“See you in class tomorrow!” Junmyeon said as Baekhyun and him were exiting the library doors. Junmyeon made sure to hold it open as the other ambled out onto the sidewalk.

Three weeks had already passed since their first work session for their extra-curricular history project and things had finally moved past the planning stages, thank god. Picking the topic was the hardest, but luckily both boys had eventually agreed on one they knew they had enough resources to do, and do well: World War I. Baekhyun pushed up the spectacles that were sliding down the bridge of his nose and quirked his lip, proud. That had been his suggestion after all.

The brown haired boy turned around to face his partner and give him a nod in reply. “And make sure to check at home if you have some extra poster board and markers—oh! And construction paper and those cool wavy edged scissors and wait… what else was there again?“

“Woah Junmyeon, slow down,” Baekhyun shook his head in a playful manner and gave a shake of his shoulders, wiggling his backpack. “I wrote everything down remember? After your insistence just in case any of us forgot, which clearly, one of us already did.” And at the blonde boy’s imminent flustered state, Baekhyun couldn't help but laugh while waving his hands in front of him. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

And at that, both boys finally said their goodbyes and went their separate ways.

Baekhyun walked a few steps before suddenly remembering to check his phone. He found nothing but a few long texts piled up, naturally all from Jongin. The boy thumbed in a quick reply before stuffing his hands back into his pockets.

It was a cold night. Was winter on its way?

-

The first thing his boyfriend did when he saw Baekhyun was pretty much engulf him in a cage of clinging limbs. Disoriented and with a mouthful of chocolaty brown hair tickling his nose and chin, Baekhyun could only release a very muffled and disgruntled, “fwha—?” before he was released and air was once again allowed to flow into his lungs. After catching his breath and shooting out a hand to steady himself against his front door that he just entered, Baekhyun looked up in surprise to find Jongin standing in front of him with a beaming grin on his face—a grin that revealed nothing about the fact that he had just tried to smother and suffocate his tiny boyfriend. “Jongin? Wait… what are you doing here?”

“Oh, is it a crime to want to see my boyfriend?”

“I meant why are you here in my house.”

“Oh, is it a crime to want to eat some of my favourite home cooked food in the entire world, too? Home cooked food that I can only find in this house specifically?” Jongin then turned to shoot Baekhyun’s mom, who was standing by in the nearby kitchen, a cheeky side grin. She looked up from her dishes and shot a sneaky wink back, making Baekhyun roll his eyes dramatically as he took off his shoes and made a show of striding past the two of them, into the living room.

“You guys are so weird.”

"Hey!" Jongin shot out an arm to catch the boy before he escaped but failed miserably as Baekhyun slipped through his grasp and plopped himself down onto the large couch, propping his feet up on top of the coffee table and taking off his glasses to rub at his eyes. Jongin followed immediately, all but falling over against Baekhyun's side and taking out a throw pillow that had gotten trapped underneath his to clutch it close to his chest. "But seriously, Baek. I… I missed you."

And at the tender meekness in Jongin's voice, Baekhyun couldn't help but soften as he shifted in his spot, letting Jongin's body slide down until his back was flat on the sofa and his head resting upon of Baekhyun's lap.

"What do you mean?" Baekhyun asked as he tentatively laid a hand on the top of the younger's head, ruffling his hair ever so slightly and pressing his bangs down to cover his eyes. Jongin hummed softly at the back of his throat as he closed his eyes and reveled in the dim warmth of his boyfriend's palm against his scalp.

"You know… it just feels like… we haven't seen each other in forever."

"We just saw each other this morning."

"Yeah but it’s not the same. We never go on dates anymore."

“Hmm? Dates?”

“Yeah, dates,” and even if Baekhyun couldn't see him, he could still hear the pout that coloured Jongin’s voice, “like our Monday ice creams and Wednesday chicken nights and don't even get me started on father-father-son bonding sessions on Saturday with Monggu because boy, I can tell he already misses yo—ow! What was that for?!” Jongin frowned as he rubbed at the spot that his boyfriend had slapped him against the head.

