Jinki enjoyed waking up to see Jonghyun beside him. It was hard to believe, but at the same time, a dream come true. He'd always feared being alone since he was a small child, but because of Jonghyun's presence, he felt like those many years of loneliness were simply reoccurring nightmares that were wiped away once they started living together.

They didn't wake up tangled together anymore. No, Jinki made sure to separate their bodies with pillows as soon as the younger fell asleep each night. Instead, every morning when they woke up, Jinki noticed that their hands somehow found each other and would interlace without either of them realizing it. Jinki turned kissing the male's forehead into a regular thing, and as soon as he deemed the younger to be so far asleep, he would kiss his forehead and let his own body drift off to sleep.

Jonghyun was usually the first to wake up, and usually spent about half an hour just to wake Jinki up. Most days, he was patient and gentle, but there were days where the younger was so hungry and almost late to work that he literally laid down on top of Jinki and poked at his sides until he woke up.

On a random Monday morning, it was the first.

"Wake up, Jinki." Jonghyun's hand was on his cheek and it in a slow and gentle manner.

The elder groaned in his sleep and turned over, only faintly realizing that it meant losing the small heat against his cheek. It wasn't gone for long, however. Jonghyun pushed the pillows away and scooted over, gently wrapping an arm around Jinki's waist.

"Jinki, we'll be late for work."

And when Jinki groaned and pulled his part of their blanket over his head, Jonghyun sighed.

"You leave me with no choice."

Jinki already knew what was coming. Jonghyun would always resort to biting Jinki's neck when his previous attempts of waking the elder failed, and it never failed in waking the elder with a start.

That morning was no exception.

"Yah! Kim Jonghyun!" Jinki's raspy voice boomed in the silence of the room, and Jonghyun quickly let go and ran out of their shared room, his laughter filling the apartment like music.

The elder shook his head, but the light blush that dusted his cheeks remained, as did the small smile that formed on his lips. He slowly rolled out of bed and fixed the clothes that had been messed up as he slept and quickly crossed into the bathroom to do his morning routine before Jonghyun could claim the bathroom.

When he got to the kitchen, Jonghyun was at the coffee machine, grinning to himself about something Jinki had no clue about. Jonghyun didn't cook anymore, and though Jinki was glad he could cook edible food for the two of them from then on, he was disappointed that Jonghyun didn't attempt to cook for them more often.

Just then, a plan etched into Jinki's head, and with a slight smirk, he walked forward and wrapped his arms around Jonghyun, pulling him back into the elder's chest.

"Jinki?" Jonghyun looked up in confusion, though his eyes had some sort of hope shining in them.

Without answering, Jinki dropped his head into the crook of Jonghyun's neck and relished in the soft gasp the younger made as his lips brushed against the younger's neck. Unlike Jonghyun, he made sure to take his time, kissing one spot on the younger's neck and then slowly moving lower. He didn't know why, but Jonghyun had tilted his head in the opposite direction, and with a slight tug of his shirt, Jinki was able to reach a portion of Jonghyun's shoulder that no one would be able to see without pulling his shirt off.

He pulled back slowly, his eyes fixated on the mark that was slowly reddening on the male's flawless skin. Jinki grinned a little proudly, and then his eyes slowly worked their way up to Jonghyun's. Jonghyun's own eyes had a look that said they were in a faraway place, though the slightest bit of lust was dancing around.

"There, now we're even." Jinki muttered, grabbing the mug of coffee Jonghyun had prepared for himself and walking to the living room to watch the news before either of them actually had to leave for work. Jinki was right to have done that, at least that's what he thought as his fingers brushed over one of the hickeys Jonghyun had given him. It was a good thing he only wore office attire at work, or walking in with his collar visible for everyone to see would have made his life that much more miserable.

From the corner of his eye, Jinki could see Jonghyun with his arms crossed and his eyes narrowed as he watched the elder. It must have been a real surprise, as Jinki almost never showed him any affection.

Then, Jonghyun tossed his house keys to Jinki and almost tossed them straight into the elder's mug, and in annoyance, Jinki glanced from the keys to Jonghyun and back, "What is it?"

Jonghyun looked away as he spoke, "Some of the other trainees invited me to go clubbing with them tonight, so I'll be late."

"I'll keep the door unlocked." Jinki nodded and turned the television off, quickly getting to his feet and shoving the keys into his pocket, "Just do me a favor and don't get too drunk."

That time, it was Jinki who couldn't look at the younger, "I don't want you to get married again."

"The only person I'd want to be married to is you, Jinki."

His voice was so serious that it stunned Jinki for a moment, and when he looked back to the younger, he'd already walked away with his shoulders slightly dropped.

"Why?" Jinki asked, but it was more of a whisper, and he wasn't sure why he'd even asked or if he actually wanted an answer.

