Closures keep most people at home. Gyms, bars, clubs, even parks are closed to the public. It’s weird to see, but Jongin doesn’t mind too much. He already worked from home and is more of a homebody to begin with.

His poor husband, on the other hand, is miserable.

Baekhyun thrives on attention and the energy of a crowd. He’s a people-person and a people pleaser. Like a dog, which Jongin means with all the affection and love in his heart.

They walk the kids every day but take care to go around other people on their own walks or bike rides. Baekhyun can still manage to carry a conversation from more than six feet away.

Taeoh is more confused than anything else, asking almost daily if it’s time for school or if they can go to the playground. Jongin can tell he’s getting frustrated. Playing with his dads isn’t always as fun as playing with other kids. He’s read and re-read his books. The pile of drawings he’s completed could fill a gallery.

And Jongin’s still got deadlines to meet, so he depends on Baekhyun to find ways to entertain their son.

Miraculously, they haven’t gotten too messy or out of hand, yet. The worst has been a first try at making homemade slime. It was more liquidy than viscous, and the pretty glitter managed to track itself throughout the house.

Petting the dogs still makes their hands glisten in the light.

As much as they adore one another, they still need time apart. After a full day of building forts and playing dragon to Taeoh’s mighty defense, Baekhyun is tired.

Yet he’s the one who whines the most when he drops Taeoh off at his mother-in-law’s house for a weekend sleepover.

“He’s never been away for so long before!” he moans, people-watching out the window. The sidewalks are still pretty full, but pedestrians seem to be more aware of themselves, jumping away when brushed passed or stepping into the gutter to go around others. There aren’t even as many cars as usual. “What if something happens?”

Jongin listens with half an ear and rifles around a drawer for another eraser. He’s used this one to the point he can barely hold it to erase. “My mom knows how to care for a child.”

“I know, but still. It’s weird without him, knowing he’s not just at school and will be home in the afternoon, you know?” He rubs his foot over his Corgi’s belly, pulling at the fur with his toes. “It’s weird being home during the day, too.” His work week is the whole week, Sunday through Saturday, from 11 AM to 2 AM. Mornings are for sleeping. His entire routine has been thrown off, since he’s had to stay home.

It is nice to see more of his boys, but Jongin’s still working, and Baekhyun tries to be respectful and let him work. He’s already spent a couple hours at his computer but got too frustrated to continue after dying for a fourth time, so he nudges at Jongin’s desk and sighs like a neglected puppy when ignored.

Without Taeoh, though, he’s bored. There’s nothing to do. He already started laundry and swept up the tumbleweeds of dog hair.

In reality, this is a great opportunity. It’s too rare an opportunity for them to be alone. Dogs can be kicked out of a room and stopped with a closed door.

Taeoh can pick locks.

Baekhyun stands up and stretches until his back pops, making him wince. Mongryong flails when Baekhyun stops petting him, surging to his feet and shaking his coat before ambling to a dog bed in a corner of the office.

His husband doesn’t acknowledge his movement or close proximity. “Jonginie...” Baekhyun nuzzles into his shoulder. “Isn’t it time for a break?”

When he’s not working on his comic, Jongin is detailing his newfound hobby of journal design. After a couple commissions asking for custom calendars involving his comic characters, he decided to make his own. Because why not? He’s already made it through March, keeping with the theme of his last project.

It’s more fun than he expects. Projects for profit are draining. Jongin wilts under expectation.

This thing, just for himself, however, can be as sloppy or neat and goofy or classy as he wants.

Reaching blindly behind him, he pats Baekhyun’s hair. “In a bit.” He smiles at the annoyed huff of hot air against his neck.

So far, he’s created an index, daily tasks page, journal key, books to read and movies to watch, and is considering a weekly meal planner and savings/spendings tracker. They’re not wild spendthifts, but Baekhyun has a habit of preordering video games, and Jongin buys a lot of snacks when out, and neither are very good at telling Taeoh ‘no’ when he sees something he wants...

Maybe a workout log would be good, too—not that he’s been exercising all that much lately. Some pages just for Taeoh’s class events and doctors appointments would be good, too.

Baekhyun kisses Jongin’s nape and gently bites him. He’s bored and  and looking for attention. “Don’t you have anything better to do with your free time?” Such as his needy husband. Their bedroom is literally right next door. They can give the fur babies some bones to occupy themselves while Baekyhun occupies himself with his husband. “Hint hint.”

