"Within each of us there is an intense need to feel that we belong. This feeling of unity and togetherness comes through the warmth of a smile, a handshake, or a hug, through laughter and unspoken demonstrations of love. It comes in the quiet, reverent moments of soft conversation and in listening."

– William R. Bradford

...

The first thing that came out from Donghae's mouth when the sudden power outage occurred was not a curse word. It must've been a blessing in disguise, after all.

Because of his overly demanding and unforgiving work schedule, it was nearly impossible to earn a full day off. But on a rare chance that he got one, he planned to spend it in a relaxing way together with his lover. He just wanted to literally take a rest while enjoying the comfort of the cool air-conditioned room and taking Eunhyuk's suggestion of a movie marathon into account. It was a good arrangement since the sweltering summer heat deterred them from going out and their movie watch list had piled up because of too less free time.

That all was until the unexpected blackout.

Since Donghae had a calm nature, he didn't have as much as a violent reaction as Eunhyuk had. He was laid back and only felt a tiny bit regretful with the thought of all their plans that would be thrown aside. It was a shame that they wouldn't be able to laze around in a cool room, but he was fine with not watching a movie as it wasn't really high on his priorities right now.

What Donghae truly wanted, straightforwardly speaking, was to have a quality time with Eunhyuk. He wanted to have his full and undivided attention and even if they had to do nothing, he would be satisfied as long as they get to be idle together. If they watch the movies, more than half of his lover's attention would be bestowed to the screen, the other quarter to the snacks, and even with the remaining less than quarter, Donghae couldn't confidently say that they would be given to him. So while hearing Eunhyuk cursing the blackout, Donghae was actually grinning to himself.

With a bright mood that contradicted his lover's dark, Donghae strolled through the mini balcony of their second floor and waited for Eunhyuk to come back from his trip at the neighborhing office to acquire information. The only reason why he wordlessly let him go was his guilt from being too happy at having to cancel the movie marathon that Eunhyuk really preferred.

After half an hour of waiting and hopelessly calling for the wind, he finally heard the sound of someone coming in. "Donghae-ya! Lee Donghae! Where are you?"

Donghae couldn't tell from Eunhyuk's voice if he accomplished his goal or not, either way, he answered him aloud. "Here! Eunhyuk-ah, in the balcony!"

There was a momentary silence followed by the jiggling of keys before Eunhyuk finally walked towards him. With a plastic bag at hand and a sulking expression on his face, he joined Donghae who was sitting on the floor. "I didn't get anything, the housewives were swarming the information box."

"What's in the bag?" Donghae asked instead, pointing at the plastic in his hand.

Eunhyuk raised the plastic bag in his eye level and gave it an unamused look as it started to moisten from the outside. "An about to melt ice candy."

"Give me, then," he said after snorting at his lover's expression.

"Of all the days, why now?" Clicking his tongue in annoyance, Eunhyuk expressed his disappointment at the sudden occurrence and with a defeated sigh, he picked the grape flavored ice candy and gave the orange one to Donghae.

"Didn't you hear the saying that the unpredictable weather is the charm of a trip? It's just the same as this."

Eunhyuk glared at him, obviously not pleased with his logic. "What do you mean the same? That's a vacation while this is a rest day, it's totally different, stupid."

Donghae just answered him with a laugh. "Why orange?" he asked as he took a bite from the ice candy.

"I wanted to try it," his lover replied before also taking a bite from his.

"Then why did you pick that and gave this to me?"

"Because I wanted to try this more," he said, giving him a look like his statement should have been obvious. "Let me have a bite," he added when Donghae didn't seem to get his point.

Taking another bite before the ice candy completely melted, Donghae laughed again. "You should have bought more, then."

"They'll melt."

Thinking that his lover always had an answer for his argument, he just let it slide and offered the half-eaten ice candy while an idea popped on his mind. "Here you go, say ah~~"

Eunhyuk stared at him, looked at the offered orange flavored ice candy and then back at his face. At this point, Donghae was already started to grin because the expression of his lover was slowly transitioning from frowning to outright suspicious. He clearly noticed the mischievous idea that came to him.