“I told you to stop calling it that!” Baekhyun scolded, threatening to slap Jongin again with a raised hand. But the younger only laughed, turning his body over to face Baekhyun in order to find a more comfortable position.

“Well our son is not the only one who misses you.”

Baekhyun quirked his lip but made no further comment on that issue, “I didn't know those counted as dates. I thought you were just trying to make me feel better.”

“Baek,” Jongin scoffed, “I was trying to make you feel better by taking you on dates.”

Oh. Well then. Now Baekhyun was the one feeling a bit slow. But he wasn't given much more time to dwell on that thought before Jongin began nuzzling his face against his thighs and it was then he realized just how close the proximity was between his boyfriend’s face and well, his crotch. Trying to not screech like a banshee (but failing miserably) and not letting his imminent horror show (but once again, failing at that), Baekhyun let out the most eloquent, “Jongin!” he could muster (but he just ended up sounding like a humongous squeaking mouse).

Slightly startled, Jongin snapped open his eyes, only for them to widen to full capacity when he too recognized his compromising position. However, he quickly recovered and merely turned his body to face the opposite direction with a large, bored yawn. “Oh sorry. I forgot. We’re not at that stage of our relationship yet.”

Baekhyun threw his arms in the air and opened his mouth but was suddenly cut off by the voice of his mother calling the two boys for dinner.

“Coming, Mom!” Jongin called out with a smile before swiftly leaping to his feet and padding quickly towards the kitchen. Baekhyun was frozen in his spot, arms still up in the air and his blocked scream building up from behind his throat until…

“KIM JONGIN!!!”

-

“So how’s Jongin doing?”

Baekhyun looked up from his hands that were carefully cutting out different shapes out of his piece of red construction paper. He was supposed to be cutting out the outlines of different European countries to paste on their board, but all of his work kept turning out looking like strangely shaped blobs in his eyes. He met eyes with Junmyeon who was wearing a small smile, most probably trying to make some simple conversation in the deserted library. “He’s fine,” Baekhyun chirped, placing his scissors down on the laminate table and rubbing his eyes. Junmyeon too, put down what he was working on and stretched his arms out over his head, twisting his back side to side to alleviate the ache of sitting too long. “He’s been complaining we haven’t went on a date in forever.”

Junmyeon couldn’t help but chuckle at the miniscule scowl that presented itself on Baekhyun’s face at that, “well that makes sense. I haven’t actually seen him around for a while except in class.”

Baekhyun nodded softly, “yeah… we’ve both been busy these days. I usually shoo him off before I come work with you though. I’d feel bad if I made him wait so long for me.” The younger boy pursed his lips as he began to collect all the bits and pieces of scrap paper sprawled all over his workspace. Things were starting to get way to messy for his liking. Junmyeon sat up in his seat and began helping Baekhyun out. As the blonde haired boy reached out for a certain large piece, he suddenly paused thoughtfully, turning his head towards Baekhyun who sensed his gaze and glanced up.

“You know, I don't think Jongin would mind at all.”

Baekhyun blinked once, twice, before he let out a small breath and gave a wry grin, “maybe but I still don't want him to wait. Imagine how bored he’d be and then he’d complain about how unfair it was and then complain some more about how we would’ve missed dinner and be forced to eat the soggy leftovers at his house or—oh!” Baekhyun suddenly snapped his mouth shut and widened his eyes as he realized just how long he had been rambling on and on and just how much he was most probably boring the life out of his partner. However, the younger was surprised to see Junmyeon had been watching him talk with his utmost attention and a pearlescent smile etched on his soft features. But as if he had just been caught, Junmyeon suddenly snapped out of his daze and immediately dipped his head, scratching the back of his neck with one hand. “Ah, sorry.”

“Hmm?”

“It’s just that you, er—I guess it’s not really not in my place to say…”

Curious, Baekhyun leaned forward in his seat and urged the older boy on, “it’s ok, you can just say it.”

Junmyeon glanced up from behind his bangs for a long second before he dropped his hand and relented, “well it’s just that you guys are so cute.”

“Huh?” Baekhyun suddenly felt taken aback by the comment.