“Let me finish this page…” Jongin mumbles, rummaging through the pencil case for a brown marker. Once his husband’s arms snake around his waist and draw back so Baekhyun can hold his hips, Jongin knows exactly what he’s aiming for. It’s cute, in a hot sort of way. Baekhyun has never been much of a person for subtlety. Or patience. He’s very much an instant gratification person, and Jongin has a healthy appreciation for that.

It also makes teasing him very easy and very fun. He literally doesn’t have to do anything, and his husband gets huffy and annoyed.

“Oh my God, Jongin. Do I have to seduce you explicitly?”

“Is that what you were doing?” Jongin hums.

So rejected, Baekhyun drapes himself over his husband’s back and watches him doodle, muttering, “You’re being deliberately mean and difficult.” Taking a nearby pencil, he adds his own scribble, mimicking Jongin’s trademark bears as best he can. “I don’t think I ask for much. Sometimes, a guy just wants to go down on his husband without fear of taking a pencil to the nostril or something.” He grumbles when Jongin just laughs.

His doodles don’t look too bad; Jongin outlines a few in marker, coloring their features with a series of diagonal lines and uses the same marker to fill in the bubble letters spelling the month.

Baekhyun sighs and tosses the pencil back with its brethren. Along with the multitude of colored pencils and markers with varying sized tips, the desk is littered with boxes of stickers, printed tape, glue sticks, colored paper, and smears of old paint and ink. “Isn’t this kinda...not girly, but you know what I mean.”

“I will pirouette right outta here and leave you to fend for yourself.” They both know Baekhyun would only survive because of delivered take-out.

“I don’t mean it as a bad thing!” Baekhyun protests, wrapping his arms around Jongin’s neck. “You’ve never liked lists or notes.” He loses them often. Baekhyun will take a full sheet of printer paper and tape it inside the refrigerator or on the mirror, when he wants to remind his husband of something.

“This is different. And it’s something I wanted to try,” he shrugs; “it’s kinda fun to design. Some people even commission these types of things, you know—I’ve made two, already. It’s just another custom piece of art.”

“I guess.” Baekhyun tucks his head against Jongin’s ear and stares at the wall. The paint looks uneven. He can see from the paint roller.

The clatter of pencils disrupts his stupor. Jongin’s piling his things together in a bit of order, sighing that he’s ready for a break.

But a break for an artist means drawing something else. In Jongin’s case, he has little tubes of paint and some brushes standing in a dirty old jar.

“Come on,” he says, carefully breaking Baekhyun’s grip to allow himself to stand from his chair. Leading the way to their room, he lets Baekhyun pass him and prevents the dogs from following with his foot. Thwarted, they retreat with lowered tails.

“You beast,” Baekhyun remarks.

“I know.” Closing the door, Jongin sets his paints and brushes on the dresser. “Take your shirt off.”

“Okay.”

When Baekhyun finds himself on his back, he’s thrilled. Finally, he thinks, but Jongin’s hands are strangely cool on his skin, dragging just the fingertip of his forefinger in measured patterns.

“What are you doing?”

“You’ll see. Be patient.” Jongin’s hands are dark with paint, a blue like faded tattoo ink. Trying to follow his movements by sensation alone, Baekhyun thinks he’s writing on his arms and down his bare torso.

Jongin catches his bouncing leg. “Hold still, please.” He doesn’t sound frustrated or impatient, but there’s an edge to his voice that only happens when he’s concentrating.

Baekhyun rolls his head to the other side and looks out the window. It’s nice out; he wants to get Jongin outside for a walk or something. The dogs have been restless but patient, entertaining themselves with bones or chew toys.

His breath catches in his throat. Jongin’s leaning over him, drawing down the middle of his chest from sternum to the waistband of his pants. Quick swipes of his finger creates branches or leaves, like a new cornstalk. He draws arcs and swirls with his fingertips, engaged in a vision.

Finally, he stops, sitting on his heels. “Stay like that,” he says, getting to his feet. A sketchbook is nearby. He opens to a random page and flips until he finds one without drawings. ”The light’s good right now…”

“Aren’t you so proud of how well-trained I am? I lay down and stay, when told.”

“Good boy.” Jongin mumbles, eyes darting from his husband to his drawing and back again.

Baekhyun picks at the edge of a stripe on his belly. “What kinda paint is this, anyway?”

“Water-based. Not necessarily meant for skin, but it washes off easily and is non-toxic. Taeoh uses it.”

“Oh.” He stretches his arms over his head, tucking one beneath his head, and looks at Jongin. “So now what? You’re just going to watch me?”He hooks a thumb in the waistband of his pants. “Should I do something?”

