories in the near future ^^" At the moment I'm working for the Colorful_World fest again (please check them out!!) and then we will see!
Thank you so much for reading :3
 

Love,
 

xxx Blingdom