“You and jongin; you guys are so cute together, it’s just—it’s nice to see.”

“U-us? We are?!” Baekhyun couldn't help but stutter as he felt his face start to heat up for reasons that were beyond him. Sure, he had heard plenty of times just how "disgustingly adorable they were together that he could puke, literally puke" (Jongdae’s words) and may or may not have had to listen to several rants on "how the stars and the sun and rainbows must have aligned for them two to finally find the love that was buried deep within themselves that he always knew existed but never made a comment about" (Yixing), but those comments were all from Baekhyun and Jongin’s best friends and they were probably supposed to be taken as jokes (hopefully). But this was the first time since Jongin and Baekhyun had gotten together that someone else, someone completely uninvolved, had given such a comment about the two.

“Yes, you guys totally are! I mean you can just tell how much Jongin adores you and then every time you start talking about him you just can’t stop yourself and—ah,” Junmyeon suddenly clasped a hand over his mouth, shooting the younger a sheepish look as if he had said too much already. But Baekhyun, mind too preoccupied digging an imaginary hole for himself to jump into, just shook his head in signal it was fine. The older visibly relaxed as he lifted his hands to clasp them together on the table while giving the embarrassed boy in front of him a knowing look. “You can just tell how close the two of you are. In fact, Baekhyun, you should definitely take Jongin out tomorrow; it’s a Saturday so you’re both free. I think he’d appreciate that a lot.”

“R-really?”

Junmyeon hummed in affirmation before he suddenly stood up and began to gather his belongings up, tucking and packing up all his books and papers neatly into his backpack. “I think we’ve done more than enough work these past weeks. Actually, I think we’re ahead of schedule. If we go at this rate we might even finish two weeks early before the fair, which is completely unnecessary,” Junmyeon scrunched his nose, which caused Baekhyun to chuckle, “and besides,” the blonde haired boy’s face suddenly softened as he slung his bag over his shoulder, “I feel really bad for taking you away from your boyfriend so much.”

And at that, Baekhyun couldn’t help but smile at his partner, a true, eye-crinkling smile, because even though they had not known each other for very long, he somehow felt an inherent comfort when around the elder—a comfort that he knew he could only find in someone who could become a great friend to him in the future. “Not at all, but thank you.”

The two boys just stared at each other, both smiling to themselves at nothing in particular, until suddenly the scene was interrupted by a rather loud but familiar grumbling sound. Junmyeon immediately flushed red as he wrapped his arms around his stomach, “ah, sorry! I guess my stomach knows it’s dinner time…”

Baekhyun couldn't help but laugh out loud, only to be immediately shushed by a passing librarian. With his hands covering his mouth, Baekhyun quickly scanned the area around them before looking at Junmyeon and nodding, “me too, actually.”

“Say, how about we catch something to eat on the way back? We’ve never really hung out outside of the project now that I think about it…”

“Sure!” Came out as Baekhyun’s immediate reply, as he quickly packed up his own belongings. It would be a nice break to finally get the time to talk to each other on a subject other than world warfare (and also finally eat some food for the first time in four hours).

Baekhyun had half a mind to text Jongin about his whereabouts but that thought was quickly shuffled away as Junmyeon started listing off the nearby restaurants they could drop by.

-

Since both boys figured that dinner was still waiting for them at home (thanks to both of them having wonderfully doting parents), the two decided on just sharing a light snack before finally heading home on their separate ways.

They deserved it after all, after all that work they’d put in over the weeks.

So with that in mind, Baekhyun quickly racked his brain for any particular place that would be appropriate for such an occasion. And suddenly as if a light bulb had flicked on above his head, Baekhyun realized he already knew the perfect place.

Where better place was there than Mr. Lee’s small ice cream shop?

It was conveniently located (just a few blocks down from where they were), relatively cheap (for the poor students that they were) and most of all, it sold ice cream and anything worth celebrating could be celebrated over sweets—that was just some kind of universal law.

So in the end, after Baekhyun’s enthusiastic recommendation, the two boys headed over the shop. Immediately after entering through the clear glass doors, Baekhyun and Junmyeon both felt a sense of warm relief that was a haven from the nipping coldness of the air they were exposed to outside on the street.