“If you want…” Jongin’s not really paying attention, but if he’s not in the mood, then Baekhyun won’t push it. He’s fine being stared at, anyway; he’s not shy. His husband will just fill up some pages until his wrist hurts or his hand cramps.

He must fall asleep, because the next thing he’s aware of is a tingling in his arm and weight on his chest. An orange glow fills the room from the sunset. The blinds are open, and he squints at the white sun. Its light highlights Mongryong’s belly, asleep in a fading sunbeam. The door is open, now; Jongin must have let him in.

Jongin is sprawled alongside him, head on Baekhyun’s bicep and arm tucked around his chest. His skin tone is rich in the warm light and old scars fill with shadow. He must have been more tired than he’d wanted to admit; the pencil case and soft cover notebook are wedged between them and crinkle when Baekhyun shifts.

Carefully, he removes the art materials and drops them as gently as he can onto the floor. His husband sleeps like a rock but is heat-seeking and searches blindly for Baekhyun with his arm. In his sleepy state, any warm body will do, but Baekhyun allows few others the privilege of snuggling his husband, so he drops an opportunistic Poodle onto the floor before she can make a move and makes himself comfortable again.

They sleep until the dogs start whining for a potty break. Baekhyun mumbles that he’ll take them out, and Jongin rolls onto his back, freeing him.

His skin is itchy from the dry paint, and he passes the time waiting for the dogs to find places to do their business by scratching it off his arms.

Back inside, the dogs immediately run to their food dishes. Jongin had filled them and stands at the stove. Baekhyun leans heavily against his back, arms winding around his waist. He nuzzles into Jongin’s spine, finally settling with his cheek pressed against a shoulder with a sigh. “Whatcha making?”

“Omelet and rice. You want?”

“Yes, please.” His stomach grumbles, and he kisses Jongin’s shoulder, making his way to the cabinets with plates and bowls to retrieve a mismatched pair of plates and set the table. While Jongin cooks, Baekhyun watches. His gaze becomes heavy, and Jongin blushes.

“What is it?”

“Nothing.” Baekhyun shrugs. “Just looking. Appreciating the view.” Baekhyun has always had a thing for tall men. Tall, sculpted men. Tall, sculpted men with children and who can cook are even more attractive, so Jongin is fulfilling Baekhyun’s dreams and ideals by existing.

Jongin turns from the stove, cutting the omelet in half with a spatula. He frowns when he notices his husband’s outfit. “Is that my shirt?”

“Probably, why?” He’d grabbed it from a pile of clean clothes to be folded beside their bed.

Shrugging, Jongin shuffles the food onto the plates. “It looks good on you.”

Baekhyun grins cheekily. “Everything looks good on me.”

“Nothing looks good on you, too.” He’s an artist; he knows these things.

Baekhyun is also not shy, and he hooks the hem of Jongin’s pantleg with his foot. “You always know just what to say to make a guy feel special.”

“Why are you so ?” Jongin takes the pan and utensils to the sink, laughing. “We just woke up. Settle down.”

“Make me.”

“What, you want to be spanked with a dirty spatula?” He cuts through the air with the spatula, throwing bits of egg that a Poodle chases after. “You’ll get to clean up the mess.”

Baekhyun rubs his arms and shivers. “I love when you talk all domestic.”

Jongin laughs and shakes his head, taking a seat across from Baekhyun and passing him a fork. “Take a shower once you’re done eating. I don’t think we want dried paint rolling off in our sheets.”

“Will you join me?”

“Sure.”

“Really?!”

Jongin laughs again, head back and hands clapping weakly. “Why are you so excited? I’ve done it before.”

“Quarantine can change a man,” Baekhyun states darkly. He’s dramatic and love starved. “We’ve been together for weeks, now, but you’re still working, and I’m usually running after Taeoh, so we haven’t been, like, together.”

“I know, and I’m sorry,” Jongin sighs. He’s at a point where a day or two won’t put him behind. It would be really great to have an entire day with his husband. “You can have me all of tomorrow, if you want.”

“What a silly thing to say, if I want…” Choking on a mouthful of food, Baekhyun tearily grins. “No take backs.”

Two nights and two days. Baekhuyn will use them frivolously.

a/n: Written for Ethereal Boys bonus round. (prompt no.60 Jongin bullet journal is a work of art just as much as it is a planner/diary, but Baekhyun would like for Jongin to pay some attention to him too, not just drawing and painting stunning things.)

This is the same au as in sickness and in health.