He quickly trailed after Jonghyun, because that was his job as the younger's manager, and openly watched him throughout the day because that was what he was told to do. However, he would catch himself smiling at the most random times and would always pick up his pace when realizing the younger was a bit too far away for his liking. Jonghyun noticed his closeness but never asked him to go away; not when he had a private phone call from a previous nightclub boss, or when the training instructors called him over to say a few words. If anything, Jonghyun looked as if he wouldn't move at all if Jinki refused to go with him. When one of the trainees Jonghyun was going to spend the evening with walked up to him to see if their plans were still on, Jonghyun had jokingly asked if Jinki could go with him. Though his friend joked back saying that the manager would kill the mood, Jinki could see Jonghyun's shoulders deflate and noticed that the younger looked at him with a slight frown on his face. Jinki joked back that he wouldn't want to be around while they did illegal things and sent Jonghyun a small smile in reassurance. 

Jonghyun was not lying about coming home late. It was almost one in the morning when the front door opened, and the sleepy and dazed Jinki hobbled over to greet him.

The younger wasn't drunk at all, and despite the slight scent of alcohol and cigarette smoke that followed after him, there was nothing out of the ordinary about the young male. It soothed Jinki's heart, knowing that Jonghyun didn't go out and get himself wasted for any reason.

"You're still awake?" Jonghyun's voice was slightly alarmed, and it was due to the fact that Jinki went to bed at exactly ten every night. A minute less at night usually meant a crankier Jinki in the morning.

Jinki didn't know what he was thinking, but he crossed the small amount of space between them and hugged the younger by his shoulders, sighing in relief, "I was worried something would happen to you."

He could faintly feel Jonghyun's lips on his shoulder.

"I won't ever let anything hurt me when I know you're here worrying for me."

Jinki pulled away and rubbed at his eyes, his lips forming a slight pout, "Don't say that. It makes me feel like I'm stopping you from doing the things you enjoy."

"I enjoy being with you, Jinki." Again, Jonghyun's voice was so serious and so soft that it stunned Jinki for a moment, "Plus, drinking and having fun just don't feel right when you're not with me."

Then, Jinki took the younger by the hand and tugged him back to the couch, where a blanket was spread out on the sofa with a random movie being played on the television, "We can still have fun together, Jonghyun."

Jonghyun glanced at their intertwined hands and then at the layout of the living room, "Are you sure, Jinki? It's already pretty late."

Instead of answering, Jinki let go of Jonghyun's hand and sat down on the sofa, making sure there was enough space for the younger to sit on to watch the movie.

Sighing in defeat, Jonghyun took the open seat and the two of them relaxed as they watched the movie. Halfway through the movie, Jinki thought of how uncomfortable Jonghyun might be next to him, but his own fatigue stopped him from turning to check. However, he could feel his body be on hyper alert due to Jonghyun's closeness. It was strange, since they shared more physical contact when they sleep together at night, but Jinki could almost feel every breath Jonghyun took.

At one point during the movie, Jinki felt the weight of the couch dip further, and when he turned his head, Jonghyun had laid down on the couch, his upper back and neck supported on the armrest. Jonghyun's gaze was on Jinki, and he held his hand out for the elder.

Jinki stared at his hand for a moment to see what he could possibly want, but perhaps Jonghyun took it as a sign of rejection because he began pulling his hand back ever so slowly. Before he could move it from Jinki's reach, Jinki grasped his hand, as if letting it go would cause himself some terrible pain.

Jonghyun's eyes briefly looked shocked, but he quickly pulled Jinki down beside him, and when Jinki got comfortable, Jonghyun raised the elder's head and placed it on his chest.

"You liked it there the first time we slept together." Jonghyun's tone was teasing, but at the same time it was warm and maybe even a bit longing. His fingers sifted through Jinki's hair, which was something Jinki enjoyed greatly after the few times the younger did it, but when he listened to Jonghyun's heartbeat, he wondered to himself why the younger's heart was beating quicker than his own.

He looked up to find out why, and Jonghyun stared at him as if he expected the elder to do that and dreaded it at the same time. Jonghyun's gaze was soft and his lips curved into a tired smile that hid emotions Jinki couldn't read. 

"I'm not in love with you, Jonghyun." Jinki spoke slowly, and when Jonghyun's eyes grew dimmer and his heartbeat slowed increasingly, Jinki held back his own chuckles, "But I do enjoy being with you too." He leaned up and quickly kissed the younger's forehead before laying down against his chest once more to hide his blushed cheeks.

"Thank you, Jinki." Jonghyun was quiet for a while, but when he spoke, his voice was still soft, and his free hand took Jinki's hand back into his own. When Jonghyun looked down to see if Jinki minded their linked hands, Jinki was already asleep.

"Pabo."

He chuckled to himself, and before he knew it, the former insomniac also fell asleep.