Baekhyun ordered quickly and easily since he simply chose his usual: a small cup of cappuccino ice cream. However, naturally, Junmyeon needed another minute or two to decide his order since it was his first time there and quite frankly, the amount of choices available were beginning to overwhelm him in a kaleidoscope of possibilities.

Guessing that it was going to take a while longer, Baekhyun gave Junmyeon a quick tap on the shoulder before he walked away from the line, towards the back of the store where he sat down at an empty table to wait.

It was safe to say Baekhyun had completely zoned out as he nearly jumped up out of his seat in surprise when the chair across from him made a rather loud scratching sound from being dragged out from under the table. The brown haired boy looked up with wide eyes at Junmyeon who wore an apologetic smile as he sat down and placed their ice creams in front of them. It was only then, seeing his new friend tentatively scrape at his green coloured ice cream scoop, that Baekhyun realized he had unconsciously sat the both at him and Jongin’s usual spot.

Usually, when he came with Jongin, the two would gravitate naturally towards this particular table near the back corner. They would sit down and the younger would look over and scoff at his order, telling him that ordering cappuccino flavour so late in the day would only keep him up all night. But Baekhyun would always stick his tongue out and shove a big spoonful into his own mouth, threatening to whack Jongin with his spoon after and retorting, “the ice cream doesn't contain as much caffeine as the drink, stupid.”

Baekhyun couldn't help but smile to himself at the memory, only to immediately sit up straight and collect himself as he realized that the boy sitting in front of him today was not Jongin—not the boy who would no doubt, always find a way to wriggle his chair closer and closer until he was flush beside Baekhyun and not so secretly dipping his own spoon into Baekhyun’s cup for a taste of his of the beige, melting ice cream.

It was only then in that moment, staring at the swirls of his untouched treat, that Baekhyun realized he missed Jongin.

-

“Jongin, you have got to stop showing up in my house unannounced,” Baekhyun snorted as he began to his jacket. Immediately after he had arrived home and entered his room, Baekhyun had thrown his backpack onto the floor, only to turn his head and get the actual life scared out of him when he saw his boyfriend sprawled all over his bed, casually reading a manga book and munching on a bag of stale chips.

At the displeasure that was written clear in the elder’s voice, Jongin merely lifted his eyes briefly from the page he was on before nodding in acknowledgment and going back to reading. Baekhyun wrinkled his nose, shrugged the jacket completely off his shoulders and threw it with force, over Jongin’s head. “Don’t just ignore me!”

A mass of chuckles erupted from underneath the jacket as Jongin quickly brought a hand to pull it off and toss it away from his face. The taller boy then rolled over to lie flat on his back, letting the manga fall from his hands and onto the floor along with all of Baekhyun’s other things. “Shouldn’t I be saying that to you? You don't even know how bored I got waiting for you; I reread that volume about three point five times before you finally came back.”

Baekhyun couldn’t help but chuckle when Jongin turned his head to meet his eyes, pouting and looking like an overall pitiful, overgrown puppy (Jongin was doing that on purpose, he had to be). With a small smile on his face, Baekhyun slowly walked towards his bed, stopping for a moment at the edge before he decided to sit down in the space next to Jongin’s mass of sprawled limbs. However, it seemed Jongin was having none of this “personal space” business as Baekhyun found himself immediately being pulled down by and wrapped in a strong pair of arms, leaving him no space to escape let alone breathe in air that was his own, as Jongin’s face was only a few inches away from his. Baekhyun gulped and willed away the growing wave of embarrassment that would surely be showing up as a blush on his cheeks any second now. “Well, you could have told me you were coming over, you know.”

“But I did!”

"Really? When?”

“I texted you after dinner! Maybe an hour ago…?” This time Baekhyun knew that the pout of Jongin’s face wasn't intentional, and that he really was sulking as he shifted in his spot to gently nuzzle his nose into the crook of his smaller boyfriend’s neck.

Baekhyun stayed silent and still for a few long moments as he realized just why he never received the message, or rather, never even checked for one. “Oh sorry, Jongin… I—“

“You smell like cappuccino.”