"Don't do anything funny," Eunhyuk warned, even though he knew where his fate was about to go.

"Nothing funny."

Trusting him for once, Eunhyuk moved to bite the ice candy only to missed it because Donghae suddenly shifted it. He quickly followed it afterwards, but Donghae was faster in changing its direction.

Eunhyuk looked like he was determined to win over his trivial foolery so he gobbled up the last bite of his ice candy and unwarily threw the empty packet. He took another look at Donghae, narrowed his eyes and pressed his lips on a thin line. Wanting to take him by surprise, he swiftly lunged at the offending hand. Still, on that speedy second, Donghae's reflexes managed to swing it higher so instead, Eunhyuk dived on thin air and the too much force he used made his body involuntarily fall on the ground. Luckily, Donghae was there to cushion him.

Both of them were reduced into a fit of laughter because of the hilarity of it and the comical way of Eunhyuk's landing. His arms were both raised, his body was flat on Donghae's legs and his face was only a few centimeters from colliding with the floor. Had he landed a little bit more arduous, he would've either kiss the floor or have a nose bleed.

"Yah! Lee Donghae!" he yelled after regaining his composure. Donghae was still laughing and while minding the dripping melted ice candy from his hand, he helped his lover to turn around so he was facing him with his back on Donghae's knees.

Because Donghae believed that embarrassment was also a form of love, he often teased his lover and showered him with his playfulness. Only, sometimes, he didn't know his limitations so it mostly ended up with Eunhyuk really pissed at him and his childish antics.

This time, however, he wouldn't let that happen.

"Sorry, sorry, here you go," he said, ultimately letting his lover eat the remaining decent part of the ice candy.

Eunhyuk made a face, "It's too sweet and it's melted." He wiped his mouth with his shirt collar and willfully made himself comfortable at Donghae's lap so his lower body was seated at the floor while the upper half was lying on Donghae.

"Eunhyuk-ah, I need to wipe my hand too," Donghae said, only a part of him wishing that Eunhyuk would let him go and tend to his dirtied hand. The other part wholeheartedly wanted his lover to ignore his whine and just stay on his arms—or on his lap.

As if he had read Donghae's mind, Eunhyuk indeed stayed at his spot. He reached for his soiled hand and wiped it with his shirt. "There you go, now shut up and don't move."

That simple act unquestionably made Donghae's heart flutter in a manly way. He thought he was the only one enjoying this moment, but judging from his lover's response, he might possibly want this to escalate to the present moment, as well.

"Tsk, it's so hot!" Eunhyuk said, expressing his irritation with his eyes close. But even then, he didn't seem to have any intention of moving away from him.

"Yeah, it is," Donghae answered. He gave his lover the most tender gaze that was exclusively for him. His face was slightly crunching because of his displeasure, his hair was sticking to his forehead and the beads of sweat were starting to form, and yet, he was still the only person Donghae would lovingly gaze at. He gently swabbed his thumb on the side of his temple where the sweat dripped and continued to run his fingers through his lover's hair.

"Eunhyuk-ah, want to cuddle with me?"

"No way in hell, it's too hot!"

"Want to move, then?"

"No, this is plenty alright."

He rejected the idea and continuously complained about the heat yet he didn't move a single inch even though Donghae's natural warmth was adding to the hot temperature that made him uncomfortable. It made Donghae smile; being with Eunhyuk like this was so far the most fulfilling time he could ever have on his long-awaited rest day.

Sweat was slowly dripping from Donghae's own body and his hand was still a bit sticky from before, but Eunhyuk was snuggled, albeit discontentedly, on him and didn't let him move away. They've been together for years already, but this kind of intimacy was still precious to Donghae as it solidified their relationship and incorporated the affection they had for each other. His body was feeling the heat yet his heart was feeling the warmth.

On a rare chance that he got a day off, the unexpected power outage was really a blessing just like he had initially predicted. It started riskily but eventually proceeded in a favorable way and currently, Donghae was very pleased and satisfied.

This was probably what it meant to be in love.

...

--krissyoong--