“Huh?” Baekhyun blinked.

“Your breath smells like cappuccino,” Jongin mumbled, voice slightly muffled and breath tickling Baekhyun’s skin, “you went to go eat ice cream, didn't you?”

Baekhyun nearly chuckled at the near whine in his best friend’s voice, a whine that was only there whenever Jongin felt something was being particularly unfair, especially towards himself,  “yep, you’re right. I did go for ice cream.”

“At Mr. Lee’s?

“At Mr. Lee’s.”

“Without me?!” The whine was getting progressively more prominent and Baekhyun had to bite back a smile.

“Yes Jongin, without you.”

“I can’t believe you!”

And at the utterly scandalized tone in Jongin’s voice, Baekhyun couldn’t hold back his laugh any longer. He wiggled out a hand that was trapped against his side and brought it up to slightly knock his knuckle against the younger’s thick skull. “Yeah, well now I have a happy stomach and you’ve got nothing.”

Jongin huffed and wrinkled his nose (Baekhyun felt it all against his neck). “Hey! At least I'm not the one that looked like a loser entering that place all by myself like… like some kind of loner!”

At that Baekhyun rolled his eyes and hit the younger’s head a few more times just for emphasis. “Well then, I guess it’s jokes on you since I didn't go there alone—I was with Junmyeon,” the elder replied, lifting his chin up haughtily. But when Jongin’s grip around him immediately became rigid, Baekhyun could only look back down and blink in confusion.

“You… were with Junmyeon?” Baekhyun couldn’t see Jongin’s face, only a mass of chocolaty brown hair resting against his shoulder.

“Mmm, yes,” the elder hummed back.

“So you went with Junmyeon?” It came out more of a statement than and question and Baekhyun furrowed his eyebrows at his best friend’s changing tone.

“Yes, Jongin, we went together. We just wanted to go out for a bit after working on our project, that’s all,” the elder explained more clearly.

“Wait,” this time Jongin pulled back a bit, arms ever so slightly loosening around his boyfriend and finally showing his face to the other, “our project? So you mean you and Junmyeon were working together on this thing?”

“Uh… yes,” the shorter boy stated as if it were obvious but then bit his lip as he realized… had he really never mentioned that minor detail? But the elder was only met with silence as Jongin took a moment to process the information. And as if something huge had just occurred to him, Jongin suddenly widened his eyes and moved his hands up to grip Baekhyun by the shoulders.

“So you’re telling me that for the past month—every time you went off to work on this project—I’ve actually been sending you off to go meet Junmyeon? Alone?”

“Um, yes? Why are you saying it like that? Like you—“ But Baekhyun was cut off abruptly with Jongin pulling him close and pressing his full lips against his own. And to say that Baekhyun was surprised would be an understatement. His eyes snapped open, only to close again slowly as Jongin shifted slightly in his spot to get a better angle and bring up a hand to tangle within the strands of the elder’s light brown locks. Baekhyun had always liked kissing Jongin, more than he would ever admit for the life of him, so whenever the opportunity sprang up (i.e. Jongin going in for it), Baekhyun always made the most of it by indulging his boyfriend, giving in and reciprocating like sinking into a guilty pleasure.

However, this time around, with the measured movements of Jongin’s lips sliding and pressing and nipping against his own, with Jongin's touches more purposefully placed and making Baekhyun’s spine tremble against his mattress, the shorter boy couldn’t help but notice something off about Jongin. Unlike the effortless air that usually surrounded them whenever they kissed, this time around the atmosphere felt heavy, almost needy in a way that made everything too hot too fast. With a low groan, Jongin suddenly rolled over so that Baekhyun was pinned with his back to the bed with the taller sitting up, straddling the elder’s hips between firm thighs. The two boys shared a long look in this position—both pairs of eyes unfocused with a shiny glaze over them that was clouding over their judgements. But soon after that fleeting moment passed, Jongin dove back down to recapture their lips together, making Baekhyun writhe beneath his body in an almost sinful way and making a feral growl rip out from deep within the younger’s throat.

The temperature of the room must’ve went up twenty degrees because Baekhyun was beginning to feel rather uncomfortable underneath his sweater and a thin sheen of sweat was already beginning to build up on his pearly skin, making him look somehow even more irresistible to the boy currently on top of him and rendering him more incoherent than ever before.

“J-Jongin—,“ Baekhyun managed to choke out between his airy gasps, desperate hands roaming everywhere from the taller’s arms, to raking down his toned stomach and finally finding purchase with the fabric of Jongin shirt, stretched over the expanse his broad back.

At the call of his name, the tanned boy pulled back slightly, swollen red lips moving to graze against Baekhyun’s cheek and smirking. “Hmmm?”

“Jongin—“

“Shhh,” a puff of hot air hit Baekhyun’s ear, making him tremble even more as Jongin began to pepper across his jawline and eventually down his neck with deliberate hard kisses, nipping slightly and painting the canvas of white skin with a bouquet of blossoming red marks.

It had been a while since his boyfriend had done this, leave marks on him, but Baekhyun’s thoughts were way too far gone for him to mind the implication or consequences that he would surely face tomorrow morning. Baekhyun was also too far gone to even realize Jongin’s fingers had moved to his front and started deftly ing his sweater, pulling the wide collar of his shirt down to reveal a wide expanse of pale, unblemished chest. And as if he couldn’t help himself, Jongin quickly leaned down to attach his mouth against Baekhyun’s jutting collarbone. There, he and lapped at to his heart’s content, making sure to leave a huge purpling bruise—one that he knew the elder wouldn’t be able to hide and more importantly, would last for a long, long time.

After Jongin deemed his work complete, he finally pulled back to sit up and survey his work. Baekhyun was thoroughly wrecked underneath him, eyes squeezed shut, hair a complete mess and his chest rising up and down in time with Jongin’s as both boys took their time to catch their breaths. When he was finally able to breath regularly, Jongin gazed straight into Baekhyun’s eyes, which opened slowly to look up at him. “Baekhyun, you’re mine,” he whispered and although Jongin’s voice was soft and still hoarse, Baekhyun could feel the underlying emotions within his strong words. Hearing that Baekhyun chose to remain silent, Jongin slowly fell over on his side so that he was lying beside his boyfriend, legs still tangled together although they were now face to face. “I mean it, Baekhyun,” he whispered with a light smile, brushing the light brown bangs out of the elder’s eyes.

And despite what they had just done, Baekhyun felt his face heating up even more than it had been just a few minutes ago. “You’re dumb,” he scoffed, pushing lightly against Jongin’s shoulder.

“Only dumb for you,” Jongin sing-songed in reply, earning a disbelieving look from the elder and another shove. But soon the blissful expression on the taller’s face was replaced with something much more collected. “And the next time you meet Junmyeon, I want you to text me. Actually, on second thought, every time. Text me before you leave too, so I can pick you up.”

Baekhyun stared at the unwavering expression Jongin wore and blinked a few times, “huh, what?”

“Promise me.”

“Jongin don’t you think that a bit—“

“Promise me, Baek,” Jongin urged, reaching to clasp Baekhyun’s smaller, slender fingers between his own.

And at the completely earnest flash in Jongin’s eyes, Baekhyun couldn’t help himself but nod his head slowly. “Okay.”

At the elder’s positive response, Jongin smiled widely before the two boys fell silent, lying there together on Baekhyun’s bed and resting after a long day.

Baekhyun had almost fallen asleep when Jongin’s soft whisper broke through his consciousness, “oh and Baek?”

“Hmmm?” The elder just hummed, not bothering to open his eyes.

“By the way, I’m sleeping over tonight.”

Normally, Baekhyun would have smacked the younger upside the head but this time he held himself back. Maybe it was because he was already so extremely tired or maybe because he was just too lazy to move another muscle, but Baekhyun felt that maybe today, just today, he would allow himself to cuddle further into Jongin’s embrace instead and hope that his world could stop spinning, even just for a moment.

Author's Note:

I'm thinking of changing my username soon so don't be surprised~